The O'Connor Family
There are at least six great O'Connor families in Ireland, of which, the O'Connor-Kerry family ruled the destinies of County Kerry for more than 1,700 years. The coming of the Normans brought trouble to the O'Connors and they built their stronghold at Carrigafoyle Castle. In 1540, the English besieged and captured the castle and, eventually, the lands owned by the O'Connors were forfeited and given to Trinity College in Dublin in 1660. Subsequently, the only mention of the O'Connors is as tenants of Trinity College.
The O'Connors remained a very proud clan and they have never forgotten their proud heritage and their old slogan:
Who never drank water but always wine.
To-day, the O'Connor territory is represented by the barony of Irraighticonnor which encompasses the areas of Asdee, Ballylongford, Moyvane, Tarbert and Knockanure in North Kerry. The O'Connors lived for generations around Moyvane which originally was Maigh Mheain ('the middle plain'), the official name of which is Newtownsandes called after the local landlord Sandes. Moyvane is a small village situated about seven miles north of Listowel. It comprises the two old parishes of Knockanure and Murher where most of our O'Connor relations are buried. In 1666, the Provost of Trinity College acquired all of the lands in the vicinity and retained them until the beginning of this century.
Legend has it that when the O'Connors became Christians in the 4th /5th Century, a cross was struck with the inscription to be passed on down through the ages from Con (Cornelius) to John and from John to Con (Cornelius). The eldest son in each generation of our O'Connor ancestors was called either John Cornelius or Cornelius John and this custom was followed right down to the current generation with our uncle Dr. Con O'Connor being followed by his son, John, a vet in Pembroke Dock in Wales. John's son is called Cornelius James so the custom has been continued for another generation.
One of the greatest O'Connor chieftains was John O'Connor of Carrigafoyle who founded, circa 1470, a Franciscan Friary at Lislaughtin near Ballylongford. Beside the ruins, in 1871, a processional cross was found and it is now in the National Museum in Dublin. It is made of brass, soldered and gilt, 26 ½ by 18 ½ inches, bearing a figure of the crucified Christ, and having a Latin inscription as follows:
The translation is as follows:
The first mention we came across of our O'Connor ancestors was Cornelius O'Connor who occupied the family homestead, 'The Hill' at Gortdromasillihy, Moyvane ( previously called Newtownsandes) which was in the family since the early 1600's. His son Jackie, our great-great grandfather was born circa 1820 and married Honora Walsh of either Kilanure or Kilnaughtin in the middle of the 19th Century.
Farmers of most agricultural land in Ireland were liable to pay to the rector of the established Church of Ireland a tithe or tax of one tenth of the yearly produce of land and stock. This tax was particularly unpopular to Catholics and agitation forced the Government to change the law and make the tithe charge a financial one levied on the landlord rather than on the tenant. In order to determine the amount of money to be charged, all agricultural land had to be surveyed and valued. The surveys provide the names of lease-holding tenants in each townland and thus serve as a sort of farm census for the whole country. The first detailed valuation of property was carried out in the 1846. Sir Richard Griffirh, the Commissioner of Valuation arranged that a summary of the valuation of 1846-1864 be made available in print and it is popularly known as 'Griffith's Valuation
Jackie (John) O'Connor is shown in the survey as a tenant of William Sandes and he occupied a house and farm of some 72 acres. Eventually, he expanded the farm to some 138 acres.
'The Hill' at Gortdromasillahy.
Home of the O'Connor family for two/three hundred years.
His son, Cornelius (1857 - 1932) eventually inherited the Gortdromasillihy farm and he married Mary O'Connor (1868 - 1939) from Derryclough, Kilmanahem, Brosna on the Cork /Kerry border. Mary, although an O'Connor, was not a relation of Con's.
Mary O'Connor
In the late 1800's and early 1900's Parliament began a great social revolution on the land by a series of so-called Land Purchase Acts whereby a tenant was able to become owner of the land he had farmed for centuries as a tenant of the landlord, who usually was of the English ascendancy class and frequently, an absentee landlord. 'Land Purchase' meant that the State bought out the landlords, advancing mortgages to the former tenants over a long period, to be paid by annual instalments, which with interest, usually amounted to less than the previous rent. By the 1920's over eleven million acres had changed hands.
Our great-grandfather bought out his farm at Gortdromasillihy in 1907 for £1,640 from Thomas Sandes who had been the local landlord for centuries holding the land under a head lease from Trinity College. Trinity had been granted the land in 1666 under the Cromwellian Settlement. We have the original document whereby, after centuries, our great-grandfather, once again, owned the land, which had been confiscated from his forebears.
Acquisition Document
Cornelius's Father, John (Jackie O'Connor) who was married to Honora Walsh owned the two adjoining farms at Newtownsandes called 'The Hill' and 'Gortdromasillihy'. They had a daughter, whom I believe was called Nora. She married John Carmody. She was given the Hill Farm so the farm is now a 'Carmody Farm' even though for centuries it had been an O'Connor farm. Jackie gave Gortdromasillihy to Cornelius and it became our great-grandfather's farm.
One of Cornelius' sons was Jack O'Connor (1893 - 1961), who was our grandfather was reared with the rest of his brothers and sisters at Gortdomasilllihy. After his schooling, he won a scholarship in 1914 to attend the Albert Agricultural College in Glasnevin, Dublin.
Scholarship Announcement
Upon leaving college, he went to America and worked on the railways. However, after a very short period of time he came home again to work on the family farm and, in due course, in 1919, married Annie Finucane (1891- 1976) from Kilcolgan, near Tarbert. They built a house beside Jack's parents at 'Gortdromsillahy' (Garden of the Willow) and their seven children, including our mother were born and spent their early childhood there.
Our grandfather was very interested in local politics and was an active member of Sinn Fein and took the Treaty side in the Civil War.
Confirmation of IRA membership
Although he was a local county councillor, he eventually, decided that his family would get better educational opportunities nearer to Dublin. So, in 1936, he moved to County Wicklow and bought a farm at 'Hoeyfield' in Delgany. As children, we spent many happy Summer holidays on the farm and helped to draw in the hay in an era before tractors mechanised the process and took all the fun away.
Hoeyfield
All our uncles and aunts grew up in Hoeyfield, but, alas, when our grandfather died in January 1961 and there was no son to work the farm, it was decided to sell and it was sold for £8,400 in April 1961.
Auction Notice - Hoeyfield
After our grandfather died, our grandmother moved to Bray where she lived out the rest of her life at No.2 Alexandra Terrace, Novara Road, until she passed away in 1976.
Our mother trained as a nurse in the Meath Hospital in Dublin and met our father, Pat Sheehan at a dance in the Glendalough Hotel in 1940. Our parents married in 1943 and our late sister, Ann was born in 1944. Initially, our family lived at 58 Hollybrook Road, Clontarf. In 1950 we moved to a newly built house at 120 Upper Drumcondra Road where we grew up. Our father, died in 1991 and our mother, Maighread, died in 2000.
Pat and Maighread Sheehan on their Honeymoon
