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NEELEY (McNEELY, NEALY)
There is an interesting legend connected with this name which tell the story of
the red hand appearing in the coat-of-arms here shown. A daring explorer named
O’Neill, with some of his followers, was crossing from Scotland to Ireland in search
of new homes - It had been offered that whoever was the
first to touch shore would be granted the privilege of calling the new country by his
name. When O’Neill saw that he was about to lose this honor he severed his hand from
his to dy and flung it ashore. That is why the red hand appearing on the coat-of-arms is
called "lamb dearg Erin", the red
hand of Erin. The O’Neills were the first lords of Ulster. The powerful and warlike,
High Niall (126th High King, or Ard Regh), of the Nine Hostages," ascended the throne
377/8 AD. It was he who had brought as captive,a -youthful Patrick, later Saint. High
Niall had 11 sons, all leaders of various clans.
When England was determined to conquer the Emerald Isle, many a Neale turned out to
fight for home and country. Rather than tow to the yoke of religious and political
oppression, they were forced to flee into other countries and the family disintegrated. We
hear of them in England, Spain, France, Italy and many of them have held positions of high
The importance.
The present representative of the family in Ireland is Edward O’Neill of Shanes
Castle, County Antrim, who suceeded his father as second baron in 1883.
This family in America was founded by five brothers, descendants of the Earls of
Ireland, who disagreed on religious and politics in their nnther country. One of them
retained the "0" in the name while the others dropped it.
Thus it is thought that the Neale family of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland and
North Carolina are probably all related.
Neel[e]y This is the shortened form of one or the other of the two Old Irish names &
it is now impossible to separate them. Mac an Fhilidh, meaning "son of the poet"
was Anglicized to MacAnellye & MacNeilly, Mac Conghaile, meaning "son of the
valorous one" was Anglicized to MacIneely, MacNeely, MacNela, MacNealy, etc. Each of
the foregoing names were further shortened by the dropping of the patronymical prefixes O
& Mac & by slight changes in spelling, such as Nealey, Nealy, Neely, Neeley,
Neilly, Nely, Nelly, Conelly, Conneely, Connealy, etc.
There is a strange story connected to the Mac Conghaile Family - black magic turned
severaal of the family into seals. This it is said, is the reason very few people will
kill seals in Eastern Ireland. Gillachriost Mac an Fhilidh, who died in 1509, was one of
Irelands greatest poets. Father Charles MacNeely, 1816-1870, was a noted parish priest.
The 1700 census records for North & South Carolina & Virginia,lists the spellings
Nealy, Neely, Neeley, Neilley.
The Neeley Coat of Arms
This site was last updated 10/31/00
This page was created
9-07-1998
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