Thomas Sullivan and Catherine Coakley of Myross

Thomas Sullivan certainly looks like a son of Daniel Sullivan and Margaret Keohane. Thomas died 19 Apr 1918, aged 84. That puts his birth year back to about 1834, predating the availability of Castlehaven & Myross baptism records. From a civil registration record, we know that Thomas, and Catherine Coakley, married 20 Feb 1873. He was from Myross, she was from Maulatanvally in Ross. His father was Daniel.

Their known children:

• Mary bap 17 Jun 1875 godparents Daniel Sullivan, Ann Coakley
• Jeremiah bap 11 Feb 1877 godparents William Sullivan, Mary Hill, birth 11 Feb, Bridget Collins Myross P.A.B.
• Margaret (written Mary) bap 01 Sep 1879 godparents __ Coakley, Ann Barry, birth 10 Sep, Johanna Driscoll Myross P.A.B.
• Michael 16 May 1881, Mary Driscoll P.A.B.
• James 20 Jun 1885, Bridget Collins Myross P.A.B.
• Thomas 28 May 1887

Notice Ann Barry the godmother in 1879. She was probably the Ann Sullivan mentioned in the prior post. If I am correct she was a younger sister of Thomas Sullivan.

The Johanna Collins Donovan of Ardagh, mentioned here, was a daughter of Larr Collins of Adrigool. Among her brothers were Jeremiah and John and among her sisters was a Catherine Sullivan, who married another Daniel Sullivan and lived in Laherdane.

A man named Tom or Thomas Sullivan was a godfather for Laurence Collins of Adrigool baptized 13 Sep 1857 in Skibbereen; Nancy Sullivan of Laherdane baptized 30 Sep 1860 in Castlehaven & Myross; and John Collins of Adrigool baptized 29 Dec 1864 in Skibbereen. They were all grandchildren of Larr (d. 1867 in Adrigool).

It certainly looks as if the Collinses of Adrigool had Sullivan relatives from Myross, but the exact nature of the relationship remains unclear.

Notes on Daniel Sullivan and Margaret Keohane of Myross

A 17 Nov 1917 obituary of my great-great-grandfather's sister, Johanna Collins Donovan of Ardagh East, Ross, mentions numerous cousins. Among them were 1. Mrs. Pat Nyhane of Rosscarbery; 2. Miss Eileen Barry Rosscarbery; 3. Miss Frances Barry of Dungannon; 4. Edmond Barry of Dungannon; and 5. Miss Maggie Daly of Froe. There were numerous others mentioned, but I'll focus on these.

1. Mrs. Pat Nyhane was Agnes Barry. She was the daughter of James Barry and Eliza Sullivan. James and Eliza married 30 Jan 1877 at Union Hall. Witnesses were Ann Coakley or Courtney, and James Barry. His father was John, her father was Daniel. Eliza's age was written as 23, which would have placed her birth year around 1853.

The godmother of the first child, John, was Margaret Keohane.

Agnes was probably the fourth child, born about 1883. She married Patrick Nyhane 28 Oct 1913.

2. Eileen, or Ellen Barry, was a sister of Agnes. She was born 01 Dec 1902. Agnes, Aileen, and their mother Eliza were in The Square, Rosscarbery in the 1911 census.

James, this Barry family patriarch, died 14 Jun 1903. Eliza died 07 Jan 1939. She was 93 years old, placing her birth year about 1845.

3. Frances Barry of Dungannon was the daughter of John Barry and Ann Sullivan. John and Ann married at Union Hall on 31 May 1870. Witnesses were Edward Barry and Elizabeth Sullivan. His father was John, her father was Daniel. John and Ann and their family lived in Benduff. Margaret Keohane was the godmother to the second child Kate, baptized 28 Jun 1872. Frances was born about 1887.

4. Edmond Barry of Dungannon was a brother of Frances. He went to live in Dungannon, with their uncle David's family.

5. Maggie Daly of Froe was the daughter of James Daly and Mary Barry. James and Mary married in the 1890's. I cannot find their marriage record. Mary was probably the daughter of John and Ann. The daughter of James and Eliza named Mary would have been too young to have married James Daly at that time.

The Barrys mentioned here may have been descended from John Barry and Mary McCarthy of Dungannon. A search of online records of Kilmacabea & Kilfaughnabeg reveal a family that appears to fit, though I cannot find a son James. For completeness, here they are:

John Barry m. Mary McCarthy 07 Feb 1833
Kilmacabea & Kilfaughnabeg
witnesses John Hayes, Jeremiah Fehane

known children:

1833 Dec 21 Mary godparents James Barry, Kate McCarthy
1836 Jan 05 John godparents Denis McCarthy, Joan Barry
1838 Apr 09 Ellen godparents Edmond Barry, Joan Arundel
1843 May 18 David godparents Pat McCarthy, Ann McCarthy
1845 Jul 07 Edmond godparents Jerry Brien, Jude Sullivan
1849 Mar 11 Catherine godparents Pat Donovan, Mary Donovan
1852 Mar 31 Honora godparents Denis Mahony, Joan Donovan

I've researched John, David, Edmond, and Honora and have a little info on Ellen. But the only Barry descendants mentioned in the obituary were descended from John and a James, and a baptism for James cannot be found in the Dungannon family. These two men married two Sullivan women who appear to have been sisters. So it is not clear if the relationship between Johanna Collins Donovan was with the ancestral Barrys or with the Sullivans.

