Cornelius Collins and Annie Collins of Derrylugga 

I've been researching this family for a while, because (I believe) one of the children of Cornelius Collins and his wife Annie Collins was a friend of my mother's family. I've asked my aunt if "Cyril" was a relative but nobody knows. The research is complicated and muddy as Cornelius and Annie were a Collins-Collins marriage. In addition, the purported "cousins" listed as mourners in Cornelius's 1920 obituary look more like they were from Annie's family. I do not know if Cornelius and Annie were blood relatives.

Cornelius and Annie married March 2, 1897 in Skibbereen. They had the following children:

Denis Joseph, born January 30, 1898. Daniel Collins, grandfather, PAB.

Ellen (Lilly?), born August 23, 1900. Married a man named Hourihane in Tooreen.

Daniel Aloysius, born June 20, 1902. Died June 11, 1962, single, at his Hourihane brother-in-law's residence.

Bridget, born June 20, 1902.

Cornelius, born October 10, 1903. He was known as Cyril and was our family friend. He died in 1985 in Clonakilty, single.  His obit says he was "...survived by brother-in-law, cousins, and other relatives..."

Cornelius Senior died on May 1, 1920. Since the obituary of Cornelius appears to list as "cousins" people from both his and Annie's families, Annie's family information is listed below.  We'll start with her.

More about Annie

If the research is correct, Annie was born January 17, 1866, the only child of Daniel Collins and Mary Neill of Derrylugga. Her godparents were Patrick Neill and Anne Collins.

Daniel Collins and Mary Neill married February 28, 1865. Witnesses were John Hourihane and Patrick Neill.

Annie's Collins ancestry and relatives

Annie's father Daniel's parents were likely Daniel Collins (whom I'll call Senior) and Ann (Nancy) Regan. They probably married in Skibbereen about or before 1833. Known children included:

Mary, baptized October 27, 1833. Godparents Daniel Burke and Ellen Hourihane.

James, baptized April 12, 1835. Godparents Peter Collins and Mary Keating.

Anne, baptized August 4, 1842. Godparents John Riordan and Mary Regan. It is believed she married Daniel Crowley on February 11, 1871 in Skibbereen. She could have been Annie's godmother.

Andrew, baptized February 4, 1844. Godparents James Collins and Bridget Collins. This Andrew possibly died shortly after birth, because of another child named Andrew.

Andrew, baptized, April 23, 1846. Godparents Thomas Hayes and Catherine Deasy. Andrew was well-known in town. He was a Clerk of the Petty Sessions (CPS). He married Elizabeth ("Bessie") Davis on April 29, 1871. Bessie died May 27, 1906. Andrew died January 18, 1931.

Andrew and Bessie had a number of children, among them:

Patrick James ("PJ"), baptized April 14, 1872. Godparents Michael Collins and Mary Canty. PJ became a prominent, well-known solicitor. He died, unmarried, at age 43, in 1915. The local papers carried extensive listings of the attendees of PJ's funeral, a lot of them named Collins.

There are family trees on Ancestry that claim that Patrick came to America and sired a family.  Obviously, I think these are incorrect.

Margaret Mary, baptized October 23, 1873. Godparents Robert McCarthy and Lucy Davis.

Ann, baptized Oct 10, 1874.  Godparents Daniel Collins and Eliza Canty.

Daniel, baptized December 25, 1875. Godparents Bridget Kennedy and Daniel Collins.

The Skibbereen records are very difficult to read in the 1830's. Notice that Annie's father Daniel's own baptism is absent from the children listed for Daniel Collins and Anne Regan. So besides him there could have been more children, including a brother Michael.

Daniel's brother Michael married one Mary Burke about 1889, but so far a marriage record has not been located. They lived in Drummig. They had the following known children:

Anne, born April 4, 1890.

Mary, born May 11, 1891. She may have been known as Mollie.

Daniel, born December 1, 1892.

Michael died January 31, 1895. Daniel Collins of Derrylugga, brother, was present at death (PAD). Michael was only 53.

