A Trip to Kilmore & Drumnsa (Part 2)

It has only taken me 10 years to post the second part of this narrative. How time flies when you should be doing genealogy! The account below is based on my original notes from 2011 but with some additions (indicated by the text in italics). 

The first part of this narrative describes how Dad, his cousin Adrienne and I drove up to Kilmore, Co. Roscommon in search of our O'Carroll / Dockery roots. We visited the local church where Joseph O'Carroll & Maria Jane Dockery got married and took photos of the stained glass window dedicated to the memory of Maria Jane. We also searched the local graveyard for O'Carroll or Dockery gravestones, but were not able to find anything of particular relevance (a lot of the gravestones were illegible). This part of the narrative (below) relates to my great great great grandfather Hugh Dockery (c1800-1861) and his wife Joan/Jane Simpson (c1801-1881).

After visiting the graveyard, we went back into Kilmore to see if we could find where Hugh Dockery used to live.

Griffiths Valuation (from the AskAboutIreland website) reveals that Hugh was present in Kilmore in 1858. He was leasing Lot 1g and Lot 4 in the townland of Kilmore, and probably lots 5 and 6a in the townland of Skeagh next door to the east:

• Lot 1g, House, Offices and land, leased from Alicia J Auchmuty, including the Post Office so presumably he was postmaster. The house value was £2, higher than his neighbours so it must have been more upmarket. He was right beside the Police Barracks.
• Lot 4, Land, acreage 6,3,1 (acres, roods, perches); value £4,15,0 (pounds, shillings & pence), on which there was a house (4a) rented to Edward Berne (5s).
• He may also have had land in the adjacent townland of Skeagh, Lots 5 and 6a. Lot 5 was 3 acres of land (£2), Lot 6a acreage was 23,1,22 (£13,15,0) and incorporated "Herd'sho.off.&ld.(ptbog)", the house valued at £1,5,0.

Hugh Dockery appears in several places in Griffiths Primary Valuation
(note the various spellings of both his names - Hubert, Doherty, Dockry)

You will see from the above that there was a John Simpson, Ecclesiastical Commissioner, living in the Sexton's House, which was beside the church & graveyard. Was he related to Joan Simpson, Hugh's wife? Possibly her father?

Following Griffiths "Primary" Valuation, there were subsequent evaluations every few years all the way up to the present day. These subsequent valuations were recorded in the Land Valuation Books. When these became "full", a new book was started and the previous one was "cancelled". These Cancelled Land Valuation Books are available in the Valuation Office in Dublin, and chart the changes in ownership of the various lots of land over the course of time.

The coloured maps on the AskAboutIreland website are later than the original Primary Valuation maps (1848-1864). And because the lot numbers and acreage changed over the years, the numbers on the later maps do not necessarily correspond with the numbers in Griffiths Primary Valuation. The numbers and acreage on the AskAboutIreland map match up with the 1882 values (in the Cancelled Land Valuation Books from the Valuation Office) but not with the values before this.

From the Cancelled Land Valuation Books, we can surmise the following:

