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Blimey - such a small world, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised given that the post is very specific to our family!  Very nice to meet you and please pass along my regards to your family!  From what my grandmother told us, her grandfather and father (and apparently their fathers going back for generations) "ran the place" and had their home on the property, so that's why it's written on the headstone.  My nana always referred to home as Moorehall.  I met two cousins who grew up in that house when I was in Ireland about 15 years ago... their brother Al, whom I didn't have the opportunity to meet, is still leading the charge to have Moore Hall restored.  I hope to get back sometime soon to see it - I couldn't find it when I was there. 

Hi David,
My mother has done a lot of the geneaology on her family, the McDonnells of Moorehall ... You're right that the Moores bought land from the McDonnells, and I think my mother showed me a copy of the Deed concerning that transaction. You see the McDonnells were gallowglas, i.e. mercenary (professional) soldiers to the Burkes, and as far as I'm aware, they were awarded land after helping an English captain to take Shrule Castle in what is now in Co. Mayo. However, I'll get the accurate story from my mother, or ask her to write to you instead as I'm rather hazy on it. However, the Irish writer, George Moore, according to my mother is writing about the McDonnells in his short story, "The Wedding Gown" in his collection, "The Untilled Field" although he changes the surname to O'Dwyer ... your wife might like to read it. Our family are now living in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland but her grandfather, Alexander McDonnell had emigrated to England in the late 19th century. Subsequently, her father Francis Alexander McDonnell returned to Ireland just before WWII, and we're here ever since.
What is your wife's name and who were her father and grandfather ... Was there a John Joe McDonnell by any chance because he lived in New York, and my aunt, Nora (nee McDonnell) visited him there in the 1960s, and wrote down a family tree that he had memorized. We keep returning to that family tree. Do keep in touch.
Cathal

Hi Cathal,
This is all incredibly interesting to me!  I'm also a descendent of the McDonnells of Moore Hall.  My grandmother was Delia (Brigid) and her parents were Alexander and Mary McDonnell.  Her brother John Joe was my mom's uncle.  My grandmother, her sisters Nora, Agnes and John Joe all lived in Brooklyn, NY but there were a lot more siblings.  I remember May coming to visit in maybe the 1980's(?) and she lived in England.  My grandmother told us about growing up at Moore Hall; they lived in the front house and had the run of the land before the big house was burned.  It was amazing to me to find the maps of Moore Hall in it's prime and see her descriptions were spot on.  I've found a headstone online for Alexander and Mary that matches the picture of the headstone that my grandmother had of her parents burial site, so I know it's the same one, but there's mention of an Eddie on the monument.  Does that make any sense to you?  My mother said she knows that there was a James that passed away as an infant when my grandmother was school age, but no recollection of Eddie.  Thanks! 

I can't wait to tell my mom that we're descendants of mercenaries.