Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Genealogy, Archaeology, History, Heritage & Folklore

Moderators: Clare Support, Clare Past Mod

Post Reply
Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Post by Sduddy » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:16 pm

Apologies for saying that Queally and Kelly were the same name when replying to ‘Linnane family from Corofin, Co. Clare’: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=6936
I’ve checked MacLysaght’s ‘The Surnames of Ireland’ and see that Queally is not the same name as Kelly. In his entry on Queally (O Caollaidhe), MacLysaght says “In addition to that of Co. Kilkenny, there was an important sept of O’Queally in north Clare. The confusion which has inevitably arisen between Queally, Kealy, Keely, Kiely, etc. is discussed in More Irish Families.”

I looked at all my transcriptions of baptisms and found that there are only 3 occasions when it could have occurred to me that Quealy was the same name as Kelly (see below).
And it’s quite possible, in all three cases, that there was a first wife called Quealy, and a second wife called Kelly, or vice-versa.

So I was relying on slender-to-zero evidence, as far as the transcriptions are concerned. So where did I get such an idea? I know for sure that Quilligan is the same name as Culligan, that that Quillinan is the same name as Cullinan, and can even remember the older people using Quilligan and Quillinan. Maybe I extrapolated from that that Queally must be Kelly. Anyway I’ve put the matter right now.

When going through the transciptions, I noticed that Kiely looked very like Kelly and that I needed to use the zoom to distinguish them.

(1) Inagh-Kilnamona 1865-1880: Michael McCormack is the husband of Catherine Kelly (page 68) and Catherine Quealy (page 81). This couple are also in Ruan-Dysert as Michael McCormick and Catherine Quealy (75 right).

(2) Liscannor 1843 -1854: Austin Green is the husband of Mary Kelly (page 3) and Mary Qualy (page 12).

(3) Miltownmalby 1831- 1855: Tom Quin is the husband of Bridget Quely, Freagh (page 147 right) and of Bridget Kelly, Freagh (pages 205 r., 225 r. and 248 r.).

Sheila

murf
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:58 am
Location: Qld Australia

Re: Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Post by murf » Sat Jan 27, 2018 10:12 pm

Sheila
If it makes you feel any better I offer this example from the Kildysart Register.
Qualy-Kelly.png
Qualy-Kelly.png (9.9 KiB) Viewed 7795 times
OK the names Kelly and Qualy/Quealy etc may have their unique identity, but if the pronunciation is so similar it seems inevitable that they will be confused in parish registers at times.

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Post by Sduddy » Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:56 am

Hi Murf
Yes, that's it in a nutshell.

Sheila

kate2013
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:26 pm

Re: Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Post by kate2013 » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:43 pm

Kiely is my family name. :)

I've found at least ten different spellings of Kiely in the records, including 'Kelly'. It's a nightmare.

kbarlow
Posts: 160
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 12:07 am

Re: Queally, Quilligan and Quillinan

Post by kbarlow » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:30 am

I sympathise with all of us chasing many Irish names - I've counted 10 versions of Kierce in both the Irish & Aust records! After the "Cromwellian settlement", when the Irish language was no longer to be taught and most Catholics weren't allowed to get an education (amongst many other restrictions & losses) the local priests for centuries were mainly poor and illiterate themselves - so they were taking the best stab at the spelling and sometimes (as we can see in the RC baptism records) they could barely write. The English administration doing the Tithe Applotment books used the English version of many names, and it seems the Griffiths Valuation field workers did the same. When the Irish arrived in Aus, many were illiterate, thanks to the English administration over the centuries, and the migration agents, shipping officers, etc also gave various interpretations of the names. Isn't it fun being a genealogist!! But it certainly helps having this forum & people like Sheila giving us tips on local/historical variants.

cheers, Kerry

Post Reply