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Hi, my great great great grandad Thomas Monaghan born c 1838 was from Tuam, Galway, Ireland (possibly). On one census he listed Claregalway, but the Claregalway Parish had no record, and on his death record it says he died of "senile decay", so I think he may have just spent time there as a child before he went to England. I know he was already in Chesterfield by 1855 (he got married to Hannah "Annie" Garvey there), then spent the rest of his life in Chesterfield until his death in 1908.
I'm trying to piece together the first years of his life and find his parents/ siblings.
His age does not correspond well on each census (as if he wasn't really sure of his exact age almost), so can't be sure of his exact year of birth. On Rootsireland they have about 10 different Thomas Monaghans born in Galway around that period. The one that maybe fits the best lists parents as Michael Monaghan and Bridget Moony from Carrownagarry, Tuam (I don't know if they made it to England with him). He also later had a daughter named Bridget (my great great aunt). If this sounds familiar to anyone, please reach out, thanks!

Welcome to the boards, Sarah.

His marriage cert should give his father's name if he knew it.

Marriages Jun 1855 (>99%)
GARVAY Hannah Chesterfield 7b 808
MONAHAN Thomas Chesterfield 7b 808


You mention a possible father named Michael - do you have reason to believe that was his father's name?

he was a roman catholic
Thomas
Last name Monahan
Sex Male
Marriage year 1855
Parish Annunciation Roman Catholic Chapel
Place Chesterfield
Spouse's first name Hannah
Spouse's last name Garvay
County Derbyshire
Country England
Register Office 393
Reference RO/03/189
Record set Derbyshire Registrars Marriage Index

1891 says born in Clare
1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census
High Moor, Killamarsh, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England
View original record
Household members (5 people)
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Thomas Monaghan Head
Married Male 51 1840 Retired coal miner Clare, Galway, Ireland
Annie Monaghan Wife
Married Female 50 1841 - Clare, Galway, Ireland
Thomas Monaghan Son
- Male 13 1878 Coal miner Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England
Mary E Monaghan Granddaughter
- Female 7 1884 - Derbyshire, England
William Garvey Father in law
Widower Male 81 1810 Living on his means -

You are lucky it doesn’t just say Ireland.

Remember that enumerator is writing down what he thinks he hears which is not necessarily what is being said with an accent.

He could be remembering where he grew up rather than knowing where he was born.

For our reference - his year of birth does indeed vary a lot.

In 1861 census it's said to be 1825 (Galway) ; in 1871 it's 1821 (Ireland); in 1881 it's 1823 (Galway), and in 1891 it's 1840 (Clare, Galway); in 1901 it's 1831 (Galway).

At his death in 1908 his age is said to be 68, which would mean birth in 1840 - but that depends on the accuracy of the informant's knowledge.

Galway does seem to be the most likely birthplace - but you need his father's name to narrow it down.

ADDED:
Google tells me that there is actually a village in Galway called Claregalway (oh, and you mentioned in in your post ).

Without knowing his father's name, I wonder about this one below - though Dunmore is quite a distance from Claregalway - if that's relevant..

His first child, in 1856, was named Honora (listed as Ann in 1861 census).

Thomas Monaghan
in the Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915
Name Thomas Monaghan
Baptism Age 0
Event Type Baptism
Birth Date 1838
Baptism Date 18 Dec 1838
Baptism Place Dunmore, Galway, Ireland
Diocese Tuam
Father Martin Monaghan
Mother Honor Burke


But he didn't have a son named Martin, so maybe not!

Thank you for your responses everyone!
I already contacted the Parish church in Clare! But there is no record of any Thomas Monaghan for them- that's why I think he had just spent some time there maybe but wasn't born there. It was The Parish that suggested I try Tuam instead.

I have no idea why I was thinking Michael might be the best fit... It just *felt* right I guess! Plus he named one of his daughters Bridget... (bit of a long shot as it was a common name...).

And yes, his age really doesn't correspond well in the census! For a long time I thought there was a big age gap between him and his wife, but now I realise that it was a mistake. I don't think he knew his age properly, or maybe didn't keep track. The children's ages all correspond well though, which I thought was quite nice.

I really want to know which Thomas Monaghan is mine and who his parents were!
I think at this point the best option would be a DNA test and see if any living relatives are still there to find a connection that way. Do you think that might work?

"His marriage cert should give his father's name if he knew it."
I'm an idiot... I already ordered his death certificate from the GRO... I never thought of the marriage. I've just placed an order for it right now. It'll take a bit of time to come in the post (no digital image and I'm in France). Cross your fingers for me that it'll have more names!
Thank you!

The other thing I have tried researching is ship information. I think the most logical route he would have taken was Dublin-Liverpool but it's hard to find that info for the 1850s. It would be fabulous to know who he travelled with- it might help know if any other family members were able to leave Ireland and were settled in the area around him at that time (I assume they left at the beginning of the famine). I feel terrible at the thought of him making that journey alone.
I did see an 1851 census for a Thomas Monaghan as a lodger somewhere but I didn't save it unfortunately.

Shortcut to Archdiocese of Tuam | County of Galway
Catholic Parish Registers at the National Library of Ireland

https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1082?locale=en


Baptisms and Weddings

Microfilm 04221 / 03 | ********Page 133**********
This is page 1838 Baptisms begins on
To get to it quicker than scrolling a single page at a time go to

https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000632079?locale=en#page/1/mode/1up

Along the top of the page are several green coloured circular tabs
Go to the tab with 4 small squares within it this will open up an image of the whole collection
You will see 6 images on the top line followed by 6 thereafter
Count to 133 and click that page


Microfilm 04221 / 04
Marriages
17 Oct. 1832 to 12 Jul. 1881

Hopefully you can find his mother and father in this record, if they were married in Tuam

Thank you, but he married in England, not Ireland.

Yes, but if he was born in Ireland (Baptisms) and his parents were married (Weddings) in Tuam??

You wouldn't have to contact Tuam as these are the records they would be looking at for you. William's Baptism and his parents Wedding

No records of transit between Ireland and England

If he knew his father's name it will be on the marriage cert.

Thank you everyone.

Hi everyone, I have an update: I got Thomas and Hannah's marriage certificate and his father is MARK MONAHAN. I had actually been correct in originally thinking there was a significant age gap: Thomas was 30 and Hannah 17 on the certificate! On Rootsireland I found his parents as Mark Monaghan and Mary Mentane, from Cappataggle (amazing name), East Galway. I think I finally got them!

Thanks for letting us know, Sarah!

Thank you so much for your help! I've been Googling the place Cappataggle: it's really a teeny tiny little village (2022 census was 300 people), but it looks like there are still some Monaghan's living there, so I wonder if we are related. I'm still not sure why Thomas put Claregalway on the census. I wonder if that's where his father Mark was from.

It depends on what you mean when you say they were "from Cappataggle".

Do you mean they were born there, or only married there, or were living there when Thomas married - or what?

None of those possibilities rules out Thomas having been born in Claregalway.