Leghowney Cassidys

The oldest Leghowney Cassidy that we know of is Mary (McGuire) Cassidy, who was born sometime in the late 1700s and had eight children. We don’t know the name of her husband.

Descendants of Mary (McGuire) Cassidy (born late 1700s in Leghowney):

  1. Margaret Cassidy (1815-1920) married Edward Murphy (1813-1890) of Leghowney
    1. Bridget Murphy (1866-1957) married James Cassidy (1854-1938) of Leghowney
      1. Edward Cassidy (1886-1953) married Elizabeth Slevin (1885-1963). Edward owned a drapery business in Ballyshannon and Elizabeth was the principal of the Fassagh national school and spent 45 years in education. They had no children.
      2. Andrew Cassidy (1888-1951) married Marion Cassidy (1895-1980) of Aughlim. He immigrated to Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1912 and fought in World War I. Their children were Frank, Andy and Marion Theresa Cassidy.
      3. Frank Cassidy (1890-1982) married Eileen Cassidy (1912-2004) of Aughlim, Marion’s sister, in 1943. Frank immigrated to America via Ellis Island in 1914, served in World War I and settled in the Bronx and later New Jersey. Their children were Jim and Donald Cassidy. More on Frank Cassidy.
      4. Mary Ann Cassidy (1893-1977). She stayed on the family farm in Leghowney and was the last to inhabit it.
      5. Paddy Cassidy (1894-1968). He served in the Irish Volunteers during the War of Independence and was captured after a gun fight in Cavan. He was sent to Derry Jail in 1920 and then to the Ballykinlar Internment Camp run by the British. He returned to the farm in 1921 and raised sheep and cattle.
      6. Michael Cassidy (1896-1972) married Marie Connelly (1902-1987) of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. He immigrated to the United States in 1925, settling in Bayonne, N.J. He was a New York City bus driver for many years, and built his own house from the ground up. His children were Ann (McMullan), Michael Cassidy, Peggy (Hein) and John Cassidy.
      7. Maggie Alice Cassidy (1898-1962). She remained in Leghowney.
      8. John James Cassidy (1900-1919). John died during the flu pandemic of the late 1910s at the age of 18.
      9. Anthony Cassidy (1905-1975). Anthony was also active in the Irish Ware of Independence and participated in the raid on the Barnesmore police barracks, where he sustained a permanent wound to a finger that later precluded his selection into the Garda Siochana (Irish national police. He spent his life farming.
    2. Mary Anne Murphy (c. 1846-????) married Neil Gallagher (1836-????) of Meenadreen. They immigrated to Pennsylvania.
      1. Neale V. Gallagher (1875-1940) married Nellie Duffy (1877-????) of Pennsylvania. Neale was a mining superintendent. His children were Walter Neil Gallagher, a Navy dentist, and a daughter whose name we don’t know.
      2. Cecelia Gallagher
      3. Catherine Gallagher
      4. Mitchell Gallagher
      5. Edmund Gallagher
      6. E. Joseph Gallagher
      7. Daughter
      8. Daughter
      9. Daughter
    3. Margaret Murphy married James Sleavin of Curleagh
      1. Mary Sleavin (1868-????), born in Leghowney.
      2. John Sleavin
      3. James Sleavin
      4. William Sleavin
  2. Mary Cassidy (c. 1825- c. 1911) married Patrick Bradley (1825-1910)
    1. Patrick Diver Bradley (1849-1928)
    2. Rose Anne Bradley (1852-1937)
    3. Jeremiah Bradley (1856-1908)
    4. Alice Bradley (1859-1888)
    5. Michael Bradley (1862-1929)
    6. John Bradley (1869-1920)
  3. Alice Cassidy immigrated to Canada but not much else is known.
  4. Bridget Cassidy immigrated to the United States.
  5. Patrick Cassidy, whose son was Phil Cassidy.
  6. Dennis Cassidy
    1. Mickey Cassidy
    2. Patrick Cassidy
    3. Dennis Cassidy
    4. James Cassidy
    5. John Cassidy
    6. Joseph Cassidy
  7. Sally Cassidy married a McGinty.
  8. Catherine Cassidy married a Quinn and the family moved to Rhode Island.

Another branch of Leghowney Cassidys goes back to the 1820s.

Francis Cassidy (c. 1820-c. 1890) married Mary Devlin (1827-1897) of Leghowney. Some of their sons traveled the world, but all returned to Leghowney and are buried at the cemetery at Clar Chapel in Donegal. We don’t know exactly how many children Francis and Mary had, but here is a rough listing:

  1. Johnny Cassidy (c. 1853-1936) married Ellen Gallagher (1868-1905).
    1. Hugh Cassidy (1892-1976) married Elizabeth Murphy (1906-1969) of Leghowney. Their children were Edward Hugh and “Big Michael.”
    2. Mary Anne Cassidy (1894-1971) married Joseph Hone (1888-????) of Clogher. Their children were John, Joseph, Maggie Ellen (Drury), James and Kathleen (Houston) Hone.
    3. Francis Cassidy (1896-1988), aka “Big Frank,” married Alice Connolly. He immigrated to the Bronx. Their children were Frank and John Cassidy.
    4. John Patrick Cassidy (1899-1963) immigrated to Fort Lee, New Jersey.
    5. James Cassidy (1903-1961) married Margaret Murphy (1922-1997) and stayed in Leghowney. Their children are Kathleen, Hugh, James, Philip, Eileen, Eamon and John.
  2. James Cassidy (1854-1938) married Bridget Murphy (1866-1957) of Leghowney. See above for details.
  3. Mary Ann Cassidy (1861-1921) married Philip Murphy (1859-1904). We don’t know if they had children or any other details about them. We believe Philip Murphy’s brother was Edward Murphy and his father was James Murphy.
  4. Michael Cassidy (1863-????). We don’t know anything more about Michael.
  5. Francis Cassidy (1869-????). We don’t know anything more about Francis.
  6. Edward Cassidy (1869-????) married Mary Ann Gallagher (1867-1908), the aunt of Margaret Gorman, Aggie Fury, Hugh and Frank, all of the Dykeman Street area of Manhattan. Edward and Mary Ann, however stayed in Donegal and had five children.
    1. Mary Anne Cassidy (1894-1907)
    2. Margaret Cassidy (1897-????) married Francis Murphy (1891-????). They lived in Leghowney, but we don’t know anything more about them.
    3. Tommy Cassidy (1899-1969) married Mary Green of County Mayo. Tommy immigrated to Boston and settled in Somerville. Their daughter is Mary Margaret Cassidy.
    4. Francis Cassidy (1902-1965). He was known as “The Young Fella” and the “Young One” because he was one of Frank and Mary’s youngest grandchildren. Read more about “The Young Fella.”
    5. Ellen Cassidy (1905-????) married William Carroll and settled in Glasgow, Scotland.
    6. After the death of his wife, Mary Ann Gallagher in 1908, Edward Cassidy remarried to Anne McCloskey (1876-????) and had two children: Mary Anne Cassidy and Bridget (Sweeney).
  7. Patrick Cassidy (1871-????) married Catherine Harvey (1871-????) of Cullionboy.
  8. Ann Cassidy married Hugh Gallagher
  9. Tommy Cassidy
  10. Andy Cassidy
  11. Margaret Cassidy married Frank Murphy
  12. Hugh Cassidy
  13. Katie Cassidy

To add information to this page or to correct any mistakes, please e-mail Chris at donegalcassidy@gmail.com.