GO RAIBH SÍOCHÁN ORAINN GO LÉIR

"May peace be upon us all."

To distinguish between Patrick Dargan and his son, Patrick J. Dorgan, I will use the alternate spelling found in the land records: **PATRICK DARGAN**.

The Origins of the Dorgan Surname

The surname **DORGAN** comes from the Irish name **Ó Deargáin**, which means "the grandson of the little red(-haired) man." The prefix **Ó** indicates "descended from" or "of," similar in sense to "grandson," while **Mac** (found in both Irish and Scots Gaelic) means "son of." The feminine form of the name is **Ní Dheargáin**, which many find more melodic, though this may be of minor interest to those unfamiliar with Gaelic.

The relative rarity of the surname Dorgan is partly due to its various Irish forms. During English rule in Ireland, the use of Irish names was often discouraged or banned, leading to their translation or Anglicization. In County Cork and the province of Munster, the name became **Dorgan**, whereas in the province of Leinster, it was rendered as **Dargan**. This variation reflects regional accents and the nuances of the Gaelic language.

References to the names **Dorgan** and **Dargan** can be found in *Irish Families* and *More Irish Families*, authoritative works on Irish surnames by Dr. Edward MacLysaght, Ireland’s Chief Herald and a noted scholar of the Dorgan name.

Another account of the origin of the Dorgan name states:

The Gaelic name **Ó Deargain**, derived from the adjective *dearg* (red), has given rise to the Anglicized forms **Dargan** in Leinster and **Dorgan** in Munster. The name **Dorgan** is mainly associated with County Cork, especially near Ballydorgan. Families with the **Dargan** surname, by contrast, have had a long-standing presence in the midland counties. As a Gaelic sept, they held limited political or social prominence, which is why they are rarely mentioned in historical records such as the Annals, the *Book of Rights*, the Fiants, the *Topographical Poems*, and *An Leabhar Muimhneach*, traditional sources of genealogical information.

Notable nineteenth-century bearers of this name include **William Dargan** (1799–1867), a key figure in Irish railway construction and the initiator of the Dublin International Industrial Exhibition in 1853, and **Edmund Strother Dargan** (1809–1879), an Irish-American judge known for his remarkable character and entertaining stories.

In fact, the **Ó Dorgan** were originally the **Ó Dargan** – Irish **Uí Deargain**, a sept or family branch whose native territory lay in the province of Leinster. The derivative name **Ó Dorgan** was specifically adopted in County Cork, where the town of Ballydorgan is located: **Ó Deargáin**, distinct from **Ó Dorcháin** or **Ó Dorchaidhe**.

Below is an email I received from Jerry Kelly in 2005. I had contacted Jerry—an expert genealogist specializing in the Irish language and history—seeking clarification on the names **DORGAN/Ó DORCHAÍN** and **DARGAN/Ó DEARGÁIN**. My goal was to determine the correct form. Here is his response:

From: "Jerry Kelly"

Date: June 11, 2005, 2:03:09 PM EDT

To: IRISH-AMERICAN-L@rootsweb.com

Subject: Re: [Irish-American] DORGAN/O'DORCHAIN or DARGAN/O'DEARGAIN?

Hi Bill,

MacLysaght (Surnames of Ireland) writes: “(O) Dargan – The Leinster form of Ó Deargáin (dearg, red). In Co. Cork, it takes the form Dorgan and is perpetuated in the place-name Ballydorgan.” Let’s note that MacLysaght chooses to place your name under (O) Dargan because he knows that’s how the name should be pronounced.

de Breffny (Irish Family Names) writes: “Dorgan – This name, found principally in Co. Cork, derives from the Irish Ó Deargáin. The name of Ballydorgan townland in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon indicates an early home of the family. The variant form Dargan is found in Leinster.” We should add that, properly speaking, Dargan isn’t the variant—Dorgan is the variant.

Woulfe (Sloinnte Gaeidheal 7 Gall / Surnames of the Gael & the Gall) writes: “Ó Deargáin (Dargan, Dergan, Dorgan, Dorrigan); descendant of Deargán (diminutive of dearg, red); an old surname in Westmeath, Offaly and Cork. In the last-named county, it is now anglicized Dorgan, which is not very correct.”

So Woulfe points out that Dorgan is a poor pronunciation of the original Ó Deargáin, and he’s right.

There’s no doubt that your original surname is actually Ó Deargáin.

And here we see the moment your family moved from speaking Irish to also speaking English:

“BUT ... my GGGrandfather was Patrick DARGAN, at least in Griffith’s Valuation of County Cork in the 1850s and on the marriage certificate (November 1886) of his son PATRICK J. DORGAN.”

Meanwhile, Woulfe—and only Woulfe—cites the existence of the name Ó Dorcháin in Irish but can’t come up with a suitable explanation for its existence.

Woulfe writes: “Ó Dorcháin – Dorgan, Dorrigan, (?) Doorigan; ‘descendant of Dorchán’ (diminutive of Dorchaidhe); a rare surname in Cork and Kerry, probably the same as Ó Dorchaidhe.” Well, this isn’t exactly right. The diminutive of dorcha, meaning “dark,” would be Dorchán, and I can’t find either Dorcha or Dorchán in the old manuscript sources as actual Irish names. The diminutive of Dorchaidhe would actually be something like Dorchaidheán, and I can’t find that either, although it could conceivably exist.

Further, Ó Dorchaidhe (“grandson of dark-man,” from the root dorcha, meaning “dark”) has been anglicized as Dorkey, Darkey, and even Dorcey, Darcy, and D’Arcy, but nobody has ever actually found an example of the name being anglicized to Dorgan. And notice that Woulfe has not tried to connect the name to some actual or ancient family of the name Ó Dorcháin. He knows no such family existed. Instead, he concludes that Ó Dorcháin / Dorgan must be a very wide variation in spelling and pronunciation from some other actual Irish name. And he’s right—but he chooses the wrong family; he chooses Ó Dorchaidhe.

Why? Because Ó Dorchaidhe is the only actual Irish family name that uses dorcha (“dark”) as its root. And Dorcha would have to be the root of a surname spelled Ó Dorcháin. Unfortunately for his theory, however, the two distinct, unrelated families that share the name Ó Dorchaidhe are (1) a branch of the Uí Fhiachrach way up around Lough Mask in Mayo and (2) a branch of the Uí Mhaine in Galway. No Kerry or Cork in sight. So Woulfe was right about Ó Dorcháin being a wide variant of some other name, but he was very wrong about which one.

So what actually happened? How did the name Ó Dorcháin come into existence, at least in Woulfe’s work?

Here’s one guess. Woulfe was writing at the beginning of the 20th century. By then, as your own family history attests, East Cork had gone mostly English-speaking. But in West Cork and Kerry, Irish was still widely spoken, even more so than today. So perhaps the poorly anglicized form of your name (i.e., Dorgan) found its way back into Irish further west in the Irish-speaking areas of Cork and Kerry. Because it was so badly pronounced—so different from the original Ó Deargáin—the Irish speakers of those areas may have assumed it was a totally different name and Gaelicized it phonetically as best they could. Therefore, as Woulfe points out, Ó Dorcháin was rare indeed. In fact, from a genealogical perspective, it was non-existent.

That’s the best explanation I can offer for the appearance, at least in Woulfe’s work, of the name Ó Dorcháin. Either way, whether I’m right or wrong about how the name Ó Dorcháin came to exist, you’re an Ó Deargáin, not an Ó Dorcháin nor an Ó Dorchaidhe.

As for the annals, I only have the Annals of Connacht, Ulster, and Inishfallen here—no sign of Ó Deargáin. But these are Western and Northern sources. The family exists, the surname Ó Deargáin is real, and like other Irish Gaelic surnames, yours has been in use for the last thousand years or so. We should therefore have every reason to expect that your people are documented in Irish somewhere.

Hope that’s helpful.

Best,

Jerry


Finally, here is an extraordinary commentary about the ancient DORGAN family by Jerry Kelly:

Dear Bill,

I’ve discovered something about your family that I think is truly remarkable and a testament to your ancestors’ determination and persistence over the last 2,000 years.

