8th May - Thomas Michael Gresham

#OnThisDay, 8th May 1871 Thomas Michael Gresham died.

Thomas Gresham was a foundling child, abandoned on the steps of the Royal Exchange, London and named after the founder of the Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham.

It is not known when Thomas Gresham came to Dublin, but he found employment in the service of William Beauman of Rutland Square (now Parnell Square) and became butler to the family.

By 1817, Thomas was in a position to lease 21 and 22 Upper Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) where he opened a hotel. He leased more adjacent properties over the coming years. Gresham’s Hotel became one of Ireland’s best known hotels.

An early photograph of the Hotel from the ‘The Lawrence Photograph Collection’.

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000041183

Thomas lived in Seafield House, Dollymount, Clontarf, before he came to live in Raheny. He leased the land of Fox House, Howth Road in 1835 and resided there until his death in 1871. He renovated the house and changed the name to Raheny Park.  Shortly after arriving in Raheny he became active in the local Church of Ireland parish and was a church warden for many years.  In later years he built a row of houses, on Clontarf Road, in Dollymount, called Gresham Villas.

Thomas Gresham is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery.

You can read more about Thomas Michael Gresham in the Raheny Heritage Society’s publication ‘Raheny Footprints’.

You can see a photography of the Gresham Vault on the Mount Jerome website - https://www.mountjerome.ie/?grave=52

Look at our photo gallery to see some photos.