Irish surname search
(O)COSGRAVE, Cosgrove (Mac)COSGROVE, Mac-Cusker
The Cosgraves and Cosgroves are mainly found in three areas. Most of todays representatives of the Leinster sept of Ó Cosraigh are found in the east coast of Leinster, from Dublin to Wexford. Before it was dispersed by the O'Tooles and the O'Bymes this sept was in possession of part of north Wicklow not far from of Bray. In the sixteenth century they are often mentioned as people of standing, particularly in Co. Wexford. In Ulster and Connacht the name is usually spelt Cosgrove. In Connacht the sept, again 0 Coscraigh (or its shortened form Ó Coscair), is of the Ui Maine and was located on the eastern shore of Galway Bay. Presumably Coningus Ó Coscraigh, Bishop of Clonmacnois (d. 997) and Benedictus O'Cascry, Bishop of Killaloe (d. 1325) were of this sept. In Ulster Cosgrove is the modem form of three distinct Irish surnames, Ó Coscraigh, of different stock as those mentioned above -- was the name of the chiefs of Feara Ruis (near Carrickmacross) hard to distinguish, with the prefixes Mac and 0 discarded, from the neighbouring family of Mac Coscraigh erenaghs of Clones. These were called MacCosguyr, MacKuesker etc., in sixteenth century records in English; they appear as MacCosker among the principal Irish names in Co. Fermanagh this is preserved in the form MacCusker still found in or near Co. Tyrone. Macllcosker, found inthe Co. Armagh Hearth Money Rolls ((1664) is not the same, being MacGiolla Coscair in Irish. A third origin in Ulster is MacCosracháin, MacCosrichen in Tudor English. In the Fiants, today abbreviated to Cosrove and indistinguishable from the others. Synonyms of Cosgrove include Cuskery and Cosker. The local pronunciation in West Limerick is Cosgree, and is much nearer phonetically to the Irish than is Cosgrave.
William T. cosgrave, was the First Taoiseach of the Irish Free State, his son Liam was Taoiseach from 1973 to 1976