East-West Relations

In the early to mid-1800s, Isaac Cooper worked as a Miner and lived in the townland of Templelusk in Co. Wicklow. Isaac most likely worked in the mines near his home, in the townlands of Killeagh, Knocknamohill and Ballymoneen, or the larger copper and sulphur mines of the Avoca Valley – Ballygahan and Ballymurtagh in the west of the valley, and Cronebane, Tigroney and Connary in the east of the valley. Not too far south from his home was also the Goldmines River, scene of the Wicklow Gold Rush of 1795 (which was worked intermittently thereafter), so there was no shortage of mining work in the area at the time. The mines of Ballygahan and Ballymurtagh were run by Henry Hodgson Esq., and having made a fortune in Co. Wicklow, Henry looked west and purchased lands in Co. Galway available from landlords who were bankrupt due to the Famine. He also took over the Glengowla mines, just west of Oughterard, as well as other mining activities in the area.

Isaac had a daughter, Sarah Cooper, who was born in Templelusk. Sarah was aged 22 in 1856 and worked as a Domestic Servant. She then relocated to the other side of the country – the next record of her was in 1857, when she married Pat Conneely in Oughterard, Co. Galway. It is not known what Pat Conneely’s occupation was at the time, but in later years he was recorded as working as a Miner in Co. Wicklow, so it is possible that he had been involved with mining in Co. Galway. We can only speculate as to why Sarah made the move west: it may have been for work as a Domestic Servant, or it may have been arranged by the family (possibly utilising connections in the mining industry). Pat and Sarah Conneely had three children, all baptised in the Oughterard parish: Mary (1858), Mark (1863) and John (1865). On John’s baptism record, the location of Birchhall is noted; the Conneelys lived in the townland of Birchhall (also known as Curraveha) at the time. Each of the baptism records of Pat Conneely’s first three children have one thing in common: a Mark Conneely was a sponsor for all three. Sometime between 1865 and 1869, Pat, Sarah and family moved east to Co. Wicklow – they moved into Sarah’s homeplace in Templelusk. Here, the Conneely surname evolved to Connolly, and the family continued to grow, with the arrival of four more children: Isaac (1869), Michael (1870), Bridget (1873) and Anne (1876). Pat Connolly died in Templelusk in 1901 (aged 64), and Sarah in nearby Cloneen in 1916, but their children went on to have families of their own with Mary in Templelusk, Mark in Cronebeg, John in Ballyarthur and then Dublin, Isaac in Cloneen, Michael in Bagenalstown and Anne in Dalkey. There are now descendants of Pat Connolly living in many eastern counties – Louth, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Kildare, as well as Waterford, Cork, Lancashire and beyond.

In the 1901 Census, there was a Mark Conneely living with his family in Ardnasillagh, the townland adjacent to Curraveha. Valuation Office records show Mark became the registered occupier for a plot of land in Curraveha which was subsequently passed on to his son Martin, and the Conneely farm included adjacent areas in both the Ardnasillagh and Curraveha townlands. Although we don’t have any birth or baptism records for Pat or Mark Conneely, subsequent records suggest their births were within a few years of each other. Given that they were of a similar age, lived very near each other and Mark was sponsor to three of Pat’s children, it can be assumed that Pat and Mark Conneely were related and possibly brothers.

It has been said that years ago there were relatives from Co. Galway that visited Co. Wicklow, travelling via train, but unfortunately their names are not known. Further research will continue, and hopefully in time, further details of this connection between the East and West of the country will become apparent.