Private Patrick Byrne (52889) - my Grandfather

Finding my grandfather Paddy Byrne in the 1926 census was not an easy task as outlined in an earlier post. I found a "Patrick Byrne" who matched name, age, and birthplace, but much to my and my family's surprise - it showed him as a Private in the Defence Forces (Irish Army). I was not 100% sure that this soldier was my grandfather. So, I contacted the Defence Forces Military Archive, and after establishing that I was a descendent, they sent me a copy of the service record of the man in the census! 

My grandfather's service book.

Within minutes of opening the file I was certain that I had found my grandfather. He was "17 1/2" when he enlisted on 20th February 1923 - the Irish Civil War was still raging, it ended three months later on 24th May 1923. I expect that he did not see action as a new recruit so close to the end of this sad civil war. I now know from my aunt Bernie that he did not live in the family home and that he was an apprentice blacksmith. My aunt tells me that he told her years later that he "ran away and joined the army". His next of kin is listed as "Mrs M Byrne" - his mother Maggie. Note that he did not give his father as next of kin - more about this in later posts.

We have always had some confusion about the spelling of the "Byrne" surname. In 1957, when Paddy sought a passport before emigrating to Canada, a birth certificate was required. One in the name of "Patrick Byrne" could not be found, so he tried "Patrick Burns" - which worked. In the service record, his surname is given as: Byrne, Byrnes, and Burns. Also, his first name is either Pat or Patrick.

My grandfather was discharged from the army as "Medically unfit" on 21st October 1930.

Much of the documentation is difficult to read as it is provided in low resolution (to send to me as an email). I plan to visit the Cathal Brugha Barracks where I can see original file and get better copies. More blog posts to come!

Note to family:

If any members of the Byrne family reading this would like a copy of the (low resolution) Military Archive Service Record for Patrick Byrne, please PM me and I'll get a copy to you.

Census 2022 - Folks will be disappointed in 2122

The recent release of the 1926 census records has been a huge success. One hundred years after the census was conducted, folks like me have been pouring over the records looking for family, and who lived where. I have found a lot of family and have had great fun researching this precious archive.  

The recent 2022 census records should be released in 2122, most of us alive today will be dead by then. If the enthusiasm for the 1926 census is anything to go by, future generations will be itching to see the 2022 records. It was the first census that allowed a freehand section at the end to allow people to write anything they wanted - it was called the "Time Capsule". As I was a Census Enumerator in 2022, I got to see a lot of these when I collected the forms after census night. I saw hand-drawn pictures of the family pet and references to the war in Ukraine. Many people added the names of family who were not in the house that night (they still would not have been counted).

However, if my experience collecting the forms is anything to go by, I found that at least 60% of households (I had 480) left the Time Capsule blank. Many folks said that they did not know what to write in the space or that they could not think of anything to say. What a pity! Imagine the enthusiasm when someone in 2122 opens up a record to see where their grandparents lived and what they wrote in the Time Capsule, only to be disappointed to see a blank! I think at the time of the census that this should have been publicised more. I know I filled mine out with trivia about the family that hopefully my descendants will get a kick out of in 2122. 

What many people will see in 2122 - a blank Time Capsule.

Image taken from CSO website.

1926 Census - my Grandparents IV

My grandfather Paddy Byrne was the most difficult of my grandparents to find, and I can't be certain that the one I identify as him is actually him. First to check was for his family in the Lorrha/Terryglass area for North Tipperary - this is where the family lived at the time of the 1911 census. His mother and father are listed as living in Terryglass along with Paddy's brothers Jimmy, Tommy, and Billy. His sisters Mary, Bridie, and Margaret are also present. Paddy is not there and neither is his older sister Julia (Eileen)...

My grandfather Paddy Byrne on his wedding day 12th November, 1933.

I know that Paddy Byrne was born on 20th July, 1905. This means that at the April 1926 census he was he was 20 years and 8 months old. He was born in Lorrha, Co Tipperary, so with these two clues I set off to find him. The first problem was that his name is common - there are 252 "Patrick Byrnes" listed in the census in Ireland. I tried Tipperary and Galway (where his father was from) with no luck. I then reduced the search to the age range 20-29 years - there are twenty-nine 20 year-old Patrick Byrnes. Many of these were easy to eliminate as the man listed was the son of another family. Only one matches the name, age, and place of birth. Much to my surprise the census return form seems to be from the Curragh Barracks - this Patrick Byrne was a private in the Defence Forces. 

Private Patrick Byrne - last name listed.

