Shadows and Ghosts in The Gap of Dunloe

We know from Dad’s recollections, confirmed and detailed years later by Aunt Mary, that our paternal grandmother, Mary Josephine Meara was from the Gap of Dunloe in County Kerry, Ireland. We know from Mary Meara’s marriage certificate to John Sheehan that her parents were Jeremiah Meara and Hannah Moriarty, so although my initial focus had been a search for Meara families the process becomes inevitably linked to the seemingly omnipresent Moriarty families as well. We also know from Aunt Mary that at least three generations of each family lived in The Gap in the mid-to-late nineteenth century and my limited explorations seem to indicate that there is at least one connection to each of these family names lurking behind every (genealogical) tree in the neighborhood.

Aunt Mary states her mother’s birthdate as April 22, 1884, provides a list of her brothers and sisters and indicates that Mary Josephine’s grandmothers both lived nearby (“Nannie above” and “Nannie below”). Curious about the rest of the family connections as well as where in the Gap Mary and her family lived, how they lived, and all the other obvious questions about their lives, I decided to search for what answers I could find. 

My launching point was the easily accessible Irish Catholic Church records where I expected to find a comprehensive inventory of Mary Meara and her family, complete with names and birthdates that aligned with Aunt Mary’s remembrances from her wonderful narrative “The Long Road from Over There to Over Here”. What I found was something a little less straightforward. 

The Catholic Church birth records in Ireland provide the name of the child and parents, a date, and a place name. The place names are critical since this is the only indication that the person you’ve found is even from the right end of the country, but lacking familiarity the place names are often confusing since they do not seem to have a common reference even among children of the same family. The place name may have been noted at the discretion of the family or the direction of the parish priest, and may refer to a townland where the family lived, the Catholic parish where the baptism took place, the civil parish, barony, or county in which they lived, or simply the local family name for the area of their home. Viewed in isolation without the family household context of a census, and with many families with the same names living in close proximity, it’s precarious to attempt to assign a specific birth document to a particular individual. Many records of course are missing; sometimes of individuals, often entire families, occasionally there is a void of a period of years, sometimes an entire parish or townland. Time, natural disasters, politics and bureaucracy have all taken their toll.

A brief note on the Mara, Meara, O’Meara name; the spelling of the name is apparently of little concern from the standpoint of genealogical research. By most accounts the spelling is more a reflection of the specific timeframe of the records and the preference of the person doing the recording than it is indicative of any family heritage or genealogy. When the names are recorded by the Irish (church records for example), the name is mostly spelled as Meara. When the name is recorded by the British, (early civil and tax records) the Anglicized ‘Mara’ becomes dominant. Meara is the spelling on most of the Irish records that I’ve found, O’Meara is the name on Mary Josephine’s marriage certificate, and Mara is the name on our father’s (Jeremiah Joseph Sheehan) birth certificate. My sense is that the O’Meara name on Mary’s marriage certificate to John Sheehan is of her own making, and is an expression of pride, joy and independence, and the promise that with a new marriage in a new country comes a new life, reminiscent perhaps of an earlier day in Irish history (Ireland was still under British domination at the time of Mary & John’s marriage). That optimism perhaps reverted back to the Mara name and the reality or bureaucracy of her immigration documentation upon the birth registration of her first child, Jeremiah Joseph Sheehan. O’ in the earlier days of course was an expression of a family clan and meant “son of” or “child of”. 

A search of Irish church records for a Mary Mara/Meara/O’Meara born in the Gap of Dunloe in 1884 turned up no records. I searched a few years before and after that date and still found nothing. I broadened my search to the greater Catholic parish of Beaufort and then the larger civil parish of Knockane. I searched the surrounding parishes of Killorglin and Aghadoe, and then finally broadened my search to the entire county of Kerry and still found nothing. There are plenty of Mary Mearas; the parish of Beaufort (closest catholic parish to Dunloe) was apparently the preferred breeding ground for producing Mary Mearas in the 1800’s, and the church records indicate that there was at least one born there almost every year, from about 1810 to 1875 and then the records just stop. Whether they finally reached their quota of Mary Mearas or the church records were lost or never recorded is undetermined, but I have not found one that matches the details of what we think we know about our Mary Meara. A search for her brothers and sisters, based on Aunt Mary’s remembrances also turned up nothing.

Irish Census

The 1901 and 1911 Irish Census records are the other easily accessible and comprehensive source of family information; the obvious advantage here being that members of a family living under the same roof are linked together. The records from 1901 and 1911 are almost all that remain of the Irish census records, most of the previous records having been lost in the “Great Fire” of 1922 during the War for Independence. No census was taken in 1921 due to that war and the data from the next census taken in 1926 will not be released until 2027.

1901 Census

A search of these records for Mary Mara/Meara/O’Meara in Dunloe again produces nothing. However the 1901 census does list a Meara family in House 22 in the townland of Dunloe Upper that is tantalizingly close to the information that we think we know except for one small problem; there is no Mary living there. I realize the fact that the one person I’m looking for is not actually here should immediately cause me to look elsewhere, so while a big guffaw may seem appropriate at this point, hear me out. 

The census lists a 65 y/o Jeremiah Meara as Head of Family of House 22, (actually his name is listed as Jermiah, but close enough), his wife Hannah, 50 y/o (actually the name in the record is Johanna, but reasonably close), and six children whose names all match Aunt Mary’s remembrance of her mother’s brothers and sisters. The only (minor?) discrepancy here is that there is no Mary listed among the children. However, while there is no one of Mary’s expected age (17 y/o) in this household, there is an 88 y/o Mary living with the family whose relationship to Jermiah (the Head of Family) is listed as ‘Mother’. So my immediate speculation is that perhaps by 1901 (our grandmother) Mary had already emigrated to America and this older Mary living with the family was perhaps her (namesake) grandmother. (Subsequently, Sue’s impeccable and unassailable research annoyingly indicates that Mary did not emigrate until quite a few years later – yet another inconvenient truth - but I have another explanation for that which I will offer later.)

Aunt Mary’s remembrances; of the location, the specific names, the fact that there were seven children, three boys and four girls, and that her mother Mary was the second oldest and born on April 22, 1884 all seem to align with the information on House 22 from the 1901 census noted below, except of course the star of the show is M.I.A. (Note the 4 year gap between Patrick the first born, and Bridget the next child listed in the census, certainly leaves room for Mary to have been the second born.) The unexpected information in this document is that Jeremiah’s mother, Mary is now living with the family. She is listed as being 88 y/o, thus born 1813. 

