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County Cork, A maritime county of the province of MUNSTER, and the largest in IRELAND, bounded on the east by the counties of Tipperary and Waterford, on the north by that of Limerick, on the west by that of Kerry, and on the south-west, south, and south-east by St. George's Channel. Cork City; Queenstown
The earliest inhabitants of the south-western part of this extensive territory are designated by Ptolemy Uterni or Uterini, and by other writers Iberni, Iberi, and Juerni. They occupied most of the southern part of the country subsequently called Desmond: their name and situation prove them to have been of Spanish Iberian origin, and the former, as well as that of the tribes from which they sprung, and the designation Ibernia or Hibernia.
DAY is an English and Irish name that originates in several forms: as an English variation of David -- a common pet form of the name; as a patronymic name derived from the Middle English given name Daye from Old English dœg = day or the given name Dœgberht; as an Irish patronymic name Anglicized from Ó Deághaidh , meaning "descendant of Deághadh " whose name meant "good luck." Daye, Dey, D'Eye, Daykin, Dakin, Deyes, Dayson, Deason, Dayman are other forms of the name. The chief who gave his own personal name to Clan O'Dea was Déaghaidh (pronounced Day), who is referred to in Keating's History of Ireland under the yeare 934 A.D, where he describes the rescue of Ceallachán (King of Munster) from his capture on a Viking ship at Dundalk. "Cinneide also spelt Kennedy; Brian Boru's father also brought five hundred men from Dal gCais (Co. Clare) under Déaghaidh son of Domhnall (ancestor of the O'Deas) together with those who came from the other free clans of Munster." The O'Deas, therefore, were one of the first families in Europe to have a surname, which they adopted before King Brian Boru made it compulsory early in the 11th century. They were for long periods loyal supporters of the O'Briain, Kings of Thomond and in return the head of the clan held much land by agreeemnt with them. In the second half of the 12th century, the O'Deas backed Turlough O'Briain's claim to the high kingship. In the ensuring battle of Moin More (1151) with the men of Connacht and Leinster, the Munstermen lost heavily. Among those who fell were Flaherty O'Dea.
Griffith's Valuation (1851) found it mainly in east Cork, but it appeared as a principal Irish name in the west Cork barony of Carbery in the "census" of 1659, where there were 13 Dinane families, with whom were bracketed Buoige (16) and Roe (35), 64 in all in that barony. It should be assumed that Buoige and Roe were epithetal names which were already then tending to supersede the original name. By 1821 there were 23 fortyshilling free-holders in Tulla barony besides a good number in other parts of the county. In Bishop Montgomery's survey of the diocese of Raphoe (1606) O Dinan is given as the name of the erenagh family of Aghadowney, but it is evident that this is property O'Dunan. Dinan is now seldom met with its prefix O; the variant spelling Dynan is also rare. In our own day the great majority of Dineens, who rarely if ever have the prefix O in English, belong to Co. Cork families, especially to the south-western part anciently known as Corca Laoidhe. The list of synonyms used by emigrants which was compiled by the Cunard Company shows that Dinan, Dinane and also Denning were equated with Dinneen, and Matheson's Synonyms corroborates this in the case of Dinan. In Dinan, Brittany a fortified wall starts at the Jerzual gate along the Rance River.