The Sullivan surname is Irish Celtic. The name is usually found as O'Sullivan in Ireland.
The surname in Irish(Gaelic) is Ó Súilleabháin, which when translated into English means the, "descendant of the one eyed or hawk-eyed".
The O'Sullivans came to Ireland as part of the Milesians, who were a Celtic peoples over 2500 years ago.
Most O'Sullivans in Ireland today still live in or near their old clan territory's which are located on the Beara peninsula and the Iveragh peninsula in the south-western corner of Ireland, in counties Cork and Kerry.
The Sullivan or O'Sullivan family motto is "Lamh foistenach abú", which means "The steady hand to victory".
Dónal Cam Ó Súileabháin - Dónal Cam was one of the last chieftains of the powerful O'Sullivan Beara clan and a great Irish hero. He defended his clan and their land and the Celtic peoples of Ireland till he could do so no more. In 1602 after being defeated by the English in the battle of Kinsale he marched a 1000 O'Sullivans over 200 miles across Ireland from county Cork to his allies the O'Rourkes in county Leitrim in the bitter cold of winter. For most of the 200 miles they had to battle all the way. It took 14 days but when they reached Leitrim only 35 people survived including 1 woman. Dónal Cam was murdered by an English spy in 1618 in Madrid while returning home from mass.
Submitted by Timothy O'Dea
This surname has been prominent since the early 1170`s in Ireland.
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Ed Sullivan - (Born in 1902 in New York, he is a very famous American chat show host)
Gilbert O'Sullivan - (He was born in Waterford city in Ireland in 1946 and is well known as a famous musician)
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin - (He was born in Clonmel and is the present head of the Limerick University music department. He's a famous traditional Irish musician.)
Neil Sullivan - (Born in Sutton, England in 1970 he is the current Tottenham goalkeeper and the former Wimbledon keeper. He is also the current Scotland national football goalkeeper.)
Sonia O'Sullivan - (Born in Cobh county Cork in 1969, she is probally Irelands greatest ever athlete. She has won Olympic silver for Ireland. She has held several European and World records in middle distance running. For several years during the 1990's she totally dominated the world of womens middle distance running)
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Find Sullivan Worldwide
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