Reidy Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Reidy Family History

Reidy Family History

The ancient origin of the name Reidy was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Reidy include Reedy and Mulready. This name in Irish is O'Riada and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This sept came from West Munster.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

This is a Dalcassian sept found in three Counties of West Munster, particularly Clare and Kerry. The ancient manuscript the 'Four Masters' describe the Chief of the sept as 'King of Aradh' in the year 1129, a designation applied to the O'Donegans up to the year 1100 and to the O'Brien family in the fifteenth century. The form Mulready is a rarer variant, they belonging to the Southern part of County Roscommon. The Census of 1659 records that they were located mainly in Counties Kerry and Limerick where, in modern times, the name is still mostly to be found. The Reidy family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Reidy descendants.