Thoughts on the Origins of the surname Bray with particular emphasis on the Brays of Tipperary.

Edward  MacLysaght said of the surname Bray that it was of dual origin; Bray may be a toponymic, de Bré (in Cornwall; seldom Bray, Co. Wicklow) also modernised Bree; or the Irish Ó Breaghdha (indicating a native of Bregia, a territory in Meath, formerly well known in Muster (i.e, native Irish).[1]

The Reverend Patrick Woulfe wrote: de Bree, de Bre, de Bray, Bree, Bray; i.e.,' of Bree,' in England, or ' of Brie,' in Normandy, or possibly ' of Bray ' in Co. Wicklow (Irish Bri).[2]

The Brays appear to have a played in prominent role in the history of Clonmel, County Tipperary. The name appears in many documents in the 16^th century.  Clonmel was a Norman town and it is likely that the name Bray in Clonmel had Norman origins.

14 Jul. 1588

"Pleas held at Clonmel before John Bray, esquire, soveriegn

of Clonmel and seneshcal of the Liberty, and his fellows, on 

Tuesday next after the feast of SS. Peter and Paul in the 30th

year of Elizabeth in the assizes there."[3]

In 1632 they were still using the Norman form of address in Clonmel.

John Bray FitzThomas FitzEdmond, Clonmel Esq. Burgess, bequeath my soul to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost three persons in one Trinity and the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Marie and to all the Holy Company of Heaven and my body to be buried with my ancestors in the Holy Conf of St. Francis his Monastery in Clonmel. I have enfeoffed my nephew John Lee of City of Waterford and Peter Con… of Clonmell merchant of all the   …  barns, yards, gardens, meadows, pasture lands, tenants etc in Co. Tipperary … to have  … and deed of feoffment bearing date thirteenth day of March in the present year of the prosperous reign of King Charles over England, Scotland, Fraunce  and Ireland the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1631 … at large may and doth appear.

To my two daughters Christian Bray and Kate Bray one hundred Pounds of … in England…

To Michael Bray FitzPiers FitzThomas of Clonmel (1^st to John, then his son Michael, then to Michael his son and then to his own brother James, then to his cozen Piers Bray FitzMichael…

I do will devise bequeath to my said  son John Bray my silver salts, my silver tester (or taster) six silver spoons, two high bed stools with their  … and furniture all my tables, carpets, cushions, stools, forms, chayres, cupboards, chests, my harpe, tables, the great Crucifix or picture I lent Mr Richd Wadding of Waterford deceased and my … etc

To my well beloved wife Beale Bray alias Lee for and during her natural life and the  … brought unto me by her out of Waterford on our intermarriage and also the rest … of the said saults, tester and spoons which my said son  is without household his keeping them. I also will and appoint that my said son John Bray shall have and receive the gould Jewell bequeathed by my father unto me which now my sister Anne Bray has after the decease of my said Sister.

…(?) Executor his son and heir apparent John Bray and appoint my cousins Mr Piers Bray and brother Mr Thomas Bray.

John Bray of this my last will and testament to  …. Executors the fifth day of April in the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1632.

John Bray. Signed and sealed in presence of James Bray, John Brahynoke (?), Christian Bray, John Bray.[4]

Members of the Bray family in Clonmel were later dispossessed of their property.

John Bray: Burgess of Clonmel, Conf. Kilkenny and M.P. Clonmel in St.(?) James II parliament, lived at Garondillon in 1677: he had forfeited under Cromwell and by deed of 26 Mar 1669 was demised 478 acres in Knockballymallow/Knockballynemollogh for term of 31 years, by Thomas Juxon.

Dates vary for the dispossession. The year 1691 is also mentioned in accounts. According to William P. Burke in his History of Clonmel ‘after the Restoration the Brays made a vain attempt to recover their property in Kilsheelan Street and elsewhere in the town. They subsequently obtained a farm from Captain Mathew at Galberstown, near Thurles. Captain Mathew was George Mathew, half brother of the 1^st Duke of Ormond, a local landlord who held many thousands of acres of land in Tipperary. He resided at Thomastown Castle, County Tipperary. The Mathews were originally from Llandaff in Wales.

The Bray name is also found in Fethard, County Tipperary. The history of Fethard is inextricably linked with the Normans, and in particular with William de Braose, nephew of Philip de Braose.  Fethard remained in his possession until 1208.

