James and Margaret Moore with their eight sons, including shiny-shoed George on the right and their only daughter Irene, who must have felt quite profoundly individual among all those strapping fellows.

*****

The Moore family tree – the numbers beside some of the names are detailed in footnotes below, while many of the cast are also profiled in the main body of the txt below.

*****

My wife Ally was born a Moore. It is thought that her family moved from Scotland to Ireland in the second plantation of Ulster after the 1641 rebellion was crushed by General Monroe’s army. Others propose that they came in the wake of William III’s victory over the Jacobites in 1691. They appear to have settled in the area around Loughgall and Grange in County Armagh where church records name various Moores living in the townland of Ballymagerny, just north of Loughgall, as well as two James Moores in Derrycrew (the townland north of Ballymagerny), and also at Coragh, just west of Derrycrew, in 1750. There were also Moores living in Ballybrannan, south of Loughgall.

Ally’s ancestors lived in Ardrea (meaning ‘grey hill’), which was also south of Loughgall. Like Ballytyrone to its east, Ardrea was part of the Manor of Drumilly, located in in the Barony of Oneilland West.

The Copes of Drummilly

Drumilly was the home of the Cope family, who had been taken prisoner during the 1641 rebellion. In 1673, Walter Cope of Drumilly received a visit from the Blessed Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh; Walter apparently considered sending his son to Plunkett’s academy in Drogheda. The Copes are also said to have protected Plunkett when he was on the run from the authorities.

Robert Cope of Loughgall, Tory MP for Armagh (1713-14, 1727-53) married Elizabeth Fownes, daughter of Sir William Fownes, and was friends of Dean Swift who visited Loughgall in 1717.   Robert later became a Whig, at which time Swift turned his back on him.

Thomas Moore (1730-1796) – The Flax Grower

Ardrea townland, marked in blue, is located south of Loughall and north-west of Richill.

The Cope’s estate records include a lease, dated 27 May 1820, by Sarah Moore (1760-1820) of 15 acres and 3 roods at Ardrea from Arabella Cope ‘for the heirs and assigns of James Moore … for the natural lives of the Duke of Gloucester and Princess Sophia, brother and sister to His Present Majesty, King George IV’ for a yearly rent of £30. Arabella and a Robert Moore (1792-1876), believed to be Sarah’s son, signed an additional lease on 5 acres, 3 roods, 15 perches at Ardrea on 19 January 1824 for £25 a year. Both Moores signed with an X. By this time, the Moores were small-scale tenant farmers, possibly growing flax and weaving linen. There is a strong possibility that their settling in Ardrea was an expansion of the family from Ballybrannan because of its close proximity to Ardrea.

The above-named James is thought to have been a grandson of another James Moore of County Armagh, and a son of Thomas Moore (1730-1796), recorded as a flax grower.[25] This flax-growing Thomas had at least four sons, including James (1760-c.1820) who married Sarah and leased the 15 acres from Arabella Cope.

Robert Moore (1792-1876) of Ardrea

James and Sarah’s younger son Robert Moore (1792-1876) was a freeholder on the Cope estate at Drumilly, near Loughgall, and had been at Ardrea in the parish of Richill since at least 1820.  It is possible that he also worked on the railway, which reached Armagh on 1 March 1848.

Robert and his wife Ellen Moore (d. 1884) had at least eight children. Five of their six sons moved to Canada, settling first in Ontario, while some of their families later moved south to the USA. Among these emigrants was ‘Blind David’ Moore who was born to Robert and Ellen on 30 December 1837. David was blinded by smallpox while in Canada but that didn’t stop him returning to Ireland several times. He lived with his niece Eleanor Jane at Annaghbeg in 1911.

Tom Moore (1835-1887) – The Huntsman

Tom Moore (1835-1887), a well-known huntsman and farmer, was the son of Robert and Ellen Moore of Ardrea. Born on 2 June 1835, he was 22 years old when he was married on 26 June 1857 to 26-year-old Margaret Clarke. She was a daughter of George Clarke, principal of Ballytyrone [Ballytrane] School, which was founded in 1798 by the Cope Family. Margaret’s mother Elizabeth Clarke (née Andrews) may have been the daughter of a Colonel Andrews. It is likely she had several brothers.  Margaret also taught at Ballytyrone.

When his sons George and James were born in 1864 and 1866, Tom described himself as a huntsman but when his third and fourth sons Willie and Bob were born in 1869 and 1873 respectively, he described himself as a ‘labourer’ both times. And yet he was both ‘farmer and huntsman’ when his daughter Emily Margaretta Moore was born in 1877.

He was huntsman with the Armagh Hunt at the time of the Land Wars. At the St Patrick’s Day meeting at Tyros [?] in 1881, when the Armagh beagles were hunting a fox, ‘Tom Moore, the huntsman, was punctually in attendance with sixteen couples of hounds, which were in splendid condition.’  On 25 November 1882, the Portadown Times reported on a meeting of the Armagh Hunt at Enniskillen Gate, the residence of Captain Coote, near Armagh, and told how ‘Tom Moore, the huntsman, arrived at the meet at twelve o’clock sharp with the hounds and a start having been made, a hare of the right sort was quickly sohoed away on a farm belonging to Surgeon Major Lavery JP in the townland of Ballyhadden’. Joseph Atkinson, JP, was master at this time, while the pack in 1882 consisted of 15 couple, six having been presented by Sir Vincent Corbet.

