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View Tree for Margaret McNamaraMargaret McNamara (b. 1815, d. 1900)

Margaret McNamara (daughter of Michael McNamara and Mary Minoque) was born 1815 in Ennis, Ireland, and died 1900 in Iowa. She married John N. Boland on 1844 in County Claire, Ireland, son of James O'Boland and Katherine Dinan.

 Includes NotesNotes for Margaret McNamara:
Margaret had brothers and sisters in Ireland. Some are known to have immigrated to the United States also.


Knappogue Castle (pronounced nap-OG), nestled in the Irish countryside in Quin, County Clare, is a place where past and present come together. Knappogue means "Hill of the Kiss." There is no known explanation for it, although distillers of the upper-end Irish whiskey that bears the castle's name are glad it has the description. The castle was built in 1467 by Sean MacCon MacNamara, a member of the powerful MacNamara clan, as a defense against Norman invasion. The MacNamaras were descended from a fourth-century monarch named Crimthann and formed part of the loose federation of Irish warrior tribes called the Dalcassians. Led by Brian Boru, a Dalcassian chieftain who had become High King of Ireland, the MacNamara's were prominent in the ranks of the Irish army which routed the Danish invaders of Contarf, Dublin on Good Friday 1014.
For more than a thousand years, the MacNamaras ruled over the territory of the Clancullen and Clare. Knappogue Castle became the seat of the McNamara Clan, Lords of West Clancullen, referred to as "The chief protectors of the men of Ireland and renowned for their hospitality."
In 1641 Donagh MacNamara led an unsuccessful rebellion against England and Knappogue Castle was occupied by Cromwell's troops. Cromwell's forces used the castle as a headquarters from which they emerged to strike terror in the surrounding countryside, and from them passed to a "Roundhead" supporter, Arthur Smith.
After the monarchy was restored in 1670, Knappogue Castle was returned to the MacNamaras. It remained in MacNamara hands until 1800, when Francis MacNamara, a member of Parliament, sold it to pay off debt incurred from a court action. During the war of Independence, prior to the founding of the Irish Free State in 1921, Knappague was used as a secret meeting place by the Republican Clare County Council and was also the headquarters of Gen. Michael Bennan of the Republican Army's East Clare Division.
In the 40 years that followed, Knappogue Castle fell into decay and was a complete ruin when, in 1966, it was bought by the Houston, Texas, architect and her husband. With the help of Shannon Development Co., they restored the Castle to its original 15th-century beauty.
In 1969, five hundred years after it was built, Knappogue was opened to the public. Visitors to the castle can tour the building, learn its history, walk through the gardens and take pictures. Knappogue is within easy reach of Galway, Connemara, Killarney, and Dingle.

More About Margaret McNamara and John N. Boland:
Marriage: 1844, County Claire, Ireland.

 Includes NotesMarriage Notes for Margaret McNamara and John N. Boland:
To James Boland, John & Margaret's son, and his wife Mary Clipper, 12 children were born; 5 sons, 7 daughters. One daughter, Nora, became a nun (Sister Mary Martha) and lived to be 100 years. She left written records which helped provide information for this family history.

Another son, Thomas A. Boland, and his wife Ellen Ivory, had 11 children. Consequently, there is a long, long list of Boland, some known, some not.


Children of Margaret McNamara and John N. Boland are:
  1. +James P. Boland, b. May 03, 1846, Ennis, County Claire, Ireland, d. June 25, 1925, Elkader, Iowa.
  2. Lawrence Boland, b. 1848, Ireland, d. 1851, Massuchusetts.
  3. +John Lawrence Boland, b. May 06, 1851, Massachusetts, d. November 05, 1906, Iowa.
  4. +Thomas A. Boland, b. May 13, 1853, Massuchusetts, d. May 22, 1941, Elkader, IA.
  5. Daugher Boland, b. 1855, Massuchusetts, d. 1855, Massuchusetts.
  6. Michael Boland, b. 1857, Massuchusetts, d. 1862, Littleport, Iowa.
  7. +Christopher Boland, b. December 1860, Littleport, Iowa, d. date unknown.
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