Hello,
I’m not related to the Taaffe family, but found a great deal of information about John Taaffe, his parents, and grandparents, some of which you may already have, but some of which you may not have discovered yet.
In this reply I’ve included, as much as possible, copies of original church baptism and marriage records, as well as copies of original civil registration birth, marriage, and death records. You’ll also see several modern maps of the locations in County Cork where your Taaffe and related ancestors had lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The free irishgenealogy.ie website has two collections I accessed to look for ancestors. One is the Church Records collection and the other the Civil Records collection. I used both of these collections a great deal, as you’ll see below.
The birth record from the Civil Records collection at irishgenealogy.ie confirms that John Taaffe was born on September 11, 1897. His place of birth was Castlehyde, County Cork. His father is Eugene Taaffe, a “Labourer” residing in Castlehyde. John’s mother is Ellen Taaffe, formerly McCarthy. The mother, Ellen Taaffe of Castlehyde, reported the birth to the assistant registrar, Patrick Sweeney, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on September 28, 1897. You can access the birth record after following the prompts by clicking on: https://tinyurl.com/3nfmbk26
John’s birth record shows he was born in Castlehyde. A Google Map shows that Castlehyde, on the northside of the River Blackwater, is just 2 miles by the shortest route from Fermoy, located south of the River Blackwater. See the map at: https://tinyurl.com/y9eesjdr
For a Google Street View of the road leading to Castlehyde, see: https://tinyurl.com/55yw6z3x
THE 1901 CENSUS
At this point I wanted to see if I could find out more information about the Taaffe family, and so I looked for them in the 1901 Ireland census at the National Archives of Ireland website: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
I located the family showing that they were the “Residents of a house 5 in Castlehyde East (Castlehyde, Cork).” John is 3 years old. His father Eugene is a 35 year old “Agricultural Labourer” who could read and write. Eugene’s wife Ellen is 32 years old. She could also read and write. The census shows that John has older siblings, with Anne, at 11, the oldest. She as well as her 9 year old brother Michael, 7 year old brother Eugene, and 5 year old Patrick were all “Scholars,” and could read and write. John is the child after Patrick, who is followed by the youngest, 1 year old Jeremiah. The census shows that everyone in the household is Roman Catholic and born in County Cork
The 1901 census transcription from the National Library of Ireland can be accessed at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Castlehyde/Castle…
Once the census downloads make sure you click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.
For a copy of the original 1901 census go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000570842/
On the bottom right corner of the census form you’ll see Eugene Taaffe’s signature as the head of the household.
I went back to Google Maps to see where Castlehyde East was situated in relation to Castlehyde. At Google Maps I also found Castlehyde West. See the map of Castlehyde, Castlehyde East, Castlehyde West, and Fermoy at: https://tinyurl.com/5annzf86
The following link will bring you to a Google Street View of Castlehyde East: https://tinyurl.com/5n8yz265
THE 1911 CENSUS
In the 1911 census the Taaffe family are shown to be, “Residents of a house 3 in Castlehyde East (Castlehyde, Cork).” After you click on “Show all information,” you’ll see that 50 year old Eugene Taaffe and his 47 year old wife Ellen had been married for 23 years, and in that time had 9 children, with all 9 children still alive. The 9 children are in the household with them. Their son John is a 13 year old scholar.
See the 1911 census transcription at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Castlehyde/Castle…
For a copy of the original 1911 census go to: https://tinyurl.com/3d9zwz8k
In the 1911 census Eugene and Ellen Taaffe are shown to have been married for 23 years, which places their year of marriage circa 1888. I went to the irishgenealogy.ie website to look for their marriage, though I looked for their marriage taking place not only in 1888 but two years before and two years after that date in case their years married in the census is incorrect.
I found the civil registration marriage record at the irishgenealogy.ie website which shows that Eugene and Ellen were married in the Roman Catholic Church of Fermoy on August 4, 1889. The marriage record is difficult to read in places because of the handwriting and because of fading, but shows that Eugene and Ellen were both of “full” age when they married. Eugene had been a bachelor and Ellen a spinster. Eugene’s occupation is “Labourer,” and his residence at the time of marriage was “Coolroe Fermoy.” His father is Patrick Taaffe, also a Labourer.
