William Joshua Ffennell

Who was William Joshua Ffennell?

William Joshua Ffennell, was an Irish fishery reformer.

Ffennell was the eldest son and second of sixteen children of Joshua William and Elizabeth Ffennell, was born 16 August 1799, at Ballybrado, three miles below Cahir on the River Suir. The family had been members of the Society of Friends almost from the time of George Fox, but Ffennell's father, a hospitable country gentleman, was excluded from the society on account of undue conformity to the world. William Joshua resented this sentence, and with his five brothers joined the established church. He had a desultory education, and spent much time in hunting, shooting, and fishing. He became especially expert in angling for salmon; and his attention was drawn to the decay of the fishing in the Suir and other rivers.