Fahey/ Fahy family Kilthomas/Keelderry

Hello John,

There are no civil registration birth records in Ireland before 1864. Before 1864 genealogists have to reply on the availability of church parish registers for the religious denomination their ancestors belonged to.

But, some church parish registers do include the date of birth as, as well as the date of baptism for the child, as you'll see later.

Your Fahy/Fahey and Skehill ancestors were no doubt Roman Catholic. Their Catholic Parish was Kilthomas. The Catholic Parish of Kilthomas is also called Peterswell. According to the National Library of Ireland website, the Kilthomas/Peterswell Catholic Parish baptisms are available online from 27 January 1854 to 15 January 1881. Marriages are extent online from 28 January 1856 to 24 July 1886. This means there will not be Kilthoams/Peterswell Catholic baptisms for any children of Michael Fahy and Bridget Skehill before 1854.

See the availability of the Kilthomas/Peterswell parish registers, as well as a map of the parish at: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0631

You’ll see on the map that Peterswell was a split parish, with the Parish of Ardrahan in between.

I did find two baptisms however for children of Michael and Bridget. I initially found the baptism transcriptions for Patrick Fahy and Bridget Fahy at the Find My Past (FMP) website. FMP is traditionally a subscription website, with the exception that it does not charge to search for Roman Catholic Church registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials. Many Catholic churches in the 19th century however, did not keep burial records.

Attached to each transcription is a link that takes you to a digitized copy of the original baptism, marriage, or burial record held by the aforementioned National Library of Ireland, locate in Kildare Street, Dublin.

PATRICK FAHY BAPTISM

The FMP transcription shows that “Patricius” Fahy was born on 6 January 1855 and baptized in the Peterswell Catholic Parish on 11 February 1855. This is one of the Catholic churches that does include a child’s birth record.

The transcription also shows that Patrick’s father was “Michale” Fahy and that his mother was “Brigida” Skehill. The spellings of the first names of Patrick and his parents are in the Latin.

To view the FMP baptism transcription for Patrick Fahy, go to the upcoming link. You may be asked to register with FMP before accessing the transcription, but registration is free: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F4204954

You can view a copy of the original baptism register entry for Patrick at the following National Library of Ireland link: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634187#page/5/mode/1up

There are two facing pages to the baptism register. The baptisms are recorded across both pages.

You can enlarge the page 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.

The baptism for Patricius Fahy is at Number 38 in the baptism register. The left page of the register gives his date of birth as 6 January as well as the names of his parents. To the right of the parents’ names is the residence of the Fahy family. The residence is “Kilderry,” which of course would be an alternate spelling of Keelderry.

On the right-hand page of the baptism register is the date of the baptism, and the name of the priest who baptized Patrick. The priest was P. O’Connor. To the right of the priest’s name are the names of Patrick’s godparents. They are Robert Fallon and Anna Hynes.

John, you are very fortunate that this baptism register not only includes the date of Patrick’s baptism, but also his date of birth.

BRIDGET FAHY BAPTISM

The FMP transcription shows that Bridget was born on 23 March 1857 and baptized on 1 April 1857. Her father’s first name is abbreviated as “Michl,” while her mother’s maiden name is transcribed as, “Skihell.” See: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F5838530

A copy of Bridget’s original baptism register entry can be found at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634187#page/12/mode/1up

Hers is the first baptism at the top of the register. The residence of the Fahy family is “Kilderry.”

The right-hand page gives the date of baptism and the name of the priest (Thos. Grealy)), who baptized her. The godparents are Patrick Fahy and Mary Hynes. The godfather Patrick Fahy may have been Michael’s brother.

The 1855 baptism for Patrick seen earlier shows his godmother was Anna Hynes. The Hynes name in both baptisms is an indication that the Hynes family were either related, perhaps by marriage, or close friends of the Fahys.

Further research at the FMP website confirms that the Fahy and Hynes family were related through marriage. I found a Peterswell birth/baptism for a child named Michael Hynes. He was born on 5 July 1855 and baptized on 9 July 1855. His father is Patricio (Patrick) Hynes. The first name of his mother is Maria (Mary). Her maiden name is erroneously transcribed as, “Tahy,” rather than Fahy. This may be due to the handwriting in the original birth and baptism entry for Michael Hynes. See the FMP transcription at: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F5396755

The entry for Michael in the Peterwell baptism register is the first one at the top of the page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634187#page/7/mode/1up

You can see why the FMP transcriber thought the mother’s maiden name of Tahy, rather than Fahy. But, her maiden name is Fahy. The residence of the Hynes family is difficult to read, but looks like Caines Pound.

