Dargan (Dorgan), Patrick

GO RAIBH SIOCHAN ORAINN GO LEIR
MAY PEACE BE UPON US ALL



To distinguish Patrick Dargan from his son Patrick J. Dorgan, I will use the variant spelling of his name as found in all of the extant land records: PATRICK DARGAN.


THE ORIGINS OF THE DORGAN SURNAME


The DORGAN surname is derived from the Irish surname O/Dearga/in. The Irish name literally means the "the grandson of the little red man:. The O/ prefix means "descended from", or "of" (i.e. "grandson"), while the prefix Mac (in Irish as in scots Gaelic) means "the son of". The feminine form of the surname is Ni/Dhearga/in. The feminine form is a soft sounding name that many think more pleasing to the ear than the masculine form. Unfortunately, if you don't speak Gaelic that's probably a very academic point. The reasons you don't find too many Dorgans is because the Irish name has a second form. When the English ruled Ireland it was illegal to use your Irish name, so all names were "translated" into English. In Cork County and in Munster Province as a whole, the name was translated to Dorgan while in Leinster Province the name was translated to Dargan. This makes perfect sense if you are familiar with Gaelic and the accents in these regions. You will find a reference to the name Dorgan/Dargan in "Irish Families" or "More Irish Families", the seminal texts on Irish surnames written by Dr. Edward McLysacht. McLysacht was Chief Herald of Ireland (all the English titles and heraldic laws still exist there) and a renowned scholar concerning the DORGAN name.


Here is another story of the origin of the DORGAN name:

(O)Dargan, Dorgan


The Gaelic name O Deargain, the root of which is the adjective dearg (red), has taken the Anglicized form Dargan in Leinster, and Dorgan in Munster. The latter is almost confined to Co. Cork (where there is a place-name, Ballydorgan) while respectable families of Durgan have long been resident in the midland counties. As a Gaelic sept they were of little importance so that they seldom figure in the Annals, the "Book of Rights", the Fiants, the "Topographical Poems", "An Leabhar Muimhneach" or any of the usual sources of genealogical information. There were two prominent nineteenth century men of the name: William Dargan (1799-1867), the chief builder of Irish railways and promoter of the Dublin International Industrial Exhibition of 1853; and Edmund Strother Dargan (1809-1879), the Irish -American judge, a remarkable character of whom many amusing anecdotes are told.

The O Dorgans were in reality the O Dargans - Irish - Ui Deargain who were a Sept / Family branch - who had their original Native Irish territory in the Leinster Province. The derivative name O Dorgan was used instead in County Cork where there is a town called Ballydorgan: Ó Deargáin: not Ó Dorcháin nor Ó Dorchaidhe.


From: "Jerry Kelly"
Date: June 11, 2005 2:03:09 PM EDT
To: IRISH-AMERICAN-L@@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [Irish-American] DORGAN/O'DORCHAIN or DARGAN/O'DEARGAIN?



Hi Bill,

MacLysaght (Surnames of Ireland) writes "(O) Dargan - The Leinster form of Ó Deargáin (dearg, red). In Co. Cork it takes the form Dorgan and is perpetuated in the place-name Ballydorgan." Let's note that MacLysaght chooses to place your name under (O) Dargan because he knows that's how the name should be pronounced.


de Breffny (Irish Family Names) writes "Dorgan - This name found principally in Co. Cork, derives from the Irish Ó Deargáin. The name of Ballydorgan townland in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon indicates an early home of the family. The variant form Dargan is found in Leinster." We should add that properly speaking, Dargan isn't the variant. Dorgan is the variant.


Woulfe (Sloinnte Gaeidheal 7 Gall / Surnames Of The Gaeil & The Gaill) writes "Ó Deargáin (Dargan, Dergan, Dorgan, Dorrigan); descendant of Deargán (diminuitive of dearg, red); an old surname in Westmeath, Offaly and Cork. In the last-named county, it is now anglicized Dorgan, which is not very correct."


So Woulfe points out that Dorgan is a poor pronunciation of the original Ó Deargáin, and he's right.


So there's apparently no doubt that your original surname is actually Ó Deargáin.


