JEFF & BRIDGET'S RESEARCH

IN IRELAND

The Tipperary Portion (Sept. '96)

We drove to the small community of Templederry, in county Tipperary, because of the large numbers of Fogartys we had noted that originated from here in previous research. We spoke to a local who worked at the pub in town, and asked him if he knew of any Fogartys in the area. His response was awkward and somewhat suspicious (which is very out of character for the Irish in our experiences). He offered no help to our cause, except telling us to check out an old graveyard "up the road". We both looked around this area and found nothing, except Bridget noticed a castle on a hill in the distance. We made our way to these ruins by various narrow dirt roads. The Castle was in fairly good shape, and we wondered the history of the property. A farmhand was working nearby and Jeff spoke to him. He mentioned it was Eliogarty Castle, and went on to tell him of the rumours behind it. Apparently this was at one time the castle of the baron of this territory, built in the 11th century. It was said that the Fogartys lived here until the British invasion around the 14th century, when the crown confiscated everything, and they were thrown out. (Keep in mind that at no point did we tell this man our names or what we were looking for.) The castle was then given to the British Otway family and renamed. The family resided there for many years, until the Irish uprisings in the 1800's. It was gutted and partially destroyed. Then, around the 1920's, the Otways returned to try to reclaim the castle and the land. While rebuilding the castle, apparently 3 of the Otways were mysteriously killed. It was rumoured that the local Fogartys were responsible for these deaths. The remaining Otways departed, but not before they placed a curse on the castle, damning any Fogarty that tried living there. No Fogarty has resided there since, but is still farmed by a local John Fogarty, who lives in the next town and had "gone milking(?)" for a week in the bushes! A rather suspicious employment we think...

The following day, after spending a night in Tipperary town with friends (Mr. & Mrs. Bradshaw of Ach-Na-Sheen Guesthouse; Mr. Bradshaw works at the Tipperary Heritage Unit!), we headed out on some leads they had given us. We went to Inch House, just north - west of Thurles, on the T21, just outside of Bouladuff. I spoke to Mr. Egan who now owns Inch House, and started asking him questions on what he knew about the Fogartys and the house. Again, he seemed very suspicious of me, perhaps afraid I was there to make claim to Fogarty lands?! He told me that the Fogartys had moved to this parish around the 14th century, probably after they had been removed from Eliogarty Castle. When inside, I noticed the O'Carroll crest on a large stained-glass window above the stairway, of which he said the Fogartys have an ancient link. The Fogartys had owned Inch House (built circa 1460), as well as Fogarty Castle, just down the road in Ballycahill. Inch House was last owned by Phillip Duhr Fogarty of Ballypatrick, son of Derby Fogarty, who married Ellenor Ryan. Apparently after this, the house stayed in the Ryan family. There is an old private family graveyard behind the house with Fogarty graves dating back to the 1520's.

Fogarty Castle was in the family until the last of the male line, Dr. James Fogarty, High Sherrif who died in 1788. His brother Thomas, a navy captain, never married, so James left everything to his nephew (his sister's eldest son), Thomas Lenigan. Thomas became Deputy Governor of Tipperary in 1803. His eldest son, James, inherited the castle, and then left it to his surviving daughter, Penelope. Penelope then left it to her nephew (her sister Anna's son), John Vivian Ryan, grandson of the owner of Inch House. He then left it to his brother Major General Valentine Ryan who presented it to his cousin, a Ryan, who in turn left it to his nephew, George Ryan of Inch House in 1936. According to the postmistress of Ballycahill, the castle is now owned by a Dr. Ryan living in England.

We later learned that because of religious persecution, after their eviction from Eliogarty castle, some Fogartys denounced their Catholicism, and even changed their names to Ryan (a clan that seemed to have special privileges with the British rule), or married into the Ryan Clan, in order to be allowed to be land owners.

Dovea or "Little Purgatory" - This nick-name was also a hint given to me by my Uncle Ralph Fogarty. Mr. Egan also told me about the property (estate?) where the poorer and still catholic branch of the Fogartys lived once they were moved from the Eliogarty Castle area. Obviously, the Fogartys must have split into two groups. Those that wanted to keep their money and land would renounce their religion, and those who would not. The latter were the ones living in Dovea. It was therefore nick - named "Little Purgatory" because they were sent to live there as punishment for their religious convictions. This was located just around the corner from Inch House, about 2 kms away. We were told there was an old burial plot there near the buildings, but unfortunately when we found it (with the help of a local old character) the buildings and the graves had been recently bulldozed under! It is now farmland owned by the South Eastern Cattle Breeding Co., nothing is left except a few pieces of the stone.

We drove onto Ballycahill, about 3 or 4 kms away in the opposite direction, and there we found an old church in ruins, with many old grave stones inside and outside the church. Apparently it is an honour to be buried on the holy grounds inside an old church. We found some Fogartys and lots of Ryans, but nothing of importance. Then we drove through the town and down a dirt road and actually found Castle Fogarty. The exterior was in excellent shape, and the Fogarty crest was still above the entrance. The interior was completely gutted (1920's by the IRA), but an estate house had been added onto the side and rear and was in excellent shape and was being lived in. The niece of the current owner, Dr. Ryan of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, is the current tenant. It appeared that someone had recently been doing some renovation work on the exterior of the castle, as scaffolds and bags of concrete were set up.

We then drove to Thurles, where we found the library. We found the Fogarty Harp on display (which had belonged to Cornelius Fogarty of Castle Fogarty), and did some research on the area and copied pictures, surveys, documents, etc. The librarian here was EXTREMELY helpful.

The next day in Dublin, we went to the National Library to do some research. The resources and documents were endless, an unbelievable gold mine! Catholic parish record indexes, city & county directories, etc., etc. We also visited the General Registrar's Office and searched through the births, deaths, & marriage records.

We have noted in our research that the areas of Holy Cross (i.e.. Holy Cross Abbey), Thurles, and Templemore, along with nearby outlining settlements to be the original and still the strongest Fogarty populations in Ireland.