These photos of Thurles in Co Tipperary were taken by Robert French between 1870 and 1910. They are part of the Lawrence Collection in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin. The National Library’s complete collection of Digital Photographs can be found here. You can use the search box to find particular areas in all the collections.
The Fanning families lived around and in Thurles. My direct ancestors were all baptised in Thurles Parish.
hi there it lovely to the old photos of thurles.my great granparents lawrence and sarah dunne had a shop there in 1901 at 60 main street thurles.i think it is were the ulster bank is now and i was wondering if you had any photos of it or know were i might find any thank you
If you have subscribed to ancestry.com there are many old photos there in the Lawrence Collection which is in the National Library in Dublin. I will have a look and see if there are any different ones of Main St Thurles. When I get time I will put up some more photos of Thurles and Tipperary Co.
Hello Kathleen, this was sent to me today from a distant cousin of my husbands.
Re M/s Dwyer, I have shipping record of the lady you refer to.
I’m sure it’s my cousin Noelene and Barry Wilkes that given you the story of her and the Mr. Manning. I’m pretty certain these are the people your referring to are.
I have a copy of the shipping record of William Manning aged 24, Anastasia Manning aged 22, and infant daughter 1. her name was Katherine, arriving in Australia June 1863, also with them was John Manning’s wife Catherine Manning and her son James Manning aged 6.
we don’t have any proof Anastasia worked for the Manning’s, but that story has been brought up in conversation.
I couldn’t close this without commenting and correcting what has been written here.
I am a G. Granddaughter of William and Anastasia Manning.
Gosh what a lovely lot of photos and history you have of the Fanning’s, I wish I had early photos and history of their lives of my Manning’s and Dwyer ancestors.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
June Kennedy
Hi June,
Lovely to hear from you.
The link you sent didn’t lead anywhere so I’m not sure what you received from your husband’s cousin re Ms Dwyer.
I got the story of Ms Dwyer and Mr Manning from Kate O’Sullivan who is a descendant of Edward Fanning who bought Shanbally House from Mr Manning before he headed off to Australia.
I’d like to hear the story of their marriage as you have heard it.
Kate told me that a couple of Australian Manning descendants were looking at her parents’ house and they were invited in and their two stories were pieced together.
I understood that a pregnant Ms Dwyer was sent out to Australia and that Manning followed.
Is this what you have heard? I’d like to know the details of the passenger list re her.
What was her first name and what was Manning’s? Was he William and she Anastasia?
regards
Kathleen Fanning
Hi. I was interested in contacting Kate O’sullivan for more information on Shanbally House . Would it be possible to forward my emAil to her or provide me with hers? Many thanks.
Jackie Keating
Hi Jackie,
I’m being lazy but you can contact Kate on Facebook. She is Kate O’Sullivan and went to Ursuline Convent Thurles and born Mar 29. She lives in Dublin and runs the Vanilla Pod Eatery in South Dublin. If this doesn’t work for you get back to me and I will contact her and send her your email. regards Kathleen
Thank you! I was able to contact her!! 🙂
Hi, my wife’s family (RYAN) came from Thurles House at the top of the main street. Her grandparents both died of the flue (James & **** Ryan). They had oneof the first bottled water companies thatoperated from Thurles town. Don’t know if they are connected to your family but, the time frame is correct. my wife has tracedher family back to some time in the 14 hundreds.
Hi John, thanks for your post. Have any Fannings or Fannins popped up in your wife’s research by any chance?
That is amazing that she has been able to trace your family back so far.
regards Kathleen
The problem is that Ryan is such a common Irish surname it is almost impossible to track ancestors.
Hi,
I’d like to ask for your advice. My Thurles ancestors include Finns, Ryans and Shaughnessys. My great-grandmother Catherine Finn left Ireland in the 1870s and settled in Lancashire, England. I would very much like to find some living relatives in North Tipperary. Is there a local genealogy society that could help?
