Kennedy

There is a reasonably good transcription of the surviving pre-1880 Kilrush Catholic parish registers (baptisms and marriages) now available at
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/local-studies/catholic_parish_…

They contain only a handful of Kennedys or T*h*ys, suggesting that Patrick (and any siblings that he had) may have been baptised before the start of the surviving registers (or in the gap during the 1832 cholera outbreak), or that (despite his very Catholic-sounding name) he may have been a non-Catholic.

Likewise, there is nothing relevant in the main local cemeteries at the time (Old Shanakyle and the misleadingly labelled pre-Reformation "Kilrush C of I"):
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/don_tran/graves/inde…

There was no Kennedy in Kilrush or Killimer parish in the Tithe Applotment Books of 23 Dec 1826 and 1 Nov 1824 respectively:
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/tithe_applot/kilrush…

By Griffith's Valuation in 1855, a Patrick Kennedy had appeared in Coolmuinga townland:
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/griffiths_parish/kil…
He sublet a very poor house with rateable annual valuation of just 2 shillings and a garden of 2 roods 10 perches from Hannah Clune.

By 1901, there was no Kennedy left in Coolmuinga:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Clare/Knock/Coolmuinga/

You could check the offline records at the Valuation Office (valoff.ie) to see whether Patrick of Coolmuinga disappeared from Kilrush parish around the same time as your Patrick appeared in Australia.

There was another long discussion of Kennedys from Kilrush a couple of weeks ago at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/countyclare/permalink/3662941863776911/
which you will be able to read if you join the relevant Facebook group.  At least the discussion started with Kilrush before wandering all over the county as inevitably happens in a county-wide group even when dealing with an extremely common surname.

Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.

Hello Mourant,

Is it possible the Patrick Kennedy’s gravestone could be wrong about his being a native of Kilrush? The reason for the question is that I found the baptism for a Patrick Kennedy, son of John Kennedy and Ellen Tuohy, recorded in the Killaloe Catholic Parish in 1828. I also found the Killaloe Catholic Parish baptisms for three more children of John Kennedy and Ellen Tuohy. They are James (1833); John (1836); and Michael (1839).

In many instances people from the same county and same parish emigrated to the same places in their adopted country. With this in mind I also wanted to see if perhaps a Bridget Collins had been baptized in the Killaloe parish from 1828 plus 10 years. (Catholic baptisms are not available for the Killaloe Catholic Parish before 1828, and marriages before 1829). I found one Killaloe baptism for a Bridget Collins. Her baptism took place in 1832. Her parents were Patrick Collins and Mary Reidy.

Killaloe, near the border with County Tipperary, is about 56 miles east of Kilrush, and so it may just be a coincidence that two Patrick Kennedys had parents with the same names.

My Tipperary cousins pronounce Killaloe as “Kill-a-loo.”

If you think these Kennedy and Collins baptisms pertain to your ancestors, I can send them to you in a follow-up reply after I hear back from you.

Best Wishes,

Dave Boylan