On the right-hand register page, after the date of baptism, is the name of the priest who baptized Michael. He was the Rev. A. Hanahan. Michael’s godfather was Laurence Fahy. The godmother is Catherina Washington.

Another child of Patrick Hynes and Mary Fahy was recorded in the Peterswell registers. This is for their son Patrick, who was born on 1 September 1859 and baptized on 11 September 1859: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F7292316

Patrick’s baptism entry is Number 284 in the parish register at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634187#page/20/mode/1up

To the right of the names of the parents is their residence. In this instance it looks like Kains Pound, not Cains Pound.

The right-hand page of the register shows that his godparents were John Fahy and Mary Fahy.

These records prove that the Fahy and Hynes families were related by marriage.

Have you come across the Hynes surname when researching your Fahy and Skehill ancestors?

A Google Map shows that Keelderry, where the Fahy family lived, is 4 miles northwest of Peterswell, where the Fahy children were baptized. See the map at: https://is.gd/KjYfVv

While at this Google Map I happened to stumble into the townland of “Keanes Pound,” which I believe would be the location of the Hynes family in the baptism records for Michael and Patrick Hynes noted above, in which their residence was recorded as “Cains Pound” and “Kains Pound”, respectively. The map shows that Keanes Pound is 3.6 miles south of Keelderry by the shortest modern day route: https://is.gd/v4MEdC

The Catholic Church in Peterswell is St. Thomas the Apostle. See the Google Map at: https://is.gd/w5EJfD

For a Google Street View of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Peterswell, go to: https://is.gd/t6s3Yv

As you can see this is a very nice looking church.

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, shows that St. Thomas’ Church is located in a section of Peterswell called Gardenblake, and that the church was constructed in 1840. For more information about the church, and for a slide presentation of the exterior and interior of the church, go to the Buildings of Ireland website link at: https://is.gd/y2G6IL

Buildings of Ireland also has its own map of the location of the church, which you can access at:
https://webgis.buildingsofireland.ie/HistoricEnvironment/?REG_NO=304114…

I also found two old maps of Peterswell and the Catholic Church. Both are Ordnance Survey Maps. The oldest is an Ordnance Survey Map of the “R.C. Chapel” printed between 1837 and 1842. You can access the map from the GeoHive website link at: https://bit.ly/2TnUD03

Just to the north of the chapel at the crossroads you’ll see the label for” St. Peter’s Well,” from which I believe the town derived its name.

The second Ordnance Survey Map of Peterswell and “St. Thomas’s R.C. Chapel is from the 1888 to1913 time period. This map is also available from GeoHive at: https://bit.ly/2zPsIiI

St. Peter’s Well is also marked in this map too.

GRIFFITHS VALUATION

I next wanted to see if I could find Michael Fahy in an Irish property tax record known as Griffiths Valuation leasing property in the townland of Keelderry, Civil Parish of Kilthomas, County Galway.

Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for Keelderry and surrounding townlands, was completed by the year 1855.

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 collecting the rent on Gale Day for the owner. This middleman 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 actually found two Occupiers named Michael Fahy leasing property in Keelderry, along with six other Occupiers, including Patrick Fahy, and John Fahy. They, along with William Healy, Martin Curran, Timothy Donohoe, and Patrick Coynes leased over 1088 acres of land in common from an Immediate Lessor named James Galbraith. The land would have been used for farming.

While all the Occupiers in Keelderry had leased the land in common with each other, they each leased their own house. Their land, not their houses, were shared in common.

In the partial Griffiths Valuation transcription below, you see the two Occupiers named Michel Fahy. In parenthesis after one Michael Fahy you’ll see (Darby). In parenthesis after the name of the second Michael Fahy you’ll see (Pat). These indicate the names of the fathers for each Michael, and is a way of telling they are not the same individuals leasing more than one property in Keelderry.

To the left of the name of each Occupier you’ll see a number (1) followed by a different letter (a,b,c,d, ect.) These are location marker references on an Ordnance Survey Map of Keelderry. The Ordnance Survey Maps can be accessed from the askaboutireland website, but cannot be copied or linked.