The master was Joseph Atkinson, J.P., of Summer Island, Loughall, who was badly wounded while hunting in later February 1883. According to the Ulster Gazette of 1 March 1883,:

‘At the hunt on Monday last, Tom Moore, the huntsman, was besieged with inquirers after Mr. Atkinson’s condition, and everywhere expressions of regret were heard at what had occurred.’

Mr Atkinson evidently bounced back as he was in the field when the Irish Times of 29 October 1883 (p. 7) carried this account of another grand day out:

‘Armagh, Saturday – Yesterday the opening meet of this club for what promises to be a most successful season took place at the Kennels, about four miles from this town. The weather was unfavourable, rain falling at intervals during the morning, but notwithstanding this drawback there was a large attendance of the lovers of the sport. At twelve o’clock Tom Moore, the huntsman, turned out sixteen couples of spotted beauties in the very pink of condition, and after a few minutes’ delay a start was effected. Passing over Ballytyrone hill only a short time elapsed in finding a hare of the right sort, which a capital run, crossing the railway and on to Hockley, near the residence of Lady Margaret Strong. Here the hare doubled to the right and came back by Ardrea, and Drumilly, where she was run into and killed, Miss Cope getting the brush. After a few minutes’ delay the field crossed Richill road into the fields on the other side, and almost immediately another hare was put up. This was also a good runner, and she brought the field on to Tullyroan Castle and back to the kennels. It was now getting late in the evening, and the hounds were whipped off, puss effecting her escape so as to afford another day’s sport. During the day a large number of the country people were present, and entered into the sport with the same good humour for which they have been always remarkable. Amongst those out were—Joseph Atkinson. Esq., J.P., Summer Island, Loughgall (Master), and Mrs Atkinson ; George Cope, Esq., and Miss Cope, Drumilly; J. P. Cope, Esq, The Manor; Mrs Johnston, Armagh; Thomas Lonsdale, Esq., The Pavilion, Armagh; A. Banbury [Bunbury?], Esq , Royal Irish Fusiliers, Armagh; Miss Purdon, Belfast, &c.’

There are other records of Tom as huntsman here, which I have yet to look at.

Tom Moore was so ill at the time of a meet on 8 February 1884 that George Ferguson was acting huntsman in his place; Marcus Beresford and James Lonsdale were among those riding out that day. Tom died on 13 May 1887. According to Pat Reilly’s book ‘Loughgall: A Plantation Parish’ (Trimprint, 1995), the members of the Armagh hunt erected a headstone to Tom in the parish graveyard at Loughgall. There is a photo of Margaret and their daughter Emily standing by the headstone.

Elizabeth Willoughby

Tom and Margaret’s eldest daughter Elizabeth Louisa was born in 1858 and married a Mr Willoughby of New York. She may have been called Eliz Laura. One record says she emigrated to Nottingham

Eleanor Scott (1861-1922)

Tom and Margaret’s second daughter Eleanor Jane (1861-1922) married either William Scott of Dungannon (1863-1908) or Thomas William Scott of Annaghbeg, Donaghmore.

Tom and Margaret’s oldest son George Clarke Moore  (1864-1895) was born at Ballytyrone on 10 February 1864. His birth was registered on 2 March 1864. He served with the Royal Marines but died in India as a young man.

Gordon Moore, son of Leslie Moore of Mount Avenue, Dundalk, pictured at his 1973 wedding to Anne McNamee. Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal, 28 September 1973

William Moore (1869-1949), LMS Inspector

Tom and Margaret’s third son (Thomas) William Moore (1869-1949) was an Inspector for the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway and a Station Master. Known as Uncle Willie, he married Adel Harvey from Castlebellingham County Louth. Their firstborn daughter Margaret Helena was born in Dublin in 1895 and died in Belfast in 1908. Their firstborn son George was born at Stationhouse, Beragh, Omagh, in 1896 and died in 1958, having married Daisy. (A  painting of the Station House in Beragh by by local artist William M. Park is available here.) A second daughter Hilda Louisa was born in 1897 at Stationhouse, Beragh, and died on Ruth Street, Belfast in 1908. A second son (Robert) Alan Moore (1902-1938) was also born at Beragh, worked in Belfast Drapers shop on Bridge Street, Portadown, married Evelyn Douglas (1908-1976) and had issue Maureen, Harvey, Alan and Douglas, raised at Adelaide, Whitehouse. A third son Richard Norman Moore (1901-1924) died on Rath Street, Dundalk, while Edward, born in 1903, died as a baby. Four of Wille’s children died young from TB. However, there were three more surviving sons – Edmund ‘Eddie’ Moore (1912-2003); Harold (1905-2001), an RUC officer at Dromore; and Raymond (1908-1997), an RUC officer, who married Barrie. [Raymond and Barrie had a daughter Barbara Gillespie and a son Walter Moore, a member of the RUC, who was shot at the Oldpark Road, Belfast.]  In 1940, Uncle Willie had an address at Whitehouse, Belfast in 1940. He then went to live with his niece, Emily Margaret Scott in the village of Donaghmore, County Tyrone. He died on 3 September 1949.

