Carloviana 04.Qxd 13/11/2012 13:31 Page 1

Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society Cumann Staire agus Seandalafochta Cheatharloch Page 1_Carloviana 04.qxd 13/11/2012 13:31 Page 1

1 Carloviana

CARLOVIANA Front Cover December 2012 Ruins of Clogrennane House No. 61 Photograph courtesy of: Shay Kinsellaa. I.S.S.N. 0790 - 0813

Regular Features Articles Editorial ...... 2 El Greco and the Carlow Nexus ...... 5 Message from the President ...... 3 History of Killeshin Parish...... 6 Winter Lecture Series ...... 4 Development and Demise of the Carlow Burgess...... 12 National Schools History Prize ...... 67 Lewis’s Carlow contd...... 15 Father John Dempsy and Carlow Town Commission 18 Obituaries...... 80 ...... Role of the Irish in World War II 21 Officers...... 197 ...... The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh 24 Members ...... 198 ...... Drumphea - The Coming of Christianity ...... 29 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections...... 32 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and Kildare ...... 42 Eagle Hill, Hacketstown, its Environs and Characters ...... 55 Cultural Life in Carlow...... 60 The Origin of Carlow’s Name ...... 62 Ballyhacket, Hacketstown and the Micro-History of Anglo-Norman Colonists in Northeast Co. Carlow...... 63 Garlic is good, but give me Scallions ...... 68 History of the RTC & ITC contd ...... 72 Gate Lodges of Co. Carlow...... 75 Building on a Legacy - the Archaeological collection of Carlow County Museum ...... 77 Front Cover Picture The Archaeology of Ballon Hill: A Review and Proposal ...... 81 A Museum is Born 89 Ruins of Clogrennane House ...... Vallancey’s Military Surveys of 1776-1777 & 1796 as relating to Photograph courtesy of: County Carlow and its Immediate Environs 90 Shay Kinsellaa...... A History of Brigidine Foundations in Roscrea, Ireland and Kenosha and Titusville, America...... 94 Clonmore, Co. Carlow. Its Antiquities...... 105 Carlow County Museum - Ireland’s Newest Museum Opens ...... 110 The ‘Slashing Parson’ of 1798: The Life and Death of Robert Rochfort of Clogrennane, Co. Carlow, 1775-1811 ...... 117 Kavanagh Castles of Co. Carlow...... 140 Going to the Pictures ...... 141 Observations on a Flint Leaf-Shaped Arrowhead from Ballintemple, Co. Carlow and some related finds from the County...... 144 Dictionary of Irish Biography...... 150 Carlow’s Olympic Connections ...... 153 The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock ...... 155 The Tithe War in North-East Carlow ...... 160 The History Festival of Ireland...... 166 Back Cover Picture The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh...... 168 Costello Memorial Chapel The “Shemus” Cartoons in the Freeman’s Journal...... 177 Photograph courtesy of: Letters from Clonburrin 1880-1930 ...... 180 Bertie Watchorn. Carloviana 2012 Page 1_Carloviana 04.qxd 13/11/2012 13:31 Page 2

2 Carloviana

CARLOVIANA Back Cover December 2012 Costello Memorial Chapel No. 61 Photograph courtesy of: Bertie Watchorn. I.S.S.N. 0790 - 0813

Editor: Jim Shannon Editorial Editorial Committee: At last we have a County Museum. After all the delays, disap- Martin Nevin pointments and postponements the project that this Society began so many Jimmy O’Toole years ago has finally become a reality and the facility is open to the pub- Ann Power lic. The Town Council provided the finance, the Society provided the bulk Nial O’Neill of the artefacts, the Curator and his staff provide the professional expert- Pat O’Neill Padraig Dooley ise, and numerous volunteers provide generously of their free time to help staff it. This museum will be a great asset to the area and we as a Society Published by: can feel justifiably proud of our part in its creation. Let us ensure that we Carlow Historical & use wisely our three seats on the Board of the Museum to make certain Archaeological Society, that it will continue into the future the work that our members began, and P.O. Box 162, that Carlow will have a first-rate museum. Carlow. It is good to see that the National Museum has made available the Email: artefacts discovered in the course of the dig on the route of the new [email protected] motorway. The display in our County Museum really brings home to the Website: visitor just how long human settlement goes back in this area – much further than history records. www.carlowhistorical.com

Carlow Historical & Archaeological This edition of “Carloviana” features several articles by authors Society is affiliated to the Federation of new to us. This is a very welcome development. It is very good that Local History Societies. people continue to come forward with interesting contributions on various topics, and we would indeed welcome even more such articles for future All articles in this journal are the editions. It is particularly gratifying to see some young contributors copyright of the Carlow Historical & coming forward and we hope they will continue to submit their work to us Archaeological Society and may not be in the years ahead. Well done to all of you and we are well aware that reproduced in any form without the without your work this Journal would be a much poorer affair. permission of the editor. Finally, we remind readers that the Society can be reached via Views and opinions expressed in this email at [email protected] for further information regarding journal are not those of the editor or of the Carlow Historical & Archaeological our lectures, outings, publications, or anything else about us that the Society. enquirer may wish to know.

Printed by: Carlow Advertiser & Printing, Strawhall Industrial Estate, Carlow.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_President's message 05/11/2012 19:39 Page 1

Message from the President

he year started on a very sad note when our secretary, In conjunction with Carlow Tourism we presented a Heritage Thomas Brennan died suddenly in early December last. Week exhibition at the Shaw Visual Centre. Photographs of TThomas was in his second year as our secretary and will Carlow Sugar Factory from 1926 to the 1960s together with be missed for the quiet, courteous and efficient manner in which other photographs of Carlow town and county from the early he handled everything and everyone with whom he came in 20th century were displayed. The exhibition was organized by contact. We extend our sincere condolences to his sisters Phyllis Martin Nevin and launched by Turtle Bunbury. Carlow Tourism and Sheila. has also produced a calendar for 2013 featuring several photographs from this collection. The ambitions of our founder members and other early members of our society were finally realized on the 11th April when Our Heritage Week mini lectures drew our largest ever audience our new Carlow County Museum was officially opened by Phil when three of our members gave lectures on local businesses Hogan T.D., Minister for the Environment. We are justifiably that have ceased trading and are now only memories. The lec- proud of our involvement in this project which is outlined in turers were : Paul Lyons on the Sugar Company : Dan Carbery great depth in two articles in this issue. We must now use this on the Governey Boot Factory and Corcoran’s Mineral Waters marvellous facility—— to visit it, to learn from it, perhaps to : Pat O’Neill on the Carlow Blade Factory. The lectures were contribute artefacts but always to engage with it. On a lighter held in the Cobden Hall, St.Patrick’s College. and optimistic note the activities of some of the non invited guests at the official opening at least ensured that many more In September Bertie & Irene organized a four day autumn out- people in the country now know that we have a museum than ing to counties Roscommon, Longford, Leitrim and Fermanagh would otherwise have been the case. taking in several venues from Strokestown House to Beleek. Strangely enough the highlight seemed to be a visit to Tullam- It is nice to see that retire- ore Dew on the way home and ment has not slackened the the very tasty samples pro- pen of one of our busiest vided. members and former president of our society, Michael We hope to be in a position Conry At a function in the early next year to communi- Royal Irish Academy in cate with our members by May Olivia O’Leary email or through text mes- launched his latest ( and sages. To this end we are re- seventh ) book—- which questing email addresses and deals with the history and mobile phone numbers from culture of Ireland including our members and if you have his adopted county. Picking not provided these already Bilberries, Fraochans & perhaps you might contact any The exhibit on Carlow’s lost sugarmaking industry in the new Whorts in Ireland—-The of our committee members. Carlow County Museum - the Society’s partnership with the Human Story captures the local authority enabling us at last to realise our long-held Finally I want to thank all the stories of perhaps the last ambition to provide a Museum for Carlow. members of our committee and generation of our country Photograph; Courtesy of Carlow County Museum sub committees for the work people who engaged in this they put in during the year. I also wish to thank the editorial aspect of rural living which goes back to pre Christian times. board of Carloviana and our many contributors for another ex- At the end of May we visited the Titanic Centre in Belfast. We cellent publication. extend our thanks to Bertie and Irene Watchorn whose organi- Pat O’Neill zational skills ensured a very enjoyable trip.

Over the weekend of the 15th/17th June members from the other CHAS —- the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society visited Carlow and we were delighted to be able to guide them around our town and county. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Winter lectures 05/11/2012 21:07 Page 1

Winter Lecture Series

We got through our 2011/12 series of winter lectures with only one deviation from the planned schedule. Pat Comerford was unable to the deliver the December lecture on Oak Park but society member Cathleen Delaney stepped into the breach giving a very informative lecture, from her own researches, on the Bruen family and Oak Park. Two of the lectures given in the 2011/12 season have appeared as articles in this journal---- Tom Joyce’s lecture on Lady Har- riet Kavanagh’s journeys through Europe appeared in Carloviana 2011 and Dr. Colman Etchingham’s lecture on the Norman colonists in north east Carlow is included in this issue. Our sixty fifth series of lectures starts off on the 10th October and the full schedule is given below. Starting time for each lecture is at 8.00 pm. Our lectures are free and open to members and the general public and we look forward to seeing as many as possible attend at the various venues.

CARLOW HISTORICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

LECTURES YEAR 2012-2013

Date Lecturer Topic Venue Time

10th October Felix Larkin The “Shemus” cartoons Talbot Hotel, 8 p.m. 2012 in the Freeman’s Journal Carlow

21st November Louise Nugent Medieval Pilgrimages Ramada Hotel, 8 p.m 2012 Killerig

12th December Paul Curran/ The Fire Brigade Seven Oaks 8 p.m 2012 Fintan O’Neill Service in County Hotel, Carlow Carlow

16th January Frank Clarke Catholic Priests and the Leighlinbridge 8 p.m 2013 Penal Laws, 1691 to 1760 Parish Centre

20th February Michael Leonard Austin Waldron: Carlow RTC Seven Oaks 8 p.m 2013 The story of its establishment Hotel, Carlow

20th March Mrs. Frankie Ballybar Races Mount Wolseley 8 p.m 2013 Cole Hotel, Tullow

Carloviana 2012 El Greco & the Carlow Nexus 1_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:44 Page 1

El Greco and the Carlow Nexus

John Schwatschke

The construction of a satisfactory picture depends largely on balance. The figures or objects need not be equidistant, but the imaginary weight of the subjects should balance, as if held on a weighing scale. El Greco's painting of The Adoration of the The adoration of the Shepherds Shepherds is a good example of balance in operation. While there may seem a heavier weight of figures on the left side, the Shepherds is as bizarre as the mirage of the phantom art mu- balance is taken up on the right by the large mass of blue sky. seum on Leighlin Road. Collecting old oil paintings at auctions It is not something that one would immediately notice, but was a hobby, and a challenge to appreciate good paintings. One imagine the painting without the sky, and a dark background of my finds was an old torn canvas at a sale in Baltinglass,re- instead. Then there would be an obvious weight of figures on puted to have originated from Kilkee Castle. It was a version the left. of "The Moneychangers" by Van Reymerswaele 1539. Re- search on this picture proved it to be older than the others be- As a personal view, I suggest that the artist began with great cause of a pounce box depicted on a table, for drying ink. This enthusiasm in painting a good image of the central Madonna. proved its age. A 'good portrait is often the result of excited enthusiasm and creativity, whether by simple brushwork or dedicated hours, But the El Greco find was the best of all, and it started in 1985 and oblivious to everything else. Even before this face was in Montecito, California where 1 had my studio. Americans complete, the artist may have realised that it was not perfectly have an arrangement with the Internal Revenue Service central, and so the other figures were introduced at various whereby they can get tax deductions for donating art to US heights and colours to make a balance. musuems. This painting was one such donation. I had heard about it because someone had exchanged it for a Motdigliani This painting (122x80cms) may have been the original version portrait from the previous owner. Then the El Greco was said of The Adoration of the Shepherds, from which the larger one to be only a copy, and was eventually donated to The Salvation in The Prado (319x180cms) was painted to fit in its special Army Charity shop as a religious picture. It was there that I place above the altar of the artist's burial chapel in Toledo. In came across it, not knowing what it was, but the age of the can- the Prado picture, El Greco's own portrait appears as a shep- vas and old frame took my interest. I negotiated a part cash and herd, whether a self portrait or by his students. A student at a part exchange deal, and left for Europe to collect my best paint- later time remembered that El Greco was present. But the ing by William Shayer Snr.with Christies valuation, and did the smaller painting has the better portrait of the Madonna. deal in California. For two months it was examined and x-rayed Perhaps it may now be said, that it was a visionary experience, in laboratories until the canvas age was established as roughly of how such an exceptional masterpiece came to be in Carlow. 16th.century weave. This was progress, but Christies expert A painting of such high quality that it rivaled any work by El who had flown from New York to spend an hour examining it Greco at The National Gallery of Ireland, and how it was exhib- in storage, would not comit himself. On the other hand I ob- ited with Picasso and Modigliani in a phantom art museum, Le served that he couldn't eat his lunch with excitement. Musee Schwatschke on Leighlin Road. While the opening by the Austrian Ambassador and art dealer, Susanne Macdougald I decided to leave for Europe, sending the frame by freight, and gained some press coverage, an entire art museum existed (1976- foolishly bringing the canvas wrapped as luggage. It was the 1994) and then vanished without trace or recognition. first time I felt nervous about its possible value when I saw my package disappear over the conveyor belt into aircraft luggage. Admittedly the project had been established in France to exhibit All went well, however, and I showed it to Christies London my own paintings, being later transferred to Carlow. By then office who promptly told me it was a copy. I was on the street there were two important additions to the collection, Picasso's when they called me back so that the Directors could have a "Artist and Model" (deaccessioned from The Museum of Mod- look at it. Their remark was that they didn't think "another one" ern Art,New York) and Modigliani's Portrait de Jean Cocteau. existed. While no value was discussed, the painting came to The third exceptional masterpiece by El Greco became the cen- Carlow for exhibition. The Spanish Ambassador was one of trepiece of the collection. the first to visit and view the extraordinary find, which had originated in Toledo in the 16th,century. Le Musee Schwatschke The astounding story of the acquisition of The Adoration of the closed in 1994.

Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 1

land; none other has been found built on pillars. An old Elizabethan map shows History Killeshin with a large Church and Round Tower, and Old Derrig as a little village. of So much for old Killeshin, we now come to the new.

Killeshin Parish In the year 1823 the old Church had fallen into a bad state of repair, the roof was leaking, and the place had become too small to accommodate the parish- Written and compiled by W. H. Fennell, Everton, Carlow, January, 1953 ioners. A meeting was held in the ruins of the Church on the 14th October, 1823. It was decided to build a new Church. Some of the parishioners he ancient parochial districts of in this monastery. In the Annals of the wanted it built on the same site, but it Killeshin and Sletty which com- Four Masters it is stated that Aedhen of was pointed out to them that owing to Tpose the present Parish are inti- Glen Uisean died 843 A.D. We also read the graves in the Graveyard there would mately connected with the earliest period that Glen Uisean Church with its famous not be room to build a bigger one, and of Irish Church history. People some- yew trees was burned in 1077. In the the present Church would not hold half times ask why our Church is called year 1551 Henry Davells was granted the parishioners. It was decided to ac- Killeshin when it is at least two miles part of the lands of Killeshin by Eliza- cept the kind offer of Mr. William Clay- from that townland; the answer is simple. beth I. Two ladies, the last descendants ton Browne of Browne's Hill of a site in The old ruined Church at Killeshin was of Davells, died in great poverty in a hut his immediate possession near the Turn- our Parish Church, and when it fell into at Lambstown, early in the last century; pike Gate, close to the town of Graigue. decay the parishioners decided to build a Lambstown is part of the farm now in It may be of interest to give the names new one, our present Parish Church. the possession of George Ovington. of those present at that meeting:— which retained the old name. The existing early remains of the Church Rev. Joseph Jameson, Officiating Clergy- I think it would be of interest if I gave of Killeshin were the work of a period man; Robert M. Fishboume and J. Wilson, you briefly the history of old Killeshin. soon after the destruction of the old Churchwardens. J. Browne, W. Massey, J. The name is derived from Uisean the building in 1077. The beautiful doorway Herring, W. Parsons, W. Fishbourne, W. Bard; it was a place of great importance. at the West end is sometimes erroneously Boyce, H. Deacon. R. Maher, R. Jackson, Sir Charles Coote in his statistical ac- called Norman; it is, in fact, one of the R. Wright, R. Byrne, A. Boyce, W. Mc- count of the Queen's County written to- most striking examples of Hiberno Ro- Cullagh, W. Wilson, R. Holies, J. wards the end of the last century makes manesque architecture. The Church was Williams, James Young, H. McCoom, R. mention of a town having stood at remodelled at three different periods. Shaw, W. Bambrick, H. Walker, R. Jack- Killeshin in comparatively modern When the roof fell in, about the year son, G. Wilson, H. Murray, J. Booth, W. times; this place is remarkable for hav- 1726, about 40 feet of the Eastern portion Carr, E. Thorpe, W. Jackson, T. Booth, J. ing once been the chief town in the was retained for Services. Before I leave Valentine, R. Smyth, W. Reynor, M. county, though there is not a stone build- old Killeshin, I would like to mention the Coombs, R. McDonnell. ing standing except the ruins of the Round Tower and Belfry. Church. Here were the County Gaol and It was almost a year after this meeting be- the Court House where the Assizes were In a fly leaf of a copy of the "Irish Stat- fore the building commenced. There was held, and the Governor's Mansion, which ues" printed in the year 1720 (kindly lent a lot of correspondence and interviews was a fine building, also a fort and public by Mrs. Browne-Clayton, late of with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, buildings of which there is now no trace. Browne's Hill) the following manuscript sometimes called Board of First Fruits, The stone stocks and gallows stood the entry respecting the destruction of the before the required amount of £1,000 wreck of time the longest. These sites Tower occurs.1 was raised. It was finished in the year were pointed out by the old people in • " Monday ye 8th thy of March, 1723, 1825 and consecrated in 1826. The pews whose recollection they were. When the that day the Steeple undermined were allotted in that year. Some of the present Roman Catholic Church, the • Old English spelling. front seats were sold for as much as £10 Church of the Holy Cross, was being and flung down by one Bambrick im- each. It was not until 1825 that the erected, it was necessary to remove the ployed by Capt. Wolsley, in three days Churchyard wall was built, and the iron remains of the stocks and gallows as the worke, at three of ye clock in ye after- entrance gate erected. site was on Gallows Hill. A Monastery noon, ye Steeple fell to the ground, being was founded at Glen Uisean at the com- measured it was 105 feet high. Not a In the year 1841, Rev. Roland O'Connor mencement of the sixth century by St. stone came out of it as it fell in " Miss died; he seems to have been a very pop- Diarmid who was its first Abbot. St. Stokes in “Christian Inscriptions” says ular Curate; there is a Tablet erected to Lazarian of Leighlin was educated here that it was the only one of its kind in Ire- his memory by the parishioners on the Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 2

7 History of Killeshin Parish

North Wall of the Church, near the acter. The solemn and effective manner ened by a large trench dug close to the Organ. I shall have something more to in which the Bishop pronounced the var- Church the previous year, June 1843. The say about this at a later stage. ious parts of the Consecration Service Church was condemned by the Architect made its way to the hearts of all present, who said that a considerable portion of it At a Vestry Meeting in April of the year and seemed to fill their minds with a deep would have to be taken down. In fact it 1843, it was decided to buy a pair of sense of the beauty and propriety of the was completely taken down and a larger strong iron hinges for the outside door, services of our Church. The new organ one built. It was found that the founda- which was blown in during the terrific was used on this occasion for the first tion was only 18” deep, the mortar had storm of the previous February. This time, and the old 100th and the 118th not sufficient lime in it and the bricks storm was referred to for over a century Psalms were sung. The service concluded crumbled away by touch. afterwards as the " night of the Big by the administration of the Sacrament of Wind." This door faced west. the Lord's Supper, of which all the clergy They made no mistake the second time; and many of the laity partook." they got that very competent Architect, At a Vestry Meeting, held on Monday, As already mentioned, I had discovered Cobden, whose works have stood the test 28th March, 1842, the following resolu- in the old Minute Book that the Church of time and include the Roman Catholic tion was passed:- “That in consequence was built in 1825/26, pews allotted, Con- Cathedral, the spire on St. Mary's, of the very great danger that persons at- secrated, and Services held in it. This is Killeshin Roman Catholic Church, Sta- tending Divine Service are liable to from what happened: on going deeper into the plestown Church, Braganza. entrance there being no separate or distinct path- matter and with much difficulty deci- gateway to Duckett's Grove and House way for foot passengers, and from the phering the old writing I discovered the and " Thornville," Palatine. frequent dangerous collisions that take following:- "April 1843, at a meeting of place at present, that the South pathway the Vestry it was brought to the notice of The Rector stated that in the year 1825 be left entirely for carriages and other ve- the parishioners that the Church was in a when the Church was built the number of hicles, and that the North pathway be for very dangerous condition, the arch hav- Protestants in the Parish was only 270 foot passengers alone, and that this reso- ing a large crack from end to end in it; it and that allowing for a probable increase, lution be the better observed, that stone was resolved that the Rector communi- the Church should be such as would af- pillars be erected at the East and West ex- cate with the Ecclesiastical Authorities so ford ample accommodation for at least tremities of the North path”. At this stage as to have it inspected by a competent 300, but instead of which, either from a I came to a full stop when I read the fol- person, also that the present Church does change of plan, or the novel manner in lowing cutting from the “Carlow Sen- not offer sufficient accommodation for which it was built, it was barely sufficient tinel” dated 28th March, 1846, so I had the Parishioners." for 210, and that with pews only 2' 6" to begin all over again. wide, much too narrow for two people to The foundation might have been weak- pass. Its entire extent being 64' long by Killeshin Church 22' 6" wide, including chancel, pulpit, " On Thursday last, 26th inst., this very reading desk, aisle, etc. Since the above handsome structure, which has been mentioned period the Protestant popula- lately erected in Graigue, at the Queen's tion has increased nearly 50%, and now County side of the river, and adjoining our flock amounts to 394, and is still this town, was consecrated by the Lord likely to increase considerably in conse- Bishop of Ossory and Leighlin. A numer- quence of having the commercial town of ous body of Clergy were in attendance, Graigue within the Parish, and the navi- and assisted in the ceremony. Amongst gable River Barrow carrying on an exten- those we noticed the Reverends Harpur, sive trade with Dublin, Cork, Waterford Jameson, Jacob, Hare, Fitzgerald, Elliott, and New Ross. Brandon, Fishbourne, Harpur, Berry, Meaze, Barnier, Atkinson. The Hon. There seems to have been great difficulty Archdeacon Stopford assisted as the in obtaining a loan from the Ecclesiasti- Bishop's Chaplain. Morning prayers were cal Commissioners for building another read by the Rev. D. Massey, Curate of Church inside 20 years. Capt. Fitzmau- Killeshin, and an eloquent sermon from rice, R.N., Old Derrig, interviewed them Deuteronomy IV, 7, 8, 9, was preached in Dublin and put the case of the Parish- by the Rev. J. Beresford Johnstone, Rec- ioners before them so forcibly that the tor of Tullow, and a collection made in money was granted. The first Church support of the Scriptural Schools of the cost £1,000 and the second £750, the re- Parish. The Church was densely crowded duction in price being accounted for by by the parishioners and gentry of the using the materials in the first one. Of neighbourhood. Col. Bruen, M.P., Major course the Parishioners had to put up a H. Cooper and R. Clayton Browne, Esq., large portion of this money-£134-1-0d. acted as collectors. The whole ceremony Killeshin Church of Ireland The Church was insured for £500; pre- was of an imposing and impressive char- mium £1-2-6 per annum. Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 3

8 History of Killeshin Parish

Items of Interest and roofless for at least a century and a It should make us feel ashamed of our- The Organ or Harmonium was brought half, and it is a tradition of the people that selves when we think of all the grum- from the old Parish Church, Killeshin, though it was built for Protestant service bling and complaining we had about the and erected on the Gallery; a new one yet no service was ever held within it. awful summer and bad harvest we have was purchased in 1846 for use in the sec- There was a Monastery here, but the pe- experienced in 1958. Our forefathers had ond Church; it was also erected on the riod in which it flourished must have pre- some terrible trials to face, as we see Gallery where the choir sat in those days. ceded the Anglo-Norman Invasion. The from the following:- "Tuesday, January It was used for the first time at the Con- bell of the old Roman Catholic Church of 15th, 1833; at a Vestry held this day, for secration Service. The present Organ was Rathbeagh was found in a sand pit at the the purpose of assessing the Parish, for a purchased in Archdeacon Jameson's time North side of the Graveyard on the lands sum of money to relieve the distress of in 1879 and erected in its present posi- of Caufield Best of Clone, a local mag- those who are suffering under the melan- tion. The Church was first heated by two nate, who presented it to the Protestant choly effects of that awful disease Church Killeshin, Queen's County, where Cholera, and to relieve the wants of those it is still in use." According to this ac- who may be visited by it; the Rev. count, the bell must be well over 300 Roland O'Connor in the Chair." About a years old; it has been erected on four dif- third of the Parishioners would be wiped ferent Churches. It was to the first out by this dreaded disease. Another vis- Church at Killeshin that Mr. Best pre- itation of it came in 14 years afterwards, sented it. In 1955 it had to be taken down in 1847, following the famine. Mention and sent to Dublin to have a small portion of the famine compels me to insert the of it recast, as the tongue fell out of it, following extract from a letter of the from constant friction. It had worn itself Vicar, the Rev. Dawson Massy, to the " out. When it was re-erected it was set to Carlow Sentinel," 1847: "When I heard be rung by electricity under the supervi- that three children were found starved to sion of Mr. Albert Fennell. death, in one house in our Parish caused me to commence distributing food, and This Mr. Best afterwards came to live at so much was it required, that a poor girl Bestfleld, Carlow. The ruins of his man- actually forced her attenuated body under sion are still to be seen close to the Athy the iron gate of the Churchyard and made Road. It is believed that he inherited this her way into the School, where she property on the death of a relative. fainted, and was with great difficulty preserved alive."

1889 Mrs. Young, Sextoness, resigned office; the Vestry granted her 6d. per week for life, so you can see her future was assured! Mrs. Whittaker was appointed in her place Organ and remained in the position until the Rev. E. Bradshaw's time in 1911. large stoves, burning coal. The two pipe or chimney outlets are still to be seen in The Parish has several links with that fa- the roof; they were in the centre of the mous man, Admiral Lord Nelson. In the aisle. They were replaced in 1902 by the graveyard lies buried the Hon. Charlotte steam pipe heating system, which was in Rochfort, wife of Horace Rochfort of Clo- use until 1952, when the present electric grennan; she was a grand niece of Lord storage heaters were installed. Nelson's. Also interred there is Capt. James Fitzmaurice, R.N., of Old Derrig, The Bell who fought under Nelson either at the bat- Our Bell has a very interesting history. In tle of Trafalgar or Copenhagen, and was the Very Rev. Canon Carrigan's history wounded; he was then a Lieutenant. of Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, Vol. 2, page 323, appears the following:- The present Communion Plate was pur- " In the Parish of Lisdowney, district of chased in 1826 for the first Church at a Rathbeag, Co. Kilkenny, the Roman cost of £3-0-0d. The names of the then Catholic Parish Church, dedicated to St. Church-wardens are inscribed on them- Catherine, Virgin and Martyr, was William Fishbourne, James Wilson. It thrown down about the year 1700 and a has been in regular use for the past 133 Protestant Church erected on its founda- years. Bell & Door tion. The latter Church had been deserted Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 4

9 History of Killeshin Parish

The Church has been enriched down the the oldest in the Parish; I found that years by some beautiful memorials. I where the Elizabethan Grants are men- think it would be fitting to mention them. tioned, that a Colonel St. Leger was The first is a tablet erected by the Parish- granted three townlands in Killeshin ioners to the memory of Rev. Roland Parish, Leagh, Ballyneskin, by Queen O’Connor, Curate of Killeshin, and Rec- Elizabeth 1st, in 1551, and another which tor of Sletty and Shrule. It is remarkable I cannot decipher. Mrs. Macdonald very that although this memorial is in the pres- kindly gave me the family history which ent Church that Rev. Roland O'Connor linked up her family with the St. Legers was never inside it-he died in 1841—five and the Fishbournes. One of the St. Leg- years before it was built. He officiated in ers became 1st Viscount Doneraile; they the first Church for 17 years, almost the are also connected with the Eustace fam- full period of its existence. This must be ily of Newstown, Tullow. without parallel in Church history. The Watters family comes second; in the The stained glass window on the South year 1828 a Richard Watters was a wall in Memory of Major Edward Churchwarden. Haughton, late the Princess of Wales Reg- iment, erected by his brother officers. The Fennell family comes third; my great grandfather, Richard Fennell, is men- The Reading Desk is in Memory of Rev. tioned in 1832. William Cooper Duke, A.B., T.C.D., who, for twenty-five years, was a faith- The latter two families were in the Parish ful Minister of the Church in the Dio- at the end of the 18th century but were cese. He was not Rector or Curate of not on the Vestry until the dates men- Killeshin at any time. Stainglass Window tioned. It is a remarkable fact that for more than a century at least one member, The Communion Rails and Tiling in the The beautiful stained glass East Window of these three families attended every Chancel to the Memory of the Ven. was presented by Major A. J. W. Fitz- Vestry Meeting held. Archdeacon Jameson and his wife maurice and his brother, Capt. R. M. Fitz- Emma, presented by their children. maurice, in memory of their Father and The FitzMaurice family came to these Mother, Mr. and Mrs. William Fitzmau- parts from Kerry in 1620 and settled The Font was presented by Mr. Henry Cole rice, formerly of Laurel Lodge and down at Raheendoran. The first mention in memory of his wife Mary Conyers. Kelvin Grove. in the Books of this family is in 1843. The reason they do not come into the The Pulpit was presented by the late Mrs. The two chairs in the Chancel were pre- Books earlier is that at that time Carlow Fitzmaurice of Everton in Memory of her sented by Mrs. Wynne of Shrule, in Parish extended as far as Old Derrig, and husband, Mr. Edward Fitzmaurice. Memory of her husband, William, and when the second Church was built the her children, Elizabeth, May, Victor River Barrow was fixed as the boundary; The Lectern was erected to the Memory of Leslie, Frederick Philip, Violet Emily they had been in Carlow Parish until that Mr. Patrick Dudley Shackleton, by his wife. and Eileen Frances and William Robert. time. Various members of the family There is a Tablet on the left inside the resided in Killeshin Parish from then to Mrs. Macdonald of Hollymount pre- Church door in Memory of Mr. William the present time: Gamaliel FitzMaurice, sented the Tablet and Reredos in the Treacy who was Sexton for 41 years, at Laurel Lodge, and Ballyhide Chancel, also the embroidered cloth on erected by the Parishioners of Killeshin. House,Major Harmon FitzMaurice dif- the Holy Table, in Memory of her hus- The beautiful Alms Dish was presented ferent times at Castle-view, Crossleigh band, Major Donald Ramsey Macdonald, by Mrs. Nelson in Memory of her father, and Springhill House; he served with the D.S.O., M.C., Royal Artillery, and her the Rev. Godfrey Haughton Jameson and Queen's County Regiment and was mo- sons, Major John Robert Somerlead her mother, Constance Jameson. bilized for the Crimea War; Arthur Fitz- Macdonald, Royal Fusiliers, killed at the Maurice, late of Johnstown, son of Arthur Battle of Sidi Barani, and Lieut. Roderick The Brass Flower Vases on the Holy FitzMaurice of Kelvin Grove, lived at William Macdonald, R.N., who failed to Table were presented by Mr. David and one time in Fruithill; his brother lived at return to H.M.S. Courageous, West of Miss Eileen Sheridan of Bromley, Kent, Laurel Lodge, before going to Kelvin Alexandria, Mediterranean. in Memory of their father, David, and Grove; his son, Major A. J. W. FitzMau- their mother, Annie (nee Fennell), and rice, now lives at Laurel Lodge. The Prie-dieu (the little Prayer-desk) was their sister, Hilda. presented by the Parishioners of Killeshin I now come to the families who have The Jameson family had long associations in Memory of the Ven. Samuel Ridgeway, long connection with Killeshin. with Killeshin Parish; the Rev. Joseph M.A., Archdeacon of Leighlin. Jameson was a Curate in old Killeshin; as The McMahon family of Hollymount is already mentioned he presided at the Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 5

