Newspaper - Longford Leader

Attached Files

Janet,

Please see attached. I hope it comes out ok.

Try and enlarge 500%

Credit: www.irishnewspapersrchives.com - Subscription Site.

Regards,

Attached Files

Janet,

Due to Covid-19 many offices are not fully staffed. The edition of the paper you require would be in storage.

In the absence of an original copy, the attached may be printed in order to help you in conjunction with previous post.

Regards,

Attached Files

Hello Janet,

After reading the article in the Longford Leader about the murder of your great grand uncle Michael McKenna at the hands of Shakes McNally, I wanted to see if I could locate the 1908 death record for Michael McKenna as well as the 1952 death record of John “Shakes” McNally. I’m not sure if you have these death records, but I located them at the free irishgnealogy.ie website.

The death record for Michael McKenna shows he died in Bawn, Longford on 25 August 1908 at the age of 28 years. This is the date of death you have for him. At the time of death he had been a Bachelor. His occupation was “Blacksmith.” The cause of death is, “Death caused by Gunshot wounds Homicidal.”

The informant who reported the death is recorded as, “Certificate received from Dr. M.D. Gray, Coroner for County Longford. Inquest held 27th August 1908.”

The death was recorded by Matthew D. Gray on 28 August 1908. It appears that Dr. Matthew D. Gray was also the coroner for County Longford, as well as the Registrar who recorded births, marriages, and death in the Longford Registration District.

Michael McKenna’s death record is attached to this reply, and is the last entry in the register at Number 480.

Next, John McNally died in the “Asylum, Dundrum,” on 2 February 1952 at the age of 82 years. His nickname “Shakes” is not recorded in the death record.

The death record shows he was single, and that his occupation had been “Labourer.” The cause of death was, “Cardiac failure and Coronary Thrombosis.”

The Registrar Anne Sutton writes about the death that “Information received from Dr. J.P. Brennan Coroner for Co. Dublin. Inquest held 4 February 1952.”

Anne Sutton recorded the death in the Rathdown Registration District on 10 February 1952. The death record for John McNally is attached to this reply and is Number 115 in the register.

Today the Central Lunatic Asylum is called the Central Mental Hospital, located in the Dundrum Road, Churchtown Lower, Dundrum.

According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the hospital was constructed between 1847 and 1851. For more information about the hospital and a slide presentation of the exterior of the hospital building, go to the Buildings of Ireland website link at: https://tinyurl.com/k3crjt4r

You can see the location of the Central Lunatic Asylum (Criminal), in an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1888 to 1913 time period. The map is from the GeoHive website and is attached to this reply.

Note that the asylum is just east of the R.C. Chapel in Dundrum.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MICHAEL MCKENNA

I located 21 year old Michael McKenna and his family in the 1901 census, which shows the McKenna family were the “Residents of a house 9 in Bawn (Breanrisk, Longford).”

Michael is shown to be a “Blacksmith.” His father is 74 year old Patrick Mckenna, a farmer. Michael’s mother is 65 year old Bridget.

The other McKenna siblings in the household are older than Michael, and include 33 year old Edward; 30 year old Patrick; and 28 year old Maria. All the adult McKenna children are single, Roman Catholic, were born in County Longford, and could read and write.

Also in the household is 13 year old James Clarke. He is recorded as the elder Patrick’s “grand son.”

You can access a transcription of the 1901 census form the National Archives of Ireland link at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Longford/Breanrisk/Baw…

Once the census transcription appears, make sure to tick/click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.

For a copy of the original 1901 census for the McKenna family see: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001029389/

Toward the lower right-hand corner of the census form you’ll be able to see the elder Patrick McKenna’s signature.

Based on the information from the 1952 Longford Leader newspaper article about Michael McKenna, and the 1901 census, I found what I believe is the civil registration birth record for him at the free irishgenealogy.ie website, though his birth record can be difficult to read because of the handwriting.

Michael was born in the townland of Bawn on 14 May 1880. This is the date of birth you have for him. His father is Patrick McKenna, a farmer living in Bawn. Michael’s mother is Bridget McKenna, formerly McCann. A lady named Maria McKenna was present at the birth and reported the birth to the Deputy Registrar, whose name appears to be Laurence Fahy. Maria signed the birth register with “her + mark,” signifying she could not write. The Deputy Registrar recorded Michael’s birth in the Longford Registration District on 18 May 1880. The birth record is the 2nd entry in the birth register at Number 82. The birth record is attached to this reply.

Maria McKenna could have been the elder Patrick McKenna’s sister or perhaps even mother, who acted as a midwife at the birth.

Concerning 13 year old James Clarke in the 1901 census, he would have been the son of one of Patrick and Bridget McKenna’s daughters.

To find out the name of this daughter I looked for James’s birth record at irishgnealogy.ie. At age 13 in 1901 James would have been born circa 1887-1888.

I found James’s birth record. He was born in Bawn on 18 April 1887. His father is Patrick Clarke, a farmer living in Bawn. James’s mother is Eliza Clarke, formerly McKenna. Maria McKenna was present at the birth and reported the birth to the Assistant Registrar, James Fahy. James Fahy recoded the birth in the Longford Registration District on 19 April 1887. The birth record is Number 254 in the attached register.

The informant, Maria McKenna, could have been Eliza’s sister.

I also found the civil marriage record for Patrick Clarke and Elizabeth “McCana,” or McCanna.” They were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel at Enybegs, Longford, on March 9, 1886. At the time of marriage Patrick was a 29 year old bachelor and Elizabeth a 24 year old spinster. Patrick’s occupation was farmer. His residence at the time of marriage was Enybegs. His father is Michael Clarke, a farmer.

Elizabeth’s residence at the time of marriage was Bawn. Her father is Patrick McCana, also a farmer. The parish priest who married Patrick Clarke and Elizabeth was John Brody. The witnesses to the marriage are James McAvey and Maria McAvey.

Patrick Clarke signed the marriage register with “his x mark,” signifying he could not write. Elizabeth signed the register on her own, but spelled her maiden name as “McKenna,” not McCana or McCanna.

The marriage was recorded in the Longford Registration District on 12 March 1886 by the Deputy Registrar, James Fahy. The marriage record is attached to this reply.

According to the Buildings of Ireland website, the Catholic Church in Enybegs was constructed in the mid 1820s. To read more about the church and to view a slide presentation of the exterior and interior of the church, go to the Buildings of Ireland link at: https://tinyurl.com/6mjmxun2

An Ordnance Survey Map from the late 19th/early 20th century showing the R.C. Chapel in Enybegs, as well as the Enybegs School, is attached to this reply. The map if from the GeoHive website.

Best Wishes,

Dave Boylan

Hi McCoy and Dave,

Sorry for the tardy response.  I checked my email at work this morning as I'm one of the few that has never invested in a home computer and saw responses had been posted

To say that I was flabbergasted by the detail in your responses to my question is an understatement.  I am humbled and grateful that you went above and beyond in providing me with a detailed answer.  It was greatly appreciated and I'm eager to show my family the article and documents regarding the death of my great granduncle and the man who took his life.  May they both rest in peace.

Thank you so much for giving me the gift of your time and research skills. It will never be forgotten.

May God bless you and reward you abundantly for your kindness to me,

Janet 

 

 

 

You're welcome Janet and many thanks for your kind reply.

Don't hesitate to write if you would like more research done into Irish records for your ancestors.

Kind Regards,

Dave