-Bob Blakey
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi Bob,
I don’t know of any local genealogical societies in Tipperary. It all depends on how much you already know about your Tipperary ancestors. I traced mine through property records at the Valuations Office in Dublin and then wrote a letter to the present owner of the ancestral property. You are looking for the descendants of your great grandmother’s siblings. You can search Griffith’s Valuation records, records at Rootsireland (pay) or go through the Tipperary Family History Research center, again this costs. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Hi
I would like to contact John Gallagher whose wife s names Ryan
As my relatives were also from thurles house
I have been tracing the family and we may be able
To exchange info
Thanks
Glenn Ryan
I will pass your email address on to John Gallagher. Good luck.
Hi Glenn,
It would be great if you could contact me about Ryan family history as I expect you have lots of interesting information! My father’s mother was brought up in Thurles House (my dad was a first cousin of your dad’s, and I think we may have played together as kids many years ago!),
Thanks,
Gay Casey (or O’Casey)
Hi Gay,
I will email Glenn Ryan and pass on your email and message. regards Kathleen Fanning
Hello Kathleen. I have been researching my family for about 22 yrs. now. I used to be a vol. for RAOGK , random acts of genealogy kindness, untill the web site suddenly closed last year. If you were looking for Fannings or anybody in your tree in Rock Co. Wisconsin, you went through the Admin. office, they in turn E mailed me, then I E mailed the searcher to find out what they wanted. I searched court house records, newspapers, and photographed graves. I also never charged anybody, but accepted postage as gratuity for my time. I loved it. I wonder if we couldn’t do the same with Co. Tipperary in different parishes. I don’t have the brains or no how to set something up like this. Would we also be able to find volunteers in Co. Tipp.?. I myself would be willing to pay. I don’t want to get into the money part, but I have spent to much money for researchers that have tried. Just a thought in my mind.
Crashhup@aol.com. Kath. see my next page.
That is a great idea, only problem is that I don’t live in Tipperary or Ireland but Australia! I too miss RAOGK.
Kath. In 1855 in Rock Co. WI. U.S.A. My GGGgrandfather Cornelius Conley (Conely), and his wife Sarah sold their property in Rock Co. and purchased property in Green Co., the next county over. Wittnesses on the sale of property were William and John Fanning. The Fannings are still here in Rock Co. Wisconsin after all these years. I am related to the Craddick, Cradick, Craddock, Quinlan, and Ryan familys of Moyne, Thurles, Fethard, Co. Tipperary, IR. Though you would enjoy that. I am still helping other people on my own that need help in Rock Co. Wisconsin, USA. Feel free to contact me. I will try my best.
Crashhup@aol.com
Kathy, I’m sorry, I thought you lived in IRE. It would still work in AUS. I used to help people from AU. It should work in any country as long as we knew who to get in touch with. Country, State, County. It all sounds possible to me; I hope!!! or Wishing!! I will be the first vol. in the USA, state of Wisconsin, Rock County. Immigrants from Co. Tipperary, IR.
Cheers. I even know how to speak your language:)
Dennis Craddick, the Icky Part of the Ock Family.
Crashhup@aol.com
Dennis
Crashhup@aol.com
At the moment I am still working. After I retire I should have more time.
Kathleen
Do you have any info on a Joseph Fanning, I am told he came from the Borrisleigh area outside Thurles,. He married Mary Heffernan from Ballinure, Co Tipp. they lived in The Mall/Thomond Rd, Thurles. Both are laid to rest in St Patrick’s Cemetery, Thurles. Joseph passed July 1943, Mary Nov 1952, she was 76yrs.
Any info would be appreciated.
Hi Angela,
Offhand I don’t know anything about Joseph Fanning and Mary Heffernan but Borrisoleigh is very close to Lissaroon where my Fanning ancestors came from. Do you have anything more specific as to where he came from? a place name? regards
Kathleen
Kathleen
Sorry only other info at moment. I will come back to you if I find any other info.
thank y
My ancestor Edmond Finn was born in thurles about 1805 would their be a Catholic Church record of his birth or baptism he also married their about 1830 and had 5 children that I know about all born in thurles between 1831 and 1846 would their be church records relating to them. Thank you
If you were to go to the National Library in Dublin all the Parish registers would be there.
