Tipperary? Well, Just Barely...
The Donnellys Located
![[ False Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly, This photograph was purchased at an auction. The photograph was described as an authentic picture of James and Judith (Johannah) in front of their home. Later, it was determined that, like many other photographs, this was not in fact a photograph of the Donnellys. It does, however, still give us a sense of rual housing during the time period. Thank you to Robert Salts and Ray Fazakas for this information. By Permission of Robert Salts, Unknown, Private Collection of Robert Salts ]](../../images/site/52455_2.jpg "[ False Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly, This photograph was purchased at an auction. The photograph was described as an authentic picture of James and Judith (Johannah) in front of their home. Later, it was determined that, like many other photographs, this was not in fact a photograph of the Donnellys. It does, however, still give us a sense of rual housing during the time period. Thank you to Robert Salts and Ray Fazakas for this information. By Permission of Robert Salts, Unknown, Private Collection of Robert Salts ]")
By Bruce S. Elliot
There are few subjects in Canadian history about which so much rubbish has been written as the Donnelly family. This is particularily so concerning the family’s origins and background. That the search for this information has been difficult should not be unexpected, for the Donnellys were an obscure family of humble background which emigrated from County Tipperary, Ireland to Biddulph Township near London, Ontario, one of many such. In Canada they were well-known to court officials of their day, but so were many of their compatriots from what was then considered the most violent county of Ireland.
[...] The researcher who attempts to track down the hard facts about the background of this famous (or infamous, depending on which side one takes in these matters) family is forced to wade through a mire of earlier writing. Much of the literary output on the Donnellys is biased, uncritical, or frankly fabricated. [...]