The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname.
* * * * O’Loughlin. * * * *
World history has seldom been influenced more by any other race than by that of
the Irish people. Not only does Ireland have the world’s oldest standing structure, and
was home to the earliest missionaries to Scotland and England, and was possessed of a
refined culture, but there is also reasonable claim to the statement that the Irish were the
first settlers in North America.
Entwined amongst the romantic chronicles of this great land is the distinguished
history of the Irish sept O’Loughlin. The works of O’Hart, McLysaght and O’Brien, the
Four Masters and Woulfe, supplemented by church baptismal, parish records, and ancient
land grants, have been used to reconstruct the family name history.
We found that the family name O’Loughlin was first recorded in county Clare in
Munster where they had been seated from very ancient times.
Several spelling variations of the name were found in the archives and mainly
these variations were the result of families translating the name from the Gaelic into
English. Recorded versions of the name O’Loughlin included Loughlin, Loughnane, and
many more. Frequently a name was spelt several different ways during the lifetime of the
same person, when he or she was born, married and died.
The legendary Kings of Ireland, some 1500 years B.C., were descended from
King Milesius of Spain, the grandson of breoghan (Brian), King of Galicia, Andalusia,
Murcia, Castile and Portugal. Milesius turned his attention to Ireland to fulfil an ancient
Druidic prophesy. He sent an army to explore this fertile island. On finding that his son
had been murdered by the three resident Irish Kings (the Danans), Milesius vengefully
gathered another army. He died before he embarked on the voyage but his surviving eight
sons conquered Ireland.
Hereman, eldest son of Milesius, regained in Ireland for fourteen years, along
with his brothers Heber, Ir, and Ithe. They named the land Scota or Scotia, their mother’s
name, the land of the Scots. This name would later be taken by the Irish King Colla in
357 A.D., when he was exiled to Scotland, leaving the name “Ir-land”, land of Ir, the
youngest of the four sons of Milesius, to the Emerald Isle.
The great Gaelic family of O’loughlin emerged in later years in county of Clare in
Munster. The O’Loughlins were the most powerful sept on the shores of the Atlantic and
Galway Bay. Lord Concomroe was their chief in early times but later they were restricted
to the present barony of Burren. Seventy years ago the chief of the O’Loughlins was still
known as “The King of the Burren”, and the Lord of Corcomroe was usually called
O’Loughlin Burren. The Chief of the O’Loughlins was seated at Craggans, in county
Clare, and Kilfenora and Ballyvaughan are still centered in O’Loughlin country.
Conghalach O’Loughlin was Bishop of Corcomroe from 1281 – 1300. From 1789 –
1842, Sir Michael O’loghlen was Master of the Rolls, and his two sons, Sir Colman
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O’loghlen, was an M.P. for county Clare in 1819, and Sir Bryan O’Loghlen, was Prime
Minister of Victoria, Australia from 1828 to 1905. Notable amongst the family at this
time was Conghlach O’Loughlin, Bishop of Corcomroe.
In 1172 A.D., Dermott McMurrough, King of Lienster, requested King Henry 11
of England for assistance in achieving the Kingship of all Ireland. Through treachery,
many proud native Irish families lost their chiefships, territories and the spoils were
divided amongst the Norman knights and nobles. This was followed by Cromwell’s
invasion in 1640 and later, Ulster in the north was seeded with Protestant Scottish and
English.
In 1845, the great potato famine caused widespread poverty, and the exodus from
Ireland began. Many Irish joined the armada of sailing ships which sailed from Belfast,
Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Liverpool, and Glasgow, bound for the New World or to
Australia. Some romantics called these ships the White Sails, others, more realistically,
called these vessels the “Coffin Ships”, when 30% to 40% of the passengers died of
disease and the elements.
In North America some of the first migrants which could be considered kinsmen
of the sept O’Loughlin and of that same family were David W., Dennis, Eugene, Isaac,
James, John, Joseph, Michael, Patrick, and William Loughlin, all landed in Pennsylvania
between 1773 and 1864; James Loughlin Landed in new York State in 1823. In
Newfoundland, William was the holder of an inn in St. John’s around 1730; Mary was
married in St. John’s in 1818; Thomas settled in Harbour Grace in 1828: James was a
farmer in Red Cove in 1871. There is a place named Loughlins Hill in Newfoundland.
In the New World the Irish played an important part in building the nation, the
railways, coal mines, bridges and canals. They lent their culture to the arts, sciences,
commerce, religion and the professions.
The Irish moved westwards with the wagon trains, and settled in the mid west,
some trekking over the Rockies to the distant west coast. During the American War of
Independence some were loyal to the cause, joining the Irish Brigades. Others were loyal
to the Crown, and moved north into Canada, becoming known as the United Empire
Loyalists and being granted lands on the banks of the St. Lawrence and the Niagara
Peninsula.
