CLAN ORIGINS

NIALL NAOIGHIALLACH — Niall of the Nine Hostages

Born 353 A.D. — Died 405 A.D.

"You ask where am I from, I shall tell you that I descend from the ancient High Kings of Ireland, long ago".

They say that Irish history really began with Niall Naoighiallach, or in English Niall of the Nine Hostages. He was so called because he got nine pledges of allegiance from nine nations or regions which included the ancient five provinces of Ireland namely, Connacht, Leinster, Meath, Munster and Ulster. The other places were Scotland, Saxony, Britain/Wales and Brittany. According to tradition Niall was a tall, fair haired warrior. He became High King of Ireland in 379 A.D. He spent most of his life on military campaigns and raids instead of governing. He died on one of these legendary excursions to France in 405 A.D. From him descend many north western Irish clans including the McGinleys. From DNA evidence of recent years, science has confirmed what we knew for generations. We are from the blood of Niall of the Nine Hostages, originator of the ancient Uí Néill (descendants of Niall) bloodline.

The McGinley/Mag Fhionnaile clan belong to an area straddling the parishes of Tullaghobegly, Raymunterdoney and Clondahorky (see map in Clan Territory section) which includes the large area called Cloughaneely. The main area, Tullaghobegly, was prior to the mid 1700’s much bigger. It was during this period that the church redefined or divided some parishes. Before this time, Tullaghobegly included a large part of Gweedore (a neighbouring parish to the west). This is in the north of Tír Chonaill (the ancient Irish territory known in English as Co Donegal today). Tír Chonaill means ‘the land/territory of Conall’. This is because the majority of Donegal clans descend from Conall Gulban, (a figure belonging to the fifth century) including the Ó Domhnaill/O’Donnell, Ó Gallchóir/Gallagher, Ó Dochartaigh/Doherty etc. They are called the Cineál Chonaill meaning 'the kin/seed of Conall'. His brother was Eoghan after whom is named Inishowen (now part of Donegal) and Tyrone. His dynasty became known as Cineál Eoghain and they include the Ó Néill/O'Neill, Ó Catháin/Kane, Mac Lochlainn/McLoughlin and Mac Suibhne/Sweeney. The father of Conall Gulban and Eoghan was the famous Niall Naoighiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages). Niall had fourteen sons, three of whom, Conall, Eoghan and Éanna conquered Donegal and the north west and carved out individual kingdoms for themselves. Éanna had a very small territory Tír Éanna located south of the Inishowen Peninsula. Conall had the largest territory which at first included the south and western parts of the county including Cloughaneely. His Tír Chonaill eventually covered the whole county of Tyrconnell/Donegal. The modern county of Donegal was really an English invention forced on the local Irish. They 'united' the old Tír Conaill/Tyrconnell with Inishowen to form County Donegal in 1585.

Now, as we can see, anciently the north west of Ireland was divided up into two related dynasties headed by two brothers. It is a fact that nearly all clans found in Donegal belong to one of these branches, not forgetting the very small kingdom of the third brother and third branch, the Cineál Éanna. The exceptions to this are well known such as the McNultys and Dunleaveys who came from east Ulster and the Clearys from Connacht. These 'exceptions' are usually found in the far south of the county. We know for sure that the earliest McGinley takes us back to the 1200's and are placed in the far north of the county in typical Cineál Chonaill territory. We know for sure that we were heavily involved with religious matters. We know for sure that we had the special privilege of religion under the Sweeney clan protection. We know for sure that we came to prominence, as a clan, at the same time that the Sweeneys arrived back in Ireland from Scotland. While this shows a strong link or bond with the Sweeney clan, it does not automatically presume Cineál Eoghan origin as the Sweeneys are. There are many examples throughout the history of the area of friendships and alliances between groups/families of Cineál Chonaill and Cineál Eoghain. Also, we often find conflicts and wars where both sides are mixed up. Family tradition has always accerted a Cineál Chonaill origin.