And here we see the moment that your family made the move from speaking Irish to also speaking English:


"BUT ... my GGGrandfather was Patrick DARGAN, at least in Griffith's Valuation of County Cork in the 1850s and on the marriage certificate (November 1886) of his son PATRICK J. DORGAN."


Meanwhile, Woulfe, and only Woulfe, cites the existence of the name Ó Dorcháin in Irish, but can't come up with a suitable explanation for its existence.


Woulfe writes "Ó Dorcháin - Dorgan, Dorrigan, (?) Doorigan; 'descendant of Dorchán' (diminuitive of Dorchaidhe); a rare surname in Cork and Kerry, probably the same as Ó Dorchaidhe." Well, this isn't exactly right. The diminimuitive of Dorcha, meaning 'dark', would be Dorchán, and I can't find either Dorcha nor Dorchán in the old manuscript sources as an actual Irish name. The diminuitive of Dorchaidhe would actually be something like Dorchaidheán, and I can't find that either, although it could conceivably exist.


Further, Ó Dorchaidhe ('grandson of dark-man' from the root dorcha meaning 'dark') has been anglicized as Dorkey, Darkey, and even Dorcey, Darcy, and D'Arcy, but nobody has ever actually found an example of the name being anglicized to Dorgan. And notice that Woulfe has not tried to connect the name to some actual or ancient family of the name Ó Dorcháin. He knows no such family existed. Instead, he concludes that Ó Dorcháin / Dorgan must be a very wide variation in spelling and pronunciation from some other actual Irish name. And he's right. But he chooses the wrong family, he chooses Ó Dorchaidhe.


Why? Because Ó Dorchaidhe is the only actual Irish family name which uses dorcha ('dark') as its root. And dorcha would have to be the root of a surname spelled Ó Dorcháin. Unfortunately for his theory, however, the 2 distinct, unrelated families which share the name Ó Dorchaidhe are 1) a branch of the Uí Fhiachrach way up around Lough Mask in Mayo; and 2) a branch of the Uí Mhaine in Galway. No Kerry or Cork in sight. So Woulfe was right about Ó Dorcháin being a wide variant of some other name. But he was very wrong about which one.


So what did actually happen? How did the name Ó Dorcháin come into existence, at least in Woulfe's work?


Well, here's one guess. Woulfe was writing at the beginning of the 20th century. By then, as your own family history attests, east Cork had gone mostly English-speaking. But in west Cork and Kerry Irish was still widely-spoken, even more so than today. So, maybe what happened is that the poorly anglicized form of your name (i.e, Dorgan) found its way back into Irish further west in the Irish-speaking areas of Cork and Kerry. And because it was so badly pronounced, so different from the original Ó Deargáin, the Irish-speakers of those areas assumed it was a totally different name and Gaelicized it phonetically as best they could. Therefore, as Woulfe points out, Ó Dorcháin was rare indeed. In fact, from a genealogical perspective, it was actually non-existent.


So, that's the best explanation I can come up with for the existence, at least in Woulfe's work, of the name Ó Dorcháin. Either way, whether I'm right or wrong about how the name Ó Dorcháin came to exist, you're actually an Ó Deargáin, not an Ó Dorcháin nor an Ó Dorchaidhe.


As for the annals, I only have the Annals Of Connacht, Ulster, and Inishfallen here - no sign of Ó Deargáin. But these are western and northern sources. The family exists, the surname Ó Deargáin is real, like other Irish Gaelic surnames yours has been in use for the last thousand years or so, so we should have every reason to expect that your people are out there documented in Irish somewhere.

Hope that's helpful. Best, - Jerry


Finally, here is an extraordinary commentary about the ancient DORGAN family, by Jerry Kelly:

Dear Bill,

I've found out something about your family which I think is truly amazing and a testament to your ancestors' absolute determination and persistence over the last 2,000 years.

