A growing awareness of family identity in recent years has led to a universal search for roots.

The O Mahony Society was founded in 1955, partly in response to inquiries from overseas but chiefly because of a pressing need to tap in Ireland the oral tradition for the history of families who might still bear the individual sept names adopted by various groups of the O Mahony family.

There were eight principal sept names and five minor septs. The historian, Canon John O Mahony, recorded with a high degree of scholarship a remarkable account of the O Mahony septs of Kinelmeaky and Ivagha down to the 17th century. From thence, however, the record-keeping is meager.

The Irish diaspora in the wake of oppression, poverty, and famine left a gap in the legacy of family history: much of the oral tradition has gone unrecorded and whatever exists today perishes with the passing of each generation.

Requests for research of family ancestry continue to grow, and although the Society is not a genealogy service, per se, members do support others' searches whenever possible.  Initially, members should conduct a thorough search of family records in their possession, consult parents, grandparents, and other relatives, inspect civil and church records, legal documents, and other sources of recorded information such as newspapers and census reports. This advice applies particularly to members outside Ireland.

It is hoped that all members will participate in their family tree research and share that information (please see the Research tab for more information).   Annual meetings of the O Mahony Society in Ireland will always include a genealogical workshop.