Mary Burke Collins, the widow, was in Drummig in the 1901 census with her children, a relative and a servant. Mary remarried, to James Walsh, on February 11, 1902, but was widowed again by the 1911 census.

Michael's son Daniel married one Julia Daly from Dromillihy, according to Julia's Southern Star obituary from January 24, 1959. Daniel's obituary is dated June 5, 1978 and mentions one daughter.

Annie's Neill ancestry and relatives

Mary O'Neill Collins, Annie's mother, was living with the Collins family in Derrylugga in the 1901 census. She was aged 69.

Mary died December 20, 1909. According to the death record, she was 83. That would make her year of birth roughly between 1826 and 1832. If this is accurate, she could have been anywhere from 33 to 39 when she and Daniel Collins married in 1865.

According to the Collins-Neill 1865 marriage record, her father was Phil, and she was residing in Rearahinagh. This townland happens to be split between two parishes, Caheragh and Dromdaleague. It is believed they lived on the Caheragh side.

There wasn't anybody named Neill (or O'Neil, or Neal) listed in Rearahinagh in the Tithe Applotment books, nor in the Tenure Book, which appears to have been enumerated on January 25, 1850. However, people named Neal were listed in the House books dated later that year and in 1854 - Catherine Neal and Patrick Neal. They are also listed in Griffith's Valuation, in the Caheragh side of the townland.

A Catherine Neill, aged 78, died on November 26, 1873 in Derrylugga. Catherine would have been born around 1795. Daniel Collins was PAD. 

Was this Mary's mother?

To make a long story shorter, the best fit I can find for Mary's nuclear family is:

Phil Neill and Catherine McCarthy
no surviving marriage record

Mary, baptized January 13, 1834 in SKIBBEREEN. Godparents John Peard, Sarah? Peard.

Bridget, baptized February 4, 1837 in SKIBBEREEN. Godparents Michael Pierce?, Peg Sullivan.

Cornelius, baptized January 18, 1840 in CAHERAGH. Residence Bauravilla. Godparents John Tobin, Catherine Tobin.

Catherine, baptized November 12, 1842 in CAHERAGH. Residence Bauravilla. Godparents John Hourihane, Jane Donovan.

Michael, baptized September 30, 1848 in SKIBBEREEN. Godparents John McCarthy, Honora Burke. This would be a bit of a stretch if Catherine McCarthy was born about 1795.

There were also a Patrick Neill, in Rearahinagh, married to Honora McCarthy. (Her name might have been mistakenly written as Margaret in one record). Patrick's parentage at this point has not been researched. Patrick and Honora's known children start appearing in the baptismal records in 1859.

There were also a Jeremiah Neill, in Rearahinagh, whose father was Phil, and who married Hannah Collins of Coornishal on January 26,  1864. Witnesses Cornelius McCarthy, Hannah Neill.  (Although I cannot unequivocally prove it, I think Hannah Collins had an older sister Mary who married Cornelius McCarthy of Lissane Upper. So Cornelius McCarthy was her brother-in-law. That's an entirely separate genealogy rabbit hole.)

Obviously I cannot make further dents in Phil Neill, and I have no real ancestral data on Catherine McCarthy.

This pretty much exhausts what I've been able to scrape up on the ancestry of Annie. Much of it remains unproven. Now on to Cornelius.

More about Cornelius

As previously stated, Cornelius died May 1, 1920. He was 63. Anne Collins widow PAD.

The 1897 marriage record lists his residence as Cunnicawn. This is Knockane. Apparently he went to live at Annie's Derrylugga residence.

The marriage record also says his father was named Denis.

The 1911 Derrylugga census shows that Cornelius had two nephews, Michael Hourihane and James Hourihane, staying with the Collinses.

It looks like those same nephews were in Knockane in 1901, the children of Michael Hourihane and Mary Collins. So far, I have not found that marriage record. 

The known Hourihane children:

Patrick, born May 19, 1886. Julia Collins, PAB.

John, born June 1, 1888.

Cornelius, born Jun 21, 1889.

Annie, born October 27, 1890.

Michael, born January 21, 1892.