As Celtic population groups and Celtic culture spread into Ireland, the earlier Bronze Age populations gradually became Celtic as well. (The Celts are a cultural and linguistic group, not a race, which is why we have such a variety of Irish types—freckled redheads, tall blonds, swarthy west Corkmen, the so‑called Black Irish, etc.)

Up until roughly the 8th century, when a large and powerful tribe conquered a territory, the older population groups were sometimes given invented genealogies that made them part of the conquering tribe. So when the Laighin conquered the area now called Leinster (Laighin‑ster), they supplied Laighin genealogies to some of the Cruithin (“Pict”) and Érainn tribes who were already there. T. F. O’Rahilly, in *Early Irish History and Mythology*, concluded that two of the four main divisions of the Laighin are actually pre‑Laighin tribes of Érainn descent.

Some groups, however, were not absorbed in this fashion. These Cruithin and Érainn holdouts—by then Celts themselves at the time of the Laighin conquest (3rd–1st centuries B.C.?)—are called forshloinnte (“external families,” meaning external to the tribe) in our Seanchas tradition (the Gaelic learned tradition, which combines law, history, and genealogy).

Life was not easy for the forshloinnte. They were driven off the best land, heavily taxed, and sometimes forced into exile. They suffered worst in times of war and famine, and over time their numbers declined sharply. I have never before met a clear, bona fide descendant of a forshloinne—and I’ve been doing this kind of research for over 30 years. Writing in 1650, at the height of the Cromwellian genocide, the great genealogist Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh reflected on how few of the Irish had survived (“…ar a laghad mhaires díbh aniu…”), especially among the forshloinnte.

Yet a very few insisted on holding on, holding out, and even flourishing. In honor of your ancestors, I note the following entries in our Seanchas about your family and your tribe:

Forsluinti iomorro Húa Lugdach meic Thuathail Tigich: Húi Dile deogbaire dia tát Húi Derggáin, Húi Gumáin, Húi Síláin Chrecóra. (the manuscript called Rawlinson B.502, 12th century, 125a35)

Forshloinnte Ua Lugdhach, .i., Uí Didli deogbair, dia ttáid Uí Dheargáin, Uí Gomain, agus Uí Shíoláin Crecora. (*The Book of Genealogies* by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, 1650, 461.5)

Translation: External families in the territory of the Uí Lughdhach Mhic Thuathail Thighich—the Uí Dhile Dheogbhaire (the descendants of Dil the cupbearer), from whom are the Uí Dheargáin, Uí Gomain, and the Uí Shíoláin of Crecóra.

Here we see that not only did your family survive, but they also managed to maintain their tribal genealogy and affiliations in opposition to the conquering Laighin—an extraordinary achievement.

These surviving entries in your family’s genealogical tradition do not determine whether your tribe, the Uí Dhile Dheogbhaire, is originally Cruithin or Érainn.

It was, in fact, unlawful for a seanchadh (brehon/historian/genealogist) such as Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, or the author of Rawlinson B.502, to record the genealogies of a forshloinne. However, the name Dil appears in the Síl Ír (Érainn) genealogies as a son of Aonghus Fionn, son of Fearghus. The god Aonghus is an ancestor‑god of the Érainn; Fearghus is an ancestor‑hero or ancestor‑god of the Érainn. Also, in the Laighin genealogies, a Dila appears as a son of the charioteer Laider, but Laider is given Ulaid descent, and the Ulaid are a branch of the Érainn. The name Díl also appears as a daughter of Míl, but this is a late (7th–8th century A.D.) piece of propaganda from my Uí Néill ancestors as they established their claim to all of Ireland, and so can be discounted. I see no Cruithin associations for the name or its likely variants, so it appears that your tribe was almost certainly Érainn.

I hope that’s helpful.

Le gach dea‑mhéin / Best,

Jerry


Ó Deargáin

Gaeilge

• Male (married and unmarried): Ó Deargáin

• Female (married): Uí Dheargáin

• Female (unmarried): Ní Dheargáin

• House: Uí Dheargáin

Summary

Patrick Dorgan (father)

• Estimated birth: circa 1815–1820, in the parish of Cloyne or the Ballymacoda area, County Cork, Ireland.

• Later listed in East Cork genealogies as the patriarch of the Carrigkilter Dorgans.

• Appears in early records as Patrick Dargan (Dorgan), reflecting variation in the Anglicization of Irish surnames.

• Believed to have been born in Carrigkilter or Ballybraher, in the parish of Cloyne.

• Likely the son or nephew of an earlier landholder, John Dorgan of Kilmacahill, mentioned in pre–Griffith’s Valuation records (c. 1820s–1840s).

No exact baptismal or civil birth record survives publicly for Patrick, as he was born before parish records were standardized.


CENSUS AND CENSUS SUBSTITUTES AND REFERENCES

The best source of information on the internet about the Irish censuses is:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~irelandlist/census.html

CENSUS

Civil censuses were taken in Ireland in the following years:

1821, 1831, 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911

1. The first four censuses (1821, 1831, 1841, 1851) were destroyed in 1922 during the Civil War. Some fragments survived. All Cork returns were lost except for 1851, for which we have partial returns for the civil parishes of Kilcrumper, Kilworth, Leitrim, and Macroney.

2. The 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1891 censuses were destroyed by order of the British Government.

3. The 1901 and 1911 censuses survive intact and can be viewed at the National Archives, Dublin.

A microfilm copy of the 1901 census can be viewed at the Cork County Library and at the LDS Centre, Sarsfield’s Road, Cork.

CENSUS SUBSTITUTES FOR CORK CITY AND COUNTY

The following catalogue outlines the principal census substitute sources for Cork City and County.

Year Name Contents Location

1641 Survey of Houses in Cork City Tenants and possessors National Archives, Dublin (NA)

1641 Book of Survey Proprietors National Library, Dublin (NL)

1666–68 Book of Survey Grantees NL

1654 Civil Survey Selected parishes NA

1662–67 Subsidy Rolls Selected baronies NA

1700–52 Cork City Freemen — NA

1753 Householders List St Nicholas parish Church of Ireland Registers

1757 Able-Bodied Male Protestants Selected parishes Anglo-Irish Miscellany

1766 Religious Census Diocese of Cloyne NA & JCHAS

1783 Freemen and Freeholders of Cork City — NL

1793–1853 St Ann’s, Shandon, Cork City Householders JCHAS

1817 Freemen of Cork City — NL

1820s–30s Tithe Applotment Books Heads of households Most libraries


TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS (1823–1837)

The Tithe Applotment Books were created following the Tithe Composition Act of 1823, which required tithes (a tax supporting the Church of Ireland) to be paid in cash rather than in produce.

Tithe Applotment Books typically record:

• The occupier’s name (the person responsible for paying the tithe)

• The townland in which the land was located

• Classifications of land quality

• The amount of land held

• The amount of tithe payable

Limitations of Tithe Applotment Books

While valuable, these records have several limitations:

• Only tithable agricultural land was surveyed, excluding urban dwellings

• In general, only those occupying more than 5 acres of land were liable for tithes, omitting small landholders and the landless

• The format of the books is not consistent across different areas

• Some parishes have been misfiled, and many personal and townland names have been incorrectly transcribed in certain online databases

Where to Access Tithe Applotment Books

• Republic of Ireland: Available online through the National Archives of Ireland

• Northern Ireland: Searchable on the PRONI website and at RootsIreland.ie

• Commercial sites: Ancestry provides an index (no images)

• FamilySearch: Offers images and a searchable database

1830

St Mary’s Shandon, Cork

Householders

JCHAS

1837

Lists of the Poor

Cork City Parishes

NL

1851–53

Griffith’s Valuation

Householders

NA + most libraries

Legend:

NA = National Archives, Dublin

NL = National Library, Dublin

JCHAS = Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society

C of I = Church of Ireland


1641

REFERENCES TO FORFEITED LAND OF CARRIGKILTER, COUNTY CORK

Title:

Books of Survey and Distribution: County of Cork, Parish of Ballyntemple, Barony of Imokilly

Reference Code:

NAI QRO 1/1/3/6/1/9

Scope and Content:

Survey of the owners of forfeited and other lands as they stood in 1641, with the subsequent recipients of those lands under various assignments and acts, 1652–1703.


