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Rooney is an Irish Ulster name from more than one Gaelic root.

The main root O'Ruanaidh, meaning "the descendant of the champion", is to be found in county Down, as is the alternate O'Runaidhin.  This Rooney name later spread into north Leitrim and Donegal.  Then there were the Rooneys of county Fermanagh, from the Gaelic O'Maolruanaigh which was anglicized to Mulrooney and Macarooney and later to Rooney.  The village of Roslea in Fermanagh was named by the English from slat-mul-rony or territory of the Rooneys.

Select Rooney Resources on The Internet

• Rooneys of Roslea.  Rooneys from Fermanagh.
• Claire's Ancestry - Rooney.  Rooneys from Fermanagh.
• The Rooneys of East Jarrow.  A Rooney family history.
• The Rooney Family.  Rooneys from County Down to America.

Select Rooney Ancestry

Ireland.  The O'Rooneys were a county Down sept based in the modern parish of Ballyroney. Their name appeared frequently in the ecclesiastical annals of Dromore.  However, these Rooneys are chiefly remembered as poets - starting with Ceallach O'Rooney, recorded as the chief poet of Ireland in 1079, and going through Eoin O'Rooney in the 14th century to William Rooney in the late 19th century.  There are still many Rooneys today in county Down, including the young Rooney Family which performs traditional Irish music around the country. 
  
There was another pocket of Rooneys at Roslea in Fermanagh near the Monaghan border, in Clones parish.  However, because of emigration, the numbers are fewer there today.

England.  The 19th century saw a major Irish migration across the Irish Sea to England where there was work in the new industrial cities.  Lancashire took the greatest share of Rooneys.  Patrick and Julia Rooney, for instance, came to Liverpool with their children in 1835.  These Rooneys generally encountered harsh working conditions and anti-Catholic sentiment, but built their families.  Wayne Rooney the footballer is the most well-known Rooney today.      

America.  The Rooney distribution in America reflects the Irish immigration, into New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.  Although their numbers are less than those in England, their success rate has perhaps been higher.  The Rooneys who run the Steeler football franchise are Pittsburgh's best-known citizens. Frank Rooney who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania made a lot of money through the various businesses he developed.
 
Select Rooney Miscellany

If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for further stories and accounts:

• Rooney Miscellany
  

Select Rooney Names

Ceallach O' Rooney was recorded as the chief poet of Ireland in 1079.
William Rooney was a noted Irish poet involved in the revival of the Gaelic language in the late 19th century.
Art Rooney, the son of Irish immigrants, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers football franchise in the 1930's.  In his 41st season as owner, the club won the Super Bowl. 
Mickey Rooney, born Joseph Yule in Brooklyn in 1920, has been an American movie actor and entertainer since the 1940's.
Andy Rooney is a writer and humorist on American TV.
Wayne Rooney from Liverpool plays football for Manchester United and the England national team. 

Select Rooneys Today

• 12,000 in the UK (most numerous in Lancashire)
• 6,000 in America (most numerous in New York).
• 12,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Ireland)