Surnames beginning with O’ are fairly common in Ireland. The O’ derives from the Gaelic Ua, meaning grandson or descendant of.
The ‘hero’ of Irish
Secrets was Ryan O’Neill. His
surname means descendant of Néill, a male name derived from the old Irish word niadh, meaning warrior or champion. Since
Ryan was an undercover police officer, masquerading as a taxi driver while he
tried to find evidence of a stolen goods racket in Connemara, he could be
considered as a champion of law and order!
A variation of O’Neill is O’Neal, and this name appeared in Irish Intrigue with Rory O’Neal, the owner of an Equestrian
Centre where Charley, the heroine of the story is enchanted to watch a foal
being born.
I’ve also used the name O’Brien
twice. It comes from the Irish Ua Briain,
descendant of Brian. One theory is that the name is based on ‘bre’ meaning hill
and thus means ‘eminence’ or 'exalted one'. In Irish Secrets, Sister Gabriel reveals that her name is actually Bernadette O’Brien, and in Irish Echoes, Patrick O’Brien is the owner of the Irish Historical Review. He eventually
has to apologise to the novel’s hero, Elliot, for publishing an article that
had been stolen from Elliot.
In Irish Shadows,
Rose’s assistant and friend is Caitlyn O’Connor.
Her surname comes from O’Conchobhair,
which possibly derives from a legendary 10th century king of Connacht. Also in
the same novel, Rose discovers that her great-great-grandfather was Joseph O’Malley. The origin of this
name is obscure but may come from the Gaelic word maglios meaning prince or chief. Rose, however, is embarrassed and
ashamed to find out that Joseph betrayed his uncle during the Irish Civil War
in the 1920s.
Last but not least, Brendan
O’Casey is a minor character in Irish
Inheritance who comes to Mist Na Mara to value a painting. His surname is a
variant of Cathasaigh, meaning
vigilant, but in this case, it’s Guy and Jenna who need to be vigilant when it
appears Mr. O’Casey is not all he claims to be.
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