1766

THE 1766 RELIGIOUS CENSUS OF CLOYNE

No Dorgan or Dargan families recorded.


1837

COUNTY CORK BEFORE THE FAMINE

This snapshot of pre-famine local history, from Samuel Lewis’s 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, was compiled from information supplied by local gentry and clergy. More details can be found at: https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/timeline/county-cork-1830s


1847

TRANSCRIPTION OF IRELAND VALUATION OFFICE BOOKS

This Tenure Book records three valuation entries listing Patrick Dargan as an occupier “at will”: (1) #14, land; (2) #17, house, office, and land; and (3) #19, land. In each case, Thomas G. Durden is identified as the immediate lessor. Next to entry #17, there is a difficult-to-decipher notation that appears to read: “3 leases, made about 1817.” Images of the original records are included to provide additional insights, particularly regarding land assessment. Certain volumes, such as Tenure Books, also contain property notes, rent details, and further observations.

• First Name(s): Patrick
• Last Name: Dargan
• Year: 1847
• Valuation Date: 13 Aug 1847
• Revision Date: —
• Townland: Carrigkilter
• Parish: Ballintemple
• Barony: Imokilly
• County: Cork
• Lessor/Other First Name(s): C.
• Lessor/Other Last Name(s): McCarty
• Book Type: Tenure Book
• Reference Code: OL/6/137
• NAI Microfilm Reference: MFGS/47/6
• Archive: National Archives of Ireland
• Country: Ireland
• Recordset: Ireland, Valuation Office Books
• Category: Census, Land & Substitutes
• Subcategory: Land & Estates
• Collections from: Ireland


1848

IRELAND VALUATION OFFICE BOOKS TRANSCRIPTION

According to this House Book, Patrick Dargan was recorded as having a “piggery and cow house.” House Books frequently provide detailed descriptions of properties, including notes on structures such as an office, barn, and piggery.

• First Name(s): Patrick
• Last Name: Dargan
• Year: 1848
• Valuation Date: 25 Apr 1848
• Revision Date: –
• Townland: Carrigkilter
• Parish: –
• County: Cork
• Book Type: House Book
• Reference Code: OL/5/511
• NAI Microfilm Reference: MFGS/46/18
• Archive: National Archives of Ireland
• Country: Ireland
• Recordset: Ireland Valuation Office Books
• Category: Census, Land & Substitutes
• Subcategory: Land & Estates
• Collections from: Ireland

"Ireland, Valuation Office Books, 1831-1856", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVML-FVKW: Sun Mar 10 06:44:40 UTC 2024), Entry for Patk Dorgan, 1848.


1848–1864

SIR RICHARD GRIFFITH’S PRIMARY VALUATION OF TENEMENTS

Griffith’s Valuation was undertaken to assess property and assign taxes. After the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922, it became a crucial resource for researching families who lived in Ireland in the mid-1800s. In addition to listing each occupier or tenant, Griffith’s Valuation records the townland or city location, land area, and the value of landholdings. It also divides the country into six distinct geographical units, ordered here from smallest to largest.

1. TOWNLAND OR PLACE NAME

A townland is the smallest officially recognized geographical unit in rural Ireland. Townlands vary in size from a few acres to several thousand, with an average of about 350 acres. The 1851 Townlands Index lists over 65,000 townlands. Their origins are not fully clear, and their boundaries often follow natural landscape features. County Cork alone has 5,429 townlands. Townlands are especially important in sources such as the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith’s Valuation.

2. CIVIL PARISH

Civil parishes began as administrative units of the medieval church in Ireland and remained important for both local and central government until the late nineteenth century. For genealogists, their main value lies in linking place names to Roman Catholic parish records.

Today, civil parishes still function as state units for territorial division and are important in census and valuation records. Ecclesiastical (church) parishes, by contrast, are units of church administration and typically include several civil parishes.

With the establishment of Protestantism as the state religion, the civil parish also became the basic unit for tax collection and census enumeration. County Cork has 253 civil parishes, and many present-day Protestant parishes encompass multiple civil parishes.

3. BARONY

Until the late nineteenth century, Irish counties were subdivided into baronies. Because they had limited administrative use, baronies appear less frequently in genealogical records. There were about 325 baronies across Ireland, reflecting ancient land divisions often based on Gaelic clan and family territories.

The exact origins of baronies are uncertain; they may derive from early Irish kingdoms or have been created by the Normans as territories ruled by a baron. County Cork has 23 baronies. In the 1800s, baronies were significant for tax collection and were used in sources such as the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith’s Valuation.

4. POOR LAW UNIONS

Beginning in the 1830s, workhouses were established in Ireland to address extreme poverty. The Poor Law Act of 1838 divided the country into Poor Law Unions, making local taxpayers responsible for supporting the poor. These Unions organized the workhouse system and became the basic units for registration districts recording births, marriages, and deaths.

Poor Law Unions often cut across parish and barony boundaries, though townlands remained intact. Within each Union, Electoral Divisions elected a Board of Guardians from among the ratepayers to manage the workhouses. These later evolved into District Electoral Divisions.

In 1851, Dispensary Districts were created, each made up of several Electoral Divisions. In 1864, these became Registrar’s Districts, marking the start of full civil registration in Ireland. County Cork has 15 Poor Law Unions, with three more shared with Tipperary, Limerick, and Waterford. Poor Law Unions still play a role in modern national elections and in the registration of births, marriages, and deaths.

5. COUNTY

Ireland is divided into 32 counties, which vary greatly in size and population. In general, Irish counties are larger and more populous than many American counties.

6. PROVINCE

Ireland has four provinces:

Ulster (9 counties)
Connacht (5 counties)
Munster (6 counties)
Leinster (12 counties)


GRIFFITH’S VALUATION (1847–1864)

Griffith’s Valuation, officially the Primary Valuation of Tenements, was a comprehensive property survey carried out between 1847 and 1864 under the supervision of Richard Griffith. Its purpose was to create a fair system of taxation under the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838.

The timing of the survey is crucial: it was conducted in the immediate aftermath of the Great Famine, making it an invaluable snapshot of who remained in post-Famine Ireland.

For each property, Griffith’s Valuation typically records:

- The occupier’s name (usually the head of household)

- The immediate lessor (the landlord or middleman who collected the rent)

- A description of the property (house, outbuildings, land, etc.)

- The size of the landholding in acres, roods, and perches

- The valuation of buildings and land, listed separately

- Reference numbers corresponding to Ordnance Survey maps

The historical map layer used on the Ask About Ireland platform was originally surveyed between 1837 and 1842. The red tenement boundary lines and lot numbers (such as Patrick’s Plot 8) were later added in 1853.
The visual layout combines two distinct historical layers:

1. Base Topographical Map (1837–1842)

The underlying physical landscape—roads, shorelines, and building outlines—comes from the Ordnance Survey First Edition 6-inch maps. For County Cork, these highly accurate topographical maps were surveyed and engraved in the late 1830s and published in the early 1840s.

2. Tenement Boundary Layer (1853)

The handwritten red boundaries, internal property divisions, and bold numbers were added to the original base map during the local fieldwork for Griffith’s Valuation. The valuation survey for County Cork was officially completed and published on July 20, 1853.

When you view the map online, you are essentially seeing a snapshot from 1853 of who held or controlled each parcel of land, overlaid on a geographic base map created roughly a decade earlier.

