Dear RevMother,
Greetings from an American Plunkett. When I started this research, of course I hoped I would learn that we were related to St. Oliver (and the Vatican had mislaid our invitation to his canonization), or to the Dunsanys (who had mislaid our invitation to tea), but now I am very happy just to know where we came from: Kilbride Parish, County Cavan. My great-great-grandparents, George Plunkett and Catherine Cooke Plunkett somehow managed to keep the family going through the Famine. My great-grandfather, Hugh, was born in 1852; a younger son, he was sent to America while still a teenager, to New Haven, Connecticut, to live with relatives of his mother. The Plunkett men in my family are marked by intelligence, courage, and a spirit of gentleness.
In my research so far, I have not come across an "Edward," but the geographical wellspring is indeed the area where Cavan, Meath, and Westmeath come together. (I would take a look at the 1796 Flax-growers Lists, and even the 1821 census, which survives for some townships in that area, to see if you can find some Edwards.)
If you haven't read it, "In the Blood" by Geraldine Plunkett Dillon is, well, hard to describe. She was the sister of Joseph Mary Plunkett, and this is a family memoir. The problem is that her mother (not a Plunkett!) was a seriously malicious person, and although Geraldine has a terrific, vivid style, it makes for troubling reading. The best chapter, and well worth the slog through all the Edwardian-era dysfunction, is her account of life in Galway in the years immediately after the 1916 Rising -- the clandestine organizing, the arrival of the Black and Tans -- all first-hand accounts. Riveting.
Best wishes,
charismayo
