# Deep Research Pass 2026-09-12

Issue: #28, "Continue deep research passes for O'Luanaigh evidence"

Accessed: 2026-09-12

## Scope

This pass follows up on the 2026-09-07 sweep with two bounded modules:

1. A direct record-set work plan for historical geography by spelling variant, centered on the National Archives of Ireland census search and Griffith's Valuation.
2. Additional institutional-source review for named bearers and bibliography leads, especially Brian O'Looney and Dónall Ó Luanaigh.

Personal family-line genealogy remains out of scope. The pass does not alter the public site because it produces research infrastructure and research-note findings, not a stronger public claim about origin, descent, or arms.

## Direct Finding

The new evidence strengthens the project archive in two ways:

- The National Archives of Ireland's current census guide supports a more precise, repeatable next-step protocol: search both 1901 and 1911; combine surname, county, townland/street, District Electoral Division, age, sex, and relationship fields; and use wildcards for spelling variation. This is a better basis for the future distribution module than relying on census-derived maps alone.
- NLI and University of Galway records add more context for the "named bearers and cultural record" lane. Brian O'Looney has additional NLI manuscript and ephemera leads beyond the already cited biography and 1863 Clare bards record. Dónall Ó Luanaigh is better supported as a research/archive figure through University of Galway's 2006 honorary-degree notice.

## Structured Evidence Table

| Source title | URL or archive reference | Source class | Confidence | Relevant variants | Places | People | Supported claims | Limits and cautions | Follow-up action | Public-use status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National Archives of Ireland, "Step-by-step guide to using the Census Search" | https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/step-by-step-guide-to-using-the-census-search/ | Genealogy record-set guide; census search method | A for collection/search guidance | Any searched variant | Ireland, all counties; county, townland/street, DED | Record subjects after searched | The current National Archives census search supports 1901, 1911, and all-year searches; surname/name fields; county, townland/street, DED, age, sex, relationship and other filters; wildcard searching; and location browsing. | This guide supports search method only. It does not itself provide Looney/O'Looney counts or prove geography. | Build a structured census pass by variant, year, county, and hotspot DED/townland. | Ready as method source |
| National Archives of Ireland, new census search-results URL pattern | https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/search-results/?surname__icontains=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1911 | Search-result route / manual verification target | A as official search route; unverified for extracted counts | Looney and other variants | Any selected county | Record subjects after searched | The newer search interface exposes shareable query URLs with fields such as `surname__icontains`, `county`, and `census_year`. | Results appear to render client-side in this environment; no direct result counts were extracted. Do not cite counts until manually verified in browser or exported from records. | Use in a manual review checklist, not as data. | Lead / method only |
| Ask About Ireland, Griffith's Valuation | https://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/ | Valuation record-set portal | A for record-set context; unverified for extracted counts in this pass | Any searched variant | Ireland by county, barony, union, parish and townland | Occupiers after searched | Griffith's Valuation remains the correct mid-19th-century land/occupier source for testing Cork, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Ulster variant clusters. | The public site was behind a Cloudflare challenge in this environment, so no search results were extracted. Do not claim counts or parish clusters until manually verified. | Use as manual record-set target; capture screenshots or exported rows in a later pass. | Lead / method only |
| NLI Sources, Brian O'Looney Papers, Ms. 5320 | https://sources.nli.ie/Record/MS_UR_053137 | Institutional manuscript catalogue | A | Brian O'Looney, Brian Bawn O'Looney | Co. Clare; Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary | Brian O'Looney; Brian Bawn O'Looney | Confirms an NLI manuscript record for a Brian O'Looney family memoir, poems by/to Brian Bawn O'Looney, and topographical and folklore items relating to County Clare. | Catalogue-level source only; the manuscript itself must be consulted before detailed claims or quotations. Ballingarry/1848 material should not be treated as a family-line claim. | Add to Brian bibliography module and folklore/manuscript leads. | Ready as catalogue lead |
| NLI Sources, similar-item leads from Ms. 5320 record | https://sources.nli.ie/Record/MS_UR_053137 | Institutional catalogue cross-reference | A as catalogue lead | Brian O'Looney | Ireland; Catholic University; Irish language and antiquities contexts | Brian O'Looney | The record's similar-item list points to further institutional leads: an appeal by Brian O'Looney for preservation of antiquities, poems addressed to William Smith O'Brien, memorandum to the Lord Lieutenant on Irish language/literature, Catholic University appointment memoranda, and the 1874 Sullivan/O'Looney edition of `Táin Bó Cuailnge`. | Similar-item titles need individual record review before being treated as separate supported claims. | Open each similar item in the next bibliography pass and classify by source class. | Lead only |
| University of Galway, "NUI Galway Honours John Cunningham and Dónall Ó Luanaigh" | https://www.universityofgalway.ie/about-us/news-and-events/news-archive/2006/october2006/ | Institutional university news | B | Dónall Ó Luanaigh | Galway; National Library of Ireland | Dónall Ó Luanaigh | Supports Dónall Ó Luanaigh as former Keeper of Collections at the National Library of Ireland; says he joined NLI staff in 1968, retired in 2006 after 43 years of service, and was honoured for contribution to research and scholarship. It also identifies work on the `Union list of current periodicals and serials in Irish libraries` and editorial work on the three-volume `Supplement to Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilization` (1979). | Likely living or recently living; treat conservatively. This supports research-note context, not automatic live-profile inclusion. | Keep as a review candidate; search for NLI/DIB/catalogue records before public profile copy. | Research-note ready; live site deferred |

