Kelly

An Irish surname of Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Mayo. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 267,394 people, the 74th most common surname in the country.

Kelly is the anglicised form of six distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Mac Caochlaoich. This family stood in Co. Cork.

Mac Ceallaigh, son of Ceallach (war, contention). This family stood in Co. Galway and Co. Leitrim.

Mac Giolla Cheallaigh, son of Giolla Cheallaigh (servant of St. Ceallach). This family stood in Co. Galway and Co. Mayo.

Ó Cadhla, descendant of Cadhla (beautiful, comely, graceful). This family stood in Co. Limerick.

Ó Caollaidhe, descendant of Caollaidhe (an ancient Irish personal name). This family stood in the barony of Ballyadams in Co. Laois, Co. Kilkenny, and Co. Tipperary.

Ó Ceallaigh, descendant of Ceallach (war, contention). This family stood in the barony of Loughinsholin in Co. Derry, Co. Cork, Co. Dublin, Co. Galway, Co. Laois, Co. Meath, Co. Roscommon, Co. Sligo, and Co. Wicklow.

Where the name comes from

Kelly stands for several distinct families, and the best known are the Ó Ceallaigh of Ui Maine, a branch of the Oirghialla of Ulster. They were one of the most powerful families in Connacht, and as chiefs of Ui Maine they ruled an extensive territory in the counties of Galway and Roscommon, which they held down to the reign of Elizabeth. The family produced many distinguished chiefs, among them Tadhg Mór Ó Ceallaigh, who fell at Clontarf in 1014.

A second Ó Ceallaigh held Breagh, a branch of the southern Ui Neill who were lords of an extensive district taking in a large portion of Meath and the north of Co. Dublin. They were dispossessed and dispersed throughout Ireland after the Anglo-Norman invasion, and Conghalach Ó Ceallaigh, the last lord of Breagh, died in 1292.

Seven more families of the name are on record: Ó Ceallaigh of Cinel Eachach in the barony (an old land division, several parishes across) of Loughinsholin, Co. Derry, where they are still numerous; of Leighe, now Lea; of Magh Druchtain; of Gallen, all three in Leix; of Ui Teigh in the north of the present Co. Wicklow; of Árd Ó gCeallaigh in the parish of Templeboy, Co. Sligo; and of Corca Laoighdhe in the south-west of Co. Cork.

Not every Kelly is an Ó Ceallaigh. Mac Giolla Cheallaigh belonged to the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne in Co. Galway, of the same stock as the O'Clerys, and derived its descent from Guaire the Hospitable, King of Connacht in the 7th century; their chief resided at the castle of Cloghballymore in the parish of Killeenavarra. Ó Caollaidhe, anciently chiefs of Ui Bearchon in the present barony of Ida, is now almost everywhere disguised under the anglicised form of Kelly, and it is the ordinary Irish behind the name in West Limerick and Kerry.

Rugged Atlantic coastline at Allihies, Cork, Ireland, with layered slate cliffs, fine art landscape photograph by Peter Cox
Allihies Coast, Cork

The Kelly counties, photographed

Cork

Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Three peninsulas run west into the Atlantic: Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen, with the population thinning the further out you go. My gallery is in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay, so it's the ground I photograph most.

Sunset over Dun an Oir ruins and sea stacks on Cape Clear Island, Cork, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDún an Óir, Cape Clear Island, Cork Co. Cork The Fastnet Lighthouse standing proud on a calm summer evening off West Cork in black and white panoramic viewThe Fastnet Lighthouse, Co. Cork Co. Cork

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Galway

Connemara takes up the west of the county: the Twelve Bens, blanket bog, and fields walled off into very small squares. The Aran Islands sit at the mouth of Galway Bay. The Gaeltacht starts a few miles west of Galway city.

Enormous waves sending spray over 30-metre sea cliffs at Poll an tSeidein on Inis Meain, Aran Islands at sunsetPoll an tSéideáin, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway The rusting Plassey shipwreck on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, seen from above with the Atlantic Ocean beyondThe Plassey, Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway Dramatic storm waves battering tall cliffs at sunset on the west coast of Inis Meain, Aran IslandsPoll an tSéideáin Panoramic, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway

Mayo

Achill is the largest island off the Irish coast and is joined to the mainland by a bridge. Clew Bay is full of drumlins that were drowned when the sea rose, which is where the story about an island for every day of the year comes from. Croagh Patrick stands over the south side of the bay. Mayo's population is still less than half what it was before the Famine.

Black and white view across Doo Lough towards Ben Gorm and mountains, Co. Mayo, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDoo Lough, Co. Mayo Co. Mayo Black and white view of Dun Briste sea stack from a sea cave, Co. Mayo, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDún Briste from the Cave Co. Mayo Black and white lone tree standing in bogland with the Partry Mountains behind, County MayoLone Tree, Partry Mountains, Co. Mayo Co. Mayo

All Cork prints · All Dublin prints · All Galway prints · All Mayo prints

Notable bearers

Grace Kelly (1929-1982), actor, musician, and model.

R. Kelly (born 1967), singer, musician, and composer.

Gene Kelly (1912-1996), actor, writer, and singer.

Moira Kelly (born 1968), film actor, television actor, and singer.

Ned Kelly (1854-1880), writer and bushranger.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

How common the name was

In 1890, 1,212 births were registered under Kelly in Ireland, most of them in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon.

Leinster 435
Connacht 329
Ulster 267
Munster 211
Ireland 1,212

Roscommon is the one I haven't worked in.