(as told by Kathleen Molloy, Waterford, about 1960)

In the year 1749 (according to the tombstone in Whitechurch cemetary) Thomas Cooney was born…presumably at CAMBLIN, outside New Ross. He married somebody named Kelly ? a relation of the famous ‘Boy from Kilann’ or so we were led to believe. This Thomas Cooney died on August 27^th 1815…Seventeen years after the rebellion of 1798…..and was buried in Whiteshurch, close to the foot of Slieve Coiltia. As far as I can discover, he had four sons, two of whom were killed during the rebellion at the battle of Ross and two daughters, both over six feet tall. I can find no trace of these amazons. The two remaining sons were Thomas and James (the latter presumably being the one who erected the tombstone to his father in Whitechurch) The father evidently decided to divide the farm between these two boys which he did…even to the house, making it into two houses, which is how it is to this day. (Remember the Byrne boys told us they were told he even divided the plates on the dresser!) Thomas married (can’t find her name) and settled in one farm. He had one son James and two girls, Bridget and Catherine. The other James married Anne Archbold or Aspel (from Bawnmeen) and settled in the adjoining farm. He had two sons, James and John (our grandfather) and four daughters, Mary, Agnes, Margaret (Mag.) and Anne. Mag. And James were twins. The son John had a turn for engineering so his father was persuaded to send him to Waterford to serve his time to this. So he arrived in Waterford when he was 17 years old and went to stay with people named CAREW who lived at the time, I believe, in Bayley’s New St. They later moved around the corner to 130 Parade Quay where a public house was owned by Catherine Carew (one of the daughters or the mother ?) JOHN COONEY attended school in Waterford and won many prizes. He served his apprenticeship in the Nertune Iron Works and remained there until his death in 1907 ? He married MARGARET CAREW and lived in ‘130’ where all his children were born. Margaret was 27 at the time of her marriage; she is reputed to have said, when asked by John to marry him…"Are you sure, John, it isn’t Kate you mean?" (Her sister) Of this marriage there were eleven children..James..called after his grandfather..died young, also Mary died about 11 or 12 years..Annie (my mother) Joseph (died young) Katty, Nellie, James, John (died young) Thomas (your father) Maggie and John Francis.

Back in Camblin, a tragedy had happened. The other brother James and his first-cousin, another James Cooney in the adjoining farms, both fell ill of some fever or epidemic (possibly after ‘The Famine’) and died on the same day. They were both buried in the family grave in Whitechurch. This left both farms without a man to run them..only the girls being left. Evidently JOHN COONEY did not care to turn farmer and leave his home in Waterfordso he set about getting his sister MARGARET (Mag.) married. She married John Power who was a great many years her junior: they worked the farm and they lived very happily until her death in 1900. They had no family. John Power erected a tombstone to her memory in Whitechurch. After her death he married again and of this marriage there were about 7 children, one of whom Hannie, married a man named Nolan and is living at present in "The Hollow" (the old house) and has children of her own.

This Hannie is no relation of any kind.

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In the adjoining farm..two girls were left…and one married a man named JOHN BYRNE and had three sons, MARTIN, WILLIW and JOHN (whom we met on the road..remember??) and a daughter, LIZZIE who married Pat Kelly of ‘The Wood’. WILLIE BYRNE married and his children are still in the farm. He and his sister Lizzie (Kelly) died within a few months of each other in, I think 1956 ? JOHN never married and lives with his nephews and niece in the ‘divided’ house! He erected a tombstone in Whitechurch to his mother Briget (Cooney) Byrne who died in 1906 and his father, John Byrne who died in 1923.

GRANDFATHER’S sister MARY COONEY married PHILIP BROWNER. They had a number of children ….MARYANNE, JOHN (J.B.) KATIE, MAGGIE, BRIGID, PADDY and PHILIP. This Mary (Cooney) Browner died rather young and was buried in the Cooney grave in Whitechurch.

GRANDFATHER’S sister AGNES COONEY married PAT NORTH and lived in Stokestown. They had a large family…HANNAH, JACK, JAMES, JOE, AGNES, MIKE, MINNIE, TOM, STEPHEN and PADDY. Mike married NAN HUGHES (the one and only ‘NAN NORTH’) who is still (1964) living in Stokestown and says she is nearly ninety!!! They had no family.

GRANDFATHER’S sister ANNE COONEY married a man named MORAN and went out to Canada. I can’t discover much about them but a daughter of theirs married a COVENEY and their children were, DENIS, ALPHONSE, JAMES and AGNES.

