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.