10 History of Killeshin Parish

meeting in 1823, which decided to build a The farm now occupied by Mr. Nat Min- superintending the female school; she new Church. He was afterwards Rector of ion was the home of the Young family; was dismissed from her position as Carlow. The beautiful stained glass East they were in Killeshin Parish for over a teacher. Her husband was the boys' Window in St. Mary's, Carlow, was century. They originally came from teacher. A Miss Jackson was appointed in erected to his Memory. His son, the Rev. Slyguff, Bagenalstown. her place. We read at a later date that Mr. James Jameson, afterwards Archdeacon of West was also dismissed as his wife as- Leighlin, came to Killeshin in 1867, and Mr. Henry Cole was Superintendent of saulted the new teacher-she beat her up was Rector until the year of his death in the Barrow Navigation Company. His in the School Yard ! 1889, 32 years in the Parish. He was suc- name appears for many years in the ceeded by his son, the Rev. Godfrey Vestry books. The broken pillar tomb- At that time the attendance was 95. 40 Haughton Jameson, who remained in stone, in Killeshin Graveyard (symbolic Roman Catholics and 55 Protestants. Killeshin until the year 1910, when he of a life cut away in its prime) was There was a bitter controversy in the went to Tullow as Rector. His daughter is erected to the Memory of Brevet Major local papers between the Rector, the Rev. Mrs. Nelson of Urglin Glebe. Henry Cole, East Suffolk Regiment, who Dawson Massy, and the Parish Priest in died of sunstroke in New Zealand and Graigue, the Rev. J. Maher, in conse- The Haughtons and Shackletons were was buried there. quence of these children attending a Parishioners for nearly a century. They Protestant School. were descendants of the families who The Lafarelle family resided for many founded the Quaker Settlement and years at Springhill House. James La- Copies of the letters in the " Carlow Post " School at Ballytore in 1726. Sir Ernest farelle was Churchwarden in 1869. The and " Carlow Sentinel " are still in existence. Shackleton, the world-famous Antarctic family went to India in 1886. A Captain explorer, who was born at Ballytore, Knipe afterwards lived in Springhill We read later of a lady teacher who seems often visited his relations in Graigue as a House; he was Churchwarden on several to have been a nice, kindly, gentle crea- young man, and attended Divine Service occasions. His wife was an Indian ture; she tried to instil knowledge into her in Killeshin on several occasions. They Princess, a very wealthy lady, and was 28 pupils with the aid of the leg of a small were Flour Millers and Corn Merchants. stone in weight. desk. Some of the children bore the marks They played a very important part in the for life. So much for the School. commercial life of the town of Carlow Also two other very old families who lived for a couple of centuries. Another very in Graigue were the Whittakers and Jamess. Clergy famous member of the Shackleton family Mrs. Lewis of Dublin Street is a member The first mention of a Rector was on 24th was Mary, afterwards Mary Leadbeater; of the Whittaker family, and George James, July, 1551, when Queen Elizabeth 1st she wrote amongst other works the fa- who died about 13 years ago, was the last gave a grant of English Liberty to Don- mous book, " The Annals of Ballytore." of the family in the Parish. nag Mora, Vicar of the Parish " Kil- Capt. Paget Butler was church warden in 1865; he was a nephew of the Marquis of The School House Ormond: he lived in Springhill House; I think I should give you a few interesting also Church-warden in 1865 was Har- facts about the School House. The first mon Faulkiner, Springhill Cottage; he mention of it was a letter addressed to was a grandson of Dr. Faulkiner who was Mr. Robert Fishbourne, Churchwarden of the Rev. Joseph Jameson's predecessor as Killeshin in the year 1824, from the Rev. Rector of Carlow in 1780. The last of the William Fishbourne, Rector of Ferns:- Faulkiner family, Danny, died a few years "Dear Sir, a large tree, having been cut on ago in Carlow County Home, a broken- the lands at Killenane, near Leighlin down Knight of the Road. Bridge, in the possession of Mr. Groome, I am directed by the Lord Bishop of Ferns to acquaint you, that he gives that tree to the Parish of Killeshin, to be used in fitting up the new school house in that Parish. I have written Mr. Groome on the subject, Mr. John Payne of Leighlin- bridge will assist you in getting it." All the carting was done by Parishioners' horses. There seems to have been a lot of friction between the teachers, both male and female, and the Rector, and Inspec- tion Committee. We read that in October 1826 a charge was preferred against Mrs. West, the School Mistress, for irritability The Venerable Samuel Ridgeway M.A. of temper, and intemperance of language, and want of proper respect to the ladies Carloviana 2012 History Of Killeshin Church 1 page 6-11_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:48 Page 6

11 History of Killeshin Parish

lessyn," in Co. Carlow. There does not 1867, Ven. Archdeacon James Jameson. Killeshin has been noted for its outstand- appear to be any continuity of names of 1899, Rev. GodfreyNaughton Jame- ing Clergymen down the centuries, and Clergy until the Rev. Joseph Jameson is son, Rector. Mr. Gash and Mr. Baird have always up- mentioned. held that great tradition. Our Parish is 1911, Rev.Edward Bradshaw, Rector. lucky in having two Clergymen of such Oliver Keating is given as Vicar in 1615. 1912, Rev. Samuel Ridgeway, Rector. outstanding ability here at the same time. In 1690 Thomas Underwood, Minister. His curates were:- Rev.R. Hazley; Rev. I feel sure that every Parishioner will R. Ridgeway; Rev. R. J. Charters; Rev. heartily agree with this statement, and 1796 to 1823, Rev. Joseph Jameson, Curate. W. Packham; Rev. T. V. Perry; Rev. R. B. our prayers should be- "Long may they 1826, Rev. James Langrishe, Archdea- Thompson; Rev. Neville Phair; Rev. W. remain with us." con, and Rev. Roland O'Connor, Curate. Daunt; Rev. W. W. Stanley; Rev. A. P. 1842 to 1846, Rev. John William Williamson, Fisher, Rev. R. W. Reynolds. Rector; Rev. David Scott, Curate. I now come to our present worthy Rector, 1847, Rev. Dawson Massy, Rector; Rev. J. G. Gash, and Rev. W. S. Baird, Rev.P.C. Pounall, 1857,Curate. Curate.

Carlovians at the launch of Dr Michael Conry’s latest book

Back: Dan Carbury, Owen Doyle, Martin Nevin, Dr Maurice Manning Front: Pat O’Neill Mgt. Minchin, Dr Michael Conry, Olivia O’Leary & Pat Comerford.

Carloviana 2012 Burgess of Carlow Town page 12-14_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:50 Page 1

Development and Demise of the Carlow Burgess

Sean O’Shea

Apart from the conquest of Ireland, mil- exist, as the title applied only to the oc- a Guild of Merchants and other Guilds". itary honour and glory, the Normans, par- cupier of Burgess land and dwelling However, there is no provision in the ticularly the Norman Knights, had other house. In later years the title of Burgess Charter for the appointment of a motives when invading Ireland in 1169. had different conotations and meanings. Portreeve, or the granting of Corporation They were particulary interested in mak- The holding of a Burgess, consisted of a status to the Burgesses ,or authority en- ing profit from the newly acquired land. narrow street frontage, with a long nar- abling them to return members to Parlia- To strengthen their hold on their property, row garden behind the house, and land ment. The Charter would have been castles were erected in strategic locations adjacent to or near the settlement. Towns modelled, like many granted in Ireland, throughout the country, similar to a pol- created in this manner were known as on the franchises of free-laws of Bristol. icy employed by them in England, after Boroughs. A number of Boroughs did not A borough also evolved at this time at the conquest of that country in the previ- develop or survive as settlements, and Old Leighlin, probably by way of pre- ous century. A timber fortress/castle was ceased to exist - such as Dunleckney. Not scription and custom, when Herlewin al- erected by Hugh De Lacy, at the Barrow all places with Burgesses were regarded lowed burgage holdings to be provided river in Carlow, for John De Clahull, a as towns. on land, the property of the see (some- vasal of Strongbow, which survived for what similar to a borough formed at at least three decades. The building was The Burgesses of Carlow were priv- Cashel during the bishopric of Donat). subsequently replaced with a stone and eleged, and their position was strength- Old Leighlin Borough was managed and masonry castle, by William Marshall, ened, when William, Earl Marshal, and controlled by the Bishop, and was known Earl of Pembroke. Its ruin stands to-day. Earl of Pembroke, granted the first char- as a Bishop Borough, of which a number To consolidate their holdings further, the ter to the town of Carlow, during the existed:- Cashel, Clogher and Armagh. Normans earmarked certain areas of reign of King John (1199 -- 1216). Ryan land,called Burgage Land, and encour- states in his "History of Antiquities of Many of the Boroughs claiming corporate aged English and Welsh tenants to oc- County Carlow": "There can be no doubt status did not develop into proper towns, (it cupy this land by conferring (under the charter was granted about the time has been calculated that only one in four statute), a considerable number of priv- Marshal received the Marshalship of Ire- Boroughs developed into towns). Some eleges on them, not afforded to other ten- land in 1208". However, the charter was were villages , others eventually depopu- ants, i.e. a Gaelic unfree tenant known as not enrolled until 1296 (24th year of the lated and disappeared. By the time of James Bothach. The statute known as the Law reign of Edward 1). 1 , it was recorded that in Ireland there were of Breteuil, granted tenants of Burgage forty four towns in which Municipal Cor- land, the status of Burgess, with the right Charters were granted by the Monarch of porations were supposed to have existed by to lease other land from the Lord, sell England, but in a few instances, a high prescription, or in which there were traces their interest in their property, and leave ranking Lord, was favoured with the hon- of Municipal bodies. when they wished. our i.e. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Walter de Lacey, Lord of Meath. James' policy in Ireland, was to establish Ryan refers to the "yearly rent of twelve his own authority over the country's peo- pence out of every Burgage". The Catherlach Charter records "Be it ple, whether native or Anglo-Saxon, and known to all men now and hereafter, that in return, to treat all as his subjects. He Another important privelege granted to I , William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, therefore proposed that the first parlia- the Burgesses was the right to own their have granted to my Burgesses of Cather- ment that he summoned should be rep- own Hundred Court, which allowed them lach, all such liberties as Burgesses ought resented by members of the Irish race To to hold court confined to their own peers, to have, and as it is lawful for me to con- fulfil his wishes, James appointed a and was entirely outside the jurisdiction fer, to be held and enjoyed forever of me Commission, to inquire as to the existing of the Manor Court. and my heirs by them and their heirs"etc. state of Boroughs in Ireland. This Com- The Charter contained the privileges al- mission of Inquiry was under the guid- However, on leaving Burgess property, ready mentioned, and also states "It shall ance and control of Arthur, Lord the tenant's title of Burgess ceased to be lawful for the said Burgesses to have Chichester of Belfast.. Lord Chichester,

Carloviana 2012 Burgess of Carlow Town page 12-14_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:50 Page 2

13 Development and Demise of the Carlow Town Burgess

in correspondence at the time , set out the ration. Thus the status of the Burgess was Temple, John Nicholas, Henry Berkeley, following criteria adopted by him, "To expanded to include membership of Mu- Edward Reynolds, John Warren, Robert make such towns only, as we think fit and nicipal Corporations,who possessed im- Curtis, Michael Heade, Samuel Black- behoveful for the service (incorporation), portant privileges in relation to the shaw, Sir Thomas Butler, Sir John Danal- and to omit such as are likely to be against election of parliamentary representatives. lier and John Tench. Robert Brown was us". In his submission to the King, he re- the first sovereign ported in relation to Catherlach, "none in Charters of Incorporation granted by whole county, there being no town fit." James 1st were unpopular, as they were On the 24th February 1689, James 11 Notwithstanding Chichester's recommen- contrary to the original intention of all granted the borough of Catherlagh its last dation James bestowed a Royal Charter of ancient incorporations, and repugnant to royal charter, which was short lived. This Incorporation on the town of Catherlach the corporate laws known in Ireland for charter did not materially differ in its pro- on the 19th April 1613. the previous four centuries. In almost visions from the charter of Charles 11. every instance, individuals who were to The corporation created under this char- James' first parliament of Ireland, con- be first portrieve, burgesses and sheriffs ter comprised one sovereign, Garret sisted of 226 members, of which 101 of the town, were named in the charter Quigley, twenty four free burgesses and were Roman Catholic. Two members and not infrequently also the Recorder community of Catherlagh. The corpora- were elected from each of the following and Town Clerk. All were required to tion was also empowered to send two electoral areas:- Cities and towns that take the oath of supremacy. The manner members to parliament. were counties 9 of election of members to parliament was Shires that sent Knights also questionable, as it gave James a ma- Following the ascension of William 11l to parliament 33 jority in the parliament of 1613. In fact to the throne, all the charters of James 11 Old Boroughs 31 the charters legally separated the mem- including his charter to the town of New Boroughs 39 bers of the corporation class from the in- Catherlagh were declared void under an The University of Dublin 1 habitants of the town charters, including Act of William in 1695. (An Act declar- James I to the the town of Catherlagh, ing all attainders and all other acts made John Bere, Sergeant at Law and Sir were subsequently terminated by Charles in the late pretended parliament to be Robert Jacob, Solicitor General, mem- 2nd in 1672. Following a petition from void). Catherlagh Corporation, accord- bers of the newly formed Corporation of Robert Brown late portrieve, free ingly reverted to being governed by the Carlow, represented the town in James’ burgesses and community of Catherlagh, former charter granted by Charles 11. parliament of 1613. a second royal charter was granted by Catholics however, were excluded from Charles on the 24th December 1676. This corporation membership by law The Charter granted by James "Ordained charter outlived the King. from1695, and the franchise remained and decreed that within the said Borough exclusively Protestant until 1793. of Carlow, there be one Body Corporate "Many of the charters of the several cities and Politique, consisting of one Portrieve, and towns formerly corporate in our king- Following the many changes and distur- twelve free Burgesses and commonalty," dom of Ireland, have been by reason of bances, confusion was caused in the and he further ordered "that the Portrieve several miscarriages and misdemeanours management of corporations, eventually and free Burgesses of the Borough and of the said cities and towns, during the descending into corruption, resulting in their successors for ever, may have full time of the late horrid rebellion, forfeited political intrigues. In the process of time, power and authority to elect and return unto us and others of said corporations, the majority of corporations became the two discreet and proper men, to serve and are dissolved or otherwise determined". property of the aristocracy, and they in attend in every parliament in the Kingdom turn ensured their own aggrandisement of Ireland hereafter to be held." In relation to the petition made the char- by bestowing the representation of those ter continues:- to their sons and supporters. After this, John Kerton was named "the first and "Robert Brown Esq., late portrieve , the corporations were regularly bought and modern Portrieve of the Borough" in the burgesses and community of the town of sold. While the Sovereign and Burgesses Charter, with the following twelve free Catherlagh have humbly petioned us, we constituted the ruling body, they were all Burgesses: John Bere, Sir Robert Jacob, would be graciously pleased to grant unto persons connected with or in the imme- Sir Adam Loftus, Anthony St. Ledger, them a new charter for the said borough, diate interest of the owner (known as pa- Peter Wright, William Greatrake, and to incorporate them by the names of tron), thus leaving the management of the Nicholas Harman, John Bromfield, John sovereign, free burgesses and community corporation entirely in his hands. Cather- Ely, Robert Whitacre, Robert Sutton and of the said town and borough of Cather- lagh Corporation became the property of Richard Keating. lagh, with such franchises, liberties, priv- the Burtons of Burton Hall, and like the eleges and advantages as they formerly majority of corporations was a closed Burgesses held office during their natural held, under such restrictions and limita- corporation, which allowed parliamen- life, unless dismissed in the meantime for tions as we should think fit". tary representation to be determined and misconduct or ill government. The Por- controlled by the patron. trieve was elected annually, and vacan- The body corporate formed comprised cies when they occurred , were filled by one sovereign and twelve burgesses, In 1796, William Burton, due to financial a majority of the members of the Corpo- namely:-Sir John Povey, Sir William difficulties, disposed of his interest in the Carloviana 2012 Burgess of Carlow Town page 12-14_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:50 Page 3

14 Development and Demise of the Carlow Town Burgess

corporation of Catherlagh to Charles 3. William Browne, of the hill, who don't sound well together. William Bury, Earl of Charleville, Tul- has been faithful to neither side. He has lamore, for the sum of £15,000. Lord betrayed his patron by lately signing the 12. Another Trench! oh! oh! oh! Charleville, the new owner and patron, at Requisition of Reform and the interests of once replaced all the existing burgesses the country, by being so long a party to 13. Lord Charleville. Be it remem- and appointed in their stead his own sup- borough corruption and monoply. bered, that in the year 1796, and in the porters, none of whom with the exception month of February of said year, and on of two had any connection with the 4. Robert Clayton Browne, son of the nineteenth day of said month, you, Catherlagh area: namely William Brown the above William Browne. To give the Charles William Bury of Charleville for- of Brownshill and James Butler of the devil his due, Robert is a worthy corpo- est, were admitted to the freedom of this town of Catherlagh. This procedure was rator, though more consistent than his borough — that on the tenth day of completely contrary to the spirit of the Dad!, for Bob refused to convene his March following , you were made a charter and showed the aristocracy's ille- bailiwick lest, of course, he should in any Burgess of said borough; and that within gal usurpation of the people's rights. The way forward the wicked work of Reform, sixteen days after, with a hop-step-and- action of the Earl of Charleville con- or comply with the well known wish of a-leap, you became proprietor of said demned by the inhabitants of the town William the fourth, whose representative borough for the sum of £15,000 sterling, but to no avail. he was. Bye the by, master Bob is captain paid down on the nail, to one William of the Carlow corps of yeomanry, who Burton, of Burton Hall, in this county, As a consequence of the Rebellion of have lately distinguished themselves so sending all the then Burgesses a packing, 1798, the Irish Parliament was prorogued highly at the interment of Voss the Nailor, as we by these presents , intend packing on the 2nd August 1800, and did not when they paraded the streets of Carlow you and yours". again assemble in Ireland. The Act of to the great edification of Orangemen and Union was passed into law, which re- bigots, playing the tune of " Protestant With the privilege of returning members duced the number of Irish parliamentary Boys". Such is the triple capacity of Bob- to parliament being removed from the pa- representation from three hundred to one tron and burgesses, their end was in sight. hundred, who were now required to at- Corporator, Sheriff, Captain of Yeomen. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act tend at the House of Commons in Lon- The man of God, the Rev. Frederick Eyre 1840 (3rd and 4th Victoria Cap 108) abol- don. Catherlagh Borough's parliamentary Trench. The name of Trench speaks vol- ished fifty eight corporations , including representation was reduced to one mem- umes. Qurry, what relation is Fred to the Carlow Corporation, which was replaced ber. Old Leighlin Corporation was de- Rev. Doctor Trench, who prosecuted Ae- with a Town Commission, thus bringing franchised as a borough, and having lost neas McDonnell? to an end the Corporation of Carlow and its political usefulness, was permitted to the demise of the Carlow Burgess. fall into decay. 6. Thomas Sterling Berry, Attor- ney, Clerk of the Pipe, Law-agent and The Carlow Burgess had survived over a The introduction of the Reform Act of confidential adviser to Lord Charleville, period of six centuries, changing from ten- 1832 by the Liberal party, disenfran- and residing in Hume Street, Dublin. ant farmer to politician, with the privilege chised corporations, thereby further re- of election to parliamentary representa- ducing their political value. 7. Malborough P. Berry, brother of tion, though somewhat diluted in later Parliamentary representation was then the above, and Land-agent etc. etc. to years. Nevertheless the burgesses played determined by way of the middle class Lord Charleville. an imposing and important role in the devote, i.e., households with property of velopment of the town of Carlow and its £10 valuation or over. At that particular 8. Francis Berry, brother of the environs, thereby recording a place for time Lord Charleville's son represented two foregoing, and equal to either of themselves in our heritage and history. the Borough of Catherlagh in the House them in devotion to his patron's interests. of Commons. Three Berrys! The Lord preserve us, one of them would be quite enough. References:- A caustic profile of the burgesses that Medieval Ireland Tadhg O'Keeffe year in the Carlow Morning Post telling 9. Another man of God, the Rev. Byrne's Dictionary of Irish Local History them to "pack up , ye rascals and begone John Lever. God bless the Parsons, they Brophy Papers (Dryden), gives some indication of their always figure amongst the corruptionists. Carlow Morning Post unpopularity, and lists them as follows:- Master Lever is besides domestic chap- Sentinal "1. Edward Butler, Sovereign; and who lain to Lord Charleville. Gale's Account of Municipal Corporation barring a vow which he made to be true Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland to you (lord Charleville), would have 10. William Wallace, not him of Vol II Oxford English Dictionary long ago withdrawn from the dirty job. Bannock-burn, but he of Tullamore, History of Antiquities of County Carlow. Apothecary to Lord Charleville. Bravo, 2. William Fishbourne - the run- monsieur Purgon! ning of a second coach would not indem- nify poor Bill for his nice pickings, 11. The Honourable Francis Ald- which he is about to lose. borough Pretty. Pretty and Aldborough Carloviana 2012 Lewis's Carlow page 15-17_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:52 Page 1

amuel Lewis was the editor and publisher of topographical dic- Lewis relied on the information provided Stionaries and maps of the United Kingdom and Ireland. by local contributors and on the The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a earlier works published such as faithful and impartial description of each place. The firm of Coote's Statistical Survey (1801), Samuel Lewis and Co. was based in London. Samuel Lewis Taylor and Skinner's Maps of the died in 1865. Roads of Ireland (1777), Pigot's Trade Directory (1824) and other A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland was first sources. He also used the various parliamentary published in 1837 in two volumes, with an ac- reports and in particular the census of 1831 companying atlas; it marked a new and sig- and the education returns of the 1820s and nificantly higher standard in such accounts of LEWIS’S early 1830s. Local contributors were given Ireland. The first edition is available online. the proof sheets for final comment and revi- A second edition was published in 1842. CARLOW sion. The names of places are those in use prior to the publication of the Ordnance Survey In the 1837 preface, the editor noted that: The numerous Atlas in 1838. Distances are in Irish miles (the county histories, and local descriptions of cities, towns, cont. statute mile is 0.62 of an Irish mile). and districts of England and Wales, rendered the publication of their former works, in comparison with the present, The dictionary gives a unique picture of Ireland before the an easy task. The extreme paucity of such works, in relation Great Famine. to Ireland, imposed the necessity of greater assiduity in the personal survey, and proportionately increased the expense.

Tankardstown, Templepeter Tullow or Tullowphelim, Tinahinch, Tullowcrine Urglin or Ruthland, Ullard and Wells Tullowmagrinagh or Thumagurna

Tankardstown Bridge to Castlecomer, and on the river Bar- Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary is a parish, in the barony of Rathvilly, county of- row; containing 1348 inhabitants. It is an im- Carlow, and province of Leinster, 1⅞ miles now out of copyright. So it is the in- propriate cure, in the diocese of Leighlin, (N.W.N.) from Tullow; containing 1101 inhab- tention of the Carlow Historical and forming part of the union of Old Leighlin: the itants. It is situated on the rivers Dereen and Archaeological Society to publish the rectory is appropriate to the dean and chapter. Slaney, the former of which separates it from the full extent of the text relating to Car- The tithes amount to £300. In the R.C. divi- county of Wicklow and bounds it on the east, low over a number of issues of its sions it forms part of the union or district of Leighlin-Bridge and the latter bounds it on the west. About journal, Carloviana, under the title seven-tenths of its surface consists of meadow ‘Lewis’s Carlow’ and pasture; the remainder is arable, with a Tullowmagrinagh small portion of wood. Within its limits are the or Thumagurna small hamlet called from its situation Tankardstown Cross roads, and a parish, in the barony and county of Carlow, and province of Leinster, Cappagh House, the residence of Wm. Young, Esq. In ecclesiastical 4 miles (S.E.by S.) from Carlow, on the road from Leighlin-Bridge to concerns it is not known as a parish, but constitutes part of the rectory Tullow; containing 1109 inhabitants. It comprises 5913 statue acres, of Tullow, in the diocese of Leighlin; and in the R.C. divisions also it as applotted under the tithe act, chiefly under an improved system of is part of the union or district of Tullow. About 170 children are edu- tillage. The seats are Castletown, the residence of---- Faulkner, Esq.; cated in two private schools. At Capnagh is the ruins of an old castle. Racroge, W. Elliott, Esq.; and Kilballyhue, of --- Nolan, Esq. It is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, forming the corps of the prebend Templepeter of Tullowmagrinagh, in the cathedral of Leighlin, and part of the union a parish, in the barony of Forth, county of Carlow, and province of Le- of Ballinacarrig or Staplestown: the tithes amount to £320. 15. In the inster, 5 miles (S.E. by S.) from Carlow, on the road to Fennagh, and R.C. divisions it is the head of a district, also called Tinriland, com- on the river Burrin; containing 349 inhabitants. Granite is plentyful, prising also the parishes Ballinacarrig, Ballycrogue, and Bennykerry, and the state of agriculture is improving. The living is a rectory, in and containing the chapels of Tinriland and Bennekerry, the former in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes this parish. At Tinriland is a national school, in which about 340 chil- amount to £64. 10. The protestant inhabitants attend divine service in dren are educated. Mr. Haughton, a translator of some of Fenelon’s the parish church of Dunleckney. In the R.C. divisions it is part of the works, lived in the parish. union or district of Dunleckney. There is a private school, in which about 100 children are instructed. The ruins of the old church remain. Tullow or Tullowphelim Tinnahinch a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony of Rathvilly, a village, in the barony of St. Mullin’s, county of Carlow, and the county of Carlow, and province of Leinster, 7⅔miles (E.S.E.) from province of Leinster, forming a suburb of the town of Graigue, in the Carlow, and 46⅔ (S.S.W.) from Dublin, on the road from Carlow to county of Kilkenny, with which it is connected by a good stone bridge Newtownbarry; containing 2587 inhabitants, of which number, 1929 over the river Barrow: the population is returned with the parish. are in the town. This place, which is situated on the river Slaney, over which is a bridge of five arches, built, according to an inscription on Tullowcrine it, in the year 1767, is supposed to have been originally an appendage a parish, in the barony of Idrone West, county of Carlow, and province to a castle erected here by some of the first English settlers under di- of Leinster, 5⅛miles (S.W.) from Carlow, on the road from Leighlin- rections of Hugh de Lacy, and to monastery founded here in 1315 for

Carloviana 2012 Lewis's Carlow page 15-17_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:52 Page 2

16 Lewis’s Carlow

Augustinian friars by Simon Lumbard and Hugh Tallon, whose grant additional master. The ladies of a convent superintend two schools, was confirmed, in 1331, by Edw. III. At the dissolution its temporal- one for the daughters of the gentry, the other a free school for the ed- ities were granted to the Earl of Ormonde. The castle was defended ucation of the poorer classes; the latter of these also receives aid from by Col. Butler in 1650 against the parliamentarian army, but after a the National Board. A number of orphan children are sent from Dublin stubborn resistance it was taken by Cols. Hewson and Reynolds. to the monastery and convent schools for instruction. There is in the There are no vestiges of it now in existence, and the only relic of the town a school for boys and girls, supported by subscriptions, and an abbey is a mutilated stone cross in a burial-ground on the south side infant’s school, maintained by Chas. Doyne, Esq. There are also of the river. It is said that the building was taken down in the reign of two private schools, in which are about 60 boys and 20 girls. Queen Anne, to supply materials for the erection of a barrack, on a site Some distance south of the town there is the ruins of Castle now occupied by the court-house. The town comprises two main Grace, erected by one of the ancient family of Grace, descended streets and a few lanes, in which are 305 houses, mostly of inferior from Raymond le Gros. The title of Viscount Tullowphelim was description: its outlets extends into two adjoining parishes of Ardristan evolved successively by two branches of the Butler Family, and Killerrig. It obtained a patent for holding a market Saturday and another again on Tuesday: the market is now held on Saturday, and is both of which have been years extinct. the best corn market in the county. Fairs are held on April 21st, July 10th, Oct 29th, and Nov. 21st. The extensive flour-mill of Messrs. Urglin Doyle and Pim grinds about 10,000 barrells of wheat belonging to Mr. or Rutland Carter and Mr. Roche. General sessions of the peace are held in the a parish, in the barony and county of Carlow, and province of Lein- town in January, April, June, and October; petty sessions are also held ster, 2 miles (E.N.E.) from Carlow, on the road from that town to Cas- here: the business of both is transacted in a small court-house. The tledermot; containing 977 inhabitants. This parish comprises 3080 town is a chief constabulary police station. statue acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £2715 per annum: the greater part of the land is in small holdings, and system of The parish contains 5837 statue acres, as applotted under the tithe act: agriculture is improving. The seats are at Burton Hall, the residence about one- half of it is meadow and pasture, and the remainder under of W. F. Burton, Esq., pleasantly situated on a rising ground in a finely tillage, with the exception of a small portion of wood. Two of its town- planted desmene, approached by a long and wide avenue of trees; Rut- lands are locally situated in the adjoining county of Wicklow. The land House, of - Mosse, Esq.,; Rutland Lodge, of E. Burton, Esq., ; Dereen river flows along its south-eastern and southern boundaries, Johnstown, of T. Elliott, Esq.,; Benekerry Lodge, of E. Gorman, Esq.,; and at its southern extremity joins the Slaney near the church of Mount Sion, B. Colclough, Esq., ; and Bennekerry House, of Mrs. Aghade. The principle seats are Newtown, the residence of R. Eu- Newton. At Palletinetown there is a constabularly station, and a fair is stace, Esq,;Rathglass, of Pilsworth Whelan, Esq.;------, of R.Doyne, held there on the 26th of March. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, united in 1713 to the rectory of Grangeford, and by act of council, in 1803, to the impropriate cure of Kilerick, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £250, and of the union to £542. 19. 2. The church is a neat plain building with a spire, erected in 1821 by aid of a loan of £700 from the late Board of First Fruits. In R.C. divisions the parish is partly in the union or district of Tullow, and partly in that of Tinryland, and contains a chapel belonging to the latter division, situated at Bennekerry. About 50 children are taught in a public school, and 110 in two private school.

Ullard Ullard a parish, partly in the barony of St. Mullins, county of Carlow, and partly in the barony of Gowran, county Kilkenny, and province of Leinster, 2 miles from Graig, on the road from Carlow to New Ross; containing 2139 inhabitants. This parish is situated on both sides of the river Barrow, and comprises of 4989 statue acres, as applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, being the corps of the prebend thereof in the cathedral of Leighlin, and Mass Rock at Mr Garrett Moore’s in the patronage of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £258. 9. 2 and the of Wastegrass, Tullow gross income of the prebend to £285. 9. There is a glebe-house, with aglebe of 30 acres. In the R.C. divisions it is part of the union or district of Graig. The remains of the church with an ornamental cross in the Esq.; Castlemore, the seat of the Eustace family; Rathrush, a seat of churchyard, appear to be of some antiquity. Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency: and Ballynunnery, of ---Swift, Esq.; the residence of W. Carter, Esq., is in the town. The living is a Wells rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Mar- WELLS, a parish, partly in the barony of GOWRAN, county quess of Ormonde: the tithes amount to £600. There is a glebe-house, with a glebe near the church; the latter is a new building, erected in of KILKENNY, but chiefly in that of IDRONE WEST, county 1831 in the Gothic style. In the R.C. divisions the parish is the head of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 2 miles (S. by W.) of a union or district, comprising the parishes of Tullow and Tankard- from Leighlin-bridge, on the road to Gowran; containing 1554 stown, and part of those of Ardristen. Pubbledrum and Urglin. In the inhabitants. This parish is situated upon the south side of the union there are three chapels; that of Tullow is a spacious building river Barrow, and comprises 2633 statute acres, as applotted with three galleries, to which has been lately added a very fine tower under the tithe act, the whole of which is in a highly improved or spire. There is a monastery in the town, the friars of which, ten in state of cultivation. Here is a slate quarry. Fairs for general number, superintend a classical school, and also a national school, to farming stock are held on Ascension-day and Sept. 11th. The which the Board of National Education allows£20 per annum for an seats are Ravindon, the residence of the Rev. S. T. Roberts; Bur- Carloviana 2012 Lewis's Carlow page 15-17_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:52 Page 3

17 Lewis’s Carlow

stood near the village of Royal Oak, was by act of council in 1807 removed to the site of the ancient chapel of Ballynocken, now a townland in the parish: it is a plain building in an ele- vated situation overlooking the Barrow, erected in 1810 by aid of a gift of £500 and a loan of £200 from the late Board of First Fruits; the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £956 for its repair. In the R. C. divisions the parish is part of the union or district of Leighlin-bridge: the chapel is a large building. The parochial school-house was built by aid of £60 from the incumbent: a female school is maintained by subscription, and there are two private schools, attended by about 140 children. The ruins of the former church at the Royal Oak are still visible; and near Ballyknocken is a rath of considerable extent, called by the peasantry "the Maudlin Moat."