The records are organized by county, barony, Poor Law Union, civil parish, and townland, allowing you to identify neighbours and potentially related families living nearby. Here are Patrick Dargan and his neighbors in 1853 in the Civil Parish of Ballintemple, a few years after the Great Famine: https://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/cork/ballintemple.htm

These are the eleven occupiers listed in the 1853 Griffith’s Valuation for the townland of Carrigkilter in the Civil Parish of Ballintemple, County Cork: Fennessy, Patrick; Cusack, Maurice; Kane, S.; Durdin, Thomas G. (the landlord, listed twice); Ahearne, Andrew; Barry, William; Coffey, Maurice; Dargan, Patrick; Clue, William; and Collins, Jeremiah. https://tinyurl.com/mwveasur

Here are the 1853 Griffith’s Valuation record details for Patrick Dargan in County Cork:

• Tenant: Patrick Dargan
• Landlord: Thomas G. Durdin
• County: Cork
• Barony: Imokilly
• Union: Middleton
• Parish: Ballintemple
• Townland / Place Name: Carrigkilter
• Place type: Townland
• Publication details: Position on page 2, printing date 1853, Act 15&16, sheet 89, map reference 8


VALUE OF GRIFFITH’S VALUATION FOR GENEALOGY

Griffith’s Valuation is extremely useful for several reasons:

- It serves as a “census substitute” for the 1850s, identifying nearly every head of household

- It shows the type, size, and value of your ancestors’ property, offering insight into their economic status

- Used with the accompanying maps, it can pinpoint exactly where your ancestors lived within a townland

- It helps bridge the gap between earlier sources, such as the Tithe Applotment Books, and later civil registration records

Where to Access Griffith’s Valuation

- www.askaboutireland.ie – free online access to the valuation and maps

- FindMyPast.com – complete version with revisions and amendments

- Ancestry.com – searchable indexes

- FamilySearch.com – access to images of the records

One of the best websites to explain Griffith’s Valuation:
https://www.irish-geneaography.com/griffiths-valuation-1847-1864.html


1847–1864: GRIFFITH’S VALUATION TRANSCRIPTION

• First Name(s): PATRICK
• Last Name: DARGAN
• Role: Occupier
• Year: 1853
• Printing Date: 27 Jun 1853
• Townland: CARRIGKILTER
• Civil Parish: BALLINTEMPLE
• Barony: IMOKILLY
• Poor Law Union: MIDLETON
• County: Cork
• Lessor's First Name(s): THOMAS G.
• Lessor's Last Name: DURDIN
• Occupier's First Name(s): PATRICK
• Occupier's Last Name: DARGAN
• Act: 15 & 16
• Recordset: Griffith's Valuation 1847–1864
• Category: Census, Land & Substitutes
• Subcategory: Land & Estates
• Collections from: Ireland


THE 1853 GRIFFITH’S VALUATION RECORD

Patrick Dargan leased Lots 8A, 8B, and 8C in Carrigkilter

AskAboutIreland.ie

Tenant
• Family Name: DARGAN
• Forename: PATRICK
• Landlord Family Name: DURDIN
• Forename: THOMAS G.
• Location:
• County: CORK
• Barony: IMOKILLY
• Union: MIDLETON
• Parish: BALLINTEMPLE
• Townland: CARRIGKILTER
• Place Name: CARRIGKILTER
• Place Type: TOWNLAND
Publication Details
• Position on Page: 2
• Printing Date: 1853
• Act: 15 & 16
• Sheet Number: 89
• Map Reference: 8

The Irish rendering of Carrigkilter is *Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh*, where "Carraig" means "rock." The Irish Grid coordinates are W 96060 64746. Additional information can be found here: https://www.townlands.ie/cork/imokilly/ballintemple/ballycottin/carrigkilter/. For reference, here again is Griffith’s Valuation record information for Patrick Dargan:


To reiterate, Patrick Dargan leased property in Carrigkilter that included a house, offices, and land. The land comprised 14 acres, 3 roods, and 21 perches, plus an additional 10 acres, 3 roods, and 25 perches.
In Griffith’s Valuation, the unit of measurement for land is the "English" acre, distinct from the "Irish" acre. One English acre is made up of 4 roods, and one rood consists of 40 perches. A perch is equivalent to a square rod, and a rod measures 16.5 feet. Consequently, a perch covers 16.5 × 16.5 = 272.25 square feet; a rood equals 272.25 × 40 = 10,890 square feet; and an acre is 10,890 × 4 = 43,560 square feet. An Irish acre, by comparison, is approximately 1⅔ the size of an English acre.

Ireland’s land divisions are organized hierarchically. The island is divided into four provinces—Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connacht. Provinces are divided into counties, counties into baronies, baronies into civil parishes, and civil parishes into townlands.

Traditionally, the system of land measurement in Ireland followed this progression:

• 10 acres equaled one Gneeve
• 2 Gneeves equaled one Sessiagh
• 3 Sessiaghs equaled one Tate or Ballyboe (sometimes called Bolies)
• 2 Ballyboes equaled one Ploughland, Seisreagh, or Carrow
• 4 Ploughlands equaled one Ballybetagh or townland
• 30 Ballybetagh equaled one Trioca Céad or barony

According to this formula, a standard townland would theoretically comprise about 480 acres. In practice, however, later acquisitions, grants, and other historical factors meant that townlands varied widely in size. Some were as small as 50 acres, while others extended to 2,000 acres.

Professor Estyn Evans, in his work *Irish Heritage* (Dundalgan Press, 1942), notes that there are "no less than 62,205 townlands in the country averaging 325 acres each."

In 1837, Colonel Thomas Colby, head of the Ordnance Survey, described how the term “townland” had evolved. It had originally referred to a tract of land comprising one-thirtieth of a barony, while smaller divisions were known by names such as “quarters,” “half quarters,” “ballyboes,” “gneeves,” and “tates,” among others. On the Ordnance Survey maps, however, these subdivision names were omitted, and the term “townland” was applied universally instead.

Sir Richard Griffith used Colby’s maps as the basis for his valuation. As a result, between 1837 and 1851, almost 4,000 townlands disappeared entirely from the official record in Ireland. It is quite possible that some of our missing or "lost" ancestors once lived in these vanished townlands.


THE 1855 VALUATION OF TENEMENTS

According to the Valuation of Tenements in 1855, Patrick Dargan was listed as the occupier of land in Carrigkilter, in the parish of Ballintemple (Churchtown South). Before 1855, the land was leased by Maurice Cusack. The landlord was Thomas Garde Durdin, a descendant of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. Each year, Thomas Garde Durdin would travel from England to East Cork to collect rent and reside at one of his estates, Shanagarry "Castle" or Sunville House. In Griffith’s Valuation of June 1853, he appears as landlord in the civil parish of Ballintemple, barony of Imokilly, with an office, land, and plantation. A listing of occupiers in the parish of Ballintemple during Griffith’s Valuation can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/h2c6sas.

• Durdin – https://landedestates.ie/estate/3023

The Durdin family established itself in the vicinity of Carrigtwohill, near Cork city, in the mid-17th century. Alexander Durdin of Shanagarry, born in 1712, had notable connections and married four times. His third wife, Anne Penn, widow of William Penn (grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania), is said by Sir Bernard Burke to have contributed to Alexander’s acquisition of estates in Ireland and America. Alexander’s fourth wife was Margaret, daughter of Warham St Leger.

Warham Durdin, the eldest son from this fourth marriage, resided at Sunville, Dromadda, and Midleton Lodge. He married Anne Garde, and they had ten children. Their son, Thomas Durdin of Shanagarry Castle, held land in various parishes in the barony of Imokilly at the time of Griffith’s Valuation. In June 1855, the fee-simple estate of Thomas Garde Durdin, comprising 1,650 acres in the barony of Imokilly, was advertised for sale. The representatives of the Durdin family owned 935 acres in the 1870s and also held land in County Carlow.

In the 1855 Landlord Index of County Cork Encumbered Estates (Volume 4, FHL Film No. 25883), Thomas Garde Durdin, Esq., is recorded as having auctioned his 1650 acres of land holdings on 19 June 1855. The lands included Killderrig, Carrigkilter, Coalvodig (Sunville), Ballybraher West, Snugborough, Ballyronahan, Ballybraher East, Ballinamona, and part of Shanagarry.

This is the significant date when Patrick Dargan “purchased” his farm, which he had previously “leased” from Thomas Garde Durdin. Notably, this transaction marks the first recorded Dorgan deed of sale since the English Reformation of the late 1500s. A copy of this deed is available from the Dublin Archives.

