My branch of the Dunford Family of South Boston has deep roots in Ireland. My father Joseph (Thomas, John) married Katherine V. Walsh. The following family names represent the family names of my ancestors.

Walsh  - my branch of the Walsh Family is from Ross, Leitir Calagh, Leitir Moir, County Galway
The name came into use to describe the Welsh people who came to Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasions. The Walshes were very numerous and can be found in all four provinces; Walsh is the most common surname in Mayo. Some became so Irish they changed their name to Breathnach, the Irish word for Welsh.

According to the 1990 US Census, Walsh was the 325th most popular last name in the United States. That is equal to 0.033% of the population.

Walsh, Welsh, Welch, Brannagh - Only three surnames (Murphy, Kelly and Sullivan) exceed Walsh in numerical strength among the population of Ireland. It is found in every county and is particularly strong in Mayo, where it has first place, and also in Galway, Cork, Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny. The last area, is that most closely associated with the Walshes, where they have given their name to the Walsh Mountains in Co. Kilkenny. This territory was confiscated during the Cromwellian period and in the reign of William III.; after which members of the elder branch migrated to France, and Austria, and took military service in those countries. In France, the title of "Count Serrant," was conferred on the representative of the elder branch.

In Ulster, Walsh has also been made Welsh and Welch and occasionally Wallace, though this last name is more usually imported from Scotland. The name originated as a result of the Anglo- or, more properly, the Cambro-Norman, invasion, and simply means the Welshman, in Irish Breathnach, which was sometimes anglicised phonetically as Brannagh - not, however, as Brannock, a name of different though somewhat similar origin. The first to be so called is said to have been Haylen Brenach, alias Walsh, son of "Philip the Welshman", one of the invaders of 1172.

Unlike many of the Anglo-Norman families such as Burke, Fitzgerald, Roche etc., which have since become exclusively identified with Ireland, the Walshes did not all spring from one or two known ancestors, but the name was given independently to many of the newcomers and, perhaps in consequence of this, no clearly defined Hiberno-Norman sept of Walsh was formed on the Gaelic Irish model, as happened with a number of those other families. Nevertheless the Walshes of the south-eastern part of Ireland are mostly descended from Philip, who was called by the Irish, Brannagh (or the "Welshman") and from his brother David, and the leading members of this family established themselves as landed gentry at Castlehowel (Co. Kilkenny), at Ballykileavan (Co. Leix), at Ballyrichmore (Co. Waterford) and also at Bray and Carrickmines near Dublin. In 1174, Philip distinguished himself in a naval engagement against the Danes, at Cork, by boarding the ship of their commander and slaying his son. The son of Philip (by Eleanor, his wife, daughter of Sir Maurice De Burgh,) was Hayle Walsh, who built the castle in the Walsh Mountains, above mentioned, called after him "Castle Hayle," or "Castlehoel." His wife was Catherine, daughter of Raymond Le Gros, one of Strongbow's companions, and the ancestor of Grace.

References to men of the name are very numerous in both national and local records: they appear as sheriffs, judges, army officers etc., usually on the side of the King (which of course meant attainder in the seventeenth century) but not always - two for example were killed "in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth".

In 1976, when land was no longer synonymous with gentry, one Walsh and one Walshe were recorded in Burke's Irish Family Records. Many articles on this extensive family were published in the Genealogist magazine at the beginning of this century. Books and articles have been published about the Walshes of Austria and France. In France they are represented today by the Count de Serrant.

In 1588, Lawrence Walsh compiled a pedigree of the Mayo Walshes, showing them to be descended from Walynus, who accompanied Maurice FitzGerald to Ireland in 1169. Walynus had a brother, Barrett, from whom descend the Barrett family of Mayo, where they were lords of the territory known as Tirawley.

While the Roches, who also came to Ireland via Wales, were essentially businessmen, the Walshes consistently entered the Church. William Walsh was appointed Bishop of Meath in 1554. When Queen Elizabeth I asked him to conform to the Anglican rite, he refused and was imprisoned. After a long time he managed to escape to France. The Pope ordered him to return to Ireland but, finding his priestly duties there untenable, he went to Spain where he became suffragan Archbishop of Toledo and probably met the young painter El Greco. He died in Spain in 1577.

