Irish surname search
MacManus
this name is often stated to be Norse in origin but is fact it is as thoroughly Irish as any ancient Gaelic name. MacManus is MacMaghnuis in modern Irish, I.e. son of Magnus. Magnus (Latin: great) as a christian name came to Ireland from northern Europe it is true, but its combination with Mac as a surname originated in Ireland. In two separate cases it designated descent from individual persons called Maghnus. The first is descended from Maghnus (d. 1181), son of Turlough O'Connor, King of Ireland, and was seated in the parish of Kilronan, Co. Roscommon; the other, a distinguished Fermanagh family, lived on the shores of Lough Erne. The island of Belle Isle in that lake was formerly called Balymacmanus. These are a branch of the Maguires. As is frequently the case, the present-day bearers of the name are found in greater numbers in their original habitat than elsewhere: it holds second place in the list of most numerous names on Co. Fermanagh, but does not so appear in any other county. It is one of the few names from which the prefix Mac has not been widely dropped. it is, however, in some parts of Ulster disguised under the English form Moyne. It is very seldom met with in Munster. In Connacht, Mayo is its main stronghold. The most famous of the MacManus sept in Irish history, Terence Bellew MacManus (1823-1860), hailed from Co. Fermanagh. He fought beside William Smith O'Brien at Ballingarry, and was sentenced to death and transported, but escaped and went to America. His funeral in Dublin was the occasion of the greatest Fenian demonstration ever seen.