Clans traditionally associated with the Cineál Chonaill include.....Boyle, Dougherty, Ferry, Friel, Gallagher, McBride, McCool/Coyle, McDaid, McGonigle, McMenamin, McNeilus, McRoarty, Mooney, O'Donnell, Strahan, Ward and ofcourse McGinley. Clans belonging to the Cinéal Eoghain (located in present Donegal) include, Bradley/Brollaghan, Deery, Dermott/Dermond, Duffy, Gormley/Grimes/O'Gorman, Lafferty/Laverty, McCrossan, McLoughlin, Mulfaul/McPhail, Shiels/Shields, Sweeney and Toner. The other group, the Cineál Éanna are represented by the Breslins and possibly the Kennys. The other notable clans in Donegal (those who possessed their own territories) are Begley (Gallowglass), Cleary/Clery/Clarke (from Connacht), Dunleavey/Dunlevy (from Co Down), Gillespie (from Co Down), McCready (from Co Down), McFadden (Gallowglass), McNulty/Ultagh (from Co Down). It is not known for sure to which group the Harkins, Divers, McGlincheys belonged to. This represents the clans who possessed their own territories in Donegal.

According to the famous Dr McGinley of Glenswilly, our clan base was near Dunfanaghy up until 1603/4. The historical evidence would seem to support this as the first survey of Co. Donegal (The Hearth Money Rolls, 1665) show the majority of the surname McGinley (and its variants) located within a few miles of the village of Dunfanaghy. While this survey is not extensive (it only lists those paying the English enforced Hearth Tax), it does give a rough idea as to location plus it is an early source, less than a generation after the break-up of the clan system. The name is spelt M’Ginnelly in this survey and 60% of the name are found around the greater Dunfanaghey area. Some family traditions have given the Roshin area (just a stone's throw south of Dunfanaghy) as the ancient centre for the clan. These sources are from unrelated families in Donegal, England and America. These three seperate family traditions all mention a large stone house in that area and this would have been very unusual for any McGinleys before the 1800's. One family in particular (based in Kansas, USA), say that they actually lived in this large stone house. These unrelated traditions may point to the residence of the main family of the McGinleys at that time (before the early 1800's). It is also clear, that from the earliest days of the McGinley clan in the 1200's, they were always most closely associated with religion and with the north Donegal area. They are known to have been 'perpetual vicars' in the north Donegal parish of Mevagh from the late 1200's (possibly earlier).

The ancient rulers of the Tullaghobegly Parish area were the Ó Maolgaoithe clan (Mulgeehy, Geehy). They were overthrown by the Ó Baoill clan (O’Boyle/Boyle) around the tenth century and they were dominant until the middle of the fourteenth century. Following this, the powerful Mac Suibhne clan (Sweeney) gained the leadership of the area. Their control lasted up until the end of the ‘Gaelic’ era in the early to mid seventeenth century. It was at the beginning of the period of Mac Suibhne leadership that the McGinley clan come alive. The leading clan levied taxes from the smaller or dependant clans. The payment was in kind, usually in the form of cattle and/or produce from the land. These smaller clans also had to supply their best warriors to the Mac Suibhne/Sweeney clan when needed. These were all part of the ancient Brehon Law system (the native law system used among the Gaels of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man) of which each clan respected. In return, each of the smaller dependant clans had the protection of the controlling clan (in our case the Mac Suibhne/Sweeney clan). There were a few ‘ruling clans’, like the Mac Suibhne, in different parts of Donegal. They all in turn swore their allegiances to the high leaders of the whole of Donegal, the Ó Domhnaill/O’Donnell clan. For example, during the reign of Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill/Red Hugh O’Donnell, the Mac Suibhne na dTuath (Sweeneys of Doe) had to supply 120 armed gallowglass warriors during times of war. Some of these may well have been McGinleys.

