O'Donnell/Gallagher

Dear yoganure

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

Can I take it that Patrick's surname is O'Donnell and Delia is the Gallagher?

Best wishes
Clare Doyle
Genealogy Support

Hi Clare,

You are right. It is Patrick O'Donnell and Delia Gallagher. Sorry about that.

Nancy

Dear Nancy
Thanks for getting back to me.

I had a look on rootsireland.ie but couldn't see a marriage record for a Patrick O'Donnell and Bridget/Delia Gallagher. I did find the civil birth details of a daughter Bridget born in 1873 in Co. Donegal to a father Patrick O'Donnel and a mother Bridget Gallagher.

If you have a look at this record (it will cost about five euro I think) you should be able to find out the townland and parish of her birth. We do have to keep in mind that this would make her mother 45 years old at the time of Bridget's birth and while this is not outside the realms of possibility, this is usually the case where many children have been born. Also we have to consider that the birth year of Delia may not be accurate, given that many people could not read or write, they would not have known, in most cases, their actual date of birth.

Let me know what you think
Best wishes
Clare
Genealogy Support

Hi Clare,

You said there was no marriage record for Patrick O'Donnell and Bridget/Delia Gallagher. But where did you get the Bridget from. Are those names used together sometimes or what?

Thank you, Nancy

Sorry Nancy

Delia is a version of Bridget. So the record I found was for Delia's daughter Bridget and her husband. Hope this makes sense!

This link gives further information:
http://www.rootsireland.ie/index.php?id=29

Best wishes
Clare
Genealogy Support

Hi Clare,

In thinking about this...If Patrick O'Donnell and Delia Gallagher had a daughter, Bridget, in 1873 in Donegal then they are probably not my relatives because they had a daughter, Mary, in 1861 in Houlton, Maine USA and she went on to live there til her death in 1928.

Wish I had more information on there two. Maybe a birth record of them. Or a passenger list of them when they left Ireland and arrived in USA. I would love to find something before my husband and I come over there in August 2015. I found a Catholic priest sho lives in Co. Cork who is my 3rd cousin. We met him in 2007 when we traveled to Ireland at that time. It was fantastic. He took us to the family home that 7 generations were born and raised, in Drimoleague,Co Cork.

Would love to find some relatives in Donegal!!

Thank you,

Nancy

Evening Nancy

I wonder if it would be of some help to contact the Donegal Diaspora Project. If there are no parish records then there isn't much that can be done about that. However, as we don't have very many volunteers in Donegal, perhaps it would be helpful, as a next step in the process, to contact the above project on the off-chance that there are more local avenues that can be useful. It may be a long shot, particularly as Gallagher is a fairly common surname in those parts. The details are below for your consideration:
Donegal Diaspora Project: http://www.donegaldiaspora.ie/

Please let us know how you get on with the research.

Best wishes
Clare
Genealogy Support

Hi Clare,

Thank you for the information! I will look at this site soon. I have been looking more into these relatives at ancestry.com and at  Houlton, Maine where Mary O'Donnell was born. It is a slow process but rewarding as well.

Nancy

Hi Nancy and Clare,

I always read post that have the same surnames as my family. My 2nd great grandmother was Annie Gallagher, she arrived in Philladelphia in the 1870's, she married John Friel in Philladelphia, PA abt 1880 and on her 1935 Pittsburgh, PA death certificate it has parents as Fred Gallagher and Nancy McClafferty...Family said Annie and John came frome Donegal.

I will also be looking into the Donegal Disapora Project.

Good luck on your research Nancy.

And thank you Clare for you devotion and dedication in helping us all find our Irish connection.

Blessings,
Suzie Fitzpatrick-Amrhein
Pittsburgh, PA

HI Suzie, thank you for your encouragement and much luck in your research also.

Sincerely,

Nancy Henson
Neptune Beach, Florida

Morning Nancy and Suzie

Keep us up to date on how things are going for you
Best wishes
Clare
Genealogy Support

Thank you Clare. I certainly will update you when I have any news!

Nancy

Thank you Clare I certainly will!

Nancy

Hi Anne,

The only thing I have about Gallagher is my gggrandmother (or ggg) was born in Co Donegal in 1813. Married Patrick O'Donnell. They had daughter names Mary in Houlton, Maine. Then that's where they stayed. My grandmother was born in Houlton in 1888. So my Gallagher line is a very thin line.

Good luck with your search....
I have been diagnosed with genetic Corneal Dystrophy but don't know where in the line THAT would have been.

Nancy