Leahy Sisters

Hello Ann Marie, from reading your post I can't seem to tell exactly what part of south Tipperary your ancestors are from.  the Clonmel area can cover quite a few parishes and townlands.  You will find many buriel records for Clonmel and its immediate surroundings on www.clonmelgraveyards  .  You might find your people here.  The records for St. Patrick's cemetary (main cemetary for Clonmel) can be viewed in more detail when you click on the purple button to access the actual record.  Have you gone to www.rootsireland.ie to look for the birth records for Alice, Margaret and Bridget?  the records should be there.  When you have the parish in which they were born, then you will know exactly where to look to see where their parent may be buried.  Most parishes didn't keep buriel records, but some greast people are transcribing the information from cemetary headstones and putting it online.  My advice is to narrow your search by finding the birth records.  Only then will you know just where to look.

Kind regards,

Anne Dennehy

Hi Ann Marie,

I did a search for a marriage of Johanna Keleher to James Leahy on WWW.FAMILYSEARCH.ORG and it resulted in a birth record for a Thomas Leahy whose parents were Johanna and James. You can view that at

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F518-QQ9

Those sisters may have had a brother Thomas? The parish is Ardfinnan in Tipperary.

I also found Nora's birth as follows:-

26 Feb 1866 - Address is Knockperry in the parish of Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary. The mother's name is spelled as 'Keleher'

and

Margaret was born on 22 Sep 1861 in Rosmore, parish of Newcastle, Co Waterford and mother's name is spelled 'Kelihan'

Alice was born on 15 July 1859 also in the parish of Newcastle, Co. Waterford and mother's name spelled Kelehan.

Bear in mind that Ardfinnan is near the Waterford border. The parish registers for Ardfinnan do not have any death/burial information.

I hope this helps.

Fiona.

Thank you, Fiona!  Will definitely plan a route through those places for our September trip!  Do you think the individual church in Ardfinnan would have death/burial information? 
Have not yet seen what a death certificate in Ireland would look like- and have been spoiled by a plethora of information on the New York City death certificates......so I am hoping to get information from death records.

Hope you are enjoying a fabulous summer!  And thank you for your response!

All my best,

Ann Marie Bridget Lynch

Ann Marie,

The church records for Ardfinnan are online at www.nli.ie and there are no death records for that parish. I have found James Leahy's death. He died on 13th June 1888. He was 75 years old which puts his year of birth as c1813. His address was Rossmore in the parish of Ardfinnan. He died of bronchitis and the informant was his wife Johanna - so he predeceased her.

I failed to find her death. But I'd assume he was buried in the cemetery in Ardfinnan.

I hope you enjoy your visit in September.

Regards,

Fiona.

WOW!  BINGO!  THANK YOU, Fiona!  We will certainly be looking through the cemeteries in Ardfinnan in September.  First searching today online to find out HOW MANY there are and WHERE they are located.  Have to limit Mom's walking in the fields!  She is 84 and uses a cane for those surfaces.
We THINK his wife MIGHT have gone to live with relatives....Leahy or Kelleher.  There is a Johanna Kelleher death notice in Thurles...but 1929....and it says spinster at age 80......the numbers fit, but she was a widow. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!  Are you in Tipperary area? Perhaps we could meet when we visit?

Hope your Sunday is fine!

Ann Marie

Thank you again, Fiona, for the valuable information!

Have attached a postcard of a chapel that was in my grandfather's possession.  On the computer it looks a lot like St. Nicholas Center in Ardfinnan......what do you think?  We BELIEVE it might have been owned by his mother, Nora Leahy.

Ann Marie

Hi Ann Marie,
I don’t live anywhere near Tipperary unfortunately – I’m from Dublin. My hobby is Irish Genealogy and I love a family history problem to keep me busy!
Is this your first visit to Ireland and when do you arrive?
I think the Johanna Kelleher death notice in 1929 is not your Johanna as she would have had her death registered as Johanna Leahy. Although it was civil law to register deaths, not all relatives did do this so it is possible her death is not registered. I will have a good root around the records to see if I can find it.
I did find the marriage of James Leahy and Johanna Kelleher on the 19 Feb 1843 in the parish of Newcastle and FourMileWater in Co. Tipperary – Johanna was most likely from there? It is the next parish to Ardfinnan. This marriage record does not give any information about either of their parents unfortunately.
You could be right about the church – it looks very similar. I
If I find anything further I shall let you know.
Regards,
Fiona.