Patrick Dargan paid an annual rent of £17 for the land and £15 for the buildings, on the condition that any improvements made to the land would increase the annual rent. Thomas Garde Durdin died in 1867.


Griffith's Valuation for County Cork was conducted between 1851 and 1853. It includes an entry for JOHN DORGAN, the brother of Patrick Dargan. John resided in Garryvoe Lower, in the civil parish of Garryvoe (Ladysbridge), within the Poor Law Union of Midleton. Here are the details from Griffith's Valuation:

JOHN DORGAN’S GRIFFITH’S VALUATION RECORD:

• Tenant:
• Family Name: DORGAN
• Forename: JOHN
• Landlord:
• Family Name: WALSH
• Forename: JOHN
• Location:
• County: CORK
• Barony: IMOKILLY
• Union: MIDLETON
• Parish: GARRYVOE (Ladysbridge)
• Townland: GARRYVOE, LOWER
• Place Type: TOWNLAND
• Publication Details:
• Position on Page: 47
• Printing Date: 1853
• Act: 15 & 16
• Sheet Number: 77, 89
• Map Reference: 7


1850s–1970s

VALUATION REVISION BOOKS (ALSO CALLED CANCELLED BOOKS)

One of the most valuable extensions of Griffith’s Valuation is the set of Revision Books (also called Cancelled Books), which track changes in property occupation from the original valuation up to the 1970s. Valuers periodically revisited each area and recorded changes in ownership, often using different colored inks to indicate different time periods.

The Revision Books (also known as “Cancelled Books”) are the official records used to track changes to the land occupied by Patrick Dargan and his family after the initial 1853 publication. These volumes were updated annually, or every few years, to keep the tax records current. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How the Land Changed Over Time
In these books, when a tenant died or left, their name was crossed out, and the new occupant’s name was written above it in a specific color of ink that corresponded to the year of the revision. [1, 2]

• Family Continuity: Patrick and his wife Ann (Nancy) Flynn raised all five of their children on this farm. Because land often passed to the next generation, you would likely see Patrick’s name eventually replaced by one of his sons or a son-in-law.
• Transition to Ownership: Later Revision Books, particularly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, may show the letters "LAP" (Land Act Purchase) or the phrase "In Fee" next to the Dargan/Dorgan plots. This indicates that the family eventually used government assistance under the Land Acts to buy the land from the Durdin estate and become the outright owners.
• The Landlord's Estate: The "Immediate Lessor" listed for Patrick, Thomas Garde Durdin, died in 1867. Revisions after that year will show the change in ownership of the entire townland to Durdin's heirs or new estate holders. [1, 2, 3]

These books can help you:

- Track family property through subsequent generations

- Identify when a property changed hands (often indicating a death or emigration)

- Understand how family landholdings evolved over time


Where to Access Revision Books:

- Republic of Ireland (26 counties): Available only at the Valuation Office in Dublin

- Northern Ireland (6 counties): Accessible online through the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website and on Ancestry


THE LAND REFORM ACTS

In the 1880s, the Land Reform Acts were enacted, championed by Michael Davitt in the Irish Parliament and later supported by Charles Stewart Parnell in the House of Commons of the British Parliament. The Land Acts aimed to reform three key areas known as the “Three F’s”: Fair Rent, Fixity of Tenure, and Freedom from Eviction without due process. Remarkably, many Protestant landowners peacefully returned to England in the 1880s and 1890s, relinquishing their estates and never returning. During this period, tenant farmers continued to pay their rent to the state. Following the 1920s, the state conferred actual ownership of the land to these former tenant farmers.

On 10 July 1866, Patrick Dargan was recorded as “Patt Dorgan” on the marriage record of his daughter, Mary Dorgan, to Jeremiah Healy. The ceremony took place at Churchtown, East County Cork (Indexing Project [Batch] Number M70236-4, System Origin: Ireland-EASy, GS Film Number 101499, Reference ID p. 363).

Patrick Dargan died before his son, Patrick J. Dorgan, married Mary Hartnett on 26 November 1886. His status is listed as “deceased” on their marriage record.

Possible death record for Patrick Dorgan:

Name: Patrick Dorgan

Date of Death: 1869

Group Registration ID: N/R

SR District/Reg Area: Midleton

Age at Death: 94

Returns Year: 1869

Returns Quarter: 3

Returns Volume No.: 14

Returns Page No.: 439

Here is a summary of DORGAN and DARGAN residents in East County Cork during Griffith’s Valuation:

JOHN DORGAN Garryvoe Lower, Midleton, Imokilly, Cork, Munster

DANIEL DARGAN Garryvoe Lower, Midleton, Imokilly, Cork, Munster

DANIEL DARGAN Garryvoe Upper, Midleton, Imokilly, Cork, Munster

MICHAEL DARGAN Garryvoe Upper, Midleton, Imokilly, Cork, Munster

PATRICK DARGAN Coom (Midleton), Dunbulloge, Barrymore, Cork, Munster

EDMOND DARGIN Kilmacahill, Cloyne, Cork, Munster

FRANCIS DARGIN Ballycrenane, Cloyne, Cork, Munster

DANIEL DORGAN Ballynabointra, Carrigtohill, Cork, Munster

DAVID DORGAN Ballynabointra, Carrigtohill, Cork, Munster

JAMES DARGAN Gortnamucky, Carrigtohill, Cork, Munster

In total, there were 180 DARGAN tenants and 56 DORGAN tenants in all of County Cork during Griffith’s Valuation.

In 1865, Patrick DARGAN purchased the DORGAN pub in Cloyne, East County Cork. The pub retained the DORGAN name until it was sold in 1998, when it became known as "Aunty Biddy’s." Although ownership changed hands several times after the "Aunty Biddy’s" era, the DORGAN name remains on the marquee.

NOTE: The following are the sub-units of the town of Ballintemple (Baile an Teampaill).

Ballintemple is a town that has 14 townlands:

Baile Aindrín / Ballyandreen

Baile an Bhóthair / Ballinvoher

Baile an Lóndraigh / Ballylanders

Baile an Teampaill Thuaidh / Churchtown North

Baile an Teampaill Theas / Churchtown South

Baile Liam / Ballywilliam

Baile Maoilbhealtaine / Maytown

Baile Mhic Coitir / Ballymacotter

Baile Roibín Theas / Ballyrobin South

Baile Roibín Thuaidh / Ballyrobin North

Baile Uí Chéatú / Ballycatoo

Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh / Carrigkilter

Cill Deirg / Kilderrig

An Ghléib / Glebe

An Tulach / Tullagh

NOTE: The Barony of Imokilly (Uí Mhic Coille) has the following towns:

Baile an Teampaill Theas / Churchtown

Baile Choitín / Ballycotton

Baile na Martra / Castlemartyr

Townland, electoral district, town

Cill Ia / Killeagh

Cluain / Cloyne

Civil parish, electoral district, town

Eochaill / Youghal

Civil parish, electoral district, town

Farsid–Rostellan

An Geata Bán / Whitegate

Mainistir na Corann / Midleton

Civil parish, electoral district, town

An Seangharraí / Shanagarry

Patrick DARGAN and Johanna FLYNN were blessed with two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, and four sons: Timothy, Michael, David, and Patrick.

The daughters married into the HEALY and SHINNICK families.

Among the sons, Timothy inherited the landholdings around Ballybraher. His son David, after marrying Julia O'Brien, assumed management of her family's extensive landholdings and farms.

Michael took over the Dorgan pub in Cloyne.

David's marriage to Elizabeth Ahern was arranged, uniting two farming families with adjoining properties: the Dorgan land in Carrigkilter and the Ahern land in Ballybraher.

Patrick, the youngest and a "surprise" child born fourteen years after his brother David, inherited the farmhouse and barns at Carrigkilter when there were no other assets remaining. Facing economic hardship in the late 1890s and losses of livestock, Patrick decided to sell the land, farmhouse, and barns. In 1896, he set out for America, arriving at Ellis Island, New York, on 28 October 1896.


