antedating "Molly Maguires" 1844

[Stephen Goranson]

OED has 1845 for Molly Maguire (singular); 1867 for Molly Maguires

British Library Newspapers
CONCILIATION HALL
Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser (Dublin, Ireland), Tuesday,
December 10, 1844; Issue N/A. p. 3, col. 2
They called themselves the "Molly Maguires," a fantastic name, but they
assembled at night, and committed outrages of every kind....

Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson/Essenes_&_Others.pdf

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