Since my last post about the brick wall in Adrigole, much more information has emerged, though not what I need to conclusively prove who my gg-grandfather's family was.
Skibbereen Heritage did indeed successfully find a marriage between Daniel Collins and Mary Mahony. After all our unsuccessful searches through the baptismals, poor Margaret at Skibb Heritage was probably starting to think I was deluded about "Danny Larr" my gg-grandfather, but she did find a marriage between a Daniel Collins and a Mary Mahony that took place 4-Feb-1845 at St. Finbarr's in Drimoleague R.C. Parish. The Daniel Collins recorded came out of Castlehaven parish. One of the witnesses was a John Collins - which doesn't necessarily prove that this is the same John I currently believe was Danny Larr's brother thought to have been born in Adrigole in 1818 - but at least it is not, say, Timothy Collins, a name I have never seen in my family.
Danny Larr and Mary Mahony somehow ended up in Cullomane East. I have yet to discover how or why.
Skibb Heritage found eight children born and baptized in Caheragh R.C. Parish. I believe the baptismal found for a James Collins (Dec-1866) is an error, somehow confused with a James Collins born to a Denis Collins and a Margaret Mahony in Lissane. Coincidentally, James could be a distant relative, but on Granddad's side, not Grandmom's side, which is the Adrigole Collinses. Aunt Peg has never heard of a James among Danny Larr's children. Civil registration is very clear about who the parents were and the location. So we are leaving James off the Cullomane branch of Adrigole Collinses.
The oldest Cullomane child was Mary, who also went by Maria. She was born in 1852. She married Cornelius Collins in Knockgorm and among the children were daughters Nora McCarthy and Kate Ann Fitzgerald. Nora married Michael McCarthy of Derryduff, Drimoleague in 1909. Nora raised Grandmom after Ellen Hurley died. I am not yet sure when Kate Ann married her husband Dick (Richard). What I've seen in the civil registration indexes conflicts with what I have seen in the news archives. I was told that Kate Ann and Dick had a pub up in Clonakilty - the Brewer's Arms, or something like that. I was also told that among Mary's children was a son Cornelius. Cornelius may have ended up in Liverpool. Aunt Peg vaguely remembers a visitor from Liverpool showing up at the family doorstep - Auntie can't remember if they were still living in Bauravilla or Bunalun, but she does remember they could "barely understand a word" said.
The second Cullomane child was named Diana, born 1854. Since Diana (or Dinah) Collins is a practically non-existent name coming out of Ireland and one of my "breadcrumb" names, I have tried to trace her. A Diana Collins from Ireland, age 20, arrived on the ship Manhattan in New York in September of 1893. After that her trail goes cold.
I don't know anything about the third Cullomane child, Jeremiah, born 1856, other than that he may have gone by William. A William Collins was a witness to the marriage of Denis Collins and Ellen Hurley in 1904.
Margaret, the fourth Cullomane child, was born 1858. I may have a clue about what happened to her, and will get back to her momentarily.
The fifth Cullomane child, born 1860, is my great-grandfather, Denis, or Denny Dan Larr, who died in late 1930.
After Denis came Johanna, born early 1863. She shows up living with Denny Dan Larr and his first wife in the 1901 census, after that nobody knows where she vanished to.
The youngest Cullomane child was Daniel, born 1865. We know quite a bit about Daniel now, who went on to join the Royal Irish Constabulary. I have been in touch with one of his grandchildren.
There are two odd facts emerging from this group of children. One is the gap between the marriage (1845) and the first child Mary (1852). The famine undoubtedly played a role here, and may have had to do with the family ending up in Cullomane East. There may have been other children born elsewhere, leading to the second odd fact that there is no obvious child named Lawrence in this branch of Larrs, even though this branch produced Lawrences (including some in generations that I don't publicly publish). I am hoping that the church records that come online at the end of the year will shed some light on these puzzles.
There are odd Lawrences and Dianas popping up elsewhere whom I cannot place into the family tree. There was a Lawrence Collins in the Kilmcabea tithe applotment, I believe out of Coornishal. News stories mention Collins cousins out of Coornishal.
A Lawrence Collins married a Mary Hayes in 1866, and their marriage record says they were each living in Ballyriree. His age is given as 24. I think they went on to live in Ballyvoureen in the Rosscarbery area - they show up in censuses. I don't know how they fit or whether they fit into the Adrigole puzzle.
Another interesting family producing a Lawrence Collins came out of Licknavar and may have lived in Gortshanecrone, south of Skibbereen town. I don't know how they fit in. In the 1911 census this family so closely resembled Grandmom's family that for a while I was confused thinking it was her family.
The Licknavar/Gortshanecrone family is a different family from the family of James and Catherine Collins in Knockaphreanane, whom I do know about and who are related, though I am unaware of any sons named Lawrence. In part 1 I confused this family with the Knockaphreanane family.
Diana Collins of Adrigole, whose father was named Lawrence, married Timothy Sullivan of Clooncugger in 1868. A Jeremiah Collins was a witness. This Dinah Sullivan died in 1892, age 54, placing her birth around 1838 if that is accurate. Daughter Bridget was present at death. There was a Jeremiah Collins baptized in 1846 to a Lawrence Collins and Catherine Neil. It is not conclusive that Dinah Collins Sullivan was his sister. There is no baptismal record linking Diana to Catherine Neil. The relatively late birth dates of Dinah and Jeremiah suggest to me that there was a Lawrence who was a son of Larr (and a brother of Danny Larr). Otherwise I would have to consider the possibility that Larr was churning out children at least between 1814 and 1846 - over a 32 year range - not likely.
Yet more news archive stories turned up Donovans in Ardagh, Rosscarbery, who were cousins of Adrigole Collinses. Further research in the online church records turned up parents Johanna Collins and John Donovan, married probably before 1856. Among their children was a Dinah Donovan. For the time being I have placed Johanna Collins as a daughter of Larr (therefore a sister of Danny Larr), though I have no conclusive proof of that.
Following more breadcrumb Dianas, I obtained the birth record of a Diana Collins born in 1893 to a Margaret Collins and a John Collins. This was in Cullomane, right in our backyard! I am waiting for the marriage record of a John Collins and a Margaret Collins in Bantry to see if this Margaret was the fourth Cullomane child of Danny Larr. If this is the correct marriage record for John Collins and Margaret Collins in Cullomane, and it confirms that Margaret's father was Danny Larr, this could be important. Margaret's daughter Dinah is probably the Dinah associated with Roggie and Pitchie whom Aunt Peg remembers when she was just seven years old, and she visited Cullomane East when Denny Dan Larr was ill.
In the census, there is also a son Denis in 1901 who apparently morphed to "Bob" in 1911. Grandmom's brother Denis was also nicknamed Bob, which may be further evidence that these Cullomane families were related.
The Larrys chart is here, and the pdf is here.
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