Généalogie and Heritage

Source: (Daily Family: O) Daly, Daley, Daily, Dailey

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Titre (Daily Family: O) Daly, Daley, Daily, Dailey

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AENGUS Tuirmeach-Teamhrach Mac Eochaid Ailtlethan King of Ireland FL001

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Daily Family

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The noted local historian and genealogist, P. J. Kennedy, was principally responsible for the location and return to Killimordaly of what is commonly known as the "Marriage Stone" of Teige O'Daly (eldest son of Dermot who died 1614) and Sisily O'Kelly. Circa 1980, Sean Connaire, Alfie Burke, Tommy Mooney and Larry Kennedy transported this priceless historic limestone record from Lusmagh (near Cloghan Castle, Co. Offaly) to Killimordaly Churchyard. The stone artist's name, for artist he surely was, is unrecorded. According to PJK, the stone was originally inserted above the entrance to Killimor Castle in commemoration of the castle's construction in 1624 where it remained during the various reconstructions of "The Castle" to a more comfortable type of residence during the 18th and 19th centuries. Teige and Sisily Daly's line became extinct, circa 1820, on the death of Hyacinth Daly Esq., of Killimer, who was, for many years, Mayor of Galway. Hyacinth's second daughter, Anstase Daly, married John Devereux Esq., of Ballyrankin, Co. Wexford and their son, Nicholas Devereaux eventually inherited the Killimor Estate but sold it (1860) to a very distant and very rich relative ----- yes to affluent Denis St. George Daly, 2nd Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal. Killimer Castle and demesne was acquired by Dunsandle following the death of Dominic J. Browne-Burke Esq., 1879.

This Lord of the Realm, recognizing the historical significance of the stone, had it removed to Dunsandle House circa 1880. Sometime in the late 1930's, P. J. Kennedy was in Dunsandle House on business with the then master of Dunsandle, Major Denis Bowes Daly, a grandson of Lord Dunsandle. Mr. Kennedy's gaze was instantly riveted on an unusual stone tablet ornamenting the grounds with its unambiguous message: Killimer Castle had been constructed in 1624 and this was the atchivment (achievement) of Teige O'Daly and Sisily Kelly. In 1956, Major Daly, suffering from the constraints of a diminishing income, sold the family seat and demesne to the Irish Land Commission. He took up residence in Cloghan Castle, parish of Lusmagh, Co. Offaly and luckily brought the "Marriage Stone" with him. It remained there until he moved to another home in Co. Limerick. But wearying of carting his limestone burden he finally gave permission for its return to Killimordaly.

A unique and wonderful example of stone art, with extraordinary relief writing and detailed decoration; it is still well preserved (but weathering) 370 years on. Presently the stone is set in concrete on the left of the stepped entrance to Killimordaly Graveyard. As part of our historical inheritance and the most ancient written record extant in the locality once known as Killimor Maenmoy, it deserves greater protection from the eroding elements. The most immediate and striking impression presented by this old echo of the past is that it is written in English, again reinforcing O'Daly loyalty to Stuart England and his commitment to English as the language of "Civility." Sadly it also marks his abandonment of the language of his noble Gaelic forefathers and signals the decline of Irish among the local peasantry. Secondly, the strength of O'Daly's Catholicism (at a time when Protestantism would have been the easy and the more lucrative option) is reflected by the inclusion of implements used in Christ's torture and crucifixion. This religious symbolism clearly demonstrates the success of continental counter-reformation Catholicism and the disdainful rejection of the imposed state religion of Tudor/Stuart England.

Located at the center is the O'Daly coat of arms; the shield bearing a rampant lion and two right hands. The lion signifies leadership and deathless courage while the two right hands represent faith and justice. A helmet perched on top of the shield (a little indistinct) symbolizes security in defense. The shield is surrounded by a decorative mantle drawing the viewer's attention to the importance of this family and the pride taken by Teige in his family's achievement. A large dog (hound) forms the crest and exhibits detail so perfect that its maleness is chauvinistically obvious. However, lest the mighty Teige O'Daly be accused of gender discrimination, let the reader take note of the equal prominence given to Sisily O'Kelly's name on the right hand sideof the memorial, thus bearing witness to this important O'Daly/O'Kelly alliance. Up to this point, the O'Kelly chieftains must have resented the O'Dalys' growing importance and wealth, yet O'Daly had become acceptable enough for integration with the oncepowerful princes of Hymany. Sisily Kelly/O'Kelly was the daughter of a Gaelic chieftain named Conor O'Kelly of Gallagh, (modern Castleblakeney) and no doubt added to the growing wealth of Teige, with a generous dowry of livestock, which as we all know, is the only yardstick of real wealth.

