Donohue Family of Monivea

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and thanks for your lovely comments.

The civil parish of Monivea includes the RC parishes of Abbeyknockmoy and Athenry where parish records begin in 1821 and 1858 respectively. This means that for anyone born before that time there will be no baptism or marriages records available in the parishes for them. Burial records were not often kept and are usually not available until more recent times.

I searched for a marriage for Patrick and Ellen anyway, just in case they were born in a neighbouring parish where records begin earlier without any luck. Neither was I able to find any baptisms for children of the couple, probably for the same reason. 

It is likely that Julia and Patrick married in the home parish of the bride but as Tuam RC records begin early I checked in case they married there. I couldn't locate a marriage for the couple or baptism for any of their children. 

Do you think that you have exhausted all sources your side including death records or obituaries? 

Sorry I couldn't be of greater help to you.

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support and Tuam Volunteer 

Hi Clare,

Thanks so much for getting back to me re my Donohues.  Thanks for your search which seems to have confirmed my own findings - no records for Patrick, Ellen and their children.  I'm still trying to find Patrick's death record here in Australia - he's being elusive!  We have Julia's death record, which sheds no more light on her parent's history.  Will keep hunting for Patrick's death registration, and if anything comes to light and I need more assistance on your end, I'll post another message here.

Have a wonderful weekend...

Quita :-)

Hi again Clare,

I'm just wondering if you could help me with something else?  Some of the other people researching this same Donohue family have ascribed a birthplace for Julia in Glaway as "Torraplate".  Having Googled and searched on Irish place name sites, I'm at a loss as to find anywhere even remotely souding like "Torraplate"!  I know a lot of names were written down phonetically or spelt incorrectly by clerks.  Would you have any idea of a place that this "Torraplate" may likely to be?

Many thanks,

Quita

Hi Quita

I have spent a while now looking for any reference to this townland or placename or something like it but can't find anything. There is a list of townlands in Galway but nothing on it sounds close to 'Torraplate':

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_townlands_of_County_Galway

You could have a look at the historical mapping section of the Ordnance Survey and move around the areas you list above just to see if the placename is listed on the older maps- a long shot but you may get lucky:

http://www.osi.ie/products/professional-mapping/historical-mapping/

Best wishes

Clare 

Genealogy Support 

Wonderful, thanks for the link to the Ordnance Survey - I'll check it out.  Have a great day/evening Clare. :-)

Quita

Hello, I am also the 3x grand daughter of Julia. I am related through her daughter Margaret to the Connolllys and then to the Fitzpatricks. Thanks for your comments.I have been trying to get some more information to prove that Patrick Donoghue was a convict along with his two sons Michael and Martin when I stumbled onto this site. Can you refer me to any sites or documents that elaborate about their convict past ? Its fascinating ! Regards Viv 

Hi Viv :-),

Great to hear from another Donohue/Connolly cousin!  My connection is through Julia's son Michael (your Margaret's brother) - he is my great grandfather. Do you have an Ancestry tree at all?  All my sources regarding Patrick, Michael and Martin Donohue's convict records are on my Ancestry tree. I only 'discovered' this convict connection for Patrick because I've had my DNA tested and as a result have been corresponding with some other Connolly cousins who've also had their DNA tested - we came up as matches and were therefore able to connect with each other. I'm more than happy to add you to the email loop if you like.  

The sources for their convict records come mostly via NSW State Archives records on Ancestry.  Here for instance is the Convict Ship Muster Roll which shows all three of the Donohues arriving in Sydney on the Portland in 1933...hope you can open this link...

http://interactive.ancestry.com.au/1211/imaus1790a_081475-00452/55347?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com.au/tree/69962578/person/46209627272/facts/citation/323885108087/edit/record

One of the records on the NSW State Archives site...

http://srwww.records.nsw.gov.au/indexes/searchhits.aspx?table=Convict%20Index&id=65&frm=1&query=Surname:Donohue;Firstname:Patrick;Vessel:Portland

Yes, it's fascinatin - you could have knocked me down with a feather to find out about Patrick and his sons...

Chat soon,

Quita

Thank you for this web site, I wish I knew about it years ago it may have made my searching easier.

Patrick Donohue was my greatx3 Grandfather, Martin Donohue was my greatx2 Grandfather. Patrick was born in 1757 and was 76 when transported to Australia on the Portland 2, I have not been able to find any record of his death in Australia. I have some interesting information on Martin's life in Australia and his descendants if you are interested Quita. 

