1st January 1111
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This parish was one of the earliest established in County Cork following the decision taken at the 1111 Synod of Clonbrassil where the parish system was approved to replace the monastic governance that was in vogue up until then. This change met with much resistence and it took the Normans arrival in 1169 to effect change.

Kilshannig Parish came under the patronage of the Norman lord ,John De Cogan  in 1242 and thrived until Henry the Eight intervened in 1535. St Seannach founded his extensive monastic settlement close to the old river ford on the Blackwater where Longfield's bridge now stands some 3 miles west of Mallow town in c 560 AD. This major ecclesiastical settlement had a large graveyard attached covering 3 acres of land  which gave the townland the Irish name Gort-na-Gross and now known as Crossfield.

The Normans ,who introduced the large churches to accommodate whole congregations  to Ireland built their first such church on the site of the present Protestant church and graveyard at Newberry  on higher ground close to the original site.The  present protestant church ,restored in 1719 was handed over to Cork County Council in c.1982 and has been maintained by that body since.

Saint Seannach is reputed to be buried in a nearby field under a huge boulder that has been preserved for centuries. Kilshannig became the name of the protestant parish and  also the civil parish and when a new Catholic church was built in Glantane village in 1821 Glantane became the name of the Catholic parish

Comments

  • Further history on Kilshannig Parish

    The first repercussions,on Kilshannig parish, of King Henry the 8th's break away from Rome occurred in 1581 when the Catholic priest was replaced by one  more acceptable to the new Established Church. About this time also the Desmond Rebellion broke out and the church was badly damaged during this period and was restored in c. 1620. It was again almost ruined during the 1641 Rebellion , was only fully restored and enlarged by 1719 and this is the building you see to day.

    The cemetery has a wealth of  history and heritage attached to a number of people interred there. Top of the list must be James Lombard who was buried there in c.1686 as requested in his will.His daughter married into the Nagle family of Ballygriffin near Killavullen village and overshadowed by the Nagle mountains. Their grand daughter was the famous Nano Nagle who founded the Presentation Order of nuns. Nano had a sister ,Margaret,  whose  direct decendants married inti the Roche family,wealthy landowners, in East Cork  and who commenced the Baron Fermoy dynasty.The 4th Baron married Edward Spenser and  their daughter, Princess Diana was born in 1961. This lineage raises two very interesting  facts,one that Princess Diana and Nano Nagle were related  and that a direct  ancestor of future Kings of England lived in Lombardstown in Kilshannig parish and his grave is documented and  identified in Kilshannig Cemetery

    Another notable grave is that of the Curtin family whose great ,great grandson, John Curtin, became Prime Minister of  Australia and  was  highly respected there as he is credited with preventing an invasion of Australia by the Japanese during World War 2.

    It is also worth noting that Daniel O Connell's mother,Catherine O Mullane, is also buried in this cemetery.

    Another notable person associated with Kilshannig Protestant  Church is Thomas Russell,the famous 1798 leader who was executed in 1802 and buried in Downpatrick.. He was born into a local protestant family, was baptised in Kilshannig Church and organised and fought against the English in that rebellion. Ironically,one of the leaders of the pro British forces was another local  protestant, Colonel Foot, who is buried in Kilshannig cemetery and they were born within about a mile of each other.

    Some more Kilshannig history is recorded in the website "historicgraves.com"

     

    Donie O Sullivan

    Friday 8th June 2018 09:48PM
  • Thank you for sharing your expertise. It is appreciated.

    Denise

    Searching for years

    Thursday 14th June 2018 08:20PM
  • Yes that was great. Were there any big houses, mills or significant farms in Glantane do you know? I am trying to find an ancestor Richard Keeffe and there is a family from Glantane that could fit into my ancestry but Richard Keefe or Keeffe does not feature in the Tithe Applotment or Griffiths Valuation information for Glantane. Richard Keeffe was supposed to be a miller and I think he might have come from City Cork. His son John Keeffe born around about 1834 came to England, to Egton Bridge and was the school teacher in the Catholic School there in 1861. He was an educated man and a musician too. The Glantane family were Richard Keeffe and Julia Murphy and they had six children. Could it be that this is a farming family or might they have been renting a bigger house and been a bit more prosperous? Any comments would be useful.

