The Brady name is one of Ireland’s most recognizable family names, with a history that dates back to ancient times, through popular culture, and with plenty of modern representatives stirring up their own little pocket of fame around the world.
Going back to the old Gaelic Ó Brádaigh (or Mac Brádaigh), the oldest Irish meanings are suggestive of broad, strong and spirited — and who amongst us wouldn’t be fairly proud to be known for that!?
Over the centuries, the Bradys have left an indelible mark not only in their Irish homeland but also in many corners of the globe. Together, in the rest of this article, we will explore the earliest history of the Brady name, its significance through Ireland down the centuries, and its impact in popular culture around the world in the 21st century.
Let’s jump in!
The Early and Medieval Evolution of the Brady Name
As mentioned above, the Brady surname is an Anglicized form of the old Gaelic Ó Brádaigh or Mac Brádaigh, which translates as “descendant of” or “son of” Brádach, which is said to have had meanings of both "spirited" and "broad-chested" in the old native language.
The Bradys lineage back to the ancient tribes of Ulster, particularly in County Cavan and County Monaghan, something that will still be in evidence to anyone who spends much time in these neighboring Irish counties now, both of which flank the “border” which was implemented with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. (Cavan and Monaghan are two of the nine counties of Ulster, but along with Donegal — all three had majority Catholic populations — were omitted from the six counties that formed Northern Ireland after that most controversial political agreement which sowed the seeds for the immediate Irish Civil War and the Troubles which followed later in the 20th century.)
Like many old Irish surnames or clan names, the Brady name is well in evidence during Ireland’s early medieval period, when powerful Irish families or clans controlled significant territories.
The Ó Brádaigh clan is said to be related to — or even originated from — the old Uí Briúin tribe, a powerful dynasty across much of Connacht and Ulster in the northern half of the island.
By the 12th century, the Bradys were firmly established as one of the leading clans in what would become modern day County Cavan, holding significant influence in the region. As well as their prowess in weaponry and war — when broad-chested, strong and spirited are in your genes, you don’t often take a backward step! — the Bradys were also recognized for their religious contributions and members of the family served as clergy in the medieval Catholic Church. Arguably the most notable figure in an ecclesiastical setting was Andrew Brady, who in the 16th century became the Bishop of Kilmore.
The Brady Territories
The land of modern day County Cavan is part of the ancient kingdom of Breifne, a territory historically divided between two powerful families: the O'Rourkes of West Breifne (including much of present day County Leitrim) and the O'Reillys of East Breifne (now Cavan). The Bradys were closely allied with the O'Reillys in East Breifne.
Like many powerful families around Ireland, the Brady clan’s influence waned following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the 17th century, when some Brady families were forced to give up their lands under penal laws targeting Irish Catholics. However, their presence in Cavan and the surrounding counties remained strong, and many continued to thrive as tenants or traders.
In modern times, County Cavan remains a heartland for the Brady name, with many descendants of the original clan still residing there.
Some of the most famous local Bradys included Phil “The Gunner” Brady, who won three All-Ireland titles with the Cavan team between 1947 and 1952. The first of those is arguably the most famous All-Ireland final of all time, as it was played in the Polo Grounds in New York — the only time in history the All-Ireland was played outside Ireland. On that occasion, “the Gunner” scored a point as Cavan beat the men from the “Kingdom” of Kerry.
New York and other farflung cities would become home from home for many Bradys over the years. Like much of the Irish population, the Brady family experienced waves of emigration at different times, especially in the mid-19th century following the Famine and in the 1950s and ‘80s when so much of Ireland was gripped by economic difficulties. As a result, Bradys can be found in significant numbers in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Despite this diaspora, the name remains closely associated with the lakes, hills and hillocks — known locally as “drumlins” — of County Cavan.
Oval Ball to the Oval Office: Famous Bradys from Around the World
That scattering of people from Cavan to various corners of the world inevitably led to the Brady name popping up in all sorts of places in later decades.
Undoubtedly the most famous contemporary bearer of the name is Tom Brady, now widely regarded as the greatest quarterback in American football history.
Born in San Mateo, California, in 1977, Tom Brady started football life as a college player with the University of Michigan Wolverines — just down the road far away from Real Irish’s home and heartland!
Although he didn’t exactly arrive in the NFL as a readymade superstar, selected 199th overall in the 2000 Draft, Brady won seven Super Bowl championships during his illustrious career with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To underline the extent of that achievement, no other player has won more than six, and in past half century only Charles Haley, a defensive lineman, has won five.
Tom Brady in 2017. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Several years ago the Boston Globe reported research from genealogist Jim McNiff, which showed that Brady’s lineage could be traced back to Boston in the mid-19th century, and that both sides of Brady’s family were Irish. While there is little public evidence of Brady’s connection with Cavan, let’s face it, it’s Brady and it’s Boston, so it’s not hard to add two and two together!
Bradys everywhere can thank Tom Brady’s success on the football fields of America with the Patriots and the Buccs, which has succeeded in making the name almost a household word worldwide.
In Ireland, Bradys have been in the vanguard of entertainment for generations, most notably the footballer Liam Brady and the musician Paul Brady.
Liam is regarded by many as the greatest ever Irish footballer — although he must also be one of the country’s unluckiest too.
