HARRINGTONS IN DURRUS

Attached Files

Hello Panos,

I found a copy of the original marriage record for Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony at the irishgenealogy.ie website. But, the marriage record conflicts with the information you have for Michael Harrington. The marriage record is attached to this reply and shows that Michael and Mary were married in the Catholic Chapel of Kilcrohane on February 15, 1866. Where the marriage record conflicts with your information is that it shows that both Michael and Mary were of “Minor” age when they married, which means they would have been under the age of 21. This also means they would have been born after 1845. Your information however, shows that Michael was born in 1820, 46 years before the 1866 marriage date.

The civil marriage record also shows that at the time of marriage Michael was a “Bachelor” and that Mary was a “Spinster,” which means they hadn’t been married before. Michael’s residence at the time of marriage was “Brahilish,” which of course pertains to Brahalish. Mary’s residence at the time of marriage is recorded as, “Roskerigh.” I could not find a Roskerigh near Brahalish. I believe however that Roskerigh actually refers to the townland of Rossnacaheragh. A Google map shows that Rossnacaheragh is 3.7 miles west of Brahalish by the shortest route. See the map at: https://is.gd/6IjVY5

The marriage record further shows that Michael was a “Farmer” and that his father is Cornelius Harrington, also a farmer. No occupation is recorded for Mary. Her father is Jno Mahony. Jno is an old abbreviation for the name John.

The priest who married Michael and Mary in the Kilcrohane Catholic Church was John A. Daly. The witnesses to the marriage were Charles McCarthy and John Dealy.

The marriage for Michael and Mary is the last one recorded in the attached marriage register.

Panos, is this the correct marriage record for your ancestors? Again, I’m not sure because your information shows that Michael was born in 1820, while the marriage record shows he was a minor in 1866.

If this is the correct marriage record for your ancestors, I also found the birth and baptism records for 5 of Michael and Mary’s children, which I can send to you in a follow-up reply.

Best Wishes,

Dave Boylan

Hello dave and many thanks for replying and helping me out. It seems I indeed might have a wrong birth date for michael harrington. I would think that the marriage record you sent on is correct and clears a few things up for now at least. On the matter of the children of michael harrington and mary mahony. I believe they are cornelius harrington(1867), mary harrington(1869), john harrington(1872), daniel harrington(1873), joanna harrington(1876). I hope im right on that. I must admit it all gets a bit confusing when digging deeper. Again your help would be much appreciated. Thanks a million and apologies for my late reply.

All the best!
Panos

Hello Panos,

Many thanks for writing back Panos.

I'll send you the information I found thus far, and see if I can find any more records for the Harrington, Mahony, and related families. This may take a few days. Hopefully I'll respond by this weekend, and if not by this weekend, sometime next week, as I am just finishing up another genealogical research project concerning a person's ancestors from Miltown Malbay, County Clare.

Again, thank you for your response.

Dave

Hello dave. Apologies for replying late. I was away for holidays abroad. Thanks again for your help and really looking forward to hearing from you again! All the best with your current research project.

Best wishes
Panos

You're welcome Panos. I started working on your genealogy a couple of days ago and am still in the process of seeing what additional information I can find. I may be done sometime this week, depending on how many more records I can uncover. You probably already have some of the information I found, but some you may not. For those records you do have, you can compare them with the records I found and see if they match.

I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thank you again for writing Panos.

With Best Wishes,

Dave

Attached Files

Hello Panos

I found one more birth record for a child of Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony, which you will see as an attachment in this reply along with the five other birth record attachments for the Harrington children.

The names and years of baptisms for these children are:

Cornelius, 1867
Mary, 1869
John, 1872
Daniel, 1873
Johanna, 1876
Ellen, 1883
____

The birth records were uncovered at the free irishgenelaogy.ie website. You’ll notice there is a 7 year gap between the birth of Johanna Harrington and Ellen Harrington. I searched for other Harrington births between these two years but did not find any at irishgenealogy.ie. Either I missed locating the birth records, or a child or children may have been stillborn, or the birth or births were not recorded under the civil registration system. It was the responsibility of one of the parents, or midwife, or an official (such as the head of the union workhouse) to report the birth to the local registrar in the area where the parents or parent had lived.

CORNELIUS HARRINGTON BIRTH

Cornelius Harrington was born in Brahalish on 18 March 1867. His father is Michael Harrington, a farmer whose residence was Brahalish. The mother is Mary Harrington, formerly Mahony. Michael Harrington reported the birth to the local “D. Reg., that is, Deputy Registrar, P. Heffernan, who recorded the birth on 1 April 1867. The birth record for Cornelius is attached to this reply and is Number 406 in the birth register.

MARY HARRINGTON BIRTH

Mary Harrington was born in Brahalish on 22 April 1869. Her father is Michael Harrington whose residence is Brahalish and who is a farmer. Her mother is Mary Harrington, formerly Mahony. Michael Harrington reported the birth to Thomas Henry Sandford, the registrar, who recorded the birth on 23 April 1869. Mary’s birth is Number 205 in the attached register.

JOHN HARRINGTON BIRTH

The birth of John Harrington took place in Brahalish on 24 April 1872. His father is Michael Harrington, a farmer residing in Brahalish. His mother is Mary Harrington, formerly Mahony. Michael Harrington reported the birth to the registrar, Thomas Henry Sandford, who recorded the birth on 1 May 1872. John’s birth is at Number 162 in the attached birth register.

DANIEL HARRINGTON BIRTH

Daniel Harrington was born on 3 November 1873 in Brahalish. His father is Michael Harrington, a farmer in Brahalish. Daniel’s mother is Mary Harrington, formerly “Mahoney.” The registrar, James O’Connolly, recorded the birth on 3 November 1873. Daniel’s birth is the first recorded in the attached register at Number 380.

JOHANNA HARRINGTON BIRTH

The birth of Johanna Harrington took place in Brahalish on 25 September 1876. Her father Michael is a farmer from Brahalish. Her mother is Mary Harrington, formerly Mahony. Michael Harrington reported the birth to the local registrar, James O’Connolly, who recorded the birth on 5 October 1876. Johanna’s birth is at Number 299 in the attached birth register.

ELLEN HARRINGTON BIRTH

Ellen Harrington was born on 20 May 1883 in Brahalish. Her father Michael Harrington is a farmer residing in Brahalish. Her mother is Mary Harrington, formerly Mahoney. Michael Harrington reported the birth to the local registrar, J. O’Connolly, who recorded the birth on 25 May 1883. Ellen birth is the last recorded in the attached register at Number 124.

