Category Archives: Ireland

Mary Ann Irvine and her Parkinson family.

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My last blog was about John Irvine, written from the (fictional) memories of Mary Parkinson as related to a friend.  Despite this approach to the story, the happenings were real, very real and would have had a life-long effect on Mary Ann, one of John Irvine’s younger sisters. Mary Ann’s story begins on a cold winter’s day on the outskirts of Killyleagh, about 3 klms from the village itself in the townland of Ardigon. Her mother Sarah had already borne … Continue reading

John Irvine – Bootmaker and preacher.

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The shot rang out in the quiet stillness of the farming community of Mt Thabor, just east of Warwick in South East Queensland.[1] The cows in the paddock opposite were mildly disturbed and the native birds squawked off in alarm. Mary knew the sound, as after all, her husband Clement Parkinson was a farmer and such is the necessity of country life. However, this shot on 5 June 1909 was different and more importantly she could smell the gunpowder. The … Continue reading

Where was he from?

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By Bob McAllister. Beginning family history researchers quickly come to rely on a very small set of good quality documentary records relevant to any particular ancestor. So we are accustomed to wringing every last drop of information from each record that we do find. That is one of the reasons why I am so embarrassed to look back at my earliest searches to see the gems that I overlooked, failed to recognise the significance of, or simply ignored on first … Continue reading

The Irvines – from whence they came.

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  My Irvine ancestors set out from Killyleagh, a beautiful village in County Down, situated on the shores of Strangford Lough. This story aims to tell you a little about the history of the area and the senior members of the family. Although the village was settled in the 12th century, it was in 1602 that the Scots-Irish influence began. At this time the Gaelic chieftain Con O’Neill of Clandeboye owned much of North Down, including Killyleagh. O’Neill had sent … Continue reading

A Trip to County Galway, Ireland

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Occasionally you hear a story of someone who arrives in a country looking for their ancestors and commences wandering the roads and byways. Suddenly, seemingly by chance, as they have done very little research, they stumble across a record, a house or the burial place of a long lost relative. The other story, and the most common, especially if your relatives came from Ireland, is the one where you do endless research, go up and down genealogical roads, constantly hitting … Continue reading