St. Patrick's Well, Clonmel. County Tipperary, Ireland

In March I think Irish thoughts. 

I have been looking back at photos from my trip to Ireland in 2012. It was a trip to learn more about my mother's mother's family and to see the beautiful, green island. Here are a few from County Tipperary.

Saint Patrick's Well, 

Clonmel. County Tipperary, Ireland

It is said that St Patrick and St Declan first met at this tranquil site 1,600 years ago. Patrick was journeying south to confront the pagan King of the Déise and Declan feared that Patrick would curse his people. The two holy men resolved their differences and the site was given to Patrick to mark the new friendship. Situated in a sheltered valley with the sound of water echoing all around, St Patrick’s Well, with its ruined church and cross in the centre of the artificial lake, is a beautiful mix of ancient heritage and modern landscaping. It lies just north of Marlfield village, near Clonmel. 

From: Saint Patrick's Well

In 2012 my oldest daughter and I traveled to Ireland. We rented a car and drove around the island. We were both site seeing & researching our Irish roots. One of the first places we went was Clonmel, home of our Daniel Mullane family. Daniel was my 2x great grandfather. 

    The Daniel Mullane family took picnics to Saint Patrick’s Well. Old black and white home movies show the place, easily recognizable by the stone cross. Family stories tell of the dog running away with Aunt Nell’s hat and when he was chased the hat ended up in the water. I was delighted to be be in the same place my ancestors had enjoyed. Now the ancient site is the setting for memories for another generation of our family.

 It was a beautiful. peaceful place. A good place to enjoy nature & think about our family.

St. Patrick has always had a special place in my heart because I was born on his Saint's Day, St. Patrick's Day. So his well near Clonmel is special in many ways.

I have written a book about my mother's family, 

including Coyle,  Brady, Mullane & many more. 

Remembrances

Contact me [cgbp@nycap.rr.com] to purchase a copy of this 344 page book.

A Cup of Irish Tea with Mary Jo

March is time for Irish families & stories. I have Irish ancestors on both sides of my family but mainly from my maternal grandmother, Helen F. Coyle Gardner. Her parents were born in Ireland. Here is her mother, who I never met.

My Great Grandmother

Mary Josephine Mulane Coyle

1867 Ireland – 1927 Bronx, NY

Daughter of Daniel & Brigid (English) Mullane

Married 1895 NY City to Michael Coyle

Mother of seven children

I’'d like to have a cup of tea with Mary Jo. She died just three months before my mother was born. Over time I have uncovered many facts about her life. I know she was born in Ireland and came here to New York in 1885. I know when she was married and the names & birthdays of her seven children. But I’d like to know more than mere facts.

I would cover my table with my Irish linen tablecloth and set it with the delicate china plates and tea cups. I'd brew some Irish tea; I'd lean in and look into her eyes and ask her what it was like to pack her trunk and say good-bye to her brothers, sisters and her parents when she left Ireland. Was she excited about the adventure or was she desperate to find a job opportunity? Did it cross her mind that she would not return to that beautiful green country for many years? 

I’d pour us another cup of tea and I’d ask her about meeting Michael Coyle. Her youngest daughter told me that Mary Jo & Michael were living in the same boarding house and they met on a staircase where it was love at first sight. What was the courtship like? What was it like to get married in New York with her family far across the ocean?

I’d ask her what it was like to be the mother of seven children in New York City in the early 1900s. Her mother was across the ocean. She could not even pick up a phone and call her mother to ask how to handle potty training or how to get her children to sleep through the night. Who did she turn to when she had questions about childbirth and child rearing? Her cousin, who had from Ireland with her had no children. What was motherhood like at that time? What were her fears for her children and her joys? I’m sure it was both different and the same as my days of child rearing. I’d like to hear about the times Mary Jo thought were most precious. What was my grandmother, her oldest child, like as a child, a teenager and as a young woman?

I would like Mary Jo to learn more about her life between the facts and I’d like to tell her about my life. I am now older than she ever became. I can tell her how joyous it is to be a grandmother, something she never achieved. It would be nice to sit and sip tea and share some Irish brown bread and talk about life. 

I have written a book about my mother's family, 

including Coyle, Brady, Mullane & many more. 

Remembrances

Contact me [cgbp@nycap.rr.com] to purchase a copy of this 344 page book.

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• Sailing from Cobh, Ireland
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Book Report: Tracing Your Irish Family History

March is here and my thoughts turn to my Irish roots. Do you have roots that stretch back to the Emerald Isle? Are you unsure how to start learning more about your connection? This book is a good place to begin learning more about Ireland and how to start your search.

 

Tracing Your Irish Family History

 

By Anthony Adolph

Published Firefly Books Ltd.