I next found the church marriage transcription for Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony, as well as baptism transcriptions for 5 of 6 of their children at the Find My Past (FMP) website. To search for Catholic baptism, marriage, and available burial records at Find My past, you will have to register with the site. Registration is free.

The search engine for the FMP baptism transcriptions can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/jnmqmuv

The search engine for Catholic marriages can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/jzylkjy

For Catholic Parish burial transcriptions go to the search engine at: http://tinyurl.com/j9qe5p9

Not all Catholic Church Parishes in Ireland kept burial records.

Attached to the FMP baptism, marriage, and burial transcriptions are links that will take you to copies of the original parish registers held by the National Library of Ireland in Dublin.

I haven’t included the marriage or birth transcriptions in this reply as they are lengthy and also under copyright.

But I have provided links to the transcriptions so that you can see what they look like before accessing a copies of the original church registers held by the National Library of Ireland.

The FMP link below will take you to the marriage transcription for Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0244450%2F1

The marriage transcription shows that Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony were married in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish on 10 February 1866. This is the same date of marriage as found in their civil registration marriage record. In the civil marriage record Michael and Mary are shown to have been married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Kilcrohane. Kilcrohane is the name of the civil parish, while Muintervarra is the name of the Catholic Parish. They are actually both the same location but under different names. This is shown in the transcription that lists the alternative parish names for Muintervarra, which include Durrus, Durrus and Kilcrohane, Kilcrohane, and Muintervara.

You can access a copy of the original church marriage record for Michael and Mary at the following National Library of Ireland link: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634869#page/61/mode/1up

You can enlarge the register by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.

There are two facing pages of the marriage register. The marriage entry for Michael and Mary is the last entry on the left-hand page. Below their names are the names of the witnesses, Chares McCarthy and John Dealy, who are the same witnesses recorded in the civil marriage record you have. The parish priest who married Michael and Mary was John A. Daly, who is also recorded in the civil marriage record.

According to the National Library of Ireland, marriages for the Muintervarra Catholic Parish are available to search online from 4 February 1819 to 1 March 1881. Baptisms are available from 5 May 1820 to 20 January 1881, though there are a few gaps in the baptism registers for the last half of February 1856 to early March 1856. You can see the availability of the parish registers, as well as view a map of the Catholic Parish of Muintervarra and Sheep’s Head Peninsula at the following National Library of Ireland link: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0084

While at the FMP website I looked for the baptism transcriptions for the children of Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony. I uncovered five baptisms, all of which took place in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish. Along with each FMP transcription are links to copies of the original Muintervarra baptism records for each child held from the National Library of Ireland. The names and years of baptism for the five Harrington children are:

Con (Cornelius), 1867
Mary, 1869
John, 1872
Daniel, 1873
Johanna, 1876
____

The 1883 baptism for Ellen Harrington, whose birth record is attached, is not found in the FMP baptism transcriptions or the Muintervarra Parish registers. Baptisms from the National Library of Ireland for Muintervarra are only available to 20 January 1881, as noted above.

CON HARRINGTON BAPTISM

The FMP baptism transcription for Con Harrington can be viewed at the following link: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1209148

The transcription shows that Con Harrington was baptized on 19 February 1867. The residence of the family is Brahalish. The parents are Michl Harrington and Mary Mahony. To view a copy of the original baptism record for Con Harrington, go to the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/56/mode/1up

Con’s baptism is on the left-hand register page. His baptism is the 4th entry below the February 1867 subheading. The sponsors, or godparents are John Mahony and Honora “Mahy,” which I believe would be the abbreviation for Mahony.

MARY HARRINGTON BAPTISM

Mary Harrington was baptized on 23 April 1869 according to the FMP transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1209438

The residence of the family at the time of the baptism was Brahalish. The parents are Michl Harrington and Mary Mahony. To view a copy of the original baptism record for Mary go to the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/68/mode/1up

Mary’s baptism is the 4th entry down from the top of the left-hand register page. The godparents are George Mahony and Mary Carthy.

JOHN HARRINGTON BAPTISM

John Harrington was baptized on 28 April 1872. The residence of the family is Brahalish. John’s parents are Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony. You can view the FMP baptism transcription for John Harrington at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1209908

A copy of the original National Library of Ireland baptism for John Mahony is the 3rd entry up from the bottom of the left-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/86/mode/1up

The parents are recorded in the register with Mary Mahony’s name directly below her husband, Michael Harrington. The godparents are Daniel Harrington and Catherine Corcoran.

DANIEL HARRINGTON BAPTISM

Daniel Harrington was baptized on 3 November 1873 according to the FMP transcription at:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1210127

The residence of the Harrington family is not recorded in the transcription. The parents are Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony.

A copy of the original baptism for Daniel Harrington is the first entry after the November subheading on the left-hand baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/94/mode/1up

The godparents are Pat McCarthy and Catherine Harrington.

JOHANNA HARRINGTON

The FMP baptism transcription for Johanna Harrington can be viewed at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1210542

Johanna was baptized on 24 September 1876. Her parents are Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony. A copy of Johanna’s original baptism record held by the National Library of Ireland can be found at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/111/mode/1up

Her baptism is the 8th entry down from the top of the right-hand baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634871#page/111/mode/1up

There appears to be two godfathers for Johanna Harrington. One is Cornelius Harrington, the other Richard Sullivan. No godmother is recorded.

