Yes, my name is Mullarky, and yes, I’m familiar with the expression “Full of Mularkey”. So what’s up with the name anyway?
Well, it’s an Irish name, though not a popular one. If you go to Irish Fest and they’re selling things with Irish surnames, you won’t find Mullarky. You may find Malarkey, and even that is unusual.
One of my ancestors was in the Civil War. When he went into the army, his name was spelled Mullarkey. Afterwards, all the records are spelled Mullarky. I guess he decided it was easier to accept the error than to get the government to correct its mistake. Some things never change!
There are several families of Mullarkys, with variations on the spelling. I’m willing to bet that most of us (maybe all of us) are related if you go back far enough. I’m aware of a Mike Mularkey who played in the NFL and now coaches the Jaguars. And there was a Don Malarkey who fought in the 101st Airborne division. You may have seen the story in “Band Of Brothers”. Oddly enough, I went to high school with a Mularkey in my class. What are the odds in a small school? We were unrelated, of course. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked if we were brothers…
I had mixed feelings about naming the business Mullarky Business Systems, but in the end, I decided to go with it. It ties my name to the company name and makes it easy for people to find me.