CLAN TERRITORY

In the north of Donegal we find an area containing three parishes, those of Tullaghobegley, Raymunterdoney and Clondahorky. This is believed to be the ancient centre of the Mag Fhionnaile/McGinley clan. We are still very much represented in the area, being one of the commonest names there. It is a large area that includes the villages of Gortahork, Dunfanaghy and Falcarragh. According to the famous, and well respected Dr McGinley of Glenswilly, the story within his family is that the McGinleys had a stronghold in the Dunfanaghy area but were besieged by the English at the end of the Nine Years War (1594-1603). To the north is the spectacular Horn Head peninsula with the equally wonderful Tory Island out at sea. It is on Tory Island that one of the earliest records of one of our clan is mentioned. Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail lived at the end of the 1400’s and early 1500’s. The noted Monk and Scribe lived here in the monastery. Eighty years after Ciothruadh’s time, the monastery was attacked and destroyed by the English in 1595 under the leadership of George Bingham. The monks fled to the mainland and took shelter in the mountains around Dunlewy. They were the last of the old order of Columban monks. Bingham returned to his base in Sligo in triumph. He met a local chieftain Ulick Burke, whom he had previously insulted. Bingham was bragging about his exploits and Ulick Burke accused him of oppression and injustice. Ulick then pulled out his sword and decapitated the English leader. Ulick then took control of Sligo Castle and handed it over to Red Hugh O’Donnell, the Irish leader. To the south the land sits in tight under the watch of Muckish Mountain. To the western side we have the Glenna River. Somewhere in this area was the beginnings of our clan. Family tradition suggests areas closer to the sea, probably towards the north eastern part of the 'cut off' section on the map below:

For many year Dunfanaghy was the commercial heart of north Donegal. The local landlords were the Stewarts from Scotland. Their main residence was at Ards, a few miles to the east. They were, generally, better than most of the illegal foreign landlords in Ireland. Dunfanaghy is today a holiday resort surrounded by many fine beaches such as Kilhooey, Portnablagh, Marble Hill and Tramore. Dunfanaghy started out as a market town in the early 1600's. Before that time it may have had a handful of scattered cottages at most. Its earliest patent was granted in 1630 to Maolmhuire Mac Suibhne (Mulmurry/Miles Sweeney) allowing the holding of a monday market day! He was the noted leader of the Sweeney clan who 'accepted' an English title of Sir only for the purposes of getting the English off his back. It was a common practice among Gaelic chieftains at the time and should not be taken as an act of submission. True to form, Maolmhuire in the next few years was at war again with the English. Prior to the Plantation of Donegal, the Irish had no set 'town plan' or layout, but prefered to live in small groups of houses often called Clachán's. There is no evidence to suggest that Dunfanaghy was any more built up than other parts of north Donegal at the time.

One of the most poignant buildings in the north of Donegal has to be the Dunfanaghy Workhouse. This building was erected in 1845. It was the scene of horrific suffering during the Great Hunger from 1845 to 1850. Today most of the building has been demolished. What is still standing has been changed into an exhibition centre which helps to tell the sad story of this building and its association with the poor and starving natives of the surrounding areas. Hundreds flocked here, including many McGinleys in search of food and shelter. Situated beside the workhouse is an attractive two story stone building which was originally built as a Fever Hospital in the 1840's. Other Workhouses sprung up around Donegal. The biggest and most important being the one in Letterkenny.

The scene in north Donegal after the Nine Years War remained dire for hundreds of years. The daily struggle of the McGinleys and other families was hard. While the English had won the Nine Years War, and settled their people on Irish land, peace did not come and prosperity certainly did not come. Due to England's continual oppression of the Irish, the native people continued, on and off, to try and overcome the English control of their land. This resulted in many small rebellions and hardships in the area.

The typical dwelling of the people prior to the Plantation in the early 1600's was either circular or sub-circular, and not very big. Sometimes they were oblong shaped but with rounded ends allowing for a hip roof design. The walls were made of wattle and daub and would have been very warm inside. The roof was thatched with whatever was available. A layer of heather was a favourite choice between the under side of the roof and the actual thatching. This gave excellent warmth to the dwelling. The inside was 'open plan' with a central fire place. Pictorial evidence of the period shows these dwellings with small windows and a whole in the roof for the smoke from the fire to exit. Despite anti Irish comments by the English in regard to these 'simple' houses, they suited the Irish people who generally spent most of their time outdoors anyway, similar to native American Indians. Like the native Americans, the Irish respected nature and worked with it, not against it. These houses were apparently so warm and comfortable that it is recorded that the Irish clan leaders also slept in such houses that they had built beside their foreign influenced stone castles. The English ofcourse thought that such simple houses were barbaric and tried (yet again) to civilise us. They introduced their methods of building in stone. These 'new civilised' dwellings proved to be cold and damp, and in a naturally damp climate anyway, made many health problems not generally seen before.

