Examples of the Buggy name from the 1700s in Ireland are generally rare to find. One example comes from Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society which contains a reproduced article from the 25 February 1775 edition of Finn’s Leinster Journal .[1] Finn’s Leinster Journal was a newspaper that was published in Kilkenny in the late 18th century and then under various names in the 19th century.
In an article written about the history of the Ballyragget area, a priest in the 1870s writes about a group of local men who banded together to intercept a group of Whiteboys who were going to attack Ballyragget. One member of the Whiteboys was John Buggy from Freshford. He was killed from a slug that passed through his body.
You can read about the events here. The reference to John Buggy is on page 106.
[1] Murphy, N. 1879. Ballyragget – A sketch of its history and parish priests in Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society: Volume The First 1874-1879. Pp 101-113, Kilkenny: Journal Office.
