Maille mac Conall, member of the Ui Maill, ancestor and eponym

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

 of the O'Malley

O'Malley

O'Malley may refer to:* Charles O'Malley, an eponymous character in a novel by Charles Lever.* O'Malley , people with the surname O'Malley* Ó Máille clan, an Irish clan name anglicized as O'Malley...

 family of County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

.

Maille was a grandson of Cosgrach mac Flannabhra, king of Ui Maill (died 812). He had an unnamed brother, from whom the O'Gormghaile family descend. His father's brother, Colman, is given as ancestor of an O'Colman family, while Fergus, a son of Flannabhra mac Cumusgrach (died 773), is given as an ancestor of the family of Fergus and the Muinter Rooney.

Maille himself does not appear in the Irish annals

Irish annals

A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...

. He appears in a number of genealogical collections, such as Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh's Leabhar na nGenealach

Leabhar na nGenealach

Leabhar na nGenealach is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas's church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671...

. Hubert T. Knox

Hubert T. Knox

Hubert Thomas Knox , MRIA, FRSAI, was an Irish historian.He was the third son of Charles Knox of Ballinrobe, who would later be High Sheriff of County Mayo in 1860 and was a Colonel in the North Mayo Militia. His great-grandfather was James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley. His mother was Lady Louisa...

 made use of this source when drawing up family trees of the Ui Mail, and gives the O'Malley genealogy in his book, The History of Mayo.

Pedigree

Maille's flourit is uncertain. His descendants began using his name as a surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 in the late 11th/early 12th century. The earliest members of the family to use O'Maille/O'Malley as a surname would have been his great-grandson, Dubhdara.

Knox gives a pedigree

Pedigree

Pedigree can refer to the lineage or genealogical descent of people, whether documented or not, or of animals, whether purebred or not. This can include:-Concepts and documents:...

 of Domnall Ruadh O Maille

Domnall Ruadh O Maille

Domnall Ruadh Ó Máille, King of Umaill, died 11 November 1337.Ó Máille was a descendant of Maille mac Conall, and was ruler of the territory of Umaill during the 1330's. He is given as a son of Brian mac Domnall Ó Máille and had a brother, Diarmait...

, king of Ui Maill, who was killed in 1337. It traces his descent from Maile thus:

Domnall Ruadh mac Brian m. Domnall m. Muiredhach m. Domnall Finn m. Muiredhach m. Dubhdara m. Muiredhach m. Dubhdara m. Flannabhra m. Seachnusach m. Maille.

The surname O Maille/O'Malley/Malley is one of the most common surnames in County Mayo, and features strongly in the area's history.