Longford genealogy centre marks first anniversary

The Killian Homeplace Family History Centre is one year in business and the occasion was celebrated with an event on Friday last at the centre in Fermoyle.
The renovated Killian family homeplace is now a centre of genealogy.

It is open by appointment for people who want to trace their family roots, with a team of researchers available.
Genealogy centres have been set up throughout the country, with the first such centre starting in Longford in the late 1980’s.
The house has been renovated to great detail, recapturing the authentic feel of a traditional Irish cottage.
In 2013, the house was awarded the IPB Pride of Place, Special Award, in association with Co-Operation Ireland.
Last Friday afternoon, the house was alive to the sound of music and conversation as local historians and family ancestors from the US were among those present for the get together.

RTE nationwide were present to record a piece for the programme.
Musical entertainment was provided by Darren Culliney, Maeve Donnelly and Nadine Smith.
Well known historian and Kenagh man Paddy Egan showed the gathering a passenger contract from the 1840’s, for passengers travelling on the Dunbrody ship from Wexford harbour to New York.
The cost of the passenger contract was £7 for three people. A journey similar to this would have been undertaken by many people from Co. Longford.

“The trip to New York normally took four weeks. Passengers were required to bring their own bed, food and cutlery. When you arrived in New York, you needed to run as fast as you could or you could be robbed,” Mr Egan told the gathering.
Mr Egan went on to explain how his family were contacted by the fourth generation of his grand uncle, Pat Brannigan, who left in 1865. “Our family had never heard anything from Pat, who could neither read nor write,” he stated.
Another local historian, Eamon Brennan, recited on the day. He told the gathering that his grandfather’s siblings emigrated to the US.

“However, my grandfather, Ned Lawlor, said at the time that someone needed to be at home, so he stayed,” he stated.
The house is owned by Joan Killian Gallagher, who lives in Connecticut, USA. Her ancestors came from this property.
Former head of Longford Library Services, Mary Carleton Reynolds, was involved in organising this event.
The Killian home place has built up a strong connection with the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, US.

In 2013, a group of students from the college stayed at the house, as part of a trip to Ireland.
That started an annual trip by Notre Dame students to stay in the Killian homeplace.
The Killian Homeplace Family History Centre was launched on March 19th, 2023, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the homeplace.

The Killian Homeplace will serve as a gathering place where family stories can be recorded and preserved for future generations.
It is hoped that it will be a meeting place for family reunions, as well as a place where workshops will engage the local community with the returning members of the global diaspora.
The aim is that it will continue to evolve into a place of importance in the genealogical community.

Further information on the Killian homeplace and for those wishing to avail of the genealogy services is available on @thekillianhomeplace.com