Ó Flaithbertaigh, Gaelic-Irish surname, anglicized as O'Flaherty

This Gaelic-Irish surname is written as "Ua Flaithbertach" (nominative) or "Ua Flaithbertaig" (genitive) in Old Irish and Middle Irish texts. The surname is commonly translated as "bright ruler" or more correctly "bright prince", flaith originally meaning prince in Irish. "O" or Ó comes from Ua, designating "grandson" or "descendant" of a (major) clan member. The prefix is often anglicised to O', using an apostrophe instead of the Irish síneadh fada: "´".

Maigh Seóla was the term used to describe the earliest O'Flaherty domain, to the east of Lough Corrib in the kingdom of Connacht, the western most province of the Island of Ireland (Irish: Éire).

The Ó Flaithbertaighs are a branch of the Muintir Murchada dynasty, named after Murchadh mac Maenach (died 891), King of the Uí Briúin Seóla. Murchadh is one of the earliest attested kings of his region. The leading family of this dynasty would take the surname Ó Flaithbheartaigh (O'Flaherty) from the 11th century onwards.

Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, CBE (28 February 1898 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and senior official of the Roman Curia. During World War II, he was responsible for saving 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews. Due to his ability to evade the traps set by the German Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst, Monsignor O'Flaherty earned the nickname "the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican".

Shortly after the birth of Hugh O'Flaherty in Lisrobin, Kiskeam, County Cork, his parents, James and Margaret, moved to Killarney. The family lived on the golf course where James worked as a steward. By his late teens, young O'Flaherty had a scratch handicap and a scholarship to a teacher training college. But his destiny lay elsewhere. In 1918, he enrolled at Mungret, a Jesuit college in Limerick dedicated to preparing young men for missionary priesthood.

Normally, students ranged from 14 to 18 years of age. At the time when O'Flaherty came in, he was a bit older than most of the students, about 20. The college allowed for some older people to come in if they had been accepted by a bishop who would pay for them.

Eric George O'Flaherty (born February 5, 1985 in Walla Walla, Washington) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.

O'Flaherty is the first reliever in Major League history to record a sub-1.00 ERA with at least 70 appearances in a season and was the first pitcher in Seattle Mariners franchise history to begin his Major League career with seven consecutive wins.

O'Flaherty was drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the sixth round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 176th pick overall. As a senior at Walla Walla High School, he had a 5–2 record, an ERA of 1.99, and 83 strikeouts. He earned Pitcher of the Year honors in the Big Nine Conference.

O'Flaherty quickly made his way through the Mariners' minor league affiliate teams. He started 2006 with the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers where he had a 3.45 ERA and struck out 33 batters in 16 relief appearances. On May 27, he moved to the Doulble-A San Antonio Missions where he had a record of 2–2 with an ERA of 1.14 and seven saves in 25 games. He moved again that same season to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on August 9; he would stay with them until his August 16 appearance with the Mariners. His combined minor league record in 2006 was 3–3 with a 2.01 ERA, eight saves, and 73 strikeouts in 43 games.