Crotty

Crotty (and variations O’Crotty, Crotti, Crottee, etc.) are anglicisations of the Irish name O’Crotaigh – ‘Descendant of Crotach’. The name dates from medieval times, to the pre-Norman kingdom of Thomond ('North Munster') where the Dál gCais (in English: ‘Dalcassian’) clan, centred on the regional rulers - the Uí Briain (O'Brien) family - were dominant. The Crottys were one of eight septs of the O’Briens (i.e. descended via the female line - hence the different surnames). They settled in Western Co.Waterford and Eastern Co.Cork.

In common with the O’Briens - and the millions of descendants of the other seven septs - the Crotty sept's likely ultimate common ancestor is Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig (‘Brian Boru’) c.941 – 1014, and therefore possibly (via the Dál gCais) as far back as Cormac Cas in the 3rd Century.

The name originates in present-day County Clare, and (despite extensive emigration) is still most common in the general area of the former kingdom of Thomond (i.e. West Waterford, Clare, South Tipperary, parts of Cork and Limerick).

Spelling variations include Crotty, O'Crotty, Crotti, Crothon, Crotton, Crotone, Crottee, Crottey, O'Crottey, O'Crottee, O'Crottie, and Cratty. Other non-anglicised versions in use include Crothaigh, Chrothaigh etc.

The other seven related septs of the O'Briens are the families: Bernard, Consadine, Lysaght, MacMahon, O'Mahoney, Padden/MacFadden and Plunkett.[1]

Places

• Crotty, Tasmania, Australia
  • Crotty Dam, Tasmania, Australia

Notable People with the Crotty Surname

• Horace Crotty, (1886 – 1952), Australian clergyman
• James Crotty, disambiguation page for
  • James Crotty (economist)
  • James Crotty (Prospector), (1845–1898), Tasmanian prospector
  • Jim Crotty, American football cornerback
• Joe Crotty, (1860 – 1926), American baseball player
• John Crotty, American basketball player
• Kieran Crotty, Irish politician
• Maggie Crotty, Illinois Senator
• Mick Crotty, Irish hurling player
• Patrick Crotty (1902 – 1970), Irish politician
• Paul A. Crotty, (born 1941), United States federal judge
• Raymond Crotty (1925-1994) Historian, Author, Social Scientist and litigant in the significant Irish constitutional case, Crotty v. An Taoiseach. This 1987 judgement made it necessary to hold the 2008 Irish referendum in which the Lisbon Treaty was rejected.
• Rich Crotty (born 1948) Florida politician

• William Crotty [2] ("Crotty the Robber") was a highwayman who was hanged in Waterford in 1742. Several of his hideouts in the Comeragh Mountains are named after him.
• In North America some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: David Crotty, who was naturalized in Pennsylvania in 1779; George Crotty, who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1784; Ellen Crotty, a bonded immigrant who arrived in Massachusetts in 1850.
• Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Crotty (1885-1960) was a notable and fondly-remembered Irish traditional musician from Kilrush, Co.Clare. An annual music festival was held in the town for many years in her memory.

See also

• Crotty Schism, early 19th century minor Irish church schism
• Van Dyne Crotty Inc, textile leasing company in the United States

External links

• Map of Ireland showing Crotty family distribution in the 19th Century