St Mary's in Drogheda

[ripperware]

I'm hoping that some kind soul will help me understand the parish or parishes in Drogheda dedicated to St Mary.

On 28 Jan 1856 Edward Inkerman CONNOR and his twin sister Mary Anne Alma CONNOR were born in the Drogheda area - this may have been as far away as Rogerstown in Meath, just south of Drogheda or Tullyallen, just north west of Drogheda. Their parents were John and Anne CONNOR. I have been informed that they were christened on 3 Mar 1856 at St Mary Drogheda, but which one?

I believe that the family were Roman Catholic and it would seem appropriate, therefore, that the christenings took place at St Mary's Catholic Church which is south of the river in Drogheda which would be Co Meath. I also understand that the church was not built until the 1880s so the event could not have happened there. There is a Church of Ireland St Mary's church in or around Drogheda which was built in the early 1800s and would appear to fit the bill as far as date is concerned, but not the denomination. From this I have questions like ..Where is this latter church? .. Was there an earlier RC St Mary's? .. Where are the records for these two and potentially any more churches so that the details can be validated?

The reason for wanting to unravel this is that I am looking for my wife's great great grandfather who was Lawrence Patrick CONNOR and brother to the twins above. His army enlistment papers of 1869 record his birthplace as Tullyallen and his date of birth as 28 Oct 1855 but we suspect he was actually three years younger than that and was just 11 or 12 when he signed up for the British army.

Any help in unravelling my confusion would be most welcome.

Thanks

Ken

[TCDrog]

Hi Ken

The River Boyne runs through the centre of Drogheda and is the boundary between the Catholic Diocese of Meath and The Catholic Diocese of Armagh. South of the river is St Mary's parish and north of the river is St Peters Parish.

The current address of St Mary's RC Church is James' Street Drogheda County Louth ..although is within the Diocese of Meath.

The County Boundary was moved in the early 1900's  is now about 1 km / 1 mile from the river although the town has expanded beyond the boundary. That is why some people will have a postal address of Drogheda County Meath.

Baptismal certs will often state "St Mary's Meath" which means the diocese of Meath.


Tullyallen is a parish in the Diocese of Armagh  and is 2 miles north of Drogheda - Tullyallen Births would have been registered in Drogheda.

The Present St Mary's Church dates from the 1880's ... There are no records available for the earlier church.

Connor (Not O'Connor) is a well known name in the Drogheda area ... in both parishes and it is undoubtedly a Catholic family name.

Regards

Terry from Drogheda

[ripperware]

Many thanks for that response TCDrog. It seems to fit with what we have gathered from a variety of sources. Just for the record I'll outline the family here.

John Connor (1811, Rogerstown - bef May1876) married Ann Mellsop nee Robinson (c1820-?) in Tralee in 1847. John was a recruiting sergeant in the army and travelled widely in Ireland; he also fought in the Crimea with the 43rd Connaught Rangers. Their children were:
Richard Connor (bp1848 Tralee - 1898 Dublin) married Bridget Ford
John Connor (bp1850 Castlebarr - bef 1851 census)
William Connor(b1851 Bury, Lancashire)
Michael Connor (b1853 Weymouth, Dorset)
Edward Inkerman Connor (b28Jan1856, bp 3Mar1856 St Mary Drogheda - married Margaret Naughton in Westport Co Mayo in 1886); he had a twin
Mary Anne Alma Connor (b28Jan1856, bp 3Mar1856 St Mary Drogheda - ?)
John Connor (bp 10May1858 St Peter Drogheda - ?)
Lawrence Patrick Connor (b28Oct1858 Tullyallen - 9Oct1911 Edmonton, London); on the 1911 census he gave his birthplace as " 'Louth' 'Dundalk' "
Joseph Connor (b1860 Drogheda Co Louth - ?)
Thomas Connor (b1865 Bansha in Tipperary - ?)


Lawrence Patrick's date of birth or baptism is not definitively known. The ages he gives throughout his life are such that they calculate back to a birth date between October 1855 and October 1858. Lawrence declares upon joining the army that he was born at Tullyallen, Co Louth but no birth or baptism record has been found. It is possible that he had given a false age upon enlistment to the army which continued through his army career and thereafter to protect his pension arrangements. The 1861 census shows Lawrence as a two year old and 1858 is the more likely birth date, making him eleven when he was enlisted into the army.

He enlisted into the British Army into the 88th foot on 28 or 29 Oct 1869 in Dublin by "special authority", apparently on his 14th birthday, according to his army record. He is shown as being 4' 3" tall with a fair complexion, hazel eyes and light hair.

He is shown as Roman Catholic. His next of kin is shown as his father, John Connor (Dublin).

Irish genealogy is difficult enough without them being in the army and leading a nomadic life! If anyone reading this would like to see more of the family, it's on my website at http://www.kenripper.co.uk/paf/connor/pafg02.htm#1836C .

Do you have any observations on the baptismal dates in 1856 at St Mary's? You mentioned that no records before 1880 exist.

[TCDrog]

Hi Ken

Just one quick observation is that Rogesrtown is in Ardee County Louth which is north of Tullylallen - Ardee is a registration district in it's own right.

Terry