No occupation is recorded for Ellen. Her residence at the time of marriage was “Knockananig Fermoy.” Her father is Owen McCarthy, a Labourer.
The first and middle name initials of priest who married Eugene and Ellen look like P.J. His last name was O’Callaghan. The witnesses to the marriage were Pat Sweeney and Kate Taaffe. Kate’s “mark” in the form of the letter x was witnessed by Father O’Callaghan, as she could not write. Both Eugene and Ellen signed the marriage register in their own handwriting. You can access the marriage at:
https://tinyurl.com/2p8zd4t2
The marriage record for Eugene and Ellen shows they were married in the Roman Catholic Church of Fermoy. This is St. Patrick’s Church, Chapel Square, Fermoy. According to the National Inventory of Architectural heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the church was constructed in 1811, remodeled around 1820 and again in 1867, and enlarged in 1842. For more information and a slide presentation of the church, see the Buildings of Ireland link at: https://tinyurl.com/mtbm73yt
When Eugene and Ellen were married in 1889, St. Patrick’s Church was almost 80 years old.
At the time of marriage Eugene was living in Coolroe and Ellen in Knockananig. See the Google Map showing the locations of Coolroe, Knockananig, and St. Patrick’s Church, Fermoy: https://tinyurl.com/fankw9h
For Google Street Views of Coolroe and Knockananig, see: https://tinyurl.com/y6tsbr3p and https://tinyurl.com/2p8s6ffj
If you drive for any appreciable amount of time down the back roads of County Cork, like the ones you see in Coolroe and Knockananig, you may come across the lads having a game of road bowling. Road bowling is mainly played along the boreens in County Cork and South County Armagh. See the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_road_bowling
Also see the youtube.com video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab00HeByRkQ&ab_channel=JeremyCurl
EUGENE TAAFFE
I looked for Eugene Taaffe’s birth record at the irishgenelaogy.ie website but didn’t find it. This is an indication that his birth was not reported to the registrar, or that he was born before the Irish government began to record births in 1864.
Without a birth record I looked for Eugene’s baptism. His marriage record shows his father was Patrick Taaffe. Mother’s names are not recorded in civil marriage records, unfortunately for genealogists and family historians.
I looked for Eugene’s baptism transcription at the Find My Past (FMP) website. I looked for his baptism for the 1850s up to 1863. His baptism record also had to show that his father was Patrick Taaffe.
I only found one baptism transcription in County Cork at FMP that meets the above criteria, and so this baptism record would be for John’s father Eugene, even though Eugene was not born in or near Fermoy.
BAPTISM OF EUGENE TAAFFE
Eugene Taaffe was baptized in the Skibbereen Catholic Parish on 30 October 1859. His father is Patrick Taaffe. His mother is Anne Harrington. The baptism transcription further shows that at the time of the baptism the Taaffe family were living in Holly Brook. You can download the transcription after establishing a free account with FMP: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0757776
Attached to the transcription is a link that takes you to a copy of the original Skibbereen Catholic Parish register where Eugene’s baptism is found. The copy of the original baptism record comes from the National Library of Ireland. Click on the following link to access the baptism register: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000635270#page/258/mode/1up
You’ll see two facing pages of the register. Eugene’s baptism is the last entry at the bottom of the right-hand register page:
You can enlarge the register by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.
The baptism record for Eugene shows that his godparents are Peter Donovan and Catherine Harrington.
Eugene’s baptism record shows he and his family were living in Hollybrook, which may actually be a reference to an estate just north of Skibbereen, called Hollybrook House.
The Landed Estates website has a brief description about Hollybrook House and its owners through the years plus a photo of the Gate Lodge which sits at the entrance of the former estate.
For a lithograph and floor plan of Hollybrook House and demesne, go to the durrushistory.com link at: https://tinyurl.com/n9kpypcj
For a Google Map showing the location of Hollybrook House, Maulbrack, See: https://tinyurl.com/4cs5x87u
Patrick Taaffe and Anne Harrington may have been working at Hollybrook House or may have been agricultural labourers on the land around Hollybrook House.
