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Denis Collins’ parents were John Collins (Ballinruane) and Mary Collins (Cappanihane)
Mary Mulcahy was born in 1900 to James Mulcahy and Margaret Clifford in Ballyallinin (Knockaderry). She was the eldest of 4 children – all girls, and the only one who married.
Denis Collins was born in 1891 in Ballinruane, Kilmeedy, Co. Limerick. He was the fourth of five children born to parents John Collins and Mary Collins (her maiden name was also Collins, and her father was named Denis). When his father died, he moved back to Cappanihane with his mother and siblings. When his brother Patrick died, the family moved again to Ballinruane. Cattle were still kept in Cappanihane, and the hay was saved every year but nobody lived there again until many, many years later when Denis’s son Christopher returned from England with his wife and children. Ownership of Cappanihane had been transferred to him by his brother, Daniel, who inherited the farm on the death of my grandfather.
I remember my grandfather Denis as a kind old man who wore the traditional peaked cap, walking me up the long passage from the farmhouse to the road in Ballinruane. It was summertime, and I was wearing a creamy-colored, patterned summer dress. We used to pretend I was a nurse, taking him for a walk. I remember his smile though I was only about 4 or 5 at the time.
I also remember going with the family to see him at St. Ita’s Nursing Home in Newcastle West sometime after that. He was sitting up in the bed – I remember it all looked so clean, pristine and tidy. He was either asleep or dead I don’t know which – but if he was dead they would probably have him lying flat on the bed.
I also have another memory of sitting at the kitchen table in the old farmhouse in Ballinruane but I think it was after the visit to the nursing home. My grandmother Mary and my aunts Margaret (Peg) and Mary (Mamie) were preparing green cabbage for the dinner so it must have been about 10 a.m. Suddenly everyone froze in silence as a weird but distinctive wailing or screaming came to us. The adults looked at each other, and I instinctively knew it was what we called the Banshee that we had heard. It was said in those days that when you heard the Banshee wailing it was the sign that somebody had just passed away. The adults said nothing, but I remember instinctively knowing as I saw each of them make the sign of the cross that my grandfather had passed.
Denis Collins was a volunteer in the 4th Battalion of the West Limerick Brigade.
Children of Denis Collins and Mary Mulcahy, Ballinruane
In 1929, Mary (Mamie) was born. She died in 1984 from a brain hemorrhage while carrying a bucket of water in the farmyard. She was 55 years old. She never married.
In 1930 John was born and he died in 1945 at the age of 15
In 1931, Denis was born. He married Nora Geehan and they moved to England, where they had 2 daughters. Denis died in Birmingham, aged 84, in 2015.
In 1933, James (my father) was born. He died in 2017, aged 84.
In 1934, William was born. He went to England, where he died in 2021, aged 87. He had Alzheimers. Never married.
In 1935, Patrick was born, and he died shortly afterwards in the same year.
In 1936, Robert was born. He went to England, where he died. Never married. At one time, Bert went off the grid for about 6 years, and nobody knew where to find him.
In 1937, Patrick Joseph was born. Everyone called him Pat Joe. He also went to England, where he died in 2017 at age 80. He also had Alzheimers. Never married.
In 1939, Christopher was born. He married Mary O’Connor, and they went to England and later returned home with their children to live in Cappanihane. His wife Mary died in 2000 at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
In 1940, Daniel was born. He inherited and worked the farm in Ballinruane until he signed it over to his nephew Stephen. He also kept cattle in Cappanihane and cycled from Ballinruane to Cappanihane every day to check on them and tend them. He lived out his life with Stephen and his family in Ballinruane and died in 2011. He had Parkinsons Disease.
In 1942, Michael was born. He worked the farm with Daniel, and later in life he went to work in the forge in Kilmeedy with his best friend Martin Myles. He married Martin’s sister Helen. She died in 2005 and Michael died in 2020. Mike was a great singer; – loved Irish rebel songs and the songs of Jim Reeves and Slim Whitman.
In 1946, the last child, Margaret (Peg), was born. She married Richard Irwin and went to live in Kilmeedy, Co. Limerick. I was their bridesmaid.
Peg Collins First Communion
Denis Collins and his wife, Mary Mulcahy are buried in the new graveyard in Granagh, Co. Limerick.