The Dennigans of Tomiskey
It is interesting to see the name John Casey recur among the sponsors. And note
too that Mary Diffley was the second sponsor. A Patt Diffly acted as sponsor for
Ann Dennigan in 1838. Was there some connection between the Dennigans and the
Diffleys? Perhaps Thomas’s mother was a Diffley, making Patt and Mary his
cousins?
No further baptisms of children of Thomas Dennigan and Mary Casey were found.
For varying reasons,
there are no Census details available for County Longford before 1901, and so
this source of data is not available to check for the family in the years after
1836. The most commonly used substitute is Griffith’s
Valuation, as
stated earlier. However, a search of this reveals no land holdings in Longford
in the name of Thomas Dennigan.
The family tradition, supported by evidence (see Marriage Details of Laurence
Dennigan, Page 11 ) is that the family came from
Middleton townland in Killashee. The only Dennigan (or close variant) listed in
the Civil Parish, however, was Michael Dinigan in Knappogue townland (see
Page 13).
Griffith’s
Valuation,13 as can be seen on the extract from the
Valuation
records on Page 9, shows only three listed tenants
in Middleton townland: Michael Quinn, Thomas Judge and Patrick Owens. Quinn was
clearly a major land holder, while Owens’ holding was not insubstantial at 39
Acres owned outright (‘in fee’). According to the record, there was only one
rateable house in the townland, that of Thomas Judge.
However, the absence of subtenants in the townland cannot be taken as
conclusive. Those whose livelihood was that of ‘agricultural labourer’ would
generally have held houses of too poor a quality to have any rateable valuation.
Assuming then that the survey was correct and did not omit any rateable
dwellings in Middleton, we are left with two possibilities: either the Dennigans
did not live in Middleton around 1856; or they were agricultural labourers and
not liable for rates.
The Cancelled Land Books for Middleton townland were referenced next.14 By the time the first was compiled, apparently in the 1860s, Michael Quinn was listed as the sole holder in Middleton. The land remained in his name until 1895, when it seems to have been leased to a Samuel W. Russell. Then, in 1912 it was reset, and quite a number of people took ownership. Presumably these were previously tenants on the farms in the townland. None, however, of the newly named occupiers bore the surname Dennigan.
Sadly, then, there seems no immediate prospect of placing the Dennigan’s in Middleton at the time of Thomas’s marriage or of the births of their children.
Going back further in time, a search of the Tithe Applotment Books for Killashee Parish, dating from the early 1830s, also failed to reveal any Dennigans in Middleton. They also were not found in Curragarrow, but the listing for this townland included a plot jointly held by John and Bernard Casey.
13 Richard Griffith, Primary Valuation of the Tenements of Ireland, published for County Longford 1854. Accessed on Irish Origins. URL: www.irishorigins.com
14 Cancelled Land Books, Killashee Electoral District, Longford Registrar’s District, Townland of Middleton, Valuation Office, Dublin