My Mum has no recollection of ever hearing that her dad Paddy was in the army, my uncle thinks it unlikely as he had a bad accident with his leg when he was young. We do know that he later served in the Local Defence Force (LDF) during World War II. All the evidence points to this man being my grandfather, but I can't be certain. The chances of there being two (or more) Patrick Byrnes exactly the same age and born in a small place like Lorrha, seem very low.

The next step is to check out the military record of the above Patrick Byrne who was in the army in 1926 for more clues - this is available form the Defence Forces archive section. I'll report findings here when I get them.

1926 Census - my Grandparents III

My maternal grandmother Kathleen Cullen was 14 years and 11 months old on census night in 1926. The means that she was too young to be included in the 1911 census which was held on 2nd April 1911 - she was born just 12 days later on 14th April.

In 1926 she lived in Ashford Street in Stoneybatter in Dublin. What number I do not know, but the family address is later the very nearby 5 Ashford Cottages. She lived with her father Richard, mother Annie, and brothers Dick and Des. Her occupation is "At school". She was born in Dublin, though both her parents were from Gorey in Co Wexford. Her father Richard was a plasterer working for the Office of Public Works.

My grandmother Kathleen Cullen on her wedding day 12th November 1933.

Screen grab of Ashford Street from Google Maps.

The Cullen household.

1926 Census - my Grandparents II

My maternal Grandmother was Kathleen Hurley who lived in Church Street, Newmarket, Co Cork. She was listed in the 1911 census 7 year old "Katty Teresa" along with her father Thomas, mother Bridget, sisters Hannah Mary (later Sr Bridget) and Eileen Agnes, and her brother Patrick Peter. Her two other brothers were in boarding school in Roscrea at the time of the census.

My Grandmother Kathleen (Hurley) O'Loughlin
on her wedding day 23rd January, 1930.

Kathleen Hurley is recorded in the recently released 1926 census records as Kathleen Hurley living with her brother Patrick and sister Eileen in the same house as in 1911 on Church St. Her mother Bridget had died in 1916, and her father in 1921. We know they ran a shop from the house and that they had a small 20 acre farm. Kathleen's occupation is listed as "Assisting on brother's farm". Interestingly, she and her sister Eileen had originally given "House Keeper" as their occupation, but these were crossed out by the Enumerator. 

The house on Church St is now demolished. I took the photo below in 2008 when my Dad and I visited Newmarket. I have no idea why the house was knocked down - the site is now part of a public garden.

The house on Church St Newmarket where my
grandmother Kathleen Hurley lived in 1926.

1926 Census - my Grandparents I

It was with great relish that I opened up the 1926 census after its recent publication. Like many Irish people I was excited to see what I could find, so my first job was to set about finding my grandparents and where they lived in 1926. In this first of four posts, I find my paternal grandfather - PJ O'Loughlin.

PJ O'Loughlin, unknown date in 1920s.

In the 1911 census, PJ is listed as "Pattie Loughlin" living with his father Joseph Loughlin, aunt Mary Loughlin, and a servant Eugene Loughlin in Barnacurra near Newmarket in Co Cork. Pattie was 6 years old. By 1926 when he was 21, he is listed as "Patrick O'Loughlin" having acquired an O and an apostrophe - still living in Barnacurra. By then he was head of the house and lived with his aunt Mary O'Loughlin, a cousin Maggie B Murphy, and a farm labourer Daniel O'Callaghan. The farm size was 76 acres.

My Dad Joe outside his father's house in Barnacurra (2008).

In less than four years, PJ's life was soon to change. He married my grandmother Kathleen Hurley on 23rd January 1930, Daniel O'Callaghan was his best man. He soon moved to Carnew in Co Wicklow where they raised their family (including my Dad Joe). According to my Dad, PJ was a frequent visitor to Newmarket after he moved away. He was an only child, but had lots of cousins in the Newmarket area. He died in 1965.

Who is your audience?

My blog posts are very rare these days - quite often I forget I have a blog. Many of my blog posts are about holidays; what I did on day 1, day 2, etc. I'd always add a few photos. When on holiday I made a point of writing up the day's activities every evening. I mainly did this because I knew my Dad would be reading my post the next morning - he was my audience. I knew he would enjoy reading the post on Facebook, and that later in the morning he would read it out to my Mum. So I was really thinking of him when I was writing. 

Now that Dad is gone, my audience is also gone. On my recent two-week trip to Mexico, I made just one post instead of 14, and waited until I was home to do so. I don't think I will ever get back to the frequency of the past, but I'll keep this blog going with occasional posts - my audience is now myself!

Mexico

I am just back from a two week break in Mexico where Roma and I stayed in Cancún and Mexico City. It was nice to get away from all the wet weather here, though it is raining heavily in Dublin as I write this!

