(O)Leary;
Variant Spellings; Lairy, Leery.
In Irish the name is O Laoghaire or 'descendant of Laoghaire' and, while Dun Laoghaire is a surburb of Dublin named after an Irish High King in the time of Saint Patrick, the name is from Co. Cork. Originally the O'Learys lived in the south-west of the county but with the Norman invasion they were moved to a wild, remote and beautiful area on the Kerry border.
They were prominent in all the Munster wars. The sept was deprived of much of its land in the Desmond Wars. They were one of the earliest Wild Geese, one Mahon O'Leary departing for Spain with Don Juan d'Aquila after the defeat at Kinsale. Others followed and the name of O'Leary is to be found in the regiments of France and Spain.
The following are some O'Learys of note: Ellen O'Leary (1831-1889), a patriotic poetess, Fr. Peter O'Leary (1839-1919) a writer of Irish prose. John O'Leary (1830-1907) was a member of the Fenians
In the US Daniel O'Leary (1846-1933) held a world record in long distance walking.
The motto of the O'Leary coat of arms is 'Laidir is e Lear Righ'.
Coat of Arms
(O)Leary
Where the Family Lived (Blue Area)
Addresses for More Information
Ireland
Centre for Irish Genealogical and Local Studies, Carraig, Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. (Sean Murphy, MA, Director)
General Register Office, 8-11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 671 1000
Website http://www.doh.ie/manual/chap4/gere.htm
National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 478 3711
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 603 0200
Website www.heanet.ie/natlib
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Street, Belfast BT9 6NYY, Northern Ireland
Telephone (01232) 251319.
Website http://proni.nics.gov.uk/index.htm
University College Dublin, Adult Education Office, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Website http://www.ucd.ie/delltti
Britain
Family Records Centre, London, England.
Website http://pro.gov.uk/about/frc/default.htm
Public Records Office, Kew, Surrey, England.
Website http://www.pro.gov.uk
General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Website http://www.open.gov.uk/index.html
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales.
Website http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.htm
North America
Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, Family History Information, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Website http://lds.org/en/ 2 how do I begin/0- how do I begin.html
Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site
Website http://www.familytreemaker.com/index.html
The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), P.O. Box 619 Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.
Website http://tiari.ie
Irish Genealogical Society International, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Website http://www.rootsweb.com irish/index.html
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston Massachusetts, USA.
Website http://nehgs.org/main-01.htm
Australasia
Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Website http://www.alphalink.com/au/esv
National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Website http://www.aa.gov.au/AA_WWW/AA_Home_Page.html
National Archives of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
Website http://www.archives.dia.gov.nz
List of Links
Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet: Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Website http://www.cyndilist.com/ireland.htm
UK and Ireland Genealogical Information Service.
Website http://www.genuki.org.uk
Copyright 1998 by A. MacDarragh Burke, MD
All Rights Reserved.