Although the fact that Mary Josephine is missing from the family inventory casts some doubt on the veracity of the claim that this is the correct Meara family, the names and dates of the other families in the 1901 census simply do not match what (we think) we know.

House 22 (1901 Census)

         Jermiah      Meara        H.O.F.                65 y/o        1836 (est. birth)

         Johanna      “                Wife                   50              1851

         Patrick       “                Son                     20              1881

         Bridget       “                Daughter            16              1885

         Jermiah      “                Son                     14              1887

         Johanna      “                Daughter            12              1889

         John           “                Son                     10              1891

         Julia           “                Daughter              9              1892

         Mary          “                Mother               88              1813

         (1901 Irish Census - Dunloe Upper - Hse 22 - Original Document)

Mary Josephine is elusive. In the 1901 census there are two families relatively close by that reference a Mary Mara living as a servant in the household. While this may be viewed as a possible apprenticeship for her future employment as a domestic with the Morgan Family in Worcester MA, each has its problems. 

However, other than the Mary problem, the birth dates for the other kids in the family above seem to align somewhat with information that Sue has found (refer to her remarkable research on the Mearas and Sheehans).

Other details available in the 1901 census indicate that the Jermiah Meara home (House 22) was built of stone or brick and had either a thatch or wood roof (as opposed to slate or tile), there was only one window on the front of the house, and there was a total of two rooms to accommodate a family of nine. This certainly lends a great perspective to Aunt Mary’s comment that the crowded conditions in many of the homes often left “no room for two cats dancing”. The classification in the census is of a 3rd class structure with three “Out Offices or Farm Steadings” (buildings) on the property. 

Of those homes in the 1901 census for Dunloe Upper that have this particular information page attached, there are many that are listed as 3rd or 4th class structures. Many have one or perhaps two rooms for families as large as 11 people. Much of the physical detail of the land on which this Meara Family lived is frustratingly missing from the census archive. In addition to the page that notes the construction of the home, there is another page that should list the quantity and type of other structures on the property (stable, cow barn, fowl house, etc). This page is missing for house 22 in the 1901 census. There is also reference to a Schedule M in the census documents that should locate the home on a map of Dunloe Upper. This page is also missing from the record.

The 1901 census for Dunloe Upper lists a total of 42 homes, including 5 houses with the Meara name listed as head of household; Patrick, John, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Michael. (Note: one of the five families is listed as O’Meara (Michael), and another is listed as Meard (Daniel) an obvious transcriptional error of what clearly appears as Meara in the original record.)There are also seven Moriarty Families listed in Dunloe Upper.

More than 25% of the homes here are either Meara or Moriarty families. That percentage grows considerably, I began to discover, as I found more information about who in this small community was related to whom. There are brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, and cousins of all sorts living with, and adjacent to each other throughout the community and seemingly everyone is related by marriage to most everyone else. 

Fast forward to the 1911 census

Our Meara family in Dunloe has changed significantly in ten years. In the 1911 census Jeremiah (the father) is no longer listed and Johanna has now taken on the mantle of Head of Family. Jeremiah the son, now 26 y/o remains at home, as does his brother John, 21 and their sister Julia, who as expected is now 19 y/o. These are the only children remaining in what is now listed in the 1911 census as house #14. However the years have not been kind to Johanna who is now unexpectedly 68 y/o, having aged 18 years in the 10 years since the previous census. I admit to occasionally having days when I feel this same way, such may have been the case with Johanna on the day of the census, Sunday, April 2, 1911, six months almost to the day prior to the birth of her grandson, Jeremiah Joseph Sheehan, who she would never meet, on another continent three thousand miles away. Or perhaps she and her daughter Mary simply shared a similar attitude toward (movable) birth dates. Or perhaps the date of birth was misrecorded or misunderstood by the census taker, or perhaps I’ve simply got this all wrong.

Note: The house numbers in the census are not a linear progression through the townland, they simply reflect the order in which the census taker visited each house. Apparently traversing up one side of the Gap, down the other, and back again; if no one was home he’d simply move on to the next house and then backtrack to the ones he’d previously missed assigning house numbers as he went. The house numbers assigned by the census in 1901 bear no resemblance to the next census in 1911 since the next census taker applied the same process; House 22 in the 1901 census becomes House 14 in the 1911 census.

House 14 (1911 Census)

         Johanna      Meara        H.O.F.       68 y/o        1843 (est. birth)

         Jeremiah     “                 Son             26               1885

         John           “                 Son             21               1890

         Julia           “                 Daughter    19               1892

         John           Guerin        Visitor        80               1831

One question on the census form asks whether each occupant of the house can read and write. The response for Johanna is “Read Only”, and her signature as Head of Family at the bottom of the census form is made with an “X”. 

The 1911 census also lists a John Guerin (80 y/o visitor) in the Meara family home (Hse 14). This is most likely the husband (now widower) of Jeremiah Meara’s sister Bridget (Johanna Meara’s sister-in law). John Guerin’s home is listed in the 1911 census as “vacant”. More on his later.

The fact that Mary’s brother Jerry is still at home in 1911 lends another level of credence to the theory that this is the correct home for Mary Josephine Mara. In her memoir Aunt Mary remembers meeting with Mary Ann (Jerry’s widow) when she visited the Gap in 1965. My assumption would be that as the oldest son living in the home in 1911 the next round of census information from 1926, due to be released in 2027, may show him and his wife Mary Ann living in this same house and listed as Head of Family. (I’ll have to remember to mark my calendar!)

The Out-Offices and Farm-Steadings page (one of the pages missing from the 1901 census) is available for the 1911 census, and lists the following structures on their land; a stable, a cow house, a calf house, a dairy, a piggery and a fowl house. A room has been added to the house, and a few windows, 4 windows on the front now, and a total of 3 rooms. Again the ordnance map (schedule M) indicating the specific location of the house is not to be found. 

(1911 Irish Census - Dunloe Upper - Hse 14 - Out-Offices - original) 

There are four other Meara Families living in Dunloe Upper in 1911 and six Moriarty Families.

However, having no real reason other than my own optimism to believe that this is truly our Mary Meara’s family, and thinking that perhaps earlier records might provide a framework of families in the Gap of Dunloe and potentially lead a path to her door, I decided to pursue other options in the hope of arriving at some validation. First some background.

