The Foley Family

John Rooney

A Genealogical History of Irish Families

1895

Foley family crest

(Crest No. 233. Plate 35.)

THE Foley family is descended from Milesius, King of Spain, through the line of his son Heremon. The founder of the family was Brian, son of Eocha Moy Veagon, King of Ireland, A. D. 350. The ancient name was Foladh, signifying “Powerful.” The possessions of the family were located in the present County of Kerry.

The name of Foley was prominent, especially among the clergy, and in modern days it has also been honorably represented. Daniel Foley, a Protestant clergyman, who died in 1874, was one of the best of modern Irish scholars, and is the author of a valuable English-Irish dictionary.

The most distinguished of this name in our time was John Henry Foley, R. A., the sculptor. His statues of Hampden and Selden in the British House of Parliament and his statue of Lord Hardinge in Calcutta are among the finest of modern works of art. In Ireland he is best represented by his statues of Goldsmith, Burke, and Grattan in Dublin and that of Father Mathew in Cork. His grand design for the monument to O’Connell was practically complete at the time of his death, and is no less a monument to the author than to the subject of it. He was also a poet and musician of mark. The name is represented in the hierarchy of the United States by the late Bishop Foley of Chicago, Ill., and the Right Rev. Dr. Foley, present Bishop of Detroit, Mich.

Featured Books

An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

See more of our books »

The Ocean Plague: or, A Voyage to Quebec in an Irish Emigrant Vessel is based upon the diary of Robert Whyte who, in 1847, crossed the Atlantic from Dublin to Quebec in an Irish emigrant ship. His account of the journey provides invaluable eyewitness testimony to the trauma and tragedy that many emigrants had to face en route to their new lives in Canada and America. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Irish in America by John F. Maguire provides a substantial and invaluable account of the extreme difficulties faced by pioneer Irish immigrants in North America during the 19th Century. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Scotch-Irish in America tells the story of how the hardy breed of men and women, who in America came to be known as the ‘Scotch-Irish’, was forged in the north of Ireland during the seventeenth century. It relates the circumstances under which the great exodus to the New World began, the trials and tribulations faced by these tough American pioneers and the enduring influence they came to exert on the politics, education and religion of the country.

Show fewer titles