    Clare

    Thursday 9th January 2020 05:54PM
  • Hello Clare

    Thank you for your appreciation of my bit of local Kilshannig history. The O Keeffe name is quite common in this parish and the Keeffes or O Keeffes were  a significant old Irish clan that ruled a over a large territory in the Barony Of Duhallow before the Norman conquest of 1169. 

    In answer to your questions  there were some large houses in Kilshannig/Glantane parish but I cannot recall any O Keeffe connections to any of them.

    Regarding old corn mills there were 5 such mills in the parish with one I have tracked back to the early 1600's another to the early 1800's and three more recent ones but I am not aware of an O Keeffe being involved in any but then my knowledge would not be exhaustive. These mills were often leased out to business families by the owners but I never came across an O Keeffe involved in any but it is possible that your ancestor was a millright by profession and may be employed as a  maintenance operator or even as a mill worker by the owner. The owners of the big houses and estates generally retained ownership for long periods and their owners could be traced.

    I will look at the tithe books and Griffiths valuation records and I will also be able to peruse the catholic parish baptism and marriage records and see what i can find  and will get back to you.

    Donie

    Donie Sullivan

    Thursday 9th January 2020 07:54PM
  • Thank you very much. I have a feeling the my ancestor John Keeffe was well to do and thought himself a gentleman. He was well educated though but I saw in another record that there were 2 teachers in Glantane before 1800 so education could be had, or he could have been sent away to school

    . Family legend has it that he was baptised at St Finbarr's and/ or the oldest catholic church in Ireland - but at St Finbarr's there is no suitable record for a John born 1836 ish to a Richard Keeffe. But thank you for your interest. It is much appreciated. 

    Kind regards

    Clare O'Keefe Leeds Yorkshire England.

    Clare

    Monday 13th January 2020 10:35AM
  • Hello clare

    the national primary school system was set up with government grants in  about 1831 but schools were not built until the 1840's. The first in the parish was Laharan in 1843 and Glantane followed in 1847. these were non denominational schools but were part funded by the Catholic churches and were controlled by the local catholic clergy.

    The protestant religion had schools built and part funded by the protestant landlords much earlier eg glantane protestant school was built in 1822 with accommodation upstairs for the headmaster.That school is still there but much altered.I am assuming your ancestor was catholic and so would not be teaching iin the parish in the 1830's, however,all is not lost. During the suppression of education for catholics during the period of the Penal Laws ie late 1600's to about 1800 many hedge schools were set up in isolated locations to avoid detection and there were a number of these in the parish. The masters teaching in these schools were very well educated and provided a high standard of education in irish,English,reading ,writing,maths ,history geography etc. and sometimes a little Latin and Greek. The pupils payed a fee to the master and he stayed in the area while he was paid. I checked most of these hedge schools and the teachers there in the early 1800's but no O Keefe was found I also checked the early teachers in the new Catholic run schools and no O Keeffe there either.

    You mentioned Richard who you think came to Glantane parish and you seem to think his son John was baptised in St.Finnbars in Cork City. There are a Catholic church and a protestant cathedeal named  Saint Finnbar's in Cork  I will look up the Glantane parish baptism records that start in 1828 and check for anyone baptised to Richard O Keeffe.

    The 2 teachers you found in Glantane I am interested in who were they and in what school .did they teach.

    If John O Keeffe was born in 1834 his baptism should be possible to trace ,it is a question of finding the correct parish as Catholic Emancipation was passed in 1829 and many parish records begin about then .

    Regards

    Donie 

    Donie Sullivan

    Tuesday 14th January 2020 04:34PM
  • Hi I looked at this document. http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/9120/1/Cloyne.pdf  Early records of a school in Glantane. But of course this will mean the Anglican church visitation I guess. I was not thinking with my brain!

