Francis Hassard Burkitt : Short Biography

In the 1911 census Francis Hassard Burkitt is listed as living in Stradbally town with his wife Jane (54), daughters Margaret Edith Burkitt (26), Winifred Mary Burkitt (23), Emily Frances Skottowe Burkitt (22), Agnes Irene Burkitt (21) and servants Johanna Whitty (38) and Mary Bowen (23).

The census notes they are a Church of Ireland family -- entirely unsurprising, given that Canon Burkitt was the Rector of Stradbally from 1886 until his death in 1939. His father was the Archdeacon of Clonfert, Co. Galway and the Rector of Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. His son (1887-1980) was a Navy Chaplin during WWII, Rector of Portlaw, Co. Waterford, and Canon of Waterford Cathedral. Confusingly, all three generations went by the exact same name: Francis Hassard Burkitt.

The second Francis Burkitt (1855-1939) was artistically talented, working with coloured glass and in the early 1900s, he is credited with producing the mural in the Fews Catholic church. He was still riding his penny farthing bicycle in his seventies. He lived in Stradbally's Old Rectory. His wife continued living there after his death until 1943, when the Carrick-on-Suir Mercy Sisters bought it.

For an image of Canon Burkitt on his penny farthing, see Waterford County Museum's blog post.

Source: Tom Hickey, John Keane and Brian Corry, Stradbally na Déise II (2013), p. 211.