Flynn, Johanna (Ann) (Nancy)

Johanna Flynn appears in the records as Ann, Johanna and Nancy Flynn (Flinn and Fling)! She was most likely from Ballyandreen. There are Flynns still represented there. She is buried in the ancestral Dorgan cemetery at the Hill Cemetery Ballymacoda, East of Ballymacoda Village, Killmacdonogh, Cork, Ireland (Shanagarry) where the name Johanna appears on one of the two gravestones. Liam Dorgan took me to the grave in 2005. http://historicgraves.com/graveyard/hill-cemetery-ballymacoda/co-thbm

There are three Flynn listings in Grifith’s Valuation of County Cork 1851-1853:

Flynn Denis Ballycottin, Cloyne
Flynn John Ballybranagh, Cloyne
Flynn John Town of Cloyne Spital Lane, Cloyne


There is a church baptismal record that Patrick and Nancy (synonym for Ann and Johannah) Dorgan were the godparents of Michael John Shinnick who was born December 18, 1873 in Ballycatoo, Midleton, Cloyne, County Cork. He was baptized in St. Colman's Church, Cloyne on December 20, 1873. His parents were John Shinnick of Ballycatoo, East County Cork and Elizabeth Dorgan of Ballybraher, Parish of Cloyne, East County Cork. John Shinnick and Elizabeth Dorgan were married about 1872. Elizabeth Dorgan was the daughter of Patrick Dargan and Ann (Nancy, Johannah) Flynn.

My Internet friend Jery Kelly posted this response to an inquiry about the name Flynn:

Subject: FLING - 1730S / USING IRISH DIALECT TO IDENTIFY PLACE OF ORIGIN


Hi Laura,

As Pat points out, without the actual documentation on a name like Fling, it's hard to be sure, but the pronunciation of the name itself is a kind of document.

As you know, Flynn/Fling/Flyng comes from Ó Floinn or Ó Flainn ('Grandson of Flann'). Not from Mag Fhloinn or Mac Fhloinn because those wind up as M(a)cGlynnm Glynn, M(a)cLynn, and Lynn because the fh is silent in Irish. Not from Ó Fhloinn either for the same reason - this winds up as O'Lynne because the fh is silent in Irish.

Flann means ruddy-faced. The 'i' in Flainn or Floinn means 'of'. Therefore, Flainn/Floinn means 'of Ruddy-Faced'. Ó means 'grandson'. So Ó Floinn means 'Grandson of Ruddy-Faced.'

Unfortunately for identifying where Morris Fling came from, the name Ó Floinn is popular. There are several separate families of the name, as follows:

1) Ó Floinn in the parish of Kiltulagh, Co. Roscommon;
2) Ó Floinn at Eas Uí Fhloinn, Co. Roscommon, a short distance west of the town of Boyle;
3) Ó Floinn seated in the parish of Crossmolina in Tirawley with a branch at Errew on Lough Conn;
4) Ó Floinn who were lords of Múscraidhe Uí Fhloinn (anglicized as Muskerrylinn), the extensive territory lying between Blarney and Ballyvourney in the barony of Muskerry, Co. Cork; and
5) Ó Floinn in the barony of Ibawn in south Co. Cork who are a branch of the Corca Laoighdhe and were kings of Uí Baghamhna (anglicized as Ibawn). Oddly, Woulfe states that the head of this family was seated at Ardagh Castle between Skibbereen and Baltimore which, as far as I can tell, is in the adjoining barony to the west of Carberry West.

Flynn / Flinn is the more common English pronunciation. But in certain Irish dialects, the three letters of -inn are pronounced as 'ing'. This is called a palatal (or slender) unlenited n because there are two ns (unlenited) and the i next to the nn is a palatal (or slender) vowel. T.F. O'Rahilly and Brian Ó Cuív surveyed Irish dialects for its use.