Online your only chance is through Rootireland.ie. I looked and there were no Finn births or baptisms for 1805. You might be able to find Edmond’s children through this site. But Rootireland does not have all the Thurles records online as yet and you have to pay for each record.If you know Edmond’s wife’s name or the names of their children that would help with searching Rootsireland. Edmond can be entered as Ed or Edward or Edmund which further complicates searching.
The only way apart from going to Dublin is to commission a search through Tipperary Family History Research. Of course you have to pay but they will look up the microfiches and should give you an idea before if they can help, before you pay. But there are no guarantees that they will find what you want. You used to be able to get access to the Thurles parish records in Thurles but now they make you go through TFHR. I have used TFHR and had great results and found them really helpful. Good Luck.
Hi guys,
Great photos here. I was wondering could you point me in the direction of more old pictures/images of Thurles?
Thanks,
Neville.
These photos are in the National Library in Dublin. If you follow the link I have added in the post it will take you to a list of all there photographic collections. Type in Thurles in the search box and all Thurles photos will be listed. Some wonderful photos. They are adding more all the time. Have fun. Now I can’t resist looking through their amazing old photos!
Hi, my wife Tara Ryan appears to be related to some of the above as your (or similar) names appear on her family tree, which she has traced back to BC…yes BC !! she has lots of family photos and intresting facts on her ansestry.com site.
John Gallagher
Hi John,
With a surname like Ryan that is quite an achievement to trace back to BC!!
I think I have had contact with your wife Tara in the past as we have some connections with Fannings and Ryans in Thurles.
Maybe through ancestry.com messages. I have my tree on ancestry but haven’t kept up my subscription. Do you know what the crossovers are in our ancestries by any chance? regards Kathleen
Forgot to say her family are the Ryan “brogeens” not sure of spelling but a nick name or family associated name can help when tracing.
I have attempted to study the FANNIN surname over the years. While very early document references , around 1200, quote the name as both Fannin/Fanning, there is little information on the two names. It has been suggested to me by a genealogist, that those who changed their religion to protestant also changed their name, dropping the ‘g’, a sort of yuppyfication. My family are all from Tullygarvey in Cavan, and I can’t go much further back than about 1870.
Any comments on this theme would be much appreciated.
Samuel
Hi Samuel,
It is a fascinating topic the variation in surnames and the reasons. I also have read that Fannin was more a Protestant version but in my Fanning family that is not so.
My earliest ancestors Catholic Fannings were always listed as Fannin whereas later descendants always used Fanning. My line was always Catholic ??? Unless they changed to Fanning because Fannin became a Protestant surname?
Not many people could read or write so I think people wrote down names phonetically and the written word was not as important as it is today.
My gggrandfather who emigrated to Australia in 1841 used Fanning, Fannin, Fannan variations or at least those recording his name used these variations.
Going back to medieval times in Co Tipperary the name is listed as Fanin,Fanyn, Fannyn, Ffanyng, Fannyng, Fanyng, Fannyng, Faninge, Fannying, Fannynge…..these were Norman variations as the Fannings were originally Anglo Norman knights.
I love your old Thurles pics.I am trying to research my John Day ,Jane Day, and Ellen Murphy Day in Thurles around 1810-1865 yrs Do u happen to know names of any Catholic churches in that area that I could email and see if they have any records on this family thanx if u can help
Hi Charise,
You could find the names of the different parishes and churches and emails on the net. Thurles Parish email is parishcentre@Thurlesparish.ie. Thurles Cathedral used to let people look at their records but now they will refer you to Tipperary Family History Research and you have to pay for them to research for you. I have had them do some research for me and they are good but it does cost. There are Thurles parish records on the Rootsireland website for North Tipperary. But they don’t have all the records and you do have to pay 5 euros per record. Otherwise all the parish records are in the National Library in Dublin on microfiche. I don’t know how you would go emailing parishes other than Thurles you might have some luck. You would need to know which parish they were born or married in.