Meantime, the family name O’loughlin produced many prominent people Dame
Anne Loughlin, DBE; Charles William Loughlin, Trade Union Official; Sir Colman
O’loghlen, 6th Bart., Judge of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea.
The most ancient grant of a Coat of Arms found was:
On a red background a man in complete armour facing left, shooting an arrow
from a bow.
The Crest was:
An anchor entwined with a cable.
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The ancient family Motto for this distinguished name was;
“ Anchora salutis”.
The Belleek Loughlin/O’Loughlins.
1780 - - - - - -2008.
In compiling a family history it is necessary to give details of the background to the Clan
concerned. The above account gives much information along these lines. Some historians
tell that the name is of Viking origin, to support this theory they say that the name
O’Loughlin means in the Gaelic, ‘The dark sea faring stranger’.
It should be noted at this stage that the original members of the family were
‘LOUGHLIN’. The prefix ‘O’ was added to the family name by Thomas Loughlin in the
mid 1920’s. He had been advised by the Parish Priest – Fr. Lorcan O’Cairian – a noted
Gaelic speaking scholar that the proper name was O’Lochlainn, which is the old Irish
spelling for the name.
I can trace the Belleek branch of the family back to about 1780, due to the lack of
written records, what I have, comes from recording the memories of older family
members who were reasonably accurate in their recollections. Family tradition has it that
the Belleek branch of the O’Loughlin’s originated with a Clan member coming here from
Co. Clare about 200 years ago. It is thought that he was a Hedge School Master, during
that period the Penal Laws were still being enforced in many parts of Ireland. These
teachers were forced to live an itinerant life, having to move from place to place to keep a
step ahead of the authorities.
Some students of history are of the opinion that the O’Loughlin Clan had their
origins in Ulster. The name in the Gaelic language means the ‘Dark Seafaring Stranger’ a
reference to the Vikings who first came to Ireland about 850 AD. There is an early
recording of the name in the book, ‘The Parish of Carn’ by the late Fr. Paddy Gallagher a
noted historian. He states that an O’Lochlainn carried out a raid on the lands of the
O’Neill and the O’Gormley clans making off with a sizeable herd of cattle. This could
have been a good reason for O’Lochlainn to depart from Ulster and seek refuge in Co.
Clare. Over 100 years later we find a Conghalagh O’Loughlin who was Bishop of
Corcomroe in the Burren from 1281 to 1300. This ‘See’ (the area controlled by a bishop)
was subsequently called Kilfenora. Even in that period it could have been possible for
the descendant of an ambitious cattle raider to have made the transition to the safer
profession as a Prince of the Church. Over fifty years ago a scribe using the name ‘Roddy
the Rover’ contributed articles to ‘The Irish Press’. He had this to say about the
O’Loughlins. The chief family named O’Loughlin, O’Loghlen, Loghlin, etc., is that
which formerly ruled over East Corcomroe, the Lords of Burren. This clan had four
castles on the sea – Gleninagh, Ballyvaughan, Shanmuckinish and Muckinishroe.
The third of these was the scene or theme of a most lovely poem, which will be found in
Dr.T. O’Rahilly’s Measgra Danta, when a poet came to the empty castle and heard a dove
cooing in the desolation.
That O’Lochlainn’s spacious court
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Now has you for a master
Is it this that moves your mirth?
Is your music laughter:
Or in lamentation, Dove,
Are your notes complaining?Seeing not the gentle palm
That would feed you daily . . .
RODDY THE ROVER.
The Fermanagh weekly newspaper ‘The Impartial Reporter’ of 1St June 1989 caries a
story, ‘Talk on Origins of Fermanagh names’. At a meeting of the Belcoo Historical
Society, Sean Leonard in his address told of a hedge school set up around 1800 by a
Thomas O’Loughlin, the son of Stephan O’Loughlin, a man who came from the West of
Ireland. In Mullaghdun cemetery; which is in the Belcoo parish there is a headstone
bearing the name Thomas O’Loughlin who died in 1986, of greater significance is the
headstone of a Colman O’Loughlin who died 14th September 1958. Colman is a rather
unusual Christian name in Fermanagh, but is quite common in Co. Clare, this gives
further support to the theory that a clan member did indeed come to here from that
county.
Belleek.
The first positive evidence of the name in this district was that of Barney Loughlin. Note
that at this stage the prefix ‘O’ was not used. Barney was my great- grandfather. He lived
on a twelve acres farm in the town land of Druminillar, the farm was bounded on the
south by the River Erne and the Great Northern Railway line passed through the land.
The railway line from Enniskillen to Bundoran was constructed about 1850 so we can
take it that the Loughlin’s were tenants of the small 12 acre farm in Druminillar. The land
did go to the River Erne. A Bernard Loughlin is recorded in the Griffiths valuation
documents of 1st July 1862. Bernard or Barney as he was commonly known was born in
or about 1820/25. Therefore his father must have been born about 1780/90. We can
therefore claim to trace the family to that time and possibly as having come to Belleek in
that period; documentary evidence does not exist any earlier. There is no record of a
name for Barney’s father but he was thought to have been a hedge school master. He may
have been the Thomas O’Loughlin who was in Belcoo and could have come to Belleek
from there. The name Thomas has featured in each generation of the family, Barney had
a son named Thomas and it has passed right down to the present time. (2008). The late
Mary Ann McGowan nee Flanagan confirmed for me a lot of the above information.