Christianity was brought to these parishes by the four reknowned saints of the north west, namely Duffy/Dubhthach (after whom the island of Inisdooey/Inis Dhubhthaigh is named), Begly/Beigile (after whom Tulloghbegley is said to derive its name), Finan/Fionnán (a local waterfall is named after him, Finan’s Waterfall/Eas Fhionnán). Finally we have the great St Colm Cille who is often known, especially in Scotland, by the Latin form of his name, Columba. Colm Cille was of Royal Irish blood being descended from Niall Naoighiallach otherwise known as Niall of the Nine Hostages. Colm Cille was by far the best known and respected of the various saints known to live or work in Donegal. Colm Cille is also credited with converting the people of Tory Island to Christianity. Beigile (earlier spelt Beigbhile) was the founder of the ancient church at Ballintemple called Tullaghobegly, ‘the mound/small hill of Beigile’. In the ‘Papal Taxation’ records of 1302-06, the name of the area was called Tulgalugh, meaning ‘the mound/small hill of Lugh’. The name Lugh (pronounced Loo) was that of an ancient pagan deity worshipped by the Celts well into the start of Christianity. The site is said to have been an ancient pagan worshipping site. We should note, however that the name Lughaidh (pronounced Looie) was also the name of an early descendant of Conal Gulban. The ancient name for the far north west of Donegal was Síol Luighdheach ‘the seed of Lugh’.

The lifestyle of the McGinley clan up until the English enforced dispersal in the early 1600's was centred on a pastoral life. The keeping of cattle was the mainstay of Irish/Celtic life. The more cattle you had the better off you were. Very little industry, as we know it today, would have existed in the north of Donegal. There would have however been a variety of small enterprises such as weavers, builders, weapon makers, fishermen etc. The main diet would have consisted of much dairy products such as milk, butter and cheese. Beef would have been consumed occasionally and fish would have played a very important part in their diet. Fish was ofcourse abundant from the many rivers in the area, plus the lakes and not forgetting the sea. Portnablagh comes from the Irish meaning 'port of the butter milk' and clearly indicates the business around this area. Also we have Gortahork 'field of the oats', Ballyboes 'town of the cows', etc.

Apart from the noted monk and scribe Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail, very few McGinleys in the north of Donegal came to prominence. They suffered badly after the fall of the Gaelic Order. The north of Donegal, passed the Muckish Gap, remained isolated from the rest of Donegal and the outside world for at least another hundred years. The hardship suffered by the McGinleys in their ancient homeland is well documented elsewhere in this history of the McGinleys and shall not be repeated. We do however, have note of a renowned fiddler by the name of Séamus Óg Mag Fhionnghaile who was a young sailor and great fiddler. He came from, according to folklore, around the Creeslough area. He travelled all around the north of the county trying to make a living from his playing when he was not fishing. He was very popular in the late 1800's and early 1900's. From Gola Island came Patrick McGinley the skipper of the Asgard yacht that famously brought into Ireland guns and ammunition to kickstart the Easter Rising. Another name of note was Johnny McGinley who had a shop in Falcarragh. An astute businessman, for a while he was also a supplier of electricity to the town. He had a hotel, bakery and shop in Falcarragh. One of his sons, Jack, learned the 'Tea' business while in London and brought his expertise back to north Donegal. He joined a Tea Company in Derry initially, but then set up his own business in 1929. After the 1939-45 War, 'branded' packets of tea was quickly replacing the old 'loose' packets of tea. He branded his own product as 'GoalPak'. The north Donegal area was the original homeland, of that there is no arguement. After we were dispersed from our natural homeland we went south and west to start a new life. Below is a short account of those branches.

MCGINLEY DISPERSAL

After the final defeat of the ‘Old Order’, the end of the ‘Gaelic world’, that being the defeat of Cahir O’Dougherty and his Irish army in 1609 (of which our clan took part), the Mag Fhionnaile/McGinley clan was dispersed and cleared from their ancient homeland by the intrusive English authorities. In reality, the movement of McGinleys had already started in 1602 and again in 1603/4, but the hopes and dreams of the Irish meant that they fought on until the defeat of the final Lord and Chieftain, Cahir O'Dougherty. They scattered into the surrounding hills and bogland. They were forced to live in very basic conditions, often in mud or turf built huts, dark and dank. After the ‘dust had settled’, most returned north to their old areas, but some moved south through the beautiful Muckish Gap. This was the main route south at the time. Those that took this option were later to gain much fame as the Glenswilly McGinleys. See under 'Glenswilly McGinleys' and 'Glencolmcille McGinleys'.

