Maguire ( /məˈɡwʌɪə/, also spelled "Mac Guire" or "McGuire") is an Irish surname from the Gaelic Mac Uidhir, which is "son of Odhar" or "son of the dun or dark coloured one". According to legend, the eleventh in descent from Colla da Chrich, great-grandson of Cormac mac Airt, monarch of Ireland about the middle of the third century.
As a given name, Maguire is uncommon.
The Maguire sept is primarily associated with modern-day County Fermanagh. They possessed the entire county, also known as Maguire's Country, from about 1250 C.E. and maintained their independence as Lords of Fermanagh down to the reign of King James VI & I, when their country was confiscated like other parts of Ulster. The Maguires supplied Chiefs or Princes to Fermanagh, from about A.D. 1264, when they supplanted the former Chieftains (O'Daimhin, or Devin). They were inaugurated as Princes of Fermanagh on the summit of Cuilcagh, a magnificent mountain near Swanlinbar, on the borders of Cavan and Fermanagh; and sometimes also at a place called Sciath Gabhra or Lisnasciath, now Lisnaskea. The family was first mentioned in the Annals as early as 956 AD and have always been closely associated with the other leading septs of Ulster such as the O'Neill and the O'Donnell. They spawned several well-known branches which became septs in their own right, including Mac Manus, Mac Caffrey, Mac Hugh, and several others. The name is among the forty most common names in Ireland, among the top twenty-five in Ulster, ten in Co. Cavan, thirty in Co. Monaghan and is the single most common name in Co. Fermanagh. Maguiresbridge in Co. Fermanagh (Irish: Droichead Mhig Uidhir) takes its name from the family.
In the Nine Years' War (1594–1603), Hugh Maguire, the Lord of Fermanagh, took the rebels' side, while his subordinate kinsman Connor Roe Maguire of Magherastephana sought to displace him and was nicknamed "the Queen's Maguire" for his support of Queen Elizabeth's forces. Connor was granted the whole of Maguire's Country (Fermanagh) by letters patent in 1601, but this was disregarded by the Plantation of Ulster in 1609, which granted him only twelve thousand acres of the barony of Magherastephana. Connor's son Bryan was made Baron Maguire of Enniskillen in 1627; Bryan's son Connor, 2nd Baron supported the Confederate Ireland rebellion of the 1640s and was executed and attainted in 1645. During translation in the Ulster Plantation, various English translations of the original Mag Uidhir appeared, including Mc Guire, Maguire, Mac Guire and McGuire. In South West Donegal, the name is re-translated into Gaelic as Mac Guibhir. An unusual version is Meguiar, an American spelling best known from "Meguiar's Wax."
The Maguire clan motto is "Justia et Fortitudo Invincibilia Sunt", which is Latin for "Justice and Fortitude Are Invincible".
Baron Maguire, Two Barons Maguire of Enniskillen in the Peerage of Ireland
Bassett Maguire (1904-1991), American botanist
Cathy Maguire, Irish singer-songwriter, TV personality from Dundalk, Co Louth.
Charles A. Maguire (1876–1949), Canadian politician; mayor of Toronto 1922–1923
Chris Maguire (born 1989), Scottish professional football player
Clare Maguire (born 15 September 1987), British singer-songwriter
Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen, Irish rebel of 1641
Darragh Maguire (born 1976), Irish professional football player
Donna Maguire (born 1967), Provisional IRA member
Eleanor Maguire, Irish neuropsychologist
Emily Maguire (disambiguation), multiple people
Father Bob Maguire (born c.1935), Australian priest and community worker; awarded the Order of Australia 1989
Frank Maguire (1929–1981), Northern Ireland politician and MP
Gavin Maguire (born 1967), Welsh international footballer
George Maguire (born 1990), Olivier Award-winning English actor
George Maguire (1796–1882), Irish-American mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Gerard Maguire (born 1945), Australian actor
Gregory Maguire (born 1954), American author
Graham McGuire (born 1950), Mayor of Williamstown J.P. LL.B. Lawyer Australia
Harold Maguire (1912–2001), Director-General of Intelligence at the British Ministry of Defence
Hugh Maguire (violinist) (1927–2013), Irish violinist
Hugh Maguire (Lord of Fermanagh) (d. 1600), Lord of Fermanagh in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth
Jack Maguire (1925–2001), American professional football player
James G. Maguire (1853–1920), American politician; U.S. representative from California
Jeff Maguire (born 1952), American film screenwriter
John A. Maguire (1870–1939), American politician from Nebraska
John Aloysius Maguire (1851–1920), Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland
John Norman Maguire (born 1956), Australian cricketer
Joseph Maguire (contemporary), U.S. Navy rear admiral, Commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command
Joseph Francis Maguire (1919-2014), American Catholic bishop
Josh Maguire (born 1980), Australian football player
Kathleen McGuire (born 1965), Australian-American musician (conductor, composer, educator)
Kevin Maguire (born 1960), American comic book artist
Kristin Maguire, American politician and former chairman of the South Carolina State Board of Education
Larry Maguire (born 1949), Canadian politician and activist farmer in Manitoba; representative in the Manitoba legislature
Leona Maguire (born 1994), Irish golfer, twin of Lisa.
Lisa Maguire (born 1994), Irish golfer, twin of Leona.
Máiread Corrigan-Maguire (born 1944), Northern Irish peace activist
Mark McGwire, (born 1963), American baseball player
Martie Maguire (born 1969), American country music songwriter and singer; founding member of the Dixie Chicks
Mary Maguire (1919–1974), born Hélène Teresa Maguire, Australian actress
Matt Maguire (born 1984), Australian rules footballer
Michael Maguire (disambiguation), multiple people
Paul Maguire (born 1938), American professional football player and sportscaster
Peter J. McGuire (1852-1906), American labor leader
Sam Maguire (1879–1927), Irish Republican and Gaelic footballer; eponym of the Sam Maguire Cup
Sharon Maguire (born 1960), British film maker
Stephen Maguire (born 1981), Scottish professional snooker player
Steve Maguire (contemporary), American software engineer and author
Thomas Herbert Maguire (1821–1895) was an English artist and engraver
Tobey Maguire (born 1975), American actor; best known for Spider Man
Tom Maguire (1892–1993), Irish republican, commandant-general in the IRA
Jerry Maguire, the title character from the 1996 romantic comedy-drama sports film of the same name; portrayed by Tom Cruise