Church records are practically non-existent for the period and civil records for the
Catholic people did not commence until about 1860.
Barney married Lisa Coyle from Garvery, Leggs Post Office in the Mulleek area;
probably about 1850, this was during the Great Famine period of Irish history,
descendants of the Coyle family still reside in the Garvery homestead. Other ladies of the
Coyle family married in the area, to the McGee families of the Finn Hills and Bonahill,
both places in Co. Donegal. I remember James McGee and his sister Mary coming to
visit in the Acres having walked over the mountain form near Breesy. Their cousin Mick
McGee was also a regular caller; members of the McGee family are buried in Teetunney
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grave yard. I was present there at the funeral of Mick McGee. My father Tommy
O’Loughlin took care of the funeral arrangements. Mrs. O’Neill, formerly Coyle had two
sons that I remember – John & Charlie. John sent many years in America and returned
home during the 1940’s. Two of the girls of the O’Neill family also went to America.
They were also related to the Farry, Rogan and Maguire families of Farncassidy, between
Belleek and Garrison. A plaque in St. Michael’s Church, Mulleek has the following
inscription.
Pray for the soul of Mrs. John O’Neill, Garvery, whose daughters, Mrs. M. Taggart and
Miss Bridget O’Neill, San Francisco, have erected this station in Mulleek Church.
This would be the fourteen Stations of the Cross that are on the walls of the church. They
would have been donated when the church was renovated in 1911.
Another family named McCabe moved to this area from Belcoo in the early 1800’s.
Some of their descendants still live near Belleek. My uncle William John told me that the
original Loughlin house in Druminillar was what was known as a mud cabin, a common
type of building in Ireland. At a later stage a traditional farm house was built, it had the
usual kitchen and two bedrooms. Although now in ruins it is obvious that it was a well
constructed thatched roofed stone building with chimneys built with red brick. Bricks
were manufactured in the district during that period. A Grandson of Mick Loughlin’s is
the present owner of the Druminillar farm.
Barney and Lisa Coyle were married about 1850, they had seven children and Barney
died about 1900. There is no record of Barney having had brothers or sisters. The
children were- John, Michael, William, Thomas, Lisa, Mary and Bridget, not necessary in
that order. Several members of Barney’s family went to America, it is possible that
members of the Coyle family were already there and sponsored their entry into the
country. Michael known as Mick was likely the youngest; he died in 1943 at the age of
74. William and Thomas immigrated to America in the early 1870’s; Thomas founded a
shoe makers business in Boston. A photograph of him states: - Thomas Loughlin, Shoes
made and repaired, 835 Beacom Street, Newtown Centre, Boston, Mass. U.S.A.
Bridget also went to America and there married John Freeburn whose family farmed in
Druminillar. The Freeburn homestead is still owned by the family. As they lived very
close to each other in Druminillar John Freeburn and Bridget Loughlin would have
known each other. And then in America decided to get married. Mick married Ellen
Doogan from Corry about 1915; Lisa married Dan O’Shea a neighbouring farmer in
Druminillar, Mary married Pat Fox of Legaltion, Ballyshannon, the couple had been
introduced by Mary’s cousin James McGee of the Finn Hills. There is no record of
Thomas or William having married in America.
John married Catherine Kerrigan of the Acres, Commons, Belleek, about 1890
(The Griffiths valuation of 1st July 1862 lists Patrick Kerrigan as being the tenant of a
house and small farm in the Commons) where he acquired a small twelve acre farm that
had been occupied by a man the name of McGonnigle. When this man died, his wife
Kate, who was an Aunt of Hugh Kelly’s of Corlea returned to her family home. John
Loughlin was a shoemaker, having along with his brothers learned the trade from a man
named McLaughlin who lived on the south shore of the River Erne, possibly across the
river from the Druminillar farm. John extended his small farm by purchasing in 1900, for
the sum of £45-0-0 a neighbouring four acre farm in Derrykillew, Corlea, Co. Donegal;
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that had been owned by Rosie Slevin. This purchase gave him direct access to the
Bonahill road. A few years later he purchased the a-joining two acre Murray holding and
house for the sum of £100-0-0. This purchase gave him direct access to the Acres lane
and to the main road to Belleek. He had planned to convert the old Murray house into a
shoe factory but died before he could do this. (The Murray building is still standing and
preserved in good order)The combined farm now totalled 18 acres, 6 being in Fermanagh
and 12 in Donegal. After the establishment of the border in 1926 this became an unusual
situation but William John who inherited the farm managed it without any problems.
