Connection Combat: Battle of the Irish Women - Maureen O'Hara vs. Eithne Bhraonáin (Enya)

Question

Since this month celebrates both the Irish and women, why not have a battle of Irish women for our Connection Combat?

Maureen O'Hara was an Irish-American actress, a famous redhead known for playing fiercely passionate but sensible heroines, usually in westerns and adventure films.  She starred often alongside John Wayne.

Eithne Bhraonáin, better known as Enya, is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. She has sold 26.5 million albums in the US and an estimated 80 million worldwide, making her not only one of the world's best-selling artists but also Ireland's best-selling solo artist.

Maureen O'Hara

vs

Enya

Ready, set, CONNECT!

The rules and guidelines are here, and post in this thread once you've made a connection so we can declare a winner! 

Remember, the goal is to connect one of these individuals to the previous month's winner -  Alex Haley.

If you need to be added to a Trusted List, let me know and I will add you.

The winning profile will be featured as one of our Special Connections (like AJ Jacobs and Kevin Bacon) so members can have a chance to see how they are connected.

 

Comments

I have started adding profiles to one of Maureen's husbands, Charles F Blair Jr.

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Awesome!

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Thank you, Jayme, Scott, and Eowyn!

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I have added several generations for the Blair line in Vermont.  A nice double line to Spencer and Trumbull.

Answer 1

I think I have a connection for Maureen through her 2nd husband - I have to wait for the links to update, but it appears that Mr. Price has a "Gill" ancestor who is now connected. We'll see how far away it is once the links are updated.

Thanks.

Comments

Maureen is 29 degrees from Kevin Bacon, 27 degrees from Alex Haley, 32 degrees from Mark Hamill, 28 degrees from AJ Jacobs and 29 degrees from Queen Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth Realms on our single family tree. Check your connections or find your genealogical relationship with Maureen.

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you won!!!! :-)

Answer 2

I'm starting on Maureen - she was on my wish list somewhere for a connection.

Comments

Great, thanks!

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Some progress - slow, but steady. Since Jayme is working on Mr. Blair, I've started in on Mr. Price. Got one of his great-grandfathers entered, and have more that can be added. Just going to take some time to get it all put in the profiles.

Answer 3

I am going to tackle Enya.  Wish me luck :-)

Comments

Nice, thanks Leigh! :)

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Can we change Enya's birthname to Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin.   "ni" should not be considered as a middle name.  Would suggest Bhraonáin as the LNAB with her current last name being "ni Bhraonáin".  Also her names have been anglicised to "Enya Patricia Brennan".

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I always thought Ni or Nee meant born as, and is not a name but a reference to the LNAB. My Grandmother Honora Troy nee Burke had the maiden name of Burke. Any thoughts?

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"ni" means descendant of - used for females

Ó means descendant of  - used for males

both are often used as part of the family name

= same as O'Donnell etc & MacDonnell etc - but then a girl could be NicDonnell if she's Irish

found this example in Peerage http://www.thepeerage.com/p38194.htm  - wife of Eamon de Valera was Sinéad Ni Fhlannagáin

 

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Sharon, "née" is French - it's the feminine form of "born" as you mention. Ni, Ó, and Mac are Irish Gaelic.

Answer 4

We've connected Maureen - once I get on the trusted list for Enya, I'll take a look at her family and see if I can help find her a connection too.

Comments

Awesome! Great work!

Also, I added you to Enya's trusted list. Thanks!

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I've created the profile for Enya's paternal grandfather, Harry Harden. This could be an interesting one if we can pin it down, as sources point to his "Cockney" heritage - implying London, England as either his birth place or his upbringing. Either way, it's a small clue. I've tied a bunch of potential sources to his profile. If we can somehow find a connection to the right Harry Harden here, we might open things up a bit into the era where records are a bit easier to pursue.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Harden-1051

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Scott, based on this old query let's consider that Harry Harden may be Leo's stepfather and Mina's name was once Linehan:

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BRENNAN/2010-04/1271026884

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That conflicts directly with Leo's own interview, where he states that his father is Harry. It also conflicts with his mother's report that the wrong last name was recorded on his birth certificate (should have been Harden and not Brennan). While I agree that there is a possibility that Harry was a stepfather, I suspect based on the reports I've seen so far that Harry was more likely to be his father than not.

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Good call! We could add Thomas Brennan as a spouse of Mina, but I can't find their marriage announcement on Find My Past. Maybe someone else can find it?

According to those other researchers Thomas Brennan married Bessie Mina Linehan in 1907 in County Cavan, Ireland.

Answer 5

I am 22 degrees from Maureen O'Hara (via her husband Charles Blair) and 24 degrees from Alex Haley.

I'd have to sit down and figure out how they are connected to each other - both go through my maternal grandmother's family line going back to early New England.

Answer 6

Almost seven years later, Maureen O'Hara is one of this week's featured profiles and Enya still has an incorrect surname and is still unconnected.

I have left several comments on Enya's profile in recent months, and am happy to fix the errors and start adding connections myself if anyone cares to add me to the relevant trusted lists.