My day in Derrygoony

By Steve Ellingson

I began conducting some research on my Irish roots after learning that I was going to take a trip to Ireland for work. I spoke with my grandfather, who’s family I knew to be from Ireland. He lent me a book written by Beth Kasper in the ‘80s which traced all of the descendants of John and Mary Fleming from Derrygoony, Ireland. John was born in 1797 and married Mary Reyburn in 1825. Mary was born in 1803. From research on the internet and from Beth’s book I was able to determine that John and Mary were tenant farmers on a 4 acre field between Derrygoony Lake and Black Lake in the Derrygoony Townland. I was able to compare a map from the Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland from 1858, which showed the parcel that John Fleming was on, to a modern day aerial photograph. The roads and irregular shaped fields were all the same today as they were in 1858. I was confident that I would be able to find the exact homesite where the Flemings raised their family before coming to America in 1862. I scheduled my trip so I would arrive on Sunday and have a free day to explore Derrygoony and hopefully learn a little bit about where my family was from.

I arrived in Dublin around 7AM on Sunday morning the 24^th of May. My first challenge was successfully getting my rental car out of the airport and pointed North on the M1 expressway. This was no small feat as the steering wheel was on the right side of the car and everyone drives on the left site of the road. Too make it more challenging for new drivers in the country, you have to navigate a few traffic circles (roundabouts) just to get out of the airport. Finding my way to Derrygoony was more complicated than I had expected. The rental car almost ran out of fuel, and I ended up way off course in order to find a gas station. On my way West from Dundalk to Derrygoony, I had to navigate a few poorly marked detours. Without the handheld GPS that I took with me, I would have been hopelessly lost. Eventually, I zero’d in on Derrygoony. I turned right off of R162 onto the road all of the maps said goes to Derrygoony. It was a narrow path with tall weeds on both sides and in the middle of the road. If I had encountered another traveler, I would have been backing clear back to the main road. After a mile or two, I came across a beautiful old bridge an then to Derrygoony School. The school has a placard stating that it was erected by Richard A Minnit in 1862. This was a name I new, as Richard Minnit was listed as the Fleming family’s landlord on the Griffith’s valuation in 1858. A picture of bridge and school are below.

I turned right at the school and came to Senator Billy Fox Memorial Park. I parked there and was happy to get out of the car. From the parking lot you hear rushing water. Walking toward the sound, I quickly came to a very scenic waterfall and some rapids. A picture of the water fall is below.

After a half hour or so exploring the park I headed back to the car. While the lot was empty when arrived, I was happy to find a few other cars had showed up. In one of them was a man reading a newspaper. I approached the man to see if he was familiar with the area and could help me understand a little more about it. He was not from Derrygoony, but said that he came to the park most Sunday’s. He was very helpful and told me where I could find the local church and told me about a place he though I could get a good look at Derrygoony Lake. After seeing how confused I was by his directions, he decided that I should just follow him there. He took me past the Catholic Church to the lane that he told me would go to Derrygoony Lake. I headed down the lane, knowing from my GPS that the lake I was headed for was not Derrygoony Lake, rather Bawn Lake. It was a beautiful lake, but after snapping a few pictures I turned around and head back to Derrygoony.

On the way out, I stopped and talked to a farmer that was in his pasture tending to some cattle. He was also interested in my story and was extremely helpful. He gave me directions to a place where I could actually drive down to Derrygoony Lake and also told me about some of the area churches. Turns out there was a catholic church in Derrygoony and two nearby protestant churches. One happened to be not far from Bawn Lake in Corlea townland. I headed East and found it without much trouble. I took a couple pictures from the street, but there was a closed gate at the street and no sign of anyone, so I did not go in. There was a house adjacent to the church, so I pulled in the drive and knocked on the door. A young woman there told me that the house was not associated with the church any longer, and that they only had services there a couple times a year, and the occasional wedding or funeral. I would later learn that it is common that churches in Ireland have gates to keep the livestock out, so I am sure it would not have been a problem if I would have went in and checked the cemetery for Flemings or Reyburns. A photo of the Corlea Presbyterian Church is below.

From the church, I headed a few miles back into Derrygoony, past the Catholic Church. I stopped and took a picture (below), but then headed on as I was reasonably sure that both the Flemings and Reyburns were Protestant. The farmer at Bawn had also confirmed that the Reyburns still living in the area were Protestant.

From there I headed to the path that would take me down to Derrygoony Lake. As it turned out it, it was basically across the road from Billy Fox Park. On my way back on the narrow lane, I came across a man fishing in the small steam that ran along the lane. Of course I stopped to talk to him, because by that point I had figured out that the best way to learn about the area was to stop and talk to people. His name was Gordon, he lived down the street. He had nice Brown Trout he had caught and told me that the fishing was great in the local streams. He also told me that the man with all of the answers about the history of the area was a man named Andy. He showed me on the map where Andy lived and told me to tell him that Gordon had sent me. I continued down the lane across about four sets of cattle guards and eventually found Derrygoony Lake. I snapped a few pictures and headed off to find Andy.

