The Prolificacy of Eugene

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic church was constructed in Aghacommon from 1829 to 1832, following Catholic Emancipation, and registers from 1836 onward recorded baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Like many young couples of their time, Eugene McAtamney and his wife Betty (née Hennan) were frequent visitors to the chapel.

Catherine 1842

There's no record of Eugene's and Betty's marriage. It was common for couples to marry at the bride's home parish, and Betty may have come from elsewhere. It's also possible that they married prior to the start of Seagoe marriage registration.

Over the years, Eugene and Betty baptised ten children:

1. William 1837
2. Henry 1839
3. Catherine 1842
4. Elisa 1844*
5. Thomas 1846
6. Eleanor 1849
7. James 1851
8. Elisabeth 1854
9. Eugene 1856
10. Francis 1858

Betty died in 1864, shortly after civil registration was introduced in Ireland. Her death record indicates that she died of a fever at 50 years old (born about 1814). Her Rank or Profession was "Wife of Eugene McAtaminy" and present at her death was their daughter Catherine.

Eugene remarried in 1868. The civil record of his marriage to Mary Ann Walsh describes him as aged 50 (born about 1818), a widower and a farmer. His father was William, also a farmer. The father of the bride, Arthur Walsh, was a long-term neigbour at Aghacommon. Eugene's daughter Catherine made her mark as a witness.

Over the years, Eugene and Mary Ann registered and/or baptised another ten children:

1. Arthur 1869*
2. John 1870*
3. John 1872
4. Mary Ann 1875
5. Patrick 1878-1878
6. Margaret 1879
7. Charlotte 1882
8. Alice 1885
9. Arthur 1887-1889
10. Ellen 1891

When Ellen was born in 1891, her eldest brother William was aged about 54.

Eugene died in 1892 of Bronchitis and Apolexy. His age was recorded as 58, although he was probably about 74.

Mary Ann remarried about a year later, but died of Bronchitis herself in 1895. This 1901 census shows her youngest children scattered amongst their older siblings and other relatives.

It goes without saying that Eugene wins the McAtamney Prize for Most Prolific.

The children marked with an asterisk (*) in both these lists did not appear in later parish or civil records (marriages, deaths, burials, or births of their own children). And of course, the reuse of a name means that a child had died.

It was not customary to hold funerals for children - they were simply buried in the family plot at the cemetery - so burial records typically don't exist for them, even into the 20th century.

And in the early days of the start of civil registration, it was not uncommon for parents to skip civil registration of children who died, although baptism was of the utmost importance. Registration of children who lived was frequently delayed, and the records are full of children who were ostensibly baptised days before they were born.