Doyle

his is one of the most numerous family names in Leinster, especially around Wexford. The origins of the name are unclear, but are believed to come from the nickname given to the Viking invaders of Ireland in about the ninth century. They were called duhh-ghall, which means dark foreigner. This name was changed over the years to become Doyle. Some of this name have made distinctive contributions to the arts. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), famous for writing about that great character of detective fiction, Sherlock Holmes, was born in Edinburgh of an Irish Catholic family. His uncle, Richard Doyle, was a well-known contributor to Punch magazine in the mid-19th century. In modern times, Roddy Doyle, born in Dublin in 1958, has achieved world-wide fame and wealth from such novels as The Commitments and Paddy Clarke, Ha, Ha, Ha. Jack Doyle (1913-1978) was known as the Gorgeous Gael: he was a boxer and playboy and achieved fame, not to say notoriety, during and after World War II.

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