Maher Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Maher Family History

Maher Family History

The ancient origin of the name Maher was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Meaning 'kindly', variants of the name Maher include Meagher and Marr. These families are of the same stock as the O'Carrolls of Ely and belong to the Barony of Ikerrin in County Tipperary. Their territory was around Roscrea, at the foot of the 'Devils Bit' Mountain. They were one of ten Irish Septs that held their ground when the Norman invaders arrived and remained in possession alongside the Ormond Butlers. In modern times they are still found in County Tipperary. A famous bearer of the name was Captain John Meagher, an adventurous rapparee of the seventeenth century who was captured and hanged in 1690. Thomas Francis Meagher, 1823-1867, was one of the prominent Young Irelanders.The Maher family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Maher descendants.