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