Callahan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Callahan Family History

Callahan Family History

The family history of the ancient name Callahan was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The names Callahan and O'Callaghan in Irish are O'Ceallachain and were taken from Ceallachan, King of Munster in 952, who was once head of the sept. Dispossessed of their original territory in the Barony of Kinelea, County Cork, after the Anglo-Norman invasion, they acquired a large area of North Cork near Mallow and retained it until again dispossessed by the Cromwellian Regime. The leading family of the sept was then transferred to County Clare, where the village of O'Callaghan's Mills bears their name. Other members of the sept were not transplanted and today the area in which the O'Callaghans are chiefly found is in County Cork and the surrounding Counties.The Callahan 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 Callahan descendants.