On Tuesday 29 April this year, my husband, grandson and I were booked on an Aer Lingus flight from Manchester Airport to Dublin Airport. The one-hour flight was scheduled to leave Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), at 14:20 and arrive at Dublin (Ireland) at 15:20. I had completed the online check-in the day before, with the flight details and our boarding passes safely stored on my phone.

What follows is a weird and wonderful tale of two airports and its connection to my Irish ancestry: How a careless mistake made at one airport led to a surprise meeting at the other.

Setting the scene

After a short visit to Blackpool (UK) to spend time with our grandson Lucas, my husband Tony and I planned to spend ten days exploring Ireland commencing with a three-day stopover in Dublin. Tony and I invited Lucas to travel with us to Dublin and join us during our stay there.

Tony and I had visited the UK on two previous occasions, spending time in various parts of England, Wales and Scotland. We decided that this year, during our trip to Europe and the British Isles, we would include a trip to Ireland. It was long overdue.

I’ve long yearned to visit Ireland. I’ve read and heard so much about the island’s spectacular scenery, its long, rich and complex history, its troubled politics, and its much caricatured spirited people. As an Australian, I am aware that many of our early British settlers came from Ireland. Indeed, many Australians today lay claim to Irish ancestry.

I have one Irish ancestor. Just one. She is my great-great-great-grandmother on my father’s side of my family tree. I discovered her identity in 2021 when I was researching my paternal grandmother Elsie’s birth family. My namesake, Judith Johanna Conway, was born at Limerick, Ireland, in 1792. She came to Australia on board the ship Alexander in 1815-1816. But not of her own accord: She was a convict.

Manchester Airport

On the morning of our flight, at Blackpool, the three of us got up early, had breakfast and packed in readiness for our journey.  We were excited, as this was to be our first visit to Ireland. Lucas ordered an Uber for 10:00 am to take us from our accommodation to the North Blackpool railway station.

Here we planned to take the 10:25 train to Manchester Airport, scheduled arrival time 12:00 noon. We figured that taking this train would give us plenty of time to complete our check-in, drop off our check-in luggage and relax over coffee and cake after going through security and prior to boarding the aeroplane.

Everything went to plan. At least until we reached the airport.

Our train arrived at Manchester Airport station 11 minutes late. But that was not a problem. After all, we were early and had plenty of time to spare.

It turned out that our carriage was at the rear end of the train, so we had a long walk, dragging our suitcases, to the platform exit. My husband is “mobility challenged”, so he was struggling by the time we reached the end of the platform. Although still able to walk unaided, Tony walks at a slow pace and is not always stable on his feet. Because walking is difficult for him, he gets physically and mentally exhausted very easily in the process, especially when he feels any pressure to keep up.

I am aware that at airports one has to walk quite large distances, and often quickly, to get from one location to another. For this reason, when I booked our flight from Manchester to Dublin, I requested special assistance for Tony. If he was not coping on the day, I planned to ask for a wheelchair when we reached the departure terminal.

The Manchester Airport train station is located within the airport complex, between Terminals 1 and 3, but within walking distance of all three terminals. I checked my boarding pass and noted that our flight was departing from Terminal 2. According to the airport website, Terminal 2 is approximately a 10-minute walk from the train station. Needless to say, I knew it would take us more than 10 minutes. The distance from the station to Terminal 2 is listed as 407 metres.

We took the lift from the train station to the level above (the junction between Terminals 1 and 3) and looked for directions to Terminal 2.

We followed the signs to the covered walkway that connects Terminal 2 and the train station. The covered walkway is part of Manchester Airport Skylink, which includes a moving walkway system that connects the airport’s three terminals, the train station, and the Radisson Blu Hotel.

It wasn’t long before Tony and I realised that we had walked this route before. On one of our previous visits to the UK, we flew into and out of the UK via Manchester Airport. We recalled the long trek between the terminal and the station.

The seemingly never-ending covered walkway was warm and stuffy then, and it was warm and stuffy on this occasion too. With the midday sun beaming down on the curved roof overhead and streaming through the large curved side windows, it felt like we were trapped inside a greenhouse (minus the plants!). We hadn’t gone far when Tony and I had to take off our coats.

