Cornelius was Liam and Ann MacGilligan's second son, and was known throughout the community as a glutton for punishment. Unlike most of the community who supplemented their potato crops with some stock raising to get money for rent, Cornelius, for some unknown reason, chose to grow wheat. Growing wheat on the rocky barren soil that he rented from his father and then the Twomey's was a grueling process. In fact, it was Cornelius's stubborn determination that kept him from going under. That sense of determination made Cornelius a very popular man in the community. It was also said that that determination led him to an early grave. However, not before he married Grace Shay and had five children, Sheamus, Mary, Eamon, Helen, and John. Unfortunately, Helen died of Tuberculosis at age three.