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.

Musicians and poets could make a living as they were always regarded as an important part of Gaelic life. One very interesting folktale previously well known around the north Donegal area concerned a legendary fiddler called Mac Fionnlagh. Going by the ancient roots of these folklore tales it is safe to say that we are talking about a McGinley, especially when we learn that these tales were best known around Falcarragh. According to one version of the story, four fiddlers and one piper were playing music for dancers at a bonfire gathering on St John's Eve. In Irish folklore this was a very special date in the calender going back to pre-Christian times. Suddenly a stranger came among the company and requested the best fiddler among them to play 'The Fairy Reel' (another nod to ancient beliefs and times). The best fiddler was Mac Fionnlagh/McGinley. He was unfortunately unable to play the requested tune and the stranger took the fiddle from him and gave a perfect performance. He handed the instrument back to Mac Fionnlagh/McGinley, a native of Falcarragh. The stranger demanded that he copied the performance and remarked...'for you are the only player in the five provinces to be able to play it'. Our hero then played the tune perfectly, without a break as the stranger danced with a pretty young girl. When Mac Fionnlagh finished playing, the stranger put a gold coin into her hand and then departed from the party requesting that they move the fire seven paces to the north!... It is said that the stranger was of the 'fairy folk' and that the fire had been placed on one of their sacred spots. Many variations of the story occured. A form, very similar was known on Tory and it was also known on Gola island. The story is evidently very old. The mention of the Five Provinces harks back to the time when Ireland had five instead of the present four provinces. The mention of the fairy folk is an ancient theme too. Although the Gaelic form is close to the surname MacKinlay, of Scottish origin, it is almost certainly a corruption of McGinley. Another source for the story spells the name Mac Fhionnalagh (closer to McGinley). The well known fiddler, farmer and folklorist Proinnsias Mac Suibhne recorded a few forms of this story around 1904 from the older generations who no doubt got it from their parents or grandparents. Around the Falcarragh area in the early 1900's a few McGinleys were wrongly using Mac Fhionnlaoich and Mac Fhionnlaoigh as their Irish form and this could easily have influenced the spelling in the story. The surname MacKinlay is only known in Donegal from the time of the Plantation when they arrived here as Protestants and settled principally in the Lagan Valley area further south. These newcomers did not talk about the fairy folk, and such themes were not generally part of their 'new cultural repertoire'. The Protestants detested such pagan thinking, even though only a generation or two earlier, they too were Catholic and Gaelic speaking!. If we search the cultural data relating to the MacKinlays at an earlier date in Scotland when they were Catholic and spoke their ancient Gaelic tongue, we find no mention of this folk tale. Therefore it is safe to assume that this is a native story belonging to north Donegal and referes to a McGinley fiddler. Who he was and at what date he belongs we may never know, but it certainly seems to pre date the Plantation period of the early 1600's.

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.

MCGINLEY MOVEMENTS - IN SUMMARY

We may never know why a branch of the McGinleys first moved southwards to Westmeath in the 1500's and used the form McGinnell and Ginnell. There is no evidence of conflict between rival factions within the clan. They may have simply been a small part of the McGinley clan who wanted a new home or 'pastures new'. Alternatively, we could be noticing two branches one McGinley and one McGinnell, both vying for supremacy within the clan, but again, we have no evidence.

