De Bhul, De Bhulbh

Rev Patrick Woulfe

Irish Names and Surnames

1923

de BHUL, de BHULBH—XII—Woulfe, Wolfe; Norman 'le Wulf,' 'le Wolf,' i.e., the wolf, one of a rapacious disposition. This family came into Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion and settled in Kildare and Limerick. In the former county, they were seated at Baile nuadh, now Newtown, near Athy, and possessed a district, called Críoch Bhulbhach, or Woulfe's country, on the east side of the Barrow, extending towards Monasterevan. Baile nuadh continued to be the home of the family until forfeited on the attainder of Nicholas Wolfe in 1641. The Woulfes of Limerick, from the 14th to the middle of the 17th century, took an active part in the affairs of the city. Among those exempted from pardon by Ireton, when he took possession of Limerick in 1651, were Father Francis Woulfe and Captain George Woulfe. In the county, Ballywilliam and Inniscouche, the lands of Patrick Woulfe, and Ballywinterrourke, the property of John Woulfe, were confiscated after the Geraldine war in the last quarter of the 16th century; and in 1653, David Wolfe was transplanted to Connacht. Some of the name about the same time settled in Clare.

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