I next found the FMP Skibbereen baptism transcription for Eugene’s brother Daniel. He was baptized on 14 December 1860. The transcription however, doesn’t give Daniel’s last name of Taaffe, or a variant of the spelling of the name, probably because the FMP transcriber couldn’t make out what the surname was. The transcription however shows that Daniel’s father was Patrick and his mother Anne Harrington, and that the family were living in “Holly Brook.” See:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0758033
A copy of the original baptism record for Daniel is the 6th entry up from the bottom of the right-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000635270#page/267/mode/1up
You’ll see that the baptisms in the register are faded and so names can be a challenge to decipher. Daniel’s godparents are John Sullivan and Mary Callihan. The initials of the priest who baptized Daniel are “J OB,” which could stand for John or James O’Brien.
Eugene and Daniel Taaffe were likely baptized in the Skibbereen Cathedral, which was open for worship in 1826. For a history of the Cathedral go to: https://skibbheritage.com/st-patricks-cathedral-skibbereen/
The following links include a Google Map of Skibbereen and St. Patrick’s Church (Cathedral), and a Google Street View of the same: https://tinyurl.com/ywh23xr6 and https://tinyurl.com/yn54djx2
At the irishgenealogy.ie Church Records collection, I found that Patrick and Anne had a daughter named Ellen “Taff” baptized in the “Caharagh” Catholic Parish on December 29, 1861. A copy of Ellen’s original baptism record is the 10th entry down from the top of the right-hand baptism register page, which you can access after following the prompts at: https://tinyurl.com/38y4xefz
Ellen’s godparents are Peter Donovan and Kate Barry. To the right of Kate Barry’s name is the location where Pat and Anne Taaffe were living at the time of the baptism, but all I could seen to make out is that part of the location begins with “Court.”
Ellen would have been baptized in either the Catholic Church in a suburb of Caheragh by the name of Killeenagh or in a townland called Dromore, which were the two churches at that time in the Caheragh Catholic Parish as the well as the Caheragh Civil Parish, about 10 miles north of Skibbereen. See the Google Map: https://tinyurl.com/4nf88u6u
Going back to the FMP website I found the marriage transcription for “Pat Taffe” and Anne Harrington, Their marriage, like the baptism of their daughter Ellen, took place in the Catholic Parish of Caheragh on 10 April 1859. Because Irish marriages traditionally take place in the bride’s parish, Caheragh was likely the parish church that Anne and her family attended.
You’ll notice that Pat and Anne were married in April of 1859. Their son Eugene was born in October of 1859. This indicates the marriage took place when it did so that Eugene would not be born out of wedlock.
See the FMP marriage transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0246466%2F1
A copy of the original marriage record is the 4th entry below the January 1859 subheading on the left-hand register page at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632638#page/69/mode/1up
Th witnesses at the marriage were Con (Cornelius) Sullivan and Julia Carthy. There’s a place name to the right of Julia Carthy’s name that looks like “Mount Music.” This may have been the residence of Patrick Taafe when he married.
A map of the Diocese of Cork and Ross from the National Library of Ireland website shows that the Catholic Parish of Caheragh is just north of the Skibbereen Catholic Parish: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0024
I could not find a location called Mount Music near Caheragh or Skibbereen on a map, but did find reference to this place in Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland for the civil parish, as well as the R.C. Parish of Caheragh, published in 1837. The dictionary, which comes for the Library Ireland website, mentions that the Church of Ireland rector, R.F. Webb, was a resident of Mount Music. See the first paragraph of the Topographical Dictionary for Caheragh at:
https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/C/Cahera-West-Carbery-Cork.php
If you read further in the Topographical Dictionary you’ll see that a Catholic Chapel did not exist in Caheragh itself, but in two nearby townlands, the aforementioned Killeenagh and Dromore. Patrick Taaffe and Anne Harrington would have been married in one of these chapels, probably the same chapel where Ellen was baptized on 29 December 1861.
