Molly Maguire

[ muh-gwahyuhr ]

noun

1. Irish History. a member of a secret terrorist society organized in Ireland in 1843 to prevent evictions by the government: so called because the members disguised themselves as women.
2. U.S. History. a member of a former secret association, organized about 1865, that terrorized the mine operators' agents in an effort to get relief from oppressive conditions in the anthracite coal-mining regions of Pennsylvania: ceased to function about 1877.

Molly Maguire

/ ˈmɒlɪ məˈɡwaɪə /

noun

1. Irish history a member of a secret society that terrorized law officers during the 1840s to prevent evictions
2. (in Pennsylvania from about 1865 to 1877) a member of a society of miners that terrorized mine owners and their agents in an effort to obtain better pay

Word History and Origins

Origin of Molly Maguire¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Word History and Origins

Origin of Molly Maguire¹

C19: the name refers to the female disguise adopted by members of these societies

Example Sentences

One condemned Molly Maguire proclaimed innocence while mashing a dirty handprint into the wall of his cell, where he said it would remain as long as the Mauch Chunk jail kept standing.

From Washington Times

The squadron might have provided evidence to vigilantes such as the masked men who led the home invasion in Wiggans Patch near Mahanoy City, where one Molly Maguire and the pregnant wife of another were killed.

From Washington Times

Kerrigan organized the assassination of Yost because the policeman gave a beating to a Molly Maguire member the year before.

From Washington Times

He had a love affair with barmaid while courting a pretty 17-year-old whom he plied for information about her brother-in-law, a Molly Maguire ringleader.

From Washington Times

McParlan’s boss Allan Pinkerton had asked him to write a report on Irish secret societies like the Threshers, Ribbonmen, White Boys and the Society of Molly Maguire, and McParlan believed that the Mollies were American offshoots of the Irish organizations.

From Washington Times