Children of Nicholas Fitzgerald

1. John Peter Fitzgerald was born to Nicholas & Ellen on 16/7/1889 in Johnstown

2. David Fitzgerald 1894 -1894 - died 2 days, convulsions, Johnstown, born to Nicholas & Ellen

3. Bridget Philomena Fitzgerald 1895-1899,born to Nicholas & Ellen

&, maybe, others not registered. b & d certs on irishgen

First wife Ellen dies 1902 and Nicholas marries Margaret Doonican in 1904

4. Mary Christine/Maureen Fitzgerald 1904. born to Nicholas & Margaret on 14/12/1904 at St Alphonsus Road

Maureen married Peter Power, a grocer, on 23/1/1934 . her sister Kathleen a witness - image available on Irishgen

5. Catherine/ Kathleen Fitzgerald 1906->1970 born to Nicholas & Margaret on 24/7/1906 at St Alphonsus Road

After her father died in 1942 she likely continued living at 11 St Alphonsus Road with her brother, Nicky, 1913, but when he moved up to Dublin about 1947 she then moved in with her Doonican aunts and uncles in 3 St Alphonsus Road

  Old, grinnin, Kathleen FitzGerald, who lived a few doors down from us on St Alphonsus Rd( she at no.3) , was a strange creature.  She was a spinster, who seemed to have no social contacts and barely acknowledge the presence of us kids or even my father, who would have been her ‘half-nephew’.  She shared that house with another spinster called Maggie Doonican, who was an aunt of Val Doonican,1927-2015,the youngest of the eight children of Agnes (née Kavanagh) and John Doonican. the singer who came from further up on our street.  If you look at Grandad’s marriage certificate you’ll see that his Best Man was a Michael Doonican.  He was NOT Val’s father,but Nick thought he was .  Again, we always knew there was a family (not blood) relationship with Val Doonican but not the exact nature of it.

1911C. Nicholas Fitzgerald , 46, tailor, was living 11 St Alphonsus Road with his 2nd wife and 3 children. Nicholas & Margaret had been married 7 years and had 2 children, both living. She was born Fidribad, India

In this census a Mary Doonican was living alone at 3 St Alphonsus Road

I was especially pleased to see the true connection of the double-relationship in my father’s family.  I’m not sure he fully understood it himself or, at any rate, he seemed to define it differently on each occasion he mentioned it.  Old Kathleen FitzGerald, who lived a few doors down from us on St Alphonsus Rd( she at no.3) , was a strange creature.  She was a spinster, who seemed to have no social contacts and barely acknowledge the presence of us kids or even my father, who would have been her ‘half-nephew’.  She shared that house with another spinster called Maggie Doonican, who was an aunt of Val Doonican, the singer who came from further up on our street.  If you look at Grandad’s marriage certificate you’ll see that his Best Man was a Michael Doonican.  He was NOT Val’s father,but Nick thought he was .  Again, we always knew there was a family (not blood) relationship with Val Doonican but not the exact nature of it.

6. . Nicholas Joseph Fitzgerald 1913-19xx? Born to Nicholas & Margaret at 11 Alphonsus Road on 29/4/1914.

Nicholas Joseph Fitzgerald, a clerk, of 11 St Alphonsus Road, married Catherine Power on 18/7/1945 in Trinity Without. None of his family as witnesses-irishgen. He left to work in Dublin by 1947, passing the rental of 11 St Alphonsus Road over to Nick's parents

Now along with those two spinsters at No.3 was a frequent visitor called Nicky FitzGerald.  He would have been some years older(6) than my Dad but there was a ‘liking’ between them.  He was, for those 1950s times, a dapper looking fella – a ‘professional’, like a doctor or bank manager, when the rest of us were a scruffy lot of street urchins.  I think he lived in Dublin.  We assumed he was a kid brother to Kathleen but he was as bright and fair as she was dour and sallow.

We only ever saw the dapper Nicky alone, visiting the two older ladies.  In any case, we understood he/they lived in Dublin, so he may have been making flying visits to his big sister.  Thinking about that, although Kathleen always seemed old to us and he young, nevertheless there wasn’t so much difference in their ages

Nicholas’ elder sister Kathleen would have lived at No.11as a child.  Maureen was married by the time of her father’s 1942 death.  I never knew her.  When we were in No.11, Kathleen lived at No.3 but the timing or circumstances of her move there are unknown to me.  For as long as I can remember, she lived at No.3 with one Aggie Doonican.  At a guess, Aggie would have been her first cousin on her mother’s side.  I’m guessing because the two spinsters seemed of similar age – maybe Aggie was a bit older.  Aggie’s brother who lived up the street was the father of Val Doonican.  When I was little, I thought the sour-faced Kathleen (but maybe she was just quiet and kept herself to herself) was about 70.  In fact, she would have been little more than fifty.  So much for what little boys know.

 

Yes, as you’ll read in the bio, that Nicholas left No.11 to his step-nephew when he left to take up some smart job in Dublin.

Now that I know a lot more about the relationships, I find it very strange indeed that we had NO social relationship with Kathleen.  She never visited our house, nor we hers.  But she knew who we were OK and would greet us briefly if we passed her door and she was out cleaning the brasses.  I wouldn’t be sure my father knew precisely how they were related.  He often went on about his “aunt who was also his second cousin”, but never anything tangible, which irritated me (Mr Curiosity) no end.  When his father came to visit us at Christmas, he never called to see his sister not made any reference to her at all.  As a teenager, I became quite close to John Peter.  We chatted about everything but not that side of the family.

That said, when Nicholas came occasionally to visit Kathleen he’s said to have got on well with Jack but none of us kids had more than a nodding acquaintance with him.

coming on a visit, he would have been anyway) in his smart trench coat, brown trilby, shiny brown brogues, etc. would have looked like a dapper chappie to a young scruff like I was.

 

 

Fitzgerald Index