Spotlight On ... The Old Country

Last year I wrote about the journey that led me to discover the deep roots of my Irish heritage - My DNA Story.  I had always felt an attachment to Ireland, ever since I was a child, but could never understand why as I really had no idea, until quite recently, of my family's history beyond my parents.

 

In my post this week I'm looking at all the information I've uncovered along the way, but using a slightly different lens.  I'm hoping I'll be able to pinpoint a little more clearly exactly where in the old country by Irish roots began. 

My ethnicity map has changed ever so slightly over the last year ...

... less of the English and just a tad more of the Irish - from areas within the regions of Central Ireland and Ulster to be precise.

So far, I know that on my paternal side, my direct Irish ancestors have these surnames: Conners/Connors, Hickey, Farley or Farlane, and Cusack.  I've found records back to my 3x great grandparents for most of these ancestors (born in the late 1790s-1800), apart from the Hickeys which I've managed to track back to my 4x great grandparents (born in the early 1770s-1780s).

(The other direct paternal ancestors come from Kent, Lincolnshire, Cornwall and Cumbria, with the records for these lines stretching back into the 1600s and 1700s)

On my maternal side, my direct Irish ancestors have these surnames:  O'Donnell (Daniel), Joy, Burke/Bourke, Crotty, Muckian (McCane), McCann, Farrell, Downey/Muldowney.  Records for these ancestors reach back to 3x great grandparents (born from the late 1780s to early 1800s), apart from the O'Donnells/Daniels which go back to 4x great grandparents (born in the mid 1700s).

Having now researched my direct Irish ancestors as far back as records will allow at this point, I've ticked the counties that I know are the birthplaces for these people, and I wanted to check this against the information gleaned from my DNA results.

Map showing birthplaces of direct ancestors

Map showing the major regions of Ireland - Ulster, Connaught (Connacht), Leinster and Munster

How does all this information match up?

My ethnicity estimate shows that some of my direct Irish ancestors came from ...

• The region of Ulster, Ireland - specifically the South Down and North Louth area.

The area is highlighted on this map in light, bright green (bottom right).

Looking at the previous map, you can see that I definitely have direct ancestors who were born and lived in County Armagh, and part of that county is located within the South Down and North Louth area.

County Armagh:

All these direct ancestors were born in the Catholic Parish of Killeavy, County Armagh.

Sarah McCann, my 2nd great grandmother

Patrick Muckian, my 2nd great grandfather

and their son, Owen McCane (Muckian), my great grandfather, was born in Ballintemple.

Great!  There's a definite match-up there!

Now onto the other part of my ethnicity estimate ...

• Central Ireland - specifically the North Leinster and East Connacht area.

Within the region of Central Ireland, my connections are specifically through direct ancestors linked to the North Leinster and East Connacht area, highlighted in light orange on this map.

The North Leinster and East Connacht area would include the Counties of Leitrim, Cavan, Meath, and parts of other Counties including Fermanagh, Longford, 

Westmeath and Roscommon.  

Having now researched back on both my maternal and paternal Irish sides, as far as records will allow, I find evidence of very few direct ancestors who were actually born in these counties, apart from: 

County Leitrim:

Michael Farrell, my 2x great grandfather, who was born in the Catholic Parish of Kiltoghart; and

County Roscommon:

Susan Downey/Muldowney, my 2x great grandmother, who was born somewhere in County Roscommon (still not definitively identified).

I have one ancestor who was born in King's County as it was known then (County Offaly) and that would be part of the darker orange section of Central Ireland.  The county of Offaly would be part of the Leinster area, so that's another connection that relates to the orange shading.

County Offaly:

William Connors, my 2x great grandfather, was born in the Civil Parish of Gallen in King's County, later known as County Offaly.

Looking at my first map again however, you can see that the majority of my direct Irish ancestors were born in counties further south of the North Leinster and East Connacht area.  They were born and lived in the South Leinster and oarts of the Munster region.

