Family Official Site

Origins of the O'Meara Name

From "IRISH FAMILIES, Their Names, Arms and Origins" by Edward MacLysaght

In Irish this name is O'Meadhra and both the spellings given above are used as the ordinary anglicized form, O'Meara beng slightly more numerous than O'Mara. It is of interest to note that, while sixty years ago the records show that less than one third of the people of the name used the prefix O, to-day it is very rare in Ireland to find plain Mara or Meara without it.

The O'Mearas are now and always have been Co. Tipperary people: they belong by origin to the north of that county, the centre of their territoy being Toomevara, a place-name which embodies their surname - Tuaim ui Mheadhra in Irish. Dermod O'Meara, physician and poet, author of the first medical work printed in Dublin (1619), his son Edmund O'Meara (d. 1680), another medical author, and Barry O'Meara (1786-1836), also a surgeon and author, famous for his association with Napoleon at St. Helena, were all Tipperary men. Kathleen O'Meara (1839-1888), granddaughter of the last named, wrote many novels and biographies.

Also of Tipperary stock were the brothers Count Thomas O'Meara (1750-1819), Baron William O'Meara (1764-1818) and Col. Daniel O'Meara (b. 1764), all of whom had distinguished service in the Irish Brigades in France. In our own time the O'Mara's of Limerick have been very prominent in the industrial and political activities of that city; and one of them, Joseph O'Mara, was the founder and also the star of the well-known O'Mara Opera Company.