Doorway at Ullard Church

gage, of the Rev. T. Vigors; and the Deanery-house, of the Hon. and Very Rev. Dean Bernard. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, constituting, with the chapelry of Bally- knocken, the corps of the deanery of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £392. 6. 2., and the gross income of the deanery to £448. 4. 1.; there are several small glebes, comprising 21 acres. The church, which formerly Wells Church

This concludes the series ‘Lewis’s Carlow’ Gate Lodges of Co Carlow Some have gone, some have faded

Browne’s Hill Gate Lodge

Carloviana 2012 Fr Dempsy page 18-20_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:54 Page 1

Father John Dempsy and Carlow Town Commission

Sean O’Shea

n the history of Local Government in The Carlow Town Hall, which replaced ICarlow County, I consider the most the Municipal offices at Burrin Street, progressive and forward looking local was opened in March 1886. William authority, was the second Carlow Town Hague, Dawson Street, Dublin was the Commission (1855-99), established architect and the contractor was Messrs under the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Connolly, Upper Dominic Street Dublin. Act of 1854. James Byrne Borough Surveyor agreed to oversee the contract as clerk of works The measure of any corporate body is for a sum of fifty pounds. The total cost generally determined by its legacy to including the market area amounted to posterity and in this respect the Town approximately £4000 Commission of that period is noteworthy, Fr John Dempsey plaque on the east particularly in the latter half of its exis- Today the Town Hall incorporates the side of St Laserian’s Church, tence. Hereunder I mention some of the building which adjoined it, and comple- Leighlinbridge. works undertaken by the Commissioners ments the character of the original struc- during their tenure of office, some of ture. It stands as a monument to the Erected by the people of Carlow. which are still with us today. foresight of the town fathers and continues to operate for municipal purposes today. From the inception of the Town Commis- sion in 1855, the formulation and adop- Another achievement of the Town Com- the 27th of May The Right Rev Dr. Com- tion of a scheme to supply piped water mission was the provision of St. Mary's erford, Coadjutor Bishop of Kildare and for the town was under consideration. cemetery, which has been in use by the Leighlin consecrated the new cemetery. The majority of the citizens of the town residents of Carlow to bury their deceased were served only by way of street pumps, members for well in excess of one hun- Carlow Town Commission was to the with the exception of large houses, li- dred years. It is still in use today, although forefront in the country when it came to cenced premises, etc which were in a po- becoming somewhat over crowded. street lighting. This was a major respon- sition to obtain water from private wells sibility for Town Commissioners con- on their property. However, it was only Having reached agreement on the suit- tained in the establishing Act. in the early eighteen nineties that practi- ability of a site for a new cemetery, a cal steps were taken, following an in- committee of the Town Commission ap- On the 18th November 1890, a proposal quiry regarding the quality and quantity proached the owner Mr. Bruen of Oak to light the town by electricity was con- of supply needed. Plans submitted by Mr. Park and following negotiations an sidered by the Town Commissioners. At White C.E., Laois County surveyor, for a agreement was reached in March 1892 to that time the cost of lighting the town supply of water from Killeshin stream lease the area required (7 statute acres) at with 104 oil lamps was £100. Street were recommended by Consulting Engi- a rent of fifteen pounds per year for a lighting with electricity would cost £170. neer Mr. Strype C.E. Dublin. A tender tenure of 900 years, payable half-yearly. Following negotiations with J.H Gorden subsequently received from Mr. Dixon The commissioners undertook to provide and Co. Ltd, Dublin, it was agreed at C.E., Anglesea Street, Dublin to carry out fencing between the new cemetery and meeting of the 13th January 1891 to pro- the scheme was accepted on the 5th Sep- adjoining land and to erect a wall around ceed with electric street lighting in the tember 1894; the Chairman of the Town the proposed cemetery with suitable town. The contractors obtained a lease of Commission Mr. Michael Governey laid gates. A caretaker's house was also built. Milford Mill and installed a turbine or the foundation stone at Killeshin water When works were completed the new turbines from which power was transmit- works. Water from Killeshin supplied the cemetery was opened by John Hammond ted on poles along the Barrow towpath to town for the next ninety years and some M.P. chairman of the Commission. a building on the quays opposite John of the pipes laid at that time are still in William Whelan, Cox's Lane was ap- Street. The work proceeded without use today. pointed caretaker in April 1894 and on delay and on the 24th June 1891, Carlow Carloviana 2012 Fr Dempsy page 18-20_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:54 Page 2

19 Father Dempsy and Carlow Town Commission

town had electric public lighting for the cluding a resolution to postpone the Disagreement followed with suggestions first time. meeting to allow for a further inquiry into for additions to and omissions from the the provisions of the Act. Mr Haughton list, while many declined to accept office. On Monday 13th July 1891 a banquet proposed an amendment to the resolution Following a lengthy debate agreement was given in the Town Hall by Messrs "that the meeting do adopt the memorial could not be reached and when a large Gorden and Co. Mr Gorden president of to the Lord Lieutenant" Mr. O'Shea number of people left the room, it was the company had this to say in the course M.T.C. seconded the amendment. The agreed to adjourn the meeting. of his address: "the little town of Carlow amendment was then put to the meeting with only about six thousand inhabitants by the chairman and following a show of A second meeting, in Nolan's public had through its Town Commission and hands was declared carried. house, held on the 20th January, was general inhabitants put larger towns in chaired by J.H. Haughton. On this occa- the background. It is the first inland town In the meantime the residents of Graigue sion Father Dempsy a local curate, in the whole of Great Britain and Ireland opposed the introduction of the Act, par- opened the proceedings by reading out to be lighted throughout with electricity". ticularly in relation to expected increases a list of names of proposed commission- The foregoing projects refer mainly to in rates and taxes. The local newspaper ers. Mr. Paul Cullen followed with an the last two decades of the Town Com- was also opposed to the adoption of the alternative list. The meeting was again mission’s existence. Credit is due to the Act quoting "Let our fellow townsmen bedevilled with lengthy arguments but a commissioners of the day, including two pause before they commit and act so sui- list could still not be agreed on. Eventu- outstanding chairmen, John Hammond cidal to their own interests". ally Mr. Matt Byrne proposed that "Mr. M.P. and Michael Governey for their ad- Haughton leave the chair and Mr. Lau- vancement and management of the On the 10th November an order was is- rence Kelly be called thereto". Mr. town's public services at that time. sued by the Lord Lieutenant directing Haughton duly complied and left the Charles Tucker and Arthur Fitzmaurice, room. Parties opposed to the Act were The decision to establish a Town Com- Justices of the Peace to convene a meet- then asked to leave the room. Those remission under the Towns Improvement ing for the purpose of considering the maining formed themselves into a com- (Ireland) Act 1854, was not without con- adoption or rejection of the Towns Im- mittee and after a short recess a list was troversy. At that time there existed in the provement Act 1854. This meeting was agreed and the proceedings concluded. town a Commission created under the 9th held in the Courthouse on the 1st Decem- of George 1V (Lighting of Towns Act ber 1854. The opponents were arranged The list approved consisted of the fol- 1828), When the Bill proposing to re- on one side and the advocates on the lowing: Thomas Ellis, A. Coffey, Martin place that Commission was considered, other. The conduct of the meeting was Mangan, Laurence Kelly, Thomas by the members at their meeting of the anything but harmonious. All objections Tynan, Robert Dillon, Robert Lawler, 4th April 1854, concern was expressed were again considered, with complete Thomas Kelly, Thaddeus O'Shea, and the bill was referred to a sub¬com- disagreement continuing between the Thomas C. Butler, Patrick Kinsella, mittee for consideration. A number of parties. Finally Mr. Tucker firmly called Mathew Byrne, Robert Farrell, Dr. meetings ensued without progress and in for a show of hands and declared the ma- Porter and J. Hancock Haughton. the meantime the Bill became an Act. jority in favour of the Act. A poll was then demanded and the following day At the time there seemed to be no record On the 22nd September a public meeting was fixed as the time for receiving votes. as to how agreement was finally resolved was held in the Court House to afford the The resulting poll showed 114 in favour so quickly, but forty years later in the Inhabitants of the town an opportunity to of adopting the Act and 75 against. Sentinel a local historian gives his ac- decide on the adoption of the Towns Im- Nearly 100 ratepayers abstained. The count of the happenings on that fateful provement Act and if agreed memorial- Lord Lieutenant was duly advised of the night, when commissioners were nomi- ing the Lord Lieutenant. (Memorial: A outcome. On the 4th January 1855 the nated for the 1855 Town commission. request to the Lord Lieutenant to autho- Lord Lieutenant approved the establish- The account related that: "Fr. Dempsy rise the carrying into execution in the ment of a Town Commission in the town stood up from his chair and taking off his borough, the Towns Improvement Act and directed the Justices of the Peace to clerical cloak, a garment much in vogue 1854 and to give the necessary orders and arrange for the election of eighteen com- then among the clergy, he slowly folded directions of the purpose accordingly). missioners (Carlow 15, Graigue 3) to it up and hung it on the back of his chair; carry into execution the said Act. this done he turned up the cuffs of his At the request of the chairman of the coat sleeves and slowly and methodically Town Commission the meeting was as he had folded his cloak. During these chaired by Thomas Whelan M.T.C. Nu- Supporters of the Act held a meeting in movements he was viewed with much merous matters were discussed including Nolan's public house Tullow Street on curiosity by the spectators and some in- the cost of abandoning the old Commis- Monday, 15th January 1855, to consider dividuals were heard to mutter, he must sion and establishing a new one; other is- nominating fifteen commissioners for the be going to fight somebody. Father sues of concern were the lighting of the Carlow Ward. Thaddeus O'Shea M.T.C. Dempsy was a big man and it was known town, voting rights, fairs and markets and chaired the meeting and submitted a list he sprang from a warlike Irish Sept, the the position regarding the status of of 15 ratepayers excluding opponents of O'Dempsy's of Clanmalier, so that the be- Graigue. There were many objections in- the Act for consideration. lief that he meant to fight pervaded the Carloviana 2012 Fr Dempsy page 18-20_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:54 Page 3

20 Father Dempsy and CarlowTown Commission

meeting. He then said addressing the par- using vernacular words and phrases in his Fr John Dempsy was a native of Leigh- ties at the table who had made out the sermons which left him open to the crit- lin. He was born in 1811, educated for the lists "you have named a good many gen- icism of the most critical and criticising priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Car- tlemen to act as commissioners, now I'll congregations in Ireland. Although he low (1831-1838) and was ordained in name fifteen and let me see who among might be told that people were smiling at 1838 for the Diocese of Kildare and them will refuse to act". He then named his use of the vernacular word "forninst" Leighlin. Following his ordination he fifteen persons, pointing his finger at yet, he used it again and cared not one jot served as curate in Clonmore (1838-39), each and to everybody's surprise not a what smiles it evoked” Clonegal (1839-44), Abbeyleix (1844- man of them entered a protest against 45) and Carlow (1845-55). He died as cu- In the historian’s account he spells the taking office as a Commissioner. Decid- rate in Leighlin on 10th December, 1855 name Dempsy, while on the plaque it edly the acquiescence arose from the in his 44th year. reads Dempsey. elaborate preparations he had made, as if he meant to fight, and so nobody cared to face him by a refusal to accept office" The plaque on Leighlin Church reads: At the election held on the 27th January, 1855 the fifteen above-mentioned were OF YOUR CHARITY duly elected without opposition. Three PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF further commissioners were elected from THE REV JOHN DEMPSEY C.C. LEIGHLIN the Graigue Ward — Adam Jackson, T.F WHO DIED ON THE 10TH DECEMBER 1855 Gale and James Kelly. IN THE 44TH YEAR OF HIS AGE AND THE 19th OF HIS PRIESTHOOD. Time the analyser of all things proved that Father Dempsy's involvement was the de- ciding factor and correct action and but for THE PEOPLE OF CARLOW TO WHOM HE his intervention Carlow may never have MINISTERED FOR 10 YEARS HAVE had a second Town Commission. ERECTED THIS MONUMENT TO COMMEMORATE HIS AMICABILITY OF The historian further recalls "I remember DISPOSITION HIS LOVE OF THE POOR him (Fr. Dempsy) well: A popular man as AND HIS DEVOTION TO THE a cleric, somewhat eccentric; great force INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE of character with a keen sense of humour in his composition. His preaching was very effective, albeit he had a habit of Gate Lodges of Co Carlow Some have gone some have faded

Killinane House Gate Lodge

Carloviana 2012 Tim Vigors page 21-23_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:56 Page 1

Role of the Irish in WWII

Con McGrath

HOUGH EDUCATED could be battling for my life... Tat Eton, and spending a Up until now it had all some- good proportion of his early how been a game, like a Big- life in England, Tim Vigors gles book where the heroes always considered himself always survived the battles an Irishman. Vigors, who and it was generally only the would begin the stages baddies who got the chop. I whereby Coolmore Stud in knew I had somehow to con- Fethard, Co Tipperary, trol this fear and not show it would become the world's to my fellow pilots." largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses, When he reached the coast flew into battle with his of France, and came under country's tricolour painted fire from a German Me 109, on the nose of his Spitfire. his first reaction was "extreme fear which temporar- Following many of his fly- ily froze my ability to think. ing sorties, his plane was This was quickly replaced serviced by another Fethard by an over-whelming desire man, Christy Matthews of for self-preservation." Kerry Street. Christy served in the RAF ground forces He survived the encounter, during the war and often de- and the next day shot down scribed Tim Vigors plane as an Me 109. Two days later, returning, "riddled with bul- also over Dunkirk, he shot let holes." down his first Heinkel 111.

Timothy Ashmead Vigors ON THE night of June 19, was born at Hatfield, Hert- 1940, Vigors returned from fordshire, on March 22, a night out somewhat the 1921. His father was origi- worse for wear for drink, nally a stockbroker, but the and retired to bed at his base family had been landowners at Kirton in Lindsey, Lin- in Co. Carlow for centuries. colnshire. When a message called for a volunteer to in- Tim was brought up near Melton Mow- meant to be a raw, young pilot during the tercept German aircraft which had bray in Leicestershire and his childhood Battle of Britain. Like how, at 4 am on crossed the coast, Vigors took to the air was full of horse-riding, and fox hunts. May 29, 1940, he accompanied 10 other wearing his scarlet pyjamas under a pilots to receive instructions from their green silk dressing-gown. Despite his After leaving Eton, Tim enrolled as a cadet commander, Squadron Leader `Tubby' outfit he shot down another Heinkel. at RAF Cranwell in January 1939 - his Mermagen, who told them that they were godmother, an air enthusiast, had taken to head for Dunkirk. Flying from Hornchurch, Essex, him flying, and he had immediately caught Squadron 222 suffered heavy casualties the bug. In February, 1940, he joined 222 "I walked over to my aircraft to make sure during the summer of 1940 and Vigors Squadron at Duxford, flying Spitfires. everything was in order. My mouth was was twice forced to crash land his dam- dry and for the first time in my life I un- aged Spitfire. But his successes over the In his autobiography “Life's Too Short To derstood the meaning of the expression Thames Estuary mounted, and, by the Cry”, published 2008, Vigors gives an 'taste of fear'. I suddenly realised that the end of September, he had destroyed at honest, warts and all, account of what it moment had arrived . . . Within an hour I least six enemy aircraft with a further six

Carloviana 2012 Tim Vigors page 21-23_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:56 Page 3

22 Role of the Irish in WWII

probables. In October, 1940, he was taining radio silence, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. altered course. In the meantime, Japanese On October 30, Vigors destroyed two Me reconnaissance air- 109s over Kent, but any satisfaction was craft had located dissipated by the loss, in the same action, Force Z. of his fellow pilot and close friend, Hilary Edridge. "A wave of misery swept over When an attack me," Vigors recalled. "I just couldn't get against the ships ap- my mind to accept it . . I started to cry" peared imminent, Phillips broke radio Two months later he was posted to Singa- silence on December pore, joining 243 Squadron as a flight com- 10, and Vigors finally mander. A year later, he took temporary got the order to command of 453 (RAAF) Squadron, and scramble his 11 Buf- immediately became involved in one of the faloes. But it was too most distressing events of his RAF career late: when he arrived, Repulse had gone On the afternoon of December 8, 1941, down, Prince of the Royal Navy's Force Z -which in- Wales was sinking, cluded the battleships Repulse and Prince and there was no sign of Wales - sailed north from Singapore to of Japanese aircraft. provide support against possible Japan- ese landings at Singora. All Vigors could do was to fly over the 453 had been designated the Fleet De- survivors in the water fence Squadron, and Vigors had estab- and provide support lished radio procedures with Prince of for the rescuing de- Wales.lithe this, Admiral Phillips, lithe stroyers. In this disas- commander of Force Z, maintained radio ter, 840 sailors were lost, 513 in Repulse The drama by no means ended now. Vigors silence and did not call for support. On and 327 in Prince Of Wales. Vigors al- was repeatedly attacked by Japanese aircraft hearing of Japanese landings at Kuantan, ways felt bitter about the failure of the as he swung below his parachute, fortunately Phillips changed his plan and, still main- naval forces to call for his assis-tance. he managed to land in the mountains near Penang. His position was not promising - he After this, he led his squadron to was severely burned and a bullet had passed northern Malaya On December through his left thigh-but he was found by 13, 1941, he had just landed at two Malays, who carried him down the Butterworth when Japanese air- mountain to safety. craft arrived to attack the airfield, and he ordered his six pilots to AFTER BEING evacuated to .India, take off immediately to intercept where he recovered, Vigors subsequently the bombers. assumed command roles in India, until he returned to England in 1945. He took part He attacked a large formation, and in the fly-past for the anniversary of the some reports claimed that Vigors hit Battle of Britain on September 15 and re- three bombers in the melee. Even- tired from the RAF in November 1946 as tually, his Buffalo was hit in the a wing commander. petrol tank and he was forced to bale out. Shortly before the war, Vigors's father had returned to Ireland, buying a farm in Co. Tipperary called Coolmore in 1945, where he trained race¬horses. After in- heriting Coolmore, Tim Vigors moved LEFT: Tim Vigors D.F.C. pictured there in 1968, and it was he who began on the cover of his autobiography building it into the famous stud farm “Life's Too short To Cry”. which it is today. An old friend of Vincent O'Brien, Vigors sold two thirds of Coolmore to O'Brien and John Magnier in the mid-1970s, con-

Carloviana 2012 Tim Vigors page 21-23_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:56 Page 5

23 Role of the Irish in WWII

tinuing to work in partner¬ship with ON THE Battle of Britain Monument in born in Britain, he appears listed as them and with Robert Sangster. Later, London, the name of Tim Vigors appears British. McManus concluded, "I think his having sold his remaining interest to listed as British. Irishness was a spiritual thing; in his Magnier and O'Brien, Vigors went to live book: “Life's Too Short To Cry”, he de- in Spain, although he con¬tinued to work Edward McManus who was involved votes a lot of time to his thoughts on in the blood-stock business. with this memorial recalled for this writer this." ■ Tim's views on his nationality, "The late Despite being born in England, Tim Vig- Timothy Vigors was adamant that he was ors always considered himself to be Irish (Southern) Irish, but was born in Hert- and had a tricolour painted on the nose of fordshire and went to Eton (the latter is Reproduced here with the permission of his Spitfire. He returned to Newmarket, irrelevant I know). His will specified that the author and Editor of “Ireland’s Own” remaining there for 20 years before his he was to be buried in the Republic." death on November 14, 2003. He was survived by his children and wife Diana. However, because he was techncally

Gate Lodges of Co Carlow

Some have gone, some have faded

‘The Iron House’ Gate Lodge of Duckett’s Grove

Carloviana 2012 AOH Graiguenamanagh page 24-28_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:58 Page 1

The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh

John Joyce

n writing of the Ancient Order of Hiber- their branches were called - of the An- Inians in Graiguenamanagh, it is appro- cient Order of Hibernians - had existed Sash of the priate that the background, against which in Graiguenamanagh just about a hun- Ancient Order of Hibernians that organisation operated during the dred years prior to that date. The exis- seven and a half odd years of its existence tence of the Order which had, in the early a quiet, decent, man who lived, unmar- in the area, should be considered. The 1900s, involved itself deeply in commu- ried and alone, for the greater part of his early 1900s, the period about which we nity affairs and in the social, religious life, in a small house at Upper Main are dealing, might be said to be a bad time and political life of the town and the sur- Street. When his mother died while he – not of course for everyone - but almost rounding districts, had simply faded from was very young, he came to live with his unimaginably so, by today’s standards, for the folk memory and, of course, all mem- cousins, Edward Ryan and his sister the poor – and there were many of them. bers of the Order in the area had long Mary, in their house at Upper Main For many people housing was dreadful; since passed on. Street. After their deaths in the early thatched and tin-roofed cabins; no water; 1960s, Francie continued to live on in the no sanitation; often enough little or no It was only after the death of Francie house for the remainder of his life. food. Disease of all kinds was rampant, Murphy in April 2010 that tangible re- while public health standards, when com- minders of the existence in Graiguena- Edward Ryan, Francie’s cousin, had been pared with those about which we some- managh of the AOH, as the Ancient the last Secretary of the Graiguena- times complain today, were abysmal. Order of Hibernians was commonly managh Division of the AOH and, as known, came to light again. Francie was such, he had been the custodian of the Apart from a meagre Old Age Pension of 1/-to 5/- a week, which was introduced in 1908, and a limited and restricted system of insurance against illness and unemploy- ment which was introduced in 1911, there were virtually no social welfare benefits. For most, if you were out of work, sick - or incapacitated, your problem was one of survival. All this, of course, was against the terrible background of The Great War; the Rising of 1916 and its aftermath; the Great Flu of 1918/19 and the closure of the Barrow Starch Works at Tinnahinch in the spring of 1919 with the disastrous loss of 60 jobs. And so, having painted, very briefly, that gloomy picture of the period, we can deal with the subject of this article.

It seems certain that, in the summer of 2010, few - if indeed anyone living in Graiguenamanagh or probably in all of Ireland at that time - was aware of the fact that a “Division” - for that is what The Ancient Order of Hibernians reached its peak before the First World War

Carloviana 2012 AOH Graiguenamanagh page 24-28_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:58 Page 2

25 The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh

Order’s Minute Book and what remained nians was - and still is - a Catholic Fra- Today, the AOH is very different to that of its records and regalia. After Francie’s ternal Organisation, a male body, organ- of the early 1900s, for its greatest death, his relatives very generously do- ised in Ireland for the purpose of strength is in America where it remains nated these mementos of the Order to the defending Gaelic values and protecting vibrant and active, with numerous Graiguenamanagh Historical Society and the Church and clergy at a time when branches and with some 80,000 members they are now displayed in Graiguena- harsh penal laws made some such de- in 49 states.2 It is the oldest Catholic lay managh Library. Following its final fence necessary. The precise date of the institution in America, having been meeting on 23rd July 1920, at which it Order’s foundation is uncertain but at the formed there after they had received au- had been decided that the Graigue Divi- end of the 1800s it was reorganised in Ul- thority from the organisation’s headquar- sion be dissolved, Edward Ryan brought ster. From there, it expanded and became ters in Ireland to form the first American these artefacts home and, having put a nation-wide organisation which could branch in New York in 1836. It remains them aside, it would seem that they did be said to be the successor to or, at least, interested in all Irish affairs and seeks to not see the light of day again until after a significant link between the secret so- promote Irish Cultural heritage in Amer- the death of his cousin, Francie, some cieties of old, such as the Whiteboys, De- ica. The Order also exists in Canada, ninety years later, when his effects were fenders and Ribbonmen of the eighteenth Scotland and Ireland. However, while being gathered together. and earlier centuries and a newly devel- these organizations share a common oping nationalism. thread, the American organisation is a separate and a vastly greater organisation The Order had as its motto the Latin than any of the others. words “pro fide et patria” (“for faith and fatherland”). An anti-English, anti- In Ireland it would appear that the Order Protestant sentiment prevailed in its is now, only a shadow of its former self. ranks into the 20th century, by which Within Northern Ireland, it remains a vis- time it had developed into a lay-Catholic ible but somewhat marginal part of the mass movement. It was vigorous in its Catholic community. It parades infre- support of the Irish Parliamentary Party, quently there, mainly on St. Patrick’s which sought self government for the en- Day, at Easter, on the Feast of the As- tire island of Ireland. After 1905 the sumption and a few other times a year. Order was controlled to a great extent by And, while anecdotal evidence claiming Joseph Devlin, the Belfast-based M.P., its its current existence in one or two places leader and president from 1905 until his in the Republic has been put forward, no death in 1934. By 1914 the AOH had ex- authoritative evidence has been forth- panded over the entire island. It repudi- coming to support this. ated the right of the British Government to govern any part of Ireland but, mainly In its heyday, however, the AOH in Ire- because of its total and constantly-stated land was, as has been said, a highly organ- renunciation of physical force, it was dis- ised, formidable, nationwide institution, AOH Laurel liked by the militant young revolutionar- run subject to 317 rules which were set out ies of the Irish Republication in detail in its 217 page Rule Book. In Brotherhood (IRB). Graiguenamanagh, as in other Divisions, Graiguenamanagh Division was No.1161 the order had the usual officers and Man- of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. It adopted as its name “St. Fiacre’s Division”.1 The Division was established on Sunday, 23rd February 1913 when three members of the Waterford Division, attended a meeting at Graigue and initiated those present into the Order. From that date up to July 1920, two hundred and fifteen men from Graiguenamanagh and the surrounding districts, drawn from all classes - town and country – are recorded as having been initiated into the Order, and one hundred and fifty seven meetings of the Divi- sion – that is an average of almost one meeting per fortnight, - were held.

To the questions “What was the AOH?” - and “What was it all about?”, the answer is that the Ancient Order of Hiber- AOH Masthead Carloviana 2012 AOH Graiguenamanagh page 24-28_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:58 Page 3

26 The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh

at Conventions of the Order in Dublin and Belfast.

By 1914, the AOH had expanded and had saturated the entire island and, up to 1916, it was probably the dominant popular political organisation in the country, its political structure, in combination with the role which it developed as a patronage, brokerage and recreational organisation, having brought about its great expansion.

Under the heading of Patronage, a resolution in the Division’s minute book reading “that members support and assist all Roman Catholics and give them all business possible” might be seen as typical. This “support each other” ethic was an elementary principle of the Order. More importantly, however, in the brokerage area, the Division endeavoured to bring about by negotiation and mediation - and by political influence - settlements and conditions which affected the entire community. From 1914 onwards, it concerned itself with school attendance – a problem about which repeated discus- sions took place. Although compulsory school attendance was in force, considerable difficulties were being experienced in respect of many families whose children continued to absent themselves from school. Motions were sent to each member of the Co. Council and to Thomastown District Council pressing for the enforcement of compulsory attendance at the schools of the parish and Fr. Mooney was deputed to lobby local Councillors about the matter. It took AOH Certificate time, but eventually that situation was agement Committee. It also had a Vigi- dates were then submitted to the Vigi- largely rectified. The Co. Council was lance Committee, which vetted applicants’ lance Committee which, after due con- also lobbied about the unsanitary condi- suitability for membership; an Arbitration sideration, reported on the applicants’ tions of the houses of the poor, particu- Committee, which dealt with members’ suitability or otherwise. Only if the Vig- larly at High Street, many of which were complaints, - and trustees. There were ilance Committee signified its approval wretched, and council members were committees for the concerts and dances was the applicant admitted into the pressurized regarding the erection of a which the Order frequently ran, while Order. New members paid an initiation new cottage scheme which - though 5 marshals were appointed to supervise ex- fee. All members were required to pay a many years afterwards - was built there. cursions and to take charge of parades and weekly subscription of 3d and were cau- other events which were part of the tioned against speaking of anything that The Division also involved itself actively in charitable activities and at a time when Order’s activities.3 Its parades, inciden- had transpired at meetings to anyone tally, which became part of its tradition, other than to members who were in good poverty was rife and dole and other social were colourful and peaceful, with none of standing. Meetings were usually held in benefits from the state were restricted, the menace and triumphalism associated The Club Rooms at High Street, which limited and meagre, help for members with Orange Parades. were specially enlarged to accommodate who were in need came very much to the fore as, under the National Insurance Act them.4 Delegates from St. Fiacre’s Divi- To become a member, a candidate had sion regularly attended the County Board 1913, the AOH became a recognised first to be formally proposed and voted meetings at Kilkenny and represented the Friendly Society and involved itself in a on. The names of the successful candi- Division at National Demonstrations and range of insurance schemes for its members. On 1st December 1916, St Fiacre’s Carloviana 2012 AOH Graiguenamanagh page 24-28_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:58 Page 4

