County Kerry - Septs, Families & Titles

Septs, Families & Titles

A number of Irish surnames are derived from septs who hail from the Kerry area, such as Falvey, Foley, McCarthy, Murphy, O'Connor, O'Moriarty, Clifford, Kennelly, McGrath, O'Carroll, O'Sullivan, O'Connell, O'Donoghue, O'Shea, Quill, Scannell, Stack, Sugrue and Tangney.

The area was also home to the Hiberno-Norman families, the FitzMaurices and the Desmonds, a branch of the FitzGeralds.

Titles in the British Peerage of Ireland with a family seat in Kerry are

• the Knight of Kerry – a branch of Fitzgeralds who had lands at Valentia Island
• the Earl of Kenmare (also Viscount Castlerosse, Viscount Kenmare and Baron Castlerosse) – the descendants of Sir Valentine Browne who was awarded lands in Killarney
• the Earl of Desmond – the Fitzgeralds of Desmond who had lands in North Kerry until they were seized at the end of the Desmond Rebellions
• the Marquess of Lansdowne (also Earl of Shelburne, Baron Dunkeron) – the descendants of Sir William Petty who was awarded lands in Kenmare and elsewhere
• the Earl of Kerry (also Baron Kerry, Viscount Clanmaurice) – the Fitzmaurice family
• the Earl of Listowel – the Hare family
• the Baron Ventry – the Mullins family who had lands in the Dingle Peninsula, including Ventry

Viscount Valentia appears to have been associated with lands in County Armagh, rather than Kerry