Rocks in Irish History

The origin and distribution of the name Rock in Ireland seems to be very complex, but it does follow the same pattern for most Irish names. A huge proportion of Irish names generally do not appear in any record before the 17thC anyway. Rock is no exception to this. There are still many questions and a few answers, every scrap of data is important, no matter the source, hence this website. To all intents and purposes the Rock name just seems to appear. This has lead to all manner of speculation, myth and a general assumption that it came from "elsewhere", the evidence suggests like most Irish names it from within the country.

What this section is trying to do is focus on the Rock surname and its variants in a historical context, there is believe it or a not a wealth of Rock contributor's to the Historical life of Ireland.

Origin of the Rock Surname in Ireland

Gaelige Irish or just Celtic?

Gaelige Irish Origins for the name Rock come from two specific names. See the following graphic, MacConchairrge from Clare, anglised to Rocke in Galway and Carrig/Carrigy in Clare/Westmeath/Longford. Also MacConchathrac from Sligo anglised as McCarrick and Rock.

The above excerpt of a Page forwarded by Aaron Rock, taken from "Irish Names And Surnames" - Collected And Edited With Explanatory And Historical Notes - by Rev. Patrick Woulfe - [Priest of the Diocese of Limerick] Member of the Council, National Academy of Ireland, Dublin M.H. Gill & Son, LTD 1923.

The names *Carrigy, and Cargy have been identified as anglised as Rock by MacLysaght. Rock/Rocks plural has been found in the Armagh area, the Gaelige Irish plural for Rock [Rocks] is Cargy. Keady in Armagh is Cargaghclogher and Rockstown appears as an unofficial placename in the Kilclooney or Cladai area. Rocks appear first in the Caulfield Estate papers for the Fews in 1720. There is a small townland to the West of Keady called Cargy which means Rocks in Armagh. Right across Orior Carrig or Carga in some form is used in a lot of placenames.

*Irish Families There Names, Arms, and Origins -by Edward MacLysaght Appendix A pg. 199 "Surnames indigenous and common in Britain which are used as the anglisized forms of Gaelic Irish surnames. An example given is Rock [Currigy]"

Rock is a Celtic word with Celtic origins. The Irish-Gaelic [q-Celtic] noun for rock is 'carraig', the plural is cargy. Originally, in old Middle q-Celtic languages, the word for rock was Roc. The 'Car' was added in the Middle Ages to produce Car-roc; now Carrig in modern Irish. It is remarkably similar to the P-Celtic [Welsh/Briton/Breton] word for Rock which was Roc. The old Welsh word was the same and has now evovled into Craig, so Carrig and Craig are Roc from Medieval Irish or Old Irish.

IMPORTANT: DNA results so far indicate that Rock [which has close matches to Campbell septs] is generic Celtic, meaning it is an extremely old Celtic. Further testing is on-going, note this applies to Rocks in the UK as well.

Irish Mythology

Roc Diocain - Wizard/Druid of the De Dannan, Stewart to the god Angus Og
Daughter Ethné ni Roc - Deity associated with Fertility and MacLir, also appears as a Christian Saint, Saint Eithne
McRoc - Son of Roc Diocain - n`Taibhse Chollach n Connacht (the ghost boar of Connacht)

Medieval History

English or Scottish?

The very first record of a Rock in Records that I have found so far, is a birth of George Rock of Tourin [Cappoquin] County Waterford in 1604, his father was William born in Bentley Stafordshire in 1582. These are the Roche's of Tourin Castle, part of the Fermoy branch. Spouses of this couple are listed as Rock's in the early part of the 17thC.

In O'Hart's irish Pedigree's page 483 Vol I, a Roche, James of Glastonbury Manor is part of the Roches of Fermoy, Lords and Barons, this Roche is listed as having a descendant called John Rocke, MP for the City of Wells Staffordshire, a member of Henry VI's parliment. This Rock and these Roches owned land in both Waterford, Tourin Castle and at Bentley in Stafford. *The use of Rock for Roch/Roche in the Crown records is quite common in the English record.

Another individual worth noting, is listed in the Londonderry Ironmongers Muster Roll of 1630, this is a Thomas Rocke. I have no data on this individual, no background or clue as too he was. The original first settlers into Londonderry where from London - hence the name of the town. But there is still some considerable confusion as to the make-up of the people concerned. The London undertakers who invested in the settlement appear to have sold their investments to Scottish undertakers, hence the confusion.

Andrew Rock appears in the Water Pipe Poll tax for Dublin in 1688. From him comes the famous Dublin Clock Makers, spanning nearly 200 years in Dublin, the founder being Alfred Rock who setup in Dublin in 1760.

