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Sheehan, and the older O’Sheehan, come from the Gaelic Ó Síodhacháin, a name built on síodhach, “peaceful,” and long numerous in Cork, Kerry and Limerick. Here the family crest meets the Irish National Tartan on blankets, a mug, ornaments, a garden flag and a wall pennant, with a Celtic harp tee to wear.
In Irish the name is Ó Síodhacháin, “descendant of Síodhachán,” and Sheehan is the spelling English-speaking clerks settled on; Síodhachán itself is a diminutive of síodhach, “peaceful.” O’Sheehan keeps the old prefix that most families later dropped, and older records also write the name O Shehane, O’Sheahan, Sheahan, Sheean and Sheen. The full story is in our Sheehan surname history.
Rev. Patrick Woulfe records the main Sheehan family as Dalcassian, one of the families of the Dál Cais of North Munster, and describes it as very numerous throughout the province, especially in Cork, Kerry and Limerick. He also records a second old family of the name in County Galway, followers of O’Kelly of Uí Maine. North Cork produced two of the best-known bearers: Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan (1852–1913), born in Mallow and parish priest of Doneraile, author of My New Curate and Glenanaar, and D. D. Sheehan (1873–1948), born at Dromtarriff near Kanturk, MP for Mid-Cork and the laborers’ champion whose rural housing became known as “Sheehan’s cottages.”
Set on the Irish National Tartan, the Sheehan family crest appears on a three-size woven cotton blanket, a 50″ × 60″ polyester throw, an 11oz accent mug, an 18″ × 21″ wall pennant and a silver-tone framed Christmas ornament. Families who keep the prefix will find O’Sheehan on a garden flag and a round ceramic ornament, both House of O’Sheehan designs, while a Sheehan tee sets the surname over a Celtic harp.
