Hello Peter,
Thomas's parents were Michael Oats and Mary Burke according to Thomas's civil registration birth record, which is attached. The birth record is from the free irishgenealogy.ie website.
Thomas was born in Dangan (Nugent) on 12 January 1908. The birth record further shows that his father's occupation was "Labourer." Thomas’s birth is Number 337, (2nd entry) in the register.
Thomas's parents, Michael Oats and Mary Burke were married in the Catholic Chapel of Rodeen, Roscommon, on 30 January 1906. They were both of "full age" at the time of the marriage and both were living in Coralara (Corralara), Roscommon at the time of marriage. Neither had been previously married, as Michael’s “Condition” at the time of marriage was “Bachelor,” while Mary’s condition was “Spinster.”
Michael’s father was John Oats, a labourer. Mary’s father was Thomas Burke, also a labourer.
Michael and Mary were married by father P.A. Flanagan. The witnesses to the marriage were Margaret Lloyd and William Spenser. Michael and Mary’s marriage is the third entry in the attached marriage register from the irishgenealogy.ie website.
The Catholic Chapel in Rodeen, (Civil Parish and Catholic Parish of Aughrim), is called St. Mary’s. You can view the chapel on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1888 to 1911 time period at the GeoHive link: https://bit.ly/2Y1iDJr
There has been a chapel in Rodeen for quite some time as it is also shown on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period. See the map from GeoHive: https://bit.ly/3ays3Pi
According to information from the Find-A-Grave site, the original chapel in Rodeen, Aughrim, was constructed in 1790 and rebuilt in 1907, which would have been a year after Michael and Mary were married. I’m not sure how accurate the information about the church being built in 1790 and rebuilt in 1907 is, as no source information is cited for those dates. See: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2506461/aughrim-rc-church
You can view the church in a Google Street View by going to: https://is.gd/hK7ali
At the time of marriage Michael and Mary had both been living in Corralara. While it may be true that Michael at one time may have lived in Leitrim Village, (though I found no evidence of this), his residence before Dangan, as the marriage record shows, was Coralara/Corralara, County Roscommon..
A Google Map shows that the circuitous route from Corralara in the north, down to Dangan Nugent, and then west to Rodeen, is 9 miles: https://is.gd/2REw6D
Another Google Map shows that Corralara, by the shortest modern day route, is only 3.4 miles north of Dangan Nugent: https://is.gd/3nFDhE
To view Corralara on the Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1842 time period, go to: https://bit.ly/2Y2Wo6a
A Google Street View shows the road, or boreen, leading into Corralara: https://is.gd/nELVvw
A Google satellite image shows how close Corralara is to the River Shannon and the border with County Leitrim: https://is.gd/uWH1QM
Yet another Google Map shows that Corralara, by the shortest route, is 7.6 miles south of Leitrim Village: https://is.gd/K9QbdS
I next went to the 1901 and 1911 census enumerations to see if there were any Oats and Burke individuals or families living in Corralara, Roscommon, but did not find any, which is an indication that Corralara may not have been the town they and their families were originally from, but I can’t be entirely sure of that.
The 1901 and 1911 census returns make it a challenge to determine when Michael and Mary were born and baptized. For instance, the 1901 census shows that Michael was 35 years old, placing his year of birth circa 1866. Mary is shown to be 34, placing her year of birth circa 1867. But, the 1911 census shows that Michael and Mary are both 50 years old, placing their year of birth circa 1861.
While it helps to have the names of their fathers from the marriage record, you would really need to know the names of their mothers, especially the maiden names of the mothers, to pin down a more exacting lineage for your Oates ancestors.
Concerning your grandparents, you noted your grandfather was Thomas Oates. If he married Kathleen Healy, I believe I found their marriage record at the irishgenealogy.ie website. The marriage took place on 28 November 1938 in the Roman Catholic Church of Dangan. At the time of the marriage Thomas and Kathleen were of “full age,” while Thomas had been a bachelor and Kathleen a spinster. Thomas’s occupation was Labourer. Kathleen was a Domestic Servant. At the time of marriage Thomas’s residence was Dangan, Kilmore. No residence is recorded for Kathleen. Thomas’s father is shown to be Michael Oates. Kathleen’s father was Edward Healy. The priest who married them was John L. Fleming. The witnesses to the marriage were Dan Flanagan and Annie Chapman. The marriage is the first entry in the attached marriage record.
Again Peter, it is possible that a member of your Oats line had one time lived in Leitrim Village, it’s just that I didn’t find any evidence of that in the free online sources I have access to.
With Kind Regards,
Dave Boylan