With the farm there were turbary rights, meaning that the owner has the right to cut turf
in the bog. The turf bank attached to the Loughlin farm was situated in the ‘Altars’ which
was on the road that runs to near to Breesy Hill. The Altars got its name from a Penal
Mass Rock in that area near where the McGee family lived. During the Penal years
Catholics were not permitted to practice their religion, they were not allowed to have
churches, schools or any other type of building. Priests were considered by the
government to be outlaws and rewards were offered for their capture. They travelled in
secret around the country, offering Mass in remote places, baptising children, officiating
at marriages and celebrating the sacraments. The penal years lasted from the early 1600’s
until the early 1800’s when they were repealed. There was another Mass Rock in Mulleek
near where the Coyle family lived.
The Acres was a small area contained within the large town land of the Commons near
Belleek. It got its name from a number of small farms in the area. Quite close together
were the houses of the Kerrigan, Gallagher, Curneen, McGarrigle and Kelm families. A
group of small houses close together all on the one ‘street’ was called a ‘Cloghan’ an old
Gaelic name for a group of stone built houses. One small spring well on the Gallagher
property served all the houses. Until the early 1900’s all the lands and houses in the
district were owned by the local land lord, the Caldwell family of Castle Caldwell. When
the last of the Caldwell family died the government bought the estate and sold the
holdings to the sitting tenants who paid a fixed sum of so much a half year to the
government for about 60 years until the debt was cleared. When Pat McGonnigle who
was the tenant of the farm in the Acres died John Loughlin acquired the tenancy and
bought whatever rights the wife of McGonnigle had to the property. The widow Kate
McGonnigle formally Kate Kelly from nearby Corlea returned to live with her family
there.
Michael (Mick) Loughlin married Ellen Doogan of Corry, Belleek they resided in the
family farm in Druminillar. They had ten children.
May - who worked in Dublin, married Bob Fenner, they had one son Gerald.
Josie – Married William John Gallagher of Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. They had 12
children.
Theresa – Married a widower – Denis O’Shea – of Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan. He was
the father of six children; together he and Theresa had two children.
Rose – who married Pat Hunt, they lived in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. They had no
family and Rose died young. Pat has since died.
Ann – Married Martin Galvin, they lived near Dublin Air Port. They have four children.
Two girls and two boys.
Kathleen – Joined the Mercy Order. She was a teaching Nun, since retirement she has
done voluntary work in Romania.
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Bernadette – (born 1934) Married a school teacher, married Gerry Ferguson of Belcoo,
Co. Fermanagh where they lived. They had three children, Gerald, Luke and Helen.
Gerry died quite young.
Agnes – Had a cottage in the Commons, Belleek. She died about 1998.
Bernard (Benny) inherited the family farm, after retiring he went to live with his sister
Agnes in the Commons. He still lives there; the Druminillar farm now belongs to one of
Benny’s Gallagher nephews.
Michael (Mick) Took over the family shoe making business at Main Street, Belleek. It
had been founded by his father about 1940. Mick died in 2008.
By a strange coincidence both Catherine Loughlin and her husband John died on 13th
August in different years and were buried in Keenaghan graveyard on 15th August. Uncle
Bill (William John) always remembered their anniversary. Barney and Lisa Loughlin of
Druminillar are also buried in Keenaghan; sadly the exact location of the graves had
never been marked. After John died his brother Mick took the young family to live in
Druminillar, he arranged for his Aunt Bridget Freeburn (Loughlin) to bring the two girls
Minnie and Bridget to America. Life being rather difficult in Druminillar, Willie John
brought the young people back to the Acres home. Bridget Freeburn also sponsored her
niece Annie Fox to come to America. Bridget had a very fine looking daughter – Mary –
who had several admirers who wished to marry her. Bridget did not consider any of them
good enough for her daughter. After some time in America Annie Fox met a fine man
who wished to marry her, Aunt Bridget did not approve. Cousin Mary took Annie to one
side and told her how her mother had spoiled her life, she advised Annie Fox to marry the
man of her choice, it was an excellent marriage.
John and Catherine had six children: twins, William John and (James Bernard who died
at birth) born 4th April 1891, Mary Ann (Minnie) born June 16th 1892, Bridget
Elizabeth, born 26th December 1893, Patrick Michael, and Thomas Joseph, born 1899.
William John known as Bill, did not marry and lived in the family home until his death at
the age of 94 in December 1984. Minnie who had immigrated to Boston after her parents
died, married Otto Tiechman and they had two children Chet and Isobel who married Jim
Corkery.
Bridget who had also gone to Boston married Bob Casey and they had two children Bob
and Fred Casey. Fred and Barbara were regular visitors to Ireland; several of their
daughters also came to Belleek. Bridget used the Elizabeth part of her name, for in
America Irish lady domestic were known as ‘Irish Biddies’ not in a very complimentary
manner.