County Limerick:

Patrick Cusack, my 2x great grandfather, was born in Askeaton.

Ellen Hickey, my 2x great grandmother, was born in Parteen.

County Kilkenny:

John O'Donnell, my 2x great grandfather, was born in Ballyhenebry.

Catherine Joy, my 2x great grandmother, was born in the Catholic Parish of Templeorum.

Edmond O'Donnell, my great grandfather, was born in Killonerry.

County Tipperary:

James Burke, my 2x great grandfather, was born in Clonmel in the Catholic Parish of Powerstown.

County Waterford:

Catherine Crotty, my 2x great grandmother, was born in the Catholic Parish of Tramore.

Bridget Burke, my great grandmother, was born in Three Bridges.

What does this mean?  

I'm assuming it means that my direct ancestors listed above were likely to have been descendants of family that were born elsewhere, perhaps in the North Leinster and East Connacht region, and then at some point those unknown ancestors moved south, into the South Leinster area and Munster region.  It will be difficult to prove this, as Irish records before the 1800s are very few and far between, so this assumption will likely remain unproven.

I've been lucky enough, after several trips to Ireland, to get close to all the birthplaces of my direct Irish ancestors and capture some memorable vistas.  Using landscape photos I personally shot and precious photos of my ancestors (or other photos if I don't have one of an ancestor), I've created collages of these people and the areas they came from.

County Armagh:  Owen McCane (Muckian), my maternal great grandfather,

and his parents, Patrick Muckian and Sarah McCann, my maternal 2x great grandparents.

 

County Leitrim:  Michael Farrell, my maternal 2x great grandfather.

County Roscommon:  Susan Downey/Muldowney, my maternal 2x great grandmother  (Michael Farrell's wife).

County Limerick:  Patrick Cusack, my paternal 2x great grandfather,

Ellen Hickey, my paternal 2x great grandmother.

County Kilkenny:  Edmond O'Donnell, my maternal great grandfather, 

and his parents, John O'Donnell and Catherine Joy, my maternal 2x great grandparents.

County Tipperary:  James Burke, my maternal 2x great grandfather.

County Waterford:  Bridget Burke, my maternal great grandmother (daughter of James Burke).

Catherine Crotty, my maternal 2x great grandmother.

County Offaly (King's County):  William Connors, my paternal 2x great grandfather.

Spotlight On ... Newsworthy!

I've decided to branch off for a while and share things other than just the stories of my direct ancestors.  The main motivation for this is my desire to share some of the many wonderful photos and/or stories of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).

For the fifth collection post, the spotlight is on ... Newsworthy!  I'm sharing the stories of two brothers on the maternal side of my family tree, who were worthy of mention in the newspapers of their day.

1908 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

 Laurence A. Kiely and Thomas Francis Kiely, were Olympic Games athletes. Not only are these two THE only people in my family tree who made it to the Olympics, they achieved some notoriety being the only brothers from County Tipperary in Ireland to become Olympic competitors.  They will forever be on the Roll of Honour for Irish Athletics Champions.

Back in their day though, they were identified on Olympic Games records as being British and were listed as competitors for the Great Britain & Ireland team.  This was before Ireland achieved independence.  

How am I connected to these brothers?  My 1st cousin 2x removed, Margaret (known as Aggie) O'Donnell married William Kiely.  William's father was Thomas Francis Kiely and his uncle was Laurence Kiely.

Although Thomas is probably better known in Irish athletics history, I will start with his brother Laurence's story.  Laurence was born in 1880, the second youngest of nine children born to William Kiely and Mary Kiely nee Downey.  

Laurence A. (known as Larry) Kiely was an Irish hurdler.  He was 28 years old when he competed in the Men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.  

The 110 men's hurdles event was run on a grass track in the infield of the White City Stadium, which was where the 1908 London Summer Olympics Games were held.

Sadly, there's only a few references to Laurence in present day media sources.