Bob Moore (1873-1960), Stationmaster

Tom and Margaret’s fourth and youngest son Robert Moore (1873-1960) was born on 5 August 1873, at which time Tom again described himself as a labourer. Louise Moore, perhaps Thomas’s sister, was sponsor.

Robert, known as ‘Uncle Bob’, started his railway career at Richill Station. He went on to serve as stationmaster in Culloville, Scarva (8 years), Warrenpoint, Goraghwood and Dungannon (8 years) before becoming stationmaster at Dundalk Junction in 1927. Known to his grandchildren as ‘Pops,’ Bob married Sara Jane Spindlow from Belfast, with whom he had a son and four daughters:

1. Leslie Moore, sometimes Ledlie Moore, of Dundalk. (Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal, 21 May 1960). He was mentioned as a nephew of James Moore at the latter’s funeral in 1940. Gordon Moore, son of Leslie Moore of Mount Avenue, Dundalk, was married in 1973 to Anne McNamee. Uncle Bob died on 27 May 1960.
2. Betrice / Beatrice Moore, unmarried, lived in Banbridge.
3. Robina married Michael Steen of Ardee, with whom she had a son Laurence (Larry), and three daughters, Anne Marie (married Brien Flanagan England), Olivia (married Michael Finnegan, Ardee), and Dympna Doherty of Dunboyne, County Meath. After Michael’s death in 1958, Robina was married, secondly, to Laurence McDonald [of Dungannon?]. Robina died in 2010.
4. Irene, married Mr Templeton, a bank manager, with whom she had a son, Brian, a neurosurgeon who died in Canada.
5. Margaret, known as Gertie, who married (1) Leander Richardson of Dungannon and (2) Geoff Gardiner of Oxfordshire. She died in the UK. Her daughter Irene had a son and a daughter.

Bob was still based in Dundalk at the time of his father’s funeral in 1940, living at Kylemore, Mount Avenue, Dundalk. Bob died on 27 May 1960.

NB: I previously had Bob’s wife Eliza Jane Freeman / Leeman of Dundalk, but this was corrected by Bob’s grandson Laurence Steen in April 2023.

Robert Moore and wife Sarah (née Spindlow) in Bangor. With thanks to Larry Steen.

Robert and Sarah Moore with their children at the Station Master’s house in Dundalk. With thanks to Larry Steen, whose mother Robina is the youngest child in the photo.

Emily Proctor (1878-1910)

Tom and Margaret’s third and youngest daughter Emily Margaret Moore (1878-1910) was born on 21 May 1877, at which time Ellen Jane Moore (another sister of Tom) was sponsor. She married Thomas William Proctor on 16 December 1908 but died on 4 March 1910, aged 32, giving birth to William Norman. Her husband Thomas William Proctor died on 2 October 1966. Norman died on 11 July 1972.

James Moore (1866-1940) – The Blacksmith

Margaret Moore, née Scott.

James Moore.

Tom and Margaret’s second son James Moore was born on 29 April 1866, at which time his father was described as huntsman. He was working as a blacksmith and living in Ardrea by the time he was married on 25 January in 1895, aged 29.

His bride was 23-year-old Margaret Scott (1872-1955), known as Maggie, daughter of James Scott (d. 1915) and his wife Eliza (née Brownlee) of Annacramp and Annaghmore, County Armagh. According to a post by Pricilla Anderson (née Scott) in September 2007, Annacamp was also known as Scott’s Corner (farmed in 2007 by Pricilla’s brother) and is located 2.5 miles from Armagh on the Loughgall Road.

Tom and Maggie were married in the parish church of Grange, Loughgall, County Armagh, ‘according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of Ireland by licence’ by WG Murphy, DD, incumbent. The witnesses were Emily Margretta Moore and Lizzie Scott. Over the next eighteen years, Maggie would beget eight sons and a daughter for James.

By the time their first child Thomas Moore was born at the end of that year, 16 December 1895, the newlyweds were living in Crenagh in the parish of Richill. They remained at Crenagh (once spelled as Greenagh) throughout this period. James was consistently described as a blacksmith on the children’s birth record although he also entered ‘farmer’ on the 1911 census. A second son, Albert, was born in 1898, followed by George (1901); he was Archie and Helen’s father. Then came Robert Winfield Moore (1903), David Harold Moore (1905), John Cecil Moore (1907) and Herbert Stanley Moore (1909).  At long last came a daughter, Irene Elizabeth Moore, born on 18 November 1911. They were still at Ardrea when Margaret delivered an eighth son, Horace Gordon Moore, on 27 April 1913.

When James died on 12 November 1940, his funeral in Loughgall was covered in the Portadown Times.

‘The cortege was representative of all creeds and classes, and was the largest seen in the district for years … Aged 74 years, Mr Moore, a blacksmith to trade, enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him, his quiet and unassuming disposition winning him countless friends. He was the second son of the late Thomas Moore, huntsman to Armagh Hunt Club for 35 years, and of the late Mrs Margaret Moore, who under the principalship of her father (Master George Clarke) taught in the local school, Ballytyrone, for many years. He was a member of the congregation of Loughgall Parish Church. In addition to his wife, he is survived by eight sons and a daughter. The sons … acted as pallbearers at the funeral.’

The Portadown News agreed that he was ‘held in high esteem by reason of his straightforwardness of manner and warmth of speech.’

