MR. W. COMERFORD. The death has taken place of Bill Comerford, Deerpark. Like so many from the area he was initially employed in the Deerpark Mine before emigrating to England where he was to spend the greater part of his working career. In all that time he never lost contact with home and returned regularly. Buriel was in Crosshill Cemetery after Requiem Mass celebrated in the Church of the Immaculate Conception by Msgr. Michael Ryan P.P. Castlecomer. He is survived by his wife Teresa ; sons Liam, Tommy, Sean, Jimmy (England) ; daughters Mary, Ann (England) ; sisters Kathleen, Maisie (England) ; brothers Thomas, David (England) ; grandchildren ; other relatives and friends. Date of this item added : 2012-04-17

-----Original Message----- From: Deborah Large Fox <deborahlargefox@gmail.com> To: IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER <IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tue, Mar 13, 2012 4:16 pm Subject: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] quite the storythe message Hi Deb, Quite the story, indeed; I admire your understated nonchalance. It's akin to being in the realm of Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet. I was thinking of asking you once again for tips, but now I see I'm dealing with the supernatural, and that only works for a select few (the tenacious ones). Seriously, congratulations on your eureka moment, and don't forget to thank the Faerie Folk. And thanks very much for the Duffy's Cut video, I was delighted to see how many were at the service, and how tastefully it was done. Jack Langton

Thanks, Jack, for the mailing list information. I see now that the two lists did merge. The story of finding my Bowe's in Laois is quite the tale. I thought DNA testing might help connect my Bowes to one of the Castlecomer families. When I had my DNA tested, I applied to the Bowe DNA study. The administrator let me in, even though I was not a male with the YDNA tested. They did check my autosomal DNA and found no Bowe cousins to match mine in the samples of the Schuylkill County participants, some of whom have Castlecomer roots. I had no idea where to look next, as all my research paths were turning into dead ends. . Then one night, one of the administrators had a dream that she should check their database for the name Kenny. She thought it was a strange dream, but the next day she plugged in "Kenny" to the Bowe database, and turned up a Dan Kenny who was the sponsor at the baptism of Teresa Bowe, child of James Bowe and Anne Kelly in September 1836 in Arles, County Laois. Names and date all match my Teresa and her parents! So my road to Arles was long, and circuitous, and solved by a DREAMING genealogist! Deb -- Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/

Hi Deb, Congratulations! The Faerie Folk are giving back a little of their ill-gotten gains I see, though not easily and not without a good deal of twists and turns. How did you come to find them in Laois? I see from the 1901 census there was only one Bowe in Castlecomer, Ellen, born about 1834. I believe Pat Connors is the admin for the Laois list. I remember there used to be a Leix list as well but Pat simplified matters by taking a vote and the members voted to combine them. Will keep an eye out for the Bowe name. Jack Langton

Just discovered my Bowe family, not in Castlecomer as I guessed, but in Arles, County Laois, in the 1830's. Don't know if there is a connection to the Castlecomer area Bowes, or if there is a connection in Ireland to my Castlecomer Large family, but my Laois Bowes were miners in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. I've been looking for these people since I was a kid. Wanted to celebrate with the list members who have helped me with my Bowes through these past years! Of course, I will save all the Castlecomer Bow data I have! Deb --Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/

MRS. K. O’NEILL. Maryville has lost one of its more senior and respected people with the death of Kathleen O’Neill (Nee Ryan) at Archersrath Nursing Home, Kilkenny. In her 90th year she was a friend to all of us growing up in the Villa and a woman whose voice was never heard in a raised tone. Sharing, caring, understanding and kindness were the cornerstone of her life she always practiced what she believed in. A great provider for her family she was always as busy as a bee working right up to her 80th birthday. For close to three decades she was Sacristan in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was all so appropriate in February 2002 when Bishop Forristal presented Kathleen with the Bennemerenti Medal from Pope John Paul 11 in recognition of her devoted care of the Church. At all times Kathleen showed such courtesy to everyone in days of joy and in days of sadness. In a moving eulogy Kathleen’s son Liam finished with the line “Its time to go now mother, you have enough done” and those words echoed the sentiments of the congregation. She was laid to rest in the Parish Cemetery after Requiem Mass celebrated in the Church of the Immaculate Conception by Msgr. Michael Ryan P.P. Castlecomer assisted by Msgr. Jackie Boland (USA) ; Msgr. Eugene Boland (USA) ; Fr. Larry Wallace P.P. Muckalee ; Fr. Liam Shore P.E. Castlecomer ; Fr. Ian Doyle, Kiltown ; Fr. Joe Campion C.C. Castlecomer. She is survived by her sons Teddy (England), Michael (England), Sean, Liam ; grandchildren ; other relatives and a host of friends. Date of this item added : 2012-03-07