MARYANNE BROWNER …daughter of Mary Cooney and Philip Browner…married JAMES KENNEDY and lived in New Ross (Quay Street). They had seven boys and one girl MARY who was sent up to Waterford to her grand-uncle, JOHN COONEY (Grandfather) to be rered. She lived at 130, Parade Quay with the Cooneys until her marriage to JOHN J. HOGAN (about 1912? must ask Una) Best man at the wedding was Harry Boland.

The Kennedy boys were: Michael (died young) PATRICK, THOMAS, JOHN, AUGUSTINE, MICHAEL and FRANCIS. All dead now except ‘Gus, in New Ross.

JOHN BROWNER (J.B.) see above…went to Dublin and got on very well. He married MARY-ANNE BROWN always known to us as "M.A." whose spicy sayings and trite remarks were told and re-told time and again down the years. J.B> was lame and used a crutch. There were five children a girl, MARY who died young, CHARLIE, JOHNNIE and ALPHONSUS and WILLIE who died a baby. JOHNNIE married MARGARET McGRATH (who lived next door to the Cooneys on the Quay) and they had four girls and one boy: SHEILA, NORA, EILEEN, KATHLEEN (Kitty) and DERMOT.

PATRICK BROWNER..see above… followed his brother, J.B. to Dublin He married MARY BRERETON and their family lived in Parnell Road. MARY, SARSFIELD (died a young man), EILEEN, FANNY, MICHAEL, PHILIP, KEVIN and TOM.

PHILIP BROWNER see above…like his brothers, went to Dublin and joined the D.M.P. Married MOLLY CAREY (sister of Denis Carey, a famous athlete also in the D.M.P.) They had three girls; MARY, FREDA (died a baby) and DELIA

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Maggie Browner (daughter of Mary Cooney and Phil Browner) see above, married a Pat McEvoy. They had one child Mary who lived in Durrow, Co. Laoise. I think they died young and the daughter, Mary, was found dead in the house (about 1951) She often visited Browners, Parnell Rd and I remember meeting her there years ago. She was a dressmaker.

KATIE nor BRIGID BROWNER never married. Bid or ‘Aunt B’ as she was called lived with her sister MARYANNE KENNEDY in Quay St., New Ross and later her niece, MAY HOGAN in Blackrock, co. Dublin, where she died. She is buried in Deansgrange Cemetary.

GRANDMOTHER COONEY’S people seem to have come from Tipperary origins or at least, the only information I can get is that someone named CAREW married a lady named BURKE from Tipperary and they had six children..THOMAS, JOHN, MARGARET (our grandmother Cooney), ELLEN, CATHERINE and BRIGID.

THOMAS married his employer’s daughter and had three children (Note JOHN CAREW was a sea-going engineer and appears to have settled in New Foundland where he married.

MARGARET married JOHN COONEY from CAMBLIN, New Ross (our grandfather) (Both are buried in Ballygunner Cemetary, Waterford also aunts and uncles.

Of the family of AGNES (COONEY) NORTH (Grandfather’s sister) JACK married Mary Culleton (who died young) Their children were KATHLEEN, AGNES, and a boy JACK (Died in Enniscorthy) JACK NORTH married a second time..a sister of Nan North’s Brigid Hughes and had a boy and girl, Nannie and Jack.

HANNAH NORTH married somebody named O’Neill.

AGNES NORTH married PAT MOLLOY and their daughter married a man named Fagan and lived in Bristol. They had several children.

MINNIE NORTH married GEORGE TAYLOR and emigrated to Australia. Did well there... owners of picture houses and Hotels in Makay. Came home on a visit in 1932 with youngest son, Jim (I remember this well: she appeared as if she had never left Stokestown!) and died not very long after her return to Australia. Her eldest son, GEORGE, the doctor also came with his wife and boys.

STEPHEN NORTH married Ellen Barry and had at least two, daughters, Minnie and Ellen.

JAMES NORTH went to America, settled outside Chicago. Married an O’Hara from Arthurstown, Co. Wexford and had two daughters and a son WILLIAM, who visited Ireland in 1953 or 4. This is MONSIGNOR NORTH from California. He came to Ireland again in 1957 and visited all the relations possible. I was at his Mass in Mercy Convent here on this occasion.

MIKE NORTH married NAN HUGHES in 1914 and lived in Stokestown, the old NORTH home.

PADDY NORTH lived with Mike and Nan in Stokestown. I remember both these brothers very well, of course. All these cousins would have been 1^st cousins of your father and my mother.