I am interested in locating any descendants of the family still living in Ireland. I travelled to Ireland in 2008 and had a lovely time travelling around the country for about a month.I visited Monivea but could not trace any relatives there, though the first person I spoke to in Monivea knew the story of the as he said the O'Donohoe boys, the only people transported to Australia from Monivea. The Donohue or O'Donohoe were hoffing or houghing sheep, so I asked him if anyone else was doing it and yes they were, so how come the Donohoe's got caught, the others did it at night, the Donohoe's did it in the daytime, soundslike my family, not so bright.

Michael the other brother died in Callan Park Mental Hospital of Paralysisof the Insane or as we know it today Tertiary Syphilis.

Hi Peter,

Like Quita, I'm also a descendant of Patrick Donohue via his daughter Julia/Judith. We have a small circle of descendants. I have also tested my DNA on Ancestry.

Thanks for that info about Michael.

I'm interested in any info you may have on Martin and his descendants, and I'm sure the other members of the circle would be interested as well. My email is herringkate@hotmail.com. Would you be happy for me to share the info?

We have all wondered what happened to Patrick's wife, Ellen, and the other children.

Kind regards,

Kate Herring

I am a descendent of Martin Donohue (my great-great grandfather) son of Patrick and Ellen Donohue.  Patrick and Ellen's grandsonn was my great-grandfather Patrick James Donohue/Donohoe/Donoghue (from his 2nd marriage to Mary Ladrigan). A researcher has done extensive research on my grandfather John Patrick Donoghue. In his research, he has found that -

1. The Scottish Highland Clearances in the 18th and 19th centuries are well known. However, they are less well known in Ireland. The intention was the same, namely to sweep away small farmers and herdsmen and replace them with large pastoral estates. The wisdom at the time being that the sheep were more profitable than small farmers and herdsmen.
2. Many of the Irish small farmers and herdsmen fought back against the Clearances, employing various forms of agrarian terrorism. A favourite technique was the slaughter of imported sheep by hamstringing (“houghing”).
3. In 1831 Patrick Donohue and his two sons Michael and Martin of Monivea near Galway West Ireland were tried and convicted for sheep houghing. They were sentenced to transportation for life to Australia.
4. However, it is not clear at all that Patrick Donohue and his two sons Michael and Martin were agrarian terrorists.
5. In 1832 Patrick Donohue and his two sons Michael and Martin twice petitioned the Lord Lieutenant General of Ireland for clemency. These documents survive in the National Archives of Ireland. See National Archives of Ireland “Prisoners’ Petitions and Cases” PPC3655, 1832 (microfilmed as” Australian Joint Copying Project, Miscellaneous Series, reel M2141).
6. Patrick Donohue and his two sons Michael and Martin claimed that the charges against them had been brought by a man named Kenny, who had a grievance against Patrick Donohue. Kenny had previously brought charges (subsequently dismissed) against the Donohues.
7. About a dozen of the “local nobility and gentry” (mostly with Irish surnames) endorsed this petition but it was rejected.
8. A subsequent petition begs that the transportation be commuted to a term of imprisonment, pointing out that Patrick Donoghue was an old man of 80 years (see comments about above “Patrick Donohue and Ellen nee Burke.  I have a birth date for Patrick of around 1773”). The attached images show Patrick’s age at 76 and year of birth 1857 at the time of transportation.
9. Interestingly, this petition was endorsed by the (Protestant) Vicar of St Nicholas Parish in Galway City, who considered it “a case which requires some investigation” adding that the Kennys had themselves been investigated for houghing sheep. This 2nd petition was also rejected.

I wouold be intreested to get full copies of the National Archives of Ireland records of the tow petitions, if you researchers can help me to find out how to do so. 

I hope that you find the above intreesting information.

Regards,

Mary McCafferty

Hi Mary

There are a couple of researchers available at the various links below who provide a look up and records retrieval service in the Archives. Many of our volunteers are located outside Dublin.

AGI - http://accreditedgenealogists.ie/affiliates/

Eneclann - http://www.eneclann.ie/

Timeline Research - http://timeline.ie/

Best wishes

Clare

Ireland XO

Thanks, Mary and Clare. Mary, that is great info! We're related through the Donohues. Ellen is a mystery, perhaps we can use one of Clare's sources to help us find her. I hope Quita reads these posts as she'll be very excited.

