Donnelly is O Donnaile in Irish, from Donnail, a personal name made
up of donn, meaning Brown and gal, meaning ;
bravery The original
ancestor was Donnail O Neill, who died in 876, and was himself a
descendant of Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-
century king who supposedly kidnapped St. Patrick to Ireland. Their
territory was first in Co. Donegal, but they later moved eastwards into
Co. Tyrone, where the centre of their power was at Ballydonnelly.
Many of the family were hereditary bards, but their chief historical
fame is as soldiers, especially in the wars of the seventeenth century.
One modern bearer of the name who combined both traditional roles
was Charles Donnelly (1910-37_, poet and republican, who was killed
fighting with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.
