In my experience farmers in Ireland married locally. They had little opportunity to marry a woman who lived any significant distance away. They were needed on the farm, most days and did their courting on foot, so you would expect Elizabeth/Bridget Kane to be local. And it is a common local name in that area. She could have come from an adjacent parish but I would expect her to have been pretty local.
Information on marriage certificates should be first hand and tends to be more reliable than that on death certificates. For that reason I’d favour Hugh’s mother being Bridget rather than Elizabeth. And I feel it likely that the Bridget still alive in 1901 is his mother (and son James his brother). She was born in Co Derry according to the census. She might have been 97 but who knows? (I am sure she didn’t). Could be out by 10 years or more. Ages can be pretty dodgy in Irish censuses and death records but if James was born around 1807, it’s possible he married before 1846 which is when the local RC marriage records (Greenlough RC parish).
Greenlough RC graveyard has a splendid noticeboard, listing every legible gravestone in the churchyard. Not sure if the records are on-line but you could check it for Mooney graves. Maghera Historical Society might be able to help.
This was the only probate file I could find for Mooney from Killygullib.
Mooney Michael of Killygullib county Londonderry farmer died 30 June 1929 Administration W/A Londonderry 9 September to Joseph Mooney farmer. Effects £48.
File is in PRONI in Belfast.
Thank you for all that info, its helping me tie up all the bits! Before i had the records for Elizabeth i had the news paper cutting from the attachment, so her at 97 then does add up! The cutting is a death notice from 10/10/1903.
I have found the Maghera historical society on Facebook and will give them a look!
I guess all the farmers were hoping the nearby farms were not full exclusively of sons!
