McGonigle and Allied Families

of County Donegal

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Griffith’s Valuation (1848 to 1864)

In order to produce the accurate information necessary for local taxation, the Tenement Act of 1842 provided for a uniform valuation of all property in Ireland, to be based on the productive capacity of land and the potential rent of buildings. The man appointed Commissioner of Valuation was Richard Griffith, a Dublin geologist, and the results of his great survey, the Primary Valuation of Ireland, were published between 1848 and 1864. The Valuation is arranged by:

• county
• barony
• poor law union
• civil parish
• townland

This lists every landholder and every householder in Ireland. Apart from townland address and householder's name, the particulars given are:

·         name of the person from whom the property was leased (immediate lessor);

·         description of the property

·         acreage

The only directly useful family information supplied is in areas where a surname was particularly common; the surveyors often adopted the Gaelic practice of using the father's first name to distinguish between individuals of the same name, so that John Reilly (James) is the son of James, while John Reilly (Michael) is the son of Michael.

Copies of the Valuation are widely available in major libraries and record offices, both on microfiche and in their original published form. The dates of first publication will be found under individual counties.

The Valuation was never intended as a census substitute, and if the 1851 census had survived, it would have little genealogical significance. As things stand, however, it gives the only detailed guide to where in Ireland people lived in the mid-19th century, and what property they possessed. In addition, because the Valuation entries were subsequently revised at regular intervals, it is often possible to trace living descendants of those originally listed by Griffith. (See Valuation Office Records)

The Surnames section of this site provides counts of the number of households of a particular surname recorded in the counties and civil parishes of Ireland, based on the returns of Griffith's Valuation.

The following shows the entries found in the Griffith’s Valuation for Ireland.  I looked for all McGonigle surnames, all Murrin surnames, all McCloskey surnames and all Timoney surnames living in Ireland.  This valuation was possibly taken in 1858; however, there is some indication that the names found in this list are also found in lists dated as early as 1848. 

I did not filter out any of these names, but I did highlight all the entries below that appear in the following townlands:  Upper Killybegs, Kilcar, Killaghtee and Inishkeel.  Although our relatives came from Killybegs I decided to also highlight the parishes that are adjacent to Upper Killybegs.  There are twelve McGonigle households listed. There were no McGonigles listed for Lower Killybegs.

 Griffith Valuation for Murrin Surnames

Griffith Valuation – McCloskey Family

 Griffith Valuation – Timoney Family

CONNOLLY.
1724-1831
Rentals.
National Library of Ireland Ms.17302
1772-1793
Rentals Civil parishes Drumhome, Glencolumbkille, Inishkeel, Innishmacsaint, Kilbaarron, Kilcar, Killybegs Uper, & Killymard
National Archives of Ireland M.6917 (1-17)
1782-1786 - Civil parishes Donaghmore & Urney.
National Library of Ireland Ms.17302

McClosky Family of Donegal

The following information was found on-line and shows the births and marriages for McCloskeys living in and around Killybegs.  I included it here as one or several could possibly be distant relatives.

Births and Marriages

MCCLOSKEY, Catherine   Birth

                Gender: Female

                Birth Date:             30 Nov 1869         Birthplace:             115, Killybegs, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Charles MCCLOSKEY

                                                Mother:  Anne MCCAHILL

MCCLOSKEY, Ann             Birth

                Gender: Female

                Birth Date:             5 Feb 1870           Birthplace:             Carndonagh, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   James MCCLOSKEY

                                                Mother:  Magey MC LAUGHLIN

MCCLOSKEY, Eliza            Birth

                Gender: Female

                Birth Date:             3 Mar 1870           Birthplace:             Carndonagh, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Thomas MCCLOSKEY

                                                Mother:  Biddy DOHERTY

MCCLOSKEY, Charles      Birth

                Gender: Male

                Birth Date:             20 Dec 1871         Birthplace:             35, Donegal, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Patrick MCCLOSKEY

                                                Mother:  Mary HARVEY

MCCLUSKEY, Daniel         Birth

                Gender: Male

                Birth Date:             1 Nov 1873           Birthplace:             Dunfanaghy, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Daniel MCCLUSKEY

