Language & meaning
Meaning & Irish forms
Gaelic (Scottish Highland origin) A Gaelic family from Knapdale in Argyll, claiming descent from the Ó Néill line, that became one of the great gallowglass families of Ireland.[1][2]
The name is built on the personal name Suibhne, usually explained as “'well-going' (Woulfe); 'pleasant' or 'well-disposed' (Wikipedia)”. Wikipedia describes Suibhne as originally a byname. The two sources gloss it differently.[1][3]
Pronunciation
Sweeney: SWEE-nee
Place
Where the Sweeneys lived
How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.
Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.
Highest concentration · 1901
Donegal
150 per 10,000
2,594 Sweeneys · 5.75× the national share
Highest share, 1901
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
Highest concentration · 1911
Donegal
144 per 10,000
2,435 Sweeneys · 5.62× the national share
Highest share, 1911
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
County figures as a table
| County | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Per 10k 1901 | Per 10k 1911 | Per 10k 1926 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | 151 | 184 | — | 3 | 4 | — |
| Armagh | 50 | 42 | — | 4 | 4 | — |
| Carlow | 34 | 34 | 42 | 9 | 9 | 12 |
| Cavan | 45 | 46 | 48 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Clare | 100 | 99 | 101 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Cork | 2,764 | 2,629 | 2,437 | 69 | 67 | 67 |
| Donegal | 2,594 | 2,435 | 2,348 | 150 | 144 | 154 |
| Down | 52 | 64 | — | 2 | 2 | — |
| Dublin | 568 | 660 | 754 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Fermanagh | 96 | 84 | — | 15 | 14 | — |
| Galway | 367 | 348 | 359 | 19 | 19 | 21 |
| Kerry | 782 | 772 | 724 | 47 | 48 | 49 |
| Kildare | 61 | 79 | 60 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| Kilkenny | 95 | 113 | 120 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
| Laois | 29 | 39 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Leitrim | 274 | 266 | 173 | 40 | 42 | 31 |
| Limerick | 244 | 215 | 249 | 17 | 15 | 18 |
| Londonderry | 333 | 343 | — | 23 | 25 | — |
| Longford | 83 | 82 | 62 | 18 | 19 | 16 |
| Louth | 92 | 93 | 94 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Mayo | 1,227 | 1,179 | 1,109 | 62 | 61 | 64 |
| Meath | 123 | 103 | 82 | 18 | 16 | 13 |
| Monaghan | 52 | 51 | 56 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Offaly | 34 | 40 | 53 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Roscommon | 197 | 215 | 166 | 20 | 23 | 20 |
| Sligo | 352 | 322 | 323 | 44 | 41 | 45 |
| Tipperary | 255 | 241 | 268 | 16 | 16 | 19 |
| Tyrone | 139 | 164 | — | 9 | 12 | — |
| Waterford | 147 | 124 | 108 | 17 | 15 | 14 |
| Westmeath | 95 | 91 | 88 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Wexford | 73 | 86 | 84 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Wicklow | 31 | 41 | 38 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
Local strongholds in 1911
District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Sweeneys made up the largest share of the population. In Glanlee, Co. Kerry, about one resident in 9 was a Sweeney.
| DED | County | Sweeneys | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glanlee | Kerry | 50 | 10.6% |
| Gortnatubbrid | Cork | 70 | 8.4% |
| Fanad North | Donegal | 126 | 8.0% |
| Dunglow | Donegal | 101 | 7.3% |
| Ballycroy South | Mayo | 55 | 7.0% |
| Ballybrophy | Laois | 21 | 6.9% |
| Mashanaglass | Cork | 31 | 6.7% |
| Ballycroy, North | Mayo | 69 | 6.5% |
Origins
Septs & territories
Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Sweeney lineages described in the sources.
A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.