The Harrington children were likely baptized in the Catholic Chapel at Kilcrohane, where their parents were married in 1866. The Catholic Church in Kilcrohane today is called Our Lady Star of the Sea. This church structure however, is not where Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony were married or where their children were baptized. According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the Our Lady Star of the Sea church was constructed in 1897. For a description of the church and to view a slide show of the church, go to the Buildings of Ireland website link at: https://is.gd/egZaRz

A Google Map shows that Brahalish, by the shortest route, is 7.3 miles east of the church. See the map at: https://is.gd/0f8lIx

For an enlarged Google Map showing the location of the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Kilcrohane, go to: https://is.gd/1F6E4I

For a Google Street View of the Church, see: https://is.gd/V8lQ23

I found an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1888 to 1913 time period showing the location of the old R.C. Chapel in Kilcrohane. The name of the church on this map is St. Mary’s. This map would have actually been compiled before the new church was built in 1897. The map shows the old church was just south of the present day Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Kilcrohane. See the map at the GeoHive website link at: http://bit.ly/2ver9ss

You can also view the location of the “R.C. Chapel” in Kilcrohane on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period at the GeoHive link at: http://bit.ly/2vflpP0

The old church would have been situated across the street from the new church near the blue colored house you see in the Google Street View of Kilcrohane at: https://is.gd/XbWIyg

The 1866 marriage record for Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony shows that Michael was from Brahalish while Mary was from Roskerigh. I had mentioned in a previous reply that I could not find a town named Roskerigh near Brahalish, but did find a town called Rossnacaheragh, located 3.7 miles west of Brahalish, as indicated on the Google Map at: https://is.gd/6IjVY5

I’d like to revise the location of Rossnacaheragh as Mary’s residence in 1866. I did some further research and found there is a townland more closely matches the spelling Roskerigh. This townland is Rosskerrig, which is 3.4 miles southwest of Rossnacaheragh, according to the Google Map at: https://is.gd/GyEycC

Another Google Map shows that Rosskerrig is 2.5 miles northeast of Kilcrohane: https://is.gd/JVChSd

In addition the Google Map, the following link shows that Rosskerrig and Brahalish are 5.1 miles away from each other by the shortest route: https://is.gd/5GmXnC

To see if I could make a stronger case for Mary Mahony living in Rosskerrig, I next wanted to see if her father John was enumerated in an Irish property tax record known as Griffiths Valuation. Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for Rosskerrig and surrounding townlands in the Sheep’s Head Peninsula was completed by the year 1853.

Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who paid to lease property, such as land, houses, and outbuildings. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman for the owner. This person was called the “Immediate Lessor.”

You can access Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the askaboutireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

I found in Griffiths Valuation that a John Mahony did lease property in Rosskerrig. He actually leased three different parcels in the townland. Below is the Griffiths Valuation transcription for John Mahony leasing two of the three parcels in Rosskerrig.

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 11 A, B a
Civil Parish: Kilcrohane
Townland: Rosskerrig
Occupier: John Mahony
Immediate Lessor: Richard O’Donovan
Description of Tenement, First Parcel: Land
Description of Tenement, Second Parcel: House, office and land
Area of Land, First Parcel: 3 Acres, 1 Rood, 8 Perches
Area of Land, Second Parcel: 7 Acres, 0 Roods, 37 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, First Parcel: 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, Second Parcel: 4 Pounds
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 10 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 4 Pounds, 15 Shillings
____

Griffiths Valuation shows that John Mahony leased a parcel of land over 3 acres and valued at 5 Shillings. He also leased over 7 acres of land along with a house and offices. This land was valued at 4 Pounds, while the house and offices were valued at 10 Shillings. The total valuation of the two properties that John Mahony leased in Rosskerrig was 4 Pounds and 15 Shillings. The Immediate Lessor for these properties was Richard O’Donovan. John Mahony would not have been required to pay a tax on either of the properties as only those properties valued over 5 Shillings were subject to the tax payable by the Occupier.

An office in a Griffiths Valuation record can refer to any type of outbuilding such as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc. The number and letters at the top of the valuation (11 A, B, a), refer to the location of the property John leased on an ordnance Survey Map compiled before the valuation. This map is similar to the Ordnance Survey Map for Kilcrohane you saw earlier from the GeoHive website.

The Grififths Valuation Ordnance Survey Maps are available at the Ask About Ireland website, but I have been unable, over the years, to link or attach these maps to replies such as this. But I can show you the approximate location of John Mahony’s house in Rosskerrig on a similar Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period. The map is from GeoHive and can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/38ae8if

Once the map appears make sure to click on, “Close Menu” to view the full map. Once at the map you’ll see the name of the townland in block letters: ROSSKERRIG. Go to the E in Rosskerrig. Above the E, situated within a small square you’ll see what appears to be a structure. I believe this would have been the location of John Mahony’s house and the house where his daughter Mary had grown up. John would have farmed the land surrounding the house.

Griffiths Valuation further shows that John Mahony leased over 193 acres of land in common with several other occupiers in Rosskerrig. The Immediate Lessor for this property was also Richard Donovan. The other occupiers who leased the land with John Mahony were James Daly, Cornelius Flynn, William Barry, Jeremiah Mahony, James Mahony, Owen Sullivan, Owen Carthy, Timothy Donovan, Jeremiah Donovan, Maurice Foley, Thomas Foley, Denis Dawley, John Carthy, Denis Carthy, Michael Goggin, Michael Nicholas, and Jeremiah Coghlan.

Jeremiah and James Mahony were likely related to John Mahony.

Panos, being as you and your mom live in Bantry, you can visit Rosskerrig to see the town where I believe Mary Mahony and her family had lived all those years ago. A Google Map shows that Rosskerrig is 12.3 miles southwest of Bantry down the Sheep’s Head: https://is.gd/Lrsuww

After finding John Mahony in Griffiths Valuation leasing property in Rosskerrig, I next wanted to see if there were any Mahonys leasing property in the aforementioned Rossnacaheragh, also spelled Rosnacaheragh, where I originaly thought Mary Mahony was living at the time of her marriage in 1866. I didn’t find any Mahonys in that townland in Griffiths Valuation.

While at the Ask About Ireland website I next wanted to see if Michael Harrington’s father, Cornelius was enumerated in Griffiths Valuation in Brahalish. I did find that Cornelius Harrington was leasing property in Brahalish in Griffiths Valuation. He leased a house, office and land, but he leased the land in common with another Occupier named James Williamson. The land totaled over 35 acres, but Cornelius must have leased a lessor portion of the land because the value of the land he leased was 8 Pounds and 10 Shillings less than the value of the land that James Williamson leased. The Immediate Lessor for the property that Cornelius Harrington and James Williamson leased was the Rev. A. Evanson.

Below is the Griffiths Valuation transcription for Cornelius Harrington and James Williamson in Brahalish:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: Cornelius Harrington: 9 a
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: James Williamson: 9 b
Civil Parish: Kilcrohane
Townland: Brahalish
Occupiers: Cornelius Harrington, James Williamson
Immediate Lessor: Rev. A. Evanson
Description of Tenement, Cornelius Harrington: House, office and land
Description of Tenement, James Williamson: House, offices, and land
Area of Land: 35 Acres, 0 Roods, 5 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, Cornelius Harrington: 4 Pounds, 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, James Williamson: 12 Pounds, 15 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings, Cornelius Harrington: 10 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings, James Williamson: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property, Cornelius Harrington: 4 Pounds, 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property, James Williamson: 13 Pounds, 10 Shillings
____

Cornelius Harrington would not have been required to pay the tax on his leasehold as it was valued under 5 Pounds, while James Williamson would have paid a percentage of the value of his leasehold toward the tax because it was valued over 5 Pounds.

