Listening to the Past
Family history is not just a list of names and dates. It is a tapestry woven with hopes, heartaches, and the quiet heroism of everyday lives. When I first set out to trace the roots of my family, I wasn’t just searching for documents or tombstones. I was listening — listening for the whispers of those who came before me, for the unseen threads that still tug at our hearts today. What follows is not just history. It’s memory. It’s love. It’s a reaching across time, from their world into ours.
The Threads That Bind Us
Sometimes, I think about how small choices ripple through time.
How a life lived quietly, a simple burial, a chance meeting — can echo across centuries.
In the little Irish town of Newcastle West, long before my time, there lived a man named Thomas Fitzgerald. I know nothing about him apart from the fact that he passed away on a cold, grey day — March 25, 1707 — and was laid to rest in the stillness of St. David’s Graveyard. I doubt it every occured to him that hundreds of years later, I — his 7×great-granddaughter — would be searching for him, trying to stitch our family’s story back together.
Of THOMAS FITZGERALD
Who Died Ye 25th March 1707
Aged ??? ?ears God Rest Ihis
Soul In Peace Amen
Fast forward through the centuries, and two sisters — Bridget and Margaret Mulcahy, my great-aunts — would also find their way to rest in that same hallowed ground. It feels almost deliberate, like a whisper through the ages: we are still here. Their presence at Thomas’s side, whether by fate or quiet family tradition, became a signpost for me, marking the path back home. I did not know about the grave of Thomas Fitzgerald until the burials of Bridget and Margaret Mulcahy.
And then there is James Clifford. Baptized on another cold morning, December 8, 1815, in that same small town. His parents, Hugh Clifford and Catherine Maguire, must have stood proudly before the altar as their son’s life officially began, supported by sponsors William Colls and Catherine Shea — names now barely more than fading ink in parish records.
James Clifford Baptismal Certificate:
James grew up around Newcastle West, walking the same streets, breathing the same sharp Irish air, perhaps even brushing past the gravestones where his ancestors lay. Somewhere along the way, he met Johanna Fitzgerald — another soul carrying centuries of history quietly in her blood.
Did they fall in love under the shadow of the castle ruins? Or was it a match arranged over careful conversations between families?
We may never know.
But what we do know is that on February 7, 1837, James Clifford and Johanna Fitzgerald stood before witnesses — David Clifford and Michael Normile — and promised their futures to each other.
Marriage Certificate James Clifford and Johanna Fitzgerald
I am guessing that Thomas Fitzgerald was Johanna’s great, great grandfather.
Johanna would go on to bear at least ten children that we know of. Ten new lives, ten new beginnings, all springing from that moment.
Ten reasons why I am here today, holding their memories close, piecing together the delicate, golden threads that bind us across the years.
The children of James Clifford & Johanna Fitzgerald were all born in Mahoonagh Parish, Co. Limerick:
- 1838 – Mary baptized 6 Feb, sponsors were John Clifford and Catherine Flanagan
- 1840 -Margaret baptised 26 May, sponsors were Michael Creedon and Mgt Clifford. Margaret married John Mulcahy. (see Clifford, Margaret 1840 – 1895 & Mulcahy, John 1833 – 1885) She died 1895, aged 45
- 1842 – David baptised 25 April, sponsors were Patrick Clifford and Margaret Clifford
- 1845 – Thomas was baptised on 5 Jan, sponsors were John McEnery and Bridget Normile. Thomas married Anne Finnegan see Clifford. Thomas 1845 – 1932 & Finnegan. Anne 1856 – 1944. He died 1932, aged 87.
- 1847 – Michael was baptized on Jan 24, 1847. Sponsors Maria Clifford and Patrick Brown
- 1852 – John Clifford was baptized 29 August 1852. The sponsors were David Clifford and Margaret Clifford.
- 1855 – James Clifford was baptized on 4 Jan 1855. The sponsors were Denis Flanagan and Maria Clifford.
- 1856 Baptized July 12, 1856 – Dermot (Jeremiah) and died 18 Feb 1929. The baptism sponsors were John Pickley and Bridget Pickley.
- 1859 – Catherine was baptized on 8 Sept, 1859 and died 7 Feb 1902, aged 52. Her baptism sponsors were James Kennedy and Bridget Guiry.
1860 – Patrick was baptised on 6 July 1860. The baptism sponsors were Denis Normile and Marie Dee
James Clifford died in 1865 in Newcastle West, Limerick, Ireland, at the age of 50.
Johanna Fitzgerald Clifford died in 1866 aged 46
