Quinn
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Quinn Surname Genealogy
Quinn is the anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Cuinn, the name for a number of distinct septs or clans to be found around Ireland. O'Cuinn itself comes from the Irish word conn, meaning "counsel" and generally describing a wise man or a man of high intelligence. Niall O'Cuinn, who died at the battle of Clondarf in 1014, was the first in the Quinn clans to use the surname.
It has been said in Ireland that Catholics generally spell their name "Quinn," while Protestants spell it "Quin."
Ireland. The O'Quinns of Loughinsholin were based primarily in Tyrone. They were close to the O'Niells, acting at times as their hereditary physicians and foster parents to their sons. They held good land and prospered. However, the English encroachments into Tyrone were beginning in Elizabethan times. An English commander boasted in 1600:
It was Cromwell who dealt the fatal blow forty years later, routing an army led by Owen and Neil O'Quinn and confiscating land for Protestant planters. The O'Quinns remained within the barony of Dungannon.
Another O'Quinn clan, of Clanndeboy, claimed descent from Congalagh O'Cuinn who had been killed by the English in 1219. They were based further east in the Glens of Antrim. The English and Scottish planters were also arriving there. Neil Oge O'Quinn, a tenant of an English lord at Lissan, led a revolt in 1614, but this too was put down.
The Quins that were descended from the Hy Ifearnan clan had originally been in county Clare, but were driven out from there into Limerick by the O'Briens. Valentine Quin built the first Quin Manor at Adare on the river Maigue in 1730. His family converted from Catholicism to Protestantism in 1739 and it was no coincidence that they subsequently became one of the few families of Gaelic origin to ascend, as the Earls of Dunraven, into the Irish peerage. Perhaps the most flamboyant of these Quins was Wyndham Quin, the fourth Earl. Adare Manor was sold by the family in 1984 and now operates as one of Ireland's prestige hotels.
There has been a more modern Quinn dynasty from county Armagh:
Today Quinns are found throughout Ireland, but the greater numbers are in Tyrone (where it is the most common name today) and in Antrim.
England. An early arrival in London was the Dublin-born poet Walter Quin who became the tutor and lifelong friend of the monarch Charles I. His son James was expelled from Oxford for his royalist views, but then was reinstated after he had apparently charmed the uncharming Oliver Cromwell with his "fine singing voice." However, his grandson Mark Quin had a less happy outcome. A century later another James Quin of this family graced the London stage with his performances of Falstaff, if "graced" is the appropriate word:
Michael J. Quin came to London in the 1820's as a writer and journalist. In 1836 he started the Dublin Review which became the leading Catholic periodical of the time.
The 19th century saw Irish and Quinn immigration shift towards the jobs that were available in industrial Lancashire. A century later Niall Quinn crossed the Irish Sea to play football for Manchester City. He is presently the chairman of the English football club Sunderland.
America. Early Quinn arrivals in America were:
Two who headed elsewhere were James Quinn from Donegal who went originally to Boston but then moved west to Minnesota in 1857; and John Quinn from Antrim who ended up in Ohio. He married there, worked for the B & O Railroad, fought in the Civil War, and lived on into his nineties until his death in 1921.
Australia. Among the early Quinn settlers in Australia were:
Select Quinn Miscellany
Select Quinn Names
Niall O'Cuinn was the first in the Quinn clans to use the surname. He was killed at the battle of Clondarf in 1014.
Frederick Hervey Foster Quin was an orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy and helped found the British Homeopathic Society. He was thought to be the illegitimate offspring of Valentine Richard Quin, Earl of Dunraven, and Lady Elizabeth Foster, a well-known courtesan.
John Quinn, born of Irish immigrants in Ohio, was a successful New York lawyer and an important art patron and collector of manuscripts of the early 20th century.
Anthony Quinn was a well-known and highly successful film actor of the 1950's and 60's. His father was of Irish-Mexican ancestry and he was born in Mexico.
Fergal Quinn is an Irish politician and successful local businessman. He founded the chain of supermarkets around Dublin called Superquinn.
Pat Quinn was the head coach of the Canadian hockey team who took them to gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics and gold in the 2004 World Cup.
Select Quinns Today
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
Quinn is the anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Cuinn, the name for a number of distinct septs or clans to be found around Ireland. O'Cuinn itself comes from the Irish word conn, meaning "counsel" and generally describing a wise man or a man of high intelligence. Niall O'Cuinn, who died at the battle of Clondarf in 1014, was the first in the Quinn clans to use the surname.
It has been said in Ireland that Catholics generally spell their name "Quinn," while Protestants spell it "Quin."
Select
Quinn
Resources on
The
Internet
- Quinn and Quin. Quinn and Quin history in Ireland.
- The Quinns of Donegal. A Quinn family from Donegal.
- Quinn Family History. Quinns from Cookstown, county Tyrone.
- Patrick O'Quin Family History. O'Quins from Ireland to America.
Ireland. The O'Quinns of Loughinsholin were based primarily in Tyrone. They were close to the O'Niells, acting at times as their hereditary physicians and foster parents to their sons. They held good land and prospered. However, the English encroachments into Tyrone were beginning in Elizabethan times. An English commander boasted in 1600:
"The last service was upon Patrick
O'Quinn, one of the chief men of Tyrone, dwelling within four miles of
Dungannon and fearing nothing, but we lighted upon him and killed him,
his wife, sons, daughters, servants and followers being many and burnt
all to the ground."