I next accessed Griffiths Valuation Ordnance Survey Map for Brahalish, where I found Map Reference 9. You can view the approximate location of the Harrington lease in Brahalsih by going to the Ordnance Survey Map from GeoHive at the following link: http://bit.ly/2vf9D7q

In the center of the map you’ll see a group of tiny buildings. I suspect that one of these buildings was the house of Cornelius Harrington. These buildings were located just southeast of what was known as the “Brahalish Fort,” which you can see in two concentric circles in the upper left of the map

You can see these buildings much clearer on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1888 to 1913 time period at the GeoHive link at: http://bit.ly/2H5vAbB

The next link will bring you to a an Ordnance Survey from the 1888 to 1913 time period showing a larger area of Brahalish and the group of buildings just southeast of the Brahalish Fort: http://bit.ly/2Sb9afx

Because I found the locations of what I believe are homes of John Mahony and Cornelius Harrington through online Ordnance Survey maps, there is room for error in pinpointing the exact locations where the homes may have been. To get a more precise location of the homes of the Mahony and Harrington Occupiers, I recommend, if time permits, visiting the Valuation Office in the Irish Life Centre, Abbey Street Lower, North City, Dublin 1, to consult with officials there, as many of the original Valuation Maps are housed at the Valuation Office.

See the location of the Valuation Office in Dublin in the following Google Map: https://is.gd/QCUguf

Valuation Maps are also housed at the National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin, south of the Liffey. See: https://is.gd/QD9JP7

MICHAEL HARRINGTON AND MARY MAHONY

I haven’t located any information that records where Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony were born. While they lived and raised a family in Brahalish, they were not necessarily born in that town or born in the civil parish of Kilcrohane, Catholic Parish of Muintervarra. If they were born and baptized in the jurisdiction of the Muintervarra Catholic Parish, there should be baptism records for them. What we do know about them is that they were recorded as minors, that is, under the age of 21, when they married in 1866. This means they would have been born after 1845. If they were born in 1846 they would have been 20 when they married. If born in 1847 they would have been 19. If born in 1848 their ages would have been 18. If their births had occurred in 1849 they would have been 17, and if born in 1850 they would have been 16 when they married, though I’m not sure if a Catholic priest would have married them at 16 or 15 without special dispensation.

The other information about Michael and Mary that we know is that Michael’s father was Cornelius while Mary’s father was John. The one major drawback with this type of research is that I don’t know what the first and maiden names of their mothers were. Without that knowledge, any baptism records I uncover for a Michael Harrington and a Mary Mahony would be circumstantial. This means that I wouldn’t be able to say with complete certainty that I found the correct parents for your direct ancestors, Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony.

I looked for the Muintervarra Catholic baptism transcriptions for the years 1846 to 1851 at the FMP website in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish starting with Michael Harrington, son of Cornelius. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a baptism transcription for him in the Muintervarra parish at the FMP website for the dates noted above. He may have been baptized in the parish but it’s possible his baptism record is too faded or dark to be transcribed by the FMP staff. It’s also possible he was from another area of County Cork and Baptized in a nearby Catholic Parish, such as Allihies, Schull East or Schull West, or the Bonine and Glengarriff Catholic Parish.

I also looked for the FMP baptism transcription of a Mary Mahony in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish for the years 1846 to 1851 and uncovered two possibilities. The first of these is for a Mary Mahony who was baptized on 1 November 1846. Her father is John Mahony, her mother Mary Sullivan. The residence of the Mahony family is transcribed as, “Crockeen.” You can view the transcription at the FMP link:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1206579

A copy of the original baptism record for Mary Mahony is the first entry after the November subheading on the left-hand baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634870#page/197/mode/1up

Mary’s godfather is Danl Sullivan. The first name of her godmother is Mary, whose last name I couldn’t make out. To the right of the godmother Mary’s name is the residence of the Mahonys at the time of the baptism. It does not look like Crockeen. I could not make out what the town is.

The second Mary Mahony was baptized in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish on 14 May 1848. The address of her family is Killeen. Her parents are John Mahony and Ellen Coghlan. You can view the FMP baptism transcription for Mary at the following link:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1206732

A copy of Mary Mahon’s original baptism record is the last entry on the left-hand register page at the following National Library of Ireland link: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634870#page/202/mode/1up

I could not clearly decipher the first name of the godfather, but it may be “Joh,” short for John. His last name is Coghlan. The first name of Mary’s godmother is Mary. I couldn’t tell what her last name was. To the right of the godmother’s name is the name of the town, Killeen, where John and Ellen Mahony and their daughter were residing at the time of the baptism.

These two records show that neither family of Mary Mahony had been living in the townland of Rosskerrig at the time of the baptisms. In any event, I do not know if either of the two Mary Mahonys is your direct ancestor who would go on to marry Michael Harrington in 1866.

THE 1901 CENSUS

The next search involved looking for the Harrington family in the 1901 census to see if they were still living in Brahalish. I found what may be your Mary Harrington and two of her children in the census. Mary is a 48 year old widow, who can read and who can speak Irish and English. She and her children are in house 12, Brahalish. Her oldest child is 26 year old John, a farmer who is not married. Mary’s daughter is 18 year old Ellie, a dressmaker, who also is not married. You can view a transcription of the 1901 census for the Harringtons at the National Archives of Ireland link at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Durrus_West/Braha…

Make sure to tick “Show all information” to view the full census transcription.

To view a copy of the original 1901 census for the Harrington family, go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000497940/

The 1901 census shows that the head of the household, Mary, is a widow. I looked for Michael death record at the irishgenealogy.ie website. The only real criteria I had to go on in identifying the death of Mary’s husband Michael, was if he had died in Brahalish. If he had died, say in the hospital or workhouse in Bantry, and if his residence of Brahalish was not recorded at the time of death, I wouldn’t know if I had the death record for your Michael Harrington. I did a very comprehensive search for his death but did not find it. It is possible I missed locating his death. The other possibility is that no member of his family reported the death to the local registrar, even though I believe there was a fine for not reporting a birth, marriage, or death to the local registrar. I was very disappointed in not locating Michael’s death record. A little later I’ll have more information narrowing the span of years in which Michael Harrington may have died.

