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File:Cavan crest.svg
A defaced O'Reilly crest adorns the coat of arms of County Cavan, their historic patrimony

O'Reilly (Template:Langx)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a common Irish surname. The O'Reillys were historically the kings of East Bréifne in what is today County Cavan. The clan were part of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Bréifne kindred and were closely related to the Ó Ruairc (O'Rourkes) of West Bréifne. O'Reilly is ranked tenth in the top twenty list of most common Irish surnames.Template:Citation needed It is also the patronymic form of the Irish name Reilly (Template:Langx).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The name is commonly found throughout Ireland, with the greatest concentration of the surname found in County Cavan followed by Longford, Meath, Westmeath, Fermanagh and Monaghan, and the Province of Leinster.Template:Citation needed

Naming conventionsEdit

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Male Daughter Wife (Long) Wife (Short)
Ó Raghallaigh<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ní Raghallaigh Bean Uí Raghallaigh Uí Raghallaigh

OverviewEdit

Usually anglicised as Reilly, O'Reilly or Riley, the original form of the name, Ó Raghallaigh, denotes "descendant of Raghallach".

The Ó Raghallaigh family were part of the Connachta, with the eponymous Raghallach said to have died at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. The family became the kings of East Breifne, modern-day County Cavan and County Longford.Template:Citation needed

The name is common and widespread throughout Ireland, ranked 11th most common in 1890<ref>Matheson, Robert E. (1894), Special report on surnames in Ireland, with notes as to numerical strength, derivation, ethnology, and distribution; based on information extracted from the indexes of the General register office. Appendix to the Twenty-Ninth Detailed Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Marriages, Births, and Deaths in Ireland, Dublin: For Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Alexander Thom & Co. (Limited), p. 9 (accessible online)</ref> and in 1997.<ref>Murphy, Sean J. (2014), A Survey of Irish Surnames 1992–97. In: Studies in Irish Genealogy and Heraldry, Windgates, County Wicklow, pp. 14–29 (first published 2008, last revision 2014), here p. 27 (accessible online)</ref>

A self-proclaimed and disputed O'Reilly Clan Chieftain to this day is at odds with the O'Rourke Clan Chieftain because he contests the recognised O'Rourke claim on the title Prince of Breifne.<ref>Newerkla, Stefan Michael (2020), Das irische Geschlecht O'Reilly und seine Verbindungen zu Österreich und Russland [The Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia]. In: Diachronie – Ethnos – Tradition: Studien zur slawischen Sprachgeschichte [Diachrony – Ethnos – Tradition: Studies in Slavic Language History]. Eds. Jasmina Grković-Major, Natalia B. Korina, Stefan M. Newerkla, Fedor B. Poljakov, Svetlana M. Tolstaja. Brno, Tribun EU, pp. 259–279, here 263–265 (accessible online).</ref> This was settled in 1994 when the Chief Herald of Ireland made the O'Rourke Chief the Prince of Breifne, but the Office of the Chief Herald stopped granting courtesy titles to Gaelic Chiefs in 2003 (see O'Rourke).

People with the surnameEdit

O'ReillyEdit

People with the surname O'Reilly include:<ref>Newerkla, Stefan Michael (2020), Das irische Geschlecht O'Reilly und seine Verbindungen zu Österreich und Russland [The Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia]. In: Diachronie – Ethnos – Tradition: Studien zur slawischen Sprachgeschichte [Diachrony – Ethnos – Tradition: Studies in Slavic Language History]. Eds. Jasmina Grković-Major, Natalia B. Korina, Stefan M. Newerkla, Fedor B. Poljakov, Svetlana M. Tolstaja. Brno, Tribun EU, pp. 259–279 (accessible online).</ref> <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

O'RileyEdit

  • Bunny Wailer (1947–2021), Jamaican reggae musician sometimes known as Bunny O'Riley
  • Christopher O'Riley (born 1956), American classical pianist and public radio show host
  • Don O'Riley (1945–1997), American Major League Baseball pitcher
  • Jon Riley (1824–1879), US army deserter also known as John O'Riley
  • Matt O'Riley (born 2000), English footballer at Celtic F.C.

Ní RaghallaighEdit

RileyEdit

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Fictional characters with the surnameEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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