Hi again Peter
If you wanted more information on Catherine who became Mother Mary Imelda at Lochinvar, I'm sure whoever is the current archivist there would be able to help.
Are you in Australia? The phone number of the Congregational Office at Lochinvar is
(02) 4930 9650.
When I read your post initially I wondered why the surname was familiar to me. Now I know - I went to school at Lochinvar so must have seen or been told about Mother Mary Imelda at some time 
But she was a bit before my time!
Dawn M
Yes I visited the Lochinvar site and read the Archive report.
She is buried in the nuns (sisters) area SW of the Church on the opposite side as the School.
JAMES AND CATHERINE (NEE MOONEY) FLOOD
Written by Patrick Murphy 2011
James Flood was a native of Allen (Isle of Allen or Rathernan), Co. Kildare, Ireland (spelling
on documents tendered in Australia is Allan based on accent of informants) and the son of
James, a labourer and May McCabe his wife. James’s calling was a farm labourer and was
30 years old on embarkation in June 1841. The person certifying the baptism was Rev G.
O’Reilly PP stated as June 1810 who was a Roman Catholic - both James and Catherine
were Roman Catholics. The persons certifying the character of James were Richard
Fitzgerald, Landholder and Peter Mooney, Landholder.
Catherine Flood was the daughter of John Snr and Biddy (Elizabeth) Mooney, also from
Allen, Co. Kildare, Ireland. John’s calling was a farm labourer. Her age on embarkation was
27 years old, sworn by G. H. Midheoff J. P. The same persons certified as to her character
with both being in good ”State of bodily health strength and probable usefulness”.
“Rathernan1 or the Isle of Allen was a parish in the union of Naas, barony of Connell, county of Kildare
and the province of Leinster, 5 ¾ miles (NE) from Kildare. It contained 977 inhabitants in 1844. This
parish comprises 5140 ½ statute acres. It is situated on the bog of Allen by which it and the parish of
Kilmacgue are entirely insulated forming what is called the Isle of Allen, its chief feature is the Hill of
Allen. On its northern border are the ruins of Ballyteigue Castle. At the northern extremity of the hill
about a quarter of a mile distant, is a slight eminence called the leap of Allen, composed of red sandstone
conglomerate, arranged in beds varying in thickness. The greenstone of the hill combined with greenstone
porphyry, appears all round the base on the sides and on the summit in protuberant masses without any
stratification. Rathernan is a rectory and vicerage in the diocese of Kildare. In the Roman Catholic
divisions the parish is part of the district of Allen and Milltown.”
James Flood married2 Catherine Mooney on 5 May 1833 at Allen, Co Kildare, Ireland. Both
are stated as being from the parish of Allen. The witnesses were Henry Dempsey and
Catherine Ivory. The church nor their parents are named in the records. There is no Mauriey
or Morrissey registered in the Parish of Allen.
The church in which James and Catherine were married is likely3 to have been at
Kilmeague, Nass and ‘The Church of St Maedhoc or Mogue.’ It is not certain to which saint
of that name the old church of this place is dedicated.
James and Catherine Flood arrived in Australia on the ship “Eliphinstone” on 8th October
18404 with their family of John, aged 4 in May 1840 and born on 12 April 1836, Thomas,
aged 2 in August 1840 and born on 2 September 1838 and Bridget, aged 6 in May 1840 and
born on 18 May 1834. William Capper bought out the “Eliphinstone”.
Having arrived in Sydney in October 1840, they immediately made their way to Bathurst and
Kings Plains where they had their first child, James, in Australia on 14th November 1841.
James was baptised on 1 January 1842 at Bathurst when they were living at Kings Plains. It
was three years later in 1844 when they had another child, William born on 12 February
1844 and baptised on 28 July 1844. Tragedy struck soon after with the death of James in
1844. Another son was born in 1846 and again named James after their dead son of the
previous 2 years.
It was another two years when James and Catherine had another child, Patrick on 8
February 1848 followed by Mary a further five years on, born on 7 March 1853.
