Paul MacCotter is a certified historian and genealogist with publications to his credit ranging from the academic to the populist and covering such subjects as medieval history, genealogy, early modern history, surname histories, placename history, manorial titles, church history, etc. I commissioned him to research the McGing surname and his reports follow.
Much material was provided from McLysaght, Griffiths etc [Note, that is the material from this page] and the aim was to examine the origins of the Connacht McGings. Several origins were suggested in the material provided.
Ulster Origins
One suggestion was that the surname originated with the well known Ulster settlement in Mayo of expulsed Catholics fleeing sectarian violence in the late 18th century. Two sources were provided to prove this contention, both being from Seanchas Ardmhacha (3/1 and 9/2). Only the first of these contained material relating to this exodus (3/1 17ff) and the names listed include no Maginns. There were, however, McCanns ("McKen") listed, but this is a distinct surname (MacAnna) and is not related to the Ulster Maginns Another source for the same exodus, B. O'Hara's Mayo, 87, lists McKan families as settling in Crossmolina, Co Mayo but no Maginns. I therefore conclude that the Ulster origin here suggested is incorrect.
In order ot be fully assured of this, however, I should have uncovered some earlier reference to McGing, McGinn etc in Connacht but this proved difficult. The main part of the research was taken up with this search, and the following sources were consulted:
The above sources form 60% of the principal sources for Connacht surnames, and include all of the principal annals, fiant collections, county histories and ancient tribal genealogies. In all of this I found only one reference of interest, that from no. 10: "1031 AD, death of MacFinn, erenagh of the guest house of Clonmacnoise". This monk was an important official in this very important early Celtic monastery just across the Shannon from east Galway.
The Sodhain
The reference provided by you intrigued me. This tribe were a very ancient tribe who lives in central east Co. Galway and early divided into six sections, each of whom would have come to be led by kings with a given surname. Your source is suggesting that one of these sections was led by McGinns. I next tried to trace this down. I examined Byrne's Irish Kings and High Kings, O'Briens Corpus Genealogorum Hibernicorum (early Irish genealogies) and Analecta Hibernica 1951, which contains the main O'Cleary genealogies (some early, but more a little later). These sources did not reveal any of the surnames associated with the Sodhain (pronounced Sogain), although O'Cleary has, on page 146, a pedigree of the Sodhain kings which includes one Maighninn, perhaps an error for MacFhinn.
Further work
At this stage your fee had run out. Bear in mind that the initial report is just that. In this case I was able to only go so far. I think that the McGing/McGinn of Connacht are certainly native to that province and have no connection with the Ulster sept. The one early reference I have uncovered may or may not be of this family but more research is needed to fill out the picture here. There remain several major sources which may well yield direct evidence of early Connacht McGings, especially the Papal Registers, State Papers and other sources while the Sodhain connection remains to be fully examined. Again, there are sources here which remain unexamined. As you will appreciate, there is a very large amount of material which must be searched in a case such as this. One further valuable source is the Journal of the Galway Historical and Archaeological Society, published over many years. Unfortunately this seems to have no general index and will have to be searched by examination of likely articles and papers.
One final intriguing area concerned surname distribution in Griffiths Valuation (CD edition, this was in addition to your Mayo data). This revealed one Maginn in Galway, 100 plus in Mayo and 43 in Roscommon. While many of these may be Mac Anraighe's and others in disguise, given Woulfe's assertion regarding McKing in Connacht it remains possible that many of these were really MacFhinns.
The research reported on here was as agreed in the first report. The thrust of this was to try and establish the presence of a native sept of MacFhinn in Connacht.
Calendars of Papal Letters and Registers
These were searched for the period 1417-1512 i.e., vols 7-18. The earlier volumes contain little of Irish interest.
8/3: In 1428 Donatus Machayn, priest, was vicar of Kilsiorach in Killaloe diocese (Clare and north Tipperary)
13/612: IN 1477 the vicarage of Kilkoys in Killaloe diocese was being detained by Dermot Mackayn, a priest, for 6 or 7 years past.
13/196: In 1483 Odo Maegayn was appointed to the vicarage of Killursa in Annaghdown diocese (east Co. Galway) and was dispensed on account of his illegitimacy as the son of a priest and a married woman. Just before this the vicarage had been resigned by Cornelious Magayn and had earlier been detained since about 1469 by one Maurice Macgayn, a priest.
10/729: In 1454 Thady Magyn was a priest in Kilmore diocese (Co. Cavan)
16/356: In 1494 Cornelius Macghin was detaining the vicarage of Kilmaceyayn in Annaghdown diocese. (This is probably the later Kilmacregan, now Cummer, near Killursa.)
Apart from these references there were numerous mentions of MacKeans, etc, in Dromore, i.e., Co. Down, and these are the nrothern Maginns.
