Albert W. "Al" Mooney (12 April 1906 – 7 May 1986) was a self-taught aircraft designer. Al, along with his brother Arthur, was responsible for the startup of the Mooney Aircraft Company which started with the M-18 Mite.
Al Mooney's technical background stemmed from his father's job as an engineer building railroad trestles for the Denver & Rio Grande. In the time spent with his father, Al learned the concepts of drafting and layout work. His initial interest in airplane design began while still in grade school and continued to grow as he progressed to high school. While in high school, he realized he excelled at mathematics, and many possibilities lie within it. Seeking information on aircraft, Al asked his teacher what he should study that would best allow him to design safe airplanes. Al's teacher responded to him by saying there was no such thing as a safe aircraft and recommended he wait until college before pursuing the topic any more. Realizing his current schooling would give him very slim chance of learning the things he wanted to know, he began spending time at the Denver Public Library, where he read all of the available handbooks for pilots and designers.
Mooney is a family name, which is probably predominantly derived from the Irish Ó Maonaigh. It can also be spelled Moony, Moonie, Mainey, Mauney, Meaney and Meeney depending on the dialectic pronunciation that was Anglicised.
The origin of the different Moony or Mooney families is lost in antiquity. The name is derived from maoin a gaelic word meaning wealth or treasure of treasure, hence when O'Maonaigh was anglicised to Mooney it meant the descendant of the wealthy one.
According to Irish lore, the Mooney family comes from one of the largest and most noble Irish lines. They are said to be descendants of the ancient Irish King Heremon, who, along with his brother Herber, conquered Ireland. Heremon slew his brother shortly after their invasion, took the throne for himself, and fathered a line of kings of Ireland that include Malachi II, and King Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Baptismal records, parish records, ancient land grants, the Annals of the Four Masters, and books by O'Hart, McLysaght, and O'Brien were all used in researching the history of the Mooney family name. These varied and often ancient records indicate that distant septs of the name arose in several places throughout Ireland. The most known and most numerous sept came from the county of Offaly. The members of this sept were from Chieftain Monach, son of Ailill Mor, Lord of Ulster, who was descended from the Kings of Connacht. These family members gave their name to town lands called Ballymooney both in that county and in the neighboring county of Leix.
Mooney is a family name.
Mooney may also refer to:
Mooney (successor to Mooney Goes Wild) is an Irish radio programme broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. Presented by Derek Mooney, the programme airs Monday to Friday from 15:00 to 16:30.
Mooney was the 18th most listened-to radio programme in Ireland. It was presented by Brenda Donoghue or Aonghus McAnally when Derek Mooney was absent. Its predecessor programme, Mooney Goes Wild, was known for its coverage of nature and the later programme featured web broadcasts of blue tits nesting and hatching. In 2009, Mooney's blue tits nested live online in the gardens of Irish President, Mary McAleese.
Mooney Goes Wild started in 1995 on Saturdays on RTÉ Radio 1. It mainly focused on wildlife and nature. Jackie and Daw was broadcast on Mooney Goes Wild. Mooney Goes Wild on One won the prestigious Prix d'Europe in Berlin in 2000, with the award given for a programme that observed the lives of two nesting jackdaws.
On 2 October 2006, the programme moved to a weekday slot.
In early 2009, RTÉ weather presenter Nuala Carey launched a nationwide search to find herself a man on Mooney. Reports of her escapades at several dating events accompanied by her friend Ciara were broadcast on the radio programme.