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McLorinan / McLarnon

AntrimDrummaul (Antrim)

I am trying to trace my roots. F E McLorinan ( grandfather) was born in Belfast 1879. His father died in Belfast, but seems to have been in Portglenone before moving to Belfast. He / Charles McLorinan died in Belfast but would have been born around 1829, and his father, Henry, would have been born very roughly 1790 ( working back from obituaries). DNA testing suggests we were farmers somewhere near the banks of the Bann , Antrim,1000 years ago, and it was suggested that the strong R C line in the family indicates roots in Ireland before the big influx of folk from Scotland etc There is some evidence that the McLs could have been in the Ahoghill area en route to Belfast. So, the DNA suggests farming within about fifty milesof Toome, and I can identify the line back from me, John to my father , John and his father, Francis and his father, Charles and his father, Henry... I would be most grateful for any clues as to how to fill the missing links. I have visited Antrim to see where we were in Belfast - and Cushendall etc., and I would love to be able to visit other places where we were before I become too old. P S for a while Charles and his first wife seem to have lived in Dublin as their son, Bernard, was Baptised there. However a newspaper obituary states that Bernard did not live long and died in Portglenone as did his mother , Charles' first wife - have had no success with Portglenone records though! Possibly some of my ancestors might have been in your area as the name seems to crop up there from time to time.....

Thanks for your time, best wishes John McL

John McLorinan

7 replies

John,

I see Charles and Margaret married in 1863 so I assume Bernard was born in 1864 or some time after that, ie after statutory birth and death registration began. I have looked for his death in Ballymena civil registration area (which includes Portglenone) from 1864 – 1884 but do not see one that might fit.

When did Charles remarry, to narrow the search for Margaret’s death? Perhaps if we can find her death it might identify where the family lived.

McLarnon (and its many variants) is certainly a common surname around Toome and the parish of Duneane. There’s dozens of families of that name. There are 2 main RC churchyards in the parish, at Cargan and Moneyglass. There are Mclarnon graves in both. I don’t think anyone has transcribed them though, so you would need to make a visit to search them.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

We meet again, Elwin ! This is very kind of you. Now, I have my great grandfather, Charles who died in Belfast April 1905. Counting back from his obit he would have been born circa 1828, and his obit said he was in Portglenone before Belfast. His father, Henry, founded the family business in Smithfield which Charles later took over - having been to Australia and back, and also seemingly, Dublin. Charles' first wife was Elizabeth McConnell- they were married in Glasgow, her home town. They had Bernard, May 10 1860. Bernard died in Portglenone on Feb 8 1863 (obit in Glasgow Herald on February 13th) By this time Elizabeth had already died. Charles then married Margaret Rodgers in St Patrick's, Belfast on April 14 1863, their first born was Charles Lewis born 25/08/64. So far, including Bernard, I have uncovered 13 children fathered by a Charles 

Two pieces of useless information. Whilst my great great  grandfather , Henry, was active in Belfast, so was one Hugh McLorinan, who is quoted in one of the newspapers as having said he came to Belfast as a young man. Research commissioned (U H F) points out that even though Friars Bush had spaces elsewhere , Henry went to the trouble of purchasing the burial plot next to the one Hugh had bought. Hugh's gravestone- amongst others- commemorates his father , Felix who died 14 Aug 1814 aged 46. I have seen an obituary of an Agnes  McLorinan of Ahoghill, died 30/03/1853 aged 80, relict of Felix late of Belfast. ( Belfast Mercury) . I cannot however establish for certain that Henry and Hugh were brothers. Hugh had a brother, Daniel , who died with him in Belfast but whose will states he was from 'Watercloney' - U H F suggests this was what a clerk wrote instead of "Aucthercloney"?

Second useless information - I was going through my files yesterday and found a letter from Desmond McL of Dunmurry , dated 23 10 2000 replying to an inquiry stating that we were probably related somehow and that his researches suggested the name being centered around Staffordstown on the shores of the Louth between Antrim and Toome- sounds similar to the results of my DNA reading- he continues suggesting burials in an old graveyard on the Masserine bemesne at Shans Castle, and burials at St Comgals churchyard and in Cranfield. My geographical knowledge - such as it is- centers around Belfast and Cushendall- both my grandparents families seemed to have connections in Belfast and Cushendall.

Apologies for rambling thank you for your time and information 

Best wishes , John

John McLorinan

The dates explain why I cannot find a death for Bernard. Death registration only started in Ireland on 1.1.1864 and so there won’t be a death certificate for him. And since the RC church doesn’t keep burial records, unless there’s a gravestone somewhere there’s probably no record of his death at all (save for the obituary).

