From Ballyboyle to Corglass... a Boyle family's story
Part 2 - Corglass
The Bradys and the Boyles
​With the death of John3 Boyle in 1896, the Brady in-laws became very significant in the lives of his surviving family. John3 had no living Boyle brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles save Rev. Peter3 in Australia. His only cousins were in the USA, and the Hartes of Clooncose. With four sons under six years old, and no Boyle relations, it is natural that Bridget would turn to her own family for the support she needed.
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The limited documentary evidence suggests that the Bradys were close to the young Boyles. In the 1901 census, John4 was notable for his absence from Corglass on census night. Eventually I found that he was staying with his aunt Mary3 Brady and her husband, Francis Reynolds in Roosky, Co. Leitrim, about 12 miles away.
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Patrick3 Brady seems to have been close to the boys. When he died in 1957, Terence4 Boyle mentioned it to his brother Patrick4 in his Christmas card: " Well, I was surprised to hear Uncle Pat was dead, he must be near 100. No wonder he was silly, Lord have mercy on him, he was pretty good to us long ago."
This house was pointed out to me as Pat Brady’s house at Gaigue, though the attribution is not certain. It was derelict when this photo was taken about 2001; it has since been renovated.
In the 1911 Census, Patrick4 Boyle, 15 at the time, was not at home on census night, and he was staying with his uncle Pat3 Brady at Gaigue. By all accounts, uncle and nephew were close, so this may have been a substitute father-son relationship for both of them, which lasted up to Brady's death in 1957, when he was 95.
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Pat3 Brady was still unmarried in the 1911 census, where he gave his age as 42 (he was in fact 49) and his occupation as Magistrate and farmer. The following year, (23 November 1912) he married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Higgins, daughter of William Higgins and Mary Duignan of Rathmore, who was twenty years his junior. It may have been through this connection that Patrick4 Boyle eventually married Katie Higgins, whose father was a cousin (1st or 2nd) of Lizzie's.
There were no children of the marriage, and Patrick4 Boyle having been close to his uncle, and having worked alongside him for many years, had expectations that the farm would be left to him. This was not to be, however. Pat and Lizzie eventually moved to Newtownforbes and sold the farm. On his death Lizzie went to live as his housekeeper with her brother, Canon James Higgins (right) to whom went what was left of the proceeds of the farm on her death in 1963.
Obituary for Elizabeth Higgins Brady from the Longford Leader. The lengthy list of priests attending the funeral was intended to convey the deceased's social standing in the community
Terence3 Brady also had some significant connections with the Boyles. Terence went to Liverpool in the late 1880s, and quickly established himself in business with considerable success. He may have been assisted in this by his brother, Rev. John, who went there after his ordination in 1883 and would have been useful in introducing him to important people in the Irish Catholic community. His older brother Philip also appears in Liverpool at this time and may have already been in business there. Later, we find at least two of his Boyle nephews, Terence and Peter working in Liverpool, and it is highly likely that Terence Brady, by then an important figure in the community, would have provided them with support. Both Terence and Peter Boyle later went to the USA. On his immigration documents, Peter give Terence Brady as his next of kin, and when he died in 1934, Terence Brady left Peter the sum of £500 in his will, clearly a mark of his appreciation .