McLysaght Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McLysaght Family History

McLysaght Family History

The ancient origin of the name McLysaght was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The surnames McLysaght, Lysaught and Lysaght are derived form the Gaelic Mac Giolla Iasachta sept that was located in County Clare.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

This sept were a branch of the O'Briens. The name is taken from the Gaelic words 'giolla' and 'iaschachta' meaning 'loaned youth'. In modern times the name is still mostly found in Counties Clare and Limerick as well as in Dublin. A famous bearer of the name was Edward MacLysaght (1887-1986) who was appointed the Chief Herald of Ireland and Genealogical Officer of the Irish Office of Arms. The McLysaght 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 McLysaght descendants.