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McIlroy History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

McIlroy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The name McIlroy has seen many modifications since the time in which it was first devised. In Gaelic it appeared as Mac Giolla Rua, which means son of the red-haired youth.

Early Origins of the McIlroy family

The surname McIlroy was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they were the Chiefs of Clonderlaw, conjecturally descended from Tiobraid, son of Iral Glunmhar, King of Ulster. 1

Early History of the McIlroy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McIlroy research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1376, 1638 and 1640 are included under the topic Early McIlroy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McIlroy Spelling Variations

Many different spelling variations of the surname McIlroy were found in the archives researched. These included Scribes and church officials generally spelled a name as it sounded; as a result, a person's name could be spelt innumerable ways in his lifetime. Gilroy, Kilroy, MacGilroy, MacElroy, MacGreevy, Greevy, MacGilrea, McGilroy, McElroy, McGreevy, McGilrea, MacIlrea, McIlrea, Magilroy, Magilrea, MacElry, McElry, MacIlree and many more.

Early Notables of the McIlroy family

More information is included under the topic Early McIlroy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McIlroy migration to the United States +

North America received thousands of Irish immigrants from the English-ruled Ireland during the 19th century. Once in the United States or what would become Canada, these immigrants quickly contributed to the ongoing settling and industrialization processes. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. An exhaustive examination of immigrant and passenger lists has shown many early immigrants bearing the surname of McIlroy:

McIlroy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James McIlroy, aged 16, who immigrated to the United States from Antrim, in 1894

McIlroy Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Elizbeth McIlroy, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States from Armagh, Ireland, in 1907
James McIlroy, aged 22, who landed in America from Newry, Ireland, in 1907
Bella McIlroy, aged 27, who landed in America from Belfast, Ireland, in 1909
Daniel McIlroy, aged 48, who landed in America from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1911
Dolly McIlroy, aged 3, who immigrated to America from Belfast, Ireland, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McIlroy migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McIlroy Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Sgt. John McIlroy U.E. who settled in Didgeguash, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he served in the 74th Highland Regiment, married to Elizabeth having 10 children 2

McIlroy Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Anna Caroline McIlroy, aged 50, who settled in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1916
Cecil McIlroy, aged 14, who immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1924
Frances McIlroy, aged 40, who settled in Toronto, Canada, in 1924

McIlroy migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

McIlroy Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Mcilroy, (b. 1815), aged 22, Irish nursery maid who was convicted in County Down, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Diamond" on 29th November 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
William McIlroy, aged 22, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Constance" 4

McIlroy migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

McIlroy Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Mcilroy, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 5
Miss Agnes Jane Mcilroy, (b. 1852), aged 13, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 1st January 1866 5
Charles McIlroy, aged 25, a ploughman, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Nations" in 1874
Margaret McIlroy, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Nations" in 1874
Agnes McIlroy, aged 21, a servant, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adamant" in 1875 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McIlroy (post 1700) +

Malcolm Douglas McIlroy (b. 1932), American mathematician, engineer, and programmer, co-creator of the Hunt–McIlroy algorithm
Mary McIlroy, American politician, Representative from California 10th District, 2009 6
Bernard McIlroy, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Washington 8th District, 2000 6
Rory McIlroy MBE (b. 1989), Northern Irish professional golfer, winner of the 2011 U.S. Open, named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year, in 2011 and 2014
James "Jimmy" McIlroy MBE (b. 1931), Northern Irish former footballer
Samuel Baxter "Sammy" McIlroy (b. 1954), Northern Irish former international footballer
William J. McIlroy (1928-2013), British secularist and atheist activist, writer and editor of Freethinker, General Secretary of the National Secular Society
William "Bill" McIlroy (b. 1883), Australian rules footballer
Kate McIlroy (b. 1981), New Zealand athlete who represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games (2006)
Dame Anne Louise McIlroy DBE (1874-1968), British doctor, one of the first women medical graduates from Glasgow University in 1898
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the McIlroy family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Archibald Mcilroy, Irish 2nd Class passenger residing in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 7

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Diamond
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CONSTANCE 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Constance.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/