1766 Census for Abington

1766 Census for Abington, Co. Limerick.xlsx

Ryans with more than one hearth in the Hearth Money Rolls

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 wealthier, the idea being the wealthier you were, the more likely you were connected back to Chiefly line of the Ryan Clan. 

Pg 65

Thomas Ryan, Esq - Donaskeagh Townland 

Pg 141

Teige Ryan, Thurles Town. 

Probably part of Thurles Town? 

Pg 152

Richard Ryan, Cooleeny

Pg 165

Don Ryan, Lower Pallas (Glenkeen)? 

Pg 179

Thomas Ryan, Dolla

 
Pg 183

Bar. Ryan, Nenagh

Pg 189

Pg 113

Doctor Rian, Fethard

Pg 116

Mathew Rian, Clonebricke

Teige Rian, Cauteen

Pg 118

Pg 126

Giles Rian, ?

Pg 126

Thomas Ryan, Donaskeagh

Pg 158

Teige Ryan, Newtown

Pg 159

Teige McConnor Rian, ?

Pg 161

Connor Rian, Commanealine?

Pg 162

Phillip Ryan

Pg 164

Thomas Ryan, Shevry

Pg 166

William Ryan, ?

Pg 78

John Mullraine

                                                                         Original research by author

All screenshots are from Laffans Hearth Money Rolls which is available to download for free here. 

https://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/digital-book-collection/digital-books-by-county/tipperary/laffan-tipperarys-familie/

Fiddlers Rock, Glenafelly in Co. Offaly

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 Feehan (1979, 208-10) this standing stone known locally as the 'Fiddlers Rock' located in centre of possible enclosure (OF039-016001-) of which no surface trace survives"

Despite the description saying it wasn't marked on the old OS maps it actually was! 

From 1840s OS map

Ryans of Kilkenny and their link to the Butlers

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 number of Ryans in this barony which came as a bit of a surprise. In total they had a share in over 2700 acres in Kilkenny! Many of the Ryans seemed to share land with a Sr Edw. Butler. 

I had a look online to see if he might be famous enough to have an entry on the internet and yes there was an Sir Edw. Butler. 

He was the High Sheriffe of Kilkenny circa 1640 and also attended the Confederation of Kilkenny so would have been Catholic and considered a rebel. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Butler,_1st_Viscount_Galmoye

His father was James Butler - the 9th Earl of Ormond. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Butler,_9th_Earl_of_Ormond

Portrait of James Butler

By Hans Holbein the Younger - https://www.rct.uk/collection/912263/james-butler-later-9th-earl-of-ormond-and-2nd-earl-of-ossory-c-1496-1546, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6384506

What was interesting is that James Butler was known as "The Lame" or Bacach in Irish. 

Have a guess what the name of one of the Ryans was in the very first record I came across in the Book of Survey and Distribution? 

Teige Baccagh Ryan. 

From the Book of Survey and Distribution for Kilkenny - dated to circa 1680

Surely he must have been an illegimate son of this James Butler or perhaps Sr Edw Butler for him to have gotten the name "Baccagh" or lame also? 

It also called to mind a reference in O' Nolan - History of a People - pg 88

“In this way Sir Peter Carew, a knight from Devon, a descendent of the Carews who had been granted lands in Carlow in the 13th. century, now claimed his lands (some three hundred years later). The lands in question were mainly in Idrone and were in the possession of five septs of the Kavanaghs, namely the septs of Garryhill, Ballyloughan, Ballyloo, Polmonty and the Rower. Most of the lands were bounded by the Barrow, the Burren River and the Blackstairs mountains. The case was fully examined by the Chancellor, Lord Weston in 1568, who found that the Kavanaghs could offer no proof of title. Carew took up residence as an officer of the Crown, in Leighlin castle, for a short time and endeavoured to get possession of the disputed territories. However, instead of using coercion he tried to use diplomacy and persuasion, offering the Kavanaghs the option of continuing as tenants. This offer was apparently accepted though somewhat reluctantly.
Carew’s claim caused a rift between the Ryans and the Kavanaghs because the Ryans now discontinued paying their rents to the Kavanaghs and sought to pay them directly to Carew. One outcome of this dispute was the granting of Borris Idrone, formerly a Ryan stronghold, to Morgan McBrian Kavanagh, the descendent of Cahir McArt, in 1600. After this many of the Ryans move westwards into Tipperary which was under the protection of the Earl of Ormonde. (385)

So these Ryans in Kilkenny may have been the descendants of this incident? 

It also called to mind another link 

A high-status tomb at Fethard commemorating a Thomas Butler (son Edward Butler) and a Johanna Ryan. 

It is dated 1524 so over 100 years before the Book of Survey and Distribution but it still shows links between the Butlers and Ryans. 

From the Thesis - Medieval Graveslabs of Tipperary 1200-1600AD by Denise Sheehan - pers comm via email. 

Its inscription is said to say "Here lies Thomas, son of Edmund le Buttler and Johanna, daughter of Dermot O'Mulryan A.D. 1524". 

So this post is just the starting point on hopefully more research on the Ryans of Kilkenny. 

General Sir Richard Bourke - founder of Melbourne in Australia with links to Castleconnell in Limerick

 

By Derek Ryan

I took this photo without knowing anything about who General Sir Richard Bourke was. Amazingly now biographies of historical figures such as this guy are now very easy to find.

Although from two Tipperary / Limerick families in the Bourkes and his mother was a Ryan, Richard was brought up a Protestant. His father was John Bourke of Drumsally near Murroe and his mother Anne Ryan a daughter of Edmund Ryan of Boscable? Tipperary. 

He joined the British Army in 1798 and served with distinction in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A severe facial wound early in his career left him physically marked, but it did not hinder his advancement. After the wars, he returned to his Limerick estate, where he served as a magistrate and landowner, gaining firsthand experience of rural governance and social inequality in Ireland.