The 1901 census shows that Mary Harrington could read, but does not specify that she can write. If you go to the lower right corner of the copy of the original census form, you’ll see that she substituted her signature with an X. Her siging with an X was witnessed by the police constable/enumerator who collected the census. His name was Wm (William) Fitzmaurice.

THE 1911 CENSUS

I next found 65 year old widow Mary Harrington, a farmer, and her 34 year old son John in the 1911 census in house 4 Brahalish. This census shows that Mary was married for 45 years and in that time had 8 children with 3 of the children still living. (I only found the births of 6 children). Mary’s son John, an unmarried farmer, would be one of the 3 children still living as of 1911.

You can view the 1911 census transcription from the National Archives of Ireland website link at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Durrus_West/Braha…

It appears that Mary considered herself still married in 1911even after her husband died. If you subtract the 45 years she had been married from the year 1911, you’ll get the year 1866, which is the year that Michael Harrington and Mary Mahony were indeed married.

To view a copy of the original 1911 census, go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001821806/

In the 1901 census Mary Harrington is shown to be 48 years old, which would place her year of birth circa 1853. But, in the 1911 census she is recorded as being 65 years old, placing her year of birth circa 1846. This shows how inaccurate the 1901 and 1911 census enumerations can be as concerns a person’s age from one census to the next census 10 years later.

Even John Harrington’s age would be off in both census enumerations, as he was born in 1872. His age of 26 in 1901 means he would have been born circa 1875. His age of 34 in 1911 would place his year of birth circa 1877. While I think these two enumerations may pertain to your Harrington ancestors because they are residing in Brahalish, I can’t be 100 percent sure that they are your direct ancestors. What do you and your mom think Panos?

The 1911 census shows that Mary Harrington had 8 children with three still alive. That means that 5 of her children had died. I found the death records for two of her children at the irishgenealogy.ie website. There won’t be full death records at irishgenealogy.ie before 1878. Only death indexes, which give little information, are available at irishgenealogy.ie from the year 1864 to 1877.

CORNELIUS HARRINGTON DEATH

Cornelius Harrington died in Brahalish on 28 December 1887 at the age of 21 years. He was a bachelor and a farmer’s son. The cause of death was, “Neglected Cold, Two Months. No Medical Attendant.” The person who was present at his death and who reported the death to the local registrar was his father Michael, residing in Brahalish. The name of the registrar who recorded the death appears to be William Croston. The death was recorded on 9 January 1888. The death record for Cornelius is Number 188 in the attached death register.

DANIEL HARRINGTON DEATH

Daniel Harrington died in Brahalish on 10 March 1895 at the age of 22. He was a bachelor and a farmer at the time he died. The cause of death was “Phthisis Indefinite. No Medical Attendant.” The word Phthisis is Greek for pulmonary tuberculosis, though I take the word “Indefinite” to mean that tuberculosis may have been the cause of death. Daniel’s mother Mary Harrington of Brahalish was present at the death and reported the death to the local registrar. The registrar, John Wood Lewis, recorded the death on 8 March 1895. Daniel’s death is at Number 222 in the attached death register.

Because Daniel’s mother Mary reported the death to the registrar, it is possible that her husband Michael was deceased by the year 1895, which means he would have died between the birth of Cornelius in 1887 and the death of Daniel in 1895, an 8 year span of time. Even with this information I did not find a death record for Michael Harrington. Again, it’s possible I missed locating his death record.

Panos, I’m going to close here, but I’ve already started some preliminary research for the McCarthy and the Cahalane families. I don’t know how long this second phase of the research will take, but I’ll try my best to find as much information as I can with available online records from FMP, irishgenealogy.ie, Griffiths Valuation, and the 1901 and 1911 census returns. If I have any questions about these families, I’ll write back sooner.

This reply includes the following 8 attachments:

Cornelius Harrington 1867 birth
Mary Harrington 1869 birth
John Harrington 1872 birth
Daniel Harrington 1873 birth
Johanna Harrington 1876 birth
Ellen Harrington 1883 birth
Cornelius Harrington 1887 death
Daniel Harrington 1895 death
____

With Kind Regards to you and your Mom,

Dave

Attached Files

Hello Panos,

Continuing with the research I uncovered the FMP church marriage transcription and a copy of the original marriage record for Patrick McCarthy and Bridget Cahalane at the National Library of Ireland website. First the church transcription from FMP. The transcription gives Patrick’s surname as “Cremeen,” rather than McCarthy. He and Bridget “Coghlane,” were married in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish on 31 July 1879. See the transcription at: https://is.gd/7rDxuJ

A copy of the original church marriage record for Patrick and Bridget can be found at the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634869#page/72/mode/1up

The marriage is on the right-hand register page, 1st entry below the July 1879 subheading. The handwriting recording Patrick’s surname does seem to spell the name as Creemeen or Crumeen. Bridget’s maiden name is spelled Coghlane.

The witnesses to the marriage were John Coghlane and Hannah “Swiney,” which is probably an alternate spelling of Sweeney. The parish priest who married Patrick and Bridget was J. Bowen.

I found information showing that the surname Cremeen/Cremen, etc. is a variant form of McCarthy. See the following links:

http://www.genealogywise.com/group/maccarthy-cremeen-sept
https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=Cremeen
https://www.igenea.com/en/surname-projects/m/mccarthy-2361

I also uncovered information noting that the surname Coghlan in West Cork is a variant form of the name Cahalane. This comes from the bmdnotices.com website link at: https://is.gd/e4wUm7

THE CIVIL MARRIAGE RECORD

A copy of the original civil marriage record for Patrick McCarthy and Bridget “Cahalane” from irishgenealogy.ie is attached to this reply. In the civil marriage record Patrick used the surname McCarthy, rather than Cremeen. The marriage record shows they were married in the Catholic Chapel of Durrus on 31 July 1879. This is the same date of marriage as found in the church marriage record. Both were of full age. Patrick was a bachelor and Bridget a Spinster. Both were from a place called Esknabrina. Patrick’s occupation was farmer. His father, Patrick McCarthy was also a farmer but was deceased as of 1879. Bridget’s father is John Cahalane, a farmer. The priest who married the couple was James Bowen, who would be the same priest recorded in the church marriage record. The witnesses to the marriage were John Cahalane and Hanna Sweeney. There is a notation for another witness named James Leyham that states, “Witnessed the above Mark.” Both the groom Patrick McCarthy and the witness John Cahalane signed the marriage register with an X, which means that James Leyham was likely the witness to the signatures. The marriage of Patrick and Bridget is the only one in the attached register at Number 194.

