In August 2014, Mary Jane Mescall, Jerry and Tim Sullivan along with myself had a wonderful meeting at the Dunnville Historical Society in Dunnville, Canada.  The researcher there was delighted to hear from us, as she had been sorting out two different Sullivan families in Dunnville in the 19th century,  and we were able to clarify which family was our focus of interest.  When we arrived at the office, in the back of the Dunnville public library, two of the staff greeted us saying, “Here are the Sullivans from Limerick!”,  One of the researchers had discovered John Sullivan’s obituary of 1918 (he would be to my generation great uncle John, brother of my grandfather James) and it turned out that his youngest son had supplied information as below for his obituary.  The information about Limerick was a revelation for all of us.  Some of us still hold out (emotionally) for a County Kerry or County Cork home of origin.  Remarkably or not, this is one of the pieces of information we never heard about when we had with us all those wonderfully colorful aunts and uncles, to say nothing of parents, ie there were no stories shared about where the family had come from in Ireland.  And none of us ever asked.  It is possible that Limerick was a stop along the journey as the family exited the country in those dreadful times, or it could be that it is where they had lived for a much longer period of time.  Those leaving Ireland at that time were Daniel and Mary Sullivan, and their children John, James and Mary.  It is not known whether there were other relatives eg siblings of Daniel and Mary, who might also have come over at the time.  It is assumed they came via Quebec and from there on to Dunnville.  When you read about the Great Famine, the conditions on board the ships of the time, and the experiences of others who landed at Grosse Ille in Quebec, it is something of a grand mystery and blessing that they survived at all.

Here is John Sullivan’s 1918 obituary:

June 23, 1918 (Ancestry.com)

John SULLIVAN
On June 23, there passed away a very old resident of Moulton in the person of John Sullivan, at the advanced age of 88. He came to this country when a boy of 12 years from Limerick, Ireland and had lived in the county ever since, most of the time being spent on the Bird Road and immediate vicinity. The deceased was well known and enjoyed the esteem of every person. He was ill just a few months. Three children survive: Mrs. John Wulke and Mrs. John Fry, Buffalo and James Sullivan, Bird Road.
The funeral took place Wednesday, June 26, to St. Michael’s Church, Dunnville, where Requiem High Mass was chanted by Rev. Father Donovan. Burial was at St. Michael’s Cemetery. Six nephews, Daniel, James, John, Joseph, William and Patrick Sullivan were pallbearers. In attendance at the funeral were Mr. John Warren, Mrs. Daniel Clifford, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, all of Buffalo, Mrs. G.R. McWilliams of Stanley, N.Y. and the children.
(Ancestry.com – At Bird Road., Moulton, John Sullivan, 88, farmer, widower. Born Ireland. Son of Daniel Sullivan. Died of old age and diabetes mellitus, 1 year. Informant: John James Sulllivan, Dunnville. Buried Dunnville.)

September 27, 1918

The pallbearers mentioned in the obituary include my father, William, and his brothers. —-Peter Sullivan