A History of Saggart and Rathcoole Parishes
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Copyright 1998 Maeve Mulryan Moloney All rights reserved Published by Four Districts 1798 Association Cumann 1798 na gCeithre Limistear, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin Printed in Ireland by O’Donoghue Print Ltd. Original typeset by John McAleer Acknowledgements I would like to express my thanks to the 1798 Commemoration Committee, especially Mary Sheil McNally of Rathcoole; to Liam Roche of Saggart and Disrict Historical Society, Saggart; to the library staffs of the National Library of Ireland, the National University of Ireland Maynoth, Dublin Corporation Gilbert Library, the staff of the National Archives and to the Church of Ireland Respresentativ Body; to Liam Fyans for the Fyans Family Tree; to Eamon O’Hara of Rural Dublin Leader Company Ltd; to Tony O’Hagan, Community Officer, South Dubin County Council and John McAleer of the Media Machine. The proof-readers were Sheila McMahon, Gretta Rabbitte, Walker Rockett and Fionnuala Gormley. Cover picture: Courtesy of Mary Sheil McNally. Photographs: Brona Long, Mary Sheil McNally, Evelyn Murphy, Joan O’Reilly, James Watkins. This project was part-funded by Rural Dublin LEADER through the EU LEADER Programme. DISCLAIMER – Rural Dublin Leader Company were not involved in the research of the drafting of this book and do not accept any responsibility for inaccuracies or misleading information contained herein. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Rural Dublin LEADER Company. For my husband, Dan Moloney. d. 2 June 1997. For everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2. Introduction In a general account of the history of a parish it is difficult to know when to begin and when to end. I decided to give a brief outline of the first millennium and start the history of Brittas, Rathcoole and Saggart with the coming of the Normans in 1171.The book initially started as an account of the United Irishmen’s activities in the area in 1798. A background of events over the previous centuries laid the foundation for 1798. In 1798 road works were underway, churches, schools and the paper mill had been established. The book tells the story of the development of the community up to the present time. This book could not have been written without the help of many individuals in the Saggart – Rathcoole – Brittas area who told me stores which laid the foundation for much of my research. Maeve Mulryan Moloney Contents Chapter I THE FIRST MILLENIUM ..................................... 1 Chapter II MANORS: RATHCOOLE, SAGGART, BRITTAS ..... 16 Chapter III THE PALE – COOLMINE MANOR ....................... 24 Chapter IV LOCAL PEOPLE - CALLIAGHSTOWN MONASTERY .............................................................................................. 31 Chapter V TOOTENHILL 1642 – HEARTH MONEY ROLL ..... 42 Chapter VI NAAS ROAD – TRAM TO BLESSINGTON ........... 58 Chapter VII MERCER AND BRADY SCHOOLS ....................... 76 Chapter VIII FR. HAROLD AND HIS PEOPLE ......................... 93 Chapter IX CHURCHES AND CLERGY ................................ 119 Chapter X HOSPITALS : CELBRIDGE TO TALLAGHT ......... 135 Chapter XI NINETEENTH CENTURY FARMING ................. 145 Chapter XII SAGGART PAPER MILL ................................... 153 Chapter XIII EDUCATION ................................................... 164 Chapter XIV LEISURE ......................................................... 187 Chapter XV WOMEN OF THEIR TIME ................................ 204 Chapter XVI COMMUNITY LEADERS .................................. 210 Chapter XVII LOCAL PEOPLE AND PLACES .......................... 216 Chapter XVIII FAMILY NAMES SINCE 1827 .......................... 228 A HISTORY OF SAGGART AND RATHCOOLE PARISHES Chapter I SAINT Mosacre had his home – Teach Sacra – Saint Sacre’s house at the place which became known as Tassaggart – now shortened to Saggart. The churh was dedicated to Saint Mosacre, by whom it was founded, before the middle of the seventh century. Other churches were at Newtown and Coolmine. 3rd March is the feast day of Saint Mosacre. His lifestyle would have been very like the lifestyle of the monks at Tallaght. St. Maelruain lived at Tallaght. One of the rules at Tallaght was ‘He that works with the sickle or the flail, he that uses the mallet or makes the ditch, each has to recite the hundred and fifty Psalms as his additional daily work; and none of them goes to his evening meal until he has finished those one hundred and fifty Psalms.’ The People The low hills featured daily in the lives of the people. The rearing of cattle and sheep was the most important part of the local economy. Shepherds lived in the hills for months at a time – often for a whole lifetime. Sometimes they were on their own. In the milder weather their wives and families had shelters there. Some of these shelters were in groups when perhaps the 1 A HISTORY OF SAGGART AND RATHCOOLE PARISHES extended family lived near each other. The shelters were made from tree branches with long posts hammered into the ground and lighter branches, forming a kind of basketwork, through the posts. Then they were covered with clay sods. They were not very durable, but they were easy to erect, and the materials were nearby. The floors were strewn with rushes. Forts Wealthy farmers erected ditches around their farmhouses and farm buildings. A fort is a ditch around the early farmsteads. There are several forts in the parish. The forts show us that the people who lived here two hundred years ago were well organised and worked together. Rath is the Irish word for fort. Rathcoole We have no definite explanation for the name Rathcoole. It could have been Rath Coole meaning the rath of Coole the father of Fionn; coole may come from the Irish word for forest – coil. The word rath is in some local place names as Raheen, Rathcreedan. The rath associated with Rathcoole is in a field between Rathcoole and Saggart. It is to be preserved in any future development of the area. Wolves The hills could be dangerous places especially when covered in snow in Winter. In the daytime the well forested hills were a cover for wolves. The shepherds with their wolfhounds frightened them off and protected their sheep and lambs. They also had sheepdogs, spaniels and terriers. The deer and goats rambled freely. The hens and chickens were in plentiful supply, but they too had to be guarded. 2 A HISTORY OF SAGGART AND RATHCOOLE PARISHES Weather Forecast Red sky in the morning is the shepherd’s warning Red sky at night is the shepherd’s delight Men could gauge the weather forecast by seeing how high or how low the clouds were on the tree covered hills. In the mornings when the mist hung low over the hills and the sheep scattered out uphill over a wide area, they made their plans to go food gathering. The animals could sense a sense of change in the weather. When the farmer saw his sheep come together on the commons and look for shelter under the trees, he knew that it was time for him to make sure that his shelter was secure against the storm that was coming. They moon and sun governed their days and seasons. How the People Lived We can imagine the people sitting outside their shelters on the long Summer evenings, or beside a good log fire watching the stars, as they lay, wrapped in their sheep skins, listening to the stories of Fionn and the Fianna. In wintertime music and storytelling were the principal pastimes. The people lived on their own produce – meat, milk and honey were plentiful. Fish was got in the streams and river. Cooking was always done outside as the wooden houses could catch fire. Meat was smoked over the first to preserve it. This is how meat was cooked: Stones were heated in a fire, then dropped into water in a trough, until it was brought to the boil. The joints of meat were then cooked in the water. That was the method of boiling meat used by the Fianna. 3 A HISTORY OF SAGGART AND RATHCOOLE PARISHES The women and children took their baskets and went up the commons to get blackberries, sloes and damsons. An old saying was, ‘to go to Saggart to stack blackberries.’ Back home again they made jams and pickled some for the harsher months to come. Milk was turned into butter, cheese and whey. Churns were made from the local timber. With the abundance of heather and wild flowers bees had plenty of nectar for honey production. Mead was made from honey, water, yeast and malt. Some corn was grown. It was cut with a sickle. Winnowing of the corn was carried out on the ground with a flail so as to leave the grain. The straw was used as bedding in the houses and also as feed and bedding for the animals. The corn was ground into meal by means of quern stones. Porridge was a main part of the diet in winter. Some barley was grown for ale making. Flax was also grown. It was woven into linen for garment making. Some of the women took home fleeces of wool If they had no sheep of their own, they sought out the pieces of wool caught in the briars and took them home to card and spin and make them into garments. Leather was made from the hides of cattle. Water Supply A plentiful supply of clear water was available from the river Camac and its tributaries – the two Slades which run down from the side of Slievethoul – they pass to the Camac under separate adjacent bridges on the Craddle road. There are many other streams so fresh water was never a problem. The usual river crossings were the fords. 4 A HISTORY OF SAGGART AND RATHCOOLE PARISHES Ninth Century Poem In this ninth century poem the meatless diet is praised: Produce of a mountain ash, black sloes from a dark blackthorn, berry foods, A clutch of eggs, honey, mast and heath peas (sent by God), sweet apples, red cranberries, whortleberries, Beer and herbs a patch of strawberries, (good to taste in their plenty), haws, yew berries, nut kernels, A cup of excellent hazel mead, swiftly served; brown acorns, manes of bramble with good blackberries.