O'Keeffe

O'Keefe and Keefe, are the anglicised versions of the Irish Ó Caoimh, from Caomh, meaning "kind" or "gentle". Ó also means son of so directly translated the name means "Son of Kind" or "Son of Gentle"

The original Caomh from whom the family descend, lived in the early eleventh century, and was descended from Cathal mac Finguine, celebrated King of Munster and the most powerful Irish king of the first half of the 8th century. See the main article, Eóganachta, for more discussion, as well as Eóganacht Glendamnach, the specific sept of the O'Keeffes.

For all of their history the family has been strongly associated with County Cork. Originally the territory of the family lay along the banks of the Blackwater river, near modern Fermoy, and were active in the wars of the twelfth century between the O'Connors and the Eoghanacht dynasties of Munster.

However, the arrival of the Normans displaced them, like so many others, and they moved west into the barony of Duhallow, where their territory became known, and is still known, as Pobal O'Keeffe, where the senior branch of the family had their seat at Dromagh in Dromtarriff Parish.

The last chiefs of this branch were Domhnall O'Keeffe of Dromagh (d. c. 1655), who was prominent in the Catholic Rebellion of the 1640s, and his son Captain Daniel O’Keeffe, who was killed fighting for King James at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. The family estates were confiscated in 1703, and sold to the Hollow Blades Company.

Even today, Pobal O'Keeffe is still the area in which the name is most common, with surrounding areas of County Cork also including many of the name. It remains relatively rare outside that county. In 1890, more than two thirds of the births under the name are recorded in County Cork.

Like many of the dispossessed Irish nobility, the O’Keeffes were active in the service of the Catholic monarchs of Europe. In 1740 Constantine O'Keeffe (born c. 1670) was admitted to the French aristocracy on the basis of his Irish pedigree, and his long service. The bearers of the surname "Cuif", found in the Champagne district of northern France, are descendants of O'Keeffe soldiers.

The original spelling is with 2 ff's (O'Keeffe), and church officials recorded names as they were wrongly spelled, then often resulting in the name of a single person being recorded under several spelling variations, such as O'Keefe, Keefe, Keeffe, Keiffe, and others

People named O'Keeffe

• Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand artist and art teacher
• Batt O'Keeffe, Irish politician
• Ciarán O'Keeffe, British parapsychologist
• David O'Keeffe, jurist
• Daniel J. O'Keefe (born 1950), American communication and argumentation theory scholar
• Eoin O'Keeffe, Irish composer based in the UK
• Eric O’Keefe (born 1961), American author, editor, and journalist
• Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), prominent American artist/painter
• Guy O'Keefe (born 1989), Australian rules footballer
• James O'Keeffe (1912-1986), Irish Fine Gael politician
• Jim O'Keeffe, Irish politician
• John O'Keeffe (Irish writer), an Irish playwright
• John O'Keeffe, Irish footballer
• John O'Keeffe, Irish Radio and Club DJ, also known as "Johnny Murda"
• Jonathan O'Keeffe, birth name of Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers
• Kerry O'Keeffe, Australian cricketer and sports commentator
• Lauren O'Keefe, American singer and member of girl group Jada
• Miles O'Keeffe, American actor
• Ned O'Keeffe, Irish politician
• Padraig O'Keeffe (1887-1963), Irish traditional musician
• Ruth O'Keeffe, British government councillor
• Sean O'Keeffe, DJ and musician, founding member of 2 Bad Mice, also records under his solo alias Deep Blue
• Stephen O'Keefe (born 1984), Australian cricketer and current New South Wales player
• Timothy O'Keeffe, Irish editor and publisher
• Brothers Joel O'Keeffe and Ryan O'Keeffe, members of Australian hard rock band Airbourne

People named O'Keefe

• Andrew O'Keefe (born 1971), Australian TV personality
• Arthur O'Keefe (1876 – 1943) American banker and mayor of New Orleans
• Dan O'Keefe, writer and inventor of Festivus, an annual secular holiday
• David Dean O'Keefe (born circa 1824 or 1828, died 1901), Irishman who created stone money and became the virtual king of the island of Yap
• Daniel O'Keefe (born 1950), author and professor at Northwestern University
• Danny O'Keefe, (born 1943), American singer-songwriter based in Seattle, Washington
• Dennis O'Keefe (1908-1968), American film actor
• Dennis O'Keefe (politician), the mayor of St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
• Derrick O'Keefe (born 1977), Canadian progressive writer, political activist and blogger
• Eamon O'Keefe, English-born Irish former professional footballer
• Eugene O'Keefe (1827-1913) founder of the O'Keefe Brewery in Toronto
• Frank O'Keefe (1912-1989), Australian politician
• James O'Keefe (born 1984), American conservative videographer/investigative journalist
• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born 1978), American actress and model
• John O'Keefe (disambiguation)
• Joseph "Specs" O'Keefe, one of the participants in the Great Brinks Robbery
• Kevin O'Keefe (born 1982), American ice dancer who competes for Canada
• Laurence O'Keefe (disambiguation)
• Laurence O'Keefe (composer), composer and lyricist for Broadway musicals, film and televison
• Mark O'Keefe American comedy screenwriter
• Michael O'Keefe, (born 1955), American film and television actor
• Michael A. O'Keefe (born 1956), Australian-American physicist
• Neil O'Keefe (born 1947), retired Australian politician and lobbyist
• Ryan O'Keefe (born 1981), Australian Football League player
• Sean O'Keefe, Chancellor of Louisiana State University, former NASA administrator and aerospace industry executive
• Richard O'Keefe, computer scientist
• Thomas O'Keefe (born 1964) American musician known for his work in the group Antiseen
• Walter O'Keefe (1900 – 1983),American songwriter, actor and syndicated columnist

Fictional characters

• Polly O'Keefe, protagonist of the Madeleine L'Engle novels
• Calvin O'Keefe, major character in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet series

Other uses

• Carling O'Keefe, a Canadian brewery
• O'Keefe, an album by singer-songwriter Danny O'Keefe
• The O'Keefes, a short-lived television series

See also

• Clídna
• Eóganacht Glendamnach
• Eóganachta
• His Majesty O'Keefe, a 1954 adventure film, as well as the 1952 book of the same name, from which the film derives
• Irish nobility
• Irish royal families

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (July 2009)

• Byrne, Francis J., Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press. 2nd edition, 2001.
• Charles-Edwards, Thomas M., Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge University Press. 2000.
• MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins. Irish Academic Press. 4th edition, 1998.

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