McInerney Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McInerney Family History

McInerney Family History

The family history of the ancient name McInerney was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name McInerney include Nerney and Kinnerk. The name in Irish is Mac an Airchinnigh, taken from the Gaelic word 'airchinneach' meaning 'erenagh', a steward of Church lands. The erenaghs of Saint Patrick, Elphin, and Tuam acquired this name and are still to be found located in County Roscommon where their name has been changed to Nerney. Another sept was of Thomond. The name McInerney is almost exclusively associated with County Clare where they were erenaghs and a Gaelic sept of the same stock as the McNamaras around the year 1300. They were centered in the old parish of Kilconry, their ancestral estate at Ballycally being lost with the Cromwellian confiscations.The McInerney 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 McInerney descendants.