Maine governor's press rep is proud of her West Cork links

ONE of the visitors to West Cork this week, as part of the State of Maine Trade Delegation to Ireland and the UK, has West Cork links.

Julie Rabinowitz, who is press secretary to the office of Maine Governor Paul LePage, has discovered that her maternal great grandparents hail from near Leap.

While the governor will not be visiting Ireland, due to illness, Ms Rabinowitz is part of the travelling delegation.

In correspondence with The Southern Star this week, Ms Rabinowitz outlined her roots.

Her maternal grandfather’s parents were John Timothy O’Connor from Cork (not sure of location), and his wife, Margaret O’Donovan was born in Reavouler, near Leap, and baptised in St Mary’s Church in Kilmacabea.

‘Their first daughter, Johanna Catherine O’Connor, was born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. She met and married John Joseph McCarthy, born in Dunmanway, in the townland of Droumdrasdil. His mother was Honora Farrell,’ she explained.

 John Joseph McCarthy was born in the parish of Fanlobbus and they emigrated to American (Boston) in 1888.

‘DNA tests of our O’Connor cousins have tested as matches to descendants of O’Donovan Rossa, aka Jeremiah O’Donovan of Reenascreena,’ she said. ‘When my cousin started researching the 12 Donovans born in Reavouler, (an unmarked townland near Drinagh), she found four family lines which claimed they were first cousins to O’Donovan Rossa. Julia Donovan’s daughter Ella Sullivan Carney had no children, but in 1966 taught her nieces that we have the blood of five Donovans: Donovan Scartagh, Bawn, Deel, Baid and Island.’

Julie’s maternal grandmother’s parents were Shaughnessys/Devaneys (Devilley) from Galway.