THE SALE OF THE DORGAN FARM AT CARRIGKILTER

The Cork Examiner, Monday Morning, 17 August 1896

On Thursday last, Mr. John Condon, auctioneer, Youghal, sold the interest in Mr. Patrick Dorgan’s farm of Carrigkilter, situated between Ballycotton and Cloyne. The holding contains 27a 1r 30p, held in fee simple, subject to the payment of an annuity of £17 6s 2d to the Irish Land Commissioners for a term of 49 years from the 1st day of May 1892. There is also a half-yearly payment of 16s, covering principal and interest, made to the Commissioners of Public Works. There was a good attendance, and after some bidding, the farm was sold to Mrs. Margaret Curtin, Glanturkin, for the sum of £142 10s.

The above account is a detailed historical record of the sale of Patrick Dorgan’s Carrigkilter farm. Here is a summary and its significance:

Key Details:

• Auction Date: The sale was conducted by Mr. John Condon, auctioneer, Youghal, on a Thursday (exact date not given in the text, but it corresponds to the late-1890s emigration of Patrick J. Dorgan).

• Seller: Mr. Patrick Dorgan (of Carrigkilter, between Ballycotton and Cloyne).

• Size: 27 acres, 1 rood, 30 perches (27a 1r 30p) — a substantial holding for the region.

• Tenure: Fee simple, subject to two main payments:

• Irish Land Commissioners: An annuity of £17 6s 2d for 49 years from 1 May 1892.

• Commissioners of Public Works: A half-yearly charge of 16s, covering principal and interest.

• Buyer: Mrs. Margaret Curtin, Glanturkin.

• Sale Price: £142 10s — a significant sum at the time (equivalent to roughly $26,645 USD in 2025, based on historical UK inflation and the contemporary GBP/USD exchange rate).

• Attendance: Good turnout and competitive bidding.

Context and Significance:

• The farm sale at public auction confirms the Dorgan property transfer before Patrick’s emigration and supports oral histories of the Curtin/O’Connell (related families) acquisition.

• The reference to fee-simple tenure and annuities illustrates the shift in Irish rural landholding after the Land Acts, when farmers transitioned from leases to partial owner-occupancy, subject to government charges.

• The Curtin family’s acquisition (Mrs. Margaret Curtin, Glanturkin) ties into the broader East Cork family network, which often intermarried and transferred properties among relatives. Margaret Curtin may have been related to the O’Connells by marriage or kinship, as they later appear as registered owners in local family memory.

• The record provides concrete legal and financial terms — area, payments, and buyer details — enriching the genealogical narrative.

Conclusion:

This record captures the land transfer process in rural Ireland, the financial realities facing smallholders, and the important role of local auctioneers and public sales in transferring property before emigration. It solidifies the Dorgan family’s land history and provides direct legal context missing from purely oral sources.

Patrick and his family, immigrants from East County Cork, Ireland, made their way to Providence, Rhode Island, USA. On 17 August 1896, Patrick Dorgan sold his farm and afterward resided in Ballylanders. The details of where he stayed after the sale are unknown, but he likely stayed with friends or relatives. Patrick listed Ballylanders as his last residence when, two months later, he sailed to Ellis Island, New York.

Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan, accompanied by her five children, embarked on the ship Teutonic from Queenstown (Cobh), County Cork, on Wednesday, 2 June 1897. This was the same ship her husband, Patrick, had sailed on 8–9 months earlier. The passenger ticket number was 19673, and her occupation was noted as "Housekeeper." They reached Ellis Island a week later, on Wednesday, 9 June 1897. Mary Catherine gave her last address as Midleton, the nearest registration and market town. At the time, she was 28 years old.

—————————————————
Possible Earlier Dorgan Generations in East Cork
Research status: Unproven. These notes collect possible earlier Dorgan / Dargan connections in East Cork. They should not be treated as proven parents or grandparents of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter unless additional evidence is found.
The known Carrigkilter family line begins with Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna Flynn, whose children appear in Ballymacoda / Ladysbridge parish-register records beginning in the late 1830s. Patrick appears connected to Carrigkilter and Ballybraher through later land and family evidence. At present, his parents have not been proven.
Several older Dorgan / Dargan records in East Cork may help identify the earlier generation, but they must be kept separate until stronger evidence connects them.
Edmond Dorgan of Kilmacahill is an important possible relative. He appears in Kilmacahill land records in the early 1850s and died on 24 December 1877, aged 78. His Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery headstone was erected by his son John Dorgan of Kilmacahill. Edmond married Mary Cusack in the Cloyne / Churchtown South parish-register area on 11 February 1836. Because Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter was probably born around 1820, Edmond Dorgan and Mary Cusack are unlikely to be Patrick’s parents as a couple. Edmond may still represent a nearby related Dorgan branch, or he may have had an earlier family connection not yet proven.
John Dorgan of Kilmacahill, husband of Ellen Cashman, appears to belong to the Edmond Dorgan and Mary Cusack family group. A possible baptism for John was recorded in Cloyne parish on 11 December 1839, with parents Edmond Dorgan and Mary Cusack. This John should be distinguished from the older John Dargan / Dorgan who appears in Garryvoe Lower valuation records in 1847 and 1851. The valuation John was probably an adult occupier and is unlikely to be the same person as the child baptized in 1839.
Timothy Dorgan of Ballimacoda and Joan / Johanna Downey are a stronger possible older-generation lead. They were married on 12 February 1793 in the Cloyne Roman Catholic parish register. This date fits better for a possible grandparent-level connection to Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter. A child of Timothy Dorgan and Joan Downey, born in the 1790s or early 1800s, could theoretically have been Patrick’s father or mother.
The Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery Dorgan stones may also point to an older family cluster. One stone commemorates Johanna Dorgan, who died on 9 March 1823, aged 73. Another stone was erected by Timothy Dorgan in memory of his daughter Mary, who died on 1 September 1800, aged 21. A third stone commemorates Edmond Dorgan, who died in 1877, aged 78, and was erected by his son John Dorgan of Kilmacahill. These graves may represent related Dorgan families in the Ballymacoda, Cloyne, Churchtown South, Kilmacahill, and Garryvoe area, but the relationships among them are not yet proven.
For now, Timothy Dorgan and Joan / Johanna Downey should be treated as possible grandparents or older relatives of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan. Edmond Dorgan of Kilmacahill should be treated as a possible related branch, not as Patrick’s proven father. John Dorgan of Kilmacahill and the older John Dargan / Dorgan of Garryvoe Lower should remain separate research subjects until further evidence connects them.
The central research question remains: who were the parents of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter?

Working conclusion:
Do not attach Edmond Dorgan and Mary Cusack as Patrick’s parents. Do not attach Timothy Dorgan and Joan Downey as proven grandparents. Keep them as possible earlier-generation leads until stronger evidence is found.
————————————————

Research To-Do: Parents and Earlier Dorgan Generations
Research status: Open question. Patrick Dargan / Dorgan’s parents have not been proven.
Main research question: Who were the parents of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter?
Evidence needed to prove or disprove possible parents:
1 Search for a baptism record for Patrick Dargan / Dorgan, probably born around 1820, in Cloyne, Ballymacoda / Ladysbridge, Ballycotton, Aghada, Killeagh, Midleton, and nearby East Cork parish registers.
2 Search for marriage records, baptism sponsors, and witnesses connected to Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna Flynn. Pay special attention to Dorgan, Dargan, Flynn, Barry, Motherway, Downey, Cusack, Cashman, Hartnett, Healy, and related surnames.
3 Compare Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter with Edmond Dorgan of Kilmacahill. Edmond and Mary Cusack should not be treated as Patrick’s parents because their 1836 marriage is too late if Patrick was born around 1820. However, Edmond may still be a related branch or part of an earlier family network.
4 Keep John Dorgan of Kilmacahill, husband of Ellen Cashman, separate from the unidentified John Dargan / Dorgan of Garryvoe Lower found in the 1847 and 1851 valuation records. The John born in 1839 was too young to be the adult valuation occupier.
5 Continue investigating Timothy Dorgan of Ballimacoda and Joan / Johanna Downey, married in 1793. They remain a strong possible older-generation lead, but they are not proven grandparents of Patrick.
6 Re-check the Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery Dorgan stones and compare them with parish records, valuation records, and family naming patterns. The stones for Timothy Dorgan’s daughter Mary, Johanna Dorgan, and Edmond Dorgan may point to an older Dorgan family cluster.
7 Look for land, tithe, valuation, cemetery, or parish evidence that connects Carrigkilter, Ballybraher, Kilmacahill, Garryvoe Lower, Ballymacoda, Churchtown South, Cloyne, and Ballycotton.
Working conclusion: Do not attach parents or grandparents to Patrick Dargan / Dorgan until a direct record or strong cluster of evidence supports the connection.
———————————

Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery Dorgan Stones — Possible Older Family Cluster
Research status: Important cemetery clue, but relationships not yet proven.
At Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery, there are three Dorgan stones side by side on the right after entering the gate. These stones may represent an older Dorgan family cluster connected to the Ballymacoda, Cloyne, Churchtown South, Kilmacahill, Garryvoe, and Carrigkilter area.
Stone 1 commemorates Edmond Dorgan of Kilmacahill. The inscription reads in part: “Erected by John Dorgan of Kilmacahill in memory of his beloved father Edmond Dorgan who died Dec. 24th, 1877, aged 78.” This stone connects Edmond Dorgan directly to his son John Dorgan of Kilmacahill.
Stone 2 was erected by Timothy Dorgan in memory of his daughter Mary, who died on 1 September 1800, aged 21. This may connect to an older Dorgan family in the Ballymacoda / Cloyne parish area.
Stone 3 commemorates Johanna Dorgan, who died on 9 March 1823, aged 73. The first line of the inscription is difficult to read. This Johanna may represent an older generation of the same or nearby Dorgan family network, but her exact relationship to Timothy, Edmond, John, or Patrick Dargan / Dorgan is not proven.
These stones are important because they show Dorgans in the Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery landscape before and during the period when Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter appears in later parish and land records. They may preserve evidence of an older East Cork Dorgan family group, but they should not be treated as proof of direct ancestry without additional parish, land, or family evidence.
Working conclusion: The Ballymacoda Hill Cemetery Dorgan stones should be treated as a key research cluster. They may help connect Timothy Dorgan, Johanna Dorgan, Edmond Dorgan of Kilmacahill, John Dorgan of Kilmacahill, and Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter, but the exact relationships remain unproven.

Carrigkilter Research Snapshot — IrishRoots.ie
IrishRoots.ie provides a useful townland summary for Carrigkilter, also given in Irish as Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh. The site identifies Carrigkilter as a townland in Ballycottin electoral division, Ballintemple civil parish, Imokilly barony, County Cork, Ireland, with Catholic parish context given as Cloyne.
The Carrigkilter page is useful because it gathers names recorded in the townland across several historical sources. In Griffith’s Valuation, Patrick Dargan appears among the listed occupiers or landholders. In the 1901 Census, David Dorgan and Elizabeth Dorgan appear in Carrigkilter. In the 1911 Census, David D. Dorgan and Elizabeth Dorgan appear again in Carrigkilter.
This townland view is helpful for comparing Dorgan / Dargan records with neighboring families, including Barry, Collins, Curtin, Maguire, Mahony, McNamara, O’Connell, Flynn, and others. These names may be useful when comparing Griffith’s Valuation, census returns, parish registers, sponsors, witnesses, land records, and local family networks.
Research caution: IrishRoots.ie should be used as a finding aid and townland index. Names and household details should still be checked against the original records from Griffith’s Valuation, the National Archives census returns, parish registers, maps, and other primary sources.

Johanna (Ann, Nancy, Anstice, etc.) Flynn

Birth: unknown

Death: 9 Mar 1895

Burial: The Hill Cemetery, Ballymacoda, County Cork, Ireland

Memorial #: 282268842

Created by: Hannah (50192623)

Added: 2025-05-02T23:32:22.000Z

URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/282268842/johanna-dorgan

Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/282268842/johanna-dorgan: accessed August 26, 2025), memorial page for Johanna Dorgan (unknown–9 Mar 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 282268842, citing The Hill Cemetery, Ballymacoda, County Cork, Ireland; maintained by Hannah (contributor 50192623).

Anne (Nancy) Flynn (mother)

• Estimated Birth: circa 1815–1820, possibly Cloyne or Shanagarry parish, County Cork.

• Marriage: to Patrick Dorgan before 1838 (likely in Ballymacoda or Cloyne).

• Parentage: not yet clearly recorded; Flynn families were numerous across Cloyne, particularly in townlands near Ballybraher and Garryvoe.

• Her name appears under variants Anne, Nancy, or Johanna Flynn in 19th-century sources.

No individual baptism or birth register entry is yet definitively associated with her, although records from around 1810–1825 in Cloyne are the likeliest area to examine. The closest record is for a Johanna Flynn, daughter of Michael Flynn and Anne Barry, baptized 17 November 1817. The sponsors were William Kirby and Johanna Gorman. In 1817, Ballyandreen/Ballycotton fell under the Roman Catholic parish of Aghada (Saleen/Ballinostig). Therefore, all baptisms for families in Ballyandreen at that time would be recorded in Aghada parish registers. The Johanna Flynn baptism (1817) is likely the earliest direct documentary evidence of the Flynn family.


Genealogical inference

Only her son Daniel’s baptism is formally recorded:

Summary

Name: Daniel Dorgan

Type: Baptism

Year: 1838

Parish: Ballymacoda & Ladysbridge

Source: NLI Registers

Name: Patrick Dorgan

Type: Estimated birth

Year: c.1815–1820

Place: Cloyne/Ballymacoda

Source: Genealogical inference

Name: Anne (Nancy) Flynn

Type: Estimated birth

Year: c.1815–1820

Place: Cloyne/Shanagarry

Patrick and Anne’s births predate the preservation of reliable parish records. However, surrounding family connections in Ballymacoda, Cloyne, and Ballycotton corroborate their presence in East Cork well before mid-century.

No parish marriage record has been found or cited in online genealogical databases for the union of Patrick (Pat) Dorgan/Dargan and Anne (Nancy, Johanna) Flynn in County Cork, likely due to the date (early 1830s) and missing or incomplete pre-Famine parish registers.

What is known from archival sources and family genealogies:

• Multiple Dorgan–Flynn genealogies, oral histories, and secondary sources confirm the marriage but note the absence of a surviving parish marriage record.

• All their children’s baptisms (including Daniel in 1838 and later siblings through the 1840s) are indexed as children of Patrick/Pat Dorgan and Anne/Nancy/Johanna Flynn, primarily in Ballymacoda & Ladysbridge and Cloyne parishes.

• The most probable marriage period is circa 1835–1837 (before Daniel’s baptism), with both families local to Carrigkilter, Ballyandreen, and Ballymacoda.

• Anne Flynn is referenced as “Ann, Johanna, and Nancy Flynn (Flinn and Fling),” and is believed to be from Ballyandreen, Cloyne. The couple is buried together at The Hill Cemetery, Ballymacoda.

• The first known Dorgan/Flynn child’s baptism (Daniel) is from December 1838, anchoring the marriage window just prior.

Summary Table of Facts

Event: Marriage

Names: Patrick Dorgan & Anne Flynn

Date: c.1835–37

Place (likely): Ballymacoda/Cloyne region

Source: Family/secondary (no direct register)

Event: First baptism

Name: Daniel Dorgan

Date: 1838

Place: Ballymacoda & Ladysbridge

Source: NLI/FamilySearch

Conclusion:

The marriage is widely documented in family and secondary archival sources, but no primary parish marriage register has been found for Patrick Dorgan and Anne Flynn, likely due to the marriage being lost or unrecorded during the era. Their union is strongly substantiated by the sequence of children’s baptisms starting with Daniel in 1838, as well as burial and family inheritance records from Cloyne and Ballymacoda.

