Irish Calling – page on “Sheehan – peaceful clan of County Clare”

This article gives mostly the typical potted information about the origin of the Sheehan clan. However, while it associates the family with Clare, it does not mention, Limerick or Cork. So the information is over simplified…

“Sheehan – peaceful clan of County Clare

Sheehan – peaceful clan of County Clare
Sheehan is a common name in Ireland, and also around much of the English-speaking countries in the world. There are also variations of the name such as Sheahan, O’Sheehan and O’Sheahan.

Back to Irish surnames
The origins of the name can be traced back to the 10th and 11th centuries, the time of the ancient clans in Ireland.
Sheehan – peaceful clan of County Clare
It would have originally come from the word síocháin, which meant peace. So the name would have been given to a man of peace, maybe a religious leader or maybe a former warrior who chose to lay down his weapons.

Síocháin became the name of a clan in the areas now known as County Clare. The members of the clan were the O’Síocháins. In ancient Ireland, it was common to add an ‘O’ prefix in front of a name. This signified that the person was a ‘descendant of’ the clan leader. So the O’Síocháins were the descendants of Síocháin.

The O’Síocháins were close allies of the famous O’Brien clan in Ireland. The two families were committed to supporting each other, in military and political matters.”

Sheehan – peaceful clan of County Clare