Though in early mediaeval times there were undoubtedly several distinct and unrelated septs of O'Connell, those of Ulster and Connacht are seldom heard of even as late as the fourteenth century. O'Dugan (d.1372) in the "Topographic Poems" mentions O Conaill as a family of Oirghiall and another, again, as of Ui Maine. The name does not appear in the Four Masters after 1117 when the death of Cathasach O Conaill, "Nobel Bishop of Connacht", is recorded. Another of the name, Bishop of Thomond (Killaloe) is mentioned in the "Annals of Innisfallen" under date 927 A.D.; but if this be a true surname it is one of the earliest examples. The "Annals of Connacht" have no reference to the name. These septs can, in fact, be regarded as extinct and we may confine our attention to the one sept of O'Connell which has not only become numerous but has also, during the past two centuries, produced many outstanding Irishmen. As regards numerical strength O'Connell and Connell, taken together, are listed by Matheson as among the 25 commonest surnames in Ireland: sixty years ago Connells outnumbered O'Connells by two to one; since then the resumption of the prefix has been so wide spread in this case that Connell without the O to-day accounts for less than 20 per cent of the total. The great majority of the O'Connells came from south west Munster. This is as might be expected for the O'Connells are by origin a Kerry Sept. Traditionally the genealogy is traced back to the Eremonian Aengus Tuirmeach who was said to have been the High King of Ireland about 180 B.C. Coming to historical times we find an O'Connell chief of Magunihy in East Kerry. The name is spelt O Conghail in O'Heerin's continuation of the "Topographical Poem!. In the eleventh century pressure by the powerful O'Donoghues pushed them towards the Atlantic coast, and they became hereditary castellans of Ballycarbery under the MacCarthy Mor chiefs. Nearby is the romantically situated Derrynane, home of Daniel O'Connell, now preserved for the nation by Private subscription, though not officially a national monument. The disasters of the seventeenth century submerged them for a time - it was under the Cromwellian settlement that the head of the sept was transplanted to Co. Clare, where a branch has remained since as a Catholic landed family. The barony of Magunihy, in which Killarney is situated, is still the homeland of the leading family of O'Connell to-day, the present representative of which is Sir Morgan O'Connell, Bart. Unless we cite the Capuchin Father Robert O'Connell (c. 1621-1678), the first O'Connell to become a figure of national importance was Daniel Count O'Connell (1743-1833), " the last colonel of the Irish Brigade", as his biographer, Mrs. M.J. O'Connell, calls him. His kinsman and contemporary, Baron Moritz (or Murty) O'Connell (1738-1830), was another Kerry exile who, as well as being chamberlain to three emperors, served with military distinction on the continent. The famous Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) "the Liberator", needs no description. His uncle, Maurice O'Connell (1727-1825), squire, patrirch, autocrat and smuggler, was a celebrated character known as "Hunting Cap", but Daniel's three sons, though also public men, were not of the same calibre as their father. An earlier member of this family, who should not be forgotten, was the Friar John O'Connell who about the year 1700 composed the historical poem "Tuireadh na hEireann". One O'Connell from Co. Clare merits a place in the national roll of honour, Peter O'Connell (1775-1826) - described by Prof. T. F. O'Rahilly as "the best Irish scholar in the Ireland of a century ago". The remarkably thorough genealogical researches of Mr. Basil O'Connell, much of which has been printed, will be found of great value to anyone desiring detailed information about the O'Connells of Kerry and allied families during the past three centuries. It should be observed that Castle O'Connell, the town near Limerick, is a misnomer since it takes its name not from the O'Connells but from the Dalcassian family of O Connaing (now anglicized Gunning).