Mac Suibhne Fánad
Fanad, in the north-east of the barony of Kilmacrenan · Donegal
The senior branch, seated at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly for about four hundred years. Its chiefs held wide lands in Kilmacrenan, and its lord Máel Muire was granted Moross in 1342 for helping Ó Domhnaill. Historians consider the chiefly line to have died out before 1800.[1][2]
Mac Suibhne na dTuath
Tuatha Toraighe, the districts facing Tory Island, with Doe Castle on Sheephaven Bay · Donegal
Lords of the Tuatha, which Wikipedia says were won from the Ó Baoighill (O'Boyles) soon after 1360. They held Doe Castle near Creeslough from the 1440s for almost two centuries. Woulfe warns that the title 'MacSweeney of the Battleaxes' is a mistaken rendering of na dTuath.[1][2][6]
Mac Suibhne Baghaineach (Banagh)
Tír Boghaine, now the barony of Banagh · Donegal
The west Donegal branch, linked to a Dubhghall who received Tír Boghaine. By the 16th century they were seated at Rahan Castle near Dunkineely and controlled Killybegs. Local tradition holds that the last two men of the line died at Teelin in the late 19th century.[1][2]
MacSweeneys of Muskerry
barony of Muskerry, in the MacCarthy lordship of Desmond · Cork
An offshoot of the Fánad line that went south to command gallowglasses for the MacCarthys. Woulfe says they held several castles in Muskerry and were famed for their hospitality. Clodagh Castle near Crookstown was in their hands by 1584, and a later family held land at Mashanaglass near Macroom.[1][7][8]
Mac Suibhne of Connacht
Connacht (location not specified)
Wikipedia notes that the Book of Ballymote, of about 1400, connects six grandsons of Dubhghall of Banagh with a Mac Suibhne family in Connacht. The sources give no further detail.[2]
The name over time
History
From Knapdale in Argyll
The family takes its name from Suibhne, a lord of Knapdale in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. Woulfe, following the 17th-century genealogist Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, makes Suibhne a son of Donnshléibhe Ó Néill living around the start of the 13th century. The family pedigree, Leabhar Clainne Suibhne, traces them to an Ó Néill prince named Ánrothán who settled in Argyll. Some historians treat this as an invented link to the Irish royal line, though W. D. H. Sellar thought it might be genuine. Castle Sween on Loch Sween, among the oldest stone castles in Scotland, bears Suibhne's name, but Wikipedia's articles date it to the late 11th century, earlier than Woulfe's date for Suibhne.[1][2][9]
Losing Knapdale
The MacSweens held Knapdale and Kintyre until 1262, when Dugall MacSween surrendered lands including Skipness to Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith. The next year Murchadh MacSween was drawn into the service of King Haakon IV of Norway, whose fleet ended its campaign at the Battle of Largs. In 1301 John MacSween complained to Edward I of England that Sir John Menteith had taken his inheritance, and around 1310 Edward II granted Knapdale to John and his brothers if they could win it back. A failed attempt on Castle Sween seems to have ended their hopes, and the family left for Ireland for good.[2][9]
Gallowglass captains in Tír Chonaill
The first of the name recorded in Ireland is Murchadh Mac Suibhne, who appears in the annals in 1267; he was taken prisoner by Domnall Ó Conchobair, passed to the Earl of Ulster and is said to have died in captivity. Early in the 14th century the family settled permanently in Tír Chonaill, now Donegal, where they became hereditary commanders of the gallowglasses, heavily armed professional soldiers, who fought for the O'Donnells. They divided into three main branches, Fánad, na dTuath and Banagh, whose chiefs were inaugurated at Kilmacrenan. The 19th-century writer James Logan remarked on their hospitality and recorded their war-cry.[1][2]
Rathmullan, Doe and Rahan
Each branch had its stronghold. The Fánad chiefs lived at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly, where a Carmelite friary was completed in 1516; Wikipedia's articles disagree over whether it was founded by Ruaidhrí Mac Suibhne and his wife Máire or by Eoghan Rua MacSweeney. It was sacked by an English force from Sligo in 1595. The na dTuath branch held Doe Castle on Sheephaven Bay, probably built around 1420 by the Quinns and in MacSweeney hands by the 1440s. The Banagh lords were based at Rahan Castle near Killybegs, where Niall Mór mac Eoghain died in 1524.[2][10][6]
The Munster MacSweeneys
A branch of the Fánad family moved south to Desmond to lead gallowglasses for the MacCarthys. Woulfe says they had several castles in the barony of Muskerry, Co. Cork, and became known for their open-handed hospitality. One was Clodagh Castle near Crookstown, a tower house probably built for the MacCarthys but held by MacSweeneys by 1584. The Landed Estates database records that the MacSwiney family originally held land at Mashanaglass near Macroom, and that a later member, born in Paris in 1871, was created a papal marquess.[1][7][8]