As Celtic population groups and Celtic culture came to Ireland, the earlier bronze age population groups became Celts as well. (The Celts are a cultural and linguistic group, not a race, which is why we have so many different varieties of Irish - freckled red heads, tall blonds, swarthy west Corkmen, huge Black Irish, etc.) Similarly, up until the 8th century or so, when a large and powerful tribe conquered a territory, the older population groups were sometimes given false genealogies which made them part of the incoming tribe. So when the Laighin conquered the area now called Leinster (Laighin-ster), they gave Laighin genealogies to some of the Cruithin ('Pict') and Érainn tribes who were already there. T.F. O'Rahilly in Early Irish History And Mythology concluded that 2 of the 4 main divisions of the Laighin are actually pre-Laighin tribes of Érainn descent.

Some, however, were not absorbed in this fashion. These Cruithin and Érainn hold-outs, all Celts by the time of the Laighin conquest (3rd-1st centuries B.C.?), are called forshloinnte ('external families', meaning external to the tribe) in our Seanchas tradition (the Gaelic learned tradition which indivisibly combines law, history, and genealogy).

Things were not easy for the forshloinnte. All were pushed off the best land. They were taxed. Some were forced into exile. They suffered the worst in every war and famine. Gradually over time, their numbers decreased greatly. I, personally, have never before met a bona fide descendant of a forshloinne and I've been doing this kind of research for over 30 years. Writing in 1650 at the height of the Cromwellian genocide, the great genealogist Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh reflected on how few of the Irish had survived ("...ar a laghad mhaires díbh aniu..."), especially amongst the forshloinnte.

But a very few insisted on holding on, holding out, and even flourishing anyway. In honor of your ancestors, I note the following entries in our Seanchas about your family and your tribe:

Forsluinti iomorro Húa Lugdach meic Thuathail Tigich: Húi Dile deogbaire dia tát Húi Derggáin, Húi Gumáin, Húi Síláin Chrecóra. (the manuscript called Rawlinson B.502, 12th century, 125a35)

Forshloinnte Ua Lugdhach, .i., Uí Didli deogbair, dia ttáid Uí Dheargáin, Uí Gomain, agus Uí Shíoláin Crecora. (The Book Of Genealogies by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, 1650, 461.5)

Translation: External families in the territory of the Uí Lughdhach Mhic Thuathail Thighich - the Uí Dhile Dheogbhaire (the descendants of Dil the cupbearer), from whom are the Uí Dheargáin, Uí Gomain, and the Uí Shíoláin of Crecóra

Here we see that not only did your family survive, they even managed to maintain their tribal genealogy and affiliations in opposition to the conquering Laighin, which was an amazing feat.

These surviving entries of your family's genealogical tradition do not certify whether your tribe, the Uí Dhile Dheogbhaire, are originally Cruithin or Érainn.

It was, in fact, unlawful for a seanchadh (brehon/historian/genealogist) like Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh or the author of Rawlinson B.502 to record the genealogies of a forshloinne. However, the name Dil shows up in the Síl Ír (Érainn) genealogies as a son of Aonghus Fionn son of Fearghus. The god Aonghus is an ancestor-god of the Érainn. Fearghus is an ancestor-hero or ancestor-god of the Érainn. Also, in the Laighin genealogies, a Dila shows up as a son of the charioteer Laider, but Laider is given Ulaid descent, and the Ulaid are a branch of the Érainn. The name Díl also shows up as a daughter of Míl, but this is a late (7th-8th century AD) piece of propaganda from my Uí Néill ancestors as they established their claim to all of Ireland, and so can be discounted. I do not see any Cruithin associations for the name or its likely variations, so it looks to me like your tribe were almost certainly Érainn.

Hope that's helpful. Le gach dea-mhéin / Best, - Jerry


Ó Deargáin
Gaeilge
• Male (married & unmarried)
Ó Deargáin
• Female (married)
Uí Dheargáin
• Female (unmarried)
Ní Dheargáin
• House
Uí Dheargáin




CENSUS AND CENSUS SUBSTITUTES

The best source of information on the Internet about the Irish Censuses is found at:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~irelandlist/census.html



CENSUS

Civil census was taken in Ireland in these years:

1821,1831,1841,1851,1861,1871,1881,1891,1901,1911

1. The first four were destroyed in 1922 during the Civil War. Some fragments were saved. All Cork returns was lost except for 1851. We have all of the civil parishes of Kilcrumper, Kilworth, and Leitrim is partially available and is also Macroney.