His administrative abilities led to colonial appointments, first at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and then, most importantly, as Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. Bourke arrived with liberal Whig ideals shaped by his Irish experiences. He pushed through reforms that expanded civil jury trials, reduced military dominance in law, supported emancipated convicts, and promoted religious equality through the Church Acts of 1836. These measures challenged the entrenched colonial elite and sparked intense political opposition.

Bourke also played a key role in formalising settlement at Port Phillip, laying the foundations of what became Melbourne, where Bourke Street still bears his name.

He returned to Ireland to Thornfield outside Limerick after leaving office and died in 1855. For more on him see the following link. 

Biography - Sir Richard Bourke - Australian Dictionary of Biography

The Fitzgibbon Monument near Castleconnell in Limerick

 

By Derek Ryan

I'm sure many of ye have passed this monument near the Castleconnell exit off of the M7 at Limerick (Junction 27).

I have passed it many times and finally got a chance to spot and have a look at it. It has been moved to make way for the nearby motorway and re-erected here. 

Some might say that the monument could have removed altogether as the Fitzgibbons record as landlords were mixed to say the least. 

They had the title of Earls of Clare, the 1st Earl John Fitzgibbon was anti-Catholic and pro the Act of Union. 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-FitzGibbon-1st-earl-of-Clare

It was the great grandson of the 1st Earl that is commemorated here. 

From the roadside information board "Lady Louisa Fitzgibbon and her first husband, Gerald Dillon, had this arch erected in 1875 in memory of their eldest son, Charles Richard George (1849-70), who died of blood poisoning aged 20. It was positioned over a road side pump originally installed by Louisa's uncle, John (2nd Earl of Clare).

Mungret

The memorial is a gabled, gothic arch of dressed limestone. Above the white marble memorial stone is the Fitzgibbon coat of arms and motto, 'NIL ADMIRARI' meaning 'to be astonished at nothing'. The arch was once surrounded by iron railings and was a well-known landmark on the Limerick to Nenagh road

Raheen

The pump continued in use until at least the 196os. In 2001 Limerick County Council dismantled the memorial to make way for the Limerick Southern Ring Road. It was restored in 2011 and re-built here in Richhill

The memorial prior to its removal in 2001. Neglected for many years, the column stones had cracked, the lead lettering had largely fallen out and the trough was buried"

Sarah McCutcheon

 

Ned of the Hill's Cave near Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary.

Ned of the Hill's Cave near Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary.

By Derek Ryan Bawn

Who was Ned of the Hill?

Ned or Eamonn O'Riain an Chnoic was an Irish Rapparee or Highwayman from near Upperchurch in Co. Tipperary. In folklore he developed a reputation as a kind of Irish Robin Hood, taking from the rich to give to the poor.

It is said that he went to France to train to be a priest but on a trip home to Ireland he got into some trouble and became an outlaw.

He fought during the Williamite War when many Rapparee's fought on the side of King James's forces.

Local folklore records that he led Patrick Sarsfield and his soldiers through the secret passes of the Slieve Felims on their way to blow up the Williamite Siege train at Ballyneety in Co. Limerick in 1690.

https://thetipperaryantiquarian.blogspot.com/.../sarsfiel...

In the mountain area between Cappawhite and Hollyford is the reputed gravesite of Ned of the Hill.

https://www.facebook.com/Thetipperaryantiquarian/posts/pfbid0TRN9zVZgT9iGqhPj1sDDgXKLoCrVyEXP4KHrTYY1yt7LokGVQYJhujpoHKJ2wuanl

Another physical location associated with him is a hide-out or cave that was mentioned in the Irish Schools Folklore Manuscripts as being in the hills behind Cappawhite.

I have been looking for further information to try and pinpoint its location for a number of years.

This year local hiking guide Jimmy Barry (who provides guided tours in the area and particularly in the Glen of Aherlow) contacted me following a post to say he thought he knew where it was located.

Recently he was kind enough to take me to look for it. He told that the story he heard was that a rope assisted walkway had been built a number of years ago into a gulley to allow someone from Tipp Fm to broadcast a piece about Ned of the Hill from near the "Cave"!

What he knew about it that it was more of a dug-out than an actual cave and the blue rope and stake in one of the pictures was kind of a viewing point.

The folklore in the Irish Folklore Commissions Main Manuscripts says this about Ned's Cave

From the Irish Folklore Commission's Schools Manuscriptions

"The Cave Naturally defended by contour at the back of the Terret. Entrance sufficient to admit man on horse.

Stream + small eas running by entrance. Used as a store during the Tan War. Rifles discovered in it recently (local press).

The Sheriff of Co. Tipp (Capt Foster) is proposing vote of thanks to me after one of my lectures on folklore, dispensed great interest in these caves expressed the ardent wish of visiting them. When he did arrive in Cappawhite he was not shown Ned's Cave as it is as useful now as it was in 1690-1715, ? ? ? ? ? we hide our cattle ? now when we learn the sheriff & his men are coming. We brought him into the old lead mines & he was equally "charmed & intrigued"."

https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbe/9000963/7260471

My guide Jimmy Barry recalls reading a newspaper article many years ago that there were some finds in this cave; a musket and sword and that kind of thing. I haven't chased that up as of yet.

So is where we visited the location of a Cave / Dug-out that has become filled in / overgrown? The schools folklore seems to suggest it was more "Cave" like and bigger as it could fit someone in on a horse. However we don't know how accurate this informant was. (Some of his other stuff isn't that accurate). This is certainly the valley marked on the map in the Irish Folklore Main Manuscript anyway so I feel we are very much on the right track.

Either way I really want to thanks Jimmy for taking me to view the site.