Johanna Flynn is recorded in various documents under different names, including Ann, Johanna, Nancy, and Anstice (possibly Anastasia), with Flynn also noted as Flinn and Fling. She likely originated from Ballyandreen, where Flynns are still present today. Johanna rests in the ancestral Dorgan cemetery at Hill Cemetery, Ballymacoda (https://youtu.be/Dj6aPdsRiwM), situated east of Ballymacoda village, Killmacdonogh, Cork, Ireland (Shanagarry). On one of the two gravestones, the name Johanna is engraved. Liam Dorgan led me to the grave in 2005: https://historicgraves.com/hill-ballymacoda/co-thbm-0128/grave (CO-THBM-0128 | Historic Graves).

My notes, 8/2016:

I believe this is the headstone of Johanna Flynn Dorgan: http://historicgraves.com/hill-ballymacoda/co-thbm-0128/grave

The exact wording of the epitaph on the headstone is:

Erected

to the memory of

Johanah Dorgan

who died March 9th, 1895, aged 75 years

Requinscant (spelling error; should be "requiescat") in pace

Amen

Description of The Hill Cemetery at Ballymacoda:

Roughly circular-shaped graveyard on a hill overlooking Youghal Bay. The site of the Kilmacdonagh parish church, although no visible remains survive. The cemetery is accessed through a gate at the foot of the hill, along a path that climbs up through fields to the hilltop graveyard. Great work has been done to clean up the cemetery and make access easier. Many local families have burial plots here; it is one of five burial grounds in the parish. Here is a video of the cemetery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj6aPdsRiwM

Civil death record:

Name: JOHANNAH DORGAN

Year of Death: 1895

Group Registration ID: N/R

SR District/Reg Area: Cork

Deceased Age at Death: 78

Returns Year: 1895

Returns Quarter: 3

Returns Volume No.: 5

Returns Page No.: 55

In Griffith’s Valuation of County Cork (1851–1853), there are three Flynn listings in East County Cork:

• Flynn Denis – Ballycottin, Cloyne

• Flynn John – Ballybranagh, Cloyne

• Flynn John – Town of Cloyne, Spital Lane, Cloyne

According to a church baptismal record, Patrick and Nancy (used as a synonym for Ann and Johannah) Dorgan served as the godparents of Michael John Shinnick, born on December 18, 1873, in Ballycatoo, Midleton, Cloyne, County Cork. The baptism took place in St. Colman’s Church, Cloyne, on December 20, 1873. Michael’s parents were John Shinnick of Ballycatoo, East County Cork, and Elizabeth Dorgan of Ballybraher, Parish of Cloyne, East County Cork. John Shinnick and Elizabeth Dorgan were married on 20 Feb 1873. Elizabeth Dorgan was the daughter of Patrick Dargan and Ann (Nancy, Johannah) Flynn.

My internet friend Jerry Kelly posted this response to an inquiry about the name Flynn:

"FLING – 1730s / USING IRISH DIALECT TO IDENTIFY PLACE OF ORIGIN

Hi Laura,

As Pat points out, without the actual documentation on a name like Fling, it's hard to be sure, but the pronunciation of the name itself is a kind of document.

As you know, Flynn/Fling/Flyng comes from Ó Floinn or Ó Flainn ('grandson of Flann'). Not from Mag Fhloinn or Mac Fhloinn because those wind up as M(a)cGlynn, Glynn, M(a)cLynn, and Lynn because the fh is silent in Irish. Not from Ó Fhloinn either, for the same reason – this winds up as O'Lynne because the fh is silent in Irish.

Flann means ruddy-faced. The 'i' in Flainn or Floinn means 'of'. Therefore, Flainn/Floinn means 'of Ruddy-Faced'. Ó means 'grandson'. So Ó Floinn means 'Grandson of Ruddy-Faced.'

Unfortunately, for identifying where Morris Fling came from, the name Ó Floinn is popular. There are several separate families of the name, as follows:

1) Ó Floinn in the parish of Kiltulagh, Co. Roscommon;

2) Ó Floinn at Eas Uí Fhloinn, Co. Roscommon, a short distance west of the town of Boyle;

3) Ó Floinn seated in the parish of Crossmolina in Tirawley with a branch at Errew on Lough Conn;

4) Ó Floinn, who were lords of Múscraidhe Uí Fhloinn (anglicized as Muskerrylinn), the extensive territory lying between Blarney and Ballyvourney in the barony of Muskerry, Co. Cork; and

5) Ó Floinn in the barony of Ibawn in south Co. Cork, who are a branch of the Corca Laoighdhe and were kings of Uí Baghamhna (anglicized as Ibawn). Oddly, Woulfe states that the head of this family was seated at Ardagh Castle between Skibbereen and Baltimore, which, as far as I can tell, is in the adjoining barony to the west of Carberry West.

Flynn / Flinn is the more common English pronunciation. But in certain Irish dialects, the three letters of -inn are pronounced as 'ing'. This is called a palatal (or slender) unlenited n because there are two ns (unlenited) and the i next to the nn is a palatal (or slender) vowel. T.F. O'Rahilly and Brian Ó Cuív surveyed Irish dialects for their use.

In the words of T.F. O'Rahilly, 'In the rest of Cork (east Cork) and Waterford ... palatal nn, when intervocalic or final, is distinguished from palatal single n by being pronounced ng.' (Irish Dialects Past & Present, T.F. O'Rahilly, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, 1976; Browne & Nolan, 1932; p. 205)

Or, as stated by Brian Ó Cuív: 'I have tried to bring home to you the fact that of the developments with which we are familiar in Modern Irish, dialects go back much farther than many people think... In West Kerry, palatal (slender) unlenited n, which we have in words like cruinn (exact), binn (melodious), cuinne (appointment), and dúinn (to us), has fallen together with palatal lenited n, which we have in words like mín (gentle), minic (often), and féinn (self), with the result that the nasal consonant is pronounced the same way in both times, thus b'i:n' and m'i:n'. This feature is also found in South Kerry, in the Berehaven peninsula, and in West Carbery in Cork, where it is the normal pronunciation. At Clonakilty (in the barony of Ibawn, Co. Cork), the old distinction between the unlenited and lenited palatal n is maintained, giving us kri:ng', b'i:ng', king'i, and du:ng', where the Kerryman says kri:n', b'i:n', kin'i, and du:n'. Any Irish speakers that I have met east of Clonakilty also have this distinction. In South-east Cork, Waterford, and South Tipperary, as well as in Muskerry, part of East Kerry, and part of Limerick, the distinction has also been kept.' (Irish Dialects and Irish-Speaking Districts, Brian Ó Cuív, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, 1951, 1971, p. 47–49)

I'll describe Clonakilty as on the south coast, just a little bit west of halfway between the Kerry county line to the west and the Waterford county line to the east. It's in the barony of Ibawn. So, given the information provided by O'Rahilly and Ó Cuív:

1) Ó Floinn at Kiltulagh, Co. Roscommon – not an option;

2) Ó Floinn at Eas Uí Fhloinn, Co. Roscommon – not an option;

3) Ó Floinn at Crossmolina in Tirawley with a branch at Errew on Lough Conn – not an option;

4) Ó Floinn of Múscraighe Uí Fhloinn: the middle of this district is due north of Clonakilty; its eastern half therefore extends east of Clonakilty, but its phonetic rendering in English (Muskerrylinn) indicates pretty clearly that Ó Floinn was/is pronounced O'Flynn in this district, not O'Fling. And Woulfe refers to the family here as O'Flynn, not as O'Fling or its variant in spelling O'Flyng.

5) Ó Floinn in the barony of Ibawn, Co. Cork, which includes Clonakilty – this seems to be the most likely origin for your ancestor, Muiris Ó Floinn / Morris Fling; plus

6) any branches of 4) and 5) who migrated east towards Waterford.

Hope that's helpful.

Best,

Jerry"

[Another death record suggests it could be the death record of Johanna Flynn–Dorgan: Death of JOHANNA DORGAN in 1892 – Group Registration ID N/R – SR District/Reg Area Midleton – Deceased Age at Death 70 – Returns Year 1892 – Returns Quarter 4 – Returns Volume No. 4 – Returns Page No. 426]