The reasons for a later branch going to north Mayo in 1602 is easier to explain. We know that the McGinley clan at that time, under the overall leadership of an O'Donnell chieftain, were banished along with other fighting Donegal clans, to north Mayo, 'Connacht or hell' to use a later, famous expression. This was because of their taking part in the famous Battle of Kinsale at the end of the previous year. Those that went would no doubt included, for the most part, the best warriors of the McGinley clan. These were the men most feared by the English authorities. The English were scared of further 'insurrections' and saw 'transplantation' as the best option of 'cooling down' such wild warriors. With the best fighting men transplanted under English Law, those left behind clung on to their land and culture as best they could. With the McGinley clan split wide open, the English were able to go into north Donegal and scatter those that stayed behind. Family tradition recalls that the McGinleys did not make it easy for the English troops. In the end, the McGinleys left the ancient homeland. One branch going west to the coast and then southwards until they found sanctuary and much open wilderness around Glencolmcille in the extreme south west of Donegal. At the same time another group went southwards and settled around Glenswilly. Surprisingly, the McGinley surname is still much more common in its original homeland and this has led to the theory that many simply moved to nearby sheltered locations and hid out for a few months until the danger had gone. Afterwards they slowly returned to their ancient homeland. It is known that after the English destroyed the ancient monastery of St Colm Cille on Tory Island (1595), the monks that survived fled to the mainland and found shelter and sanctuary in the Dunlewy area. This area would have been very isolated at the time and it is possible that the 'religious' faction within the McGinley clan also found sanctuary here. It is more than likely that the Tory monks were still here by 1603/4.

* * * * * * * * * *

Following is a list from varied sources showing that the ancient McGinley territory is in the Tullaghobegly/Raymunterdoney/ Clondahorky area. The list includes surveys and census details. These areas are part of the Barony of Kilmacrennan (covering a large part of north Donegal), itself part of the Diocese of Raphoe (this is a church boundary covering practically the whole of Co Donegal).

1659

The Petty Census of 1659 has the name spelt McGinnelly most often. It also shows very clearly that the clan are of north Donegal origin, putting them in the Barony of Kilmacrennan (which includes the Tullaghobegly/Cloughaneely/ Raymunterdoney/Clondahorky areas). The surname was not recorded in the south of Donegal. The Petty Census was compiled by Sir William Petty. It was a census to find out who was paying the English introduced Poll Tax. Most of the research work was carried out up to nine years earlier. The census was arranged by counties, baronies, parishes and townlands. It was not a full census of the population, but only noting those who were paying the tax. Nevertheless, it is a valuable indication of surname distribution in Ireland at the time. The variant forms of McGennowlie, McGynnillye and M’Gennelly were found in use in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They would seem to have fallen out of use sometime in the eighteenth century.

1665

By the year 1665, another list came about. This was called the ‘Hearth Money Rolls’. This list proved beyond doubt where the McGinleys came from. The two parishes with the most recorded McGinleys was obviously Tullaghobegly and neighbouring Clondahorkey. The parish of Clondahorkey is just to the east. The surname was rarely found in other parts of Donegal, most parishes having none. One this list the name was nearly always spelt M’Ginnelly. The survey shows an epicentre around the village of Dunfanaghy. The survey is not ‘scientific’ as it only records those paying the English introduced ‘Hearth Poll Tax’. Under such conditions, many would prefer not to be noted. Also bear in mind that it was easier for the authorities to track people down who lived near a village but much harder to find and enforce laws to those living in the bogs or mountain areas.

1830

By the middle of the nineteenth century, despite previous years of war, evictions, famines and transportations to foreign lands, the McGinley surname was still evident in its original homeland. According to the ‘Tithe Applotment Book for the Parish of Tullaghobegly (1830), there was a heavy presence of McGinleys in the Tullaghobegly area. Eighty households are recorded with the surname McGinley at that time! To give an example, the neighbouring parish of Templecrone (to the west) records only two McGinley families (1828). This is further proof of the concentration of the McGinley surname for this area.
Here is a break down of the townlands in which the McGinley families were recorded for the year 1830 (we have only included townlands showing four or more families);

Keeldrum — 13 families
Magheraroarty — 11 families
Beltony — 10 families
Ballyness — 9 families
Ardsmore — 6 families
Glashagh — 4 families

1848

In another survey of interest to McGinley historians called the Primary Valuation Survey for 1848-64, the surname, usually spelt McGinley, was found to be located primarily in Co Donegal with the county making up to around 90% of the name. Nearly all of the remaining 20% are found in neighbouring Derry and Tyrone.The second commonest spelling was McGinly with McGinelly and McGinnelly also present. It should be noted that the form Maginly was used exclusively in the nearby county of Tyrone to the east.