See the Griffiths Valuation entries below in Keelderry:

Parish of Kilthomas
Townland: Keelderry
Immediate Lessor: James Galbraith
Area of Land: 1088 Acres, 2 Roods, 0 Perches
Occupiers:
1 a. William Healy, Herd’s house & land
1 b. Patrick Fahy, House & land
1 c. Michael Fahy (Darby), House, offices, & land
1 d. Michael Fahy (Pat), House and land
1 e. Martin Curran, House, office & land
1 f. Timothy Donohoe, House, office & land
1 g. John Fahy, House and land
1 h. Patrick Coyne, House, offices and land
____

One of the Occupiers named Michael Fahy, either the son of Darby, or the son of Pat, may be your direct ancestor. But there is no way to tell which one could be your Michael and his father from the Griffiths Valuation entry.

As you can see from the Griffiths Valuation entry above, there were no Occupiers named Skehill who leased property in Keelderry. I didn’t find any Occupiers named Skehill leasing property in any townland in the Kilthomas Civil Parish.

Best Wishes John,

Dave Boylan

 

Wow! Thanks so much, Dave. I must be honest, I really didn't expect much of a response, if any, but your posting was far beyond anything I could have dreamed possible! From the scant information that I was able to give, you have provided me with a treasure trove of ancestral detail and the map to search for more. This is helping to fulfill a strong long-held desire to discover where my family came from. Hopefully I shall visit the area when the situation permits.

In 1970 and 1971 I taped my grandmother who was in her mid-eighties   
then and she recalled with crystal clarity the time she spent in Peterswell. She provides a wonderful picture of rural family life in a tiny Irish community in which she talks about going to school and some of her relations.
Being only twenty at the time, I had just scraped together enough money to buy a second hand cassette recorder but what a purchase! It's helped me preserve details I would have long forgotten and of course it's wonderful to listen to her with her rich Lancashire accent recount her story. Too late we realise that we didn't ask enough questions of our grandparents and then decades later have to piece together a narrative from documents and snatches of dimly recalled conversations.

What you have offered me, Dave, is the opportunity to string together some of those few gems I have already with the wealth of the new ones you have given me plus the chance to add more with further research using your guidelines.         
  
I shall let you know how I get on when I've had time to assimilate all the new and wondrous information and chase up the leads. 

My grandmother's story is an eventful one encompassing tragedy and loss on a bewildering scale but what stays with me is her fortitude and quiet wisdom: maybe now I can let my children and grandchildren have a fuller glimpse into her life and our shared lives.

Again, thank you for the kind help you have bestowed on me. It will spur me on to create my forebears' story in paragraphs from the few words I began with.

John Holland.

Cheshire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're welcome John, and many thanks for your kind words. They are very much appreciated.

You were very wise to have recorded your grandmother. Many family historians wish they had recorded their parents and grandparents, but thought of it too late after they were deceased, which is very unfortunate.

I hope your additional research will reveal even more details about your ancestors.

Don't hesitate to write if you'd like me to look for more records.

With Best Wishes,

Dave

Hi,

Following  all the amazing help I had just a few days ago, it spurred me onto delve more deeply.

I have just relistened to one of the tapes of my grandmother, Mary Fahey, recorded in 1970. She is recounting her time spent with relatives in Peterswell which would have been after her mother's death in 1893. I am not sure of the exact amount of time she spent in Ireland, but she was definitely back in England in 1901 when she was fifteen.From what she says she must have been staying with her Aunt Mary and she also goes on to add that her other aunts Winnie, Catherine and Bridget lived nearby on farms owned by the farmers' sons they had all married. All I can glean from this is that there must have been four sisters - Mary, Winnie, Catherine and Bridget, most likely with Fah(e)y as their surnames.

It is difficult to follow but she says that her cousin Johnny and posssibly please two other of his brothers Peter and Martin also were in her aunt's household. Is it possible to verrify this as it would fill out the picture greatly?

Kind regards,

John Holland

 

Thank you again everyone for all your help with this.  
I suppose the Fahey siblings (my grandmother's aunts and uncles)  would have been in their late forties or fifties during this period .

Kind regards,

John Holland.

 

 

 

 

Good Going Anne! You and the other volunteers at Ireland XO provide a valuable service for people looking for information about their ancestry, and to also to connect with long lost cousins in their ancestral homeland.

With Best Wishes,

Dave

 

Hi All,  

Again, many many thanks for all this wonderful research.

If you could please ask my new found family member to make contact, what a great outcome that would be! You can pass on my contact details if that is permissible.

Kind regards and thanks again.

John.

 

 

 

 

Hi Anne,

Many thanks for your help: it would be great if you would please give my details to your contacts.

holland.j.a@hotmail.co.uk.              
 
Kind regards.

John .         