Petty's 1659 Census - by Pender

The seventeenth century in Ireland is a catalyst for Modern Ireland. It was in the 17C that Irish first and second names took on the anglicised forms that are known and used today. Petty's 'Census' is a good record of these family names and their distribution, it is a good record of this change.

Sir William Petty's Census is essentially a Poll Tax Record, listing the numbers of people paying Poll Taxes. The 'Census' was arranged by divisions of counties into baronies, parishes and town lands, and in cities, by parishes and streets. Petty identified those people in society paying this poll tax as Tituladoes. Tituladoes is Petty's own term used to describe those individuals who are returned as paying the highest taxes. Petty may have intended to also ascertain the ethnic divisions and proportions within Ireland at the time. Therefore a section at the end of each barony analysis was devoted to enumerating the numbers of Irish vis-à-vis Scots and English living within each barony. In particular, a numerical list was made of the 'Principal Irish Names' for each barony.

Rock appears in the Kilkenny Barony of Gowran. Rock is summarised in Gowran under Native Irish, some have suggested this may be just a variant of Roch [Roche]. But why then does Roch and Rock appear side-by-side in the same Barony? *I personally think this is strong evidence that Rock [in the written English Records at least] was used for Roch. If not, then why was it indexed as an entirely separate name and not as a variant?
The principal Irish names and their number in the 1659 census, Barony of Gowran, included: Archer, 06 ; Brin, 05 ; Birne, 020 ; Brohy, 020 ; Blanchvill, 014 ; Bryan, 010 ; Bolger, 010 ; Brenan, 046 ; Bergin, 006 ; O Boe, 07 ; Bane, 08 ; Barron, 08 ; Bourke, 05 ; Brodier, 06 ; Cody, 040 ; Comerford, 015 ; Cullen, 010 ; Goghill, 011 ; Clone & Clony, 010 ; Convoy & Coway, 009 ; Cantwell, 09 ; Cragh, 06 ; Clere & Cleary, 07 ; Carroll, 06 ; Cnogher, 05 ; Cormucke, 016 ; Dulany, 012 ; McDonogh &c., 012 ; O Donell &c., 015 ; Dowling, 016 ; Dobbin, 010 ; McDavid, 07 ; O Drea &c., 08 ; Dowly &c., 06 ; Fanning, 010 ; Farrell &c., 023 ; Flemming, 07 ; Fitzgerald, 011 ; Grace, 020 ; Heiden, 013 ; Hologhon (08) & Halighan (05), 013 ; Healy &c., 011 ; Heban, 08 ; Henessy, 08 ; Joue & Jouie, 010 ; Keating, 012 ; Kelly, 043 ; Kevanagh, 013 ; Kenedy, 05 ; Kearny, 06 ; Keefe, 08 ; McLoghlin, 011 ; Lallor, 017 ; Loghman, 06 ; Laules, 08 ; Morphy, 118 ; Mogher, 015 ; Mulrony, 08 ; Marten, 09 ; Neale, 032 ; Nolan, 030 ; Phelan, 025 ; Purcell, 020 ; Patrick &c., 010 ; Prendergast, 024 ; Power, 08 ; Quin & Quing, 012 ; Quiddihy, 09 ; Ryan, 089 ; Rock, 012 ; Roch, 06 ; Shortall, 016 ; Shea, 09 ; Tobin, 015 ; Tressy, 08 ; Welsh & Walsh, 095 ; Wall, 012.
The total number of Irish in the barony included 3,543 ; the total number of English included 311.

In Armagh the name Cargagh [which comes from Carrig meaning Rock, cargagh is a plural meaning Rocks] seems to have an association. There are two individuals listed, an Owen & Neal Cargagh, who are listed in the Townland of [Cladymore] in 1664 from the [Hearth Tax Rolls]. In the civil parish of Keady is the townland called cargaghclogher., so maybe the absence of a surname provided the recorder with the Irish location as a substitute.

Placename	County	Civil Parish
Cargagh	Armagh	Armagh
Cargagh	Tyrone	Clogher
Cargagh	Cavan	Killinkere
Cargagh	Cavan	Lavey
Cargagh	Down	Ballyculter
Caragh	Down	Down

Note: Cargagh; a rocky place (from carraig) or Stoney place, bear in mind, in Armagh, Cladymore [Cladai Mhor] means "The Big Stoney River. In the civil parish of Keady is the townland called Cargaghclogher.