At Torre Caballito.

We first stayed in central Cancún and immediately enjoyed walking around the Downtown area in t-shirts, shorts, and sandals, after the wet winter in Ireland. Cancún is a much bigger city than I expected, The central area is marked by a small park with a statue of former Mexican president Benito Juarez, and a large Cancún sign for tourists to take obligatory selfies at. Sadly, later in our holiday we noticed that the sign was gone and that the white building in the background of photo below, plus the statue of Juarez (see top right corner of "N" in sign) were covered in protest graffiti.

Cancún Centro.

We had just two full days in Cancún city before heading off to Mexico City. While Cancún city was very good value for accommodation, food, and beverages, there is not that much to do there - so we were happy to move on.

Mexico City was a wonderful experience. We stayed in a hotel close to the Monumento a la Revolución which was a great location to explore the heart of this vibrant city. Wow -  they have a lot of traffic here, but we got a travel pass to use the buses and metro to get around. A metro trip anywhere in the city costs just 5 pesos (€0.25), while bus fares were slightly more expensive at 6 pesos (€0.30). This makes Dublin's €2 fare look like a rip-off!

One of Mexico city's top attractions is the Anthropology Museum - it is a fantastic place to see and learn lots about Mexico's before the Spaniards arrived to mess things up in 1521. Be warned, it is a very busy place with long queues. There are so many exhibits, most without English labels. that take a long time to go through. We also did a walking tour of the city's cultural centre, and a food tour with Mezcal tasting. While I enjoyed the mostly taco-based food tour, I was paranoid about avoiding hot spices and kept telling food stalls "no picante".

Enjoying street tacos on food tour.

Mezcal tasting.

Another attraction in Mexico City is the Xochimilco Canal complex. This is a long way from the city centre, we took a train and an Uber to get there. This was one of the most uncomfortable days I've ever had. While on the road to Xochimilco in our Uber car, the driver was approached by a scooter rider who stayed beside us. He was clearly intimidating our driver and was forcing him to follow and bring us to a different place to where we were going. Our driver told us that where we were going was "closed" and the his "friend" was a "guide" who would show us a "better" place to go. We also noticed other scooter riders doing the same at other cars. We checked online and found that this is a common tactic to get tourists to go to a different unofficial and more expensive location. We demanded our driver to keep going to where we wanted to go, but he was clearly being intimidated by the scooter rider. We got out of the car and walked the rest of the way to the Xochimilco canal area by ourselves - relieved to be out of the car. Despite this, when we got to the canal area we were quickly marked by another "guide" and more than likely paid more for our one-hour canal trip. Once on the canal, it was a very enjoyable experience. But being targeted as a meal ticket by local chancers made for an uncomfortable day.

At the Xochimilco Canal.

The highlight of our Mexico City visit was undoubtedly a free concert by Shakira in the Zócalo square. There were several big screens showing the concert in nearby streets, one of which was right beside our hotel. While I only recognised two of her songs we stayed for the full concert and are now Shakira fans! It was later reported that this concert was a record 400,000 people attending - the biggest gig ever in the Zócalo square, nice to be part of a record!

Shakira, Shakira!

After four days in Mexico City is was back to Cancún and beach time. Near the city there is a long strip called the Hotel Zone. Here we enjoyed sea swims and some relaxation. The area was much more expensive than Cancún city, which was only about 10kms from the city centre. Our only effort at tasting culture here was a short visit to the Mayan Museum, where we got to see a real Mayan pyramid.

Viva Mexico!

Dropping Linkedin and Twitter/X

Yesterday, on the 5th anniversary of my retirement, I cancelled my accounts in LinkedIn and Twitter/X. I don't post on either anymore and I won't miss them. It was very easy to do with neither site trying to persuade me to stay. Both allow a grace period where I can change my mind, but it's not for me anymore.

LinkedIn was a great way to stay connected and up-to-date while I was working. I kept it on after retiring as initially I used it to promote my course on Udemy. I rarely looked it up after retirement and created very few posts in the past five years. I kept getting annoying daily emails about how much I was "noticed" and how many "searches" I showed up in. I did not see any reason to keep it up - hence the decision to end it.

Twitter/X was an easier decision to drop. I had only one tweet in the past five years and I almost never looked it up. I turned off notifications years ago, so I almost forgot I had it. Elon Musk changing the name to "X" made no difference to me, though his acting the bollix over the past few years certainly did not make me want to rush to see the latest X feed.