The Mag Fhionnaile/McGinley clan were, historically, one of the lesser known clans in Co. Donegal. They have since the very beginning had a close association with religion. The earliest record we have of a McGinley takes us back to the early 1300's when we find mention of 'the daughter of Mag Fhionnghaile' as the wife of Murchadh Óg Mac Suibhne, the clan leader of the Sweeneys, the full text being as follows...'now, concerning Murchadh Óg and his children, and they were his children, namely four sons by the daughter of Mag Fhinnghaile (sic), Donnchadh Mór Mac Suibhne na dTuath, Maolmhuire Mac Suibhne Fánaid, Dubhghall the parson and Domhnall'. Of those four, one became the clan leader of the Sweeney Doe branch and one of the Sweeney Fanad branch. Another is clearly described as a parson (the earliest reference to religion among the McGinleys-he was half a McGinley!). Her husband, Murchadh Óg came to the area of north Donegal with his father Murchadh Mear 'the crazy/reckless one' from south west Scotland where they had carved out a large territory for themselves for a couple of hundred years. Before that, they hailed from Co Derry where they were a branch of the Irish Uí Néill dynasty. Murchadh Mear and his son arrived in the Fanad area sometime in the second half of the year 1314, where the father then decided to go 'adventuring' and left his son in charge. In other words, his son Murchadh Óg became the first official clan leader of the Sweeneys in Ireland and through his marriage to the daughter of Mag Fhionnghaile, they are the ancestors of both branches of the great Sweeneys of north Donegal!. Both men are known to have taken part in the famous Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland, but opposite Robert Bruce! They were promised the return of some land they lost in Scotland by the English king if they opposed Bruce. After their defeat they fled back to Ireland. Some Sweeneys remained in Scotland and developed into the Mac Shuibhne/McQueen clan. It is not known if the McGinleys were part of the Sweeney clan or simply a local clan who mixed with the Sweeneys. What we know for sure is that the McGinleys 'entered' into the world at the same time as the Sweeneys appeared in the north Donegal area. There is no evidence to suggest that the McGinleys came over with the Sweeneys. Whatever, since that time the two clans have been intertwined.

The next mention of the McGinleys is still in the same area, north Donegal. We have records of the McGinleys being 'perpetual vicars' in the parish of Mevagh in the late 1300's and early 1400's! The McGinley clan were obviously of some importance in this area at the time. Such a title of 'perpetual vicars' no matter how unofficial, would have been determined by the bishop and with his full consent.

One of the earliest figures of note from within our clan was the monk and scribe Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail who lived on the beautiful but windswept Tory Island off the north Donegal coast. It was in the year 1513 that the records record him as the author of the great book about the Sweeney clan, Leabhar Chlainne Suibhne, or in English, The Clan Sweeney Book. Most scribes in the Gaelic world at that period would have been middle aged or older. It would be safe to presume therefore that he was born around the 1450’s or 1460’s. Before the advent of the 1800's, Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail was the most noted of our clan.

We have a few records of members of the McGinley clan during the 1500’s always in conflict with the illegal English regime in Ireland. The 1500's were tough times for the Irish clans. They were almost constantly at war with their English neighbours. Several of the name are listed among the ‘English Pardons’ granted at the time. These lists pertained to Irish rebels, warriors and chiefs who fought against the English. The idea of the so called ‘pardon’ was to try and subdue the natives and to persuade them to stop fighting. In the pardon list dated 1572 we find the names of Aodh Mag Fhionnghaile (Hugh M’Gynillye), Eoin Mag Fhionnghaile (Owen M’Gynnillye) and Ádhamh Mag Fhionnghaile (Edom M’Gynnillye). Note the old and now obsolete spelling, in English, of our surname. In the General Pardons of King James for Donegal, we find the name often spelt M'Gennelie and M'Gennell (see Reeves-Visitation of Derry Diocese).

