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Edward’s paternal grandparents

Edward’s paternal grandparents were James Murphy and Catherine Barka (or Barkey) – they are identified from baptism records for their children.

James Murphy

We do not have a birth record for James, but later records indicate he was born in the 1820s – about 1823.

Catherine Barka

Catherine was born about 29th July 1837 and baptised in Tyholland (Tehallan) Church on 30th July 1837. Her family were living in the townland of Culdaloo in the parish at that time.

James and Catherine were married in Tyholland Church on 8th November 1855. Their address is listed as “Tyholland Parish”. Tyholland Church was built in 1827 and described by Lewis[5] in 1837 as a “spacious edifice”. On the right is a picture of the church today.

James was a general labourer and James and Catherine must have moved into Monaghan town shortly after their marriage in 1855, as their first child James was born in Monaghan on 1st November 1856. They lived in various locations in the Dublin Street/Shambles area of Monaghan including Hasty’s Yard, Annahagh Lane and Pump Entry – see map below.

They had eight children as shown in this chart:

All the children were baptised in Latlurcan Church which was the parish church for Monaghan at the time. The church is located in the Old Graveyard at Latlurcan*. The Old Church is thought to have been built in 1790 and served as a parish church until 1892. It also served as a pro-cathedral from around 1851 when Bishop McNally took up residence in Monaghan until St. Macartan's Cathedral was completed and dedicated on September 23rd 1892. Many of the family are most likely buried in the old graveyard.

The old Latlurcan Church and cemetery are pictured on the right.

By 1901 James and Catherine were living in Pump Entry off the Dublin Road with their son Francis. They were still there when Catherine died on 12th April 1906. After Catherine’s death James moved to Russell’s Row to live near his other son Peter. In the 1911 census he is listed living in Russell’s Row with his daughter Elizabeth, his granddaughter Elizabeth (Peter’s daughter) and a great granddaughter Mary Grimley aged six months. James died on 21st April 1911 at Russell’s Row of old age (he was 88). His daughter Elizabeth recorded the death.

Edward's Paternal Uncles and Aunts

Three of Edward's Paternal Uncles served in the Monaghan Militia, part of the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the time. What is known of their adventures is described here.

James

James was born 30th October 1856 and baptised at Latlurcan Church on 1st November 1856. He married Jane Quinn on 6th April 1891 and died of pneumonia at Annahagh Lane in Monaghan on 29th December 1898.

Margaret

Margaret was born 7th November 1859 at Hasty’s Yard in Monaghan and baptised in Latlurcan Church on 13th November 1859. Margaret appears to have had an daughter out of wedlock in the Monaghan workhouse on 25th September 1882 called Mary Anne. Mary Anne Murphy married Patrick Grimley on 12th November 1905 in Monaghan cathedral. She listed her grandfather James as her father on the marriage record, and her Aunt Elizabeth was a sponsor. Mary Anne and Patrick had one child in Monaghan – Mary E Grimley, born 22nd November 1910 at Russell’s Row, and she was baptised on 23rd November 1910. The mother's name is incorrectly recorded on the Civil Record as “Mary Anne Martin”, but is correct on the Baptismal Record. Mary E is listed living with her great grandfather in Russell’s Row in the 1911 census. What happened to Margaret or Mary Anne and Patrick Grimley requires further research.

Peter

Peter was born 8th March 1867 at Annahagh Lane off Old Cross Square and baptised 10th March 1867. He married Anne Quigley on 2nd August 1891 in Monaghan. They were living with Ann’s mother Catherine Quigley in Old Cross Square at the time of the 1901 census. They had five children – Sarah born 12th July 1892, James born 21st January 1895, Mary Kate born 17th September 1896, Elizabeth born 25th April 1900 and Thomas born 9th January 1903. All were born and lived in the Shambles area of Monaghan.

When Elizabeth was born in 1900 Peter is listed as a member of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and to be serving in the Transvaal (more details about this regiment below). This would be the time of the Boer War (1899 – 1902). He appears to be back home by the time Thomas was born in 1903. Anne Quigley died of TB in the workhouse in Monaghan on 5th March 1908. Peter remarried - Ellen Rushe - on 14th January 1909. At the time of the 1911 census three of the children (James, Mary Kate and Thomas) are at home with Peter and Ellen in Russell’s Row while the fourth child Elizabeth is next door with her grandfather. Peter is listed as one of the mourners at his nephew James’ funeral in 1935. He died on 26th June 1943 of “senile decay”.

Edward

Edward had a short life. He was born in The Shambles on 14th September 1869 and baptised 17th September 1869. He joined the Monaghan Militia, which was the 5th Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers when he was about sixteen. They had a base in the Shambles, and the regular soldiers were poor Roman Catholics who needed the money. The officers were generally from well-to-do Monaghan Protestant families. Edward was involved in a fracas in June 1886, which was reported in the local newspapers. Tensions were high during this period of the 1880s in relation to Home Rule and he was shot in a confrontation between the militia and a protestant group. He was hit in the head and died in hospital on 11th June 1886. The different inquest reports which are shown are from The People’s Advocate (a catholic newspaper) which laid blame on the Protestant gang and the Northern Standard (a protestant newspaper) which laid blame on the militiamen.

Francis

No birth record has been found for Francis. He was a sponsor at his nephew James’s baptism in 1896 and is listed as living with his parents in Russell’s Row in the 1901 census, where his reported age is 30. This suggests he was born about 1870. Family lore reports that he joined the army and served in India. It is probable that he joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers like his brothers. His great niece Helen remembers meeting him in the early 1930s as an old man, who taught her to count to 10 in Hindustani. He died in the County home on 15th June 1940, aged 77 when his profession was listed as ex-soldier.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth was born at Annahagh Lane on 26th May 1875 and baptised on 27th May. Known as Lizzie, she appears as a sponsor on the baptismal record for James (Edward’s brother) in 1896. She appears in the 1911 census living with her father James in Russell’s Row. Family lore suggests that she emigrated to the USA but returned to Monaghan in the 1930s. Her married name was something like “Carmen”; she may have married in the USA. Helen recalls meeting her about 1932. She may have been a widow by then. She appeared to be a “sophisticated” woman with two gold teeth! She probably stayed with relatives in St. Patrick’s Terrace, Glaslough Street. She was alive in the County Home in the 1950s when she was visited by her great niece Dympna, and Dympna’s daughter Orla.

Thomas

Thomas was born on 2nd August 1877 at Annahagh lane and baptised on 3rd August. Thomas married Margaret Marron 3rd September 1899 in Monaghan, when his address was Dublin Street. They had one child Mary Bridget baptised 10th June 1900 in Monaghan. In the 1901 census Margaret and Mary Bridget are listed living with her parents at Gallows Hill, Monaghan. Margaret is still living with them in 1911 by which time she is listed as a widow, indicating that Thomas died sometime between 1901 and 1911.