Nicholas Walsh, Bishop of Ossory, the son of the Protestant Bishop of Waterford, was consecrated in 1567. He introduced Irish type so that church services could be printed in Irish, which, he believed, "proved an instrument of conversion to many of the ignorant sort of Papists". His translation of the New Testament was cut short when he was stabbed to death by a man he had publicly accused of adultery. He was buried in St Canice's Cathedral at Kilkenny.

In very troubled times, Thomas Walsh (1580-1654), a Franciscan, was Archbishop of Cashel in County Tipperary, once the seat of the Munster kings.

Peter Walsh (1618-88) of County Kildare studied at Louvain. He returned to Ireland having taken his vows as a Franciscan. He joined the Ormonds (Butler) in opposing the Papal Nuncio, Rinuccini, and the Catholic Confederates. He was expelled by the Franciscans when he published his "Loyal Remonstrance", addressed to Charles II, promising the allegiance of Irish Catholics to the English Crown and repudiating papal infallibility. He argued that he was trying to alleviate the suffering of the Catholics, but the Pope excommunicated him. He went to London where he lived on the pension awarded him by his friend, James Butler, Earl of Ormond and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

John Walsh of County Tipperary was Legal Adviser to Cromwell and Agent to the Duke of Ormond. Not surprisingly, he was the only Walsh left alive in Clonmel, County Tipperary, after the siege by Cromwell's soldiers in 1650.

Thomas Walsh, born at Limerick in 1730, was a schoolteacher at the age of 18. At the time, Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was touring Ireland on horseback. Thomas was inspired to join him and, following his methods, developed into a rousing preacher in both English and Irish. His excessive zeal wore him out and he died at the early age of 28.

Antoine Vincent Walsh (1703-65), son of a Waterford shipbuilder who had emigrated to Saint-Malo in France, was in charge of the Doutelle, the ship that landed Charles Stuart, the "Young Pretender", in Scotland in 1745. He was knighted for this enterprise. He went to Austria and became yet another Irishman to find favour with the Empress Maria Theresa and was appointed her Chamberlain. It was the eldest of Antoine's seven sons, Count Walsh de Serrant, who founded the family that is still in France. The first Count was instrumental in having him appointed Superior of the Irish College in Paris, which had a bad time during the Revolution, especially as its superior was a royalist appointment.

Captain Oliver Walsh, the tenth and youngest son of John Walsh (1720-85) of Ballymountain, County Kilkenny, served in the British navy and was at the battles of Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar. He was one of Nelson's youngest officers. In 1813, when he was only 36, he died from yellow fever.

Robert Walsh (1772-1852) came from a distinguished County Waterford family. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, he was both a clergyman and an author. He was chaplain to the British Embassy at Constantinople (now Istanbul), which inspired his many travel books. He traveled in Turkey and further afield in Asia, as well as studying for a medical degree. For a brief period he was a chaplain at St Petersburg. Following a visit to Rio de Janeiro, he sat on a committee of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery. He returned to Ireland and was rector at Finglas vicarage in Dublin. He developed his interests as historian, physician, botanist and antiquarian, and collaborated in writing the book, History of the City of Dublin.

His son, John Edward Walsh (1816-69), was also a writer, Attorney-General for Ireland and Master of the Polls. Walter Hoyle Walsh (1812-92) of Kilkenny, who was a professor at London University, was the first to describe the condition known as floating kidney.

The poet Edward Walsh, 1805-50, was born in Derry. He became something of a cause celebre when he lost his job as a national school teacher for writing for the Fenian newspaper The Nation. He then got a job as a teacher in the detention center on Spike Island, but lost this for waving goodbye to the Fenian John Mitchel as he passed through Cork harbour on a transportation ship. He ended his days teaching in a Cork Workhouse.

In the 1920s and 30s, one of the most popular Irish novelists was Maurice Walsh (1879-1964). He was Kerry born and worked for twenty years in the Customs and Excise service in the highlands of Scotland and northern England. This experience provided him with a connoisseur's palate for whiskey and a rich narrative source. With the granting of self-government he transferred to the Irish service and wrote a novel, which was first rejected and then accepted by another publisher for £100. "The Key Above the Door" sold hundreds of thousands of copies and was the beginning of a stream of very popular novels, culminating in "The Quiet Man", which was made into a successful film. Despite being criticized as too stage-Irish, it helped promote tourism in the west of Ireland.

