Middleton Moore O’Malley: Was he who he said he was?

In anticipation of the upcoming Clan Gathering from June 27th to 29th 2025, we will be publishing a few blog posts with updates on the current status of our ongoing research and genetic genealogy projects.

The article below by Brendan O'Malley explores the life of Middleton Moore O'Malley, one of the prominent historical figures associated with the Mayo O'Malley's. His is a fascinating story of a man who rose from humble beginnings to significant social prominence.

Maurice Gleeson

June 2025

Middleton Moore O’Malley: Was he who he said he was?

Brendan O’Malley

(This article was first published in Cathair na Mart, the Journal of the Westport Historical Society, No 39, 2024)

Figure 1: Middleton Moore O'Malley

Middleton Moore O’Malley (c.1826-1902) was an important figure in late nineteenth century Mayo. He was a magistrate, a Westport harbour commissioner, a member of the Grand Jury of Mayo and the owner of Ross House, a substantial property on the shores of Clew Bay near Newport. Although Catholic, he was very much an establishment figure, taking an active part in the political and social life of the county. He considered himself a direct descendant of the O’Malley gaelic chieftains, on a social par with the senior Belclare and Cahernamart branches of the O’Malleys. He was friendly with Sir William O’Malley, the second baronet O’Malley of Rose Hill, and collaborated with Dr Austin O’Malley of Philadelphia in researching his O’Malley ancestry.

His upbringing in Westport was in a family that would have been considered poor compared to the more affluent branches of the O’Malleys, with little social status and few prospects of advancement. He went to London as a young man, where he had a career in the customs service and acquired his fortune through marriage. Wealth acquired, he returned to Mayo, purchased property, married again and set himself up in the role of country gentleman, pillar of society and leader of the O’Malley clan. This elevation was not without its critics, who disputed his origins, his ancestry and even his name.

Middleton Moore, as we shall call him to distinguish him from other Middleton O’Malleys, was born in Westport around 1827. His (Catholic) parents were Peter O’Malley, a saddler and harness-maker, and Julia Tyrrell from Annagh, near the Mayo/Roscommon border.

Major Harold O’Malley, Middleton Moore’s son, describes his father’s ancestry thus: ‘Peter the son of Owen Mór of Burrishoole married his daughter Mary to Teige O’Malley and they had a son also called Peter who was my paternal grandfather.’ Owen Mór was the last recognised chieftain of the O’Malleys in the gaelic tradition.

Peter the saddler also claimed descent through his father Teige from earlier chieftains. Teige was the great great grandson of Captain Thomas O’Malley, who led a contingent of O’Malleys to support Owen Roe O’Neill in 1642. Captain Thomas’ probable father, Edmond O’Malley of Cahernamart, was chieftain of the O’Malley clan in the 1640s, a century before Owen Mór.

Captain Tyrrell O’Malley, Middleton Moore’s second son, gives this account of his grandparents Peter and Julia:

Father was in the Customs. His mother [Julia] Tyrrell of Annagh had as her mother a Lynch of Ballycurran Castle … Peter her husband and my grandfather was a Captain in the American army in the Mexican war [1846-48]. He had no money owned a saddlers shop or military accouterers plus a factory in the [Westport House] demesne and had to leave and go to the USA. His wife was matron after he left of the Poor House [in] Westport. She was born in 1782 and died in 1886  see her tomb in Aughaval cemetery near Westport.

Peter O’Malley is recorded in Pigot’s Trade Directory of 1824 as a saddler and harness maker at the Mall in Westport, Co Mayo. That shop is now O’Donnell’s shoe shop on the North Mall. The O’Donnell family were saddlers and harness makers prior to specialising in shoes.

It is not clear when Peter left his family in Westport to seek his fortune in America. Middleton Moore was born in 1826, suggesting that his father was still in Westport until at least 1825. Tyrrell wrote that ‘Peter … was a Captain in the Mexican War and is buried [at] Pierre [sic] La Chaise Paris.’ The US invasion of Mexico took place between 1846 and 1848, so Peter must have left Ireland for the US before then. In any case, there is no known record of his ever returning to Westport or of how he ended up being buried in Paris. He is recorded as deceased on his son Middleton’s marriage certificate in 1855.

