Though Scotland is its usual provenance, “CAIRNEY”, as
an anglicized form for O Cearnaigh of Donegal and Derry, does also appear in the
North of Ireland
as an alternate for “Carney”. “Cairney”
here is the result of linguistic influence, the result of the phonetics of “Cearnaigh” in the Northern or Ulster
dialect of Gaelic or in the Scots-influenced dialect of Ulster
English.
Ulster originating Cairneys or
Carneys did come to Scotland
early. The name, in its Scottish form, Mac Cearnaigh,
is not unknown in the 1500’s (Black, Surnames
of Scotland 1946), and by the late 1700’s was well established in Greater
Glasgow among merchants and laborers there, some connected with the Flax trade
of the time, which was a Glasgow-Belfast industry.
After 1830’s and
40’s, found throughout Scotland.
Cairny in Butte in the 1880 census.
A Family of McCarneys, now Cairneys, settled
in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, before 1800, from Monaghan.
O Cearnaigh (Carney/ Kearney/
Cairney) of Donegal, Derry and Antrim. Included by Wolfe (Irish Names and Surnames 1923) in his discussion of the septs named O Cearnaigh [1 Dacassian, 2 Ui Fiachrach]: ‘The name.... [3] of
an ecclesiastical family who where formerly erenaghs
of Derry’ [erenach, herenach, herenagh, airchinnigh]. Under
the entry for “O’Kearney” in Burke’s General Armoury (1884) there is a note: ‘in the Annals it is
recorded that in 1198 Gillecriost O Cearnaigh
[Gilchrist O’Cairney] was appointed Abbot of Derry-Columcille “by the chiefs and clergy of the North of Ireland.”’ The Gaelic genealogists give them an origin
in Clan Fergus (Clann Fhearghusa) of the Cineal Eoghain, of the same stock as the O’Hagans, sub-kings of the O’Neills
(O’Cleary). In
1204 the Abbot of Derry-Columcille, head of the Columban Church in Ireland, made himself Abbot of Iona
(then under the influence of the Lord of the Isles) as well, following the
death of Abbot O’Brollachain, also of the Cineal Eoghain.
- William
Cairney was a Donegal IRA soldier killed in a British attack in
1922.
- In 1857, in Donegal Town, Charles
Cairney is listed with a business on Main Street in Donegal. In 1830 there are three Carney householders
near Donegal town.
- In the Tithe
Appointment Book for Inishowen, 1829, there
are a number of Carneys in Inishowen, while
in the 1796 flax list for Donegal, several Cairneys
as well as Carneys show up together in same remote parish in Inishowen (John Cairney and Owen
Cairney). There are also 2 Cairneys in the
Flax list for Derry and 1 in Antrim.
- In the 1665
hearth money rolls, there are listed Donncha O Cearnaigh, Eaman O Cearnaigh and Eoghan O Cearnaigh in Inishowen, also Hugh O’Kearny,
Owen O’Kairney, Pattrick O’Kairney, Edmund O’Kairney,
William O’Kairney, Donnagh
O’Kairney and Shan O’Kairney. 20 O’Carneys
appear In 1659
census of Donegal. Going further back, the English
Government 1609
pardon list for Donegal has Donnell O’Carnie,
Shane O’ Carnie, Brian O’Carnie and William Morrcy O'Carnie on the
list.
More work needs
to be done on Derry and Antrim to correspond
to the Donegal work, which has been done by the folks whose links are included
above.
I have the Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland
(1848-1864) shows a healthy number of Carneys/Kearneys
in Derry as well as Donnegal.
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