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Today's Irish surnames are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Connairs originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Conchobhair, derived from the personal name Conchobhar. 1
The surname Connairs was first found in Connacht. There were six different septs of this famous name scattered throughout Ireland, of which four continue to boast many members. However, the most important O'Connors were those of Connacht, divided into three main branches: O'Conor Don; O'Conor Roe; and O'Conor Sligo.
Despite remaining stubbornly Catholic, the O'Connor family continued to maintain their elite position among the Irish nobility throughout the entire period of British dominance.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Connairs research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1002, 1641, 1652, 1666, 1698, 1710, 1763, 1791, 1838, 1852 and 1906 are included under the topic Early Connairs History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Connairs were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Connor, Conner, Conor, Connors, O'Connor, Connores, Conner, Connar, Connars, O'Connar, O'Conner, Connair, Connairs, Connaire, Connaires, Cawner, Cawners, Caunnor, Cauner, Cauners and many more.
Notable amongst the family name at this time was Cabrach O'Conor and Hugh O'Connor, son and grandson of O'Conor Don, took a prominent part in the 1641-1652 wars
Bernard Connor or O'Connor (1666?-1698), Irish physician and historian, descended from an ancient Irish family...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Connairs Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Connairs or a variant listed above, including: William Conner who settled in Plymouth, arriving on the "Fortune" in 1621; just a year after the "Mayflower," Cornelious Conner, who settled in Exeter in 1650.