Patrick Dargan / Dorgan is the earliest securely documented head of the Carrigkilter Dorgan family in this archive. Records of his children place Patrick and Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn in the East Cork parish network from 1838, while valuation records document Patrick at Carrigkilter from 1847 onward.
Patrick appears as Dargan in important nineteenth-century land records, while later family records more often use Dorgan. His documented family and landholding provide the foundation for later branches in Cloyne, County Cork, and Providence, Rhode Island.
Patrick’s own baptism and parentage have not yet been proved. Current research therefore distinguishes his documented life and children from earlier Dargan / Dorgan candidates whose relationship to him remains under investigation.
For the history of the Dargan and Dorgan surname forms and the Irish name Ó Deargáin, see Jerry Kelly and the Origins of the Dorgan Name.
Why Patrick Dargan / Dorgan Matters
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan matters because he is the earliest securely documented head of the Carrigkilter family line. His children’s baptismal records establish the family in the East Cork parish network from 1838, and the valuation records place Patrick himself at Carrigkilter from 1847 onward.
His Carrigkilter landholding provides the geographical anchor for the family, while later records connect his children to several major branches. Mary Dorgan’s marriage to Jeremiah Healy established the Healy connection; Michael Dorgan’s marriage to Johanna Garde led to the Cloyne and Rock Street branch; and Patrick J. Dorgan’s marriage to Mary Catherine Hartnett and later emigration carried the family line to Rhode Island.
Patrick is therefore the central link between the early nineteenth-century East Cork records and the later documented Dorgan family branches. At the same time, his own parentage remains unresolved and should not be inferred from surname, proximity, or naming patterns alone.
Dargan and Dorgan Spelling
Patrick appears as Dargan in important nineteenth-century land records, while later family records more often use Dorgan. These spellings should be treated as historical variants when the surrounding evidence—place, relatives, dates, occupation, sponsors, witnesses, and landholding—supports the identification.
The spelling difference by itself does not prove that two records belong to different families, but neither should every Dargan or Dorgan record be assumed to belong to Patrick’s line. Each record must be evaluated on its own evidence.
In this archive, the exact spelling found in each original source is preserved. Dargan is used when that is the form recorded in valuation and land records, while Dorgan is used where later family records use that spelling.
For a fuller explanation of the surname history, see Dorgan Surname Origins / Ó Deargáin.
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter
Carrigkilter Land Evidence
The strongest evidence placing Patrick Dargan / Dorgan at Carrigkilter comes from the nineteenth-century valuation records. Together, these records establish a continuing landholding sequence before and through Griffith’s Valuation.
In the 1847 Valuation Office Tenure Book, Patrick Dargan is recorded at Carrigkilter in Ballintemple civil parish, Barony of Imokilly. This is the earliest securely documented land record presently placing Patrick at Carrigkilter.
A House Book dated 25 April 1848 continues the Carrigkilter evidence and records details of the holding, including a piggery and cow house. This adds physical detail to the property before the printed valuation.
Griffith’s Valuation of 1853 records Patrick Dargan as occupier at Carrigkilter, with Thomas G. Durdin as immediate lessor. The entry is associated with Ordnance Survey Sheet 89 and map reference 8.
Taken together, the 1847, 1848, and 1853 records form the principal land-evidence sequence for Patrick and provide the geographical anchor for the Carrigkilter family study.
Family Connections: Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn and the Children
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn are the documented parents of the principal Carrigkilter family group. Johanna’s given name appears in several forms across surviving records, including Johanna, Anne, and Nancy; these should be treated as documented name variants rather than separate women.
Their presently documented or strongly supported children are Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Timothy, David D., Michael, and Patrick J. Dorgan. The baptisms of Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Timothy, and David provide the strongest early parish-register evidence for the family. Michael and Patrick J. are securely connected through later marriage records.
These children carried the family into several later branches. Mary’s marriage to Jeremiah Healy established the Healy connection; Michael’s 1869 marriage to Johanna Garde led to the Cloyne and Rock Street branch; and Patrick J. Dorgan’s 1886 marriage to Mary Catherine Hartnett and later emigration carried the line to Rhode Island.
David D. Dorgan and Elizabeth Ahern / Ahearne also helped preserve the Carrigkilter property connection into the twentieth century through the later Healy and Graham family network.
View the Children of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna Flynn
For more about Johanna / Anne Flynn Dorgan, see Johanna / Anne Flynn Dorgan of East Cork.
The Cloyne Branch:
Michael Dorgan and Johanna Garde
One major branch of the Carrigkilter family descends through Michael Dorgan, son of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna Flynn. Michael married Johanna Garde in Cloyne on 26 January 1869. His marriage record is especially important because it directly identifies his parents and securely connects the Carrigkilter family with the later Cloyne branch.
Michael and Johanna’s son Patrick Dorgan was born on 19 November 1870 and later appears in the 1901 Census at House No. 17, Rock Street, Cloyne, in the household of his widowed mother, Johanna Garde Dorgan.
This younger Patrick must be kept separate from both the earlier Patrick Dargan / Dorgan of Carrigkilter and Patrick J. Dorgan, who married Mary Catherine Hartnett and emigrated to Rhode Island. The repeated use of the name Patrick makes spouses, parents, residences, and dates essential for distinguishing the different men.
