Maguire Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Maguire Family History

Maguire Family History

The Maguire ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Maguire include McGuire, Magwyer, McGwyer and others. This name is derived from the Mag Uidhir sept name that is taken from Gaelic words that translate as 'don colored'.

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 ancient Irish surname originated in County Fermanagh where they were the leading Gaelic family, later spreading to Mayo and Roscommon where it is usually spelt McGuire. The Maguires are recorded in Irish history as early as the year 956 A.D. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the sept became one of the most powerful in Ulster but suffered severely under the Cromwellian and Williamite confiscations. Maguire, Baron of Enniskillen, had a regiment of infantry in James the second's army. Subsequently the Maguires figured prominently among the 'Wild Geese' in the service of France and Austria.The Maguire 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 Maguire descendants.