I could not find the townland of Esknabrina on a map of the Sheep’s Head Peninsula, but did locate the townland of “Esknabreena,” in an Irish land record called the Tithe Applotment Books. This record shows that Esknabreena was a part of Kealties. See the handwritten tithe entries at the National Archives of Ireland link at: https://is.gd/WFBpvq

Esknabreena, Kealties would be the townland where Patrick and Bridget were residing when they married in the Catholic Chapel in Durrus. The Catholic Church in Durrus is called Sacred Heart and is located in the Church Road, southwest of the town, according to the Google Map at: https://is.gd/nbR647

But the Sacred Heart Church is not the church structure where Patrick McCarthy and Bridget Cahalane were married. According the Buildings of Ireland website, a website mentioned in the previous communication, the Sacred Heart Church in a section of Durrus called Carrigboy, was not constructed until 1900. See the architectural description of the 1900 church along with a slide show of exterior views of the church at: https://is.gd/v3XxS1

I found the location of the older Durrus Catholic Chapel in the Ordnance Survey Maps from the 1837 to 1842 time period at the GeoHive website. To see a map of Durrus and the location R.C. Chapel go to the GeoHive link at: http://bit.ly/38eYOkc

The map of Durrus and the R.C. Chapel can also be viewed in the following Ordnance Survey Map from the 1888 to 1913 time period at the following GeoHive link: http://bit.ly/2viohuH

This same area of Durrus can also be seen on a modern Google Map at: https://is.gd/piI4GJ

The following Google Street View shows the approximate location of the old Durrus R.C. Chapel which was located in present day Chapel Road: https://is.gd/DluZ2P

The civil registration marriage record for Patrick McCarthy and Bridget Cahalane notes the couple were living in the townland of Esknabrina, which is spelled Eskabreena in the Tithe Applotment Books. Eskabreena is near, or a part of the town of Kealties. A Google Map shows that Kealties, by the shortest route, is 3.6 miles west of Durrus: https://is.gd/B8uBG2

Another Google Map shows that Kealties is only 1.6 miles west of Brahalish: https://is.gd/tbdlK3

I now wanted to see what birth an baptism records I could find for the children of Patrick McCarthy and Bridget Cahalane. I looked for the births and baptisms for the names McCarthy and Cremeen, whose mother was a Cahalane or a Coghlan.

I uncovered the civil registration birth record for John Cremeen at irishgenealogy.ie. He was born in Kealties on 10 August 1879. His parents are Patrick Crimeen and Bridget Cahalane. His birth comes just 10 days after the marriage of his parents, which means that Patrick and Bridget married when they did so that their child would not be born out-of-wedlock. The birth record further shows that Patrick was a Labourer. The person who was present at the birth and who recorded the birth to the local registrar was Johanna Cremeen, of Kealties, who may have been Patrick’s sister or perhaps sister-in-law. The birth was recorded by the registrar, J. O’Connolly on 20 August 1879. The birth record is the first recorded in the attached register at Number 185.

The FMP baptism transcription shows that John Crimeen was baptized on 15 August 1879. To view the transcription go to the FMP link at:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1210923

A copy of the original baptism record for John can be found at the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634871#page/127/mode/1up

The baptism record is the 2nd entry up from the bottom of the right-hand page, and shows that the godparents were John Crimeen and Mary Crimeen. The bottom right corner of the register shows that J. Bowen had baptized all the children recorded in the register page. He is the same parish priest who married John’s parents.

Johanna Crimeen was born after John. Her birth took place in “Kilties” on 28 October 1880. Her parents are Patrick McCarthy, a farmer from Kilties, and Bridget Crimeen, formerly Cahalane. Johanna Crimeen of Kilties was present at the birth and reported the birth to the registrar, J. O’Connolly, who recorded the birth on 3 November 1880. Johanna’s birth record is at Number 334 in the attached birth register.

Johanna’s baptism transcription from the FMP website records her last name as McCarthy, rather than Crimeen. She was baptized on 23 October 1880. Her attached birth record however, gives her birth date as 28 October 1880, and so one of the records is incorrect about her exact date of birth. The church transcription also shows that Johanna’s father is Patrick McCarthy. Her mother is Bridget, but the transcriber could not decipher Bridget’s maiden name, which is represented by a ? in the transcription, which you can access at the following FMP link:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1211063

Johanna’s baptism is the 3rd entry down from the top of the left-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634871#page/134/mode/1up

The first name of her godfather looks like Con, for Cornelius. His last name is Harrington. The godmother is Bridget Crimeen.

I don’t know why Patrick McCarthy/Crimeen used two different sounding but related names interchangeably between marriage, birth, and baptism records. But he must have been taught the history of his surname sometime in the past before he married and had children. Likewise I do not know why Bridget had her name recorded as “Coghlane” in her church marriage record, but Cahalane in the civil registration marriage record.

The next civil registration birth record I found at irishgenenalogy.ie was for Catherine “Cremin,” who was born in Kealties on 18 May 1884. Her father is Patrick Cremin, a farmer residing in Kealties. Her mother is Bridget Cremin, formerly “Coughlan.” The person who was present at the birth and who reported the birth to the local registrar was Cartherine Cremin of Kealties. The birth was recorded on 25 May 1884 by the registrar, R.S. Reilly. Catherine’s birth is at Number 232 in the attached birth register.

There is not baptism transcription for Catherine at the FMP website or a baptism record for her held by the National Library of Ireland, as baptisms for the 19th century for the Catholic Parish of Munitervarra, as noted previously, are only available until 20 January 1881at the National Library of Ireland.

But I did find the birth records for three more children of Patrick and Bridget McCarthy/Crimeen, etc. These are:

Ellen, 1886
Mary, 1887
Bridget, 1889
____

Ellen McCarthy was born in Kealties on 10 October 1886. Her father is Patrick, a farmer residing in Kealties. Her mother is Bridget McCarthy, formerly Coghlan. Bridget, Catherine’s mother, reported the birth to the local registrar, R. Wheeler, who recorded the birth on 25 October 1886. Catherine’s birth record is the last entry in the register at Number 232.