Thanx Kathleen! It’s good to know that Family Research Center is good.I have been in touch w/ them and know that they cost.RootsIreland.ie doesn’t have any info from Emly-Cashel diocese-Family research has the market on that.Do u know of any graveyards besides St Mary;s where members of Cathedral of Assumption would have been buried at?I looked online at The St Mary’s graveyard list and there was a Thomas Day from 1777 but that was the only one.Any other ones close by there?please reply
The only Thurles one I know of that has transcriptions online is Killinan transcribed by Jim Ryan. Sue Grieves has also transcribed a number of Tipperary cemetery gravestones. You could ask on the Hidden Tipperary or the Famine Museum site if anyone knows of cemeteries in Thurles. But unless you are in Ireland you still have the problem of these records not being online.
Dear Kathleen,
I am a Tuohy from Holycross, Thurles. I note with interest your Fanning origins.
Don’t know if you are already aware of the following: In the early 1800’s three Fanning sisters married three Tuohy/Toohey brothers in the Thurles area. One of these couples had two sons, Thomas and James who emigrated to Melbourne circa 1860. James was an MP in the Victorian parliament. Thomas was in the wine and spirits business with a man by the name of Gleeson in Melbourne. Thomas’ grandson, Frank Toohey is still alive and living in a nursing home in Glen Iris. One of Frank’s daughters is married to Tim Colebatch the jounalist who has written entensively with The Age. The Tooheys in Melbourne also have a long association with Sacre Coeur – both as students and religious.
Have a look at this http://mcgrathsearch.com/files/The%20Neighbors%20in%20Ireland%2012-05-11.pdf
Thanks Eugene for reminding me of the McGrath amazing site and the Tuohy Fanning marriages.
I came across them when I first started researching my Fanning Irish ancestry.
I didn’t find any immediate connections to the Fannings of Lissaroon so I left off researching the Fanning women.
Do you have any idea if they were sisters or who their parents were? There seems to have been at least one Fanning family at Glenreigh.
Also do you know of any Touhy connections with the Fannings of Lissaroon, Clondoty or Lisdonowley?
WHEN the National Library puts all the parish records online I will have a look for the marriage records of the Fannings and Touhys.
I also didn’t know that some of your Touhy ancestors came out to Melbourne, my home town, and settled and prospered there.
regards
Kathleen
Hi, Kathleen,
My maiden name is Trant and we are related to the Trants of Dovea House. From my research I’ve found that the relatives of Col. Fitzgibbon Trant are buried at St. Michael’s Church of Ireland close to their home. I’m including this because the Trants lived in Co. Tipperary for many years and I believe the Fannings lived in Dovea House as well. I’m in ancestry.com so will look you up in that to see if we are related. Thanks so much for posting these pictures of Thurles; they are wonderful. We hope to return to Ireland in August 2022 and visit there as well as the Dingle peninsula..
Hi Carol,
The Trants were a very wealthy land owning family originally from England.They would have been Protestant and were part of the ruling class.The Trants and Fannings are not related.The Fannings did not live at Dovea House that was what was referred to as “The Big House”. They lived at Lissaroon. If you google the Trants there is a lot of info on them online. Dovea House is now owned by the South Eastern Cattle breeders’ Society and you may well be able to visit when you are there.
Have a wonderful time exploring beautiful Ireland in 2022. I hope to get back there also. Regards Kathleen
Hi Kathleen,
I was wondering if you had ever heard of the Kirwan family? I have a great-great grandmother who came from this area of Thurles! According to family stories, this family raised steeple horses in the area.
Hi Steven,
I have not come across Kirwans who raised steeple horses but of course there were Kirwan families in Thurles and surrounding areas.
One of my ancestors Thomas Fanning, a cattle dealer, married an Anastasia Kirwan. Would need more info to establish any links.
I suggest you post on a site called Ireland Reaching Out.
They have local people who help. You are in need of local knowledge to find your Kirwan family. Post under Thurles Parish.
Good luck Kathleen
Thank you so much for getting back to me!
You’re welcome.
Do you know the names of your great great grandparents who were said to raise steeple horses?
Also any dates for them or other info?
They might be in the 1901 or 1911 Census for Co Tipperary (census.nationalarchives.ie)