The Mag Fhionnaile clan had their base somewhere in the Tullaghobegly/ Raymunterdoney/Clondahorky parish area, possibly close to Dunfanaghy. This area lies to the north of the Errigal and Muckish mountains and stretches out to the sea. They were recorded as being very numerous here in the sixteenth century. In fact our clan was one of the twelve most numerous names in the whole of Co. Donegal in the 17th century. By the start of the 20th century, McGinley’s were classed as one of the top ten most numerous surnames in Co. Donegal. Robert R. Mathesons ‘Special Report on Surnames in Ireland’ was published in 1890. The purpose was to find the distribution of Irish surnames. His research suggests that around 80% of Irelands McGinley families are located in their native Co. Donegal. Most of the rest being in the neighbouring counties of Derry and Tyrone. By the start of the 21st century, the distribution of the surname was more or less the same. The surname is rare in other parts of Ireland (except for the variants McGinnelly/Mayo and Ginnell/Westmeath).

It should be noted that some say that the clan are of south west Donegal origin, around the Carrick/Glencolmcille/Meenacross area. It is true that we find McGinleys in this area, but they would seem to be an offshoot of the original clan of the north, mostly because they cannot be dated earlier than the northern ones. In the Griffiths Valuations of 1857, no less than fourteen of the eighteen families in the townland of Meenacross were McGinleys (the other four all being Gillespies). Two are recorded in nearby Meenaneary. In opposition to this it should be added that the vast majority of McGinleys in this survey are to be found still in the far north of Donegal. The first note of a McGinley in the area of south west Donegal is Brighid Nig Fhionnghaile (more about her later) who was born circa 1658/59. Obviously her father goes back further but nothing if known of him, he may not even have been born in this area. If we age him in his twenties when Brighid was born, he would therefore have been born circa 1638. Prior to the start of the 1800’s, the McGinleys of the south west of Donegal were basically split into two branches, one at Glencolmcille and the other at Meenacross, although they are collectively called the Glencolmcille McGinleys.

Sometime in the early 1500's, a branch of the clan settled in the county of Westmeath and changed slightly their name to McGinnell and Ginnell. The Irish Gaelic form was also changed by dropping the final letter ‘e’, thus Mag Fhionnghail/Mag Fhionnail. The reason for part of the clan re-settling in Co. Westmeath, far from their native Donegal, is not known. It happened before the widespread English enforced clearances of the north Donegal area. The vast majority of the name in Co. Westmeath are generally now found simply as Ginnell. Today the name can be found in Australia but usually as McGindle. Interestingly, in the Genealogical Office in Dublin, there is a record of a ‘grant of lands’ to an Andrew Ginley of Rotoath, Co. Meath (next to Co. Westmeath). This was under the year 1636! There is a suggestion that during the evil Cromwellian atrocities on the Irish people, some of the clan fled south to settle in Co. Westmeath, no doubt the location was chosen because of our earlier settlement there in the previous century. The surname, usually found as Ginnell and McGinnell, is still found in the Westmeath area. The name rose to national and international fame through the exploits of Laurence Ginnell (see under Famous McGinleys).

Many Co. Donegal clans such as the Clerys, Devannys, Divers, Gallaghers, McDaids, McLoughlins, McNultys, O’Donnells, Sweeneys, and McGinnellys (the usual spelling there) are to be found in the Burrishoole and Achill Island areas in the west of Co. Mayo. It is recorded that these Donegal clans settled there under the leadership of Ruairí Ó Domhnaill/Rory O’Donnell from Lifford in Co. Donegal. This was just after the time of the Battle of Kinsale (1601), part of the Nine Years War. He was pardoned by the English, along with his followers, for rebellious acts against the English Crown. The first of the Donegal clans arrived there in 1602 (see Edward McLysaght). It would seem therefore that members of the McGinley clan returned home first before being 'moved on' to Connacht. Some folklore says that they stopped in the area on the way to or just returning from Kinsale, but this seems unlikely. It is also recorded that these Donegal names settled there during the Cromwell evictions when thousands of families were forced to leave Donegal. This was between 1654 and 1660. It looks like a two wave migration into the area. Like the case with the McGinnells of Westmeath, it seems likely that many McGinleys settled in Burrishoole and Achil because of the previous settlement in those parts by McGinleys.