-----Original Message----- From: Deborah Large Fox <deborahlargefox@gmail.com> To: IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER <IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tue, Feb 28, 2012 12:14 pm Subject: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] Richard Burton and mining stories In a Dick Cavett interview, Sir Richard Burton speaks of the life of his father in the Welsh coal mines. It is a fascinating interview. Some of what he describes I have also heard as true in the coal fields of Pennsylvania where my Castlecomer people mined. I thought some of the other descendants of Irish miners on our list might also enjoy the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkddEkM7FQw Deb -- Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/ Hi Deb, Thanks for the video. I remember years ago Burton was on the Johnny Carson show and he opened up about his father and coalmining also. In that one he recounted how his father was making his way home from a pub one night, and fell off a rude bridge onto the embankment, impaling himself on a fallen tree branch. Burton said he just lay there singing Welsh songs until found by his mates. I was riveted to the screen, he was such a great story teller. Jack Langton

In a Dick Cavett interview, Sir Richard Burton speaks of the life of his father in the Welsh coal mines. It is a fascinating interview. Some of what he describes I have also heard as true in the coal fields of Pennsylvania where my Castlecomer people mined. I thought some of the other descendants of Irish miners on our list might also enjoy the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkddEkM7FQw Deb -- Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/

I have just add the tithes index for Donaghmore Civil Parish in County Kilkenny, and near Castlecomer Civil Parish. Please read my transcription notes to see what problems I encountered. The writing was bad and there may be some mistakes. One should always check another's transcription before using the data as a souce document. You will find the new transcription on the County Kilkenny section of my website. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

The decrease in the number of priests in Ireland has become a real issue for the RC Church as most of them are older and have retired, with very few coming in to replace them. I think they are adopting a different model in Ireland. Instead of amalgamating the parishes they are keeping the existing structures and each priest is having to adopt more parishes, with the result that less masses are said in each parish Church when compared with times past. Each parish usually has one small office or place of administration. It could be a stand alone office or on Church grounds. Parishes will often have more than one Church, especially if there are a few population centers within the parish. I am unsure if there is a specific policy regarding the keeping of the parishes registers, as in whether the register for each Church is located in each Church building or all the registers for the parish are located at one Church or the main office. It is possible that a copy of baptism/marriage is sent to diocesan level but the originals are more than likely kept at parish level. Regards, Joe Buggy ________________________________ From: Deborah Large Fox <deborahlargefox@gmail.com> To: IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, 1 February 2012, 10:32:29 Subject: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] present day records With my head stuck in the past so much, I've never really learned how RC records are kept in Ireland, and in particular the Castlecomer area, today.There are sometimes several churches in one parish, correct? Like what is happening now in the States where several churches are combining into one parish?  For example, if a person is baptised today at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Moneenroe, is the record kept at that church or sent up to some parish or perhaps Diocesan location? With all the changes and consolidations of parishes happening in the States, it is has become a real problem finding where sacramental records are being held. Wondering where a researcher who is looking for a 20th or 21st century record would go? Deb Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Deb, and all, Things have been a little harum-scarum here what with my computer crashing, leaving only a short suicide note, on a blue screen, having to do with being corrupted or unrequited or some such thing. Poor thing. It led to my reading e-mails in the local library until I made the plunge and bought another machine, but it's just not the same. Plus losing so much stuff. Anyway I saw your note about how or where RC parish records are kept in Ireland, and it gave me pause for thought. Clogh parish for instance was broken off from Castlecomer abt 1831. Yet Clogh has records going back to abt 1812. Moneenroe keeps it's own records, I believe, but they may also have adjacent church records, as do both Castlecomer and Clogh. There were also "chapels of ease" in a few of the villages. If a priest from the established parish performed a ceremony in one of them, he would no doubt scrawl the information and bring it back to the main church, there to be transcribed. (I'm guessing at a lot of this, we may never know the whole story.) I believe the IFHF site has a pretty good history of when the parishes started, and the LDS keeps a good chronology. Of course all the microfilmed records end in 1880, so you really have to get on the good side of the PP to stand any kind of a chance of getting "modern" records. (A few years ago I did just that with the late Fr. Jerry Joyce, PP of Clogh, he offered me free rein to the births and marriages, but I was pressed for time and couldn't. A couple of years later he had succumbed to cancer.) Jack