Hi Anne,

Thanks for your message. I'll delete it as you suggest.

I look forward to the next chapter of this search!

John.

 

 

I am just in the middle of transcribing the tapes I mentioned earlier: it is a long painstaking process but I am halfway through now. For any member of the Fahey family, they might prove interesting so hopefully when I have finished, I will try to make the original sound recordings and transcripts available. 
I would welcome any suggestions on how best to do this. 
John.
 

 

 

Hi Anne, 

Thank you for your your information and suggestions.                                                       
The task of transcribing the originals will hopefully be completed soon. The main challenge has been actually noting down accurately everything said. My intention has been to make the recordings easily accessible to listeners not familiar with the accent. My verbatim copy contains all the originals'  repetitions, hesitations, use of the then current Lancashire vernacular etc to try to give a flavour of the spoken account. I have added a few contextual notes too for some of the topical/ local references my grandmother made all those years ago.  The resulting scripts cover quite a few pages!                                 

I have digitised my cassette recordings and transferred them to usb and , as you intimate, to protect the originals.  Whether or not any oral history group would welcome them, I don't know, but I'm sure they would be of some interest to the descendants of the immediate Fahey family and would certainly add a few more pieces of their story. The information could ultimately be transferred to the project curating the narratives of people involved in the diaspora, if that would help. I'm not sure how I would get the recordings etc to anyone interested though. 

I'll let you know when I have finished it. 
Again, thank you and everyone else who has helped me progress with this.

John Holland.

 

 

 

Hi,

I have, thankfully, now transcribed the tapes and have added some contextual notes that I trust will set the scene. Because there are references to Winny Fahey (my great great aunt) who married a Fitzgerald and to Mary Hynes nee Fahey, ( another great aunt) who married Patrick Hynes, and at whose farm she lived for a while in the 1890's, along mention of their sisters, Catherine and Bridget, I am sure it would prove of some interest to their descendants.

I am hoping that this can all be made available soon if there is a way can be found.

Kind regards,

John Holland.

 

Hi Anne,

Thank you for your continuing support. 
I will also include a complete family tree of the descendants of my great grandfather, Peter Fahey, and what further information and photos I have. 
I greatly look forward to hearing from my relatives in Ireland.

With many thanks,

John.

 

Hi again.

Would anyone have any photos of the farmhouses where Mary and Patrick Hynes or any other relations would have lived all those years ago? It would be great to see where my grandmother lived for a time.            

 Regards                

John.                   

 

 

 

John.

Hi Anne,

Thank you for your reply. My grandmother mentioned in the recordings the Fitzgerald family and one of her aunts I think was married into the Helly family.  She of course stayed with Mary (nee Fahey) and Patrick Hynes on their far.

I have some very old photos of what I believe to be members of the family and one family group including some children and who I take to be the parish priest wearing his biretta. Perhaps some family member might be able to compare them with ones they have to authenticate mine.

If anyone in the family would like to make contact, that would be great.

The transcriptions are now complete along with the notes - I am just in the process of writing up an account of this branch of the family history in Lancashire.

Thank you again for your continuing help.

Regards,

John 

 I would just like to update you about a contact I had last week as a result of the above posts. It was from members of the Fahey family who had done some extremely thorough family research and they very kindly sent me the results of their labours to date.  This has furnished me with so much information that it will take me some time to assimilate it all! What a fortuitous thing leaving the postings u has proved to be! Thanks again for everything. John.

 

 

Hello
I am new to this site. I have been reading the messages and I have a Michael Fahey who married Bridget Skehill in my family tree. Michael is a

Hello
I am new to this site and I came across this message board. I have been researching the names Fahey/ Fahy. My great grandfather Patrick Fahey bron 1883immigrated to the US in 1904 with his wife Fannie maiden name Jackson. From the research I have it looks like Patrick is related to the Peter Fahey whose birth listed here is 1851 i have him as 1854. The names listed in the post are the same names I have been researching. I am trying to find a marriage record for Fannie Jackson and Patrick Fahey b 1883. Fannie was born in England in 1881. I can't seen to locate a marriage for them in either England or Ireland. The last place i have him in is Peterwell and Kildeary if anyone could help i would appreciate it. Thanks

JHi,

I have found a record of Patrick Fahey and his wife Fannie Nee Jackson showing that they had a son Martin die in  an accident on 5th April 1930 in Philadelphia. The death certificate records Patrick as being born in Ireland and Fannie Jackson in England. I've no doubt that these are your people: no record of marriage of course there but at least evidence they were married. 
I'll have a further ferret around to see if I can find a marriage. Perhaps hitched in US?

