I just took a look at the Cahalanes in the online Kilmacabea records and created a group sheet.

The Denis which you said earlier was a surprise to you (b. 28-Mar-1852) - could he have been named after a grandfather Denis Cahalane, who conveniently is in the Kilmacabea TA in Cloonkeen?

I notice that Michael Cahalane 8-Apr-1861 has a baptism sponsor John Hurley.  I would guess that's my gg-grandfather.  

It really is a pity the church records don't go back further.

I find it rather mystifying that there isn't an obvious death record for Big Mike in the civil registration, making me think he could be wrongly indexed as Keohane or Coughlan.

Without a way to estimate Big Mike's birth year, it's difficult to figure out his relationship to my ggg-grandmother Bridget - and I have nothing about her age either.  I notice that Big Mike got married right at the end of the famine - no doubt the famine delayed marriage for many.  Bridget married Michael Hurley in 1838, well before the start.  I have been unable to find a death record for a Bridget Hurley, nor do I see a Bridget Cahalane as a baptism sponsor for any of her grandkids, so she probably died before civil registration.  The Hurleys had four sons I am aware of, in 1839, 1841, 1843, then a long gap, then one in 1849.  The first was John.  The second was Patrick.  Unfortunately, since he was born/baptized in March, I cannot determine if he was named for his maternal grandfather or for St. Patrick.  I do see a Patrick Cahalane in Carhoogarriff in the TA.  The Hurleys did not have a son I am aware of named Denis (e.g, the possible name of Big Mike's father).

Have you considered taking an autosomal DNA test at FTDNA?  If Bridget and Michael were siblings I would expect that we would be a rather strong match. 

Hello Ann,

Maybe you found this already.  I think I discovered another possible connection through Herlihy-Hurley-Cahalane.  The family of Denis Herlihy = Mary Regan, m. 8-Feb-1834 Kilmacabea, witnesses Pat Herlihy and Cornelius Cahalane. The family lived in Cloonkeen.

First child does not show up in records until 1844 and I think it is a Johanna, who married Denis Leahy in 1875. 

Son Michael b. 1851, the second child, married a Kate Hurley b. 1855, of Coolnagarrane, daughter of Daniel Hurley = Norry McCarthy and niece of my ancestors Michael Hurley = Bridget Cahalane. 

Son John b. 1855, one of twins, has a Denis Cahalane godfather.

Michael Herlihy was a well-regarded national teacher.  I have his funeral writeup from 1903.  He was apparently related to some of my Collinses from Adrigole and I stumbled across his Hurley and Cahalane relationships totally by accident.  I'm trying to figure out how he was related to the Collinses, so far nothing obvious.