There is a very brief Wikipedia page devoted to Laurence:  Laurence Kiely

He was included in a list of Tipperary Olympians for a series of newspaper articles published by the Tipperary Star newspaper in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

At the time of the 1908 Olympics though, newspapers (outside of Ireland) would have reported:

The first round of running took place on July 23, 1908, making short hurdles one of the last events to start. The Americans won every race in which they competed. The British team also had a strong showing, winning every time there was no America in the race.

The semi-final round took place on July 24, 1908. Each of the four runs of the second round was won by American runners.

In the final, the American Smithson broke away from his compatriots in each hurdle set by a difference of five meters and set a new world record.

How did Laurence Kiely fare in this event?  In the first round (13 heats), he recorded a 'walk over' in Heat 4, as he had no competition for that race.

Heat 4

Kiely had no competition in the first round.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	Laurence Kiely	Great Britain	Walkover

In the semi-finals, Laurence ran in the third race.

Semi-final 3

The British competitor Healey ran most of the race at the front, with Rand close behind him, but Healey was unable to clear the ninth obstacle cleanly, allowing Rand to pass him and win on foot.

Place	Name	Nation	Time
1	William Rand	United States	15.8 seconds
2	Alfred Healey	Great Britain	(15.9 seconds)
3	Laurence Kiely	Great Britain	Unknown
4	Tim Ahearne	Great Britain	Unknown

Laurence came in third, missing out on a place in the final.

Laurence Kiely had previously won two Irish GAA athletics titles and two IAAA titles.  

Titles Won by Laurence A. Kiely at Senior National Championships:

Irish Amateur Athletic Association Championships

1906            120 yard Hurdles              16.8

1907            Hammer (9ft circle)          127 ft 10 in    (38.96m)            TIE

Gaelic Athletic Association Championships

1901            Hammer (unlimited run & follow)         130 ft 2 in   (39.67m)

1904            120 yard Hurdles   

When Laurence won his two GAA titles, he succeeded his brother Tom, as the holder of both. 

Laurence lived his life on the family farm in Ballyneale, County Tipperary.  

He died in December of 1961 at the age of 80.  

  

Thomas Francis (known as Tom) Kiely was born in 1869, the second eldest of nine children born to William Kiely and Mary Kiely nee Downey.

When Thomas was aged 34, he was invited to compete in the Men's All-Round Championship in July of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.  At that point in time, he was the holder of  36 Irish track and field titles and 28 world record marks!  Quite an astonishing accomplisment.

At the time the Men's All-Round Championship was not considered part of the official 1904 Olympic Games.  That recognition came many years later.  It wasn't until 1954 - three years after his death - that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to include the 1904 All-Round as part of its official record and added T. F. Kiely to the list of Olympic Champions.

The 1904 Summer Olympics was officially known as 'The Games of the 111 Olympiad', running from August 29th to September 3rd.  

The 111 Olympiad was however part of an extended sports program which started on July 1st and ended on November 23rd.  This international sports festival was held on the campus of the Washington University in Missouri, U.S.A and was known as the 'World Fair Olympiad'.  

The entire 'World Fair Olympiad' was poorly organised and poorly attended.  Not only was it a difficult feat for athletes to get to Missouri from overseas (the transatlantic trip was very expensive and it had to be followed by a 1000 mile train journey), there was also a general state of tension in Europe because of the Russo-Japanese War.  As a result, only 62 of the 651 competing athletes came from outside North America!  Not exactly a 'world' event.

Thomas competed in what was regarded, at the time, as a World Championship event, run before the main athletic elements of the Olympics as part of the gymnastics championships.  All-rounds had not ever been part of an Olympic Games before.  Once the All-Round was subsequently acknowledged as part of the 1904 Olympic Games, it then had the distinction of being the only time this ever happened.  Afterwards, the All-Round evolved into what became known as the Decathlon, an Olympic Games event which has been run over 3 days ever since 1912.

