17. A Proof Summary: Dennis Buggy's Kyleballynamoe

The following evidence, when carefully examined and assembled, proves that Dennis Buggy was born in Kyleballynamoe (Cill bhéil átha na mbó), County Kilkenny, Ireland. [1]

 

Dennis Buggy

1.  The Phelan family book identifies Freshford in County Kilkenny as the burial place of Dennis Buggy’s parents.[2]

2.  Baptism records for Dennis Buggy and his siblings are found in Freshford parish registers.[3]

3.  The Buggy names from the parish register (except for the mother’s maiden name and one [missing] brother) match the Phelan family book.[4]

4.  U.S. records confirm these children as the siblings of Dennis Buggy.[5]

5.  Two baptism records distinguish Kile St G[     ] from Kile Tullaroan.[6]

6.  A 1786 travelogue locates the St. George name in the vicinity of Kile, within a couple miles of the town of Freshford, in Freshford Catholic parish.[7]

7.  The St. Georges received the lands of the Shortalls after Cromwell.[8]

8.  One of the townlands the Shortalls lost is identified as “Kyle[ballynamoe].”  The brackets suggest the place was known as Kyle, an abbreviation for the longer name.[9]  Kyle and Kile are equivalent spellings for the same pronunciation.

9.  Kyleballynamoe lies in Freshford Catholic parish and Tubbridbritain civil parish.[10]

10.  Its location west of Freshford identifies Kyleballynamoe as the same as Kyle/Kile, the residence of Dennis Buggy and his siblings at the time of their baptisms.  It is found there on current maps, about four miles west of Freshford.[11]

A reasonably exhaustive search for Dennis Buggy in U.S. records turned up none that gives as much information about his birthplace as the Phelan family book.  It was necessary to make the full search, however, to know exactly who Dennis Buggy was and how the siblings listed in the Phelan family book and the Freshford baptism register were related to him.  It’s always better to know more than we think we need!

Next Time: Loose Ends

Update: An Antique Map

An antique map of Kyleballynamoe shows its Shortall owners at the middle of the seventeenth century.  Trinity College Dublin has just posted online an extraordinary set of maps made to assist in the transfer of properties from Catholic landowners to English adventurers.  The Down Survey mapped the area of each townland in Ireland.  The map for Kyleballynamoe can be seen at http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php#bm=Cranagh&c=Kilkenny&indexOfObjectValue=-1&indexOfObjectValueSubstring=-1&p=Tubrid+Kilcooly+and+Borlick.

Note that north is in the lower left corner of the map, turning the view nearly upside-down from normal.  No. 56 is “Killobeallenemoe,” belonging to Tho. Shortall Jr. pap^t [papist] pp^r.  The land, 369:0:0 acres, is described as Heathy and Shrubby pasture.  It is adjacent to No. 48, Tuberid, of Rob^t Shortall Jr. pap^t pp^r, 560:0:0 & Arr. of “Shrubby & Course Heathy Pasture.”  The size of Tuberid seems to correspond more to later maps of Kyleballynamoe.  Both townlands feature an icon in the middle of a castle.[12]

© 2013 Judy Kellar Fox, CG, foxkellarj@comcast.net.

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[1] Owen O’Kelly, The Place-Names of the County of Kilkenny (Kilkenny, Ireland: The Kilkenny Archaeological Society, 1985), 27.

[2] “The Phelan Descendants: The Buggy Family, The Delaney Family, The Dollard Family,” privately held, 2013, 8

[3] Catholic Church, Freshford Parish (Kilkenny), Parochial Registers, 1773-1881, Baptisms, 1800-1825, and 1825-1847; Family History Library microfilm 926,192, items 1 and 3, respectively.

[4] Judy Kellar Fox, “12. The Buggy-Brannagan Family of Freshford: A Possible Match!” Pinpointing Dennis Buggy’s Irish Origins (http://foxkellarbuggy.blogspot.com/2013/04/12-buggy-brannagan-family-of-freshford.html), posted 22 April 2013.

[5] Judy Kellar Fox, “14. Dennis Buggy’s Siblings: Gathering Relationship Clues,” Pinpointing Dennis Buggy’s Irish Origins (http://foxkellarbuggy.blogspot.com/2013/04/14-dennis-buggys-siblings-gathering.html), posted 29 April 2013.

[6] Catholic Church, Freshford Parish (Kilkenny, Ireland), Parochial Registers, 1773-1881, Baptisms, 1825-1847, p. 1, Eliza Buggy (7 February 1825), and p. 4, Eleanor Stapleton (3 April 1825).

[7] The Post Chaise Companion: or Travellers Directory through Ireland, 4^th ed. (Dublin: J. Fleming [1786]), col. 476; digital image, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 4 May 2013).

[8] William Carrigan, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, 2 vols., Vol. 2 (Dublin: Sealy, Bryers & Walker, 1905), 257; digital image, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 3 May 2013).

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] See, for example, “Search,” Google Earth, Get Directions: Kyleballynamoe, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, to Freshford, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, accessed 14 May 2013.
[12] “The Down Survey of Ireland,” Trinity College Dublin (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/index.html : accessed 15 May 2013), “Down Survey Maps,” select County Kilkenny, Cranagh Barony, Tubrid Parish.