5th Cousin to Colette's Grandmother's Cat...

Mary Frances, Colette and Eddie

 The mystery is not resolved!!! When I was in Ireland, Colette and I went to the Kerry County Library in Tralee.  On our way, we visited with Mary Frances Herlihy in Carraganes and her cousin Eddie O'Connor. Carraganes is near Ballydesmond which is on the Cork-Kerry border.
     While speaking to Mary Frances, we asked her if she knew how Marguerite's family (Thomas and Red Nell Herlihy) were related.  She said that Marguerite's great aunt Nora used to live below and she was a second cousin to her (Mary F.'s) father.  This was new and valuable information.  It connects another branch to the Herlihy family tree.
      The road to Mary Frances' is a boreen.  There is literally barely enough room for one car to travel on it. This picture is the drive to the place where Nora lived.

     We wanted to be sure we understood where Macha was.  Macha is a local name for the place where the Herlihys lived in Ballynahulla, Ballincuslane.  It is sometimes also referred to as Ulla in records.  Mary Frances was reluctant to go with us to the area but was willing to point it out from the Ballydesmond Graveyard.

Look into the distance and that is Macha.

     The Kerry Library staff was extremely helpful but the resources were limited.  One resource that was definitely local was the Journal of Cumann Luachra. It didn't have anything specific to the Herlihys, but gave us a flavor of life in the area.
     So, the end result is that I moved a few degrees closer than 31st cousin to Colette's grandmother's cat!!