He was born Cornelius Kelleher. His mother was Mary Kelleher & no father was listed. On Cornelius Rahilly's original birth cert he was originally put as Rahilly & the father as Cornelius Rahilly, but this was crossed out again & the name changed to Kelleher & a line put through the fathers name. His mother Mary Kelleher was a domestic servant & the address was listed as Dooneen, Drishane, Millstreet, Co. Cork. He was reared by his grandparents & his mother went to America. Why he changed his name to O'Rahilly is not known. His maternal grandparents do not appear to have looked after him, as one can follow them throuh the censuses and there is no sign of a grandchild born in 1895.