Carrick-on-Suir - Book of County Tipperary, 1889
About “The Book of County Tipperary,” 1889
George Henry Bassett produced 7 Irish county directories in the 1880s: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Kilkenny, Louth, Tipperary and Wexford. Each provides useful history of the respective counties as well as lists of office holders, farmers, traders, and other residents of the individual cities, towns and villages.
The directories are naturally an invaluable resource for those tracing family history. The Book of County Tipperary is the first of these to be made available on libraryireland.com, with its own search page. However, there are a few points to bear in mind.
- This online version is designed primarily as a genealogical research tool and therefore the numerous advertisements in the original book, many full page, and quite a few illustrated, have been excluded.
- The text has been proofed with due care, but with large bodies of text typographical errors are inevitably bound to occur.
- Be aware that there were often inconsistencies in spelling surnames in the 19th century and also that many forenames are abbreviated in Bassett’s directories.
With respect to the last point, surnames which today begin with the “Mc” prefix, for example, were often formerly spelt as “M‘,”. For a list of some of the more common forename abbreviations used in the directory, see Forename Abbreviations.
To enjoy the rich variety of advertisements, confirm accuracy of the entries, or have a printed record of a family member, obtain an original or facsimile copy of The Book of County Tipperary.
Population 6,583, in 1881.—Fishing, salmon and trout.
Carrick-on-Suir, in the barony of Iffa and Offa, east, is on the Waterford and Limerick Railway, 13¾ miles, English, east of Clonmel, and 14¼ miles west of Waterford. The town occupies the northern bank of the Suir, within a short distance of the point where it touches the County Kilkenny. Its jurisdiction for governmental purposes extends to Carrickbeg, at the opposite side of the river, in the County Waterford. This is represented as a ward under the Towns’ Improvement Act, 1854–5, and is connected by two bridges. The stranger entering Carrick-on-Suir by rail is favorably impressed by the first view. From the station the road reaches the principal thoroughfare by an easy descent, passing a tastefully planted and neatly-kept public park, and through New-street, where there are several places of business, indicating extensive trade. Immediately after entering Main-street two bank buildings of considerable size are seen, and in line with these are a great many good-looking houses devoted to the various purposes of trade, extending to and beyond the West Gate. Kickham, formerly called Lough-street, is reached by way of the West Gate, and it, too, has many well-built houses, and well-stocked shops. Bridge-street, narrow and quaint, leading to Carrickbeg, across the old bridge, has a few good business houses. Carrickbeg has the general appearance of a self-contained, thrifty village, far from the competition of a populous town. A number of merchants, largely engaged in trade, make head-quarters here.
The industrial activity at Carrick-on-Suir is insignificant compared to what it was a hundred years ago, but for a town, in a purely agricultural county, depending for prosperity almost entirely on the farming classes, its position is quite respectable. The land of the surrounding country is good for pasture and tillage. Dairying is general, but since the establishment of a creamery, a short time ago, many of the farmers have given up butter-making. A butter market, held in the town, secures a supply every Tuesday during the season ranging from 600 to 150 casks. A market is held every Saturday for hay and straw, potatoes, turnips, fowl, lump-butter, etc., and grain finds a market every day during the season. Fairs for cattle, sheep, etc., are held on the last Thursday of every month and on dates given in the list of fairs at the end of the book. A pig fair is held on the Monday before each monthly fair.
The sources of employment at Carrick-on-Suir include woollen manufacture, conducted on a small scale by hand-loom, a tannery, sawing and planing mills, a brewery, a carriage factory and flour and corn mills. The preparation of sallows for firkin-hooping, basket-making, etc., from November to May gives occupation to nearly 200 people, men and women. Along the Suir at this place there are many osieries belonging to farmers and others. The manufacturers pay on an average about £4 per acre for a crop one year old and £6 for a two years’ old crop.
Within a short period important building improvements have been made at Carrick-on-Suir. Among these may be mentioned the Catholic church, convents, school-houses, and a benevolent institution founded by individual munificence. The most notable public work was the erection of a splendid bridge from the eastern end of the town to Carrickbeg, 1880–1. It is composed in part of stone and iron, and consists of seven arches, two piers and three spans. An iron plate facing the road-way, states that it was named “Dillon Bridge” in honor of John Dillon, M.P., while he was imprisoned at Dundalk, 1888, under the Coercion Act.