The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #13133 Message #2366390
Posted By: Big Tim
15-Jun-08 - 01:00 PM
Thread Name: Origins: facts behind 'Roddy McCorley'
Subject: RE: Origins: facts behind 'Roddy McCorley'
Yes, Henry Joy was a Protestant, as were most of the United Irishmen in the north.
McCorley and McErlane (Roddy's mother's maiden name) are Irish names, not Scottish. In Toome, I was assured that McCorley is a VERY Catholic name. Obviously this does not guarantee that R was a Catholic but it seems more probably.
The older Roddy ballad says Roddy was a Defender, an almost exclusively Catholic organisation. Very few Catholics rebelled in the north but Defenders did take part in the Battle of Antrim.