2009

 

Sections:

 

Tracing back to Ireland: first steps

Tracing back to Ireland: country by country

Tracing your roots in Ireland

Tracing ancient Irish roots

 

 

This is for people who are beginning their Irish research. It is filled with useful tips. The book itself is beautiful: well-organized, filled with photographs, charts, drawings, maps and more. It makes me want to turn the pages and release the treasures inside. I have moved past this level of Irish research but I keep this book on hand and revisit it for inspiration.

 

“Unless your family has never left Ireland, the very first step in researching your Irish family history is to trace back to your migrant ancestor.”

 

As with any genealogy research, Mr. Adolph suggests beginning with what you know. Talk to your family and gather any data, stories, photographs, certificates, etc. The author gives a list of questions to ask your family members. Hopefully you will find an Irish storyteller who is happy to share. Write it all down. 

 

Learn about Irish history and the reasons your ancestor may have left the beautiful green island. The book includes brief looks into the history without getting too deep or complex. You can always learn more later.

 

Once you have a general idea of who and what you want to learn, suggestions are given on where to begin learning. Mr. Adolph details how to use and what you will find in each of these resources:

 

• Archives

• Civil Registration records

• Directories

• Religious records

• Newspapers

• Biographical dictionaries

• Wills

• Shipping Lists

• Local histories

 

 

Once you have an idea of who you are researching and what resources are available, it is important to narrow down you search. The book explains the divisions in Ireland: parishes, dioceses, baronies, counties and provinces. This is an important step in locating your family.

 

“The technique is to find out through ‘localizing’ families of the right surname were living at the time your ancestor left.”

 

Pick up this book and I guarantee you will learn a new road to your Irish research and it will be a road through a beautiful green counrtyside.

 

 

 

Do you have a favorite book about Ireland?

Share it in the comments.

MY LIBRARY

At the top of this blog, click on My Library for many more books that I have found useful for genealogical & historical research.

 

 

 

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Happy St.Patrick's Day!

 

Wishing you always...

Walls for the wind, 

A roof for the rain

And tea beside the fire.

Laughter to cheer you, 

Those you love near you, 

And all that your heart may desire.

An Irish Blessing for you on St. Patrick's Day, my birthday!

Colleen

My Irish Surnames:

from both sides of my family

Brady

Coyle

Cunningham

Dillon

Hogan

Gibney

Kelly
Mullane

Sullivan

I have written a book about my mother's family, including Coyle, Brady, Mullane & many more. 

Contact me [cgbp@nycap.rr.com] to purchase a copy of this 344 page book.

My Irish Roots

 My Irish Surnames: 

Brady, Coyle, Cunningham, English, Hogan, Mullane, Sullivan

My Irish roots are mostly connected to my maternal grandmother's family. My Nana was born in New York City but her parents were from Ireland. Her father, Michael Coyle, would open all their New York City's apartment's windows on St. Patrick's Day. He would play Irish songs on the piano and sing loudly. His wife would complain of the noise. He would say he wanted everyone to know they were Irish! I cannot play a piano and my singing is not good but I do share Michael's thoughts. I do want everyone to know I am Irish!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

My Nana,

Helen Francis (Coyle) Gardner

1897 NY - 1965 NY

Daughter of:

Michael Coyle & Mary Josephine Mullane

This chart gives the details of my Irish Roots.

Are you connected? Let's talk.

Related Posts:

• My Irish Roots, 2021
• Michael Coyle
• My Ireland Trip

I have written a book about my mother's family, including Coyle, Brady, Mullane & many more. 

Contact me [cgbp@nycap.rr.com] to purchase a copy of this 344 page book.

Book Report: Irish Families, Great & Small

 March is time for Irish families & stories. I have Irish ancestors on both sides of my family. Maybe you do too. Here is a book you may want to read & learn from.

Volume IV of the Irish Families, Great & Small:

Families of County Cork by Michael C. O’Laughlin

Kansas City, Missouri: The Irish Genealogical Foundation.

1999

“Co. Cork is the largest county in the province of Munster, and in all of Ireland. To the east are counties Tipperary and Waterford. To the north is Limerick, and to the west is Co. Kerry. Co. Cork is given as holding some 700,000 inhabitants in the year 1831.”

This small hardcover book begins with maps and a brief history of County Cork including mentions of the Normans, Vikings, ancient bloodlines, tribes and invasions. There are several maps of the county, drawn at different times in the history of the county.

The bulk of the book is an alphabetical list of surnames with related spellings and a history of the family name. Some histories fill a column and others a single line. Of course, the families I am interested in have brief histories.

I am interested in the English & Mullane families. I found this for those surnames:

ENGLISH

“Several of the name are given in an 1851 census of the Union of Kilworth in Co. Cork.” 

