Ryans of Dunkerrin / Moneygall
Hello, everyone.
I’ll be visiting Ireland for the second time in just over a month. It’s for a very special birthday, and I chose Ireland to reconnect with my roots and visit the towns of my ancestors. In that spirit, I’m hoping to learn more about the Ryans of Dunkerrin, Co. Offaly. and if it's possible to connect with any possible relatives. I would also greatly appreciate help in locating some missing records. Many of the following discoveries have only come together very recently, within the span of a single week.
My ancestor, John Riordan Jr. of Moneygall, emigrated to New York City in May 1906 aboard the Lucania, and later married Winifred Malone of Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary. My Malone line is fairly well documented, but for decades I struggled to uncover anything about John Riordan Jr.’s family.
The main difficulty has been that none of the US records provide information about his place of origin or family, with the exception of his death certificate, which names his parents as John Riordan Sr. and Bridget Ryan. For over ten years, I have tried to locate a marriage record for this couple, but without success. There appears to be no civil or church records online. Any assistance in locating this marriage would be invaluable, as it would likely reveal the name of John Riordan Sr.’s father and allow me to extend my research further to Limerick. From the 1901 and 1911 censuses, John Riordan Sr. states that he was born in Limerick, so he was not originally from Moneygall/Dunkerrin, though his wife Bridget Ryan was.
As for the Ryan family of Dunkerrin/Moneygall:
Very recently, through DNA matches on Ancestry, I discovered that John Riordan Jr. had a sister, Margaret (aka Mary) Riordan, who also emigrated to New York. Searching for her Ellis Island records is what first led me to identify Moneygall as the family’s place of origin. Years earlier I had come across what I suspected might be the relevant household in the 1901 census, which lists the following family members:
1901 Census (Cullenwaine):
John Reardon (head), born Limerick
Bridget Reardon (wife), born King’s County
Katie Reardon (daughter), born King’s County
John Reardon (son), born King’s County
Bridget Reardon (daughter), born King’s County
Edward Reardon (son), born King’s County
At the time, I couldn’t be certain this was my family. It was only later, after systematically matching the names to Moneygall/Dunkerrin that the pieces started to align. This was confirmed when I located the 1911 census:
1911 Census (Cullenwaine):
John Reardon (head), born Limerick
Bridget Reardon (wife), born King’s County
Margaret Reardon (daughter), born King’s County
Bridget Reardon (daughter), born King’s County
Edward Reardon (son), born King’s County
It became clear this was the same family as in 1901. I was then able to locate civil birth records for the three youngest children (Margaret, Bridget and Edward). But the core problem that had hindered my research from the very beginning became evident again: there is no civil birth record for John Riordan Jr., and no trace of his parents’ marriage.
It was only a week ago through a DNA matches to descendants of Margaret Riordan that I was able to confirm this is John Riordan Jr's family.
A breakthrough came when I found a transcript of John Riordan Jr.’s baptism on a local Moneygall website via IrelandXO (Love you guys!). From there, I located transcripts of his siblings’ baptisms on IrishRoots. These are as follows:
- Catherine Riordan (7 Jan 1882), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: John Riordan / Bridget Ryan
- Sponsors: Tim Ryan, Margaret Ryan
- Civil birth: missing
- John Riordan (28 Jan 1883), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: John Riordan / Bridget Ryan
- Sponsors: Edward Ryan, Mary Ryan
- Civil birth: missing
- Mary Riordan (14 Sep 1884), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: John Riordan / Bridget Ryan
- Sponsor: Margaret Ryan
- Civil birth: 18 Oct 1884
- Bridget Riordan (24 Dec 1886), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: John Riordan / Bridget Ryan
- Sponsors: Edward Ryan, Judith Ryan
- Civil birth: 20 Dec 1886
- Edward Riordan (16 Mar 1889), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: John Riordan / Bridget Ryan
- Sponsors: John Ryan, Kate Green
- Civil birth: 14 Mar 1889
The sponsors strongly suggested that many were members of Bridget Ryan’s family. Based on this, I began reconstructing possible Ryan family groups in Dunkerrin/Moneygall using baptismal and census records. This led me to the following family, all children of John Ryan and Catherine Whelan:
- Bridget Ryan (16 Aug 1847)
- Matt Ryan (1 Jun 1849)
- Margaret Ryan (17 Nov 1850)
- Catherine Ryan (7 Apr 1853)
- Timothy Ryan (25 Mar 1858)
- Edward Ryan (6 Jul 1861)
Surprisingly, I was able to confirm this line through a DNA match descending from Timothy (Tim) Ryan (b. 1858), who married Mary McInerney.
While researching their children, I found one of my John Riordans could be a sponsor for one of their children:
- James Ryan (1 Dec 1885), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: Tim Ryan / Mary McInerney
- Sponsors: John Riordan, Anne Hoolan
- Bridget Ryan (13 Jul 1890), Dunkerrin RC
- Parents: Tim Ryan / Mary McInerney
- Sponsors: John Burns, Catherine Riordan
But the presence of a Catherine Riordan raises the possibility of another Riordan family in the area.
Recap:
I would love to connect with any relatives or anyone researching these families. I would also greatly appreciate help in locating the following missing records:
- The marriage of John Riordan Sr. and Bridget Ryan (both civil and church records appear to be missing)
- The full baptismal record of John Riordan Jr. (currently only a partial transcript)
- The civil birth record of John Riordan Jr.
Many, many thanks in advance. I truly appreciate any help or insight,
Ian R.