were still alive but must have died by 1911 as they were not present. John Heneghan and Bridget Eagle, (parents of Paddy and Peter) had 13 children in all. The Athenry Baptismal Register records these: Thomas, Anne, Patrick, Peter, Julie, Mary, Catherine, Margaret, Honoria Helena, John and Michael (twins), Delia and Martin. All the children featured on both the 1901 and 1911 Census with the exception of Thomas being absent from the 1911 one. He may have emigrated to the US by then. There were no other residents other than the Heneghan family in the townland of Derrydonnellmore according to the 1911 Census. Their neighbours and friends, the Keanes, lived nearby in Tobberroe. There was always a great friendship between them though they were not related. Paddy was the eldest of the Heneghan brothers on the Derrydonnell winning team. He was born in 1889 (exact date not given in Athenry Baptismal Records) and Peter was born on 4/4/1891 according to the records. Neither of them married. Paddy died on 23/10/1976 aged 87 and Peter died in September 1969, so he was aged 78 when he died. Paddy Heneghan worked as a ploughman in the Agricultural College before he emigrated. When he was leaving he got a reference from his employer in the Agricultural School, as it was termed at the time. On his emigration manifest it can be seen that he went to the US with Patrick Kelly, who also was from Athenry and they were going to their mutual cousin, Patrick Holland, 43 Otis St., E. Sommerville, Massachusetts. Paddy’s father John Heneghan, Derrydonnell was given as his nearest relative in Ireland. He went to Boston on the ship Laconia on the 8th August 1926 and returned in 1956. He spent many years in the US. He lived in Newton Corner according to Midge Glynn (nee Poniard), whose father was a first cousin of the Heneghans, and he worked for the Waltham Coal Company there. When he retired in the US, he returned home and lived with his first cousin and neighbor, Mick Poniard (Midge’s father) and the Poniard family for twenty years until he died in 1976. He received a pension from the America every month and called it Uncle Sam! Paddy was always known as “Boston” when he returned home. The Poniards always considered Paddy to be a gentleman. He maintained his American habits when home – he got up at 6am each morning. He would make breakfast, then often would go out and sit under a wall in some field to shoot a fox. He loved his gun, plough and horse. He used to watch the young Poniard and William Freaney was a superb athlete and hurler. He was known to shoot a rabbit while he would be riding a horse cantering across the field. William died young. 24
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