Northeast Iowa woman traces lineage of her Allamakee County relatives back to Irish Royalty from the 10th and 11th Centuries
Anastasia O’Brien Cunningham ...
Remnants of the home of descendants of Irish Royalty ... The photo above, taken several years ago, shows a sight that may be familiar to those who have traveled State Highway 76 North in Allamakee County. The old farmhouse located about five miles north of Waukon, just north of Mulberry Drive off to the west, has since collapsed into itself but it once stood as the home of Anastasia (O’Brien) Cunningham, a native of Ireland who ended up living in the Hanover area of Allamakee County and whose great-granddaughter, Mary Jane Keppler Cole of Elkader, has since traced Anastasia’s - and thus her own - heritage back to the once Monarch High King of Ireland Brian Boru. Submitted photo.
by Lissa Blake
Many Allamakee County residents enjoy celebrating their Irish Heritage around St. Patrick’s Day, much as they did recently.
But many may not know that the families, friends and neighbors celebrating with them are descendants of Brian Boru, the Monarch High King of Ireland.
King Boru lived from 941-1014, and is credited with uniting the four provinces and conquering the Viking stronghold over the country. He ruled from 1002 to 1014, dying after the Battle of Clontarf and setting up his heirs to rule for hundreds of years through the O’Brien dynasty.
The Battle of Clontarf took place near Dublin on the east coast of Ireland. It is considered an important event in Irish history, being credited with freeing the Irish from foreign domination, with King Boru being hailed as a national hero.
Members of many local families with names such as Farley, Fahey, Conlin, Howes, Shea, Zoll, Healy, Ryan and Bresnahan are connected to Boru’s descendant, Anastasia O’Brien, who married John Cunningham of Hanover Township of Allamakee County.
A LIFETIME PASSION
Mary Jane Keppler Cole (nee Cunningham) of Elkader, now 76, said she caught the genealogy bug more than 50 years ago. She is the daughter of Ron Cunningham and Anita Eulberg. Her grandfather was James Cunningham, who married Florence Bresnahan, both of whom were raised in Hanover Township.
“The house they lived in stands, but barely, at the side of the road on Highway 76 (see photo accompanying this article). Weathered and worn from over 100 years of Iowa’s changeable climate,” said Mary Jane of the house, which has remnants remaining approximately five miles north of Waukon, just past Mulberry Drive to the west.
Mary Jane said she has heard the old house referred to as haunted. “It may not be haunted, but it certainly holds a secret that has been hidden until now,” she said.
CHASING HISTORY
Mary Jane said she started digging deeper into her father, Ron Cunningham’s, side of the family in 1970 after she was married and expecting her first child.
“With pen and paper, I began to interview living relatives, and then moved to writing letters to more distant kin,” she said.
She said her passion for connecting with her family heritage turned into an obsession, and soon she was paying for upgraded subscriptions and connecting with distant relatives all over the world. It was after she joined the genealogy website ancestry.com that she said “the whole world opened to her.”
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, April 1, 2026 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