Daniel Sullivan and Margaret Keohane lived in Myross. There is no known surviving marriage record. Their known children, in the Castlehaven & Myross records, were:

1842 Dec 29 James   godparents Thomas Sullivan, Margaret Hegarty
1844 Sep 22 Anne    godparents Michael Sullivan, Margaret Power
1846 Oct 09 Owen   godparents Jeremiah Donovan, Catherine Sullivan
1852 Jun    Daniel  godparents Bath Carthy (Bartholomew McCarthy?), Margaret __
1855 Sep 27 William godparents Michael Sullivan, Mary Kelly

Daniel and Margaret may have been the godparents of Patrick Sweeney, 30 Sep 1871.
A baptism record for Eliza is missing but as previously mentioned, other records estimate her birth around 1845 or 1853.

Baptism records for a John Sullivan in Bantry in 1833 and for a Thomas Sullivan in Kinsale in 1823 look like red herrings.

Notes on Daniel Hurley and Ellen (Nellie) Brien of Skibbereen

Daniel and Ellen (Nellie) Brien Hurley lived in Coolnagarrane in 1901. He was a dairyman according to that year's census.

Was this Daniel related to my ancestral Hurleys in Coolnagarrane? While I don't have a definitive answer, at least I was able to compile some data on the family. Nellie was a complete unknown.

The census shows a daughter Mary (Mary Ellen), aged 28, along with a niece also named Mary Hurley, aged 25. So here was an opportunity to link this family to another family.

Daniel and Nellie were not in Coolnagarrane in the 1911 census. So they either moved or they died. I found a death record for Daniel on 18 Feb 1910. He was 85 years old, a widower, and living on Mardyke Street in Skibbereen. His married daughter Ellen Leary was present at death.

Nellie's death was recorded as 03 Nov 1906, on North Street, which runs straight into Coolnagarrane. She was 68 years old, a dairy man's wife. The occupation sounded right. However, the age seemed a little young according to the subsequent records I found. In the 1901 census she was supposedly 67.

Further research turned up daughter Ellen's marriage record. She wed Denis Leary, a coachman residing in Bunalun, 11 Feb 1893. Further research found Ellen Leary widowed on Mardyke Street in the 1911 census. She was 50 years old according to that census. Now it was time to find an Ellen Hurley, born about 1861. I started with daughter Ellen rather than Mary, thinking an Ellen might be easier to find.

My prior research of dairymen revealed that they moved around a bit, and Daniel Hurley was no exception. These records turned up. The family lived in Derrylugga, Milleenahorna, and Cullenagh, and ended up in Coolnagarrane.

1852 Oct 29 Honora godparents Patrick Herlihy, Mary Mahony Derrylugga

1852 Oct 29 John godparents James Gallagher, Johanna McCarthy Derrylugga

1858 Apr 11 Michael godparents Thomas Donovan, Honora Hurley Derrylugga

1860 Jul 30 Ellen godparents Denis Sullivan, Mary Driscoll Milleennahorna

1860 Jul 30 Susan godparents Morty Mahony, Margaret Collins Milleennahorna

1864 May 22 Charles godparents Patrick Driscoll, Anne Regan Cullenagh (Castlehaven)

1866 Aug 14 Mary godparents Timothy Donovan, Kate Sullivan Cullenagh

The marriage has not turned up in the church records.

A possible related family that would have accounted for Daniel's niece Mary in the 1901 census, was that of John Hurley and Ellen Donovan, located in Derrylugga:

1872 Oct 29 Daniel godparents Daniel Donovan, Ellen Brien

1874 Aug 2 Mary godparents Daniel Hurley, Ellen Donovan

1875 Nov 2 Ellen godparents James Gallagher, Mary Donovan

1877 Mar 29 Michael godparents Michael Hurley, Kate Brien

1878 Oct 20 Honora godparents Dan Hurley, Ellen Hurley

The 1901 census shows additional children:

Kate Ann born about 1883

Maggie born about 1885

Julia born about 1888

The 1901 Ireland census for Derrylugga states John's age as 47 and the 1911 census states it as 58. That census indicates that 9 children were born to the Derrylugga family and I've only found 8.

Ellen was several years older in each census. John would have been quite young at the time of the 1871 marriage.

A marriage record for John Hurley and Ellen Donovan cannot be found in the online church records. However there may be a marriage in civil registration: Marriage record Matching marriage record

The marriage record will give the name of John's father.

The Godfather of John (1852), son of Daniel Hurley and Ellen Brien, was James Gallagher. It is interesting that James Gallagher was the Godfather of Ellen (1875), daughter of John Hurley and Ellen Donovan. If John married to Ellen Donovan was Daniel Hurley's and Ellen Brien's son, then the "niece" in the 1901 Coolnagarrane record for Daniel Hurley and Nellie Brien could have been a granddaughter. Unless there was another brother of Daniel's who had a daughter Mary.

Are there any other possible local Hurley families who could have accounted for niece Mary Hurley, aged 25 in 1901? Do I have to rethink the Daniel Hurley, married to Honora McCarthy, as the uncle of my great-grandmother Ellen Hurley and her sister Mary, born 1876? That Mary is not listed with her family in 1901.

Great-grandmother's sister Mary was around in 1904 to witness a marriage, then went to England and married there. Some further research would be to look for marriage records for Mary Hurleys in the 1900's and 1910's.

So I think the family of Daniel and Nellie is constructed, and perhaps even the family of Daniel's son John. What is still unknown is if they were related to the families of Michael Hurley and Bridget Cahalane, and Daniel Hurley and Honora McCarthy of Coolnagarrane.