The lay of the land 

The Gap is no more that a few kilometers around the lake (Lough Leane) from Killarney. Defined narrowly, the Gap of Dunloe (Dún Lóich) refers to the mountain pass between the Purple Mountain on the East and the McGillycuddy Reeks on the West through which the Loe River flows. There is an ancient fort (or “Dun”) along the river at the northern end of the gap, hence the name. This area is in Munster Province, County Kerry, Barony of Dunkerron North, in the Poor Law Union of Killarney, the (civil) parish of Knockane, and the DED (District Electoral Division) of Dunloe. The closest Catholic parish is Beaufort

Aunt Mary doesn’t state where exactly in the Gap of Dunloe our Meara family lived. In an age without rural street names and numbers the place names were often more descriptive, if less specific; Gib or Gibraltar, Carraig a Bloacair (Rock of the Weeds), Coumduffbeg  (The Black Hollow), Gleann a Bharagae (The Market Glen), some place you’d likely never find on a map but was none-the-less well know to those who lived there. Rosnagoule, Garryhaune, Keemseeun, Gortcullinane, and Cappaganine are all listed as place names in many of the older Meara and Moriarty Family records in the Dunloe area although few are to be found on any map. 

Contemporary map of The Gap and the surrounding areas of Lough Leane and Killarney

  
Historic map of Dunloe and surrounding areas from Griffiths Valuation in 1845

So I’ve included a lot of names and detail here not to purposely cause you to nod off somewhere in the next few paragraphs, but because the records are sparse, the place names confusing, the evidence tenuous, the connections more often than not are circumstantial, and as Sue states, the process of discovery is anything but linear. The assumptions/conclusions drawn here are purely speculative. From the information provided here, if you choose to follow the numbing level of detail, you may arrive at different conclusions. If you’re interested more in the end results than the tedium of the journey, skip to the section below labeled “Summary”. 

The townlands of Dunloe Lower and Dunloe Upper comprise the physical center of the Gap and, as their names imply, encompass the lower northern approach from Killarney into the Gap and the upper elevations to the south. But these are only two of fourteen separate townlands within the civil designation of Dunloe, and Dunloe is only one portion of the area known as the Gap of Dunloe. So tracing a family history back 200 years or locating a specific family that lives, or once lived in the Gap of Dunloe it turns out, is a little more amusing than it appears at first glance.

Griffiths Valuation

Griffiths Valuation of Properties (1846 – 1852) is the next best source of information available prior to the 1901 census that connects an individual to a specific property in the country. 

The first comprehensive survey of land ownership and property occupancy in Ireland, Griffiths Valuation was begun by the British as a means of tax assessment, ostensibly to provide assistance to the poor and the destitute within the designated “Poor Law Unions” throughout the country. These records provide some interesting information on land use and very specific location details of family properties throughout the country. 

Griffiths Valuations lists properties by townland, which was the smallest designation of land allocation at the time (e.g. Dunloe Upper). The property in each townland is then divided into numbered lots, which are referenced to a map. Each lot may be subdivided (A, B, C, etc.) and each subdivision may be again divided (a, b, c) with some lots being subdivided (and subleased) many times and occupied by as many as 20 families. Information in the records include the ownership of the land, the name of the person leasing the land, a land description, and a valuation applied based on the amount that this plot of land could reasonably be expected to produce in one year.

But Griffiths Valuation is a document that concerns itself only with land valuation so the information here is somewhat limited. The only reference to people is to define who owns what land, and to whom that land is leased. The only names that appear are lessor and lessee. Consequently no inventory of families exists within these documents; certainly no reference to other names, or ages, dates of birth, spouses, children, or occupation. If Patrick Mara was leasing a plot of land we would know nothing of his age or occupation, whether he was married or single, or who his parents were from these documents. If he had a wife and seven children living with him on the property, we would know nothing of them from these documents unless the land was divided and subleased to them. If Patrick’s parents, siblings, or children were living with him or in another house on his property, there would also be no record of this, unless a fee (rent) was paid to either Patrick or the landlord.

First, Dunloe Lower and Dunloe Upper:

At the time of Griffiths Valuation all of the land in Dunloe Lower and Dunloe Upper (and just about everywhere else in sight as far as Kenmare) was the property of Daniel Mahony, denizen of Dunloe Castle, who leased his property and collected taxes and fees on this land for himself, the British Crown, and the Church of Ireland. All of Ireland was governed by the British at this time of course and the Irish Catholics accounted for less than 5% of all land ownership in the country. The Penal Laws established in the late 17^thcentury that among other things forbid property ownership by Catholics would not be fully rescinded in all areas of the country for another 75 years.

Griffiths Valuation lists the following property information for the townlands of Dunloe Lower and Dunloe Upper.

Dunloe Lower: There is no family with the surname Mara or Meara referenced for any property in Dunloe Lower, which as you can see from the attached map from the time, is dominated by Dunloe Castle (and Daniel Mahony). This is an area of 157 acres or about 1/4 sq. mile on the low and relatively fertile land at the northern approach to the Gap.

Dunloe Upper:There are a total of 41 names related to property occupancy in Dunloe Upper. This is an area of just over 4,000 acres or nearly 6 sq. miles although most of the population appears to reside on the relatively flat land in the northern 1/3 of the townland.

The survey lists five individuals named Mara in relation to six properties in the townland of Dunloe Upper: 

                  Patk. Mara (Morgan), 

                  Patrick Mara (Darby), 

                  Patrick Mara (John), 

                  John Mara, and 

                  Daniel Mara. 

                  

I thought at first that the Morgan name in parenthesis following Patk. Mara’s name had some possible connection to Mary’s future employer in Worcester, MA (the Morgan Family for whom she worked as a domestic) but it turns out to be a patronymic; distinguishing this Patrick by referencing his father’s name, apparently a common practice where multiple members of a family occupied land in close proximity to each other. (And necessitated by the fact that, as in Maulykeavane, the families were so poor that all the boys had to share the same five names.) 

The survey also lists (at least) three and possibly as many as five Moriarty’s in relation to eight properties:

                   John Moriarty

                   Cornelius Moriarty

                   Daniel Moriarty

The names Daniel Moriarty and Cornelius Moriarty appear in relation to multiple properties and while I think there are perhaps two Daniel Moriartys it’s unclear if there are two Cornelius Moriartys.