Despite rapidly declining revenues, I still have my YouTube channel and I am keeping Facebook. The number of  posts on this blog has declined to a trickle, but I think I'll keep it going - even if there are very few posts. Social media holds little attraction for this pensioner - I enjoyed it for a few years, but the toxic nature of it today spoils it for everybody.

Five years!!!

This day five years ago I officially retired from the National College of Ireland - fortunately I was in a position to retire early at the age of 61. But how did five years pass so quickly?

Initially, Covid controlled the first year of retirement - I had the great pleasure of helping out as a volunteer with the vaccination programme. I also completed creating courses in YouTube (R) and Udemy (Business Analysis). Since then I have taken up woodwork and travelled as much as I can. I also got to see a lot more of my parents - something I was grateful for before my Dad died last year. I get to see my Mum a lot now - she's 91 and full of beans!

I had thought that I would play a lot of golf and ride my bike a lot more. I have probably played less golf than before when I retired, it just has not become a "thing" for me and I don't miss it. I have taken the bike on trips to Spain/France, Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg/France, and Germany/Denmark/Sweden/Norway, as well as taking part in the Italian Job group trip last year. Back in Ireland, I don't ride in the winter or if the weather is anything but fine. When I was working I rode the bike every day, but now it is not so often. As I get older, I find the big bike harder to handle and wonder how long more I can keep it. 

Today, I am 66 and would have been retired by now anyway. I am an Old Age Pensioner with free travel and a state pension. I'm on three different prescriptions and have been in and out of hospitals for scans and x-rays more times than I care to think of. I am a regular with my GP and am far more aware of health issues. Thankfully I am in good health and should be around for a good few years yet DV.

There's a lot more to look forward to. I am finally learning guitar, and am expanding my woodwork with wood-turning. There's a lot more places to travel to - South America and Japan are in our plans. I'm  also thinking of the rugby World Cup in 2027 in Australia, though I would have preferred the 2026 football world in North America next year had Ireland been able to qualify. Someday I hope to become a grandparent???

Retirement is great and I recommend it. My time is my own and I don't miss work at all. Yes - there are days when I wonder "What will I do today?", but I don't feel the least bit guilty about doing nothing.

Five years? It feels like five minutes!

Pensioner

It's official - I am now a pensioner having reached the ripe old age of 66!

Born in 1959, I am now in my 8th decade (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s), drawing the state pension, taking 3 different tablets every day, got an OAP discount buying theatre tickets yesterday, creaky hips, and I have the Free Travel pass! How the fuck did that all happen?

It already feels weird being a pensioner. All my life the word "pensioner" was something in the distance and simply meant "old". So now all of a sudden I will be paying attention to the Welfare section of today's Budget to see if I'll get a pay rise with the pension! I am going into Dublin today for a birthday lunch and will use the travel pass for the first time. It also allows me to bring Roma, between two fares in and out of the city it will save us €8. Where I live is well served with buses and I am not too far from a train station - so I plan to make good use of the travel pass.

Feeling just a bit older today.

Oslo - Day 3

Our last day in Oslo and more culture - this time on Oslo's museum peninsula, Bygdoynes. Here we started in the excellent Fram museum, which is built around around the ship of the same name. This was the ship used by the heroic Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen to be the first explorer to reach the South Pole in 1912. The ship is presented in all its glory and is an excellent museum experience. Very close by is the Kon-Tiki museum featuring the raft that Thor Hyerdahl, another Norwegian hero, sailed from South America to Tahiti in 1947. It looks very frail, I wouldn't sail across Dublin Bay in it let alone 101 days in the Pacific. Also in this museum is the Ra II which Hyerdahl sailed from Morocco to Barbados in 1970 - I have vague memories of this in the news from that time. We took a ferry back to Oslo and had a light dinner in the Louise restaurant in the Aker Brygge area. 

Oslo has been a fantastic experience, it's a beautiful city with lots to do. The public transport is cheap and brilliant - a great way to get around. But.... it is expensive. At dinner this evening we had a bottle of Italian red wine costing about €60 - it was the  cheapest on the menu. I wonder how much of this the farmer in Italy got - probably very little.

Tomorrow, our Scandanavian adventure comes to an end as we set sail by ferry from Oslo to Kiel in Germany. We have loved it here despite it being one of the most expensive holidays we've been on. It has long been an ambition of mine to take the bike to this part of Europe, and I can certainly tick that box now. 

Some photos from today...

Hanging out with Norwegian explorers.

The  Norwegian naval war memorial.

At the Fram museum.

The Kon-Tiki.

The Ra II.

Roma enjoying Oslo fjord.

The poser is at it again.

