John Dunne
Finding John
While finding Paddy Dunne’s background proved a challenge, finding members of his family proved even greater. Paddy first emerged into our story as a lodger in the home of Granny Cleary (Ellen Cole) and her two children in the 1911 Census. Ellen had recently been widowed. The census indicated that he was aged 37, a ‘warehouse foreman in a whiskey dealers’ and his birthplace was county Louth.
In the 1901 Census a person named Patrick Dunne, aged 27 from Co Louth was living in Wood Quay, Dublin City, with his father John Dunne, a 66 year old retired farmer whose birthplace was Co Meath. The newspaper notice of Paddy’s death in 1935 confirmed his father’s name as John and indicated he was from Belpatrick, Collon, Co Louth. Belpatrick is on the Meath/Louth border. The 1901 census entry was for Paddy Dunne and his father John.
While John was living with his son, Paddy, in 1901; by 1911 he was not. This raised the question whether John was still alive. When Paddy married Ellen in 1913, the marriage record indicated that Paddy’s father’s name was John and was a retired farmer. It did not say ‘deceased’ suggesting that John was still alive. In 1911 Census, a retired farmer named John Dunne, birthplace Co Meath, was living at 47 South Circular Road, South Side (Usher’s Quay, Dublin). This address corresponds to St Patrick’s House, Home for the Aged, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. A newspaper death notice was subsequently discovered for John. The details of the death notice confirmed that this was Paddy’s father, John, and the family’s origins were in Belpatrick, Collon, Co Louth.
Death notices sometimes carry the request “American papers please copy”. For many years through the 19th and 20th century, American, Australian and some other newspapers contained a lengthy section called ‘News from Ireland’ or similar. Among other news from Ireland, these included family notices like births, marriages and deaths. The request for Johns’ death notice to appear in American papers suggests a strong family connection with the USA and with Drogheda, the nearest big town to Belpatrick. John is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in section: Dublin FG14.5
John Dunne’s Family
Notices of the marriage of John Dunne and Roseanne Carolan were carried in Dublin, Drogheda and American newspapers.
John Dunne was born in 1835 in County Meath, to his father Luke Dunne and mother not identified.
On 5 June 1869, John, aged 34, married Roseanne (Rosanna) Carolan, aged 24, in St John the Baptist Church, Clontarf, Dublin. Roseanne was daughter of Philip Carolan of Seaview Avenue, Clontarf. The witnesses were Christopher Carolan and Anna Carolan. The Dunne and Carolan names occur repeatedly in Belpatrick and Clontarf. There are multiple relationships between the Dunnes and the Carolans. A death notice in 1853 says that Jane Carolan, daughter of Philip Carolan and therefore sister of Roseanne, died aged nine, in her grandfather’s house in Belpatrick. Her grandfather was Christopher Dunn. So, Philip Carolan’s wife and Roseanne’s mother was a Dunne – possibly Mary Dunne.
One branch of the Carolan family, farmer Nicholas Dunne provided his son, Thomas, with the land to build a licences premises and grocery shop which became the Yacht on Clontarf seafront.
On 6 March 1873, a son, John Joseph Dunne was born to John and Roseanne Dunne in Belpatrick.
On 18 March 1874, a son Patrick was born to the couple in Belpatrick. This is Paddy Dunne, husband of Ellen Cole – ‘Granny Cleary’.
On 24 December 1876, a daughter, Mary Joseph was born to the couple. She was baptised on Christmas day.
On 31 December 1878, Genevieve Mary Dunne was born to the couple.
Just 12 years later, the Dunnes are living at 23 North Great Georges Street, in Dublin city. There is no indication of when or why they moved. Paddy’s sister, twelve year old Genevieve has just died of ‘Phthisis’ (tuberculosis) on 29 May 1891.
Two years later on 10 June 1893, Paddy’s mother and John’s wife, Roseanne, aged 48, dies in Cork Street Hospital of Erysipelas – a form of cellulitis.
Just eight months later, on 13 February 1894, sister Mary Joseph Dunne, aged 17, dies of ‘Phthisis’ (tuberculosis).
At the end of the following year, 20 December 1895, John Joseph Dunne, Paddy’s brother dies of ‘Phthisis’ (tuberculosis) aged 22.
In just four years, John Dunne has lost his wife and three of his four children. Six years later in the 1901 Census, John Dunne is living with his only remaining child, Paddy Dunne, in a tenement in Wood Quay.
Roseanne Dunne and her two daughters are buried with her in Glasnevin Cemetery in section: Garden, FG14.5. Her husband, John was subsequently buried in Dublin: FG14.5. Her son, John Joseph is buried in Glasnevin but a separate grave, Section: St Bridget’s RK308. Paddy Dunne is buried in Glasnevin in St Patrick’s section, plot QJ 166.5