The Rhode Island Branch:
Patrick J. Dorgan and Mary Catherine Hartnett
Another major branch of the Carrigkilter family descends through Patrick J. Dorgan, son of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna / Anne Flynn. Patrick J. married Mary Catherine Hartnett in Cloyne on 26 November 1886. Their marriage connected the Carrigkilter Dorgan family with the Hartnett and Duhig / Doohig family networks of East Cork.
Patrick J. Dorgan emigrated to the United States in 1896. Mary Catherine followed with the children in 1897, establishing the family’s Rhode Island branch. Their later records in Providence and Cranston document the transition from East Cork farming life to the next generations of the Dorgan family in America.
This Patrick J. Dorgan must be kept distinct from Michael and Johanna Garde’s son Patrick Dorgan of Cloyne. Their spouses, residences, parents, and later records clearly separate the two men.
The Carrigkilter Farm Sale and Emigration Story
The later history of the Carrigkilter family is closely tied to the 1896 sale of the farm occupied by Patrick J. Dorgan and his subsequent emigration to the United States.
In August 1896, the Cork Examiner reported the sale of Patrick Dorgan’s Carrigkilter holding, described as 37 acres, 1 rood, and 30 perches. The property was sold to Mrs. Margaret Curtin of Glanturkin for £142 10s. The acreage matches Patrick J. Dorgan’s 19 March 1892 Land Commission vesting order and is strongly corroborated by the 15.1504-hectare area recorded for modern Land Registry folio CK494.
Later that year, Patrick J. Dorgan left Ireland for the United States. Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan followed with their children in 1897. The farm sale therefore marks a major transition in this branch of the family—from Carrigkilter landholding in East Cork to settlement in Rhode Island.
The 1896 sale concerns the younger Patrick J. Dorgan, not the earlier Patrick Dargan / Dorgan who appears in the 1847–1853 Carrigkilter valuation records. Keeping those two generations distinct is essential.
Research Cautions and Open Questions
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan is securely documented at Carrigkilter, but his own baptism and parentage have not yet been proved. The 1847 Valuation Office record, the 1848 House Book, and Griffith’s Valuation of 1853 provide the strongest evidence for his residence and landholding.
The most important current clue to Patrick’s earlier family is an adult Daniel Dorgan who appears as sponsor at Mary Dorgan’s 1840 baptism. Because Patrick and Johanna’s son Daniel had been baptized only in 1838, the sponsor must have been an older Daniel. He may have been Patrick’s father, brother, uncle, or another close relative, but no relationship has yet been proved.
A Daniel Dargan / Dorgan also appears in later Garryvoe land records and is now one of the strongest candidates for further investigation. Whether he is the same man who sponsored Mary’s baptism, and whether he was related to Patrick, remain open questions.
Other East Cork Dargan / Dorgan households—including those at Garryvoe, Kilmacahill, Ballybraher, Ballymacoda, Cloyne, and nearby townlands—should be treated as comparison families unless a direct relationship can be demonstrated. Surname, proximity, naming patterns, or shared associates alone are not sufficient proof.
For now, Patrick’s parents remain unidentified. Future progress is most likely to come from linking sponsors, witnesses, landholders, cemetery evidence, and neighboring Dargan / Dorgan families to the securely documented Carrigkilter household.
Family Connections
Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn formed the Carrigkilter family group from which several later East Cork and Rhode Island branches descend. Their children connect Carrigkilter with Ballybraher, Cloyne, Churchtown South, Ballycotton, and eventually Providence, Rhode Island.
Five children—Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Timothy, and David—are confirmed through baptism records. Michael and Patrick J. are securely connected to Patrick and Johanna through later marriage evidence.
For the complete child sequence, individual records, and evidence for each identification, see:
Related Pages
Carrigkilter Founding Family
A concise overview of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan, Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn, their children, and the principal Carrigkilter evidence.
Johanna / Anne Flynn Dorgan of East Cork
A companion page focused on Patrick’s wife, her documented name variants, possible Flynn origins, children, and related evidence.
Carrigkilter Land Story
The detailed land-record history of the Carrigkilter holding, including valuation records, Griffith’s Valuation, maps, and the later 1896 farm sale.
Carrigkilter Research Hub
The central research page for Carrigkilter, holding 8, associated families, maps, and unresolved questions.
Dorgan Surname Origins / Ó Deargáin
Background on the Dargan and Dorgan surname forms and their Irish origin.
Jerry Kelly and the Origins of the Dorgan Name
Jerry Kelly’s 2005 correspondence concerning Dargan, Dorgan, and Ó Deargáin.
Ballybraher
A neighboring townland important to the family’s parish-register and marriage evidence.
Cloyne: Parish and Market-Town Reference Point
Cloyne parish, Rock Street, and the later Michael Dorgan–Johanna Garde branch.
Records Archive
Parish registers, land records, census returns, maps, emigration records, photographs, and other primary evidence.
Family Branches
A guide to the major surnames and descendant lines connected with the Dorgan / Dargan family