Of all the properties listed in Dunloe Upper there are 10 that are of most interest, although virtually all of the names, properties, and families here are intimately intertwined;

Lot 8 (85 acres) is co-occupied by Patk. Mara (Morgan), and Patrick Mara (Darby). The survey lists the property description as “House, Offices and Land”. ‘Offices’ refers to any structure on the property other than the house (e.g. stable, barn, fowl house, piggery, etc). This provides an interesting historical perspective on the modern concept of “heading out to the office early each morning”. Refer to the attached map for specifics.  (GV. Dunloe Upper Maps - Lot 8)  

Lot 9 (176 acres) is co-occupied by John Mara and Patrick Mara and again the property description indicates “House, Offices and Land”. One might expect that this would be relatively good farmland, lying as it does at least partially within the floodplain and stretching along the length of the River Loe, but a current satellite image reveals that perhaps the water simply made this area mostly bog. I would speculate that given the manner in which their names are listed in Griffiths Valuations, that this is father and son. This may in fact be our Great-Great-Great-Grandfather John Mara and his son Patrick – see further details below. (GV. Dunloe Upper Maps Lot 9) 

Lot 10 is occupied by John Moriarty and includes 93 acres of House, Offices and Land. The main road leading up through The Gap crosses a bridge from the west to the east side of the river Loe here at the foot of the Black Lake and known locally as the “Wishing Bridge”. Much of this land is very steep and would seem to be unsuitable for farming. This is probably Mary Josephine Meara’s grandfather John; that is, her mother Hannah’s (Johanna?) father, thus our Great-Great-Grandfather. (See details below) (GV. Dunloe Upper Maps Lot 10)

Lot 11 (216 acres) is co-occupied by Patk. Mara (Morgan), Patrick Mara (Darby), John Mara, Patrick Mara (John), and John Moriarty. Although this is one of the larger plots of land in the townland of Dunloe Upper, this particular property is also very steep and rugged.  A view of the property on a current terrain map reveals that the plot runs from the base of the Purple Mountain all the way up to the peak. Griffiths Valuations lists no houses or other structures on the property; the description reads simply “Land”. I would assume that this land was used for grazing livestock by various members of our extended family.  (GV. Dunloe Upper Maps Lot 11)   (Terrain Map – Plot 11)   

Lot 15 is occupied in part by Cornelius Moriarty and includes a relatively small area of 16 acres of house and land. Whether this is the same Cornelius as listed in Plot 22 is unknown but seems likely. 

Lot 18 is occupied in part by Michael Doyle and James Doyle and includes 115 acres. This may be our Great-Great Grandmother’s brother Michael and his cousin James, although there are multiple Doyle families in the neighborhood. See further details below on the Doyle Family.

Lot 20 (36 acres) is occupied by Daniel Mara and Daniel Coffey and lies on the opposite (west) side of the river at the foot of the McGillicuddy Reeks in an area still in Dunloe Upper but referred to on earlier maps as Gortcullinane. Daniel may be our great grandfather’s brother. 

 Lot 22 is occupied by Cornelius Moriarty and Michael Doyle and includes 36 acres of house, offices and land. This Cornelius is the brother of Daniel Moriarty who occupies the adjacent properties 23A and 23B in Dunloe Upper. Michael as referenced above is probably our great grandmother’s brother. 

 Lot 23A and 23B are occupied by Daniel Moriarty and Mary Coffey. Daniel is the brother of Cornelius Moriarty on plot 22. I’m not sure who this Mary Coffey is, although I’m certain that this is not Daniel’s wife. There are many references to Daniel Moriarty and Mary Coffey in many different records, over many years, including property occupancy, but also many birth, baptismal and marriage records where they are listed as witnesses or sponsors.

 This Daniel Moriarty (and his wife Julia Burke) is the man who, in 1849 built Kate Kearney’s cottage, an inn that has become legendary in the Gap of Dunloe. (See details on Kate Kearney’s Cottage in the Reference section; British Travelogue). Their daughter Mary married John Moriarty, possibly the son of the Daniel Moriarty listed on Lot 27, (Is this confusing enough yet?). Mary inherited Kate Kearney’s Cottage upon the death of Mary’s older brother Denis. John Moriarty (Mary Moriarty’s husband) is listed in the 1901 census as a Publican (one who operates a Public House). 

· Lot 27 is leased by Daniel Moriarty. This is apparently a different Daniel from the one occupying lots 23 A & B. This is an area of 588 acres and is one of the largest and most remote properties in the Gap. 

It’s perhaps inevitable to speculate that the house shown in the attached photographs from 18?? labeled “Mrs. Moriarty’s House” may be our great-great grandmother’s home with perhaps she and her daughter (or daughter-in-law) standing in the doorway. The bottles of poteen or “Mountain Dew” for sale on the table would seem to indicate that the home must border a well-traveled route through the Gap, most likely the main (only?) road. The stone walls, thatched roof and number of windows on the front of the house certainly match the description in the census. 

I’ve often wondered how different the world that our grandparents left (Killarney, Ireland) was from the world to which they arrived (Worcester, MA). For a decidedly British perspective on the Irish in general and The Gap of Dunloe specifically, and more information on the “Mountain Dew” or “poteen” phenomenon, refer to the attached, (unintentionally) hilarious description of the area by a British travel writer from 1860.

(Travelogue – Gap of Dunloe 1860’s)

 But Griffiths Valuation provides no singular piece of evidence for any of these families that spans the fifty year gap from the survey in 1852 to connect the families to the information in the 1901 census. I now think of this as my own genealogical “gap” of Dunloe. 

 Of the 22 other townlands in Dunloe none reference a Mara or Meara Family, but there are many other Mearas (and Moriartys) in the larger neighborhood.

A brief excursion around the neighborhood:

Although I’m pretty certain that our immediate Meara family is from the townland of Dunloe Upper, a brief look around the neighborhood provides an interesting perspective on the Meara and Moriarty clans here.

The McGillycuddy Mountains: 

The McGillycuddy Reeks on the west side of the Gap is still the (civil) parish of Knockane (same as Dunloe) and these are the townlands of Coolcummisk, Alohart, Carhoonahone, Cappaganneen, Cullenagh, Ballagh, and Collmagort. A search of these townlands in 1850 finds many more Mearas and Moriartys living here; Patrick Meara, John Moriarty, Daniel Mara, Widow Moriarty, and many others. Many of the older records of our family’s history seem to refer to this area as a point of origin (more on this later). 