I next found the civil registration birth records, and or baptisms for seven more children of Patrick Taaffe and Anne Harrington. The births of all six children were recorded in the Fermoy Registration District, which confirms that Patrick and Anne had moved from the Skibbereen and Caheragh area of West County Cork where they were married and where Eugene, Daniel, and Ellen were born and baptized, to the Fermoy area, where Castlehyde is located. See the Google Map: https://tinyurl.com/hwjbhpe4
NOTE: Patrick and Anne may have moved from the Skibbereen area to the Fermoy/Castlehyde area of County Cork, as Skibbereen was devastated by disease, death, evictions and emigration during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1851. The effects of the famine were felt all over Ireland long after 1851, however. For more information about the Great Famine, see the skibbheritage.com links at:
https://www.skibbereen.ie/the-great-famine/ and https://skibbheritage.com/great-irish-famine/exhibition/
BAPTISM OF MARY TURFE
The FMP baptism transcription spells Mary’s last name as “Turfe.” Mary was baptized in the Fermoy Catholic Parish on 20 September 1863. Her father is Patrick. Her mother Anne’s maiden name is transcribed as, “Hannigan.” See:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1487477
A copy of Mary’s original baptism record is the first entry on the right-hand register page at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633724#page/91/mode/1up
The first name of Mary’s godfather looks like Thomas. His last name looks like Allen. The godmother is Mary A. Hannan.
There will not b a civil registration birth record for Mary, as births weren’t recorded by the government until 1864.
BIRTH AND BAPTISM RECORD OF JOHN TAAFFE
John Taaffe’s birth record shows he was born in Castlehyde, County Cork on 7 April 1866. His father is Patrick Taaffe, a Plough Man residing in Castlehyde. John’s mother is Ann Taaffe, formerly Harrington. John’s mother Ann, of Castlehyde, reported the birth to the Registrar, whose name appears to be John P. Edgar. He recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on 10 April 1866. John’s birth is number 366 in the register, which you can access after following the prompts at: https://tinyurl.com/mwnu3arc
I also found the FMP baptism transcription for John “Taafe,” but his Fermoy Catholic Parish baptism shows he was not born in 1866. The date of his baptism is 29 October 1865. He could not have been baptized before he was born. The baptism transcription records his mother as “Anna Hannington.” See the FMP transcription at:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1488040
A copy of John’s original baptism record is the 5th entry down from the top of the left-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633724#page/105/mode/1up
His godfather is John Scannell. His godmother is Bridget O’Brien.
Eugene and Ellen’s son John, who was born in Castlehyde on September 11, 1897, would have been named after his father’s brother John, as noted in the baptism record above.
BIRTH RECORD OF BRIDGET TAAFE
Bridget Taafe was born in Grange, Fermoy, on 27 February 1868. Her father is Patrick Taafe, a Labourer residing in Grange. Bridget’s mother is Anne Taafe, formerly Harrington. Kate Harrington was present at the birth and reported the birth to the registrar, Richard white, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on 5 March 1868. Bridget’s birth is number 189 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/267y8ur7
Kate Harrington could have been Anne’s mother, sister, or aunt, who acted as the midwife during the birth.
BIRTH OF CATHERINE TAAFE
Catherine Taafe was born in Templenoe on April 20, 1870. Her father is Patrick Taafe is a Labourer residing in Templenoe. Her mother is Anne Taafe, formerly Harrington. Patrick reported the birth to the deputy registrar, Patrick Madden, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on May 8, 1870. Catherine’s birth is number 48 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/395fvtrb
BIRTH AND BAPTISM OF PATRICK TAIFE
Patrick “Taife” was born in Grange on 12 February 1872. His father is Patrick Taife, a Labourer living in Grange. His mother is Anne Taife, formerly Harrington. Anne, of Grange East, reported the birth to the registrar, John O’Neill Sisk, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on 24 February 1872. Patrick’s birth is the last entry in the register at number 344: https://tinyurl.com/yckuh7p3
I also found Patrick’s baptism transcription at the FMP website, showing he was baptized in the Fermoy Catholic Parish on 18 February 1872. See the transcription at: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1489383
A copy of Patrick’s original baptism record is the 12th entry down from the top of the right-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633724#page/147/mode/1up
Patrick’s godfather is Charles McCarthy. The first name if his godmother is Lizzie, but I could not make out what Lizzie’s last name was.
