Person:Mary Kilcawley (1)

Mary Kilcawley claimed to have been born about 1822 in County Sligo in Ireland. Quite likely she was born at Castleconor, which is where she was living in 1844, when she married an agricultural labourer named Michael Sweeney. Mary's death certificate claims that her father was a Stephen McAll (after Mary moved to Scotland the 'Kilcawley' was often recorded as 'McAll' or similar), and there was a Stephen Kilcawley listed in the 1833 Tithe Applotment for Castleconor, living at the townland of Muingwore, who could be Mary's father or some other relative. The Catholic parish registers for Castleconor only date from 1835, so it is quite likely that she was born in Castleconor but no record was kept of her birth or baptism.

Mary and Michael had three children, Patrick, Michael and Martin, baptised at Castleconor between 1845 and 1849, when the family was described as living at Muingwore, which is a rural townland in Castleconor parish but right on the border with County Mayo. Between 1849 and 1851 the family left Ireland, almost certainly as a consequence of the Potato Famine. Mary appears in the 1851 census living at Sorbie in Wigtownshire with her husband Michael and their son Michael. Their son Patrick was not listed there on census night, although he had rejoined his parents by 1861. Their son Martin never seems to appear in Scotland, suggesting he had possibly died young in Ireland.

Mary and Michael had six more children in Scotland, all born at Sorbie. Their only daughter, Catherine, died aged 15.

Michael died in 1883 at Sorbie, aged about 57. Mary then went to live with her son Luke, who had moved to the parish of Kells in Kirkcudbrightshire, where they lived at Achie Cothouse, just outside the town of New Galloway. She died there on 31st July 1889, when she was probably about 67 years old.

1. ↑ General Register Office for Scotland. 1851 Scotland Census. (Edinburgh)
   897/00 002/00 007, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Michael Sweeny, head, married, male, 26 [1824/5], Ag Lab, b. Ireland
   Mary Sweeny, wife, married, female, 28 [1822/3], b. Ireland
   Michael Sweeny, son, male, 4 [1846/7], b. Ireland

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 General Register Office for Scotland. 1861 Scotland Census. (Edinburgh)
   897/00 005/00 012, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   2 rooms with windows
   Michael Swenie, head, married, male, 37 [1823/4], Ag[ricultural] Lab[ourer], b. Sligo, Ireland
   Mary Swenie, wife, married, female, 39 [1821/2], b. Sligo, Ireland
   Patrick Swenie, son, male, 14 [1846/7], b. Sligo, Ireland
   Michael Swenie, son, male, 12 [1848/9], b. Sligo, Ireland
   Cathrine Swenie, daughter, female, 8 [1852/3], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Stephen Swenie, son, male, 6 [1854/5], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Peter Swenie, son, male, 4 [1856/7], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   James Swenie, son, male, 1 [1859/60], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire

3. ↑ General Register Office for Scotland. 1871 Scotland Census. (Edinburgh)
   897/00 006/00 010, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Garlieston R[oa]d, Sorbie Village, Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   1 room with windows; 1 child in education
   Michael Sweeney, head, married, male, 46 [1824/5], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], b. Ireland
   Mary Sweeney, wife, married, female, 48 [1822/3], Labourer's Wife, b. Ireland
   Stephen Sweeney, son, unmarried, male, 17 [1853/4], Carpenter, b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Peter Sweeney, son, male, 13 [1857/8], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Luke Sweeney, son, male, 7 [1863/4], Scholar, b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   Andrew Sweeney, son, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   ~ next household (part of same house) ~
   1 room with windows
   Jane McCulloch, head, widow, female, 74 [1796/7], Ag[ricultural] lab[ourer] formerly, b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire

4. ↑ General Register Office for Scotland. 1881 Scotland Census. (Edinburgh)
   897/00 006/00 007, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Main Street or Road, Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   2 rooms with windows
   Michael Sweeney, head, married, male, 56 [1824/5], Gen[era]l Labourer, b. Ireland
   Mary Sweeney, wife, married, female, 58 [1822/3], b. Ireland
   Peter Sweeney, son, unmarried, male, 23 [1857/8], Gen[era]l Labourer, b. Sorbie, Wigtownshire
   James Topping, lodger, married, male, 39 [1841/2], Gen[era]l Labourer, b. Buittle, Kirkcudbrightshire
   Edward Guffie, lodger, unmarried, male, 23 [1857/8], Gen[era]l Labourer, b. Wigtown, Wigtownshire

5. ↑ Death certificate, in General Register Office for Scotland. Civil Registration.

   1889 DEATHS in the District of Kells in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
   No.10
   Name: Mary Sweeney, widow of Michael Sweeney, General Labourer
   When and where died: 1889 July Thirty-first, 1h AM, Achie Cothouse
   Sex: F
   Age: 70 years [1818/9]
   Father: Stephen McAll, General Labourer (deceased)
   Mother: Catharine McAll, M.S. Diamond (deceased)
   Cause: Bronchitis, old age, as certified by David Arthur M.B.
   Informant: Luke Sweeney, son, (present)
   Registered: 1889 August 9th at New Galloway, James McAndrew, Registrar

   Caution must be exercised on the names of Mary's parents given on this death certificate - it relies on Mary's son Luke (who always lived in Scotland) knowing the names of his grandparents (for whom no evidence has been found that they ever left Ireland). It is particularly worth noting that Luke was also the informant for his father's death, and he said that his father's mother was called Catherine Diamond too. It is possible that both Luke's grandmothers were called Catherine Diamond, but perhaps more likely that Luke made a mistake on one of his parent's death certificates. Evidence from Castleconor supports the idea that Luke's father's mother was indeed Catherine Diamond, making it more likely that the 'Catherine Diamond' given on Mary's death certificate is wrong.

6.   Scotland. 1885 Valuation Roll.

   Sorbie Parish, County of Wigtown
   No. 6402
   Description: House
   Situation: Sorbie Village
   Proprietor: Miss Margaret Garrick Belmont
   Tenant: Mrs Mary Swiney
   Occupier: Tenant
   Fen-duty or Ground Annual: 15s 5d
   Yearly Rent or Value: £3 10s