In 1904 however, Thomas completed ten events of the All-Round in one day, including: the 100 yard run, shot put, high jump, 880 yard walk, hammer, pole vault, 120 yard hurdles, 56lb weight lift, the long jump, and the mile run, against a field that was made up entirely of Americans.  He scored 6036 points and won a gold medal.

At the time, he was credited with winning the medal for Great Britain and Ireland, as Ireland was not recognised as an independent country as it was still under British control.  The British team had offered to pay his expenses, if he joined the team, and he was offered sponsorship by the Irish-American Athletic Club in New York and other American athletic clubs.  

Thomas refused all these offers and chose to pay for his own expenses  According to author Bob Withers, who wrote 'Tom Kiely: For Tipperary and Ireland',  "Kiely funded his trip to the States by selling many of the prizes claimed during his illustrious career."

He also made it clear we would be representing only Ireland by signing up for the competition as "Tom Kiely from Tipperary and Ireland".  At home the Cork Examiner commented at the time that “(Kiely) acted very differently from many Irish athletes who went before him. He preferred that the old country should have the honour, whatever it might be, of the great contest."

Thomas had entered his first athletic event when he was 19 years old, and by his career's end (he competed until aged 38) he had won an incredible 3,000 prizes.  This was well before the professional era however, so his career did not make him a wealthy man.  He still managed his farm while travelling to competitions.

In 1906, two years after his gold medal win in Missouri, Thomas returned to America to complete once more in the World All-Round Championship in Boston this time.  He claimed the title again and bought home another gold medal.

Tom Francis Kiely's All-Around Medal from the 1906 event in Boston

Excerpt from 'All-Around Men: Heroes of a Forgotten Sport' (Frank Zarnowski, 2005)

"I wanted to take a half a minute or maybe a minute to change into my other shoes. Your Boston man Clark said no and I ran the hurdles in me stockin' feet. And I beat 'em. In me stocking feet! I beat him in the All Round of course."

That was the boast of Irish athlete Tom Francis Kiely (1869-1951), winner of the 1906 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) All-Around in Boston. 

Thomas won two more GAA championships in 1907, then retired in 1908 after he hit a hurdle for the first time ever, and fell heavily, breaking his shoulder.  Apparently spectators comments "Hard luck, Tom", to which he replied "All in the game, boy."  Well that's how the story goes anyway.

Titles Won by Thomas Francis Kiely at Senior National Championships:

Tom Kiely worked as a farmer all his life and died in 1951, aged 82. 

He is buried in the family plot in Ballyneale Cemetery.  

A memorial was erected outside Ballyneale Church in 1978, acknowledging his great accomplishment.

There is a Wikipedia page devoted to Tom:  Tom Kiely

A google search will provide lots of results, including:  

Tipperary Athletes by Michael O'Dwyer

The Amazing Tale of Ireland's Greatest Ever Olympian

Running in Munster, Ireland

In the Journal of Olympic History - Winter 1999 edition pp. 34-35, there is an article titled: Tom Kiely - Olympic and World All Round Champion

There is an entire chapter in the book titled 'All-Around Men: Heroes of a Forgotten Sport' all about Thomas.

He is mentioned in 'Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896-1924' written by Kevin McCarthy, published 2011;

and he is the subject of a another book recently written by Kevin McCarthy and published this year, 2020.

Thomas Francis Kiely's name still appears in newspapers now and then.  He was featured in the County Tipperary news at the end of last year, 2019, to commemorate 150 years since his birth.

Five of Thomas F Kiely's grandchildren attended the ceremony and are featured in this photo that accompanied this newspaper article.  I've been fortunate enough to meet one of them, my maternal 2nd cousin once removed -Tom Kiely, standing second on the right holding the commemorative wreath.  At the time I didn't know the story behind this branch of the family!  

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2020 project / challenge.

This time I'm catching up with the prompt for Week 29 of 2020 - ''Newsworthy".

