Donnelly is a very old name, originating from the Irish Donnail, from Donn-Gal, meaning Brown-Left. Now numbering in the millions, the Donnelly clan owes it name to one man, Donnail O Neill, who lived in the ninth century, and was himself a descendant of King Eoghan, one of the famed kiddnappers of Saint Patrick. The traditional roles of a Donnelly are that of Poet and Soldier, once combined by Charles Donnelly, born 1910 but killed in the Spanish Civil War. It has its own Crest, consisting of a black-helmeted soldier standing behind a sheild decorated with a fish and two lions regardant surrounding an upheld hand in the famous "Stop!" position. The Man and sheild are surrounded by greenery. The crest itself can be found at http://www.donnelly.org, along with other interesting facts about the Donnelly family. There is a guestbook that has been signed by Donnelly's from Canada to the UK all the way to Melbourne, Australia. T-shirts will shortly available. Also obtainable are Donnelly.org email addresses, totally free of charge.

Other Events of Note in the Donnelly History:

The Black Donnelly Massacre: In 1880, a number of Donnellys lived in a village in Canada. One night on a hill above the town, the other villagers were incited to riot, angered by the Donnelly Blackfeet approach to Christianity.. They (the family) were all killed. A number of books have since been published about the event, one by Earl Ryder, whose ancestor (Thomas Ryder) led the townspeople.

The Donnellys originated in Co. Donegal, but later moved to Co. Tyrone, where they held a power base in Ballydonnelly.

Another Donnelly Website is www.donnellys.com. It seems that no concerted effort is being put forward to map out a complete Donnelly Family Tree, online or otherwise. But, if you are a Donnelly, or merely an interested onlooker, think of the ancestoral riches you and your children may be missing out on, or your friends children. In today's westernised world, they may fell they are growing up without roots, without connections. Perhaps you could show them they are wrong.