Denis Bergin
Denis was born in Queens County (now Co. Laois) in approximately 1800. Prior to joining the constabulary he was a labourer. In order to join the constabulary, one had to be recommended by a magistrate, Catholic priest or Protestant clergyman. Denis was recommended by a magistrate, Robert Neville JP. Denis' height is recorded as 6 feet 2 inches, and was therefore a tall man for his time. His religion was recorded as Catholic. Denis joined the Royal Irish Constabulary on 2 April 1831 and his service number was 900. He served in County Kilkenny and Kings County (now Co. Offaly). According to police records, he married in February 1844 but the details, including the name of his wife, are not mentioned, except that his wife was stated to have been a native of County Carlow. Church records show that Dennis Bergan (sic) married Anne Cummins on 21 April 1844 in Birr.
It had been thought that Denis may have married twice and that Anne Cummins was his second wife, but it now seems that he married only once. Anne had spent much of her life in London and it is unclear why her origins were stated in police records to be from Carlow - however it is a strong possibility that her parents were originally from Carlow where the family name "Cummins" is well established. It is even possible that Anne had been born there but no records have been located to confirm or refute this. (Police were not permitted to serve in certain counties, lest they be seen to be compromised, and could not serve in the county where there own family or wife's family resided). A family story is that Anne was visiting relatives in the Cadamstown area of Co. Offaly (near the Laois border) when she met Denis.
Denis left the constabulary with a pension on 12 September 1851.
Denis and Anne were probably parents of three sons : James Bergin (birth details not confirmed), Michael Bergin (born 1854) and John Bergin (born 1858). Michael and John both became constables as their father had been. In the Roman Catholic baptismal records for the two sons in Clonaslee, it is recorded that Denis and Anne resided in Ballykineen (usually spelled Ballykenneen) in the Clonaslee parish. There were almost seventy townlands in the parish, including Ballykenneen Upper and Ballykenneen Lower. While the exact location is unknown, their residence would have been in one of these two adjacent townlands lying a short distance to the west of the Clonaslee village. According to the IreAtlas townland database, Ballykenneen Lower covered an area of 329 acres and Ballykenneen Upper 261 acres (www.seanruad.com/cgi-bin/iresrch).
From information obtained from the Valuations Office in Dublin, there was a Denis Bergin on the Coolagh townland in the 1850s. Later, the name Daniel Bergin is shown on land in Ballykenneen Lower in 1861, with the name Denis Bergin noted in the observation column. It is unclear what this means but it seems to place Denis and another man named Daniel (possibly his father, brother or uncle) on the Ballykenneen Lower townland at this time. His sons' baptismal records place the family on Ballykenneen (does not specify Upper or Lower) in the 1850s so that the Coolagh resident may not have been "our" Denis - there were a lot of Bergins in this area, or he may have resided there for a short period. see Bergins of the Clonaslee area.
Then in 1866, Denis relocated to the nearby townland of Ballynahimmy. At the same time, James Bergin moved to the adjacent Castlecuffe townland, and it is highly probable that this James Bergin was Denis' eldest son.
The informant for Denis' death was his widow Anne. The record shows that Anne's name was spelled "Bergin" and her address was Ballynahimmy; the record spells Denis' name as "Bergan" and states that he died in Ballynahimmy with Anne present at the death. Denis is described as a "police pensioner" and it is recorded that he died on 18 August 1875 of "softening of the brain".
Denis' widow, Anne Bergin (nee Cummins), died in 1882 in a tragic housefire. This date coincides with the end of the lease orignally granted to Denis and it also marks the date at which son James' lease is transferred, possibly to his wife Catherine, but this is unclear.
Thanks to Brian Mullaney of Co. Kildare, Ireland, who is a great great grandson of Denis Bergin, for providing some of the above information.