Mary McCarthy was born in Kealties on 5 November 1887. Her father Patrick is a farmer residing in Kealties. Her mother is Bridget McCarthy, formerly Coghlan. Mary Sullivan was present at the birth and reported the birth to the local registrar, John Wood Lewis, who recorded the birth on 28 November 1887. Mary’s birth is the last one recorded in the attached register at Number 98.

Bridget “Carthy” was born in Kealties on 2 November 1889. Her father is Patrick Carthy, a farmer living in Kealties. Her mother is Bridget Carthy, formerly Cahalane. Margaret Hurley was present at the birth and reported the birth to William Croston, the assistant registrar, who recorded the birth on 9 September 1889. Bridget birth is at Number 268 in the attached register.

As shown above all the children of Patrick and Bridget were born in Kealties, while their 1879 marriage record shows that both Patrick and Bridget had been living in Esknabrina, which was a part of Kealties. The marriage record also shows that Patrick’s father was named Patrick McCarthy and that Bridget’s father was John Cahalane. At this point in the research I went back to the Ask About Ireland website to see if I could find Patrick’s father Patrick, and Bridget’s father John recorded in Griffiths Valuation, to see if they were living in either Esknabrina, or Kealties. I did not find a Patrick McCarthy in Griffiths Valuation but a Patrick “Crimmeen,” leasing property in Kealties. This Occupier may refer to Patrick’s father, though I can’t be 100 percent sure of that.

Patrick Crimmeen leased his own home and also leased over 40 acres of land in common with 4 other Occupiers, including Denis Sullivan, Thomas Baker, Timothy Mahony, and Johanna Crimmeen. The section of land that Patrick leased was valued at 1 Pound and 6 Shillings. His house was valued at 4 Shillings. The total value for his lease was 1 Pound and 10 Shillings. His lease is at Map Reference 4d. He was most likely related to Johanna Crimmeen, whose lease is located at Map Reference 4e. Her section of land was valued at 14 Shillings. Her house was valued at 4 Shillings. The total valuation for her lease was 18 Shillings.

John Cahalane’s lease in Kealties was located at Map Refernce 5c. He leased a house and an office. He also leased over 14 acres of land in common with two other occupiers, Denis Driscoll and John Hurley. John Cahalane’s section of the land was valued at 17 Shillings. His house and office were valued at 5 Shillings. The total value of his lease was 1 Pound, 2 Shillings.

You can view the approximate location of Map Reference 4d on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period at the GeoHive link at: http://bit.ly/37ET1Dm

Just to the right of the initials osi (which stand for Ordnance Survey Ireland), you’ll see two groups of dwellings in the middle of the map. Patrick Crimmeen may have lived in a house in one of these groups of houses.

The following is a link to the Ordnance Survey Map for Map Reference 5 in Kealties: http://bit.ly/2HsBsMc

Just to the left of the dotted and red boundary lines you’ll see a group of 7 buildings, which may be houses and barns. John Cahalane may have lived in one of the structures pictured in the map.

THE 1901 CENSUS

Moving forward in time I looked for Patrick and Bridget McCarthy/Crimeen in the 1901 census to see if they were still living in Kealties after the birth of their daughter Bridget in 1889. I located the family in the 1901 census at the National Archives of Ireland link at: https://is.gd/kmNPSA

The census shows the family still living in Kealties, according to census form house 5. Patrick is shown to be a 52 year old widower and a farmer who cannot read but who can speak both Irish and English. Five of his children are in the household with him, including 22 year old John, who is a farmer; 16 year old Kate, a scholar; 14 year old Ellie, a scholar; 12 year old Mary, a scholar, and 11 year old scholar Bridget. All the children can read and write. Ellie would be the Ellen McCarthy born in 1886. The only child not in the household is Johanna, who was born in 1880. I did not find Johanna in another location in Kealties in the 1880 census.

To view a copy of the original 1901 census for the family of Patrick McCarthy in Kealties, go to the National Archives of Ireland link at; http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000498076/

Patrick’s wife Bridget would have died between the birth of their daughter Bridget in 1889 and the 1901 census, and so I looked for her death record at irishgenealogy.ie and found it. She died in Kealties on 7 October 1890 at age 30. The cause of death was, “Bronchitis 5 weeks. No Medical Attendant.” The registrar who recorded the death originally wrote that Bridget’s last name was Cahala…, but then crossed this entry through and below it added her married name of McCarthy. Her occupation is recorded as, “Farmer’s wife.” John Cahalane, of Kealties, was present at the death and reported the death to the registrar, John Wood Lewis, who recorded the birth on 13 October 1890. Bridget’s death record is the first one in the attached register at Number 70.

The informant John Cahalane may have been Bridget’s father or her brother. I looked for John Cahalane in the 1901 census living in Kealties but didn’t find him.

THE 1911 CENSUS

In the 1911 census 62 year old Patrick McCarthy is shown to be a farmer who cannot read and who is a widower. Only his 24 year old daughter Nellie is in the household with him. She can read and write and is single. You can view the 1911 census transcription for Patrick and Nellie at the following National Archives of Ireland link: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Durrus_West/Kealt…

To view a copy of the original 1911 census for Patrick and Nellie go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001822031/

POSSIBLE DEATH RECORD FOR PATRICK MCCARTHY

Going back to the irishgenealogy.ie website I found a death record for a Patrick McCarthy who may be the widowed husband of Bridget, though I can’t be entirely sure that this Patrick was Bridget’s husband. Patrick died in Brahalish on 20 January 1931 at the age of 84 years. His occupation had been “Farmer.” The cause of death was “Old age debility. No medical attendant.” The person who was present when Patrick died and who reported the death to the registrar was Patrick’s granddaughter, Mary Harrington, who was also living in Brahalish. The registrar, Michael I. McCarthy recorded Patrick’s death on 26 March 1931. Patrick’s death is the last one recorded in the attached register at Number 66.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PATRICK MCCARTHY

The above research shows that Patrick McCarthy had been living in “Esknabrina” when he and Bridget Cahalane (also from Esknabrina) were married in the Catholic Chapel of Durrus on 31 July 1879. The marriage record further shows that Patrick was a farmer and that his father’s name was Patrick, who was also a farmer. The marriage record does not give Patrick’s age, but only states that he and Bridget were of “full age” when they married.

However, the 1901 census gives Patrick’s age as 52, which places his year of birth circa 1849. The 1911 census gives his age as 52, also placing his year of birth circa 1849. The possible death record for Patrick in 1931 shows that he died in Brahalish at the age of 84, placing his year circa 1847.

