Looby Family
MOTTO:
Virtus propter se
Motto Translated:
Virtue for its own sake
Crest:
An arm grasping a sword encircled by an oak wreath
Coat of Arms:
A silver shield with an oak tree between two red stars
This is an ancient Irish surname. Spelling variations of this family name include: O'Luby, Luby, Lube and Looby. Originally recorded in the Gaelic as O’Lubaigh. It has the unusual meaning of “The male descendant of the cunning one” This is or was almost certainly a reference to the original chief of the clan, as a “nickname”
The O’Lubaigh clan are believed to originate from county Tipperary in the baronies of Iffa and Offa. There is a place called Ballylooby or the place of the Looby’s where the name originated in ancient times. In 1665, there were 20 families called Looby or Luby recorded in the Hearth tax registers for Tipperary. There are some noted Looby’s of County Kildare that joined the Army of King James 2nd in and around 1690, it is claimed that Lieutenant William Luby of County Kildare joined the army of King James 11nd. When King James was defeated at the battle of the Boyne, William Luby was captured and subsequently outllawed for high treason. However he later managed to have this sentence reversed, and at the same time he changed his name to Lube. There are a few recordings of Lube in Counties Kildare and Meath, and these people are presumably descendants. Thomas Clarke Luby, (1822 - 1901) was a prominent Fenian, as well as being a journalist, and a Protestant, not the usual qualifications for being what was then regarded as a rebel. Ballylooby in Irish is Beal Atha Lubaigh meaning mouth or pass of Looby’s Ford a village near Waterford in Tipperary.
