Individual Details
Mary Anne ALLIS
(Abt 1861 - 13 Feb 1937)
After her parents' deaths Mary Anne lived in the family home in Hollyford, Co. Tipperary with her brother Jim. Following the death in 1899 in Soloheadbeg (also in Co. Tipperary) of the husband of her sister Bridget, Bridget left Soloheadbeg with her son, Seán, and returned to her old family home to live with Jim and Mary Anne. Then, around 1906, when Jim got married, Bridget and Seán returned to Soloheadbeg accompanied by Mary Anne who helped raise Seán.
According to an account of Seán's life provided to the Bureau of Military History in 1958 by his IRA comrade Dan Breen, neither Dan nor Seán cared much for Mary Anne. Dan tells us that "Treacy's father had died when he was very young and he, with his mother, lived with his aunt, about whom I can say nothing complimentary. She was a bossy, domineering type. She dominated Seán's mother entirely and tried to complel Seán to live in the groove she had marked out for him. To my knowlwdge she made life a complete hell for him by frustrating all his natural inclinations. She had no national sentiments and was intolerant of any such matters when Seán might allow his interest in them to become known in his house. Her effort was to make him work like a [n-word] on the small farm that they had and which could scarcely make a living for them. She would allow no relaxation for him whatever, nor any thought outside the sheer necessities of life. Immediately following 1916 she made strenuous objection to Seán keeping company with me and, in later years she always referred to me as "Breen, the murderer". She blamed me for having led her nephew into trouble which, in fact, was very funny and showed how little she understood her nephew as to think that anyone could lead him anywhere he did not want to go. I believe she had this view conveyed to the RIC [Royal Irish Constabulary], that is, that it was Breen who led Treacy into trouble, thinking perhaps she could in this way take the police off Seán's track by putting them on to mine, but I doubt if even the police then were deceived in this manner".
From reading the above, however, it could be argued that Mary Anne, while being of a bossy nature, had Seán's safety and the farm's survival at heart, and did all all she could to try to achieve this.
On her death record it is stated that Mary Anne was a housekeeper living on St. Michael St. in Tipperary. Her age is given as 75 and the informant is a niece named Elena Allis of Hollyford who was present at the death.
According to an account of Seán's life provided to the Bureau of Military History in 1958 by his IRA comrade Dan Breen, neither Dan nor Seán cared much for Mary Anne. Dan tells us that "Treacy's father had died when he was very young and he, with his mother, lived with his aunt, about whom I can say nothing complimentary. She was a bossy, domineering type. She dominated Seán's mother entirely and tried to complel Seán to live in the groove she had marked out for him. To my knowlwdge she made life a complete hell for him by frustrating all his natural inclinations. She had no national sentiments and was intolerant of any such matters when Seán might allow his interest in them to become known in his house. Her effort was to make him work like a [n-word] on the small farm that they had and which could scarcely make a living for them. She would allow no relaxation for him whatever, nor any thought outside the sheer necessities of life. Immediately following 1916 she made strenuous objection to Seán keeping company with me and, in later years she always referred to me as "Breen, the murderer". She blamed me for having led her nephew into trouble which, in fact, was very funny and showed how little she understood her nephew as to think that anyone could lead him anywhere he did not want to go. I believe she had this view conveyed to the RIC [Royal Irish Constabulary], that is, that it was Breen who led Treacy into trouble, thinking perhaps she could in this way take the police off Seán's track by putting them on to mine, but I doubt if even the police then were deceived in this manner".
From reading the above, however, it could be argued that Mary Anne, while being of a bossy nature, had Seán's safety and the farm's survival at heart, and did all all she could to try to achieve this.
On her death record it is stated that Mary Anne was a housekeeper living on St. Michael St. in Tipperary. Her age is given as 75 and the informant is a niece named Elena Allis of Hollyford who was present at the death.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1861 | probably Hollyford, Co. Tipperary | |||
| Death | 13 Feb 1937 | St. Michael St., Tipperary, Co. Tipperary |
Families
| Father | James ALLIS ( - 1894) |
| Mother | Catherine STAPLETON (1831 - 1895) |
| Sibling | Bridget ALLIS (1863 - 1941) |
| Sibling | James (Jim) ALLIS (1863 - 1940) |
| Sibling | Edward ALLIS (1868 - 1917) |
| Sibling | Michael A. ALLIS (1870 - 1936) |
| Sibling | Catherine (Katie) ALLIS (1873 - 1917) |
| Sibling | Hanora (Nora) ALLIS (1874 - ) |
| Sibling | George ALLIS (1875 - ) |
| Sibling | Margaret ALLIS ( - ) |