Individual Details
Timothy (Timmy) Joseph TREACY
(Abt 16 Jul 1878 - 28 Nov 1930)
Sponsors at Timmy's baptism were were John Casey and Johanna Casey (should "Casey" read "Carey"?).
It appears Timmy became a Christian Brother as there is a 22-year-old Co. Tipperary-born brother named Timothy Treacy listed in the 1901 census with three other brothers at Railway Road, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow. All four are teachers. It seems Timmy had moved to London by 1911. No record could be located for him in the Irish census of that year but in the 1911 UK census there is a 31-year-old Tipperary-born school teacher named Timothy Joseph Treacy (although our Timmy would have been 32 years of age at the time) listed as a boarder in the household of a Mr. John McGuinness and his Tipperary-born wife, Bridget, of 9 St. Kilda Road in West Ealing.
Timmy did not remain a Christian Brother for very long as he appears to have been living in Co. Wicklow in 1918 as a layman. Notes from The Anglo-Celt newspaper mention that "Mr. T.J. Treacy", who had been giving woodworking courses in Co. Cavan, had sent a letter to the Cavan Technical Committee, "dated from Wicklow, where Mr. Treacy lived", stating that he was unable to attend a committee meeting on 13 July 1918 owing to a bout of influenza. Timmy's brother Martin was working in Wicklow at this time and it is possible that Timmy was living with Martin. Martin moved to Fermoy. Co. Cork in 1919 but we do not know if Timmy remained in Wicklow after that or moved permanently to Co. Cavan.
Later editions of The Anglo Celt tell us that Timmy continued giving woodworking courses in Co. Cavan until 1929, with classes in Belturbet in 1918 and 1919, Shercock in 1920, Cootehill in 1921, Ballinagh and Bunnoe in 1926 and Maghera in 1929. However, on 6 November 1929, he left a course he was teaching in Mountnugent and was put on sick leave. Timmy was suffering from depression and had been expected to return to work a year later when, sadly, on 28 November 1930, he took his own life. He had used a gun belonging to the owner of the Lisnabrinnia lodging house where he had been living for about a year and where the incident took place. According to the inquest report, Timmy had not been in good health for many months and had been spending a lot of time in bed. A Dr. Cassidy told the inquest "I have been attending deceased for the past twelve months. On my first visit I found he was suffering from influenza and subsequent to this he developed neurasthenia¹; I strongly advised him to go into a nursing home, but he refused". Later in his deposition Dr. Cassidy said "The reason why I urged deceased to go to a nursing home was that I dreaded he might do himself an injury".
Full details of the inquest (which incorrectly states that Timmy was a native of Wicklow) can be found on pages 1 and 3 of The Anglo-Celt of 6 December 1930.
1. A term, no longer used, describing 'nervous exhaustion' with sufferers displaying both psychological and physical symptoms such as fatigue, neuralgia, anxiety, dizziness and depression. 'Bed rest cure' in a hospital was usually prescribed.
It appears Timmy became a Christian Brother as there is a 22-year-old Co. Tipperary-born brother named Timothy Treacy listed in the 1901 census with three other brothers at Railway Road, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow. All four are teachers. It seems Timmy had moved to London by 1911. No record could be located for him in the Irish census of that year but in the 1911 UK census there is a 31-year-old Tipperary-born school teacher named Timothy Joseph Treacy (although our Timmy would have been 32 years of age at the time) listed as a boarder in the household of a Mr. John McGuinness and his Tipperary-born wife, Bridget, of 9 St. Kilda Road in West Ealing.
Timmy did not remain a Christian Brother for very long as he appears to have been living in Co. Wicklow in 1918 as a layman. Notes from The Anglo-Celt newspaper mention that "Mr. T.J. Treacy", who had been giving woodworking courses in Co. Cavan, had sent a letter to the Cavan Technical Committee, "dated from Wicklow, where Mr. Treacy lived", stating that he was unable to attend a committee meeting on 13 July 1918 owing to a bout of influenza. Timmy's brother Martin was working in Wicklow at this time and it is possible that Timmy was living with Martin. Martin moved to Fermoy. Co. Cork in 1919 but we do not know if Timmy remained in Wicklow after that or moved permanently to Co. Cavan.
Later editions of The Anglo Celt tell us that Timmy continued giving woodworking courses in Co. Cavan until 1929, with classes in Belturbet in 1918 and 1919, Shercock in 1920, Cootehill in 1921, Ballinagh and Bunnoe in 1926 and Maghera in 1929. However, on 6 November 1929, he left a course he was teaching in Mountnugent and was put on sick leave. Timmy was suffering from depression and had been expected to return to work a year later when, sadly, on 28 November 1930, he took his own life. He had used a gun belonging to the owner of the Lisnabrinnia lodging house where he had been living for about a year and where the incident took place. According to the inquest report, Timmy had not been in good health for many months and had been spending a lot of time in bed. A Dr. Cassidy told the inquest "I have been attending deceased for the past twelve months. On my first visit I found he was suffering from influenza and subsequent to this he developed neurasthenia¹; I strongly advised him to go into a nursing home, but he refused". Later in his deposition Dr. Cassidy said "The reason why I urged deceased to go to a nursing home was that I dreaded he might do himself an injury".
Full details of the inquest (which incorrectly states that Timmy was a native of Wicklow) can be found on pages 1 and 3 of The Anglo-Celt of 6 December 1930.
1. A term, no longer used, describing 'nervous exhaustion' with sufferers displaying both psychological and physical symptoms such as fatigue, neuralgia, anxiety, dizziness and depression. 'Bed rest cure' in a hospital was usually prescribed.
Events
| Birth | Abt 16 Jul 1878 | Church St., Tipperary | |||
| Christen | 16 Jul 1878 | Tipperary | |||
| Death | 28 Nov 1930 | Lisnabrinnia, Mountnugent, Co. Cavan | |||
| Burial | 30 Nov 1930 | Ballinacree Cemetery, Mountnugent, Co. Cavan |
Families
| Father | Thomas TREACY (1821 - 1895) |
| Mother | Mary CAREY (1851 - 1929) |
| Sibling | John TREACY (1873 - 1874) |
| Sibling | John TREACY (1874 - ) |
| Sibling | Edmund TREACY (1875 - 1906) |
| Sibling | Thomas Joseph TREACY (1881 - 1969) |
| Sibling | Martin Joseph TREACY (1883 - 1977) |