Archbishop Thomas Bray of Cashel [1749-1820] was born in Fethard, the son of John Bray a wine merchant. John Bray was born in Fethard in about 1710 and was the son of Francis Bray who served as Constable to the Fethard Corporation in the early 1700s. There do not appear to be any earlier records of the Bray name in Fethard. Did they come from Clonmel like the Brays of Thurles, or could Francis have come from Cornwall where the name is common? His grandson James later became a doctor of medicine in Falmouth, Cornwall. Was this simply a coincidence? Or could the Brays of Fethard have a different origin as descendants of the founder of Fethard, the Norman William de Braose?

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[1] The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght. Dublin, IUP, 1973.

[2] Irish names and Surnames, Rev. Patrick Wolfe. Dublin, Gill, 1923.

[3] The State Papers of Ireland

[4] Bray wills, Four Courts Dublin, copied by me I.R.B.Jennings 17 Nov 1890.

Mary Bray [abt. 1769 - ], Thurles, County Tipperary

Mary Bray was the daughter of Luke Bray of Galberstown, County Tipperary and his wife Mary Phillips. She was the granddaughter of Samuel Phillips of Foyle, County Kilkenny, and Sarah Max of Gaile, County Tipperary.

Mary was a minor when her father died in 1774. She is mentioned in his will:

Luke Bray, bequeathed his interest in Galbertstown Co Tipperary to his Executrix his wife Mary  Phillips in trust for his son John Bray - and to herself £40 p. a. - until her son (John) is 21 yrs of age - and thence to Samuel Edmond Luke and Robert., to each of whom he leaves £200. To his daughters, Eleanor and Mary Bray £300 each at 21 yrs age marrying with their mothers consent.

Nothing more is known of Mary Bray.

Eleanor Bray [about 1767 - ], Thurles, County Tipperary.

Eleanor Bray was the daughter of Luke Bray of Galberstown, County Tipperary, and his wife Mary Phillips.

Nothing further is known of Eleanor Bray.

Edmond Bray [1761- ]

Edmond Bray was the third son of Luke Bray of Galberstown, County Tipperary and his wife Mary Phillips.

Part of the Will of 1777. Will of Thos Max of Killough -made 14 Mar 1777. Codicil.:

…Edm Bray & his heirs, son of Mrs Mary Bray, to have profits of Carrow subject to £21p.a willed to Mrs Mary Bray, by my brother James Max.

Edmond’s grandmother was Sarah Max of Gaile.

He married Mary Keating in 1781.[1]

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[1] Ireland Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage Licence Bonds indexes 1623-1866

Mary Bray and Biddy Bray [1795 - ], Ellen Bray [1797 - ], John Bray [1800 - ], Thurles, County Tipperary

 Mary and Biddy Bray were born and baptised  in Thurles, County Tipperary in 1795, twin daughters of Luke Bray and Anstice Cormack. Sponsors at their baptism were  Alice Bowe, Thomas Cormac and Biddy Cormac.[1]  Their sister Ellen Bray was born in 1797. Ellen’s sponsors at her baptism were John Bray and Bridget Gleeson.[2]  Their brother John was born in 1800. John’s sponsors were John and Bridget Cormac.[3]

Their parents died in 1801, Luke Bray in June. Anstice three months later in September. They are buried at Holy Cross Abbey.

Mary and Biddy would have been only six years old at the time. Their siblings Ellen and John  were even younger.

What became of them after they were orphaned?

A Mary Bray married John St. John in 1824 in the presence of John Bray and Mrs Bray. Could this be Mary, one of Luke Bray’s daughters??

An Ellen Bray married John Meghan in 1828. Was this Ellen, daughter of Luke Bray?

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[1] Catholic Church Records. Thurles. Baptisms. 02489/04. P. 3. 1796. [www.nli.ie ]

[2] Catholic Church Records, Thurles. Baptism 26 December1797. Mf 02489/04. Page 10. [www.nli.ie]

[3] Catholic Church Records, Thurles. Mf. 02489/04. Baptism 2 September 1800. [www.nli.ie].

Mary Bray, Thurles, County Tipperary

 Mary Bray was the daughter of John Bray, of Thurles, County Tipperary, and his wife Mary Fogarty.

She married Denis O’Brien. They had two sons.

1. John Bray O’Brien [1805-1839]

John [Luke?], of Denis O'Brien and Mary Bray, Main Street, sponsors John Bray, Elizabeth Bray. [1]

John Bray O’Brien died by drowning in 1839.