In the words of T.F. O'Rahilly, "In the rest of Cork (east Cork) and in Waterford ... palatal nn, when intervocalic or final, is distinguished from palatal single n by being pronounced ng." (IRISH DIALECTS PAST & PRESENT, T.F. O'Rahilly, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, 1976; Browne & Nolan, 1932; p. 205)

Or, as stated by Brian Ó Cuív: "I have tried to bring home to you the fact that of the developments with which we are familiar in Modern Irish, dialects go back much farther than many people think...In West Kerry palatal (slender) unlenited n, which we have in words like cruinn (exact), binn (melodious), cuinne (appointment), and dúinn (to us), has fallen together with palatal lenited n, which we have in words like mín (gentle), minic (often), and féinn (self), with the result that the nasal consonant is pronounced the same way in both times, thus b'i:n' and m'i:n'. This feature is also found in South Kerry, in the Berehaven peninsula and in West Carbery in Cork, where it is the normal pronunciation. At Clonakilty (in the barony of Ibawn, Co. Cork) the old distinction between the unlenited and lenited palatal n is maintained, giving us kri:ng', b'i:ng', king'i, and du:ng', where the Kerryman says kri:n', b'i:n', kin'i, and du:n'. Any Irish speakers that I have met east of Clonakilty also have this distinction. In South-east Cork, Waterford, and South Tipperary, as well as in Muskerry, part of East Kerry, and part of Limerick, the distinction has also been kept." (IRISH DIALECTS AND IRISH-SPEAKING DISTRICTS, Brian Ó Cuív, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, 1951, 1971, p. 47-49)

I'll describe Clonakilty as on the south coast just a little bit west of halfway between the Kerry county line to the west and the Waterford county line to the east. It's in the barony of Ibawn. So, given the information provided by O'Rahilly and Ó Cuív:

1) Ó Floinn at Kiltulagh, Co. Roscommon - not an option;
2) Ó Floinn at Eas Uí Fhloinn, Co. Roscommon - not an option;
3) Ó Floinn at Crossmolina in Tirawley with a branch at Errew on Lough Conn - not an option;
4) Ó Floinn of Múscraighe Uí Fhloinn: The middle of this district is due north of Clonakilty, its eastern half therefore extends east of Clonakilty but its phonetic rendering in English (Muskerrylinn) indicates pretty clearly that Ó Floinn was/is pronounced O'Flynn in this district, not O'Fling. And Woulfe refers to the family here as O'Flynn, not as O'Fling or its variant in spelling O'Flyng.
5) Ó Floinn in the barony of Ibawn, Co. Cork which includes Clonakilty - This seems to be the most likely origin for your ancestor, Muiris Ó Floinn / Morris Fling; plus
6) any branches of 4) and 5) who migrated east towards Waterford.

Hope that's helpful. Best, - Jerry




Recent Notes, 8/2016:

I believe this is the headstone of Johanna Flynn Dorgan: http://historicgraves.com/hill-ballymacoda/co-thbm-0128/grave

The exact wording of the epitaph:
Erected
to the memory of
Johanan Dorgan
who died march 9th 1895 aged 75 years

Requinscant (sp error, should be requiescat) in Pace
Amen

Description of The Hill Cemetery at Ballymacoda:

Roughly circular-shaped graveyard on a hill overlooking Youghal Bay. Site of Kilmacdonagh parish church although no visible remains survive. The graveyard is approached from a gate at the foot of the hill and along a path that climbs up through fields to the hilltop graveyard.
Great work has been done to clean up the cemetery and to make access easier, many local families have burial plots here, it is one of five burial grounds in the parish. 


The Civil Death Record:
Name JOHANNAH DORGAN
Year of Death 1895
Group Registration ID N/R
SR District/Reg Area Cork
Deceased Age at Death 78
Returns Year 1895
Returns Quarter 3
Returns Volume No 5
Returns Page No 55

There is another death record: This may be the death record of Johanna FLYNN-DORGAN: Death of JOHANNA DORGAN in 1892-Group Registration ID N/R-SR District/Reg Area Middleton-Deceased Age at Death 70-Returns Year 1892-Returns Quarter 4-Returns Volume No 4-Returns Page No 426