the byrnes of woodenbridge

Welcome to the Byrnes of Wicklow website. This web page is part of the original Rundle/O'Rourke website that embraces all the Families of my ancestry. It touches on several family names such as Drew in England, Rundle of Plymouth, England and of Drogheda, Ireland The O'Rourkes in Leitrim, Ireland, the Shanleys, Gilbrides and Morans, also in Leitrim, an last but not least the Byrnes of Wicklow. You may find connections to your ancestry on these pages. If you do, please contact me throught the links at the bottom of this page. If you would like to participate in this genealogy project, please contact me using the "contribute" box at the bottom of this page. Thank you, from Al O'Rourke.  

This branch of the Family had been difficult to research because the Byrne surname can be found in every nook and cranny of Co. Wicklow, Ireland. However a member of the family Michael Byrne in Arklow discovered this site and subsequently with his valuable contribution, this Byrne page has been born. My grandmother, Agnes had given me fundamental information of her Byrne ancestry of which she was very proud, and it is on this that we build a fuller story. Some of the photos on this website are of lower quality, but if you would like a full quality copy of any photo, please get in touch with me. Likewise if you feel that you can add to the story, or can correct any errors, or even if you feel that you would like to take over the Byrne part of this website please contact me by clicking on "contribute" at the bottom of the page. Now.... enjoy the Byrne stories.....

Sarah Agnes Byrne (pictured left) was born sometime between may 1861 and may 1862, in Avoca, Woodenbridge,County Wicklow. She had a twin sister Julia who died in infancy. A fuller story of her life can be found through a link at the bottom of this page
        

Julia                 (Died at birth or in infancy)

George             (Teacher and later, Turf Accountant), 

Michael,            (born around 1870, see below)

Daniel               (Farrer), 

Mary-Anne         (married Richard O'Brien)  (see Delahunt, Dempsey)

Margaret Mary   (became a Mercy nun at Yarrawonga in Australia, she died there in 1947) 

Michael Byrne, was born around 1870 and married Julianne Giffney from Wicklow Town. Julianne was the daughter of Thomas Giffney and Mary Lindsay. Michael was Baker in the main and later acted as an Undertaker), they lived in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow where he learned the baking trade in Fitzpatrick's Bakery. Later they lived at 3, Quarantine Hill, Wicklow where they reared their ten children. The children were Tom, Mick Junior, Mary, Theresa, Leo, Roy, Kathleen, Eileen, Lindsay and George.
The family moved to Arklow and lived in one of the houses opposite The Dainty Bakery. Myles and Tom worked in Kynock's Explosives factory. There was an accidental explosion in the factory in 1917, and Myles along with many others was killed at a young age.

It is said that Julianne (nicknamed by locals as "Deadfeather" possibly because she had a feather in her hat pointing downwards) was an astute business woman and she bought Nr. 25 King's Hill and they opened a bakery. It was a very succesful enterprise with some 15 vans and 2 lorries doing deliveries as far north as Bray, far out to Roundwood and south as far as Ballygarret. There was quite a crew in the Byrne Bakery, 17 drivers and at least 4 bakers employed. Have a look at the photo below. 
Not only would they deliver to shops, but also to many house dotted around the countryside. When they arrived at the beginning of a long lane leading to a house they would often see a stone wrapped in a newspaper to indicate that the house wanted bread. Another service they provided was to bring home-produced butter from the farmers back into Arklow. This was done free of charge.

Coming soon on this page, the story of how the Byrnes peacefully ended a strike at the bakery without negotiating with the strikers.

This is a photo of Michael Byrne Junior, taken from the original photo below.

Please note that the quality of photos on this site is reduced. If you would like the full quality photos, please e-mail me.

                  webmaster@orourkerundle.com 

Would you like to add to the Byrne story? You can start by telling people about this website and inviting them to visit. Send them this link:
                       http://orourkerundle.com/byrne1.htm 
Perhaps you can add your story or stories about your family if you are connected. We would all love to hear from you. To contact us, use the "Contribute" box below.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to offer a special word of thanks to my cousin Michael Byrne (photo here on the left ) in Arklow, County Wicklow for his valuable participation that made this page of our website possible. Without his help, I would have spent the next 300 years walking among the Wicklow Hills looking for headstones and birth certificates. Michael is a great-grandson of Myles Byrne, second from the right in the photograph above left.