Michael Patrick, known as Packy married Minnie Quinn from Derrykillew,
Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. The town land of Derrykillew was just across the valley
from the Acres. They set up home in a farm in Keenaghan about two miles from the
Acres and quite close to Druminillar. They had four children, Patrick who never married
and who died in 2008, John who never married and still lives in the family home, one of
the few traditional thatched cottages left in the area.
Philomena who married Michael McGuarran from Mulleek (Michael was a cousin of
Joe’s wife Ina). They set up home in Co. Leitrim where Michael was a local government
official. They reared a large family who are now grown up. Michael died about five years
ago. The youngest son of Packie – Kevin – married Gretta Keenan of Roscor and they
have two children Fiona and Kevin Junior.
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Kevin Sen. Worked in Belleek Pottery and was a gifted accordion player have been
Ulster and All Ireland Champion on several occasions. Fiona is also a gifted musician;
she and her father were popular performers at many social functions in and around
Belleek. Fiona was for a number of years the organist in St. Patrick’s Church, Belleek.
Thomas Joseph, known as Tommy, was the youngest of the family went on to serve his
time as a bicycle mechanic with a Mr. Grant who had a cycle repair shop in the East Port,
Ballyshannon. When qualified he set up his own business in a rented premises at Belleek
Main street. He also went into the motor repair trade and had a Shell petrol station, the
first in the area. He also had a hackney car service. The village of Belleek was situated
just on the border between the newly formed Irish Free State and the British controlled
Six Counties of Ireland. The border was formed in 1924.
Tommy was an inventor who designed and patented a lubrication system for bicycles. He
had his invention patented and fitted to all bicycles sold by him. He was agent for
different makes of bicycles but principally the ‘Raleigh All Steel’. Many of his customers
were the employees of Belleek Pottery. He is credited with forming the first easy
payment systems for bicycles sold. The Pottery workers then were paid fortnightly,
without fail those who had bought new bikes paid their instalment when they had been
paid. There is no record of any defaulters. Tommy also designed an easy inflatable rubber
air cushion for bed ridden people.
In 1929 Thomas married Mary G. Timoney of Tiernangher, Roscor, Belleek. She was the
daughter of James Timoney who was manager of the Belleek Co-Operative Diary
Society, (Creamery). Mary’s mother was the former Catherine Power a native of
Ballyrobin, Kill, Co. Waterford. Catherine had come to Belleek as a butter maker to the
creamery. Other members of the family were Richard, who in later life became Professor
of Mathematics in Dublin University, Kathleen, John, Nicholas and Paddy.
Thomas and Mary had eight children, James Bernard, (Jim) born 23rd May 1930. Jim had
always a great interest in cars. He took part in several motor rallies, was a very good
motor mechanic, for a time he drove double decker buses in Glasgow. Returning home he
ran a successful taxi business as well as assisting in the garage. He was later employed as
customs officer on the border.
Thomas Joseph, (Joe) born 2nd July 1932. Took over the family business when his father
retired in 1949 and remained there until he retired in 1997. He was a founder member of
the local fire brigade and was officer in charge for a number of years. Since his
retirement he has produced a number of books mainly on local history.
Mary Claire, (Claire) born 3rd January 1934.
Claire – trained as a nurse in Liverpool, qualified as a Health Visitor. Married Kevin
Cahill from Kerry. Set up home in Rugby – children – Kieran – married to Anne now live
in Australia. Siobhan married to Raj Nataly. They have two children. Kevin Jun. Married
to Jayne (three children). Deidre lives in Rugby. (Claire died on 21st April 1988 and she
is buried in St. Marie’s Churchyard, Rugby).
Catherine Bridget, (Bridie) born 7th April 1935. Retired Bank Official. She now lives in
Lansdowne Park, Dublin and hosts many family members on their visits to the city.
Patrick Francis Peter, (Pat) born 1st December 1936. Pat – a jeweller – married to
Philomena Gallagher, they live in Castlederg, Co. Tyrone. They have three children.
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Patrick, Frances and Kieran. Pat has run every Dublin Marathon since they started over
25 years ago; he has also run other marathons all to raise money for charity. So far he has
raised tens of thousands of pounds. The people of Castlederg nominated him for the
M.B.E. and he with his family travelled to London where the Queen presented him with
his award
William John (Sean), born 30th July 1939. Now retired he lives in the Corry homestead.
Sean first worked on the construction of the new bridge over the River Erne in Belleek.
He then was employed in Belleek Pottery where he progressed from a skilled parian
worker to become production manager. He later left the pottery and with several work
mates he founded the successful Donegal Parian China factory in Ballyshannon.
Eileen Teresa, (Eileen) born 5th April 1941. She had the same birthday as her Uncle Bill.
A teacher - married to Frank Aiken an Engineer from Dublin, they met when both were
doing voluntary work in Nigeria. They now live in Ardee, Co. Louth. Seven children –
Iseult, Frank Jun., Rionach, Davin, Aifric, Eavan and Liadhain.
