One of the rising stars of Irish rugby, Stuart McCloskey plays in the centre for Ulster, and at the age of 23, has already been selected for Ireland this year, when Jared Payne was injured.
I have seen him play many times and have often wondered if he and I were related. My mother’s mother was a McCloskey from near Coleraine.
Stuart was included in the training camp for the 2016 South African tour, but was not included in the final selection. But I have no doubt that his turn will come.
Over the past few months I have been focussing on my Irish ancestry, with the invaluable help of a fellow amateur genealogist, Norman Calvin, from Coleraine. Norman has discovered that I am indeed related to Stuart McCloskey. We are 3rd cousins 1x removed. Our common ancestor was James McCloskey (1808-1890), my 2nd great grandfather, and the line of descent is as follows:
James McCloskey (1808-1890)
->William McCloskey (1861-1927)
-> William McCloskey (1891-1957)
-> William McCloskey (c1920-)
-> Wilson Moore McCloskey
-> Stuart Matthew McCloskey (1992-)
So now I know… 🙂
The Irish Rover 