Margaret Moore died aged 83 at the Lurgan and Portadown Hospital on 12 October 1955, having been ill for just over a week. The Portadown News reported on her funeral in its edition of Saturday 22 October 1955:

‘MRS. MARGARET MOORE – Borne on the shoulders of her eight sons, the remains of the late Mrs. Margaret Moore, Ardrea, Loughgall, were laid to rest in Loughgall Churchyard on Friday of last week. She had reached an advanced age and was predeceased by her husband fifteen years ago. Formerly Miss Scott. of Annacramp. Mrs. Moore was a survivor of the Armagh railway disaster. (1889) The deceased was highly respected and well-known for her Christian Qualities. She was a lifelong and faithful member of the Church of Ireland. Her passing will be deeply regretted by all who knew and came in contact with her. The funeral was largely attended and the services were conducted by Rev. Canon F. H. Kinch. M.A., rector of Loughgall, and Rev. C. S. Lowry. B.A.. rector of Grange. Mrs. Moore is survived by her eight sons and one daughter. Many floral tributes were received from relatives and close personal friends.’

Given that so many of the Moores were involved with the railways, they must have been profoundly impacted by the  Armagh Rail Disaster of 12 June 1889 – in which 80 people were killed and 260 injured, including a teenaged Margaret Moore.

Margaret’s brother William Scott was living at Annacrump at the time of James Moore’s death in 1940.

An ‘Acrostic’ prayer was found on old paper, circa 1855, with the first letter of each line spelling out Margaret’s name:

My will, Lord, bend to thee,
All needful blessings grant,
Remove each stain of guilt,
Grace in my heart implant.
A home on high I seek.
Realms bright ****,
Eternal glory give,
Triumphant let me be.

Tom Moore (b. 1895) – The Violin Maker

Tommy Moore

James and Maggie’s eldest son Thomas William Moore, known as Tom or Tommy, was born on 16 December 1895 and spent his early years  in Crenagh. He married Ellie Sewell from Fermanagh, who was born in 1897, with whom he had two daughters, Eily and Doreen. Tom was a violin maker.

At the time of his mother’s death in 1955, he was living in Dundalk.

On 6 July 1956, the Portadown News published his photo along with this story:

‘THERE must be only a very small number of people in Ireland who now practice the craft of making violins. One of these is Thomas William Moore, stationmaster at Newtownbutler. Co. Fermanagh.
One of his violins was played recently by the conductor of the Colwyn Bay Municipal Orchestra, Charles Harberreiter.
When Mr. Moore was on holiday with his daughter Elizabeth (Mrs. Elizabeth Snowden) in Wales, he met Mr. Harberreiter, told him he had made a violin, and asked him to try it.
The conductor found it so good that he asked if he might play it at his Pier concert.
That night he played two pieces from his repertoire and told the audience the instrument was home-made by “Mr. Moore of Ireland.” who was in the audience.’

Albert Moore (1898-1974) – The Last Blacksmith

Albert Moore.

Albert Moore, James and Maggie’s second son, was born on 29 January 1898; his aunt Emily Moore stood as his sponsor.

According to Pat Reilly’s book ‘Loughgall: A Plantation Parish’ (Trimprint, 1995):

‘The village forge closed down almost 30 years ago. The last blacksmith to work there was Albert Moore who had been apprenticed to his father, James Moore of Ardrea and Crenagh. Albert Moore was a veteran of the Battle of the Somme. His grandfather Tom Moore was a well-known huntsman for whom members of the Armagh erected a headstone in the parish graveyard’.

His full name was James Albert Moore and he is sometimes described as ‘J.A. Moore.’ When he died on 25 November 1974, aged, 78, he was buried alongside his parents in Loughgall and also his wife Mary Elizabeth (née Lawe), who died on 6 December 1935, aged 30. She came from Fermanagh and may have worked with the Copes of Drumilly.

In August 1954, their daughter (Margaret Elizabeth) Dorothy Moore married Thomas Dixon, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Dixon, Montella, Richhill.  (Ruby) Patricia Moore, Ardrea, sister of the bride, was bridesmaid. (Portadown Times, 20 August 1954, here). As well as Dorothy and Patricia, Albert had a son James.

George Scott Moore (1901-1995) – Director of Shillington’s

George and Lily Moore on left. I’m not sure who is on the right … yet!

James and Maggie’s third son George – my wife Ally’s grandfather – was born on 18 September 1901. He was too young to serve in the Great War but he was not too young to find employment In 1916, aged fifteen, he went to work in the firm of T.A. Shillington & Son Ltd. of Castle Street, Portadown, where he would remain for the next 62 years.

The firm was run by the Shillingtons, a prominent Methodist mercantile family. It was founded in 1835 by 35-year-old Thomas Averell Shillington (1800-1874). It traced its origins to 1800 when his father Thomas Shillington (1767-1830) bought it from John Stanley, whose uncle Henry Robb – a Church Warden at Drumcree in 1803 – had been Portadown’s first coal and timber merchant. By 1830 Thomas was the largest purchaser of grain in the district, with boat loads coming from Tyrone across Lough Neagh and up the river to his quay.

Shillington’s became one of the largest users of the Portadown waterways, owning four barges, which came and went from Shillington’s Quay, drawing coal, timber and iron along the inland stretch between Portadown and Newry. Indeed, it was the Newry Canal that established Portadown as a leading inland port. One of its best known locks was Moneypenny’s Lock.

