| Subj: |
Re: gilla- means what????? |
| Date: |
6/4/01 9:18:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time |
From:
maglochlainn@dnet.co.uk (P A MagLOCHLAINN)
Sender: usenet@rootsweb.com
To: GENIRE-L@rootsweb.com
|
Dear Kpnorm,
Pádraig is perfectly correct about the surnames formed with Mac Giolla +
(a
third element, usually the name of a saint), eg McElholm (Mac Giolla
Choilm), McElhinney (Mac Giolla Chainnigh). (By the way, a Phádraig,
have
you come across surnames formed with Ó + Giolla + 3rd element? Why
do all
Giolla surnames take Mac?)
However the 3rd element can also be an adjective such as Rua (red-haired),
Buí (Yellow-haired), or Dubh (Black-haired) - giving Mac Giolla Rua
(McElroy, McIlroy, McKilroy, Kilroy - yes, he was here!), Mac Giolla Bhuí
(McGilloway in Donegal, McElwee in Scotland, where they pronounce it
McELL-wee), and Mac Giolla Duibh (McElduff, McIlduff, Duff - common in Co
Tyrone).
This occurred because Giolla in Irish means simply "fellow / chap /
lad /
boy / guy", and you will find people named in the Irish genealogies
as
simply An Giolla Dubh (the Dark Chap) or An Giolla Gruama (the Glum Guy).
The Scottish Highlanders referred to Bonnie Prince Charlie (when he was
hiding from the Government forces) as "An Giolla Dubh" - the
Dark Lad. This
was Giolla used as a positive term of liking.
Another example is the term An Giolla Rua, meaning a type of trout found
in
Lough Melvin and parts of County Fermanagh - the Gillaroo.
And of course the word survives in Scots Gàidhlig for a servant on a big
estate - and comes into English as "ghillie", meaning a servant
with
specialist skills in hunting, shooting or fishing. A bit like the
extension
of the word "boy" to mean servant in various parts of the world.
Another famous Giolla in history is the young man who assassinated Hugh de
Lacy, one of the early Norman invaders. This young man managed to
smuggle a
weapon unseen beneath his garments, past the garrison to where Hugh was
inspecting his formidable new fortress. How did the young man manage
this
feat? His name tells us - he is known to history as Giolla gan
inathar (The
Lad with no Innards) - in other words, he was unusually thin and
hollow-stomached!
Happy ancestor hunting!
Yours cordially,
P A MagLOCHLAINN
in Belfast, Northern Ireland
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