Julia O’Malley was appointed Matron of the newly opened workhouse in Westport in 1845, but was asked to resign by the Board of Guardians and did so on the 29th of April 1846. It is not clear why they were unhappy with her. Her letter of resignation declares her to be a widow and appeals for their help as she and her three orphans faced destitution as a result. Julia’s claim to be a widow and have three destitute orphan children in 1846 is surprising. Her husband Peter was almost certainly still alive, fighting in the US army against Mexico at that time and there do not appear to be any references to siblings of Middleton Moore O’Malley in any of the letters or records consulted to date by the author. Perhaps she married again after Peter decamped for America and had 3 children by that marriage. Further research may reveal more.

The generally accepted story in the family was that Julia was a ‘sewing maid’ to Lady Sligo. It would seem that Lady Sligo took her on in that position after her unsuccessful career as a Matron.

One of the sources of information on Middleton Moore’s life and ancestry was Sir Owen O’Malley. A descendant of the Belclare O’Malley chieftains, he was born and educated in England. He served as a British diplomat from 1911 until his retirement in 1948, when he purchased a coastal house at Rossyvera, between Newport and Mulranny. He devoted his time thereafter to building on his father’s researches into his family history and to restoring Granuaile’s castle at Rockfleet/Carrigahowley. He was particularly interested in the competing claims of the Ross House O’Malleys (Middleton Moore’s line) and his own Belclare line to be the “senior” branch of the clan and his papers in the National Library of Ireland contain considerable material on the topic.

Peter and Julia’s son, Middleton Moore, was born around 1826, based on later records of his age. There is no known extant baptismal certificate or any record of his having any siblings. There has been much discussion about his unusual name and various theories have been put forward. A grandson of Owen Mór of Burrishoole, Patrick O’Malley of Castlebar, had a son called Middleton who married Lavinia Moore from Galway. This Middleton was a brother of the famous Major-General George O’Malley, whose statue stands outside Christ Church in Castlebar. One account has it that Peter the poor Catholic saddler was befriended by his cousin, the Protestant Middleton O’Malley and named his son after him and his wife. Further evidence of contact between the two is that that the premises on the Mall in Westport where Peter the saddler carried on his business in 1824 had been leased by his cousin Middleton in 1799. A second account, provided to Sir Owen by several prominent local citizens (see below), was that Middleton himself adopted the name later in life in an attempt to promote himself. An embellishment of this account suggests that he was given the nickname ‘Middleton’s Máille’ as a result of running errands as a boy for a Dr Middleton and then adopted this as his name later on. There is no doubt, however, that when he first enters the records aged 18, his name was recorded as Middleton O’Malley.

The records of the (later to be Royal) Irish Constabulary include a Middleton O’Malley born in Mayo, who joined in 1845, aged 18, and was stationed in Clare. There is no reference to this appointment in the family records, but Middleton Moore was the right age for this to have been him. At the time the police force might have been a good option for a young man with limited means or prospects. Four years later, however, we find him in London, where he was appointed to the Post Office as a postman. This position was secured on the recommendation of Lady Sligo, his mother’s employer. Family notes suggest that Lady Sligo took an interest in young Middleton and was instrumental in his move to London. He was to spend the next 30 years there.

His fortunes took an upward turn when he stepped into a London street to halt a bolting horse and carriage. The carriage was occupied by Archibella Llewellyn, a wealthy woman, who owned property in the Oxford Street area of central London. Several family letters suggest that her wealth arose from her profession as a high class courtesan; this is not denied by Middleton Moore’s sons. In August 1855 the couple were married at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Islington, London. Despite the venue, there is no record of Middleton converting to the Church of England and in later life he was clearly a Catholic. The marriage certificate gives her age as 35, but her death certificate and census returns suggest she was in her 40s or even 50s at the time of the marriage. Other accounts suggest she was ‘considerably older’ than him. A note in Sir Owen’s papers reads:

   

‘Captain Tyrrell O’Malley told me that [Middleton’s] first wife was called Archibella Melchizidech  Llewellyn. He said Middleton went into the Customs Service in London and married this Archibella who owned some very valuable house property in London somewhere in the Oxford St district, so he thought. According to Tyrell, Middleton and Archibella parted company a few days after their marriage, the latter allowing the former a small allowance. However she subsequently tried to take this away and many legal wrangles resulted. When Archibella was on her deathbed, Middleton forced his way into the house and somehow prevailed upon her to make over her whole fortune to him. It was with this that he returned to Westport [and] began to live in style.’ 

