EPIC Dublin
I had been pondering the emigration question as part of my family history research for a while. Why did my great-great grandparents decide to emigrate to Australia in 1863? Was it hardship, love, famine, political unrest? I had more questions than answers, so I packed my theories into a bag and travelled to Ireland to seek out primary material to put these research questions to the test.
My first stop though was EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin where I also visited the Irish Family History Centre (additional option with my museum ticket). If I got some new leads from the visit, it would be worth the extra ten euros. There were mixed reviews online, but the optimist in me hoped for the best.
EPIC opened in 2016 and is located in a newly redeveloped area at the Custom House Quay on Liffey River. The exhibition spaces take you underground into the old tobacco stores. These rough stone tunnels were lined with bright screens and computer technology, and it made for a very impressive and immersive exhibition. Lots of fascinating stories about the Irish people stretching from the famine days to current times. Typically I try to read as much as I can, but after three hours and no lunch, I was finding it difficult to concentrate. Visitors can leave comments about their experience at the end of the exhibition, which are superimposed onto a large screen with floating images. My comment was:
I’m exhausted, I feel like I’ve been around the world… oh wait! I have!!! on the back of Irish immigrants.
After finally snatching a quick bite, I spent a couple of hours at the Irish Family History Centre. I decided to focus on the big gap in my family story: the Sheehys from Whitegate. My mother-in-law, who had done some research for me, printed out several Griffith valuation accounts for a John Sheehy in the townlands close to Whitegate, but I had no idea if this was my great-great grandmother’s father. After spending some time in the family centre essentially relooking at all the same databases and explaining what I was looking for to two different people, I finally got to speak to a genealogist. I mentioned that a John Sheehy was listed for several properties in the Parish of Clonrush in County Galway, but I wasn’t sure if all the John Sheehys listed in these documents were the same person?
The genealogist explained that a person with multiple land holdings against their name in the Griffiths Valuation typically would only have one house assigned to them, which would indicate the main residence. It was likely to be the same person and if that person was leasing multiple properties it could be expected that they would have some standing in the local area and there was likely to be other references to this person in the records.
Ka-ching! Some value from of my ten euros! Essentially, this tells me that John Sheehy’s main residence was in Gweeneeny and he effectively leased land in the Ballinrooaun, Birch Park, Cartron, Gweeneeny and Lakyle townlands in the Parish of Clonrush and subleased these lands out. His holdings comprised a total of 122 acres, 1 rood and 32 perches (excluding the parcel at Gweeneeny as individual measurements were not given). It was valued at £102,10, 0 per annum in 1847 -1864 an equivalent to £11,050 in 2011[1].
Now I am looking for a man of standing in the local community and I need to visit the townland of Gweeneeny near Whitegate. I wonder what I might find out?
[1] Grahame Allen, House of Commons Library, Inflation: the value of the pound 1750-2011 Research paper 12/31 29 May 2012