Timothy, born March 25, 1893.

James, born July 21, 1894.

Kate, born May 20, 1896.

Ellen, born July 26, 1897.

Mary Collins Hourihane died 27 Mar 1905, aged 48. She was 42 in the 1901 census. So her Year of Birth was somewhere around 1857 - 1859.

At this point I proceeded on the assumption that Cornelius and Mary were siblings. From Cornelius's obituary, they also had sisters Ellen and Julia. By the 1897 marriage record, I am also assuming their father was named Denis.

There is a death record of a Denis Collins of Knockane, aged 70, dated February 22, 1896, with Cornelius Collins PAD. So this Denis was born about 1826.

With this information, I found the family of a Denis Collins and Jane McCarthy in Rearahinagh:

Ellen, baptized October 17, 1852. Godparents Andy McCarthy and Mary Donovan.

Mary, baptized March 17, 1854. Godparents Pat Neill, Mary Donovan.

Cornelius, baptized January 31, 1856. Godparents Cornelius McCarthy, Nancy Skuse.

Bridget, baptized January 31, 1856.  Godparents William Young, Jane Young.

Julia, baptized September 29, 1857. Godparents Andrew McCarthy, Ellen McCarthy.

There is an 1834 marriage of a Denis Collins and Jane McCarthy, but based on the baptisms above I don't think this is the correct marriage.

I think the correct marriage mistakenly indexes the bride as Rose rather than Jane. It occurred November 1, 1851. The bride's residence was Rearahinagh. Witnesses look like Robert Young and Ellen Young.

And there is a death record of a Jane Collins of Knockane, November 13, 1896, with Cornelius Collins son of deceased PAD. She was 72. If this was correct, that would put her Year of Birth about 1824.

Now I've hit the brick walls. There is not one Collins name among the witnesses for this family's church events. So there aren't any real hints for the nuclear family of Denis Collins. 

There is some evidence that Jane McCarthy was somehow linked to the McCarthy Sowney family of Rearahinagh.  Andrew McCarthy(1815-1897) of Rearahinagh was likely the son of Timothy McCarthy of Driminidy, and probably Catherine Donovan. Andrew's baptism predates available records. I can only speculate here, and further speculate that perhaps Jane was a sibling.

The best thing I can do next is look close to home (Rearahinagh) and at the obituary of Cornelius.

The Obituary

The obituary of May 15, 1920 states:

The chief mourners were - Mrs. Collins (wife); Denis, Dan and Cyril (sons); Lily and Birdie (daughters); Ellen and Julia (sisters); C. Hourihane (nephew); Andrew Collins C.P.S., Skibbereen; John Collins, Drominidy; Mrs. and the Misses O'Donovan, Skibbereen; Michael and Mrs. Collins, do; Dan and Mollie Collins, Dromig; Jerh. O'Neill, Mary O'Neill, Patk. and Mrs. Collins. J. Collins. Adrigole; D. Collins, do; J. and T. Collins, Coornishal; J. Clancy, Bauravilla; Peadar O'Hourihane Skibbereen; Miss O'Hourihane do; T. Crowley Hollybrook; D. Crowley, Bauravilla; Mrs. Young, North Street, Skibbereen (cousins).

The relationships to Cornelius are more obvious here: Mrs. Collins (wife); Denis, Dan and Cyril (sons); Lily and Birdie (daughters); Ellen and Julia (sisters); C. Hourihane (nephew).

These look more like Annie's relatives: Andrew Collins C.P.S., Dan and Mollie Collins, Dromig.

Mrs. Young, North Street, Skibbereen was Ellen Hurley Young, widow of William Young, and daughter of Daniel Hurley(1809-1879) and Honora McCarthy(1819-1891) of Coolnagarrane. Honora was the daughter of the aforementioned Timothy McCarthy and Catherine Donovan of Driminidy.

T. Crowley Hollybrook; D. Crowley, Bauravilla. I can't explain these relationships. There were a Patrick Crowley and Catherine McCarthy of Bauravilla, the latter from the aforementioned family of Timothy McCarthy and Catherine Donovan of Driminidy.  But I don't think these Crowleys are from that family.

