On this day in 1984, US president Ronald Reagan visited his ancestral hometown of Ballyporeen. Reagan’s great-grandfather Michael Regan (they picked up an ‘a’ somewhere along the way) was born in Ballyporeen in 1829.
After his return to the USA, the President took the time to pen a very thoughtful thank you letter to Edmond Brennan, Chairperson of South Tipperary County Council, for the welcome he had received in Ballyporeen and County Tipperary.
Reagan stated that the visit to Ballyporeen was a ‘deeply moving experience and once which I will always remember’.
Read the letter in full below which forms part of our collection in the Museum.
Marian Tobin from Tincurry, Cahir made history by becoming the first female County Councillor in Tipperary on this day in 1920.
She was the only woman on the ballot paper in the entire county and one of just 43 women elected nationwide.
Tobin lived a colourful life and played a significant role in the War of Independence. It was Tobin who sheltered Dan Breen and Sean Treacy following the Soloheadbeg ambush of January 1919 which triggered the War of Independence. In his bestselling 1924 memoir My Fight for Irish Freedom, Dan Breen said ‘I shall never forget her kindness to us that night’. Seamus Robinson, Commanding Officer at Soloheadbeg, confirmed that Tobin had been the first person to receive ‘with open arms and encouragement’ the men who carried out the ambush. Robinson went on to state that her home was in constant use by the IRA from 1919 until 1923 and that she was a ‘de facto’ member of the organisation.
Tincurry House was raided for the twelfth time in as many months and destroyed in May 1921 by British forces. By this time, Marian Tobin had made history after being elected County Councillor following an election on 3 June 1920. She entered Council Chambers for the first time on 20 June 1920 and served until 1925. Following her election, Marian waste do time in establishing her republican credentials.
In later years, Marian moved to Ballinard and then to Limerick with a reconstructed Tincurry House being put up for auction. She applied for a military pension in 1949 based on her service during the War of Independence. She stated that she had not previously needed help, but was now “sorely in need” of the money. In 1951, more than 30 years after sheltering Breen and Tracey, she was granted a pension of £18, 19 shillings and two pence a year.
Marian Tobin died in September 1955, aged 84 years. She is buried in Ballylooby with her husband James whom she had married in 1902. Her obituary described her passing as a loss to Ireland and her home at Tincurry as ‘a haven for hunted men’. Her grand niece Annette Condon said that all that remembered her spoke of her kindness and good humour, saying that she had time for everybody.
Sources:
The Nationalist, 3 January 2019, pp 26/27.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/woman-who-sheltered-dan-breen-granted-pension-32-years-later-1.3266227
The Nationalist, 08/05/1920, p6.
