Denis Henry Sullivan : Short Biography

Visiting Ireland in May 2020

Hello, I am visiting Ireland in May, 2020, and would love to connect with the relatives of my great grandfather, Denis Henry Sullivan.

My great grandfather was Denis Henry Sullivan who was born about January 1861 in Queenstown, County Cork. He was baptised on the 3rd February, 1861 in the Parish district of Cobh, in the old Cobh church. I believe St Colemans Catholic Cathedral is the location of the previous church where Denis was baptised. Denis Henry was a catholic, and his parents were Timothy Sullivan and Ellen Caverly. The sponsors were James Caverly and Mary Donovan (information sourced from RootsIreland, Index of Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers 1655 - 1915, from original microfilms held at the National Library of Ireland).

Timothy Sullivan and Ellen Caverly married on the 10th January, 1857 in Cobh, parish of Queenstown, Diocese of Cloyne (same church where Denis Henry and his siblings were baptised). Prior to their marriage, Timothy and Ellen lived in Skibbereen.

Denis Henry Sulivan had three siblings, who were all baptised in the old parish church of Cobh (Queenstown) Cork, Ireland. Mary baptised on 1 March 1857; Catherine (Kate) baptised 6 February 1859; and John baptised 4 June 1863.

Denis Henry emigrated to Australia in 1884, where he married Bridget Hegarty in Sydney, Australia in 1888. Denis and Bridget had five children, one of them being my grandmother, Ellen Victoria Sullivan. Denis was educated, could read and write, and was a road contractor while he worked in Australia. Sadly, Denis died in 1896,  at only 35 years of age, from a heart condition. Denis and Bridget must have been devout catholics, as two of their sons, John Henry (Br. Arcadius) and Patrick Joseph (Br. Celestine) became Marist brothers.

I am really looking forward to my visit to Ireland next year, and hopefully meet up with some of my Sullivan and Caverly relatives, and also to see the areas where Denis Henry lived and worked.

Thanks you, Gabrielle