![]() The sept system was an integral part of Gaelic society and survived and was even propagated by the Norman invaders. It was not uncommon for septs from the same clan to be found in completely different parts of the country (O'Connor for example) so it is important when researching your roots to try to find out the original part of the country that your ancestors came from as this may be a completely different area from that where the 'major' sept was domicile These groups were headed by an original member of the clan and dominated a particular part of the countryside. Septs: The Clans eventually broke up into a number of distinct septs or groups. ![]() ![]() Scottish settlers who moved to Ireland (and especially Ulster) may already have been of Gaelic Irish descent. The word 'Scotus' is Latin for 'Irishman'. It should be noted that the Scottish Gaels were actually descendants of Gaelic emigrants to Scotland. The vast majority of Gaelic Irish surnames were created during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Mac surnames are generally of a much later date than Ó. Mac means 'son of' whilst Ó means 'grandson of'. The solution was to adopt a prefix such as Mac (Mc is an abreviation) or Ó. This single name system began to break down during the eleventh century as the population was growing and there was a need for a further means of identification. The Gaelic Clann system was well established and this gave people a common identity with their people of the tribe and with the commonly shared area. Once there was no one else in the locality with the same name then this was not a problem. It was usual therefore for a person to be known only by one name: Niall, Eoin, Art, etc. It is a help when tracing your family history to know something about the origin of and evolution of Irish names and particularly how names have changed over the centuries.Įarly times: In ancient Ireland the population was much smaller than today and the mass movement of people was uncommon.
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