    Clare

    Tuesday 14th January 2020 04:59PM
  • Hello Clare

    I got a look at the glantane parish register of baptisms and marriages and found the following baptised to Timothy Lehane and julia Crean-

    John 1.11.1858

    Michael 6.5.1860

    Timothy 6.4.1862

    Mary 2.5.1864

    Timothy 12.8.1865

    denis 12.8.1867 in Milford

    Elizabeth 15.2.1869 in Milford

    Elizabeth 5.6.1870

    William18.5.1873

    John 25.10.1875 in Dromore

    Michael 16.8.1877 

    From above it appears that 3 children died young,that the parents married in c.1857-1858 and that Julia was young when she got married  probably born before 1840. I searched for such a baptism and only found one julia Crean in Glantane Parish baptised in 1844 and none earlier. Marriage computerised records for the parish begin in 1858 and they may have got married in 1887 or in another parish.

    looking for baptism of timothy Lehane I came across only one possibility , baptised to John Lehane and Margaret Callaghan on 1.11.1830

    I hope there is some useful information there.

    Regarding Maynooth records this was a Catholic institution and the teachers must have been "Hedge School" masters.A priest was allowed to practice provided he registered with the authorities and paid a fee of £50 which the poor catholic s could not afford so catholocism went underground and masses were celebrated in isolated locations with lookouts in place.An ungegistered priest was  hunted down, arrested and executed and priest hunting was a lucretive passtime for traitors. as there were rewards for information.

    By the way Milford had one of the cornmills I mentioned  It was on land owned by the Foott family was leased to a Bolster family for a time and then a Benn family took up the lease. One of these was Anthony Benn and there is a strong possibility that they were connected to Sir Anthony "Wedgewood" Benn.If Richard was involved in a mill then this must have been the one.I will look up more on that.The mill house is still there but the mill is long gone.It was powered by a water millrace.

    Regards

    donie

    Donie Sullivan

    Wednesday 15th January 2020 11:29PM
  • Hello Clare

    I seem to have got my wires crossed mixing up the o Keeffes and Lehanes who I am also looking up so discard the above.Must start again.with Glantane Records

    John Keeffe was baptised to Richard and Julia Murphy on 26 June 1834.

    Thomas Keeffe   "                     "                   "        "             16 Nov.1836

    Ellen                   "                     "                  "        "              5 Nov.1838

    Daniel               "                       "                  "        "              15 April 1841

     

    State reg.of births etc did not commence until 1864 so birth records for above are not available..Baptisms usually took place within a few days of birth. and these dates are very reliable.

    There is a headstone in Kilshannig Graveyard erected by Daniel o Keeffe in honour of his son Daniel of Dromore who died 19 Nov.1838 at 32 years of age It may be of Interest

    Regards

    Donie.

    Donie Sullivan

    Friday 17th January 2020 01:46PM
  • jGood evening I came across this post when I googled Daniel o Keefee who is buried in Newberry. 
    My great grandfather John O Connell married Julia ? O Keeffe . I think her Dad was Daniel . 
    The O Connell s are buried in Newberry. 
    There is a Rev Timothy O Keeffe buried in Liscarroll left money to John in his will in 1901. 
    could anyone help me clarify this  thanks Fiona 

     

    Fiona

    Saturday 6th June 2020 05:54PM
  • Hello Fiona

    I did a little searching and found thw following,

    1-The o connells you mentioned were farmers from Kilpadder near Drommahane village in Glantane parish. direct descendants still live and farm there.and I know some of them.

    2-John O Connell married Julia O Keeffe about1878 ,I did not find that cert as she could be from a different parish.

    3-Their first born seems to have been Mary who was born 30 June 1879.  They had 13 children but 2 died young.julia's maiden name ,o keeffe,is on all of the birth records.

     4- Marys birth suggests a marriage in 1878, but there may be an older child that i may have missed.

    5-Rev.Timothy O Keeffe was PP in Churchtown when he died on 8 June 1901 but I did not find his death record.. John O Connel  was chief executer and beneficiary of Timothys estate  valued at £1600.,a huge sum in 1901..

    I did not connect directly Julia O Keeffe to Rev.Timothy but there is little doubt that they were siblings..Churchtown and Liscarroll are in one parish now

    Mallow Heritage Centre has all the records of baptisms and marriages for the entire Diocese of  Cloyne and would carry out a search for you for a fee..