Cheers,

Kate

My great grandfather was known as Patrick James DONOGHUE not DONOHUE. His birth certificate in 1860 records Patrick J DONOHOE – See NSW Births Deaths & Marriages (BDM) 9584/1860. Over 30 years later, his marriage certificate gives his surname as “DONOGHUE” -  See BDM 7107/1890 PATRICK J DONOGHUE - MARY A MCGUCKIN – TENTERFIELD.

Martin, my great great grandfather, (brother of Julia (Judith) also used different spellings of his surname. Attached is a copy of the Petition. His convict records also have “DONOHOE” and not “DONOHUE”. I believe that he may have changed his surname’s spelling probably due to the “convict stain” or maybe due to him not being able to read or write.

There is another very interesting matter about my great great grandfather Martin Donohue/Donohoe/Donoghoe/Donoghue. After arriving in Australian aboard the convict ship Portland in 1833, Michael and Martin (as experienced farmers) were assigned as servants to pastoralists – Martin in the Monaro district and Martin in the Hunter Valley.

Their elderly father Patrick was placed into government service in Port Macquarie. Martin was assigned to Colonel Henry Dumaresq at a property called “St Heliers” in the Hunter Valley. This is the same name as my great grandfather’s Donoghue family farm near Tenterfield decades later.

Between 1839 and 1840 the Hunter Valley was terrorised by a gang of bushrangers led by Edward Davis, an Australian convict and one of the only known Jewish bushranger. Davis was born in England. In 1832, a London court convicted him of stealing a shopkeeper's till worth two shillings and five shillings worth of coins. His sentence was deportation to Australia for seven years.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts at escape, as a result of which his sentence was increased by 48 months, Davis finally managed to escape in 1839. He organized a bushranger gang of ex-convicts like himself who, ranging on horseback, raided towns and settlements and robbed travellers on the desolate roads (popularly known as the “Jewboy Gang of Bushrangers” consisting mainly of runaway convicts and convict servants).

It has been said that Davis played the part of an Australian Robin Hood and, when he stripped the rich, he went out of his way to relieve the misery of the assigned servants, to whom he distributed part of his booty. He also would only countenance violence in self-defence. Davis’ downfall came in December 1840, when in the course of a raid on the township of Scone one of his gang, John Shea, killed a young shopkeeper. Edward Day, a visiting magistrate, organised a mounted party to hunt down the offenders. The party was made up of Day, five ticket-of-leave men, an aboriginal tracker and my great great grandfather Martin Donohoe (an assigned servant). The party caught Shea, Davis, and four others. They were convicted of murder, and sentenced to death.

It was a stroke of luck for Martin Donohoe. For his part in the exploit, he received a conditional pardon on 1st February 1841. His father and brother would have to wait several years before they received their conditional pardons.

With a conditional pardon, Martin Donohoe was free to live and work in the colony but he wasn’t allowed to leave it.

My great great grandfather’s Martin’s children’s names were Matthias, Ellen, Richard, Jane and Martin (5 children) from the first marriage, and a William, John, Bridget, Thomas, Patrick, Michael, Peter and a Christopher (8 children) from the second marriage.

Kind Regards,

Mary

Mary, there is a circle of descendants on Ancestry who have pondered the fate of Patrick. I had been able to trace him to government service, and I believe there was talk of his residence in the Hunter region, but we lost track of him after that. We hit a brick wall with the fate of Michael, and also Patrick's wife Ellen Burke/Bourke, who remained in Ireland. I wonder if you have any leads there?

Also, it would be interesting to hear what you know about Martin's marriages and children.

Is St Heliers prison built on the site of the family property? If so, how ironic!

Kind regards

Kate

Kate,

I don’t know what happened to Ellen and the five children left in Ireland. I’d be interested to find out.

Concerning Martin, Ellen and Patrick’s son, I only know of his son my great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue and not the other 13 children. I only recently became aware of Martin as I thought my great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue’s father’s 1st name was Matthew and surname Donoghue. There were no records held under the name Matthew Donoghue, so I hit a dead end. Only with the researcher have I found what appears to be the correct information and the correct name of my great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue’s father Martin Donohue/Donohoe/Donoghue/Donoghoe and about the Petitions. I had been told about and Martin’s 1st and 2nd marriages.

