Southsider finds ‘lost’ cousin

A SOUTHSIDE woman has told how she discovered a

“lost

? cousin, from America, now living in Kerry, through a new research project based in Dublin.

‘Out of the Box’ aims to link Dubliners from across the city with The National Archives of Ireland to support them as they embark on their various personal research journeys.

From uncles who fought in 1916, to the history of a local pub and its inhabitants, Out of the Box is facilitating 10 participants as they research a person of local or family interest, their family tree, the origins of their surname, or the history of their home, their street or a local building.

The project encourages individual researchers to bring contemporary records to the archives in order to build a social and historical picture of themselves, their family and their community.

People from across the city including Ballymun, Ballyfermot, Irishtown, Sandymount and the North Inner City have been taking part.

One of them, Mary Fagan from Ballyfermot, had done extensive genealogy research for both her and her husband’s family. But she needed some help to follow certain family members going back through the generations.

She wanted to track down the graves of triplet siblings to her father. She also wanted to search for two uncles who, after spending time in the Artane Industrial School, were never seen again. All she knew is that they went to America.

 Through Mary’s participation in Out of the Box, she discovered a

“new

? cousin, from America now living in Kerry. Mary and her cousin have now met and exchanged stories and photographs. 

“It was a day of mixed emotions,

? Mary recalled.

“I was happy to add to my family tree but sad to learn about the circumstances which led to these brothers growing up apart.

“We found it easy to chat and share our knowledge,

? she added.

“I guess we all found it easy to chat as we are all passionate in finding out more about our past and because we had been in touch before we actually met. We will be meeting up again soon.

?

Mary had started to research her family tree a few years ago as her dad was a great storyteller.

“I was amazed at the detail he could recall of the Dublin he grew up in. I had heard many relatives’ names over the years but was not sure how we were all related,

? Mary explained.

“Mam too spoke about her childhood and I was curious to visit the parts of Dublin where both my parents grew up, in Terenure and Ballsbridge. Ken Larkin, a friend of both my Dad and I, knew I was interested in finding out more, so he told me about a genealogy course being given by Pat Morris in Ballyfermot.

“I now realise why my parents instilled the importance of a good education and work ethic in all of us. The high mortality rate of children in the 1900s was quite a shock to me,

? she added.

“I have found the unmarked graves of three of my Dad’s siblings who died as babies. It has not all been sad, as I have found and met with relatives I knew nothing about and was in the house my mother lived for a time before it was demolished.

?

Each participant’s journey will be captured on camera by documentary filmmaker Wissame Cherfi. These mini documentaries will chart the progress of the budding researchers.