2. 1861,1871,1881,1891 were destroyed by order of the British Government

3. 1901 and 1911 are intact and can be viewed at the National Archives Dublin.

A microfilm copy of census 1901 can be viewed at the Cork County Library and also at the LDS Centre, Sarsfield's Road, Cork.



CENSUS SUBSTITUTES

Below is a list of the main Census substitute listings for Cork City and County.

Year
Name
Contents
Location

1641
Survey of houses in Cork City
Tenants and possessors
NA

1641
Book of Survey
Proprietors
NL

1666-68
Book of Survey
Grantees
NL

1654
Civil Survey
Limited Parishes


1662-7
Subsidy Rolls
Limited Baronies
NA

1700-52
Cork City Free men
NA

1753
Householders List
St Nicholas parish
Church of Ireland Registers

1757
Able Bodied Male Protestants
Limited parishes
Anglo Irish Miscellany

1766
Religious Census
Cloyne Diocese
NA also JCHAS

1783
Freemen + Freeholders of Cork City
NL

1793- 1853
St Anns Shandon Cork City
Householders
JCHAS

1817
Freemen of Cork City
NL

1820-30
Tithe Applotments Books
Head of households
Most libraries

1830
St Mary's Shandon Cork
Householders
JCHAS

1837
Lists of Poor
Cork City Parishes
NL

1851-53
Griffiths Valuation
Householders
NA + most libraries


Legend: NA = National Archives Dublin; NL = National Library Dublin

JCHAS = Journal Cork Historical Archaeological Society; C of I = Church of Ireland




The 1766 Religious Census of Cloyne lists no DORGAN or DARGAN.


Sir Richard Griffith's "Primary Valuation of Tenements, 1848-1864" was undertaken to assess property and to assign tax. Since the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922, the 'Valuation' is an important source for tracing families living in Ireland about the middle of the nineteenth century. In addition to giving the name of each occupier or tenant, it gives the name of his townland or city location, the area and value of his landholdings. Essentially, Griffith's Valuation describes six distinct geographical areas.

Beginning with the smallest to largest:


1. TOWNLAND OR PLACENAME:

The townland was and is the smallest officially recognized geographical unit in rural Ireland, varying in size from a few acres to several thousand. The average area was 350 acres. There are more than 65,000 recorded in the 1851 Townlands Index. It is not clear how they began. Boundaries tend to go with the topography of the area.

Number: There are 5429 Townlands in Cork
Use: used in Tithe Applotments Books and Griffiths Valuations

2. CIVIL PARISH:

Civil parishes were the original units of administration of the medieval church in Ireland and were used right up to the end of the nineteenth century for local and central government. Because of this, they are extremely important for Irish genealogy, providing, for example, the only means of connecting a placename to the Roman Catholic records which cover it. Today, the civil parish is a state unit of territorial division for census and valuation purposes. The ecclesiastical parish is a unit of church administration and generally includes a number of civil parishes. When the Protestant Faith became the state religion it took over the civil parish as its base unit and this became the guide to tax collecting and census enumeration.
Number: There are 253 Civil parishes in Cork.
Use: Protestant parishes today are generally a combination of several civil parishes.

3. BARONY:

Up to the end of the nineteenth century, counties were subdivided into baronies, although they were not much used for administrative purposes and thus figure little in the records relevant to genealogical research. There were about 325 baronies in the country representing land divisions of great antiquity based on the Gaelic clan and family holdings. Their origin is uncertain. Possibly based on Early Irish Kingdoms or created by the Normans as an area ruled by a Baron.

Number: 23 in Cork.
Use: Collection of Taxes in 1800s,Census Applotments Books and Griffith

4. POOR LAW UNIONS:

Workhouses were set up from the 1830s on to try to deal with the most destitute. The Poor Law Union Act of 1838 divided the country up into districts in which those local people who paid tax were responsible for the upkeep of the poor. The Poor Law Unions essentially were a means of organizing the Workhouse system for the relief of the Poor. They became the bases of the registration districts used for state records of births, marriages and deaths. Parishes and Baronies were often split between Unions and sometimes Counties. Townlands were not split. The Unions were also divided into Electoral Divisions that consisted of a number of Townlands for the purpose of electing the Board of Guardians of Work Houses by rate payers. This unit, in time, became the District Electoral Division. Dispensary Districts were created in 1851, and consisted of a number of Electoral divisions. These became Registrar's Districts in 1864, the start of Civil registration in Ireland.