You can join by blogging or posting on social media with the tag #52Ancestors.

Check out Amy's FB pages:  Generations Cafe  or  Amy Johnson Crow

Spotlight On ... Multiple!

I've decided to branch off for a while and share things other than just the stories of my direct ancestors.  The main motivation for this is my desire to share some of the many wonderful photos I've found of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).  These photos deserve to be in the spotlight, so I thought long and hard about an interesting way to do this.

I've decided to put together collections of photos that all share a common thread.  For the fourth collection post, the spotlight is on ... Multiple!

I sadly don't have all that many photos showing multiple generations of a related family, but the few I do have deserve to be in the spotlight.  Unfortunately I  don't know all the names of the people in these photos and can only share the the names of those relatives I'm sure about.

Atkin Family Photo

This wonderful photo was taken at a family reunion picnic in 1929 at Evans Head in New South Wales.  I just love seeing the pole and canvas tents that were put up for this family reunion!  It looks like the family spent a couple of days camping in this spot whilst catching up with their relatives.  

The only family members I can positively identify are sisters Hannah and Eleanor (my paternal 1st cousins 3x removed) who are sitting in the middle row.

Middle row far left:  Hannah Atkin nee Jones, aged 70

Middle row 3rd from the left: Eleanor Atkin nee Jones, aged 66

They had married brothers Thomas and Joseph Atkin, but I can't find these husbands in the photo.

Update: Thanks to a distant relative, I can now say in all likelihood that the lady sitting in between Hannah and Eleanor in the middle row, second from the left, is Charlotte Ellen Harris new Jones, (also my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed).  She is Hannah and Eleanor's older sister.

Shared Ancestors:  James Exton and Susannah Lancaster  (my 3x great grandparents)

Aitkin Family

Eleanor Atkin nee Jones (identified in the previous photo) is the subject of this article in the Norther Star newspaper dated 1949, twenty years after that family reunion picnic. 

The article was titled 'Pioneer Family' and the attached photo shows 4 generations of females in the Atkin family (although the surname was recorded at Atkins).

L to R:  Eleanor's daughter Minnie Isabel Fraser nee Atkin (my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed), 

Eleanor's granddaughter Peggy Eleanor Stimbles nee Fraser (my paternal 3rd cousin 1x removed); 

and Eleanor's great granddaughter Janette Stimbles (my paternal 4th cousin).

Eleanor Atkin nee Jones (my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed) is seated far right.

Shared Ancestors:  James Exton and Susannah Lancaster  (my 3x great grandparents)

  

Barrow Family

This time the photo shows generations of the Barrow family. The photo may possibly have been taken around 1940 in either Ballina or Lismore, New South Wales.

L-R: - Mary Ellen Barrow nee McCann (wife of Alfred Barrow Jr. my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed), 

her half sister Catherine (known as Kate) McCann,

daughter-in-law Florence Barrow nee Robertson (wife of Harold Allan Barrow my paternal 3rd cousin 1x removed); and Alfred Alan Jnr (my paternal 4th cousin).  

Shared Ancestors:  (with Mary Ellen's husband Alfred Barrow)  James Exton and Susannah Lancaster  (my 3x great grandparents)

Here are 3 generations ...

On the left:  Mary (known as Minnie) Lonergan nee O'Donnell (my maternal 2nd great aunt).

On the right: Mary's daughter Norah Elliott nee Lonergan (my maternal 1st cousin 2x removed).

In the middle:  Mary's grandson and Norah's son Donald Elliott (my maternal 2nd cousin 1x removed).

Shared Ancestors:  John O'Donnell and Catherine Joy  (my 2x great grandparents)

Guthrey Family

The photo, taken in 1924,  above shows several generations of the Guthrey Family.

My paternal 1st cousin 2x removed, Eliza Jane Guthrey nee Hukins is standing third from the left, in the white dress, holding her son Neville Guthrey, my paternal second cousin 1x removed.  

