O'Briens - Ballinalacken

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kedaly
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Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:12 pm

O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by kedaly » Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:20 pm

Hi,

I am from Lough Gur in County Limerick. The farm on which I grew up in has been owned by an O’Brien family going back to the late 18th century (at least that’s as far as we can trace). A branch of this family were the subject of a book – The Farm by Lough Gur, written in the 19th century, which says they were burnt out in Ballinalacken in Co. Clare, before they came to Lough Gur. This family would have been reasonably wealthy as the original farm they rented in Limerick was over 300 acres.

I am just writing to understand how I could best research who this family might be and why they might have been forced out. The O’Brien Graves in Lough Gur are centered around an old tombstones for Michael O’Brien and Elanor O’Daniel – who may well have been the first people in. Elanor was born in 1691.

My grandmother was O’Brien, which is where my connection comes in.

I realise this is a very long time ago but any information would be really appreciated.

-Kevin

smcarberry
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Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:31 pm
Location: USA

Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by smcarberry » Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:27 am

Hi, Kevin,

As you likely realize (which is probably why you are posting the question), yours is a big area to cover: tracing an O'Brien family back from Limerick into Clare in order to determine the circumstances under which they left a particular place in perhaps the early 1700s. I see it as quite possible, depending on how prominent your O'Brien ancestor was. I can say this based on my own experience with my Donnellan line, a family of ever-more humble circumstances in Clare of the 1800s but descended from a prominent Galway family which inspired an easily-accessed pedigree chart showing how my line came to be in East Clare. This chart also shows several other lines and goes back to the most famous Donnellan, a bishop living in the 1500s. So I know this research is feasible.

A lot depends on the level of confidence you have that your line is already traced back to the first O'Brien family in Lough Gur. A recommended first step is to collect substantiation for each of those generations, as well as confirming the likelihood that Michael O'Brien's birth family lived in Ballinalacken and, if so, in what capacity. Ballinalacken back in the 1600s was the site of an O'Brien castle; the genealogy of that O'Brien family is likely written in some heraldic-type book or at least in a manuscript or chart such as the one I located for my Donnellans in the Genealogical Office (Dublin), now consolidated with the National Library. However, if your O'Brien family was merely working the land around Ballinalacken as relatives of the titleholders, the chances diminish that the family members are included in a written history. If your O'Brien ancestor was one of the wealthy ones, then you need to determine which of the several such lines of O'Brien in Clare was his (see the image below, describing the Inchiquin Papers).

If you want the fastest way to research Ballinalacken, there are two sets of books to consult at the Registry of Deeds on Henrietta Street in Dublin: one set indexing deeds by surname and the other set with indexing sorted according to place name. "Deeds" include documents by which title and land occupation passed, whether by outright sale or by lease or marriage settlement. Familial relationships were often detailed in those, and overall the deeds go back to 1708.

A similar attempt to follow how a family's land passed along the generations can be done with wills and memorials (abstracts) of wills, although the loss of Irish wills makes this a less efficient way than other methods. One resource for that approach is:
Indexes to Irish wills
By William Phillimore Watts Phillimore, Gertrude Thrift
Published by Genealogical Pub. Co., 1970

My recommended step is to make use of the advisory service at the National Library in Dublin, which requires a visit in person. However, with the wealth of written family histories at the disposal of that institution's staff, having an expert there determine the best manuscript to consult makes eminent sense. For more information:
http://www.nli.ie/en/genealogy-advisory-service.aspx

Some of the books that the National Library staff may recommend that you consult are:
Historical Memoir of the O'Briens, with Notes, appendix and a Genealogical Table of their Several Branches (published by Hodges, Smith and Co., 1860)

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. by John Burke [and books by Bernard Burke covering the aristocracy and landed gentry]

The county families of the United Kingdom, or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of Great Britain and Ireland : containing a brief notice of the descent, birth, marriage, education, and appointments of each person, his heir apparent or presumptive, as also a record of the offices which he has hitherto held, together with his town address and country residence
by Edward Walford
London: R. Hardwicke, 1864


A resource closer to you is the Clare County Library's copy of Rosemary ffolliott's Index to Biographical Notices in Newspapers of Limerick, Ennis, Clonmel and Waterford, 1758 - 1821, which is sorted by surname. This "index" actually contains an abstract of all the most important genealogical information contained in news articles, which follow all the vital events and important property transactions of a prominent family.