Number: 15 in Cork plus 3 others shared with Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford.
Use: As indicated above but also used today for national Elections and the Registration of Births, Marriages, and Deaths.

5. COUNTY:

There are 32 counties in Ireland, varying greatly in size and population. Generally speaking, they are much larger and more populous than American counties.

6. PROVINCE:

There are four provinces in Ireland, Ulster (9 counties), Connacht (5 counties), Munster (6 counties) and Leinster (12 counties).


1847: IRELAND VALUATION OFFICE BOOKS TRANSCRIPTION

This valuation records that Patrick Dargan appears three times as an occupier “at will” (#14: land, #17: house, office & land, #19: land). The immediate lessor was Thomas G. Durden. There is a notation next to #17 that is difficult to read. I believe it says “3 leases, made about 1817”.


First name(s)
Patrick
Last name
Dargan
Year
1847
Valuation date
13 Aug 1847
Revision date
-
Townland
Carrigkilter

Parish
Ballintemple
Barony
Imokilly
County
Cork
Lessor/other first name(s)
C
Lessor/other last name
McCarty
Book type
Tenure book
Reference code
OL/6/137
NAI microfilm reference
MFGS/47/6
Archive
National Archives of Ireland
Country
Ireland
Record set
Ireland Valuation Office books
Category
Census, Land & Substitutes
Subcategory
Land & Estates
Collections from
Ireland

1848: IRELAND VALUATION OFFICE BOOKS TRANSCRIPTION

This valuation states that Patrick Dargan had a “Piggery and Cow House”.

First name(s)
Patrick
Last name
Dargan
Year
1848
Valuation date
25 Apr 1848
Revision date
-
Townland
Carrigkilter
Parish
-
County
Cork
Book type
House book
Reference code
OL/5/511
NAI microfilm reference
MFGS/46/18
Archive
National Archives of Ireland
Country
Ireland
Record set
Ireland Valuation Office books
Category
Census, Land & Substitutes
Subcategory
Land & Estates
Collections from
Ireland

1847-1864: GRIFFIN’S VALUATION TRANSCRIPTION

First name(s)
PATRICK
Last name
DARGAN
Role
occupier
Year
1853
Printing date
1853-06-27
Townland
CARRIGKILTER
Civil Parish
BALLINTEMPLE
Barony
IMOKILLY
Poor Law Union
MIDDLETON
County
Cork
Lessor's first name(s)
THOMAS G.
Lessor's last name
DURDIN
Occupier's first name(s)
PATRICK
Occupier's last name
DARGAN
Act
15&16
Record set
Griffith's Valuation 1847-1864
Category
Census, Land & Substitutes
Subcategory
Land & estates
Collections from
Ireland

The Griffith’s Valuation Map of Carrigkilter is here. Patrick leased 8A,8B,8C.
http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/single_layer/i8.php?lat=&longt=&dum=0&sheet=89&mysession=2567852440026&info=&place=&county=CORK&placename=CARRIGKILTER&parish=BALLINTEMPLE&country=Ireland&union=&barony=IMOKILLY



Griffith's Valuation of County Cork took place 1851-1853. It lists JOHN DORGAN, the brother of Patrick Dargan. John lived in the townland of Garryvoe Lower, in the civil parish of Ladysbridge, in the P.L.U. (Poor Law Union) of Midleton:

Here is the Griffith’s Valuation Record Information:

Tenant
Family Name 1 DORGAN
Forename 1 JOHN
Landlord
Family Name 2 WALSH
Forename 2 JOHN
Location
County CORK
Barony IMOKILLY
Union MIDDLETON
Parish GARRYVOE (Ladysbridge)
Townland GARRYVOE, LOWER
Place Type TOWNLAND
Publication Details
Position on Page 47
Printing Date 1853
Act 15&16
Sheet Number 77,89
Map Reference 7

The same June 1853 Griffith's Valuation of the Civil Parish of Ballintemple (LDS film #0830537) lists a Patrick DARGAN of Carrigkilter (a variant spelling of DORGAN).