27 The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh

Division joined one of these schemes those who were being initiated at the meet- fect - encouraged the Irish Volunteers to called ‘The Centralised Benefit Fund’. As ings. While some minor matters other than support the British and Allied War effort, the fund was partially financed by mem- those mentioned are recorded in the min- the Irish Volunteers split into two groups. bers’ subscriptions, its benefits were con- utes, they are dealt with very briefly. The great majority (175,000) under John fined to those who were in a position to Redmond, took the name The National contribute the quarterly fee of 2/6. The In the Minute Book, there is little mention Volunteers and supported involvement in arrangement appears to have been suc- of political matters. In 1912, subscriptions the war. A minority (13,500) - later to cessful, for a vote of thanks was passed at were made to the “Belfast Indemnity Fund” come under the control of the Irish Re- a later stage, complimenting Head Office to help defray expenses incurred in a libel publican Brotherhood (IRB) - retained on the prompt manner in which claims action taken by the Order against the the Irish Volunteers name and opposed made by those affected by the Great Flu “Belfast Evening Telegraph” in respect of Ireland’s involvement in the war. of 1918/19 - which had decimated the an article relating to thousands of Catholic town and district - were attended to. The workers who had been expelled from work When the war ended, the British Parlia- records show that between 1916 and 1919, in the shipyards. In 1914, a motion was ment was dissolved and an election was in excess of 700 cash payments were passed condemning the shooting down of called for December 1918. In Ireland, in made to members in respect of sickness, innocent people in Dublin. In July 1918, that election, there was a dramatic up- maternity and other benefits when four members of the local company heaval in political allegiance as Sinn Fein of the I.R.A. were arrested, an excursion swept to an overwhelming victory at the St. Fiacre’s Division also endeavoured to planned to go to Carlow was abandoned as expense of the Irish Party, with that party have members who could not afford the a protest against their imprisonment. Lec- being virtually wiped out and Unionist insurance fee looked after under a health tures were given on Passive Resistance, on influence being felt mainly in the north. insurance plan which would enable them Proportional Representation and on the This sensational result had come about to qualify for lesser benefits. Arrange- Manchester Martyrs. The major political by reason of the frustration brought about ments were also made with Dr.Walshe, item dealt with was the British Parliament’s by the delay in finding a resolution to the the local G.P., to attend to the needs of proposal to extend conscription to Ireland. Home Rule issue, exaggerated by the these members - and, during the flu epi- That proposal provoked intense anti-con- Conscription crisis and Sinn Fein’s asso- demic, a committee for visiting the sick scription feelings. Resolutions were passed ciation, in the mind of the public, with was set up. At that time also, arrange- condemning conscription and it was de- the 1916 rising. These factors had all ments were made for the poor to get po- cided that the Graiguenamanagh Division contributed to the change as large num- tatoes at cost price, while members of the would support the national effort and op- bers who had been members of The Na- Order made their horses and carts avail- pose it “to the bitter end”. A donation was tional Volunteers switched their loyalty able to till and prepare a field donated by made to the Parish Conscription Defence and became members and supporters of Fr. Mooney into allotments which were Fund. The Division also launched its own the Irish Volunteers. That switch in alle- made available to needy persons for anti-conscription fund to which all mem- giance was echoed in the Hibernian ranks, growing potatoes. bers were expected to contribute and the as young men, who were often AOH and proceeds of which were duly sent to the pro-war in politics, after the rising became In its recreational role, St. Fiacre’s Divi- AOH Head Office. As all shades of Nation- anti-war and joined Sinn Fein. And so, sion played a leading part in organising alist opinion were opposed to Conscription after the 1916 Rising, the AOH gradually the concerts which were such an important that project was eventually dropped. melted away outside of Ulster and a great element in the social life of the period. It number of its members were absorbed into also organised excursions by boats and Because there is so very little mention of Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army. brakes6 to places such as Woodstock, Dun- political affairs in the minutes it is nec- To aggravate its problems, the Order lost more East, Duncannon, St Mullins and essary, if the story of the AOH at any residual strength it had when welfare Goresbridge. The Graiguenamanagh Tem- Graiguenamanagh is to be completed, to systems of a more elaborate type devel- perance Band often accompanied these switch briefly here from St. Fiacre’s Di- oped and made its role as a friendly soci- excursions, and on their way to Tramore vision to the political background in Ire- ety superfluous. In National terms, by the the Division was met and welcomed at land against which it operated. In January 1930s, the AOH had ceased to be in any- Waterford by the Barrack St. Brass and 1913, the Ulster Volunteers were formed way significant. Reed Band and - if the usual procedures in Belfast to oppose Home Rule and, in were carried out on that occasion - pa- November 1913, the Irish Volunteers An overall look at the St. Fiacre’s Divi- raded with them from the main Waterford were formed in Dublin to support it. The sion minute book reveals that, although station to the Tramore Station at the other following year, 1914, saw the outbreak new members continued to be initiated side of the city. of the Great War and with it came the up to November 1919, resignations – or suspension, until the end of the war, of perhaps, more accurately, defections - It is surprising to find that the names of the Home Rule Act which the British had been occurring. The minutes refer to those who attended meetings are not Parliament had passed and which was members being dismissed shortly after recorded in the minutes, most of which awaiting royal assent. When, later that the split; to members being suspended for merely noted the names of those that were year, John Redmond, leader of the Irish six months and to members being re- being proposed for membership, those Party - in the interest of making sure that moved from the roll. Only in the minute passed by the Vigilance Committee and the Home Rule Act would be put into ef- of 19th December 1919, however, is Carloviana 2012 AOH Graiguenamanagh page 24-28_Layout 1 05/11/2012 19:58 Page 5

28 The Ancient Order of Hibernians in Graiguenamanagh

there any reference to difficulties being our Excursion to Woodstock. If not, steps 2 The order in America is dealt with ex- experienced by the Division. At that were to be taken. Our worthy President tensively on the internet. meeting, a resolution was passed comple- suggested that owing to that letter we con- menting the President and Vice-president sider the dissolving of this Branch, as the 3 Two businessmen, James P. Hughes on their unceasing loyalty to the duties of Republican Army say that we are standing and James Nolan, were initially elected their office and stating that were it not for in the way of an Irish Independence”. as President and Vice-Chairman respec- the energy and courage shown by these tively of the Division. At a later stage Fr. officers in facing the difficulties that they That was all. The meeting agreed that the Joseph Mooney P.P., as Chaplain, and had to undergo, the division would have President’s suggestion be adopted, but that Edward Ryan, as Secretary, were ap- been dissolved long ago. Only in that the matter should be deferred for a month pointed. Unlike other officeholders, who minute do we get a clear indication that and that all members be served with notice held positions for limited periods, the problems existed. However, meetings for the next meeting to be held on Friday four above-named were re-elected to continued to be held up to 11th June 1920 23rd July 1920. That meeting was held as their offices until the Division was dis- when a proposed visit to Woodstock Gar- scheduled and at it the proposition “that we solved. dens was discussed. At the following dissolve this branch of the AOH” was meeting, two weeks later, the agenda was passed unanimously. 4 In 2012 this is a fast food restaurant very different, as a letter was read from the I.R.A, East Battalion, Kilkenny. The That night, Edward Ryan, the Secretary, 5 This reference is in respect of the ter- minute of that meeting, as quoted here- brought the Minute Book and the officers’ race of single-storeyed houses that are under, left little room for misunderstand- regalia to his home and wrote up his final situated on right hand side as one goes up ing. It reads: minute. The Ancient Order of Hibernians High Street. at Graiguenamanagh had ceased to exist. “A letter was read from the I.R.A., East 6 Brakes - the predecessors to busses - Battalion, Kilkenny, stating that we, the Endnotes were large open-air waggonettes drawn AOH in Graig, were using an opposing in- 1 Named for St. Fiacre of nearby by two or more horses, fluence on the present movement for an Ullard. Irish Independence, and asking us to cancel Gate Lodges of Co Carlow Some have gone, some have faded Holonden Gate Lodge, Royal Oak

Carloviana 2012 Drumphea 1 page 29-31_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:00 Page 1

here were Christians in Ireland be- Tfore Patrick. The new faith had spread through the Roman Empire like wildfire following the edict of Milan when Constantine decreed that henceforth Christianity would be a State religion. Constantine was a shrewd politician. He realised that the persecu- Drumphea - tions instigated by previous emperor’s had only served to add fuel to the fire of evangelism. The coming of Christianity The new adherents were becoming so numerous that it made no sense to have one half of your citizens in conflict with the other. Henceforth the new religion could spread with impunity. It became fashion- able and indeed desirable for people in Liam O’Neill high places throughout the empire to become Christians. Indeed the Emperors own mother was known to be a believer.

In Roman-Celtic Britain, no less than everywhere else, Christianity became shortly after coming here circa 431 AD. thought of as fearful beings which you dominant. There was a common belief Very little is known about the life of Pal- cross at your peril. Religious ceremonies among early Christians in the Priest- ladius and no account of his activities in were mainly based on appeasement. hood of all believers and it was common Ireland survives. Human sacrifice was practiced and after practice for ordinary people going about battle victorious warriors decapitated their business to spread the gospel at It is probable that missionary activities their victims and hung the heads outside every opportunity. by other evangelists went on apace as the their doors. new religion gained a foothold. There was trade between Britain and the Whereas the Celtic gods were cruel and east coast of Ireland. Then around 432 a remarkable man ap- heartless the God of Patrick was loving peared on the Irish scene. and merciful. Instead of a Pantheon of In spite of Irish raiding parties pillaging tricksters who treated human beings as for slaves merchants still regularly traded What set Patrick apart from the begin- fodder for cruel twists of fate, here was back and forth and it is probable that these ning was his knowledge of the Irish lan- a God who was kind and eager to do merchants either shared the Gospel them- guage, way of thinking and belief system. them good. selves, or facilitated missionary activity. He had been abducted by Irish raiders as a youth of 15 and sold into slavery to a Celtic mythology holds out no hope of a By the beginning of the fifth century Pope minor chieftain in the North East of Ire- pleasant afterlife unless you proved to be Celestine became aware of missionary ac- land. In the six years of his captivity, he a superhuman warrior. Christianity on the tivity by British Christians in Ireland. would have learned Irish ways. other hand offered the free gift of eternal happiness in the afterlife to all, paid for By this time the office of the Bishop of A person sold into slavery had two by God’s own Son. In the Celt’s eyes, life Rome had morphed into a position of as- choices. Either retreat into a mental co- was cheap and dignity only belonged to sumed supreme leadership throughout coon and slowly lose their mind and will the fortunate and privileged few, whereas the empire - another of Constantine's po- to live, or embrace every opportunity to The God of Patrick offered dignity to the litical manoeuvres. The office of have contact with and learn from their lowest of the low. Supreme Pontiff existed in the Pagan captors. This would keep their intellects priesthood, so it was politically expedient sharp and their minds active. Instead of The question is, why did the Irish stop that the same be true of the new religion.. languishing Patrick obviously chose the and listen to this foreigner with the latter path. strange beliefs? Patrick had one impor- If something was going on in the Western tant attribute which above all others fas- Island, then it should be brought under When he returned as a missionary cinated the Irish; Courage. He looked the control of Rome. A bishop was ap- Patrick's preaching emphasised one dif- them in the eye and never showed fear. pointed to go to Ireland and oversee the ference above all others between the two He had absolute conviction in the truth of growth of these scattered Christian com- belief systems. The gods of the old reli- his message, and unshakable faith in the munities. His name was Palladius. gion were not much more than larger protecting hand of God. No wonder this Whether by disease or violence he died than life versions of humans. They were race of hero worshipping warriors were Carloviana 2012 Drumphea 1 page 29-31_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:00 Page 2

30 Drumphea - The coming of christianity

touched to the centre of their souls. And make a home for singing birds The name of the place in English is the Before it and behind. Upper Church of Finian. Whether this By the time Patrick's ministry came to an is the famous end large areas of Ireland, particularly the A southern aspect for the heat North and East were well evangelised. It A stream along its foot Finian of Clonard or not we cannot be probably took many years for the mes- A smooth green lawn with rich top soil sure. The founding hermit would have sage to penetrate the whole Island, but propitious to all fruit. found himself joined by other like minded the new religion had such a firm grip that men. St Manchan's poem continues: Ireland was changed forever. Near to Drumphea in the woods at the foot of the mountains such a hermit found My choice of men to live with me One profound change was that slavery his perfect site. And pray to God as well was drastically reduced and inter tribal Quiet men of humble mind warfare was lessened considerably. The The above poem describes the place ex- Their number I shall tell. Irish had truly passed from darkness into actly as it would have been then. The the light. place was Killoughternane and his name Four files of three or three of four was Fortchern. To give the Psalter forth Two Christian Foundations. Six to pray by the south church wall Local traditions have it that he was a And six along the north. Two types of Christian Pastor evolved blacksmith and even shod St. Patrick's in tandem. You had the one type who own horse. He had a British name and Two by two my dozen friends ministered to a local flock under the probably came to Ireland as a missionary. To tell the number right aegis of the local Chieftain. The other There is precious little information on Praying with me to move the King was the anchorite or hermit who sought him but certainly missionary activity in Who gives the sun its light. solitude and the presence of God alone Ireland by British Christians would have in a desert place. been carried on by men, and possibly The early Irish Hermits soon realised that women, following in Patricks footsteps. they would never be really left alone, and As Christianity was established in the The beliefs and worship style of the two that adherents were turning up and at- first hundred years after Patrick a pro- Island Churches retained their own Celtic taching to them in increasing numbers. tomonastic movement swept the Chris- style, and intercourse between the two They began to adapt primitive monastic tian Church. can be historically documented rules to govern their little foundations. Because of the significance of the num- Irish Christianity never suffered the per- Around this time, in the fifth century, the ber twelve in Scripture: twelve Apostles, secutions which were often the lot of Roman legions finally left Britain and as Twelve Patriarchs etc, they saw this as an their European and Mediterranean Continental Europe began its descent into ideal number for a congregation. Brethren. Instead of the "Red" Martyr- the chaos of the dark ages. It would only dom of blood they invented their own be natural that British Christianity would Each man would have his own cell in "green" Martyrdom in which one would look to its neighbour in the west for fel- which to live. Beehive shaped structures cut themselves off from the world and lowship and support. It would also only of corbelled stone were common in some live in deserted places. It was a symbolic be natural that churchmen would have areas, but similar structures were con- giving of one’s life to God. If one could travelled back and forth across the Irish structed of Wattle and Daub. A frame- not go direct to God's presence through Sea. Fortchern may even have been an work of branches would be inserted in the "Red" Martyrdom, one could at least Anglish or Saxon name. the ground in a circle and bent over and seek his presence in a lonely glen. tied together at the top. Smaller branches The Colonisation of Britain by the Ger- would be wound in and out between In his book ”How the Irish Saved Civili- manic tribes was not achieved in one push. them until you had in effect a large up- sation” Thomas Cahill quoted a beautiful It was a gradual process of pressure west- turned basket. This would be plastered poem: ward by the newcomers as the fractured over with mud which when dry provided tribal divisions of the natives weakened a cosy windproof covering. Grant me sweet Christ the grace to find their resistance. The newcomers began to Son of the Living God be converted to Christianity as they came The earliest churches were constructed in A small but in a lonesome spot into contact with and intermarried the similar fashion, but were rectangular in To make it my abode older inhabitants. A fresh crop of eager shape. A similar building would serve as a missionaries would have appeared on the common room for all to eat meals together A little pool but very clear scene. A Saxon churchman would have as well as other community functions. To stand beside the place been as accepted in Ireland as his Celtic Where all men's sins are washed away brother. A lovely Church, A home for God By sanctifying Grace Bedecked with linen fine Kiloughternane developed into a minor Where over the white Gospel page A pleasant woodland all about monastic settlement.St Finian is the The Gospel candles shine. To shield it (the hut) from the wind first Irish name associated with the site. A little house where all may dwell Carloviana 2012 Drumphea 1 page 29-31_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:00 Page 3

31 Drumphea - The coming of christianity

And body's care be sought calves and lasted for hundreds of years. ground for a church the new clergy had a Where none shows lust or arrogance It kept its whiteness far longer than other policy of building on the old pagan sites. None thinks an evil thought. materials. Even though it took many calf This discouraged dual worship and sym- skins to make up one book it was consid- bolised the complete obliteration of the So we can picture this little community in ered worth the sacrifice. old faith. The old ceremonial parapher- the woods of Killoughternane. Behind nalia would have been destroyed or them the gently rounded hill cloaked in The most common books were those of rolled off the site. Oak woods sloped gradually upwards. Be- the basic four Gospels, with other sec- fore them lay the marshy valley floor with tions of Scripture added depending on the The hierarchy of the new religion was not its patches of open bogland interspersed resources of the monastery. In the early based on a system of dioceses as we with clumps of hazel and Willow. A little days the Monks were just concerned with know them today. Local leadership in a stream ran nosily down on its way to the getting the words down on the page. The lot of areas was provided by the Abbot of Barrow river, and beside it a well of sweet more elaborate works developed later as the nearest monastery. The Clergy of water which slaked the thirst. The sur- monasteries grew rich and the writers had Drumphea, Ballinree and other local rounding uplands were thickly wooded more time. Churches would have looked to the except for the top of Slieve Bawn which Abbot of Killoughternane as their spiri- stretched northward in the right hand side. It was very probable that smaller local tual head. It is also possible that each Churches such as Drumphea had Reli- Cleric served more than one local A few yards up the slope stood the little gious writings supplied from Kil- Church; after all the population was very Church and the community room, sur- loughternane. small. Of course a lot depended on local rounded by the Beehive huts of the politics. If the tuath chiefs were on Monks. Patches of land were enclosed The Local Church in Drumphea. friendly terms with each other sharing a with post and wattle fences to keep ani- Cleric would have been no problem, if mals in or out. Some were used as veg- Apart from the monastic settlement, each however they hated each others guts the etable patches, or to grow oats for bread local chief of a tuath or extended family division carried over into religious af- or barley for beer. A flock of sheep per- group had a small Church built in his area. fairs. haps and some cows for milk and butter. A herd of pigs would have grazed the There was no parish system in existence. Drumphea is situated in the barony of Oak woods for acorns and beech mast in The first Church in Drumphea would Idrone which corresponds to the clan ter- the fall of the year. Beehives for honey have been built of Wattle and Daub with ritory of the Ui Drona tribe. When sur- and poultry for eggs and meat. a thatched roof. It would have served the names evolved the tribe became Ui Riain small community living in ring forts from or Ryan in modern usage. This tribe were Various manufacturing or rural crafts Knockinadrane to Milltown. We cannot in situ long before and long after the would have been carried on, with different know with any certainty when Christian- coming of christianity. Their clan terri- monastic sites having their own speciality. ity came the area, but it could have been tory would have been sub-divided be- Earlier we referred to the legend of Fortch- the case that Killoughternane had a tween strong family or clan groups who ern being a blacksmith. He may in fact have Christian community long before the lo- would have occupied 3 or 4 townlands. spent his day working in farm implements cals were converted. The idea that Patrick The subsequent presence of church ruins and harness fastenings, as horseshoes were spread Christianity through every valley would suggest that Drumphea was at the not used until later centuries. and hill during his lifetime was incorrect. centre of one families area of influence It probably took generations for the new and Ballinree was in another. St Munchans poem concludes; religion to take hold. The stronger farmers and minor lords All I ask for housekeeping There is evidence that Drumphea was a would have occupied ringforts at this I get and pay no fees centre of worship of the old pagan reli- time, but the slaves and landless labour- Leeks from the garden, poultry, game, gion. It is situated on a hill which stands ers would have lived in more humble Salmon and trout and bees. out from the surrounding landscape and dwellings made of wattle and daub and overlooks a large expanse of countryside. grouped around the church. In a future My share of clothing and of food Until the new school was built there was article I hope to look at the social impli- From the King of fairest face a large stone jutting out of the old stone cations of the coming of Christianity. And I to sit at times alone wall at the top of the site which had three And pray in every place. distinct man made hollows. It probably Bibliography originally sat in a designated worship The Irish ringfort by Matthew Stout The one craft which all ecclesiastical area where the old medieval church ruins How the Irish saved civilization by sites practised was writing. The Holy are. In the old pagan celtic worship sys- Thomas Cahill Scriptures were vital to the work of tem a lot of things were done in threes. spreading the Gospel and for ongoing de- The hollows could have held three kinds votions. Vellum was used instead of of offering to the gods, or held three paper and each book was copied by hand. small symbolic fires. When a local chief- Vellum was made from the skins of tain accepted christ and gave a plot of Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:04 Page 1

JONATHAN SWIFT’S CARLOW CONNECTIONS.

Mary Stratton Ryan

“Vision is the Art of seeing things Invisible.” They settled in Ireland where Jonathan was appointed steward ( Thoughts on Various Subjects by J.Swift 1726.) of Kings Inns , Dublin on 25th January 1665. A daughter Jane was born to them on the 1st May 1666. Jonathan Swift senior Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was born on 30th November at no died in early April 1667 [prior to the 15th] seven months before 7 Hoey’s Court, Dublin. He was the only son of Jonathan Swift Jonathan’s birth; this left his pregnant widow with an eighteen (1640-1667) Stewart of Kings Inns and Abigail Erick [Herrick] month old daughter, no home and an annuity of 20 pounds. Abi- (1640-1710) of Wigston Magna, Leicestershire, daughter of gail remained in Hoey Court until Jonathan’s birth; he was then Rev James Erick, Vicar of Thornton and his wife Elizabeth placed in the care of a wet nurse which was a usual practise at Imins. Abigail Swift was sister of the Rev Thomas Errick Vicar of Frisby and sister in law to the Rev John Kendall. The Swift Family have a long tradition in the Anglican Church and in the profession of Law. Jonathan’s branch descended from the younger family of Swifts in Yorkshire. Jonathan’s great grandfather the Rev Thomas Swift,(1535-1592) was Rector of St. Andrews, Canterbury, for 22 years and a Prebendary and Rector of Bridstow in Herefordshire; he died on 12th June aged 57 in 1592. His eldest son William succeeded him as Rector of St Andrews for 33 years and also was Rector of Harbal Down. His second son was Jonathan Swift’s Grandfather; he was the Rev Thomas Swift, Vicar of Goodridge, Herefordshire who died in 1658, leaving six sons and five daughters. His sons were Godwin, William, Thomas, Adam and Jonathan and Drydan. His daughters were Mary who died young and Emely, Eliza- beth, Sarah and Katherine. His sons all became lawyers except Thomas who joined the church. His eldest son Godwin (1627- 1695) studied at Gray’s Inn; at this time there was a great shortage of lawyers, in Ireland so Godwin, William, Adam and Jonathan emigrated to Ireland. Drydan had died young. Godwin was appointed Attorney- general of the Palatinate of Tipperary, under the Duke of Ormond; he had first married Catherine Webster of London (1630 - 1672).1

The Swift family had Swift cousins living in Frisby, Leicester- shire during the 17th and 18th century; it was here that Jonathan Swift senior possibly met the seventeen year old Abigail Erick, who had a sober devout upbringing by a father who was a per- Dean Swift from a copperplate engraving by secuted nonconformist minister. Abigail and Jonathan married Pierre Fourdrinier after a painting by Charles Jervas two years after her brother’s instution to a living in Frisby.2 Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:04 Page 2

33 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

Steel engraving of Swift after portrait by Jervas in the Bodleian Library at Oxford

Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 3

34 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

the period. Later his Uncle Godwin of Swiftsheath, Co Kilkenny took him into his household and gave him an education. At an early age, sometimes recorded as 6 years of age, whereas students usually joined Kilkenny College aged 9, so most likely aged 9, Jonathan went to this excellent grammar school, founded by the Ormond family, who were related through marriage to Godwin. Jonathan was joined by his English cousin Thomas son of God- win’s deceased brother the Rev Thomas Swift of Thope Mandev- ille in Northamptionshire and his wife Mary Davenant (daughter of Sir William Davenant poet and dramatist) who had died on 29th June 1667 at the age of 36.3 Thomas was a year older than Jonathan; they both became part of his Uncle Godwin’s household of fourteen cousins, off spring of Godwin and his four consecutive wives. He continued his education aged fourteen at Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, which he entered as a pensioner, under Sir George Ashe on the 24th of April,1682 and studied there for the next seven years. Due to the war between James II and William, Prince of Orange, Jonathan left Trinity College and set sail for England. Here he spent a few months in Leicestershire with his Mother. On her advice, he introduced himself to a family friend Sir William Sir William Temple Temple, at Moore Park where his sister Jane was already in the service of the Temple family. Engraved by R.A. Muller from an engraving in the British Museum, after a painting by Sir Peter Lely The Temple Family of The Turrets, 4 Staplestown, Co Carlow. mantic stories of the seventeenth century.

In his memoirs Sir William Temple wrote that he ow’d the For three generations the Temple Family were involved in Irish greatest part of what he knew both of Phylosophy and Story to affairs. Sir William Temple’s(1628-1699) grandfather also Sir ye five years he pass’d when in Ireland.( Carlow). Sir William William (1553-1627) had been the most important of the early was elected an Irish M.P and as Carlow representative he at- Provosts of Trinity College, Dublin. He gave the College its or- tended a convention of estates in Dublin to discuss the restora- ganization and character; his second son was Rev Dr. Thomas tion of the old Irish Parliament that predated the rebellion of Temple also Provost at Trinity College. Sir William Temple’s 164; this was held on 7th February, 1660. The Temples idyllic father Sir John(1600-1677) was born in Ireland and spent his existence in Carlow was not without sorrow as Dorothy lost life here, as Master of the Rolls. Sir John Temple had acquired five children, at birth or in early infancy. Sir William writes a large estate in Co.Carlow of 1,500 acres following the Irish about this grief in his memoirs; it was a painful burden for them rebellion of 1641. He was elected M.P. for Co Meath being de- both. Reluctantly in 1663 they left their Carlow paradise, their scribed as of Ballycrath, Co Carlow. His property in Carlow gardens and library and returned to England where Sir William, was excellent fertile agricultural land within an easy coach jour- now a member of the House of Commons, once more became ney of Dublin. The estate was enhanced by two rivers, the Bar- involved in the political dramas of the century. His brother Sir row and its tributary the Burren. This was the estate to which John , Solictor-General for Ireland was returned for the borough his son Sir William Temple and his wife Dorothy Osborne came of Carlow, in Sir William’s absence. However Sir William Tem- to live in on their arrival in Ireland in 1656, Dorothy had just ple did not forget his allegiance to Ireland; among the commit- given birth to their first child John. It was here in Staplestown tees he was appointed to was one in which he became an active also known as Ballinacarrig that William and Dorothy lived in member for the promotion of Trade in Ireland. This committee’s a beautiful house called The Turrets, for the next five years. recommendations were a Navigation Act and the Free Expor- During this time Sir William settled into farming and designed tation of Wool. He became Ambassador to the Hague, negoti- and planted an elaborate garden. His modern horticultural ex- ated the Triple Alliance between England, Holland and Sweden periment’s some based on Dutch and French influence occupied and helped to arrange the marriage of William of Orange and much of his time. He cultivated fruit trees and many species of Mary Stuart, daughter of James II.5 trees and plants were introduced by him. He had a particular interest in the wool trade and various breeds of sheep and cattle Sir William Temple at Moore Park. were also introduced into the Carlow landscape. When not busy with his various farming enterprises he was reading and writing. When Jonathan Swift first met Sir William Temple in 1689 he His staff in Staplestown were of mixed religious beliefs and had retired to Moore Park, near Farnham in Surrey. Swift be- he wrote prayers which covered all denominations, a service came his secretary and amanuensis, writing, reading aloud and for family and servants was held regularly in the Turrets lasting keeping accounts. In addition for the next twenty years he trans- for up to an hour , introducing the very first Ecumenical service lated, edited and saw through to press virtually all Temple’s lit- ever recorded in Carlow. Dorothy shared her husband’s interests erary works. Apart from two long breaks he lived for a decade and the trials of their long courtship was one of the greatest ro- in Temple’s house at Moore Park, and his patron became friend Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 4

35 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

nor Sir William Temple’s son, and Ester Johnson was the natural born daughter of Edward and Brid- get Johnston, born on the 13th March, and baptised at Richmond, on the 20th March,1681; her fathers people were from Nottinghamshire. Ester Johnston (Stella) was not a Temple.

On June 14th 1692 with funding from his Uncle William , Jonathan followed his Uncle the Rev Thomas’s and his cousin Thomas ‘s path to Oxford where he studied for an M.A at Hart Hall.8

In May 1694 Swift returned to Ireland to take Holy Orders; he was ordained by the Rev William More- ton , Bishop of Kildare in Christ Church Cathedral, Hester (Stella) Johnston’s family cottage on the boundary of Moore Dublin on 13th January 1695. Park estate. Drawn by Charles H. Woodbury, engraved by S Davis. From First to Last a Clergyman.

and father figure to him. Swift had arrived in Temple’s employ- Installed as Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the 13th June ment following the tragic death of Temple’s only surviving son 1713 aged 45 Jonathan Swift had been in orders for 18 years. John (1655-1689) who had been Secretary for War. His son had He rose from being an unknown cleric to a dignitary of great taken his own life after what he perceived as a failed mission, renown and continued as an active churchman until the last in his duty for his King. It was therefore understandable that three years when physical illness left him no longer able to per- the young Jonathan Swift should develop a close relationship form his duties. Swift was from first to last a clergyman for 50 with the heart broken Temples. years. During those years he was at times in intense involvement in the political scene, in defence of the Anglican Estab- A similar case may be found in the earlier arrival of Ester John- lishment which was in an impoverished position in Ireland in son (Hetty) know later as Stella, aged eight at the time Swift the 18th century. first met her in Moore Park. It must be noted that the Johnson 6 family which consisted of the widowed Bridget Johnson, her Swift played the role of a powerful statesman and in this position daughters Ester and Anne and a son Edward did not live in he could perform certain services for his Church more valuable Moore Park house but occupied a cottage of their own on the by being at the centre of politics in London than by remaining in boundary of the estate (see sketch).

Dorothy Temple had lost two more infant children after leaving Ireland and only her eldest son John affectionately known as the Little Creeper had survived to manhood. A beautiful daughter Diana (1665-1679) whom they idolised, had died of smallpox aged fourteen.7 The now childless Temples, having lost nine off- spring, fostered a natural interest in the education and future of these two fatherless young people who had joined their household staff. In addition Hetty Johnson was a companion for and close in age to their two granddaughters, Elizabeth aged 9 and Dorothy aged 7, the children of their deceased son John and his French wife Marie du Plessis, Rambouillet, who lived spending time between Moore Park and London . The Temple Family were kind and generous; needless to say when Hetty Johnson appeared in the local village wearing fine clothes outgrown by the Temple children St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, drawn by Harold Fenn, and speaking French it ignited a great deal of tavern engraved by C.A.Powell talk and gossip, “placing her above her station”.

Many untruths have been invented over the centuries concern- his dioceses, for example, his work in gaining, the remission of ing the relationships between Swift and Temple, Swift and The First Fruits, a traditional tax levied upon the Irish Church by Stella, and Stella and Temple. There is no mystery here except the Crown – specifically upon the small income of his fellow that which has been fabricated and fuelled by the collective clergymen. He became one of the most effective and brilliant imagination. Jonathan Swift was a Swift and neither Sir John Deans in the history of St Patrick’s Cathedral. Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 5

36 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

prose works while at Moore Park: The Battle of the Books, The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit and A Tale of a Tub. His essay, A Full and True Account of the Battle fought last Friday between the Ancient and the Modern books in Saint James ‘s Library, was written between 1697-8 and was certainly inspired in defence of an essay of Sir William Tem- ple’s published in 1692 on Ancient and Modern Learning. In true Swiftian style the result of the pitched battle was unknown, since the Advertise- ment tells us that; the manuscript ….by the injury of fortune, or weather, being in several places im- perfect, we cannot learn to which side the victory fell (I,139)

This was a little ploy often used by Swift to keep the reader guessing.! Moore Park, residence of Sir William Temple and of Swift. Drawn by Charles H. Woodbury and engraved by R. Varley The essence of Swift is to be found in his most widely read and popular works, his masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels and the Drapier Letters. His Poems show I look upon myself in the capacity of a clergyman; to be one ap- him to be a sensitive observant man who recorded realistically pointed by providence for defending a post assigned me, and for the world in which he lived. Swift could write on any subject, gaining over as many enemies as I can. (Prose Works, ix. 262.) in A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, he writes; a broom-stick is an emblem of a tree standing on its head; and pray what is This statement by Swift shows that he was a man with a sense of man but a topsyturvy creature ,his animal faculties perpetually purpose, Swift used his creativity as a writer, to hold up to hu- mounted on his rational, his head where his heels should be, manity a mirror in which to see ourselves more clearly. Swift had grovelling on the earth.! a vision and he did not hesitate to set down what he saw. At times like all good clergymen he found it necessary to step into the mud Swift’s famous long poem Cadenus and Vanessa is a recital of of humanity to reach his straying flock. Swift worked throughout intellectual love, and is often misinterpreted. In Swift’s own his life time with great energy and deliberateness. He was con- words we find the truth about how the poem came to be written; cerned to make humanity look at those timeless things which are It was a task performed on a frolic among some ladies, and she it was addressed to died some years ago in Dublin……I forget what is in it, but believe it to be only a cavalier business…… I never saw it since I writ it. Neither if I had ,would I use shift or arts, let people think of me as they please. (letter to Knightley Chetwode) The poem had been written in Windsor fourteen years before it was published without Swift’s permission. It is this author’s opinion that the poem is the work of more than one pen and that Vanessa and some other ladies contributed to its composition. Writ- ing poetry, puns and rhymes was a usual form of company entertainment at this period, a dramatic poem created on perhaps a long winter’s evening in the drawing room by a group of intimate friends-a frolic Sir William Temple’s House and garden at Moore Park 1690. among ladies. (by permission of Mr Basil Bacon) His Journal to Stella was addressed to two people, to the root cause of our ongoing problems. These he felt were man’s Ester Johnson, and her chaperone/companion Rebecca Dingley pride and self-deception, and the prevalence of hypocrisy and only later was the name Stella included as it was not in Swift’s injustice. Now he could not succeed in doing this with serious original letters. The Journal was in fact part of a collection of let- sermons alone, for he would not have been listened to and so he ters written to amuse and entertain the ladies, recording his life employed satire which was perfectly suited to his purpose. in London, this Journal gives us great insight into the compas- The Essence of Swift. sionate, tender ,generous and kind hearted side of Swift. He later retrieved these letters to use as a resource for the book he wrote The profundity of Sir William Temple’s influence upon on a History of Queen Anne. Since Stella’s and Dingley’s letters Jonathan Swift has always been underestimated. Although in reply to these have not survived half the story here is missing Swift’s early odes met with a lack of success, he wrote three and therefore open to misinterpretation. Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 6

37 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

Swift originally published all of his work under a pseudonym ery that the previous occupant Dr John Stearne, came back after such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff and M.B.Drapier or a few months to retrieve his tom cat who stank the house and anonymously. He was unwilling to allow himself to appear as upset his dogs. the author of his work, yet whatever he wrote was the creation of a very individual genius with his unique character deeply en- It was at Moore Park that the terrible affliction of Menieres Dis- graved upon it. He would later say that what he writ was all his ease,resulting in acute giddiness, sickness and deafness from a own. The only work he was ever paid for was 500 pounds for disturbance in the inner ear ,first attacked him. He described it his book Gulliver’s Travels and with this he set up a small loans as if he had the noise of a thousand wind mills in his ear. He fund to help his parishioners, who were mainly struggling was to suffer all his life from it; the only relief he obtained was craftsmen in the Liberties. through intense physical exercise.

