Corcoran is an Irish surname, the original
Irish language form being Ó Corcráin meaning 'descendant of Corcrán' and MacCorcráin from
Leinster meaning Son of Corcrán. The name itself is derived from corcair meaning 'purple'.[1]
History
The name Corcoran is an anglicisation of the names of two Gaelic clans. The first was the Ó Corcráin in
Ulster. The second was the MacCorcráin clan from
Leinster, which was a sept of Ó Corcráin.
Related variations of the name Corcoran historically include MacCorcoran, O'Corcoran, and Corcorran. The Corcorans were predominantly from
Fermanagh and included a number of figures of historical importance such as the
Bishop of Clogher in 1370 and Edmund O'Corcoran, "the hero of
Limerick" (from the
siege of 1691).[2]
Many Corcorans become members of the clergy between the tenth and fifteenth centuries; they became based around the vicinity of
Lough Erne,
County Fermanagh in
Ulster. One member of the family, John Corcoran, was appointed Bishop of Clogher in 1373.[3]
The O'Corcrain territory was invaded by the Normans in 1170 AD.
^Grenham, John: "Clans and Families of Ireland: The Heritage and Heraldry of Irish Clans and Families", Gill & Macmillan Ltd
^Walsh, Katherine (1 January 1997). "Bishop John O'Corcoran of Clogher (1373–1389) at the University of Prague, the Purgatorium Sancti Patricii and the Debate about Purgatory in the Later Middle Ages". Clogher Record. 16 (1): 7–36.
doi:
10.2307/27699413.
JSTOR27699413.
This page lists people with the
surnameCorcoran. If an
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