Michael Walsh (1815-59) was born near Cork and was taken to America by his parents. He worked as a reporter in New York City and attempted unsuccessfully to publish his own newspaper. He got the working men of New York city to join the Spartan Association, aiming to break the hold of Tammany Hall by demonstrating the principles of democracy. He was imprisoned twice for his anti-establishment oratory and wrote bitingly of the squalor and poverty he saw in New York. He was described as "a maverick Irish-American politician".

John Walsh (1830-98), formerly of Mooncoin, County Kilkenny, went to Toronto, Canada, where he was ordained and became its first Catholic archbishop. He kept in close touch with Ireland and suggested holding the Irish Race Convention in Dublin, with the idea of healing the political rift caused by Parnell's liaison with Katherine O Shea.

William John Walsh (1841-1921) was appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 1885. A distinguished scholar, he was the first chancellor of the National University of Ireland.

Thomas James Walsh (1859-1933), a Senator from Montana, was the son of Irish parents. He followed a legal career and made his reputation in copper litigation.

Thomas Walsh (1871-1928), the son of gentry in County Longford, went to Brooklyn. A man of many parts, he was an accomplished pianist, painter, writer and lecturer. His main interest was literature, particularly that of Spain. He could afford to be philanthropic and he is esteemed for his enhancement of Catholic culture in America.

Blanche Walsh (1873-1915) was the daughter of an Irish saloon-keeper who was also a Tammany Hall politician. She was one of the most popular actresses of her time and played most of the leading roles in the contemporary theatre including Little Billy in Trilby.

In the 1940s, David L Walsh, a Boston man of Irish ancestry, was the first Catholic Governor of Massachusetts.

Dr Tom Walsh (d. 1988) was a scientist of international standing whose work for the rural community led to his being described as "the father of modern Irish agriculture".

Michael Patrick Walsh, SJ, of South Boston, Massachusetts became one of the country’s premier Catholic educators and university leaders. The son of Irish immigrants from County Galway, and a biologist and scientist by education, he served as President of Boston College from 1958 to 1968 and then of Fordham University in New York from 1969 to 1972.

Dr T.J. Walsh of Wexford, who died in 1988, graduated in medicine but later followed a musical vocation. In 1951, he was one of the founders of the Wexford Opera Festival, an annual event that has gone on to achieve an excellent reputation in the musical world. A fine scholar, Dr Walsh wrote a number of important books on the history of opera. 

McDonagh/ McDonough - my branch of the McDonough Family is from Derratha (Doire Fhatharta Beag), Carraroe (An Cheathru Rua), County Galway, Ireland

MacDonagh, and its many variants, MacDonough, Donogh, Donaghy etc., all derive from the Irish Mac Donnchadha, from Donnchadh (often anglicised "Donagh"), a popular first name meaning "brown one". The early popularity of the name meant that the surname based on it arose separately in a number of places. In Co. Cork, where the MacDonaghs were known as "Lords of Duhallow" and had their seat at Kanturk, the family were a branch of the MacCarthys. The name is now rare in Cork. 

In Connacht another family arose, a branch of the MacDermotts, claiming Donagh MacDermott as their ancestor. Their power was concentrated in counties Roscommon and Sligo, where the family were rulers in the barony of Tirreril. It is thought that a separate Connacht family, based in Co. Galway, were part of the O’Flahertys. 

In Ulster, a variant of Mac Donnchadha was Mac Donnchaidh, common in Derry and Tyrone, and also anglicised MacDonaghy and Donaghy. However, as is so often the case in Ulster, there is also a Scottish family, the Clan Donachie, part of the Clan Robertson, with an identically anglicised surname. Without detailed genealogical investigation it can be very difficult to tell which of the two origins applies. Today Donaghy is almost exclusively found in Ulster, particularly in Antrim and Tyrone, while MacDonagh is overwhelmingly a Connacht name, concentrated in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. 

The Primary Valuation Property Survey conducted between 1848 and 1864 reveals 369 McDonoughs throughout many of Ireland’s counties. Of these, nearly 60% or 221 of the McDonoughs listed resided in County Galway.