BIRTH OF MICHAEL TAFFE
Michael Taffe was born in Grange on 24 April 1875. His father Patrick is a Labourer residing in Grange. His mother is Anne Taffe, formerly Harrington. Kate Harrington was present at the birth and reported the birth to the registrar, John O’Neill Sisk, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on 3 May 1873. Michael’s birth is number 174 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/ytztftp8
BIRTH AND BAPTISM OF ANNIE TAAFFE
Annie Taaffe was born in Grange on 8 April 1878. Her father is Patrick Taaffe, a Plough Man living in Grange. Her mother is Anne Taaffe, formerly Harrington. Anne Taaffe of Grange reported the birth to the registrar, John O’Neill Sisk, who recorded the birth in the Fermoy Registration District on 22 April 1878. Annie’s birth is number 419 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/3u2szfdn
In going through all the Taaffe birth and baptism records I found that Patrick Taaffe and Anne Harrington had at least 10 children. Below are the names and the dates of birth of these children, showing that John’s father Eugene was the oldest:
Eugene Taaffe, 1859
Daniel Taaffe, 1860
Ellen Taaffe, 1861
Mary Taaffe, 1863
John Taaffe, 1866
Bridget Taaffe, 1868
Catherine Taaffe, 1870
Patrick Taaffe, 1872
Michael Taaffe, 1875
Annie Taaffe, 1878
____
When I was at the Civil Records collection at irishgenealogy.ie I found the death record for the Anne Taaffe’s husband, Patrick. Patrick died in Coolroe, Cork on March 10 1907 at the age of 67 years. At the time of death he was married and had been employed as a labourer. The cause of death was, “Heart disease 8 Months.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the assistant registrar, Cornelius O’Toole, was Patrick’s daughter Bridget Donovan, residing in Duntaheen, Fermoy. This would be a reference to the townland spelled Duntahane. Cornelius O’Toole recorded Patrick’s death in the Fermoy Registration District on March 15, 1907. Patrick’s death is the last entry in the register at number 138: https://tinyurl.com/mrycn6t5
Patrick’s age of 67 in 1907 when died would mean he was born circa 1840, but as with Irish census records, I don’t always trust the accuracy of a person’s age in a death record.
PATRICK AND ANNE TAAFFE IN THE 1901 CENSUS
Knowing that Patrick had died in Coolroe, I next wanted to see if he, his wife Annie, and any of their adult children were recorded in the 1901 census in Coolroe. I found they were. The 1901 census shows the family of 70 year old Patrick and 56 year old Anne “Taffee,” were the “Residents of a house 2 in Coolroe (Castlehyde, Cork).”
The census shows that both Patrick and Anne were labourers who could not read or write but spoke the English language. In the household with them is their 30 year old son John, who was employed as an “Engine Driver.” He is shown to be able to read and write and also shown to be married, but his wife is not in the household with him.
Patrick and Anne’s son, 24 year old Patrick is also in the household with his parents. He was a labourer who could read and write. He was not married.
Patrick and Anne’s daughter, 25 year old Kate Frazer and her four children are also in the household. Kate’s husband is not in the household. She is employed as a labourer. She could not read and write.
Her oldest child is 6 year old Maggie, born in Malta. She is followed by Charlie, whose age is not recorded in the National Archives of Ireland census transcription. Charlie was also born in Malta. Following Charlie is 3 year old Kitty, born in County Cork. The youngest child in the household is Mollie, whose age is not recorded. See the 1901 census transcription at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Castlehyde/Coolro…
To access a copy of the original 1901 census for the Taffee household, go to:
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000570857/
A copy of the original census shows that Charlie is 9 months old.
That two of Mollie Frazer’s children were born in Malta is an indication that her husband may have been in the military.
With the knowledge that Kate Taaffe had married a fellow named Frazier and that her husband was possibly in the military, I looked for Kate’s marriage record at irishgenealogy.ie and found it. The marriage record shows that 21 year old Kate “Taffe,” and 29 year old James Fraser were married in the Fermoy Presbyterian Church on December 25, 1893. James’s occupation was “Soldier.” He had been a bachelor and his residence was “Tipperary.” His father is James Fraser, working as a “Shepherd.”
No occupation is recorded for Kate. Her residence at the time of marriage was Castlehyde, Fermoy. Her father is Patrick Taffe, a Labourer.
