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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Longford => Topic started by: dangers on Monday 29 September 08 12:44 BST (UK)
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i am looking for any link for the finn family in longford.my wifes father was michael joseph finn,as was his father.he was born on the 1st august,we think 1926 in longford.we have no other details of family or areas.michael went on to marry ellen sweeney from co mayo,but again we don,t know where,can anyone help please
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I am sure there are many Finn,s from Longford but your post leapt out at me.
Back in the 1970's as a teenager I travelled 2 or 3 times to Longford with my best friend and her mother and aunt to go visit their family.
My friends mothers name was Margaret, she had 2 sisters Betty and Esther and a brother Michael Finn married to elizabeth (betty)
The sisters Margaret, Esther and Betty all married and lived in the uk but Michael and his family remained in Longford they would have been born around 1920-30 I guess.
Michael and Betty had many children, the biggest family I had ever come across.
some of their childrens names I remember were; Brigit, Michael, paddy, PJ, David and Esther. David met a tragic end in his mid to late teens in the mid 80s
We used to stay with my friends Grandmother Brigid/t in her tiny, primitive cottage in Kenagh co Longford she was in her 90,s at the time, smoked like a chimney and used to bribe me for cigarettes threatening to unleash the evil leprechaun that lived in the roof on me if I didn,t supply her with 20 Camels a day lol (I was 13/14 and shouldnt have been smoking)
I doubt this info is of much use. your post sent me off on a trip down memory lane.
Good times!
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hello,thank you for your time,my wife eileen,is the daughter of michael and nellie finn,your discription is exactly right,down to the cottage.is your friends mums name margeret,we have waited so long for a reply on this link,thank you so much for your input,do you have any other details,for my wife please
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Yes her name is Margaret that is her in the pic outside the cottage in Kenagh.
I took the photo way back in the 70's
She was married to Brum whose real name was Brian I think.
They had 3 children, Brian, Michael and Valerie.
Sadly both Margaret and her husband are no longer alive.
One of Margarets sisters, Esther, was married to Tom.
They lived in London, Finsbury I think.
We used to travel by train to Finsbury, stay overnight with Tom and Esther, then Myself, Valerie, Margaret and Esther would get the train to Hollyhead. From there it was the night boat to Dun-laoghaire?
Train to Dublin where Michael Finn would be waiting to transport us to Kenagh.
an epic journey.
The Michael Finn I knew was a well built, sturdy gentleman, with white hair. He was always smartly dressed in a brown suit.
He would hold everyone captive whilst telling one of his stories in little more than a whisper.
we would all sit around in silence waiting for the punchline.
His eldest ? son Michael c 1955 was also a curly haired, rosy cheeked, strapping lad. who liked to recite a rhyme about breaking wind!
He would come to the cottage with his friend Frank Carberry, from new castle or newtown cashell or somewhere similar. en- route to the pub, just up the road on the other side of the church.
son Davids c1960s-1980s death was linked to the Shannon.
in addition to the children I listed previously I vaguely recall twin girls who were about 7yrs old but dont know their names.
Also a much older (married) daughter Brigit or Brigid.
Brigit/d Finns cottage, as I remember, was next to a church.
The dog in the doorway didn't belong to anyone. It was a stray that wouldn't leave us alone.
Having said all this, I wonder if we have the same Michael Finn as I dont recall a Nellie at all.
Regards
Sandra
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hello again,we do have the same people,the lady in the picture is my wifes auntie margaret,my wife eileen is telling me to tell you,ester and tom are both dead,as are both of her parents,michael,the son of michael and brigid was her dad,nellie,her mum was ellen winifred,you would not have met her she came from mayo.she remembers visiting portsmouth once,as a child.are you in contact with any of the family still,my wife has memories of toffee apples,thank you for your information,we had neally given up hope.
the story of the shannon is sad but strange,a non drinking non smoking person ends up in the shannon ???????? or was it the easy way to tell children.please keep in touch,by the way it may help others,my wife is the ginger one.
thank you again,
mark
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My maiden namewas Betty Finn from Kenagh Co.Longford.
Eileen's father Michael was my brother.
I am married to Martyn I have got one son. I live near Bournemouth. The information that Pompey girl gives is correct apart from my brother's name which is James not Michael also my fathers name was Patrick not Michael. Look forward to some more information.
Regards
Eilis
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Would just like to say Hello to Betty.
