The surname comes from the Irish Ó hEidirsceoil, grandson of Eidirsceol (from eidirsceol, meaning "go-between" or "bearer of news"). The original Eidirsceol from whom descent is claimed is reputed to have lived in the mid 10th century. The name is one of the very few to be clearly identified with the Érainn, or Fir Bolg, Celts who were settled in Ireland well before the arrival of the Gaels.

Although the evidence is sparse, before the 8th century what is now Co. Cork appears to have been populated mainly by tribes of Érainn descent, including the Corca Laoighde tribal grouping of whom the Uí hEidirsceoil were the chief family. Baltimore was the seat of O'Driscolls. From the twelfth century, the Annals describe the O'Driscolls as kings of the Corca Laoighde. A further indication of their power comes in their inclusion in the Gaelic genealogies; although they were not ethnic Gaels, a lineage was produced for the family to connect them to Lughaidh Laidhe, a supposed descendant of Milesius, the progenitor of the Gaels. Such was respectability in medieval Ireland.

The O'Driscoll Clan Gathering takes place in Baltimore, West Cork on the last weekend of June every year.

Some O'Driscoll links:

O'Driscoll Family Archive
O'Driscolls in Canada
O'Driscolls UK