Kilbride, Co. Wicklow

Molloy / Mullee Family in Kilbride Co. Wicklow

On the 27th of November 1834 a double wedding took place in Saint Bridget’s Church,  Manor Kilbride. This Church stood alongside where the present Church stands today. All that remains of that Church is a portion of the gable wall including the Bell Tower.

• Patrick  Mulee married Jane Doolin and their witnesses were Francis Bealin and Margaret White

• Martin Doolin married Elizabeth Mulee and their witnesses were Thomas White and Winifred Mulee 

The above information was found in the recently discovered Church records for the Parishes of Blessington and Kilbride, for the period from 1820 to 1852, and there is only one birth registered to Patrick and Jane.  How amazing it is that it turned out to be the one we sought.

• 12th of April 1845 -  Michael Molloy

  • Father;   Patrick Molloy,  Mother;  Jane Dowling

  • Sponsors;  John Molloy*, Maria Tallon*

They had a daughter born in 1841, christened Eliza, who would later marry Henry Quinn and their home was at Ballinahown, Baltiboys, Blessington Co.Wicklow. Why Michael was recorded as being the only child and to have been formally baptised and registered will have to remain a mystery.

Apart from his sister Eliza there is little doubt that he had other brothers and sisters that were not recorded.

We will attempt to name these from the evidence available.

Following the pattern of naming children, that had existed in all families, his eldest brother born in 1839, was named Darby after his paternal grandfather.  (See details of the Tithe payment)

This Darby and his wife Bridget, having lived in the area of Kilteel Co Kildare, are buried in Kilbride Cemetery as shown on Headstone No. 2.

Another likely brother was Jeremiah, who also had farming interests in the Kilteel area, who with potential sisters, Rosa, Jane, and Anna, all known by the name Molloy and appearing as the God Parents of Henry and Eliza Quinn’s children.

*John Molloy was Patrick’s brother and he farmed in Rathmore and is buried in Kilbride.

John also had a son named Darby, who was buried in Naas Cemetery. He was married to Maria Slattery, who was buried in the family grave in Kilbride.

*The Tallon family were well established tenants on the Blessington Estate and held 60 acres in Threecastles and 120 acres in Woodend and elsewhere. Michael Tallon was one of the few Catholic tenants on the estate who obtained a lease, having first appeared on the rentals as early as 1817.

The family were bacon factors and in the 1850’s and 1860’s supplied “Wicklow Ham” to the Dublin and English markets.

There are three births registered to Martin and Elizabeth and are as follows;

• 7th March 1839 : Jane Dowling

  • Father :  Martin Dowling,  Mother :  Eliza Mulloy

  • Sponsors :  Michael Molloy, Mary Dowling

• 14 April 1847 : Michael Dowling

  • Father :  Martin Dowling, Mother :  Eliza Molloy

  • Sponsors : James Dowling, Esther Dowling

• 7th April 1848 : Martin Dowling

  • Father :  Martin Dowling, Mother : Elizabeth Molloy

  • Sponsors : Patrick Dowling,  Mary Molloy

On a date unknown they had a daughter christened Mary, who was Eliza Mullee’s bridesmaid. 

There were two Dowling families listed as tenants of the Blessington Estates in 1850, both with 400 acres each in the Ballynasculloge area of Kilbride. A lot of this was mountainous and they would have had thousands of sheep grazing there at any one time. Descendants of these families are known to have lived in this area up to recent times. 

The children of these two families were double first cousins to each other. The anomaly surrounding the use of the names Molloy or Mullee for this family and Dowling and Doolin for their relatives, are highlighted throughout these records.

At Eliza’s wedding to Henry Quinn on the 30th of August 1866, her name is registered as Mullee and her father as Patrick Mullee, farmer. 

The Griffith Valuation records of 1856 lists him as Patrick Molloy, with the description of his Tenement as; House, Offices, Corn Mill and Land with an area of 32 acres.

Eliza quickly affirmed her maiden name as being Molloy when the first of her eight children, Mary Anne was christened. Her own name was given as Molloy then and at all subsequent registrations. Four of the God Parents for her children were also given as Molloy.

Her name was also confirmed as Molloy at the receptions for her four daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Bridget and Kate, on joining Religious Orders.

There was no formal registration of names for any reason in those times.  No tax forms, no banking, no telephone, gas or electricity bills and the only place where the names were officially recorded was the Church, at the reception of the Sacraments. Even then there was no guarantee of accuracy, as the decision was sometimes in the hands of the priest, as to what he wrote down. On census, tithe and valuation forms, tenancy agreements etc. names were written down by whatever way they sounded to the writer.

There is no logical explanation for the use of the different names as exercised by this family. There is no pattern or consistency that would make any explanation plausible.

Imagine the planning that went into the arrangements for the double wedding on the morning of Nov. 27th 1834, when both families agreed that they would all use the “other” versions, so to speak, on this special occasion, i.e.  Mullee and Doolin. This was no coincidence, no clerical error or preference of the priest, there was some other reason. They were all to come back in time, to the very same Church they were married in and without fear or favour, have their children Christened, using the names Molloy and Dowling for themselves and their children.

This section of the family, that maintained the continuity of tenancy at the Mill in Kilbride, shows how Darby was the registered tenant in 1823, when he was recorded as paying the tithe to the Protestant Church. He was very likely to have been the son of the Darby, shown on his headstone as having died in 1761. His death would have occurred then between 1823 and 1834 when his son Patrick married and took over the tenancy at the Mill.

Patrick’s son Michael, probably the last of the family still at the Mill, emigrated to America at around the time the Mill is recorded as having “Been all down” in the year 1887.

Patrick’s two brothers, Michael Mullee and John, who had opted for the name Molloy, had long gone to establish their own dynasties in Kildare in the same way that all generations had to move on as the potential livelihood from the Corn Mill could only support one family at any given time.

What information we have found regarding these two men and their families follows;