Terence Michael (Terry) an engineer, born 15th September 1942. Married to Pauline Gill
a teacher from Donegal. They live near Rugby.
Thomas O’Loughlin died on 20th September 1971, his wife Mary died on 26th July 1989
and his brother William John (Bill) died on 7th December 1984. All three are buried in
the Kerrigan plot in St. Patrick’s cemetery, Belleek.
Jim married Celine O’Shea from Tawneynoran, Belleek. They have seven children,
Brian Patrick, Nuala Mary, Sheila Margaret, Katherine Frances, Sinead, Nicola Marie
and Jerome Thomas. They live next door to Sean who resides in the family home.
Nuala married to Sean Hewitt, live in London, have two children.
Katherine married to Charles Weir, live in Belfast, have twins.
Nicola married to Charles Ferguson, have one child.
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Joe married Ina (Kathleen Frances O’Shea) the eldest sister of Celine. He managed the
family business from the time his father retired in 1949 until his own retirement in 1997.
They bought No.2 house in Hawthorne Row, Belleek, had it renovated and extended,
they lived there for almost 20 years. When Uncle Bill died they had the Acres house
renovated and extended before moving there about 1988. Normally house in the area
were built east to west, but the Acres house along with a few others in the area was built
south to north. When the house was being rebuilt it was discovered that the south room
was roofed to a different style to the kitchen and north room. The south room timbers
were rough cut tree trunks and they were tied together by home made ropes, no nails
were used. This obviously was a very old part of the building, the kitchen and north
bedroom had been added at a later stage probably by John Loughlin when he acquired the
property. The roof timbers for this part of the building were cut by saw and nails used to
secure then together. The old stone byre at the west side of the house had at one time
been a dwelling; it, the orchard and a small field beside it had at one time been a separate
holding. When Uncle Bill transferred the property to Joe the only stipulation he laid
down was “Whatever you do don’t sell the wee place”!
First child – John was still born.
Mary Whitley lives in Belfast has three boys –John, James and Daniel
Anne Weir a teacher, married to Phil, lives in Cheshire, England. Two children Fiona &
Robert.
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Kathleen – died shortly after being born.
Paul an instructor in motor training college, married to Tess McElhinney from Derry. The
built a house in the Donegal part of the farm. Three children – Erin, Cara and Antoin.
Nora – A social worker, worked and lived in London for several years, now lives with her
friend Susan McAvinney in Sydney, Australia.
Brendan – a construction carpenter – married to Irene McCrane from Mohill, Co. Leitrim.
They met in London came home and built a house on the farm. Two daughters – Saorise
and Nisha.
Theresa – Telephone operator – married to Tony Leonard, they live in Cashel, 12 miles
from Belleek – the have three girls Laura, Sarah and Aoife.
Jane – a Civil Servant single – works and lives in London.
Richard – Area transport Manager for Stenna Ferries. Married to Teresa McGuire, they
live in Tullygeravara, Cashel about 12 miles from Belleek and near Theresa Leonard.
Three children – Oran, John Joe and Grace.
Rita – a social worker – married to Martin McAndrew from Scotland – a project
manager. They came home from Scotland and built a house on the farm. Three children –
Niamh, Callum and Daragh. (19 grandchildren)
Mary Loughlin- daughter of Barney was for a time in America, on her return to Ireland
She married Patrick Fox, Legaltion, Ballyshannon. They had four children – Frank,
Annie, Bernard and Patrick. Bernard lived in the home farm; Patrick had a farm on the
Donegal road outside Ballyshannon. Frank and Annie went to America. Bernard married
Alice Clancy from Co. Leitrim, they had four children. P. J. a cycle agent married May
Campbell from Roscor, Belleek. (both are now deceased). They had family who still live
in Ballyshannon. Frank and Mary Alice went to England. Benny (now deceased) lived on
the home farm and married Margaret Bannigan who was related to Mary
O’Loughlin/Timoney. Benny and Margaret had six children – Linda, Christine and
Brendan who were twins, Sharon, Dermot and Sinead. Margaret still lives on the home
farm; several of the children are married and have built houses nearby.
Liza Loughlin married a neighbouring farmer, Dan O’Shea of Druminillar. They had five
children, Michael who never married and remained in the family farm until he died in
1983.
Benny who married Kitty Steel from Pettigo, they had a large family and several of them
are still living in Belleek.
Elizabeth who married James Doherty from Bundoran, they had no family.
Her sister Maggie married to Frank Lunney from Garvery near where the Coyle’s lived.
They lived in England as did another sister.
Daniel (Danny) who married Kitty Daly from Kildoney, Ballyshannon. They had a large
family and several of them still live near Belleek. Danny bought the farm in the Acres
that was owned by Joe Gallagher, it contained the property that had belonged to the
Gallagher’s and Kerrigan’s related to John Loughlin. His son Dominic, with his wife and
family live on the property. Danny also bought a small farm in the Acres that had been in
the McIntire family and later was owned by a Kelm family. His son Michael, his wife and
family live on this farm.