We all recall Dad tossing around the McGillycuddy name when we were young but what specific bearing it may have here is unknown. As expected there are more than a few McGillicuddy families living in the neighborhood; the expansive McGillycuddy clan dominated this land for centuries and occupied much of this area even up until the end of the 20th century. But of course just to keep things interesting, there was also a McGillycuddy family living in Maulykeavane next to the Sheehan Clan at this same time, so which McGillycuddy families Dad was referring to is unknown, perhaps both.

The (civil) Parish of Aghadoe:

The parish of Aghadoe lies between Dunloe and the town of Killarney. The Aghadoe townland of Tomies West is immediately adjacent to Lot #8 in Dunloe Upper, occupied by Patrick Mara (Morgan) and Patrick Mara (Darby). I would think that the dividing line between the two parishes as well as the two adjacent townlands would be about as apparent to the people living there as the line between Roslindale and West Roxbury. There are more Mearas living here. Timothy, James, Cornelius, Daniel, Daniel Jr, and John Meara are all listed as heads of households and as occupying land in various townlands of Aghadoe in 1852. Some of the older records of our families seem to point in this direction. 

Pushing on toward Templenoe:

If you were to follow the road up through the gap and down the other side you would pass the Black Valley and eventually end up in Kenmare. This is the area of the (civil) parish of Templenoe which adjoins the southern end of Dunloe Upper. There are more Mearas here in 1852; John, Timothy, Jeremiah, Patrick, Michael and Cornelius Meara and their families all reside here. These are the townlands of Kilcrohane, Cappanacush East, Capparoe, Rossacosane, and the Islands in Kenmare. 

Elsewhere:

In addition to these areas, Griffiths Valuation lists a Bartholomew Meara and a Cornelius Meara occupying land in Aglish parish about 2 miles to the north of Dunloe Upper, and five separate Meara families; Timothy, Patrick, James, Margaret and Mary Meara occupy lands in Kilbonane about 4 miles to the northwest.

 Patrick, John, Daniel, Michael, Jeremiah, Bartholomew, Mary, Cornelius Meara, and presumably their families, are all shown occupying separate houses in Killarney (about 4 miles East).

The assumption would be that these families living here in 1852 are all somehow related, but of course the details of these connections remain elusive. It is difficult to separate the various families by referencing only the isolated information available in the church records. The boys are all named Jeremiah, John, Daniel, and Patrick with the occasional Cornelius or Morgan thrown in. The girls are all named Mary, Margaret, Julia, Hannah or Bridget, each generation honoring the previous one by bestowing the same names on the next. All these families mentioned above live within about 5 miles of each other and the generations seem to all overlap. It’s exceedingly easy to overlook a possible family connection or inadvertently make a connection where there is none. So again, the place names are key, but not foolproof. 

Tithe Applotment Books (Church of Ireland) 1820 - 1837

The Tithe Applotment records are the next best source of people and land occupancy records prior to Griffith’s Valuations. In the early 1800’s, under British rule, a tithe was collected by the Protestant Church (Church of Ireland) on all occupied land greater than one acre, regardless of the religion of the occupants.  The index to these records is similar in structure to Griffiths Valuations, but the index is confusing to follow because the Parishes and Townland designations of the Church of Ireland do not align with either the Civil Parishes or the Catholic parishes - they are typically much older and larger, many areas have the same names but a very different geography, others have very different names for the same geographical area, and many of the names are no longer in use. In addition, many of these place names are what were once referred to as ploughlands, a land designation smaller than a townland (perhaps only a single farm) that was discontinued with the implementation of Griffith Valuations in the 1840’s.

· Surprisingly there is no Mara or Meara family listed in the Tithe Applotment Books for the townland Dunloe Upper or Dunloe Lower, but as noted earlier the Church of Ireland records had different names and boundaries for many of the townlands. (There are people listed in Dunloe Upper - just not any Mara family) The place names used by the Meara families in these records (Rossnagoule, Garryhaune, Keamseeun) were probably what were once referred to as plough land names. This information pre-dates the Ordnance maps referenced in Griffiths Valuations and if there are other maps that indicate the locations of the place names used in the Tithe Applotment books, I’ve not been able to find them.

· The Tithe Applotment Books indicate that in 1828 a Morgan Mara, Darby Mara and Patrick Mara, co-occupied land in Garryhaune, a Church of Ireland name for a townland (or plough land) within the civil Parish of Knockane (same parish as Dunloe). The land is listed as 3rd quality land, with occupancy of 15 acres of “coarse pasture” and 150 acres of “mountain”. Morgan, Darby, and Patrick Mara, as noted previously, are names referenced as the father of various Patrick Maras in Griffiths Valuations many years later and the land description here is strikingly similar to the descriptions provided in that document for Plot 8. Although I find no map reference for an area referred to as Garryhaune the listing is immediately adjacent to the listings for the Gap so I assume some immediate proximity.

· The Tithe records also include a listing in 1825 for a John Mara and Cornelius Moriarty being assessed a tithe on 15 acres of 3rd quality land, 24 acres of coarse pasture, and 136 acres of bog and mountain in an area referred to as Rossnagoule in the parish of Knockane. John Mara, as referenced earlier, is the name of the father of one of the Patrick Maras in the 1852 Griffith’s Valuation, and Cornelius Moriarty as the father of Daniel. Whether this is a portion of what was referenced 25 years later as plots 8, 9 or 11 in Griffiths Valuation is of course simply speculation, but it would seem likely, the description is very similar. 

I have subsequently found a website, Wiki-map-ia that indicates  “Ros na gColl” (Rossnagoule?) as being exactly in the same place as plots 9 and 11 of Dunloe Upper in Griffiths Valuation. (Map of Rossnagoule / Ros na gColl) This information also makes me think that Plot 8 in Griffiths Valuation occupied by Patrick Mara (Morgan) and Patrick Mara (Darby) is in fact the area referred to as Garryhaune.

·   There is also a listing for Darby Moriarty (Jeremiah?) and John Ferris in Currewale and a Bridget Doyle and Patrick Doyle in Keamseeun. Both of these place names are listed in the Tithe books adjacent to references to Dunloe Gap so again I’m assuming some proximity, but I find no map reference. These property descriptions would seem to align with property descriptions in Griffiths Valuations. (Refer to information below regarding the Ferris and Doyle connection. It’s possible that this John Ferris may be one of our Great-great-great grandfathers, the Doyles may be part of our other Great-great-great grandfather’s family)

·   Darby and John Mara are also listed as names occupying land in Drumadooey, (var. Droumduhig) a townland on the border between the adjacent parishes of Aghadoe and Aglish (same Darby and John as in GV?). There are many, many Meara Families here especially in the area referred to as Millstreet. (Tithe Applotment Books - County Kerry - Meara Families)

· Daniel Mara is listed as occupying land in the Townland of Killalee, again in the adjacent parish of Aghadoe.

