1991 Tracing your past frustrations +.
After ten years following my father's death in 1981, I had reached an impasse in my family history researches.
I had managed thro all of the usual sources to get back to a Charles Byrne listed as No 4. on the Shearman Pedigree.
I had to get beyond him to prove we were, as family folklore had it, related to the famous Feaghe Mc Hugh O'Byrne
of Glenmalure, the Sherman tree indicated that he was related to Gerald Byrne of Ballinakill.
There is a Ballinakill in every county in Ireland, the one in Co. Wicklow did not produce any relationships so I decided that
a trip to Ballinakill, Clonmore in County Carlow was necessary.
So off I went, the first of, on the ground research !
Clonmore is an out of the way sleepy place with ,one pub, no shop, two churches with their ancient graveyards along with a modern church outside of the hamlet and most of all a very large ruined Norman Castle.
All tombstones were duly and carefully examined, but there was no Charles or Edmund.
I decided then to visit Ballinakill some two miles down the road, there I met Ned Cashin, the current owner of the Byrne's old homestead and lands.
Whilst he confirmed the Byrnes had lived there he told me they originally sold the land to his family and moved to Moone in Co. Wicklow.
He also informed me that the last of the Byrnes of Ballinakill, William, was buried in the Graveyard of the new RC church, This I subsequently confirmed.
Another cul de Sac !
However he did suggest I should contact the Local historian Eddie McDonald, so back up the road to Eddies place.
He listened with much interest to my story and the invited me to come back down to the old RC Graveyard, Eddie loaded up his tractor along with his Shovel and spades and I followed him back to square one.
Eddie went straight to a nice grassy spot and started gently digging.
Lo and behold, under 3 inches of earth up came Charles Byrne of Sleaty!
It was a very badly mutilated memorial stone but most of the inscriptions were clearly legible. The stone contained a variation of the standard Byrne Crest and his Name and some personal inscriptions.
Eddie said that he knew for years that the stone was there but did not have much information on Charles. Back at his house over the traditional cup of tea he went thro with me his own historical references, theses included a copy of 'The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland' dated 1912 and written by Lord Edward Fitzgerald who visited Clonmore and had recorded Charle's stone but even more located the Vault of Edmund Gaungagh mc Hugh O'Birn beside Charles resting place.
It took me nearly ten years but my day was made and this opened up a whole new adventure into my families past.
The following Sunday I went back to Clonmore and with Eddie and my Wife Anne, Cathal, Kate and Roland and we spent the day digging out all of the accumulated rubbish and earth below a dip in the ground were Eddie knew of a vault. After much sweat etc we unearthed a stone lined enclosure witha blocked up entrance, This had to be the family Vault of the O'Byrnes of Clonmore Castle and Ballinakill. Unfortunaely the were no inscriptions, but Fitzgerald' s book described the vault as in 1912 along with the inscriptions about Edmund Gaungagh.
Afternote: the following day Eddie had a visit from the Local Garda sargent but his mind was put to rest as we were only clearing up the grave !
Today 2012 the stone is still visible but the locals still use the Vault entrance as a rubbish dump from the annual cleaning up of the Graveyard.
My heartfelt gratitude to Eddie and his lovely wife Peig who has now sadly left us. Also to another local historian Jim Kinsella who filled me in on the more recent Byrnes of Ballinakill.
Certavi et Vici
Val Byrne
1st Jan 2012
After ten years following my father's death in 1981, I had reached an impasse in my family history researches.
I had managed thro all of the usual sources to get back to a Charles Byrne listed as No 4. on the Shearman Pedigree.
I had to get beyond him to prove we were, as family folklore had it, related to the famous Feaghe Mc Hugh O'Byrne
of Glenmalure, the Sherman tree indicated that he was related to Gerald Byrne of Ballinakill.
There is a Ballinakill in every county in Ireland, the one in Co. Wicklow did not produce any relationships so I decided that
a trip to Ballinakill, Clonmore in County Carlow was necessary.
So off I went, the first of, on the ground research !
Clonmore is an out of the way sleepy place with ,one pub, no shop, two churches with their ancient graveyards along with a modern church outside of the hamlet and most of all a very large ruined Norman Castle.
All tombstones were duly and carefully examined, but there was no Charles or Edmund.
I decided then to visit Ballinakill some two miles down the road, there I met Ned Cashin, the current owner of the Byrne's old homestead and lands.
Whilst he confirmed the Byrnes had lived there he told me they originally sold the land to his family and moved to Moone in Co. Wicklow.
He also informed me that the last of the Byrnes of Ballinakill, William, was buried in the Graveyard of the new RC church, This I subsequently confirmed.
Another cul de Sac !
However he did suggest I should contact the Local historian Eddie McDonald, so back up the road to Eddies place.
He listened with much interest to my story and the invited me to come back down to the old RC Graveyard, Eddie loaded up his tractor along with his Shovel and spades and I followed him back to square one.
Eddie went straight to a nice grassy spot and started gently digging.
Lo and behold, under 3 inches of earth up came Charles Byrne of Sleaty!
It was a very badly mutilated memorial stone but most of the inscriptions were clearly legible. The stone contained a variation of the standard Byrne Crest and his Name and some personal inscriptions.
Eddie said that he knew for years that the stone was there but did not have much information on Charles. Back at his house over the traditional cup of tea he went thro with me his own historical references, theses included a copy of 'The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland' dated 1912 and written by Lord Edward Fitzgerald who visited Clonmore and had recorded Charle's stone but even more located the Vault of Edmund Gaungagh mc Hugh O'Birn beside Charles resting place.
It took me nearly ten years but my day was made and this opened up a whole new adventure into my families past.
The following Sunday I went back to Clonmore and with Eddie and my Wife Anne, Cathal, Kate and Roland and we spent the day digging out all of the accumulated rubbish and earth below a dip in the ground were Eddie knew of a vault. After much sweat etc we unearthed a stone lined enclosure witha blocked up entrance, This had to be the family Vault of the O'Byrnes of Clonmore Castle and Ballinakill. Unfortunaely the were no inscriptions, but Fitzgerald' s book described the vault as in 1912 along with the inscriptions about Edmund Gaungagh.
Afternote: the following day Eddie had a visit from the Local Garda sargent but his mind was put to rest as we were only clearing up the grave !
Today 2012 the stone is still visible but the locals still use the Vault entrance as a rubbish dump from the annual cleaning up of the Graveyard.
My heartfelt gratitude to Eddie and his lovely wife Peig who has now sadly left us. Also to another local historian Jim Kinsella who filled me in on the more recent Byrnes of Ballinakill.
Certavi et Vici
Val Byrne
1st Jan 2012
GENERATION No. 9 Edmund mac Hugh Gaungagh
B. abt. 1652. He married Inin Hugh Rua ( the daughter of red haired Hugh)
He died 20th Oct 1737 and was buried in the Byrne Vault in Clonmore
Had Issue:
Murtagh, John, Anne, Charles. (of Sleaty)
B. abt. 1652. He married Inin Hugh Rua ( the daughter of red haired Hugh)
He died 20th Oct 1737 and was buried in the Byrne Vault in Clonmore
Had Issue:
Murtagh, John, Anne, Charles. (of Sleaty)
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