John FINUCANE [Parents] was born 1795 in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He died 1850. John married Julia O'SULLIVAN.

There's a Griffiths Valuation (1851/52) entry for a John Finucane who, with a Daniel Finucane, leased a house and 11 acres in Carhoonakineely from a Richard Hinde Esq. Could John and Daniel be our John above and his younger brother Daniel? The only other Finucane to occupy land in Carhoonakineely at the time was a Patrick Finucane who, with a Thomas Quinn, leased a house and garden of one acre from Mr. Hinde.

Julia O'SULLIVAN was born about 1798 in Tarbert, Co. Kerry. She died 1846. Julia married John FINUCANE.

Patrick (Patsy) FINUCANE [Parents] was born 1839. He died 27 Dec 1916 and was buried in Kilnaughtin Cemetery, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. Patrick married Margaret MCEVOY on 22 Feb 1868 in Tarbert, Co. Kerry.

Patsy was a successful farmer. From the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp) we know he bought a small farm in Kilcolgan in Tarbert which he gave to his son Jim. He also bought a 240-acre farm in Tarbert known as The Pottery, of which Faranawana (also spelled Farranawanna) was a part. This farm was given to another son, Pat. The Farranawana farm is now sold, but descendants of Patsy's still live in Kilcolgan. The Finucanes of Pierpoint in Tarbert are also descended from Patsy (through his son Tom). I'm told the old family farm in Ardmore has been sold to the Irish government which, owing to the deep water off Ardmore, plans to develop a port on the site.    

There's a 1911 census return for the household in Kilcolgan Upper of 27-year-old James Finucane and his sister Annie aged 21. This record may relate to the household of Patsy's son Jim. No 1901 or 1911 census return was located for any Finucane family in Carhoonakineely.

Margaret MCEVOY [Parents] was born 1849 in Ralapane, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. She died 13 Feb 1917. Margaret married Patrick (Patsy) FINUCANE on 22 Feb 1868 in Tarbert, Co. Kerry.

According to the 1911 census, Patsy and Margaret had 10 children born alive, seven of whom were alive at the time of the census. However it appears that thay may actually have had 12 children born alive (see list of children below). I believe the seven children alive in 1911 were Tom, Mary, Katie, Pat, Jim, Daniel and Annie.

Further information on the family of Patsy and Margaret is available on the Finucane pages of the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp).

Note that Ralapane, Margaret's birthplace, is sometimes spelled Rallapane.

Matthew MULVIHILL [Parents] was born in probably Kilpadogue, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He married Ellen FINUCANE on 26 Jan 1865 in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry.

Ellen FINUCANE [Parents] was born about 28 Feb 1843 in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry and was christened 2 Mar 1843 in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry. She married Matthew MULVIHILL on 26 Jan 1865 in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry.

Baptismal sponsors were John Finucane and Margaret Quinn.

John FINUCANE [Parents] was born in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He married Ellen DOWD on 1869.

Ellen DOWD married John FINUCANE on 1869.

Ellen and James, who lived in Doonard, Tarbert, had eight children. Further information on the family is available on the Finucane pages of the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp).

James FINUCANE [Parents] was born about 9 Jun 1837 in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry and was christened 11 Jun 1837 in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry. He died 1927 in probably Doonard Lower, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. James married Henrietta (Harriet) FITZELL.

Baptismal sponsors were Patrick Finucane and Catherine Finucane.

Henrietta (Harriet) FITZELL [Parents] was born 6 Dec 1840 in Cockhill, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. She died after 2 Apr 1911 in probably Doonard Lower, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. Henrietta married James FINUCANE.

Harriet and James eloped (and Harriet's sister Bessie eloped with James's first cousin Daniel Finucane). The marriage was disapproved of as Harriet was Protestant and James Catholic, so much so that James and Harriet were evicted from their home (in Carhoonakineely?). They found a place to live in the townland of Doonard Lower where they raised their 14 children. Descendants of theirs still live in Doonard Lower. Further information on the family is available on the Finucane pages of the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp).

James and Harriet are listed in the 1911 census of Ireland. Other Finucane families living in Doonard Lower at the time of the census, who are likely to have been related to Harriet and James, were:

James (aged 40), blacksmith and farmer
Bridget (28), wife
Thomas (2), son
Catherine (4 months) daughter
James and Bridget had been married two years and had two children born alive, both of whom were living at the time of the 1911 census.

Daniel (46), land steward
Mary (45)
John (17)
Ellen (15)
Thomas (14)
James (12)
Daniel (10)
Mary (7)
Timothy (2)
Daniel and Mary had been married 18 years and had seven children born alive, all of whom were living at the time of the 1911 census.

