| McInerney Mac an Airchinnigh | |
|---|---|
 McInerney Coat of Arms | |
| Parent house | Dál gCais |
| Country | Kingdom of Thomond |
| Founder | Donnchadha Mac Con Mara |
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The name McInerney is of noble Irish origin where it is found in the modern Irish form of Mac an Airchinnigh (pronounced [ˌmˠak ənˠ ˈaɾʲəçɪn̠ʲiː]) and in the old and literary forms of Mac an Oirchinnigh and Mac an Oirchindig. The pronunciation of Mac an Oirchinnigh led the name to be sometimes anglicised as McEnherheny in Irish documents from the 16th–19th centuries. The name translates to "son of the erenagh" in Irish ("erenagh" being airchinneach), literally meaning "son of the Lord of church lands". Airchinneach may in turn derive from the twin components of air ("noble") and ceann ("head"), therefore meaning a 'noble-head' or 'Lord', denoting its aristocratic status in medieval Ireland. The coat of arms is three red lions passant, and the motto is Veritas, meaning "Truth". In some places, the motto can be found as Vincit Veritas, meaning "Truth Conquers", or "Truth Prevails".
According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the MacInerneys were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.[1]
- ^ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 61–69. ISBN 0899503624.