The MacDonagh Sisters were early stars of the Australia cinema. The Far Paradise, (1928) is an enduring classic. Thomas MacDonagh (1878-1916) was a distinguished poet and a lecturer in University College Dublin, edited the Irish Review and, with Edward Martyn, helped to found the Irish Theatre. He is best remembered for his part in the 1916 rising. He was one of the signatories of the proclamation of Independence and was executed after the rising. His son, Donagh MacDonagh (1912-68), was a poet, dramatist and lawyer, whose most successful play, Happy as Larry, has been translated into a dozen languages. 

Sullivan  - the Sullivan name is found on both sides of my family – on the Dunford side, the Sullivans are from Milltown, County Kerry – on the Walsh/ McDonough side, the Sullivans are from Carraroe (An Cheathru Rua), County Galway, Ireland

Derived from the Irish Gaelic, O Suilleabhain. Suil amhain means one eye, or possibly hawk-eye. Originally settled in County Tipperary, they spread into Kerry and Cork, where they are now most numerous and their surname is the most common.

O’Sullivan was one of the most common names in County Kerry in the year 1100. 
In gaelic the name is O’Suileabhain – (O) Sullivan – Co Kerry – the Eoghanacht – O’Sullivan Mor of Kenmare Bay.

The original Irish is Ó Suileabháin, deriving from súil (eye). The dispute over the meaning of the remainder of the name is understandable, since the two principal alternatives are "one-eyed" or "hawk-eyed". A further alternative, proposed by Diarmuid Ó Murchadha, gives their ancestor as Súildubán ("dark-eyed"), chief of a branch of the Munster Eoganachta tribal grouping, descended, along with such prominent families as the MacCarthys and O'Callaghans, from the mythical Eoghan, supposedly one of the original Gaelic invaders. In historical times, their exact descent is more difficult to trace. According to some accounts, they were originally based in south Tipperary, around Knockgraffon, but by the beginning of the 13th century were firmly established in the areas which they are still associated in the south and west of the modern counties Cork and Kerry. The move was almost certainly the result of encroachments by the O’Briens and the Norman invaders. 

By the end of the 14th century the family had split into at least seven different groupings. The most important of these were the Clann Gilla Mochuda of south Kerry, who in the 16th century changed their surname completely to McGillycuddy, the O'Sullivan Mór, based on the shores of Kenmare Bay, and the O'Sullivan Beare, rulers of the area around Bantry and of the Beara peninsula in Co. Cork. Donal O’Sullivan Beare (1560-1618) was one of the few Gaelic chiefs in Munster to support O’Neill at the battle of Kinsale. After the defeat he undertook, with 1000 followers, an epic trek 200 miles north to his allies the O’Rourkes of Leitrim. Only 35 survived to reach safety. He died in Spain in 1618, but the title survived and has been revived by the Spanish nobleman the Count de San Estaban de Cañongo. Despite the defeats and dispossessions the numbers bearing the name have grown in their homelands; even today, four out of five families of the name still live in the two counties of Cork and Kerry, where O’Sullivan is the single most common surname. 

Almost 80% of the Sullivans (or O'Sullivans) in Ireland today belong to the counties of Cork and Kerry, the remaining being mostly in Co. Limerick, or the city of Dublin. Thus the Sullivans are still concentrated in or near their ancient homeland. It wasn't until after the Anglo- Norman invasion that the Sullivans came to the fore, their origins being illustrious. Descended from Eoghan (Owen) Mor, the father of the famous Oilioll Olum, they were with the O'Callaghans, the MacCarthys and the O'Keefes. Some of were Lords of a territory near Cahir prior to the invasion: from 1200AD onwards they are to be found in the extreme south-west of Munster. 

There they became very numerous and powerful, dividing into a number of branch septs of which O'Sullivan Mor and O'Sullivan Beare were the most important. The former had his principle castle at Dunkerron on the shore of Kenmare Bay, the latter was lord of the modern baronies of Beare and Bantry. Thought seldom appearing in any of the Annals before 1400, they were prominent in the sixteenth century. Outstanding at that time was Donal O'Sullivan Beare (1560 - 1618), hero of the siege of Dunboy and the capture of Dunbly. His nephew Philip O'Sullivan Beare (1590 - 1660), was a soldier in the Spanish Army but is better known as a historian. His Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Compendium recounts the events of the Elizabethan wars as told to him by his uncle and other participants. 

