Looking for Spillane family

Mary Ellen:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I can't tell from your message whether you know the townland/civil parish where your Spillanes lived. If you know the townland/parish then I would contact a local newspaper to see if you could post a notice with your family details and ask for anyone with connections to contact you.  The Southern Star is one possibility   https://www.southernstar.ie/news/

You could also contact the Bantry branch library to see if they have other suggestions for posting a notice locally.     bantrylibrary@corkcoco.ie

If you need assistance researching your Spillane family, please let us know.

Roger McDonnell

The information I have is that the Spillane family came from Muintervarra Roman Catholic Parish from the Diocese of Cork and Ross.  The townland is Bultimeach or Bultneach (or some such spelling), southwest of Bantry. 

My materhal grandmother was Mary Ellen Kelly, born in New York City on May 30, 1885. She always told me that her family was from County Cork and they came after the famine and were employed in New York as domestic servants. Her mother was Kate Spillane and father James Kelly. Kate was born in 1857 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Morris and Catherine Spillane. We are not certain about his wife - she may have been a McCarthy and we do not yet know if they met in Ireland or in the US. We believe that Morris immegrated to the US in 1850 and that he was the son of Phillip Spillane and Catherine Whyte from the parish listed above.  Morris (or Maurice) was baptized in Bantry on November 26, 1826. Morris had a brother Daniel that lived in New Jersey as well. He was baptised in Bantry on May 9, 1831.

I know from old letters that as late as the 1930s, at least some of our family, (Katherine - Kitty Kelly for certain) went back to Ireland to escort others to come here. I do not know if they were Spillanes or Kellys. I think James Kelly may have been born to Daniel and Kittey Kelly in upsate New York and it is likely he also came from County Cork but we have not done much research on that side yet. 

I was named for my grandmother and she was the light of my life as I grew up. Finding her ancestral home means a great deal to me.

Mary Ellen:

There is a small townland (146 acres) called Boolteenagh in Durrus civil parish southwest of Bantry. Likely that is the place where the Spillanes were from.

I assume Philip Spillane and Catherine Whyte and their children moved to Boolteenagh sometime after 1831.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Roger