Figure 2: Laetitia Keyes

The 1861 UK census shows Middleton O’Malley, aged 31, from Westport, Ireland, lodging in Islington, London, occupation ‘Outdoor officer, Customs’. The 1871 UK census records him lodging at No.64 Millman Street, London, aged 41, a ‘Customs House weigher’. Both returns record him as married but his wife was not present on either occasion, which suggests that they were living apart, agreeing with Tyrrell’s account above. Archibella died in 1877 and Middleton Moore inherited her considerable fortune. With his new wealth he returned to Westport shortly afterwards.

In 1882 he married Laetitia Keyes, 29, daughter of David Keyes, a veterinary surgeon from Tuam. She was, according to Sir Owen, ‘well remembered in Mayo as an extremely handsome woman’. They initially lived in Westport before moving to Ross House in 1886. Ross House, originally a residence of the O’Donel family, stands on a peninsula of some 70 acres at Rosbeg, near Newport. By all accounts, Laetitia was an ambitious woman and she set about establishing herself and her husband in society. Sir Owen wrote:

 

‘At his wife’s instance and finding that the main branches of the O’Malley family, viz: the O’Malleys of Newcastle, of [Hawthorn] Lodge and of Spencer Park had either become extinct or left the country, he began to call himself “the O’Malley” but this was not at all well received by the inhabitants of Westport and the neighbourhood.’ 

According to Prof Louis Cullen of TCD who investigated O’Malley family papers, Sir Owen did not believe Middleton Moore’s account of his ancestry and set about finding evidence to disprove it. Aided by his sister Marie, he talked to many people about their recollections of the different O’Malley families. One extraordinary document in his papers, handwritten in 1938 by ‘M O’M’ (presumably Marie), recounts the ‘true history’ of the origins of the O’Malley-Keyes family, based on interviews with several prominent citizens of Mayo. They tell of him being called ‘Middleton’s Máille’ arising from running errands for Dr Middleton, of his move to be a postman in London with the aid of Lady Sligo, of his first marriage and of his inheritance. The tone is very much of resentment at some barefoot lad returning as a wealthy man and getting above himself.

As observed by Sir Owen, many of the main landowning branches of the O’Malley family in Mayo had died out or left, one exception being Sir William O’Malley of Rose Hill, a great- great-grandson of Owen Mór of Burrishoole. His father, Sir Samuel O’Malley, was a wealthy man and extensive landowner of O’Malley lands in Co Mayo. He had been created baronet in 1804. After the famine, he got into serious financial difficulties and much of his lands were sold off, leaving his son Sir William, the 2nd baronet O’Malley, in much poorer circumstances, although still recognised as one of, if not the most prominent of the O’Malleys in Mayo at that time. According to Tyrrell and Harold, their grandfather Peter the saddler was very much under Sir Samuel’s patronage.

After his return from London in the late 1870s, Middleton Moore cultivated Sir William, who had succeeded to the baronetcy in 1865, and established himself, in Sir William’s eyes at least, as his nearest next-of-kin. Through his paternal grandmother, Mary O’Malley, Middleton Moore was also a great-great-grandson of Owen Mór of Burrishoole, making them third cousins. This connection to Sir William was the subject of widespread scepticism. In his investigations into the origins of the Ross House O’Malleys in the 1950s, Sir Owen recounted:

‘My own attempts to clear up this matter have consisted for the most part in taking the evidence of such people as Mr James Fitzgerald Kenny of Clogher (Minister of Justice in Mr Cosgrave’s administration), the late Mr JC Garvey (the best known solicitor in Mayo), Mr Michael Egan (the best solicitor in Castlebar), Mrs Browne of Westport, Mrs O’Grady, Mrs McGreal of Belclare and others. All without exception discredit the origins attributed by the Ross House O’Malleys to “Middleton’s Máille”.’