The Skylink includes numerous travelators (moving walkways). Unfortunately, a number of the travelators were not working that day. Therefore, we had to walk unassisted at least half of the way. It was a real test for Tony. We hadn’t gone far before it was obvious to me that he was having a hard time keeping up. He stopped several times for a break and to regain his composure. By the time we reached the terminal, he was sweating profusely and was clearly exhausted.

We arrived at Terminal 2 around 12:40 pm. As soon as we entered the terminal building, we looked for the Aer Lingus check-in area. We couldn’t see it. We scanned the digital departures board searching for our flight. “No Aer Lingus flights listed? How’s that?” we asked each other. I spotted an airport staff member and quizzed him (rather anxiously), “Where is the Aer Lingus check-in desk for the flight to Dublin?” He replied, “Not here. Aer Lingus flights to Dublin depart from Terminal 1. You’ve come to the wrong terminal. You have to go to Terminal 1.”

Oh, no! What had I done? After all, I was the one who checked the flight departure details and told Tony and Lucas that our flight departed from Terminal 2.

I looked again at our check-in details. “Terminal 1” was listed under Manchester; “Terminal 2” under Dublin. I had taken “Terminal 2” under Dublin to be the departure terminal for the flight. It didn’t occur to me at the time that it meant “Terminal 2” was the arrival terminal. That all sounds pretty silly now, as I try to explain what happened. To put it bluntly, I made a careless mistake. Not surprisingly, I apologised over and over again to my fellow travellers.

I was not only upset that I was responsible for the three of us having to walk all this way for nothing but also worried about how we would get to Terminal 1 in time to drop off our check-in luggage. The check-in counter was due to close 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. That meant we had until 1:35 pm to get there. 

The three of us agreed that if we were to get to Terminal 1 in time, Tony needed a wheelchair.

I spotted the passenger services counter in Terminal 2 and headed for it. Two staff members were busy attending to other passengers, so we had to wait our turn. We could see a couple of wheelchairs and hoped that at least one of them was available. After explaining to the senior staff member that Tony’s booking included passenger assistance, and that we had come to Terminal 2 by mistake, he checked our booking and agreed to let us have a wheelchair.

“Yes, you can have that one,” he said, pointing to one of the empty chairs, “but one of you will have to push it. We have no assistance staff available right now.” Lucas replied cheerily, “I am able to push Dida. No problem.”

With Tony (“Dida”) blissfully ensconced in the wheelchair, his suitcase stored safely on the rack underneath the chair, Tony clutching his coat, leather manbag and backpack, the three of us set off for Terminal 1. Lucas and I retraced our steps from Terminal 2 to the junction of Terminals 1 and 3 in about half the time it took the three of us to walk to Terminal 2. We stopped to take a couple of photos. It was 12:50 pm. But we still had a long way to go to reach Terminal 1.

We arrived at Terminal 1 at approximately 1:10 pm and headed straight for the check-in area. We were a little confused as to where to check in (Section A or Section B) but managed to arrive at the correct check-in counter about fifteen minutes before it was due to close. After dropping off our two suitcases, we headed for the passenger services counter. I had to let the staff know that we had a wheelchair for Tony, acquired in Terminal 2. After all that we’d gone through at this airport (my fault!), I decided to ask for wheelchair assistance for Tony at Dublin Airport.

Next, we headed for the security check point. Because Tony was in a wheelchair, the three of us were ushered through the fast-track security gate. The process was surprisingly quick and easy.

Within minutes we found ourselves in the noisy crowded food court and shopping mall. After a long-awaited visit to the restrooms, we found a table at Starbucks and sat down for the first time since we exited the train. We figured we had about 15 minutes to spare before we had to make our way to the departure gate. Lucas and I ordered drinks and something to eat. Tony didn’t want anything to eat or drink, even though he ended up sharing my coffee, which was too hot for me to drink in a hurry.

