Protestants and Catholics in County Cavan

County Cavan is one of the nine counties of the ancient province of Ulster, the northernmost province of Ireland. When Ireland was partitioned in 1921/2, six of the nine Ulster counties formed Northern Ireland, which is still part of the United Kingdom, while the three remaining counties (Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan) became part of Southern Ireland and subsequently part of the Republic of Ireland. 

The vast majority of CONDR*Ns in nineteenth century Ireland were Catholics. Few CONDR*Ns were located in Ulster, and few CONDR*Ns were Protestants. Most of the Protestant CONDR*Ns are found in Co. Cavan.

The Cavan CONDR*Ns are to be found in south and central Co. Cavan, in the registration districts of Bailieborough and Cavan, which lie wholly in the county, and in Granard, Oldcastle and Kells (which lie only partly in Co. Cavan). In the 1901 census of Ireland, 34 CONDR*Ns were living in Co. Cavan: half of those were Protestant (Church of Ireland).

There are two Catholic CONDR*N families in Co. Cavan in 1901. One is John CONDRON (a coachman, born in King’s Co. in about 1844) with his wife Margaret WARD from Co. Monaghan.  The second is James CONDREN (a retired policeman, born in Co. Westmeath in about 1854) with his wife Sarah DIVER from Co. Donegal. John and Margaret had children Margaret (1876), Bridget (1879), Elizabeth (1881), William (1883), Andrew (1886), John Joseph (1890), Henry Edward (1892) and James (1894). James and Sarah had children Mary Anne (1886), Catherine Sarah (1887), Anne Mary (1889), John Francis (1891), Margaret Teresa (1892), James Patrick (1895), Elizabeth Agnes (1897) and Thomas (1901).

There are three Protestant CONDR*N families in the county in 1901. All have roots in Co. Cavan, as far as I have traced them in the early or mid nineteenth century. Thomas CONDRON (a farmer, born about 1861 and son of a Thomas CONDRON) and his wife Jane DOUGLAS had children Thomas (1885), Charles (1887), John (1888), Harriet (1890), William (1894) and Eleanor Jane (1895). James CONDRON (also a farmer, born about 1853 and son of a Thomas CONDRON) and his wife Jane FAULKNER had children Eliza Jane (1881), Thomas (1882), Isabella (1885), James (1888) and Louisa (1895). The third family is Eliza STEPHENS (formerly CONDRON, nee CUMMINS), wife of James STEPHENS and widow of John CONDRON (son of a Thomas CONDRON), with her daughters Elizabeth CONDRON (1869) and Mary Jane CONDRON (1871).

A Protestant family who emigrated from Co. Cavan and therefore don’t appear in the 1901 Irish census were Thomas CONDRON (born in about 1803) and his wife Eliza McGOVERN. They had children Maryanne (1824), Catherine (1826), Martha (1829), Elizabeth (1831), John (1833), Robert (1836), Jane (1838) and Thomas (1841), all of whom were baptized in Kildrumferton parish, Co. Cavan, and Isabella (1844) and William (1846). In the 1851 UK census, the parents and younger children are found in Kirkdale, Lancashire, England; whereas the three eldest daughters all emigrated to Australia in 1844 aboard the ship “Wallace”. According to various public family trees on ancestry.com, the rest of the family subsequently emigrated to Australia and have descendants there.

As always, I would welcome further information about any of these families: email Condran [AT] one-name.org .