Historical return of the Kiltoom diaspora marks moving homecoming
Mike Rattigan with his family. Mike, who passed away in 2024, had planned to make the trip to Ireland. His daughter Michelle Rattigan Webb is the trip leader to Kiltoom in his memory.
The forthcoming visit of a group of American families to Kiltoom will mark a deeply moving and historic homecoming. Descendants of Irish emigrants, the families will be in Ireland from April 25th to May 5th, with visits to Kiltoom and Athlone taking place from May 2nd.
During their stay, they will walk once more on the land of their ancestors and for many, it will be the first such journey since their great great grandfather and his siblings left Kiltoom between the 1830s and the years of the Great Famine.
Their forebears were among those forced to emigrate amid hardship and upheaval, including the devastating years of Black ‘47, a period that left an indelible mark on both the local community and the Irish diaspora abroad.
At the heart of this story is Patrick Rattigan of Lisbaun, one of a large family born to Bernard (known locally as Byran) Rattigan and Margaret Kelly of Lisbaun/Feamore in Kiltoom. Patrick emigrated at approximately 15 years of age, as part of the early waves of emigration from Kiltoom and County Roscommon in the years preceding the Great Famine, a period marked by deep hardship and lingering upheaval following the 1798 rebellion.
His journey was arduous. Like many of his contemporaries, Patrick likely made his way to Dublin - whether by coach or on foot - before boarding a vessel to Liverpool, and from there crossing the Atlantic to New York, eventually settling in Boston. There, he married Mary Curley, believed to have been from Kiltoom. Following her untimely death, he remarried Mary Cunniffe, also thought to share Kiltoom roots. From these uncertain beginnings, Patrick’s family endured, prospered, and flourished. His descendants became educated, industrious, and resilient, ultimately spreading across the United States, with many settling in Seattle and throughout Washington State.
This journey is a powerful testament to the endurance and resolve of the sons and daughters of the Kiltoom and South Roscommon diaspora - those who, driven by necessity, left their homeland during dark and challenging times, yet carried its spirit with them across generations. Their return today stands as a poignant and a full circle testimony: from exile to homecoming.
One of the most meaningful aspects of this visit is the dedication of these families to tracing their lineage and preserving their heritage.
Their efforts have led them back to the beloved Kiltoom of Bernard and Margaret Rattigan (née Kelly), who are laid to rest in the old Kiltoom graveyard on the Strevan’s Estate.
Margaret is believed to have been buried around 1840, with Bernard following circa 1860. Remarkably, their headstone still stands - a silent witness to history and a focal point for remembrance.
During their visit, the group will undertake a historical tour of what might be described as the “Kiltoom Triangle,” encompassing Curramore, Feamore, Lisbaun, and the surrounding townlands - places deeply interwoven with their family story.
Leading the group is Michelle Rattigan Webb, accompanied by six of her first cousins. This journey is undertaken in honour of her late father, Mike Rattigan of Ephrata, Washington - a respected rancher, developer, building contractor, businessman, and dedicated community figure. Mike passed away in January 2024 and sadly did not live to make this return himself.
Patrick Rattigan’s siblings also formed part of this wider emigrant story.
His younger brother John remained in Ireland, living in Curramore with his wife Anne Heavey of Corraclough, where they raised their family. Other siblings, including Michael and Bridget Connolly of Lisbaun emigrated to Boston, as did Ellen Rattigan and her husband Thomas Killian (or Killion) of Curraclough.
Further connections extend to Sarah (also Boston), and possibly to Thomas, believed to have links to Sligo or California, whose descendants may have established a holiday resort and later confirmed family ties through DNA testing. The whereabouts of their sister Margaret and her journey have remained a mystery, but it is believed that she also emigrated.
John Rattigan of Curramore represents the only branch of the family that remained rooted in Kiltoom. He was a granduncle of Michelle’s grandfather, John Rattigan, who later became a rancher in Washington State. Another descendant, Thomas, pursued a distinguished career as a doctor, establishing a medical practice in Seattle, while Austin Heath of New Jersey the great great grandson of Michael and Bridget Connolly both of Lisbaun currently holds lectureships at Princetown and John Hopkins universities. Austin visited Kiltoom recently and was met with a great welcome from his great great grandmother Bridget Connolly’s people of Lisbaun.
For those who emigrated, life in Boston presented immense challenges. Navigating the realities of a rapidly expanding city - and at times its harsher undercurrents - required resilience, courage, and determination. By all accounts, the Rattigans, the Connolly’, the Killions, the Farrells, the Mees and the Melias - all of Kiltoom family origins, who emigrated at that time - met these challenges with integrity and strength, building lives of purpose and success.
This return to Kiltoom is more than a visit - it is a reconnection with identity, heritage, and place. It is a tribute to those who left, those who remained, and those who now return, carrying with them the enduring legacy of their ancestors.
The visitors are looking forward to saying hello, chatting and meeting any of their distant relatives and friends from Kiltoom and Athlone during their short visit. All are warmly invited to a welcoming night out of traditional and Irish folk music, which is planned for Saturday, May 2nd in St Brigid’s GAA Centre.
A Céad Míle Fáilte, in true Kiltoom style, will be extended to the visitors.
The night will give them an opportunity to meet local families and distant relatives from whom their parents and grandparents were deprived through forced emigration from the dark times in Ireland - a period of conflict between the rebellion of 1798 and the Great Famine of Black 47. The family will be staying in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel for the May Bank Holiday weekend prior to departing for Seattle.
