Conneely

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conneely

Conneely from (Mac Conghaile) or (Ó Conghaile),is an Irish family name. Frequent examples of the name can be found in the Westof Ireland, particularly in the Connemara areaof Co. Galway.A coastal village in Co Galway is named Ballyconneely.

The original Irish language Gaelic version of the surname is Mac Conghaile, though sometimes rendered Ó Conghaile (due to an 18–19th century shift from Mac to O'). According to an entry in Irish Septs (David Austin Larkin): Mac Conghaile -a Conmaicne Mara sept ofBallyconneely Townland, Parish and Bay, Roundstone, Connemara, Galway; Marshallof Uí Maine. The name Connemara comes from the tribe of Conmac, or Conmaicne, awarrior tribe which was sent to the area by the ancient Gaelic Kings ofConnacht to ensure their hegemony. The branch of the tribe which went to thecoastal area became known as Conmaicnemara, or 'the tribe of Cormac by the sea'.^[1] Inmedieval times Connemara was ruled by the O'Cadhlas and later by the'ferocious' O'Flaherty's who built a series of castles along the coast.^[2] ConmaicneMara is bordered on the west by Lough Corrib (Loch Oirbsen). The ancientterritories along the Loch were Iar-Chonnacht, comprising Gnó Mor and GnóBeag—with Conmaicne-Mara, now Conamara, on the west, and Uí Briúin Seóla on theeast border, and towards the north-west, Dútha Seóigheach, the Joyce Country,between it and Loch Measca; and more to the north-east, Conmaicne Cúile Tola,the barony of Kilmaine, where the first great battle of Moytura was fought.

Twodistinct Gaelic surnames Mac an Fhilidh and Mac Conghaile are sometimes translatedas “Conneely” – in their earliest anglicised forms were almostindistinguishable. In the sixteenth century Fiants the former is found asMacAnellye and the latter as MacEnelly as well as MacNely and MacNeela. Themodern form of Mac Conghaile is Conneely, which is essentially a Connacht name,every one of the 92 births registered in 1890 took place in Connacht, and 89 ofthese were in Co. Galway; and the birth indices for 1864 to 1866 show an almostidentical preponderance of Co. Galway registrations. A century earlier it wasnumerous in south Mayo. Conneely represents an ancient west-Galway sept. Mac anFhilidh is the name of an Ulster sept, numerically inferior to Mac Conghaile.The Four Masters describe Giollachriost Mac an Fhilidh, who died in 1509, as alearned poet.

Froma A chorographical description of West or H-Iar Connaught / writtenA.D. 1684, by Roderic O'Flaherty, page 27: 1 Seales.—The coasts oflar-Connaught and its islands abound with seals. The curious account given ofthese animals by Martin in his description of the western islands of Scotland,p. 62, et seg., would, in most respects, answer for our western islandsand coast; the only difference, perhaps, being, that with us seals are seldomslaughtered or used as food. See the affecting story of the domesticated seal,told by the ingenious author of " Wild Sports of the West" Manytraditions, connecting these harmless animals with the marvellous, are relatedalong our western shores. Among these there is one of a curious nature, viz., thatat some distant period of time, several of the Clan Coneelys (Mac Conghaile),an old family of lar-Connaught, were, by " Art magick," metamorphosedinto seals! In some places the story has its believers, who would no more killa seal, or eat of a slaughtered one, than they would have a human Coneely. Itis related as a fact, that this ridiculous story has caused several of the clanto change their name to Conolly.,^[3][4]

FromIrish Names and Surnames (Woulfe, 1923) Mac CONGHAILE—IV—MacIneely,MacNeely, MacNeela, MacNella, MacNealy, Coneely, Conneely, Conneally, Conneely,Conneelly, Connelly, Cunneely, Kennelly, (Connolly), &c.; 'son of Conghal'(high-valour, an old Irish personal name); an old surname in West Connacht;still common in Galway and Mayo, but it is difficult, if not impossible, todistinguish its anglicised forms from those of Mac Conghaola, which see.

Theprincipal location of both the O Cadhla and Mac Conneely families was thebarony of Ballynahinch, Co. Galway,^[5] butthe area comes under the control of the O'Flaherties. The Mac Conneely clanheld the Errismore peninsula in Connemara running out to Slyne Head.^[6]

ÓConaola (Ó Conghaola and sometimes also spelt ó Confhaola), are an entirelyunrelated family from south Co. Galway -a toponymic, Hound of Gowla,of the Uí bhFhiachrach Aidne.

Oftenconfused with:

Ó Conghaola - Conneally orConnelly - Uí bhFhiachrach Aidne

Ó Conghailaigh – (O) Connelly or Connolly – SE Co Galway – SílnAmnchadha Uí Máine

Ó Conghalaigh –(O) Connolly – Co Fermanagh and Monaghan

Ó Coingheallaigh –Connolly – West Cork

Ó Congalaig – (O) Connolly– Co Dublin/Meath One of the Four Tribes of Tara. Southern Uí Néill Sil AedaSlaine.

Mac Conghaile or 'AcCrollaigh – Crilly – (Sligo)

Possibleearly bearers of the surname include Muriertagh McInylley of Galway,"Inquisittio of the duties and rights of St. Nicholas his churche",A.D. 1609.,^[7] aglower mentioned in the "Nomina Juratorum".