Elaine, There is a James Doyle in my family tree though he was probably not the one you search for. He was a blacksmith and lived in Carraig Beag after marrying my g-g-aunt Margaret Coogan Doyle in St. Andrew's Church in Bagenalstown.
James and Margaret emigrated to New York City, Harlem, with their children, in the late 1870s (probably '78 or '79). James died several years later, as recorded in the 1880 US Census. Margaret continued the blacksmith shop on east 110th St, with her occupation listed as "Horseshoes." She succeeded, bought a second house across the street from their first home, and her children also did well in NYC: her sons were a veterinary, a fire insurance agent, a leather goods dealer, etc. Her twin daughters, Katie and Bridget (Bridget's name changed to Delia after the family's arrival in NYC), were baptised in her parents' home in Baile Loughan; I think the other children were born/baptized in the Doyle home.
The family suffered poverty during and after the years of An Gorta Mór, and Margaret was the last of Mathew and Catharine Coogan's 12 offspring to emigrate (one brother stayed in Ireland), joining her widowed mother and siblings in Harlem. Two of her letters to her mother tell of their life in 1870s Co. Carlow.
If James might be related to your Doyle's, I can send more information, photos of Margaret (1880s,1890s), and photos of her twin daughters. I don't know whether photos of her sons exist, but many, many years ago I met one of her grandsons who owned a leather shop in lower Manhattan. When he saw my name, he said we might be related, but I knew nothing then of my family history-- a missed opportunity alas!
Mary
