McNulty is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDonlevy), a branch of

Dál Fiatach Dál Fiatach was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic dynastic-grouping and the name of their territory in the north-east of Ireland, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages until their demise in the 13th century at the hands of Normans in Ireland, Normans ...

, who fled Ulaid to Ailech after the former's conquest in 1177 by the Normans. DNA analysis points to descent from other Ulaid families as well. After the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale (), also known as the battle of Kinsale, was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of the Nine Years' War� ...

in 1602, some McDonlevys and McNultys migrated to the province of Connacht where their name is now also common.

Origin

The name is said to have arisen from a branch of the ruling

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' (Mac Donlevy) who had migrated to what is now

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

after

John de Courcy Sir John de Courcy (c. 1150–1219) was an Anglo-Norman knight who lived in Ireland from 1176 until his expulsion in 1204. He conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the ...

's conquest of Ulaid in 1177. Here some of the MacDonlevys were nicknamed ''Ultagh/Ultach''. However, historical records such as the 1659 "Census" as well as Griffith's Valuation (1848-1864) show that concentrations of McNultys were found in parts of Ireland where the MacDonlevys had little presence, coupled with DNA analysis showing that the McNultys may actually derive from other Gaelic families that migrated from Ulaid and not just the MacDonlevy's. The names ''Ultagh/Ultach'' and ''Mac an Ultaigh'' applied to only those that fled Ulaid and was not used for those that remained. Regardless of their actual origin, the first McNulty to be recorded is found in the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

under the year 1281, where an "''Murtough Macan-Ulty''" is listed as a distinguished fatality at the battle of Desertcreagh in present-day

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The probable transition of the name ''Mac an Ultaigh'' from the Ultagh MacDonlevy's can be seen around 1601 where one "Morris Ultagh" is recorded as "Morris m'Nich Ultagh". The surname prefix "m'Nich" appears to be an English confusion of the female prefix ''Nic'' with the male prefix ''Mac''. Other variant spellings of McNulty include McNaulty, McNalty, and rarely as O'Nalty, (anglicized from Irish "Ónultaċáin", at Mac Duinnshléibhe) Nolty, McNult, McEnulty and McKnulty. and others. In

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

and its adjacent

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

in the southwest of the

, the toponymics Connoulty and Kinoulty are encountered, and are believed to be Anglicisations of ''Mac an Ultaigh''.

Diaspora

By 1980, there were 19,469 persons surnamed McNulty in the

United States Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

data base. The surname McNulty was, then, the 2332 most frequently occurring surname in that database. Some of the first McNulty immigrants to North America arrived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the very early 19th century and, later, more numerously, in both Philadelphia and New York City between 1840 and 1860, during which period the Great Famine of Ireland occurred. There are an estimated 421 persons surnamed McNulty in Australia. Denis McInulty, one of the first McNulty to arrive in Australia, arrived there from Scotland on 16 May 1846 on the prisoner transport the ''China'' under a 10-year sentence of the Glasgow Justiciary Court. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

the surname McNulty is shared by an estimated 7,318 people and is approximately the 1,472th most popular surname in the country.

Notable McNultys

Actors

Amybeth McNulty Amybeth McNulty (born 7 November 2001) is an Irish actress based in Canada. She is known for her starring role as Anne Shirley in the CBC/Netflix drama series ''Anne with an E'' (2017–2019), based on the 1908 novel '' Anne of Green Gables'' ...

