McDonnells of Moyne

I'm visiting Ireland May 2013 and am hoping to find more information on my McDonnell relatives, indentify graves, and make potential connections to extended relatives in the area today.  I'll be in Clare May 29 - June 1.  Family letters indicate that McDonnells may be burred in "Brane," but perhaps that's the pronunciation of Burrane.

Patriarch Timothy McDonnell (4th great grandfather) (b. UNK Ireland, d. 9 Apr 1859 Moyne, Kilrush) married Catherine Healy (b. UNK Ireland, d. 16 Apr 1887 Moyne, Kilrush).  I've found Timothy in Griffiths for 1826 and 1856 leasing land from a Colonel.  Their children had interesting stories of immigration and follow:

1. Lawrence (b. 1823 Moyne, Kilrush, d. 15 Jan 1912 Moyne, Kilrush) married Jane UNK and had a son John Lawrence (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush).  Lawrence inherited the farm.  Family letters state he was a quiet, gentle man and his wife, Jane, was ambitious.  John Lawrence may not have married and this line may have ended with him.

2. Mary (b. abt 1823 Moyne, Kilrush, d. Dec 1877 Moye, Kilrush) married potential cousin Thomas Healy and had 3 boys: John, Thomas, and Lawrence (b. 13 Dec 1856 Moyne, Kilrush).  Lawrence became a priest and a faithful letter writer to his American Aunt Winnifrend Boland and family.  He writes much about the family and neighbors as an adult.  In the 1910s-1920 he was teaching at St. Mary's College, Rathmines, Dublin; 1921-23 Rockwell College, Tipperary; and from 1923 onward at Blackrock College, Dublin.

3. James (my line) (b. 1 Nov 1830 Moyne, Kilrush, d. bef 1910 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA) married Johanna Leo (b. abt 1834 Ireland, d. bef 1900 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA).  We don't have a birthplace for Johanna and all of her known children were born in Illinois, so she may have met James in Chicago or be from Kilrush and immigrated with him.  Family lore says that in addiiton to being a farmer, James was also a seaman and immigrated to the U.S. with his own boat and became a sea captain on the Great Lakes.  My branch lost touch with the others after James died and only became reconnected in the past five years.

4. Winnifred (b. Aug 1832 Moyne, Kilrush, d. 22 Nov 1916 Erie, Pennsylvania, USA) married Anthony Joseph Boland (b. 20 Sep 1828 Kilrush, Clare d. 26 Mar 1915 Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA) (see more on Bolands below).  Winnie was not support to mary Anthony.  Anthony was promised to Winnie's younger sister Eliza and Anthony was meant to establish himself in the U.S. and send for Eliza later.  In the meantime, Eliza fell for another and ran away with him to Australia.  The McDonnells, not wanting to disappoint Anthony, sent Winnie instead and the two were married.  Anthony, too, was a seaman and also immigrated with his own boat to Buffalo, NY on Lake Erie and became a very successful shipper.  My branch reconnected when I came across an old photo of Winnie in my mother's cousin's collection that was marked Aunt Winnie Boland on the back.  Courtesy of Ancestry.com and the wealthy, well-documented Bolands we reconnected with the family via a family historian from this branch who had copies of all the family letters.

5. Catherine Mary (b. Aug 1836 Moyne, Kilrush, d. Australia) Never married and according to a 1916 letter from Fr. Lawrence, she was living in Ballarat, Australia where whe was listed in the 1914 and 1919 census there.

6. Eliza (b. 7 Sep 1840 Moyne, Kilrush, d. New Zealand) married an O'Hagan likely from Kilrush whom she fell for while promised to Anthony Boland and ran away with to Australia.  Her sister Winnifred was sent in her stead and married Anthony.  Eliza had a daughter Lily O'Hagan who Fr. Lawrence described living in Perth as a nun in 1916.

7. Margaret (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush d. bef 1859 Moyne, Kilrush) married James F Slattery (b. Ireland, d. USA) likely of Kilrush and had two boys John and Thomas.  She and James were slated to immigrate to the U.S. and after her death, James immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina and arrived in time for the Civil War (1861-1865).  He sent letters to the family about his experiences and was clearly sympathetic to the southern cause.  It's uncertain if the boys wound up joining him in the U.S., but in 1859 they were in the care of Lawrence and Jane McDonnell.

8. Anne (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush, d. UNK) no information other than name

Unknown connections from letters: Michael McDonnell died 1859 in Liverpool; Patrick (Clohanes) and Peter McDonnell/Healy either brothers to Timothy McDonnell or Catherine Healy; Michael McDonnell, possible son of Timothy and Catherine McDonnell, died at the age of 85 in the 1910s it appears and had 2 boys and 2 girls, one of which named Katie who was married in Dublin with a girl named Shannon.

Mandy