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Daniel O’Shea’s father John had seven sisters who all married locally, they and their
descendants became known as ‘The Granny Shee’s’.
The Seven Sisters
1-Mrs. Mortimer. Mother of Thomas and grandmother of Charles, Thomas, Bridget
and other members of the Dolan family, Commons.Kevin McCanns mother was also a
Dolan.
2 – Mrs. McGarrigle Mother of Mickey McGarrigle, The James Flanagan farm,
Commons.
3 – Mrs. McCauley, Mother of Dan McCauley and grandmother of Jack and Paddy
(Butter) McCauley and their siblings of the Commons. Peter Roohan now owns the farm.
4 – Mrs.Montgomery, Corner House, Finner, Main St. Belleek. Greatgrand mother of
Kevin McCann. House owned by Tessie McGoldrich.
5 – Mrs. McCabe, Aughterdrum. Grandmother of Paul, Willie and siblings.
6 – Mrs. O’Neill, mother of James O’Neill, Lowerybane. Farm owned by Arthur
McCaffery.
7 – Mrs. Gallagher (Mary) wife of Pat Gallagher, Derrynacrannog. Mother of Pat, Willie
& Bridget. They lived at the Cross, Tawneynoran. Farm owned by P. Roohan.
THE KERRIGAN CONNECTION.
As already recorded we know that Catherine Kerrigan was the wife of John Loughlin.
Her mother Mary Kerrigan formerly Gallagher was the wife of William Kerrigan of the
Acres. William Kerrigan died quite young, before St. Patrick’s Church was built and a
new cemetery opened in Belleek in 1892. William was buried in Old Slawin graveyard
which is situated about three miles from the Acres, off the old coach road in Slawin,
Roscor, Belleek.
A head stone there bears the following inscription.
HIS
This stone was erected by Hugh Kerrigan of Philadelphia, in memory of his beloved
father, Patrick Kerrigan of Acres who departed this life 14th November 1869 in the 80th
year of age also his mother, Sarah Kerrigan who died on the 17th November 1872, aged
84 years also his brothers, James, William, Andrew, Thomas and John.
REQUESCANT IN PACE.
William Kerrigan was the grandfather of William John Loughlin.
Uncle Bill said that his grandmother, Sarah Kerrigan was formally Sarah Hammond a
member of a Protestant family from Ballintra, Co. Donegal. Her father may have been a
hedge school master. Bill said he was proud of the fact that there was a good drop of the
Protestant in him.
Mary Kerrigan was still living after her daughter Catherine Loughlin died and after John
Loughlin died. Mary died about 1910 aged about 90 and was buried in St. Patrick’s
cemetery. She had two daughters; Mary Anne had been in America for a short time, she
returned home and died about 1900. and Isobel (Bella) died about 1903. both were buried
in Belleek, this would explain why Mary was buried in Belleek rather than make the long
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journey to the Kerrigan burial plot in Slawin. Patrick Kerrigan was born in 1789 and his
wife Sarah in 1788 Therefore their parents must have been born about 1760, so we can
claim to trace the family roots back to then. A Bridget Kerrigan who was either a sister
or aunt of Catherine’s was married to a man named Kane from Kildoney, Ballyshannon.
Two of the Gallagher women also married men from Killdoney. One became a Mrs.
Walsh and the other Mrs. Goan.
Mary Gallagher from the Acres had spent some time in America, when she returned
home she married James Doherty from Kildoney. They lived in the Gallagher home in
the Acres along with Bridget Gallagher and their nephew Joe Gallagher. He was the last
of the family to love in the Acres, he died in 1959. James Doherty was a stone mason and
he helped Tommy O’Loughlin to repair the house that he bought in Corry. I remember
the above mentioned people who lived in the Acres. Patrick Gallagher of the Acres was
the second person to be buried in Belleek graveyard in 1893.
*
*
*
*
*
*
For reasons best known to those concerned an attempt was made to deprive the young
family of their property and inheritance in the Acres. For this purpose the title deeds had
been lodged with a firm of solicitors in Donegal town. Willie John borrowed a bicycle
and cycled to Donegal a distance of over 20 miles. He went into the solicitor’s office and
demanded the deeds of his property; the solicitor refused to hand the documents over to
him. Willie John staged what is now known as a ‘sit in’ and refused to leave the premises
without the deeds. Eventually that night to get him off the place he was given his
documents. It is no wonder that he thought so much of his Wee Place in the Acres. This
family history has been updated on 24th October 2008. More research and work is
required on the Timoney/ Power branch of the family.
Joe O’Loughlin.
The Freeburn Connection.