, Irish Canadian television actress * Christina McNulty, Canadian silent film actress * Clare McNulty, American actress * Geraldine McNulty, English actress * Jennie McNulty, American actress * Kevin McNulty (actor), Canadian actor * Marguerite McNulty, American actress * Mariana McNulty, American actress who used the stage name Penny Singleton * Matthew McNulty, English actor * Neil McNulty, Scottish actor * Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty, Irish actor who used the stage name Dennis Day * Patricia McNulty, American actress

Musicians

* Ann McNulty, stage, radio and recording artist * Chris McNulty, Australian jazz vocalist * Daniel McNulty, Irish composer * Mal McNulty, English musician * Mario J. McNulty, American producer * Paul McNulty (piano maker), American piano maker * Thomas Francis McNulty, American composer

Military

* F. Lynn McNulty, American CIA operative * James F. McNulty (rear admiral), American Navy rear admiral * John McNulty (U.S. Marine Corps), American marine *

John R. McNulty Lieutenant John R. McNulty (1832 – January 11, 1912) of Baltimore, Maryland was a Confederacy (American Civil War), Confederate soldier. During the Battle of Old Town (U.S. Civil War 1864 Valley Campaign), Battle of Old Town, his 2nd Maryland ...

, American soldier * Richard R. McNulty, American Navy rear admiral * William A. McNulty, American soldier

Politicians

* Anthony F. McNulty, American member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives * Caleb J. McNulty, American politician * Clifford McNulty, American member of the Florida House of Representatives * Des McNulty, Scottish politician * Francis McNulty (Kansas politician), former state Representative * Francis McNulty Jr., American politician * Francis J. McNulty, former Delaware state Representative * Frank McNulty (Colorado legislator), American politician * Frank Joseph McNulty, American politician * James McNulty (Canadian politician), Canadian politician * James Barrett McNulty, American politician * James F. McNulty Jr., American politician * John F. McNulty, American politician * John J. McNulty, American politician * John J. McNulty Jr., American politician * Joseph McNulty, American politician * Justin McNulty, Irish politician and Gaelic football player *

Mark McNulty (politician) Mark Andrew McNulty (born November 10, 1944), a Seton Hall Law School graduate (JD 1973) and member of the Delaware Bar 1973, served as Secretary of the Department of Transportation in the cabinet of Delaware Governor Dale E. Wolf.Martin McNulty Crane, American politician * Michael R. McNulty, former US Representative * Paul McNulty, American politician * Peter H. McNulty, American politician * Raymond J. McNulty, American politician * Tim McNulty (politician), American politician * Thomas F. McNulty, American politician * Tony McNulty, English politician * William McNulty Brodhead, American politician

Sportspeople

* Arthur McNulty, English football player * Bill McNulty, American baseball player * Billy McNulty, Scottish football player * Brandon McNulty, American cyclist * Carl McNulty, American basketball player * Dave McNulty, British swimming coach * Enda McNulty, Irish Gaelic footballer * Geoff McNulty, Canadian lacrosse player * Jimmy McNulty (footballer), English footballer * Jim McNulty (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player * Joe McNulty, Irish footballer * Joe McNulty (skier), American skier *

Joel McNulty Joel M. McNulty (born 20 August 1931) was an American track and field athlete, who was active in the 1950s. A world class amateur hurdler, McNulty was an All Time Big Ten Conference Men’s Track and Field Winner. McNulty excelled at the 120y (now ...

, American hurdler * John McNulty (American football), American football coach * John F. McNulty Jr., American athletics coach * Josh McNulty, English rugby player * Marc McNulty, Scottish footballer *

Mark McNulty Mark William McNulty (born 24 March 1953) is a Zimbabwean-Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking f ...

, Irish/Zimbabwean golfer * Mike McNulty (boxing manager), American boxing manager * Pat McNulty, American baseball player * Pat McNulty (footballer), Australian rules football player * Paul McNulty (American football), American football player * Peter McNulty (Gaelic footballer), Irish Gaelic footballer * Steve McNulty, English footballer * Tim McNulty, Irish rally driver * Thomas McNulty (footballer), English footballer

Writers

* Bernard McNulty, Irish-American literary figure *

Charles McNulty Charles McNulty (born 1966) is the chief theatre critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' newspaper and a recipient of Cornell University's prestigious Nathan Award for dramatic criticism, who, himself, served as chairman of the Pulitzer Prize dra ...

