From Mac Uidhir, ‘son of Odhar’, the dun-coloured one — Lords of Fermanagh for three centuries, ruling from Enniskillen.
Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘son of the dun-coloured one’
Maguire descends from Odhar, ‘dun-coloured’ or ‘pale’, most likely a physical byname for the sept's founder. The Mac Uidhir ruled Fermanagh from their island stronghold at Enniskillen from the fourteenth century until the Flight of the Earls in 1607, standing alongside the O'Neills and O'Donnells in the Nine Years' War.
A humble meaning for a name that once commanded an entire lordship — Fermanagh still carries the shape the Maguires gave it.
Irish form: Mac Uidhir
