Driscoll or O'Driscoll's of Tullagh Cemetery

Hi Tom,

I have access to all available records of Baptisms, Marriages and deaths in the Skibbereen, Rath & the Islands Parishes which cover all the area of Baltimore, Skibbereen, Cape Clear & Sherkin Islands and Tullagh/Rath.

There are hundreds of Driscoll /  O'Driscoll families in the area and while I am quite happy to trawl through them, it would be a lot more productive and accurate t definitely establish the correct family if you could provide the Maiden/Birth surname of Timothy's wife and mother of Patrick & Catherine. One suggestion may be of use to you in this regard and that is that the Wife/Mother 's first name may have been Catherine as there are a few Timothy's married to Catherines and some are also of Ardagh. I would be 99% certain that the family were of Ardagh which is about Five miles from Skibbereen and this Townland begins between Lough Hyne & Baltimore and just beside the old Lough Hyne National School. If you could also give me the names of any other of their children, this could also help to establish the correct family.

It would also be very helpful if you could contact me directly through my email address: frankfahy054@gmail .com as it would save me the time of searching for replies through this website and others every day. I do not charge for any research or information and am the West Cork Volunteer Researcher for this website and several others. Ardagh by the way is the correct spelling for the Townland and there is Ardagh North & South.

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you if possible.

Hi Frank,

My Great Great Grandfather Timothy Driscoll married Mary Driscoll. I think they were farmers from around Loch Hyne. However the first bit of evidence I have for this pair is that they lived in Poundlick, close to Skibbereen. They were probably married around 1834. The records of the baptism's from St Patrick's Cathedral in Skibbereen, show the following children are identified. Billing 1835, Jeremiah 1836 (My Great Grandfather), Julia & Bess (twins) 1837, Catherine 1839, Mary 1842, Johanna 1844, Jane 1847, Timothy 1850, Michael 1852 and Patrick 1855. All of these children were born in Bridgetown or Poundlick, close to Skibbereen. Now I know quite a bit about Jeremiah, my Great Grandfather. He is said to have worked as soon as he could, to provide extra money in the period soon after the Irish Famine. If he worked say from the age of 14, then he would have started work around 1850. He worked for the Brewery in Skibbereen. I think that may have been located on North Street. He worked and lived in Skibbereen until 1869, when he voyaged to Western Australia with his wife, Catherine (Carey) and infant son Timothy (born Skibbereen 1868). Prior to Jeremiah leaving Skibbereen, his sister Johannah had left Skibbereen in 1866, for Western Australia. GG Timothy appears in the Griffiths Valuations for Poundlick.

Jeremiah's elder brother was Billing, but I can find no trace of him, after his baptism. Much can be said for several of the other children.Twins Julia and Bess, Mary, Jane & Timothy are the same. 

Catherine 'Kate' born in 1839 and Patrick born 1855 lived at Chapel Lane, Skibbereen in 1901 (Census) and in 1911 (Patrick only as Kate had died). Catherine and Patrick lived with their mother, Mary (Driscoll) Driscoll lived at Chapel Lane for many years. Mary, the mother, died in 1895 at Chapel Lane. Patrick was a Mill Worker (bachelor) who died in 1914. He died interstate, leaving no will. However, he had nephew and neices living in Cork City. They were the children of Michael Driscoll born 1852 (see above). Michael may have been the black sheep in the family, as he served time in the Cork (City) Jails and seems that he married later in Cork City (to Mary Thompson) and had several children, who claimed the Estate of Patrick Driscoll, when he died in 1914. The Irish Courts traced all Patrick's nephews and neices. There were 7 children in Cork City (Michael's) and 7 in  Western Australia (Jeremiah and Johannah's- born 1844 - see above). There was a declaration made that stated these were the only nephew and neices.

So in essence Jeremiah, Catherine (spinster), Johannah, Michael and Patrick's lives are known or partly known. There are six (in paragraph 2) that are not known (except for their christening record).

