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MacNamara
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<h2 id="mcnamara-family">McNamara family</h2> <p>The McNamara family were an <a href="/facts/Irish_clan/RHSgGdcb">Irish clan</a> claiming descent from the <a href="/facts/D%25C3%25A1l_gCais/mr02U7pX">Dál gCais</a> and, after the <a href="/facts/O%2527Briens/RRPQC00V">O'Briens</a>, one of the most powerful families in the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Thomond/qw3ETjAt">Kingdom of Thomond</a> as <a href="/facts/Tigerna/wqEnWyhH">Lords</a> of Clancullen (a title later divided into East and West families). They are related to the <a href="/facts/O%2527Gradys/z7EPCzzz">O'Gradys</a>, also descended from the Uí Caisin line of the Dál gCais. </p><p>The name began with the chieftain Cumara, of Maghadhair in county Clare. Cumara is a contracted form of Conmara – hound of the sea. His son, Domhnall, who died in 1099, adopted the surname Mac Conmara, or son of Cumara, thus becoming the first of his name. The name has survived relatively unmodified as MacConmara in Irish and anglicised as MacNamara/McNamara.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="naming-conventions">Naming conventions</h2> <p class="note">Further information: <a href="/facts/Irish_name/zqSEBC7V">Irish name</a></p> <p>The name is a contraction of "Mac Cú Na Mara" meaning "Son of the Hound of the Sea".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Male</th><th>Daughter</th><th>Wife <i>(Long)</i></th><th>Wife <i>(Short)</i></th></tr><tr><td>Mac Conmara<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></td><td>Nic Conmara</td><td>Bean Mhic Conmara</td><td>Mhic Conmara</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="people-with-the-name">People with the name</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/List_of_people_with_surname_MacNamara/lcN5BwV6">List of people with surname MacNamara</a></p> <ul><li>Sioda Cam MacConmara rebuilt <a href="/facts/Quin_Abbey/nJye4d0A">Quin Abbey</a> where many members of this clan were subsequently laid to rest.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Donnchadh_Ruadh_Mac_Conmara/9d3JGg29">Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Conmara</a> (1715–1810) was a <a href="/facts/Jacobitism/z2w7SVWQ">Jacobite</a> <a href="/facts/Poet/KpH2BTgg">poet</a>.</li> <li>Sean Buidhe Mac Conmara (c. 1750 – 1836), more commonly known as John "Fireball" MacNamara,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> is remembered because of his daring exploits and his flair for the dramatic which has since featured in verse and in story.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Namara/dUozQaHG">Namara</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Irish_clans/RHSgGdcb">Irish clans</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.libraryireland.com/Pedigrees1/Macnamara1Heber.php">MacNamara</a> at Library Ireland</li> <li><a href="http://www.araltas.com/features/mcnamara/">McNamara at Araltas</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 61–69. ISBN 0899503624. <a href="0899503624" target="_blank">0899503624</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>McNamara at Araltas, McNamara family history <a href="http://www.araltas.com/features/mcnamara/" target="_blank">http://www.araltas.com/features/mcnamara/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Ó Fiaich, Tomás (1986). "Brian Mac Gurk, Dean of Armagh". Seanchas Ardmhacha. 12 (1): 69. doi:10.2307/29745225. ISSN 0488-0196. JSTOR 29745225. Mac Conmara (the son of the sea-hound) <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/29745225" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/29745225</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Mac Conmara". Sloinne. 5 December 2015. <a href="http://www.sloinne.ie/surname/ga/mac-conmara/" target="_blank">http://www.sloinne.ie/surname/ga/mac-conmara/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Clare People: John "Fireball" MacNamara". <a href="http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/fireballmac.htm" target="_blank">http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/fireballmac.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>County Clare Public Library Entry on "Fireball", " John "Fireball" MacNamara (c. 1750-1836)", County Clare Public Library, 28/05/2014 <a href="http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/fireballmac.htm" target="_blank">http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/fireballmac.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>