History

KELLY, (Irish Gaelic: O Ceallaigh) O'KELLY is a genuine 'O' surname which belongs to the oldest class of native Irish surnames. It means 'Descendent of Ceallach' (war or contention), and is the name of several distinct and illustrious families in various parts of Ireland. O'KELLY was chief of a great clan and ruled over an extensive territory in the counties of Galway and Roscommon.

Whilst the name "O'Kelly" dominated from the Viking Era in the 9th century to the middle of the 16th century, the "O" was dropped during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the name became Kelly.

This arose from the policy of Queen Elizabeth I of England to break the influence of the gaelic chieftains by rewarding them with land and noble status in return for abandoning their Irish customs. Typical of this was the granting of land and rights to Colla O'Kelly, Seventh lord of Screen in 1601AD in exchange form him dropping the "O" from the surname.

Irish and Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Maonghail, a patronymic from the personal name Maonghal, composed of the elements maoin ‘wealth’ + gal ‘valor’. In this form the consonant cluster -ngh- has been ‘delenited’. Compare Manley, which is based on an earlier form of the genitive.

Where did the Irish McMonagle family come from? What is the Irish coat of arms/family crest? When did the McMonagle family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname McMonagle are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacGonigle, MacGonagle, Magonagle, Magonigele and many more.
First found in county Donegal where they held a family seat from ancient times. A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labour involved
in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name McMonagle or a variant listed above: James MacGonagal settled in Newcastle in 1803;
Edward, James, Patrick, MacGonagle all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Edward, George, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, MacGonegal all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.