Fenlons in Ireland

journey to ireland

Tim, Brian, Anne Treacy Fenlon, and Emmett Fenlon in County Wexford, Ireland on 8 Sep 1979

Today's post comes from Uncle Tim. 

in 1979 mom & dad, brian & i took our first visit to ireland.  we enjoyed seeing ireland’s historic places and experiencing its people, beautiful rural areas, cities and villages.  we also wanted very much to trace our irish roots.  mom knew the treacy/hayes history well, and we found all the places in co. tipperary she had learned as a girl.  the uncertain part was where grandpa fenlon had lived.  he never really talked about it.  mom had asked him and thought it was co. wexford in the southeast.

we started at the cathedral in enniscorthy-everyone was very helpful but had no records.  cromwell 300+ years before and all the uprisings had destroyed most of them.  we were passed to successively smaller parishes, and at late afternoon were in tiny oylegate.  the pastor greeted us with biscuits and tea by the peat fire.  he had no specific information, but said that fenlon/fenelon was probably a norman-anglo name, brought to ireland in 1167 when strongbow and the english invaded.

then he turned to mom saying “surely the lass has some irish in her,” and asked her maiden name.  when mom replied he said “ah treacy-how be ye spell treacy?”   mom spelled it and again he said ah and thought deeply for a few moments.  he then turned to dad and said “i don’t know how to tell you this sir, but your wife is more irish than you are,”  the fenlons’  had been there for 800+ years, but the treacys’ (with an e) had been in ireland far longer.