Merriman Research & Training

 The Sheehan Surname: Peaceful Warriors originating from the  Dál gCais in Munster Ireland The Sheehan name, from Gaelic Ó Siodhacháin meaning "descendant of the peaceful one," carries a rich history tied to Ireland's Munster province and the mighty Dál gCais tribe. Featured in genealogy radio discussions from Kilkee, it ranks among Ireland's top surnames, with deep roots in Limerick, Clare, Cork, and Kerry. This blog expands on transcripts, documents, and historical sources to trace Sheehans from ancient clans to a global diaspora.   Etymology and Early Roots Sheehan derives from Ó Siodhacháin, a patronymic where "Ó" means "descendant of," linked to "siodhach" (peaceful) or "siodach" (gentle). Celtic scholars question a purely peaceful origin, emphasising its Dál gCais sept status in Thomond (North Munster), extending across modern Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Kerry, and Offaly. The clan seated in Lower Connello barony, south L...

  The surname MacSweeney, rendered in Irish as Mac Suibhne , holds a prominent place within the historical study of Gaelic Ireland, not only because of its enduring regional associations but because of its close connection to the development of hereditary military service in the medieval period. As explored on The Genealogy Radio Show, the MacSweeneys are best understood not simply as a surname rooted in one locality, but as a lineage shaped by migration, martial profession, and political patronage. Their history provides an instructive example of how the institution of the galloglass influenced the movement of peoples, the distribution of surnames, and the emergence of new power structures across late medieval Ireland. Our show today can be heard through The Genealogy Radio Show: From Norse Gael Mercenaries to Gaelic Powerbrokers. Other shows of interest can be heard also at  https://rcb.ie/ The name itself derives from Mac Suibhne, meaning “son of Suibhne ”. The programme ma...

 The Kirby surname story, as told on the Genealogy Radio Show’s Surnames and Sources series, is not simply a tale of one family name. It is a small lantern held up to a much bigger landscape: Viking arrival, Gaelic assimilation, church lands, coastlines and riverways, and the way careful sources and statistics can turn fragments of the past into something you can visualise. You can listen to the Kirby show episode at Raidio Corcabaiscinn: The Genealogy Radio Show - The Kirby surname - surnames and sources Imagine the first layers of it the way the old writers do, in the language of wonder and warning. The annals call the newcomers “foreigners” and split them into “dark” and “fair” groups. The show notes how those labels are not as simple as hair colour, and may instead relate to armour, weaponry, or different Norse groupings, with one linked to Norwegians and the other to Danes. Either way, the point is that Ireland noticed them, recorded them, and remembered them, and those memori...