1857

One of the most important documents for family research in Ireland is the ‘Griffiths Valuations’. Records also show that by the year 1857 (Griffiths Valuations), the surname of McGinley had seventy families in the Tullaghobegly area out of a total of two hundred and sixty five. While these records may not be scientific (many individuals preferred not to be recorded or some may have been missed), they do give an indication to location and numbers of our clan in the Tullaghobegly area. Nearly all of the remaining McGinleys recorded were found in the neighbouring parishes.

The list below shows the townlands where the surname was most common in the Griffiths Valuations 1857. Listed are townlands with four or more families; Please note that all these townlands are in the parish of Tullaghobegly. Raymunterdoney parish had McGinleys of course, but no townland had more than four families. You will see a similarity with the Tithe Applotment Book survey of twenty seven years earlier. The top three townlands for the surname McGinley remains the same.

Magheraroarty — 13 families
Beltony — 9 families
Keeldrum — 9 families
Ardsbeg — 6 families
Ballyness — 5 families
Ardsmore — 4 families
Carrick — 4 families
Glashagh — 4 families
Gola Island — 4 families

The breakdown by parish is interesting too. Clearly the top parish was Tullaghobegly. The name is heavily concentrated in the neighbouring parishes too. The rest of Co Donegal is totally without McGinleys apart from the Glencolmcille parish in the extreme south west of the country, were the name is the most common in that parish! Tullaghobegly with its neighbouring parishes has a total of 128 families called McGinley.

PARISH NUMBERS NUMERICAL

Tullaghobegly. 70 families, 4th most common name

Clondahorky. 27 families, 5th most common name

Mevagh. 21 families, 10th most common name

Raymunterdoney. 10 families, 10th most common name

Glencolmcille. 65 families, 1st most common name

1857-58

In the year of 1857, an organisation called The Committee into Destitution in Gweedore and Cloughaneely was set up to help aleviate the massive problems in the area. The north Donegal area was one of the poorest in the whole of the country at the time and urgent help was needed. They suffered more than most from the so called ‘Famine’. No help or support was forthcoming from England, so a local committee mostly made up of local priests was formed to eleviate the suffering. This committee made a list of the destitute families of the area which included many McGinleys. It is clear to see that the townlands of Magheraroarty and Keeldrum are again prominent. Most of the worst cases included McGinleys. They would have spoke Irish as their first and usually only tongue. Few would have had any English. These people had no food and no access to food, they were more often than not, nearly naked. Here is a list of the destitute McGinleys families in the area at the time:

Paddy Ginley from Carrick
Hugh McAnnly? from Ardsbeg
Daniel McGinley from Falcarragh
Teague McGinley from Bunninver
??? McGinley from Ballyness (described as a shepherd)
Connell McGinley from Meenacung (owns 8 cows and a house)
Hugh McGinley from Meenacung
James McGinley from Carrick
James McGinley from Magheraroarty
James McGinley from Meenacung
John McGinley from Keeldrum (father of nine and a sister)
Michael McGinley from Keeldrum
Owen McGinley from Keeldrum (son of the above and just married)
Michael Gumelly from Meenaduff (owns two cows)
Sheila McGinley from Carrick (owns 6 cows, 2 beds, 1 sack of oats)

SURNAME RESEARCHERS/WRITERS

That the McGinley clan belongs to Donegal cannot be put in doubt. All of the top, repected Irish surname researchers confirm this. The 'godfather' of Irish surnames was Father Woulfe. He done great work into the surnames found in Ireland. His emphasis was clearly on the Gaelic forms of the names. In his great book "Sloinnteoir Gaedheal is Gall" he gives the correct Irish form Mag Fhionnghaile and states that they hail from Donegal.