The Dean’s Garden. Sir William Temple had first explored his gardening theories in The Turrets, Staplestown, Carlow with his plantings and later Moore Park with its wonderful gardens and well stocked library on a larger scale at Moore Park with the Dutch style of garden provided Swift with perfect surroundings for the development design. In his book Upon the Gardens of Epicurus or of Gar- of his creative ideas. Apart from Sir William Temple’s guidance dening in the year 1685 he sets down many of his theories and in Literature , Politics, and Religion, Jonathan Swift developed his practical advice which is still popular today. a love of gardening and of outdoor exercise, swimming walking, fishing and horse riding. Swift was an expert horseman, he Temple sowed the seeds for modern garden design, when he always kept dogs, but was not too fond of cats; he was rather introduced the world to Sharawadgi signifying a careless grace relieved when on first arriving to take up residence in the Dean- emulating the beauty of a more natural form of gardening found in ancient Chinese gardens.9 Swift like Temple found his tranquillity of mind in the garden, and followed several designs from Temple’s gardens with canals stocked with fish and lined with Willows. He planted a garden of cherry, holly and apple trees on his little glebe at Laracor; and again in Naboth’s Vineyard outside the Deanery of St. Patrick’s. Swift also encouraged his Irish friends to plant gardens, for example at Sheridan house in Cavan and the Delany’s at Del- gany, and Vanessa at Marley Abbey.

Swift, Lord and Lady Orrery, Dr and Mrs Delaney and Dr Samuel Madden are credited with being the chief precursors of the romantic-poetic garden in Ireland.10

Less well known is the extent of Swifts specific debt to Temple’s published works in the field of politics. Two essays of Temple’s are particularly important in this regard, An Essay upon the Origin and Nature of Government 1670-73 and also Of Popular Discon- tents, 1681. (see ref. to Harvard Studies in book list.)

Sir William Temple died on 26th January 1698 and Swift wrote at the time that with him died all that was good and amiable among mankind.

Swift brought bountiful ideas and ideals back to Ire- land with him from Moore Park as well as a young ward Hester Johnson ( Stella) and her companion, Rebecca Dingley who were his life long friend’s.

The Swifts of Ballynunnery, Carlow.

In 1681 Thomas Dineley Esq, an English travel writer, visited Ireland; in his Journal Observations in his Voy- age through the Kingdom of Ireland, one of the places he visited was Staplestown, Co Carlow; at this period Naboth’s Vineyard, St Patrick’s Liberties, Dublin. the estate had changed from the Temple family to the Dean Swift’s garden. Plan designed by Roger Kendrick 1749 ownership of John Tench, M.P. of Lincoln’s Inns. Dine- Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 7

38 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

ley describes the village of Staplestown and The Turrets in detail Right Rev Josiah Hort, Lord Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin presided in his Journal and includes an imaginative pictorial- map. He also over a Vestry meeting in Carlow with plans and funds ready to visited Ballynunnery, in the parish of Gilbertstown, Barony of build a new St.Mary’s Church, in Carlow town.13 Forth. It consisted of a Castle part of the estate of the Earl of Arran, son of the Earl of Ormond and was owned by Jonathan Swift’s Swift’s journey for these three months, is sparsely documented first cousin, Godwin Swift’s son, Godwin Mead Swift of Swift’s as no journal or correspondence has survived. However, we Heath, Co Kilkenny, who assumed the title of Viscount Carling- find several local references about it, some facts and lots of fic- ford. tion. Part of his route encompassed Carlow, Kilkenny, Cashel , Cork, Bandon and Ross Carbery and back through Clonfert According to Thomas Dineley ; The Castle at Ballynunnery where he had an appointment with the Bishop Theophilus is situated up on a rising Hill among good Gardens, Orchard’s Bolton. and Meadows; at the foot of the Hill and to one side of the Gar- den, near the Castle runneth a pleasant river. The River (Bur- While visiting Myross, Swift stayed with Rev. Philip Somerville, ren) abounds in Trout. There is also found a quantity of good the local vicar. This was later recorded by Edith Somerville and Pearle not unlike the Scottish Pearle, which the Lady of the Martin Ross in their Irish Memories (1917) Swift also stayed house likes to showeth.11 with cousins of the Somervilles at Castletownshend, the estate of Colonel Bryan Townshend. What is certain is that from this Dineley also wrote about the excellent quality of wool, with the trip he learned more about the Irish people and the Irish land- annual Sheeps Grey Prize awarded to the best wool in Carlow, scape. This knowledge was most fruitful when on his return from Carlow weavers were counted amongst the finest in Ireland, London in 1727, he met a series of catastrophic harvests. In a and were praised also for the finest of linen weaving of a special land where so many lived on the edge of famine, these crop fail- Damask.12 much sought after for its very elaborate designs,sold ures brought death and starvation to thousands of impoverished through Kilkenny merchants to Europe. There is every possi- Irish families. Swift was driven to his most explosive indignation bility that Jonathan Swift visited both The Turrets Staplestown over the cruel treatment of human beings, many treated like and also Ballynnunery Castle when he visited Carlow. In trav- slaves. In defence of the Irish People he penned some of his finest elling from Carlow to Kilkenny he would certainly have visited essays from the Drapier, a year after this Southern Tour. (1724- the most ancient12th century St Lazerian’s Cathedral of Old 25) showing that he identified himself with his suffering people.14 Leighlin. However, this has not been recorded although corre- Swift was always a very practical man not content just to write spondence exists on matters of Choral issues between Swift and about something but to do something about it for example in the the Rector of Leighlin. Wood’s coinage debate.15

On 3rd June, 1723 Swift had departed Dublin on horseback Jonathan Swift endeared himself to the people of Ireland and which is the way he always travelled; he had planned a visit to became a symbol of Liberty. the South and West of Ireland for some years, first mentioned in a letter to his friend Chetwode as far back as March 1715. In The Myth of Madness, May 1723 three weeks before his friend Esther (Vanessa)Van Swift was not Insane. Homrigh’s death, he had corresponded with Robert Cope telling him of his plan for his tour South.12 He had postponed setting Jonathan Swift was elected a Governor of the Bethlehem Hos- out on his journey on this occasion, awaiting the arrival of Dr pital (Bedlam) London in 1714; this experience made Swift Henry Jenny a clergyman from Mullaghbrack, outside Lough- acutely aware of the painful plight of individuals who suffered gall, Co Armagh, a friend of Cope’s, who was to travel with from mental illness. In Swift’s time there were only two such him, but in the end could not join him. It was therefore a hospitals in Europe. Swift was horrified at the treatment and planned journey and not an impetuous one. the practise of the parading of human suffering. It was his long term plan which he worked towards for fifteen years to save He set off with one servant on his tour; he was staying with the the funds to build a more humane hospital in Dublin, where Rector, Rev Samuel Morland in Carlow town, in mid June. The people would be cared for with dignity. Swift’s philanthropy Carlow Church of Saint Mary’s Abbey had been founded in 634 and his great vision came to fruition in the founding of St and the Parish still holds the oldest Vestry Book in Ireland The Patrick’s Hospital to which he left his whole fortune, and de- Minute book dates from 1669 and is complete to the present day tailed instructions on how it was to be governed.16 While staying in the Vicarage which was then on the corner of Haymarket, Rev Samuel Morland took him on a tour of Carlow. The myth of madness is false in Swift’s case, Swift was not insane. There is clear evidence that Swift was not ill when he According to Sir William Wild in his memoir of Jonathan Swift wrote his will. It is also clear and with well documented proof this is where on being shown the rather impoverished condition that only in his last three years and then only as a result of a of St Mary’s church, he wrote the couplet; physical illness did Swift lose the power to communicate with “Poor Town, proud people. others and to manage his affaires. High Church and low steeple”. It is possible that Swift’s visit South may have been to assess the Before this event he foresaw his own situation and among the building of new churches, later called Churches of the First Fruits; last words he wrote were the following; it is significant that some time after Swift’s Visit to Carlow that the My resolution is to preserve the dignity of my station, and the Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 8

39 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

honour of my Chapter; and gentlemen, it is incumbent upon striking back with one of the most poisonous letters ever you to aid me, and show who and what the Dean and Chapter penned by him, indicative of his deep hurt .Jane died unmarried of Saint Patrick’s are. in 1720. Swift was cared for in his final years by his devoted first cousin Martha Whiteway, daughter of his Uncle Adam. Medical knowledge at the time lacked understanding of Swifts When one looks at Swift’s portraits by Charles Jervas and Fran- lifelong disability. It was not until1862 that Prosper Meniere cis Bindon it maybe difficult to imagine a smiling or a laughing identified the sudden attacks of dizziness, nausea, coldness of Swift, although he has been described thus; stomach and deafness which now bear the name of Meniere disease. What a brave and courageously spirited man Swift In person Swift was tall, well made and in his youth esteemed was to do so much afflicted with such a life-long burden. The handsome, his eyes were azure blue ,his nose aquiline, mouth Irish Journal of Medical Science published an article which small although his lips were rather fleshy; he had large bushy gives a graphic description of Swift’s last illness.17 Swift suf- black eye-brows; his countenance had something noble in it, fered a “stroke” which left him with the ability to understand which impressed awe upon beholders. His features were often but unable to communicate, a brilliant mind, a genius impris- illuminated with a smile, although never by violent laughter. In oned; how frustrating and soul destroying for such a man e society his manners were free, engaging and polite.18 greatest joy was to be found in “Words”. It was only at this point that a Committee of Guardians was appointed to manage Swift’s friend Joseph Addison (1672-1719 ) poet, essayist, and his affairs. On the 19th October 1745 when Swift died in his statesman dedicated a book he wrote on Italy to Swift inscribed Deanery of St Patrick’s, Dublin he left nothing undone; he had To Dr Swift the most agreeable companion, the truest friend even carefully penned his own Epitaph. and the greatest genius of the age.

The Ladies in Swift’s life. To the people of Ireland Dean Jonathan Swift is a Champion of Liberty and A Giant in our Lilliput for all time. Swift was passionately in favour of equal education for women, and as Tutor and Mentor he encouraged the ladies in his care to read and develop their minds. One final Carlow Connection.

Jonathan Swift never married or had an heir although volumes In addition to Jonathan Swift’s connection with the Temple have been written and will continue to be written on his rela- family of ‘The Turrets’ Staplestown, Carlow and with his tionship with two women Stella and Vanessa. There were many cousins, the Swifts of Ballynunnery Castle, Carlow there is one women in Swift’s life. Most notable is the fact that women who further Carlow connection; the Carlovian author of this article were dear to him remain somewhat protected in the shadows. has family links with Jonathan Swift. Mary Stratton Ryan’s They are his Mother, his sister Jane and his four paternal aunts, great aunt Annie Louise Stratton (1892-1985) daughter of Emily spelt Emely, Elizabeth, Sarah and Katherine, his Henry John Stratton and his wife Ellen Turner of Cattistock, Mother’s sisters and his endless female cousins, amongst a long Dorset, married The Right Reverend Godwin Swift (1872- list of admirers not least his ladies from the Liberties who 1944) of Epsom, Surrey later Vicar of All Saints Sudbury, Suf- idolised him. While staying with his Mother aged 21, Swift fell folk. Rev Godwin Swift was a direct descendant of Godwin in love with Elizabeth Jones, who was not quite his pox faced Swift of Swiftsheath, Co Kilkenny, Jonathan Swift’s Uncle. mistress but was his Mother’s cousin and the charming and re- They had one son Godwin born in1929. spectable daughter of the Rev John Jones, Vicar of Wanslip, Leicestershire. His Mother was so concerned that he would This article is therefore dedicated to the author’s father John make an imprudent marriage that she implored her brother-in W.G. Stratton, his cousin Godwin Swift and in memory of God- –law the Rev John Kendall, who was now in her father’s posi- win and Hazel’s only son Godwin William Dean Swift (Bill) tion as Vicar of Thornton, to write to him a stern letter asking Lawyer (1961-1999) him what his intentions were. His reply was a very long and mature letter dated 11th February 1691 in which he gives us his Endnotes: first indication that he intends to join the Church and has no in- 1 The Rev. Godwin Swift’s Family papers. Priv.coll. tention of marriage not yet, that I am so difficult to please, I 2 The Parish Registers of Frisby-on-the Wreake, Co. Leices- may even put it off to the other world.! tershire. Information researched with the kind assistance of Archivist & Historian Mr John Billings, Frisby on the The only proposal of marriage recorded was as a result of Wreake. Swift’s passionate feelings for Jane Waring whom he called Va- 3 Rev, Thomas Swift - Swift Family Papers. Priv.coll. rina, daughter of the Archdeacon of Dromore, Ireland; he pro- 4 Read my Heart ,Dorothy Osborne and Sir William Temple, posed to her and she rejected him; there is only so much A Love Story in the “Age of Revolution” by Jane Dunn. pub. rejection the human heart can endure, especially for such a very Harper Press, London 2008. proud man; Swift was not to place himself again in this situa- 5 “Memoirs of the Life,Work and Correspondence of Sir tion. Four years later his Uncle Adam wrote to ask what his in- William Temple Bart”. Vol 1.Pub. by Longmans of London tentions were to Jane Waring as the matter was not resolved and 1836. Vol 1 & Vol 2. perhaps the lady entertained the idea of renewing their relation- 6 “Cadenus and Swift’s most valuable friend”, by Sybil le Broc- ship. Swift’s letter to Jane was the retort of a wounded person quy p24 pub by The Lilliput Press, Dublin 2003. Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 9

40 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

Gulliver illustration by T. Morten in Gulliver’s Travels by Dean Swift, pub. by Cassell, Peter and Galpin, London, Paris, New York.

Carloviana 2012 Swift page 32-41_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:05 Page 10

41 Jonathan Swift’s Carlow Connections

7 Ref. a Painting of Diana Temple (1665-1679) and her aunt “In Search of Swift” by Denis Johnston. Pub Dublin 1959. Martha Temple by artist Gaspar Netscher. 8 Swift Family Papers, ref to Rev Thomas Swift.3rd son of Thomas Jonathan Swift ; The Irish Identity. by Robert Mahony pub New Swift, brother of Jonathan Swift senior. He was a fellow and lecturer Haven and London,1995. in Logic Oxford, in 1660, and was appointed rector of Thorpe Man- Jonathan’s Travels; Swift and Ireland by Joseph McMinn. Pub. deville, Northamptonshire. In 1666 he was preferred to the rectory of Belfast and New York 1994. St Edmunds, Lombard Street, London. On arriving in London to take up his post he found it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London. “Jonathan Swif”t; A Hypocrite Reversed. by David Nokes pub. The British Museum holds two of his letters 1667. His address was Oxford 1985. London House, Aldersgate Street; he died of small pox on 29th June, 1667, leaving his wife Mary and only son Thomas who became com- “Jonathan Swift; Journal to Stella. 2vols.ed by Harold Williams panion to his Irish cousin, Jonathan Swift. pub Oxford 1948. 9 Sir William Temples Book on Gardening; “Upon the Gardens The Poems of Jonathan Swift. 3 vols ed by Harold Williams of Epicurus” or “Of Gardening in the Year 1685” First pub- 2nd ed Oxford 1958. lished in 1685. reprinted Pallas Ed, 2004 London. Fair Liberty Was All His Cry. ed. by A.Norman Jeffares A 10 Lost Demesnes ,Irish Landscape Gardening.1660-1845 by Tercentenary Tribute to Jonathan Swift 1667-1745.pub Edward Malins & The Knight of Glin, pub Barrie & Jenkins Macmillan London & St Martins Press New York 1967. Ltd. London 1976 pp31-52. 11 Thomas Dineley esq., “Observations in his Voyage through “The Life and Friendships of Dean Swift”. by Stephen the Kingdom of Ireland In the Year 1681”. reprint Dublin 1870. Gwynn pub Henry Holt & Co.U.S.A. Oct 1933 N.L.I. pp 42-43. “Jonathan Swift Major Prophet”. by A.L. Rowse. pub. 12 “Carloviana” year 1986, Damask Weavers (Moran) p20. Thames & Hudson. 1975. 13 “The Vestry Book Carlow 1669” entry dated 18th July, 1726. The Conjured Spirit. by Evelyn Hardy. Pub. The Hogart Press 14 Drapier’s Letters’ was a series of 7 pamphlet’s written be- London 1949. tween 1724-25 by Swift. The Skull of Swift. by Shane Leslie pub .Chatto & Windus 15 ‘Woods’, A Letter concerning the Brass Half-Pence by London 1928. M.B.Drapier.1724. Jonathan Swift. A Critical Biography by J.Middleton Murry 16 “Swifts Philanthropy” by J.N.P. Moore of St Particks Hos- pub Oxford at Alden Press 1954. pital, Dublin, VIII pp 137-156. “A Dublin Tercentenary Trib- ute 1667-1967”. Pub. By The Dolmen Press ,Dublin 1967. Jonathan Swift A Dublin Tercentenary Tribute. ed by Roger

1 7 ‘The Illness of Dean Swift’. Irish Journal of Medical Science, McHugh & Philip Edwards 1667-1967 pub The Dolmen Aug-Sept. 1952, pp.337-46 Press.1967. 18 “The History and antiquities of the Collegiate and “Locating Swift”, a collection of essays on the 250 th Anniver- Cathedral Church of St. Patrick’s”. By William Monks Mason sary of the death of Jonathan Swift editors Aileen Douglas, 1820. Book 11. p 412. Patrick Kelly, & Ian Campbell Ross. Pub.Four Courts Press Ltd.1998. Dublin. Further reading “The Legacy of Swift” a Bi-Centenary Record of St Patricks Jonathan Swift . The Oxford Authors, a critical edition of The Hospital, Dublin with a Catalogue of the Exhibition pub for Major Works. Pub. Oxford University Press 1984. UK. The Governors at the Sign of the Three Candles 1948.Dublin. “Life of Jonathan Swift by Henry Craik” vol.1&11. pub Lon- “Swift’s Earliest Political Tract and Sir William Temple’s don, Macmillan & Co.1894. Essay’s” by Robert J. Allen. “Harvard Studies” vol. XIX “Memoirs of Jonathan Swift, D.D. Dean of St. Patrick’s Cambridge Harvard University Press 1937 Dublin”, by Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Pub by Robert Cadell, Ed- ‘Jonathan Swift’ a portrait by Victoria Glendinning pub. Henry inburgh 1834. Holt & Co New York 1998 . “Prose Works of Jonathan Swift”. 14 vols. ed. Herbert Davis “Jonathan Swift and Popular Culture. Myth, Media, and the pub Oxford ,1939-69. Man”. by Ann Cline Kelly. pub . Palgrave Macmillan 2008. “Jonathan Swift ; A Critical Introduction”. By Denis Donoghue, pub Cambridge 1969. “Swift An Illustrated Life” by Bruce Arnold pub .The Lilliput Press, Dublin 1999. “Swift; The Man , His Work, and the Age”, by Irvin Ehrenpreis. “Jonathan Swift and The Church of Ireland”. 1710-1724. by 3 vol. London 1983. Christopher J.Fauske, pub. Irish Academic Press 2002 “The Personality of Jonathan Swift”. by Irvin Ehrenpreis.pub. “Jonathan Swift, The Enigma of a Genius”. by William Kean Methuen & Co London 1958. Seymore, pub. by Moore Park College, Farnham, Surry “The Life of Jonathdan Swift”, vol 1. by John Forster. London 1875. 1967.U.K. Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 12/11/2012 19:06 Page 1

The

Remarkable

Haughtons

of Carlow

Major Christopher Haughton

Born in Falmouth, Cornwall in November 1935 and he was educated at Lucton School Herefordshire from where he joined and Kildare the Army. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery from the Royal Introduction: Military Academy ,Sandhurst in 1956 . Dr Norman MacMillan He married Jane ( nee Pickering ) in 1961 and has three children a son and two daughters.

During his career he served in Cyprus, Malaysia, Germany, The Haughton family archive is kept by Major France, The Netherlands and the UK. Christopher Haughton who has kindly allowed Carloviana to reproduce the family short biogra- He retired to Devon in 1991 and spent the next few years instructing yacht cruising and examining candidates for their phies. Next year a selection of additional material yachting qualifications in South West England. will be published and the second part of the family tree will be included. The editors are grateful to A keen sportsman he represented his regiment at rugby, hockey Major Haughton for this help in delivering such a ,swimming ,basketball, boxing, sailing and orienteering during unique and remarkable series of biographical details his service. and providing an accurate family tree." He is related to Professor Samuel Haughton through his Great Great Great Grandfather Samuel Pierson Haughton.

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 2

43 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

national plaque (National Committee for Commemorative of many powerful figures in college including the Provost. It APlaques in Science & Technology) was erected on the will be noted from these biographies published below that Haughton family home on Burrin Bridge for Rev Samuel many of the Haughtons served in the British army and inter- Haughton FRS (1821-1897). He is buried in Killeshin Church estingly these family biographies illuminate family connec- in Graiguecullen in an unmarked grave Quaker style next to tions to the great Imperialist Rudyard Kipling (1865-1935) that of his son. There is a currently a proposal to award a na- and the school Westward Ho. This school was established for tional plaque to James ‘Vegetable’ Haughton (1795-1873) who purposes of providing manpower for the Empire. is shown now in his correct family relationship to Samuel in the accurate family tree provided by Christopher Haughton. The importance of understanding the nuances of the complex relationships of this outstanding Anglo-Irish family with the re- The importance of the Haughton family for Carlow and its en- gion is today recognised. Historically how important this is can virons is one that is of some real significance. The campaign be underlined for Carlow when it is remembered that county from the 1970s by McMillan in Carloviana to undertake new always returned Unionist MPs when it was under British Rule research into Haughton has been of importance in that it devel- until the late 19th century when MPs like limbless Unionist oped new scholarship on this Carlow polymath Samuel to built Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (1831-1889) in Borris was on the work of Joe D. Burchfield. Burchfield’s ‘Lord Kelvin sensationally defeated by a Home Rule candidate. The Veg- and the Age of the Earth’ (New York, 1975) despite the mis- etable Haughton was importantly a firm early supporter of Irish leading title actually centred on Haughton’s contribution to the independence as espoused by O’Connell and The Liberator’s age of the earth. Both McMillan and Martin Nevin worked with mentor JKL who initiated the very first civil disobedience cam- Burchfield to develop the local knowledge of Samuel and this paigns against British rule with the campaign in Graiguecullen work sparked considerable renewed interests in the Carlowman to refuse to pay the tithes to the Established Church. James Trinity including researches by the present Provost Paddy Pren- Haughton stood for Catholic Emancipation and very much dergast and most notably that of the other editor of this material stood with ‘The men of 98’ who are buried in the Croppy Grave Miguel DeArce. DeArce’s researches has significantly ex- in Graiguecullen. The conundrum of the Haughtons with their tended scholarship on Samuel Haughton and that of his lifetime radical nationalist family traditions in a family studded with collaborator James Galbraith (1818-1890). Joe Haughton, Pro- such a long and distinguished service to the British military is fessor of Geography in Trinity was at that time in the late 1970s not unusual by any means in many important Anglo-Irish fam- working in the Museum Building in Trinity College in an office ilies! perhaps previously occupied by Samuel. Joe Haughton was able Carlow is indebted to Christopher for allowing the publication to help with details on a Haughton family tree published at the of these family biographical details that so graphically highlight time in Carloviana. In several recent biographic entries on stark divergent tendencies and sculpt a family tradition that was Samuel it is incorrectly stated that James ‘Vegetable’ Haughton nevertheless one the Haughtons are collectively proud of despite was his father. It is therefore clear that to obtain from Christo- such obvious divergent tendencies. The details in themselves are pher such verified and detailed family records is a great break- a very ‘good read’ but throughout flag interesting historical rela- through for local history. This important Leinster family owned tionships and detail. They constitute in themselves a very impor- mills in both Carlow and Athy but these biographies are also of tant historic record. Christopher being an British army man importance to the burgeoning Haughton scholarship. through and through is very much part of the Haughton tradition being paradoxically very proud of his relative’s contributions to The biography of Christopher Haughton is included at the head severing the links of Ireland with Britain. of this article which will be seen as very much in the tradition of the family. Haughtons were Quakers or in the case of verita- ble ‘Vegetable’ a Unitarian. The Haughton’s recorded family history shows the connections with the Shackleton Quaker family and detail the linked preoccupation of both families with education. James Haughton indeed worked with JKL Bishop James of Kildare and Leighlin to help establish the National School system in 1831 which was launched in Leinster but spread in time to every corner of the British Empire.

Samuel Haughton and James Galbraith produced a series of internationally importance textbooks that were of inestimable importance to university education in the late 19th century as they ranged over so many subjects. These books helped technically train and educate officers for the Empire. Importantly, these cram books provided concise information specially designed for passing examinations. The conundrum here is both these Trinity dons were with Isaac Butt founders of Home Rule Party and thereby fathers of Irish independence and the Republic. Galbraith remarkably while a Trinity don even visited Parnell when he was a prisoner in Kilmainham and incurred the odium Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 3

44 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

The Haughton grave in Killeshin Churchyard, Graiguecullen, Carlow

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 4

45 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 5

46 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 6

47 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 7

48 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:07 Page 8

49 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page 9

50 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page 10

51 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Haughton Diaries

Carloviana 2012 Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page 11

52 The Remarkable Haughtons of Carlow and kildare

Carloviana 2012 53 Next page

John (b. 1692) Sarah Eves (9 children)

Jonathan(b 1726) Mary Fuller (17 children) Isaac (b.1720) Mgt. Webster; 2nd wife. 6 children Joseph (b. 1765) Mary Wright (4 children) Joseph (b. 1806) Abigal Wright John (b.1750) Joshua (b. 1764) Mary O’Brien Jane Archer (5 children) (5 children) William (b. 1803) went Sarah Johnson Richard (b.1782) Susan Sir Graves Edward Archer. to U.S.A. Jonathan Anne Waring Baker Chamney Killed as Settled in Indiana. (b. 1829) (11 Children) (5 Children) F.R.S Lt. R.N. Lilian Her mother Unmarried. Dr Richad M. D. 1st Catherine 2nd Elizabeth Mather Elihu White William Rebecca Herbert Lucy Strahan was In the”Dictionary Indiana Meeker (3 children) (b.1858) Jane Jonathan a Colboys of National Wilfred Edith Dunton Sinton (b. 1868) Biographies” Lounna Dr Noah (3 Went to Rose Jenney Herbert of Clara Springer William Jennett Ruth Charles children) U.S.A. John 1st Jessie Eleanor 2nd Barbara Emma U.S.A. midland Traxler Wood M.D. Perceval Crocket Colboys (b. 1817) Presgrave Pleydell Bouverie Texas Lt. General (4 children) Earl of Radnors family. Everett Ronald H.E.I.C. Wyatt Susanna Waring Susan Thomas John Priscila William Marion Rosemary Colonel B. In “Dictionary Sumnel Gluys Michigan Elizabeth Christy Poole Jean Wilfred Louise (twin Shafer of National Wood U.S.A. (Twin with Chapin Sedgeman El Paso Murphey with Biographies”. Florida U.S. Marines Rosemary) (now Texas Susan) US.A. (California John (b.1852) 1st Margerieta 2nd Helen Barmb. divirced) b. Texas U.S.A.) Lt. Colonel Baker Dau. Helen & Ruthanna Dr G K 1914 Indian Army. (1 child) other issue went to Wood Davis U.S.A. Hero of the U.S.A. U.S.A. Florida Lois Harald Tirah War U.S.A. Anne Linda Evens (b. 1915) John Martha U.S.A. Elizabeth U.S.A. Mineral Wells, Mark U.S.A. Ph.D U.S.A. Texas Henry Lawrence May Shephard Roberta Rose U.S.A. U.S.A. Jan U.S.A. Lesley U.S.A. Patrica U.S.A. (1 child) John U.S.A. Mary U.S.A. (b.1883) Robert U.S.A. Virgina U.S.A. George George U.S.A. Dorothy U.S.A.

Maj. General Ruthanna U.S.A. Indian Army Carloviana 2012 C.B. C.I.E. Geneva C.B.E. Charles Lucy ADC to (b. 1947) Shelley U.S.A. (b. 1952)

Susanne (b. 1943) U.S.A. U.S.A. Warren (b. 1949) U.S.A. Peter (b.1952) U.S.A.

the King. Theodore (b. 1949) U.S.A. Virginia, U.S.A. John Colboys Believed to have Captain “106” married in the Susan Matthews R.H.A. Regular East or the Near East, Edward William (b. 1890) Joseph Watson Anna Chrisie Pedlow (2 children) Army officer. during the War (b. 1887) (3 children) Killed in & had issue. action Greek - Kenneth Waring(b. 1927) Elizabeth Grey Helen Crookshank Creet Theatre Prof. Joseph Pedlow David Nevlle Wendy Coulter William Edward DorothyWheeler of Wicklow. Many times 1941. Dublin (b.1920) Dublin (b. 1921) of Wicklow (b. 1923) player in Irish Interna- Fellow of Trinity Civil Engineer & The Remarkable Carlow and kildare Haughtons of Several times Captain of tional Hockey Teams College, Dublin Architect Irish International Hockey Teams, & player in Irish Cricket Teams - “Gentle- men of Ireland” v The M.C.C. at Lords Anne (b. 1956) Peter (b. 1959) Wendy (b. 1958) Wendy Robert (b. 1958) Richard (b. 1964) Jennifer (b. 1959) Allison (b. 1955 Bellina (b.1963) David (b. 1952) William (b. 1959) William Michelle (b. 1967) Timothy (b.1960) Timothy Penelope (b. 1957) Deborah (b. 1963) Nicholas(b.1966) Jonathan (b. 1954) Haughton Family Tree Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page 12 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page Haughton diaries page Continued in next edition “Carloviana” 2013 Wilfred Haughton Elizabeth Wilkinson and by his 3rd wife Mary Pim ...... Samuel Pierson (b. 1748) By his 2nd wife From previous page Isaac (b. 1663) Eleanor Wilson (8 children) (Had 3 wives & 18 children) Jane Boake (7 children) of Carlow.

Samuel (b. 1787) of Carlow Sarah Hancock (8 children) Thomas (b. 1788) Sarah Pim Benjamin (b. 1705) Elizabeth Pearson (8 children) Jonathan (b. 1707) Anne Eves

Benjamin (b. 1744) Abigale Boake (9 children) Joseph (b. 1731) Anne dau. of Emma (b. 1829 The Venerable Maurice Tyrell Archdeacon Benjamin (b. 1781) 1st Anne Murphy (4 children) Samuel (b. 1821) His kinswoman, Elizabeth Jane (b. 1825) Jonathan William Harriet Tyrell J Jamsson. 2nd Rachel Malcomson (5 children) The great professor. F.R.S. Louisa Haughton She married SSmuel R. (b. 1763) of Trinity College, Dublin. (6 children) Graves, J.P. Chairman of the 2nd marriage was David Emma Theodore William Henry (b. 1852) Adelade dau. of Dr Buried in Killeshin She was dau. of John of the Liverpool Mary Anne Garret Tyrell of n Jameson Fitzmaurice. John Tyrrell M.D. (5 children) of Churchyard, Carlow. Haughton, the owner of Shipowners’ Assn Grange Castle, (1897) Barrow Mills, Carlow. Descendants of Fitz- which Benjamin Alfred Janet- Co. ldare. (see maurices - The Earls Mason, their Dav. Bertha M.B. “Burke’s Landed Constable Elizabeth Graves. of Kerry. Current Haughton was assistant matron of Gentry”) she married in1876 Edward Percy head Sir Gerald Fitz- y Middlesex Hosptal, London, & Sec Bates,son of Sir Edward Bates B.T.,M.P. maurice, K.C.M.G., Royal College of Nursing. 2nd Baronet, of their 7 sons, 3 were, Q.C. Judge of Inter- Garret Martha William succssfully, chairman of the Cunard national Court of The Charles Jolly Jonathen Tyrell J.P. Steamship Company; the last being Hague. Legal adviser Samuel Murphy Agnus Elizabeth Frankland Tyrell J.P. (b. 1852) Colonel Denis Haughton Bates, D.S.O., to H. M. Government (b. 1811) (3 children) (b. 1851) M.C.

