Ó hEidirsceóil

Rev Patrick Woulfe

Irish Names and Surnames

1923

Ó hEIDIRSCEÓIL—I—O Hederscoll, O Hidirscoll, O'Driscoll, Driscoll; 'descendant of Eidirsceól' (interpreter); now shortened to Ó Drisceóil, which see; the name of an ancient West Cork family who were chiefs of Corca Laoighdhe, a district which originally embraced the whole of the south-west of Co. Cork, namely, the baronies of Carbery, Beare and Bantry, but shortly after the Anglo-Norman invasion was narrowed down, through the encroachments of the O'Donovans, O'Mahonys and O'Sullivans, to a strip of sea-coast around the bay of Baltimore. The O'Driscolls, however, possessed considerable power and had several strong castles even as late as the beginning of the 17th century. They took an active part in the wars in Munster in the reign of Elizabeth. After the defeat of Kinsale, their property was confiscated and given to Lord Castlehaven.

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