He played 72 times for the Irish national team between 1974 and 1990, a career which saw him compete at the top level for Arsenal all through the 1970s before becoming a household name in Italy during the pinnacle of calcio in the 1980s, when he turned out for Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Ascoli and, most famously, Juventus, the so-called Old Lady of Turin, when he wore the Number 10 shirt of the trequartista and helped Juve to back to back Italian titles. He was unlucky too in that the golden era of Irish football, the Euro 88 and World Cup journeys of 1990 and 1994 under Jack Charlton, coincided with the twilight of Brady’s career.
There was some uproar when he was omitted from the squad for Euro 88 in Germany, and by the time of Italia 90 two years later, Liam’s career had come to an end. Not that he disappeared into the shadows, though — he had a fine second career as a television analyst on Irish TV, becoming one of the famous “Three Wise Men” with John Giles and Eamon Dunphy, whose studio battles chaired by the late, great Bill O’Herlihy were often better viewing than the football they were analyzing!
Liam Brady (center) with John Giles and Eamon Dunphy were stars of RTE’s soccer coverage for 30 years. (Image link)
Paul Brady, meanwhile, is a much-loved Irish singer-songwriter. His career spans more than half a century, having joined the great Irish folk band Planxty alongside Christy Moore and Andy Irvine in 1974, but it was as a solo artist that Brady won fans throughout the world.
Few people who have heard Paul Brady’s brand of heartfelt folk will ever forget it. Below is one of his finest, a performance of the old American ballad “The Lakes of Pontchartrain” alongside his old Planxty bandmate Andy Irvine from 1977. Paul Brady is still going strong, releasing his 12th solo album in 2022 at the age of 75.
The Lakes of Pontchartrain - Paul Brady 1977
Back to football for a moment, and crossing the Irish Sea, Karren Brady is someone with a strong Irish connection — even though she’s better known as a hard-nosed entrepreneur and football executive. Karren — or Baroness Brady to give her the full title — is currently vice-chairperson of Premier League club West Ham United having previously been appointed Managing Director of Birmingham City at the age of just 24! Brady has also become something of a television star too, starring in the UK series of The Apprentice as one of the sidekicks of head honcho Alan Sugar.
Finally on our tour of the world of Bradys, we go back to America and back in time to Mathew Brady, who more than 150 years ago became one of the first ever photojournalists and is now best known for his pictures documenting the American Civil War. His haunting images of battlefield carnage brought the reality of war home to the American public in a way that had never been seen before.
One of Mathew Brady’s photos of the American Civil War. Burying Confederate dead, Fredericksburg, VA, 1863. (National Archives Identifier 524749)
Poem: Three Mathew Brady Photographs by Eric Pankey
Other notable Bradys in the US and further afield include James Brady, the White House Press Secretary under President Ronald Reagan who was left paralyzed after being seriously wounded during an assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981. He later became a prominent gun control activist and his work was so instrumental that an act of law was instituted in 1993, called the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act or simply the Brady Act in his honour; and Nicholas F. Brady, who served as the US Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan and George H.W. Bush. His most prominent work was the so-called Brady Plan, a framework of debt relief for developing nations during a financial crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s which had a lasting impact on global economic policy.
The Brady Name in Popular Culture
Even before those political figures and Tom Brady made the Brady surname famous throughout America and the wider world, the name had become an indelible part of pop culture through The Brady Bunch, which was a television sitcom that aired from 1969 to 1974 and remains beloved by many of a certain age.
The show followed the lives of a blended family, the Bradys, with six children and their parents, Mike and Carol. The Brady Bunch became a cultural phenomenon and made the Brady name forever synonymous with wholesome American family life.
While the original show aired only for five years, the last of those now half a century back, there were spinoffs over the years, including The Brady Bunch Movie, from 1995, which offered a nostalgic satire that embraced the 1970s' quirky, wholesome family values of the original show as well as juxtaposing them with modern-day 1990s culture. The movie was successful enough to spawn a sequel, A Very Brady Sequel the following year.
Meet the Bradys in the Opening Scene of The Brady Bunch Pilot!
Brady’s Coffee Company
One of a range of new companies around the world making waves on the coffee scene, Brady’s Coffee Company is the brainchild of an Irish family based in Wicklow town, just south of Dublin.
Craig Brady, a former competitive cyclist, has searched high and low for the perfect cup of coffee, which led him to start home-roasting in 2005. More than a decade later he decided to make it official, and with his wife Catherine, his brother Darren and Craig and Darren’s father John, Brady’s Coffee Company has come into being.
Since 2017, Brady’s Coffee Company has developed a fantastic range of coffees, including their barrel-aged coffee, a process that has been mastered over a number of years. The attractive Brady branding is becoming an increasingly common sight on the coffee shelves of grocery aisles around Ireland and overseas, and is now available right here at Real Irish!
So there you have it!
From its origins in old Gaelic Ireland to the modern day, the Brady name carries with it a proud legacy that dates back well over a millennium. People with the Brady surname have distinguished themselves in fields ranging from religion to sports to photography to public service to pop culture.
Increasingly, Brady has been adopted as a first or given name too, including Brady Ellison, who won silver medals for the USA in archery at three Olympic Games, most recently at Paris 2024, and Brady Haran, an Australian-British educational filmmaker who has attracted more than 8 million followers on YouTube with his Computerphile, Numberphile and Sixty Symbols channels.
This widespread recognition of the Brady name shows how this ancient Irish name has transcended borders, remaining both timeless and iconic in today’s world.
