Judge and Loftus families of 19th century Crossmolina

Dear Robert

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

If you search the message board for anyone researching the same family and would like me to pass along your email address feel free to contact me at cdoyle@irelandxo.com

Many thanks for your kind offer to share information with others

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Ireland XO

I am also a decendant of the Judge family , my mothers, mothers, mother was Annie  Pauline Judge born in crossmolina around  1868 to parents James and Bridget who was Gallagher before her marriage. I have found the parents on the 1901 census, Annie left for England where she married  John Cunningham in 1907. 

Dear Martin:

My ancestor Anthony Judge (1832-1903) left Crossmolina for Massachusetts in 1861.  He had a sister Ellen who stayed in Crossmolina and married Michael Boylan.

According to Anthony’s 1903 obituary, he had a brother John living in West Virginia.

I have visited Crossmolina twice and I have become friends with Patrick Judge there, whose family has been in Crossmolina for a long time.  We like to think that we are related but we have not been able to prove it.

I am not familiar with Annie or James Judge.  However, for all we know, James could have been a brother to Anthony.  Have you had a DNA test?

Robert G. Judge

-RobertJudge@gmail.com

Dear Robert, my grandmother was A Judge, her father being from Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. Having looked into the history of the Judges in the area I've discovered that they ran many Corn Mills, both in Ballaghaderreen, Ballyhaunis (Mayo) and Ballinalough (Roscommon). The name is common in south County Sligo also, but it's known locally that the Judge famillies all stemmed from Crossmalina and followed the rivers to build Corn Mills using the green energy at hand. My great and great great grandfathers were Master carpenters, which was a trade of Millers, which they required to keep the mills going. Also Jack Judge, who's parents emigrated from Ballyhaunis to England, wrote "It's A long way to Tipperary" among other songs and was quite a star in his day. It's said that his friend challanged him to write a song in one night and he had already written one called "It's A long way to Connemara", so he just switched locations and created the anthem for the first world war!!

My great grandfather came to Dublin before 1910 and became a leading member of the ancient order of Hibernian's, who helped found the Irish Volunteers, which were the basis of the 1916 rising. His own son became a playwright for Radio, television and stage. 

As you may know, the name Judge is an anglisized version of Breheny, from the Irish name for Son of a Judge. Your great grandfather was around at the time where people would use either or both versions of the name, for personal or official purposes. The Brehon Laws, which were ancient laws from as early as 700.BC, were set out by these early Irish Brehons/Breheny/Judges. So, as you can imagine we are both from good stock.

December 16, 2019

Hello!

Thanks for your interesting response to my 2017 messages on https://irelandxo.com/ !  I love hearing new things about JUDGE in Ireland.

I visited Athlone and a couple of nearby sites in Roscommon and I liked what I saw there.

I’m fascinated to hear that someone said that “Judge families all stemmed from Crossmalina.”  How did you ever that?

I did not know that a JUDGE wrote “It’s A Long Way to Tipperary.”

My great-great grandfather Anthony Judge had a son born in Crossmolina in 1860.  Anthony and his wife Barbara (Loftus) left Crossmolina for Massachusetts in 1861 and Patrick later visited Ireland several times and became active in the Irish independent movement in Holyoke MA, starting around 1890.

I have visited Crossmolina three times and become good friends with Patrick C. Judge who still lives there.  We are trying to determine how we may be related.

Yes, the first thing I was told about our name when I was a child was that it was originally “Breheny.”   Yes, I agree, it is nice to think that are from “good stock.”  I would be happy to communicate with you further.

Thanks again for your message!

• Robert Judge

-       RobertJudge@gmail.com   December 16, 2019