Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Galway

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Sduddy
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Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Galway

Post by Sduddy » Mon Aug 06, 2018 12:13 pm

Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Galway, was president of the Gort area branch of the National League (founded 1886) and had been a supporter of the Land League and the Plan of Campaign 1879 – 1881 (usually called the Land War). He was required to appear before the Parnell Commission of Inquiry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnell_Commission (1888 – 1889) on a charge of accepting money in return for calling off the boycott of a Mr. Hughes, one of his parishoners, but it seems it was also hoped that he would prove to be an example of somebody who had used his position of influence to intimidate parishioners (use word search to find Considine in this transcript of the proceedings of the inquiry): https://archive.org/stream/diaryofparne ... h_djvu.txt . The character of the priest in A Drama in Muslin, by George Moore, is supposed to be based on Fr. Considine.

In the 1901 census, Fr. Considine is still living in Ardrahan and gives his birthplace as Liscannor, Co. Clare. I would like to find out which family of Considines in Liscannor he belongs to. Liscannor is in the parish of Kilmacrehy and is part of the diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, so Thomas probably attended a seminary in Galway. He gives his age as 57 in 1901. He died in 1909, aged 67. So he was born in the early 1840s. The baptisms for the parish of Liscannor (which includes Kilmacrehy) start at 1854, so there is no record of his baptism. However, his niece, Nora Considine, aged 19, and his relative, Bessie Considine, aged 17, are living with him and both are from Liscannor, so I expected that, by finding the parents of those two girls, I might be able identify which family of Considines Thomas belonged to.

But I’ve failed. All of the Honor Considines, whose births were registered between 1875 and 1883, are still living at home in 1901, except Honor born 1879 to Patrick Considine and Mary Considine (living in Ballymaclinaun, Ballysteen DED, in 1901), and even she is doubtful because an Honor Considine, aged 9, died in Ennistymon Workhouse in 1890.

As for Bessie Considine aged 17 in 1901, I found no registered birth to fit her, and the Liscannor baptisms only go to 1873, so they were of no help either. But thanks to www.familysearch.org I found her marriage to John Fitzpatrick in Manhattan on Sept. 02, 1906. This shows that she is the daughter of Anthony Considine and Kate Greene. I think this must be the Anthony and Kate Considine, who are living in Liscannor in 1911 and have been married 39 years. Anthony is aged 79 and Kate is 61. Of the 8 children born to them, only 2 are living. One of these must be Bessie. The other, I reckon*, is Thomas Considine aged 34 living in Laghcloon, Liscannor DED, with his wife Minnie and children (the two eldest are Kathleen and Anthony). *I had found the birth of Thomas on Jan 19, 1876.

But Bessie and Thomas are just relatives of Fr. Considine – maybe the children of a first cousin. I needed to find his niece, Nora. Is it possible that she is the Nora Considine in www.familysearch.org, born 1878, the daughter of Patrick Considine and Ellen Kelley, who married Thomas J. Moroney in Woburn City, Mass. on Apr. 17, 1901. Is it possible for someone to be in Ardrahan on March 31 (census night) and yet be in Woburn, Mass., getting married, 17 days later?

Sheila

Sduddy
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Re: Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Gal

Post by Sduddy » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:36 pm

Well, I found a couple of records for Nora Considine who married Thomas Moroney in Woburn in 1901 which show that she is not the niece of Fr. Considine (or at least it’s very unlikely): I found that she is Honor whose birth was registered in 1874, daughter of Patrick Considine, Teacher, and Ellen Kelly; address: Liscannor. And I found her in the US 1920 census where her immigration year is given as 1894: Norah M Marooney, b. 1876 Ireland, aged 44; immgration: 1894. Spouse: Thomas J Marooney aged 50, born in Ireland; immigration: 1888; Salesman, Grocery Store. No children.

Thomas’s parents (in case anyone is ever interested), John Moroney and Anne O’Dwyer were married Feb. 1868 in Miltown Malbay parish. The baptisms of their children (at least 6), between 1868 and 1880, give their address as Breaffa. Thomas was born in 1869. The mother, Anne O’Dwyer, died of Typhoid Fever in 1882. There’s a family of Moroneys in Breaffa in 1901, but it’s not this family – who seemed to have all gone away.

