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Michael Driscoll, Catherine or Katherine Mahoney of Bantry

CorkSkull (Cork)

My 2x great grandmother was said to have been from (born?) Bantry.  Her father, my 3x great grandfather, Michael Driscoll was said to be a Horse Groomer for the Earl of Bantry.  I have found his name in Griffiths Evaluation of 1852 to have rented property from the Earl, and I have found his name in relation to that property in the Earls of Bantry’s papers held by the University of Cork.

I have heard this story from three of her childrens  decendants whom I’ve been able to contact as well as from my own grand and great grand mother.

When I went to the website: Irish Geneology.com, where they have supposedly listed all the baptisms and marriages for Cos. Cork, Kerry and Dublin, I found three possibilities.  I should say here that the parents of my Catherine Driscoll, according to her death certificate, were Michael Driscoll and Catherine Mahoney. I found two Catherine Driscoll’s with parents Michael Driscoll and Catherine Mahoney. One in Aughadown and one in Muintervara. The time frame is close but not perfect. I have also found a Catherine Driscoll who’s time frame is perfect, from Skibeereen. Her parents are listed as Michael Driscoll and Catherine Driscoll, not Mahoney (So I am assuming that they shared the same last name. However, while I can find a Michael Driscoll in Bantry in 1852, I have not found a Catherine born there.

My question is this: As Catherine Driscoll (the younger) was born approx. 1837, and the potato blight was 1845 – 1849, when she would have been 8 – 12 years old, and she lived in an area severely hit by this blight, how likely would it have been that her family could or would leave their land in Skibeereen, Aughadown, or Muintervara and her father been able to get work and eventually rent land from the Earl of Bantry?

I should also mention that Catherine eventually immigrated to the U.S. in 1854 (we think) and settled in Chicago. She married Michael Egan. She had 10 children, eight of whom survived. They were Francis, John, Michael (who died young or at infancy), Catherine, Bridget, Daniel, Ellen, James, Mary and one other who died young.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mary Taylor

4genchicago

5 replies

Hi Mary,

During the famine, it would not have been at all unusual for people to leave their land and go in search of food or work where ever either could be found. Particularly given the state of affairs in Skibbereen during the famine, it would seem quite likely that the family would attempt to move to another location. There is a very good landed estates website which could give you some insight as to the area of land which belonged to the Earl of Bantry. That site can be found here:  http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie:8080/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=2804 . 

Several sites which give information regarding the famine are listed here:

 http://www.failteromhat.com/southernstar/page10.php

http://www.theirisharchives.com/categories/view/42/The-Great-Irish-Famine 

 http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ 

http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/FAMINE/ILN/CorkFamine/CorkFamine.html  

http://www.irishhistorylinks.net/History_Links/The_Great_Famine.html

I wish you the best of luck with your search.

 

Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Ireland Reaching Out

 

IrelandXO member

Hi

I have a Michael Richard Driscoll married first wife Mary O'Rielly.  They were from Kerry.

Children:  Richard Driscoll

                James Driscoll

                Catherine Driscoll, born April 1870

 

Did you ever run across these names in your search?

 

Cheers

Ed.

 

 

EMullen

Hello Mary,

Be a smidgeon cautious about throwing out your Catherine from Skib, I have frequently noticed that sometimes the mother's MARRIED name was used in the registers, so Catherine's mother may very well have been a Mahoney.  Sometimes you can discover more by inputting the father's full name, and the mother's Christian name, and approximate dates allowing, say, a ten to fifteen, or even twenty year period.  You might have to look in neighbouring parishes, I found that people moved about quite a bit, especially as they were normally tenants or even tenants at will, and not freeholders.  You have to be flexible .....   but Muintervara is much closer to Bantry than Skibereen.  I also think that sometimes they forgot the place that they were born in, and just recorded the place that they grew up in instead, which may have been some distance away.  And they weren't always that accurate about birth dates  -  and nor were their families, so their children wouldn't have a clue either.

 

Good luck!

bridie

Hi Birdie,

Thanks for the input. You have just verified a lot of what I was thinking.Especially that Katherine may just have lived in Bantry but may have been born elsewhere.  I'll try the search as you suggested. 

thanks again

4genchicago

Hi Ed,

I've not come across a Michael Richard Driscoll in my searches. The one I am looking for was born approx. 1820, in County Cork I believe. He worked as a groom for the Earl of Bantry. And there are boatloads of Driscoll's in Co. Cork. Have you tried http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ ? They have church records for Cork, Kerry and Dublin. 

Good luck to you,

~mary

 

4genchicago

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