Robert Bell is well versed on Ulster surnames, both of Irish and Planter stock. In his book ‘The Book of Ulster Surnames’ he says….”This name is found only in Ulster where 80% of those of the name are in Co Donegal, making it among the ten most numerous names there. The name is in Gaelic Mag Fhionnghaile, from Fionnghaile, meaning ‘fair valour’. An approximate pronounciation of the Gaelic name would be MacGinnelly and indeed this is recorded as a variant. The McGinleys were a Donegal sept noted as ecclesiastics and many of the name are recorded as such in the history of the diocese of Raphoe".

The most respected of Irelands family name researchers (after Woulfe) was Edward McLysaght. His book ‘The Surnames of Ireland’ is still the ‘general reference book’ on the subject of Irish surnames. Under McGinley he states….”McGinley, Mag Fhionnghaile (fionnghaile, fair valour). A Donegal name to be distinguished from McKinley”. In his follow up book, ‘More Irish Families’, he gives much more information….”McGinley and McKinley are both numerous names in Ulster, the former, now as in the seventeenth century, belonging predominantly to Co Donegal. The latter being more widespread in that province. In spite of their similarity and proximity they do NOT appear to have been often used as synonyms. McGinley is true native Irish. McGinnelly is a spelling sometimes found and this is approximately how the Irish form Mag Fhionnghaile is pronounced. The initial G comes from the carry over of the last letter of the prefix Mag, which, as we have already noticed elsewhere, is a form of Mac used with names beginning with vowels or aspirated F. The McGinleys have been chiefly notable as churchmen. The records of the diocese of Raphoe contain many clergy of the name including John B. McGinley who was Bishop of the Phillipines and first Bishop of Monterey/Fresno, California. Peter McGinley (1857-1942), another Donegal man, better known perhaps by his pen name Cú Uladh, was for many years a leading figure in the activities of the Gaelic League. The surname Ginnell is akin to McGinley being Mag Fhionnghail in Irish; it is a form used by the Donegal McGinleys who settled in Co Westmeath in the sixteenth century. It was well known during the lifetime of Lawrence Ginnell (1854-1928) M.P. for Westmeath, on account of his active participation in the ‘cattle driving’ campaign and his early support of Sinn Féin”.

Ida Grehan in her book ‘The Dictionary of Irish Family Names’ mentions the following….”MacGinley, this surname, which is seldom found in Ireland without its Mc prefix, is concentrated in the county of Donegal”. However, she goes on to say, wrongly, that the name means ‘son of the fair (headed) hero’ instead of ‘son of the fair (headed) valourous one’. I suppose there is not a lot of difference, in English, between valourous and heroic. She again makes the mistake that McGinley and McKinley are ‘regularly confused’, but as usual in such cases, no examples are given. She then mentions, in line with other authorities such as Bell and McLysaght, that “there were many McGinley ecclesiastics, particularly in the diocese of Raphoe”.

Brian de Breffny in his book “Irish Family Names; Arms, Origins and Locations” says “McGinley, this surname, in Irish, Mag Fhionnghaile, belongs to Co Donegal. Some of the name have become McKinley due to the phonetic similarity of the two names”.

Sometimes, quite wrongly, the McGinleys are said to be a variant of the Scottish surname McKinley. There is absolutely no evidence of this. It is true that on some very rare occasions some McGinleys (in east Donegal) changed their name to McKinlay/McKinley to protect their Catholic identity or in even rarer cases when some changed their religion to Protestant/Presbyterian. There is no evidence of McKinlays/McKinleys changing to McGinley. This would have been strange indeed for someone to want to be ‘like’ the ‘peasant’ population of the area, which was what the Catholics were in their own country. From the early 1600’s (the time of the Plantation in Donegal) until fairly recent times, the Protestant/Presbyterian population has generally been the one with the control, money, influence and land in Donegal. The Catholic natives had been kept ‘under control’ during this long period. For a long time the natives were not allowed (outwith rare circumstances) to own land. Coming from a ‘priveleged’ background, one would not want to be mistaken for a poor Catholic native!

