O'Hurley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name O'Hurley comes from the Gaelic "O hUirthile." Interestingly, the name has also been rendered Cammane, based on a translation for the Irish word for a hurley (stick).

One of the first records of the family was Saint Comman of Ross-Commain (fl. 550). He was "son of Faelchu and descendant of Fiacha Araidhe, of the family of Rudhraighe, and race of Ir, king of Ulster, A.D. 236. In a short time he constructed a monastery, after the temporary fashion of the country, which was soon filled with zealous monks, and was named from him Ross-Commain (Roscommon). " 1

Early Origins of the O'Hurley family

The surname O'Hurley was first found in Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat as Lords and Chiefs of Knockalong Castle in the parish and barony of Knockalong, Costlea, the ruins of which still exist. Irish history was greatly influenced by the Norman invasion of 1172, and thereafter, the surnames of Irish Gaelic clanns and septs and many of the Norman families became almost indistinguishable. This family name was found later in Rath Hurly, another of their ancient castles which is now in ruins in Kilcullane, in Small barony, Kilcullane, a castle they erected in 1464. The sept is descended from the race of Brenan Ban, on the O'Brien line. Later they built another strong castle in the parish of Kilnelonahan, where Dermod O'Hurley, built his fortress. 2

Early History of the O'Hurley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Hurley research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1377, 1519, 1584, 1700, 1714 and 1992 are included under the topic Early O'Hurley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Hurley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hurley, Hurlie, O'Hurley, O'Hurlie, Commane and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Hurley family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Dermot O'Hurley (1519-1584), Archbishop of Cashel, horribly tortured for his beliefs, one of the most celebrated of Irish Catholic Martyrs, beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992

Migration of the O'Hurley family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Darby Hurlie, who settled in St. Christopher in 1635; Tusloe Urley, who arrived in Maryland in 1682; John Murley, who settled in New York, NY in 1820.

Contemporary Notables of the name O'Hurley (post 1700) +

Shannon O'Hurley (1995-2001), American actress, known for her roles in Copycat and Legally Blonde (2001)
John George O'Hurley (b. 1954), American actor, voice actor, author and television personality, best known for his role of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld
Raymond Joseph Michael O'Hurley PC (1909-1970), Canadian politician

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)