I should stop here, except to show you that your target period of time was well studied, even for Clare locations, here are two more resources:
Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (see image below of one mention of the Ballinalacken O'Briens)

History of Clare and the Dalcassian clans of Tipperary Limerick, and Galway by Patrick White
http://ia310933.us.archive.org/2/items/ ... ituoft.pdf
Chapter upon chapter of land confiscations and re-taking throughout the centuries, including the below image on a non-war-related distribution of a prominent O'Brien's land

I wish you the best with that, and I hope this serves as an encouragement.

Sharon Carberry
(not related to Lady Carbery, author of the Lough Gur book)
Inchiquin Papers indexing by Brian Kirby.jpg
Inchiquin Papers description
Inchiquin Papers indexing by Brian Kirby.jpg (64.81 KiB) Viewed 20582 times
Ballinalacken and O'Brien.jpg
Ballinalacken and O'Brien.jpg (34.01 KiB) Viewed 20582 times
Patrick White book p.jpg
Patrick White book p. 296
Patrick White book p.jpg (53.54 KiB) Viewed 20582 times

smcarberry
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Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by smcarberry » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:56 pm

After making a correction on a name in my prior posting, I might as well show Bernard Burke's short section on the O'Briens of Ballinalacken. This section unfortunately starts with a generation too late in time to be useful, but it does provide an indication of what social class these O'Briens enjoyed. This Burke book alludes to two more O'Brien of Clare lines being included in his book(s) on the peerage, so the Ballinalacken line was not nearly the most prosperous of the sept.

I am not attempting to do more on the Ballinalacken/Lough Gur inquiry but just happened across this today. Posting it might be of interest to others reading this subject on the Forum.

Sharon Carberry
O'Brien, Ballinalacken, Burke's Landed Gentry.jpg
O'Brien, Ballinalacken, Burke's Landed Gentry.jpg (56.44 KiB) Viewed 20503 times
O'Brien, Burke's Landed Gentry, part 2.jpg
O'Brien, Burke's Landed Gentry, part 2.jpg (38.53 KiB) Viewed 20503 times

pwaldron
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Location: Ballina, Killaloe
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Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by pwaldron » Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:18 pm

The O'Briens buried in Lough Gur (one b. 1691) seem to long pre-date the gentry O'Briens of Ballinalacken, who moved from Cross in the townland of Elmvale, parish of Killinaboy, Co. Clare (near Corofin) to Ballinalacken, parishes of Killilagh and Kilmacrehy (near Lisdoonvarna), only in 1840. John O'Brien (1794-1855) built Ballinalacken in 1840. It is now a hotel - http://www.ballinalackencastle.com/ - and there is a well-preserved medieval tower house on the cliff top to the south. See Hugh Weir's Houses of Clare, p.16. John's son, known as Peter The Packer, was born at Carnelly in 1842, so Ballinalacken may have taken several years to complete, or may have been used only as a summer home. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_O%27 ... _O%27Brien

mauricedan
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Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by mauricedan » Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:45 pm

Kevin,
Did you ever get anywhere with your research of the O'Briens from Ballynalacken to Louh Gur. My wife is descended from the O'Briens of Lough Gur. They lived in the farm at the end of the lake, past the interpretative centre. The original house is now owned by Olivia Hoare. My wife's ggGrandmother was Catherine O'Brien born 1846 married to Partick McInerney, they had a pub in Queen St, (now Davis St across from railway station) Limerick. Have you ever heard of this family connection to Catherine O'Brien McInerney.

Regards
Maurice Danaher

Jennifer Broom
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:59 am

Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by Jennifer Broom » Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:24 pm

Maurice, do you know the name of the parents of Catherine 1846? I have charts of Lough Gur O'Briens and no doubt she fits in somewhere. I can send them to you if you let me know your email. Jennifer Broom (in Australia)

gmhduffy
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Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by gmhduffy » Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:54 pm

Hi Jennifer, I was wondering if on your chart you have a Catherine O'Brien Born about 1851 died 3rd Dec 1882 in Bruff. She was suppose to be from Lough Gur and of the "Tall" O'Briens. She had a daughter Mary on 5th December 1860 and the Father was David O'Connor. They were unmarried at the time. I don't have any more information on her parents. Thank Geraldine

Jennifer Broom
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Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by Jennifer Broom » Sun Apr 17, 2016 1:36 am

Geraldine, no unfortunately there isn't a Catherine born about 1851 in the trees I have. I haven't heard that reference to the "Tall O'Briens" - that is interesting.

gmhduffy
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Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 5:25 pm

Re: O'Briens - Ballinalacken

Post by gmhduffy » Sat Jul 02, 2016 11:08 pm

Thanks jenifer, sorry for taking so long to come back to you. Yes I was hoping the Tall O'Briens would be a marker for the family as there are so many O'Briens in the area even though Catherine O'Brien so very short. Thanks again for looking Geraldine

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