## Record-Set Module: Variant And County Protocol

### Purpose

Move geography work from derivative maps into direct record checks without crossing into private genealogy. The target is distribution evidence by variant, place, and period, not a family tree.

### Variants

Run each variant separately, preserving exact spelling in the result table:

- Looney
- O'Looney
- O Looney
- Lowney
- Loney
- Loony
- Lunney
- Lunny
- Luny
- McLooney / MacLooney if a source or index returns them

Do not merge results until the source, place, and Irish-form context justify it. In particular, keep the `Ó Luanaigh` Munster lane and `Ó Luinigh` Ulster lane separate.

### Geography

First pass counties:

- Cork
- Clare
- Kerry
- Limerick
- Tyrone
- Fermanagh
- Donegal

Hotspot follow-ups already identified in earlier derivative sources:

- Ennistymon
- Macroom
- Millstreet
- Kilcullen
- Annagh
- Magherareagh

These are not confirmed as direct record findings in this pass; they remain targets for verification.

### Output Table For Later Record Work

Use this table shape when records are checked:

| Record set | Year / date | Variant searched | County | DED / parish / townland | Result count | Representative record URL | Notes | Confidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National Archives census | 1901 | Looney | Cork | TBD | TBD | TBD | Direct search required | A after direct record review |
| National Archives census | 1911 | Looney | Cork | TBD | TBD | TBD | Direct search required | A after direct record review |
| Griffith's Valuation | 1847-1864 publication range | Looney | Cork | TBD | TBD | TBD | Direct search required | A after direct record review |

## Narrative Memo

The project should treat this pass as research infrastructure plus two named-bearer enrichments.

The census and Griffith work remains the highest-value next research module because it can test whether Cork/Clare stay dominant when direct records are checked and whether Kerry deserves promotion from secondary lead to stronger Munster distribution evidence. However, no new distribution claim should move into public copy from this pass because the direct result counts were not extracted. The National Archives guide supports how to search, not what the searches will show.

The Brian O'Looney lane gains additional archival depth. The NLI Ms. 5320 record is especially useful because it connects Brian O'Looney material with County Clare topographical and folklore items. That reinforces the already cautious site framing: Brian belongs in the public project as a documented cultural and folklore-transmission figure, not as a descent claim. The similar-item list from the same NLI record points to a rich bibliography module around antiquities, William Smith O'Brien, Catholic University appointment records, Irish-language policy memoranda, and the `Táin Bó Cuailnge` edition.

Dónall Ó Luanaigh is now better documented as a review candidate. University of Galway's institutional notice gives a strong archive/research rationale: former NLI Keeper of Collections, long NLI service, periodicals/serials work, and manuscript-source editorial work. Because he may be living or recently living, this should remain in the research archive unless the project later decides to include modern public figures with narrow, non-sensitive wording.

Heraldry remains unchanged. This pass found no formal blazon, named armiger, grant, confirmation, Register of Arms entry, or branch/date evidence. No public heraldry claim should be strengthened.

## Claim-Gap Matrix

| Claim family | Current result | Confidence | Gap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Direct census protocol | National Archives guide confirms current fields and wildcard strategy. | A for method | Direct variant/county results still need manual review or export. |
| Direct Griffith protocol | Record set remains a correct target, but site access blocked command-line review. | A for source target; no data extracted | Manual browser review or alternate access required. |
| Brian O'Looney manuscript/folklore lane | NLI Ms. 5320 confirms Clare topographical/folklore manuscript material and Brian/Brian Bawn O'Looney subjects. | A as catalogue record | Manuscript content not reviewed; similar-item records still need individual checks. |
| Dónall Ó Luanaigh as archive/research figure | University of Galway confirms NLI Keeper of Collections role, 43 years' service, and honorary recognition. | B | Living-person sensitivity and further source review before public profile. |
| Heraldry verification | No new official heraldic evidence found. | High confidence for "not yet verified" caution | Genealogical Office / Chief Herald record search remains open. |

