The Laceys

NOTE: This post was written in 2013, and since then I have learned more accurate information about our Lacey family. I'm leaving this post up for posterity and for the comments, but for more current and in-depth details about the Lacey family of Rossadillisk, Ireland, click here. If you are connected to the Lacey, Feeney, Coyne, King, or other related families of Rossadillisk and surrounding communities, I'd love to hear from you.
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Our Lacey family comes from Rossadillisk, Ireland. This is a very small community located adjacent to the harbor town of Cleggan, and west of Clifden in County Galway, Ireland. Historically, Rossadillisk and its neighbor towns were populated with fishermen and their families. As far back as we know, the Laceys were fishermen, making their living at sea. Upon their deaths, they were buried on Omey Island, which at high tide is cut off from the mainland by water.

The old Lacey home in Rossadillisk, Ireland

Bartley Lacey and His Descendants (this information is out of date and has been corrected at this link)

Our first known Lacey ancestor was Bartholomew "Bartley" Lacey. We do not know the name of his wife, but together they had five children in Rossadillisk.

i. MICHAEL LACEY, born about 1845 in Ireland. He married Ellen in 1888.

ii. MARK LACEY, born about 1848 in Ireland; died 1908 in Rossadillisk, Ireland. He married (1) Bridget Feeney in 1873 and (2) Mary Coyne in 1880.

iii. VALENTINE LACEY, born 1850 in Rossadillisk, Ireland. He married Anne Toole in 1872.

iv. PATSY LACEY

v. MARY LACEY. She married Patrick Feeney.


Mark Lacey and His Descendants

Our line of the family descends from Bartley Lacey’s son Mark Lacey. He was born in Rossadillisk and married Bridget Feeney on January 15, 1873. The Feeney family name was common in Rossadillisk, and Bridget Feeney grew up in a seaside cottage just up the hill from the Lacey home.

Bridget Feeney’s parents are still unknown to us. The 1901 Irish Census lists two elderly Feeney men living in Rossadillisk who are of the right age to have been Bridget’s father. It seems possible that Bridget’s father was either Festy Feeney or Michael Feeney, but we cannot be certain.

Mark and Bridget Lacey had the following children:

i. JOHN LACEY, born in Rossadillisk.

ii. THOMAS MARK LACEY, born May 18, 1877 in Rossadillisk. He married Sarah Kilcullen.

Their eldest son, John Lacey, was born in either 1874 or 1876. It is believed that he went to America, but we do not have any record of him there. Their second son, Thomas Mark Lacey, was born in 1877 and left Ireland for America in the early 1900s. He is our line’s immigrant ancestor. I will discuss him further in my next post.

Bridget Feeney died young and Mark Lacey married for a second time, to Mary Coyne, sometime after 1880. Together, Mark and Mary had seven children:

i. MARK LACEY, born about 1887 in Rossadillisk; died October 28, 1927 at sea.

ii. PATRICK LACEY, born 1888 in Rossadillisk

iii. MARY LACEY, born about 1890 in Rossadillisk. She married Patrick O’Toole in 1911.

iv. MARTIN LACEY, born about 1891 in Rossadillisk; died October 28, 1927 at sea.

v. MARGARET ELLEN LACEY, born about 1899 in Rossadillisk. She married a man with the surname Hernon.

vi. GEORGE LACEY, born about 1901 in Rossadillisk; died October 28, 1927 at sea.

vii. WILLIAM LACEY, born about 1906 in Rossadillisk.

Mary Lacey married Patrick O'Toole of nearby Emlagh in February 1911. They continued to live in the area. Together they had six children: Michael, Thomas, Margaret, Anthony, Mary and Patrick. Their son Anthony O’Toole became a priest in the Tuam Diocese and died in an accident in the 1990s. Their son Patrick O’Toole married, had three children, and later died in Dublin.

Margaret Ellen Lacey married Michael Hernon, who may have been from Lettermullen in Connemara. They moved to Boston, where they had four children: Martin, Mary, Peter and Francis. We know that Margaret and Michael Hernon became naturalized American citizens and that Michael Hernon registered for service in World War I. On his draft registration card, he is listed as being tall, of medium build, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is classified as a railroad laborer living in South Boston. The descendants of this family continue to live in the Boston area. (Update: This has all proven to be incorrect. Please see updated information here.)

Three of the five sons born to Mark Lacey and Mary Coyne were killed in The Cleggan Disaster. In October 1927, a sudden storm blew up, taking the fishermen off guard and resulting in the deaths of 25 men from  Rossadillisk and nearby communities. Mark Jr., Martin and George Lacey were among those lost.

My great-great grandfather Mark Lacey died on August 10, 1908. He and his wife Mary Coyne Lacey are buried on Omey Island. Buried in the same plot is their daughter Mary Lacey O’Toole, son-in-law Patrick O’Toole and grandson Michael O’Toole.

Mark Lacey's grave on Omey Island, Ireland

Next: Thomas Lacey, Our Immigrant Ancestor