Walsh is the maiden name of one of our paternal great-great-great grandmothers, Bridget Walsh (1802-1858) who married John McGrath (McCraith) about 1830. The sequence of surnames in the five generations between us goes Walsh-McCraith-McCraith-Dwyer-Dwyer-Dwyer.
The name Walsh is of Anglo-Saxon origin from waelisc meaning “foreigner” or “stranger”, and applied to the people of Wales by the Anglo-Saxons.1 The Walsh surname derives from Welsh immigrants who began coming to Ireland as early as the Norman invasion of the 12th century. In the mid-19th century the surname was common throughout Ireland, but our Walsh ancestors originated in the south of County Tipperary. In 1851 Walsh was the fifth most popular surname in the Templetenny civil parish,2 where our Walsh ancestors are believed to have lived.
Based on the birth year of their only known child, their daughter Bridget Walsh, it is likely that Michael and Honora were born between 1770 and 1780 in the area of County Tipperary nearest to the border with County Cork. They probably married no later than 1800, but apart from Bridget, no further children are known. According to Bridget’s death record, Michael was a farmer.
Given that Bridget Walsh is known to have lived in Ballyporeen between her marriage and her emigration to Victoria, it seems likely that her family came from that area, or at least from within the civil parish of Templetenny. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1825 and 1834 have families headed by a Michael Walsh living in Coolapreavan and Coolagarranroe (about 4.5 kilometers west and 8.5 kilometers north of Ballyporeen respectively). In Griffith’s Valuation there are still families headed by a Michael Walsh at Coolapreavan and Coolagarranroe, and another at Curraleigh West (about 4 kilometers west of Ballyporeen). There are also Walsh families to be found at Barnahown (7.6 kilometers south of Ballyporeen), Carrigavisteal (2.3 kilometers north), Glenacunna (2.5 kilometers south) and Gorteeshal (3.8 kilometers south).
It is not known when Michael Walsh and Honora Betson died.
1 http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/walsh and