I live in the area and can confirm that the UHF’s supposition is correct. Watercloney is a common alternative version of Aughterclooney. It’s less a mistaken transcription and more a common local alternative. It’s really a corruption of the pronunciation of the original Irish version. Aughter has been hardened into a pronunciation that sounds like “water”. So they sometimes spell it that way too.

Looking at Griffiths Valuation for 1862 I see a Daniel McClorinan on plot 10 in Aughterclooney. That was a 13 acre farm. He was gone or dead by 1867 when a Hugh Neeson replaced him.

Aughterclooney is in the RC parish of Ahoghill (records start c 1833). So likely to appear in  heir records rather than Portglenone.

Regarding graveyards around Staffordstown, the main 2 RC graveyards in the area are at Cargan and Moneyglass. There is a small and ancient graveyard at Cranfield. These are all in the RC parish of Duneane.

There is a graveyard on the Shane’s Castle demesne, but that’s quite a way from Staffordstown and is in the parish of Drummaul. (Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be used by someone in Staffordstown but just less likely).

The Shane’s Castle graves mostly relate to the O’Neill family and workers on their estate. They are on-line on this site:

http://www.historyfromheadstones.com/index.php?displaygraveyardinfo&graveyard_name=Shane%27s%20Castle

I also have a parish history of Drummaul which mentions gravestones in Shane’s Castle for Mary & Patrick McLarnon 1804 & 1806 respectively.

There is also a graveyard in Milltown (half way between Randalstown and Antrim) opened in 1811, to replace the Shane’s Castle burial ground which was nearly full. It has Charles McLorinan 1812.

St Comgall’s in Antrim only opened in 1870 and there are no gravestones there older than around that time. (Drummaul parish was split around 1870 due to population growth. Prior to that the Antrim area congregation used St Macanisius in Randalstown, which also has a graveyard. You might want to check it. (Unfortunately I don't have any transcriptions for it).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you very much, Elwyn, for your time effort and information - not to mention your local knowledge. Most generous and most appreciated.

Blessings upon you and yours

John.

John McLorinan

Regarding the connection of your McLorinans to Dublin: Henry McLorinan, son of James and Eve (Glynn) McLorinan, was baptized 4 Nov 1782 in St. Mary's Pro Cathedral (RC), Dublin. The sponsors were Honora (Glynn) Manent/Mannett, who was my fourth great-grandmother (sister of Eve, married to John Manent/Mannett), and Garrett Hope for Francis Savage. There were other children of James and Eve McLorinan baptized in Dublin named John, Ann Teresa, and James, that I know of. There was also a couple named Hugh and Elizabeth McLorinan who had a daughter named Bridgid baptized 6 Dec 1818 in St. Mary's PC, sponsors Thomas Morris and Bridgid Develin. If that Henry McLorinan was the same as yours, if is possible that you and I might show a DNA match--it would be at the level of 5th cousins. You might also want to look at the church records on the free "Irish Genealogy" website, which has the St. Mary's Pro Cathedral records from that time frame. There were not many McLorinans in Dublin then--just a handful of couples.

Julie Kane

Dear Julie ( should you still be there ) 

I hang my head in shame - I have just seen your comment. I am ‘not very competent with on line stuff.

Sincere apologies and thanks for the comment / contribution. 
The names seem so familiar and this could explain why Charles McLorinan for a while lived in Dublin ( Great Britain Street ? My computer records have temporarily gone inaccessible !)

Anyway, he married a McConnell from Glasgow and their son, Bernard, was Christened in Dublin’s pro cathedral. Sadly both mother ( buried in Glasgow) and son died . Charles ended up in Australia but later returned to Belfast - I suspect he came back to help with the family business when his brother died . He then married Margaret Rodgers and they had around a dozen children, including my grandfather, Francis Edward McLorinan / McLarnon .

Thanks again.

Apologies and blessings upon you and yours 

John McLorinan

John McLorinan

I don’t know if this thread is still active, but the late 1600s Hearth Money Rolls list the then location of your McLarnon’s (today’s usual spelling). Most are in the Barony of Toome Upper, a few slightly further north. There are present-day descendants in the same areas. Look up the Townlands in the ‘Townlands in Ireland’ website, it’ll bring up maps. https://www.billmacafee.com/1660shearthmoneyrolls/1669hearthmoneyrollsantrim.pdf

MaureenN

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