From a junior branch came Col. John William O'Sullivan (b. 1700), close companion of "the Young Pretender" in his Rebellion of 1745. Since his time the name has been made famous by many Sullivans and O'Sullivans. In the field of literature Owen O'Sullivan (d. 1800) was one of the best eighteenth century Gaelic poets. Humphrey O'Sullivan (1780 - 1837) kept a most interesting diary in Irish, which has been partially published by the Irish Texts Society. The bothers A.M. Sullivan (1830 - 1884), and T.D. Sullivan (1827 - 1914), as well as being authors of note, were leading Nationalist M.P's the former being a Young Irelander in 1848. On the stage Barry Sullivan (1821 - 1891) and Charles Sullivan (1848 - 1887) were celebrated actors and Maureen O'Sullivan is famous today in the same field. While Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842 - 1900), of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, was of Irish descent. If we add, from a very different arena, John L Sullivan (1858 - 1918), perhaps the best known pugilist of all time, we have recorded but a small amount of the Sullivans of note to be found not only in Ireland itself but on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to the 1990 US Census, Sullivan was the 105th most popular last name in the United States. That is equal to 0.081% of the population.

Burns - my branch of the Burns Family is from Gubnaveagh, County Leitrim
The majority of families called Burns in Ireland are either of Scottish immigrant stock or originally Byrnes. When this name is encountered in north Connacht it is usually the anglicized form of Mac Conboirne, which was first anglicized phonetically as MacConborney. 

Byrne or O'Byrne, together with its variants Beirne and Byrnes, is one of the ten most frequent surnames in Ireland today. In the original Irish the name is Ó Broin, from the personal name Bran, meaning "raven". It is traced back to Bran, son of Molmórda, a King of Leinster who ruled in the eleventh century. As a result of the Norman invasion, the O'Byrnes were driven from their original homeland in Co. Kildare into south Co. Wicklow in the early thirteenth century. It was from Ballinacor in the valley of Glenmalure in that county that Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne waged his campaigns against the armies of Elizabeth l, with considerable success; his most noted victory was the defeat of Lord Grey in 1580. He was apprehended and executed in 1597. His son Phelim was the last Chief of the O'Byrnes. He was finally dispossessed of his lands in 1628. 

The doings of the family in the sixteenth century are celebrated in the well-known Leabhar Branach, or "Book of the O'Byrnes", a compilation of poetry in Irish put together in the late seventeenth century. Even today, the vast majority of the Irish who bear the name originate in Wicklow or the surrounding counties. After the disasters of the seventeenth century some of these O'Byrnes migrated north to Ulster and changed their name to Burns, a Scottish surname common in east Ulster. In addition a separate Gaelic surname, Mac Broin from the same root, bran, has also been rendered Byrne, as well as the more usual McBrin. 

Andrew Byrne (1802-62) was born in Navan, Co. Meath. He became a missionary to Native Americans and was ordained first Roman Catholic bishop of Little Rock. Miles Byrne (1780-1862) was prominent in the 1798 rebellion and afterwards emigrated to France, where he had a distinguished career and was awarded the Legion d’Honneur. His Memoirs are renowned for their account of the rebellion. 

In gaelic the Burns name is Mac Conboirne. 
According to the 1990 US Census, Burns was the 142nd most popular last name in the United States, equal to 0.065% of the population.

Manning

 "The sept of O Mainnin was located in the barony of Tiaquin, Co. Galway, their chief's residence being the castle of Clogher. They were an important sept in the Hy Many country but were not of that group by descent, as their ancestors were the ancient pre-Gaelic Pictish rulers of that area. 

Their territory was much reduced by the O'Kellys, and their estates were largely lost in the 17th Century confiscations, but the Mannions (as they are called in Connacht) remained in their homeland where they are numerous today. The name has also been anglicized Manning: Cornet John Manning of O'Neills Dragoons in King James II's Irish Army was an O'Mannin. Manning, of course, is a fairly common name in England, and some of the Mannings of Dublin and Cork are of English descent. Frederick Maning (1812-1883), who became a Maori chief in New Zealand, was from Dublin."

According to the 1990 US Census, Manning was the 362nd most popular last name in the United States, equal to 0.03% of the population.

Larkin -  my branch of the Larkin Family is from Bealadangan (Beal An Daingin), County Galway 

Historical research found that the family name Larkin was first found in county Galway where they had been seated from ancient times. The name Larkin occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was recorded as Larkin, O'Larkin, and these changes in spelling even occurred between father and son. Unfortunately, church officials and scribes spelt the name as it sounded, and it was not uncommon to add a name spelt several different ways during the lifetime of the same person, when he or she was baptized, another when that person was married, and yet another appeared on the gravestone.

