Molly Maguire

American  

[muh-gwahyuhr] / məˈgwaɪər /

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.

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Molly Maguire British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Molly Maguire

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

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 • Jun. 30, 2018

I took it; I am not proud, and I should like Molly Maguire to see it.

From The Case of Jennie Brice by Bracker, M. Leone

Molly Maguire was there, and all her children around her, gaping.

From The Case of Jennie Brice by Bracker, M. Leone

He got up that Molly Maguire series for the new cleaning fluid.

From The "Genius" by Dreiser, Theodore

I was asleep forward, just dreaming of Ballinahone, an’ thinking I was leading off a dance with Molly Maguire, when down came the whole castle tumbling about our heads.

From Paddy Finn by Webb, Archibald