Collins

An Irish surname of Antrim, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Kerry. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 329,770 people, the 59th most common surname in the country.

Collins is the anglicised form of three distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Mac Coilín, son of Coilín. This family stood in Co. Antrim.

Ó Coileáin, descendant of Coileán (whelp). This family stood in Co. Limerick.

Ó Cuileáin, descendant of Cuileán (whelp). This family stood in Co. Cork, Co. Galway, Co. Sligo, Co. Tipperary, and Co. Tyrone.

Where the name comes from

Ó Coileáin is descendant of Coileán, a whelp. The family belonged to the Ui Fidhgheinte in the present Co. Limerick, of the same stock as the O'Donovans, and were originally lords of Ui Conaill Gabhra, now the baronies of Upper and Lower Connello.

In 1178 they were expelled from that territory and the main body of the clan settled in West Cork. Those who stayed went on being lords of Claonghlas, in the south-west of the county, until they were dispossessed by the Fitzgeralds towards the end of the 13th century. The name is now very common in the original territory and throughout Munster, and universally anglicised Collins.

Ó Cuileáin is the same word again, and there were distinct families of it in Galway, Tyrone, Tipperary and Cork. The Galway one was a branch of the Ui Maine, the Cork one of the Corca Laoighdhe, and the Ui Cuileáin of Tyrone were erenaghs (the hereditary lay heads of families that held church lands) of Clogher.

The Giant's Causeway at twilight with wet hexagonal basalt columns stretching to the sea and long exposure blurred waves
The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim

The Collins counties, photographed

Antrim

The Antrim coast road runs about 25 miles between the cliffs and the sea, with nine glens coming down to it. The rock is basalt, the same flow that formed the Giant's Causeway. Scotland is 12 miles off at the narrowest point and visible on a clear day.

The iconic Dark Hedges beech tree tunnel near Armoy in County Antrim with intertwined branches forming a brooding canopyThe Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim

Clare

Clare is the Burren: bare limestone pavement where Arctic and Mediterranean plants grow side by side. The Cliffs of Moher are on the coast. Doolin and Miltown Malbay are two of the best-known traditional music towns in the country.

Dramatic view of the Cliffs of Moher on a windy day, Co. Clare, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxCliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Moonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. ClareMoonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare

Cork

Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Three peninsulas run west into the Atlantic: Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen, with the population thinning the further out you go. My gallery is in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay, so it's the ground I photograph most.

Rugged Atlantic coastline at Allihies, Cork, Ireland, with layered slate cliffs, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxAllihies Coast, Cork Co. Cork Sunset over Dun an Oir ruins and sea stacks on Cape Clear Island, Cork, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDún an Óir, Cape Clear Island, Cork Co. Cork

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Galway

Connemara takes up the west of the county: the Twelve Bens, blanket bog, and fields walled off into very small squares. The Aran Islands sit at the mouth of Galway Bay. The Gaeltacht starts a few miles west of Galway city.

Enormous waves sending spray over 30-metre sea cliffs at Poll an tSeidein on Inis Meain, Aran Islands at sunsetPoll an tSéideáin, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway The rusting Plassey shipwreck on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, seen from above with the Atlantic Ocean beyondThe Plassey, Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway

Kerry

Carrauntoohil in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038 metres. The Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas run west from it, with the Skelligs eight miles off the Iveragh coast. I ran a gallery in Killarney for years.

Moody long exposure of Coumeenoole Beach with Blasket Islands, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry Long exposure evening light on moss-covered rocks at Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening II, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry

All Antrim prints · All Clare prints · All Cork prints · All Dublin prints · All Galway prints · All Kerry prints

Notable bearers

Phil Collins (born 1951), actor, singer, and musician.

Michael Collins (1930-2021), actor, autobiographer, and military officer.

Lily Collins (born 1989), actor, writer, and model.

Michael Collins (1890-1922), politician, military officer, and statesperson.

Suzanne Collins (born 1962), writer, screenwriter, and journalist.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Johnson · Murphy · Howard · Coleman · Hayes · Mason · Palmer · Warren · Ryan · Lane · Franklin · Obrien

How common the name was

In 1890, 352 births were registered under Collins in Ireland, most of them in Antrim, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, and Limerick.

Munster 200
Leinster 60
Ulster 49
Connacht 43
Ireland 352

Limerick is the one I haven't worked in.