John Sinnott (1813-1877)

He was born at Monogarra (Monagarrow), Co. Wexford to a Catholic farming family. His father fought with the rebels during the Rebellion of 1798 and afterwards went to Dublin. John found work in the Customs House and then entered the Revenue Department of the United Kingdom. In 1832, at St. Michael's Church, Dublin, he married Mary (a particularly devout Catholic), daughter of Francis Armstrong and his wife Margaret Byrne, of the Byrnes of County Wicklow. He was posted to a revenue position in Donegal where he retired, living at Sea-Bank Cottage, Killybegs, Co. Donegal (later entirely rebuilt by the Seward family of Philadelphia). For three successive years, John commanded a yacht "that won the international races in Ireland" and was called the "wizard of the north" in recognition of his skills as a navigator.