Plantation and after
The end of Gaelic Donegal was hard on the family. Maol Mhuire, the last lord of na dTuath, was knighted in 1600 for siding with the English and then changed sides. Doe Castle was seized by the Crown and granted in March 1613 to Sir John Davies, the Attorney-General, during the Plantation of Ulster. Domhnall of Fánad sat on the 1608 jury that indicted the earls of Tyrconnell and Tyrone and held 2,000 acres in 1619, while Donnchadh of Banagh, who had fought at Doire Leathan in 1590, was also allotted 2,000 acres. A Colonel Maol Mhuire Mac Suibhne was a leading figure in the 1641 rising.[2][6]
Places linked to the name
- Castle Sween, Co. Argyll (Scotland) — Early stone castle in Knapdale named after Suibhne, the family's eponymous ancestor.[9][2]
- Rathmullan, Co. Donegal — Seat of Mac Suibhne Fánad, with the ruined Carmelite friary completed in 1516.[1][2][10]
- Doe Castle, Co. Donegal — Stronghold of Mac Suibhne na dTuath on Sheephaven Bay from the 1440s until the Plantation.[6][2]
- Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal — Where MacSweeney chiefs were inaugurated, according to Wikipedia.[2]
- Clodagh Castle, Crookstown, Co. Cork — Sixteenth-century tower house held by a branch of the Munster MacSweeneys by 1584.[7]
- Mashanaglass, Co. Cork — Near Macroom; original lands of the MacSwiney family later created papal marquesses.[8]
Everyday lives
The Sweeneys in the census
Who the Sweeneys were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.
Sweeneys All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Sweeney bar
Religion, 1911
Irish language
233 Sweeneys spoke Irish only in 1901.
Reading & writing
Family life, 1911
Commonest occupations
Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.
| Farmer | 2,345 |
| Farmer's son | 1,163 |
| Farmer's daughter | 657 |
| Farm servant | 359 |
| Agricultural labourer | 356 |
| General labourer | 287 |
| Labourer | 273 |
| House keeper | 254 |
| Farm labourer | 227 |
| Seamstress | 198 |
Born outside Ireland
2.1% of Sweeneys in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.
| England | 135 |
| Scotland | 50 |
| United States | 33 |
| Wales | 5 |
| Australia & NZ | 3 |
| India | 3 |
Median age: 23 in 1901, 25 in 1911.
Given names
First names among the Sweeneys
Men and boys
- John2,381
- Patrick1,761
- James1,281
- Michael1,130
- Thomas792
- Edward664
- Daniel602
- William543
- Denis504
- Hugh305
Women and girls
- Mary2,893
- Bridget1,282
- Ellen969
- Margaret827
- Kate649
- Catherine617
- Annie573
- Anne421
- Julia404
- Hannah396
All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, James, Michael, Thomas; Mary, Bridget, Margaret, Ellen, Annie.
Spellings
Spellings
This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.
| Spelling | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweeney | 8,677 | 8,736 | 7,731 | Search |
| McSweeney | 919 | 1,358 | 1,887 | Search |
| Sweeny | 1,442 | 794 | 152 | Search |
| McSwiney | 251 | 225 | 145 | Search |
| McSweeny | 250 | 171 | 81 | Search |
Related forms
- McSweeney, MacSweeney, MacSweeny — Forms keeping the Mac prefix, all listed by Woulfe.[1]
- MacSwiney, Swiney — Spellings given by Woulfe, used by the Mashanaglass family and by the republicans Terence and Mary MacSwiney.[1][8][11]
- Sweeny — An older spelling without the prefix, also given for the rare Ó Suibhne.[4]
- MacSween — Woulfe notes that this anglicised form still survives in Scotland.[1]
- MacQueen — A Scottish surname from Mac Shuibhne, which Woulfe treats as a variant of the same name.[5]
- MacSeveney — Another older anglicised form listed by Woulfe.[1]
Diaspora
The Sweeneys abroad
Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:
| Spelling | People | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| Sweeney | 52,410 | 651st |
| McSweeney | 3,807 | 8639th |
| Sweeny | 2,515 | 12362nd |
| McSwiney | 111 | 148347th |
| McSweeny | 334 | 60347th |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).
Heraldry
Is there a Sweeney coat of arms?
Arms were recorded for particular branches, so there is no single Sweeney crest. Burke's General Armory gives the Donegal sept, whose chief was MacSweeney Fanait, a gold shield with a green band between three black boars and a silver lizard on the band, and an armoured arm holding a battle-axe as crest; Burke repeats a tradition tracing them to the 7th-century king Suibhne Menn, which differs from the Scottish descent given by Woulfe. He gives separate arms, with boars and crossed battle-axes, for 'MacSweeney na Tuadh', which he renders 'of the axes'. Peter Paul MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1864 and 1875, had arms confirmed with the motto 'Tuagha tulaig abu'.[12][1]
Websites selling a single “Sweeney family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.