Carrigkilter is the English rendering of the Irish Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh. Carraig means rock. Irish Grid: W 96060 64746.

http://www.logainm.ie/en/12138

Here is the Griffith’s Valuation Record Information:

Tenant
Family Name 1 DARGAN
Forename 1 PATRICK
Landlord
Family Name 2 DURDIN
Forename 2 THOMAS G.
Location
County CORK (Corcaigh)
Barony IMOKILLY (Uí Mhic Coille)
Union MIDDLETON
Parish BALLINTEMPLE (Churchtown South) (Baile an Teampaill)
Townland CARRIGKILTER (Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh)
Place Type TOWNLAND

Publication Details
Position on Page 2
Printing Date 1853
Act 15&16
Sheet Number 89
Map Reference 8

This Patrick DARGAN is the brother of John DORGAN and the father of Patrick J. DORGAN.

Patrick DARGAN had a house, offices, and land in Carrigkilter: 14 acres, 5 perches, 3 roods 21 perches, and 10 acres, 3 roods, and 25 perches.

The acres used in Griffith's Valuation are "English" acres, as opposed to "Irish" acres. An English acre is composed of 4 roods, and one rood is composed of 40 perches. A perch is equal to a square rod and a rod is equal to 16.5 feet. Thus a perch is equal to 16.5 x 16.5 = 272.25 square feet, a rood is 272.25 x 40 = 10,890 square feet, and an acre = 10,890 x 4 = 43,560 square feet. An Irish acre is about 1 and 2/3rds the size of an English acre.

Here is another elementary explanation of land division:

Ireland is divided into provinces: Ulster, Munster Leinster, and Connaught. Provinces are divided into Counties. Counties are divided into Baronies. Baronies are divided into Civil Parishes. Civil Parishes are divided into Townlands.

As a general rule, measurement went like this:

10 acres equaled one Gneeve
2 Gneeves equaled one Sessiagh
3 Sessiaghs equaled oneTate or Ballyboe (sometimes called Bolies)
2 Ballyboes equaled one Ploughland, Seisreagh or Carrow
4 Ploughlands equaled one Ballybetagh or TOWNLAND
30 Ballybetaghs equaled one Trioca cead or Barony

So according to that formula, a standard townland would be equal to 480 acres, but because of later acquisitions, grants, etc., this varied to a very large degree - some townlands being perhaps only 50 acres, while others might reach up to 2000.

Professor Estyn Evans in his "Irish Heritage" (Dundalgen Press-1942) states that there '' are no less than 62,205 townlands in the country averaging 325 acres each".

Colonel Thomas Colby, Head of the Ordnance Survey wrote in 1837 :

"It may be necessary to premise that the term "townland" is now applied in a more general sense than it was anciently. The Irish designation meaning "farmer's town" originally denoted a tract of land, which constituted the thirtieth part of a barony, and the lesser divisions are known by the various names of "quarters, half quarters, ballyboes, gneeves, tates, etc." In the Ordnance Maps however in accordance with the prevailing usage, all these names of subdivisions have been discarded and the term "townland" is applied to every such denomination, whether it be great or small."

Sir Richard Griffith used Colby's maps as a basis for his valuation. Thus, between 1837 and 1851 almost 4000 townlands disappeared in Ireland entirely. Maybe our missing or lost ancestors resided in them!

Patrick is listed in the Valuation of Tenements 1855 in Carrigkilter, Ballintemple (Churchtown South) as Patrick DARGAN. Maurice Cusack leased the land in Carrigkilter before 1855 and Patrick DARGAN later leased the same land about 1855. The landlord's name was Thomas Garde Durdin, a descendant of William Penn who founded Pennsylvania. Thomas Garde Durdin would arrive in East Cork from England each year to collect the rents. While in Cork he stayed at one of his estates: Shanagarry "Castle" or Sunville House. Thomas Garde Durdin is listed in Griffith’s Valuation, June 1853 - Civil Parish of Balliintemple, Barony of Imokilly as being the Landlord with an Office, Land, and Plantation.

