Origins & History of the Kennedy Clan
Kennedy (from Ó Cinnéide) translates as “helmet-headed” or “armored head”. The Kennedys descend from Cinnéidigh, father of Brian Boru, the celebrated eleventh-century High King who drove the Vikings from Dublin at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
Originally based around Killaloe, they settled in Upper and Lower Ormond in County Tipperary. Later, a branch settled in County Wexford, from which Patrick Kennedy emigrated from Dunganstown to Boston in 1848.
The Kennedy family achieved the highest pinnacle of American public service, culminating in the presidency of John F. Kennedy in 1961.