Unfortunately, this account does not give any detail as to which aspects of the Ross House account they took exception to, nor what they believed to be his actual ancestry. According to Tyrrell, his father’s detractors were politically motivated, so perhaps their accounts should be taken with a grain of salt. Neither, of course, can the accounts of Tyrrell and his brother Harold be taken as dispassionate. Whatever the truth was, it is clear how much importance was attached to breeding and ancestry at the time.

Sir William O’Malley died in 1892 and having no male heir, his title died with him. Sir Owen gives the following account of Sir William’s death, quoting John C Garvey, solicitor and James Fitzgerald Kenny. He refers to Sir Samuel but had to have meant Sir William, given that Sir Samuel had died in 1864, well before Middleton’s return from London some 15 years later.

‘Sir Samuel died at Kilboyne in what I gather to have been circumstances of great degradation. Whether he had any money or not I do not know but it is said that at his death Kilboyne (which is now pulled down) was in a very dirty and decrepit condition. He himself lived for the most part in a room on one side of the front door and in the room on the opposite side of the front door he had been accustomed to stack up his papers and letters. This habit of keeping every scrap of paper is characteristic of the Irish in general and of the O’Malleys in particular and in Sir Samuel’s case it had reached such a point that the room to which I have referred is reported to have been [a] foot deep in estate accounts, ledgers, deeds and so on. On the top of this he folded his ewes in hard weather and the state of his family archives at his death can only be imagined. [James F Kenny] tells me that almost before the breath was out of his body a man called Kelly whom I have been unable to identify acting on behalf of the O’Malley Keyes came to Kilboyne and carried away five cartloads of books and papers. Harold O’Malley tells me that Sir Samuel left in his will all his papers and some or all of his money, such as it was to the O’Malleys of Ross House but according to the stories which I have been told locally the papers, at any rate, were removed long before Sir Samuel’s will could be proved or an administrator appointed.'

Middleton Moore felt entitled to take possession of Sir William’s papers. His son Harold wrote: ‘We have the letters from Sir William asking father to go through all the Kilboyne papers and to take and keep whatever he wished.’ It is unfortunate that much of the collection appears to have been lost. Prof. Cullen gives a detailed account of the search for these papers in his excellent and detailed article (quoted earlier), where it is also recounted that the Belclare O’Malleys (Sir Owen’s branch) and the O’Malley baronets had a long-standing difference over ancestral primacy and that the arrival of Middleton Moore on the scene only added flames to the fire.

One significant document that was retained by the Ross House O’Malleys and is now held by Alex Blackwell, is a pedigree compiled in 1832 by Sir William Betham, the Chief Herald of Ireland. The pedigree was commissioned by Sir Samuel O’Malley, 1st baronet. It contains the family tree, extracts from ancient annals, plus transcripts of 16th-century and later documents held by Sir Samuel. It is frequently cited by both Harold and Tyrrell in their correspondence with Sir Owen and with the Genealogical Office, as supporting their position on their ancestry. The pedigree also features revisions made by the Genealogical Office in the 1940s, at Harold’s behest, and Harold’s own handwritten annotations.

Figure 3: Title Page of Betham Pedigree

Interestingly, it makes no mention of the line of Captain Thomas O’Malley who fought with Owen Roe O’Neill in 1642 (though he undoubtedly existed) or of his descendants, including Peter the saddler and Middleton Moore. Furthermore, it only includes the two sons of Owen Mór of Burrishoole who conformed to the Established (Protestant) Church, Patrick and George. Reputedly, Owen Mór had several other sons who remained Catholic, including Peter, whose grandson was Peter the Saddler. So in fact the pedigree neither supports nor refutes Middleton Moore’s account of his ancestry.