MULLANE

“Mullan. A name found centered in Cork for several centuries, and linked with Macroom there.” 

There is also a listing of Cork Placenames. 

“A selection of placenames found in 17th – 20th Century Records including Modern Parishes, Unions & Registrars Districts.” 

For further research the Addendum has a list of works that are “good examples of published sources available to those researching their Cork roots.” They can be found in the Irish Genealogical Foundation library. There is also a list of Irish repositories for Cork research.

I had hoped to discover more about the English & Mullane surnames in this book. However, there are some names with more extensive information. The value of this work for your research depends on which surname you are researching.

MY LIBRARY

At the top of this blog, click on My Library for many more books that I have found useful for genealogical & historical research.

My Irish 2x Great Grandparents

March is time for Irish families & stories. I have Irish ancestors on both sides of my family but mainly from my maternal grandmother, Helen F. Coyle Gardner.

In April 2012 I was able to visit County Cavan, Ireland where my 2x great grandparents lived and were married. With St. Patrick's Day coming, it seems a good time to repost my photos.

  Patrick Coyle

20 May 1841 Ireland – 21 June 1925 CT

Son of Michael Coyle & Mary Cunningham

Margaret Brady

c 1855 Ireland – 22 November 1934 CT

Daughter of Thomas Brady & Catherine Gibney

Married

11 February 1870, Saint Mary's Church

County Cavan, Ireland

Patrick Coyle & Margaret Brady, CT

Marriage Record for Patrick Coyle and Margaret Brady, 11 February 1870, Roman Catholic Chapel of Carrick, Registar's District of Finea, in the Union of Granard, in the County of Cavan.

Marriage Record for Patrick Coyle and Margaret Brady, 11 February 1870, Roman Catholic Chapel of Carrick, Ballymachugh Parish Records, Register 33b, Page 7, Cavan Genealogy, Johnston Central Library, Farnham Street, Cavan, Ireland.

St. Mary's Church

Photo taken during my 2012 Trip to Ireland.
Location of the wedding of Patrick & Margaret Coyle.

Parents of:

Michael Coyle 

Bernard Coyle

Catherine Coyle

Maria Coyle

Patrick Joseph Coyle

Margaret Coyle

Thomas Albert Coyle

James Joseph Coyle

Bridget Imelda Coyle Kelly

Maryanne Coyle Cass

William Paul Coyle

I have written a book about my mother's family, including Coyle, Brady, Mullane & many more. 

Contact me [cgbp@nycap.rr.com] to purchase a copy of this 344 page book.

Forget Me Not: Albert O. Brumfield, 1956

This obituary gives lots of genealogy information but I wish it told more about Albert himself. 

 

Albert Oliver Brumfield

13 October 1884 MS – 9 August 1956 MS

Youngest child of Joseph Warren Brumfield & Courtney Jane Simmons

Husband of Ruby Simmons

 

A. O. Brumfield Passes at 72 – Rites Sunday

 

Final rites were conducted Saturday at 10 a. m. for Albert Oliver (Ab) Brumfield, 72, who died at his home in the Walker’s Bridge Community Thursday at 8:15 p. m. following a lengthy illness.

 

Mr. Brumfield was a retired employee of the Mississippi State Highway Department. He was the son of Joseph W. and Jane Simmons Brumfield.

 

Pallbearers were Meade Brumfield, Thad Brumfield, Stanley Brumfield, Jamie Brumfield, Joe Reid Brumfield and Robert E. Lee. Honary pallbearers were members of the Mississippi State Highway Department.

 

Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Ruby Brumfield; five sons, Pat H. Brumfield, Mike C. Brumfield of McComb; George Albert Brumfield of Moss Point; Robert Lee Brumfield, New Orleans; Albert O. Brumfield, Jr., Tylertown; six daughters, Mrs. Paul B. Wayne of Florence, Mrs. Sammy Mineo of Scranton,Pa., Mrs. James Woodward, New Orleans, Mrs. J. W. Magee, Ponchayoula, Miss Ruby and Pearl Brumfield of Natchez; three sisters, Mrs. W. D. Fortenberry, Magnolia, Mrs. Fletcher Brumfield [Mattie Hannah Brumfield], Miss Mag Brumfield [Maggie Mae Brumfield], both of Tylertown; two brothers, Frank Brumfield [Frank Richard Brumfield] and D. J. Brumfield [Dewitt Jackson Brumfield], both of Magnolia; 18 grandchildren also survive.

 

Internment was held in the Brumfield Cemetery at Walker’s Bridge with Hartman Funeral Home of Tylertown in charge of arrangements.

 

 

Source: A. O. Brumfield Passes at 72 – Rites Sunday (McComb, MS, Enterprise – Journal, 13 Aug 1956) 3; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed Feb. 2023.