Rocks and Rock is most common in South Armagh from 1720's on, where they where either Flax growers or Weavers on Lord Caulfields Estate in the Fews area of County Armagh. They appear extensievely through the 18th and 19th centurym so much so that we have Rockstown - an unofficial placename in the Keady area. These people appear to have to spread into neighbouring counties where the name occurs also. In the Griffiths Valuations, Armagh contains the highest concentration of Rock/Rocks in the entire country, numbering nearly 50 famillies. They first appeared in the area in 1720, whether they came in with some Scottish famillies like Stewert or Rush, or whether they do come from a native Gaelige Irish background needs to be established.

1765 Religious Census

Four Rocks appear in the County Louth Census as papists, in the Carlingford, Castlecargagh areas, Mark, Phelemy, Hugh and Patrick.

Revolutionary Period

United Irishmen - Catholic, Protestant or Dissenteer?

There is good records and evidence of quite a few Rocks involved in the revolutionary non-sectarian United Irishmen movement. A few even managed to find themselves on the hangman's rope and in jail for their part in the various tragic peasant revolts of 1798.

The Belfast Telegraph archives have a few Rocks present from the period:
30 Mar. 1798 2 Lent assizes, United Irishman; Rock,Bryan, Rock, James charged with membership and rebellion.
In the book "The Last Invasion of Ireland" by Richard Hayes, Rock United Irishmen are mentioned. This book is about General Humbert's French expeditionary force which landed in Mayo to support the Irish peasant revolt in 1798. In it there are references to Rocks from the Drumshanbo of County Leitrim who joined the revolt. Indeed in the appendix is a very good account of one Rock who survived the battle of Ballinamuck in County Leitrim and who single-handedly rescued a friend from the local militia after a sharp violent struggle with the local Yeomen.

Captain Rock and the Rockites 1820-50

Have you ever heard of Captain Rock? Is this for real? Captain Rock was not just a fictious invention of the Irish poet, patriot and harpist Thomas Moore. Moore wrote a book called "The Memoirs of Captain Rock The Celebrated Irish Chieftain with some account of his Ancestors written by himself - London 1824 2nd edition xlv+376pp"

Now invention is not very clear because there was a CAPTAIN Rock some say he was an Irishman fighting with the French at Balinamuck in 1798, who escaped the battle and terrorised the English afterwards. But aside from that, the historical background to the book is based on fact. In 1820 the tenant farmers where in revolt, in North Munster, Leinster and North Connaught, the peasants, groaning under the weight of poverty, high rents, and short term leases, all the time faced with eviction and then death from some of their landlords. At night some the peasants dressed up and terrorised all servants of the Crown and the Landlords, their agents and servants. Shop keepers who traded with the local Landlord where burnt out, a campaign of murder and beatings, the butchering of farm animals, destructio of crops. Indeed anyone working for the landed gentry where targeted. A lot of these peasnat bands where led by - Captain Rock. It got so bad that the movement became known as the "Rockites" which culminated in a riot and the destruction of Nenagh when the Rockites stormed the local police station. Captain Rock provided the agitators with a mask of annonmity, warnings where even published in the local newspapers and signed by him. In other words he was an invention of the peasant bands. But the reality is, he terroised the Irish gentry and rocked the establishment. The use of the name Captain Rock is complex, based on religion, mythology and history.

Lord Mahon of Strokestown House in Longford was assainated by a Captain Rock for maltreating his tenants, the letter of warning is on display in the famine muesum in Strokestown house.

Moore's book, was a scandal, the British Media and Government where outraged as it appeared to be very sympathetic to Captain Rock and his followers and championing their cause. The book was written in a psuedo-historical-doucmentary style, at times funny, at times sad, at times heavy, a really strange book.

The book had a profound effect on the population in Ireland and endeared Thomas Moore and his legacy to the Irish people. Daniel McNeise a famous Irish portrait and landscape artist painted "The death of Captain Rock - the Irish chieftain", this hangs in the Portrait Gallery in London. Daniel McNeise was a contemporary of Moore, he painted for the Royal family his famous painting is the "Death of Nelson", he painted the epic Irish historical scene "The violent marriage of Strongbow and Aoife - Princess of Leinster". So Captain Rock registered with people at the time. Why did Thomas Moore choose the name Rock? Moore knew his history, he felt the Irish Gaelige Chieftains and Kings, crushed by the English, they who had fought and lost everything, did NOT abandon their people. They as Moore put it "sank with their people" into poverty. Unlike say the Scottish chiefs, who embraced English titles and booted the very people they where meant to serve - their own blood off their land, the highlands are empty as a result. The Irish chiefs fought and lost, but they still led them. Captain Rock represented all the defeated chieftains. He choose the name Rock because it was in jest, the Irish always had nicknames, Carrig is one of them meaning he was built like a rock. But Rock sounds English, anonymous, something the English would like the Irish to call themselves, Jones for the Welsh, Rock for the Irish get his drift. Moore carefully chose the name Rock, R = Rory, O = O', C=Connor, K=King, Rory O'Connor was the very last High KIng of Ireland. But did Rock exist? But of course he did, he is in the book "The Last Invasion of Ireland".

