Terence

Hello Terence,

Does Patrick know the names of his mother's parents?

Also does Patrick know if his mother and her family had lived in Ballymacelligott, or in one of the surrounding towns. Ballymacelligot at that time was not only a townland, but also a Civil Parish. You c an see the names of all the townlands located in the Ballymacelligott Civil Parish at the IreAtlas Townland Data Base link at: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ak4un

I looked for Eileen Leahy in the 1911 census of Ireland but didn't find her.

More information is needed about who her parents were and the town she lived in. Was she actually born in County Kerry?

Thank you.

Dave Boylan

Hi Dave!

Eileen is sometimes Ellen and I located this 1911 census record in the parish of Ballyseedy which borders Ballymacelligott on the southwest.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Kerry/Ballyseedy/Bally…

Possible lead once you hear back from  Terence.

Roger

Thank you Roger.

I didn’t go beyond the boundary of the DED for Ballymacelligott in looking for Eileen Leahy in the 1911 census. The DED for Ballymacelligott was Arabela.

I did find the birth record for an Ellen Leahy at irishgenealogy.ie, which shows she was born in the townland of Coolnadead on 2 September 1908. Her parents are Michael Leahy and Ellen Kennedy. Coolnadead was in the civil parish of Ballymacelligott, PLU of Tralee, according to the IreAtlas Townland Data Base: https://tinyurl.com/yckkws5a

A Google Map shows that Coolnadead is only 1.3 miles west of Ballymacelligott by the shortest route, though probably closer as the crow flies: https://tinyurl.com/3a7ak429

The 1911 census for Ballycarty that you found I believe pertains to this Ellen Leahy’s family, as the census shows that 2 year old Ellen’s parents are Michael and Ellen Leahy. Ballycarty is just 2.2 miles west of Coolnadead: https://tinyurl.com/2p89v8kc

Hopefully Terence will reply with the names of Eileen Leahy’s parents so that the information that you and I uncovered can be validated

Thanks again Roger. Always much appreciated.

Dave

Hi Everyone,

I am deeply grateful for the prompt response to my request for information about Eileen Leahy.

My name is Terence O'Connor and my own people are from County Roscommon. I am third-generation Irish Australian but incredibly proud of my Irish roots.

My friend Patrick is first-generation Australian. His mother was born in 1908 and emigrated to Australia with her parents in 1924 at age 16.

I have asked Patrick to speak to the family to see whether they can tell me the full names of his grandparents. As they both died in Australia, there will no doubt be records here.

Patrick and I and 2 others also of Irish extraction intend to travel to Ireland in July. We'll be spending some time in County Kerry to be sure.

If we can find some relatives of Patrick's than the Guinness will be on me!!

Warm regards from Australia.

Terry O'Connor

Hello Everyone,

Patrick tells me that his maternal grandfather was Michael Leahy and his grandmother was Margaret Leahy, nee Lane.

Does that help?

Warm regards,

Terry

Hello Terry,

Thank you for the additional information.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the civil registration birth records for any children of Michael Leahy and Margaret Lane at the free irishgenealogy.ie website. I also looked for, but didn't find the marriage record for Michael Leahy and Margaret Lane. I looked for the Leahy births and the Leahy/Lane marriage in County Kerry as well as the other 31 counties of Ireland but without success.

Could you get back with Patrick to make sure the information about Eileen and her parents is correct? Is Patrick 100 percent positive that Eileen was born in Ireland in 1909, and that her parents were married in Ireland?

Also, were Patrick's mother and grandparents from the Ballymacelligott County Kerry area?

The irishgenealogy.ie website has a very good collection of births and marriages, but in some cases births and marriages were not reported to the registrar in the district where the birth or marriage took place.

Any additional information could be helpful.

Kind Regards,

Dave