This is a listing of “occupiers” in the parish of Ballintemple during Griffith’s Valuation:
http://tinyurl.com/h2c6sas

• Durdin - A family settled in the vicinity of Carrigtuohill near Cork city from the mid-17th century. Alexander Durdin of Shanagarry, born in 1712, married four times. His third wife was Anne Penn widow of William Penn, grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania and Sir Bernard Burke states that through her Alexander came to possess estates in Ireland and America. His fourth wife was Margaret daughter of Warham St Leger. Warham Durdin was the eldest son of the fourth marriage. He lived at Sunville, Dromadda, and Midleton Lodge and with his wife, Anne Garde had 10 children. Their son Thomas Durdin of Shanagarry Castle held land in the parishes of Ballintemple, Ballyoughtera, Cloyne, Kilmahon, barony of Imokilly at the time of Griffith's Valuation. In June 1855 the fee simple estate of Thomas Garde Durdin amounting to 1,650 acres in the barony of Imokilly was advertised for sale. The representatives of Thomas Durdin, Shanagarry, owned 935 acres in the 1870s. Members of this family also owned land in county Carlow.


In the 1855 Landlord Index of “County Cork Encumbered Estates” (Volume 4, FHL Film No. 25883), Thomas Garde Durdin, Esq. sold his land holdings at auction on 19 June 1855. At the time he held the “Lands of Killderrig, Carrigkilter, Coalvodig otherwise Sunviille, Ballybraher West, Snugborough, Ballyronahan, Ballybraher East, Ballinamona, and part of Shanagarry - 19 June 1855 - (lot maps).”

This is the date that Patrick Dargan “bought” his farm ... a farm that he had formerly “leased” from Thomas Garde Durdin. This is the first recorded Dorgan “deed of sale” since the English Reformation of the late 1500s. I have a copy of this deed from the Dublin Archives.

Patrick DARGAN'S yearly rent was 17 English Pounds for the land and 1 Pound, 5 Shillings for the buildings. If he improved the land, the rent would increase each year.

Thomas Garde Durdin died in 1867.

In the 1880s, the Land Reform Acts went into effect sponsored by Michael Davitt of the Irish Parliament and later by Charles Stewart Parnell a member of the House of Commons of the English Parliament. The Land Acts sought reform in three areas called the three F's: Freedom of Rent, Freedom of Tenure and Freedom from Eviction without trial. Amazingly, the Protestant landowners peacefully went back to England in the 1880s and 1890s never to return to their estates. The tenant farmers continued to pay their rents to the State in the 1880s and 1890s. After the 1920s the State made these tenant farmers the actual "owners" of the lands they once leased!

Patrick Dargan is recorded on the 10 Jul 1866 marriage record of his daughter, Mary Dorgan to Jeremiah Healy, as Patt Dorgan. The wedding took place at Churchtown, East Co. Cork. (Indexing Project (Batch) Number M70236-4 System Origin Ireland-EASy GS Film number 101499 Reference IDp 363)

Patrick DARGAN died before his son, Patrick J. DORGAN married Mary HARTNETT on November 26, 1886. He is documented as "deceased" on their marriage record.

Other DORGANS resided in East County Cork during Griffith's Valuation, specifically in these townlands:


NAME TOWNLAND CIVIL PARISH POOR LAW BARONY COUNTY PROVINCE

JOHN DORGAN Garryvoe Lower Middleton Imokilly Cork Munster

DANIEL DARGAN Garryvoe Lower Middleton Imokilly Cork Munster

DANIEL DARGAN Garryvoe Upper Middleton Imokilly Cork Munster

MICHAEL DARGAN Garryvoe Upper Middleton Imokilly Cork Munster

PATRICK DARGAN Coom (Midleton) Dunbulloge Cork Barrymore Munster

DARGIN EDMOND Kilmacahill Cloyne Cork Munster

DARGIN FRANCIS Ballycrenane Cloyne Cork Munster

DORGAN DANIEL Ballynabointra Carrigtohill Cork Munster

DORGAN DAVID Ballynabointra Carrigtohill Cork Munster

DARGAN JAMES Gortnamucky Carrigtohill Cork Munster


There are 180 DARGAN tenants in all of County Cork during Griffith’s Valuation.
There are 56 DORGAN tenants in all of County Cork during Griffith’s Valuation.


