Downey Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Downey Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Downey

The ancient history of the name Downey was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. include McEldowney, Doheny and Muldowney. The O'Downeys were of some importance in early mediaeval times when there were two distinct septs of O'Dunadhaigh. Though the prefix O is now quite rare in English in the case of Downey, in the Irish language O'Dunadhaigh is sometimes MacDunadhaigh in County Galway . This, of course, would be anglicized as MacDowney. MacDowney, however, which is actually to be found in Ulster , though a rare name even there, is the anglicized form of quite a different surname, Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, usually rendered MacEldowney in English and sometimes simply Downey. As well as the Galway sept there was a more important sept of O'Dunadhaigh which was located in Luachair of which their Chiefs were Lords. They are mentioned as such in records by O'Herrin, who died in 1420.