Samuel (b. 1849) Helena Casey Magistrate, Ceylon Civil Service (3 children) John Gilbert Emma Dr Thomas William Steele Jane (b. 1851) Maria Wilfred - M.D. (b. 1869)Surgeon Elizabeth Lived in Trowell (b. 1853) Specialist, Steevens Levallin Ceylon Hospital, Dublin. Pukley Haughton Family Tree The pioneer of X- (Steel Haughton) Rays in Ireland. Samuel George Steele Majorie Porter (see ref. British (b. 1883). Indian Army. (2 children) Medical Journal). C.I.E., C.B. E. K.I. H., Thomas Wilfred Catherine K. H. S. Wilhelmina Charles Godfrey (b. 1855) Isabel Gillmor Hon. Surgeon to the Geraldine Massy - Dawson Helina Byrde Finaned “Haughton Carloviana 2012 (4 children) King.Decorated for his (b. 1880) Mamoirs” by Rev. W.B. (Family of (b. 1887) outstanding abilities, Steele Lord Massy) Married Charles Agnes Elizabeth William L. Day, Royal (b. 1861) Herbert Artillery. 93 Children) Bell. John Wilfred C.B.E. (b. May Agnus Florence. Went to U.S.A. M.D. 1886) dau. of Sir James Hen- Chairman of Northern derson, Lord Mayor of Samuel Gilmore (b. 1889) Ireland Tourist Board Belfast. Dorothy Lyall Samuel Francis Isabel (b. 1916) Colonel. Deputy Lieutenent Co. Herbert Lucy Elizabeth Lee Susan Gordon See also was C.B.E. Also Wilson (1 child) John Marsden Hewitt (b. 1913) Married John Antrim. High Sheriff, Chairman Haughton Bell Ashley Chairman of Northern (b. 1924) Surgeon. Surgeon Captain Frederick Wilde. “Frazer & Haughton” Ltd and of New York & Edwards Ireland Council of Social Captain, M.V. D., R.N. R.N & R.A.N. Consultant numerous companies and associ- Connecticut. Services. Surgeon of Royal Married Mary Pychiartrist ates in Ulster. Lawyer U.S.A. Yacht “Britannia” & Jotham, now liv- Manschester R.N Hospital Hasler, ing in Australia. The Remarkable Carlow and kildare Haughtons of Wilfred James of Priscella Eliza Joan George Clarke Thomas Gilmore Wilson. Captain Moyra M. Portsmouth. Antrim (b. 1921) McLaughlin Rosemary of Trinity regular army (b. 1922). Served in Barrister-at-Law. Artist. (b. 19250) College, World War II in 6th Airborne Di- Dau. of Brigadier A. See “Who’s Who Dublin Dublin vision & Royal Ulster Rifles. De Burgh Morris, in Art” Killed in civilian airplane disas- D.S.O., C.B.E. ter, Belfast, 1953. of the “7th Gurkhas” Denis Staunton Norah Massy-Dawson. married Lt. Col. She married 2nd Lieut. R.N. Derek Lang of the Michael Thomas (b. Major M. Chichester- Commander the Camoran High- June 7th 1953) Edu- Clarke, Irish Guards, first submarine to landers. cated at Harrow. now Lord Moyla. P.C. be lost in World Vice Lieutenent, Co.

David John (b. 1959) War II - with all Richard York (b. 1950)

Londonderry. She has John (b. 1944) hands- H.M.S.

issue by 2nd mar- Robert (b. 1939) Howard William (b. 1947) Anthony (b. 1947 Catherine Anne (b. 1953 “Seahorse”. Jessica (b. 1954) George (b. 1959) George Frederick (b. 1942) Patrick John(b. 1958) 54 Peter Steele (b. 1957) Helena Jane Elizabeth (b.1965) Rosanne (b. 1958) riage. Jonathen Paul (b. 1962) Haughton diaries page 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page 13 42-54_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:08 Page Haughton diaries page Carloviana - backup_Eagle Hill 05/11/2012 20:10 Page 1

Eagle Hill, Hacketstown - its environs and characters. Patrick M. Byrne

n the northeast corner of County Car- What were considered to be the most im at his recent election as being a Co. low, on the southwest side of Hack- portant houses around the base of the hill Wicklow man and very nearly a chieftain Ietstown, stands Eagle Hill. It in those days were known as the principal of the O’Reilly clan. But no, the Lord dominates its entire surroundings in all seats of the local gentlemen. They were Mayor is proud of the fact that he is a directions for at least 2 ½ to 3 miles from Woodside House, the residence of S. Carlow man from Eagle Hill in Hacket- its base, including the town itself that Jones, Esq., Ballykillane House, the res- stown and has no claim on Wicklow fur- nestles in its shadow. The hill stands on idence of J. Brownrigg, Esq., and Bal- ther than that he was born within a few its own on what is called the Granite Belt, lasallagh House, the residence of J. miles of its border.” between Lugnaquilla and the Leinster Hosier, Esq., Capt. Gerald O’Reilly enjoyed his term in of- Range. The hill’s major axis runs north- In 1837 there were 16 families occupying fice and was very well liked by the peo- west to southeast and because of its houses and small farms in the townland ple of Dublin. He lived six years after his prominent peak it is easily recognised, of Eagle Hill and their names were as fol- time as Lord Mayor and he passed away and can be easily seen from the top of lows: - Sheppard Jones, Charles Ka- peacefully at his residence, Riversdale, Lugnaquilla. Although not visible from vanagh, John Kealy, John Kearney, John Stillorgan, Co. Dublin on 19th March the surrounding countryside, if you walk Kennedy, Matthew King, Thomas 1915. Gerald O’Reilly, “the Man from to the top of the hill you will notice three Lambe, John Leonard, James Reilly, John Eagle Hill,” is buried in Glasnevin Ceme- minor rocky peaks, known as the “Three Reilly, Thomas Reilly, Margaret Ryan, tery in plot no. 499. Sisters,” and on the most south-easterly Revd.Wm. Scott, Michael Ward and of There was a baby born in Rathnafishogue of these there is a rock into which has course the infamous Barker brothers. in 1868 who in later life would go on to been carved a bird bath, with the name To the above named John Reilly and his become world famous under an assumed “Doyle” chiselled around its edge. James wife Mary Whelan on the 23rd September name, and the following is a compilation Doyle, the last of the old stonecutters 1841 was born a son and he was given of two articles that were printed in “Ire- from Hacketstown, who died in the mid the name Gerald. In later life he would land’s Own” many years ago and written 1950s, did this. become a very important person. Gerald by a man called Leo Bowes in answer to According to local oral tradition there Reilly spent his formative years in Hack- questions about this man , Little Johnny was to be found around the hill in the etstown attending the new school in the Connors, who was professional Fly- 1850s a shop that sold mostly snuff, to- Chapel-yard, (now St. John’s day care weight Boxing Champion of the World bacco, and very strong locally made po- Centre) and working on his parents’ small from 1894 to 1900. His real name was teen (poitín). There was also a bakery farm on Eagle Hill. Later on as a young Johnny Kennedy. He was born in Rath- and 8 to 10 small thatched cabins, as well man he left home and went to work in nafishogue, Hacketstown, Co. Carlow in as a row of houses in Cronaskeagh called Dublin, where he got married and raised 1868. His father, Martin Kennedy, lived “Beggars’ Row” which was said to be a a family and also became very interested in Rathnafishogue about 1 1/2 miles from very unsafe area to pass through at night. in politics. In 1908 he became the first Hacketstown, and he married a girl The most infamous area around the hill County Carlow man to be elected Lord named Annie Kelly from Eagle Hill. was at Eagle Hill House near Bully’s cor- Mayor of Dublin. The following is an They had ten children in the family and ner, which is still standing. Into this extract taken from a paper at the time of six of them were born in Rathnafishogue, house in 1830 came Dr. Barker and his his election: - including Johnny. While Johnny was still brother to set up a doctor’s surgery, and Dublin’s Carlow Mayor only going to school the family were between 1830 and 1860 they carried out 29th August 1908 evicted from their little farm and Martin hundreds of abortions using the crude “For the first time in the history of the Kennedy went on his own to America to methods and implements of the time, and Dublin Corporation a Co. Carlow man look for work. He later sent for his wife so the house became known as the has been elected to the position of Lord and children. The family left the area nd “Abortion House.” The older generation Mayor of Dublin. “True we have had went via Hacketstown, Carnew and Bun- always said it was haunted by the ghosts members of Parliament for Carlow who clody to the ship at New Ross. When of women who died there. Old men and occupied that high position,” says the Johnny reached the age of seventeen in women who walked those roads late at Carlow Nationalist, “but they were not America he ran away from home to take night would tell stories of how on certain Carlow men, viz. E.D. Gray and Charles up a hotel job in Missouri. When he was nights of the year you could hear the Dawson.” The new Lord Mayor is Ger- in St. Louis he had studied boxing and ghostly sounds of women sobbing and ald O’Reilly who hails from Eagle Hill in self-defence and it often proved benefi- crying pitifully around the house. Hacketstown, Co. Carlow, though he was cial in his job when dealing with unruly claimed by one of his ardent supporters customers.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Eagle Hill 05/11/2012 20:10 Page 2

56 Eagle Hill, Hacketstown, its environs and characters

Bare-knuckle fighting was forbidden in lower before he’s much older.” Just then the year 1824. It tells us that the those days but contests took place regu- at the crack of Cullen’s gun the redcoat population was exactly 1000 people. larly at chosen venues. This was partly fell to the ground. He was a scout of Ser- There was a post office and the post- why the Irish youth changed his name geant Nixon who with his contingent was master was Mr. Boyd. The mail was from Kennedy to Connors, and partly be- only then approaching the town from conveyed by horse to Baltinglass on cause he did not want his parents to know Gould. On hearing the firing he had sent Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays at of his whereabouts in case they would one of his cavalry to Eagle Hill to report 2 p.m. and returned on the same days bring him back home. When the ban on conditions in the town. On seeing his at 40 minutes past 8 p.m. The post fighting was lifted in 1892 Johnny set up scout fall Nixon and his party returned office was open from seven till a large training establishment. Here home, but before doing so they wreaked eleven. some of the best boxers in the world were vengeance on poor unfortunate people by The gentry mentioned were John involved, greats like Bob Fitzsimmons, shooting them as they reaped their corn Brownrigg Esq., Thomas Furlong Jim Jeffries, Jack Johnson and many oth- in the fields.” Esq., James Hosier Esq., Wm. ers. Jack Johnson went on to become the I will now give my reasons for claiming Vanston Esq., and Edward Westby greatest heavyweight champion of all that this incident is highly exaggerated: Esq. The clergy were Rev. Patrick time as a result of the attention paid to Cullen would have been using a musket Dolan P.P., Rev. Thomas Dooley, him by the man from Hacketstown. and muskets did not have sighting sys- Rev. Dawson, and Rev. James Poe. In a report in the “Kansas City Journal” tems in place in those days. Next in line come the shopkeepers dated 17th March 1898 we read the fol- The distance from the old chapel on the and tradesmen: - Philip Boe, Tailor; lowing: “Johnny Connors, the Spring- Green to the peak on Eagle Hill is ap- Edward Boyd, Post Office and field Bantam, who is to meet Jimmy proximately one mile. Innkeeper; John Brady, Apothecary; Barry arrived in Chicago tonight, and to- At this distance and against the summer Matthew Broham, Baker; James morrow a delegation of Springfield will skyline Cullen could not have known if Condel, Grocer; Pat Doyle, Publican come on to back their local celebrity. the man on horseback was a redcoat or and Baker; Ed. Furlong, Apothecary; Word was received from Connors that he not. Thos. Furlong, Tobacco Manufac- is six pounds under weight, tipping the All 18th and early 19th century muskets turer and Grocer; Peter Jackson, scales at 104 lbs., and will enter the ring were really only large smoothbore shot- Grocer; Francis Jones, Cloth Dealer; at that weight or near it. Barry’s friends guns. The real problem with them was Thos. Kelly, Publican; Thos. Lambe, predict that he will make short work of the poor quality of the black powder that Shoemaker; Wm. Lambe, Leather the Springfield man. He is taking no they used to propel a large lead ball Cutter; Lawrence Neil, Publican; chances of a surprise however, and he weighing one ounce through a build-up Wm. Nicholson, Leather Cutter; will be ready to put up a stiff fight.” of black residue and gunge in the barrel, Thomas Noblet, Hotel Keeper and Johnny Connors – Kennedy whose that after a very short time clogged up the Grocer; Sam Norton, Grocer; mother came from Eagle Hill lived in touch-hole and coated the lock with a Michael Reilly, Tailor; Robert Stew- Springfield, Illinois, where he was sticky black slime. To cope with this the art, Shoemaker; Wm. Strahan, Car- known as the “Father of the City,” and he lead ball was made between 4 and 6 hun- penter; Thos. Toole, Publican and passed away there one year before his dredths of an inch smaller than the bore John White, Tanner. hundredth birthday. size, which was .75 calibre and so the ball A few years later there was a topo- There is a story told of an incident that is was on average .71 in calibre. When the graphical survey undertaken and supposed to have happened on the peak musket was fired the undersized ball completed by Lieutenant J.N. Rim- of Eagle Hill during the Battle of Hack- skidded and bounced up the barrel and ington of the Royal Engineers and etstown on 25th June 1798, and which in proceeded in a direction determined by his team of surveyors, who were my opinion has, to say the least, been ex- its last contact with the musket’s bore. mapping and describing the parish of aggerated. If we pick up the book “98 in Modern day tests have proven that be- Hacketstown. Part of his report Carlow” published in 1974 and turn to yond sixty yards the ball would lose its states that “There is a penny post to page 192 we will find an account of the ability to hit a man-sized target and its Baltinglass, and there is a dispensary incident, and it reads as follows: “When range was approximately 250 yards. in the town, which is open on Mon- Kelly arrived at the Green of Hacket- From this we can safely say that from a days, Wednesdays and Fridays from stown for the second time he found a mile away on the Green you might as 10 to 11 a.m. Hacketstown now has group of four or five men from Rathbawn well try to shoot the moon as try to shoot a police station. A Loan Fund has district outside a building of sod walls a redcoat off his horse on Eagle Hill been established, which grants loans and thatched roof with no furniture, using a smoothbore musket. not greater than £10 nor less than £1 which did duty in those days for a Hacketstown itself sits at the very at 6% interest. The market day in Catholic Chapel. The men were watch- base of Eagle Hill and part of Mof- town is Thursday.” ing an attack on the barracks when they fett Street and Slate Row are in the Lieutenant Rimington also discov- noticed a redcoat riding round the moat townland of Eagle Hill North. From ered three corn mills all within two or motty on Eagle Hill. Cullen of Corn- “Pigott’s Provincial Directory” we miles of Eagle Hill. In Sketch Map dog, one of the group, said as he rested get some idea of what the town was 13, which describes the townland of his gun on the sod ditch that surrounded like and who the clergy, gentry, Ballasalla Lower we find this entry, the chapel, “I’ll leave that fellow’s head tradesmen and shopkeepers were in “In the east of this townland there is Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Eagle Hill 05/11/2012 20:10 Page 3

57 Eagle Hill, Hacketstown, its environs and characters

a small thatched mill for grinding oats, with overshot wheel ten feet in diameter and twenty inches broad. It has water for eight to nine months of the year, and is capable of grinding two to two and a half tons in twenty- four hours. It is occasionally employed by the farmers of the vicinity and sometimes by the owner. The mill and kiln are under the one roof. This mill is located on Ballasalla Brook close to the road between Bal- lasalla and Rathbawn” Sketch Map 21 deals with Rath- nafishogue and gives the surveyor’s description: “It is nearly all cultivated, with a small portion of bog on the eastern side. The surface is hilly. It is pretty Eagle Hill well cut up with roads. The River Derreen bounds the townland on the chisels, and, needless to say, health to do anything the boss or foreman western side. In the southwestern and safety regulations were non-ex- wanted. Life for most workers in portion, on a small stream flowing istent, so injuries to the eyes and face those days and especially for quarry- from the bog, is an old thatched mill were a regular occurrence. This men was filled with extremely hard for grinding oats, with overshot work on the quarry face was done by and strenuous work that didn’t offer wheel eleven feet in diameter and men known in this locality as “stone any future, and only barely kept food twenty-two inches broad. The mill splitters”, who worked in groups or on the table, and they would be stuck and kiln are out of repair, and have gangs of four or five men. Each man in the same job for the rest of their been out of use for the past ten was expected to provide his own lives. These men worked outdoors years.” tools, and these would include in all seasons and conditions, ex- We now move on to Sketch Map 37, chisel-edged iron jumpers, sledge- posed to rain, hail, heat and frost for which gives details of mill no.3: hammers, bars and shovels. Each six days a week, and if they com- “In the Borough townland there is an gang was assigned its own section of plained they would be told in no un- area called Mill Park, so called from rock face and the gang was respon- certain terms that they were lucky to the mill therein. Mr. Thomas Hob- sible for the excavation of the rock, have a good job. An old rhyme son is the owner of the mill, which for breaking it and gathering the bro- about the quarry went like this: grinds oats. The kiln and mill are ken rock in piles, ready for removal “On Eagle Hill the days were tall, thatched. There is an overshot wheel from the quarry. This was back- (long) two feet ten inches broad, with a di- breaking and dangerous work, apart The work was hard, ameter of eleven feet. In all seasons from the fact that the jagged edges And the pay was small.” it is well supplied with water, and is of the freshly broken quartz rock Up until the late 1950s most farmers capable of grinding two tons in were often razor sharp and could in- around Eagle Hill would have kept a twenty-four hours. It is partly em- flict a serious injury. My own grand- horse or two to work the farm, as ployed by the country people and father, James Byrne, who worked tractors in those days were quite un- partly by the owner. The produce of there for a while, used to say, “ the common, so to keep the horses the owner is sold at the mill and in stones in the quarry on that hill strong and healthy during the winter its vicinity.” would split you like a doctor’s months they were fed on oats. It was When Eagle Hill Quarry was in full lancet.” The broken stone was also given to turkeys and hens, so production in the late 1800s and drawn away in four-wheeled wag- most farmers in the area sowed a early 1900s it supplied stone for the ons, using two horses to draw a ton, field or two of good quality oats, making and repair of roads and which was measured out by the which in time was harvested and tied laneways all around this area of Co. cubic yard in a large steel-mesh in sheaves, stooked and then stacked Carlow and beyond. To get this cage. Working hours in the quarry and left in the field for a short period stone out of the quarry they built a were from 8 in the morning until to dry before being drawn into the small road, which is still in existence 4.30 in the evening during the winter haggard to be threshed about the as a lane opposite the G.A.A. pitch. months, and 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. dur- middle of October. There was no machinery at all used ing the spring and summer for no Many of the entrances and lanes to in the early days, so all the stones extra pay. Men employed in the the farms and fields in the vicinity of were worked by hand, using lump quarry would be working under con- Eagle Hill in the 1930s, ‘40s and hammers, sledges, crowbars and stant scrutiny, and would be willing ‘50s were not constructed with a Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Eagle Hill 05/11/2012 20:10 Page 4

58 Eagle Hill, Hacketstown, its environs and characters

dinner would be good that day. But Fitz read the signs wrong this time. What he didn’t know was that the farmer here was a very tidy man, whereas his wife was the direct opposite. One o’clock came and all hands were called to dinner, which on that day consisted of potatoes, salt, mugs of buttermilk and something that started off as cabbage and ended up as a slimy green mush. Fitz had been delayed at the straw rick and was about five minutes late Threshing 1933 going in. On entering the kitchen he found no space left at the big rough tractor and threshing mill in mind, to addition was barbed. The old two- table, but help was at hand, as the say nothing of steam engines, so the pronged hayfork had now become a lady of the house arrived on the problem had to be sorted out on the fearsome looking trident. According scene and put him sitting upon a half spot. However there were always to local oral tradition the “ould bag of bran just inside the back door. plenty of eager hands willing to help, Gouger” could throw this weapon She then disappeared into a room so trees would be trimmed and low- with unerring aim, pinning the rat to she called the parlour, and after a hanging boughs cut down, and the ground, and it was said that on few minutes banging about in there sometimes the mill would be pulled average he would kill eight out of she emerged, pulling an old empty and pushed manually into its proper every ten rats that made a run for it. tea-chest behind her, which she position. During the threshing sea- In November every year the trident placed on the floor in front of Fitz son all the farmers and men willing was put to work again, only this time and on this she placed a cracked and to help would turn up to lend a hand the Gouger used it to spear spawning chipped plate, two forks and a large on the appointed day in that area, as salmon in the Derreen River. mug filled with buttermilk. She told well as women who could cook and Next on the scene at most threshings him she was sorry that there were no help out in the kitchen, looking after would be “Black Billy,” who was so more knives left, but perhaps he ten or twelve hungry men and some- called not because of the colour of could use his penknife to peel his times even more, not to mention his hair, but because of his total aver- spuds and cut his meat. She then young boys off school getting up to sion to H2O. He was also thin and went and got him some potatoes and all kinds of mischief. It was a day lanky and it used to be said that he a bowl of the mushy green cabbage when the local farming community would have to pass by the same spot and told him to make a start and that helped each other out and many of twice to make a shadow. Billy’s the meat would follow as soon as she the local characters turned up to give favourite prank at the threshings was had served the men at the table. Fitz a hand with the work in exchange for slipping live frogs into mugs of was not at all happy with this situa- a free feed. Old men who worked at porter, as well as into the drinking tion and was about to leave when her threshing would always say that it water barrel. But apart from this ladyship arrived back with at least a was hard work but very enjoyable as Billy was a good workman and pound of fat hairy bacon with only a every day had the makings of a pan- would do whatever was assigned to thin sliver of lean at the bottom, and tomime because of the various char- him, and do it well. told him to eat heartily as threshing acters who followed the mill from Another man most likely to be in the was hungry work. The men sitting farm to farm. Most or all of these haggard was “Fitz,” and it could be at the table were watching this scene men had nicknames because of said that he was the clown prince of being played out, and they swore something they said or did or be- the group, and he was nearly always that Fitz’s face turned the same cause of how they looked. In the first to stir things up, especially at colour as the cabbage. Fitz usually days of steam, in the ‘20s and ‘30s, the dinner table. Fitz always boasted passed the first remark and got the you would find in the threshing hag- that he could tell how good the grub laughter going at the table, but on gard men like the “ould Gouger” would be, and how well the house this occasion his thunder was about who had his own unique method of was kept, by looking at the way the to be stolen. The lady of the house killing rats as they ran from the oats was stacked and the turf was had left the kitchen to feed the hens stacks of oats. He had taken an old clamped in the haggard. One day and Long Johnny, who was seated at well-worn two-pronged fork to the however he turned up to a threshing the rickety table just across from local blacksmith, where he had the on a farm near Hacketstown that he Fitz, had been gazing sternly at the prongs straightened and shortened to had never visited before. On arrival large blob of semi-liquefied lard pos- a length of six inches, and he then he noticed that everything was clean ing as bacon on his plate that wob- got the blacksmith to add another and tidy and seemed to be in good bled and quivered when anyone prong in the middle and this new shape, and so he allowed that the moved at the table. While Fitz was Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Eagle Hill 05/11/2012 20:10 Page 5

59 Eagle Hill, Hacketstown, its environs and characters

still contemplating what to do, Johnny got to his feet, cleared his throat, bent down and with his face about a foot from the plate, he said in a loud voice, “Ya can stop shiver- ing now; I’m not going to ate ya!” Clever Tim, who was seated next to Long Johnny, now decided to add his tuppenceworth to the laughter at the table, saying, “ Begob, boys, a man would have to be a glutton to call for a second helping of that.” At this stage Fitz had heard enough, so, not to be outdone at raising laughs, he rose to his feet behind the tea-chest, slowly removed his cap, joined his hands, and with mock solemnity he Guard Smith & Wife at Tombeigh Bridge looked up to Heaven and said, “Oh Lord so high “thin-skinned man” winked at the known, brought him home and, to Up in the sky, grinning onlookers and said, “ That try to impress upon Joe to behave Take pity on us now, soon put him back in his box.” himself in future, Smith took his po- And give us mate, The other character in town at that lice baton off his belt and laid it on That we can ate, time was a fellow called “Handle- the table in front of Joe and said to And take away the sow!” bars Wass,” whose first name was him, “If you cause me any more The good lady, who at this point was Joe. He had acquired both nick- trouble at weekends I’ll hop that just coming in the back door, is said names because of certain expres- baton off your head!” Joe looked to have restrained a smile. sions he constantly used when down at the shiny rosewood baton There were two other characters who speaking, e.g. he would say, “wass for a few minutes, and then he asked frequented the streets of Hacket- that for?” or, “Wass he going to do if he could take it up and look more stown between the years 1910 and with that?” He would then almost closely at it. Guard Smith, thinking 1935. One of them was “the Thin- always finish by saying,”Begob, he was finally getting through to Joe, skinned Man,” whose first name was boys, wouldn’t that be a powerful agreed. Joe picked up the baton and Miley. It seems his skin had a yoke if it had handlebars on it?” Joe examined it from top to bottom and translucent look to it, making it ap- was an easygoing sort of fellow ex- all around, and then looking up at the pear, as the old people who knew cept at weekends, when he usually Big Guard, Joe uttered the immortal him said, as if he hadn’t a drop of had drink taken, and then he was words, “Begob Sir, wouldn’t that be blood in his body. They also said he best avoided. He wore large wire- a powerful yoke if it had handlebars was as sharp as a breadknife and he framed glasses with lenses described on it?” It was said that Smith had to would cut the ground from under as being “as thick as the bottoms of step outside Joe’s door to laugh. anyone he disliked. He was also jam jars,” but despite this he seemed Guard Smith travelled the highways cantankerous and very argumenta- to be able to see fairly well. In the and byways around Hacketstown on tive and his favourite pastime was latter days of the R.I.C. he often a motorbike with a sidecar attached hunting rabbits on Eagle Hill with spent a night in the cell sobering up, and he was usually accompanied by three dogs of doubtful pedigree. As and he used to say that he had a his wife. an example of what Miley was like I room booked in the R.I.C. Hotel in And so for the time being we say a will relate a little story that was told Eagle Hill Street. The police bar- fond farewell to Eagle Hill and its about him. He was standing at the racks was building no. 1 in Eagle stories and characters, like the “Ould corner one night with three or four Hill Lane. On the changeover from Gouger” who was to rats what Clint other lads when one of them said, “ the R.I.C. to the then Civic Guards Eastwood was to bandits, and men I am going over to the shop to get a Joe fared no better, except he was like Joe whose pronouncement on box of matches. I’ll be back in a treated with a little more compas- the baton came true in the 1980s, minute.” As he was walking across sion. There was Guard named Smith about 45 years after his death, when the street Miley shouted after him, “ in Hacketstown at the time, who was police forces around the world were Ya won’t get anything in there.” The stationed here circa 1929 to 1935, issued with batons with a side ap- lad turned round and foolishly asked and instead of putting “Handlebars” pendage or handlebar on them. So let why not. “Because,” says Miley at in the cell he would take him home us hope that when Joe arrived at the the top of his voice so that everyone and wait while Joe’s wife put him to Pearly Gates and was ushered into on the street could hear, “ Ya already bed. One very wet Saturday night Heaven that they presented him with have a bill in there that’s the length Joe was acting the maggot as usua- a large harp with handlebars on it. of a curlew’s”, and with that the land again the Big Guard, as he was Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Cultural life 05/11/2012 20:12 Page 1

tively to the work. The society has failed Cultural Life in Carlow to make its journal a financial success, though that is no cultural criterion. The Liam D. Bergin first volume went well, but the succeeding two have been hard to sell in a town of 8000 people even at the price of a shilling or two. or some reason of which I am not and I have been asked to give them with- aware, and which has little justifi- out frills or flattery. Most of the society’s papers - one is read Fcation today, Carlow was once monthly - have been written by non-na- called the Athens of Leinster. You will understand me then when I say tives. On the whole, the average member that in one sense the strongest form of art prefers light entertaining material and Only the Grecian facade of the Courts of in Carlow is the art of criticism, scathing anything academic usually gets a cold re- Justice give any architectural clue, and criticism that stifles spontaneity and is ception there the similarity ends. readily sensed by strangers coming into the town who are frequently possessed of The Little Theatre Society, founded a few Academically speaking, however, Car- a more uninhibited enthusiasm. years ago, continues an activity for which low can justly claim, in terms of the post Carlow people have always had a soft penal law period, the oldest ecclesiastical In spite of this tendency, however, Car- spot. The Society was started to promote colleges in Ireland. The minds of some low is not without her social and cultural the drama, but it has always suffered the very eminent churchmen have been activities. Most of them are run by the drawback of being without a home of its formed there and from St Patrick’s each same set of people, and when we exam- own. That indeed is one of Carlow’s year a good complement of priests goes ine their personnel we find that the most chief needs, and it seems a pity that with out to the ends of the earth to teach all na- active movers are drawn from the town’s some goodwill that nothing can be done tions. floating population. to establish a social centre where all cultural activities could have a pied de terre. Culturally speaking this is Carlow’s Several people join local cultural soci- greatest pride. eties possessed of ideas, but when it The lack of a civic centre is quite appar- comes to putting these into practice they ent. We need a comfortable auditorium The town itself and the people in it hardly are inclined to take a back seat and let a with adjoining rooms. Even travelling differ from other provincial towns. In- few more willing workers do the spade- theatrical companies have to compete dustrial employment is high, business is work with hard chairs against the plush cinema good and the surrounding countryside seats, and Carlow posteriors are not pre- contains many large farms and rich farm- The best example of this was an effort pared to suffer discomfort even in the ers. made a few years ago to establish a sound best of causes. branch of the Gaelic League. The towns- It would be far from true to say that people at first expressed interest. They A couple of years ago a society was es- among the people is Carlow cultural pur- were all for a Gaelic League, but one that tablished for subscription concerts. suits are highly regarded or that there is did not speak Irish. There wasn’t too About 200 members were enlisted. Most spontaneous attraction to the finer arts. much desire to cultivate the language. A of them had to be personally approached. few members bore the brunt of organisa- The subscription was ten shillings for A public meeting called to promote a cul- tion. The co-operation was difficult, the four concerts, and the artists included tural venture may draw 40 or 50 who by project eventually fell through, and now names like Charles Lynch, Isobel Baillie, no stretch of the imagination can be de- any semblance of a Gaelic League has Ida O’Reilly, Terry O’Connor and others. scribed as a representative cross-section vanished. The position of the Irish lan- But for Radio Eireann’s broadcast free of the community. You can be certain that guage is no credit to Carlow. The night the venture would have resulted in a loss. only the prime movers will express their Irish class at the Technical School has It lasted for two seasons and then had to views, but most of the people will prefer only eight pupils out of a possible 50. be abandoned for lack of public support. to say nothing. Carlow people are very Some of the concerts were held in the self-conscious in public. They are en- Four years ago the Old Carlow Society cinema and 250 was the largest atten- dowed with the conservative conscious was formed to examine the social history dance in a house with a capacity of six or ness of a business fraternity and they are of the district. The founders were con- seven hundred. And spontaneous atten- mortally afraid - and reasonably so - of scious of the importance of this work. dance by the non-subscribing public was the criticism that may follow if they open From the beginning the society has main- negligible. their mouths to express their minds. tained a fair membership. A good per- centage of the members are not Carlow Exhibitions of pictures by Irish artists In the light of this I can look forward to people by birth. In many ways this soci- have been sponsored by the education au- plenty of adverse criticism of what I say ety has adhered to its objects, but most thorities from time to time and have at- tonight. I haven’t volunteered my views, members fight shy of contributing ac- tracted interest, especially among the

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Cultural life 05/11/2012 20:12 Page 2

