Research into family name Mulrooney

stevemul

I'm doing some research into my family roots and following up some information from an elderly relative and information from the 1861 census which seem to tie together and indicate that Co Clare is the location of my particular Mulrooney family.

Thomas Mulrooney, my Great Great Grandfather appears in the UK 1861 census as living in lodgings in Stockport and working in the Lancashire Cotton Mills. He gives his birthplace as Co Clare, Ireland. My research indicates that many Irish people arrived in Lancashire around this time and as Thomas appears to be living without his wife and family, it suggests that he may have arrived alone from Clare, leaving his wife ( Ann, I believe, and maybe his first child, John) behind in Clare to follow on later. Their second son, Frederick, my Great Grandfather, was born in 1877 in Blackburn where the family settled.

An elderly relative apparently arrived in the UK some time later and is recalled as being, for the want of a better expression " not of sound mind".
This elderly Aunt is recalled as constantly referring to " disappearing loughs" in her native Ireland and this was dismissed as fantasy. However, my research has shown that she was almost certainly referring to the Turloughs of Co Clare and the Burren.

I have recently driven around Co Clare, Gort and the Burren and seen the Turloughs around Corrofin. I also spoke to a farmer in the area who said that there is also a Turlough near Gort called the Punchbowl. The reason he thought this may be significant is that he believes there are people in that area with a name which is pronounced MULROONEY but not necessarily spelt that way.

Does any of this mean anything to anyone in the area? I would be very grateful if anyone could help further with my research.

melonstar

Hi Steve,

This is a list of all the surnames in the census in 1901 in Co Clare. You might find something there. Your g g grandfather could have had family still here after he left.
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/1901census/name_index/surname_list_1901.htm

Also list of surmanes from griffins evaluation. 1852-1855. There is a Mulroney in this list but in Ennis.
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/griffiths/griffithm12.htm

Also a link to info that the library have. http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htm
If there is a spelling difference you might find something there.

Also if you think the family might be in the Gort area, you should post in the Galway forum too. As far as i know there were county boundary changes to Clare and Galway in late 19th century.

Good luck with your search

Helen

stevemul

Thanks Helen,
I have been through many of these records in my research. One problem seems to be variations on spelling, probably on transcription. For instance, In the Tithe Applotment (sic) Books there are Molony, Mulroney and Mulrony, all in Ballyportry, Killinaboy. This seems more than a coincidence to have 3 unrelated but so similar surnames in one small area. Bearing in mind that some records clearly state that the person cannot read or write, this suggests that names are transcribed by a literate person according to the pronunciation by the person.

Thus we could have any of the above, plus Mulrooney, Rooney and maybe even Muldoon or Mullany.

A lot to follow up!
Steve