Talk:Mary Molony

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The images used in this page are marked as copyright of the British Newspaper Archive. They are used here under a Fair Use licence to improve the quality of this page. The images included have been widely shared on social media and blogging sites detailing Mary Maloney, including the copyright holders, BNA, The Irish Times and the Dundee Courier. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Macfack (talk • contribs) 12:46, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Different names attributed to Mary Maloney
There are various mis-spellings of her name which make it difficult to find accurate sources. Usual mis-spellings of Maloney/Molone/Molony in various press articles and Suffragette rolls of honour from around 1908. Contemporary media seems to prefer Mary Maloney. Archived newspapers from 1908 often use Molony.

With her age reported as 24 in 1908 the 1891 Census suggests that her birthname is Molone (parents John and Hannah Molone moved from Ireland to Tyne and Wear.)

There are a few instances of her first name being given as Dorothy in the Dundee Courier. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Macfack (talk • contribs) 13:04, 28 September 2020 (UTC)


 * She was arrested during a protest at the House of Commons in October 1908 under the name Dorothy Molony. This is widely reported in the mainstream press, as are the court proceedings which follow. We can tie this woman to the bell ringer of Dundee through an article in The Woman Worker (4th November 1908) which specifically states that connection.
 * In December 1908, she spoke at the Hillhead (Glasgow) Branch of the WFL. Advertising for this event in Women's Franchise lists her as Dorothy Molony.
 * The vast majority of contemporary press reports only refer to her as Miss Molony/Maloney/etc.
 * Her death is reported in The Vote (9th December 1921) giving her full name, Horatia Dorothy Malony Lancaster, and she is also referred to as 'our old comrade, Dolly Malony' in this article.
 * The record of her marriage to Egbert T Lancaster in 1911 gives her name as Horatia D. Molony-O'Connor (and Horatia D. M. O'Connor).
 * The record of her death in 1921, gives her name as Horatia D. M. Lancaster and her age as 37.
 * It is, however, entirely unclear where the name 'Mary Maloney', which is used in many modern articles about her, has come from.
 * LesleyMitchell (talk) 14:36, 16 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Oh, and the 1911 Census has the pair married (for less than a year) and living together as boarders in Hammersmith LesleyMitchell (talk) 14:59, 16 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Has one person ever had so many name variants! Some recent digging by Irish editors has revealed that Mary was born Horatia Dorothy Moloney O'Connor (not to John and Hannah Molone) in Sandycove, Co. Dublin in 1878. I've updated the article to reflect this spelling of Moloney, though left contemporary sources' variant spellings of Maloney / Malony / Molony. She seems to have been known as Dorothy (formally) and Dolly (informally) rather than Mary. The article's title seems increasingly inaccurate. Gillaween (talk) 16:33, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Brilliant. Thank you!
 * I have tried to get the article moved before, but it was reverted.
 * Interestingly, she'd have actually been 43 when she died in 1921 rather than 37 as recorded. LesleyMitchell (talk) 17:54, 29 January 2022 (UTC)