McQuaids in Ireland Yesterday

This section presents a collection of evidence as to the location of the McQuaid family in Ireland prior to the 20th century.  All the evidence suggests that the center of McQuaidom has always been the area of Ulster Province where the Counties of Monaghan, Tyrone, and Armagh meet.

K Census of Ireland, 1659:  McQuade is listed as a "Principall Irish Name" only in County Monaghan, in which there were 11 families with the name.

K Appendix to the Twenty-Ninth Report of Register-General of Marriages, Births, and Deaths in Ireland:  In a table, which is identified as a "list of the principal Ancient Celtic Families, with the Counties in which they were located" is the entry:  MacQuade . . Monaghan.  This list was compiled from sources dating as far back as the 1500s.

K  Special Report on Surnames in Ireland, 1894:  This report is statistical in nature and shows surnames for births in the year 1890.  For all of Ireland, the total for McQuaid and McQuade is given as 55;  4 in Leinster Province, 49 in Ulster Province, and 2 in Connacht Province.  The McQuaid version was used primarily in Counties Monaghan and Fermanagh, while McQuade was the prevalent spelling in County Antrim.

K Bell, The Surnames of Ulster, 1988:  "Though found in Leinster and Connacht, MacQuaid or MacQuade is common only in Ulster.  There the name is most common in counties Monaghan and Fermanagh, where it is usually spelt MacQuaid, and in Co. Antrim, where MacQuade is the prevalent spelling.  The name was originally in Gaelic MacUaid, 'son of Wat', and was that of a sept of Monaghan centered at Ballyglassloch [now Glaslough].  The origins of this family are obscure, but they were associated with the church at Donagh.  In 1970 the name was the forty-seventh most common in Co. Monaghan and was found throughout the country except the south."

K Durning, The Scotch-Irish, 1991:  The title of this book is misleading; it is actually a compilation of names and their associated locations in both Scotland and Ireland.  The entry for our name indicates:  McQuade, Catholic, Irish, County of Tyrone, Barony of Dungannon, Parish of Agahloo.  The location given is adjacent to the northern tip of County Monaghan.

K Grehan, The Dictionary of Irish Family Names, 1997: The name McQuaid "is fairly numerous throughout Ireland, particularly in Ulster, where its original territory was County Monaghan and, later, Fermanagh and Offaly."

K A letter dated February 24, 1613[-14] from Lord Chichester to Sir John Davies (in the National Library of Ireland at Dublin):  The letter issues a pardon to, among others, Donell oge McQuoad, yeoman of County Down, who was under arrest, but was not considered a "notorious offender nor charged with any criminal offense."

K Report of the Irish House of Commons into Enforced Emigration to America, 1796:  The following entries are found in this report:

County of Monaghan, ordered for transportation, Summer assize 1740, Bryan McQuade, vagabond.

County of Tyrone, ordered for transportation, 26 Mar 1741, Henry McQuade, Bryan McQuade, Roger McQuade, Patrick McQuade, vagabonds.

K Index to the Act or Grant Books, and to Original Wills, of the Dicocese of Dublin, [c. 1638] to the Year 1800:  McQuead, Margaret and Patrick Corrigan, 1741, Marriage License Bond.

K Abstracts of Wills:  1778 will of John Brady, farmer of Bellaghy, Co. Londonderry, lists as a witness, Francis McQuead, Dublin, servant.

K Vicars, Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536 - 1810:  1787, M'Quoid, Thomas, Downpatrick [County Down], merchant.

K County of Armagh, A List of Persons to whom Premiums for sowing Flax-seed in the Year 1796 have been adjudged by the Trustees of the Linen Manufacture:  Under Mullaughbrack, John McQuade and Patrick McQuade are listed.

K Female Orphan Emigrants for Australia:  The following listing is found under the Poor Law Union of Magherafelt:  Sarah McQuade; age - 13; religion - Roman Catholic; origin - The Loop [County Londonderry]; description - mendicant [beggar], orphan, debility sickly; year - 1849.

K List of "Forced Emigrants" from Ireland to Australia; from The National Archives of Ireland:

 K Owners of Land in Ireland, 1876:

* These McQuades are probably related to the McQuaids shown in the following National Genealogical Society MAC (Member's Ancestor Chart), but the exact relationship is unknown.

On the NEXT PAGE is a description of County Monaghan, Donagh Parish, and Glaslough.