At 1:45 pm, we agreed it was time to go to the gate (Gate 10). Little did we know, but we still had a long way to walk to get from the shopping mall to Gate 10. Lucas and I stepped up the pace. Lucas, undeterred, was still pushing the wheelchair and its heavy occupant!

Actually, Lucas really enjoyed being his grandfather’s carer for the day. He loved the sense of control the wheelchair gave him and he had a little fun along the way too.

Lucas has told me (and others) the following story several times. In one of the lifts we took in Terminal 1, Lucas pushed the wheelchair and his grandfather into one of the rear corners of the lift, so that Tony could not strike up a conversation with the other occupants of the lift. What’s funny about this, is that Tony was oblivious to Lucas’ tactic. He didn’t tell Tony – it was a little joke between Lucas and me.

As we passed Gate 8, we heard the final boarding call for our flight. By now Lucas and I were almost running. When (at last) we reached Gate 10, we could see that almost all of the passengers had already boarded the plane. We hurriedly extricated Tony from his chair, made sure we didn’t leave anything behind, and went to the departure desk.

All that remained was for the three of us to negotiate the stairs from the gate onto the tarmac, and the stairs from the tarmac to the plane.

We made it! Just.

Our Aer Lingus flight from Manchester Airport to Dublin Airport departed on schedule at 14:20.

Within one hour, we would be in Ireland.

Dublin Airport

Our Aer Lingus Airbus 320 touched down on Irish soil at 15:05, much earlier than I expected. After the aircraft taxied to the terminal (Terminal 2) and the airbridge was safely attached, we found ourselves disembarking close to the scheduled arrival time (15:20).

After saying “Thank you” and “Goodbye” to the cabin crew, as I stepped out of the aeroplane onto the airbridge the first thing that caught my eye were the florescent yellow vests of two airport staff. Each one held a wheelchair. One of them, a young woman, approached Tony and me and said with a distinctive Irish lilt, “I’m here to collect Anthony Salecich”. “Oh, thank you,” I replied. Gesticulating to my husband who was behind me, I said, “This is Tony.”

Our lovely passenger assistant helped Tony into the wheelchair and, in no time, was pushing him up the incline of the airbridge. Lucas and I followed closely behind, marvelling at how easily and speedily this petite young woman propelled the wheelchair up and through the airbridge. Annie (not her real name) must have been no more than 157 centimetres (5 foot 2 inches) tall and weighed 50 kilograms (7 stone 12 pounds)!  

With Lucas and I in tow, Annie wheeled Tony into the terminal, through a departure lounge and along a wide corridor. After a while, she veered off that path and guided us along a couple of narrow passageways. Tony later described this route as a “rabbit warren”! Annie told us, “This is the shortcut to immigration and the baggage claim area.” She stopped at the entrance to a staff only lift (the first of two such lifts we took). As she opened the door to the lift, I asked if Lucas and I could come with her. “Of course you can,” she replied cheerfully in a warm melodic tone.

Throughout his “ride”, Tony chatted freely with Annie, while Lucas and I listened in. The two of them seemed to enjoy the friendly banter. Among other things, they discussed the source and meaning of various given names. Tony threw in the odd joke or two, to which Annie responded brightly and with ease.

During their conversation, Annie revealed that she was working at the airport as a passenger assistant because she had not been able to obtain employment in her area of study. She had completed a Bachelor of Applied Freshwater and Marine Biology and a one-year post-graduate Master of Science degree. When Tony pointed out that she appeared to be too young to have completed all that study, Annie said that she was younger than her peers when she graduated from high school. That being so, I assume Annie was in her early 20s.

At passport control, Tony, Lucas and I passed through quickly. There was no waiting in line, as no-one else from our flight had reached immigration at this stage. With Tony safely back in his wheelchair, Annie took charge once again, leading the way to our luggage collection carousel. It was about 3:35 pm. We were early. We knew that our luggage would not arrive for some time. For the first time that day, we felt relaxed.