WOW- thank you AGAIN, Fiona, for the information you found!!  My family SOOO appreciates it!

Sorry for my delay in response. While taking a car trip here in the USA, Mom had a health care problem that we are still resolving so we can make a trip to Ireland in September.

Yes, it would be a first visit for my brother and myself.  Mom has had many trips with Church groups and the AOH to Ireland. My paternal cousins just retired TO DUBLIN (from NYC). SO, I would LOVE to meet you in Dublin!!! 
We hope to be in Dublin our first two days of the trip; then rent a car and head to see a cemetery near Kells (my parents erected a headstone there for dad's grandmother who returned to Ireland in 1927); delve into Ardfinnan; check out the Dungarvan connection with our POWERS family; get to Galway and Knock (my parents liked the shrine there).  We also hope to take the one day train-bus tour to the north (Antrim) to see the geological causeway.

Again, waiting for medical clearance before we purchase tickets and reserve rooms!

You have given us SO MUCH information into the Leahy/Kelleher family!  Would love to treat you to a lunch or dinner when we are in Dublin!

THANK YOU!!!

Ann Marie

Good morning, Fiona, from New York.

The plans are arranged.  We arrive in Dublin on the 20th of September and stay in Mespil Hotel.  It is across from my cousins who recently moved to Dublin.  Could you join us for early dinner that night?  You have been so helpful that I thought we could perhaps meet that way?

The medical clearance for a week away only gives us a week to cover so much Irish territory......so we have booked a full day tour on the 21st; then drive to Galway; then Clonmel/Dungarvan (cemetery hunting); then Knock; then back to Dublin (hope to see Newgrange before we get on the return flight 26 Monday).  A lot to cover in 6 days, but it might fit if the traffic cooperates!

We will follow some of the leads you provided with the Leahy family- and we are very grateful for your work!!!  It is Mom's paternal grandparents (Leahy-Powers/Clonmel area-Dungarvan area) we have focused on......with a wink and nod to my Dad's family (Sheridan-Lynch).  His grandmother is buried near Kells.  We erected a headstone to commemorate her- someone who raised a family in USA and then returned to Ireland/remarried/passed in 1935 (an intriguing life in my mind).

Looking forward to your response- and, again, thank you!

Ann Marie

Hi Ann-Marie,

I am so sorry to have missed you when you were in Dublin. I was away on holidays in Portugal.

But thank you so much for your kind invitation to dinner to meet you. I hope that your holiday was very enjoyable and that you maybe had some success in your hunt for your Leahy ancestors.

If you think I can help in the any way in the future, just give me a shout. I enjoyed the research I did and am glad it was of help to you. I hope your Mum was well enough to have enjoyed her holiday also. Perhaps next time you are in Ireland we may get a chance to meet?

Regards,

Fiona.

Hello, Fiona!  JUST received your September message!  Have been traveling and not done any ancestry work since our Sept trip to (and all over) Ireland.

Yes, MOM was thrilled to find the church of her great grandparents and the homestead area where her paternal grandmother was raised!  She loved it so much that she hopes to return next year with my other siblings!

The onset of winter weather will give me time to file the information we gathered and begin research on other family branches.  Have 16 g-g-grandparents with 16 surnames from all over Ireland.....lots of ground to cover!!

Would love to meet you and introduce you to my cousins who have retired to Dublin.  They volunteer in non-profits all over the city and pursue family research.  Who knows, you may have met them in the National Archives!!

WILL keep an eye for future communications here and will ask for help with more research!

THANK YOU AGAIN!!  Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season!

Ann Marie

WOW!!!  Tom, that is a great find!  We might have some photos for that Kelleher-Kelliher family if they had relatives who moved to Boston!

Mom is still talking about the trip- and trying to get my other brother interested in a visit within the next year.  I KNOW my husband and I will return- and we will be in touch about those details!

How did you ever find Joe on the top of that hill?!?    :-)

We are very grateful for all the information you found for us!  THANK YOU!

Best wishes to you and yours,

Ann Marie