Derivation of the Connolly Surname

Owing to the lack of precision frequently found in the anglicization of Gaelic surnames due to the fact that their English forms were often determined by the phonetic attempts of lawyers and others in the seventeenth century who were unfamiliar with the Irish language, the name Connolly has been much confused with Conneely and Killealy.

The people now called Connolly mostly derive their descent from three Gaelic septs. These were O'Conghalaigh or O'Conghaile of Connacht and of Monaghan, and O'Coingheallaigh of Munster, for which MacCoingheallaigh was previously an alias; the other Connacht sept was of the Ui Maine and the same stock was the O'Maddens. That associated with Co. Monaghan was in early times the most important, being one of the "four tribes of Tara" and a branch of the southern Ui Neill, but it was forced out of its original territory by the Anglo-Norman invasion and driven northwards to Co. Monaghan.

As late as 1591 Tirlogh O'Connola is recorded in the Fiants relating to Co. Monaghan as Chief of the Name and late vice-marshal to MacMahon. The Munster Connollys were established in West Cork where they were subject to the paramount O'Donovans of that area. At the present time the name is most numerous in each of the aforesaid places, viz Counties Galway, Monaghan and Cork, while it is still found in and around County Meath.

The most famous was James Connolly, Commandant of the Irish Citizen Army, 1914 – Commandant General of Dublin Division of the Army of the Republic, 1916 – executed following the 1916 Uprising. When the Easter Rising occurred on April 24, 1916, Connolly was Commandant of the Dublin Brigade, and as the Dublin brigade had the most substantial role in the rising, he was de facto Commander in Chief. Following the surrender he was executed by the British at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, although he was so badly injured from the fighting that he was unable to stand before the firing squad and was therefore shot in a chair. He was survived by his wife and numerous children. The foremost Munster Connolly was William Conolly (c. 1660-1729), "squire", Speaker of the House of Commons and reputedly the richest man in Ireland, whose seat was Castletown, Co. Kildare; his relative Thomas Conolly (1738-1803), was another politician of note. Most Rev. John Connolly (1750-1825), notable Dominican Archbishop of New York, was also of a Meath family. James Connolly (1868-1916), labour leader, signatory of the Irish Declaration of Independence, wounded in the Rising and executed while still unable to stand, is usually stated to have been born at Clones, Co. Monaghan in 1870. It has however recently been discovered that he was born in Edinburgh of Irish parents on June 5, 1868. A number of exiles have kept the name in the forefront both in America and France: William Connolly one of the noblesse of Bordeaux at the time of the French Revolution while in the United States, besides the archbishop referred to above, Henry Connolly (1800-1866) was a famous pioneer; Pierce Francis Connelly (b. 1841) was a sculptor of note.

O Conghalaigh - O'Connolly - Connolly

The O'Harts, the O'Regans, Connollys, and the O'Kellys formed the "Four Tribes of Tara". Co. Monaghan was dominated by the McMahons and their allies, the McKennas and Connollys, they maintained effective domination of the county even after the arrival of the Normans in the twelfth century.

Connolly Clan Motto: "en Dui est tout" Wisdom without Guile

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