Tipperary North Riding Summer Assizes 1839. Thurles 1st August: John Bray O'Brien J.P. of Turtulla drowned. With his two brothers and his cousin german, John Bray Esq., went boating on River Suir, very swollen after recent heavy rain, on Wednesday 31 July. At bridge of Cabra, the boat struck a concealed weir and capsized. The other three scrambled ashore but O'Brien was cast headlong into the water and drowned. He merited high esteems (sic) and affection. Considerate and indulgent as a landlord: friend and benefactor to all in neighbourhood: upright and impartial as a magistrate.

2. Francis Bray O’Brien [1806-1870]

Francis, son of Denis O'Brien and Mary Bray, sponsors Thomas Lanigan of Castle Fogarty and Margaret O'Brien wife of Ml. Ryan of Abington.[2]

Francis Bray O’Brien married his first cousin Frances Agnes Bray, known as Fanny, the daughter of Luke Bray and Ellen Ronan, in Thurles on the 24^th of November 1840. They had six children.  Francis died in 1870. Fanny died in 1874.

O'Brien, Jan 12, at Ardfort House, Thurles, after a long and painful illness, Francis Agnes, relict of Francis Bray O'Brien, Esq., J.P. [3]

Both are buried in St. Mary's Graveyard, Thurles, along with other members of the Bray O'Brien family.

Denis O’Brien died on the 26^th April 1812.  

His widow Mary Bray married again, to John Burke. They had three children. Mary Helena Burke [1813-1889] also found as Bourke, Emily Burke, and William Burke.

Mary Bray’s granddaughter Mary Helena Bourke married Charles Laurence Toole on the 8^th of October 1839 in St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin. They had nine children. Their fourth son, Edmund Toole, born in 1848, was a recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1879, in recognition of his services at Ulundi, Zululand, South Africa.

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[1] Catholic Church Registers, Thurles 02489/04 P. 6 1805 [www.nli.ie]

[2] Catholic Church Registers. Thurles 02489/04 P. 14. 1806 [www.nli.le]

[3] The Belfast Newsletter, Jan 16, 1874.

Edmond Bray, New Road, Thurles, County Tipperary

Edmond Bray was the son of John Bray [1755-1826] of Thurles, County Tipperary, and his wife Mary Fogarty [1756-1799].

He married Mary Purcell. They had one daughter, Mary Bray, born in 1809.

Mary, daughter of Edmond Bray and Mary Purcel, New Road, sponsors John Dwyer and Anne Fogarty.[1]

Anne Fogarty was probably a cousin of Edmond's. His mother was Mary Fogarty.

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[1] Church Records, Thurles, Baptisms, 02489/05 P. 31 1809  [www.nli.ie]

Robert Bray [abt 1759], Thurles, County Tipperary

Robert Bray was the son of Luke Bray of Galbertstown, County Tipperary  and his wife, Mary Phillips, daughter of Samuel Phillips of Foyle and Sarah Max of Gaile, County Tipperary.

His father, Luke Bray, died in 1774 when Robert and his siblings were still minors. Robert, his brothers John, Edmond, Luke, and Samuel, and his sisters, Eleanor and Mary, are mentioned in their father’s will. Robert received a bequest of £200.

James Max of Killough, County Tipperary, in his will, proved in 1775, lists the children of his cousin Mary Bray [nee Phillips].

To Mrs Mary Bray during viduity and no longer £20 yearly out of the Commons of Cashel, if interest continue so long also £0 immediately to buy mourning.

To John Bray, her eldest son, £50 at age 21. To Ellenor, Mary, Luke, and Robert Bray £10 each at such time as ex’rs think proper.

His brother Thomas Max, also of Killough, in his will dated 1777, also left Robert £20.

To cousin Mary Bray £50 and to her son John Bray £100 exclusive of devise mentioned. To Simon Bray and Edmond Bray, sons of said Mary Bray 10 guineas each at 21. To Luke Bray and Robert Bray, younger sons of Mary, £20 each, over and above legacies left them by my brother James Max, which sums I direct to be paid as apprentice fees with them, and to Ellinor Bray £20, and to Mary Bray, daughter of said Mary £30.

No further records for Robert Bray have been found.

Samuel Bray [abt 1763-] Thurles, County Tipperary.

Samuel Bray was the son of Luke Bray of Galberstown, Holy Cross, County Tipperary and his wife Mary Phillips. He was also the grandson of Samuel Phillips of Foyle and Sarah Max of Gaile, County Tipperary

His father, Luke Bray, died in 1774 when his children were still minors. Samuel, along with his brothers John, Edmond, Luke, and Robert, and his sisters, Eleanor and Mary, is mentioned in his father’s will. He received a bequest of £200.