John Collins, Drominidy. This one has me stumped. If this John is the son of Timothy Collins, then John, who was the product of a Collins-Collins marriage, was my grandfather's first cousin. John's mother was Kate Collins of Lissane Lower (1860-1889). John's father Timothy was the son of a John Collins of Driminidy. Timothy's mother may have been an Ellen Collins. 

J. Clancy, Bauravilla. This might have been Joseph Clancy, son of Patrick Clancy and Ellen Barry (m. 1895). Patrick in turn was probably the son of Joseph Clancy and Elizabeth Keeffe. A relationship to Cornelius Collins is not obvious. I am not sure of Ellen Barry's ancestry.

Peadar O'Hourihane Skibbereen; Miss O'Hourihane do. Joseph Clancy and Eliza Keeffe knew the Bauravilla Hourihanes. A relationship to Cornelius Collins is not obvious. I am at a loss here.

J. Collins. Adrigole; D. Collins, do."D" might have been Dan Collins, married to Ellen Whooley. His father was named Timothy. His mother might have been Catherine Hegarty, but I really don't have information here. "J" might have been John or Jeremiah Collins. John and Jeremiah were known to be my grandmother's relatives.

J. and T. Collins, Coornishal. I'm guessing these were probably Tim and John Collins. Their parents were John Collins and Johanna (Hannah) Cahalane. John Senior's parents are believed to have been Denis Collins and Johanna Hourihane.

There were a number of Collins families in Coornishal. The relationship to either Cornelius or Annie is not obvious.

Jerh. O'Neill, Mary O'Neil. These look like Annie's relatives.  Or were they?  Recall that out of one of the Coornishal Collins families, one Hannah Collins (also went by Norry or Johanna) married Jeremiah Neill of Rearahinagh on January 26, 1864. Jeremiah's father was Philip Neil. So there was a relationship to Annie.

The children of Jeremiah Neill and Hannah Collins were:

Philip, baptized November 23, 1864. Godparents Pat Neill, Bridget Collins. Died in infancy.

Mary, baptized November 22, 1866. Godmother Mary McCarthy.

Patrick, baptized March 5, 1869. Godparents Patrick Donovan, Honora McCarthy. He subsequently married Elizabeth Croston on March 5, 1905. 

Jeremiah, baptized March 27, 1871. Godparents Cornelius McCarthy, Johanna Collins.

Even now, I cannot tell which Neills the obituary references.

Working on the theory that Hannah was the daughter of John Collins and Joan (or Johanna) Crowley,  John and Joan married March 2, 1824 in Drimoleague & Drinagh. Then there was a gap in children's births, because any baptisms in Kilmacabea & Kilfaughnabeg before 1832 did not survive. Recall my earlier speculation that there was an early daughter Mary who married Cornelius McCarthy of Lissane Upper. If Hannah was a younger sister to Mary, the godfather of her son Jeremiah could have been her brother-in-law.

So many burning questions!

Could Denis, the father of Cornelius Collins, have been from any of the Coornishal Collins families?  John Collins and Johanna Crowley did have a son, Denis, in 1846, so maybe our Denis, father of Cornlius, was from a related family. 

Could Jane McCarthy been the daughter of Timothy McCarthy of Driminidy, and possibly Catherine Donovan, having been born before the start of Drimoleague & Drinagh records?

Could the Rearahinagh O'Neils been related to the ones in Trawlebane? This one is of significance to me, since I have DNA triangulation evidence between my aunt and uncle and two people descended from Trawlebane O'Neils. The matches with Trawlebane O'Neil ancestry are descended from the parents of Captain Francis O'Neil. Yes, that Captain O'Neil, whose statue is in Trawlebane.

Where was Phil Neil's wife, Catherine McCarthy, from?

Were Cornelius Collins and Annie Collins distant cousins?

And the big one - was Cyril Collins and either or both of his parents related to my family?

Cyril is in the picture below the right red arrow. The original was cropped from a larger photo of my mother's family. The man below the left red arrow is an unknown.