People
Notable people named Sweeney
- Joel Sweeney (1810–1860) American musician and early blackface minstrel performer.
- Robert Augustus Sweeney (1853–1890) The only African-American to have received the Medal of Honor twice.
- Patrick MacSwiney, Marquis MacSwiney of Mashanaglass (1871–1945) Franco-Irish officer of the papal household, of the Cork MacSwiney family.
- Mary MacSwiney (1872–1942) Irish republican politician and educationalist, sister of Terence MacSwiney.
- Terence MacSwiney (1879–1920) Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike in a British prison.
- Matthew Sweeney (1951–2018) Irish poet.
- Julia Sweeney (born 1959) American actress and comedian.
- D. B. Sweeney (born 1961) American film and television actor.
- Fionnuala Sweeney (born 1965) Irish news anchor and reporter for CNN International.
- Sydney Sweeney (born 1997) American actress.
Questions
Questions about the Sweeney name
Is Sweeney Irish or Scottish?
Both, in a sense. The family began in Knapdale in Argyll, Scotland, but claimed Irish Ó Néill ancestry and moved to Ireland after losing their Scottish lands in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. They settled in Donegal and later Cork, and Sweeney has been an Irish name for over seven hundred years. In Scotland the same name became MacSween or MacQueen.[1][2][5]
Are Sweeney, McSweeney and MacSwiney the same name?
Yes. All are English forms of Mac Suibhne, along with Sweeny, MacSweeny and MacSeveney. Which spelling a family used was largely a matter of habit and choice; MacSwiney, for example, was the form used by the Mashanaglass family and by Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork.[1][11]
What is Sweeney in Irish?
Mac Suibhne, meaning 'son of Suibhne'. Woulfe also records a very rare form, Ó Suibhne, made by putting Ó in place of Mac, and gives Mac Shuibhne as the usual spelling in Scotland, where it produced English forms such as MacQueen. The older Scottish anglicised form MacSween also survives there.[1][4][5]
What does Sweeney mean?
It means 'son of Suibhne', after the lord of Knapdale in Argyll from whom the family took its name. The sources differ on the personal name itself: Woulfe glosses Suibhne as 'well-going', while Wikipedia says it began as a byname meaning 'pleasant' or 'well-disposed'.[1][3]
Who were the MacSweeney gallowglasses?
Gallowglasses were heavily armed professional soldiers, and the MacSweeneys were their hereditary commanders. In Donegal they led the fighting men of the O'Donnells from the early 14th century, in three branches based at Rathmullan, Doe Castle and Rahan. A Fánad offshoot did the same for the MacCarthys in Muskerry, Co. Cork.[1][2]
Is there a Sweeney family crest or coat of arms?
There is no single crest for the name. Burke records several MacSweeney coats for different branches, most with black boars and battle-axes, and one confirmed to Peter Paul MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Dublin, with the motto 'Tuagha tulaig abu'. Each belonged to a particular family, not to everyone named Sweeney.[12]
Where in Ireland is the Sweeney surname most common?
In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Sweeneys lived in Cork (2,629), Donegal (2,435), Mayo (1,179). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Donegal (144 per 10,000), Cork (67 per 10,000), Mayo (61 per 10,000).
How common was the Sweeney surname in Ireland?
11,284 people were recorded as Sweeney or McSweeney or Sweeny or McSwiney or McSweeny in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 49th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 389.
Looking for a Sweeney ancestor?
Search every Sweeney household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.
Evidence
Sources
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Suibhne, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Wikipedia, Clan Sweeney (2026)
- Wikipedia, Sweeney (surname) (2026)
- Patrick Woulfe, Ó Suibhne, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac Shuibhne, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Wikipedia, Doe Castle (2026)
- Wikipedia, Crookstown, County Cork (2026)
- Landed Estates Database, University of Galway, McSweeney/MacSwiney (Cork) (2026)
- Wikipedia, Castle Sween (2026)
- Wikipedia, Rathmullan (2026)
- Wikipedia, MacSwiney (2026)
- Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries 'Mac Sweeney' and 'Mac Swiney'.
- Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.
- Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).
How we compile these figures: methodology.