Ryans are not too common in Kilkenny. I wonder if your John Ryan might have been related to my great great grandparents, Michael Ryan and Mary Neary from (I believe) Knocktopher, Ballyhale. The emigrated to Massachusetts in 1849 with my young great grandfather David and daughter Alice. Four more children were born here.

I would just like to thank you for your delightful short family history of the John Ryan family. Elegantly writtten, your account is engaging and informative both historically and  genealogically. Thank you for the lively detail, your broad and well referenced reseach and the way you convey your felt personal connections. You also provide some valuable snapshots of the broader Queensland settlement history and illustrate the way family history can provide valuable insights into family health profiles. I am not connected to your Ryans (the closest I come is Loughrea - my great grandmother and her family came from nearby Ardrahan,Co. Galway) and nor am I a Queenslander but I enjoy family histories like yours. Thank you.

David Brown
 

Thank you, David, for your very flattering comments.  I'm feeling very chuffed.  I've enjoyed my research for over 20 years now and am feeling the urge to get more of it into story, especially as I'm rapidly approaching my eightieth birthday.  I've written a short book about the Ryan family and another about my father's paternal line, the McCoys. But much remains to be written as the research has uncovered some remarkable tales, both good and bad, sometimes about the same person! 

Cheers, Margaret Taylor.

Hello, Joe, As far as I know we are not related, but there are always dangling threads in research, and it is certainly a possibility. :)

Cheers, Margaret Taylor, Brisbane, Australia

Hello Margaret,    I must put forwardsome words too about your family.  I too have irish realtives and am researching them.  Great grandmother Mary  O'Connel came from County Kerry  and eventually lived and died in Mt Morgan. One of her daughters, Mary Anne aka Minnie, my paternal grandmother born Mt Morgan but her later years in Mackay. So yes I'm always excited to hear about both those places.   I've been to Mt Morgan many times and once to Mackay.  Well done 

Cheers, 

Lorraine Carter, Western Australia

Joe and Margaret greetings from another family descended from Ryan’s in County Kilkenny. My great grandfather, Laurence Ryan  was born about 1800 and lived most of his long life in Castlecomer. He fathered between 15-20 children through his first wife Margaret Comerford, who died about 1850 and his second wife Mary Lalor who was my great grandmother. Most of the children who survived early childhood emigrated to NYC or Philadelphia but some later married and moved to Los Angeles and Quebec. My grandmother Johanna Ryan was possibly the only child who stayed in Ireland. She married Patrick Brennan a farmer from Cruttenclough which is a few miles from Castlecomer. They moved to a large farm called a Foxmount which is just a few miles south of Waterford City. My father was born at Foxmount and emigrated to NYC in 1926. We have done a lot of research on the Ryan family and have found descendants of many of Laurence’s children. We also found another Ryan family that descended from James Ryan who lived on a farm called Wildfield in the town of Muckalee which is less than 10 miles from Castlecomer. Through our research and DNA matches with descendants of James Ryan we have concluded that Laurence and James were most likely brothers. More recently we have identified a Denis Ryan who we believe was also their brother. It is very likely that the three of them had more siblings. While none of Laurence Ryan’s descendants emigrated to Australia, we know that several of James Ryan,s did. It appears that Margaret’s great, great grandfather Denis Ryan was about the same age as Laurence and James Ryan and could possibly be their brother as all three lived in County Kilkenny not too far from each other. We would be interested in learning any information you may have about Denis Ryan. We believe that Laurence and James families originally came from County Tipperary which is known for having many Ryan’s.