Commentary
You will note immediately the references to MacFhinns in east Co. Galway, the actual territory of the Sogain. These represent a minor clerical lineage here and show the surname well established in the area in the second half of the 15th century. The branch further to the south, in Killaloe is also of some interest.
Calendars of State Papers Ireland
This series runs from 1509 to 1670 and all volumes were done apart from those dealing with the period 1598-1601, which tends to deal mostly with Ulster. Additionally the Calendars of State Papers, Carew, apart from those around 1600 were also done, bringing the total number of volumes to about 25.
1589-92/240: Henry M'Gin of Connacht noted in 1589
Those calendars for the period 1665-1670 contain numerous references to one Father Patrick McGinn, but in a maddeningly offhand way which tells us very little about him. In 24/6/1670 he was granted ten townlands in the barony of Ballintubber, Co. Roscommon. Earlier, in 1666, McGinn was to have a grant of the farm of the excise (tax collecting) in Co. Down. It is unclear whether he was a Connacht or Down McGinn.
Sodhain/Sogain genealogies
In light of the above findings in east Galway, my suspicion that the reference you sent me about the McGings being one of the chief lines of the east Galway tribe may be correct. Accordingly I deviated from my own recommendations and examined this source. I traced and read on microfilm all recorded Sodhain genealogies in the large collection of the Royal Irish Academy. Unfortunately those all seem to have been early and do not extend down to the time when surnames were adopted. Those occur in MSS nos. 536, 790, 836 and 1233. Another is published in O'Brien's Corpus Genealogorum Hibernicorum.
Journal of the Galway Historical and Archaeological Society
This journal began publishing around 1900 and continues an annual edition to this day. The only index ever published that I am aware of was of the first seven volumes and this does contain an article on the Sodhain, in vol 3, p. 137ff. As luck would have it my local university has the entire set apart from the first four volumes. I did note from the index that this article named the O'Mannin family as chiefs of the Sodhain. I have sent to Galway for a copy of this article but this will take some weeks to arrive. This will be sent to you in due course. I did not examine the remainder of this periodical in view of the work done above on the genealogies.
Summary
It looks increasingly to me that the material you sent me regarding McGing and the Sogain was correct, but I am not yet certain of this. Note that the Sodhain were an important tribe later eclipsed, whose ancient territory is preserved in that of the outline of the barony of Tiaquin in east Galway. Traditionally there were six branches of this tribe, and it would appear that the McGinn were descended from the chiefs of one of these branches. I am certain that the Connacht McGinns and McGings descend from the 15th century east Galway MacFhinns as recorded above. If we can tie them in with the Sogain this will extend the pedigree back another thousand years, for the Sogain were located here at the start of recorded history, about 500AD. I am not exactly sure where to go with this. If you leave it with me at present I may come up with some further work to firmly establish my suspected link. I will also be asking colleagues for opinions on this one.
This report is in response to your recent e-mail detailing a reference to the sept of O'Maigin in Galway.
Flease fine enclosed a map (will be scanned soon) and pages from O'Donovans Tribes and Customs of Hy Many. Note the reference on page 159 to the O'Maigin and other septs connected with the Soghain. If you read carefully you will note that O'Donovan gives no source for this statement, which renders it well-neigh useless. While this looks somewhat authentic O'Donovan was a very early scholar and is regarded as far from infallible.
O'Brien's Corpus Gen Hib (page 318) shows that the original form of this christian name was Moicain, becoming Maigin later. It is derived fro the root "Mac" son and seems to mean "little son." The name occurs only once in the early genealogies, in a pedigree of a brnach of the Conmaicne people. These were principally located in Cos Galway and Mayo.
Turning next to two pages from McLysaght's More Irish Families, note the entry concerning the sept O'Macken. Here is the correct derivation of the earlier O'Maigin sept, as will be seen by carefully reading this. Note from the map the proximity of the territories of a branch of the Sodhain and of the Conmaicne in Galway. The O'Maigins were Conmaicne, not Sodhain, and descended as Macken, not Maging. The references to MacFhinns as derived from the Papal Registers in my last report clearly do not have the O' attached, and thus are not Mackens, as the use of Mac and O at this early period was universal. These were definitely the early Magings, etc.
I note your comments about my remaining vigilant for traces of early MacFhinns in Connacht, and this will be done.
It sounds like the Mr. MacCotter is saying is that the McGings (and other names derived from MacFhinn) that are found in Connacht are probably descended from the 15th century Galway MacFhinns, and these, in turn, may be connected to the more ancient tribe of the Sogain. For more information on the Sogain, look here, here and here. I've asked Mr. MacCotter to continue in this research, so we shall see. What is extremely interesting is his contention that the McGings are not descended from the Ulster McGinns.
Last updated Monday, 14-May-2007 17:56:09 MDT