(Mac)Geoghegan;

Variant Spellings; Gehegan, Geoghan, Gegan, McGaffigan.

This sept has two main branches, the original one in Co. Westmeath and a branch that moved west to the area of Bunowen Co. Galway. The sept territory in Co. Westmeath was very extensive and was much reduced in the Cromwellian wars. In the west the name was often changed to Geoghan or Gegan for ease of pronunciation.

In Irish the name is MacEochagain. Eochaidh being the antique Irish Christian name of Oghy.

After the Jacobite wars the Geoghegans were prominent in the 'Wild Geese', serving mostly in France. Roch MacGeoghegan (1580-1644), Bishop of Kildare was persecuted for his religion; Abbe James MacGeoghegan (1702-1764) was a historian and Anthony Geoghegan (1810-1889}), a poet.

The brothers Sebastian and Lawrence Geoghegan were sculptors in London in the eighteenth century.

The motto of the Geoghegan is 'Semper Patriae Servire Praesto'.

Coat of Arms

(Mac)Geoghegan

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

http://library.ucd.ie

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.

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