My Great Grandparents Jeremiah and Catherine (Carey) O'Driscoll adhered to the naming patterns, with all their children. It may have been a family practice. Probably their parents may have been adherents too. Jeremiah's children were Timothy, Patrick, Mary, Catherine and Jeremiah. Catherine (Carey)'s parents were Patrick Carey and Mary Brien (of Castlehaven Parish).

Some of the questions that now face me are-:

1) Who were the parents of Timothy Born C 1799?

2) Who were the parents of Mary, wife of Timothy, born C1813?

3) I have a death record for Timothy Driscoll, dying 19 Dec 1881. I think this is my Great Great Grandfather, but am unsure. He died in Ardath at the age of 81 or so. If this is him, then he was probably buried in Tullagh Cemetery.

4) Mary (Driscoll) Driscoll died in 1895 at Chapel Lane, Skibbereen. I think she may have been born in the Loch Hyne area. Can we work out where she was buried?

5) Patrick Driscoll 1855-1914 is buried in Tullagh Cemetery. Is he buried in a family grave? Who else is buried in this grave? 

6) Catherine 'Kate' Driscoll 1839-1909 died at Chapel Lane, Skibbereen. Is she buried at Tullagh Cemetery?

7) Can we trace the missing children (in paragraph 2) with any record of death etc.

These are very tough questions, and with limited records, maybe very hard to answer. However, if you have any thoughts, on any of these subjects, I would be a very intent listener.

Regards,

Tom O'Driscoll

Dear Tom,

I visit Rath each year as my late mother came from there and my grandparents and other relatives are buried in Tullagh graveyard. . I found a Timothy Driscoll in Ardagh living with John and Catherine Brien in the 1901 Census. 

Catherine Driscoll married John Driscoll from Ardagh, his father was Timothy,  but John died in March 1872. Their son Timothy was born two weeks after his father John died.

Catherine remarried John Brien in 1877 . The 1911 census has Timothy living Ardagh with his wife (Kate Brien) their children and John Brien.. There are 4 girls and one son called John. 

In my visits to Tullagh graveyard I see some families have included some previous generations who would originally have had an unmarked stone instead of the type of headstones we are now familiar with. Some graves retain the original stone particularly in the old section. 

I have downloaded the records I refer to above  if you wish to have them , my email is  rhatigan.maura@yahoo.ie.

Maura

Hi Tom

I have spent much of the day checking one item in particular and am totally convinced that "Billing! is not the name of the child born on Feb 1 1835. My checking of this name began when I saw the name "Billing" as in well over thirty years researching and transcribing records. I have wiy the exception of the recored referred to, never seen the name Billing in any document in Ireland or abroad and am absolutely certailn that this name in the records of irishgenealogy.ie has been incorrectly mistranscribed. On the original entry in the Baptismal Register, if you examine the Given first name and compare it to the second namd below it you will find that they are identical. Both names are "Patrick" These Baptismal Register can be seen in  irishgenealogy.ie and/or 

I would expect that you will be thinking that i am a bit stupid suggesting that there were two Patrick's in the family but this is not what I am suggesting. In hundreds if  not thousands of Irish families over the centuries, when a first child or early child in the family died, another of the same sex was given the same name to honour and remember the deceased one and also to honour the person that the first child was named after originally if this was the case. This almost certainly is why "Billings" was never recorded again

Right now Tom it is almost twelve midnight here and I must finish up for the day but I will be back again when I have a little time to check further. Hope the above is of some help to you,

Frank

Hi Frank, 

Thanks for the message. I'll change the name to Patrick. Can't wait for your next message.

Regards,

Tom

Hi,

I have not been in contact for a while, but I was wondering if there was anyone around Skibbereen or Baltimore that was concentrating on DNA. I am an Ancestry member and I have done Ancestry DNA testing. I was wondering if there was a group around this region that has done testing for the O'Driscoll's in this area.

Regards,

Tom O'Driscoll