· The Tithe Applotment records also reference a John Mara occupying three acres of “coarse pasture” in Alohart in 1825, and a listing for a Mrs. Moriarty and a Widow Moriarty occupying 1 acre of “reclaimed bog” and 1 acre of “bog” in 1828 in Coolcummisk. These are areas within the foothills of the McGillycuddy Reeks.

It seems clear that the Morgan Mara, Darby Mara, and John Mara listed in these records are the fathers of the various Patrick Maras listed in Griffiths Valuations many years later. So I wonder, given the traditions of the times and the size of the community, whether the Morgan, Darby and John listed are all the sons of the same Patrick Mara, and if the various Patrick Maras listed in Griffiths Valuations are the grandsons of the same (and original) Patrick Mara.(Tithe Applotment Books - Garryhaune)

The people listed here including the Doyle, Ferris, Moriarty, and Mara families are most likely part of our family, but the prospect of untangling all the family strings looks dizzying enough that it will probably keep me off the streets for the next 62 -84 months, probably longer.

The Catholic Church Records and National Archives

With the census data, Griffiths Valuations, and the Tithe records providing no specific connecting thread across the eighty year span from 1820 to the census in 1901, but perhaps providing a possible framework of our family history, I decided to try a different approach. I went back to the Church records where I’d originally started, with an eye toward any possible connection to the information in these sets of records. I listed all of the available church records that I could find that reference the name Mara or Meara in the townland of Dunloe Upper. There are surprisingly few: a jumble of 49 names and dates spanning the almost 90 years from 1810 to 1899. I then began to expand the list to include the surrounding townlands and ploughlands immediately adjacent to Dunloe. 

When I collected all this data and then sorted the available marriage and birth records by the names of the parents, the dates, and the place name, some interesting patterns emerged. (Mearas in and around Dunloe 1810- 1899 - Sorted)

Note: The following is an edited analysis of the records that I’ve found.  Other than the information listed below I have found no records of any kind (birth, baptism, marriage, death, etc.) that convincingly reference any of the children of the Meara Family in House 22. I have found no birth record for Mary Josephine Mara or any of her brothers or sisters. Whether what follows has any real connection to our family is purely speculation. It’s easy to look through a list and cherry-pick names and dates that might seem to align with what you think you’re looking for despite the lack of a linear historical connection, but this is what I found. (I have not yet applied this same process to the Moriarty Family records, but may yet, at some point in the future, actually manage to accomplish this goal)

· There is a church record at Beaufort (closest Catholic parish to Dunloe at the time) for the baptism of a Johanna Moriarty of Dunloe dated July 28, 1850 born to a John Moriarty of Dunloe and Mary Ferris and witnessed by Cornelius and Mary Moriarty. I think this is our great grandmother Hannah. 

Note that the year of birth given for this Johanna is similar to the estimated year of birth for Johanna Moriarty (Mary Josephine’s mother), wife of Jeremiah Meara in House 22 in the 1901 census noted above. This is also the only Johanna (Hannah, Hanora, etc) Moriarty born in Dunloe in this time frame for whom I find any records. 

Also of note, in the 1852 Griffiths Valuation there is a John Moriarty (father of Johanna?) occupying Plot #10 in Dunloe Upper. This is the only John Moriarty for whom I’ve found any records for this time frame living in the Gap of Dunloe. There is also a Cornelius Moriarty (marriage witness?) living on Plot #15 and leasing a part of Plots 22 and 24 in Dunloe Upper adjacent to the Meara property. 

There is also a Marriage certificate for John Moriarty of Dunloe Gap and Mary Ferris dated Feb 19, 1849 which would seem to fit with Johanna’s birth date (one year after John and Mary’s Marriage). It would appear that this Johanna Moriarty is our great grandmother. (Irish National records - Baptism - Johanna Moriarty of Dunloe - 1850)    (Marriage of John Moriarty and Mary Ferris)

· There is also a birth registration for a Jeremiah Meara of Rosnagoul dated April 24, 1836 born to Patrick Meara and Mary Doyle. (Remember the Doyle Families listed in Griffiths Valuations?) The year of birth and the mother’s name both align with the Jeremiah listed as Head of Family (HOF) in house 22 in the 1901 census (Mary Josephine’s father).

It also becomes apparent from the church records that this Jeremiah Meara is the third of six children born to Patrick Meara and Mary Doyle from 1834 to 1842 in a place listed variously as Dunloe and Rossnagoul.  There is a marriage registration for Patrick Meara of Capaganeen and Mary Doyle dated 30 January 1834. This would seem to fit with the birth dates of the children. Capaganeen is one of the townlands in the foothills of the McGillycuddy Reeks. If the information is correct Mary Doyle may be the 88 year old mother living with her son Jeremiah and family in house 22 in the 1901 census (thus our great-great grandmother) There is a birth registration for a Mary Doyle from Cappyganine (note spelling) born 24 June, 1813 (thus 88 y/o in 1901, matching the census information) to Jeremiah Doyle and Margaret Neal. 

Whether this is the same Mary is of course speculation, but it seems likely that Patrick and Mary (prior to their marriage) lived close to each other, perhaps in the same townland. Mary’s husband Patrick Meara is more than likely one of the many Patricks listed in Griffiths Valuation. These records are all from the parish of Killorglin. It would appear that this Mary Meara is our other great grandmother.

             

· Similar patterns emerge for Patrick Meara of Dunloe married to Gobnet Connor on 2-27-1827 who also had six children approximately the same ages as the children of Patrick and Mary above. (There is a Connor family living in the Gap at this time) Their son Daniel was born 12-16-1834. The Daniel Meara (mistakenly listed as Daniel Meard in the census document) HOF of House #21 in the 1901 Census was 66 y/o at the time of the census, thus born in 1834/35 - same Daniel? The father may be another of the Patricks listed in GV.

· Michael O’Meara the 60 y/o HOF in House 23 estimated birthdate according to the 1901 census aligns with the birth registration for Michael Meara born 18 July 1841 to Jeremiah (Darby?) Meara and Julia Kelly. The Catholic Church records also confirm that Michael and his wife Bridget’s 5 children living in house 23, were born 1872 - 1879, and if this information is correct, Michael’s wife’s maiden name was Bridget Casey. There is a Casey family living in the upper most property in Dunloe Upper, adjacent to the parish of Templenoe.

