A Most Extraordinary Thing

We know that Maurice arrived in America sometime around 1910. As stated before, he was baptized and resided in the small hamlet of Ovens, west of Cork. We also know that he was a carpenter, from a family of carpenters, perhaps even a family of builders. As he told it, he was the youngest son and there simply wasn’t room for another family member in the firm. And, there’s that other complication - oftentimes, the youngest son was expected to enter the priesthood. When his future in Ireland seemed determined, and not at all to his liking, he rebelled and set out for the new world. This had been his story, as so clearly remembered by Mom.

We’ve often wondered what happened to the family he left behind.

As we were traveling around Cork City a few days ago, we became aware of the frequent occurrence of signs that read “O’Callaghan Properties Limited,” associated with large residential, commercial, and mixed use developments. We did some quick online research and soon found out that OPC was owned by Mr. Owen O’Callaghan, formerly of Ovens. Mr. O’Callaghan is indeed quite a successful businessman; multiple sources estimate his net worth in the hundreds of millions. We had hoped to learn more about him, and a possible family connection, through a company website, but could find none. More research indicated that he had started as a homebuilder in Ovens and had expanded to major projects in Cork, Dublin, London, and the Czech Republic.

I looked up the company phone and encouraged Candee to call to see if the firm had a website. She called, and was greeted by a most solicitous assistant. Candee explained the purpose for the call; the woman took our mobile number; and Mr. O’Callaghan called back within the hour. We are to meet with him on Monday at half nine in the morning. He said he had just what we needed - he had underwritten the services of a professor of history to research the story of the O’Callaghan clan, had had the results published in a book, and would like to provide us with a copy. He was quite certain that Mom is related in some way, shape, or form. Understandably, we are quite excited to make the acquaintance of “Mr. Owen.”