Into Ireland the First Time

From the time that Elmo O. Barnes, itinerant writer for the Wilmington Advocate, asked me about certain of my relatives in that city and I had no idea how they were part of my personal history, I was moved to learn more about tracing my ancestors. About 1972, I spent considerable time with my mother at the kitchen table in committing to paper diagrams with names, dates, and connections.  

Soon, it became a periodic passion for me to find out everything I could about my parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, cousins, and spouses.

My journey included consultations with Alice Kennedy, Loretta Kennedy Tully, old newspapers, and the history of Will County. I started my most serious search with my dad’s side, the Kennedys.

I knew that the Kennedys came from County Tipperary, Ireland in the 1850’s. Also, on my dad’s side were John Barrett, who emigrated from County Cork, and Mary Walsh, from Waterford. Somehow, I focused on John and Catherine Corcoran Kennedy. My goal: to determine their village or town in Tipperary.

My information indicated that two of John and Katherine’s children arrived in 1853, a full two years before their parents arrived. James and Thomas were only in their early 20’s upon arrival. What events occurred to force or encourage the family to make such a trip? How did they afford it? Whom did they know in New York? What kind of place did they leave behind?

On my first trip to Ireland in 1994 with Dolores, Jane, Kenny, Carole Ann, and Jon, we attempted to learn more by visiting County Heritage centers in Tipperary and in other counties. Being novices in a strange land, we didn’t make much progress, however, until we arrived in Cashel.

For someone who is never seen a structure like this, the Rock of Cashel was breathtaking. It is a castle from the 12^thcentury built on a hill overlooking the countryside in the village called by the same name. It turned out that our bed-and-breakfast, a farmhouse with the name Duala House, was only a few miles from Cashel. We were to stay there for three nights while visiting local sites.

On the first day, we went through local shops and toured the ancient castle. By the end of the second day, we suffered through the rain long enough to stop in the pub, Hennigan’s, to get dry, have a sandwich, and drink a pint of Guinness. We had been on our way to hear a local youth band in concert near the castle.

Kenny was the one who made the decision for all of us to enter into Hennigan’s. The place was crowded, so we scrambled for a place to sit down, and happened to meet two locals, Patrick Leamy and his son, Jeremy. I talked with Pat extensively about my ongoing genealogical search for the village that John and Catherine Kennedy were from. Unlike most Irish that I met, Pat was also interested in learning more about his ancestors. He heard my plight and said that he would keep me in mind if he found anything that might unlock my family mystery.

The next day we left Duala House with our destination to Waterford. Upon arriving at our new bed and breakfast, I was given a message by the owner that Pat Leamy had called me with some helpful information about my search. Pat must have asked the Douala House owner about our specific destination in Waterford, so was able to get word to me. Pat said that a young genealogical researcher in Tipperary Town Heritage Center, proved to be a very competent resource in his research. He gave me her name, Pauline Cumming, and suggested that I visit with her prior to returning to the United States. We did so about a week later.

She spent at least 30 minutes with me asking questions and giving me advice. I paid her 40 pounds and wished her well in her search.

About three weeks after I returned to Denver, I got a letter from her telling me that she had found records of marriage and baptism certificates that clearly matched John and Catherine Kennedy. They had lived Ballingarry, about 20 minutes from the Duala House and Cashel. Thus, the conclusion of my search for the home of the 19^thcentury Kennedys.

Had our trip not included Cashel, had the rain not driven us into Hennigan’s Pub, had I not sat next to Pat Leamy, and had we not told him about our stay at the Duala House – we would have missed our connection to the past.

During the fall and winter of 1994 and 95, I developed a case of got to find out more. Son John and I scheduled a trip to Ireland that summer with the intent of visiting Ballingarry and perhaps finding living descendants of our Kennedys.