Sheehan-Cleary Family

Welcome Mary!

I have asked a Bruff volunteer to get back to you on this one

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support 

Hello Mary,

I have received your query in relation to your ancestors.  The Graveyards in the parish of Bruff have all been digitally recorded. Details can be obtained under historic graves.com, click search, graveyard search, put in Ireland under country, Limerick under County, Bruff under town and 7 names of graveyards in the parish will show up.  Click on any of the graveyard names and detail of headstones will come up relating to that graveyard.

I will also put this up under the Bruff Community Page facebook to see if anyone locally can relate to these people.

I hope you may be able to get some information from this but if not, please let me know and I will suggest another avenue to explore.  Best of luck.

Kind regards,

Maurice Lyons

Thank you so very much for the information. I live in Texas and have been to Ireland twice but never Limerick. We hope to return next spring to concentrate on this area. I would love to meet some Spillane, Cleary, Sheehan, Haneen, O'Donnell or Riordan cousins. I know my 3rd gr-gm Catherine Cleary lived in Nenagh as a child, then married William Sheehan in Bruff. I look forward to learning more about my family.   Sincerely,   Mary Butler Arnold

Hi Mary,

In researching my own Bruff ancestors (Moloney, Riordan, Cleary [not from Nenagh like your Catherine], Kirby), I found in this "Bruff – Tullabracky church yard" listing some Sheehans and Spillanes.  Although the graves are earlier than what you're looking for, perhaps you'll get some clues.  You'll find inscriptions here: http://members.iinet.net.au/~nickred/kilmallock/bruff_mi.htm  This church yard is listed as St. Molon on historicgraves.com, the site that Maurice Lyons suggested to you, and it's adjacent to Tullabrackey House (variant spelling of Tullabracca, which was the townland and civil parish name) outside the town of Bruff, which is still owned by my Irish Kirby cousin (2C1R).  You'll see the same graves listed there.  

You've probably checked the Sheehy variant of the name?  I believe a 3G grandaunt of mine, Catherine Molony, dau. of J. Molony, Esq. of Tullabracca House (considered gentry) married a Thomas Sheehy (often spelled Sheehan in records) of Donoman Castle, Croom, in Bruff in 1823, but I found some of their children were baptized at St. John's in the city of Limerick. My guess is that the Sheehy family only had the marriage in Bruff because the bride was from that parish.

Have you checked tax records yet? There is a Patrick Sheehan in Griffith’s Valuation, 1847-1864.  I found a Thomas Sheehan in the 1833 Tithe records in Ballycampion, which is a little townland at the foot of Tullybrackey townland right above Bruff. You may have found others.

Hello from Los Angeles.  Best, Joan

Mary, just to clarify, the Patrick Sheehan in Griffith’s Valuation, 1847-1864, was listed for Bruff.

Hello Joan,  Thank you so very much for the information. I will research the graveyards you mentioned. The name Spillane does not seem very common. I think I found the grandfather of my gr-gf Peter Spillane (also named Peter Spillane which would be Irish naming patterns) in Ballygrenan neat Bruff in the Tithe Applotment. I have a picture of an 1825 sampler made by Catherine Cleary that shows her father in a Napoleanis-era military uniform It is possible that he was stationed in Nenagh when Catherine was born, but might have been from the Bruff area. Nenagh was a military town back then. When Catherine Cleary married William Sheahan, there is a dispensation for them being distant cousins (2x3?) in the parish records. Of course, I don't have any idea how they are related.

I also have Moloneys in my tree. My gr-gm Margaret Moloney was b. in Vermont to Irish immigrant parents. She married Peter Spillane. I think her parents were from Tipperary, but can't find them for sure. Have you done DNA testing? It might show us as cousins with various same surnames.    Best wishes,    Mary

HI- Possible connetion- HANORA CLEARY b. approx. 1830 (possibly in Clare area) but went to America with the PILLON family and married 1 of the sons- Patrick PILLON (after they arrived by ship in US) I have a photo of her. Thanks, Eileen

Hi Mary,

After reading Eileen's message, I realize that I didn't see your reply to me way back in 1916, Mary!  Sounds as if you've made some progress in your research.  Mary, you asked me about DNA testing.  Yes, I am up on FamilyTreeDNA, ancestryDNA and Genesis-Gedmatch T869510.  Even if there was a connection, it may be too far back to be recorded in autosomal DNA, but It's worth checking.  Can't draw any conclusions, but perhaps they may have known each other or there were some marriages among our ancestors' relatives.  I am always cautious, but then sometimes pleasantly surprised when sometimes a puzzle piece will fit!

Joan in Los Angeles

Hello Joan,  My gedmatch is M180232. I checked and we have about 6 small matches in the 3-4cm range which are not considered very significant. We probably have some common ancestors a very long time ago. My results are also on Ancestry and MyHeritage as Mary Butler. I have 10 pages of matches on Ancestry with the name Stewart in your tree.    Mary in Texas

Hello Mary - I have a relative called Ann Butler who married Michael Reardon (Riordan) in Ballybricken co.Limerick 18th Feb 1849 in presence of John Butler and Edward Maloney. They took on land in Bottomstown near Bruff, their 10 children were registered in Knockainy parish, and a Mary Butler was a witness to a least 3 of the children, Mary Reardon, John and James Reardon between 1850-63.  I have been searching for my gt,Grandfather's connections for the past year - the 7th Reardon child called Daniel Francis Butler Reardon who studied in Dublinand  became the local Doctor in Bruff between 1895-1904 when he died. I have been given a photo recently from a resident who showed me his Doctor's house now converted into 2 shops in Main Street Bruff.   Hope this is of some interest to you.

Liz Logan

Liz,  Thank you for the information. My Butler family was from Clonmel, Tipperary. There's probably a connection somewhere.   I don't have a lot of information about my Riordan family from Bruff, only a mother's name in a baptizmal register. 

Mary Butler Arnold

Hello

My 3x great grandparents are from Bruff. Terence O'Brien born around 1815; parents Daniel O'Brien and Catherine Carroll.

Terence married Johanna Dooley also born in Bruff around 1817; parents James Dooley/Doolan and Ellen Connor. Terence and Johanna were married in Bruff 18 Feb 1836. The family immigrated to Australia about 1841.

If anyone has information on either 3xgreat grandparents and their families, that would be so appreciated.

Cheers

Lea