Daly Irish Family Gifts & Heritage

Daly is the English form of Ó Dálaigh, “descendant of Dálach,” a name rooted in dáil, the Irish word for an assembly. The family descends from Maine, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and first held Corca Adain in what is now County Westmeath.

From that midlands base the Ó Dálaigh became the most celebrated bardic family in Ireland. Cúchonnacht na Scoile, who died at Clonard in 1139, was the first of the family famed for learning, and his descendants went on to serve as poets to the greatest lords of the country. Donnchadh Mór Ó Dálaigh’s line settled at Finavarra in the Burren of County Clare and gave rise to the Dalys of Galway, while Raghnall Ó Dálaigh became chief poet to the MacCarthys of Desmond, and west Cork became a lasting Daly stronghold. Other branches wrote for the O’Reillys, the O’Neills and the O’Connors. In modern times Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, Chief Justice and fifth President of Ireland, carried the name to the highest office in the state.

The Daly range pairs a woven blanket with a printed throw on the Irish National Tartan, and adds a crest accent mug, a framed Christmas ornament and a Celtic harp T-shirt. Read more in our Daly surname history.