The surname McGinley generally arrived in Scotland during the Famine period in the mid 1800’s. They located themselves, for the most part in and around Glasgow where most of the work could be found. Much later, they could be found in small pockets in places such as Inverness and Fife. The authority on Scottish surnames George F. Black, in his large and intensive work called ‘The Surnames of Scotland’ clearly states “McGinley, an Irish name found in Glasgow, Ir Meg Fhionnghaile, ‘son of Fionnghal (fair foreigner or Norseman). NOT a variant of McKinlay”. While Black is the ultimate authority on surnames in Scotland, he was not learned in Gaelic. This is why we find the mis-print Meg instead of Mag and also the wrong derivation from fair foreigner. But he makes it clear that McGinley is of Irish origin and different from McKinlay.

Another writer on Irish surnames of note in recent years is Michael C. O’Laughlin, a noted researcher on Irish surnames from America. In his book ‘The Book of Irish Families Great and Small’, he says, “ The name of McGinley is traditionally linked to Co Donegal in Ireland. The similar sounding name of McKinley has also been found used by this family”. He also issued "Families of County Donegal" in 2001 which mentions the McGinleys but offers no new information.

Another book on Irish surnames in recent times is by Seán de Bhulbh. The book is entitled "All Ireland Surnames" and reads…”McGinley,ay,Gingley: numerous: Donegal-Derry-Tyrone. From Irish Mag Fhionnghaile, ‘fair valour’. A name to be distinguished from McKinley”. Although he gives little information, he clearly follows the lines of previous researchers showing a Donegal origin and the fact that they differ from the Scottish McKinleys.

THE MCGINLEY SURNAME DISTRIBUTION IN IRELAND

If we look a little closer at the previously mentioned Griffiths Valuations 1857, we can see the full breakdown of the surname McGinley throughout Ireland and the figures below, again confirm that even more than 250 years after the 'dispersal' of our clan, we still feature very predominantly in our original county. The following breakdown is into three groups, McGinley and varients (based in the north west), McGinnelly and varients (those who settled in Connacht in the 1600's) and McGinnell and varients (who settled in Westmeath in the 1500's). Finally we give the numbers for McGinley and all varients and forms:

This gives a grand total for McGinley and the recorded varients as:

Those McGinleys that settled in Co Mayo in the early 1600's have historically used the following varient spellings, McGinnelly and Ginnelly (including many rare varients). McGinnelly at this time was NOT recorded, while Ginnelly was recorded 32 times (the only form recorded in 1857) all being in Co Mayo! Those McGinleys who settled in Co Westmeath and Meath were usually known as Ginnell and McGinnell (none of the rarer forms such as Gennell were recorded).

 

 

In summary we have the following dates, documents and locations for our clan:

1659 The Petty Census — Barony of Kilmacrennan
1665 Hearth Money Rolls — Tullaghobegly/Clondahorky
1830 Tithe Applotment Books — Tullaghobegly
1848 Primary Valuation Surve — Co. Donegal
1857 The Griffiths Valuations — Tullaghobegly
1889 Donegal Evictions Records — Tullaghobegly

Also, all recorded McGinleys prior to 1659 are to be found in the same north Donegal areas.

While all of the above is historical and factual, we should bring a little family tradition into our story. Without any solid evidence so far, there has been for a long time, a strong family tradition of Roshin being the centre of the clan territory. Roshin is a small area just to the south of the village of Dunfanaghy. Tony Mick McGinley, a respected old McGinley family historian from Glenswilly in Co Donegal, told this scribe many years ago that he believed that the McGinleys were centred between Dunfanaghy and Roshin. Another, unrelated family of McGinleys living in London, England for at least three generations told me a similar story (I have since lost touch with them). Also, a family of McGinleys in Kansas, USA tell of their ancestors in the early 1800's living in a 'large stone house' at Roshin (Ann McGinley-Bok). This may well represent the main family of the name McGinley in the north Donegal area in the 1700's and 1800's, for it would certainly have been highly unusual for a McGinley, at that time, to be owning and living in a 'large stone house'. This description may well be for a typical Irish 'Tower House' or Castle. Nothing here sounds 'out of place' and it is interesting to hear of 'unrelated' families, many miles away from each other, telling the same story. The location of Roshin is very likely and very suitable for a main family fortification. It has a bit of high ground for visability all around.

