It seems several branches of the family took on "Mac" or "Mac Ui" Guaire. There were several Ua Guaire abbots of Tuamgreine who are likely our people. The location of Tuamgreine across Lough Derg fits the most likely migration model of this family, and would also explain the population density of the name in W. Tipperary 1667 Hearth Rolls where all of the variants O'Gowry, M'Ghoory, Quary, Cowry, M'Gora, M'Gorigh, Goory, Gurrey, Corey, appear in a cluster very close to the "O'Fearchair" heartland of Templeneiry, which would explain the Fraher surname among us. It's more than likely that as O'Fearchair is a young surname, that there may have been a Fearchair O'Guaire in the 14th or 15th centuries that spawned a new surname which is distictly S. Tipperary/Waterford.
It was only recently after a lot of research that I was able to determine that this family has two distinct branches. One in N. Leinster, originally seated at Kildare and the other in S. Leinster/Ossory The area around Kells priory and Thomas town seems to have been a hub of the latter population. There is substantial evidence that the MacGuaire/Ui Guaire family were erenaghs, that is, hereditary stewards of monastic lands. It was erenagh families who typically transitioned to craftsmanship as a method of surival in the dissolution-era. All 6 testers descend from one Ui Guaire man who lived approximately in the mid 10th century which also lines up with an entry in the Annals of the Four Masters:
962: Cairbre Ua Guaire, head of the hospitality of Leinster, died.
This is a high-status lay-ecclesiastic office connected to Saint Brigid's monastery at Kildare. His death was the result of a Norse raid on Kildare at the end of 961 where much of the monastic community was carried off and held for ransom, many of them being killed.
Early records in the southeast which at the time was the Earldom of Ormond, show the surname already spread out. In 1338, a "John McGuydy" witnessed a land deed concerning Ballyanne Co. Wexford on the Barrow. In 1364 a "Robert McUre" was fined 6s. and forfeited goods by the Sheriff of the Liberty of Tipperary. In a 1507 episcopal deed concerning property of Kells priory, one "Donaldus O Gowre" (Domhnaill Ua Guaire) and "Phillipus O Gowre" (Pilib Ui Guaire) were "testi antiqui", that is community elders who farmed the Grange of Kells (Kellsgrange, Co. Kilkenny) who testified that they had memory of the curtain walls and towerhouses of Kells priory being built (this occurred in the 1460s/70s). Three townlands in Leinster are connected to this kindred:
Clongorey, Co. Kildare, Tullygorey, Co. Kildare, and Ballygorey, Co. Kilkenny. All three have ruins of small medieval chapels and two of the three have holy wells. Clongorey itself was property of St. Brigid's monastery until the dissolution. All these facts spell out erenagh behavior and settlement.
I would very much like to connect the Waterford Quarry family to the rest of us and not only see where they fall on our tree, which would put more puzzle-pieces together of this larger family. If any of you have Quarry relatives from the area who would be interested, you can reply to this post or sent me a private message. Also, although I'm not specifically looking for Gorry/Gurry/Gorey participants as it pertains to my own specific line, all of these variants would be kin to the greater MacGuaire family. If any Goreys are interested in joining the group and getting started with Y-DNA research, please contact me as well, I'll tell you how to get started and I'd love to have you aboard.
Thank you,
Chris McLain