Barges at Shillington’s Quay, Portadown. From Anthony Shillington, ‘The Shillingtons of Portadown’, Journal of The Craigavon Historical Society, 2008.

In an article entitled ‘The Shillingtons of Portadown’ published in  the 2008 edition of the Journal of The Craigavon Historical Society, Anthony Shillington wrote:

‘Goods could be unloaded from barges and lighters at the company’s own private quay on the River Bann, brought via the Newry and Lagan canals; there was also a town quay where timber was unloaded. Many Portadown factories, flour mills and business premises made use of the waterways for transport of freight, none more so than TA Shillington’s. [It] eventually became not only one of Portadown’s foremost companies but also the biggest provincial builder’s merchants operating inland, i.e. not at a seaport in Northern Ireland. Latterly the company supplied primarily the building trade but also the vibrant farming community and also the maintenance requirements of businesses such as Ulster Lace, Spence Bryson, Henry Denny, Ulster Carpet Mills and the Metal Box Company … . Its business covered a wide area around Portadown, including Lurgan, Moira, Dromore, Armagh and Dungannon, and it had a fine reputation throughout the province and an excellent morale among the workforce. Davy Gordon built up the plumbing department to be the largest supplier of plumbing products in the province.’

Matt Lamb, George Moore, Herbert Whitten and Samuel Fergus at Shillington’s in 1924. From Anthony Shillington, ‘The Shillingtons of Portadown’, Journal of The Craigavon Historical Society, 2008.

 

Archie Moore

The Shillingtons were closely associated with the Thomas Street Methodist Church in Portadown, where there are a number of memorials, while the family burial-ground was at the parish church in Drumcree Parish.

With the Great War, Major David Graham Shillington (1872-1944), Anthony’s grandfather and Do’s brother, set off for France in October 1915 with his nephew Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather and his own eldest son Tom. David survived and was a Unionist MP in the first Stormont Government, after partition, retaining his seat until 1941. The two younger men were not so lucky. 1916, the year George joined the firm, was infamous in Ulster for the horrors of the Somme, in which thousands of Ulstermen were killed or wounded on 1 July alone. Among the dead was Geoffrey Shillington Cather, who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross after his heroics. The following year, the Shillington’s lost another family member when 19-year-old Tom Shillington was killed at Passchendaele in 1917. The Shillington Room at Castle Park School in Dalkey was named for him.

George Moore married Lily Hewitt (1904-1990), an enthusiast for sensible tweeds, who was trained as a teacher at Kildare Place in Dublin. George and Lily had a son Harold (aka the surgeon Archie Moore, who died in 2001) and two daughters, (Eileen) June (d. 2015, married Rex Galway, Killinchy) and Helen (who married Raymond Price, Derryhale.) [26]

Lily Moore (née Hewitt) with her fellow pupils at Ballynahinch School, County Down, and a close up of Lily.

The Moores were living at Ballyoran Hill in the Drumcree part of Portadown, where Archie was born and raised. They later moved to Drumnahuncheon, aka Drumnahunshin, near Balboran (just north of Richill and east of Loughgall) on the A3 (Armagh Road), where they lived on a fruit and chicken farm.

Lily died on 7 January 1990, aged 86. George Moore then went to live with Archie at Bishopscourt, Clones, County Monaghan, and died on 9 August 1995, aged 93.

George and Lily and buried alongside George’s parents in Loughgall.

George Moore, looking suspiciously like the actor Mathew Goode.

Wingfield Moore.

Harold Moore.

Wingfield Moore (1903-1994) of Ardrea

(Robert) Wingfield Moore, James and Maggie’s fourth son, was born on 27 September 1903.

Wingfield never married and was the last of the Moores to live at Ardrea.

Harold Moore  (1905-1986) – The Cabinet Maker

(David) Harold Moore, James and Maggie’s fifth son, was born on 8 August 1905. He also never married, worked as a cabinet maker and lived at Ardrea along with his brother Wingfield. He was a godson of Margaret Rodgers. My wife’s father Archie was probably named Harold for this uncle, who died on 1 April 1986, aged 80. He was buried in Loughgall along with his parents, brothers Albert, George and Wingfield, and his sister-in-law Lily Moore.

Cecil Moore.

Cecil Moore (1907-??) The Policeman

Born on 2 February 1907, Cecil John Moore was James and Maggie’s sixth son. He was best man at his brother Stanley’s wedding in 1935. By the time of his mother’s death in 1955, he was a constable with the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Dunmurry. (Portadown Times, 21 October 1955).

By his wife Nan (née Crawford), Cecil had three daughters,  Grace Audry, Renee and Patricia James.

Stanley and Evelyn Moore’s wedding was on the front page of the Ballymena Weekly Observer of 15 June 1935. The full caption read: ‘Mr. Herbert Stanley Moore, son of Mr. J. Moore and Mrs. Moore, Loughgall,  leaving St Simon’s Parish Church, Donegall Road, Belfast, with his bride, Miss Evelyn Spratt, daughter of Mr. John Spratt and Mrs. Spratt, Belfast. Also in the picture are: – The Misses Margaret, Cathleen, and Florence Spratt (Bridesmaids), Mr. C. Moore (Best Man), and The Rev. G. W. Maguire.’

Flight Lieutenant Stanley Moore (1909-1991)

Stanley Moore.