It was Cromwell who dealt the fatal blow forty years later, routing an army led by Owen and Neil O'Quinn and confiscating land for Protestant planters. The O'Quinns remained within the barony of Dungannon.
Another O'Quinn clan, of Clanndeboy, claimed descent from Congalagh O'Cuinn who had been killed by the English in 1219. They were based further east in the Glens of Antrim. The English and Scottish planters were also arriving there. Neil Oge O'Quinn, a tenant of an English lord at Lissan, led a revolt in 1614, but this too was put down.
The Quins that were descended from the Hy Ifearnan clan had originally been in county Clare, but were driven out from there into Limerick by the O'Briens. Valentine Quin built the first Quin Manor at Adare on the river Maigue in 1730. His family converted from Catholicism to Protestantism in 1739 and it was no coincidence that they subsequently became one of the few families of Gaelic origin to ascend, as the Earls of Dunraven, into the Irish peerage. Perhaps the most flamboyant of these Quins was Wyndham Quin, the fourth Earl. Adare Manor was sold by the family in 1984 and now operates as one of Ireland's prestige hotels.
There has been a more modern Quinn dynasty from county Armagh:
"The first supermarket in Newry was Quinn’s the Milestone on Hill Street, founded by John Quinn from Lisnacree. His family included Ruairi Quinn, former leader of the Irish Labour Party and Irish Finance Minister, as well as Fearghal Quinn, head of the Superquinn chain, and the late Dr Padraig Quinn who fought in the Irish War of Independence."
Today Quinns are found throughout Ireland, but the greater numbers are in Tyrone (where it is the most common name today) and in Antrim.
England. An early arrival in London was the Dublin-born poet Walter Quin who became the tutor and lifelong friend of the monarch Charles I. His son James was expelled from Oxford for his royalist views, but then was reinstated after he had apparently charmed the uncharming Oliver Cromwell with his "fine singing voice." However, his grandson Mark Quin had a less happy outcome. A century later another James Quin of this family graced the London stage with his performances of Falstaff, if "graced" is the appropriate word:
"James Quin twice killed fellow
actors. Once during a performance he accidentally killed a fellow
actor in a duel on stage and the other came about after a dispute over
the pronunciation of a particular word."
Michael J. Quin came to London in the 1820's as a writer and journalist. In 1836 he started the Dublin Review which became the leading Catholic periodical of the time.
The 19th century saw Irish and Quinn immigration shift towards the jobs that were available in industrial Lancashire. A century later Niall Quinn crossed the Irish Sea to play football for Manchester City. He is presently the chairman of the English football club Sunderland.
America. Early Quinn arrivals in America were:
- Loftin Quinn who came to North Carolina in the 1730's. Quinn marriages of
the late 18th century show his family mainly in Carteret and
Duplin counties. The Quinn homestead at Comfort apparently still
remains. A subsequent Loftin Quinn was a veteran of the War of
1812. He was buried in the old Quinn burying ground in Shelby
county, Alabama.
- Hugh Quinn from county Tyrone who arrived in South Carolina during the 1760's. He and his wife Margaret received land grants in what is now York county. Hugh was a member of the local Baptist church and was licensed to keep a tavern on his premises. He died in 1798. His son John migrated to Alabama in the early 1800's.
- and Patrick O'Quinn who came to Philadelphia as an indentured
servant in 1772. He fought in the Revolutionary War and was
subsequently awarded a land grant in Sampson county, North
Carolina. His son Wiley, sometimes called Gwinn, moved to
Buchanan county, Virginia.
Two who headed elsewhere were James Quinn from Donegal who went originally to Boston but then moved west to Minnesota in 1857; and John Quinn from Antrim who ended up in Ohio. He married there, worked for the B & O Railroad, fought in the Civil War, and lived on into his nineties until his death in 1921.
Australia. Among the early Quinn settlers in Australia were:
- Michael Quinn from Limerick came to Perth in 1835 and ran a
carting business there. His son Michael was one of the
first
farmers in the Williams river area of Western Australia. He
married Mary Hale from another pioneering family in 1857 and they
raised thirteen children there.
- James Quinn from Antrim arrived with his family in 1841 and farmed in various places in NSW over the next thirty years. His daughter Ellen married into the notorious Kelly gang.
- Patrick Quinn from Tipperary came to Sydney with his wife and three children in 1858.
Select Quinn Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Quinn Names
Niall O'Cuinn was the first in the Quinn clans to use the surname. He was killed at the battle of Clondarf in 1014.
Frederick Hervey Foster Quin was an orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy and helped found the British Homeopathic Society. He was thought to be the illegitimate offspring of Valentine Richard Quin, Earl of Dunraven, and Lady Elizabeth Foster, a well-known courtesan.
John Quinn, born of Irish immigrants in Ohio, was a successful New York lawyer and an important art patron and collector of manuscripts of the early 20th century.
Anthony Quinn was a well-known and highly successful film actor of the 1950's and 60's. His father was of Irish-Mexican ancestry and he was born in Mexico.
Fergal Quinn is an Irish politician and successful local businessman. He founded the chain of supermarkets around Dublin called Superquinn.
Pat Quinn was the head coach of the Canadian hockey team who took them to gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics and gold in the 2004 World Cup.
Select Quinns Today
- 26,000 in the UK (most numerous in Tyne and Wear)
- 28,000 in America (most numerous in New York)
- 36,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Ireland).
Site Map: Select Names
The Origin/Spread of Surnames
For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.