· John Meara the 41 y/o HOF in House 20 estimated birthdate aligns with the birth registration for John Mara born 4 March 1860 as one of seven children to Daniel Meara of Rossnagoul and Mary Sullivan. The Church records also confirm that John and his wife Johanna Donoghue were married on 3-31-1881

· Daniel Meara and his wife Catherine Leary, married on March 3, 1840, are listed with three children and John Meara and Mary Conner are listed with four children.

It is these families and their children that begin to bridge the gap between the information in Griffiths Valuation and the detail referenced in the 1901 census. Obviously a lot more research is in order. 

Summary 

The earliest records I’ve found are for several Marra Families (note spelling) in the 1600’s in the Dublin area, although the records are vague. My expectation is that the reason for the existence of these records is that these records all reference the protestant Church of Ireland (COI) as the source. This was the only church recognized under British rule at the time (under the Penal Code the Catholic Church was effectively outlawed – thus very few records exist) – and it seems clear that Dublin would have been one of the few places in the country at that time that would have had the resources to collect and maintain these records. (The assumption here being that there were other Marra, Mara, Meara families elsewhere in the country but the records have perhaps not survived.) 

The earliest Meara Family record in the Kerry area that I’ve found is for the marriage of Jois Meara and Mary Fitzgerald in 1752. (Children; Kilian 1752, Helen 1755, Catherine 1757, and John 1759). These names are listed as being from Millstreet in County Kerry. Older maps of County Kerry indicate an area referred to as Millstreet about 2 miles north of Dunloe Upper in what is later referred to as Killorglin or Aglish parishes, although I’m sure there is a Millstreet in just about every town in Ireland. There is also a large town named Millstreet just east of the County Kerry border in County Cork. There are a great number of Meara families listed here and it may be that the Mara clan gradually migrated south from here into the Gap. The older records for the Moriarty clan seem to be most prolific in the area around Tralee, an area a little further to the north and east and a name that I seem to remember Dad referring to although I don’t remember the specifics.

So this is as far as I’ve had time to take this, but in summary, this is my totally unsubstantiated, wild speculation to date on the Meara Family:

It seems clear that the Meara and Moriarty families listed in the Church records, Tithe Applotment Books, Griffiths Valuations and the Irish Census records in the Dunloe area are snapshots of the same families taken over a period of 100+ years. The big question of course is how to sort out the various generations.

Mary Josephine Meara, our grandmother, was born to Jeremiah Meara and Hannah Moriarty on April 22, 1884 according to her marriage certificate and Aunt Mary’s remembrance, and I think her family lived in what is referred to in the 1901 Irish Census as House #22 in the Townland of Dunloe Upper, (civil) Parish of Knockane, Barony of Dunkerron North, County Kerry (later referred to in the 1911 census as Hse #14) although I have found no Irish records that specifically reference this Mary Meara.

There are records of other Mary Mearas born to parents of the same names but with earlier birthdates, and while the dates may be challenged as inaccurate for any number of reasons, the fact that there were multiple families with the same names is very apparent, and so I cannot with any certainty ascribe a specific document to a certain individual.

With no other options currently available I would unconvincingly speculate that perhaps the Mary Mara living as a servant with the Lynch Family in Inchycullane referenced in the 1901 census may be Mary Josephine Meara, although believing this is certainly more convenience than truth. (The 1911 census for the Lynch family lists servants with different names although one is listed as Ellie Meara.)

If House 22 is in fact the correct household for her family, Mary’s brothers and sisters may have been Patrick (b. 1881), Bridget (1885), Jeremiah (1887), Johanna (1889), John (1891) and Julia (1892) according to the 1901 census documents. The names and dates of birth seem to align with Aunt Mary’s recollections. (My research has been limited to only records available in Ireland, I have not yet accessed the LDS site or any paid sites e.g. Ancestry.com, which may both provide more extensive records or detail). Sue is astonishingly proficient in coaxing out pertinent information from an amazing amalgam of historical records from a variety of resources so she may already have much more extensive detail. Also I have not spoken to Alex in detail about her trip through the Gap, and she too probably has much more information regarding our families there.

Jeremiah Meara, Mary Josephine’s father, (and perhaps our own father’s namesake – both his grandfather’s were named Jeremiah) was perhaps born April 24, 1836 to Patrick Meara and Mary Doyle in the area referred to as Rossnagoul (part of the area currently referred to as Dunloe Upper). 

Jeremiah’s brothers and sisters may have included John (b 1834), Patrick (1837), Daniel (1839), and Bridget (1842). There is another John born Dec. 24, 1847, Mary born July 27, 1849, Margaret Aug 3, 1852, Ellen born June 2, 1854,and Michael born Sept 21 1856. Whether these are all children of the same Patrick Meara and Mary Doyle is unknown.  Of course there are several Patrick Mearas married to Mary Doyles in the general Dunloe area (Gorthcullinane, Rossnagaul, Garryhaune, Commeentommen, etc.) so things are always a little questionable. 

There is a record for a Patrick Meara (Jeremiah’s father?) born to a John Mara and Ellen Sullivan in 2-20-1808 in Coolcumisk (in the McGillycuddy Reeks). It’s possible that this may be the Patrick Mara (John) referenced in Griffiths Valuations (Plot #9 - Rossnagaul). There is also a record for another son, Daniel born June 19, 1814. This could of course be the Daniel Mara also referenced in GV. It would seem likely that in a small closely knit community such as this, the adjacent land occupants with the same surnames would be brothers or the sons of brothers (cousins). I’ve found no other records that provide further reference for either John Mara or Ellen Sullivan who would have been born sometime in the late 1700’s.

Johanna Moriarty, Mary Josephine’s mother, was perhaps born July 28, 1850 to John Moriarty and Mary Ferris in Dunloe. (Interestingly the Tithe Applotment records list a Moriarty and Ferris Family occupying the same land in 1825.) John Moriarty of Dunloe and Mary Ferris of N/R were married on Feb. 19, 1849. Children born to John and Mary also include Jeremiah (May 22, 1853) in Gurtcullinane, Daniel (August 18, 1856) in Gurtcullinane, John (May 4, 1859) in Gurtcullinane, Mary (June 19, 1864) in Gurtcullinane, and perhaps Cornelius (May 19, 1867) in Dunloe Gap, and Patrick (March 17, 1872) in the Gap. Gurtcullinane is a designation of a section of land on the western side of Dunloe Upper (see map). 

