BEGINNERS' BLAS
SLOINNTE/ SURNAMES

Ó Gallchóir, Mac an Ghallóglaigh, Ó Baoill

We now turn our attention to some surnames that take shape from the common noun gall, meaning stranger, or foreigner. The surname Gallagher is perhaps the one which most readily springs to mind, and it’s original form, Ó Gallchóir, comes from gall, foreigner, and the word cobhair, meaning help or aid. Descendant of the foreign help or foreign assistance would therefore be a rough English translation.

The help or aid in question would probably have been of the military sort and would have been sought from neighbouring chiefs or tribes, sometimes from overseas. Soldiers and military resources would have been lent and similar help would have been expected in return. The earliest Ó Gallchóir was Maolchobha, and the family appear to descend from him, a king of Ireland in the 7th century AD. The family seem to have stuck to their military origins, as they were generals and marshals in the armies of Ó Dónaill, the chieftains of Donegal, right throughout the medieval period.

One constant flow of military help seems to have come from the Scottish Isles, and there is regular mention in historical sources of soldiers being imported by Ulster lords in order to gain the upper hand over their neighbours. These Scottish mercenary soldiers were called in English Gallowglass, which has nothing to do with the hangman’s rope or with the gallows tree, but is instead a rendering of the Gaelic term Gallóglach, with gall, foreigner, and óglach, meaning warrior. Mac an Ghallóglaigh, son or descendant of the Gallowglass is still found today in the surname Gollogly, prevalent in South Armagh, Louth and Meath.

Ó Baoill / Boyle

Ó Baoill is apparently made up of two words, baoith meaning vain or foolish, and geall, meaning promise. Ó Baoith-gheall have run together into Ó Baoill. The family have strong ties with NW Donegal, where they were rulers before they moved further west and dispersed almost everywhere in Ireland. The name remains very prevalent in Donegal and will, like Ó Gallchóir, have been come across by listeners who have visited the Gaeltacht. Boylan, or Ó Baoilleáin, is a diminutive form.

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