    I hope this is of some help

    Regards

    Donie O Sullivan

    Donie Sullivan

    Sunday 7th June 2020 08:33PM
  • Thank you Donie for your help. Would Daniel o keeffe who is buried in Newberry be her father it says he is from Dromore. There is a Daniel o Keffee in the Griffith valuations for kilpadder south. 
    There is another O Keffee priest buried in the grounds of the chapel. 
    My mother is Julia Veronica Buckley nee O Connell she and Dad are residents in Nazareth home . 
    Patrick & Nora Leader were married in St. Peter and Paul and her parents were too . 
    I'm doing an online genealogy course.

    Any other advice or help appreciated .

     

     

     

     

    Fiona

    Monday 8th June 2020 08:27PM
  • hello Fiona 

    The O keeffe in Newberry died in 1838, Julia married in c 1878 and would probably be 20-24 years of age then but the Daniel who died in 1838 could be her uncle,I doubt they werre siblings.and she certainly was not that Daniels daughter.

    An interesting piece of information appears in Griffiths valuation where a Daniel O Keeffe is a tenant farmer in Kilpadder South but no O Connell there.. I looked at the Griffith map and saw that the 92 acres in Daniel O Keeffes name is the same place that is now occupied by the O Connells.and that suggests that John O Connell  married into that farm.to Julia O Keeffe.This can be checked out at the Valuation Office in Dublin where property ownership was updated regularly after Griffiths Valuation to bill the owners for property tax and these records can be searched in Dublin..

    Regards

    Donie..

     

    Donie Sullivan

    Tuesday 9th June 2020 09:03PM
  • Would u know anything about Fr Joseph o Keffee who is buried in the grounds of kilpadder chapel.

    Thanks Fiona 

     

     

    Fiona

    Sunday 14th June 2020 10:09PM
  • Would u know anything about Fr Joseph o Keffee who is buried in the grounds of kilpadder chapel.

    Thanks Fiona 

     

     

    Fiona

    Sunday 14th June 2020 10:09PM
  • fiona

    Fr.joseph O keeffe was parish priest of Glantane Catholic parish from about july 1830 until he died on 1st April 1842 and he probably  died in service. ,locals were seldom appointed to parishes in their own locality so i would assume he is not from the parish.I know no more about him but will try to look him up. Glantane parish was founded in 1821 when the first catholic church in the parish ,after the penal laws period ,was built in Glantane village.Kilpadder was built some 10 years later..

    Regards

    Donie

    Donie Sullivan

    Monday 15th June 2020 07:31PM
  • Hi Donie,

    We are able to trace my O'Sullivan ancestors to Kilshannig parish to 1866 (my great-grandfather Patrick Sullivan/O'Sullivan was born that year) and his wife Mary O'Callahan was born there in 1867. But I'm having trouble going back another generation (Mary's parents were Timothy O'Callahan and Catherine O'Keefe but I don't see if they were born in Kilshannig or ended up there). On the other side, It appeas Patrick Sullivan's father's name was Dennis and was born in 1800 but we don't know where). Also it seems weird that Patrick would be born when Dennis was 66 years old, so I'm wondering if there is a generation missing). 

    Thank you,

    Joanne O'S (wondering if we are related?)

     

     

     

    Tuesday 8th September 2020 08:11PM
  • Hello JoanneI have the parish registers for Kilshannig(Glantane Catholic parish) and I do not see a matching birth for your patrick O Sullivan with a father denis.If Denis was a grandfather then the father could be any name 

    Patrick does not seem to be from the parish but I did find   Catherine Callaghan born in 1867 in Gloundine townland..Patrick from ballyboght near Bweeng and Catherine ,now from nearby Knockavaddra were married in Bweeng Church in 1896.This date is outside the 100 yer rule when records were computerised.She had siblings Catherine 1871, Anne 1873, Cornelius 1877, Ellen 1879, Margaret 1880,Timothy 1883, Hanora 1885, 

    I did find a Patrick Sullivan born in 1866 in Donoughmore parish in Knockmarten townland with a father Denis and thatnwould be the next parish and about 5 miles from Gloundine.He may not be the correct one but it seems very likely..I will look further later as it is bedtime.

    Regards

    Donie

     

    Donie Sullivan

    Wednesday 16th September 2020 11:57PM
  • Thank you so much for this, Donie! We believe that Patrick's mother/Denis's wife was a Catherine Brennan. We believe she was from Dromtarriff, which appears to be a little to the northeast, and believe she was born in 1834. But again, would Denis' wife be 34 years younger? Even for those days, that seems a bit unlikely. Thanks again for your help...

