Mulcahy Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Mulcahy Family History

Mulcahy Family History

The Mulcahy ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Variants of the Irish name Mulcahy include Mulcahey, Cahy, Caughey, McCahy and Muckley. This name is O'Maolchathaigh in Gaelic and is taken as a tribute to Saint Cathach. Mulcahy is a fairly common name in the southern part of Munster Province but not elsewhere. It is said to have originated in south County Tipperary. The census of 1659 shows that it was numerous in Counties Waterford and Tipperary, and also in Limerick and Cork in the seventeenth century. A famous bearer of the name was General Richard Mulcahy, born in 1886, who was a close associate of the famous Michael Collins in the War of Independence and subsequently became a Minister in several Irish governments. Denis Dowling Mulcahy, 1833-1920, was a Fenian and author. Jeremiah Hodges Mulcahy, who died in 1889, was a renowned painter.The Mulcahy 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 Mulcahy descendants.