Welcome to the FEENEY DNA Project !- Background

Background

The FEENEY families are most closely associated with Connacht, the Irish homeland of the two prominent septs of the name - O Fiannaidhe (clan of Sligo and Mayo) and O Fidhne (clan of Galway and Roscommon). The 1640 invasion of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell brought the two clans together in the common defense of the Motherland, making it virtually impossible to trace our present day FEENEYs to one sept or the other. This FEENEY DNA Project is intended to change this. Ulster FEENEYs may belong to the O Maolfhiona sept who first anglicized their name MULFINNY, but later adopted FEENEY and FINNY.

Do you know where your family originated?

In the primary property valuation survey of Ireland during the years 1847-1864 (commonly known as Griffith's Valuation)there were Feeny/Feeney families in fifteen counties. The number of families in each of these counties is listed as follows:
Antrim - 3
Armagh - 1
Derry - 4
Galway - 66
Kildare - 1
Laois - 10
Leitrim - 1
Longford - 16
Mayo - 28
Monaghan - 4
Offaly - 7
Roscommon - 28
Sligo - 23
Tipperary - 1
Westmeath - 15