~~ TIMES PAST~~for over 500 years the English army had invaded Ireland. Finally, in 1790 William of Orange won over the Catholics. Their lands were taken away from them, they were forced to practice their religion underground in secret.
 They could not vote or hold office. The English government gave all the lands to the Protestants. Catholic's could not hunt, pick mushrooms or even pick up sticks for fire wood on land they rented from the Protestants. They even had to support a religion they did not belong to.

~~ HUNGER~~in the mid 19th Century most of all the Irish Catholic's lived in small settlements. Potatoes were about the only crops the Irish peasant had to eat. In the autumn of 1845 blight hit the potato crops. This devastated Ireland. There was really no shortage of food. The English Landlords shipped other crops back to England. Between 1846-1851 -- One Million Irish peasants died of starvation and disease.

~~ The Irish were lucky to escape by immigrating from the horrors of the famine compounded by the horrors of the Atlantic crossing. The ships were called "Coffin Ships". The poorly trained crew and officers cared little of the welfare of the passengers. Thousands drowned at sea. Fortunately, many made it to America for a NEW LIFE. The Irish Catholics in America were considered low life. They took whatever work they could find as laborers, building canals, railroads, and servants and as farm hands.

FootNote: 

Mulligan Name Meaning and History
 Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maolagáin (see Milligan).

Scanlon Name Meaning and History
 Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Scannláin, ‘descendant of Scannlán’, a personal name formed from a diminutive of Scannal (see Scannell).