Johanna Phelan

Johanna was born in the townland of Jamestown, just outside Piltown, Co. Kilkenny on 29 January 1882. She was the first child of James and Anastatia Phelan. Sadly, her mother died shortly after her birth from septicaemia. Johanna was initially looked after by a ‘wet nurse’ Anastatia Earl at “The Turn” in Piltown until she was about three years old. Tower Hill in the 1900s xploder overlay Her father remarried in 1885 and it appears that the new stepmother did not want her stepdaughter, so Johanna stayed in Piltown and was reared by her uncle Richard and aunts Elizabeth and Margaret (known as Betsy and Mags) in the village. She was known as “Jo of the Hill”, since the house address was “Tower Hill, Piltown”, after the Ponsonby Tower1 which dominates the rise on the west side of the village, not far from the family home. The white wall on the left-hand side of the picture is the boundary wall of the family farm, and the Ponsonby Tower can be seen at the top of the hill.

Piltown in 1900s xploder overlay Johanna went to primary school in Piltown. During her childhood Piltown was a thriving village with butcher, bakery, shops and Anthony’s pub. It also had a courthouse, Garda barracks and creamery2. Johanna had a strict upbringing with rigid religious observation. The photo shows what Piltown looked like in the 1900s, when Johanna was in her teens.

She later attended the Presentation Convent in Carrick-on-Suir. She cycled or walked to school each day, a distance of some four miles, where she was taught by Mother Evangelist who was still in the school when her children attended there in the 1930s. Johanna and her class, 1900s xploder overlay Presentation Convent xploder overlay Family lore has it that she was selected at the school to attend the Presentation Convent in Clonakilty for teacher training. The intention was that girls attending for training were potential candidates for joining the convent. She spent some time in Clonakilty but did not join the Order and returned home as a Junior Assistant Mistress. She taught in her local primary school in Piltown village until she got married.

Patrick and Johanna Wedding Photo, 1911 xploder overlay Patrick and Johanna's wedding gift clock, 1911 xploder overlay Johanna does not appear to be recorded in the 1901 Census. She is recorded living at home with her uncle and aunts in Piltown in the 1911 census. Later that year Johanna married Patrick Lynch. Patrick was from Co. Westmeath. He came to Piltown as a horticultural adviser, and was staying as a lodger nearby, when he met Johanna. They were married in Piltown church on 26 July 1911. They received a mantel clock from the local fruit growers’ association to mark the occasion.

With May and Nellie, ca. 1914 xploder overlay Johanna and Patrick lived for about three years a few miles from Piltown, in the village of Fiddown on the shores of the River Suir, and their two eldest children May (Mary) and Ellen (Nellie) were born there. The photo shows the family posed on a motor bike with side car around 1914. At the outbreak of World War I Patrick lost his job with the Department of Agriculture3. He then became a clerk at the Morris coal importers yard in Fiddown and the family moved back to the house at the Tower in Piltown and remained there for the rest of their lives. They shared the house with the uncle and aunts who had reared Johanna.

Johanna with Tippo xploder overlay Patrick, Johanna with Edward xploder overlay Johanna loved gardening and had a pretty garden at the west side of the house. She enjoyed spending time there with her much-loved dog Tippo. In later life Johanna and Patrick welcomed family home for visits including their grandson Edward (born 1950).

Author at Johanna's grave xploder overlay Johanna died on 14th February 1956 at the age of 74. Her husband Patrick, a taciturn man, did not survive long without her and died six months later, on 12 August 19564. They are buried together in Piltown Cemetery.

1 See here for more information about the Ponsonby Tower.  ↑

2 A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese are produced.  ↑

3 Family lore suggests that he was expected to join the army at the outbreak of war and lost his job when he failed to do so.  ↑

4 Family lore suggests he “took to bed” after she died and did not recover.  ↑