Quilty
Encyclopedia
Quilty is an Irish
family name which has spread throughout the English
-speaking world.
and the nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill
. According to legend he lived long enough to be baptized by St. Patrick (c.389-461). The book "If You're A Wee Bit Irish: a chart of old Irish families collected from folk tradition" by William Durning (1978) recounts an alleged ancestry of Caoilte back to Adam. James Joyce
(1882-1941) in chapter twelve of his masterpiece, Ulysses
, (1922) has "The tribe of Caolte" as one of the twelve tribes of Ireland in a biblical parallel to the twelve tribes of Israel. Quilty is also a small town in County Clare Ireland, though this quilty is an anglicization of a different Irish word "coillte" meaning "woods". The name is considered a sept of the dynastic Dál gCais
of the Kingdom of Thomond, and has the motto "Lámh Ládir an Nachtar" meaning "the strong hand uppermost."
There are various spellings of the name: Caoilte, Caolte, and Cuallta in Gaelic, and Kielty, Kealty, Keelty, Keilty, Kelty, Kilty, and Quilty (with or with out an O' or Mc or Mac) in English. The most common variants are Kielty and Quilty. The name is possibly a derivation of caol meaning slender.
In 1850 there were over 75 families bearing the name of "Quilty" in Ireland
, over half of them in County Limerick
. As of 2005, there were about 300 families bearing the name of "Quilty" in the United States alone, almost half them in the northeast, with the highest concentrations in the states of Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Illinois, and California.
In music
In sport
In fiction
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
family name which has spread throughout the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking world.
Origins and history
The name "Quilty" is an Anglicized form of the ancient Gaelic name of "Caoilte" . There was a mythic Celtic warrior (c. 3rd Century A.D.) by the name of Caoilte Mac Ronan, who was a member of the FiannaFianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....
and the nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...
. According to legend he lived long enough to be baptized by St. Patrick (c.389-461). The book "If You're A Wee Bit Irish: a chart of old Irish families collected from folk tradition" by William Durning (1978) recounts an alleged ancestry of Caoilte back to Adam. James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
(1882-1941) in chapter twelve of his masterpiece, Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
, (1922) has "The tribe of Caolte" as one of the twelve tribes of Ireland in a biblical parallel to the twelve tribes of Israel. Quilty is also a small town in County Clare Ireland, though this quilty is an anglicization of a different Irish word "coillte" meaning "woods". The name is considered a sept of the dynastic Dál gCais
Dál gCais
The Dál gCais were a dynastic group of related septs located in north Munster who rose to political prominence in the 10th century AD in Ireland. They claimed descent from Cormac Cas, or Cas mac Conall Echlúath, hence the term "Dál", meaning "portion" or "share" of Cas...
of the Kingdom of Thomond, and has the motto "Lámh Ládir an Nachtar" meaning "the strong hand uppermost."
There are various spellings of the name: Caoilte, Caolte, and Cuallta in Gaelic, and Kielty, Kealty, Keelty, Keilty, Kelty, Kilty, and Quilty (with or with out an O' or Mc or Mac) in English. The most common variants are Kielty and Quilty. The name is possibly a derivation of caol meaning slender.
In 1850 there were over 75 families bearing the name of "Quilty" in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, over half of them in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. As of 2005, there were about 300 families bearing the name of "Quilty" in the United States alone, almost half them in the northeast, with the highest concentrations in the states of Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Illinois, and California.
Notable individuals with the name Quilty
- Andrew Quilty, Australian photographer
- Ben QuiltyBen QuiltyBen Quilty is an Australian artist who won the 2011 Archibald Prize.-Biography:Quilty grew up in Kenthurst in Sydney's north-west. He lives and works in Robertson, New South Wales. He is a graduate of the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney...
(1973–), Australian painter - Brian Quilty, Northern Ireland association football player with Annagh United F.C.
- Chuck Quilty (1942–), peace activist, and co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness in 1996
- Domingo Cabarrus Quilty, French-Spanish nobleman
- Johnny QuiltyJohnny QuiltyJohn Francis Quilty was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played 125 games in the National Hockey League playing for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.-Playing career:...
(1921–1969), Canadian ice hockey player. Played for Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins - Leonard Joseph Quilty, Ontario politician
- Matt Quilty, Australian rugby union player
- Michael Quilty (1959–2001), firefighter with NYFD Ladder 11, 911 hero & fatality
- Michelle QuiltyMichelle QuiltyMichelle Quilty is a camogie player and student. She played in the 2009 All Ireland camogie final and was a member of the Team of the Championship for 2011. With a total of 5-26 she was the fourth highest scoring player in the Championship in 2011....
(1990–), irish camogie player - Sean Quilty (1966–), Australian Olympic marathon runner
- Sylvester "Silver" QuiltySilver QuiltySylvester "Silver" Quilty was a star football player in the Canadian Football League for the Ottawa Rough Riders. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.-References:*...
(1891–1976), Canadian football player - Thomas John (Tom) Quilty (1887–1979), Australian station owner, philanthropist and poet
Fictional characters with the name Quilty
- Bridie Quilty, protagonist in the film I See a Dark StrangerI See a Dark StrangerI See a Dark Stranger is a British 1946 World War II spy film with touches of light comedy, by the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard.-Plot:...
(1941), played by Deborah KerrDeborah KerrDeborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time... - Clare Quilty is a fictional character in the 1955 novel LolitaLolitaLolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
by Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
(1962) and Frank LangellaFrank Langella-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
(1997) played the role in two subsequent movies. The name Clare Quilty was inspired by the town of Quilty in County ClareCounty Clare-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
.
Other uses of the name Quilty
Places- Quilty, County ClareQuilty, County ClareQuilty , historically Killty, is a small fishing village between Miltown Malbay and Doonbeg in County Clare, Ireland. Lobster, salmon, bass, herring and mackerel are landed at Quilty, formerly known for its curing industry....
, is a village on the west coast of Ireland - Quilty NunataksQuilty NunataksQuilty Nunataks is a group of nunataks which extend over 8 miles , located 15 miles southwest of the Thomas Mountains in Palmer Land...
, a geographic feature of Antarctica named for geologist Patrick Quilty
In music
- Clare Quilty is a rock group from Virginia, USA, named for the character from Lolita
- Quilty, an Irish folk group from Stockholm, Sweden
- Quilty (band), a rock band from Brooklyn, NY
In sport
- Quilty 100-Mile Endurance Ride, an Australian endurabce horse race
In fiction
- The Quilties are a fictional race in the novel The Gnome King of OzThe Gnome King of OzThe Gnome King of Oz is the twenty-first in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the seventh by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Like nineteen of the twenty previous books, it was illustrated by John R. Neill.-The plot:...
by Ruth Plumly ThompsonRuth Plumly ThompsonRuth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...