Origin of the Name Donohue
The origin of the name
Donohue was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Variants of Donohue include O'Donohoe, O'Donoghue and Dunphy. This Irish surname is one of the most important as well as most numerous names in Ireland , from the Irish O'Donnchadha, meaning 'descendant of Donogh'. Several distinct septs of the name existed in early times, the most important of these being O'Donoghue of Desmond, O'Donoghue of Ui Maine, and O'Donoghue of County Cavan. They are of the same stock as the O'Mahonys, descended from Domhnall, son of the King of Munster , who took part in the Battle of Clontarf in the year 1014. They were a powerful sept in Kerry and a district called Onaght O'Donoghue perpetuates their occupation. They split into two branches, one being O'Donoghue Mor and the other O'Donoghue of the Glen. O'Donoghue Mor lost their estates but O'Donoghue of the Glen held on at Glanflesk, and the present head of the family is one of the Chiefs of the name.
The Donohue coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Donohue descendants.