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Armagh / Re: O'Neill - Master of Lurgan Workhouse
« on: Sunday 02 December 12 00:20 GMT (UK) »
Hi Relatives and interested parties; the change from O'Neill to O'Neile was explained to me by several of his children - my mother and aunts and uncles. From early in the last century, John Henry was a political agent in Lurgan for Sir Edward Carson in the period leading up to the 1914 Home Rule Bill which was suspended once the first world war broke out. There was another O'Neill in the town and he quite often received "sensitive" letters intended for John Henry which he circulated freely in the town embarrassing several people. At Carson's request, he changed his surname to the O'Neile we all knew him by. The census of 1901 and various birth certificate would pinpoint when he had changed it. Hope this helps.