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The original Gaelic form of O'Cayill was Mac Cathail or Ó Cathail, while is derived from the personal name Cathal, which is generally Anglicized as Charles. O'Cayill is derived from the Old Irish "catu-ualos" which means "valor or powerful in battle". 1
The surname O'Cayill was first found in County Kerry and Tipperary as there are at least two distinct septs of the name. The first sept from County Kerry descend from the Heremon line of kings and were known as the Cahills of Connaught. The second sept claim descent from the Ir line of kings and were located at Corkashinny, or the parish of Templemore, Tipperary. This line further branched to the eponymous Ballycahill, Tipperary. Both branches descended from O'Connors, the Kings of Connacht, specifically "Cathal," also known as Conor na Luinge Luaithe, when anglicized means "Conor, the Swifter-Sailing Ship" 2 which may elude to the seafaring coat of arms used by the family.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Cayill research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1654, 1796 and 1864 are included under the topic Early O'Cayill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Names during the Middle Ages were often recorded under several different spelling variations during the life of their bearers. Literacy was rare at that time and so how a person's name was recorded was decided by the individual scribe. Variations of the name O'Cayill include Cahill, O'Cahill, Kahill, Cawhill, Cahille, Cahil, Cahaly, Cahell, Cahel, Caughell, Kahil, Kahel, Caill, Cail and many more.
Notable among the family name at this time was Flan O'Cahill, martyred in 938; Daniel O'Cahill, brother of Bogh O'Cahill, chief of the Clan, forfeited under the...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Cayill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name O'Cayill: Elizabeth Cahill, a bonded passenger, who arrived in America in 1735; Thomas Cahill, an "enforced emigrant" sent to America from Ireland in 1737.