• It seems that Hugh died in 1861. His name is crossed out and "Jane" (his wife Joan?) is written in in 1862 at Lots 1g and 4. Also, the name Doherty is corrected to Dockery at 1g.
• In 1864, Jane appears to have sold the 6.75 acres at Lot 4 to Patrick Cox who already owned the property at the adjoining Lot 3 (2.75 acres), and a new Lot of 9.5 acres is created.
• In 1871, Jane Dockery is still leasing the same house (but it is now called 1f not 1g). 
• In 1882, Jane's name is crossed out and "John Gannon" is inserted in its place.
• According to a newspaper report, Jane died in 1881 in Dublin at the home of her daughter Catherine and her husband John Gibney (1 Haymarket, Smithfield, just north of the river Liffey). She is not buried in Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin, so will we find her in Kilmore? with Hugh? Some graveyard records are available for the Kilmore graveyard but there are none of our family listed there.
• John Gannon is still in Kilmore in the 1901 census (Barony Ballintober North, Parish Kilmore, Poor Law Union Carrick-on-Shannon, DED Cloonteem in 1901 but Cloonfeem in 1911, Townland Kilmore). He is 62, married to Kate (57) and they have 4 children aged 12 to 20. The dwelling is described as a public house and he is a farmer and publican. And he is still there in the 1911 census but his wife has passed.
• Also in 1871, the acreage described in the Cancelled Book are now more in keeping with the later map (1880s), and from this we can conclude that the 9 acre lot now owned by Patrick Cox (that used to contain Lot 4 owned by Hugh Dockery) is located within Lot 5 on the coloured map below. This is possibly/probably close to the land Hugh owned in Skeagh townland next door.
• Sticking with 1871, Lot 4 on the map now refers to the Church, Sexton’s House and graveyard (i.e. the Church of Ireland church that we visited). 
• This is where John Simpson lived in 1858 but back then it was called area 1o, and he was leasing the Sexton’s House from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. This was exempt (from rent). He was still there in 1864 but his name is omitted in 1871 (which suggests he may have died during this time).
• There is no sign of him (or any other Simpson’s) in Kilmore in the 1901 census.

Note: I need to check my photocopies of the Cancelled Books (I have them at home).

Kilmore townland (about 1858) - Lot numbers are not included, but note the
"Peace Police Barracks" on the left - this marks Lot 1(from FindmyPast)

Kilmore townland (early 1880s) - Lot 4 is now toward the centre, and includes
the Church of Ireland church. This is not the same lot as Lot 4 in 1858.
(click to enlarge)

It appears that Hugh Dockery was a man with a career portfolio. As well as being the local postmaster, he ran the local grocery store and the pub. In addition, he was a Prebendiary Magistrate, which meant that he had some dealings with the church, but what the exact nature of his duties were remains uncertain. It also turns out he was the local Petty Sessions clerk (for Kilmore & Drumsna). Note that the Petty Sessions house was at 1i, 2 doors down from Hugh on the other side of the Police Barracks.

On the way back from the graveyard, we were lucky enough to bump into a local woman (Ann) and her daughter, who were gardening on the side of the road. When we asked if they knew where the old Post Office was, Ann said they were living in it! Apparently she now occupies the house that used to belong to Hugh Dockery. She informed us it had been a Post Office, a grocer’s shop, and a pub, so it must have been the heart and soul of the village. The post box used to be at the right end of the house as you face it. This immaculately kept thatched cottage is now a grade II listed building and sits beside the old Police Barracks.

The house of Hugh Dockery & Joan/Jane Simpson

The left side of the house was living quarters and the right side of the house was the grocery store and pub, as well as the Post Office. The postbox sat in the wall at the far right end of the house so that people could post their letters into it from the outside.

It was particularly gratifying to find the actual house where my ancestors lived. I felt a particularly keen sense of rootedness, knowing that this is where they passed their lives - growing up, working, socialising, being part of a larger family. It really was a joy and a privilege to discover this ancestral homestead, despite the passage of time. I felt honoured to know that I was walking in their footsteps, seeing the scenery that they would have seen, being in the presence of their spirit.

And to discover this with my Dad was extra special.

Dad and cousin Adrienne standing beside where the postbox used to be
(in the wall at the gable end)

Chatting with some local people

The old Police Barracks

The house evidently continued as a post office after Hugh & Joan/Jane had passed away. Looking at the 1901 and 1911 censuses, there is a Rodger Carroll (a baker, aged 46 in 1901, hence born 1854, but dead by 1911) living at no.3 with his wife Eliza (postmistress), their 2 children (Mary 22 & Thomas 17) and 2 boarders. Thomas later became Postmaster and died in 1962 - we found his headstone in the graveyard (see below). He married Rebecca after 1911 (d 1947) and they had May (d 1932), Thomas (d 1976), Kathleen (d 1994), and Patrick (d 1995).