Oslo - Day 2

To begin our second day in Oslo we first a look at the Holmenhollen ski jump arena which is beside our hotel. It is a magnificent structure and I can only imagine what it looks like with snow and thousands of people watching lunatics jumping over 100m in the snow. While there we tried the ski simulator which showed what a ski jump would be like, and also what downhill skiing feels like. We then decide to hike over the hill to Frognerseteren - as well as being used for hiking in the summer, the paths are used for cross-country skiing in the winter. We were impressed with the folks who were using roller blades as skis. We certainly enjoyed the Norwegian woods. In Frognerseteren we got the tram back to downtown Oslo.

We went to the Nobel Peace museum dedicated to the winners of the Nobel peace prize. Lots of interesting info on the winners, with a few Irish people in the mix. While it does not take long to complete, it is worth a visit. We checked out the crowded Aker Brygge area where there was lots of people queuing for ferries. We had lunch in the Yokoso restaurant, where despite the very slow service, the food was good. Later I listened to Ukranian protesters who were looking for NATO to intervene in their war with Russia - good luck with that.

We finished being tourists in the Norwegian Resistance museum. This is fascinating stuff as I knew very little about Norway during World War II.  We were also close to the place in the Ackershus Fortress where Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling was executed.

Some photos of the day...

At Frognerseteren tram stop.

In the Nobel Peace Museum.

Solidarity with Ukraine.

On the hiking trail.

At the Holmenhollen ski jump arena.

Oslo - Day 1

Norway is the 30th country I have visited, and we are staying in Hollerhollen in the hills above Oslo. Roma and I enjoyed our ride from Gothenburg to Oslo. We stopped off for lunch in Fjallsbacka in Sweden - a lovely stop in a place that commemorates Ingrid Bergmann. 

Today we left our hotel in the clouds for the city centre via tram and metro. Our first stop was the Edvard Munch museum. We did not know a huge amount about Munch, apart from The Scream, Nevertheless, we loved the paintings and got to see two of the seven versions Munch made of this iconic painting. The museum is brilliant and well worth the visit.

In the afternoon we took part in a walking tour of the city centre. We are experts in walking tours at this stage,  but I have to say that this one was very uninteresting - mostly due to our very boring American guide. Nevertheless, we got to see some of Oslo's best known sites.

Some photos of the day...

Roma with bust of Ingrid Bergman in Fjallsbacka.

Arriving in Hollerhollen. 

Entering the Munch museum.

Wow!

Sun.

The royal palace - spectacular end to a boring tour.

Gothenberg - Day 3

Today was our last full day in Gothenburg and we decided to get out of the city and visit Branno Island. This is reached by tram and boat - the Vasttrafik App one day pass was excellent value for both. Branno is one of the many South Islands and we enjoyed long walks on the traffic-free paths. Cars and motorcycles are not allowed on the island, it was very quiet as a result. We had lunch at a food truck which was in a back garden. Very relaxed.

This evening, I finally tried Swedish meatballs. My verdict? Very much overrated and boring, but the chips were nice. 

Tomorrow it is on to Oslo, which is about 325kms away. Weather should be good,  so I'm looking forward to the trip.

Wrapped up for island hopping. 

Landed on Branno.

No Google Maps for Roma.

Branno Island transport.

Does "cheers" with 2.2% beer count?

Boring meatballs.

Gothenburg - Day 2

Today we decided to take it a little easier and get a day-pass public transport ticket. We have been walking a lot, and our first stop was nearly 4km away. Nobody seems to  check for for tickets on the buses or trams - there is a lot of trust here. We had the easy to use Vasttrafik App.

We took the bus and tram to the World of Volvo. I have had three Volvo cars in my time. The first was a 1997 V40 which I bought new. I followed this with a superb V70 which I loved - a 2.5 litre automatic. I reluctantly changed this for an S40 when my daughters started to drive - I hated it and changed to a VW Golf within a few months. So I had a little more than a passing interest in the Volvo museum.  There were lovely old cars lovingly restored plus trucks, a tractor, and more modern cars. Not of mine were there. Even if you are not into cars or Volvos - this is still an interesting museum. 

In the afternoon we visited the maritime museum on the docks. We explored two boats and a submarine. One of the boats was a naval vessel - every space seemed to be of use - there were pipes and dials galore in these vessels which pre-dated computers. Not easy to get around, but well worth a visit.

In the evening we headed over towards the Karla Tower which is the tallest building in Scandanavia at 246m. It is an impressive srtructure, but completely out of place in this location. We had dinner at the nearby Cuckoo's Nest, and exhausted after such a long day we got the bus back even though it was only one stop.

 

A farmer's son.

Vintage!

What a poser!

We love Sweden!

Submarine communications.

The Karla Tower.