This is the sixth and final essay in my series of blogs on my family’s involvement in the Church of Ireland in County Kerry. It is about the revival that occurred in 1861 and the foundations of the Plymouth brethren. It is a long read, … Continue reading Revival: the Plymouth Brethren
This is the second part of my reflections about returning to one of our ancestral homelands. Various members of two families, the Hicksons and the Byrnes, left the County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland some 150 years ago to make new lives for themselves … Continue reading Back to Kerry. Part 2
On the thirtieth of October 1872, George Byrne, husband of Sarah Byrne, died at home in Chapel Lane, Killarney. According to his death certificate he was 47 years old, and died of bronchitis, from which he had suffered for two years. He was a nailor … Continue reading Chapel Lane
My grandmother’s oldest sister was named Kathleen Byrne, but the family usually called her Lena. She was born in 1886 in Sydney, the first child of George and Susie Byrne, who were both Irish migrants from County Kerry. Her parents were reasonably well off; some … Continue reading The Byrnes and our Irish origins
I am descended from four Kerry families of the nineteenth century: their names are Byrne, Hickson, Needham and Ruddle. My maternal grandmother was Gertrude Byrne and her parents, both Irish born, were George Byrne and Susie Hickson. George’s parents were George Byrne (senior) and Sarah Ruddle, while Susie’s … Continue reading Reconstructing the Byrne family
Forgotten tales 