Stanley Herbert Moore, James and Maggie’s seventh son, was born on 10 July 1909. He attended the Portadown Technical School. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft apprentice in January 1926 and was trained at the RAF Technical College, Halton, from where he passed out with distinction in 1929. He served subsequently at No. 5 Flying Training School, Sealand, and at RAF Repair Depot, Aboukir, Egypt.

He was posted to Northern Ireland in 1935 to serve at 502 (Ulster) Squadron, Aldergrove, where he was aero engine instructor. Such men were critical to maintaining aircraft for squadron operations. Air Vice Marshal Robert Dickinson Oxland CB CBE RAF (1889-1959), the very first Squadron Commander of 502 (B) Squadron, went on to serve in Bomber Command during World War II and worked alongside Bomber Harris in the early days of the RAF bomber offensive.

Stanley was on the hockey team who won the R.A.F. Shell Cup in 1933-1934.

In the Moore archives sent to me by Helen Price, née Moore, there is a hand-written article called ‘A Stanley Story,’ that reads as follows:

‘Reggie Semple’s mother was Aida Scott. She worked, as a young lady, in the Belfast shop of Robinson and Cleaver, opposite the City Hall. On one of her visits to her home at Annacramp, she was accompanied by a friend, Evelyn Spratt. The Spratt’s lived on the Donegal Road. After tea, Grannie Scott (Elizabeth Woodhouse – Lilly) decided to read the tea leaves in each cup. In Evelyn’s cup she could see her meeting, and marrying a man in uniform. Later that day, Stanley Moore, in his R.A.F. uniform walked into the house. Stanley, the son of Margaret Moore née Scott, was a full cousin. Evelyn and Stanley later met and were married in 1938. He often joked about marrying Evelyn and her five sisters. Stanley, after leaving the R.A.F., lived in Belfast in Cicilly Park, close to the King’s Hall. They had two sons. True or false!’

On 5 June 1935, Stanley married Evelyn Spratt, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Spratt of 308 Donegall Road, Belfast. A guard of honour composed of St Simon’s Church Lads Cadets and Training Corps was drawn up outside the church, St Simon’s on Donegall Road for the occasion. Cecil Moore was his brother’s best man and the bride’s three sisters were bridesmaids. Their wedding photo (above) appeared on the back page of the Belfast Telegraph (6 June) and in the Ballymena Weekly Observer (15 June).

Stanley Moore in Egypt.

On 30 July 1937, the Ballymena Observer recorded that Herbert Stanley Moore, RAF, Aldergrove, had signed as an amateur half-back for Ballymena United. In January 1939, he was posted to HMS Ark Royal as senior engineer in a Fighter Squadron.

Britain was about to embark on a major upgrade of the RAF. In September 1938, its defence comprised of just 26 fighter squadrons, of which only six possessed modern monoplanes. Helped by Chamberlain’s delay tactics at Munich, the RAF was greatly boosted when half of all government revenue was spent on armaments. By the summer of 1940, the RAF had ten times as many aircraft as it had possessed in 1938.

Sergeant Stanley Moore, RAF, was unable to attend his father’s funeral on 23 November 1940 due to his military commitments, reported the Portadown News

He saw active service at Narvick and in the Mediterranean before he left the Ark Royal in 1941. The night before that ship was sunk, he gave a talk to cadets of the ATC about his experience: ‘the Graf Spee, Altmark, Dunkerkque, Admiral Scheer, Narvik, Freetown, South Atlantic raiders, and meeting General de Gaulle.’ (Portadown Times, 21 November 1941)

On 2 May 1941, he was granted a commission as an ‘Acting Pilot Officer on probation for the duration of hostilities’ (London Gazette, 23 May 1941). By 2 August he was graded as graded as Pilot Officer on probation. (London Gazette, 12 September 1941). That same year, Pilot Officer Moore was posted to RAF HQ in Northern Ireland as an engineering officer, where he remained until 1945. In this role, he attended a number of foreign aircraft crashes in neutral Ireland. He acted as a liaison officer with the Irish Army on many occasions and oversaw the dismantling and recovery of numerous wrecked aircraft. His name features regularly in Irish Army reports but usually only as “Fl Lt Moore”.

Indication of his presence in Northern Ireland in early 1941 are found in the Portadown Times Air Training Corps notes for 30 May 1941 after Pilot Officer Moore made a return visit to his old school in Portadown to give a talk to the pupils. On 2 May 1942, he was formally promoted to Flying Officer (War Substantive). In November 1942, he gave a lecture to the Civil Defence on “Assistance to crews of crashed aircraft.”

On 1 July 1943, he was promoted again to the rank of temporary Flight Lieutenant, which he retained until he retired on 31 December 1945.

On 6 February 1944, he supervised a detachment of a sergeant and 11 men who proceeded to Belmullet, County Mayo, in ‘Eire’ (i.e. the present Republic of Ireland), to dismantle and transport a Mitchell and Fortress aircraft which had force-landed there. [27] That same year, he transported wrecked Marauder north from Skibbereen and a wrecked Liberator, while he would be salvaging propellors, guns, instruments and other parts from airplanes right through until the end of the war. In early 1945, he was posted to the Directorate of Aircraft in South-East Asia for Technical Staff duties.