William FINUCANE [Parents] was born in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He died date unknown. William married 'UNKNOWN'.

'UNKNOWN' died date unknown. She married William FINUCANE.

William and his wife had one child that we know of. Further information is available on the Finucane pages of the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp).

Daniel (Dan) FINUCANE [Parents] was born 1828 in Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He died 1891 in Mendon, New York. Daniel married Margaret (Bessie) FITZELL.

Margaret (Bessie) FITZELL [Parents] died 1913 in Mendon, New York. She married Daniel (Dan) FINUCANE.

Bessie and Daniel eloped (and Bessie's sister Harriet eloped with Daniel's first cousin James Finucane). The marriage caused much upset as Bessie was Protestant and Daniel Catholic. Bessie and Daniel had one child that we know of. Further information on the family is available on the Finucane pages of the Sheehan Family Tree website (www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp).

Bessie and Daniel emigrated to the United States and settled in Mendon, New York, not far from Rochester. I'm not sure if they were the first Finucanes from Tarbert to move to the Rochester area but they certainly wern't the last. Members of several Finucane families from the Tarbert area, including relatives of later generations of Finucanes who moved to Piermount (in Tarbert) and Tarbert Island, subsequently settled in and around Rochester, where descendants of theirs still live.

Adam FITZELL married Katherine BAKER.

Katherine BAKER married Adam FITZELL.

John? FINUCANE was born in possibly Ardmore, Carhoonakineely, Tarbert, Co. Kerry. He married 'UNKNOWN'.

My Finucane family has origins in an area called Ardmore in the townland of Carhoonakineely (not to be confused with the nearby townlands of Carhoona and Carhoonakilla) near Tarbert, Co. Kerry. According to 'The Hudsons of County Kerry and their Descendants', completed in 1960 by a Finucane cousin of mine, William (Bill) Hudson, our Finucane family is descended from a John Finucane (possibly John above) who, sometime in the 19th century, divided his large farm in Ardmore between two sons (no names are given). One of these sons was the grandfather of Pat Finucane of Farranawanna who helped Bill with his Finucane research in the late 1950s. Pat told Bill that his (Bill's) great-grandmother (my great-great-great grandmother) Margaret Finucane was a sister of the two sons who got the land in Ardmore. However there is no documented evidence to support this.

Other Finucane research carried out by Brian and Kieran Sheehan from Dublin (see their Sheehan Family Tree website www.sheehanfamilytree.ie/home.asp) into the family history of their Finucane ancestors from Ardmore, Carhoonakinella (presumably a variant of Carhoonakineely) reveals that their Finucane family is the same as that of the aforementioned Pat Finucane of Farranawanna. Brian and Kieran, however, had never come across Margaret Finucane in their research. Because of the lack of evidence linking Margaret to the Finucane family of Pat Finucane and Brian and Kieran Sheehan, I have placed the data I have gathered on their Finucane family on the Connected Families section of this website (click on Connected Families on the Home page). Any additional information on either their Finucane family or mine would be welcomed.

Further confusion arises from the fact that 'The Hudsons of County Kerry' also tells us that it's possible Margaret was a daughter of (another?) John Finucane (who would have lived in Ardmore around the same time as the John Finucane who divided his farm between his two sons) whose only known children were John and possibly Frank. Given the Ardmore connection, they may be the same family as the Finucanes described above. However John, son of John and possible brother of Frank, emigrated to the United States whereas John, son of John who divided the farm, remained in Ireland. As I have no evidence to link Margaret to this particular Finucane family,  I have put data I have gathered on this family on the Connected Families section of this website. Any further information on any Finucane family from Carhoonakineely would be very much appreciated. If you can help, please email Helen@HelensFamilyTrees.com. Thank you.

Moving away from Carhoonakineely, I feel it's also a possibility that my Finucane family may have come from Bunagara, Listowel, Co. Kerry as my great-great-great-grandmother Margaret Finucane (possible daughter of John? above) lived there with her husband, Richard Hudson, for a short time after their marriage. There were several Finucane families living in Bunagara at the time and Margaret may have come from one of these families.  

The Finucane surname is numerous in counties Limerick, Kerry and Clare. An Irish form is Mac Fionnmhacáin meaning "fair son". It's though the Finucanes came to Ireland from Normandy with Strongbow in 1170 to aid Dermot, King of Leinster. The first Finucanes to have settled in Ireland are thought to have lived in Tipperary from where they were expelled by Cromwell's settlers. It's believed a number of them then settled in Ballybunion, Co. Kerry after which some drifted to the Tarbert area.

'UNKNOWN' married John? FINUCANE.