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Irish surname

McHale: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Mac Céile; Mac Héil · Mac Céile: 'son of Céile' (companion); Mac Héil: 'son of Howel' (Woulfe)

Woulfe (1923) gives MacHale under two Irish names: Mac Céile, 'son of Céile' (companion), a Mayo family who were erenaghs of Killala; and Mac Héil, 'son of Howel', a family apparently of Welsh origin who settled in Tirawley in the 12th or 13th century. He says the two names were probably confused. In 1890, 50 of the 51 McHale birth entries in Ireland were in Mayo.

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Coat of arms associated with the McHale surname
Irish formMac Céile; Mac Héil
MeaningMac Céile: 'son of Céile' (companion); Mac Héil: 'son of Howel' (Woulfe)
CountiesMayo, Leitrim
Other spellings5

Origin of the McHale name

Woulfe names two families. Mac Céile: 'a Mayo family who were erenaghs of Killala and coarbs of St. Caillin at Fenagh, Co. Leitrim.' Mac Héil: 'a family, apparently of Welsh origin, who settled in Tirawley, in the 12th or 13th century; now always anglicised MacHale, and probably confused with the native name Mac Céile.'[1][2]

  1. 1257Four Masters: Maelpatrick Mac Kele, Erenagh of Killala, was slain.[4]
  2. 1791John MacHale born at Tubbernavine, Co. Mayo.[5]
  3. 1834Archbishop Kelly of Tuam dies; the clergy select John MacHale as one of three candidates.[5]
  4. 1881Archbishop John MacHale dies at Tuam.[5]
  5. 189051 McHale birth entries in Ireland, 50 of them in Mayo.[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. MayoWoulfe calls Mac Céile 'a Mayo family', erenaghs of Killala; 50 of 51 McHale entries in 1890.[1][3]
Co. LeitrimWoulfe says the Mac Céile family were coarbs of St. Caillin at Fenagh, Co. Leitrim.[1]

Notable people named McHale

John MacHale1791–1881Archbishop of Tuam; encouraged the preservation of Irish and translated Moore's 'Melodies' and Homer's 'Iliad' into Irish.[5]

Other spellings

MacHale · M'Keale · M'Heale · M'Heile · M'Hely[1][2]

The McHale coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the McHale surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

McHale crest gifts

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McHale surname: questions

What does the surname McHale mean?

Woulfe gives two Irish names behind MacHale: Mac Céile, 'son of Céile' (companion), and Mac Héil, 'son of Howel'.[1][2]

Is McHale an Irish or a Welsh name?

Woulfe gives two families. Mac Céile, which he calls 'the native name', was a Mayo family, erenaghs of Killala. Mac Héil was a family 'apparently of Welsh origin' that settled in Tirawley in the 12th or 13th century. He says the two names were probably confused.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the McHale name from?

Woulfe calls the Mac Céile family 'a Mayo family' and places the Mac Héil family in Tirawley. In 1890, 50 of the 51 McHale birth entries in Ireland were in Mayo.[1][2][3]

Who was Archbishop John MacHale?

The Catholic Encyclopedia says he was born at Tubbernavine, Co. Mayo, in 1791. After Archbishop Kelly of Tuam died in 1834, the clergy selected him as one of three candidates, and the pope appointed him Archbishop of Tuam. He died at Tuam in 1881. He encouraged the preservation of the Irish language and translated Moore's 'Melodies' and Homer's 'Iliad' into Irish.[5]

Sources

  1. Mac Céile — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macc/mac-ceile.php
  2. Mac Héil — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/mach/mac-heil.php
  3. McHale — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/mchale.php
  4. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1257 (part 9) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005C/text009.html
  5. John MacHale — The Catholic Encyclopedia (1910), New Advent. newadvent.org/cathen/09499a.htm

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).