The three of us passed the time by chatting with Annie. When we asked her about her role as a passenger assistant, she said that she really enjoyed her work. “I’ve learnt so much and met so many wonderful and interesting people,” she explained. Annie went on to say that her mother was not happy that she was unable to find work in the field of marine biology, and that she was working at the airport. Annie added, “But I’m happy here. And it’s a good job for me. I’m not looking for anything else at present.”

I told Annie that she reminded me of our 17-year-old granddaughter Maddie, Lucas’s sister, in looks and personality. Annie had fine features, a fair, flawless complexion, rosy cheeks, blue eyes, straight shoulder-length blond hair pulled back revealing a broad forehead. When she smiled, her face lit up, radiating warmth and energy. Personality-wise, Annie was friendly, open, and sociable. She appeared to be very comfortable in our company.  

At one point during our conversation, Annie asked us, “Is this your first visit to Ireland?”

“Yes,” I replied. “We haven’t been here before. We are very much looking forward to our visit. Tony and I plan to spend the next ten days touring the island, and Lucas will spend the first three days with us, while we are in Dublin.”

“Do you know anyone in Ireland? Do you have friends or family here?”

“Oh, no. No-one,” I replied.

Tony added, “But Judy does have a family connection with Ireland. Her great-great-great-grandmother came from Ireland.”

I opened up the conversation. “Her name was the same as mine – Judith. She was a convict, sentenced to 7 years transportation to New South Wales (Australia). Her crime: theft. She was a servant, and came from Limerick.”

“Oh, really,” Annie responded. “I come from Limerick. I grew up there. My family is still there. What was her name?”

“Judith Johanna Conway.”

Annie exclaimed, “My mother’s maiden name is Conway! There are lots of Conways in Limerick. It’s quite a common name. And inter-marriage is not uncommon. That’s why I left. I don’t want to end up marrying someone from there. At least my father did not come from Limerick.”

“That’s incredible,” I laughed, in amazement. “You and I may be distant relatives! I can’t believe it. What is the chance of us meeting you today – the first person we meet on our arrival in Ireland – someone from Limerick, and someone whose mother was a Conway? After all, Judith Conway is my only connection with Ireland.”

I asked Annie if I could take a photograph of her, with Tony. She agreed. I wanted it as a record of our serendipitous meeting and the circumstances that led to it.

Eventually, our luggage arrived. After we collected it, Annie guided us through customs (we had nothing to declare) and insisted on wheeling Tony and showing us the way to the taxi pick-up area. I don’t think the three of us would have found it without help from someone (like Annie) familiar with the airport. We were so grateful that she took us there.

After Lucas took a photo of Annie and me – just the two of us – we thanked Annie and said goodbye. Tony, Lucas and I got into our taxi and, pushing a now-empty wheelchair, Annie returned to the terminal.  

What I have since learnt about my Irish ancestor

Judith Johanna Conway was born at Limerick, Ireland, in 1792. As a young woman she worked as a servant. In March 1815, at a court in Limerick, she was found guilty of theft (larceny) and sentenced to transportation to New South Wales (“New Holland”) for a term of 7 years.

At 23, Judith left her home in Ireland, never to return. She was one of 84 Irish convict women on board the convict transport ship Alexander, which departed from the Port of Cork, southern Ireland, on 4 November 1815 and arrived at Port Jackson, New South Wales, on 4 April 1816.

Six days later, on 10 April 1816, along with approximately 60 of the convict women from the Alexander, Judith embarked on HM Brig Kangaroo, en route to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). The Kangaroo arrived at Hobart Town on 28 April 1816.  

As was the practice in the early days of the colony, upon landing Judith was most likely assigned to a master (and a family) as a domestic servant. I assume the master provided accommodation for his convict employees.

That same year, 1816, Judith met William Cobb, a man 18 years her senior. Cobb was also a convict. At Southampton Assizes in July 1811, for theft of a horse, Cobb received a life sentence and transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. Cobb left England on 9 May 1812, via the ship Indefatigable, arriving in Van Diemen’s Land on 19 October 1812.

Judith Conway bore two children to William Cobb. The first, William (baptised Gullielmus), was born in 1817; the second, Hanna, in 1820. There is no record of marriage between William senior and Judith Conway. The children’s baptismal records, dated May 1821, describe both children as “illegitimate”. By the time Judith brought the children to the priest for baptism, their father had died.

