John Quinn

Quinn Name Meaning and History Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinn ‘descendant of Conn’ (see O’Quinn). This is the name of several families in Ulster and counties Clare, Longford, and Mayo.

John Quinn was born in the South Dublin Union Workhouse on Cork Street, Dublin on the third of June 1890. His early years were spent living in various tenament houses in Dublin's south city.

His father died when he was just 18 months old and his mother died when he was just 7 years old, both of tuberculosis. He was then reared by his mother's brother Benny Carter and his wife Isabella (Aunt Bella).

He joined the 5th Royal Irish Lancers regiment of the British Army and fought in World War 1 against the Germans.

He fought in the trenches in France and recalled sitting in a trench surrounded by the dead bodies of his fellow soldiers who had died from poisonous gas. He himself was gassed which left him with breathing difficulties for the rest of his life.

Not long after the war he himself contracted tuberculosis. He recalled drinking countless bottles of cod liver oil which he attributed to his recovery from the illness.

When he returned to Ireland he joined the Post Office where he worked as a postman and subsequently a mail sorter. He also worked alongside Customs Officers in Amiens Street searching the bags of post coming in from abroad.

He met his future wife Harriet Dalton at a funeral. He had fought in the war with her father John Dalton. They were married on October 12th 1925 in St Michael & St John's Church in Dublin.

They lived at first in Foley Street on Dublin's northside and their first child was born in the nearby Rotunda hospital. When John was 10 months old they moved to 3 Gilbert Road on the southside where they continued to live for the rest of their lives and where the remaining 8 children were born.

He died relatively suddenly from a brain haemmorage on May 7th 1951 in his home aged 60.