MacDermot

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MacDermot is an Irish surname, and the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries.

The progenitor of the family was Dermot mac Tadhg Mor, 7th king of Moylurg, who reigned from 1124 to 1159. He was a vassal and kinsman of the O Conchobhair Kings of Connacht; their common ancestor was Tadg mac Cathal, King of Connacht from 925 to 956.

Later off-shoot septs of the dynasty included the families of MacDermot Roe and McDonagh.

Moylurg ceased to exist as a kingdom in the late 1500s, though the senior line of the MacDermot's continued to live a sometime poverty-stricken and precarious existence despite land confiscations and the oppression of the Penal Laws. During this era they were popularly accorded the title Prince of Coolavin; the current incumbent is Rory MacDermot, who succeeded his father in 2003.