It can be fairly well guessed where the western boundary of the clan was. Family tradition in Donegal points to the Glenna River as the most extreme western mark of our territory. That is not to say that we controlled all lands eastwards of this point. We must remember that firstly, during these ancient times, land borders between different clans were more often than not 'very fluid'. What we know for sure that on the other side of this seemingly small and insignificant river lay the territory of our neighbours the McGroarty clan. They are known to have controlled the land from the Glenna River, from around Carn Traonach in the south (part of the eastern edge of the large Tievealehid mountain) all the way up to the ocean at the place that carries their name, Magheraroarty. Their control stretched westwards to Bloody Foreland.

The McGinleys lived somewhere to the east of the Glenna River, a river which never was used as a physical barrier, it simply is not wide enough and never was. It was more of a mental or cultural barrier. It split the valley in two and was as good a 'marking point' as any other. East of this point we find the McGinley, McCready and Begley clans. The McCreadys were a small family who were brought into the area as 'church wardens' or Erenaghs. They occupied only small areas of land and were never a threat to the McGinleys. The Begleys were much tougher. They had a reputation as tough warriors, many report them as Gallowglass warriors. There are however, no reports, over many hundreds of years, of any wars/conflicts between them and the McGinleys. It is safe to say that they had their area and we had ours, the only problem is knowing exactly which was which. Some folklore gives the Begley clan a small area tucked close into the base of Muckish. It may well be the case that they controlled the more 'inland parts' and the McGinleys were closer to the sea. Take a look at the Clan Map under the 'Neighbouring Clans' section.

As we head more eastwards, past Dunfanaghy heading south east towards the village of Creeslough, we are now approaching the clanlands of our eastern neighbours the Ó Frighil/Friel clan. It is not know exactly at what point their territory starts, but the townland of Cashelmore is as good a point as any. This is definately not McGinley territory that we talk about now. We must make note however, of the townland of Derryreel/Doire Uí Fhrighil meaning the 'Oakwood of the Friel clan'. It is located much further westwards in what could be described as typical McGinley territory. It is possible that they controlled some land in this area, maybe for a short period before losing or giving it up. Alternatively, this could have marked the western boundary of their territory. It could have went eastwards from here over to Derryart. There is a modern road here, said to have been built on a much more ancient route. This could have marked the Friels 'northern boundary'. If we look at the area from Derryreel to Derryart (a west-east line), the Friels territory would have extended over the high ground southwards towards Muckish and then around the side of Muckish towards Creeslough. The Friels are known mostly from around the eastern and south eastern areas of Muckish, but it seems probable that, anciently, they controlled a little territory tucked under the north eastern part of the mountain also.

Given the fact of Friel territory at some point being roughly from Derryreel to Derryart, the McGinley family theory of an important base/house/fortification around the Roshin area becomes more important. If we look at the terrain of the area, we see that the raised ground around Croaghaderry at Roshin would have been an important vantage point for any clan to look at their neighbours, the Friels. We can take a very rough guess at the southern border of the ancient McGinley territory. If we look at a modern Ordnance survey map of north Donegal, while following the townland names to plot the boundary, we get something like this, running west to east....Beltany, Sruthanreagh, Clonbarra, Derryreel, Croaghaderry/Roshin, Porthill and Portnablagh. This 'boundary' is open to question and debate, and most likely was very fluid in its heyday. There is no evidence that the McGinley land extended high up the southern mountain slopes, although they would have no doubt used the resources of the area when they could.