Background: Few if any families have been so continuously and exclusively associated with the territory of their origin as the Driscolls or O'Driscolls. They belong to Co. Cork. At first they were concentrated in south Kerry but pressure by the O'Sullivans drove them eastwards and they settled then around Baltimore in south-west Cork. There they remained, though pressure by the O'Mahonys and O'Donovans further reduced the extent of their territory. In 1460 the chief of the sept founded the Franciscan monastery there. Their eponymous ancestor was Eidersceoil, the surname being O hEidersceoil, later corrupted to O Drisceoil.
Variations: O'Driscoll, O'Coffey, O'Dinneen, O'Flynn, O'Hea, 0'Hen-nessy, O'Leary.
More Info: http://heraldry.celticradio.net/search.php?id=123
Discussion of this family is welcomed.
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