tomas

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Curtin ancestry

Tomas MacCurtain - Irish Patriot and Soldier

Young Thomas Curtin was born on 20th March 1884 and was educated at the Burnfoot National School and later at the North Monastery School in Cork City.
He began using the gaelic version of his name, Tomas MacCurtain, about the time he joined the Gaelic League in Blackpool, Cork City in 1901. By 1902 he was the group's Secretary.

Tomas had a very tententive memory, loved Irish poetry, music and dancing. He was very interested in Irish history and archealogy and learnt to play the bagpipes. He was an accomplished violin player and sometimes played in an orchestra.
This brown-haired, blue-eyed Irishman had great determination and business capacity.

In 1897 Thomas moved to the city to live with his sister at 68 Great Britain Street and attended the Christian Brothers North Monastry where he began to learn Irish.

After Tomas left school he worked a a Clerk for the City of Cork Steam Packet Company. In 1907 he secured work at Marks Mills in Crosses Green and in his spare time he taught the gaelic language to those wishing to learn.

By 1911, he was involved in the running of Fianna Eireann, and he became a Volunteer in 1914.
He wanted to see a revival of the Irish language and national freedom and for his cause he served prison terms in 1916 and 1917 in Wakefield, Frongoch and Reading in England.

Tomas met Eilish Walsh, daughter of a Stonemason, John Walsh. She was very active in the Gaelic League and they married on 28th June 1908.

They had 6 children, the first dying as an infant. Patrick, Siobhan, Sile, Maura, Eilish, and Thomas. They made their home at 40 Thomas Davis St, Blackpool, in the northern part of Cork City.

In January 1920, Local Government elections were held in Cork City, and Sinn Fein got the opportunity of dominating local councils. Tomas was elected by the people of his Ward, N-W No. 3 and from his elected peers, was selected to be the Lord Mayor of Cork City.

Tomas began implementing changes in the way the Councils were run and was still strong in his dream of a free Ireland.
Just after 1 am on Saturday 20th March 1920 men with blackened faces and in semi-disguise burst into the MacCurtain home. They knew their way to the main bedroom. These men from the Royal Irish Constabulary shot the Lord Mayor.

In the house at the time were Mrs MacCurtain and her 5 children, plus her brother (James Walsh) 3 sisters, 2 neices and a nephew, and elderly Mrs Walsh. Tomas died from shock and haemorrhage caused by bullet wounds, and passed away after receiving the Last Rites.

Such was public reaction, that the funeral on Monday 22nd March, from the North Cathedral was very large. It is said that Tomas was a pioneer of the Gaelic revival movement in the south, a foundation member of the Irish Volunteers and one of Cork's noblest sons.
He is laid to rest in St Finbarr's Church graveyard, in a plot facing the main gate.

Thomas Curtin (Tomas MacCurtain) was born in 1884 in this farmhouse in Ballyknockane townland, Mourneabbey, 14 miles north of Cork City. His baptism sponsors are noted as Ellen Curtin and Denis Mahoney. Thomas was the 12th and last child of Patrick Curtin and Julia Sheehan. Patrick was born in February 1833 at Beenaskehy, Killavullen and was known to have a very large beard. He died in 1912 while living at 68 Great William O'Brien Street, Blackpool, Cork City.

pictured in 1999

Julia was the daughter of Michael Sheehan of Glen, Mourneabbey and Margaret O'Keefe. She was 17 years of age when she married Patrick Curtin on 26 November 1859. Julia was born at Ballynockane, in the parish of Ballinamona in 1841 and died in 1890 while living in Shamrock St, Cork City.

Young Thomas's older siblings included Patrick born in 1861, Margaret, Ellen, Julia, Mary, Michael, Honora, Owen, Eugene, Michael, and John.
Margaret became Mrs Beecher, Julia became Mrs Looney and moved to the USA. Mary stayed in Ireland as Mrs Twomey. 2 brothers named Michael, and 1 named Owen died as infants. John married Eilis Canny, Eugene moved to the USA but never married, and Ellen was also unmarried.

Patrick. born 1861 was the older brother
of Thomas b. 1884. Pictured with his wife Ellen

Patrick Curtin 1833-1912 was a child of Patrick Curtin and Margaret McCarthy and was born after his father had passed away in 1832. We haven't documented births for Patrick or Margaret, nor where they came from before coming to this area and raising their family at Beenaskehy townland.

This Catholic parish map shows Ballinamona, marked in yellow and the parishes of Rock and Newmarket in the left-hand top corner, where this Curtin line is said to have had its very early beginnings. To the right is a picture of a plaque set at the gate entrance into the farm, where young Thomas was born in 1884. A fitting tribute to a man who believed in a cause.

Page made 9 March 2002