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Ardfinnan - Dermot O'Halley & Katherina Roch 162x Graveslab

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By Author I recently visited Ardfinnan graveyard in South Tipp in search of the possible resting place of a Hugh O’Mulrryan from the 1600s. I thought it would be unlikely that there would be any evidence of a gravestone. I knew there was also a graveslab from the 1600s so worst case I figured that would be of interest. There was no evidence of the O’Mulryan burial there but I was satisfied based on the fragments and the O’Halley / Roche gravestab that this is most likely where he would have been buried.   Now to the O’Halley / Roche graveslab By Author It is recorded on archaeology.ie as follows “In the SE corner of the graveyard, adjacent to the boundary wall, there is a large altar tomb. The upper slab commemorates Dermot O'Halley and has wife Katherina Roche/Rochester. The slab (dims. 2m x 1.17m; T 0.19m) is decorated with a large wheel-cross with fleur-de-lys terminals and a plain shaft which terminates in a calvary mount. Both sides of the shaft are decorated with pl...
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1766 Census for Abington

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1766 Census for Abington, Co. Limerick.xlsx
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Ryans with more than one hearth in the Hearth Money Rolls

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We nearly all know the story about the Fourcourts being burned down during the Civil War in 1922 and the priceless loss of records. However in Tipperary we are extremely fortunate in that in 1911 Dr. Thomas Laffan made a copy of one such record that was destroyed in 1922 - known now as the Hearth Money Records - 1665-6-7. It records a tax that was imposed on every fireplace in the country and was "payable by practically all the householders in the country. The exemptions, applicable only to the poorest of the people, were granted too freely which led to amending the Act of 1665. Copies of the rolls have been wholly or partially preserved for eleven counties in the north and east of the country and for Co. Sligo, but for the rest of Ireland there are none extant except those for Co. Tipperary". ( MacLysaght, North Munster Studies, 533). Out of interest I have combed the Hearth Money Rolls to see which Ryans had more than one Hearth or fireplace and therefore were in theory...
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Fiddlers Rock, Glenafelly in Co. Offaly

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By the author A recent post about a stone chair in Co. Limerick made be recall a visit to Fiddlers Rock at Glenafelly in Co. Offaly. I first read about this rock in John Feehan's book - The Landscape of Slieve Bloom.  https://www.offalyhistory.com/shop/books/the-landscape-of-slieve-bloom There isn't a whole pile of folklore that I am aware of regarding it other than than its association with a fiddler.  It is marked on coillte's map for the Glenafelly loop walk.   https://www.coillte.ie/site/glenafelly/ Stone chairs like this can often be linked to Gaelic inauguration practices, some are natural stones that are used, some have been worked by man to become more chair-like.   By the author It is described on archaeology.ie as follows  "Large conglomerate glacial erratic almost rectangular in plan (H 1.3m; 1.7m x 0.6m) aligned NE/SW. Doubtful standing stone due to its location and shape and not marked on any editions of the OS 6-inch maps. According to Fe...
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Ryans of Kilkenny and their link to the Butlers

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I started off this article with the idea to review the various Books of Survey and Distribution to see if there were any "stray" Ryan landowners out there.  From the Book of Survey and Distribution for Kilkenny - dated to circa 1680 These records show who owned the land in a particular area circa the mid 1600s and who was to receive the same lands after they had been confiscated by Cromwell.  I had a look at the Carlow version of this document but there were no Ryans included in it which was unusual considering this was supposed to be the original home of the Ryans, however it appears that the Gaelic Kavanaghs and Anglo-Normans such as the Bagnals had taken much of their land prior to the 1600s.  I then went on to review the Kilkenny Books here - not expecting to find much in those either.  Books of Survey and Distribution: County Kilkenny: Gowran Barony - Virtual Treasury I had reviewed all the books up to the last one - Gowran Barony.  There I found a large nu...
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