Posted By:	Jherryd Jhordynn
	Email:
	Subject:	Re: John Downey born 1867 Ireland died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 1913
	Post Date:	June 29, 2009 at 20:02:06
	Message URL:	http://genforum.genealogy.com/downey/messages/2159.html
	Forum:	Downey Family Genealogy Forum
	Forum URL:	http://genforum.genealogy.com/downey/

Hi Mary Found this on the internet DOWNEY, a surname of Ireland, (O)Downey, Ó Dunadhaigh, Ir. dun - fort,        or an abbreviated form of Muldowney and MacEldowney. (MacLysaght).        Traced by MacLysaght in Cos. Galway and Kerry. So it appears County Kerry and Galway may have been the homebase. Downie is a surname of Irish origin[1]. It is an Anglicisation of the Old Irish Ó Dunadhaigh, combing the Gaelic prefix Ó (originally meaning "grandson") and Dunadhach, the keeper of a fort. downey Name Meaning and History Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dúnadhaigh ‘descendant of Dúnadhach’, a personal name meaning ‘fortress-holder’ (from dún ‘fortress’, ‘fortified hill’). Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh, or of Mac Giolla Dhomnaigh (see Maloney). Scottish: habitational name from the Scottish barony of Downie or Duny in the parish of Monikie in Angus (on Tayside), named from Gaelic dùn ‘hill’ + the locative suffix -ach. Downey, ó Dúnadhaigh A Gaelic surname derived from Dúnadhach meaning ‘one who leads on campaigns’. A sept of Siol Anmchadha in Galway, who are of the same stock as the O’Maddens; A sept of Corcu Loíghdhe in south-west Cork, who are of the same stock as the O’Driscolls. A sept of Luachair a districk on the borders of Cork, Kerry and Limerick. In Limerick the surname has been anglicised as Downing. In 1890 Downey was principally found in Cork, Kerry, Antrim and Limerick, and the estimated number of bearers was 4,080. In the United States it is the 1,235th most numerous surname with an estimated 27,500 bearers. So possibly one of FOUR counties,however all are in Eire (Southern Ireland)