McGlinchey Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McGlinchey Family History

McGlinchey Family History

The ancient origin of the name McGlinchey was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name McGlinchey is derived from the Gaelic MagLoinsigh sept that was located in Counties Donegal, Derry and Tyrone in Ulster Province.

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 name is taken from the Gaelic word 'loingseach' meaning 'mariner', which would indicate a sea-faring tradition. There are a number of variants of this name including McGlinchy, MacClinchey, McClincy and McClinchy. In modern times the majority of bearers of these names can still be found in their original ancestral homeland. The McGlinchey 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 McGlinchey descendants.