Hugh William John (Matthew) Fanning : Short Biography

Hugh William John (Matthew) Fanning 1906

County Dublin

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Place of migration

Migrated to/Born in UK

Catherine Fanning formerly Boyland died on the 9th July 1914 at a hospice, she was aged 32 years at the time of her death. She was Hugh's mother. Her place of residence was recorded as 14 Russell Street. The hospice is around 3 minutes walk from Fitzgibbon Street. It was the same hospice that Charles Fanning would die at in 1918.

This had a drastic effect on the family and Mums father Hugh. At the time of Catherines death, the family were living in Richmond Terrace what happened between Catherine entering the Hospice and the family leaving that address is unknown.

The children lost their mother to TB in June 1914 and 6 months later were charged (November 1914) with “Wandering with no visible means of subsistence”. The boys (Richard and William-Hugh Fanning) were admitted to Artane Industrial School in Dublin, on 14th November 1914. The three daughters Kathleen, Edith and Caroline were placed in Merrion School in Dublin. One of the daughters (Edith/Eide) was taken out of the school and lived with Matt Boyland and his wife. None of the children were taken out by the Fanning family. The youngest girl Caroline died after 1 year in Merrion.

At the time the children entered these industrial schools (charges were from 1914-1921 or 7 years long) John Fanning was residing at Hardwick Street, again a few minutes walk from Fitzgibbon Street. He was in a lodging House (12 Hardwick St). The authorities knew his address as it is recorded on the Artane records. The view at the time was that the authorities were taking ‘ragged children’ away from broken homes and surroundings where a cycle of unwanted behaviour was likely.

The trail for John Fanning (their father) goes cold at this point. Not for want of trying. He doesn’t appear in crime, hospital, military, taxation or other records again (yet). He is not in Wills and is not in obituaries, he is not mentioned in burial records at Glasnevin – even though non family members were buried in Fanning plots on occasion. It may be a misunderstanding of the data – but it looks very much like John Fanning was ‘outside’ the family at this point. Future research may change that view.

The screen shot below for Richard is more informative (as he was older) It remarks his mother was dead, his fathers address and that he had sisters – gone to Merrion. These details helped identify the family (as no mention/memory of these events was passed on to me). Both boys were kept at Artane (infamous then and universally discredited and loathed now). The boys learnt trade/s and were then ‘apprenticed’ off to serve the remainder of their sentence.

Banagher–Quigleys. The Fanning boys were apprenticed toQuigleys of Banagher. It was a tailors/drapers shop.They arrived there in 1921 and seem to have left in 1924. They were checked every 6months by visitors from the Christian Brothers.“Apprentices worked in a room at the top of the back stairs. Bell at the bottom (like theballs used to call servants) to say the dinner was ready. She played schools and usedthe bell in play, but had to tell the apprentices that she was playing with the bell or theywould have thought the meal was ready.I’ll be ringing the bell, but you’re not wanted!At that time there was no connection downstairs between the front and back stairs. Ata later date the wall was broken through and a door created, but thatcaused thekitchen to smoke from the chimney.Apprentices ate dinner in the kitchen, family in dining room. Mother wonderful cook,dad would always say everyone was well fed. Lads would often go out in theevenings or stay in the kitchen. This respected everyone’s privacy.”This quote is from Eva Kennedy and there is a remarkable MP3 of Eva (1918-2016)recorded shortly before her death. This refers to the apprentices from Artane amongst otherthings.If you want to listen I can send on tracks, there arex10 of them, some mention the Artaneapprentices.The things which stand out most to me are as follows:Mr Quigley, the tailor designed and built a Dance Hall at the back of the shop, in the garden–it was huge. If you google it you will find stories ofQuigleys dancehall years later up to the1960s. It was a place where couples met.I notice that Hugh left in 1924.There was a Bridget Killackey Married to a Michael Deegan in 1923 in Birr. Bridget Killackey (ourMums mother) was the daughter of a soldierkilled in WW1 (PatrickKillackey), she was from an ‘army family’ and 1923 was the period when Ireland waspartitioned (north/south). In 1924–Hugh was 17. Around this time he left for England.Bridget Killackey grew up in Banagher. See Census below when she was 7 years old inPucha Lane. Every house in Pucha Lane had a Piggery and a Fowl house except No 10 (Where the Killackey Family lived).

Hugh must have met Bridget Killackey while in Banagher. They were 1 year apart in age, grew up in the same small place and he loved adjacent to the only Dance Hall for many,many miles. Quigleys was also a social hub.Hugh left one year after Bridget was married. How did they meet again?When did Bridget leave?How did someone married as a Catholic leave and marry Hugh?Bridget left, in the 1920s,she went to stay with her mother in Manchester. Her mother re-married (Joe Manning) and they lived in Salford, Manchester. Bridget became Barbara (not aname she was born with as far as I can see). Her surname changed from Deegan toManning. She would later change this to Fanning and would live most of her life as Barbara,Bridget Fanning.She married Hugh in a civil wedding ceremony in Hemel Hempstead in 1973.She was recorded as Bridget Deegan at that ceremony.Theremust be an incredible love story there, which we are seeing small pieces of. Name changes, civil war, dance halls, Catholic Ireland, emigration...........there is lots missing

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Additional Information
Date of Birth	26th Jul 1906
Father (First Name/s and Surname)	John Fanning
Mother (First Name/s and Maiden)	Catherine Boyland
Occupation	Tailor at Quigleys in Banagher
Place of Death	Swindon, England
Occupation