I doubt you remember me but I remember meeting you once or twice a long long long time ago. ;D
Dangers, yes I am still in contact with Margarets Daughter.
I spoke to her after your last post here and sent a link so she can see/read for herself.
Of course the brother I am thinking of is Jimmy and not Michael. I am such a muppit, when talking on the phone I realized my mistake before I had even started to explain. sorry for any confusion.
Sandra
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i am typing this for my wife eileen,she is very pleased after all this time actually finding family and people that knew her family.we have had such problems in delving into the past,we almost gave up,betty eileen is so pleased to know you are okay and sandra,you have been great.we have been trying to put together some sort of family tree for years,but the finn side has always been the problem,with a lack of information,eileen has very few photos or proof of the finn family,so we have always been stuck,we even looked up the church at kenagh for information but drew a blank,but we were looking for the wrong name.we now live in n ireland but eileen always wanted to go down to longford to look for relatives,but we couldn,t even find any in the phone book,it is so good hearing from you both.betty,could you please give us the full names of your parents,as eileen is confused,you can also contact me at (*)
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Hi, I am one of Jimmy (James) & Betty Finn's daughters - most of the info you have is correct - although not all the names are - there were 9 of us - you know about David - he was 19 when he drowned and he did drink and smoke like a trooper! - my parents are still living in Longford although the cottage in the picture is still there it is no longer thatched and is not owned by the family...We are fairly scattered - I'm in London - 2 sisters in Birmingham (Mary & Esther), 1 sister(Valerie) in Coventry, one (Liz) married at home,one brother (Paddy) in New York, one (Seamus)married at home and one (PJ)in Cork..there are no twins but I presume Sandra means myself & Val we are the youngest and people always thought we were twins! they still do...
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Carmel.
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hello,thanks again for the reply,good to hear you are okay,it has taken so long to get any information,now it is coming thick and fast,we are looking into ways of getting to kenagh,to visit the graves and family,will update more soon,great to hear from you carmel
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Bridget and Paddy Finn ( Eileen's grandparents) are buried in Kilcommock cemetry, it's not far from Kenagh village.
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Hello Eileen,
My name is Val and I am the daughter of Margaret Finn. It was my school friend Sandra who first contacted you and then sent me the link. I remembered your name but do not have very clear memories of your family apart from Dorothy who I think is about the same age as me. I think she and I were both bridesmaids at Auntie Betty's wedding? Also I have a vague memories of your mother lending me Dorothy's first communion dress.
My mum was delighted she would not have to buy one but I was clearly much chubbier and a bit taller than Dorothy and the dress pulled in every direction on the day. I still have a photograph which I keep well hidden!
If you visted us in Portsmouth you may have had toffee apples as my dad used to make them regularly, usually on a Sunday morning. I blame him for all my fillings!
I hope you are able to find out what you need to about your family tree now. I may have some old photographs but I don't think I have any of your family. I'll have a look and get back to you.
Hope to hear from you soon
Kind Regards
Val
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hello val,hope you are well,after all this time its great to know many of the family are around.please thank sandra,without her all of this would not be happening.sorry to here about your mum,but i did get to speak to aunty betty.i am looking into ways of going to longford sometime soon,my mum and dad both died over 20 years ago and then we all lost contact,it would be great if we could exchange photos,but it would be a oneway exchange as my photos are not in my hands anymore.aunty betty has sent us a copy of her wedding photo,with dorothy in,so you must be in it to,all of my family use facebook to exchange photos and chat,if any of you use it please look us up
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Hi Eileen,
good to hear from you. I am in the wedding photo, I'm the one with the seriously dodgy looking fringe, kindly cut my my mum!
We are on face book so will look you up but you will need to let me know your surname now. Mine is Emery. I will look you up and send you a photo of my family. I am married to Pete and we have four children.
I will thank Sandra. I think it was pure luck she came across your entry as she was trying to trace her own relatives. Auntie Betty told you have been waiting a long time for information. It's a shame really isn't it that we are close relatives and all lost touch? I guess we were all to young to think about keeping in touch with cousins we'd rarely seen and we all lived so far apart. I am really bad at keeping in touch even with the family I am aware of I'm afraid. Sometimes life is just too busy which is a shame.
Kind Regards
Val
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hello all,and thanks again for all of your input,we are in touch with fiona and aunt betty,i have looked carmel and val up on facebook,just waiting on replies,we have rung breege and left a message,it has been so good to know you are out there,we had nearly given up