Michael Gallagher : Short Biography

My 2x great grandparents were Michael Gallagher (1840-1888) and Catharine Carroll (1842-1922). They were known in our family as being from Churchpark. They were married at Killedan Parish on November 24, 1870. At the time of the marriage, they had at least one son (Thomas) and Catharine would have been pregnant with the first of their four daughters (Bridet/Delia). I was surprised that the children were conceived prior to marriage, but have learned that was not all that uncommon in mid-18th Century, rural Ireland. Michael, Catharine, and their two young children emigrated to the United States in 1871. They arrived in New York and made their way to Cincinnati, where they lived with relatives for three years. They eventually moved to Monmouth, Illinois where they remained until death. Michael was tragically killed at work when he was hit by a passing locomotive. Catharine raised her five children without his income or support. Michael's grandmother lived in Cincinnati and that is who we presume he lived with. Her name was Bridget Gallagher (nee Dunleavy). She lived from 1774 to 1881! Bridget was married to Edward Gallagher and they were originally from Killybegs, County Donegal. Because of her amazing age and popularity in Cincinnati, Bridget had an extensive obituary in the newspaper upon her death. It was this obituary that led to identifying my 3x great-grandmother Kate Gallagher. Kate was one of only two children of Edward and Bridget that remained in Ireland. The obituary indicated Kate married someone named Gallagher. Because Bridget was Michael's grandmother, the only person he could have married was Kate. I don't know how a young man from Churchpark, Mayo met a girl from Killybegs, Donegal but the lines are abundantly clear that he did.