During the Ulster rebellions under the leadership of the reknowned Cathaoir Ó Dochartaigh, the leader of the O’Doherty clan, the McGinleys did their bit in the war against the English. When the Irish side was finally defeated, the English Government issued a ‘1609 Pardon List’. The compilers prepared the list in a very haphazard way, showing little understanding of the Irish language. They translated names into English as it sounded to them at the time. The list contained a substantial number of warriors who fought under Cathaoir Ó Dochartaigh, many on the list being ‘the chief of their name’, in otherwords, clan leaders or at least ‘influential members of their clans’. All the usual Donegal clans are represented including McGinley. On the list we find Tirloe McGinelik, the original Irish form would be Toirealach Mag Fhionnghaile. What happened to him we do not know. The Pardon List of 1609 was used by the English for the selection of those they wished to get rid of. The ‘pardons’ were offered as a bribe to leave the country. Those on the list were considered to be dangerous rebels at the very least. What followed after the 1609 Pardons, was very often transportation to Sweden or further afield. Sweden was a friend of England at the time and needed new recruits in their wars with Denmark, Poland and Russia. So, many of Irelands finest young warriors and rebels were ‘shipped off’ to serve a foreign army! Did our Toirealach go too?

It should be noted that the surname McGinley was sometimes changed to McKinlay and McKinley in the east Donegal area known as the ‘Lagan’ (an area covering the villages of Convoy, Lifford, Raphoe, St Johnstone etc). This was the main area in Donegal for the settlement of Scottish Protestants in the early 1600’s. It is interesting to note that Aodh Óg Ó Domhnaill Mag Fhionnghail was settled in the Lagan area as early as 1611. We do not known exactly when the name change took place but it is more likely to be later, in the 1800’s, when many more ‘Irish’ moved into the area to work for the Protestant farm owners. They changed their name but did not change their religion and are still Catholic today in east Donegal.

There were no great deeds done by the McGinley clan (no bad ones either), according to the Annals and history books. The McGinleys, however were mostly noted as churchmen and ecclesiastics, since the late 1400’s up until the twentieth century. The history of the Diocese of Raphoe (geographically most of Co. Donegal) is littered with references to McGinley priests and holy men. Even before the time of the celebrated monk from Tory, Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail in the late 1400’s, we shone bright in this field. In the 1800’s and 1900’s we were noted principly as priests but also as poets, scholars and musicians (of traditional Irish music), a tradition that continues into the new millennium. One of the most respected and famous of late twentieth century and early twenty first century Donegal musicians is Martin McGinley, the great fiddle player from east Donegal.

It should be noted that some early McGinleys most likely settled around Co. Monaghan in the seventeenth century or earlier (probably on their way to Co Westmeath?). We have a record of a marriage taken place at Clones, Co Monaghan on January 13th 1683. Those getting married were Mrs Christian Smith and Karravy Ginnaly (in Irish Garbhach Mag Fhionnghaile). The surname can still be found in Co Monaghan, but only occasionally. The McGinleys do not seem to have made much of an historical or cultural mark in Co Monaghan.

The Irish Traveller community contains many McGinleys, infact the two most common surnames among Travellers in Donegal are Ward and McGinley. Travellers are what we call families who do not live in settled accomodation but travel around in caravans or, as in the past, in horse drawn caravans. They were previously called Tinkers after their main occupation of fixing or making things from tin (and other metals). Travellers are not related to Romany Gypsies as some have suggested, nor are they a seperate ethnic group. They are simply the remnants of the 'dispossessed' clans from the early 1600's, some however became 'dispossessed' at the time of the Famine. Most Irish, after the pogroms in the early 1600's moved and rebuilt their homes in other locations while a very small percentage continued to wander the roads of Ireland. As time went by they became more isolated from the rest of the population, mostly through choice. There are no genuine records of Travellers before this period and their surnames reflect typical Irish surnames e.g. there are NO pure Traveller surnames in Ireland. Genetic studies in recent years have confirmed the fact that they are the same ethnically as the rest of the Irish population.