, American journalist * Edward McNulty, Irish novelist * Faith McNulty, American author * Fran McNulty, Irish journalist * John McNulty (journalist), American journalist * John K. McNulty, American legal scholar * Phil McNulty, English sports writer

Other

* Anna McNulty, Canadian YouTuber * David L. McNulty, U.S. Marshal * Deborah McNulty, American make-up artist * Eileen McNulty, American tax commissioner * Elizabeth McNulty, American beauty pageant titleholder, Miss Louisiana USA 2007, and Top 15 Miss USA 2007 * James McNulty (Irish activist), Irish republican * James A. McNulty, the American priest * James F. McNulty (chief executive), American businessman * James J. McNulty, American businessman * John McNulty (artist), Irish artist * John McNulty (bishop), English priest * John McNulty (steamboat captain), American sailor * John L. McNulty, American priest * Kathleen McNulty, Irish American computer programmer * Kevin McNulty (judge), American judge * Patrick J. McNulty, American judge * Peter McNulty (film editor), American film editor * Robert W. McNulty, American dentist * Roy McNulty, Northern Irish businessman * Sallie Keller McNulty, American statistician * William Charles McNulty, American artist * William N. McNulty, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and the hero of the 1880 Garret Mountain May Day riot

Fictional characters

Jimmy McNulty James McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish-American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While talented in his profession, McNulty's conceited ...

, a character on HBO drama

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

** Elena McNulty (Jimmy's estranged wife), Sean James McNulty (Jimmy's and Elena's eldest son) and Michael Barnes McNulty (Jimmy's and Elena's youngest son) also appear as characters on ''The Wire''. * Liam McNulty, a fictional character in

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

soap opera

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera created by Stephen Greenhorn which has been broadcast on BBC One Scotland since September 2002. Since 2019, the show has aired episodes a day earlier on the new BBC Scotland channel. Set in ...

* Middenface McNulty, post apocalyptic science fiction character * McNulty

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

** There are 7 McNulty characters in the Emmy nominated animated TV series. ** 5 McNulty brother Rugrats (Timothy, Todd, Ty, Teddy and Terry) ** The brothers' grandfather Conan ** The brothers' mother Colleen * Lt. Ray McNulty and his son Van McNulty are characters in the U.S. TV series

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

* Meet Mr. McNutley was a successful CBS television network series that ran 44 episodes from 1953 to 1955. The show's title and the last name of its main character were changed to "McNulty" in the second episode. The show was, later, again, retitled the ''Ray Milland Show''. Milland played the show's main character Prof. Ray McNulty. The U.S. television actress Phyllis Avery played the professor's wife Peggy McNulty. * The eye patched rogue and heel Red McNulty "of Dublin, Ireland" and the outright villain Ivan Koloff "The Russian Bear" were ring personas of Canadian wrestler Oreal Perras (Oreal James Perras), a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion who fought 3,962 documented career bouts. * Stephen Graham (actor) played the character Peter McNulty in 2 episodes of the TV series ''Jump''. *

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actor, character actress who, known for her strong New York City English, New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. She ear ...

won the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Ellen McNulty in the 1951 film the ''Mating Season''. * Actress

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920November 6, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, Tierney was a prominent Leading actor, leading lady during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. Sh ...

played Maggie Carleton McNulty in the ''Mating Season'' (1951). * There is a McNulty character in both the movie Trancers and its sequel

Trancers II ''Trancers II'' (also released as ''Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth'') is a 1991 American direct-to-video science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Charles Band. It is a sequel to ''Trancers'' and is set six years after t ...

. In both movies the McNulty character is portrayed by actor

Art LaFleur Art LaFleur (September 9, 1943 – November 17, 2021) was an American character actor and acting coach. Life and career LaFleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charli ...