Martin Donohoe moved to St Heliers in Muswellbrook after his pardon. On 8 October 1841 he married Mary Pearson with whom he had at least five children (Matthias, Ellen, Richard, Jane and Martin). BDM 626/1841 V1841626 123) - Martin DONOGHOE – Mary PEARSON.

Martin was an hotelier of “The Bull's Head” at Sandy Creek see article on Muswellbrook in the Early Days – see http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107628691

We hear of Martin Donohoe again from 1854 – 1858. During this time, he was the Licensee of The Woolpack Inn at Aberdeen Road, St Heliers, District of Muswellbrook (spelt Muscle Brook!)

After his 1st wife died and on 17 November 1951, Martin Donohoe married again for the 2nd time to Mary Ladrigan, a native of Tipperary. 481/1851 V1851481 97  - Martin DONOHOE – Mary LADRIGAN. My great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue is a child of the 2nd marriage.

Mary bore him ?nine children and eight of their names were William, John, Bridget, Thomas, Patrick, Michael, Peter and a Christopher – this includes my great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue. The last two children were twins and were borne in the year of Martin’s death in 1866.

Mary (nee Ladrigan) was only 16 years when she married Martin. When he died, his widow was left with 12 children.

Yes, it’s ironic that there is the NSW correctional centre St Heliers today built at the same place! It’s the one and the same being part of the property that Martin Donohoe was assigned to as a servant to the pastoralist Colonel Henry Dumaresq in 1837. This was some years after Martin’s arrival at Port Jackson on the Portland (2) in 1833 – See http://www.jenwilletts.com/henry_dumaresq.htm.

"St Heliers" is still here today being 515 hectares and part of the original "St Heliers" property settled by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dumaresq. He named it named after a town on the Isle of Jersey.

"St Heliers" passed hands several times before being bought by the NSW State Government in 1945. It was used as a child welfare institution until its closure in 1986. The property was purchased by NSW Corrective Services from the Department of Youth and Community Services in 1988. After major refurbishment, it opened as a correctional centre in September 1989 and still is that today. See http://www.correctiveservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/CorrectiveServices/custodial-corrections/table-of-correctional-centres/st_heliers.aspx

My great grandfather Patrick James Donoghue was born in 1860 - Patrick J DONOHOE – BDM 9584/1860 at “St Heliers” in the Hunter Valley. This is the same name that he called his grazing property St Helliers Tenterfield. His son Private Christopher Donoghue (killed in the Battle of Messines in WW1) was sending his letters to St Helliers Tenterfield from the Western Front – See attached copy of envelope.

I’d be interested in any information about Ellen and her five children left in Ireland. A starting point may be getting the full transcripts of the two Petitions to see if there is an address in the Monivea Civil Parish to see if there a town. This may help.

Kind Regards,

Mary

Hi everyone

Thank you all for your very interesting information. I am decended from Jane, daughter of Martin Donohoe from his first marriage to Mary Pearson.

Thank you very much for the information on the appeal, I had no knowledge of this.

Clare - it has always been believed in our family that a fourth member of the Donohoe (various spelling) family was also tried for the hoffing offence, but was acquited. We believe his name was Mathias (or Matthias). Are you able to find out anything to prove this, please?

I have attached where each of the Donohoe's were when they applied for their ticket of leave FYI - Michael at Queanbeyan and Patrick at Port Macquarie.

Cheers

Therese Channell

Hello All, My name is Patrick Donoghoe. I am descendant of Lawrence Donoghoe who married Catherine Dwyer (Michael Dwyer's; {Wicklow Chieftan} sister). My Donoghoe's (John Donoghoe on the ship Rodney) settled in Bungendore/Queanbeyan 1855/58. I Wonder if I also come from this Martin Donoghoe?  

Hi Pat

I have looked at the passengers on the Rodney in March 1854 (see attached). It appears that John Donoghoe came out as a baby with his mother, Mary and his siblings. According to these records, Mary came from Paisley, Scotland and John came from Busby, Scotland.

It is not likely that they are closely related to Patrick, Michael and Martin as they came from Monivea, Galway, Ireland. 

Cheers Therese

Hi All, I hope this may still be active.  The Donoghoe family mentioned in Scotland where originally from Ireland and were in Scotland waiting for ship to Australia. Laurence Donoghoe married Catherine Dwyer sister of Michael Dwyer Wicklow cheiftain, two sons James and John Donoghoe. James my 5th grandfather was born 1821 Baltinglass County Wicklow Ireland. With this information update may it still be possible connection?