There is currently (2013) an inn on the main road through the Gap that features a wagon wheel as the focus of the logo on a sign for the Ferris Wheel Inn. The property location seems to correspond to plot 15 in Griffiths Valuations occupied by Cornelius Moriarty and is currently owned by John and Nora Ferris, nee Moriarty. It would seem probable that there is a family connection to be found here.

Patrick Meara, Mary’s Paternal Grandfather, perhaps born Feb. 20, 1808 in Cappaganeen to John Mara and Ellen Sullivan. Patrick’s brothers and sisters were James (July 17, 1810), Daniel (June 19, 1811), Mary (6-26-1816).

Married Mary Doyle from Cappyganine. (date unknown)

Mary Doyle, Mary’s Paternal Grandmother, born June 24, 1813 in Cappyganine to Jeremiah Doyle and Margaret Neal. Mary’s brothers and sisters were Johanna (Feb. 28, 1816), Jeremiah (August 29, 1819), Daniel (July 17, 1824), Catherine (July 12, 1829), Cornelius (July 15, 1831), and Michael (April 13, 1834). Married Patrick Meara of Cappaganine (date unknown)

John Moriarty, Mary’s Maternal Grandfather, date of birth unknown. Married Mary Ferris on Feb, 19, 1849 in Dunloe. I have found no other family records that I can confidently ascribe to John Moriarty. This John occupied Plot 10 in Dunloe Upper as listed in Griffiths Valuation (1852).

Mary Ferris, Mary’s Maternal Grandmother

The 1901 census for Dunloe Upper lists a Mary Moriarty as the sole occupant of House #18. This Mary was 71 years old at the time of the census, thus born 1829. It’s likely that this is the former Mary Ferris, Mary Josephine’s grandmother. As referenced above there is a Catholic Church record for a Mary Ferris born Feb. 1, 1829 to John Ferris and Mary Scully in an area referred to as Commeentommen in the Parish of Killorglin. The Tithe Applotment Book of 1828 as noted above lists a John Ferris and Darby (Jeremiah) Moriarty occupying land in Currawale, an area that upon closer inspection is also listed as West Cummeentomeen in the Gap of Dunloe. Whether this is the same Mary is of course purely speculation, but it would seem probable. This Mary would have been 20 years old at the time of her marriage to John Moriarty, so certainly within the realm of possibility. Griffith’s Valuation specifically cautions against assuming the proximity of two houses simply based on concurrent numerical designations; but on the assumption that the numbers assigned to the homes in the 1901 census were somewhat sequential from the bottom to the top of the Gap, (Hse 18 for Mary Moriarty (nee Ferris), Hse 22 for Jeremiah and Johanna Meara) this may be “Nannie below”.

Note: There is also a record of a Robert Ferris of Comeentomeen born Nov. 28, 1831 to John Ferris and Mary Scully. This is most likely Mary’s Ferris’ brother. The 1901 census lists a Robert Ferris and family living in house 37 in Dunloe Upper together with two children, Julia (30 y/o) and Eugene (21 y/o). This Robert Ferris is listed as 69y/o, thus born 1831, which would seem to confirm this speculation. Robert would be our great-great Uncle.

Jeremiah Doyle, Mary’s Maternal Great Grandfather (Date of birth unknown). Father of Mary Doyle, Mary’s grandmother. Married Margaret Neal (date unknown).

Margaret Neal, Mary’s Maternal Great Grandmother. Mother of Mary Doyle, Mary’s Grandmother. Dates of birth and marriage unknown.

John Mara, Mary’s Paternal Great Grandfather. Dates of birth and marriage unknown.

Ellen Sullivan, Mary’s Paternal Great Grandmother. Dates of birth and marriage unknown.

John Ferris, Mary’s great grandfather. Father of Mary Ferris, Mary’s grandmother. Dates of birth and marriage unknown.

Mary Scully, Mary’s great grandmother, Mother of Mary Ferris, Mary’s grandmother. Dates of birth and marriage unknown.

There are church records for a Patrick Mara of Gorthculinane born Dec. 17, 1815 to Morgan Mara and Mary Callaghan. Whether this is the same Patrick Mara (Morgan) as referenced in GV is pure speculation, but again it seems likely.

Quite a few other Mara families hail from Gurtculinane, an area also referenced by the Church of Ireland (var. Gorthculinane) that appears to vie with Rossnagoul as being Mara Central in the area round Dunloe, including Daniel Mara and Mary Coffy, Daniel Mara and Mary Sullivan, John Sullivan and Mary Mara, John Sullivan and Julia Mara, Patrick Mara and Catherine Donoghue, all names worthy of further investigation.

From the information in the 1901 census, it would seem probable that the Daniel J. Moriarty living with his wife Margret and family in House 19 adjacent to Mary (Ferris) Moriarty in House 18 is her son (and our great grandmother Johanna’s brother). The census record lists Daniel as 46 y/o thus born 1855. The Catholic Church records, as noted above, indicate a Daniel Moriarty born to a John Moriarty and Mary Ferris having been born August 6, 1856 (certainly within the margin of error).

The 1911 census indicates that Mary Moriarty (nee Ferris) has moved into the adjacent house with who is now described as her son Daniel and family. By all indications this appears to be “Nannie below”. If this is true, then the 88 y/o Mary Meara (nee Doyle) listed as living with the Jeremiah and Johanna Meara Family in House 22 in the 1901 Census is most probably (the former) “Nannie Above”.

  

While all this doesn’t do much to illuminate the specifics of our Grandmother’s teenage whereabouts, which was my original purpose in re-launching my career in ghost hunting, it does provide a glimpse into the community in which she lived.

It’s interesting that on the 200th anniversary of our (perhaps) great-great grandmother Mary Doyle’s birthday in 1813 I may have finally figured out who she was. It makes me wonder whether our great-great grandchildren will have any idea who we were; it’s interesting how quickly we forget even those things that are most dear to us. By 2036 on the 200^th birthday of our (perhaps) great grandfather Jeremiah Meara, I will probably have almost exhausted myself and all ridiculous and impossible speculation regarding names, places, and dates of the Sheehan clan, and arrived at the inevitable conclusion that I should have spent my time in a more productive, but perhaps less satisfying and rewarding manner.

So this is all that I think I know at the moment. More to come, perhaps, at some point in the future.

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