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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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