Patrick DARGAN bought the DORGAN Pub in Cloyne, East County Cork in 1865 and it remained in the DORGAN name until it was sold in 1998. It is now known as “Aunty Biddie’s” although the DORGAN name remains on the marquee.



NOTE: The following are the sub-units of the town of Ballintemple (Baile an Teampaill)

Ballintemple is a town that has 14 townlands:

Baile Aindrín/Ballyandreen
townland
county: Cork

Baile an Bhóthair/Ballinvoher
townland
county: Cork

Baile an Lóndraigh/Ballylanders
townland
county: Cork

Baile an Teampaill Theas/Churchtown
townland
county: Cork

Baile an Teampaill Theas/Churchtown
townland, town
county: Cork

Baile Liam/Ballywilliam
townland
county: Cork

Baile Maoilbhealtaine/Maytown
townland
county: Cork

Baile Mhic Coitir/Ballymacotter
townland
county: Cork

Baile Roibín Theas/Ballyrobin South
townland
county: Cork

Baile Roibín Thuaidh/Ballyrobin North
townland
county: Cork

Baile Uí Chéatú/Ballycatoo
townland
county: Cork

Carraig an Chuiltéaraigh/Carrigkilter
townland
county: Cork

Cill Deirg/Kilderrig
townland
county: Cork

An Ghléib/Glebe
townland
county: Cork

An Tulach/Tullagh
townland
county: Cork


NOTE: The Barony of Imokilly (Uí Mhic Coille) has the following towns:

Baile an Teampaill Theas/Churchtown
townland, town
county: Cork

Baile Choitín/Ballycotton
townland, electoral district, town
county: Cork

Baile na Martra/Castlemartyr
townland, electoral district, town
county: Cork

Cill Ia/Killeagh
civil parish, town
county: Cork

Cluain/Cloyne
civil parish, electoral district, town
county: Cork

Eochaill/Youghal
civil parish, electoral district, town
county: Cork

Farsid-Rostellan
town
county: Cork

An Geata Bán/Whitegate
town
county: Cork

Mainistir na Corann/Midleton
civil parish, electoral district, town
county: Cork

An Seangharraí/Shanagarry
townland, town
county: Cork


THE SALE OF THE DORGAN FARM AT CARRIGKILTER
The Cork Examiner, Monday Morning, August 17, 1896

On Thursday last Mr. John Condon, auctioneer, Youghal, sold the interest in Mr. Patrick Dorgan’s farm of Carrigkilter,
situated between Ballycotton and Cloyne. The holding contains 27a 1r 30p held in fee simple subject to the payment
of an annuity of £17 6s 2d, to the Irish Land Commissioners, for a term of 49 years, from the 1st day of May 1892.
There is also a half-yearly payment of £1 6s, covering principal and interest, made to the Commissioners of Public Works.
There was a good attendance, and after some bidding, the farm was sold to Mrs. Margaret Curtin, Glanturkin,
for the sum of £142 10s.


Patrick DARGAN and Johanna FLYNN had two daughters(Mary and Elizabeth) and four sons (Timothy, Michael, David, and Patrick).

The females married into their husbands’ families (HEALY and SHINNICK).

The males inherited their parents’ assets/holdings:

Timothy inherited the land holdings around Ballybraher.
Their son David married Julia O’Brien and inherited her family’s extensive land holdings/farms.

Michael inherited the Dorgan’s pub in Cloyne.

David (The marriage between Elizabeth Ahern and David Dorgan was arranged. Their parents were farmers with adjoining properties, the Dorgan property in Carrigkilter and the Ahern property in Ballybraher)

Patrick, my GGrandfather, was the last-born and also a “surprise-late-born” child. He was born 14 years after his brother David Dorgan. Since there were no more assets or holdings to inherit, he went to America, arriving at Ellis Island, New York on October 28, 1896.

And so continues the story of the Dorgan family. They are immigrants from East County Cork, Ireland to Providence, Rhode Island.