61 Cultural Life in Carlow

younger people. There is no class of combinations and a small instrumental ter. painting, design or sculpture in the town ensemble. Two of these choirs – both as of now and the Vocational Committee under the direction of Karl Seeldrayers, The College may well create a desire for has not seen its way to renew this form organist and professor of Church music, extension courses in other subjects, and of instruction, which had some popularity and a graduate of the Lemmens Institute the university authorities have promised a few years ago. Perhaps something of Malines – confine themselves to their favourable reaction to any further could be done to revive a greater interest church music and follow closely the pre- demands for higher education. Perhaps in the subject. cepts of the papal Motu Proprio. They we can hope for a more serious approach comprise the fine students’ choir of St. from the younger generation to the things I am told by older people that the taste of Patrick’s College and the Cathedral of life that are more enduring and more Carlovians has receded in the past 50 Choir, composed of townsmen and boys. valuable. years. The cinema is in some way responsible and the great bulk of the popu- Last year the two combined to present a Continuation education can help train our lation prefers to pay for synthetic formidable sacred concert in aid of young people to think more in terms of amusement as opposed to presentations Maynooth. Sorry to say, the attendance the finer pursuits of life. In this way they with a living cultural value. was a poor reflection on the standard of may be taught a better discretion before the performance, which consisted of a their semi-developed minds have to face The thrill-a-minute Western film draws fine balance of ancient and modern a world of sensations in which so much an unfailing audience. Carlow filmgoers music. cynicism abounds. plump for action and coloured musicals, and given these conditions the fans are St. Cecilia’s – a new choir of men and In Carlow there is evident a demand foe not particular what they see seven nights ladies – has just been auspiciously craft education, which cannot be supplied out of the week. Religious films like started. In Graiguecullen parish, across owing to lack of premises. Can we hope Song of Bernadette will fill the houses for the River Barrow, Mr. Murray marshalled that there may be more adult or adoles- a full week, and most charity concerts the St. Fiach’s singers into a creditable cent education on a higher intellectual with a strong, comedy element are a combination, but they have now become level beyond the bare limits of that ef- draw. A glance at the newspaper will tell relatively inactive. fected by the primary and secondary anyone that there must be money in schools? It is alarming to think that cheap dances. Incidentally, the term “in aid of” reminds young people will continue to be satisfied me that a great deal of musical and dra- to spend their leisure in useless and often Carlow in my own generation has pro- matic endeavour is conceived in towns demoralising amusement duced no noteworthy writers or play- for this ulterior motive, and, while I don’t wrights, no outstanding musicians. I say decry anything done in a good cause, I I would like to make one observation this with all deference to those who, out think that a number of cultural endeav- about cultural pursuits in general. Our of an excess of local patriotism, may ours are born and die in the charitable traditional cultural life, harassed and per- claim otherwise. Judging by either na- urge of the moment. verted by many agents, and in no small tional or international standards there ap- way by the misfortunes of a history best pears no distinguished name in the realm Still running, in its fifth season, is the forgotten, has withered. This applies to of the arts. But Carlow finds a certain re- Carlow Gramaphone Society, with about every Irish town I know. flected glory in the fact that her Technical eighty members and an average atten- School building – now inadequate for the dance at the fortnightly concerts of about Our language barely influences our lives. demand for this type of education- was thirty. This is a cultural society, formed Intellectual and social pursuits, which presented to her by its former owner for lovers of good music. It must have should stem spontaneously from a virile George Bernard Shaw. had a considerable effect in improving Gaelic civilisation, are absent. The vac- the musical appreciation of its members uum is filled by a surfeit of facile and A few years ago Shaw also made a gift to and at least a limited influence on musi- shallow amusements. What can be done the town of the income on his other local cal taste. about it? property, provided the money would not be used to relieve the rates. Shaw in- One of the most useful and, I dare say, The home should be the fountainhead of tended the money to be used in any cul- fruitful, advances in the town’s cultural all cultural inspiration. But when our lan- tural cause or for general improvement. history has been the establishment of guage is ignored in our homes, even His wishes demanded a special Act of the what is popularly known as The Workers’ when the rising generation can speak it, Dáil so that the Urban Council could ac- College. This extension university course it must be counted as all but dead. cept his or any other gift under the Sha- in social and economic science caters for vian conditions. As far as I am aware nearly thirty students. Its moving spirits Folk music, folklore and domestic cul- nobody has yet been able to say how the are Father Prendergast, Professor of So- tural activities which continue to be sig- money can be used. ciology at St. Patrick’s, Mr. Bernard nificant – in Spain for instance – and are O’Neill, CEO of the Vocational Educa- created even today, have become mu- Carlow has several choirs and singing tion Scheme, and Mr. Crotty, Headmas- seum relics in Ireland. A cheap imported

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Cultural life 05/11/2012 20:12 Page 3

62 Cultural Life in Carlow

culture (God bless the mark) spreads its hibit any serious endeavour. I always superficial thraldom. From our cultural feel, rightly or wrongly, that in Carlow If people are intellectually minded in the heritage only a mess of pottage remains. intellectual pursuits are measured off in town – and a good many must be – their terms of commercial welfare. There is a intellectual aspirations more than likely In this respect Carlow is no worse than marked refusal of people to take respon- find an outlet in the privacy of their any other provincial town or city in Ire- sibility for fear others may accuse them homes. They are certainly not apparent in land. But something might be done. of seeking dividends in prestige. public.

Can we not begin to regard music and art It is hard to imagine how cultural activi- These are the facts as I see them. The pic- as worthy to be taught as a subject in our ties can be born or survive in face of the ture, as I have painted it, is not very flat- schools? We are not going to advance attitude that anyone who has the temerity tering, but not conceived in any spirit of culturally in terms of children rasping to advance his opinions is making a fool perversity. Great praise is due to many in- fiddles before they know what music is, of himself. dividuals in small groups in the town for or securing first-class honours in piano the efforts they have made to provide examinations through a proficiency Idealism in such an atmosphere cannot be leisure of a constructive and serious na- achieved by soul-less and uninspiring said to flourish very freely. An altruist ture. The criticisms that I have made have repetition. If we continue to fool our- will rapidly despair in an environment no personal application, because criti- selves that this is music or that it tends to- where so many – like Oscar Wilde’s cism of the state of things is not directed wards musical appreciation then we can cynic – know the price of everything and at individuals, in spite of the widespread throw our hats at culture. the value of nothing. In the end every tendency to accept it as such. place gets the cultural life it deserves. The present generation does not give After the shutters go up in Carlow there I hope that those who are doing good much inspiration and displays a very lim- is certain activity among the groups I work to promote the arts in general will ited amount of aesthetic taste. The picture have mentioned. One cannot say that the continue to do so, and perhaps one day of Carlow town as far as cultural pursuits activity is pure culture. It is a mixture of the public of Carlow will turn a more co- go is not terribly inspiring even at its best. gregariousness with a cultural condiment. operative ear to their endeavours. Only a fraction of 8,000 people take an intelligent interest in the arts. I see two Most Carlovians, preoccupied with busi- The arts have seldom survived in adver- proximate causes for this. People who ness during the day, are apparently satis- sity and of their very nature they demand might encourage and patronise cultural fied to sit by the fireside after the day’s a certain amount of patronage and good movements are too preoccupied with ma- work. Sport occupies the leisure hours of will. terial matters. Then there is a spirit of the most active; but for all the cinema is [Broadcast by Radio Éireann, 1950] criticism, which tends to frighten and in- the great repository for boredom. The origin of Carlow’s name Dave Barron

he name of Ceatharlach is generally interpreted as ‘Four Lakes’; I suggest another possibility, Catherlagh, ‘fortified dwelling on the lake’. ‘Four lakes’ would be ‘ceithre loch’.Geographically there is no evidence of four lakes in the Carlow Tarea. However, the site of Carlow Castle is a raised piece of land in the middle of what was once an expanse of marshy, wet ground through which the river Barrow rambled before it was channelled by its current banks; until very recently the whole area was prone to flooding. This piece of high ground was key to control over the shallow part of the river, which was undoubtedly used for crossing before the construction of a bridge. It is more than likely that some ancient Celtic chieftain built his wooden fortress on the site that eventually was used by the Normans to build the stone castle whose ruins now stand.William Nolan quotes from a mid 17th century source (Carlow History and Society, p. 363) about the position of the site:’ upon a riseing ground neer the river of Barrow and the Burren Water doe meet the castle on the west side of the said town upon a hill where the two aforesaid rivers doe unite, being naturally very strong and might by art be made impregnable’. So, geographically, the name ‘fort on the lake’ is plausible.

The celtic name for a lake or watery place was and is ‘loch’ or ‘lach’. Hence the Welsh ‘logh’, the Scottish ‘loch’, the Manx ‘logh’ and the Irish ‘loch’ all have the same meaning, ‘lake’ or ‘lough’.The present Irish word for city, ‘cathair’ originally meant ‘fortified place’ or ‘citadel’. The celtic languages all have similar words for ‘fort’: Manx has ‘caaghyr’, Welsh has ‘caer’ (Caernar- fon) and ‘cadair’ for ‘stronghold’, French has ‘Car’ (Carcassonne,’ walled city’).

Therefore, a case can be made both from the language and from the geography to argue that the correct meaning of Ceatharlach is more likely to be ‘the fort on the lake’ than to be ‘the four lakes’. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Haket de Ridelsford 05/11/2012 20:14 Page 1

Ballyhacket, Hacketstown and the micro-history of Anglo-Norman colonists in northeast Co. Carlow Dr. Colman Etchingham

he first aim of this article is to investigate the origin Tof two Co. Carlow place- names: Hacketstown, and the less well- known Ballyhacket, which is preserved in the two modern townlands of Bally- hacket Upper and Lower. These lie about four-to-five kilometres southwest of Rathvilly. About thirteen kilometres east of Ballyhacket lies Hacketstown, the origin of which place-name is uncertain. Ballyhacket, as we will see, takes its name from Hacket de Ridelesford, whose family were allied with Strongbow, a leading figure in the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 1160s and early 1170s. The Normans were military adventurers hired to re-instate Dermot MacMurrough The Haket Charter (Courtesy The National Library of Ireland) as king of Leinster and their arrival marked the beginning of the centuries- we have an originally English place- ever. It is in Latin, so it needed to be long English presence in Ireland. name transmitted in an Irish text, with the translated, but first the script needed to Investigating the origins of Hack- English name rendered in Gaelic be deciphered and the document tran- etstown and Ballyhacket highlights the spelling. The –tún reflects the pronunci- scribed. Transcribing the scribe’s hand- importance of place-names as sources for ation of the Middle English word tūn (a written text presented the bigger history, the second and more general pur- settlement, later a town). Hacketstown is challenge for me, since I am not an expert pose of this article. Place-names are re- definitely an English place-name that cer- in the Norman script of this period. The ally antiquities, just like buildings and tainly goes back to long before the 16th second task, translating the Latin, was not other field monuments, such as castles, century. Alongside our old Gaelic names, so difficult, since Medieval Latin is old houses, burial places and gravestones. we should also treasure as part of our her- largely straightforward. Therefore, al- Like such material antiquities, place- itage old names of other origin, whether though a few minor points remain uncer- names are equally precious relics of our English, French or Norse. The meaning tain — as indicated below by gaps and history. They are often preserved in writ- and origin of a place-name are often not question-marks — the gist of the docu- ten form, but minor place-names such as as obvious as they might seem and can ment is quite clear. Here is my transla- field names usually survive only in oral only be established by documenting all tion, reproducing the spelling of names tradition. The vast majority of our place- the recorded examples. Hacketstown and exactly as they appear in the original: names are originally Gaelic, and we use Ballyhacket are especially fascinating and transmit them generally without re- for, as we will see, both were originally Let all present and future know flecting on their original meaning. When English place-names and both also ac- that I, Henry Monsel, gave, we reflect on meaning or origin, we can quired Gaelic forms before the 16th cen- granted and by this my present sometimes be misled by assumptions. tury — in Hacketstown’s case, two charter confirmed to Sir Haket de Hacketstown is a good example. different Gaelic forms. Ridelisford all my portion of the It might be assumed that the This paper originated when our water that flows between my ten- Gaelic form on road signs, ‘Baile editor, Jim Shannon, drew my attention ement of Rathmor and the tene- Haicéid’, is original and was later merely to an original, almost 800-year-old doc- ment of the aforesaid Haket, to be translated to English Hacketstown. This ument, datable to about 1238, which he held of me and my heirs … (?) by is not so, however, for the earliest docu- came across in the National Library, him and his heirs, freely, quietly, mented reference in 1540 is to Haketston Dublin. The existence of this document wholly, fully … (?) and in peace, in Clonemor (Mon. Poss.). A roughly has been noticed before in print, for ex- with all liberties and free customs contemporary Gaelic source, the poem- ample by Liam Price (Place-names, p. pertaining to free water; he and book of the O’Byrne’s known as the 104), and a brief summary has been pub- his heirs rendering thence to me Leabhar Branach, refers about 1575 to lished (COD I, p. 41). The full text has and my heirs a hawk at Saint Hagastún (Leabhar Bran., p. 68). Here not been published or discussed, how- Peter’s Chains [Lammas Day, 1st

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Haket de Ridelsford 05/11/2012 20:14 Page 2

64 Anglo-Norman Colonists in Northeast Carlow

August], otherwise six pence an- grant in fact refers to ponds, so it seems the mill. Yet only a nominal rent of a nually for every service and claim the more elaborate method was used at hawk or six pence was demanded of and action henceforth granted to Rathmore in the thirteenth century. Here Hacket by Henry. This was apparently a the same Haket and his heirs to the River Slaney seems the only feasible standard nominal rent, since a hawk or draw through all my land of Rath- source of sufficient water for a mill- six pence also appears in an unrelated mor water to the mill wheresoever stream. However, the Slaney does not early 13th-century record I have come he shall be able, except in arable flow ‘between’ the modern townlands of across where land was exchanged. We land; and I granted to the same Ballyhacket and Rathmore, but forms the can only guess at what lies behind Haket and his heirs that ponds be south-eastern boundary of both. Accord- Henry’s generosity to Hacket. Henry made in my aforesaid tenement of ingly, ‘the water that flows between my himself had arable land, through which Rathmor wheresoever he shall tenement of Rathmor and the tenement of Hacket was not allowed to have his mill- wish to choose, and turfs and the aforesaid Haket’ seems to be the little stream dug. Did Henry not have a mill of rocks and all other easements in stream, a tributary of the Slaney, which his own? There is no explicit suggestion the aforesaid tenement for the forms the boundary between the town- that he could have use of Hacket’s mill, aforesaid mill and ponds … (?); I lands of Ballyhacket and Rathmore (see which perhaps we might expect if this Henry and my heirs will guaran- OS six-inch maps for Co. Carlow, sheet was part of the deal. Presumably some tee to the aforesaid Haket and his 3). corresponding benefit accrued to Henry heirs all the aforesaid against all In Hacket’s holding, the town- from Hacket that is not specified in the mortals, so that, therefore by … lands of Ballyhacket, the ground rises grant, but which explains its generous (?) and this (?) charter confirmed, slightly from the Slaney, and a millstream terms for Hacket. so that it remain valid in perpetu- obviously could not draw water uphill. Let us fill in what we can of ity, I affixed the impression of my The section of the Slaney that abuts Hacket de Ridelesford’s background. The seal upon this charter; these being Henry’s land of Rathmore is evidently grant is dated around 1238, but Hacket is witnesses: Sir William son of more suitable, for there the river flows first mentioned thirty years before in doc- Phillip, Sir Haket son of Robert, quickly and the riverbank is quite low uments of 1207. These are papal and John de Beofou, Henry son of and flat. This would facilitate drawing off royal confirmations of a privilege granted Walter, Nicholas of Rathdongul, water in a millstream to a millpond, and by Hacket de Ridelesford, obviously be- Thomas Bet, Henry White, Adam there was, in fact, a corn mill still in ex- fore 1207, to the nunnery of Graney, Co. of Rathdongul and many others. istence at this point in the 1830s, about Kildare, less than three kilometres north- 200 metres inside the townland of Rath- west of Ballyhacket. The nunnery was The document, then, concerns Sir more (OS six-inch map). Still to be seen granted the right to appoint a clergyman Haket de Ridelesford, to whom one here are substantial remains of an 18th- to the church of Kinneagh, Co. Carlow, Henry Monsel makes a grant, specifically century mill, which was powered by a di- Hacket’s local church (Brooks, 1951, p. a grant of water rights: ‘all my part of the rect channel from the Slaney. Although 126; 1952, p. 55). This shows that Hacket water that flows between my tenement’ the method of conducting water to this was an adult and controlled the Bally- — identified as Rathmore, ‘tenement’ in mill differs from that apparently used hacket area before 1207, though in what medieval legal jargon meaning a property here in the thirteenth century, is this ma- capacity is unclear. Hacket was clearly a holding — and that of Hacket de Ride- terial relic a descendant of Hacket de younger relative, perhaps a son, of Walter lesford. Hacket is granted the ‘liberties Ridelesford’s mill of about 1238? de Ridelesford, the leading late twelfth- and free customs pertaining to free The grant of about 1238 clearly century member of a northern English water’, perhaps including fishing rights, concerns Ballyhacket beside Rathmore family with roots in Yorkshire or Lin- all in return for an annual rent of a hawk (and not the modern village of Hacket- colnshire (Brooks, 1951, pp 115-6). Wal- or six pence. The grant also permits stown), as is further suggested by the ter was a close aid of Richard Fitzgilbert Hacket to draw water for a mill through identity of two of the witnesses: Nicholas de Clare, better known as Strongbow, in Henry’s holding of Rathmore, but not and Adam of Rathdongul. These were ev- his expedition to Ireland in 1170 (Orpen, through his arable land. It also permits idently neighbours of Hacket and Henry, 1911, pp 226, 369). Walter was rewarded construction of ponds and a mill in Rath- as Rathdongul seems to reflect Gaelic by Strongbow with two substantial land more. Rathmore is represented by the Ráith Dúngail, which is likely repre- grants, one at Bray and the adjacent re- modern townland directly east of the sented by the townland of Rathdaniel, gion, the other being a vast tract of land townlands of Ballyhacket Upper and east of Ballyhacket and north of Rath- in the south of modern Co. Kildare, the Lower. more. southwest of modern Co. Wicklow (espe- A medieval watermill could be Henry Maunsel and Sir Hacket de cially the Glen of Imaal) and the north of powered by a millstream, an artificial Ridelesford were evidently well-to-do modern Co. Carlow. (It is a curious coin- channel that drew water from a natural gentry under the Norman dispensation, cidence that the de Ridelesfords should source, such as a river or lake, to a holding their lands as ‘free tenants’ in be connected both with my place of up- millpond, from where the water was con- perpetuity. A watermill for grinding corn bringing, the Bray area, and my present ducted to the mill by a millrace. A less would have been a major asset for place of residence in northeast Carlow). elaborate method was to channel water Hacket’s own household, but also poten- The second of Walter’s land along an artificial canal directly to the tially lucrative: medieval owners of a mill grants from Strongbow comprised the millwheel and back into the river. The could charge their sub-tenants for use of pre-Norman Gaelic mini-kingdom or Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Haket de Ridelsford 05/11/2012 20:14 Page 3

65 Anglo-Norman Colonists in Northeast Carlow

lordship of Uí Muiredaig (Brooks, 1951, However, de Ridelesfords still names were gaelicised. Ballyhacket is ev- p. 124), whose ruling family by the 12th held Kinneagh and Ballyhacket through- idently an example: tūn became baile, but century bore the surname Ua Túathail out the Middle Ages and into the 16th cen- the ‘Hacket’ element was retained. Prob- (O’Toole). The centre of Walter’s manor tury. These were clearly descendants of ably Hackettistown was still the official in this region was at Castledermot and Hacket de Ridelesford specifically, since English name in 1545, co-existing with Kilkea, Co Kildare, the latter represented they used ‘Hacket alias Ridelesford’ as a Gaelic Baile Haicéid, which only later today by Kilkea Castle hotel and golf surname. In 1545 John Hacket alias was itself anglicised to give the modern course. Here there survives a typical large Ridelsford held Hackettistown and Kyn- English version of the townland name Norman motte castle, an earthwork neth, including the mill of Hackettistown Ballyhacket. John Hacket, an Old Eng- mound, possibly the castle built by the and the water called Hascket’s lake lish settler dwelling in 1545 in a region royal agent Hugh de Lacy for Walter de (COD IV, p. 277). This refers to the mill where the Gaelic Irish had gained much Ridelesford in 1181, ground, almost certainly according to the Nor- spoke Irish as well as Eng- man chronicler of the lish. The violent impact of invasion of Ireland, the Gaelic resurgence in Gerald the Welshman, northeast Carlow is to be writing in the 1180s seen in one of the sources (Expugnatio, pp 194- already mentioned. The 5, 339-40). Walter de Leabhar Branach, the Ridelesford died poem book of the about 1200 and was O’Byrnes, refers to the succeeded by his son, modern village of Hacket- also Walter. Walter de stown as Hagastún. The Ridelesford II died poem in question celebrates about 1238 and vari- an extensive raiding cam- ous legal documents paign against colonial cen- of his are witnessed by tres in Leinster by Aodh Hacket de Rideles- mac Sheáin Ua Broin. He ford, between the was father of the better- early 1200s and the known late sixteenth-cen- 1230s (Brooks, 1951, tury O’Byrne chieftain, pp 130-4). Was Fiach mac Aodha Hacket another son of (MacHugh) Ua Broin. Walter I and brother of So much for Bally- Walter II, as supposed hacket. All this leaves us by previous writers on none the wiser as to the ori- the de Ridelesfords gins of the name of the (e.g. Brooks, 1951, p. The ruins of the mill at Rathmore modern village of Hacket- 130)? If we return for stown itself, lying about a moment to the wit- thirteen kilometres east of ness list of our 1238 Ballyhacket. Modern document, however, we find these in- and associated waterworks provided for Hacketstown is certainly not within the clude one ‘Haket son of Robert’. If this in Henry Maunsel’s grant, three hundred boundaries of the lands originally granted is Hacket de Ridelesford himself — and years earlier. The association with the Walter de Ridelesford, and a remnant of witnesses to grants could also be benefi- church of Kinneagh shows that this is not which was retained by the descendants of ciaries — this would suggest that Hacket a reference to the modern village of Hacket de Ridelesford until the 16th cen- was probably a nephew and obviously Hacketstown. Rather, it shows that the tury. We must look at another major not a son of Walter I. In any event, it is modern townlands that bear the name Anglo-Norman landholder in Carlow east clear that Hacket was a junior member of Ballyhacket were, like the modern vil- of the River Slaney. This was Theobald the family, holding Kinneagh and Bally- lage, originally called ‘Hacketstown’ — Walter, ancestor of the famous later me- hacket by 1207 as a sub-tenant of Walter Hackettistown in 1545, representing dieval colonial family, the Butlers. II, and perhaps previously of Walter I. Haket his tūn in the Middle English of the Theobald Walter was granted lands, in or Walter de Ridelesford II had no sons, so twelfth and thirteenth-century settlers. before 1192, in the northeast of modern the main line of the family died out. The By the 15th and 16th centuries Co. Carlow and the southwest of modern vast manor of Castledermot and Kilkea, much of Anglo-Norman Ireland had been Co. Wicklow (RBO, p. 9; Flanagan, occupying parts of three modern coun- re-conquered by Gaelic speakers, while 1981, pp 8-11). These lands, including ties, was divided between heiresses and many settlers ‘went native’ and became, Tullow and Clonmore, again comprised their husbands (Brooks, 1951, pp 137-8; famously, ‘more Irish than the Irish them- a pre-existing Gaelic lordship, this time 1952, p. 45). selves’. Thus originally English place- that of the Uí Felmeda. The ruling fami-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Haket de Ridelsford 05/11/2012 20:14 Page 4

66 Anglo-Norman Colonists in Northeast Carlow

lies of the Uí Felmeda in the 12th century, included Clonmore (which in turn in- that would link the Hackets alias de Ride- who were cousins of the Uí Cheinselaig cluded Hacketstown) (RBO, p. 2). lesfords with Hacketstown. (Kinsella) kings of pre-Norman Leinster, Wogan was a major figure in the colonial We have seen that Ballyhacket of whom Dermot MacMurrough was the elite in the late 13th and early 14th cen- originally bore the medieval English last, bore the surnames Mac Dalbaig turies, and from 1295 to 1313 was Justi- name Haket his tūn, only becoming Bal- (MacDalvey?) and Úa Domnaill (O’Don- ciar, the office later known as Lord lyhacket through being gaelicised at nell) (Flanagan, 1981). Many Butler doc- Deputy, Lord Lieutenant or Viceroy, that some point in the later Middle Ages. On uments supply valuable evidence for the is, the English king’s governor of Ireland. the other hand we have seen that what has history and place-names of Co. Carlow, Between 1305 and 1317 Wogan consoli- become the modern village of Hacket- for example an ‘extent’ or survey of But- dated his acquisition of the former de stown was so called both in English ler lands in northeast Carlow and south- Ridelesford manor of Castledermot and (Haketston, also derived from Middle west Wicklow in 1303 (RBO, pp 2-7), Kilkea, partly through marrying a de English Haket his tūn) and Irish (Ha- which sheds fascinating light on the his- Ridelesford heiress (Brooks, 1952, pp gastún) in the 16th century. Here we see tory and place-names of the Tullow- 53-5). The manor had been dispersed, it one strategy of the Gaelic Irish of the Clonmore-Rathvilly region in the early may be recalled, after Walter de Rideles- time when confronted with a purely Eng- 14th century. ford II’s death without male heir about lish place-name: simply apply to it the The Butler ‘extent’ of 1303 may 1238. Thus Wogan became immediate rules of Gaelic spelling and make no at- suggest how the Hackets alias de Ride- lord of the descendants of Hacket de tempt to translate the meaning of the lesfords of Ballyhacket might have been Ridelesford, still the sub-tenants of Bal- name. This is the mirror image of the linked to Hacketstown. ‘Adam Mauncel’ lyhacket and Kinneagh, as shown by late- strategy adopted by English speaking is reported holding land in Rathmore 13th-to-early-14th century records modern Ireland towards the vast bulk of from the Butlers (RBO, p. 5). He must be (Brooks, 1952, pp 56-7). Perhaps in the our inherited Gaelic place-names: simply a direct or collateral descendant of Henry era of Wogan the descendants of Hacket apply English spelling rules and make no Maunsel, whose grant to his neighbour de Ridelesford also became sub-tenants attempt to translate the meaning. Thus, Hacket de Ridelesford, about 65 years of Wogan’s at Hacketstown. for example, Clúain Mór (‘Big earlier, was the starting point for this ar- How Hacketstown acquired its Meadow’) becomes simply Clonmore. ticle. Another Butler tenant in 1303 was name remains a matter of conjecture, However, we also see another ‘Almoricius de Beaufo’ (RBO, p. 2), the therefore, whereas the situation is per- strategy adopted by Gaelic speakers in location of whose substantial holding is fectly clear in the case of Ballyhacket. On northeast Carlow in or before the 16th as yet unclear to me but who, like Adam the evidence that has come to light so far, century, which produced an alternative Maunsel, also ‘swore’ i.e. witnessed the it is presumed that Hacketstown too was name for Haketston / Hagastún (to de- ‘extent’ (RBO, p. 7). One Adam de somehow connected with the Hackets note our modern village of Hacketstown). Beaufo was another Butler tenant in 1303 alias de Ridelesfords. The rarity of the The evidence is in another English-lan- (RBO, p. 7), whose holding was perhaps name Hacket is asserted by previous guage 16th century document, from the at Butlersgrange, now a townland about commentators (Brooks, 1951, p. 115) and Butler records known as the Ormond 2 kilometres north-east of Tullow and it is found among the de Ridelesfords of Deeds. In 1575 the Earl of Ormond about 5 kilometres south-east of Bally- Ireland and also of Lincolnshire. A pos- granted the manor of ‘Clonemore’ to hacket. These two presumably represent sible spanner in the works is a book, pub- Hugh Geankagh of ‘Portrushin’ (modern later generations of the family of ‘John lished in London in 1830, by one William townlands of Portrushen Upper and de Beofou’, who witnessed Henry Maun- Lynch. It is entitled A view of the legal in- Lower along the Kiltegan road) (COD V, sel’s grant to Hacket de Ridelesford about stitutions, honorary hereditary offices, p. 261). The record includes mention of 1238. There is also an early 13th-century and feudal baronies, established in Ire- several places identifiable with modern Butler land-grant at Tullow, located near land during the reign of Henry the Sec- townlands in the vicinity of Hacketstown, the ‘road that leads towards Rathmore’, ond. Lynch asserts (p. 255) that the as well as ‘Ballyhacket’, where this which was witnessed by ‘Adam de Rath- Hackets of Hacketstown descended from clearly denotes Hacketstown, and not donegill’ (RBO, p. 10), who also wit- a certain Paganus Hacket, someone with Ballyhacket thirteen kilometres west by nessed Maunsel’s grant to Hacket about no connection to the de Ridelesfords but the bank of the Slaney. It seems the 1238. It seems, then, that several of who came to Ireland with Henry II in Gaelic Irish of the 16th century knew the Hacket de Ridelesford’s neighbours back 1171. In Lynch’s favour is the fact that, originally English-named place Hacket- in the early 13th century were Butler ten- writing when he did, he had access to stown (that is our modern village) by two ants, including Henry Maunsel at Rath- records later destroyed in the Civil War names: either in Irish translation as Baile more. Since the Butler lordship included when the Custom House was burned in Haicéid (the existence of which is indi- Clonmore, and Clonmore included Hack- 1922. On the other hand, as one writer cated by the English ‘Ballyhacket’ in the etstown, perhaps Hacket de Ridelesford put it diplomatically: ‘it is difficult … to Ormond Deeds), or by rendering the Eng- or one of his descendants had an un- adjust his [Lynch’s] account to other lish name phonetically as Hagastún. recorded interest in Hacketstown, per- record evidence’ (Brooks, 1952, p. 56). Faced with the fascinating light that haps as 13th century tenants of the Less politely, we can state that Lynch is place-name evidence sheds on cultural Butlers. plainly wrong or confused about some interaction between Irish and English in Easily the biggest Butler tenant in matters. Yet his comments are intriguing, northeast Carlow in the Middle Ages, we 1303 was John Wogan, whose holdings given the absence of any certain evidence might well ask, what’s in a name? Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Haket de Ridelsford 05/11/2012 20:14 Page 5

67 Anglo-Norman Colonists in Northeast Carlow

Conclusion: a place-names project for achievable in a compact county such as gan, ‘Mac Dalbaig, a Leinster chief- County Carlow? ours, which contains only seven baronies. tain’, Journal of the Royal Society of I would like to conclude with a more gen- By way of comparison, I have recently Antiquaries of Ireland 111 (1981), pp 5- eral thought. Place-name studies are supervised a PhD thesis on the place- 13. comparatively underdeveloped in the Re- names of two Co. Meath baronies, which public of Ireland. A county-by-county was successfully completed within a few Leabhar Bran. Leabhar data-base and analysis is needed. This is years by the student concerned. I would Branach: the Book of the O’Byrnes, ed. work not currently being undertaken (or be willing to play a part in such a project Seán Mac Airt (Dublin, 1944). likely to be undertaken) by universities in Carlow, should there be wider interest. or the Ordnance Survey Place-names Of- Mon. Poss. Extent of fice, which are pre-occupied by other References Irish Monastic Possessions, ed. New- worthwhile projects. Like so much else port B. White (Dublin, 1943). in this country, we have an opportunity Orpen, 1911 G. H. Orpen, Ireland do it for ourselves. The only county in the under the Normans, (4 vols, Dublin, Republic that has a published data-base Brooks, 1951, 1952 Eric St. John 1911), I. and analysis of the kind I have in mind is Brooks, ‘The de Ridelesfords’, Journal Wicklow. This was the result of the pri- of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 81 (1951), pp 115-138; 82 OS Ordnance Survey County Car- vate scholarship of the late District Jus- low (Dublin, 1840). tice Liam Price, who did the work in his (1952), pp 45-61. spare time between the 1940s and 1960s. COD I Calendar of Ormond Price, Placenames What is required is the scholarly study of Deeds I, ed. Edmund Curtis (Dublin, Liam Price, The place-names of Co. documents, combined with fieldwork that 1932). Wicklow (Dublin, 1945-67). could be undertaken by local people, to recover minor names (like field names) COD IV Calendar of Ormond Deeds IV, RBO The Red Book of Ormond, ed. that only survive in oral tradition. I have ed. Edmund Curtis (Dublin, 1939). Newport B. White (Dublin, 1932) heard rumours of a field-name collection project in Co. Louth, and last year RTE’s COD V Calendar of Ormond Deeds V, Damian O’Reilly reported that the Meath ed. Edmund Curtis (Dublin, 1941). Society and the IFA were collaborating on a field-name collection project. The Expugnatio Expugnatio Hiber- Carlow Society might be interested in nica: the Conquest of Ireland by Giral- playing a role in such a project, perhaps dus Cambrensis, ed. A. B. Scott and F. in collaboration with such organisations X. Martin (Dublin, 1978) as the IFA, Macra and local schools. The completion of such a project is very Flanagan, 1981 Marie Therese Flana-

National Schools’ History Prize

ur annual History Prize competition for National Schools was once again a great success, attracting over a hundred entries from seventeen schools. As in previous years, the judges commented on the very high standard achieved by Omany of the young entrants. This is greatly to the credit of the children and their teachers, and the Society expresses its thanks and congratulations to all concerned.