Hi Deb,            Regarding church records, I would think the best thing would be to do a search for the Dioscese of Ossory.  Look for an email address that you can write to for information.  I'm not positive, but I think the Church of the Immaculate Conception is still in existence in Castlecomer. I also think there may have been a St. Kieran's  somewhere in the Castlecomer area, as I recall seeing the name mentioned as being in Castlecomer.  This is probably where the St. Kieran's RC Church in Heckscherville, Pa., got it's name, considering there were so many coalminers who came from Castlecomer.             Sometime ago, at least five years ago, I wrote to a RC Church, in another diocese of Ireland.  The church is still in existence.  But I never received a reply, despite sending a pre-paid postage coupon for a reply, along with a self-addressed envelope.  Eventually,  I learned that the parish staff is understaffed and have all they can do to take care of everyday existence.  No one is around to go looking through whatever records they have. Geneology is not one of their priorties. The only alternative I was told was to go to Ireland and see if the parish would allow me to look up the information I seek. That's not going to happen, so my line ends there in the early 1800s.             Perhaps someone else has a better expirence.  It may vary from place to place, but I don't really know.                                                                                                           Mary Elizabeth

With my head stuck in the past so much, I've never really learned how RC records are kept in Ireland, and in particular the Castlecomer area, today.There are sometimes several churches in one parish, correct? Like what is happening now in the States where several churches are combining into one parish? For example, if a person is baptised today at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Moneenroe, is the record kept at that church or sent up to some parish or perhaps Diocesan location? With all the changes and consolidations of parishes happening in the States, it is has become a real problem finding where sacramental records are being held. Wondering where a researcher who is looking for a 20th or 21st century record would go? Deb Deborah Large Fox Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/

Hi Tom, Very interesting! James Roon was the name of Ida's father. I have been able to confirm that he was born in Laois (from his headstone) abt 1825. He died in 1890 and on his death cert his parents are listed as James and Mary (no surnames). I haven't had a chance to focus too much on the Roon in-laws but had wondered if it was version of Ruane/Rowen.  Thank you for pin-pointing an area of Laois to focus on. Joe ________________________________ From: Tom White <meenaghman@yahoo.com> To: irl-kil-castlecomer@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 4:37:38 Subject: Re: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER Digest, Vol 7, Issue 4 On 11/01/12 08:00, irl-kil-castlecomer-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > From: Joe Buggy<pabloaimar99@yahoo.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] Parish of Clogh > > .....Probably a long shot but when William Henry Walker came to the US he married a girl named Ida Roon. .... >    Joe, interested in your Roon relatives. Were they from just across the border in Laois (queens county), around Wolfhill area (Ballyadams catholic parish) ? This would be the other end of the Castlecomer Plateau, and there were a number of smaller pits worked there.  I have Roon (the name appears as Rewan/Roon/Ruin/Roeun/Ruan also and seems to have become Rowan) ancestors from that area. There should be a list of Rowan baptisms from Ballyadams here. http://www.whitegenealogy.com/sources/Rowan_bap1.txt A number also appear in Michael Brennan's transcriptions from Arles parish. Tom ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

On 11/01/12 08:00, irl-kil-castlecomer-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > From: Joe Buggy<pabloaimar99@yahoo.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] Parish of Clogh > > .....Probably a long shot but when William Henry Walker came to the US he married a girl named Ida Roon. .... > Joe, interested in your Roon relatives. Were they from just across the border in Laois (queens county), around Wolfhill area (Ballyadams catholic parish) ? This would be the other end of the Castlecomer Plateau, and there were a number of smaller pits worked there. I have Roon (the name appears as Rewan/Roon/Ruin/Roeun/Ruan also and seems to have become Rowan) ancestors from that area. There should be a list of Rowan baptisms from Ballyadams here. http://www.whitegenealogy.com/sources/Rowan_bap1.txt A number also appear in Michael Brennan's transcriptions from Arles parish. Tom

