Both great grandparents of Debra were from Foynes, County Limerick. Great grandmother Catherine McMahon lived at Ballynash House with her parents Milo McMahon and Jacinthe Creagh. Her great grandfather Thomas George Collie lived at Mount Trenchard. His family were from Scotland and came to Ireland work with Lord Glenagles, who was a family connection after the land clearances.
It was Lord Glenagles who arranged for the family to emigrate to Australia during the Famine. Her great grandfather was just a baby and too young to travel and was raised by the O'Connor family. Milo and Jacinthe are buried at Knockpatrick cemetery
Message from Jennifer Jean, local Foynes volunteer who met Debra and Nola on their trip
Pictured below are Debra and Nola (sisters) who came to Foynes and Mount Trenchard looking to find their gt.. gt grandfather and other family members. They certainly did and we met and had tea with some cousins but more importantly managed to visit and tour around their original family homestead and outhouses which is lovingly looked after, although sadly not lived in. The photo is a view from standing beside their family headstone and looking over the Foynes estuary.
Message from Debra Crowe
Thank you Ireland Reaching Out for making my trip to Foynes to explore the home of my Great Grandmother Catherine McMahon so memorable. The wonderful Jennifer Jean arranged a historian and genealogist to met with us and then she went with us to both my Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather’s homes and provided background information to their lives in Ireland at that time. Truly amazing and so much more than we expected, so we can’t thank you enough
