8 replies
Anne,
Per RootsIreland (paid subscription)
| Name: | Mary Shea | Date of Birth: | |||
| Date of Baptism: | 28-Nov-1835 | ||||
| Address: | Mallow Lane | Parish/District: | DONERAILE | ||
| Gender: | Female | County | Co. Cork | ||
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic | ||||
| Father: | Cornelius Shea | Mother: | Mary Shea | ||
| Occupation: | |||||
| Sponsor 1 / | Informant 1: | David Finn | Sponsor 2 / | Informant 2: | Joanna Finn |
| Notes: |
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They had another child named Mary in 1842. The first might have died. They did not celebrate birthdays in Ireland so the actual date might be off by 10+ years.
| Name: | Mary Shea | Date of Birth: | |||
| Date of Baptism: | 29-May-1842 | ||||
| Address: | Doneraile | Parish/District: | DONERAILE | ||
| Gender: | Female | County | Co. Cork | ||
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic | ||||
| Father: | Cornelius Shea | Mother: | Mary Shea | ||
| Occupation: | |||||
| Sponsor 1 / | Informant 1: | James Daulton | Sponsor 2 / | Informant 2: | Mary Connell |
| Notes: | |||||
PRIEST: J C E
Mary would have been 16 when her children Catherine and John were born in 1858. She might have used a different birth year making her older.
Doneraile, Cloyne - Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI
Siblings- Judith 1826, Honora 1830, Cornelius 1833, Johanna 1839
| 16-Jan-1825 | |||||
| Parish / District: | DONERAILE | County: | Co. Cork | ||
| Husband | Wife | ||||
| Name: | Cornelius | Shea | Mary | Shea | |
| Address: | |||||
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic | Roman Catholic | |||
| Occupation: | |||||
| Age: | |||||
| Status: | Bachelor (Previously unmarried) | Spinster (Previously unmarried) | |||
| Husband's Father | Wife's Father | ||||
| Name: | Shea | Shea | |||
| Address: | |||||
| Denomination: | |||||
| Occupation: | |||||
| Husband's Mother | Wife's Mother | ||||
| Name: | |||||
| Address: | |||||
| Denomination: | |||||
| Occupation: | |||||
| Witness 1 | Witness 2 | ||||
| Name: | John | Shea | Eugen | Shea | |
| Address: | |||||
Good morning from New York! THANK YOU, Mary, for this information. The baptismal page was blurry, so the townland that appeared on the digitized copy on the left was just an ink blob- oh, those quill and inkwell entries can be such a challenge when I have no idea of the area!
Since the entry you found (THANK YOU) stated MALLOW LANE as an address, do you suppose that is where the Roman Catholic Church was? In Mallow? Or on the road to Mallow?
Wonder how the blight years effected this part of Ireland- and the adults seemed to have survived (at least until 1842 birth).
With all Irish roots, I have not explored the history of County Cork yet. This is my first dip into the county due to a baptismal record from NLI on the Ancestry website. Not sure this is MY Mary Shea.....using USA records to determine how she got to NY and married (here or there) Cornelius Sugrue and had John, Katherine, Denis, Anna, and Bridget Veronica between 1850-1868.
Thank you very much for this clue as I continue to run around the "rabbit hole" of research!
Best wishes for a good day!
Ann Marie
Anne Marie
Mallow Lane is the address they lived on. Other siblings had Mallow Lane on their baptism records.
History of Doneraile’s Catholic Church
The Catholic Church in Doneraile, County Cork, is a striking example of 19th-century ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland. The current building, dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, replaced an earlier thatched chapel that had stood nearby irishhistory.com. This change reflects the broader transformation of Catholic church architecture in Ireland during the 19th century, as the restrictions of the Penal era eased and the Church became more publicly visible.
Architectural Features
The church is built of ashlar limestone with a pedimented gable dated 1827, giving it a civic rather than purely ecclesiastical appearance irishhistory.com. Its most distinctive feature is the carved pineapple on the corner buttresses — a decorative motif from Georgian art symbolizing hospitality and plenty. The entrance faces east-south-east and is the most elaborately detailed section, with three rectangular doorways, small niches for holy water stoups, and a round-headed window above. Inside, the nave runs seven bays, each with a round-headed window, and retains original plaster cornice and ceiling rose decoration. A wooden gallery occupies the east-south-east end irishhistory.com.
Historical Context
The construction of the current church in the early 19th century coincided with the relaxation of Penal laws, which allowed Catholics to build larger, more permanent places of worship. This period saw a shift from temporary or hidden chapels to substantial stone churches, often with elaborate decorative elements irishhistory.com.
Notable Event
In October 1925, the church grounds hosted the unveiling of a statue of Canon Patrick Sheehan, a significant local figure. A photograph from the Irish Capuchin Archives shows a large crowd gathered outside the church for the occasion catholicarchives.ie. This event highlights the church’s role as a community focal point and its connection to local religious and civic life.
Parish Records
The Doneraile parish registers, held at the National Library of Ireland, document baptisms, marriages, and other sacraments from the early 19th century to the late 19th century NLI. These records are valuable for genealogical research and provide insight into the parish’s demographic and social history.
In summary: Doneraile’s Catholic Church is a blend of Georgian architectural style and Catholic revival architecture, symbolizing the town’s religious and civic growth. Its pineapple ornament, 1827 gable, and later community events like the 1925 unveiling of Canon Sheehan’s statue make it a notable landmark in the town’s history.
There is a Mallow Road there. Maybe the same.
MALLOW ROAD, DONERAILE, CORK | Ireland Property Price Register Historical Database
This should give you a sense of what was happening in the area your family lived and how the English viewed them.
WOW! Thank you for sharing so much information! I will continue to look for records about this Shea family,,,,,,,and we will put this area of County Cork on our future trips to Ireland.
Have found the townlands for Leahy, Power, Monaghan, Gorrey and Kane (Tipperary, Waterford, Meath) in my searching since 1980s......but still trying to pin down O'Dea, Houlihan, Shea, Sugrue, Sheridan, Martin, Lynch, McGuire, Fahey and Keliher. I think my DNA is from all over the country!
Hope the weather cooperates over there! Our rollercoaster makes the mercury go up and down!
Thank you, Mary!
Anne Marie,
As you continue your research, please reach out to Ireland Reaching Out. I live in the States. There are researchers who specialize all over Ireland and can help. I was in Western Mass and Saratoga over the holiday. The weather was brutal. 108 outside our car. Fortunately, it was pleasant as we walked around the Saratoga Battlefield, a turning point of the Revolution. How we celebrated the 4th and America's 250th Anniversary.
Take care- Mary
Mary, thank you again for your research! I am in New York and have had wonderful experiences with the Ireland Reaching Out group.
Tom Hussey in Tipperary helped me bring my mother in 2016 to the land where her paternal grandmother (LEAHY) was born/baptized and where her great grandparents (LEAHY and KELIHER) were married- both in Newcastle, Tipperary.
Katie Dee and Cian Flagherty helped me find the townland of my POWER-KEANE/KANE relatives (no easy task in Waterford) for our 2024 visit. The searching continues!
We are in a heat dome right now-Canadian fires have turned our humid skies yellow and the temperature-humidity index is 106 with dangerous air quality........so glad we fixed the central air conditioning and have a car with AC!
Stay well!
Ann Marie