Thomas Carroll, subsequent postmaster, is buried in the graveyard
of the Church of Ireland church at the other end of the village

The Church & graveyard

We left Kilmore and headed north to cross the river at Drumsna, where my grandfather HT (Hugh Thomas) O'Carroll was supposedly born (although he could have been born in Kilmore itself). Drumsna is on a slow rolling bend of the River Shannon and the surrounding area is very picturesque. 

The bridge at Drumsna, from the Roscommon side

The bridge from the Leitrim side

On the banks of the river (me and cousin Adrienne)

Two old wrecks - one in the water, one out

Looking south, down the River Shannon

Drumsna was home to the famous author Anthony Trollope and was apparently the inspiration for his novel "The McDermotts of Ballycloran". It is quite possible that Hugh Dockery and his children knew Mr Trollope very well ... he worked for the Post Office!

Anthony Trollope 1815-1882 - "The Irish people did not murder me, nor did they even break my head. I soon found them to be good-humoured, clever - the working classes very much more intelligent than those of England - economical and hospitable" ... obviously he was talking about the Dockery's.

A Trip to Kilmore and Drumsna (part 1)

Here is an updated trip report from 2011 about our search for the origins of our O'Carroll line.

Drumsna is in Co. Leitrim,
Kilmore & Dangan, Co. Roscommon
(click for  Google map)

On 20 June 2011, Dad, his cousin Adrienne, and I paid a visit to the ancestral home of the Dockery’s and the O’Carroll’s.

Family lore has it that Joseph O'Carroll was born (about 1840) in Drumsna,  Co. Leitrim - a picturesque village on the banks of the Shannon, and the inspiration for Anthony Trollope's novel "The McDermotts of Ballycloran". Trollope worked there in the Post office in 1843.

Just across the border in Co. Roscommon is the small village of Kilmore, where Maria Joan Dockery was living prior to her marriage to Joseph O'Carroll in 1867. They were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel at Dangan, about half a mile from Kilmore.  The two villages are separated by the slow moving Shannon river as it meanders along the upper portions of its course. Kilmore is just a 2 hour jaunt from Dublin on the N4 and we arrived at about 3.30 in the afternoon.

Rev Edward Keough

Our first stop was St Brigid’s RC Chapel at Dangan. The church was built in 1842 by the Reverend Edward Keough, parish priest of Kilmore, who was the officiating priest at the marriage of Joseph O’Carroll and Maria Joan Dockery (according to their 1867 marriage cert).

Drumsna (blue marker),
Dangan (pink) & Kilmore (green)
(click here for Google map)

It also houses the stained glass window that James J Kerrigan describes in his reminiscences, written in 1943 and addressed to his children. In the extract below, GMK & GFK are GrandMother Kerrigan & GrandFather Kerrigan - the latter being James Patrick Kerrigan 1858-1936), the former Margaret Mary ("Doatie") O'Carroll (1870-1928):

“There is a beautiful stained glass window in the church donated by G.M.K & G.F.K in memory of your paternal great grandmother Maria O’Carroll, nee Dockery. I am unable to be sure of my spelling but it sounds like Daugnion where the church is located just before you come into Kilmore approaching from Drumsna.”

In fact, according to the inscription, the window was erected by GMK, not GFK. The window was designed and executed by Joshua Clarke (d1921), father of Harry Clarke (a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement). His address is at the bottom of the cartoon (33 Nth Frederick St, Dublin).

We think the window shows the celebration of a mass by Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, an Augustinian Friar who ministered to the people of Tolentino (near the east coast of central Italy) during a time of prolonged civil strife. He quietly performed miracles and had a great devotion to the recently deceased, frequently having visions of Purgatory. This earned him the designation, the Patron of Holy Souls. 

