Individual Details
Thomas (Tom) Francis MCDONNELL
(17 Jun 1897 or 18 Jun 1897 - 14 Feb 1963)
Tom emigrated to the United States as a young man. According to Ellis Island records, he arrived in New York from Liverpool on October 30, 1922. On the ship manifest it is difficult to make out his occupation but it looks like hardware assistant.
Tom's emigration was unplanned. The exact circumstances of his departure aren't known but his possible association with Free State governnment sympathisers (i.e., those who were pro-Treaty) may have led him to flee, even though he himself wasn't known by family to have been a supporter of either the pro- or anti-Treaty camp. In the course of her research, Kathleen Hegarty Thorne, author of They Put The Flag a-Flyin’, an account of the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War as they impacted on Co. Roscommon, came across a report of an incident involving a Treaty supporter whose brother appears to have accompanied Tom to the States a few weeks later. According to Kathleen, a Peter Sharkey who was a pro-Treaty activist from Edmondstown (Kilcolman parish), Ballaghadereen, was shot and badly wounded by anti-Treaty forces in September 1922 for apparently not having complied with an order to leave the area. Ellis Island records list Tom and a Bernard Sharkey together, Bernard giving as his nearest relative at home a brother, Peter Sharkey from Tobracken (in Kilcolman parish), Ballaghadereen. This may well have been the Peter Sharkey who was shot, and it may well be that Tom's possible association with him and/or his brother led to his sudden departure. It would be 20 years before Tom would see Ireland again.
Tom's emigration was unplanned. The exact circumstances of his departure aren't known but his possible association with Free State governnment sympathisers (i.e., those who were pro-Treaty) may have led him to flee, even though he himself wasn't known by family to have been a supporter of either the pro- or anti-Treaty camp. In the course of her research, Kathleen Hegarty Thorne, author of They Put The Flag a-Flyin’, an account of the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War as they impacted on Co. Roscommon, came across a report of an incident involving a Treaty supporter whose brother appears to have accompanied Tom to the States a few weeks later. According to Kathleen, a Peter Sharkey who was a pro-Treaty activist from Edmondstown (Kilcolman parish), Ballaghadereen, was shot and badly wounded by anti-Treaty forces in September 1922 for apparently not having complied with an order to leave the area. Ellis Island records list Tom and a Bernard Sharkey together, Bernard giving as his nearest relative at home a brother, Peter Sharkey from Tobracken (in Kilcolman parish), Ballaghadereen. This may well have been the Peter Sharkey who was shot, and it may well be that Tom's possible association with him and/or his brother led to his sudden departure. It would be 20 years before Tom would see Ireland again.
Events
| Birth | 17 Jun 1897 or 18 Jun 1897 | Corgarriff, Kilmovee, Co. Mayo | |||
| Christen | 30 Jun 1897 | Kilmovee, Co. Mayo | |||
| Death | 14 Feb 1963 | Galway | |||
| Burial | 18 Feb 1963 | Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin (grave OH 70, St. Bridget's) | |||
| Marriage | New York - Mary (Mamie) LYNCH |
Families
| Spouse | Mary (Mamie) LYNCH (1901 - 1970) |
| Child | Cathleen (Cathy) MCDONNELL (1934 - 2024) |
| Father | John MCDONNELL (1860 - 1922) |
| Mother | Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ellen GORDON (1868 - 1955) |
| Sibling | Alexander (Alex) John MCDONNELL (1893 - 1920) |
| Sibling | Anne (Annie) MCDONNELL (1895 - 1976) |
| Sibling | Michael George MCDONNELL (1900 - 1992) |
| Sibling | Mary MCDONNELL (1903 - 1904) |
| Sibling | Mary Elizabeth (Sr. Mary Walter) MCDONNELL (1904 - 1981) |
| Sibling | Emma MCDONNELL (1910 - 1982) |
| Sibling | Eva MCDONNELL (1916 - 2009) |