Keep safe, John Holland.

 

Just to add - their boy was recorded as being born in Philadelphia and aged 23 so perhaps the parents had been in America a few years pre 1907 when he was born.

Hi,

Just spent a while trying to find anything but no luck. Ancestry has a few family trees mentioning these people so it might be worth contacting the tree owners through Ancestry if you are a member. Good luck!

 

Kind regards, John.

 

 

 

Please contact me at

holland.j.a@hotmail.co.uk

for further information on the matter. Fortunately I have found the answer which was staring me in the face! I can email you some details/document copies that should hopefully resolve the matter for you.

Kind regards,

John Holland.

 

John thank you for contacting me. All I can say is wow! Yes Fanny and Patrick have given me the run around too lol I've been trying to track the England and Ireland connection for awhile now. If you would like to exchange information my email is Ncddnedd@aol.com. I can send you what you would like to exchange information my email is Ncddnedd@aol.com. I can send you what the information I have from the US too Thank you again! Elizabeth

Hi Again,

Thank you , Elizabeth, for all the information. I think that together we have discovered quite a lot about our shared family heritage.

I am here asking for help again! the names I will mention relate to all the names in my previous posts one way or another. Briefly I have come across another Fahey ( actually spelled that way ) group in Ashton under Lyne who are clearly related to Peter Fahey, son of Michael Fahey and bridget nee Skehill, and my forebears. Both family groups lived in the same house for a short while and my branch acted as God parents for their children.

I have found a reference to Patrick Fahey who had married Mary Fahey, her actual maiden name. I do not know when/where they were married. This couple were at 110 Turner Lane, Ashton under Lyne in the 1901 Census. There are baptismal records showing them having three children in Ashton: Mary Fahey b 22 06 1901 at 110 Turner Lane; James Fahey b 13 04 1903 at 4 Higher Wharf Street , Ashton; and Julia Fahey b 04 1904, but who sadly died soon afterwards as she had a private baptism and the local bdm shows she was less than a moth old when she died. The family were still at 4Higher Wharf Street then according to baptismal records.

My questions are : were Patrick and Mary Fahey married in Ireland ( I am not even certain which one is from my family even!) and what happened to the family after 1904?

I have tried hard to find any further record of them here or abroad and would be very thankful for any assistance.

Again, thanks to this noticeboard, I have discovered via NCDDNEDD, the previous respondent, yet another branch of the Fahey family who lived in Ashton.

Thank you again.

Keep safe.

John Holland.

 

 

Hi I'm doing family tree and wondering if anyone has any information on the following fahey... My great grandparents were John Fahey and Bridget Hehir. They lived in carragh, Gort, Co Galway. Bridgets parents were Patrick hehir and Catherine Gill. They lived in gardenblake peterswell and kilbeacanty. I can't seem to find anything on John Fahey parents. Could anyone help me? Also Bridget had 19 children of which 13 lived. Her mother Catherine was supposed to have 22 children but I can't find any records. I've searched alot of sites. I would greatly appreciate any information of these families. Thank you

Hi Annie,

I'll see if I can find anything. Could you please give me some approximate dates for John and Bridget Fahey? I hope you get a foothold soon so that you can make progress.

Kind regards,

John.

Hi Annie,

I don't know if you have come across the Bridget Hehir from the. Egan Carter Antingham Wheeler Dunn Family Tree on Ancestry. It might be worth contacting the tree owner.

John.

 

 

Thanks John I appreciate your reply earlier today.

John Fahey married Bridget hehir in peterswell Church on 23.09.1880. They lived in Carragh, Gort. Bridget was born on 27.12.1863 and baptised on 29.12.1863 in Kilbeacanty church. Her father was Patrick Hehir. Her mother Catherine Gill and they lived in kilbeacanty. Patrick was a labourer so they may have moved around the local areas as I found an address in gardenblake kilthomas peterswell for them. Bridget and John had 19 children, 13 survived. Oldest was Mary born in 1881.she married halvey and lived in clocnacava gort. The other children were Stephen, Joseph, Michael, John, Kate, Anne, Agnes, Delia, Julia, reita, Christina.

I'd like to find out more about John's family, his parents etc. I can't find records of his death. I'm also wondering about the children that died. I found 5 of them but 2 still unknown. I would also like to know if it was true that Bridget had 21 siblings. Any help or guidance is grately appreciated John. Thank you so much