Eliza Jane is surrounded by her sisters and brothers-in-laws and their children, along with her mother and father-in-law.

Shared Ancestors:  Adolphus Hukins and Mary Ann Farley  (my 2x great grandparents)

This photo is providing a great challenge for me.  At this point in time, I know only the identities of two people in this group and that the photo was apparently taken in West Maitland, New South Wales.  

Seated on the far right is James Michael Hickey (my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed) and his wife Catherine Frances Hickey nee Maher.

It's likely the family pictured are various members and generations of the Hickey family, but their identities remain unknown for now. 

Shared Ancestors:  James Hickey and Margaret McNamara  (3x great grandparents)

The photo, taken around 1920 in Mullumbimby, New South Wales, above shows three generations - 

John Thomas Cusack (my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed) around 60 years of age; 

his daughter Annie Francis Bridget Venn nee Cusack (my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed) around 36 years of age; 

and John's grandson / Annie's son Allan Sydney Venn (my paternal 3rd cousin once removed), around 4 years of age.

I did notice the rather elaborately constructed tower for the water tank in the background.  Someone took great care in building this feature.  This was not the usual support for corrugated iron water tanks!

Shared Ancestors:  Michael Cusack and Mary Green  (my 3x great grandparents).

Venn Family

This family photo was taken in 1930 to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of the couple seated in the centre of the group.

James Frederick Venn (my paternal 3rd cousin once removed) is standing third from the left.  His mother, Annie Frances Bridget Venn nee Cusack (my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed), highlighted in the previous photo, is standing fourth from the left, wearing the black hat.  

Annie is surrounded by her brothers and sisters-in-law and their children, along with her mother and father-in-law who are seated in the middle.  

I have attempted to find Annie's son Allan Sydney, also highlighted in the previous photo.  He might be the young man standing second on the left next to his mother, as he would be ten years older by the time this photo was taken.

Shared Ancestors:  Michael Cusack and Mary Green  (my 3x great grandparents).

McCane, O'Donnell and Bidgood Family

This photo, taken around 1930, shows various family members of the McCane, O'Donnell and Bidgood families.  This is the only family photo where I can identify every individual!

Seated on the cane chair in the middle is my maternal great grandmother Margaret McCane nee Farrell.  She is surrounded by her children and grandchildren.

To the right of Margaret is my grandmother Sarah Mary Josephine O'Donnell nee McCane, holding my aunt Marcella O'Donnell.

Standing to the right of and behind my grandmother Sarah is my mother, Margaret Brigid Connors nee O'Donnell.

Included in this photo are my great aunt Susan Mary Bidgood nee McCane and her children, my McCane great uncles, their wives and children; along with my O'Donnell uncles.

Front Row L-R:

Owen McCane, Marie McCane, Frank Bidgood, Eddie (Edward Martin) O'Donnell, Jack (John Joseph) O'Donnell, Fred Bidgood, Kevin McCane, Jim (James Thomas) O'Donnell.

Second Row - seated - L-R:

Marie McCane (nee Crofton), Susan Bidgood (nee McCane) with son Neville Bidgood, my Great Grandmother Margaret McCane (nee Farrell), my Grandmother Sarah Josephine O'Donnell nee McCane holding Marcella O'Donnell, Agnes McCane (nee Parnell), and Myreen McCane (nee Farrell) holding Margaret McCane.

Third Row L-R:

Ernie Bidgood, Morrie (Maurice Owen) O'Donnell, Edward McCane, my mother Margaret O'Donnell, Lorna Bidgood, Irene (Bon) Bidgood.

Back Row L-R:

Edmond O'Donnell, Jim (James Patrick) McCane, Tom (Thomas Owen) McCane, Jack (John Michael) McCane.

Shared Ancestors:  Patrick Muckian (McCane) and Sarah McCann, Michael Farrell and Susan Downey/Muldowney.