Decies Spring 1987
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DECIES SPRING 1987. CONTENTS Page No. 4 Editorial. 6 The Waterford Room - Mr. Stan Carroll's bequest Patricia Fanning. to the City. 9 The Ponsonby/Briscoe Mausoleum in Fiddown . Michael O'Donnell. 25 The Tramore Railway Jack Phelan. 3 5 Landlords and Politics - Youghal and L. J. Proudfoot. Dungaman in the 1830's. 49 The Georgian Townhouses of Waterford Ian W.J.Lumley. 61 Settlement and Colonisation in the Marginal Catherine Ketch. Areas of the Comeragh Mountains. 73 Old Waterford Membership 80 Spring and Sumner Programne ,1987. FRONT COVER: The Chamber of Cmerce, Waterford. by Ian W. J.Lumley. Situated in Great Georges Street, the building was originally the town house of the Morris family. It became the Chamber of Cmerce in 1815. The Chamber is this year celebrating its 200th Anniversary. DECIES is published thrice yearly by the Old Waterford Society and is issued free0 members. All articles and illustrations are the copyright of contributors. The Society wishes to express its appreciation of the facilities afforded to it by Waterford Regional Technical College in the production of this issue. Mr. J.S. (Stan) Carroll. It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we avail of this opportunity to record the passing of our Editor, Mr.J.S.(Stan) Carroll, whose death last October occurred as DECIES XXXIII was going to press. IIe would have celebrated his 80th birthday in January last and to demonstrate the high rcgard in which he was held by his fellow members of the Old Waterford Society it had been intended to mark the occasion in the Spring issue of DECIES. Providence, unfortunately, disposed otherwise and what would have been a celebration of his anniversary must now serve as his elegy. Born in Dun Laoghaire in 1907, Stan Carroll took his degree in Civil Engineering at T.C.D. and entered the Local Authority Service in 1928. He remained in that sphere of activity until his eventual retirement as City Engineer in Waterford in 1973. Prior to that he had served under Dun Laoghaire, Dublin and Galway Corporations. He always had an interest in history, particularly local history, and this was evidenced by the fact that he was a founder member of the Old Galway Society, a member of the Military History and Old Dublin Societies and a committee member of the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement. Tributes have already been paid him elsewhere by professional associates and his work in setting up the very valuable local archive, The Waterford Room, in the Municipal Library, is dealt with separately in this issue. It-is, therefore, as a member of the Old Waterford Society that we speak of him here. In the course of his membership he filled the positions of Honorary Secretary, Vice Chairman and Chairman and of course Honorary Editor. To each of these he brought a vast amount of knowledge allied to a complete understanding of.what each post demanded. This expertise was always at the service of the Society so that it was to him, as to an oracle, that we turned whencver an awkward or delicate problem presented itself or when some ?rocedural point was in question. Over the years, as a writer and lecturer, subjects as diverse as 'Old Watcrfordls Water Supply1, The City Walls, Thc Story of Waterford in Maps, Waterford's Uridgcs, Thc Cro~nwcllia~~S~ttlcllicnt and many others flowed from his facilc pcn and took thc Corm oC articles in this journal as well as lccturcs to thc Society. Iiis writings were characterised by an clegnncc of stylc and a clarity of expression which always madc them a particular pleasurc to rcacl. His lectures too will long be remembered by his auditors for their content and for the manner of their delivery, knowledgeable and with a charming diffidence at the same time. Although approaching his eighties when he assumed the editorship of DECIES, despite his age he discharged his functions with an energy and thoroughness that would have shamed many a younger man, but which were typical of everything to which he turned his hand. It is fair to say that the reputation now enjoyed by DECIES is due in no small measure to the exacting standards established and maintained by Stan Carroll. Not withstanding the distinction of his professional and scholastic achievements, it is as a warm hearted, kindly and generous friend and associate that he will be remembered by us, his fellow members, and this is surely what he himself would have wished. His passing leaves a void which will not be easily filled. While extending condolences to his wife, Sheila, and their family, we salute his memory. Correction: Mr. Julian Walton draws our attention to an error appearing in DECIES