O’Sullivan/Sullivan World Record Gathering May 2026

09/06/2026

Great to see our amazing achievement recognised! 💪📣

Almost 2,000 people with the last names O'Sullivan and Sullivan have travelled to Cork, in the largest ever recorded gathering of people with the same surname.

07/06/2026

EVEN the Guinness World Record adjudicator​, Mr Pravin Patel, had to agree that the O'Sullivan and Sullivan gathering in Castletownbere on Sunday was fantastic fun.Meeting a Mexican Sullivan, or visitors from Oz, and even one O'Sullivan, Emily, who was just eight-days-old, all

02/06/2026

Thanks to Sean Moriarty photography for documenting our day -
from a rainy start to a glorious, World-record-breaking finish! 📣🎊

31/05/2026

So much fun was had at the Clan Gathering yesterday! A world record was made, great conversations were had, and so many connections were forged! 🍀

Do share your pictures with us. We'd love to see them!

31/05/2026

Join us today for talks and tours on our O'Sullivan and Sullivan history, from stories about the battle of Dunboy to tales of famine, emigration, and research into our connections from Beara to Butte. 🍀

📅 SUNDAY 31st May, 9:30 am
📍 Scoil an Chrói Ró Naofa, Castletownbere (P75 CF68)

🎙️ Bobby O'Dwyer – Bobby's father Riobard compiled the Annals of Beara, documenting the genealogy of thousands of Beara families over 200 years. Bobby will explain how this remarkable research was carried out entirely by hand and is now preserved in the Who Were My Ancestors? books.

🎙️ Fiachra Murphy – Fiachra will share stories of emigration from Beara and explain how people from the peninsula settled around the world, exploring in particular the strong connections with Butte, Montana.

🎙️ Oonagh Comerford – Emigration from the Kerry side of the Beara Peninsula is another important part of the O'Sullivan story. Oonagh will tell the story of the many from the Kenmare Bay area who emigrated to New York. During the Famine, the Lansdowne Estate alone sent approximately 4,000 tenants from Kenmare to North America.

🎫 Book ahead at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-emigration-from-beara-west-cork-south-kerry-castletownbere-tickets-1977806859558

📅 SUNDAY 31st May, 2:15 pm
📍 Dunboy Castle
🎺 A piper from America will open proceedings.
🎙️ Wayne O'Sullivan – Wayne will discuss the history of Dunboy Castle and the legacy of O'Sullivan Beare.
🎙️ Duncan Gawthorpe – Duncan, from the Trails Office at Sport Ireland, will explain the past and exciting future of The Beara Way and the Beara–Breifne Way.
🎙️ Tom Scriven – Tom will discuss his own winter march to Leitrim, retracing the footsteps of O'Sullivan Beare with a group from County Cork.

📅 MONDAY 1st June, 9:30 am - 4 pm
📍 Departs from Castletownbere

To see historic sites linked to our clan story for yourself, join our guided bus tour from Castletownbere to experience the Ring of Beara and visit O' Sullivan castles and sites – Dunboy, Dursey Sound, Ardea, and Carriganass – where you'll have the chance to learn from local experts.

Limited places remaining.
🎫 Book at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guided-tours-of-osullivan-beare-castles-sites-tickets-1977807645910

📋Check out the whole programme and details of our evening reception at osullivanclan.org


Cork County Council Pure Cork Wild Atlantic Way Beara Tourism

30/05/2026

After a morning when the rain tried to throw us off track, the O'Sullivans and Sullivans came together to achieve a family name gathering of 1848 people - from a few days old to 96! 😍

You helped us make it happen, and we can't thank you enough!

Photos and updates to follow, but here is the moment our meticulous judge from the Guinness Book of Records, Mr. Patel, shared the wonderful news and the sun decided to shine down on us all. ☀️

Cork County Council Pure Cork Wild Atlantic Way

30/05/2026

Scenes from the count! 👀 Thanks to the Southern Star 🌟

30/05/2026

Today's the day for our World Record Attempt for the largest gathering of people with the same surname - and we're not going to let a drop fo rain stop us - we need you there! 💪

📍 Beara Community School, Castletownbere, Co. Cork

Registration opens at 1:30pm.
Pipers will lead people onto the pitch at 3pm.
Video, photo and drone proof will then be captured to support out world record claim.

🎫Identification
Present your birth certificate, passport, or driving licence - proving you're an O'Sullivan, Sullivan, or variant at birth or now.

🎫Sign-in
Write your name on the registration sheet. Each member of your family must also sign individually.

🎫Collect your numbered card
You will be given a numbered card - please keep this with you.

🎫 Proceed to the turnstiles
Bring your numbered card to the staff member at the turnstiles.
You must qualify to proceed beyond this point.

🎫Move outside to the pitch area
Go through the turnstile and proceed outside to the pitch.

📣Final count
Participants will be counted in groups of 50 on the pitch.

🎵Entertainment
Festivities begin with music and dancing and a craft fair in the sport hall and later on, in the evening when the event has finished, more entertainment will take place throughout the town.

29/05/2026

We're on the eve of our record attempt!
And we need to get practical...

Here's the parking plan - including provision for accessible parking - and we will have lots of marshalls on hand to guide you and offer help!

To check out the schedule and what you need to bring, check osullivanclan.org