                                                Mother:  Mary DIVER

MCCLOSKEY, Eliza            Birth

                Gender: Female

                Birth Date:             11 Apr 1874          Birthplace:             Carndonagh, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Thomas McCloskey

                                                Mother:  Biddy Doherty

MCCLUSKEY, Sarah          Birth

                Gender: Female

                Birth Date:             20 Jun 1875         Birthplace:             Ramelton, Don, Ire

                                                Father:   Anthony MCCLUSKEY

                                                Mother:  Jane MCGRATH

MCCLEAN, James                                              Marriage

                Wife:       Catherine MCCLOSKEY                   

                Marriage Date:     12 Aug 1850         Recorded in:         Conwall, Donegal, Ireland

                                                Husband's Father:               John MCCLEAN

                                                Wife's Father:        Daniel MCCLOSKEY

MORROW, Thomas            Age:        18           Marriage

                Wife:       Susan MCCLOSKEY          Age:        22

                Marriage Date:     12 Jan 1860         Recorded in:         Donegal, Donegal, Ireland

                                                Husband's Father:               James MORROW

                                                Wife's Father:        Daniel MCCLOSKEY

REGISTER OF THE OLD KILLYBEGS COMMONS SCHOOL

1st January 1867 to 25th August 1873

The following information shows students registered in the Old Killybegs Commons School.  I could not find any McGonigle or Timoney surnames in the list, but there appeared to be quite a few McCloskey and Murrin students registered.  Again, this information is included here because some could possibly be distant relatives.

Register Date, Surname, First, Age, Residence, Parents Occupation

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Catherine, 11¼, Fyafennan, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Charles, 10¾, Roughwood, Farmer

15/05/71, McCLOSKEY, Dorah, 5, Lough Head, Farmer

8/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Fanny, 16, Fyafennan, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Francis, 7¾, Roughwood, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Fras. T., 5¾, Fyafennan, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Henry, 20¼, Benrow, Farmer

18/03/72, McCLOSKEY, Isabella, 7½, The Commons, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, John, 9¼, Fyafennan, Farmer

1/01/67, McCLOSKEY, Joseph, 7, Fyafennan, Farmer

14/07/73, MURRIN, Bridget, 3¼, Carricknamohill, 

4/08/69, MURRIN, Bridget, 4, Croaghlin, Farmer

21/06/69, MURRIN, Isabella, 11¾, Stragar, Farmer

1/01/67, MURRIN, James, 5¾, Croaghlin, Farmer

28/11/71, MURRIN, John, 20, Croaghlin, Farmer

3/06/67, MURRIN, Joseph, 4¼, Croaghlin, Farmer

14/07/73, MURRIN, Maggie, 5½, Carricknamohill, 

1/01/67, MURRIN, Mary, 5¾, Carricknamohill, 

1/01/67, MURRIN, Mary, 9, Croaghlin, Farmer

1/01/67, MURRIN, Michael, 13¾, Croaghlin, Farmer

1/01/67, MURRIN, Stephen, 9¼, Croaghlin, Farmer

12/06/71, MURRIN, Susan, 4, Croaghlin, Farmer

1/01/67, MURRIN, Thomas, 11½, Croaghlin, Farmer

Murrin Family

Another ancestral name is Murrin .  It is a very old Gaelic name found in Ireland.  There are numerous spellings of the Murrin name in Ireland, including O’Moghrain, O’Moran, Moran, Murrain, Murricane, Murran, Murrigan, Morahan, etc.  In Killybegs, County Donegal, an important Irish fishing port, there is a surprising number of Murrin families living there.  Their most famous son being Joseph “Joey” Murrin, who for many years was a fisherman and in 1984, he became chairman of the Irish Fishing Board.  He is spokesman both at home and abroad for this vital Irish industry.

Spelling variations include:  Murrigan, Murrin, Murrain, Merrigan, Murricane, Murrigain, Maragan, Merrigan, Marrican, O’Murrigan, O’Murrin, O’Merrigan, O’Murrican, O’Murrigain, O’Merrigan, O’Merrigank, O’Merregan and many more.  First found in Longford where were anciently seated as chiefs where with a castle at Rathcline.  Some of

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