I had no trouble finding Andy’s farm. Like everyone else I had met, Andy was very friendly and willing to help. He was not aware of any Flemings in Derrygoony, which supports the assumption that the last of the Flemings left in 1862. He new of several Reyburns in the area, but without knowing which Reyburn family Mary belonged to, there was not much more he could tell me. From Andy’s, I headed to find the 4 acre parcel that John Fleming and family had farmed until they left Ireland. I went North past the school and right on the first road. I drove to the end of that road and came to Black Lake (below). This confirmed that I was in the right place.

I turned around and headed back towards the Fleming homestead, paying close attention to the driveways and fence lines. It was relatively easy to find the parcel I was looking for. I hopped the barbed wire fence and took a look around. The property was on a fairly steep hill, with the road at the bottom and the back of the property near the top of the hill. I climbed the hill and was able to verify that I had the right property by comparing the irregular shaped fields to the map. Looking over the top of the hill I could not see Derrygoony Lake. It could not be far, but with the hilly terrain between the property and the lake, I expect that the Flemings would not have used it much anyway. Black Lake was very close and with no major obstacles in the way. I looked closely at the place where the house was marked on the map from 1858, but could not find any sign of it. I picked up several rocks from the place that the house once stood and after taking several more pictures, I headed back over the fence. A few of the pictures are below. One of the pictures is of a beautiful evergreen shrub called “Whins” by the people in the northern parts of Ireland and “Gorse” in the rest of the country. These shrubs were just about everywhere I went in Ireland, and the Fleming land was no exception.

On my way out, less than a quarter mile from the Fleming place, I saw a man in front of the little house on the corner and stopped to talk. He immediately invited me in to meet his wife. The house was originally her Grandmother’s. They did not live in the house full time, but had come occasionally on weekends and holidays for more than 50 years. The were very interested in my story, and although they were not familiar with the Fleming name, they were familiar with Reyburn. There was a man they used to know across the street (which is Corvackan townland) named “Jimmy” Reyburn. I am somewhat guessing on the spelling, because with their Irish accents it sounded like “Jammy” but I think “Jimmy” is a more likely spelling. They recalled Jimmy fondly and had a number of stories to tell about man. Apparently Jimmy had a goat that was very protective of the place and would attack whenever strangers arrived. Jimmy had been dead for many years and since he had never married nor had children, no one lived in the house after he died. The man telling me the story was reasonably certain that the old Reyburn house was still there, although he had not seen it for years. Before long, they were so curious they decided to take me back through field to see if the house was still there. We crossed into the field across the street and headed down the fence row about 150 yards before we turned right and headed about another 200 yards. The ground was very soggy, but this couple was very determined to find the house. The closer to the house we got, the muddier it was. In a few places we were throwing sticks and rocks in front of us to keep from sinking too deeply in the mud. Eventually we found the place, and sure enough the house and barn were still standing. As solidly as the barn was built, I suspect it will stand for many years. The house was not quite in as good of shape, especially considering the way all of the cattle had apparently used the house when the weather got bad. I cannot say for sure whether my Great-Great- Great-Great-Grandmother Mary Reyburn was related to “Jimmy”, but I tend to think that she was. According the Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland, in 1858 there were several Reyburn’s on this property across the street in Corvackan. They were certainly the closest Reyburns to the Flemings. The other Reyburns were over the hills and past Derrygoony Lake in the Drumcunnion Townland. Pictures of the Reyburn house and barn are below.

After finding the Reyburn place, I left Derrygoony. On my way out, I stopped at the other protestant church in the area, the Christ Church Aughnamullen. This is a beautiful old church as you can see by the photos below. I would love to find out more about this church as you can tell that it has a very interesting history. Some of the info I read on the internet talked about how this church was once Roman Catholic and later taken over by the Church of Ireland. I read a story about the first protestant buried in the graveyard. Apparently he was dug up twice and his remains thrown into the street. The third time he was buried, his grave had to be guarded for weeks.

I cannot be certain which church the Flemings attended. Corlea Presbyterian Church was closer, about 2 and a half miles from the Fleming land compared to Christ Church Aughnamullen which was about 4 miles away. I do not know for sure if the Presbyterian Church was there 150 years ago, Christ Church Aughnamullen definitely was.

After leaving the church, I headed West to Sligo where I had business to conduct. After two days in Sligo, I spent two days in Longford before returning to Dublin on Friday to fly back to Chicago. In Sligo, I saw the the ocean, the mountains and the burial mound on top of Knocknarea from 2500 B.C. In Longford, I stayed in a beautiful inn in a small village called Tarmonbarry where I had a balcony over the river Shannon. I was able to see a lot of Ireland in my 5 ½ days there. It certainly is a beautiful country, and I would love to get back there some day soon.