O'Cleary or O'Clery () is the surname of a Gaelic Irish family. It is one of the oldest recorded surnames in Europe Ó Cléirigh is anglicized as Cleary or often as Clark.
Naming conventions
The name has been anglicised variously as O'Clery, Cleary, Clery, Clark, Clarke and Clarkson. Male Daughter Wife (Long) Wife (Short) Ó Cléirigh Ní Chléirigh Bean Uí Chléirigh Uí Chléirigh
People with the surname Ó Cléirigh Mac Comhaltan Ua Cleirigh, King of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, fl. 964 Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh (fl. 1595–1630) Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (ca. 1590–1643), considered the chief author of the chronicle of medieval Irish history known as the Annals of the Four Masters Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh (died 1664)
O'Clery Keyes O'Clery Conor O'Clery
Cleary Bernard Cleary (1937–2020), Canadian politician Beverly Cleary (1916–2021), American author Bill Cleary (born 1934), American hockey player Brendan Cleary (born 1958), Irish poet Brian P. Cleary (born 1959), American humorist, poet and author Daniel Cleary (born 1978), Canadian hockey player Gabriel Cleary, Irish engineer Ivan Cleary, rugby league footballer and coach Joe Cleary (1918–2004), Irish baseball player John Cleary (disambiguation), several people Jon Cleary (1917–2010), Australian author Jon Cleary (musician) (born 1962), American musician Mark Cleary (professor) (born 1954), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford Michael Cleary, several people Nikki Cleary (born 1988), American singer Paul Cleary (born 1976), Australian middle-distance runner Phil Cleary (born 1952), Australian commentator Patrick Roger Cleary, founder of Cleary University Sean Cleary (footballer) (born 1983), Irish football player Sean Cleary, Irish rugby league footballer Thomas Cleary, American author and translator William J. Cleary (1870–1952), American politician
Clarke Austin Clarke (poet) (1896–1974), Irish poet Henry Edward Clarke (1829–1892), businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada Henry Joseph Clarke (1833–1889), Premier of Manitoba, Canada, 1874–1878 Peter Clarke (tennis) (born 1979), Irish tennis player Philip Clarke (politician) (1933–1995), Irish Republican Army member and politician Tom Clarke (Irish republican) (1857–1916), executed for his part in the 1916 Rising
Other institutions Cleary University, a private business school in Michigan, United States Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, an international law firm The Clery Act of United States law Clerys, an Irish department store
See also McCleary (surname)
References
Bibliography Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature, Robert Walsh, 1996. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, His Associates and St Anthony's College Louvain, Nollaig Ó Muraíle (editor), Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2007.
External links O'Clery family pedigree at Library Ireland Ó Cléirigh ancestor search at Irish Times Clan Ó Cléirigh DNA Project at Family Tree DNA The O’Clerys: hereditary historians and poets at History Ireland