The marriage record further shows that James and Kate were married by “License,” and that the clergyman who married them was Joseph Fenzerhurst. I couldn’t actually make out the clergyman’s name in the marriage record because the handwriting is a challenge, but found Joseph Fenzerhurst in the 1901 census, living in Allen’s Walk, Fermoy. The census shows that he was the, “Presbyterian Clergyman Incumbert Presbyterian Church in Ireland.” See:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Fermoy_Urban/Alle…
The marriage record for James and Kate shows that one of the witnesses to the marriage was Ronald Patterson, who appears to have also been a soldier, though I couldn’t clearly make out what his regiment was. The other witness was Bessie Coleman, of Fermoy. See a copy of the original marriage record at: https://tinyurl.com/3njk6teb
Allen’s Walk in Fermoy, where the Presbyterian minister Joseph Fenzerhurst was recorded in the 1901 census, is also the street where the Fermoy Presbyterian Church is located. See the Google Map at: https://tinyurl.com/2ccax6e7
Here is a Google Street View of the church from the corner of Allen’s Walk and Thomas Street, Fermoy: https://tinyurl.com/wwcp3tna
According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the Fermoy Presbyterian Church in Allen’s Walk dates from 1839. See more information and a slide presentation of the church at: https://tinyurl.com/mv9jc8c3
I have to wonder about what Patrick and Anne Taaffe may have thought about their daughter marrying in the Presbyterian Church, as the Taaffe’s were Catholic, and their children baptized in the Catholic Church. But, if you go back to the 1901 census for the Patrick and Anne “Taffee” household in Coolroe, you’ll see that their daughter Kate and Kate’s four children are recorded as being members of the “Catholic Religion.”
The 1901 census shows that Patrick and Anne’s son John is married, but I could not find his church or civil registration marriage record
ANNE TAAFFE IN THE 1911 CENSUS
After a bit of digging I found 74 year old widow Anne Taffe and two of her children, 30 year old John and 36 year old Patrick in the 1911 census, but not in Coolroe. The census shows they were the “Residents of a house 32.2 in Cork Hill (Fermoy Urban, Cork).” John and Patrick were employed as “Labourer Builders,” and were single. All three in the household were Roman Catholic and are shown to have been able to read and write. See the 1911 census transcription at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Fermoy_Urban/Cork…
For a copy of the original 1911 census for Anne, John and Patrick, see: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001929295/
I was not able to locate a place named Cork Hill in or near Fermoy on a Google Map, but did find Cork Hill at the Buildings of Ireland website. See the slide presentation at:
https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/20820060/co…
The road you see in the Buildings of Ireland slide presentation is the present day Cork Road, which is on a Google Map: https://tinyurl.com/bdhxxnmx
ANNE TAAFFE’S DEATH RECORD
Anne Taaffe died in King Square, Fermoy, on October 18, 1917 at the age of 72. She is shown to have been the “Widow of a Labourer.” The cause of death was, “Senile Decay, 1 year.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was Thomas Donovan, or Ivy Cottage, Fermoy. The death record doesn’t state if Thomas Donovan was related to Anne. The registrar, M A O’Brien recorded the death in the Fermoy Registration District on October 20, 1917. Anne’s death is number 273 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/2p8xb5tc
I didn’t find a Google Map of Kings Square, but from an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation, I leaned that Kings Square was located in a section of Fermoy, called “Carrignagroghera.”
A map from the Buildings of Ireland website shows that Carrignagroghera is just west of Allen’s Walk, where the aforementioned Fermoy Presbyterian Church is located: https://maps.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/?REG_NO=20821029
For an old photo of Kings Square, Fermoy, see the historicpicturearchive.com link at: https://www.historicalpicturearchive.com/shop/pictures/fermoy-co-cork-i…
I didn’t find a residence in Fermoy called Ivy Cottage, where Thomas Donovan was living when he reported Anne Taaffe’ death to the registrar in 1917.
I suspected that Thomas Donovan had married one of Patrick and Anne Taaffe’s daughters, and so I looked for the marriage record at irishgenealogy.ie and found it.