James Max in his will proved in 1775 omits the name of Samuel when he is listing the children of his cousin Mary Bray [nee Phillips],

To Mrs Mary Bray during viduity and no longer £20 yearly out of the Commons of Cashel, if interest continue so long also £0 immediately to buy mourning.

To John Bray, her eldest son, £50 at age 21. To Ellenor, Mary, Luke, and Robert Bray £10 each at such time as ex’rs think proper.

Was this in error?

His brother Thomas Max in his will dated 1777 includes Samuel.

Mary Bray and her sons, John, Samuel, Edmund, Luke & Robert.

To cousin Mary Bray £50 and to her son John Bray £100 exclusive of devise mentioned. To Simon Bray and Edmond Bray, sons of said Mary Bray 10 guineas each at 21. To Luke Bray and Robert Bray, younger sons of Mary, £20 each, over and above legacies left them by my brother James Max, which sums I direct to be paid as apprentice fees with them, and to Ellinor Bray £20, and to Mary Bray, daughter of said Mary £30.

He then refers to Simon Bray. Is Simon in fact Samuel?

Samuel would still have been a child in 1777. There are no further records of his existence.  Is it possible he did not survive to adulthood?

Frances Agnes Bray [1813-1874], Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary

 Frances Agnes Bray [Fanny] was the third daughter of Luke Bray of Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary and his wife Ellen Ronayne.

Frances, of Luke Bray, farmer, and Ellen Ronan, Ballycarrane, sponsors Maurice Ronan and Mrs. J. Bray.[1]

She married Francis Bray O’Brien [1806-1870]. Francis was the son of Denis O'Brien and Mary Bray and a cousin of Frances Agnes.[2]  They were married by His Grace the Most Reverend Dr. Slattery on the 24^th of November 1840. A dispensation from a bishop was required on the grounds of two 2^nd degrees of separation or consanguinity.  Francis’s mother was Mary Bray, a sister of Luke Bray who was Fanny’s father. Francis’s grandmother was another Mary Bray which accounted for the second 2^nd degree of separation. William Joseph Burke and Anne Ronan were present at the marriage.

Maurice Ronayne of Knockaderry in County Waterford and Robert Lidwell of Templemore in the County of Tipperary were named in the marriage settlement.[3]

Francis and Fanny had six children:

1. Denis Bray O’Brien [1841-] of Ardfort House, Thurles, County Tipperary.

BIRTHS. At Thurles, Co. Tipperary, the lady of FRANCIS O'BRIEN, Esq, of a son and heir. [4]

2. Ellen [abt.1843-1899]. She is buried in St. Mary’s Graveyard, Thurles.

Ellen Mary O'Brien died at Thurles 30th Dec 1899 aged 56 years  

3. John Bray O’Brien [1844-] of Ardfort House, married Mary Desmond Power, eldest daughter of Richard Power Esq., of Ballydavid House, Thurles, County Tipperary in 1881.

4. Mary O’Brien [1846-]. Charles Tool and Mary Bray were witnesses at her baptism.

5. William Francis Bray O’Brien [abt 1849-1927], Ardfort House, Thurles, County Tipperary, married Kathleen Lloyd in London in 1881. They had one daughter Camilla O’Brien. William and Kathleen are buried in St. Mary’s Graveyard, Thurles.

William Bray O'Brien son of Francis Bray O'Brien who died at Ardfort 8th Dec 1927 aged 78   Also his wife Kathleen (nee Lloyd) of Lisheen Castle who died at Ardfort 22nd March 1953 aged 92 years

6. Francis James O’Brien [1853-] known as Frank.

In May 1855 the lands of Gortataggart, part of Gortnaclogh and houses and premises in the town of Thurles, the estate of Francis O'Brien, were advertised for sale.[5]

Francis Bray O’Brien died on the 1^st of November 1870 aged 64.

Frances, or Fanny, died on the 12^thof January 1874. 

O'Brien, Jan 12, at Ardfort House, Thurles, after a long and painful illness, Francis Agnes, relict of Francis Bray O'Brien, Esq., J.P.[6]

Both are buried in St. Mary's Graveyard, Thurles. Francis Bray O'Brien died at Thurles 1st Nov 1870 aged 64 years   Fanny Bray O'Brien his wife died 12th Jan 1874  

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[1]  Catholic Church Register, Thurles, 02489/05. P. 71 1813 ? Dec [www.nli.ie].

