Connolly

also Conneely, Ó Conghaile, Ó Coingheallaigh

Of Connemara and the Fews, and the founder of Irish socialism.

Origin: Connacht, Ireland
Famous bearer: James Connolly (1868–1916), socialist, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, executed in his chair
Register: Irish family

Territory of Connolly

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Connolly

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Connolly community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Connolly has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Connolly clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

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What does the Connolly name mean?

From Ó Conghaile, descendant of Conghal. Conghal is an Old Irish personal name often glossed as 'fierce as a wolf' (cú, hound + gal, valour), though the etymology is contested. Three distinct Ó Conghaile kindreds gave rise to the modern Connollys: the Galway Connollys of Connemara (the line, also Anglicised as Conneely), the Monaghan Connollys of the Fews, and the Meath Connollys of Allenstown. All Anglicised as Connolly by the 18th century.

The history of Connolly

Connolly is widespread across Ireland with the heaviest concentration in the western seaboard counties of Connacht and the Ulster border counties of Monaghan and Cavan. The most consequential 18th-century Connolly was William Conolly (1662–1729) of Castletown, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and the wealthiest man in early-Hanoverian Ireland, whose Castletown House at Celbridge in Kildare is the largest and earliest of the great Palladian country houses of Ireland.

James Connolly (1868–1916) is the most consequential bearer of the surname in Irish political history. Born in the Cowgate of Edinburgh to Monaghan-Connolly emigrant parents, he was an autodidact, trade unionist, founder of the Irish Citizen Army, signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. Wounded in the General Post Office during the Rising, he was executed by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol on 12 May 1916, tied to a chair because his wounds prevented him from standing. His execution, and the manner of it, did more than any other single act to turn Irish public opinion decisively against continued union with Britain.

Champions of the Connolly name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has its own page — biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

James Connolly
The Edinburgh-born Irish socialist organiser who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896, built with James Larkin the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union into the central institution of Irish labour, and as Commandant of the Dublin Brigade led the working-class regiments of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Step Into History

Walk the streets and seats the Connolly name knew — a photoreal walk through time, on foot.

Step Into History · New

Walk Galway in 1520Enter →

The walled City of the Tribes at its Spanish-trade height — the quays, Lynch's Castle, and the fourteen merchant families.

Notable bearers of the Connolly name

James Connolly (1868–1916), socialist, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, executed in his chair
William Conolly (1662–1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, builder of Castletown
Cyril Connolly (1903–1974), English literary critic of Anglo-Irish-Connolly descent
Billy Connolly (b. 1942), Glaswegian comedian and actor

Stories of Connolly

Tied to a chair at Kilmainham
1916
On the morning of the twelfth of May 1916, James Connolly, signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, founder of the Irish Citizen Army, was carried on a stretcher from his bed at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, where he had been treated for the wounds he had taken at the General Post Office during the Easter Rising, into the stonebreakers' yard at Kilmainham Gaol next door, was tied to a chair because his shattered ankle could not bear his weight, and was shot by firing party of the British Army at six minutes past three in the morning. He was the last of the sixteen leaders of the Rising to be executed at the gaol over the previous fourteen days. He was forty-seven years old. Born in the Cowgate of Edinburgh to Monaghan-emigrant parents, he had been a soldier of the King in his youth, an autodidact trade-unionist, founder of the Irish Socialist Republican Party, organiser of the Dublin Lockout of 1913, and the only one of the seven Proclamation signatories whose interest in an Irish Republic was, before anything else, an interest in the conditions of the Dublin working class. The manner of his execution, more than any other single act of the British government in 1916, turned Irish public opinion against the union and toward the republic he had not lived to see.
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Frequently asked

What does the surname Connolly mean?

Where does the Connolly family come from?

The Connolly family is rooted in Connacht, in Ireland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Galway. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Connolly family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Connolly name has been concentrated in Monaghan, Mayo and Meath. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Connolly a Ireland surname?

Yes, Connolly is a Ireland surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is Ireland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Connolly surname?

Connolly is widespread across Ireland with the heaviest concentration in the western seaboard counties of Connacht and the Ulster border counties of Monaghan and Cavan. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Connolly name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Connolly family known for?

Of Connemara and the Fews, and the founder of Irish socialism. Connolly is widespread across Ireland with the heaviest concentration in the western seaboard counties of Connacht and the Ulster border counties of Monaghan and Cavan.

Who is the most famous Connolly?

The best-known bearer of the Connolly name is James Connolly (1868–1916), socialist, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, executed in his chair. Other prominent figures of the family include William Conolly (1662–1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, builder of Castletown, Cyril Connolly (1903–1974), English literary critic of Anglo-Irish-Connolly descent and Billy Connolly (b. 1942), Glaswegian comedian and actor.

Who are some famous Connollys?

Notable bearers of the Connolly name include James Connolly (1868–1916), socialist, signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, executed in his chair, William Conolly (1662–1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, builder of Castletown, Cyril Connolly (1903–1974), English literary critic of Anglo-Irish-Connolly descent and Billy Connolly (b. 1942), Glaswegian comedian and actor. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

What stories are told about the Connolly family?

The Connolly family is associated with Tied to a chair at Kilmainham. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.

What is the story of Tied to a chair at Kilmainham?

On the morning of the twelfth of May 1916, James Connolly, signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, founder of the Irish Citizen Army, was carried on a stretcher from his bed at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, where he had been treated for the wounds he had taken at the General Post Office during the Easter Rising, into the stonebreakers' yard at Kilmainham Gaol next door, was tied to a chair because his shattered ankle could not bear his weight, and was shot by firing party of the British Army at six minutes past three in the morning. He was the last of the sixteen leaders of the Rising to be executed at the gaol over the previous fourteen days. The event is dated to 1916.

Is Conneely the same family as Connolly?

Yes. Conneely is a historical spelling variant of the Connolly name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Ó Conghaile the same family as Connolly?

Yes. Ó Conghaile is a historical spelling variant of the Connolly name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Ó Coingheallaigh the same family as Connolly?

Yes. Ó Coingheallaigh is a historical spelling variant of the Connolly name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Connolly surname found today?

Ireland is the primary historical home of the Connolly surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Ireland origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Connolly family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Connolly family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Ireland so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Connolly family today?

The seat for the head of the Connolly family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.