In the 1890s Middleton Moore was contacted by Dr Austin O’Malley (1859–1932) of Philadelphia, an American oculist and professor of English literature at the University of Notre Dame. He had a distinguished academic career and had become interested in his family history, making several research trips to Ireland. He traced his ancestry to Melaghlin O’Malley, chieftain c.1576-86, and placed Middleton Moore’s ancestor Captain Thomas O’Malley in the same line. He claimed that Melaghlin was the brother of Gráinne Ní Mháille (Granuaile/Grace O’Malley), a disputed claim that has been often repeated but for which no earlier source has been found. There were certainly errors in Dr Austin’s work, which has been a source of considerable confusion for those trying to piece together 15th-16th century O’Malley relationships. Sir Owen comments: ‘Dr Austin’s work on family history has been very painstakingly examined and unreservedly condemned as unreliable by the Genealogical Office, Dublin Castle, with whose conclusions I am bound to say I agree.’ Nonetheless, Dr Austin won Middleton Moore’s confidence and was allowed to consult his papers and documents. He produced a family tree whose contents have found their way into many other O’Malley trees since then and were the basis for the 1940s revisions to the 1832 Betham pedigree.

Between 1882 and 1894, Middleton and Laetitia had five children: Middleton Joseph, Tyrrell, Harold, Gladys and Nina. The boys were educated at English public schools and all later entered military service. Middleton joined the army and served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. Tyrrell served in the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the 7th Bengal Lancers, spending most of the First Word War as a German prisoner-of-war. Harold joined the fledgling Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Air Force), and reached the rank of major.

Middleton Moore O’Malley died at home in Ross House in 1902. Resolutions of sympathy from Westport Harbour Commissioners and Westport and Newport magistrates were conveyed to his widow. He is buried in Aughaval cemetery outside Westport.

The girls were still young (12 and 8) when their father died. In his will, he left everything to his widow Laetitia, with the exception of legacies of £1,000 for each of his daughters. In due course, their mother’s focus turned to finding them good husbands. According to Sir Owen’s sources (Mrs Browne of Shop St et al):

 

she set about marrying her daughters, “lovely girls they were”...for this laudable purpose [she] “settled herself down in the hotel at Mullerany [sic], in the height o’ the season” & there fell on strangers in the lounge & introduced them to her daughters. The first success was Sir Walter Nugent, a railway director. Having got onto terms with him at the hotel, she gave a great dinner for him at her house - the linen & napkins were borrowed from Browne’s Drapery Emporium & the cutlery from Mrs Gibbons next door in Westport. The same or similar tactics produced Mr Blackwell of Crosse & Blackwell for another daughter.

Middleton Moore’s grandson, Captain Hamilton O’Malley, married Lady Iris Mountbatten, a cousin of King George VI, during the Second World War. A great-grandson, Chris Blackwell, was the founder of Island Records in the 1960s. Ross House was lived in by the O’Malleys and Blackwells until Meike Blackwell’s death in 2022, after which it was put up for sale by Chris Blackwell.

At this remove, it is difficult to reach any categoric conclusions about Middleton’s exact place in the O’Malley family tree. However, the O’Malley DNA project, conducted by the O’Malley Clan Association, has made it clear that the Ross House O’Malleys are indeed related to other O’Malleys whose family records indicate descent from the O’Malley chieftains, although there is not yet enough information to be sure about the precise details of their common descent. As additional O’Malleys join the project in the future, we hope that a more complete picture of the genetic family tree will emerge.

There is no doubt, however, that Middleton Moore O’Malley held a substantial position in Co Mayo society in the second half of the nineteenth century. He was a notable public figure and served in various roles in public life befitting his position. His remarkable ascent to such a position from poor beginnings inevitably invited detractors, but he and his family remained undeterred in asserting their position as one of the leading lines of noble O’Malley descent.

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Brendan O’Malley is an independent researcher, a former Chieftain of the O’Malley Clan and an co-administrator of the O’Malley DNA project on www.FTDNA.com. The project is led by genetic genealogist Dr Maurice Gleeson who has also found many of the source documents cited.

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Figure 1 by kind permission of Dermot O’Malley, great grandson of Middleton Moore O’Malley

Figure 2 by kind permission of the University of Galway Library

Figure 3 by kind permission of Alex Blackwell.