[2]  Catholic Church Registers. Thurles 02489/04 P. 14. 1806 [www.nli.le]

[3]  Bray O’Brien Registry of Deeds 1840-23-224

[4]  The Freeman’s Journal 12^th October 1841.

[5]  www.landedestates.ie

[6]  The Belfast Newsletter, Jan 16, 1874

James Bray [Abt. 1781-1825] of Thurles

 James Bray was the son of John Bray of Thurles, County Tipperary, and his wife Mary Fogarty.  He was named after his maternal grandfather James Fogarty.

He married Mary Kearney in 1810 in Thurles.

By Doctor Bray, James Bray of Thurles to Mary Kearney of Thurles, pres. John Bray his father and Mrs Kearney her mother. [1]

James Bray and his wife Mary Kearney were present at the marriage of Elizabeth Bray of Fethard to James Lalor of Mount Brilliant, Kilkenny, in 1812, in Thurles. Elizabeth Bray’s uncle The Reverend Thomas Bray conducted the ceremony and her sister Margaret was also present. Elizabeth's father James died in 1783. He had been a doctor in Falmouth. Her mother was Margaret Fullerton. Her sister Margaret never married and appears to have become a nun in the Presentation Convent, Cork. Her brother James [R.N.] died in 1813. Her other brother John Fullerton was in the East India Service. She and James Lalor had four children. Charles, Margaret and Joseph all died in infancy. Their surviving daughter Alicia Bray Lalor married O'Brien Mahony in Clonmel in 1861 and had one daughter Elizabeth Clara Mary. Elizabeth Lalor appears to have died in 1861.

The question is, why were James Bray and Mary Kearney of Thurles people of importance at the marriage? How might they have been related to Elizabeth Bray?

James Bray died in 1825 aged 44. He was buried in Holy Cross Abbey. There is an inscription on his gravestone:

Here lies the body of James Bray Esq., of the Town of Thurles who departed this life on the 1st day of March 1825 aged 44 years. In him the widow and the orphan lost a constant friend and true piety a perfect model. May he rest in Peace Amen.

Luke's second daughter Mary, niece of James, is also commemorated on the gravestone.

Also Mary second daughter of Luke and Niece of James Bray Esqr who died July 17^th 1877 aged 62.[2]

Mary Kearney outlived James by 24 years. She never remarried and died in Dublin in 1849.

Died, Feb 5, at an advanced age at Middle Gardiner-street, Mary, relict of the late James Bray of Thurles, Esq.[3]

She is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

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[1] Catholic Church Registers Thurles 02489/05 1810 P. 153. www.nli.ie

[2]  www.findagrave.com

[3] Freeman's Journal, Wed Feb 7, 1849

John Bray [1818-1872]

John Bray was born on the 7^th of December 1818 the son of Luke Bray of Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary and Ellen Ronayne. He was a twin, his sister was christened Johanna. Their baptismal sponsors were Luke Bray, Mary Ann Lalor, James Bray and Mary Kearney

On the 7th inst .the lady of Luke Bray Esq. of Ballycurrane of twins a son and a daughter. About a year back this lady had the same good fortune.[1]

John Bray was involved, with three cousins, in the accident at Cabra Bridge on the River Suir which resulted in the drowning of John Bray O'Brien, J.P., of Turtulla, 31^st of July 1839.

Tipperary North Riding Summer Assizes 1839. Thurles 1st August: John Bray O'Brien J.P. of Turtulla drowned. With his two brothers and his cousin german, John Bray Esq., went boating on River Suir, very swollen after recent heavy rain, on Wednesday 31 July. At bridge of Cabra, the boat struck a concealed weir and capsized. The other three scrambled ashore but O'Brien was cast headlong into the water and drowned. He merited high esteems (sic) and affection. Considerate and indulgent as a landlord: friend and benefactor to all in neighbourhood: upright and impartial as a magistrate.[2]

In 1860 John Bray was found to be of unsound mind.[3] He had been unwell for the previous 18 years – possibly since the year after the drowning at Cabra Bridge.

From 1860 he lived in residential care in Hartfield House, Dublin. He had a farm of 138 acres from which he derived an income. He was single.

John Bray died in 1872. His place of residence on the death certificate was given then as Westmoreland St., Dublin. Charles Toole had a seed merchants at 41 Westmoreland Street, Toole and Mackey, nursery and seedsman and florists.[4] He was married to John Bray’s first cousin Mary Bourke. This was later changed in the death record to Ballycurrane, Thurles. The informant was Denis Bray O'Brien, Ardfort House, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

He is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

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[1] Southern Register Thursday 17 Dec. 1818

[2] Tipperary Free Press, Saturday 3^rd August 1839.

