This interesting surname derives from the Gaelic "MacAmhlaoiibh", "Mac" meaning son of plus "Amhlaoibh" an Old Irish personal name meaning "relic of the gods". The name is almost peculiar to County Cork and is scarcely found outside Munster. The M(a)cAuliffe's are a branch of the M(a)cCarthy's and their chief resided at Castle M(a)cAuliffe near Newmarket, County Cork. Julia McAuliffe married William Riordan on February 5th 1799 at Killarney, County Kerry and on December 22nd 1799, John, son of Cornelius and Elizabeth McAuliffe, was christened at Kilshanning by Mallow, County Cork. Jeremiah McAuliffe, a labourer, aged 22 yrs., departed from Cork harbour as a famine immigrant on June 2nd 1846, bound for New York. The famous French physician, Joseph Oliffe (1808 - 1869), was actually born in Cork, his ancestral name being M(a)c Auliffe. The family Coat of Arms consists of three blue mermaids with combs and mirrors in fess (vertical line) between three blue knights spurs on a silver shield. On the Crest is a gold boar's head cut off. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Michael MacAuliffe which was dated 1720, a colonel in the Spanish army, who died in Spain, during the reign of King George 1 of England, known as "The First Hanoverian", 1714 - 1727. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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