The unit diary of no. 11 Repair and Salvage Unit (RSU) records these all too brief mentions of Stanley from 1942 to 1945

• 18-19 Nov 1942 F/O Moore lectured Civil Defense on Assistance to crews of crashed aircraft.
• 20th April 1943 – F/Lt Moore returned with salvaged Liberator FK222
• June 1943 Summary, mentions “and one special salvage arising under the control of F.Lt Moore of RAFNI
• Feb 6th 1944 – A detachment of 1 Sgt and 11 men proceeded to Bellmellet, Co Mayo , Eire to dismantle and transport under the supervision of F/Lt Moore of HQ, RAF NI, a Mitchell and Fortress aircraft which had force landed. (Irish G2 indicates both wrecks across border 4^th March)
• 5th April – F/Lt H S Moore returned from Eire with salvaged Marauder. (Skibbereen 42-107635)
• June 1944 – 1 Liberator (American) was salvaged from EIRE by a party from 226 MU under F/Lt Moore
• February 1945 – In addition, two special parties salvaged Marauder (American) 468079, collected propeller, guns and instruments from Liberator KK295, under the direction of F/Lt H S Moore HQ RAFNI.

On 30 November 1946, the Portadown Times announced that Stanley was to be conferred the Legion of Merit by the President of the United States ‘for exceptionally meritorious and outstanding service rendered during the war,’ being his wartime assistance to Allied personnel.

Stanley and Evelyn had two sons, John (who married Elizabeth and became a clergyman) and Derek (who married Ann and achieved high rank in the Royal Navy). Evelyn died on 30 December 1972 at 31 Ormonde Park, Finaghy, Belfast. She was survived by some of her sisters, including Gertrude (who married Fred) as well as her husband and a brother-in-law, by name of Robert Crozier.

Stanley died peacefully on 25 September 1991 at in St. Luke’s Hospital, Armagh.

Irene Spence (1911-2008)

Irene Moore, the only daughter, who married Thomas Spence.

Horace Moore.

Irene Moore, James and Maggie’s only daughter, was born at Ardrea on 18 November 1909. She married Thomas Spence and lived at Ballytyrone.

Horace Moore (1913-1985)

Horace Gordon Brownlee Moore, James and Maggie’s eighth and youngest son, was born on 27 April 1913. He married Kathleen Mallin, with whom had had two sons James (1942) and Brian (1944), and a daughter Sheelagh (1949). At the time of his father’s death in 1940,

Horace was working in the firm of Messrs. Thomas Hyde and Sons Ltd. of Mandeville Street, Portadown. Horace died on 3 March 1985. His son Brian is father to Christopher and Sarah.

Was he the Gordon Moore who married Peggy?

An Obituary to Harold (Archie) Moore. Died 2nd. February 2001.

‘For twenty years Harold Moore was a surgeon at Monaghan General Hospital. A resident of the Clones area of County Monaghan, Mr. Moore had been suffering from ill health. He was a highly motivated and totally dedicated member of a team of surgeons in Monaghan, and worked up until a few days before his death, caring for patients in the selfless way which marked his distinguished career.

Mr. Moore began his life at Ballyoran Hill, Portadown, the son of the late George Scott Moore and Lily Moore – his father was a director of Shillingtons in Castle Street, – and they later moved to Drumnahuncheon at Armagh Road. He attended Thomas St. Primary School and Portadown College and during his days at the College, he was nick-named ‘Archie’ Moore by his friends after the famous World Light Heavyweight boxing champion. Even though he was christened Harold, that name stuck throughout his life.

He moved from Portadown College to Trinity College Dublin where he studied medicine and he later trained as a surgeon at the Adelaide Hospital in Dublin. He was appointed a surgeon at Monaghan General Hospital in 1981 and was held in the highest esteem by colleagues and staff as well as the wider community for his fine professional abilities. They were part of the major advances that have taken place there over the years. Mr. Moore was totally committed to his patients, and his death was a huge loss to the Monaghan community. Outside his work, he was a versatile sportsman.

During his days at Trinity, he was a member of the rowing team. He was also accomplished in the equestrian field, a skilled horseman and a prominent member of the Ward Union Stag Hounds in Monaghan. When he first moved to County Monaghan, Mr. Moore resided at HIlton Park, Clones, but later acquired the imposing period mansion Bishopscourt on the outskirts of the town and carried out extensive renovations to the property.

A devoted family man, Mr. Moore is survived by his wife Miriam and four daughters, Elizabeth, Gillian, Alison and Faenia, as well as his sisters, Mrs. June Galway, Killinchy, and Mrs. Helen Price, Derryhale, Portadown. His body was cremated after a private service, and there was a celebration of his life held at St. Tiernach’s Church of Ireland in Clones.’

[With thanks to Jim Lyttle’s ‘Portadown Photos’ website.]

Acknowledgments

With thanks to Helen Price, Rohan Boyle, Maria O’Brien, Anthony Shillington, Simon Shillington, Melanie Shillington, Alister McReynolds, Jonny McNee, Guy Warner, Wg Cdr Steve McCleery (No. 502 (Ulster) Sqn RAuxAF, Aldergrove Flying Station), Dennis Burke (Foreign Aircraft in Ireland 1939-1945)

End-Notes

[1] The Flax Grower’s list of 1796 mentions a James Moore and a Thomas Moore of Armagh but there is no proof either man is ancestor of the Ardrea line.