Having had several visits from members of the Freeburn family to Ireland within the past
ten years I can devote a section of this work to them. They have come here not only from
America but also from Australia and New Zealand so they are fairly wide spread
internationally. The first meeting I had with descendants of local Freeburn families was
when Patricia Brooks from New Zealand and her husband Norman came to Ireland in
1992 looking for the graves of the Freeburn and Keenan families. There was no
O’Loughlin connection then to Patricia’s Freeburn ancestors. The local curate – Fr.
Lorcan Lynch sent them to me as a possible source of information. They had searched a
number of local cemeteries without success; I directed them to the old Abbey at
Keenaghan which is about two miles from Belleek and off the main road. In a short time
the discovered a Keenan headstone, which was the one they were looking for. Since then
Patricia and other members of her family have returned to Belleek to visit the cemetery
and also the farms their people had left Ireland from. They have also met their Freeburn
cousins who still live in the district. Some of Patricia’s family live in Australia, so there is
a strong international connection.
The earliest contact I had with the American Freeburn’s was in my pre-computer days
when all messages came to me via my brother Sean. This on dated 13th January 1999
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was from Kristen Minervino who then lived in New England which she described as
being cold and damp at that time of ear.
Dear Joe,
Just thought I’d send this to you to show how well you are thought of on this side of the
ocean. I’ve joined a mailing list for genealogy research in Fermanagh, Ireland. Several
people have recommended you as an authority on the history of the area.
Kristen Minervino.
Kristen goes on to say how in her efforts to trace the Coyle branch of her family she
made contact with another Coyle family from Belleek, but they were not the family she
wanted. Anne Coyle replied to Kristen saying that her father Patrick Coyle who was born
in 1932 knew me very well. Sadly Patrick died this year; he was the same age as myself.
Apparently there had been contact between Kristen’s mother and myself. She said, “My
mother Florence Freeburn Johnston has received your letter. She said that she would get
back to me with her reply. She is not quite comfortable with the internet yet but is
thinking of taking a course. She loves learning and doing”.
Kristen Minervino.
Every thing must have moved pretty fast from then on, for the next correspondence is a
letter dated October 15th 2000 from Florence thanking me for the wonderful time they
had on their visit to Ireland and Belleek and meeting some of their Freeburn and
O’Loughlin cousins. Kristen, Clare and Heather were in the group and others whose
names escape me just now.
I now move on to July 2006 and an e-mail from Rita Freeburn/Bernhardt, youngest sister
of Clare . . . and Florence Johnston who live in Maine. Rita, is a widow and college
graduate, her late husband who passed away in 1997 was a graduate of Boston Law
College, they had three children one daughter died aged 21 in an auto accident, a son
married with two children and another daughter married with three children. They lived
in Wellesley, MA for 36 years and on retirement moved to Falmouth, Cape Cod, MA.
They also had a holiday home in Marco Island, Florida for 16 years and only went there
for vacations until retirement in 1985. Rita’s grandparents were John Freeburn, 1850 –
1937 and Bridget Loughlin 1869 – 1943. Her father was James Freeburn and her mother
Hazel Scott, she has one brother – Robert who lives in Florida. Rita and her fiancé Ed
came to Belleek in September 2006, visited their roots and met the Freeburn cousins.
They then travelled to Italy where Ed’s origins are. We have since kept in touch by letter.
The next correspondence was an e-mail from Robert John Freeburn who lives in
Florida; he gave me more valuable information on his family. Richard Freeburn born
1850 in Druminillar, Belleek, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland married Mary Mulhern in Belleek,
Ireland. (They would have been married in Mulleek as there was no church in Belleek
until 1893) They had a son John Freeburn born in 1850 in Ireland. He married Bridget
Loughlin who was born in 1869 in Druminillar, Belleek, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland. They
were probably married in America, date unknown. They had three children – James
Bernard Freeburn, father of Robert and his sisters Mary and Margaret. Mary was born in
1890 and married Arthur Driscoll. His birth and death dates not known, Robert had never
met him. Mary died on April 7th 1956 while living in the family home in Jamaica Plain,
MA. Margaret Freeburn was born in 1894 and married a man named Muir, that is all
Robert knows a bout him. Margaret died in 1964 in Mattapan (part of Boston MA)
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Roberts’s father – James Bernard Freeborn was born on August 20th 1886 in Brookline,
MA. He married Hazel Scott in 1917 at Blessed Sacrament Church, Jamaica Plain, MA.
He died on April 7th 1968 just before Palm Sunday Mass at the Sacred Heart Church in
Newton Centre, MA. They got him home where he passed away, (he had taken a turn in
the church). Hazel died on August 26th 1988 in Portland, Maine. All the deceased
Freeburn’s - John – James – Mary – Margaret – Bridget and Hazel were buried at
Hollyhood Cemetery in Brookline, MA. James ha the four children already mentioned Clare, Robert, Florence and Rita.
Robert lives at
961 Collier Court, #301, Marco Island, Fl 34145, USA.
This for the present concludes the family history and II am sure when this is circulated
more information will come to hand.
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