Familiar Lurgan Addresses

During my trip to Lurgan in May, 2019, I searched for some of the addresses I'd seen in the genealogical records. Most were gone - Black's Court and May's Court are no more - but I was able to visit a couple, and took some pictures. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Church Walk

77 Church Walk, Lurgan, was the residence of my great grandparents, Patrick McAtamney and his wife Mary (Sinnamon), and their children, in the 1911 census.

My grandfather Francis Edmund was three years old in 1911, and lived here with four brothers and three sisters. The family had already lost a girl to an infected foot, and a boy to scarlet fever.

The following year, another brother was born in Lurgan, and a few years later, the family moved to Glasgow, Scotland where, in 1916, another brother came along.

Ulster Street

My great grandmother Mary died in Glasgow in 1922, and a few years later, Patrick returned to Lurgan, leaving his youngest children in the care of their sisters.

Patrick died in 1938 at 26 Ulster Street, Lurgan, the home of his son William. The house was now for sale, and badly in need of renovation.

Patrick's sister Elizabeth McDonald died a few months before him, at her home, around the corner at 4 Clara Street.

St. Peter's Church, Lurgan

During my trip to Lurgan in May, 2019, I visited St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

St. Patrick's is and was also known as the Shankill Roman Catholic Parish Church. It is a beautiful building, and quite imposing. Building started on St. Peter's in 1830. It was dedicated in 1833 and has since been remodelled and enlarged.

There is no cemetery at St. Patrick's. Burials used to take place at nearby Dougher Cemetery, and now at St. Colman's Cemetery on the outskirts of Lurgan.

The ornate marble was installed between 1922 and 1924, long after my grandpa, Frank McAtamney, was baptised here in 1908.

Aghacommon 2019

I visited Lurgan in May, 2019, and took a few pictures whilst wandering around Aghacommon. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

The Corner House Bar stands at the intersection of Ballynamoney, Derrymacash, and Kilvergan Roads.

It looks old, and I wondered if it was there when our ancestors made their way to church. I stopped in for a cup of tea, and asked the waitress how long the building had been there. She estimated it was at least 25 years.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery, on Derrymacash Road. I took more pictures in and around the church.

The road to Kilvergan Townland cuts through the countryside. Now open fields, this land was once filled with homesteads.

Looking west from Kilvergan Road, a view of Aghacommon that Griffith says would have been plots 13 and 22a in 1864.

And in the distance to the left, perhaps plot 14, the homestead of the prolific Eugene McAtamney and his 20 children.

Aghacommon with Griffith's 1864 Map References

At the corner of Kilvergan Road and Tannaghmore Gardens.

The Griffith map says this is the northern corner of Aghacommon Plot 9, which was George Ruddell's farm in 1864.

Looking south across Aghacommon Plot 9.

This is likely the same view that George Ruddell had in 1864.

St. Patrick's Church, Aghacommon

During my visit to Lurgan in May, 2019, I ventured out to Aghacommon Townland, and visited St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

St. Patrick's was and is still referred to as Derrymacash Parish Church, but it's not actually in Derrymacash Townland, which is in Montiaghs Parish just along the road.

The sanctuary at St. Patrick's was moved from the south end of the building to the north between 1923 and 1926.

Whilst sitting in the front pew, I noticed the inscription on the step in front of the sanctuary. It says Pray for your pastor Father McCartan A.D. 1915. Fr. McCartan's name appears on many of the church records we've pored over.

I found several McAtamney graves in the cemetery, but I was glad to see a plaque for those in unmarked graves, which includes almost all of my McAtamney ancestors.