Show ContentsMulawney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Before Irish names were translated into English, Mulawney had a Gaelic form of Ó Maoldhomhnaigh, which means descendant of a servant of the Church. 1

Early Origins of the Mulawney family

The surname Mulawney was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where O'Moloney, "were chiefs of Cuiltenan, now the parish of Kiltonanlea, in the barony of Tulla." 2

Early History of the Mulawney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mulawney research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1601, 1690, 1709, 1726, 1865, 1900, 1925, 1937, 1949 and 1976 are included under the topic Early Mulawney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mulawney Spelling Variations

One explanation for the many variations is that scribes and church officials frequently spelled the name as it sounded: an imprecise method at best. Understandably then, various spellings of the surname Mulawney were found in the many archives researched. These included Molony, Maloney, O'Maloney, O'Molony, MacLoughney and many more.

Early Notables of the Mulawney family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was Father Donough O'Molony who was tortured to death in 1601. John Mullowney (c. 1690-1726) was born in Derrew, near Ballyheane, County Mayo who began his career as a horse thief and was sentenced to death in Castlebar in his youth. The Grand Jury made a deal with him in which...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mulawney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Mulawney family

Many Irish families boarded ships bound for North America in the middle of 19th century to escape the conditions of poverty and racial discrimination at that time. Although these immigrants often arrived in a destitute state, they went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. An inquiry into many immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants to North America bearing the Mulawney family name: Eleanor Moloney settled in Boston, Massachusetts. in 1767; Joseph Moloney settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; Biddy, Edmund, George, James, John, Michael, and Patrick Molony all arrived in Canada in 1847.



  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  2. O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)


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