McGinleys have been known on the various north Donegal islands for centuries now. We know, ofcourse of Ciothruadh Mag Fhionnghail being from Tory Island (late 1400's and early 1500's). All other references to McGinleys on the many islands are much later. McGinleys have been known on Gola Island since around the mid 1600's (possibly earlier). The other islands would have been much later. Gola and Tory are two large and important islands in Donegal history. Gola would have been an attractive destination at an early date. The smaller islands such as Inishdooey, Inishbeg, Inishbofin, Inishmean, Inishsirrer etc would have been much less attractive being, for the most part treeless and without much shelter. McGinleys have been associated with Inishbofin since about 1660, possibly earlier. These islands, especially those closer to the mainland were used as places for summer grazing for cattle. Until very recently, it was a tradition to swim cattle out to these islands!. The north Donegal islands still have McGinleys today. McGinleys are found on windswept Tory but are probably more associated with Gola Island further to the west. One of their most famous sons was Patrick McGinley, the sailor and active Republican who played a major part in the Howth Gun Running incident.

 

ACHILL MCGINLEYS

(Ginnelly's)

This branch of the family are usually called the Achill McGinleys although they are fairly spread out around the neighbouring areas such as Burrishoole and parts of south Kilcommon Parish, a very large parish, and on the island of Kilmore in particular. The surname was at first recorded in this part of the world with the mac prefix (MacGinnally, McGinnally, McGinnelly, McGinnely etc) but today it is generally found without the Mac/Mc prefix. This is confirmed as far back as The Griffiths Valuations for Co Mayo (1855) in which no Mac/Mc forms were recorded. The most common form then as now is Ginnelly. If we look a little closer we can see that the most common parish for Ginnellys in 1855 was clearly Kilmore, a parish that lies to the north of Achill and is an island. The other parishes mentioned are all close to the sea, a little to the south of Kilmore. In all cases the name was spelt Ginnelly.

We know that the McGinleys took part in the Battle of Kinsale among others during the Nine Years War. The McGinleys along with other Donegal families were given an 'Official Pardon' for taking part in the wars. The result was that they had to be 'resettled' far from their ancient homeland and under the leadership of an O'Donnell chief from Lifford, they were all pushed down to Connacht. The McGinleys did not develope a new clan territory as such, although the nucleus was around the isle of Kilmore. A secondary group would seem to have been around west Burrishoole to the south. The ancient clan system had come to an end anyway. Most of the Donegal surnames settled on Achill and around Burrishoole. The McGinleys seem to have settled further north than the others. It should be noted that at the time of their enforced removal from north Donegal, McGinnelly/M'Ginnelly was the usual form of the name. So it is perfectly natural for them to have retained it. It was those left behind in Donegal that changed the spelling to McGinley (or had it changed for them).

It should not matter too much that our clan are referred to, slightly incorrectly, as the Achill McGinleys/Ginnellys. It is possible that this was their first stop in the area and that later they spread out both northwards and eastwards. The name Ginnelly can be found in the parishes of Aglish, Islandeady, Kilcommon and Kilmore in 1855. Today they are recorded in all those parishes as well as the parishes of Achill and Burrishoole. Together, all these parishes are close together and the McGinnellys did not travel very far inland. There are not too many Ginnellys in this part of the world. If the name was much more numerous, there would have been a necessity to form branches such as the Achill McGinleys, the Kilmore McGinleys etc. The name does not seem to have rose to prominance in any field. There are no noted persons of McGinnelly, Ginnelly etc from the area.

Records show the birth of a Michael Ginnelly (December 2nd 1864) to a Dennis Ginnelly and Mary Keane at Binghamstown, Co Mayo. Dennis was born around 1840. Dennis is an anglicised form of Donnchadh, a common name among the McGinleys in earlier times. There still survives in folklore around this area, stories (dating to the early 1800's) of a wild Irish rebel who hid from the authorities in the hills. He was called Donnchadh Mag Fhionnghaile and is very likely the father of Dennis.

WESTMEATH MCGINLEYS

(Ginnell)

This branch of the McGinleys remain the least recorded and researched of the clan. Very little is known about them. We do know however that they left north Donegal sometime in the 1500's. It is not known if this was part of an English dispersal. It was most likely a voluntary move to pastures new as we find no records relating to 'Pardons' or forced removals to the area. We have no information regarding clan territory belonging to them in the area, but they must have developed an area of their own since the timescale falls within the 'Celtic Period' or 'Brehon Period' when clan territory was the norm. The name was at first found as McGinnell but the prefix was dropped in the 1800's. The regular form today is Ginnell with a few other forms such as McGinnell, Gennell, McGindle, Gindle etc. The last two forms are common in Australia only.

It is hard to find settlement patterns for the name even today as they are well disperced around Co Westmeath with some also found in the neighbouring Co Meath and Co Cavan to the north. The McGinnell form is more likely to be found around the Cavan border or just inside Cavan. There have been no people of note for the name except the very well known and very important Laurence Ginnell, politician and author who lived a busy and extraordinary life. He was one of the most celebrated Irish figures of his day in the early to mid 1900's. It is fair to say that if it was not for Laurence Ginnell, the name would be almost unknown.