One of the only pictures the family have of Joseph Devlin taken around 1940 when he was a Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

Family seeks information on grandfather's time on Cavan farm in 1926

Descendants of Joseph Devlin, a young boy from Newry who was sent to work on a farm in Ballyconnell at the age of 16, are appealing to the people of County Cavan for help in piecing together a forgotten chapter of his life.

Released from St. Patrick’s Industrial School in Belfast around 1926, Joseph Devlin was placed under the care of local farmer John Bannon, where he laboured on the family farm for an unknown period.

One of the only pictures the family have of Joseph Devlin taken around 1940 when he was a Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

Now, over a century later, his family is on a heartfelt quest to uncover stories, photographs, or records that could bring this resilient man's early experiences to light.

Joseph Devlin (born November 25, 1910, in the Newry Workhouse) endured a challenging childhood marked by poverty and institutionalisation.

Orphaned young and raised briefly by a foster family, he entered St. Patrick’s Industrial School in Belfast around age 11.

Upon his release in 1926, at just 16 years old, he was apprenticed to John Bannon's farm in the Ballyconnell area, a common but often undocumented practice for boys from industrial schools during that era. Known sometimes by the alias "Paddy Molloy" from his foster family ties, Joseph worked the land, providing for his keep through grueling agricultural labour before eventually returning to Newry, marrying Bridget Hughes, and building a family of his own.

"This story has been passed down through our family research," said Wayne Devlin, Joseph's grandson and a dedicated family researcher based in Manchester.

"My Grandad died young from war injuries and never spoke of his past. He died whilst his children were all still young so we know very little. We're reaching out to the kind-hearted people of Cavan, especially in Ballyconnell and surrounding townlands, who might hold a key: an old diary entry, a faded photo from the Bannon farm, a parish record, or even a tale from elders about a young lad from the North working the fields in the 1920s. Any lead, no matter how small, could help us honour his journey and fill in the blanks of our shared history," he encouraged.

The Devlin family has already scoured national archives, genealogy forums, and online databases looking for this Cavan link, without success, as many records from the period were lost in the 1922 Four Courts fire or remain in private hands. They are particularly interested in:

Local farm ledgers, tenancy documents, or probate records mentioning John Bannon or his property.

Oral histories, church registers, or community anecdotes from Ballyconnell families in the 1920s.

Any connections to St. Patrick’s Industrial School placements in Cavan, or similar stories of "apprenticed" boys from Belfast institutions.

If you have information, stories, or documents related to Joseph Devlin, John Bannon's farm, or life in rural Cavan during the mid-1920s, please contact the family directly. Your help could close a century-old loop and preserve a vital piece of Irish social history.

About the Devlin Family Research Project

The Devlin family, mainly Joseph's youngest son Tony and grandson Wayne, are committed to documenting Joseph Devlin's life to better understand their family history. Their personal quest has been featured in local media, including the Newry Reporter, and continues through genealogy collaborations.

For more information or to share leads, please contact Wayne Devlin at waynedevlin4109@gmail.com