there isn't very much data. We do have some information on the Sugrue's in
early Ireland, but have yet to establish the links to present day.
History of the Sugrue Name
Early Sugrues
Sugrue Coat of Arms
Sugrue Surname List
History of the Sugrue Name
Sugrue is the anglicized form of the Gaelic OSiochfhradha. The prefix "O"
signifies "descendant of" and "Siochfhradha" is derived from the Norse
personal name Sigefrith. It is thought that the surname originated in
County Kerry and seems to have been almost entirely confined at one time
to that region of Ireland. In 1659, it appears under the form Shagroe
as one of the more numerous names in Kerry. Griffith's Valuation, a
comprehensive listing of those who rented land/property throughout Ireland
in the 1850s, records a total of 222 Sugrue entries, of which 210 were in
Kerry. Even within County Kerry, the name is concentrated in the barony of
Iveragh, the penninsula more famously known as the "Ring of Kerry", of which
Cahirciveen is the major town. The 1911 census records some 800 persons
with the Sugrue surname in County Kerry, and the 1890 registration returns
show that 22 out of 23 Sugrue births were in that county, and one in the
adjacent County Cork. The 17th and 18th century writers on the subject give
the O'Sughrues a similar location and describe them as a branch of the
O'Sullivans, who used the forename Sigfrid from very early times. The Sugrue's
principle seats were Fermoyle and the Castle of Dunloe, which passed into
the hands of the O'Mahoneys in the 16th century. Being small in number, the
Sugrue family grouping did not play a significant role in the various conflicts
between Gaelic Ireland and the encroachment of English administration. The
most distinquished member of this sept was the Most Reverend Dr. Charles
Sugrue, Bishop of Kerry from 1797 to 1824. His name is spelled Sughrue
in the Manuscripts of the Wardenship of Galway, where he was Apostolic
Visitor in 1816-17. One of the best known of the protaganists of the modern
Gaelic revival is a Sugrue, Padraig OSiochfhradha, though he is better known under
the pseudonym "An Seabhac". Other variations of Sugrue are Shugrue and Sughru.
~~~~~
Information gathered from Sugrue Clan Website (currently out of service)
and www.local.ie Local Ireland: Sugrue Surname History by Francis Dowling.
Early Sugrues
Generation 1
Mortogh, "the Sugrue", of Dunloe Castle, married Sheela, daughter of O'Brien,
the Marquis of Thomond, during the latter part of the 13th century. They had
at least one son, Charles.
Generation 2
Charles married a daughter of MacCarthy Mor, of Pallis Castle. They had
five daughters and four sons, Charles II, Mortogh, Timothy and John.
Generation 3
Charles II married a daughter of the O'Sullivan Beare. They had at least one
son, Mortogh.
Generation 4
Mortogh married his cousin, a daughter of MacCarthy Mor. They had at least
one son, Charles.
Generation 5
Charles married Honoria O'Connell. They had two sons, Mortogh and Timothy.
Generation 6
1. Mortogh: On the death of his father, Charles, Mortogh's mother Honoria
married the family tutor, who was named Mahoney, a Protestant, and a
native of County Cork. Mortogh was found murdered on the grounds of
Dunloe Castle, and Mahoney, who was credited with the murder, seized
the Dunloe property and claimed it as his. Timothy, Mortogh's younger
brother, came to an agreement with Mahoney, and kept 36 farms for his
share, Mahoney acquiring the remainder of the estate, which included
the Dunloe Castle itself.
2. Timothy married the Honorable Elizabeth Fitzmaurice, a daughter of
Lord Thomas Fitzmaurice, son of Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kerry. They had
at least one son, Denis.
Generation 7
Denis married Elizabeth MacGillicuddy, a daughter of Donogh MacGillicuddy.
They had two daughters, Anne and Winifred, and a son, Charles.
Generation 8
1. Winifred married Denis Sugrue (not of this family lineage). They had one son,
Robert, and two daughters, Catherine and Joanna.
2. Charles married Eleanor Mahoney. They had two sons, James and Thomas,
and two daughters, Anne and Elizabeth.
~~~~~
The above data is from O'Harts Irish Pedigree, found at
sites.rootsweb.com/~irlker/olords.htm
While I can't be positive that this is definitely a part of my ancestry, since my
father was a Denis Sugrue, I like to think we are descended from one of the
Denis' mentioned.
Generation 8 would have lived approximately middle to late 16th century.
The next record of Sugrues I have is from the December 1834 Irish census.
While there are many Sugrue households recorded in County Kerry, there
are only 3 Sugrue households listed in the townland where my father was born.
That townland is Cools, of the Parish of Prior, Barony of Iveragh, Poor Law
Union of Cahirciveen, County Kerry.
In 1834, Cools boasted a total of 11 households. Today, there aren't very many
more than that. The 3 heads of the Sughrue (as spelled on the census) households
were Humphry, Cornelius, and John. Working on assumption, since there
are no Humphrys or Cornelius' anywhere amongst my father's siblings or their
children, but quite a few Johns, I believe it's a safe bet that I am descended
from John Sughrue.
~~~~~
In case you're are wondering what happened to the
Dunloe Castle, it is now ruins, just a shell of itself.
Don't worry about ownership, I reclaimed it on behalf
of the Sugrue's during a trip to Ireland in July 1996.
It now belongs to me, Siobhan (seated lower step)
and my children, Shannon (behind me),
and Erin and Marty (the lion guards)!
Sugrue Coat of Arms
Surname List
Carmody, Fogarty , McElligott, McQuinn , Reidy , Sugrue