## Source Graph

```text
[Record-set geography module]
  -> supported by: National Archives census search guide; Griffith's Valuation portal
  -> variants: Looney, O'Looney, O Looney, Lowney, Loney, Loony, Lunney, Lunny, Luny
  -> counties: Cork, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Donegal
  -> cautions: do not count derivative maps as direct records; do not merge Ó Luanaigh and Ó Luinigh lanes

[National Archives census]
  -> search fields: year, surname/name, county, townland/street, DED, age, sex, relationship, wildcard
  -> direct-output gap: result counts not extracted in this environment
  -> next: manual browser search and capture result URLs/counts

[Griffith's Valuation]
  -> role: mid-19th-century occupier/geography check
  -> access gap: Cloudflare challenge blocked command-line inspection
  -> next: manual browser search or alternate access path

[Brian O'Looney]
  -> supported by: DIB, Ainm.ie, NLI catalogue, NLI Sources Ms. 5320
  -> new links: family memoir, Brian Bawn O'Looney, Clare topographical/folklore items, antiquities appeal, William Smith O'Brien poems, Catholic University appointment records, Táin Bó Cuailnge edition
  -> public status: strengthens cultural-record lane, not genealogy

[Dónall Ó Luanaigh]
  -> supported by: University of Galway 2006 news archive
  -> role: former NLI Keeper of Collections; research/scholarship contribution
  -> caution: keep as review candidate because of modern/living-person sensitivity

[Heraldry]
  -> new result: no official evidence added
  -> status: family-associated/reporting language remains correct
```

## Searches Performed And Stopping Reason

Searches and checks covered:

- Existing repo research notes: 2026-09-07 deep sweep, source rubric, geography matrix, persons-of-note candidates, sources log, open questions.
- National Archives census guide and current search-results URL shape.
- Older `census.nationalarchives.ie` result endpoint, which did not return from this environment.
- Ask About Ireland / Griffith's Valuation, which triggered an anti-bot challenge in this environment.
- NLI/Sources records for Brian O'Looney manuscript material.
- University of Galway 2006 news archive for Dónall Ó Luanaigh.

Stopping reason: the useful next work is no longer broad web discovery. It is manual/direct record extraction from census and Griffith result pages, plus individual NLI catalogue-record review for the Brian O'Looney bibliography lane.

## Publication Decision

This was the decision at the end of the initial pass; the direct census addendum below revises the evidence state while preserving the no-homepage-change decision.

No live-site copy change is recommended from this pass.

Reasons:

- No direct census/Griffith counts were verified.
- Dónall Ó Luanaigh is useful but sensitive as a modern/recent public figure and should remain a review candidate for now.
- Brian O'Looney already appears publicly; the new NLI leads are better suited to a bibliography or research note than a homepage expansion.
- Heraldry status is unchanged.

## Direct Census Extraction Addendum

Accessed: 2026-09-12

The census portion of the record-set protocol was completed against the current National Archives of Ireland search service and its public census API. National result sets were requested separately for each search spelling and year, then reduced to the seven target counties. The 1911 `Looney` result required a second API page because the service caps a response at 1,000 rows.

These are **indexed person-record counts**, not households, unique family lines, birthplace counts, or proof of surname origin. The API's `surname` filter is case-insensitive and sometimes punctuation-normalizing. For example, the `O'Looney` search bucket returns both `O'Looney` and `OLooney`; the `O Looney` bucket returns `O Looney` and, in 1911, `O' Looney`. The search buckets below therefore remain separate and their returned index forms are documented rather than silently merged.

### All-Ireland Search-Bucket Totals

| Search spelling | Returned index spelling(s) | 1901 | 1911 |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| Looney | `Looney`, plus four lowercase `looney` Cork rows in 1901 | 987 | 1,036 |
| O'Looney | `O'Looney`, `OLooney` | 66 | 65 |
| O Looney | `O Looney`; `O' Looney` also returned in 1911 | 9 | 9 |
| Lowney | `Lowney` | 199 | 203 |
| Loney | `Loney` | 202 | 207 |
| Loony | `Loony` | 5 | 0 |
| Lunney | `Lunney`, plus lowercase `lunney` rows in 1911 | 276 | 252 |
| Lunny | `Lunny`, plus two uppercase `LUNNY` Fermanagh rows in 1901 | 237 | 244 |
| Luny | `Luny` | 0 | 1 |
| McLooney | `McLooney` | 2 | 0 |
| MacLooney | no results | 0 | 0 |

The current direct `Looney` totals differ slightly from Barry Griffin's normalized derivative totals of 986 in 1901 and 1,034 in 1911. The current National Archives index returned 987 and 1,036 respectively. No cause is inferred; public work should state the access date and counting method rather than treating the two datasets as identical.