This information was compiled and written by Mr James N. Dillon, and is presented here with his kind permission.

O'Dalaigh

The Daly sept must surely be regarded as representing the greatest name in Gaelic literature. From the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries there were no less than thirty outstanding O Daly poets. "There is certainly no family to which the bardic literature of Ireland is more deeply indebted than that of O Daly," wrote the historian John O. Donovan (1805-61). Their family history goes back to earliest recorded times. They claim descent from one of Ireland's epic heroes, Niall of the Nine Hostages, the High King who ruled from his palace at Tara from AD 380 to 405. He was ancestor of the O Neills of Tyrone and the O Donnells of Tirconnell, whose lengthy pedigrees are in Dublin's Genealogical Office. Their tradition and original territory was in the baronyof Magheradernon, Co. Westmeath and thence they spread to other parts of the country, always continuing the literary tradition and forming sub-septs in each of the places they settled in pursuit of their calling.

From the Dalys came several kings of Meath, who in time branched out to Thomond and to Connacht. According to some authorities, the surname derives from the Irish word dáil, a place where councils are held. (Thus Dáil Éireann, the Irish Parliament, got its name.) Other sources claim, probably with more veracity, that it is derived from the personal name Dalach (meaning "blind one"). The first person on record as having borne the surname was Cuconnacht na Scoile O'Dalaigh, (Cuconnacht of the school), who died at Clonard in 1139. His was a school for bards-poets and minstrels. Given that, according to the pedigree information, his father and great-great-great-grandfather were named Dalach, it seems that the latter origin of the name is more likely. Over thecenturies O'Dalaigh has become Daly, Daley, Daily, Dailey, Dalie, Dailie, Dawley, Dawly, Dayley, Dayly, Dealey and Dealy to name just the commonest variants.

From Westmeath they fanned out, becoming official poets to the leading families of the land. In Cavan they were resident bards with the powerful O Reillys. Numerous O Dalys scattered north to follow their poetic vocation with the foremost Leinster family,the O Neills. In West Cork they served Munster's ruling family, the MacCarthys. In Connacht the kingly O Connors could boast an O Daly bard and there they were also hereditary poets to the O Loughlins, Lords of Corcomroe.

Also in Connacht, Donogh Mor O Daly (d. 1244) of Kinvarra wrote such fine poetry that he has been fulsomely described as "the Irish Ovid" He is buried in the Cistercian Abbey in Boyle, County Roscommon, now an ivy clad ruin near the main road by the RiverBoyle.

Diarmuid Oge O'Daly was made the official poet of the MacCarthys of West Cork, thus acquiring for his family lands and privileges in the barony of Carbery.

Poets can be excessively temperamental beings. In 1213, Muiredagh O Daly from Lough Derravaragh (the Lake of the Oaks) in County Westmeath, where the legendary children of Lir were turned into swans, went to pay a visit to the O Donnells of Drumcliff, near Sligo. One of their stewards provoked him so severely that the poet retaliated by killing him! For this appalling behavior, Muiredagh was pursued all over Ireland by the enraged O Donnells. He fled to Scotland where, in time, he repented and wrote a poem so disarming that he was forgiven by the O Donnells and was able to return home. Aengus O Daly of Cork was a renegade. He allowed himself to be employed by the English to write "The Tribes of Ireland," a bitter satire on his own people. Foolishly, he returned to Ireland where, in 1617, he was stabbed to death by a Meagher of Roscrea, who had been vilified in the book.

Daniel O Daly (1595-1662) of Kerry was an outstanding European scholar. To escape religious persecution he went to Europe to study for the priesthood. He founded a Dominican college in Louvain, and, in Lisbon, a college and a convent for Irish religious exiles. His considerable diplomatic skill was recognized by diverse monarchs. The then Prince of Wales, later Charles I of England, even tried to use him, though unsuccessfully, when he was seeking the hand of Philip IV of Spain's daughter. In Portugal, in1640, he was prominent in the revolution that freed it from Spain. An international traveler, he was summoned to Paris in 1650 by Charles II and his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, where they urged him to use his influence to effect a coalition of Irish Royalists against the Parliamentarians. As a result, Dominic de Rosario (O Daly's religious name) wrote to Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, assuring him of his readiness to serve the royal cause both in Ireland and Spain. But he insisted he must have the assurance of Charles II that Ireland would be established as a free nation. Portugal was lucky, but not Ireland, although he had done his utmost. Earlier, he had been an envoy from Portugal to Louis XIV in Paris, advising on military matters concerning the Irish who w...