McElligott Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McElligott Family History

McElligott Family History

The ancient origin of the name McElligott was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The McElligott sept was from County Kerry.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

This sept descended from a Scotsman called MacLeod who acquired lands in County Kerry in the year 1295, by his marriage to the heiress of Maurice, second Lord of Kerry. The name passed through different stages of spelling starting with MacAlloid and MacElgott and eventually McElligott. The placename Ballymacelligot near Tralee is named after them and from the 1sixteenth century they have been prominent residents of North Kerry. The most distinguished member of the name was Colonel Roger MacElligott, 1650-1701, he serving in King James' army on the continent with other members of the family. One was killed at Fontenoy while others rose in rank in the armies of Austria and Spain.The McElligott family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including McElligott descendants.