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The
Gallagher Clan 
The History of the Gallagher Name
by Michael Monroe Gollaher, aka Mícheál Mac an Rothaich ÓGallchobhair "the O'Gollaher"
{This is an abridge version of a posting in the Gallagher Mailing List}
The surname 'Galliher' is a variant of the common spelling 'Gallagher,' which is the modern anglicization of the old Irish patronymic name 'Gallchobar.' The Ui Ghallchobhair (Family Gallagher) were a branch of the northern tribes of the Ui Néill known as the Cenel Chonaill, or 'kindred of Conal.' You may confirm this information in any historical work on the clans of Ireland by such authors as O'Hart or MacLysaght. There are several good reasons for the confusing variations of the spelling of this ancient name, a problem held in common with virtually all Gaelic surnames originating in Ireland, especially before the Norman invasions.
1) Gaelic is a totally different language than English, with different basic sounds, letters and rules of speech. The translation of a Gaelic name into its anglic equivalent -- even under the best of circumstances -- was not a very tidy one. This problem is referred to as the "anglicization" of Irish names. Two good examples: a) There is no 'h' as we know it in gaedlig; it is used to denote something called "aspiration" in a word, which means that the item being referred to has a spirit, or is a living entity. Ancient Gaels and Celts had a spiritual world-view very much like the Native American in that most everything had a spiritual (living) component to it. This was significant, as no man could "own" a living thing created by God(s), though he could exercise restricted dominion over it. This included the land itself, and was perhaps the primary reason kingship was not an automatic birthright in Gaelic culture, and why individuals could not pass on ownership of the land they controlled to their heirs with a legal mechanism such as we have inherited from the Romans. The structure of the language reflected this principle. For instance, it would be improper in Gaelic to say, "I have the book," because that would indicate ownership of the book (even books -- especially books -- were considered a living entity). The literal translation of such a phrase from the gaedlig would read, "The book is to me." This should throw a whole different light on the possible origin of the 'h' in our surname!
b) The original (or at least much
earlier) Gaelic inhabitants of Ireland spoke a Gaelic dialect
called "k" or "q-Celtic" as opposed to a
later migration of Celts from Europe which spoke the
"p-Celtic" dialect. Thek-Celtic dialect prevailed
in the north, and the p-Celtic moreso in the south, and was
dominant in England and Breton societies (Welsh). The main
difference being that the northern (earlier) Gaels could not (or
would not) distinguish the difference between a "p"
sound and a "k" sound, leading them to translate any
word with a 'p' in it into a 'k' sound. This caused no
little degree of confusion amoung scholars for many years until
the divergence made itself plain. The point is that this
may be a partial way to account for the largely Scottish
pronunciation (and spelling) of the surname as 'Gallachar' or
'Gallchor.'
2) The Irish themselves have never been overly concerned with the spelling of words, even to this day. The do, however, revere the _sound_ of their language, which has led families at various times to spell their name in such a manner that the local populace might pronounce it as it was originally spoken. In retrospect this was largely a doomed effort, but may be the major reason many families dropped the internal 'g' around the time of their emigration to America or the plantation period of Ireland.
3) The Penal Laws and Cromwellian deprivations of Ireland forced many to drop the 'O' or 'Mac' prefixes to their names, and led others to adopt protestant religions in order to even hold a job. A way to prove to authorities of the crown that they were no longer a "papist" was to alter the spelling of the surname, which many did. It also served to set them apart from other clan members, as by the mid 1500s and especially the 1600s the O Gallagher clan suffered deep splits in loyalty between the Crown versus the traditional O'Donnell chiefs, and even between northern chiefs such as the O'Neill vs. the O'Donnell. Even in the U.S. there is strong evidence that this was a major reason many changed the spelling of their last name from GOLLAHER to GOLLIHER, GELLEHER, GALLAHER, and so forth.
4) Last but not least is the simple but all to common problem of census takers and other government officials simply spelling it as best they could according to how it sounded to them. We have many, many examples of this, with quite a few variation in census archives such as GOLLOHER, GALLOHER, GALLIER and so forth.
I tell you all of this to convince you that the ORIGIN of the Gallagher surname (and all of its many variant spellings) is from County Donegal, formerly known as the Tyrconnell, or Tir Chonaill ('Conal's Land'), where the clan is known to have its roots. In other words, to confiscate and twist aphrase: all roads must eventually lead back to County Donegal.That being said however, it certainly doesn't imply your Galliher ancestor emigrated from Co. Donegal. The Penal Laws and Cromwell's rape of northern Ireland scattered many families throughout the island and into Scotland. I'm sure more than a few ended up in Wales. Later, the great potato famine and rebellion certainly had the same effect. If you follow the GALLAGHER-L list, for instance, you'll note many Gallagher's emigrated from Tyrone, Derry, and other counties, and several even from Scotland.
The best way to find where they originated is to trace your line back to the emigrant himself, and note where they came from. Census records often give at least the country of birth, and in some cases, I'm told, the locale as well. Second, look for common ancestors in other posted genealogies. This is more misleading, I have learned, because there seem to be a handful of given names used over and over again within divergent families, such as Patrick, Hugh, James, Bridgett, Margaret, John and etc. (It sometimes seems every third Gallagher was named James!)
Understand that the Irish were probably the first to use patronymic surnames in the fashion we do today. Irish Gaelic names are most always descriptive of the progenitor of the name, describing his appearance or attributes he adopted (quite often from animals, like the native American), or even his cultural background. Doyle-O'Doyle, for instance, is an anglicized form of O Dubhghaill, or dhubh-ghall, which means dark, (black, gloomy, melancholy) foreigner, which is literally what they were, being descendants of Viking invaders into Ireland and Scotland. The name is rendered MacDowell or Mac Dougall in Scotland. Welsh and Scottish Gaelic surnames, on the other hand, tend moreso to be by-names, describing the individual or clan's location, or some prominent feature thereby. Galliher is a derivative of OGallchobhair, meaning "of the foriegner(s) {come to our} aid (assist, help, succor)."
page CREATED and COPYRIGHT by
Shaun McNamara
31-Dec-98
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