Clan Rising

Clarke

also Clark, Ó Cléirigh, Mac an Cléirigh

Annalists of Tír Chonaill, and the surname of the 1916 Proclamation's first signatory.

Origin
Ulster, Ireland
Famous bearer
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (c.1590–1643), Franciscan annalist, chief compiler of the Annals of the Four Masters
Register
Irish family
Territory of Clarke

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Clarke

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Clarke community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Clarke has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Clarke clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Clarke clan →

What does the Clarke name mean?

Anglicisation of Ó Cléirigh, descendant of the cleric. The Ó Cléirigh were a learned bardic family of Donegal originally, hereditary historians and poets to the O'Donnell kings of Tír Chonaill from the 13th century. The greatest single act of Ó Cléirigh scholarship was the compilation of the Annals of the Four Masters (1632–1636) at the Franciscan convent of Bundrowes. The English form Clarke (or Clark) is also independently used by Plantation settlers of English origin, particularly across Ulster, and the modern surname pool reflects both lineages.

The history of Clarke

The Ó Cléirigh of Donegal were the foremost learned family of late medieval Gaelic Ireland, the Donegal Annals, the Annals of the Four Masters, the Book of Genealogies, the Calendar of Saints. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (c.1590–1643) trained as a Franciscan in Louvain and returned to Ireland in 1626 with the explicit project of saving the historical record before the Plantation reduced the bardic schools to nothing. He travelled the country reading and copying surviving manuscripts; the Four Masters annals (compiled with Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Cú Choigcríche Ó Duibhgheannáin and Fearfeasa Ó Maoil Chonaire at Bundrowes 1632–36) is the synthesis of that work and the foundational chronicle of Gaelic Irish history.

Tom Clarke (1858–1916), Tipperary-born Fenian, Irish Republican Brotherhood leader, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, is the family's defining political figure. He was the IRB man in Dublin throughout the planning of the Easter Rising, the first signatory of the Proclamation, and was among the first leaders executed at Kilmainham on 3 May 1916. His widow Kathleen Clarke (née Daly), daughter of the Limerick Fenian John Daly, became the second female lord mayor of Dublin in 1939 and a Fianna Fáil senator. Harry Clarke (1889–1931), no relation, was the great Dublin stained-glass artist of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.

Champions of the Clarke name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has its own page — biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

Step Into History

Walk the streets and seats the Clarke name knew — a photoreal walk through time, on foot.

Step Into History · New

Walk Dunluce Castle in 1600Enter →

The MacDonnell stronghold on its Antrim sea-stack, whole and inhabited — Clan Donald astride the North Channel.

Step Into History · New

Walk Dublin in 1756Enter →

Georgian Dublin in the year of Rocque's great map — College Green, the Liberties' weavers, the Liffey quays and Christ Church.

Step Into History · New

Walk Galway in 1520Enter →

The walled City of the Tribes at its Spanish-trade height — the quays, Lynch's Castle, and the fourteen merchant families.

Notable bearers of the Clarke name

  • Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (c.1590–1643), Franciscan annalist, chief compiler of the Annals of the Four Masters
  • Tom Clarke (1858–1916), IRB leader, first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation
  • Kathleen Clarke (1878–1972), Cumann na mBan founder, lord mayor of Dublin
  • Harry Clarke (1889–1931), stained-glass artist of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement

Stories of Clarke

Frequently asked

What does the surname Clarke mean?

Anglicisation of Ó Cléirigh, descendant of the cleric. The Ó Cléirigh were a learned bardic family of Donegal originally, hereditary historians and poets to the O'Donnell kings of Tír Chonaill from the 13th century. The greatest single act of Ó Cléirigh scholarship was the compilation of the Annals of the Four Masters (1632–1636) at the Franciscan convent of Bundrowes. The English form Clarke (or Clark) is also independently used by Plantation settlers of English origin, particularly across Ulster, and the modern surname pool reflects both lineages. The Ó Cléirigh of Donegal were the foremost learned family of late medieval Gaelic Ireland, the Donegal Annals, the Annals of the Four Masters, the Book of Genealogies, the Calendar of Saints.

Where does the Clarke family come from?

The Clarke family is rooted in Ulster and Connacht, in Ireland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Donegal and Galway. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Clarke family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Clarke name has been concentrated in Dublin and Antrim. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Clarke a Ireland surname?

Yes, Clarke is a Ireland surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is Ireland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Clarke surname?

The Ó Cléirigh of Donegal were the foremost learned family of late medieval Gaelic Ireland, the Donegal Annals, the Annals of the Four Masters, the Book of Genealogies, the Calendar of Saints. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Clarke name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Clarke family known for?

Annalists of Tír Chonaill, and the surname of the 1916 Proclamation's first signatory. The Ó Cléirigh of Donegal were the foremost learned family of late medieval Gaelic Ireland, the Donegal Annals, the Annals of the Four Masters, the Book of Genealogies, the Calendar of Saints.

Who is the most famous Clarke?

The best-known bearer of the Clarke name is Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (c.1590–1643), Franciscan annalist, chief compiler of the Annals of the Four Masters. Other prominent figures of the family include Tom Clarke (1858–1916), IRB leader, first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, Kathleen Clarke (1878–1972), Cumann na mBan founder, lord mayor of Dublin and Harry Clarke (1889–1931), stained-glass artist of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.

Who are some famous Clarkes?

Notable bearers of the Clarke name include Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (c.1590–1643), Franciscan annalist, chief compiler of the Annals of the Four Masters, Tom Clarke (1858–1916), IRB leader, first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, Kathleen Clarke (1878–1972), Cumann na mBan founder, lord mayor of Dublin and Harry Clarke (1889–1931), stained-glass artist of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

What stories are told about the Clarke family?

The Clarke family is associated with Tom Clarke's signature. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.

What is the story of Tom Clarke's signature?

In the late evening of Sunday the twenty-third of April 1916, in the Liberty Hall printing-room on Beresford Place at the Custom House Quay in central Dublin, the Irish Citizen Army printer Christopher Brady produced the thousand-sheet first impression of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The Proclamation, which would be read aloud by Patrick Pearse from the General Post Office steps the following day at noon, was signed by seven members of the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The event is dated to 1916.

Is Clark the same family as Clarke?

Yes. Clark is a historical spelling variant of the Clarke name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Ó Cléirigh the same family as Clarke?

Yes. Ó Cléirigh is a historical spelling variant of the Clarke name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Mac an Cléirigh the same family as Clarke?

Yes. Mac an Cléirigh is a historical spelling variant of the Clarke name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Clarke surname found today?

Ireland is the primary historical home of the Clarke surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Ireland origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Clarke family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Clarke family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Ireland so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Clarke family today?

The seat for the head of the Clarke family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.

Neighbouring clans