Connolly

Owing to the lack of precision frequently found in the Anglicization of Gaelic surnames due to the fact that their English forms were often determined by the phonetic attempts of lawyers and others in the 17th century who were unfamiliar with the Irish language, the name Connolly has been much confused with Conneely and Killealy. The people now called Connolly mostly derive their descent from three Gaelic septs. These were O Conghalaigh or O Conghaile of Connacht and of Monaghan, and O Coingheallaigh of Munster, for which MacCoingheallaigh was previously an alias; the other Connacht Sept was of the Ui Maine and the same stock was the O'Maddens.

That associated with Co. Monaghan was in early times the most important, being one of the "four tribes of Tara" and a branch of the southern Ui Neill, but it was forced out of its original territory by the Anglo-Norman invasion and driven northwards to Co. Monaghan. As late as 1591 Tirlogh O Connola is recorded in the Fiants relating to Co. Monaghan as Chief of the Name and late vice-marshal to MacMahon.

The Munster Connollys were established in West Cork where they were subject to the paramount O'Donovans of that area. Today the name is most numerous in Counties Galway, Monaghan and Cork, while it is still found in and around County Meath. The foremost Munster Connolly was William Conolly (c. 1660-1729), "squire", Speaker of the House of Commons and reputedly the richest man in Ireland, whose seat was Castletown, Co. Kildare. His relative Thomas Conolly (1738-1803), was another politician of note. Most Rev. John Connolly (1750-1825), notable Dominican Archbishop of New York, was also of a Meath family.

A number of exiles have kept the name in the forefront both in America and France. William Connolly was one of the noblesse of Bordeaux at the time of the French Revolution. In the United States, Henry Connolly (1800-1866) was a famous pioneer. Pierce Francis Connolly (b. 1841) was a sculptor of note; his mother, Mrs. Cornelai Connelly (1809-1879), was founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.

In our family, the Connollys were mostly farmers from Co. Down and have been traced back to the late 1700s. The story, as mentioned again later, is that Patrick Connolly died in a Belfast prison at the age of 95 after being imprisoned for 40 years. Although it's quite possible that Patrick may have been imprisoned for a time, it seems unlikely that it was for 40 years and that he died there, especially since he was alive and well in the 1901 Census! Nevertheless, the story is a wonderful piece of our family history.

The majority of Patrick’s children came to the US in the late 1800s. However, a few of his children remained on the farm and died in the middle of the last century. Patrick’s brother, Thomas, had a large family himself and it is his descendants that eventually took over Patrick’s farm after Patrick’s children died. The descendants of these Connollys still own the farmlands in Co. Down today.