The research also shows that Patrick went by an alternate of the surname of McCarthy, which is Crimeen.

With this information I looked for Patrick McCarthy/Crimeen’s baptism record in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish. I looked for his baptism for the year 1845 to 1855, and uncovered a possibility. The transcription shows that a Patt “Croneen” was baptized in the Muintervarra Parish on 9 September 1848. His father is Patt Croneen. His mother is Joan Carthy. Carthy is an variant of McCarthy. The residence of the Croneen family is recorded in the transcription as, “Eastnacurra.”

You can view the FMP baptism transcription for Patt Croneen at the following FMP link:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1206773
You can also access a copy of the original baptism record for Patt Croneen at the National Archives of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634870#page/204/mode/1up

The baptism is the first entry at the top of the left-hand register page. The handwriting is very difficult to read. The name of the godfather is Michael Sullivan. The first name of the godmother is Mary. I could not fully make out Mary’s last name. But it looks like her last name ends with “ridge.” To the right of Mary’s name you’ll see the residence of the Croneen family. It looks like it could be Eastnabrina, rather than Eastnacurra. This could be a reference to the section of Kealties called Easknabrina.

BRIDGET CAHALANE/COGHLAN/COGHLANE, ETC .

The 1879 civil marriage record for Bridget Cahalane does not give her age but does show that she was residing in Esknabreena and that her father was John. Her death record in 1890 shows that at the time of death she was 30 years old, placing her year of birth circa 1860.

I didn’t find an FMP baptism transcription for a Bridget Cahalane in the Muintervarra Catholic Parish between 1855 and 1865, but did uncover the baptism for a Bridget Coghlan on 29 June 1863. Her father is John Coghlan, her mother is Mary Collins. The residence of the Coghlan family in the transcription is “Mireech,” though I found no such townland by that name in the Sheep’s Head Peninsula. You can view the transcription of Bridget’s baptism at the FMP link that follows: https://is.gd/VQLxND

A copy of Bridget’s original baptism record held by the National Library of Ireland is on the left-hand register page, 5th entry below the June 1863 subheading at: https://is.gd/VE4OOF

To the right of Mary Coghlan’s name is the residence of John and Mary Collins Coghlan and their daughter Bridget. I believe the name of this townland is actually Murreagh, though it the spelling more resembles “Mureach.” A Google Map shows that Murreagh, by the shortest modern day route is 4.6 miles east of Kealties: https://is.gd/Q3LKaC

There is no way of knowing with certainty if the Patrick McCarthy and the Bridget Coghlan in the baptism records from FMP and the National Library of Ireland are your direct ancestors, as we have no direct evidence of what the maiden names of their mothers’ were.

Best Wishes Panos,

Dave

Hello Dave. I don't know where to begin in thanking you for such an amazing and detailed research!!. The level of detail is astonishing and I must say that me and my mother are absolutely grateful and deeply thankful to you. It's in my plans and hopefully in the next week or two to go to this places you mentioned in your research and see them for my self. Looking forward to it. Praying the weather will be on my side!. If I do find and match any of your findings to my own findings I will inform you but I'm sure you have dug deep enough already so i don't think I'll find anything further. But who knows right?. Again Dave many thanks and really i am over the moon with all this information I have received from you. Wishing you all the best in any new researches you may have on now or in the future. Panos

You're welcome Panos and many thanks for the kind words. You never know, but that you and your mom may find something new when you visit the places where your ancestors lived. Please let me know how everything is progressing. The one thing that I found new after 30 years of Irish genealogical research is that Cremeen is a variant of McCarthy and goes way back in Irish history. There's always something new to learn

Thanks again Panos. My best to you and your mom.

Dave

 

 

Hi Dave and Panos,

I’ve been reading your correspondence with great interest. I may well be related to either or both of you.

Panos,  you should be eternally grateful to Dave. I’ve been working on my family tree for over twenty five years and I’ve never seen such altruistic research. I know full well how much work went into gathering the records that Dave unearthed. 

Dave, I suspect that you enjoy the detective work. 

When I started out on my quest the only way to view the 1901/1911 Censuses was to visit the library in Cork City and request the microfiche records and one had to know the Townland name. I nearly cried with joy when Genealogy.ie released their birth, death and marriage records (with images). I used to have to pay €4 per record and discard the inappropriate ones.

My main reason for writing is your reference to ‘Esknabrinna’ (in its various spelling forms). I struggled for years trying to find out exactly where it was located as it appears on many of my Kilcrohane/ Kealties ancestor’s birth and marriage records.  I visited Kilcrohane many times and gave up asking the locals (not to mention the local post offices) and none of them had heard of it. I found a reference to it online about ten years ago and the article indicated that is was “part of Kealties”

I’m descended from a James Sullivan (Kealties) and Bridget Cronin. James’s eldest son Dan Sullivan married Mary Hurley (Esknabrinne) and lived n Kealties before buying a farm in Ardahill, Kilcrohane.  Mary Hurley’s parents were John Hurley and Jude Coughlan.

Dan Sullivan and Mary Hurley were two of my maternal great grandparents.

As I’ve mentioned earlier I often drive to Kilcrohane for a day trip so we might bump into each other some day.

All the best,

Sonny Jackson

sonnyjackson1@icloud.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Sonny,

Thank you very much for writing and for the kind words. They are very much appreciated.

I had looked at several modern and 19th century maps of Kealties to see if I could find a location called Esknabrinna, but without success. This location may actually be a combination as well as an anglicization of two Irish words, “Uisge na Bhróin,” meaning “Water of the Sorrows.” Or it could be the anglicization of the Irish words, “Uisge na Bruighne, meaning “Water of Strife.” It may be the latter definition, as I believe there is, or was a stream or a river in, or near Kealties with the similar name, “Ros na Bruighne, meaning “Headland of Strife,” in Irish.

Over the years the placename Esknabrinna and its variants may have gone out of usage, although there may still be some longtime residents of the Kealties area who may have heard of “Uisge na Bhróin,” or “Uisge na Bruighne.” The Tithe Applotment Books gives the name of this location as ‘Kealties Esknabreena,” as noted in a previous response.

Once again, thank you very much for writing Sonny. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Dave

We've added an entry about Esknabreena to our website:

https://thesheepsheadway.com/heritage-history/heritage_sites/#Esknabreena