William Cobb, Judith’s de facto partner, died on 8 December 1820 when he was struck by a falling tree. He was 46.

In March 1822, her 7-year sentence completed, the colonial government granted Judith Johanna Conway her freedom. Around this time, Judith Conway (or Johanna Conway as she sometimes called herself) started to use the name Hannah Cobb, adopting the family name of her late partner.

In 1821, Hannah Cobb met and entered into a de facto relationship with Tea Tree Brush farmer and former convict James Lowe (born c. 1774). James, 47, was the father of seven children to his wife Mary (Standley) Lowe, who had recently died or left the marriage.

It is not known what crime James committed, but he was tried and convicted at Surrey on 22 April 1800 and sentenced to transportation to New South Wales for a term of 7 years. He left England aboard the convict ship Minorca in April 1801 and arrived at Port Jackson on 14 December 1801. On 1 May 1802, James was sent to Norfolk Island to serve the remainder of his sentence. Here he worked as coxswain on the government vessels. It suggests that James had a seafaring background.

Hannah Cobb (alias Judith Conway or Hannah Conway) bore two children to James Lowe. John Valentine Conway (later Lowe) was born on 14 February 1824. James Samuel Cobb (later Lowe) was born on 14 December 1827. In both instances, the public records do not include the father’s name. However, they show that Hannah Cobb was living at Tea Tree Brush, most likely with James Lowe and family.  

Now, all of the preceding information may suggest that my Irish convict ancestor lived a relatively settled life in Van Diemen’s Land, despite the fact that she never married either of the two men who fathered her children. But this is far from the truth.

What I’ve discovered through my recent research is that Judith Johanna Conway, alias Hannah Cobb, ended up as a notorious drunkard and reprobate. Her convict record reveals just two misdemeanours: disorderly conduct and out after hours (1821) and drunkenness (1831), the latter attracting a fine of 5 shillings. However, in newspapers produced between 1834 and 1844, I’ve found a significant number of police reports of Hannah Cobb being charged and fined for drunkenness, disorderly conduct, assault, or using offensive language in the street. In a number of instances, she ended up in prison because she did not have the means to pay the fine.

I could write a lot more about Judith Johanna Conway’s life in Van Diemen’s Land. It would make disturbing reading.

James Lowe, my three-times great grandfather, died at Tea Tree Brush on 8 October 1842. He was 68, perhaps 69. An inquest was held to determine the cause of death, which occurred in the home of one “John Lowe” (no known relation). The inquest ruled that James’ death was due to a “Visitation of God”, that is, a natural, but unexplained, cause.

There is no record of death for Judith Johanna Conway (alias Hannah Cobb). She was still alive in 1844 according to one of the police reports. By 1844, she was 52 years of age and, from the reports I’ve read, “a crazy old woman”.

MAIN SOURCES OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION

State Library and Archives of Tasmania

Tasmanian names index: https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/

Convicts in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania): https://libraries.tas.gov.au/family-history/convicts-in-van-diemens-land-now-tasmania/

Convict employment records online. 1810-1859 Assignment lists and associated papers (CON13). Judith Conway: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/CON13-1-1/CON13-1-1P55

Conduct records. 1803-1843 Assignment system – female convicts (CON40). Judith Conway: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/CON40-1-1/CON40-1-1p238

National Library of Australia. Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/

OTHER REFERENCES

‘Convict Ships’ in Female Convicts Research Centre Inc (website). Retrieved on 12 July 2025 from https://femaleconvicts.org.au/convict-ships/convict-ship-records#ships-other

‘Johanna Conway’ in Convict Records. Retrieved on 29 June 2025 from https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/conway/johanna/132971

‘Conway, Judith Johanna (1792–?)’, People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved on 29 June 2025 https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/conway-judith-johanna-27678/text35228

‘Lowe, James (1775–1842)’, People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved on 29 June 2025 from  https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/lowe-james-27677/text35227