I am looking for any connections to Patrick Joseph Ryan, b. 10th March 1929 in Holles St hospital, Dublin; d. 28th Sept 1981 in Luton, England.
I only have the information my grandmother told me and very little 'facts'. I was told he was adopted by a family with the surname Coogan and his adoption was before adoptions were legalised. His adoptive family may have had him from a baby or after he had an accident that caused life-changing injuries at the age of 6. The Coogan family I think he may have been adopted by are Thomas and Mary Coogan (nee Hilliard) who lived in Mallin/Mallon Ave. The reason I think it may be them is because my grandmother said he had 2 sisters who died young- Sadie and Molly. It was the only picture I recall seeing of his family- the two sisters, one sitting on a chair, her sister with her hand on her shoulder, standing behind her. Both looking very 'Victorian' to my young mind. The Coogan's had 2 daughters- Sarah and Mary- who died young (Mary in '22 age 17: Sarah in '33 age 26). They also had a son Thomas, who died as an infant. Thomas Snr died in '49 and Mary died in '57.
Is it possible to get information on how he was 'adopted' and by whom? If so, where would I write to?
I was told he was in the Artane, but have since found out that he wasn't or at least, he wasn't there under the name of Patrick Ryan, but I don't know that he ever went by the name of Coogan. I have no evidence of that. My grandmother used to mention the Christian Brothers, so I gather he was taught by them at some point, but not in the Artane. Is there somewhere I can write to find out where he went to school?
He spent time in Stanmore hospital in London when he was 10 for corrective surgery on his back. In the accident at the age of 6, he was hit by a car and broke his back on the kerb, which left him unable to walk and in a plaster bed. He developed scoliosis, was a hunchback for the rest of his life and couldn't walk without a cane. I've found no newspaper articles on the accident, so again it's all hearsay, however, scoliosis is on his death certificate as a 'c' condition. I obtained his birth delivery record and there were no birth defects, etc recorded- he was noted to be healthy and it was a normal delivery.
From 1957 to 1959, he's on the electoral roll for Luton, so he was in England by then. However, he returned to Ireland at some point in 1958-59, because he met and married my grandmother in March 1959 in Dublin. They then left for England to live in June 1959.
Yet everything before 1957 is a mystery. My grandmother told a family member that he was a Doorman at the Metropole Ballroom (I assume that was in the Hotel?). But he was a 4 1/2 foot tall and needed a support to walk, so I can't imagine he was a Doorman, but perhaps a coat or ticket attendant or usher of sorts?
I also have a suspicion he may have been known to the Police. He received cautions in the UK for a specific type of offence and I wondered if there was way to find out this kind of information from Ireland?
There is further information in a post about his parents on
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=844917.0On my genealogy journey, I've managed to trace most of my lines back to the mid-1800's, but I can't seem to get past Patrick on the Ryan line. He's a complete mystery, because I don't have much more than stories that I'm desperately trying to link up to evidence! So, please- any help at all would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
