Ó Maolalaidh

Rev Patrick Woulfe

Irish Names and Surnames

1923

Ó MAOLALAIDH—I—O Mullaly, O Mullally, Mullally, Mullaly, Lally; 'descendant of Maolaladh' (speckled chief); the name of a branch of the Ui Maine in Co. Galway. They are of the same descent as the O'Neachtains, and both families originally formed one clan, called Ui Fiachrach Finn from their ancestor, Fiachra Fionn, grandson of Maine Mór, the common ancestor of all the Ui Maine. The clan lands comprised the fertile plain of Maonmhagh, lying around Loughrea, but about the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion the O'Mullallys were dispossessed by the Burkes and forced to retire to the parish of Tuam, where they settled at Tulach na dála, anglicised Tullaghnadaly, or Tolendal, four miles to the north of the town of Tuam. In the wars of the 17th century, they adhered to the Stuart cause. James Lally of Tullindaly sat as representative of Tuam in King James's Parliament of 1689. He was attainted in 1691 together with his brother, Gerald, whereupon they both retired to France. Gerald married a noble French lady, and their son and grandson, the Counts Lally de Tollendal, made the name celebrated in Europe.

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