*** The Meaning of the M(a)cHENRY Name ***

The Dictionary of Irish Family Names by Ida Grehan, 1997, Roberts Rinehart Pubs, Dublin, Ireland:

p. 231

MacHENRY:

Irish Variants: Mac Einri

Anglicized Variants: MacHenry; McHenry; MacEnery

MacHENRY is a surname belonging to several distinct families in different parts of Ireland, including the SIOL EOGHAIN MAC EINRIs of Bannside in Ulster, and a Norman FITZHENRY family in Connacht. The enforced removal of the O or Mac prefix during the time of penal laws has made it difficult to distinguish between the various HENRY septs.

The Biblioteque Nationale in Paris holds papers relating to the history of many families of Irish origin in France, including several MacHENRYs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the eighteenth century, several M'HENRYs served in various Irish regiments in France.

A manuscript in Dublin's Genealogical Office shows a 1908 confirmation of the quartering of arms of MacHENRY to the descendants of Colonel Henry Williamson LUGARD and Margaret Anne MacHENRY, his wife, with colonel Edward John LUGARD, their eldest surviving son.

In the nineteenth century, a number of MacHENRYs, all with the first name James, became distinguished American citizens. James MacHENRY (1753-1816) of Ballymena in County Antrim studied medicine in the USA and, in 1778, was Secretary to George WASHINGTON. Another James MacHENRY (1785-1845) was born in Larne in county Antrim and paid his medical school fees in Dublin and Glasgow by writing verse. He emigrated to Philadelphia, where he combined medicine with trade and journalism. He also wrote novels and returned to Ireland as US consul to Derry. His son, yet another James MacHENRY (1816-91), became a leading American financier.

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p. 223

MacENERY:

Irish Variants: Mac Einri; Mac Inneirghe

Anglicized Variants: FitzHenry; Henry; Irvine; Irwin; MacHenry; McHenry; MacNair; Neary

Some believe that the MAC INNEIRGHE (from the Irish, meaning easily roused) were descendants of the third-century king of Munster, OLIOLL OLUM, and were, therefore, kinsmen of the O DONOVANS. County Limerick was, and remains, their territory, and their name is commemorated by the town of Castletown MacEnery.

It is a remarkable name, its origins often obscured by the vast number of forms it has taken because of anglicization, including HENRY (q.v.), MacHENRY (q.v.), FITZHENRY, IRWIN, IRVINE, MacNAIR, and NEARY. The MAC EINRI who were associates of the FLAHERTYs of Connacht were anglicized to MacHENRY.

Many of the MacENERY chieftains were slain in battle and, until Cromwellian times, they owned great estates in the Limerick area. After the Gaelic suppression, they fled to Europe and reached high rank in the armies of France and Spain.

The FITZHENRYs came from Normandy to Wexford and, in time, their name was shortened to HENRY. Mrs. FITZHENRY was a popular eighteenth-century actress.

The MacENRIs of Ulster, as well as the MacENERYs of Thomastown, County Kilkenny, are recorded in the ancient archives. Compared to MacHENRY, McENERY is now a rare name, other than in the Limerick area.

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