BEGINNERS' BLAS
SLOINNTE/ SURNAMES

Ó Dochartaigh
This name, which is synonymous with N. Donegal and the Derry area, means desc. of Dochartach, meaning hurtful or harmful one. The adjective dochar can easily be seen in it. The Ó Dochartaigh were a branch of the Cenel Chonaill and were therefore of the same stock as the Ó Dónaill name discussed earlier in the series. They increased their power and standing throughout the later medieval period and became lords of Inis Eoghain in the beginning of the 15th century. They retained this position until the confiscation of their lands at the beginning of the 17th century when the area was granted to Sir Arthur Chichester. Ó Dochartaigh and simply Doherty where the Ó has been dropped are common names throughout Ulster but very prevalent in the Derry and Donegal area.

Ó Donnghaile
The history and fortunes of the name Ó Donnghaile mirror to a certain extent those of Ó Dochartaigh and other names of families which had a stake in society under the Gaelic system. The name itself means desc. of Donnghal, meaning brown valour, or fighting fury. What brown means in this context, as with its appearance in other names, is unclear . Donnghal itself is a personal name, and it is from its bearer, a descendant of a brother of Niall Glúndubh, ancestor of the Uí Néill, that all northern Ó Donnghaile are descended. The seat of the Uí Dhonnghaile was at Ballydonnelly, now Castlecaulfield near Dungannon. It was there that the famous Shane O’Neill was fostered. The name changed upon the confiscation of the land in the seventeenth century and its being granted to Sir Toby Caulfield. The Ó Donnghaile family were hereditary marshals and generals of the forces of Ó Néill, and they fought at Kinsale where it is reported that one Dónall Ó Donnghaile and a hundred of his kinsmen were killed.
The name has spread throughout Ireland but is still most prevalent in Ulster.

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