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Ballydonnellan Castle -
alleged to have been built in 1412. Now in |
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The earliest specific and documented clues relating
to individuals interconnected in the Donnellan family come from
the James Hardiman Library at the National University in Galway.
These are in the form of notes and pedigrees collected and prepared
by Dermot O'Conor Donelan back in the 1885 - 1905 timeframe.
The Library has a 170+ page index on the Estate papers of Thomas
O'Conor Donelan and four boxes of material ---- many of which
are germane to his genealogical searches. The first notes refer
to the Fiants (Warrants) of Queen Elizabeth I To put the times in historical context, Henry the VIII had broken with the Roman Catholic Church in 1531 and dissolved the monastaries between 1536 and 1540. Elizabeth came to power in 1558 and reigned until 1603. During her reign, the situation in Ireland became even nastier than it was under Henry. According to the Catholic Encyclepedia, a priest named Roger O'Donnellan had been put to death in Dublin Castle in 1582. Exact relationship to the family is unknown but there had been a number of Donnellan priests existent in the past. Aside from the Ballydonnellan in Cappataggle, Co. Galway, there have been several other Ballydonnellans. There was one in Co. Mayo at Aghagower and an East and West Donnellan in Co. Roscommon. Most of these, I believe, came to existence at a later date. At this same period in history, according to the Alumni Dublinenses of Trinity College in Dublin (TCD founded in 1592), the first Donnellan was entered there -- listed as Andrew, 4th son of Tully O'Donnellan of Bearnahallagh. Research to date has found no further data on this branch of the family although 24 known descendants of Nehemiah are entered in TCD's admissions list over the next 250 years. |
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Ballydonnellan Castle -
alleged to have been built in 1412. Now in |
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Ballydonnellan Castle - close up photo. |
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From yet another family researcher,
John Donnellan, this information on Ballyd- was excerpted from
an unnamed publication: "----of Ballydonellan near Loughrea. This last house was a most unusual place, which fascinated Beaufort when he visited it in 1787. The long eight-bay two-story single pile was flanked by turrets, crowned with cupolas topped by finials. The turret to the  right had been an old castle on
to which the house had been built, and this accommodated a back
stair; the turret to the left contained, on the ground floor,
a 'great room' with a tripartite window to the front and three
windows in the bow on the garden front. It had five chambers
on the floor above, and in the attic a single barrack-room lit
by the cupola. The lay-out of the main part of the house was
also singular, being divided into three sections: the centre
formed the drawing-room with windows to the front and garden:
on the left was the entrance-hall with the main staircase; to
the right at the front a passage to the secondary staircase in
the turret, and behind it a breakfast room. To achieve a symmetrical
appearance the façade had twin frond doors approached
by steps, that on the left being the entrance to the hall and
that on the right a dummy. It is not clear which of the Donellans
built this remarkable house; almost certainly not the Malachy
Donellan whose will was proved in 1729, but perhaps the Malachy
Donellan of Ballydonellan who died at Galway in 1758 or his son
John who died at Ballydonellan in 1772". |
 According to an input I received
from another family researcher, Sean Donelan, he has "seen
the cornerstone [of Ballydonelan] at the National School House
in Aughrim". It "sits in front of Saint Catherine's
National School in Aughrim, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway--- approximately
3 miles from Kilconnel Abbey and 2 miles from Cappataggle (Ballydonelan).
It was placed there by a gentleman named Martin Joyce. He was the Principal there and the area historian. He passed away in 1991. He had received the cornerstone from an acquaintance of mine named Freddie Hynes. Her and her husband, Tom, own a bar/hostel in Aughrim and have lived in the area all of her life. Freddie had found the cornerstone used as the overhead piece to a doorway of a barn. Realizing what it was, she took great care in having it removed. Mr. Joyce, ---talked her out of it to place in front of the school. Now I'm working with Freddie and folks at the school and at the Aughrim Interpretive Centre to possibly move it inside the museum  to prevent further weathering
and so further generations of Donelans' can see it".Sean very kindly sent me pictures of the cornerstone as shown above (also see James and Sean to the right). Please note that it establishes the date of construction/dedication as 1412 by Tuly [Tully] O'Donelan. |
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Abbey at Kilconnell - Franciscan
Abbey where Tully Donnellan built a |
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The following picture was received from a Donnellan researcher who recently visited Ballyd-- and the Abbey at Kilconnell. The Jensen's have been tracing their Wisconsin roots (Carolyn is the descendent) and this is their story:
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Cloghan Castle
in Tisrara - the ancestral home of James Donnellan, who |
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The Cross at Kilconnell
- erected in 1682 by John Donnellan - a country
The inscription on the cross is 'ORATE PRO D IOANNE DONNELLANO EIVSQVE FAMILIA QVI HANC CRVCEM ERICI FECIT 1682' which roughly translates as "PRAY FOR D. JOHN DONELLAN, WHO ERECTED THIS CROSS IN 1682, AND FOR HIS FAMILY" |
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This is the
Tully Chapel, sometimes called Donnellan's Room, built in |
"Michael
Patrick Donlin (also Donlan, Donelin, etc.) was born in Milltown
Malbay, County Clare, probably in late September, 1837. His parents
were Patrick Donnellan and Alice M(e)aly of Kilmacrehey Parish
(Lahinch). It is said he left for Boston in Autumn 1857, but
appears more likely. It is expected that he immigrated with a
brother and two sisters. In January of 1862, Mike married Bridget
Carmody (also from Clare) In Springfield, Massachusetts. After
the Civil War, they moved to Lancaster, Wisconsin. Bridget died
there at age 37. Michael then married Delia Powers, who was born
in Troy, NY to Irish immigrants. Anyone having information on
this branch of the extended family can contact Dan and Carolyn
at 
