Ó Spealáin

Rev Patrick Woulfe

Irish Names and Surnames

1923

Ó SPEALÁIN—I—O Spallane, O Spillane, O Spollane, Spalane, Spellane, Spillane, Spollane, Spollan, Splane, Splaine, Smallen, Smollan, Smullen, (Spelman, Spellman), &c.; 'descendant of Spealán' (diminutive of speal, a scythe); the name (1) of a family, said to be of Dalcassian origin, who were anciently chiefs of Ui Luighdheach, or Ileagh, in the present barony of Eliogarty, Co. Tipperary, but long since dispersed through Munster and Leinster; and (2) of a family of Ui Fiachrach who were formerly proprietors of Coillin Aodha, now Culleen, in the parish of Kilglas, Co. Sligo, and are still numerous in Connacht, but generally call themselves Spelman in English. The name is usually pronounced Ó Spoláin in Munster and Connacht, but sometimes also Ó Smoláin in the latter province; and the anglicised forms, Smollan, Smullen, &c., show that it was also sometimes so pronounced in Leinster.

Alphabetical Index to Irish Surnames

SEARCH FOR NAMES »

Featured Books

An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

See more of our books »

The Ocean Plague: or, A Voyage to Quebec in an Irish Emigrant Vessel is based upon the diary of Robert Whyte who, in 1847, crossed the Atlantic from Dublin to Quebec in an Irish emigrant ship. His account of the journey provides invaluable eyewitness testimony to the trauma and tragedy that many emigrants had to face en route to their new lives in Canada and America. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Irish in America by John F. Maguire provides a substantial and invaluable account of the extreme difficulties faced by pioneer Irish immigrants in North America during the 19th Century. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Scotch-Irish in America tells the story of how the hardy breed of men and women, who in America came to be known as the ‘Scotch-Irish’, was forged in the north of Ireland during the seventeenth century. It relates the circumstances under which the great exodus to the New World began, the trials and tribulations faced by these tough American pioneers and the enduring influence they came to exert on the politics, education and religion of the country.

Show fewer titles