John Birch appears to have been a significant figure in the history of Tullylish Parish in County Down. A portion of the village of Gilford is named Birchgrove after him. I believe it may be located in the Loughans area. In the 19th century the parish of Tullylish was home to a huge linen manufacturing center set up along the Bann River. At this point in my research I am not certain if John Birch or any Birch from County Down was directly involved in the regional flax culture. Between 1850 and 1851 the gentry of Roscrea, Ireland joined together to form a flax cooperative (Roscrea Flax Society) and establish a scutching mill at the former site of the Birchgrove Distillery just outside of Roscrea. Two of the founding members of both the Society and the Scutching Mill was George Birch, Esq. and James Birch, Esq. of Birchgrove and Monaincha.I am trying to establish if a link between the families existed or was it simply coincidental that two wealthy Anglo-Irish families shared the same common surname. I suspect that if these families were related the southern Birch family may have tapped the northern relatives for recommendations for experts in the linen industry who would be willing to travel to Tipperary and set up the milling operation at the Birchgrove estate. From my research it seemed that it was very difficult to lure high skilled flax experts from the north of Ireland to the southern counties since flax culture never took root in the same fashion as it did in Ulster. I hope this may offer clarification on the link that I am trying to establish.
http://www.youwho.ie/birch.htmlThere was a William Henry Birch, A magistrate in Birchgrove circa 1821 to 1850
