Tracing my Roots in Ireland

This blog is about a month late, so hopefully I remember as much as I can. It's my last Ireland blog :( But appropriate for today, Happy St. Patrick's Day! An incredible, incredible trip! Everyone should go to Ireland at some point in their lives! haha

So last blog was about my stay on Pakie and Irene's farm in Knocknahillah, near Ennis, Clare. I took the bus down to Cork. Here's a map to help you get oriented of where I went this week:

Not bad for a week eh?


I stayed in the Brubar hostel in Cork that night. It had a pretty sweet entrance. It was a bar and a hostel. Oh, Ireland.

The hostel bathroom was definitely designed by a man though. A very tall man.

I didn’t have a lot of time to do my research, it was already around 2 PM and I was heading to Dublin the next day in the afternoon. My goal was to find out what I could on my family history. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, but I know lots of people come to Ireland to do the same thing. Aunt Gail sent me our family tree. We knew that Charles and Nancy Crowley came to Canada in 1825 on a ship called the "Star" with the Peter Robinson settlement. 

I wasn't really sure where to start. I talked to the man at the reception of my hostel. He directed me to the Birth/Death certificate people in Ireland. So I began my hunt with a walk across Cork! I decided to map out where I went, again, so you can have a better perspective of where everything was. (Sorry, the fonts kind of hard to see)

It turned out that the birth/death/marriage certificate place was actually the present day one (as I kind of expected). She said she could do a search for Charles and Nancy, but the records didn’t go back that far (I believe she said they started in 1867?), so my best chance would be to go to the church that they went to. She gave me some articles with advice on how to continue my search. 

The tourist office wasn't too far away, so I thought I'd give it a try to see if they had any advice. The thing is, I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, so it made it hard to ask questions. On my way out, I was taking a picture of the building (so I'd remember it for my blog) just as this nice old Irish man was walking through the door.

He was so sweet! He offered to take a picture of me, but I don't think he's used a digital camera before. He was quite persistent on getting a good shot though. Pretty good for a first try! 

The tourist office recommended that I head to the library, which was just across the road (we're going from 3 to 4 right now).

Cork Public Library

The library had a whole section on Irish geneology, etc. The librarian was super nice, suuuper helpful. He got me some books like these:  

Page 16: Adam Scott

Some familiar names

Callaghan

Charles Crowley! That's who we're looking for! :D

Perrrfect :D

While I was looking at the printed records in this book, the librarian found me micro-something copies of the original ship records!!!

At the bottom:
Charles Crowley
Nancy
John
Murphy
Mary
Norah
Nancy

Turns out that Charles was actually 36, not 34 like the book records say. The librarian told me it was common to have errors in the records due to problems reading the hand-writing. But this writer wrote a 6 and not a 4 in the case of Charles Crowley's age. You can distinguish between his 6 and 4 in the following photo (from another family on the Star). See, I'm not lying!

30
6
4
2
20
See the difference?

I thought this was really cool. Here's the letter about certifying their embarkment from Ireland to Canada!

Now I'll try not to make a copying error:

These are to certify that the Irish Emigrants named
in the within Return, have been embarked on board of
the Star Transport Joseph Becket Masters, at the Cove
of Cork for Papay to Quebec _ That I received those
on board of the ship and was present when they
were mastered by the Robinson on the 10th ____
and that I am satisfied their names and ages are
returned as they were given in on that day by the
reflective Heads of Families

Norman McMorris's Surgeon in Charge

Cove of Cork
10th May 1825

Ballyhooly Cork
122
Lord Ennismore

 This was next to the Crowley's name. They came from Ballyhooly Cork, under Lord Ennismore. Tomorrow's goal: get to Ballyhooly!

I'm going to try and be detailed for the next little bit with regards to what I found about Ballyhooly because I don't want to forget it. I'll focus on the 4 books that were helpful. None if it is going to be cited properly and I'm definitely breaking copyright laws. I'll put in links if you want to look into this information with more detail. If you're not interested, just skip through to the pub!


A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis in 1837

For my family (and those who are interested): Here is the link to a short excerpt about Ballyhooly (or Ballyhooley, or Aghultie) written in 1837 (12 years after the Crowley's emigrated from Ireland) by Samuel Lewis in his book called "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland".
http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/B/Ballyhooley-Fermoy-Cork.php
It has information on many Irish towns during 1837. Very cool! It's amazing that it's all online now and free.



Historical and Topographical Notes by Colonel James Grove White in 1905

Ballyhooly is/was also known as AGHULTIE, meaning Ford of the Apples. Legend has it that St. Patrick had a part in the naming of the town, take a look!  Here's an excerpt explaining how:

An excerpt from Historical and Topographical Notes - Collected by Colonel James Grove White, 1905
http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/northcork/grovewhitenotes/ballyhaytobyblox/ballyhooly.pdf
Page 223-226

" The parish of Ballyhooly is also named Aghultie by Lewis, which is the name he gives the Prebend in his account of Cloyne. Aghultie is from the Irish Ath Ubhla, which became Athull, Aghuld, Aghultie, and so thus the old name of the ford is preserved."  (Historical and Topographical Notes, p 223)

Researches in the South of Ireland by Thomas Crofton Crocker in 1824

Here is an excerpt from "Researches in the South of Ireland", written by Thomas Crofton Crocker in 1824 (the year before the Crowley's came to Canada) about Ballyhooly:

Two miles beyond Creg is Ballyhooley, an inconsiderable village, dignified by the ruins of another and more extensive castle of the Roches, standing on a rock with the present parish church, and the remains of the ancient one—a combination seen to great advantage from Convamore, the domain of Lord Ennismore, whence it affords an excellent subject for the pencil; as these structures give a poetic relief to the massive richness of the surrounding wood which overhangs the winding course of the river.

