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 O'Cleirigh meaning
grandson of the scribe is the Irish for both O'Cle(a)ry and in
many cases in Ireland, Clarke. The surname is
of great antiquity deriving from Cleireach
of Connacht born c.820. The first of his descendants to use his
name as part of a fixed hereditary surname was Tigherneach
Ua Cleirigh lord of Aidhne in South Co. Galway whose death
is recorded in the year 916. It seems likely that this is the
oldest true surname recorded anywhere in Europe. The power of
the family in their original Co. Galway homeland was broken by
the thirteenth century and they scattered throughout the island
with the most prominent branches settling in Derry and Donegal
where they became famous as poets; in Cavan where many appear to
have anglicised the name as 'Clarke' and in the Kilkenny/Waterford/Tipperary
region.
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