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My Great-Great-Grandfather was Lawrence Fanning born about 1827 Tipperary. Married Mary Stapleton born about 1832 Tipperary. They went to Guernsey where my Great-Grandmother Mary Elizabeth Fanning was born in 1855. The family migrated to Australia. Wonder if any connection. Marie Stewart

Marie Terese

Saturday 2nd May 2020 06:40AM

Hi Marie

I am not sure, though I do have a DNA match to some Fanning descendants in Queensland. I have not been able to trace a connection to Tipperary - my Fanning family were farming around Swords and Dunbrough House (now adjacent to Dublin Airport). However - I recommend you visit this link if you have not already, I think your family are discussed here:

https://fanningfamilyhistory.com/index.php/category/australian-families/

Joe Abrams

Saturday 2nd May 2020 10:05AM

Hi Joe,

What a treasure trove of family history you have provided for me. I can’t thank you enough I have read through it just now but will take time & really go through it slowly as my family are clearly mentioned. I will contact a lovely cousin who I connected with through our Ancestry DNA results a little while back In fact the DNA results disclosed a number of cousins from the Fanning family who settled in Esk, Queensland. Will get back to you when I have absorbed this amazing research. Again thank you so much Joe & I must check through the Ancestry DNA results to see if you are listed as a possible cousin. Kind regards Marie

Marie Terese

Saturday 2nd May 2020 07:37PM

Hi Marie

I am delighted that you are pleased. Its a great thing when you find something like that isnt it.

Here is my tree down to me on the Fanning side as far back as I can get it. As I say, The Fannings were farmers. They 'leased' land at Dunbrough House, north of Dublin and are associated with Swords and Dunbrough and Dublin.

My grandad Hugh was orphaned and moved to England, my Mum was Fanning and so I an now Abrams after my Dad then. I have done a DNA test with Ancestry DNA. You may find a connection with me on there.

John Fanning 1831-1884
2nd great-grandfather

John Fanning 1864-1944
Son of John Fanning

Hugh William John (Matthew) Fanning 1906-1979
Son of John Fanning

Eileen Fanning 1931-present
Daughter of Hugh William John (Matthew) Fanning

Joseph Abrams 1973
You are the son of Eileen Fanning

Joe Abrams

Saturday 2nd May 2020 08:34PM

Hi Joe, I contacted my cousin re the data on Fanning history & I have since learned that the researcher for that vast amount of information was Kathleen Fanning. My cousin & Kathleen Fanning are well known to each other & both have been trying to find if there is any link to the two families. Due to me reading the sad story of Hugh Fanning that you wrote they are now following more leads. I will let you know if anything new turns up. Regards Marie Stewart

Marie Terese

Tuesday 12th May 2020 05:46AM

Hi Marie

Lovely to hear from you. Your cousin is very welcome to look at the research I have on 'Abrams Walls Family Tree'. I have also written up what I have on my Grandfather and his siblings and parents. It is sad, lots of events and stories coming out of that period were. I have a DNA Link to a man in Australia who traces his family back to Swords, Dublin also. Thats a Fanning link. My closes DNA link is to a male whose grandfather was a foundling in New York at a hospital. He moved to Texas via an Orphan Train.

Such stories of poverty, orphans and travel to England, Australia and America are frequent I know. Still, the individual narratives, events and teh ripples down a couple of generations to now are very interesting.

I await any news with eagerness and would be happy to pass on teh documents and photos I have if they are useful. I have a sale document for the lease of Dunbrough House (1897) by CHarles Fanning (brother to my Gt Grandfather). The family moved to a relatively good house in North Dublin (the last residents, literally just before them were the family of James Joyce). Thats another story - but an excellent one and I made sure on the residency address and so on. I mention it, as its interesting, and because it makes the next part so amazing. My gt GRandfather John Fanning married Catherine Boyland and they lived not far from that address - but far enough to be in a slum dwelling which was declared unfit for human habitation on teh census. There was a lot of that at the time - but the death of Catherine from TB (typical of the slums) and dissapearance of John, their father, led directly to my grandad being orphaned and wandering. Its a huge turn of fortune in a 20 year period as it was 1914 when they went into Artane.

Joe Abrams

Wednesday 13th May 2020 08:35PM

Hi,

I am researching the history of my local GAA club in Moate, Co. Westmeath, and in doing have come upon a chap named Richard Fanning, sometimes referred to as Dick Fanning in other reports.

By all accounts, he was a really good footballer, and played with my club Moate All Whites in the late 1920's for six or seven years into the mid 1930's, and in that time he was chosen also to play with the Westmeath junior team.

In trying to establish 'who he was' there is only one piece of information known about him, and that is that he had spent time in Artane, no other details of his origins or background are known around here.

So, this post caught my eye, and if anyone thinks the Richard Fanning who once lived in Moate, could be the same chap mentioned in these posts, I would like to receive a reply about that.

Tom Duffy

TomasD

Saturday 25th November 2023 10:23PM

Hi Tom

Thank you for writing and good luck with your research into your local GAA club in Moate, Co. Westmeath. To the best of my knowledge the Richard Fanning or Dick Fanning in my family emigrated to England in the early 1920s. He worked as a tailor as he had learnt that trade when in Artane and then in Quigleys, Banagher. He later went on to serve in the Army in WWII. I dont have any details suggesting we was involved with Football.

That doesnt mean he wasnt - just that I dont have the details and I think he would have been living in England.

Sorry not to help more - but maybe this narrows the search which is also a useful thing.

Regards

Joe