THE RICE FAMILY

Rice Name History

There are two distinct origins for the surname Rice in Ireland. Where it is found in Oriel, that is, counties Louth and Armagh, it is of native Gaelic derivation, being one of two anglicized forms of the Irish O Maolcraoibhe, from "craobh" meaning "a branch". The Rice translation is explained by the fact that the now obsolete Old English word for a branch is "rhis". Little is known regarding the history of the O Maolcraoibhe sept. In 1428 records tell us that one Rory O'Mulcrew was in trouble with the Bishop of Dromore, and early seventeenth century documents relating to the Plantation of Ulster refer to members of the sept as belonging to that large grouping known collectively to the English as the "meer Irish".  The surname is also found, though never in large numbers, in the southern province of Munster, where it is of ultimately of Welsh origin, from "ap Rhys", literally, "the son of Rhys". The surname was introduced to the area following the Anglo-Norman Invasion, and by the fourteenth century its bearers had become influential in Limerick and Kerry, where they number among the counties provosts, mayors and sheriffs, and also as landed gentry in the area of Dingle. That they also became totally hibernicized is evidenced by their adherence to the Jacobite cause, and in the seventeenth century no less than twenty of the Kerry Rices lost their lands as a result of the Cromwellian forfeitures, while Sir Stephen Rice was among those who suffered for their support of James II. Several of the family joins the "Flight of the Wild Geese" at this time, and led successful careers in Europe, James Louis Count Rice, for example (b 1730) became a soldier in the Austrian army and close friend of Emperor Joseph II, while some of the exiled Rices of Kerry became eminent bankers in France. In more recent times the name has remained prominent in the person of Edmund Ignatius Rice (1772-1844), founder of the Christian Brothers, and it has also ramified in the New World, where it was introduced from Ireland   at least as early as 1804, when one of those sailing on the Maria, bound for Baltimore from Derry, was one John Rice.

In the course of doing research on the Rice family I came across a few old photos of Rice Family members. 

Laois SF Team 1930. Standing - 2nd from left - Jack Rice - Ballylinan, Laois.

Below are pictures of 'Wolf' of Nenagh and Sergeant Jack Rice. (Please click the thumbnails to view a larger version - they may take some time to download)