Member Count
333
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Description
The project is open to all O'Callaghan, Callaghan & Callahan, Keelaghan, Kelaghan
males, (and variants) from Ireland, especially Counties Cork, Mayo, Tipperary and Clare.
Munster
The surname means descendent of Ceallachán who was the Eóganachta King of Munster from AD 935 until 954. The personal name Cellach means ‘bright-headed’. The Callaghan lands were traditionally west of Mallow, Cork along both sides of the Blackwater river valley, comprising the parishes of Kilshannig and Clonmeen. The Callaghan’s were dispossessed of their ancestral home of approximately 50,000.00 acres during the Cromwellian Plantation and settled in East Clare.
Oriel
Ó Ceileacháin in Irish, is to be found in the counties Armagh, Louth, Meath and Monaghan. It has been anglicized as Callaghan, Kelaghan, Keelaghan, Kealahan and other variants. In County Meath, where it is widespread but has been found mainly in the parishes of Kells, Trim and Athboy, it is mainly anglicized as Callahan, Callaghan or O'Callaghan (with local spelling variants). In County Westmeath it is still found in the form Kelaghan. In County Monaghan it is often found as Keelan. Members of the Ó Ceileacháin family were mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters as being lords of Uí Breasail, a district on the southern shore of Lough Neagh, and priors ofArmagh in the 11th century.
Mayo/Sligo/Donegal
There is also a Mayo family of this name, a branch of the Ui Fiachach, who were anciently the lords of Erris. See Patrick Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923).
Requirements
A Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname. They are of the most interest in cultures where surnames are passed on from father to son like the Y-Chromosome. This project is for males taking a Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) test. Thus, the individual who tests must be a male who wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...) with a Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111 test and who has one of the surnames listed for the project. Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA. Females who would like to check their father's direct paternal line can have a male relative with his surname order a Y-DNA test. Females can also order an mtDNA test for themselves such as the mtDNAPlus test or the mtFullSequence test and participate in an mtDNA project. Both men and women may take our autosomal Family Finder test to discover recent relationships across all family lines.
Surnames In This Project
Callaghan, Callahan, Keelaghan, Keelan, Kelaghan, O'Callaghan