There are songs and reel's about him like this: CAPTAIN ROCK [2] (Captaen Roc). AKA and see “The Bush Reel,” “The Long Hills of Mourne,” “The Old Bush (Reel).” Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard. AB. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 781, pg. 136. X:1 T:Captain Rock [2] M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:O’Neill – Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems (1907), No. 781 Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

Music "The first reel, The Old Bush, was a big favourite of Willie Clancy. Having featured on the ............ 'Captain Rock' in Petrie's collection and O'Neill's 1001 collection. Interestingly, writing in the mid 1880s, Petrie had suggested that the tune was a County Clare reel. Breathnach's first volume of 'Ceol Rince na hÉireann' includes the reel under the title 'The long hills of Mourne'."

Some Convicts, transported to Australia:

SURNAME: John ROCKE, AGE: 16, PLACE OF TRIAL: Galway City, TRIAL DATE: 13/01/1851, CRIME DESCRIPTION: Cattle stealing, SENTENCE: Transportation 10 yrs
SURNAME: Bridget ROCK, AGE: 20, PLACE OF TRIAL: Co. Cavan, TRIAL DATE: 09/10/1849, CRIME DESCRIPTION: Larceny, SENTENCE: Transportation 7 yrs
SURNAME: Denis ROCK, AGE: 0, PLACE OF TRIAL: Co. Clare, TRIAL DATE: 04/01/1848, CRIME DESCRIPTION: Lamb stealing, SENTENCE: Transportation 10 yrs
SURNAME: Constantine ROCK, AGE: 62 PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT: Co Cork, DOCUMENT DATE: 00/00/1817, CRIME DESCRIPTION: "Convicts petitioning for mitigation of their sentences on the grounds of old age and infirmity. Document States convict had a leg amputated as punishment"

Modern Times - Soldiers and Warriors

Irish War of Independance 1919-21
Name: Joseph Rock, Irish Volunteer, B Company, Hut 27, Balinkinlar Internment Camp County Down - 1920-21
Name: Christopher Rock, Irish Volunteer, B Company, Hut 27, Balinkinlar Internment Camp County Down - 1920-21
Name: John Rocke, RIC, shot dead in Nenagh 1921.

Some selected names from the British Army Records for the two world wars:

Name: ROCK, EDWARD - Royal Irish Regiment - Date of Death: 16/08/1918 - Son of John and Maria Rock, of Armstrong's Row, Sligo.
Name: ROCK, GEORGE ALFRED - Royal Ulster Rifles - Date of Death: between 20/01/1943 and 21/01/1943 - Son of George Alfred and Elizabeth Martha Rock, of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Irish Republic.
Name: P. ROCK - Royal Munster Fusiliers - Date of Death: 25/06/1916 - Son of Thomas and Kate Rock, of High St., Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry; husband of the late Mary Rock, of Old Market St., Cahirciveen.
Name: ROCK, ROBERT HERBERT - Royal Marines - Date of Death: 18/02/1944 - Son of George and Elizabeth Rock, of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Republic of Ireland.
Name: ROCK, WILLIAM GEORGE - Royal Air Force - Date of Death: 26/07/1942 - Son of George and Elizabeth Mary Rock, of Broughshane, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Name: ROCK, WILLIAM JOSEPH - Royal Field Artillery - Date of Death: 21/09/1918 - Son of James and Kathleen Rock, of 615, Water Park, Kimmage, Co. Dublin.

Sportsmen and Cultural Figures

Father John Rock - The Patriot Priest, founder of the Co. Tyrone GAA team "Cookstown Fr. Rocks" in the RC Parish of Derryloran & Desertcreat. Fr., John Rock was born in Granemore, Co. Armagh. This was near a "Mass Rock" where in Penal times there was "Hedgerow masses" for the Papists. Fr. Rocks great interest was the Land League. A momentoe in the Rock home in Granemore is the remains of a blackthorn walking stick given to Fr. Rock by Michael Davitt.
In a great tribute to him a fine monument was erected over his grave which reads:
"In memory of your charity Pray for the soul of Very Rev. John Rock
Parish Priest of Clonoe 1885 - 1903
Patriot Priest of East Tyrone Died 1st July, 1903 RIP
Erected by the faithful parishoners of Clonoe"