Nora’s parents (in case anyone is ever interested) Patrick Considine and Ellen Kelly had 6 children between 1866 and 1874. Honor was the youngest. In 1901, Patrick is living in Liscannor, aged 72, a widower; occupation: Pensioner – Nat. School Teacher. His daughter Bidelia aged 35 and his son Michael aged 30 are living with him. He died in 1903, aged 75.

Yes, I found it hard to give up on Nora - and to be content with having found Bessie. The John Fitzpatrick that Bessie married was a neighbour from Kilmacrehy parish. He was born in 1873 to James Fitzpatrick and Mary Timmons, who were living in Kilconnell (Kilmacrehy) at first, but who moved to Ballyheean (Kilmacrehy) at some stage. His brother Simon was born 1877, and Patt was born in 1880 – there may be some other births. In 1901 James is aged 50, but in 1911 he is aged 70, which is more realistic. His son Simon is living with him.

I found Bessie in the US 1930 census: Elizabeth Fitzpatrick aged 48, b. 1882, and spouse John Fitzpatrick, Doorman, living in 141 st., Bronx, N.Y., with their two children, Joseph aged 23, Printer, and Mary aged 19, Operator, plus two lodgers.

So it seems Norah Considine did not have to transport herself miraculously from Ardrahan to Woburn in 17 days afterall.

Sheila

Sduddy
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Re: Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Gal

Post by Sduddy » Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:39 am

Major correction (and good news): Liscannor baptisms start at 1843 (why did I think they started in 1854?). And there’s a Tom, son of Thomas Considine and Margaret Considine, who was baptised on Nov. 15, 1844. I think this is Fr. Thomas. The baptisms show that he had at least two brothers: James, baptised Feb 05, 1849, and John baptised Jun 05, 1852. And that he had a sister, Honor, baptised Oct 18, 1846. Thomas Considine (the father) is the only Thomas Considine in that register of baptisms (1843 – 1854), which is significant because the record of Anthony Considine’s marriage to Kate Greene shows that his father was a Thomas Considine. Was Anthony a brother of Fr. Thomas, and was Anthony’s daughter, Bessie, a niece of Fr. Thomas?
Anthony’s age in that record of his marriage in 1870 is 35, and he is aged 69 in 1901 and 79 in 1911, so he was born in the early 1830s, and that’s why he is not in the baptisms.

The obituary for Fr. Thomas Considine (on pg 3 of the Connaught Tribune of June 05 1909) is very short and gives no useful information about relatives.

I still can’t find Nora Considine, aged 19 in 1901, but her marriage may not have been registered (so many marriages were not registered in Ennistymon about that time*) and she could easily be back in that area in 1911, hidden under her married name.
*I firmly believe that a register of marriages has fallen behind the shelves in NLI – I can see it in my mind’s eye – it has yellowing pages, a greenish cover and is wrapped in cobwebs.

Sheila

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Fr. Thomas Considine, Parish Priest of Ardrahan, Co. Gal

Post by Sduddy » Wed Aug 08, 2018 6:43 pm

I’m pretty sure now that I have the answer to my question and that Fr. Thomas Considine’s family lived in Caherbannagh (Kilmacrehy parish) at the time of Griffiths - if not before that - and right up to 1911 and probably later.

First I found another child of Thomas Considine and Margaret Considine (Martin b. 1856) in the 1854 – 1873 register of baptisms, and that record gives Caherbarna as the address. And then I found the marriage of James who was born in 1849 (he married Bridget Leyden from Ballylane in Liscannor chapel in 1884. James must have died soon afterwards, because Bridget was married again in 1887, to Thomas Nagle), and I found the marriage of John who was born in 1852 - he married Ellen Reidy, daughter of Andrew Reidy, Ballynagonachta, in Dysert chapel in 1891. The 1901 census shows John and Ellen living in Caherbarnagh.

Nora Considine aged 19 in 1901 is still a mystery. She is not the daughter of either James or John because they did not marry until 1884 and 1891 respectively. So she must be the daughter of another brother of Fr. Thomas – a brother who does not appear in the baptisms.

Sheila

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