. * Maggie Cline became famous in

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

singing popular Irish songs, including ''How McNulty Carved His Duck''. * There is a Moshi Monsters moshling character in the puppies set named McNulty. * Patrick McNulty, the main character in the Twilight Zone episode A Kind of a Stopwatch * Lt. Nulty,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

police detective, a featured character in

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

’s second

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

detective novel, Farewell, My Lovely, which was thrice produced as a movie under various titles (1942, 1944, and 1975) and was adapted for radio broadcast. *In 23 episodes of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television drama E-Ring,

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

played the character Colonel Eli McNulty, who in story is a combat decorated former

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran and principal staff officer of a “Special Operations Division”.

Places

* McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts, Duquesne University * McNulty Gulch near Leadville, Colorado in the U.S. Ten Mile Mining District. *McNulty Campus at the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipman, midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serv ...

, King's Point, New York, named after Vice Admiral Richard R. McNulty, the Academy's "father" and its third superintendent. *McNulty Hall, a residence hall at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, is named after Lieutenant Colonel John F. McNulty, Jr., who was the University's Dean of Students for near 3 decades and its Athletic Director. *McNulty Hall, which is

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

's Technology and Research Center is named after Monsignor John L. McNulty, the University's 13th President. * McNulty Lake is a lake in Lee County, Arkansas *The community of McNulty, Oregon is named after Oregon pioneer John McNulty, as are the Warren, Oregon headquartered McNulty Water Association, which serves some 700 families in Columbia County, Oregon west of St. Helens, Oregon and McNulty Way in St. Helens, Oregon. * McNulty Reservoir Dam in Eagle County, Colorado, named after Colorado's McNulty family cattle ranchers, who settled in Eagle County, Colorado, in the 1880s, eventually, operating a 2500-acre cattle ranch there near Leadville, Colorado * McNulty Reservoir (Malheur County, Oregon), named after the Northwest US pioneer John McNulty. *Downtown McNulty Station in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

is named after John T. McNulty, who became Chief of the St. Petersburg Fire Department in the year 1913. * Upper McNulty Reservoir in Oregon, US, named after Columbia River pioneer John McNulty.

McNulty rhyolite

Found in a single location on the earth's surface, that is McNulty Gulch near Leadville Colorado, McNulty rhyolite is a comparatively rare gem

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

quality variety of

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

rock. McNulty rhyolite appears in the official U.S. Department of Interior, United States Geological Survey ''Lexicon of Geological Names of the United States''.''Lexicon of Geological Names of the United States (Including Alaska)'' Part 2 M-Z (Geological Survey Bulletin 896) Mary Grace Wilmarth, compiler, p. 1260, United States Dept. of Interior, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office (1938) (Univ. of Mich., Digitized 18 February 2010)

Nulty

This is a variant of McNulty. Notable bearers of the name are: * Mark Nulty (born 1967), former Irish cricketer * Thomas Nulty (1818-1898), Bishop of Meath, Ireland

References

External links

Genealogy of the kings of the UlaidBarney McNulty
Emmy TV Legends, Television Academy Foundation, Archive of American Television interview with Barney McNulty with video and audio
Bill Conoulty - 1938 - MotorMarques.com , Classic Car Revival
Here courtesy of ''Motor Marques'' is a 1938 photograph of Australian automotive manufacturer, racer, engineer and designer William "Bill" Conoulty racing his "Conoulty Special Austin Comet".
Sir Arthur MacNalty (1880–1969) , Art UK
Here for view courtesy of BBC is Clare Collas' oil on canvas portrait of Dr. Sir Arthur Salusbury MacNalty in elder life, hanging in the collection of the Royal College of Physicians, London

Here is the UK National Health Service official site's photograph portrait of Dr. Sir Arthur Salusbury MacNalty (there listed as Arthur McNalty #8) along with portraits of all of the other of the UK's Chief Medical Officers since Victorian times.

Here are several photographs of the ''USS McNulty (DE 581)'' and a photograph in naval uniform of that ship's namesake Lt. (j.g.) John Thomas McNulty, from navsource.org. {{surname Anglicised Irish-language surnames Surnames of Irish origin Irish families Irish medical families