Brick walls pop up on my family tree when researching Irish-born ancestors born before 1800. Irish civil and parish records can take you back to the second quarter of the 19th century, but before that there are very few records still in existence.
Civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths did not begin in Ireland until 1864. Prior to that, there were Church records in the form of registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, but you need to know the relevant parish for your ancestors before attempting to access these records. Even then, not all these registers survived and there can be large gaps in many of the parish registers that did survive.
If you're lucky, you might have oral history that's been passed down through the generations, but I've found that even that is not always based in fact. Researching ancestors and their families living in Ireland before the 19th century is such a hit-and-miss affair.
One of the brick walls on my paternal side is the parentage of my 3x great grandmother, Margaret McNamara. The only clues I've been able to use during my research are the names recorded on Margaret's assisted immigrant record when she emigrated here to Australia in 1840 with her husband James Hickey and seven children.
Assisted immigrant records, for those who were making the voyage to Australia, were completed before boarding, at the point of departure. These records provided quite a bit of information about the people who were about to set foot on a particular ship. For my 3x great grandmother Margaret and her family, these records were completed at the port of Cork in 1840 before they all boarded the ship named Adam Lodge.
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| New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 - Passenger: Margaret Hickey Arrival date: 14 Feb 1840 |
There is a section for the recording of the names of the immigrant's parents, as well as their place of origin. In that section, this is the information recorded at the point of departure for Margaret:
When I enlarged this entry and looked at it very closely, it appeared to say:
"Da of (daughter of) Sheelagh McNamara and Ellen Hogan, his wife there". At least, that's my understanding of the handwriting.
It was interpreted in exactly the same way when transcribed many years later in the state's record office:
To my mind though, there is a problem with Margaret's father's name recorded in this way. To me, "Sheelagh" is a women's name, and when I've googled it, the results are always the same: feminine. Surely "Sheelagh" would not be the first name of Margaret's father!
This name must have been misspelt by whoever recorded the information at the port in Cork. Of course we have to remember, it's likely that Margaret was illiterate and didn't know what the registrar was writing down, and perhaps Margaret didn't even speak English very well and the registrar interpreted what she said inaccurately!
Other members of my extended family who have undertaken lots of research, have hinted that the name was definitely misspelt, and should be something more like "Sheedagh", which sounds more masculine! Looking closely at the handwriting, that letter after the double 'ee' does not look like the letter 'd' to me though.
I did google the first name 'Sheedagh', but that led to the name of a lake. There is apparently a Lough Sheedagh near Connemara in County Galway; but I doubt that Margaret's father was named after a lough, or the other way round!
I've checked Margaret's death certificate, hoping there might be clues on that, but the informant (her grandson) did not appear to have any knowledge of his grandmother's parents, as the column for recording parent names has "not known" written there.
In an effort to clarify Margaret's father's first name, I have used websites like Ancestry.com, Find My Past, Family Search and Roots Ireland to search for a baptism record using just the details of Margaret's name - Margaret McNamara - and her mother's name - Ellen Hogan.
I've searched for a Margaret McNamara who was likely born around 1802 in either County Clare or County Limerick, deduced from dates & places on records like the immigrant passenger list and the death certificate.
I've also searched for a record of the marriage between Margaret McNamara and James Hickey, to see if that provided any clues.
Sadly, this all led nowhere. No luck whatsoever!
Other extended family members' research has come up with the train of thought that perhaps Margaret's father's name was recorded as two surnames - the first indicating which particular clan of McNamaras he was descended from. Let me explain further ...
According to a 4th cousin of mine who travelled to Ireland to research the Hickey line (remember Margaret McNamara married a James Hickey), he ended up having a conversation with a McNamara descendant during that visit. This descendant told my cousin that the surname was actually "Sheedagh or Sheedy McNamara", and that Sheedagh / Sheedy was not a Christian / first name at all in this case.
According to this source of information, my McNamaras are of the Sheed or Sheedy branch of the McNamara clan. That set me off searching sites once more for a baptism record for a Margaret Sheedy with Ellen Hogan as her mother. No luck once again.
It's been a wholly unsuccessful enterprise and I'm no closer to finding out whether or not my 3x great grandmother Margaret's father is actually Sheelagh, Sheedagh or Sheedy McNamara. How is it spelt?
One positive gained after all this effort however, is that I've discovered quite a lot about the history of the McNamara surname.
The surname McNamara is the anglicized version of an ancient Irish surname - Mac Conmara. The Gaelic Mac Conmara means "son of the hound of the sea" .
The MacNamara clan are descendants of the 10th century chieftain Cú Mhara, of the Dál gCais tribe from County Clare. His name was derived from "cu" meaning a hound, and "na mara" meaning of the sea. His son Domhnall adopted the surname Mac Conmara, or son of Cu Mara, around 1099, becoming the first MacNamara.
The MacNamara family were one of the most powerful families in the Kingdom of Thomond (roughly Counties Clare, Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford) as Lords of Clancullen. County Clare was their stronghold.
They held the hereditary position of chief functionary to the only other powerful family line, the O'Briains. One of the McNamara's most prestigious duties was to preside at Magh Adhair during the inauguration ceremony of the Kings of Thomond.
The MacNamaras built dozens of castles or tower-houses, abbeys and forts in County Clare during the 14th and 15th centuries. Many are still standing today, including Bunratty Caste (built in 1425), Knappogue Castle (built 1467) and Quin Abbey (built 1433).
The MacNamara clan split into two distinct septs or branches. There was the MacNamara Fion who held the Chiefdom of Clancullen / Cuiléin West (Barony of Bunratty), and the MacNamara Reagh who ruled the East (Baronies of Upper and Lower Tulla).
MacNamaras ruled their territories until the 17th century when Oliver Cromwell's men overpowered them. They lost their power and their titles and many fled Ireland at that time, settling in France. It has been calculated that of 293 families of the name living on their lands in 1654, only 6 were allowed to retain part of their estates.
The Sheedys were descended from the great house of the McNamaras. It's possible that the Sheedy line began with Sioda / Siodha McNamara (apparently the Gaelic Síoda means 'silken', 'soft-spoken' and is pronounced SHEE ugh da) who began the building of the present structure of Bunratty Castle back in the 1400s. His son was known as Ó Síoda, son of Sioda, and this form became a surname. This later became anglicized into MacSheedy or Sheedy.
Apparently, the surnames Sheedy and McNamara were used interchangeably or even together as one surname. In the 1840s there were specific family members who were appointed leaders of the regional clans. Their first name would be dropped, and they would just be known as Sheedy McNamara.
It's fascinating stuff, but unfortunately has not led to a clarification of my ancestor's name. I will however continue my quest, researching all the various spellings, and continue chipping away at this particular brick wall.
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