Tracing ancestors in Doon, Co. Tipperary
Written by Irelandxo volunteers
Joe Kearns, from Pennsylvania, was tracing his ancestors in Doon (near Clogheen), Co. Tipperary. Doon is near Araglin, on the Cork border, so that is how this meet and greet ended up with volunteers from Fermoy and Mitchelstown.
IrelandXO volunteer Kieran Jordan helped Joe with research, and IrelandXO volunteer Seamus Fox met Joe and took him around the area. They visited the churches in Duhill (where James Tobin and Margaret Ahern, Joe’s ancestors, were married) and Clogheen (where the children of James and Margaret were baptised). They also met Doon native Michael Finn who is the current owner of the 20 acre farm that James Tobin occupied. Michael showed them where he buried the ruins of the house with his digger in 1999.
They also met Ned Carey, a native local historian who described the lifestyle of the local people, including the 7 mile hill journey to Clogheen church. They also had a demonstration of Traditional Gaelic Games. Joe says ‘Seamus was a great guide and took us to meet a family who used live in Doon, then to meet the current owner of the property. I got to stand in James's field and on the spot where the house used to stand. We also saw the Ballylooby church in Dulhill built in 1829 as well as the Church in Clogheen. Checked off everything on my list. I can't tell you how excited I am and how grateful I am for all of the information provided. The day would not have been possible without it.’
Written by visitor Joe Kearns
I wanted to reach out to thank you for putting me in touch with some excellent support for my trip to Clogheen in Tipperary.
First of all, Kieran Jordan was absolutely great. He looked over what I had and took it upon himself to dig into all kinds of church and civil document and provided me with so much information that I would never have found on my own. The whole focus for the day switched to the townland of Doon in the parish of Shanrahan. Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict precluded him from meeting with us. However, he took it upon himself to seek out Seamus Fox as a replacement. And what a great replacement he turned out to be. Seamus met us at the Ballylooby church, and took us down to introduce us to another couple who were former Doon residents, the Careys, and then down to the farm to meet with the current owner, Michael Finn. We got to walk the plot and hear about where the original cabin stood. I am attaching a photo of us on the farm, and I can't put into words what a great experience it was.
One other person I would like to thank is Rob Anglin, another Ireland XO member who simply took it upon himself to dig into the record books and send me so much information on the Tobin family.
I checked off everything on my list. I can't tell you how excited I am and how grateful I am for all of the information provided. The day would not have been possible without it.
Thank you for facilitating my meetings with your volunteers. They were so knowledgeable, insightful and friendly it made for a great experience.
And thanks too to Kieran, Seamus and Rob!
IrelandXO volunteer Seamus Fox (centre) with Joe Kerans (right) and Michael Finn the current owner of the land at Doon (left).