Good afternoon all,
My McClean ancestors were going back and forth to Dublin from the Kilybegs/Clane area in the 18th c.,. The 1798 Claimants have them losing a considerable amount of property in the rebellion and at the time were linen weavers in Cott, Killybegs (bordering Ballynagappagh). It seems there was a number of them in the area until the mid 19th c (also in Millicent, Loughbollard, Firmount aka Keapock, and Curryhills) and this may have been their place of settlement. MacLeans were a mercenary family and in the 1540 Extent of Irish monastic possessions, it was written that the tenants of Killybegs paid no customs or exactions and enjoyed 100 acres of common pasture in return for "coign and livery" which was the quartering of the lord's galloglass & kerne in their homes.
My branch of the family had gone into Offaly by the 19th c., so I have no knowledge or contact of any of the McCleans who may have stayed around Killybegs/Clane and would love to get in touch with that part of the family. Also if any McClean men from the area who have a papertrail to these Killybegs/Clane McCleans are willing to partake in genetic research, I'd gladly send a BigY700 test from FamilyTreeDNA at no cost to them as a thank you for advancing the research.
Chris McLain
