McNally — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac an Fhailghigh
Meaning: 'son of the poor man'
Traditional stronghold: Mayo, Armagh, Monaghan
Pronunciation: mick-NAL-ee; Irish Mac an Fhailghigh: mock on AL-ee
History of the McNally name
McNally is usually Mac an Fhailghigh, 'son of the poor man', a name of the old territory of Oriel, especially Monaghan and Armagh, with a second concentration in Mayo and Roscommon; in parts of Ulster it may also disguise Mac Con Uladh, 'son of the hound of Ulster'. The forms McAnally and Nally belong to the same stock. The name carries one of the strangest stories in Irish history: the Dublin barrister Leonard McNally defended United Irishmen in court while secretly informing on them for the Crown, a betrayal discovered only after his death in 1820.
Variants: MacNally · McAnally · Nally
Famous bearers of the name
- Leonard McNally — Playwright and barrister who defended United Irishmen while secretly betraying them.
- Terrence McNally — Irish-American playwright who won four Tony Awards.
- Frank McNally — Monaghan-born writer of the Irish Times column An Irishman's Diary.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · Walsh · Connolly · Burke · Duffy · McMahon · Moran · Higgins