Peter Donnelly 1774 : Short Biography

Peter Donnelly was born in 1774 in either the County of Armagh or Tyrone. In the early 1800's along with his two brothers and possibly other family members he travelled to and settled in the Townland of Greaghnadarragh on the Bailieborough to Loughanleagh Road just two miles east of Bailieborough County Cavan. They had obtained the tenancy of three farm lots from Young (Minors), Peter and his brother Brian shared lot 10 known as the Blues in all about 26 acres with a house and outbuildings, brother John had lots 11 and 12. The Tithe Applotment record of the 1830's shows the lots, three in total,  leased to John Donnelly and brothers and later Griffiths Valuation of 1855 shows lot 10 leased to Brian's widow Rose Donnelly, Peter would have been in his early 80's.

Peter lived until 1872 and in the last 8 years of his life he married 30 year old Catherine Reilly and fathered four children with her. The photo for Peter's image is of his and Catherine's headstone in the Donnelly family plot in Moybologue Cemetery, Teevurcher. It was erected by their son James Donnelly in the early 1900's to remember them but the burial plot more than likely includes the graves of his brother Brian and his family as well.

Peter was a larger than life character and was known locally as Mucksy. The only official record of Peter being on this farm is the Succession of Occupants that shows him as occupying lot 10 B a 1 acre section with a mud built house on it. He took the occupancy over from his sister in law Rose Donnelly nee Carolan brother Brian's widow in 1869 and two years later in 1871 a year before his death his widow Catherine took it over and lived on it until her death in 1901. A photo of the Occupancy record is attached. After her death, the mud house was left to the elements to erode it back to the ground. There are birth certificates for all four of Peter and Catherine's children, the first Anne in 1865 when he was 91, then Sarah 1867, James 1868 and Catherine 1870. This branch of the family was nicknamed the Shinnies which probably referred to Mucksy as it infers that he was a sly old fox. I do not know what happened to his children so if anyone can help with information of any sort it would be appreciated. Daughter Catherine might have been Kate Donnelly who took over the Occupancy from 1923 to 1931.

It is probably the case that Peter had a son James Donnelly from an earlier marriage who had a daughter called Bridget Donnelly, she married his brother Brian's son John Donnelly so they were first cousins once removed. Brian was my great, great grandfather and Peter my great, great uncle. The unknown to me is any record of Peter's son James from his first marriage. The only record that I have is from the Moybologue parish record of John and Bridget's marriage in 1872 where he is recorded as James Donnelly father of the bride and that he was from Greaghnadarragh.

I have a lot of records to track their history on Greaghnadarragh and a lot of family stories and knowledge handed down through the generations but would like to know if anyone has knowledge factual or otherwise of James Donnelly, if indeed he was Peter's Son. I am convinced that he was.