Show ContentsMullowney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Early Origins of the Mullowney family

The surname Mullowney 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 Mullowney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mullowney 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 Mullowney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mullowney Spelling Variations

Names during the Middle Ages were typically recorded as they sounded and in many cases, one's surname spelling changed with each record. Spelling variations revealed in the search for the origin of the Mullowney family name include Molony, Maloney, O'Maloney, O'Molony, MacLoughney and many more.

Early Notables of the Mullowney family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

  • 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...


United States Mullowney migration to the United States +

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Mullowney or one of its variants:

Mullowney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jeremiah Mullowney, who landed in America in 1811 [3]
  • John Mullowney, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1812 [3]

Canada Mullowney migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mullowney Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Daniel Mullowney, aged 13, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Zephyr" in 1833
  • Michael Mullowney, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Breeze" from Dublin, Ireland
  • Catherine Mullowney, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1835
  • James Mullowney, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843

Australia Mullowney migration to Australia +

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

Mullowney Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Patrick Mullowney, (b. 1810), aged 19, Irish house servant who was convicted in Roscommon, Ireland for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd March 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [4]

New Zealand Mullowney 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:

Mullowney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Patrick Mullowney, (b. 1835), aged 26, Irish groom, from Limerick travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Rhea Sylvia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1861 [5]
  • Mr. John Mullowney, Scottish settler travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th October 1861 [5]
  • Mrs. Mullowney, Scottish settler travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th October 1861 [5]
  • Miss Ellen Mullowney, (b. 1849), aged 19, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 8th February 1869 [6]
  • Miss Bridget Mullowney, (b. 1850), aged 18, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 8th February 1869 [6]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Mullowney (post 1700) +

  • Sheila L. Mullowney, American editor of The Newport Daily News, an independent six-day daily newspaper serving Newport County, Rhode Island
  • Deborah Mullowney (b. 1959), birth name of Debrah Farentino, an American model and actress, known for Earth 2 (1994), Malice (1993) and Equal Justice (1990)
  • Harold Mullowney, Newfoundland political candidate for Ferryland in the Newfoundland general election, 1999
  • Patrick Mullowney, Newfoundland political candidate for the District of St. John's in the Newfoundland general election, 1832

SS Newfoundland
  • Mr. Ambrose Mullowney (1882-1914), Newfoundlander from Bay Bulls, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he died during this time


  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)
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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