### Target-County Counts, 1901

| Search spelling | Cork | Clare | Kerry | Limerick | Tyrone | Fermanagh | Donegal |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Looney | 555 | 175 | 184 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| O'Looney | 2 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| O Looney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lowney | 195 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Loney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Loony | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lunney | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 167 | 1 |
| Lunny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 159 | 0 |
| Luny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McLooney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MacLooney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Target-County Counts, 1911

| Search spelling | Cork | Clare | Kerry | Limerick | Tyrone | Fermanagh | Donegal |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Looney | 554 | 180 | 194 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| O'Looney | 9 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| O Looney | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lowney | 195 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Loney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Loony | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lunney | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 137 | 2 |
| Lunny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 186 | 3 |
| Luny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McLooney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MacLooney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Hotspot Checks And Representative Records

| Year | County | DED / locality check | Search-bucket records | Representative record | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| 1901 | Cork | Kilcullen DED | 41 `Looney` | [Patrick Looney, Ballykerwick](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1901&id=6347768) | Directly confirmed. |
| 1911 | Cork | Kilcullen DED | 39 `Looney` | [Patrick Looney, Ballykerwick](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1911&id=1687794) | Directly confirmed. |
| 1901 | Clare | Annagh DED | 53 `Looney` | [Ellen Looney, Caherogan](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=Looney&county=Clare&census_year=1901&id=6685347) | Directly confirmed. |
| 1911 | Clare | Annagh DED | 52 `Looney` | [Mary Looney, Killernan](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=Looney&county=Clare&census_year=1911&id=2826117) | Directly confirmed. |
| 1911 | Clare | Magherareagh DED | 29 `Looney` | [Martin Looney, Derrymore](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=Looney&county=Clare&census_year=1911&id=2734983) | Directly confirmed for 1911; no matching target-bucket row was found there in 1901. |
| 1901 | Clare | Ennistymon DED | 23 across `Looney` and `O'Looney` search buckets | [Bridget OLooney, Glen North](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=O%27Looney&county=Clare&census_year=1901&id=6680998) | Directly confirmed; the index displays `OLooney` for this record. |
| 1911 | Clare | Ennistimon DED | 8 across `Looney`, `O'Looney`, and `O Looney` search buckets | [Patrick OLooney, Clooncoul](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/#surname=O%27Looney&county=Clare&census_year=1911&id=2823263) | Directly confirmed under the census's `Ennistimon` spelling. |
| 1901 | Cork | Macroom DED/locality string | 31 `Looney` | [search result set](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/search-results/#surname=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1901&ded=Macroom) | Direct census locality check, not a Poor Law Union total. |
| 1911 | Cork | Macroom DED/locality string | 20 `Looney` | [search result set](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/search-results/#surname=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1911&ded=Macroom) | Direct census locality check, not a Poor Law Union total. |
| 1901 / 1911 | Cork | Millstreet DED/townland string | 0 in the listed search buckets | [1901 search](https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/search-results/#surname=Looney&county=Cork&census_year=1901&ded=Millstreet) | Does not test the wider Poor Law Union; parish/townland or union-level reconstruction is still needed. |

### Interpretation

- Cork is the dominant direct `Looney` county in both censuses and contains nearly all `Lowney` rows in the target counties.
- Kerry is no longer merely a derivative-map lead for early-20th-century distribution. Its direct `Looney` person-record counts are slightly higher than Clare's in both years: 184 versus 175 in 1901, and 194 versus 180 in 1911. This supports describing Kerry as a verified later distribution centre, but it does not supersede Woulfe's separate statement that `Ó Luanaigh` was chiefly found in Cork and Clare.
- Clare remains distinctive for the punctuation-normalized `O'Looney` bucket and for the directly verified Annagh, Magherareagh, and Ennistymon/Ennistimon concentrations.
- The Ulster comparison lane is sharply visible in the record data: `Lunney` and `Lunny` cluster in Fermanagh and Tyrone, while `Looney` is absent from those two target counties in both years. This supports keeping `Ó Luinigh` comparison material separate rather than merging by English spelling.
- The two `McLooney` rows are both in Donegal in 1901; none were returned in 1911. `MacLooney` returned no rows in either year.

### Remaining Griffith's Valuation Blocker

The Ask About Ireland portal was retried in a headed browser on 2026-09-12 and still returned a Cloudflare `403` security-verification page. Search URL parameters were independently identified (`action=doNameSearch`, `familyname`, `countyname`, `baronyname`, `unionname`, and `parishname`), but no Griffith counts were accepted into this project because the result pages could not be directly reviewed. The census half of the protocol is complete; the Griffith half remains a manual-browser or archive-access task.

### Revised Publication Decision

The direct census evidence is strong enough to update research notes and to describe Kerry internally as a verified early-20th-century distribution centre. No homepage copy is changed in this pass: census person counts describe distribution in 1901/1911, not origin, and the Griffith comparison remains incomplete.