Cornelius Hanly
(01/01/1847 - 04/02/1910)
Cornelius Hanly (Conn Ua hÁinle), a dairy proprietor, was born in 1847 to parents Joseph Hanly and Agnes Margaret Cahill in Ardavon House, which is now Mount Carmel Hospital, located in Rathgar. Joseph and Agnes had several children: Anne Jane (born in 1833), Margaret (born in 1836), Alice Mary (born in 1839), John Philip (born in 1842), Agnes (born in 1843), and Cornelius Hanly (born in 1847).
Joseph, Cornelius’ father, was a successful solicitor. His career included several office locations over the years. He worked at 8 Upper Ormond Quay starting in 1847, moved to 6 Bachelors Walk in 1850, then to 25 Lower Gardiner Street from 1851 to 1868, and finally returned to 8 Bachelors Walk, where he worked until 1871. Cornelius had trained to be a solicitor but did not pursue it as a career. Joseph Hanly passed away on November 8, 1871. After his father’s death, Cornelius placed an advert in the newspaper to let 74 acres of land in Graigmore, Wexford owned by his family. Shortly after, the family moved out of Ardavon.
Cornelius’ aunt, a nun of the Sisters of Marie Reparatrice in Couvent des Oiseaux, Paris, had a significant influence on his life. His two sisters were educated in this convent in Paris. Cornelius married a French citizen Liontine Jossett in Paris, France, in 1874, just a few weeks after she became an orphan who had been attending the convent. The couple then moved to Graigmore, Wexford, where they had two children: Agnes (born in 1875) and Clemena (born in 1877). The family subsequently relocated to 8 Palanza Terrace, Cowper Road, in Dublin, where three more children were born: Con (born in 1878), Margurite Leontine (born in 1879), and Alice Rose (born in 1881).
The family’s connection with Crumlin started in 1882 when they moved to Glebe House in Crumlin, where they had additional children: Leontine (born in 1883), Dermot (born in 1884), and Magrath Phillipe (born in 1885). While still residing at Glebe House, Anna Assumpta (born in 1887) was delivered at 5 Bellevue Avenue, Rathgar, where Cornelius’ sister lived.
In 1890, the family moved to 8 Camac Place, now demolished but located where Dolphin’s Barn Fire Station is situated now. The family have provided us with some remarkable photograph of the house, garden and the canal nearby. The house was previously owned by Luke Doyle, mentioned in James Joyce’s Ulysses. One of the earliest meetings between Leopold Bloom and Molly Bloom occurs at Luke’s house during a party where charades are played. It is at this party that Bloom recalls kissing Molly, marking a pivotal moment in their courtship.
Their daughter Josephine Hanly was born in 1891 in Camac Place. Cornelius set up a dairy business soon after moving into Camac Place, with newspaper adverts looking for a boy “15 or 16, not older, to milk, serve, and make himself generally useful.” His son, Conn Jr., followed his father into the dairy business and became dairy manager of Conn Sr.’s business. On December 14, 1901, Cornelius was in court for allegedly removing 13% of fats from milk he was selling. On October 16, 1909, there are a few adverts on the sale of dairy equipment from Cornelius due to retirement.
In total, Cornelius and Liontine had eleven children, but tragically, by 1901, only five had survived, some dying young of phthisis (TB). On February 4, 1910, Cornelius Hanly died at Camac Place, and shortly after, in July 1911, his wife Leontine died. Conn Jr. took over the dairy business until his death on March 30, 1922.
His daughters, Agnes and Clemena, both worked as French teachers. Another daughter, Margaret, married her first cousin Joseph Francis Hanly, a son of John Philip (The King) Hanly and Theresa Fogarty Cahill of Knockboyne in Navan, previously Drinnadaly in Trim. Joseph was an engineer and had lived in India for approximately ten years, working on large engineering projects. Their child Dermot was born in 1910 in Camac Place, and Joseph opened up a taxicab business operating from Camac Place and later at the junction of Upper Rathmines Rd and Frankfort Ave. Joseph died in 1923.
After the 1916 Rising, the family made a successful claim of £12 12s related to damage to wallpaper and loss of furniture during occupation by the Sherwood Foresters at 8 Camac Place, Crumlin Road, Dublin. The connection with the local area ended when they sold the house in 1928.
Cornelius Hanly’s life was marked by notable achievements and personal tragedies. His journey from a solicitor’s son to a dairy proprietor, navigating through family influences and societal challenges, paints a vivid picture of life in 19th-century Ireland. The legacy of the Hanly family, intertwined with historical events and literary references, remains a testament to their enduring impact on the communities they were part of.