This great Gaelic family of Larkin emerged in later years in the county of Galway. The O'Lorcans of Leinster where descended from the Kings of Leinster and were dispossessed of their territories in county Leinster by the Anglo Norman invaders under Strongbow in 1172. They moved to the west to Galway and to the north to Ulster where they became the Chief of Farney. They later established a branch in Tipperary. They moved into England into Herefordshire, Cambridgeshire and Kent. Notable amongst the them at this time was Larkin of Galway.

Research in the Killen Parish area of County Galway places many with the name Larkin in the townland of Bealadangan – just northeast of Lettermore Island.

In North America some of the first migrants which could be considered kinsmen of the sept Larkin and of that same family included Elizabeth Larkin settled in Virginia in 1637; William Larkin settled in Boston in 1630; Denis, Edward, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Richard, Thomas and William Larkin, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Francis, James, John, Mathew, Michael, and Patrick Larkins, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.

The family name Larkin produced many prominent people William Larkin, American Engineer; Arthur Larkin, American Business executive; Frederick Larkin, American Banker; Phillip Larkin, British Novelist.

According to the 1990 US Census, Larkin was the 1,421st most popular last name in the United States. That is equal to 0.009% of the population.

O’Brien

O'Brien is in Irish Ó Briain, from the personal name Brian. The meaning of this is problematic. It may come from bran, meaning "raven", or, more likely, from Brion, a borrowing from the Celtic ancestor of Welsh, which contains the element bre-, meaning "hill" or "high place". By association, the name would then mean "lofty" or "eminent". Whatever the initial meaning of the word, the historic origin of the surname containing it is clear. It simply denotes a descendant of Brian Ború, ("Brian of the Tributes"), High King of Ireland in 1002, and victor at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. He was a member of the relatively obscure Ui Toirdealbhaigh, part of the Dál gCais tribal grouping based in the Clare/Limerick area. Having secured control of the Dál gCais in 976, he defeated and killed the Eoghanacht king of Munster two years later, and proceeded to wage deadly war against the kingdoms of Connacht, Meath, Leinster and Breifne. Eventually he secured submission (and tributes) from all but the northern Uí Néill, the Leinstermen and the Vikings. His victory at Clontarf united all of Ireland, nominally at least, under a single leader, though Brian himself was slain. It is not surprising that Brian's harp became the model for the national emblem of Ireland. 

The first individual clearly to use O'Brien as a genuinely hereditary surname was Donogh Cairbre O'Brien, son of the king of Munster, Donal Mor. His descendants spilt into a number of branches, including the O'Briens of Aherlow, the O'Briens of Waterford, the O'Briens of Arra in north Tipperary, and the O'Briens of Limerick, where the surname is perpetuated in the name of the barony of Pubblebrien. Today the name is the sixth most numerous in Ireland, widely scattered throughout the country, with particular concentrations in the above areas, as well as in the original homeland of Clare. Unlike most other members of the native Irish ruling classes, the senior line of the O'Briens managed to retain a large part of their wealth and power, the English titles of Earls and Barons of Inchiquin, Earls and Barons of Thomond and Viscounts Clare. All the titles but the Barony of Inchiquin became extinct in 1855. 

The present, eighteenth Baron Inchiquin, a direct descendant of the first Baron, Murrough O'Brien, who acquired the title in 1543, is Conor O'Brien, still living in the ancestral territory of Co. Clare. The O'Brien arms symbolize clearly the royal origins of the family with the lion the regal emblem par excellence. In the crest, the arm emerging from the clouds wielding a sword is to suggest the otherworldly source of their power. The surname has been prominent in all spheres of Irish life. The novelist and dramatist Kate O'Brien (1897-1954) suffered, like most Irish novelists of worth, at the hands of the censors in the early years of the Irish Free State. William Smith O'Brien (1803-1864) was one of the founders of the Young Ireland movement, and took a prominent part in the rising on 1848. His grandson Dermod O'Brien (1865-1945) was a leading portrait painter in Dublin for almost forty years. 

According to the 1990 US Census, O’Brien was the 281st most popular last name in the United States, equal to 0.039% of the population.