Shanley Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Shanley Family History

Shanley Family History

The Shanley ancient family history 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 Shanley include McShanly and Shanly. This name is Mac Seanlaoich in Gaelic and is taken from words that mean 'old hero'. The sept was located in County Leitrim, the chief being known as MacShanly of Dromod. One of the name is described in 1404 as a wealthy farmer of this place, his father Murray being 'servant of trust' to the King of Connaught. They were often at war with their more powerful neighbours the MacRannalls, and in 1473 the latter destroyed the Shanley dwellings by fire and slew several of their leading men. A notable person of the name was Cormac Shanley who was one of the priests enumerated in a Penal Law presentment for County Leitrim in 1714.The Shanley 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 Shanley descendants.