My ancestors - Blennerhassett - Contents

Maurice Rickard O'Connell papers at NLI

Papers of Maurice Rickard O'Connell (died 2005).
- MSS 47,334 to 47,519.
- Collection List No. 155.

Consulted

MS 47,337. 19th century newspaper cuttings and copies of 19th century letters.
MS 47,339. Old documents and illustrations relating to Daniel O'Connell.
MS 47,397. 1968-1997. Correspondence with Richard K. Page. O'Mahony family history. Not much O'Connell family history.
These are modern press cuttings:
- MS 47,338/1. Folder 1: circa 50 items.
- MS 47,338/2. Folder 2: circa 49 items.
- MS 47,338/3. Folder 3: circa 82 items.
These are notes and transcripts related to Daniel O'Connell. Mainly politics. Some unpublished letters.
- MS 47,341/1. Folder 1: ca 50 items.
- MS 47,341/2. Folder 2: ca 50 items.
- MS 47,341/3. Folder 3: ca 30 items.
- MS 47,341/4. Folder 4: ca 50 items.
- MS 47,341/5. Folder 5: ca 50 items.
- MS 47,341/6. Folder 6: ca 50 items.
- MS 47,341/7. Folder 7: ca 50 items.
Mostly printed modern material:
- MS 47,342/1. Folder 1: ca 52 pages.
- MS 47,342/2. Folder 2: ca 52 pages.
- MS 47,342/3. Folder 3: ca 52 pages.
- MS 47,342/4. Folder 4: ca 52 pages.
- MS 47,342/5. Folder 5: ca 34 pages.

MS 47,336/2

Transcript of pedigree of O'Connell. Date 1816.
- The original is a pedigree of O'Connell written by Daniel O'Connell in 1816. Written on sheets that have been bound with a printed copy of The Life and Speeches of O'Connell, vol.1, 1846.
- The original can be seen in microfilm n.4907, p.4939. The printed book in the microfilm runs to 294 pages. The pedigree is hard to read.
- Hand written copy in microfilm p.1624. Also hard to read.
- There is an easy to read typed transcript of the 1816 pedigree in MS 47,336/2.
Some anecdotes about the O'Connell family of Derrynane.
O'Connell of Derrynane tree.
O'Mullane tree.
O'Connell family tree of 1994. Computerised. 86 pages. Cryptic format. Hard to follow.
- John O'Connell, MP on p.34.
- Daniel MacGeoffrey O'Connell on p.69.
- Maurice O'Connell, of Dunmaniheen on p.74.

Correspondence with Basil O'Connell

Correspondence of Maurice Rickard O'Connell with Basil O'Connell.
MS 47,392. 1955-1971.
Earlier letters have little family history. Discussion of the future of Derrynane House.
Family history really starts in 1967 letters.
Letter from Basil, 28 Jan 1967.
Letter from Maurice, 6 Sept 1967.
Letter from Basil, Oct 1967. Hand-written not typed, so very hard to read.
Letter from Basil, 11 Oct 1967. Hand-written not typed, so very hard to read.
Letter from Basil, 25 Dec 1967. Genealogy of Daniel's children and siblings.
Letter from Maurice, 30 Dec 1967. Mentions meeting Alice Curtayne and her husband.
Letter from Basil, 7 Jan 1968.
Letter from Basil, 13 Jan 1968. Genealogy of Daniel's siblings and some other branches.
Letter from Maurice, 7 Feb 1968.
Letter from Basil, 16 Feb 1968. He is looking at O'Maras but gives no details.
Letter from Basil, 19 Mar 1968.
Letter from Maurice, 21 June 1968. He is gathering O'Connell letters from many different sources.
Letter from Basil, 13 Nov 1968. Notes on family portraits.
Letter from Basil, 29 Nov 1968. The story of Ellen Courtenay, accuser of Daniel O'Connell.
Letter from Maurice, 6 Dec 1968. Notes on family portraits.
Letter from Maurice, 2 Mar 1969. Maurice says "Splinter" seems not to be brother of the Liberator's wife.
Letter from Basil, 6 Mar 1969. Discussion of "Splinter", and Ellen Tuohy marriage 1803.
Letter from Maurice, 8 Mar 1969. Discussion of "Splinter". He is definitely not Mary's brother.
Letter from Maurice, 5 Apr 1969.
Letter from Basil, 12 Apr 1969.
Letter from Maurice, 30 Apr 1969.
Letter from Basil, 5 May 1969. Discusses Ellen Tuohy marriage settlement 1803.
Letter from Basil, 21 July 1969. More on Ellen Tuohy marriage to Henry Blennerhassett. Tuohy family sketch on back.
Some notes on illegitimate children called O'Connell in 1820s.
The previous has notes (think not connected with the illegitimate children) about Ellen O'Connell, dau of Charles Hussey and grand-niece of the Liberator (maybe through his wife). Ellen died in 1853. See notice in Limerick Chronicle, 2 Nov 1853. That original says "Charles Hussey". Though BMD in O'Kief thought the father was "Charles Hurly".

Card index

MS 47,334. Card index A-N.
MS 47,335. Card index O-Z.
DONE first pass of A-F
- Arthur Blennerhassett of Blennerville
- Henry Blennerhassett. This is wrong to call him John Henry Blennerhassett.
- Mrs. Henry Blennerhassett (and back) (Ellen Tuohy)
- Lieut. Henry Blennerhassett (and back) (died 1819, Venezuela)
- Richard Francis Blennerhassett (and back)
- Sir Robert Blennerhassett, 2nd Bart (and back)
- Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 1st Bart
- Estate of Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, 1st Bart (and back)
- Mrs. Sarah Blennerhassett (Sarah Mahony)
- Rowan Cashel
DONE first pass of G-N
- Mary Leyne (probably sister of Maurice Leyne, MD)
- Maurice Leyne, MD (and back)
- Maurice Leyne (son of Maurice Leyne, MD)
- Capt. Richard Leyne (and back)
DONE first pass of O-Z
- Catherine O'Connell (sister of Daniel, married Moynihan)
- Margaret O'Mara (and back)
- Thomas O'Mara (and back)
- Mrs. Thomas O'Mara (and back) (Margaret Callan)
- James O'Regan
- Kitty Tuohy
To do: Track down all references on cards. Huge job!
- Many cards have references to individuals mentioned in letters, but the mention is not found in [Correspondence of Daniel O'Connell]. This omits letters, and omits parts of letters. We would have to see the originals.

To be consulted

Have looked at the above, but there is a lot more to look at. Hard to know where to start.
Large archive. Guide is thin on details. Hard to see where different material is.
Letters reference family trees. Unclear where these are.
There is a vast amount of correspondence with many different people. Looking for genealogical material in it is a needle in a haystack.
The following are the folders with correspondence to people called O'Connell or O'Connor:
MS 47,377. 1972-1996. Correspondence with Gerry Lyne. Marked as "not for consultation" (too recent).