The window shows a priest at mass (with the typical tonsure of a monk) holding the Blessed Eucharist (as distinct from Saint Nicholas Bread). An Augustinian Friar (presumably) kneels at the foot of the altar and prays with rosary beads. In the background, souls in Purgatory are being rescued by angels who then carry them into heaven. Apparently, people who commissioned works such as these would occasionally be incorporated into the picture. So one of the faces in the background might be that of Margaret Mary O'Carroll.

Cartoon of the design

The window in Dangan RC Chapel

Detail including inscription

Interestingly the inscription at the base of the window differs slightly from that in the cartoon of the window, presumably the template from which the later window was executed. Another unusual feature of the inscription is the absence of any mention of Margaret Mary's father, Joseph O'Carroll. It only mentions her mother. This is rather odd and could suggest that there was a falling out between the children and their father. Did he abandon the family? Why is the mother mentioned but not the father? This is the subject of much ongoing speculation.

St Brigid's RC Chapel, Dangan

Across the road from the church, we popped into Flynn’s grocery store and as luck would have it, we bumped into a lady called Ann James [1] (nee Murray McDermott), and we chatted to her and Mr Flynn about our quest for O’Carroll’s, Dockery’s and Simpson’s. We gleaned several pieces of useful information from this encounter. Apparently, most of the Catholic residents of Kilmore would have been buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard as it had been consecrated for Catholics. Furthermore, we were told that the Dockery family might be more concentrated toward Aughrim way.

Church of Ireland church, Kilmore

We next drove down the road to Kilmore and visited the C of I church and graveyard on the far side of the village, in search of clues to the burial of Joseph O'Carroll and Maria Joan Dockery. The graveyard is quite well kept and there are some very old headstones, including one from 1760. There were some Carroll’s (which apparently is quite a common name in these parts) and some Dougherty’s, but no sign of any Dockery’s, Simpson’s or O’Carroll’s. Did our branch of the family change their name from Carroll to O’Carroll? In which case, are we related to the Carroll’s of Kilmore? A good example of how DNA-testing might help.

We asked some people at the graveyard if there was a register, and were told there was and that Billy Notley was in charge of it. We drove down the road, found his house, unfortunately disturbed him at his tea, but he was kind enough to pull out the book. The register only started in 1946 so this was a dead end. There is some suggestion that the C of I minister/rector might have some further information about who was buried in the graveyard so this remains an avenue of future research. The registries of births and marriages would also be worth looking at. But where are these? In addition, Billy mentioned that the Carroll’s and the Shanley’s were related (James Patrick Kerrigan's mother was a Bridget Shanley, and her brothers became successful restauranteurs in New York).

So we still don’t know where Joseph O’Carroll and Maria Joan/Jane are buried. Presumably, Maria Joan was buried with her husband.[2] Or alternatively in the Dockery family plot, wherever that might be. Five of their children died relatively young (aged 1-28 years old) and are buried in the same grave in Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin (St Bridget’s section, plot VH 237). From the stained-glass window, and a newspaper notice, we know that Maria Joan died on Dec 27^th, 1897 but we have no knowledge of her burial. We suspect that Joseph died some time in the mid-1880’s but have never found his death certificate or any newspaper reports of his demise.[2] And there is still the mystery around why he was apparently visiting San Francisco in 1883. But neither Joseph nor Maria Joan are buried with their children. And as yet we have found no evidence that they were buried in Kilmore.

Burial registry entries for the 5 O'Carroll children buried in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin

Maurice John Gleeson

June 2011

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[1] Ann originally came from Kilmore and has recently returned there. She was a nurse in Leicester for many years. Her husband Ken James played rugby for Seapoint (there is an annual game played in his name). She is a member of the Roscommon Historical Society.

[2] Feb 2021: we found out a few years ago that Joseph died in San Francisco in 1895, a year after his brother James died there. Thet also had a sister Bedelia. I created a YouTube video about their story entitled "The Strange Case of the Wealthy Bachelor Capitalist" - see the video here.