Thomas Crofton Crocker. Researches in the South of Ireland. 1824. page 130
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/E820000-001/index.html 



The Ford of the Apples: A History of Ballyhooly edited by Christy Roche in 1988. 

Finally, I read a bit of "The Ford of the Apples: A History of Ballyhooly" edited by Christy Roche in 1988.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find this one online so no link, but I took a couple pictures. These pages were about Penal Laws during the 1700s.

They didn't allow Catholic’s to practice their faith. There was a small reward for those who captured Catholic priests. This excerpt talks about a couple of brothers in Ballyhooly around 1695, who were eager to receive the reward, so the planned to arrest Fr. John Walsh at his house across the Blackwater river. Their workman, Peter, overheard them. Although not known to be a swimmer, he swam across on that winter night to warn the priest. Fr. John thanked Peter and blessed him as he was leaving to swim back home, “Go easy Blackwater and do not drown Peter the Fool.” Peter arrived home safely.

I thought it was a neat story to share because it’s incredible that little details like that can be passed on so many years! 

And that sums up my research at the library!


HEY Im gonna talk about the pub soon so you can start reading again!

For supper that night, I decided to support the local farmers (who were probably all distant cousins) and have a 100% Cork-grown meal. I went to the market.

My vegetables and chicken all came from the English Market, and all produce came from local farmers.

Walking back to the hostel, I didn’t feel that far from home.

Yummm

I shared my stirfry with another Canadian from Alberta, and we went out to a pub with a British/German/Dutch mix of a guy. We sat with a couple from England and listened to some “trad” = traditional music. 

 The next morning was my big adventure day! The goal: to see the town where my ancestors came from – Ballyhooly, County Cork!

I took the bus up to Fermoy, the closest town to Ballyhooly with a bus stop (Ballyhooly’s population is less than 1000).

Since a lot of records were burned or destroyed, one of the only places to find records is at the churches. So first stop: St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Fermoy.

The priest wasn't around, so I couldn't ask him if he had any records. Instead, I got a cab 10 km to Ballyhooly.

This is the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ballyhooly. It was built in 1867, so after the Crowley’s emigrated. I had a hard time figuring out where the old Catholic Church was.

I found some newer headstones that said "Crowley."

I wandered down the road to Ballyhooly Castle. It's now owned and sometimes lived in by a family and I think they rent it out.

There was a sign by this well that read:

Ancient Churchyards

Churchyards are situated on either side of Ballyhooly Castle. Halfway down the hill to the East of the Castle is a gate into an ancient graveyard. Amoung the graves is a ruined medieval parish church, which was abandoned in 1694.

Through a gate immediately to the west of the castle you will find the Church of Ireland (Anglican) parish church which occupies a beautiful spot overlooking the river. Lady Listowel laid the foundation stone for brought by horse and cart to Ballyhooly.

That makes sense, Penal Laws came into effect in 1695, so they weren't allowed to practice the Catholic faith. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the ancient Catholic churchyard to see if I could find any "Crowley's" from before 1694. The new graveyard and Catholic Church wasn't built until 1867. I couldn't fill in the 150 year gap between the two churches.

What was cool though, I saw the ancient church of Ireland ruins and graveyard (I believe that's what it was, thats what a local told me anyways).

2012

1905, and it was even considered "ruins" then 

This is inside the church!

I headed down to the old train station, which is now a B&B, but it was neat to think that my ancestors could have caught the train right here to leave for Cork where their ship left. They could have worked these fields next to me, lived in one of these old stone houses. They could have walked on the paths that I was walking. That’s an amazing thought.

I was able to meet with the Catholic parish priest at his house for tea. All the records were at another church a few kms away (Castleroche, I believe, for anyone in my family who plans on going to Ireland!), so I wasn’t able to see any (if they still existed). That was a bit of a bummer. He said he’d email me if he found anything, but it’s been a month and no email, so I’m not sure if they still have any records. Still, it was a really nice visit and I learned a lot of history and he even drove me back to Fermoy to catch my bus to Cork.

Bye Ballyhooly!

Another bus-ride and 3 hours later, I was in Dublin for my last night in Ireland. And where do you spend your last night in Dublin? At some pubs in Temple Bar! 

When I told people I was travelling "alone" to Ireland, the truth is that I was never really alone. The people I meet from all around the world at the pubs, hostels and in the streets made this such an incredible trip! GO TO IRELAND! 

In the morning (a very sleepy morning), I finished off my trip to Ireland with a “Traditional Irish Breakfast” = a lot of food.

Looking out the airport window, what would you see while leaving in Ireland? A little rainbow of course!

Beautiful green fields, I’ll be back someday!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day <><