McInerney

The name McInerney is of noble Irish origin where it is found in the modern Irish form of Mac an Airchinnigh (pronounced mock-on-arc-kenny) and in the old and literary form of Mac an Oirchinnigh and Mac an Oirchindig. The pronunciation of Mac an Oirchinnigh has led the name to be sometimes anglicised as McEnherheny in Irish documents from the 16th–19th centuries. The name is derived from the Irish Mac an Oirchinnigh, meaning ‘son of the erenagh’, (erenagh in Irish being 'airchinneach') literally meaning 'son of the Lord of church lands'. The Irish word airchinneach may derive from its twin components of ‘air’ (noble) and 'ceann' (head), therefore meaning a ‘noble-head’ or ‘Lord’, denoting its aristocratic status in medieval Ireland. The coat of arms is three red lions passant, and the motto is "Veritas" meaning "Truth". In some places, the motto can be found as "Vincit Veritas", meaning "Truth Conquers", or "Truth Prevails".

Erenagh origins