Our Story
The Greene family's roots run deep in the midlands of Ireland, in the market town of Portarlington — a place that straddles two counties, King's County (now Offaly) and Queen's County (now Laois), divided by the River Barrow.
From there, Thomas Greene (born c.1871) made his way to Dublin, where the newly released 1926 Census places him at York Street with his second wife Bridget (née Clarke, from Duleek, County Meath) and three young sons, working as a Shop Porter at Switzers & Co. — the famous Grafton Street department store. He married twice, raised seven children, and served in the British Army. Death certificates reveal Thomas died in 1951 at their Goldenbridge Avenue home, with Bridget following in 1970.
His daughter Elizabeth would live one of the most remarkable stories in the family — interned by the Nazis in a German camp during World War II, where she served as a nurse caring for fellow prisoners. His son Thomas II married a Samoan woman and emigrated to New Zealand, where his descendants live today across New Zealand and Australia — making this a story that spans from rural Ireland to the other side of the world.
This site is a living research project, documenting what we've discovered so far and preserving it for future generations.
Dublin Homes
York Street, Dublin
1920s
In the 1926 Census, Thomas and Bridget Greene lived here with three sons in just two rooms — classic Dublin tenement conditions. Thomas walked to his job at Switzers on Grafton Street each morning. Patrick, his adult stepson, also lived under the same roof.
38 Goldenbridge Avenue, Inchicore
1930s — 2025
The family home for over 90 years. Part of Dublin Corporation's housing programme replacing inner-city tenements. Thomas died here in 1951, Bridget in 1970, and Ita — the youngest — remained until her death in December 2025. A remarkable anchor of family continuity.
62 Limekiln Drive, Terenure
1970s — 2023
Brendan Greene's address in the middle-class south Dublin suburb. His move from Inchicore to Terenure represents the upward social mobility of the next generation.
The Greene Journey
Key Figures
From the Stories
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Recent Discoveries
19 April 2026
💍 The 1922 Marriage Register — Two Fathers Named
The civil marriage register for
Thomas Greene × Bridget Clarke, 20 June 1922 at Holy Cross Church, Dundrum was recovered (IrishGenealogy.ie record cima-1271568). Two fathers' names appear in writing for the first time: Bridget's father
Patrick Clarke (Farmer) and Thomas's father
William Greene (Traveller). Bridget was working as housekeeper at Drummartin House, Dundrum; Thomas was a widower from the city. Witnesses: Patrick Kennedy & Annie O'Malley.
Read what we now know →
19 April 2026
🍼 Bridget's Birth Register — Catherine's Maiden Name Revealed
The 1891 civil birth register for
Bridget Clarke at Mullaghfin, Duleek (IrishGenealogy.ie record civbi-9688899) finally tells us Catherine's maiden name:
CLINTON. Born 2 December 1891 to Pat Clark (labourer) and Catherine née Clinton; registered 26 December 1891. The same record corrected an earlier false-positive lead toward a different "Catherine McKenna" couple in Navan.
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19 April 2026
👩🍳 Bridget Clarke, Cook in a Dublin Magistrate's House (1911)
The original 1911 Census Form A (Form B No. 142, enumerated 2 April 1911) places
Bridget Clarke, age 19, working as
Cook (Domestic) in the Dublin household of
Joseph Dollard, Justice of the Peace and Printer-Master. To hold the senior kitchen role at nineteen was a remarkable rise from a labourer's cottage in Mullaghfin. The find confirms the family oral history that Bridget had been a cook in Dublin before marrying Thomas Greene, and supersedes an earlier mis-attribution to a different Bridget Clarke.
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19 April 2026
🇯🇪 Elizabeth's Jersey Marriage Certificate
A primary-source 1941 marriage certificate emerged from family papers, revealing Elizabeth Bessie Greene married Alfred Bower Harris during the German Occupation of Jersey, on 13 September 1941 at the Church of St Mary & St Peter Vauxhall in St. Helier.
Read Elizabeth's story →
19 April 2026
🏠 The Mullaghfin Clarke Household
The full 1901 Census household at House 3, Mullaghfin, Duleek was recovered: Catherine Clarke (widow, 40) and her six children — Rose, Patrick, Mary, Jane, Bridget, and Agnes. Five new siblings now appear in the family tree.
Read Catherine's story →
19 April 2026
🪦 The Duleek Old Churchyard Lead
A transcribed gravestone names a Thomas & Bridget Clarke of Duleek (d.1877/1882) — plausibly Bridget's paternal grandparents based on the Clarke family naming pattern. Awaiting confirmation via civil records.
See research notes →
Browse the full timeline → · See all sources →