Ó Dúill*’s town(land)*

The evidence for this anglicised townland name is in line with O’Donovan’s derivation from ‘Baile Ui Dubhghoill’ [Baile Uí Dhúill] (6) (see also Joyce iii p.82).

Generally anglicised as Doyle, this surname (Ó Dúill/Ó Dúghaill < E.Mod.Ir. Ó Dubhghaill) is found in all parts of Ireland; according to Woulfe (SGG p.511) it occurs most frequently in the maritime counties of Leinster and Munster, and MacLysaght (IF p.128) links it with Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford. Evidence from the 1659 Census demonstrates that this surname was extremely widespread in Wexford, and it is counted as a principal name in all baronies (see Census pp.538, 542, 545, 547, 549, 552, 554, and 559). It remains one of the most numerous surnames in the county (see Murphy, 1986 p.80).

The personal name on which the surname is based, OIr. Dubgall, is a compound of OIr. dub “black, dark” + gall “foreigner”, and consequently it has often been ascribed a Danish origin (see SGG p.511; IF p.128). However, the Old Irish name Dubgall (> E.Mod. Ir. Dubhghall) occurs as a personal name in the early Irish genealogies (albeit only twice: see CGH 154a17; 140a33), and so there is at least some evidence to suggest that the eponymous ancestor(s) of this surname need not necessarily have been Hiberno-Norse. Modern DNA research may provide an answer to this question in the future.

Baile Uí Dhúill is also assumed to be the precursor to Ballydoyle in Cork and Ballydoole in Limerick (see logainm.ie).

[Excerpt from Logainmneacha na hÉireann IV: Townland Names of County Wexford, 2016]