Thomas Donovan and Bridget Taaffe were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Fermoy on July 8, 1897. At the time of marriage both were of “full age.” Thomas’s occupation was “Waiter.” His residence at the time of marriage was Cork Road, Fermoy. His father was John Donovan, a “Smith,” who was deceased.
Bridget at the time of marriage was a “Servant,” and residing in Riverside, Fermoy. Her father is Patrick Taaffe, a “Labourer.” The priest who married Thomas and Bridget was James Sisk. The first name of one of the witnesses to the marriage was David, but I couldn’t tell with any accuracy what his last name was. The second witness was James Sheehan. The marriage is number 129 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/3pzr2x2e
The Rev. James Sisk witnessed Thomas Donovan signing the marriage register with an x.
Here is a Google Map of the Cork Road in Fermoy. I didn’t find a location called Riverside, but it is probably located not far away near the River Blackwater and Cork Road:
PATRICK TAAFFE AND ANNE HARRINGTON
To find their individual baptism records I would need to know the names of Patrick and Anne’s parents. Their 1859 Caheragh Catholic Parish marriage record did not record who their parents were, though if I had the names of their fathers, I may have been able to narrow down their individual baptism records, which at the most would be circumstantial evidence, and not direct evidence of their baptisms.
ELLEN MCCARTHY
Ellen McCarthy’s marriage to Eugene Taaffe on 4 August 1889 shows that at the time of marriage in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Fermoy, she had been living in Knockananig, Fermoy, and that her father was a labourer named Owen McCarthy.
In the 1901 census for Castlehyde East, Ellen’s age is 32, placing her year of birth circa 1869. In the 1911 census however, Ellen’s age is 47, placing her year of birth circa 1864. This shows you cannot always trust the accuracy of a person’s age from the 1901 to 1911 Irish census returns.
Because her marriage took place in Fermoy, I looked for Ellen’s birth and baptism records there. I looked for her civil registration birth record from 1864 to 1870 but did not find one. I then looked for her baptism spanning a wider range of years from 1855 to 1870, but again to did not find it at the FMP website or at the Church Records collection from irishgenealogy.ie
There is always that possibility that Ellen McCarthy and her family, like the Taaffe family, came from the West Ridings of County Cork near Skibbereen and Caheragh. But, I would need to know the first and maiden names of her mother, aside from the name of her father, to see I could find a birth and baptism record for her.
Concerning Ellen McCarthy Taaffe and Eugene Taaffe, I found their death records at the irishgenealogy.ie website. Eugene died 40 years before Ellen.
EUGENE TAAFFE’S DEATH RECORD
Eugene Taaffe died in Castlehyde on December 13, 1913 at the age of 52 years. At the time of death he was married and had been employed as a Labourer. The cause of death was “Tuberculosis 1 year.” The person who was present at his death and who reported his death to the registrar was his daughter Anne Taaffe of Castlehyde. The assistant registrar, Cornelius O’Toole recorded the death in the Fermoy Registration District on January 13, 1914. Eugene’s death is number 464 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/mseve5k7
ELLEN TAFFE’S DEATH RECORD
Ellen Taffe died in Castlehyde on May 18, 1954 at the age of 88 years. At the time of death she was the “Widow of late Eugene Taffe. Labourer.” The cause of death was “Chronic Myocarditis.” Patrick Taffe, son of the deceased, was present at the death and reported the death to the assistant registrar, Henry Bermingham, who recorded Ellen’s death in the Fermoy Registration District on May 21, 1954. Ellen’s death is number 289 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/26jser8p
JOHN TAAFFE
At the FreeBMD website I see that the marriage of John J. Taffe and Flora M. Shannon was recorded in the Southampton (England) Registration District in the June quarter of 1923. I believe you already have this information however, as well as the information about his death in 1976 and the death of his wife Flora in 1980.
With Kind Regards,
Dave Boylan
SOURCES
irishgenealogy.ie
Google Maps
Google Street Views
National Archives of Ireland
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland
Find My Past
National Library of Ireland
durrushistory.com
https://skibbheritage.com/st-patricks-cathedral-skibbereen/
Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland
https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/C/Cahera-West-Carbery-Cork.php
skibbheritage.com
historicpicturearchive.com
