Not all Harringtons are equal

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Not all Harringtons are Equal

Bantry Bay, County Cork


Beginnings of the Hingerty Surname

The Hingerty surname grew out of the Irish clan name O'hlongardail which Woulfe, in 1923 claimed was exclusively anglicised as the surname Harrington, but which MacLysaght in 1957 claimed also included the name Hingerty. 

MacLysaght offered the evidence of Elizabethan Fiant 3082 of 1577 as evidence of the close relationship between the names Harrington and Hingerty (he misquoted the Fiant number- it is actually 3080). 

In the Fiant 3030 John MacTeige O'Hengerltye of Dunbeacon in Cork is described as "alias Harrington".

However, not all Harringtons are closely related to the Hingerty surname.


Origins of Harrington Surname 

The surname Harrington has multiple origins and was originally an English surname probably from Cumbria.

In Ireland, at a time when it was safer to be known by an English sounding surname than an Irish sounding surname, three very separate Irish surnames/clan names were anglicised into the English sounding Harrington and thus not all Harringtons, even in Ireland, are related to the surname Hingerty.

In Connacht the O hOireachtaigh clan anglicised their name to Harrington and can be found in Galway and Mayo.

Ó hOIREACHTAIGH-I-O Heraghty, O Heyrity, O Heraght, Hearaghty, Heraghty, Heraty, (Harty), Erraught, Erought, (Geraghty, Harrington, O'Connor); 'descendant of Oireachtach' (holding or frequenting assemblies); the name of several distinct families, formerly located in Galway, Westmeath and Donegal; now most frequent in Donegal and Mayo; often disguised under the anglicised forms of Harty, Geraghty, Harrington, and even O'Connor.

Nearly all the members of this family in the neighbourhood of Abbeyfeale have, for a peculiar local reason, now adopted the surname of O'Connor.

Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames 1923


In the Tralee-Dingle area the O hArrachtain clan also anglicised their name to Harrington.

Ó hARRACHTÁIN-1-0 Haraghtane, O Harreghtane, O Harrighton, O Herraghton, Harroughton, Haroughton, (Harrington, Errington, Irrington), &c.; 'descendant of Arrachtán' (diminutive of arrachta, tall, mighty, brave, heroic); the name of a family of Ui Maine in Co. Galway. In the 16th century, it was scattered through all North Munster. To be distinguished from Ó hIongardail and Ó hOireachtaigh, which are also anglicised Harrington.

Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames 1923

These two clans were not/are not related to our clan or surname. 

In Cork, the O'hlongardail clan anglicised to Harrington as well as other variations including what became Hingerty. 

Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames 1923

This group of Harringtons also used the addition of the names Urdail and O'hUrdail as a way of linking back to their original clan name.

It is this group of Harringtons which are closely related to Hingertys.

It is interesting to note that as the Harrington surname spread in County Cork, especially on the Beara Peninsula, some Harringtons were known by branch names to help distinguish between the many Harringtons to be found in a relatively small area.

In his blog Beara's Children Bill Gawne lists 25 separate Harrington family lines in Cork using descriptive branch names such as Duve (black haired) and Merigeach (freckled).

Hingertys and Harringtons are connected only if they shared the clan name of O'hlongardail- - only the Urdail/O'hUrdail Harringtons who shared the same clan as our Hingerty forebears of long ago are related to Hingertys.



Are you a Harrington (Urdail) or a Hingerty?

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