Recently by chance I came across Bruce Crooks and David Crooks who
were visiting from Rockhampton,Queensland,Australia.
I asked them if they had any Irish connections.
I thought that they said Kilroy and as it happened Dermot Kilroy
Tullamore was buried that day.When I told them about Kilroys Shops
they said it was the Kilroe Family.It turned out it was the Kilroe
Family Shannonbridge that they were interested in.For many years
Kieran and Bill and Katie Kilroe lived ina two storey house directly
across from the Parochial House.Bill used to help the village
blacksmith Jack Butler by sitting on the wooden bench and working the
bellows by drawing on the rope.Kilroes were farmers and had a number
of isolated fields and callow land by the river.
The local contractor the late Jimmy Galvin replaced the two storey
house with a bungalow.Kieran died and later Bill (1957) and Katie
lived on her own.
At some time some cousins came visiting from Australia.They invited
Katie to come live with them
in Australia and Katie accepted the invitation.
Away she went taking one piece of furniture with her.This was a table
belonging to Father Kilroe the priest that built Saint Mary's Church
in Athlone.
Alice Egan remembers Katie having the table wrapped and prepared for
the journey by her neighbour the late Leslie Price. Father Murray in
Saint Mary's tells us that Father Kilroe finished building St.Marys in
1868 and it was officially opened in 1871.Father Kilroe I heard spent
almost a year in America to raise money to build the church.
Anyhow Australia was too much for Katie and she missed the neighbours
and Mass and the less hot weather.So she came home again and lived in
the bungalow until her death.
Bruce and David Crooks were anxious to visit the Kilroe grave at
Clonmacnois but failed to find it.
Next day I went with them hoping to get directions from Gus Claffey or
Tom Moore.No Gus or Tom around so we started looking for the
gravestone.I set off looking for an unkept grave and found dozens of
these.Bruce and David were doing their own looking around and one of
them found it in a well kept plot with a brown marble surround and a
marble tombstone in memory of the late Martin and Mary Burke.I knew
that Mary Dnoghue was connected to the Kilroe Family and they are
buried in an unused grave in the Kilroe plot.The Kilroe stone was
cleaned and the writing was clear.
If you have any information on the Kilroe Family you may send it to
David and Bruce Crooks who believe they are perhaps great great
nephews of the late Katie give or take a 'great'.
Contact crooksy@westnet.com.au