Conclusion
13 April 2016What is new about our research? And how does it impact on Stoker’s ‘Dracula’? The research completed by Fiona Fitzsimons, Helen Moss and Jennifer Doyle is new research, and is directly relevant to Stoker’s ‘Dracula’. The key aspect of our story, is that the O’Donnells were not simply “a landed...
Rickard Donovan’s Role in Combined Operations
13 April 20164a. 1940 to D-Day: At the outbreak of WWII Rickard rejoined the Armed Forces, and was assigned to Combined Operations in its first incarnation under Roger Keyes who served as Director between July 1940 and October 1941. Combined Operations drew on the best practices and expertise available within the Royal...
St. James Gate Brewery – A Glimpse into the Past
13 April 2016Alfred Barnard was the author of a four-volume work entitled Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland, (1889-91). He conducted his research by visiting each of the breweries and seeing at first hand how work was carried out. Barnard was particularly excited to start his tour of breweries with Guinness’s which...
Ray Meagher’s Irish Family Roots
13 April 2016We started with Ray’s grandfather, William Patrick Meagher, born 11th March 1902, Isisford, Maranoa, Queensland. His parents (Ray’s great grandparents) were William Francis Meagher and Bridget Mullavey. We found their 1898 Queensland Marriage record, which indicated they were both born in Australia. William Francis Meagher was 39 years at the...
Princess Charlene of Monaco’s Irish Ancestry
13 April 2016Princess Charlene of Monaco is known for her impressive career as an Olympic swimmer and her marriage to Prince Albert II of Monaco. The South African native certainly leads a fascinating life. Yet, her story becomes even more interesting when you look at her family’s past. As it turns out,...
Rickard Donovan: The Role of a Wexford man in D-Day, 6 June 1944
13 April 20166 June 1944, now commonly referred to as ‘D-Day’, was the day on which the Allied Forces commenced the Normandy Landings. The assault consisted of two phases: an airborne assault; and the amphibious landing of the Allied Forces on the Normandy coast; and led to the Allied Forces’ ultimate victory....
Rickard Donovan’s Early Career
13 April 2016Rickard Charlie Donovan was born in 1898, the son of an ascendancy family from Ballymore near Ferns in County Wexford. At the age of 13, he was sent to the Royal Naval Colleges in Osborne and Dartmouth, England to qualify for a career in the Navy. His parents wanted to...
Joseph Kearney b.ca. 1730
11 April 2016Joseph Kearney was Barack Obama’s 6x great-grandfather. This pedigree chart shows his wife, siblings, nieces and nephews. Read on for further information on some of these individuals. Thomas Kearney Thomas was witness to a lease dated 1768 (Bettridge to Kearney) and describes himself as a ‘peruke-maker’. He married Miss Jane...
Joseph Kearney b. ca. 1698
11 April 2016Joseph Kearney was Barack Obama’s 7x great-grandfather. This pedigree chart shows his wife, sibling, and nephew. Read on for further information on some of these individuals. [insert chart] Joseph Kearney Joseph was probably born circa 1698. He was buried 20th Jan. 1791 ‘aged 93 years’ in Shinrone, Co. Offaly. Cicerly...
An Early Involvement in Politics
11 April 2016Within the extended Kearney family tree we found an early involvement in politics. Michael Kearney, a kinsman and probably older brother, of Joseph Kearney, entered the Guild of Barber Surgeons and Periwigmakers in 1717, and was entered as a Capillamentarius (i.e. a hair dresser) in the Freemens Rolls in 1718....
Benn Family History
11 April 2016Fiona Fitzsimons of Eneclann met with cousins Dick Benn and Tom Donovan, President Obama’s closest living relatives in Ireland, to discuss Eneclann’s research into the Benn and Donovan families for RTE’s Nationwide programme. In 1825 Joseph Kearney of Moneygall married Phoebe Donovan. Phoebe Donovan’s parents were Fulmoth Donovan and Mary...
People and Places
11 April 2016Our research showed that in the 1760s the Benn and Donovan families first settled in the townland of Ballygurteen, and that nine generations of the Benn family have farmed the land down to the present day. The Donovans likewise remained in Ballygurteen down to 1999. The identity of both families...
