RC Death Records for O'Callaghan's Mills, Kilkishen and Killuran

Transcriber Notes:

This death register contains a very stark account of the distress and the conditions that existed for the residents of Clonlea parish during the Famine years.

Two members of Clare Roots Society – Jane Halloran Ryan and Larry Parks undertook the transcription work and with the permission of the Diocese and the Parish Priest of O’Callaghan’s Mills, they have donated the transcription work to the Clare Library website on behalf of Clare Roots Society.

Sincere thanks to the Diocese of Killaloe for allowing the transcription work to be done and to the Parish Priest of O’Callaghan’s Mills/Kilkishen parish for the upload of the register to the Clare Library.

Clonlea Civil Parish contains the Catholic Parishes of Kilkishen, O’Callaghan’s Mills and Oatfield.
It included 31 townlands and it was noted for its numerous lakes. The population in 1841 was circa 3,749 inhabitants. By 1851, that population had declined to 2,531 inhabitants. There were 9 uninhabited houses in the Parish in 1841 and this number had increased to 14 in 1851. The more striking feature was the total decline of all houses in Clonlea between 1841 and 1851 from 588 houses to 428 houses.

The conditions in the area had begun to deteriorate very quickly in the early days of the Famine. A traveler noted in his diary that the potatoes had begun to rot in the ground and that they were generally infected with disease. In addition, newspaper accounts from the Freeman’s Journal included incidents where whole families in townlands were left without food because of the potato blight.

A local relief committee was set up which consisted of the Parish Priest, Fr Patrick Quaid, well-known for tenants rights. He and some of the landlords organized a subscription for a relief fund which raised £147, 2 shillings which was sent to the Poor Law Relief Commissioners on 3 June 1846. The names included local landlords as well as residents in and around Clonlea. Fr Quaid sent a letter pleading for the Poor Law Relief Commissioners to donate £100 towards the relief of his parishioners who he noted were in severe distress and only surviving on Indian meal. He also commented on the difficulty with obtaining subscriptions from absentee landlords who had not replied to his requests for assistance. Rev. Richard Daniel Falkiner, Clonlea Glebe also wrote to the Commissioners about the state of the local community in the area. The Poor Law Commissioners did agree to donate £100 towards the cost of meal to the community. The relief was gladly received, but it not do enough for many of those who perished. This register is testament to that fact.


Registers by Surname (.xlsx format)

Analysis - Townland Breakdown (.xlsx format)

Analysis - Cause of Death (.xlsx format)