[3] The Evening Freeman, 12^th June 1860.

[4] Pettigrew and Oulton's Dublin Directory 1842

Ellen Mary Clare Bray [1817-1900]

Ellen Mary Clare Bray was born about 1817, the daughter of Luke Bray of Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary and Ellen Ronayne of County Waterford. She never married.

She died in 1900 aged 84, and is buried at Holy Cross Abbey with her parents and sisters.

Bray, Ellen, 31 August. Probate of the will of Ellen Bray late of Thurles, Co. Tipperary, spinster, 11 August 1900 granted at Dublin to John B. O'Brien gentleman. Effects £5,707.4.2d. [520][1]

John Bray O’Brien of Ardfort House, Thurles, was her nephew, son of her sister Frances who had married Francis Bray O’Brien. He was married to Mary Desmond Power.

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[1]  www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie

Catherine Johanna Bray [1815-1902]

Catherine Johanna Bray was born in 1815, the daughter of Luke Bray of Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary and Ellen Ronayne of Ballindad, County Waterford.

Cat Johanna, of Luke Bray, gent, and Ellen Ronan, Ballycarrane, sponsor Mary Ronan.[1]

Catherine Bray sponsored her nephew Daniel Jennings, son of her sister Johanna, at his baptism in Tuam Cathedral on 27th May 1853.[2]

She was also a witness at the marriage of her cousin Ann Ronayne to Walter George Mansfield in 1853 in the Catholic Cathedral, Waterford.[3] After the death of Walter Mansfield in 1873, Ann married again, to Thomas Paul Sherlock, in Dublin, in 1874.

In 1877 Catherine was a beneficiary of her sister Mary’s will.

Ellen and Catherine Bray, the two remaining sisters after Mary’s death, are mentioned in both the newspapers and in Directories.

Concert in Thurles... The Misses Bray.[4]

As they grew older they lived in the Main Street of Thurles and not at Ballycarrane.

Bray, Miss Catherine, Main St., Thurles. (Gentry and Clergy).[5]

Thurles Misses Bray farmers residents Main St. Thurles.[6]

Ellen died in 1900 aged 84. Catherine’s brother Luke died in 1855, and her brother John in 1872. Her married sister Frances died in 1874. Johanna, married to Daniel Corley Jennings, was the only sibling still living.

Catherine does not appear in the 1901 Census. On October 22^nd 1902 Catherine Bray died aged 87. She was buried with her parents and sisters at Holy Cross Abbey, Co. Tipperary. Her nephew, Daniel Jennings, whose baptism she had sponsored in Tuam in 1853, was to be the last member of the family buried in Holy Cross in 1915.

Catherine had been the last surviving unmarried sister. Henrietta E. Jennings, Catherine’s niece and daughter of the last married sister Johanna, noted in her Private Account Book in 1903 ‘Ballycurrane title deeds can't be found.’  

Ballycarrane House no longer exists.[7]

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[1] Catholic Church Registers, Thurles, 02489/05 P. 86. 1815 [www.nli.ie]

[2] Baptisms Tuam Cathedral Register. NLI Pos 4222.

[3] Walter Mansfield and  Ann Ronayne Sps. Edward Mansfield and  Catherine Bray. 1853. Holy Trinity, Waterford Mf. HT02445/02. [www.nli.ie]

[4] Freeman's Journal, Jan 13, 1879.

[5] Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory 1881. Irish Origins.

[6] Bassett's Directory 1889

[7] www.buildingsofireland.ie

Mary Bray [1815-1877]

Mary Bray, second daughter of Luke Bray of Ballycarrane, Thurles, County Tipperary and Ellen Ronayne of Ballindad, County Waterford was born in Thurles in 1815. 

In 1850 she was a sponsor at the baptism of her sister Johanna’s son Ignatius Loyola Ronayne Bray Jennings in Tuam Cathedral, County Galway.

August 25th 1850: Ignatius Loyola of Daniel Jennings and Johanna Bray. Sponsors Charles Jennings and Mary Bray.[1]  

Mary died in 1877 aged 62. She was buried at Holy Cross Abbey, County Tipperary, with her parents and three sisters. Her name is recorded on the grave of her uncle James Bray who died in 1825 aged 44.

   Mary second daughter of Luke, niece of James, d. 1877 aged 62.[2]

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[1]  Catholic Church Records [www.nli.ie]

[2] A picture of the gravestone can be seen on www.findagrave.com.