    Thursday 17th September 2020 01:02AM
  • Hello Joanne 

    I did a bit more research and found a few items but also some confusing information.Mary Callaghan from Gloundine married Patrick sullivan in Bweeng church,Kilshannig parish on 13July 1896.Kilshannig Parish is now the Protestant parish and Glantane is the name of the same catholic parish..Mary was born in Gloundine townland in 1867 but there is no Patrick to match your Patrick so when I found a matching Patrick in nearby Donoughmore parish I concluded this could be him as born in  1866,father Denis and proximity to Gloundine  all pointed in him.

    Now as I looked further I am convinced that this may not be correct.The Patrick on the marriage cert was a farmers son from Ballyboght  with a father Denis and mother Catherine Brennan all matching the parents but no Patrick.The one in Donoughmore's father was Denis also but he was not a farmer. I checked Griffiths Valuation records and Denis in Ballyboght was a significant farmer while the one in Donoughmore was leasing a house only so now we are back in Ballyboght but without a Patrick. More confusion as some of their children were born in Shanavoher townland which is beside Ballyboght but a Denis Sullivan had a lease on a few acres there and I assume it was the same Denis.In Griffiths ,however,the dwelling was in Ballyboght and not in Shanavoher, Griffiths Valuation was carried out in about 1852

    Denis and Catherine Brennan had the following baptised in Glantane Parish-

    Mary 1854

    Johanna 1856

    mary 1860-The other Mary must have died before1860

    William 1862,

    Catherine 1866,.

    The above suggests that Denis and Catherine marriied about 1853.  No Patrick but this could be an omission ,too many criteria match but he could not be born in 1866 unless he was a twin or the mothers name ,somehow got on the baptismal cert instead of the baby,anything is possible..

    In the 1901 census  Patrick and family were in Ballybought and his mother Catherine was also there at 67 years and a widow.so I am convinced this is the correct family.

    Digest the above and get back to me again if still stuck.

    Regards. Donie

    Donie Sullivan

    Wednesday 23rd September 2020 07:10PM
  • That *is* confusing! We speculated that Denis and Catherine were married in Dromtarrif because we found a record to that effect, but with so many families having the same name it's hard to know if we are right. In my great-uncle's document (in which there are many mistakes), he says that Catherine was born around 1831, so marriage in 1853 would fit. It is really strange that Patrick is missing, but yes, maybe they accidently but the mother's name down instead. I guess if I knew when he died we could work back from there...

    So, if Denis was on the Griffith's evaluation in Ballybought in 1852, it does seem like that must be him, but is Dromtarriff far away? Maybe Catherine's family was from there? I'm still trying to figure out how Denis could have been born in 1800 and not married to Catherine until 1852 and wondering if there was a Denis who was born maybe in the 1820s who came in between...

    Thursday 24th September 2020 01:24AM
  • Donie back Again

    I checked Dromtarriffe Parish records and found the entry for Denis and Catherine Brennans marriage in February 1853.She was from Kippagh which is near Church and school in Dromagh and would be about15-20 miles west of Shanavoher. Perhaps she may have been a servant much nearer Shanavoher when she met Denis.I think this is the correct family but patrick is still a problem.I found Patricks death in Shanavoher on 3rd jan. 1908 and he was recorded as 52 years and Mary ,his widow was present.This puts his  birth at c.1856.but that cannot be because johanna was born that year but he could be born in 1855 or 1857 ,however death dates can be estimates only.so do .not to rule out 1866..Interestingly he succeeded to the farm and the first born son usually got the farm 

    I checked also for his wifes death and nothing definite emerged but a lpossible death did occur,,a Catherine Sullivan from Glashabee on 23rd April1937 at 78 years and therefore a birth of about 1859 and her daughter Bridget was present.Glashabee is also in the parish and 1-2 miles east of Shanavoher.

    if you wish send  your e mail address to me donieosul@gmail.com.and i can forward the documents i found  as I cannot see  place to do that here.Hope this is a help

    Donie

    Donie Sullivan

    Thursday 24th September 2020 09:36PM

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