XXXI, Spring 1986, under the title ,"Recent Acquisitions to Waterford Room Collection at the City Library", where he is credited with presenting "Extracts from the Jacobite Minute Book 1688-89, (Canon Burke Mss. recently discovered by Mr. Walton in Curraghmore House) ." This, of course, is incorrect as the Mss. are in fact at Mount Melleray, not at Curraghmore House. We are glad to publish this correction and trust that no embarrassment has been caused by the error. The Waterford Room Mr. Stan Carroll's Bequest to the City. Patricia Fanning. Ten years ago Mr. Carroll climbed to the third floor of the Library in OqComell Street to a room, unheated and furnished only with a large table and a few chairs, put a thin folder on the table and thus was started a project that has grown to be our WATERFORD ROCM. Retired from his position as Borough Surveyor, Mr. Carroll could now give some time to his second great interest, that of local history. For years the Library Authority had been aware of the need for a local history collection but the Library staff could not undertake the task,being fully occupied with the ordinary Library service. Mr. Carrollqs generous offer to assist, on a voluntary basis, was accepted with heartfelt gratitude. He travelled to Dublin almost weekly to cmb through the public Records Office, the National Library, Library of the Royal Irish Academy etc., arranged to have the material found photocopied and delivered to the Library. Books were found and purchased and many items were donated by friends. Soon the table and chairs were covered with folders so that the day two cupboards were delivered was the first red-letter day. Maps and photographs soon covered the walls and it was felt that the infant collection could be made available to the serious researcher. The inaccessability of the 3rd floor room, the impossibility of supervision and the shortage of staff to keep up with the typing of the Catalogue cards must have been a cause of frustration to Mr. Carroll but he continued to work away undeterred. The second red-letter day was the introduction of material on microfilm and fiche and the machines to read this material. Then came the move to the reconstructed building at Lady Lane. At last there was a room worthy of the collection. The appointment of Richard Fennessy, who also has a keen interest in history, to the Library Staff, improved working conditions and a photocopying machine on the premises all made the task a little easier for Mr. Carroll. Now every day saw the introduction of interesting items to the collection and the Catalogue was well under way. Richard has made the collection his own special project and is continuing the work along the lines laid down by Mr. Carroll. It grieves us that Mr. Carroll was too ill to be told of the indexing of the newspapers currently being done by a group of young people under an AnCo/Corporation scheme. When this index is completed we will have easy access to the content of the local papers covering the early part of the century. The room is proving to be of immense interest to a large cross-section of people from schoolchildren to the really serious historian. It will always stand as a living, growing monument to the work and generosity of Mr. Carroll. Every member of the staff will remember him for his kindness, gcntlencss and dedication to the work he undertook for as long as he was well enough to continue. Ar dheis Laimh De go raibh a anam. 7 Over the years, Mr. Carroll was responsible for collecting the following material : A portfolio of Waterford City maps fran 1591 to 1839 a.d. Various other Waterford maps mounted for display purposes on the walls of the Waterford Room. A variety of photographs and illustrations of Waterford City and County on display in the Waterford Roan. The photographs are mainly from the Lawrence Collection in the National Library. Almost all articles from journals mentioned in the Hayes Catalogue N.L. I. under Waterford, including J.R.S.A.I., C.H.A.S.J., P.R.l.A.,The Irish Genealogist,etc. The 1901 Census. Miscellaneous Press cuttings . A huge variety of material on local families, famuus people, bridges, schools, convents, churches, Diocesan history, shipping, etc. It consists mainly ~f photocopies fran handbooks, guides , directories, travel books, school repbrts , correspondence, etc. Photocopies of Parliamentary Papers, Calendars of State Papers, Waterford correspondence in the P.R.O. All of the above is nw in the Waterford Room. Apart from what Mr. Carroll collected, he also wrote many articles on local history including : Cmrrwell S camp at Duagh (Decies 1,2 813). Cromell l S Plantation Measure (Decies 3) . The Walls and Defences of Waterford (Decies 4 & 5).