Hi Joe,              Thanks for the reply .I tired to look for Anastasia Muldowney in all my Muldowney files to see if I could find her parents, but no luck.              When I reviewed various Kilkenny files, I recorded any readable records on the name Muldowney, along with who they married, date married, and included and readable witnesses to the marriages who were Muldowneys, plus any dates given and townlands mentioned. I did this on a couple of Kilkenny files where I initially thought I might find some family.  I recorded this information in this format because I felt possibly one of the other names connected with them might be a clue to finding my Muldowneys, so therefore I could search one of the other names and possibly find family.  When checking this evening I did find one interesting entry, which is on the film number I gave you. It was the birth of  Edward Lawler, on March 7, 1845, townland of Ballyline. Edward Lawler was born to Patt Lawler and Margaret Muldowney. The sponsors to this child, Edward, were listed as Patt Buggy and Mary Fogarty. I also have a marriage record for Patt Lawler and Margaret Muldowney. They were married May 24, 1844, Fiorda townland. Their witnesses were Pete Holohan and and Susan Cody. My many Muldowneys were from the townland of Firoda.  Not sure if any of this fits in with your research. I don't recall seeing the name Buggy anywhere else on this film.             Where did your families come to in the US? Where any of them coalminers? There were a lot of Castlecomer people, including my Muldowneys, who came to the coalmines of Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania. If you have any miners, and in this area, I do have cemetery records I could forward you for the areas outside of Pottsville, Pa. Lots of different names. Just let me know and I will be glad to forward them to you.              Let me know if I can help you with those records.                                                                             Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth, Thanks for the info. Probably a long shot but when William Henry Walker came to the US he married a girl named Ida Roon. Her mother was Anastasia Muldowney who came to the US with Ellen and Patrick Muldowney on 28 August 1848.Patrick served in the Civil War and documentation lists him as being from Kilkenny. Joe ________________________________ From: Mary Elizabeth Wagner <catladymew@yahoo.com> To: "IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com" <IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, 8 January 2012, 17:14:48 Subject: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] Parish of Clogh Joe,         If you're going to check the LDS for the Clogh parish records, the number of their film is #0979702.   I checked this film twice for my Muldowney family so I could keep records on the name.   The first film I had was not of the greatest quaility, the second one was better ( I would recommend you take a good magnifyng glass). When just referring back to the documents I created at the time, I see where one document has this film number, but without the zero at the beginning.  It's been so long ago since I reviewed the records, I don't recall why I have one listed with this zero preceeding the rest of the numbers        Good luck.                                  Mary Elizabeth ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Tom, Thanks very much for the information. There have been a few books written about his mayor son James, which gave birth dates for William from early 1830s-1845. The 1842 year is based on U.S. Federal Census returns. Some books say he was 18 when he emigrated in 1857 while the likely passenger list entry I found gives an age of 24 for the same year.Basically I am covering 1830-1845 to be sure.  I think I'll definitely have to get my hands of the Clogh parish registers and do through them. To be honest I have a theory that he might have actually been born just over the border in Laois so I plan to (eventually!) get a look at the southernmost Laois parishes too. Thanks again, Joe ________________________________ From: Tom Delaney <delanetom@gmail.com> To: IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, 7 January 2012, 16:13:32 Subject: [IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER] William H Walker There was a Patrick Walker having children in the Clogh/Moneenroe area in the 1830's and 1840s. His wife was Margaret Farrell (Farrell could easily morph into Fannin, hard to tell "n" from "r" in handwriting.) These may or may not be the parents. For the record, here they are: 1837 Jan 29 ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-KIL-CASTLECOMER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Joe,         If you're going to check the LDS for the Clogh parish records, the number of their film is #0979702.   I checked this film twice for my Muldowney family so I could keep records on the name.   The first film I had was not of the greatest quaility, the second one was better ( I would recommend you take a good magnifyng glass). When just referring back to the documents I created at the time, I see where one document has this film number, but without the zero at the beginning.  It's been so long ago since I reviewed the records, I don't recall why I have one listed with this zero preceeding the rest of the numbers        Good luck.                                  Mary Elizabeth

Sorry, messed up my 1st attempt to send this. There was a Patrick Walker having children in the Clogh/Moneenroe area in the 1830's and 1840's. His wife was Margaret Farrell (could easily be misread as Fannin by someone transcribing the records, hard to tell an "r" from an "n" in handwriting). These may or may not be the parents of William H. For the record, here are the children: (These are from a printout of the Roche House transcription of the Clogh/Moneenroe baptismal records, which the parish priest at the time - Fr. Joyce - loaned to me for a weekend about 10 years ago. The numbers at the end are the Book No. and Page No. I had never seen any Book 1 entries before that, they are not in the Clogh/Moneenroe microfilms in the National Library). Bridget 1837 Jan 29 Tourtane 1 88 Catherine 1840 Jan 5 Gurteen 1 118 Margaret 1840 Aug 18 Tourtane 1 125 Mary 1841 Nov 11 Gurteen 1 135 John 1843 Dec 26 Gurteen 1 157 Robert 1845 Dec 28 Gurteen 1 181 Patrick 1847 May 30 Drury 1 198 (not a good time to be having a child!) Anne 1849 Feb 21 Moneenroe 1 213 William 1850 Oct 6 Gurteen 1 223 James 1851 Nov 15 Railyard 1 226 Margaret 1852 Jun 15 Cloneen 1 239 So there is a William, but he's younger than you might expect (did you get the c1842 estimate from the age on his death cert?) I have only followed up one of the children (Catherine). She married a Tom Boran in 1865, gave her fathers name as Patrick Walker. Her occupation on the civil register is given as schoolmistress and her father's also as schoolmistress! Must be a mistake, maybe she meant schoolmaster. Regards, Tom (half-idiot and cross-bred boneen).