Isabella Burk, Burke, Bourke

There isn’t a lot of coal in Ireland as I suspect you know. None in Ballyshannon though there was lignite not too far away at Arigna in Co Leitrim. They mined there for about 400 years, with the mine finally closing in the 1990s. So the father might have worked there but more probably he had gone to Scotland to work.  In the 1800s tens of thousands of Irish people went to Scotland (and England) to work in mining and related industries. In contrast to Ireland, Scotland and England had huge amounts of coal, shale and other minerals that could be mined. (Ireland’s comparative lack of natural resources was one of the many reasons why people emigrated).

Hi Elwyn

Thanks for your prompt response and information.

Yes, the other ancestors (Currie) did exactly that and went to Scotland then to NSW as coal miners.

Also a few convicts in the mix.

My dead end is the lack of shipping passenger lists which may give more details on the family.

I have ftDNA matches for the general area but nothing that I can link to.

Ron,

It’s going to be challenging to find out much about the family. The local RC parish for Ballyshannon (Kilbarron) has no records before 1854.