John Dillon

Very little is known about John Dillon except that he was the father of Patrick Dillon as cited in Patrick's marriage certificate.  Thanks to this little evidence, we can verify that John was a Coachman.  As Patrick was born in Listowel around 1857/61 (records differ), it can be assumed that John was at least based in Listowel then.  There is no evidence that John was born in Listowel but as a coachman he could have traveled there, meeting his wife.  It is possible that John was the driver of a Bianconi car which provided transport between towns during that period.  Coachmen were responsible for overseeing the grooms so knowledge of horses was expected; this connection would tie in with the profession of his descendants.  Johns's son Patrick was a horse trainer and his sons all went into the horse-racing industry, as did his grandsons who were known jockeys; some of his great-grandchildren worked with thoroughbreds or were attached to the industry in other ways.  John was the founder of a dynasty there is no doubt.

The boxing Coach Bob Dillon who resides in the midlands of England claims a connection with the family of Jockey Bernard Dillon (John's grandson).  As Bob's family came from Cork it is possible that John hailed from there.   Using Patrick Dillon's rough birth date it can be presumed that John was born sometime during the 1830s.