Old Black Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÉamhthaigh ‘descendant of Éamhthach’ and male descendant of the follower of
the last king also an adjective meaning ‘lucky and beautiful. Traditionally, Irish family names are taken from the heads of tribes, and are usually prefixed by O', as above, or Mac, denoting "son of". It seems very likely that
the original holder of this surname was a descendant of
the original king, but no strictly direct descendant. In the census of Ireland in 1659 the clan was recorded as ruling " the County Waterford". However if this was true then, it is certainly not so now, all surviving church register recordings being principally in the counties of Kerry and Cork. This suggests that the clan may have come to some grief, perhaps as supporters and relatives of King James of Ireland in 1690, and being dispossessed of their properties, and forced to flee west.
