Mad in Pursuit Notebook
The Family Land
Cooloo
About 1907, the Dunnes acquired a second farm about twelve kilometers downhill from Ballaghduff in Cooloo, within the civil parish of Moylough. I was told that this was her farm.
The land had been bestowed by the Congested Districts Board, which distributed parcels as a way of fending off Home Rule initiatives ("killing it with kindness"). The likely story is that residents of Catherine's birthplace Rushestown were offered the deal. But her parents were deceased and her brothers had already emigrated to the U.S. This allowed the eldest sister Catherine to benefit from the grant.
The Cooloo townland was not a community like Ballaghduff. It was the landed estate of Edward Browne, who lived in Cooloo Cottage and died in 1871. He left his estate to his nephew Michael O'Kelly (1839-1889), who he'd adopted. O'Kelly continued to occupy Cooloo Cottage till his death. However, family members bitterly disputed the will for years, even after O'Kelly died.[1]
On 16 March 1904, the Cooloo property was taken over by the Congested Districts Board. It appears that their first action was to raise money by renting the land to hunters. [2]
In 1901, the national census shows only four families residing in Cooloo, all Donohoes.
When the land grants were made, Catherine (I'm led to believe) oversaw the building of a new home-house and establishment of the farm, which was slated to become the operation of her eldest son John (1891-1972).
In 1911, the national census shows ten households in Cooloo, including Catherine's brother-in-law's family, the Thomas Dunnes, re-located from Rushestown. [3]
From the census ennumeration sheet below, it appears that the kids were in charge. Although father Michael Dunne was technically the Head of Family, 18-year-old John is the farmer. His sidekick is 16-year-old Bridget, apparently learning how to run a household prior to her emigration. Young Pat hung out with them.
John remained a bachelor farmer until the age of 39, when he married Julia Fleming. They had seven children.
In 2007, I spoke with John's eldest son, Mick Dunne. Coming of age in the 1940s, he remembered how everyone pitched in to make both family farms successful. As a kid, he would ride the horse to Ballaghduff, where his Uncle Mike was now in charge. After they finished plowing, he'd ride the horse and plow down to Cooloo to work that piece of land.
This essay contains as much as I've learned about Cooloo. If any descendants of John and Julia Dunne have additional lore or old photographs, I'd love to incorporate them into the family legend.
Notes
[1] For anyone willing to get into the weeds of long-forgotten family disputes, you can consult the following:
- CEARBHAILL, D. Ó. 'FULL OF THE OLD GALWAY SPIRIT': THE O'KELLYS OF CREERAUN AND COOLOO. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, 59, 72-95. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20696602
- CEARBHAILL, D. Ó. THE O'KELLYS OF CREERAUN: A POSTSCRIPT. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, 61, 201-205. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20720222
[2] Don't laugh at the "good snipe shooting." Wilson's snipe is a real bird, challenging to shoot because of its fast and erratic flight.
[3] Thomas Dunne (Jr.) emigrated to St. Louis, where he married Catherine's youngest sister Delia.
9 Apr 2025
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