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When Bernard became Tommy - the McInally mystery

31/1/2013

10 Comments

 
Picture
One of the problems I find when researching Scotland internationals is that quite often their details don't match previously published material. Sometimes this means a birth is a year out, a Mac becomes a Mc, but occasionally a name changes completely.
   One such case was resolved this week when I was looking for the background to Tommy McInally, a Celtic star forward of the 1920s who also had spells at Third Lanark, Sunderland and a few other clubs. He won two caps in 1926, against Ireland and Wales. Known as a maverick who delighted the fans, he died of alcoholism on 29 December 1955. There were obituaries in the press, and an inscription on his grave at St Conval's Cemetery in Barrhead. But if you check the death registers, Thomas Bruce McInally, as the reference books call him, is nowhere to be seen.
   However, there was indeed a McInally who died that day, but his first name was Bernard. Death certificates give the names of parents, and from there it was simple enough to find the birth certificate of Bernard McInally, born in Main Street, Barrhead on 18 December 1899 to Francis McInally and Anne (maiden name Slaven). By the time of the 1901 census the boy was recorded as Thomas, the youngest of eight children including his older brother Arthur, who also went on to play for Celtic. And, for whatever reasons, he was known throughout his life as Tommy until that final note of his death reverted to his 'official' name.
10 Comments
John Meffen link
1/3/2013 01:37:27 am

I recently came across something a bit like this. I was told that Kenny Dawson of Falkirk was called 'James' on his Birth Certificate [I have no idea why though] this may have been more common than thought.
The Dawson thing had been stumping me for a while as I had been looking for him based on his Wedding Certificate, getting closer.

John.

Reply
Tom Higgins
3/3/2015 08:47:26 am

Tommy McInally was the youngest of nine children. There were three footballers in the family. The eldest brother, John, (Jake), played for various teams including Abercorn and Arthurlie. They were my grand uncles.

Reply
John Kerr
19/3/2015 11:05:12 am

He was also my grand uncle, my grandmother was his sister Ellen who married John Kerr of Irvine Ayrshire who had a large family of her own

John

Reply
Tom Higgins
20/3/2015 04:37:40 am

Hi John,
There were nine McInally siblings: Jimmy, 1878-1939, who married Kate O' Donnell in1904 and had a large family, mostly girls; Frank 1879-1927, who never married; John 1881-1966, who never married; Sarah 1883-1962 who never married; Roseanne 1885-1939, my grandmother, who married Thomas Higgins in 1915; Helen (not Ellen) 1886-1964, who had no children and did not marry, Mary 1890-1959 who married Pat Mc Dermott and had four children; Arthur 1895-1966, who married Mary McLeavey and had four children; Tommy 1899-1955, who never married.
Could you be descended from Jimmy and specifically from one of his children. Some of his daughters would have been old enough to have been close to Tommy in age.
I would be interested to know, as I have written and self published a book on the "Slavens of Slates" about the life and times of the Irish immigrant ancestors of the Mc Inallys, with a chapter on the McInallys.

JOHN KERR
24/4/2015 01:17:48 pm

Ellen my grandmother was born 1875-1975 she actually died on my eighteenth birthday just before she was 100 so didn't get telegram from the queen, she had 13 children all of whom have passed away, but growing up we heard many stories about Tommy some said he was a cousin of my Gran others said sister, but nobody alive now to ask I'm afraid

John

Reply
Tom Higgins
24/4/2015 04:18:32 pm

Given Ellen's dates, could she have been Jimmy's wife, who I have as Kate. If so she would have lived in Barrhead, where he was a dairy farmer. They had moved to Perthshire by the 1930s. If, however, she was a cousin it is likely that her maiden name was Slaven or mcInally. Do you have the maiden name on the death certificate?

Reply
Tom Higgins
6/4/2019 01:21:49 pm

Tommy Mc Inally's cause of death was not alcoholism . It was cancer, of the throat, I think.

Reply
Gerry McInally
22/3/2020 08:32:54 pm

I’ve just came across this web page whilst researching my great uncle Tommy McInally and realise that I have quite an extended family. My dad Ian McInally , would never talk about his family and nor would my gran Mary Mcleavey.
I would be very interested to find out more and would Love to get in touch with the extended family if you can help.
Thanks , Gerry

Reply
Tom Higgins
23/3/2020 11:05:06 am

Hi Gerry,
Good to hear from you.Do you have an e-mail address that I could contact you with and we could exchange any family information that we might have? On the specific matter of Tommy Mc Inally, there is a good biography "Tommy Mc Inally Celtic's Bad Bhoy?" by David Potter, Black and White publishing 2009. Like all of David's books it is well researched and well written. I gave him some background information when he was writing it. Tom

Reply
Andy Mitchell
23/3/2020 11:07:25 am

Happy to bring you together! Please don't post your email address here, though, just send me a message via the contact form on the home page and I'll do the rest. Andy


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    All blog posts, unless stated, are written by Andy Mitchell, who is researching Scottish sport on a regular basis.