[2] James Moore leased 15 acres from Arabella Cope of Drumilly. He signed with an X. A lease taken out by his wife Sarah in 1820 indicates that James had died that year.

[3] As yet there is no actual proof that Robert was the son of James and Sarah. He leased 5 acres from Arabella Cope, signed X, in a lease dated 1824. He was shown as the freeholder on the freeholder list, and also on the Cope estate map of Ardrea, 1854. Ellen died on 13 January 1884.

[4] By his wife Mary Anne Runnings, a Methodist from Hockley, Armagh, James Moore was father to Thomas Murray Moore, railway engineer (who married Margaret Hume and had a large family) and Richard Moore, (born 1832, a carpenter, who was married c. 1858 to Jane Taylor, daughter of Francis Taylor, of Greenan and had three children, Sarah (1859), Richard (1860) and Isabell (1965)).

[5] Loughall Church Records shows James was born to Robert and Ellen on 6 June 1822.

[6] John was father of William Moore (b. 1863) who married Minnie Weismer and had a large family of 15 including Wilfred, George, Robert, Pearl and Nellie (Ella)

[7] Loughall Church Records shows David was born to Robert and Ellen on 30 December 1837.

David was blinded by smallpox while in Canada but that didn’t stop him returning to Ireland several times. He lived with his niece Eleanor Jane at Annaghbeg in 1911.

[8] Tom Moore, a well-known huntsman and farmer, married Margaret Clarke and was buried in Loughgall Church.

[9] Five Moore brothers moved to Canada, settling first in Ontario, while some of their families later moved south to the USA.

[10] Sometimes ‘Elizabeth Laura’, and a possible connection to Helen McMaster. One record says she emigrated to Nottingham.

[11] Eleanor Jane, born 1862. Her husband was Thomas William Scott of Annaghbeg, Donaghmore.

^[12] James and Margaret had eight sons and a daughter.

[13] Known as Uncle Willie, Thomas William Moore died on 3 September 1949 and married Adel Harvey from Castlebellingham County Louth.

[14] ‘Uncle Bob’ married Eliza Jane Freeman and had three daughters (Mrs Templeton, Dungannon;  Mrs Robert Steen, Ardee; and Mrs Beatrice Moore, Banbridge) and an only son Leslie Moore.

[15] Emily Margaret married Thomas William Proctor on 16 December 1908 but died on 4 March 1910, aged 32, giving birth to Norman. Her husband Thomas William Proctor died on 2 October 1966. Norman died on 11 July 1972.

[16] Tom, the violin maker.

[17] According to Pat Reilly’s book ‘Loughgall: A Plantation Parish’ (Trimprint, 1995), Albert Moore was the last blacksmith to work at the village forge on Loughgall.

[18] Director of Shillingtons. (Portadown Times, 21 October 1955). See here and http://www.discovercraigavon.com/media/Portadown_Town_Trail.pdf

[19] Robert Wingfield Moore was unmarried and was the last of the Moores to live at Ardrea.

[20] David Harold Moore died on 1 April 1986, aged 80, and was buried in Loughgall. I found record of a 27 year old David Harold Moore working as a wagon examiner who was named as an expert in an inquest into the death of a suicide victim at Northwich (a victim of gas warfare) as per Crew Chronicle, 1936, but Helen Price (née Moore) advises that her uncle never went to England.

[21] At the time of his mother’s death in 1955, Cecil John Moore was a Constable with the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Dunmurry. (Portadown Times, 21 October 1955).

[22] See Landfall Ireland: Downed Military Aircraft in Neutral Ireland 1939-1945 by Donal MacCarron (2003).

[23] The Spences lived in Ballytyrone.

[24] Horace Gordon Brownlee Moore died on 3 March 1985. At the time of his father’s death in 1940, he was working in the firm of Messrs. Thomas Hyde and Sons Ltd.

[25] The Flax Grower’s list of 1796 mentions a James Moore and a Thomas Moore of Armagh but there is no proof either man is ancestor of the Ardrea line. There was a James Moore (1770-1844) of Ballybrannon who married Jane Clogher on 26 May 1790 and had a large family, and also a Richard Moore of Ballybrannon, who may have been connected to the Ardrea line, as well as his sons William (1796-1860) and James, but there is no proof.

John Rocque’s map does not show a house at Ardrea, so the Moores may have moved there later. The first definitive mention of them at Ardrea is the Cope estate leases to Sarah Moore and her son Robert in 1820 and 1824. Griffith’s Valuations map of 1864 shows a house occupied by Robert Moore and another occupied by Richard Moore, near the Retreat. Both men were leasing land from the Copes of Drumilly.

[26] Eileen June Moore was married twice, firstly to Mr Lesley, with whom she had a son Robin and a daughter Anne, and then to Rex Galway. She died 28 January 2015 peacefully at her home at Trasnagh, Whiterock, Killinchy.

[27] Rohan Boyle tells me there were two crashes at Ardnargle near Limavady and another just a few 100 yards away, on a neighbouring farm, there being an airfield about mile away at Aghanloo, in which many airmen were killed. Alan Reilly adds that the engineer in charge of construction of Limavady aerodrome boarded with the famioly of Harold Love in their farm house is in the townland of Drumbane, Parish of Aghanloo. Aghanloo is the local name for the aerodrome; the house was close to the construction site.