Nolans of Fisherstown.

My Paternal Grandmother was Elizabeth Donoher of Fisherstown. Elizabeths' Mother was Margaret Nolan, also of Fisherstown. Margaret was born in 1849 and was one of a family of three. The Nolans had lived on the farm in Fisherstown for at least three generatiosn prior to this. Margaret Nolans parents were Garrett Nolan and Jane Donaher of Eyne. Margaret had a brother Pat who was unmarried and a sister Jane who married Jimmy Mooney of Riverstown Co. Kildare.

Framed Memory Card for Margaret Nolan of Fisherstown.

EXTRACT FROM FAMILY TREE NOTES.

In Killenard graveyard there is a headstone erected to the memory of one Garrett Nowlan who died On 7th April 1788 aged 80 years. The fact that the plot that it marks is our family plot and that Garrett is still a family name indicates that this Garrett Nowlan is one of our Ancestors. He would, I believe, be my great, great great Grandfather. Unfortunately there are a few gaps in the line and maybe someday when I retire I will look up records in the church to help fill up those gaps......

To get back to my own backyard however I have in my possessiona birth certificate of one Patrick Nolan (different spelling) born in 1839. Through my Mother and old neighbours I heard a lot of this Pat. It seems he was a harmless upright man unable to suceed in even the life of the last century. I once heard him described as lazy. Be that as it may, Pat, it would seem, farmed here in Fisherstown for quiet a long time. His Father, Garrett, died when his family were young, so it is possible that Pat was farming from his teens until he gave up his birth-right to his brother in law when he was about 40 years of age. I never heard anything of his Mother but I feel that she may well have been alive and keeping the family together until shortly before her younger daughter Margaret married John Donoher of Kilbracken in about 1879. A few family decisions seem to prove this; Pats sister Margaret was about 11 years younger than him but he had another sister Jane. Jane formed an attachment with one Jimmy Mooney, who seems to have been a bit of a "neer do well" or at least that was the opinion of one prominent neighbour who advised Pat to get his sister off and married lest Jimmy would come into the family home and oust Pat himself. Whether there was any other reason or not I do not know but Jane and Jimmy took things into their own hands and went off and got married without any hassle.
Some years later Jane died leaving two children after her. I never heard what became of the boy but the girl, another Jane, was reared here in Fisherstown and later married a John McCormack in Derrydavey, near Mountmellick. Now Pat's mother was a Jane Donoher or Dinaher from Killeen near Mountmellick or to be correct Ballintaggart. It seems that they were well off farmers and one of their enterprises was to travel a horse for stud purposes and one of their places of call was here in Fisherstown......

So Pat Nolan was born 1839 and his Mother was Jane Donaher. It is possible but unlikely that she was a daughter of one Bryan Donougher who died in 1825 aged 75 and is buried in Portnahinch Graveyard under a stone from which I got my information. Bryan Donougher born 1750
His Son - unknown,
His Daughter Jane Donougher or Dinaher, born abt. 1820,
Her Daughter Margaret Nolan, born 1849,
Her Daughter Elizabeth Donoher (different Donoher family), born 1882,
Her Son, myself Simon J Luttrell, born 1923.

The above is an extract from Family tree notes compiled by my late Father, Simon J. Luttrell of Fisherstown in the 1980's.

Drawing of Nolan (Nowlan) headstone in Killenard Cemetery referred to above.

UPDATE

Since taking up the family tree work as a hobby in 2003 I have been able to answer some questions of my Father but have of course created many more for myself. I have collected some information from the parish records but there is never enough time to get all the information available on microfilm. Most of this information is included in the family tree chart below. In addition to that I have searched the Tithe applotment books of Fisherstown and of Eyne near Mountemellick and can with almost complete certainty that Pat Nolans grandfather was also Patrick Nolan and that Jane Donougher's father was Michael Donougher.
In addition, thanks to help from Jack McDonald, I am including here photos of two gravestones in Portnahinch. One is of Bryan Donougher, possible father of Jane and the second headstone is of Daniel Donougher who may in turn be his father.

We know that Pat Nolan had two sisters and it seems there were no other children, we do not know however if his Father, Garrett, had any siblings. I understand that his Grandfather Patrick had at least on brother, Garrett who had land leased in Ballyshaneduff at the time of the Tithe applotments in 1826. This is an area to explore as I hear from Bill Flynn of Courtwood that the Nolans of Fisherstown were related to the Nolans of the Hermitage and of Ballintogher. Also there was a Ned Nolan from Drealton who moved off to Ballintubbert who was said to be related. This is backed up by the fact that there is a modern Nolan headstone next to our Family headstone and I hope to find out more about this line of Nolans in the future.

Gravestone of Bryan Donougher in Portnahinch.

Gravestone of Daniel Donougher of Portnahinch.

  Descendants of Garrit Nowlan, Fisherstown.

1 Garrit Nowlan, Fisherstown, Co. Laois, 1708 - 7 April 1778, Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
+Unknown
........ 2 Garrett Nolan, Fisherstown - Ballyshaneduff ?
........ 2 Patrick Nolan, Fisherstown, abt 1750's -
............ + Unknown,
....................3 Garrett Nolan, Fisherstown, abt 1800's -
.....................+ Jane Donogher, Eyne, abt 1820's -
.............................. 4 Patrick Nolan, Fisherstown, Dec 1839 -
.............................. 4 Margaret Nolan, Fisherstown 6 Feb 1848 - 20 Apr 1908, Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
................................ + John Donoher, Kilbracken 1846 - 3 Feb 1920, Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
........................................ 5 Jonathon Donoher, Fisherstown, 29 Nov 1878 - 1 Dec 1941, Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
........................................ 5 Gerard (Garret) Donoher, Fisherstown, 13 Aug 1880 - 7 Sep 1934, Finglas, Co Dublin, buried Ballybracken.
.......................................... + Mary Behan, Sally Island, 1879 - 5 Feb 1938, Finglas, buried Ballybracken.
........................................ 5 Elizabeth (Lizzie) Donoher, Fisherstown, 18 Jun 1882 - 14 Aug 1943, Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
.......................................... + Daniel Luttrell, Courtwood, Co. Laois, 2 Jun 1877 - 12 Apr 1958 Fisherstown, buried Killenard.
............................................... 6 Simon J Luttrell, Fisherstown, 23 Oct 1923 - 3 May 1995, Portlaoise, buried Killenard
................................................. + Living Fitzpatrick,
......................................................... 7 : Living descendants
.............................. 4 Jane Nolan, Fisherstown, Nov 1849 -
................................+ Jimmy Mooney, Riverstown, Co. Kildare, -
........................................ 5 James (?) Mooney, -
........................................ 5 Jane Mooney - Derrydavey, Mountmellick,
......................................... + John McCormack, Derrydavey Mountmellick, -
................................................. 6 John McCormack, Derrydavey, Mountmellick
................................................. 6 Alexander (Sandy) McCormack, Derrydavey, Mountmellick, 1891 - Jan 1965, buried Mountmellick.
................................................. 6 Jane McCormack, Derrydavey Mountmellick, died young.
........ -

LAST UPDATED 25 February 2010