Edmond Fannin and Johanna Darmody my gggreat grandparents were married in Thurles Parish Co Tipperary Ireland on June 16, 1808.
I have just received more information on them from their marriage record from the parish and also from their children’s’ baptism records.
On their marriage record Edmond’s address is given as Inch which is consistent with him being a son of William Fannin and Sarah Ryan of Lissaroon, although no parents names are given. William Fannin and Pat Darmody and Judith MacGrath witnessed the marriage. The officiating priest was Rev John Hickey.
Johanna Darmody’s address was given as the Race Course Thurles. So now I know where she lived before her marriage and where to look for her Darmody family.
On the earlier children’s baptism records Edmond’s occupation was given as labourer and their address was Racecourse but in Nov 1813 his occupation was given as farmer and address as Grange. In 1816 his address was also Grange.
In Griffiths Valuation, printed 1850, there is only one Fanning listed, Edw Fanning (Thurles) plot nine which is land only, a little over three acres, annual value of 4 pounds ten shillings. The Thurles in brackets indicates he lives in Thurles. Don’t know if he is related. In Racecourse in Griffiths Valuations there are no Darmodys listed in 1850.
On the parish registers the surname given for all the children and the father is Fannin with the exceptions of Edmond in 1824, Honora in 1823 and Honora Fanning born 1829. In these records Edmond’s surname is listed as Fanning.
In the Tithe Applotment Books 1833 for Race Course there is a Patrick Darmody, Johanna’s father or brother most likely. There are also a number of Callinans in this townland. They were often godparents for the children of Edmond and Judy Fanning.
In 1809 Edm Callinan was godparent to John Fannin, in 1810 Andrew Callanan was godparent to Michael Fannin, in 1821 John Callinan is a sponsor to Mary Fannin and a Mary Callinan sponsors Patrick Fannin in 1826.
Sally Darmody in 1823 and Philip Darmody in 1824 are also sponsors.
Hi Kath
I am so interested, having just discovered all your work on the Fanning family. My lot came from County Kilkenny in the early 1850’s and settled at Mullion Creek, near Orange, NSW. They did well on the gold fields at Ophir, bought a lot of property and I visit Ireland regularly to seek our new information. I am married with three grown children and work as a Professor of Epidemiology in a Medical School, although about to retire. What about you? How long has this passion drove you? It is very impressive and it would be good to make contact at some point. Kind regards. Paul Fanning
Hi Paul,
Great to hear from another mob of Fannings. Kilkenny is right next to Tipperary so I wonder if there could be a connection?? Where in Kilkenny did they come from? Can you fill me in a bit on your Fanning family’s early history just to see if anything sound familiar?
Being Australian and us having such huge states doing Irish genealogy I forget how small their counties are and how many families lived on borders with one or more counties and so their family history is not limited to one county. I have found it difficult enough just focusing on Tipperary records but I do wonder about relations in nearby counties especially Kilkenny.
I got the genealogy bug about 7 years ago and was totally obsessed with it for a few years. I have slowed down now as I ran out of info. When the National Library puts all the parish records online I will no doubt start up again. But I do get contacted by lots of people who are connected and that spurs me on to investigate here and there. I would love to go back to Ireland again and just do family history but as I am also about to retire from teaching here in NSW not sure I can really afford to do that. But you never know!
great to hear from you Paul. regards Kathleen
Hi Kathleen
Sorry to be so long in replying but work and other commitments have kept me hopping. We hail from Grauguenamanagh, a beautiful village in Kilkenny on the Barrow River. Last year I travelled to there and met with the local historian, Mr. Joyce, a fabulous person. He has published some great material and was keen to meet a Fanning who was a direct descendant. In fact he went further and did a search of the parish records and sent them to me. Mr. Joyce explained about the anglicization of our surname, jn its original form one of the oldest in Ireland with its links to Connaught. We had a wonderful time with him and intend to return in 2015 and 2016. Kathleen please email if you would like to catch up some time. I think you do fabulous work. Kind regards. Paul
Hi Paul,
I would like to know more of what Mr Joyce said re our surname and its anglicization and your Fanning family history in Kilkenny. You were very lucky to connect with a local historian. Some people do say it is a Gaelic name but I have my doubts given the medieval Fannings in and around Tipperary being of Norman descent.
If you are ever near Nambucca Heads send me an email and we can meet and have a coffee.