Michael DOODY was born poss. abt 1820 in poss. Galbally or Knocklong, Co. Limerick. He married Johanna QUIRKE on 19 Nov 1848 in Galbally, Co. Limerick.

Although our Doody family was thought to have come from Galbally, Co. Limerick, it's possible they may have come originally from Knocklong, Co. Limerick. According to Michael's marriage certificate, his residence at the time was Knocklong, half way between Knockainy (where his wife was probably from) and Galbally. We know from the baptismal record of his first child, Eliza, that the family lived at the time of the baptism in the townland of Bottomstown in the parish of Knockainy, and at the time of the births of the youngest children, the family was living in the townland of Ardnamoher in Galbally.

Griffiths Valuation (1847-1864) has been checked and there are no entries for anyone by the name of Doody in the parish of Galbally. The parish of Knocklong was also searched in Griffiths for Doodys but none were found there either.

The Tipperary Family History Research organisation was unable to locate a baptism record for Michael in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, which includes Galbally and Knocklong. However they did notice that the page from July 1820 to July 1821 was missing from the register, so if Michael was baptised between those dates, which he could have been, there's no longer a record of it.

They did find baptism records for a John and Julia Doody from Galbally. The names John and Julia Doody appear among the sponsors of Michael's children, so it's possible that Julia and John were Michael's siblings. On John's and Julia's baptism records, the father's name is James which was the name given to Michael's eldest son, possibly following the tradition at the time of naming the first-born son after the paternal grandfather. So it's possible that the baptism records found for John and Julia relate to Michael's siblings. Full details of John's and Julia's baptisms, along with those of two siblings, are as follows:

Father: James Doody
Mother: Catherine O'Connor
Parish: Galbally
John, baptised 14th July 1822, sponsors David O'Connor and Ellen Blackburn
Richard Doody, baptised 6th December 1825, sponsors Joseph Houlihan and Norry Sheedy
Elizabeth Doody, baptised 26th August 1827, sponsors Patrick Holway and Margaret Houlihan
Julia Doody, baptised 4th July 1830, only one sponsor, Ellen Landers

However further evidence would be required to prove that James Doody and Catherine O'Connor were Michael's parents.

Notes:

1. There's a record in the LDS Vital Records Index for the birth of a Honora Doody in Galbally on 13 June 1868. Parents were John Doody and Ellen Donohoe. Could John be the John above born in 1822?

2. The Doody surname is an anglicised form of 'O Dubhda', from 'dubh' meaning 'black'. Other anglicisations include 'O'Dowd', 'Dowd' and 'Duddy'. The O Dubhda family had for centuries prior to the Norman invasions of the 12th and 13th centuries ruled over large parts of north west Mayo and west Sligo. Some O Dubhda families migrated to Munster in the 16th century, possibly accounting for the presence of our Doody family in Co. Limerick three centuries later.

Johanna QUIRKE was born in prob Bottomstown, Knockainy, Co. Limerick. She died after 1900 in prob Ardnamoher, Galbally, Co. Limerick. Johanna married Michael DOODY on 19 Nov 1848 in Galbally, Co. Limerick.

Unfortunately all that's known of this Quirke family is that they probably lived in the townland of Bottomstown in the parish of Knockainy (also spelled Knockainey), Co. Limerick. Griffiths Valuation (1847-1864) was checked for Quirkes in Knockainy, but none were found in Bottomstown, only in Baggotstown East, Ballynagallagh and Patrickswell.

Witnesses to the marriage of Michael and Johanna were John Quirke and Johanna Cronin.  

Besides the surnmames Quirke and Doody, names that occur more than once among the baptismal sponsors of the children of Johanna and Michael are Cronin, Noonan and Hennessy, so it's possible the Quirkes or the Doodys were related somehow to these families.

The Quirke surname is common throughout Ireland, especially in Munster and the south east. The name is derived from the Irish 'O Cuirc' from the first name 'Corcc' meaning 'heart' or 'crimson'. Before the arrival of the Normans in the 12th century, the sept was based in south west Tipperary in an area called 'Muscraí Uí Chuirc'.

James (Séamus) SULLIVAN [Parents] was born in prob Caheraveelane, Kilshannig, Co. Cork. He died in prob Glynn, Mourneabbey, Co. Cork. James married 'UNKNOWN'.

It's believed Séamus was born in the townland of Caheraveelane in the parish of Kilshannig in Co. Cork. As a young man he moved a few miles east to the townland of Glynn in the parish of Mourneabbey (also spelled Mourne Abbey), although it's not known exactly when. Griffiths Valuation, which was carried out in 1851 for Mourneabbey, doesn't show any record of land in Glynn being occupied at that time by a Séamus or James Sullivan, although it seems likely he had left Caheraveelane by then. Griffiths Valuation was carried out for the Kilshannig area in 1852 and shows that the only Sullivan to occupy land in Caheraveelane was a Johanna Sullivan who rented 234 acres along with a "turbary" (bog or right to dig turf).

I've gathered some information on a Johanna Sullivan who may be the Johanna above and who may be a member of another Sullivan family that might be connected to ours (see Other Families page on this website). Johanna, who was born around 1814, was married to a man by the name of Sullivan and was widowed young. She would have been of the same generation as Séamus. Could she have been the wife of a brother or a cousin of Séamus? Any assistance in solving the mystery would be appreciated.

Note: The Mallow Heritage Centre found baptism records for two James Sullivans in Donoughmore parish which seems to be the Catholic parish (as opposed to the civil parish) for Caheraveelane:

Date                      Parents                      Sponsors

31 May 1806        Timothy Sullivan          Daniel Shea
                             Joan Reagan               Elizabth Reagan

17 January 1814    Thomas Sullivan          Daniel O'Keeffe  
                             Mary McCarthy          Mary Sexton

But there's nothing to suggest that either of these baptisms relate to our Séamus.

Caheraveelane comprises about 234 acres of mostly mountainy land. As evidenced by summaries from the 1841 to 1891 censuses of Ireland it was a very sparsely populated townland in those years. Details - from www.eppi.ac.uk, the EPPI (Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, 1801-1922) website - are as follows:

Year  Inhabited   Population
          Houses
1841       2         15
1851       3         16
1861       2         15 (8 male, 7 female)
1871       2         10 (7 male, 3 female)              
1881       2         14 (10 male, 4 female)  
1891       3         23 (17 male, 6 female)

No details by household are available as the census returns from these years no longer exist. It seems likely that Séamus left Caheraveelane in the 1830s or 1840s, probably because there was no living to be made on its poor land. Other Sullivans, whose numbers contribute to the population figures given above and of whom I have some information, remained and these are probably related to our Sullivan family (see Other Families page on this website) but I haven't yet been able to establish a definite link.

'UNKNOWN' married James (Séamus) SULLIVAN.

Maria 'UNKNOWN' died 1983.