O'Neill of Cratloe

O'Neill of Cratloe Backgound Ballintlea in 1833 The Cratloe Register - Ballintlea The Cratloe Register - NO locations Tithe Applotments : KILLEELY Dated May 1833 Cratloe-Sixmilebridge History

O'Neill

 

There is a bit of mystery as to the origins of my ancestor James O'Neill, born in Co Clare, son of James and Bridget McMahon. This is a report prepared by Sean O'Neill, genealogist, on my behalf.

 

Backgound

According to birth and death records in Australia, my James O'Neill was born around 1830, and was the son of James O'Neill and Bridget McMahon.

 

John writes: "Since there is no doubt that James b.c. 1830 is the son of James O Neill and Bridget McMahon what we have to do firstly is examine exactly what the CRATLOE RC parish register covers. It seems to cover the areas of the Civil Parish of Kilfintinan and a very small part of Killeely, the rest of which seems to be covered by Parteen & Meelick in county Limerick.

 

There is no doubt that James O'Neill and Bridget McMahon and their children are named in this "CRATLOE" register. But there is DEFINITELY no children after 1827. Their only known son with the name James O Neill was born in 1822.

 

If James O Neill b.c. 1830 arrived in Australia only in the year 1856 then its unlikely that James & Bridget O'Neill left with their children before that date (that’s if they ever arrived in Australia at all?). It could be that James and Bridget O Neill emigrated to England (Liverpool/Manchester area) circa 1824-32 and that their son James O Neill there born in 1829-30 (2nd James) or 1822 (1st James) left for Australia, not from Clare, but from England.

 

There is no sign of James O Neill and his wife Bridget after 1827 or their children. Firstly I examined the Tithe Applotments for Kilfintinan dated Oct. 1833 and there is definitely NO James O Neill named as a tenant or freeholder at BALLINTLEA. I dont think there is any doubt that your James O Neill & Bridget McMahon and family were at BALLINTLEA in 1813-28. None of the McMahons or anyone else in BALLINTLEA ever had more than 8 acres each in 1833 or before. By 1850s and 60s the land had come under the control of fewer people and their acreage increased.

 

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/tithe_applot/kilfintinan_tab.htm

 

Going by this it would seem that James O Neill and family had much less than 8 acres in 1813 (perhaps even just a house and a few acres). Bridget McMahon was probably the sister of Michael McMahon and Andrew McMahon of Ballintlea. With no O Neills left in Ballintlea in 1833 it would appear that James O Neill must have gotten a lease on some land at Ballintlea c. early 1800s purely by his relationship to the McMahons, after his marriage with Bridget McMahon. After 1813 he has to have emigrated with his children otherwise Ballintlea would have been covered with O Neills by the 1850s.

 

JAMES O'NEILL & BRIDGET McMAHON only had one son called JAMES O NEILL and he was bapt. 25th JUNE 1822. If your James O'Neill declared that he was the son of this couple, and from Clare, then his age is completely wrong. This is not a surprise as many Irish people messed around with their ages espically as they got older. I can see that even the birth records of James O'Neill's children in Australia show a massive 7 year difference. The earliest being 1829.

 

I dont know why he changed his age but it almost seems certain that he did. The only other possibilty is that James O'Neill of 1822 died and another James O Neill was born elsewhere in 1829-30 to James O Neill and Bridget McMahon (but this must have happened while the couple and their children were on the move as you can be certain no other children were born to this couple in CRATLOE after 1827). But you have to go by the records and these do not show any other James O Neill born after 1822.

 

 

 

 

Ballintlea in 1833

 

These are the names of those present in Ballintlea in 1833 :

 

 

The townland just to the north of this townland is called CASTLEQUARTER :

 

 

So we can be certain no O'Neills lived in this area in 1833.

 

Ballintlea South in 1850S

In 1850s-60s these were the tenants at Ballintlea South:

 

 

The Cratloe Register - Ballintlea

 

EXTRACTS from the CRATLOE register :

 

 

also :

 

 

While this could be Bridget O Neill born 1823 dau. of James O Neill and Bridget McMahon it may actually be a Bridget O Neill of the Cratloe O Neills. I see no Sarah O Neill connection to James & Bridget O Neill. I do see that a Sarah O Neill was sponsor along with Eugene O Neill at the bapt. of SARAH O NEILL 12th July 1846 the dau. of Thomas O'Neill and Mary Healy of CRATLOE. Sp: Margaret Flynn. So I would think that Bridget and Sarah O NEILL named at Ballintlea in 1854 are sisters of Thomas O Neill of Cratloe.

 

 

The locations were only listed in the late 1840s and before that there is no Locations indicated. I can see no other option for the absence of James O Neill from Ballintlea after 1813-24 in that he must have emigrated to somewhere else.

 

The Cratloe Register - NO locations

 

 

Tithe Applotments : KILLEELY Dated May 1833

 

In this parish was found a lot of O Neills including two JAMES O NEILLs. This parish is supposedly covered by Parteen and Meelick RC register in Limerick which are mostly just over the Limerick border but also partially in Co.Clare. These would not be named in CRATLOE register.

 

 

I looked for the various surnames of the sponsors which appeared with the children of James and Bridget O Neill in Cratloe register and strangely none to be found in Killeely or Kilfintinan TITHES in 1833.

 

The only ones that may have some relievance are found in KNOCKBRACK :

 

 

I did find one sponsor in CRATLOE register connected to James O Neill - JOHN MORISSY. His name also occurs just before James O Neill's in 1819:

 

 

His name John MORISSY is not to be found anywhere in Kilfintinan or Killeely in 1833 nor is any other Morrissey or Morissy found for that matter. So perhaps he also emigrated at this time c. 1824-32 with James O Neill and family and others ?

 

Cratloe-Sixmilebridge History

 

"The Irish for Cratloe is Creat Shaileóg,or Creath Saileág which means 'the rough land of the sallow trees' or 'the rough place where the sallies grow'. However, the original name is sometimes given as Croit Shliabh, which means a 'humped back mountain'.

 

The original parish name was Kilfintinan before it became known as Cratloe. There is no Irish saint listed as Fintinan and so it is believed that the parish name is derived from Cill Fionn tSeanain, which means 'the church of the fair Senan'. Due to the shortage of clergy in the mid-18th century, the priests in Kilfintinan took over part of the neighbouring parish of Killeely.

Oak from Cratloe Woods was used to roof the Houses of Parliament at Westminster and the Royal Palace at Amsterdam.

 

In the parish there is a number of castles, namely Cratloe Moyle, Cratloe More, Ballintlea (also known as Castle Quarter), Castle Donnell and Cratloe Keel. The MacNamara family built these castles between the 15th and 17th centuries. Cratloe Moyle has the largest ruin, but the ruins of Cratloekeel, Castle Donnell and Ballintlea castle are still in existence.

 

Bunratty Castle is a 15th Century castle which was a stronghold of the Earls of Thomond. Limerick was under the rule of the Confederate troops at this time. The castle was under the control of Admiral Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn. Admiral Penn surrendered after a long and bloody siege and sailed away to Kinsale. Bunratty Castle is now a popular tourist attraction and there is also a Folk Park on the site.""