This year’s prizewinners, all of them pupils of Scoil Náisiúnta Naomh Peadar is Pól, Ballon, were: !st Prize (€100) : Órla Kenny, “Kavanagh Castles of County Carlow” which we publish elsewhere in this journal. 2nd Prize (€50) : Raena Maye McElwee, “St. Mullins Motte and Bailey.” 3rd Prize (€50) : David Lalor, “St. Fortiarnan’s Holy Well and the White Church.”

Next year’s competition will begin immmediately after Christmas when entry forms and information about the contest will sent to the schools. We hope that pupils and teachers will continue to show interest and that pupils will benefit by discovering more about the local history of their area.

The committee has also decided that the presentation of prizes will be a stand alone ceremony on this occasion, rather than holding it after one of our winter lectures as we did in the past.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Garlic is good 05/11/2012 20:15 Page 1

Garlic is good, but Well, anyway, no question but that the town has evolved and grown into an im- give me Scallions portant regional hub both in academics and industry, attracting skills and students Fergus Moran to say nothing of the bedroom com- muning commuters from, once consid- t was Dan Carbery, a friend since roads; the horse drawn drays, soft-tyred ered, faraway Dublin. childhood who asked me a month or and low-slung, the back of which we Iso ago to put down on paper some loved to leap aboard, where we could be But, yet … early memories of growing up in Carlow. hidden from sight behind the haycock (a Crashing his bloody pain dispensing He seemed to think it could be of interest hay cock which had been ratcheted up golf-stick on the nearest desk, I can hear to or ring a bell with old-time Carloviana with a capstan bar and situated more or Chesty Murray bellow: “Don’t do that; readers. Dan’s stated reason for this is less precisely over the single axle) and if a sentence does not begin with a conjunc- that my memories may be a wee bit less we were small enough and light enough tive! Seeldrayers, spell them conjunc- clouded - according to him - due to my and few enough ( no more than three very tive.” having been away for so much of the last skinny ones ) balance could be retained half-century. Dan reckons his memories and the shafts would not rise up to give (Ah, yes - you were just what we needed and those of our schoolboy pals have be- us away. at eight years old after the nuns at St. come opaque and over-layed by the Josephs, Chesty. Quick on your dancing changes of time as, with time, the town However the top of the hit parade for us feet you were and delighted in keeping us and its environs has continued to change. boys in those days was the mighty steam- all hopping. May God keep you and may A previously somnolent and somewhat roller. For its ponderous, implacable, you be tall enough to leap and not have typical provincial market town has mor- crunching enormity of purpose as it trun- to scrabble up to the window sill in phed from what it had been during the dled down the road majestically rattling heaven’s classroom at 10 minutes to 2 impecunious forties and fifties to one of its chain gear, spinning its flywheel and o’clock of a summer afternoon and may noisy economic vibrancy and diverse gushing steam from orifices high and Brother MacInerney continue to turn a pursuits today. low, well there just was nothing in the blind eye on your tardiness. ) The farming and marketing core, the world like it to stir the blood. Perhaps town’s raison d’etre, with its attendant youngsters today get something of a sim- God rest Brother MacInerney too, he was sights, smells and rhythms has over the ilar feeling from George Lucas’ robots in the CBS grammar school principal dur- years been pushed further afield. The Star Wars but even he cannot duplicate ing the Forties and what a holy terror that working farms that prospered close in the reality of touch, sound and smell we man was! when we were boys (within such urban got from a Corporation steamroller. (I Holy Sufferin’… areas as Hanover Road, the Blackbog could tell you stories about how three Br. Mac had the leather in his soutane and Green Roads, Rathnapish and Askea pre-teens fired it up one summer week- pocket always coiled ready for action. He as examples) are no more. Gone with end from where it was parked temporar- was very accurate with it, even from the them also the manure chips and dung pat- ily in Carpenter’s yard and trundled out far wall between the rows - and the back ties then prevalent on the onto Barrack St. and into the Fair Green of the head of the petrified statue at the – but, who would believe that?). blackboard would tingle with anticipa-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Garlic is good 05/11/2012 20:15 Page 2

69 Garlic is good, but give me Scallions

tion of his deadly aim and while struck the door to Shevlin’s pub on Tullow St. fore the Seven Deadly Sins took hold and dumb with the fearful certainty of it and wasn’t he pulled up short by the spread across the land like Bridget’s would be relieved at the rescue by the voice of Father Kennedy reproving: cloak, people out of step with society sudden slap of the unfurling strap. “Tom, now Tom, you go in there with the were tolerated and accepted for the most Still .. (Ha! Look at that, a preposition, Devil beside you”. part, cut a little slack as you might say; not entirely bad, yet not entirely accept- And without faltering a step Nick Nock even for someone such as the town’s able to our old secondary English shot back with his nasal lisp: “Bedad, roguish Clark Gable: “The Digger”, teacher, Mr. Donnelly, better known to Father, he had better stay out … I only caught at being light-fingered again and decades of classes as Snaky John for his have the price of one pint!” disappearing for another standard six evil way of using thumb and forefinger to We all thought that was good stuff! months of government-paid holiday. lift you out of the desk by the temple Then there was another time again I Even then most all - except only perhaps hairs.) heard when Mr. MacDonald a small claque in the sodality or a junta Still and all, while there can be no doubt (Kinsella?)was stopped by another one of of sage pharisees whispering behind their the town has grown in national impor- the priests of the parish, not sure which, pints in “The Sheaf o’ Wheat” - most in tance over the years I may tell you it was it sounds like Waldron but would have fact were more bemused than bothered not without its eccentricities, its charac- been before his time so perhaps it was and prone to let it go with a bob of the ters, its lively interests all those years ago Crowley. head and an “Arrah musha..!” Eccen- in our own ruminatory time. No, not by a “MacDonald!(Kinsella?)” says he: “If tricities were considered as normal ex- long chalk. you continue into that public house your pressions of a person’s make-up even to immortal soul will be damned to hell so the point of extreme, whereat someone it will.” might observe with little or no malice: Eccentricities and Characters: Wearing hand-me-down black trousers “Wouldn’t you say that one’s a bit natu- Well, there is a plethora to choose from given to him that day by the kind Father ral, now?” but I will offer just a couple. Miller, he shouldered on in, lisping tri- How about a people’s park where pram umphantly: “And so it might but bejaysus Boyhood memories … well, as for that, I strolling mothers mingled with tig play- me arse’ll be in Heaven”! do know we were never short of things to ing toddlers being positioned between an Laugh! The whole town laughed at that do. Indeed the town was chock full of asylum and a cemetery and an evil- one. boyish interests, there to be enjoyed by smelling gasworks? It never seemed to any youngster with a bit o’ jizz in him. strike anyone as being incongruous; I There are screeds of similar stories and a There was some furtive soccer and good doubt if many gave it much of a thought. slew of Carlovians to tell them. The town rugby both of which were frowned upon As for characters (best to play it safe here was smaller and the tom-toms ever ac- by the G.A.A. The school supported foot- so I will just go with one. One that all the tive. We had no shortage of characters ball and hurling, naturally, with Br. O’- other characters regarded as the real (plus a few real boyos) among our neigh- Connor, ‘The Black Ace’, and his McCoy). bours. Townspeople whose foibles and powerful whistle all over the pitch each Now, there was a day for Tom McDon- eccentricities would today surely be con- Wednesday afternoon. A fine Kerryman ald(Kinsella?), better known by Carlow sidered actionable and likely to be was “Blackie” and he died blowing that children as ‘Nick Nock’ (because of a viewed as an intolerable threat to the final whistle. God rest him. nasal intonation to his voice due to the lockstep order of the community. But you Many of us have fond memories of poor man’s cleft palate) when he was at know, in our less enlightened times, be- whistling down Cox’s Lane, flying past

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Garlic is good 05/11/2012 20:15 Page 3

70 Garlic is good, but give me Scallions

Prendergast’s and the Bank Field to the There was gymnastics and boxing too at in the River; close by the beet factory’s swimming club and the great galas held the clapboard one-storey gym on Burrin manifolds was a sweet spot. I would be there in the Barrow, where Jimmy St. owned by Nolans the Carrier and remiss not to mention the daily fighting O’Neill taught a few and charmed the rest started by Paddy Nolan and Terry Moran we boys did too. Games and playground with his two-and-a-halves and his half- with Des Early and others (forgive me rough-housing were always physical, gaynors. Jimmy had diving prowess to now, I was too young to know all the wrestling could turn to blows with lim- be sure and won many provincial cham- principals) not long after the War. We ited verbal warning; tempers flared,fists pionships, both for Leinster and Munster. youngsters fought bouts of three x 3 flew, noses bled and honour was restored The finishing line for the Rowing Club’s minute rounds in Portlaoise and Muine in less time than it takes to tell. Rarely did racing regattas was at the same spot Bheag and at a carnival in the Bank Field it end with lasting grudges but it did tend (33yds. across at the diving board) and one year too, as I remember. A pity the to establish a pecking order that some the senior crew of the day did Carlow Boxing Club folded too soon, foundering might consider immutable. The War was proud: Maurice Dowling, Harry Griffiths, on hard times around 1952 or so. not long over and Ireland was broke … Eamonn Stafford and Mick Bolger were we were brought up hard and hardy and peerless in the clinker fours cox’d by the The local troop of Boy Scouts was very to be quick about it. diminutive Joe Fenton. active at that time and although yours Or down the lane by Corcoran’s bottling truly got kicked out of the Cubs’ Curlew On those rainy, misty sort of days when plant at the Graigue Bridge to the Boat Patrol for lack of adequate attendance ye might be at a loose end, ‘hanging out’ House where every summer at least a (too much time on the river) I have not likely meant exploring any orchard dozen four-oared wherrys were kept out forgotten the times we had camping by within a mile or two radius of Duggan’s of the sun under the arch of the bridge, the Slaney during Easter with Martin the Cross. Mitching was dangerous and ever at the ready and varnished bright by Doogue and the Brophy brothers provid- infrequent but apples and pears made a ‘Skipper’ Hennessy. ing supervision, sleeping in bell tents, grand repast, especially when augmented On weekends they would all be out, feet to the pole and wrapped in a blanket with an uprooted scallion and a scraped loaded to the gunnels with ministering – no ‘mála codhladta’ then, Miss O’Hara carrot or a green curly cabbage leaf. Best mothers and ecstatic young ones and dear - and the fright in the night listening of all, a potato or two tossed on the coals men, stripped to shirt sleeves and the odd to Martin Brophy’s older brother tell of a tucked-away fire pulled out with a waistcoat, rowing all the way up to the ghost stories. It took real fortitude to an- stick, hot and black and just perfect. Glo- weir at Knockbeg for a day’s picnic out- swer a call of nature in the small hours riously so, if someone had remembered ing. Hours later the return trip, with the after that; to brave the trees as they to bring a pad of butter in his pocket. help of the slow current and the foremost moved in the moonlight with the frost But, also (ah, Mr. Donnelly! please … triangle of duckboards standing up crackling underfoot and your fearful eyes ), depending on the season there could be against the bow on each boat like a Poly- boxing the compass on your 11 year old fun to be had with conkers and catapults, nesian sail to catch the evening breeze. neck. That kind of thing stays with you, or marbles and - with milk bottle caps - Oh boy, what a sight to see, one in front and if you don’t mind me saying so, had pitch and toss; whipping tops and bird’s of the other, gliding with little effort an owl done a woo at the moment of the nests; hayrides, Pursers the Farrier and down the stretch past “the Bishop’s”… wee everything would have stopped and the blacksmith’s forge (especially the one one behind the other, like the amble of frozen solid… there and then… sure as on the Accommodation Road) and - if Brown’s cows. shooting. you minded your manners - a split bottle Interests: Fishing for trout, roach, perch and pike of Corcoran’s lemonade for the asking at

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Garlic is good 05/11/2012 20:15 Page 4

71 Garlic is good, but give me Scallions

the door of the bottling plant. The tang of mercial as well as social venue, with willing…) Mr. Brannigan’s saddlery near the foot of barges carrying refined sugar from the Tullow Street on a rainy day (to say noth- Beet Factory. T. Fergus Moran ing of the briny smell of hides from Sausalito, Calif. Oliver’s Tannery down the bottom of the Watching the loading of a barge was a de- Winter, 2011. 2011 Haymarket); and noses pressed against lightful sight for a boy. Each bag weighed the glass sniggering at the pig’s head pro- about 300lb and was delivered to the wa- file in Lipton’s – or was it Good’s - shop terside from above by a wooden chute window. The wondrous and dark cool- made smooth and shiny by the weight of F.G. ness in the back of Sutton’s general em- the speeding burlap. At the bottom each Fergus Moran a Master Mariner is the eldest of three sons (Fergus, Nial porium. man shouldered the weight and walked it and Rory) of Terry and Nancy O’- over a plank laid ‘thwartship across the Morain. He was reared in Barrack Street Carlow. Learning to swim in the Old Burrin up open hold. With a twitch and a dip of the beyond the Mill Race across the tracks weighted shoulder the bag fell – thuwmp! He completed his secondary education at the Christian Brothers School Carlow and over the hill to the sandy shoals. – almost always lining up perfectly exact in 1954. He followed a career at sea Seven years old on an endless summer’s with its neighbour. A thousand bags and with the Merchant Navy 1954 through 1968 serving on various type vessels. day and miles from home with not a more and not a one needed to be lifted He married Sheila O Rourke of 51 bother on us; shoes or boots hanging by from below the knees. Dublin Street Carlow in 1962 and they the laces around your neck was ‘cool’ be- Think of that. have one son Terence Breffni.

fore anybody knew what cool was. Or up In his youth he was a prominent mem- the Barrow track to cross at Hickson’s Thoughts swirl in the downstream of ber of both Carlow Swimming and Rowing Clubs and earlier the Boxing lock and over the weir to join the boaters memory and faraway flickering impres- Club in Burrin Street. picnicking. And (ouch) that’s not the half sions. Some are imbued with chalk-dust From 1968 to 2003 he continued his of it. There was more stuff and adventure and chilblains, but the knowledge in me maritime career with stevedoring com- for a youngster to do than there were remains that, above all, the introspective panies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upon retiring he continued to work as a hours in the day. Rain or shine we inquisitiveness, the curiousity of Carlow senior consultant for various ocean ter- roamed and ranged, free and wild without people is what gave the town its quiet air minal development and green field projects around the world. fear or hindrance. It was blessed! of singularity, of being sturdy and In retirement Fergus and Sheila reside grounded. I sense it still each time I rein Sausalito across the Golden Gate Carlow then was very much a market turn ‘home’. Bridge from San Francisco but pays regular visits back to Ireland. His son town and on the first Monday and Tues- Terry is a CMDR in the U.S. Navy. day of every month the hustle and bustle of drovers and jobbers with the attendant Postscript: sounds and smells of the varying live- It’s a funny thing… Dan asked me to stock being driven through town on those write a bit about my memories of Bal- Fair Days stays caught in my nostrils linabranagh and spending summers there still. on Jimmy Delaney’s farm. The valley land is arable (probably more I wanted to do that too but here it is and so now that it is well rested) and the bi- I never got to it. secting river was an all important com- Ah, well, perhaps another time … God

Carloviana 2012 It Carlow_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:17 Page 1

This is part 8 of the ‘Carlow Regional Technical College - Institute of Tech- nology Carlow History’ with previous History of the RTC & ITC material published since 2003 in Carloviana. The material in this and Continued (part 8) previous parts of this series are those of the various named authors or inter- viewees and do not constitute official Edited by Norman McMillan & Martin Nevin view of the Institute.

Mathematics erised and each depart- Colm Kelly ment worked indep- endently so for the first When I first arrived in Carlow in Septem- few weeks bi-location ber 1972, the Maths was a service subject was a mandatory re- that was supplied from what was then quirement of all lectur- known as the Science department. The ers as timetable clashes Maths group consisted of only fourpeople: occurred. We didn’t Pat O’Connor, Mary O’Brien (shortly to ask each other how become Mrs O’Connor) and Michael many classes a person Hegarty and Pat Walsh. Pat although an had but rather how electronic engineer, had a good practical many clashes. Despite approach to teaching Maths. Mary’s back- this apparent chaos, I ground was more pure Maths while was impressed by how Michael’s background was in statistics. Pat much development Walsh serviced apprentice maths hours. work had already been This proved to be a good marriage of tal- done by the lecturers ents and was reflected in sound academic who had arrived in the but practical syllabuses. first two years of the Colm Kelly I was appointed as a Class 3 teacher and I college. Where they was quickly to discover that this was a fitting found the time to de- was more mainstream. Gradually, indi- title. My contract had no weekly maximum velop courses in such a full timetable I vidual staff were allocated to different de- number of teaching hours. There was an an- do not know. In any case, in all the new partments and although ostensibily still nual limit of 900 hours which when divided courses assigned to me there were well domiciled in Science, the early team over the 35 week teaching year, meant that developed, appropriate syllabuses. There spirit and collaboration between lecturers an average weekly load in excess of 26 was to some extent a sharing between diminished. In 1980, Michael Wall (now hours. Typically at the time, a lecturer could colleges and indeed some courses were sadly deceased) and Eugene Kernan be working in all three of the College’s de- nationally accredited, Still, it required a joined the Engineering department di- partments. Night classes were included in huge commitment on the part of the early rectly as Maths lecturers. This heralded this and the union cry at the time was “ban pioneers to ensure that courses were up the eventual allocation of Maths staff to three nights”. In my own case, my first and running efficiently. particular departments. timetable had 29 hours spread over the three departments of the college. I worked three In 1973, Michael Heaton, now sadly de- The increasing importance of computers night classes. My Monday timetable started ceased, joined as a part-time lecturer but saw a number of staff convert over to this at 9.00am and finished at 10.00pm with an was quickly promoted to full-time lectur- emerging area. Maths lecturers were nat- hour lunch break and a tea break from 5.00 ing status. Michael was a champion chess ural candidates for such conversion, my- to 7.00 i.e. ten hours of lectures. In addition player and on several occasions played self included. This development along to all this, I was assigned a number of ap- simultaneous chess against ten opponents with the migration of Maths lecturers to prentice classes whose year ran to the middle winning almost all matches. In 1976, Pat individual departments had the unfortu- of July. Murphy, Marion Murphy and Ray Jordan nate effect of having the status of Maths joined the Maths lecturing staff. Pat’s reduced. Individual staff had to fight Timetabling was of course not comput- background was in statistics while Ray’s lonely battles to maintain a leading role Carloviana 2012 It Carlow_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:17 Page 2

73 History of the RTC continued

Ray Jordan was born in Dublin on 31 Patrick Murphy, M.Sc. Diploma in Com- Michael Wall, was native of Castleder- December 1952. He attended St. Paul's puter Simulation and Mathematical Mod- mot, Co. Kildare. His secondary educa- College, Raheny, Dublin from Septem- elling, T.C.D. tion was gained at Castledermot and ber 1965 to June 1970. He studied Athy Vocational Schools. He graduated Mathematical Science at UCD from Sep- Patrick Murphy was educated at Colaiste with a B.Sc. (Hons.) from St. Patrick's tember 1970 to September 1975 and Chriost Ri, Cork, He entered UCC with College, Maynooth. graduated with M.Sc. (1st Hons.) in Keliher and College entrance scholar- Mathematical Science. ships in 1971 and obtained a B.Sc. in Mathematical Science in 1975. He was terkenny and luckily for us, we were nar- He was employed by New Ireland Insur- teaching assistant in Mathematics at the rowly beaten by Letterkenny in thesemi- ance Co. as an Actuarial Student from NIHE, Limerick in 1975/76. He spent final. I say “luckily”, because Letterkenny January 1976 to September 1977. three months in the Central Statistics Of- were outclassed in the final by a Kevin fice in Dublin and left to take up a re- Street team that included a teenage Brian The next year was spent lecturing in search post with An Foras Taluntais in Kerr. The entire Kevin Street team were Mathematics at the University of Jos, Sandymount Avenue, Dublin and Oak playing football at either League of Ire- Nigeria. He then took up employment Park, Carlow. He was then appointed As- land or Leinster Senior League. I resolved here in Carlow as Assistant Lecturer in sistant Lecturer in Mathematics at Carlow there and then that if we ever qualified Mathematics. again that we would have a team capable of competing at this level. He is brother of the writer, Neil Jordan. nals weekend, there was further financial In order to put together a team of a high pressure. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, standard, it was vital that every potential for Maths in individual courses. This looking after the team also involved train- player attending the college was checked trend was not unique to Carlow and un- ing and coaching the team. to ensure that no talent was overlooked. fortunately failure to see the central im- At the beginning of 1973, Paul ap- This included looking at Gaelic players portance of Maths is now recognised as proached me to take over the soccer who could be converted to fill a role. In a major national drawback. team. At the time, I thought that Paul had 1976, we again reached the semi-finals, During the 1980s and 1990s additional conducted a great head-hunting exercise this time playing Bolton Street who had mathematics staff were recruited includ- culminating in me as the choice for overrun all opposition to date. In a very ing Sharon McDonald, Damien Raftery, “manager” of the team. I thought Paul exciting match, Carlow lost 4-3 against a Joe Bennett and Esther Brett. saw some rare footballing genius in me team that Joey Malone (then best friend Soccer that would bring great success to the of Paul McGrath and a team-mate with team. With the benefit of hindsight, I St Patrick’s Athletic) and Pat who later When I arrived in Carlow in 1972, Paul think he saw sucker written on my fore- gained a full International cap for Ireland. Kinsella “ looked after” the college soccer head. Not knowing what “looking after” The rest of the team was made up of team. Note that I didn’t use a phrase like the team meant, I was delighted to take players with League of Ireland experi- “coached or managed the soccer team”. on the task. ence. Carlow had 4 players who had ei- Looking after any team at that time in- ther played or would shortly play League Apart from the logistical problems asso volved such tasks as washing gear after of Ireland soccer including Niall O’Don- ciated with looking after the soccer team, matches, lining pitches, setting up nets and nell of Athy Town who later played in a I soon discovered that the competition was corner flags, sourcing and paying for ref- Cup Final for St Patricks Athletic. The of very high standard. Carlow RTC had a erees, arranging buses for travel to outstanding player on the field that day student population of a few hundred stu- matches, paying all expenses usually out was an outstanding Laois Gaelic player dents at the time and were competing with of one’s own pocket (hoping to get it back Kieran Whelan who could have played colleges such as Kevin Street and Bolton by some means or other at a future date). soccer at any level had he chosen to pur- Street whose student population exceeded There was no money available from the sue such a career Student’s Union and so regular discos had 5,000. In our first year we reached the semi-finals and were lucky to avoid both to be arranged and supervised at the col- Despite putting up a good show against Kevin Street and Bolton Street in the lege in order to raise funds to pay for all Bolton Street that day, I could see that we semi-final. The finals were held in Let- expenses. If the team qualified for the fi- still needed to improve if we were ever to

Carloviana 2012 It Carlow_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:17 Page 3

74 History of the RTC continued

win out the colleges’ soccer. In 19878, I but didn’t select a Carlow player. At the of course went on to win European titles felt, at last that I had a team that could win presentation, he remarked on this apparent with under-age teams and had the ultimate the competition. However,the league sec- omission and said that the Carlow per- honour of managing the Irish soccer team. tion of the competition started badly, as we formance was so team-oriented that no If he had been given more support and lost to Rathmines College 1-0 in our first one player stood out and that if he selected time by John Delaney FAI Chief Execu- match. This defeat proved a blessing in a Carlow player, he would have to select tive, I believe that Ireland would have disguise as it revealed some weaknesses the entire team. achieved a lot more than it did. that weren’t apparent beforehand. A trawl of college talent produced a few extra Although the Universtities had their own In 1982, Carlow again won the college’s players of substance and the team cap- competition, the combined Technical col- cup captained by Kildare Town’s Alan tained by Niall O’Donnell won their next leges under Brian Kerr and assisted by Egan with a team spearheaded by local seven games to finally win the Technical myself, played the combined Universties players Dinny Ryan, Kevin Madden.

There was also a good representation once again from Athy Town with Pat Troute and match winner Charlie Hughes. Carlow disposed of Kevin Street 4-3 in the semi-final with Aldo Marini of Athy Town grabbing a hat- trick. Unfortunately Aldo was injured for the final and his replacement David Bonus despite making an impressive start also picked up an injury after 15 minutes. This required a re-organistaion of the team with our main scoring threat elimi- nated. However, an early goal by was defended with great resolution to the end. Again, the Bolton Street team was lit- tered with players with League of Ireland experience. This time, Brian Kerr selected Carlow’s Billy Manning as player of the tournament. At the end of 1983, I “retired” as the col- Presentation photo of team members winners of the Irish Technical Colleges’. lege’s soccer “looker-after”. In the 10 In front J.J. Gallagher, Colm Kelly, captain Niall O’Donnelland Andy Callinan years of my stewardship, a period in holding the Senior trophy won by the team. which more than 60 matches were played, Carlow lost a total of 10 matches usually losing to the eventual winners. Colleges Cup. Athy Town always pro- each year and always got at least a draw Carlow held the proud record of never vided quality players for the college team from these matches. This was Brian Kerr’s losing a home game during that time. It and in 19878 there were three Athy Town first major experience managing at a rea- would take almost 30 years before Car- players: Niall O’Donnell, Dom Brennan sonably high level although he had man- low again won the College’s cup. and ” Bobo” Whelan who was top goal- aged under-age teams since he was scorer in the competition. Brian Kerr was thirteen. He gave up playing at a relatively deputed to select player of the tournament young age in order to manage teams. He

Lost painting of the "Platform Spellbinder" a Portrait of George Bernard Shaw by Artist Bertha Newcombe, has been found at an Oxford college and was handed back to the original owner, the Labour Party. It was long thought that the painting was destroyed in the London bombing of WW II but it now appears to have been moved from the Labour Party Head- quarters in London during the War, to Oxford. The work was officialy identified by Professor Audrey Mullender, principal of Ruskin College. The portrait is 5ft high and 3ft 2in wide and was handed back to Mr Andrew Smith, Labour M.P for Oxford East The portrait “Platform Spellbinder" is now hanging in the new headquarters in Westminster. Ref. BBC News Oxford. 22nd June, 2012. The article “The Platform Spellbinder” was published in 2011 edition of “Carloviana” Mary Stratton Ryan. Carloviana 2012 Centre Piece_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:18 Page 1

Some have gone, some have faded Gate Lodges

of Rathvinden Gate Lodge Co Carlow

Martin Nevin

Strawhall Gate Lodge St Dympna’s Gate Lodge

Park Gate Lodge

Carloviana 2012 Centre Piece_Layout 1 05/11/2012 20:18 Page 2

Some have gone, some have faded Gate Lodges of

Sion Cross Gate Lodge Co Carlow

Martin Nevin

Castletown Gate Lodge Busherstown Gate Lodge

Milford Gate Lodge Kilgraney Gate Lodge

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Building on a Legacy 2 05/11/2012 20:20 Page 1

Building on a legacy - the archaeological collection of Carlow County Museum Sinéad Marshall

ne of Ireland’s newest Archaeological artefacts in the per- draping a burning wick over cultural institutions, manent collection the side. One of our lamps was evi- OCarlow County Mu- Carlow’s new Museum is dently well used as it is cracked and seum (CCM), opened it doors to the home to geological, archaeological, soot stained around the edges. public in April 2012. It manages a var- folklife and more recent items donated ied collection of over 5,000 objects con- by curious Carlovians over the decades. The Jackson family nected to Carlow’s heritage including Much of the permanent archaeological Many visitors will enjoy see- geology, archaeology, folklife and social collection (Table 1) is on display on the ing rare objects collected by a 19th cen- history. This article focuses on the ar- ground floor. tury family of antiquarians from chaeological collection, giving a brief Interesting artefacts include Carlow. The Jackson collection of man- overview of some of its highlights and stone axeheads, which are contempo- uscripts, coins, weapons and ‘antiqui- publishing a complete catalogue for the rary with Neolithic portal tombs (dol- ties’ was a legacy bequeathed to the first time. ‘Journeys in Time – the ar- mens) such as Browneshill. Made by people of Carlow in 1859. This collec- chaeology of the M9 Carlow By-pass’, early farmers to chop down trees and tion had been stored in various loca- the Museum’s first temporary exhibi- clear space for farmland these were tions, occasionally being shown to the tion, is also discussed. very useful tools when set into a public, until the Urban District Council wooden handle. One of the largest axe- became its custodians in the 1960’s. Its Developing a County Museum in heads was found in a field close to Kil- remnants, housed in the County Mu- Carlow graney Portal Tomb. seum today, form the core of the archae- As far back as 1892 the people A Bronze Age cemetery on ological collection including impressive of Carlow were considering setting up a Ballon Hill was investigated by anti- artefacts such as the Bronze Age Museum to display the rich array of quarian Richard Smith in the 19th cen- weapons described above. Recording artefacts found here, many of which tury. Many burials and artefacts were provenance was not seen as important were stored in local gentry’s houses found and it is still regarded as one of in the 19th century and records of where (Brophy). However the first publicly ac- the most extensive and significant these artefacts were found are not cessible Museum here dates back to cemeteries of its time (O’Neill). A pres- known to exist, although much of the 1973 when Carlow Historical & Ar- entation case specially made to fit finds collection is thought to be from County chaeological Society (CHAS) founded from a bronze spear or razor and two Carlow. one run by volunteers in the Old Acad- polished stones is an artefact in itself. A A beautiful Viking Age gilt-sil- emy on College Street. Carlow Town Bronze Age burial urn on display was ver drinking horn mount dates to the Council kindly gave the Museum a new found in a triple cist grave of this date at 11th century. Its elaborate design was in- home in the old Town Hall Theatre in Royal Oak by another antiquarian P. D. fluenced by a mixture of Irish and Scan- 1979. By 2002 the Council had ap- Vigors. Bronze swords, a socketed dinavian styles. You can just imagine a pointed a professional curator to for- spearhead and an axehead called a pal- Viking sitting around a fire at night mally take over operation of the stave show the development of wealthy showing off by quaffing ale from his Museum. In the following year the insti- elite groups at this time. Recent dona- decorated drinking horn – one of the tution was designated to collect and dis- tions to the Museum include a beautiful status symbols of its day. play archaeological objects from the bronze looped and socketed axehead county on behalf of the National Mu- dating to 1000 – 750 BC (Waddell). Journeys in Time seum of Ireland. A bronze tripod pot, used for The Museum’s first temporary This entire process culminated cooking on open fires, and two stone exhibition is also of archaeological in- in the creation of an official County lamps are from medieval times. Similar terest - ‘Journeys in Time, the archaeol- Museum, housed in the beautifully re- pots found in Fermanagh are thought to ogy of the M9 Carlow By-pass’. It has stored Presentation Convent, back have been used in well-off households been developed by Carlow County Mu- where it all began on College Street. with poorer houses using pottery vessels seum in association with the National Four exhibition galleries are spread for cooking (Williams and Gormley). Roads Authority (NRA), the National across three floors; the two largest Medieval houses, whether of stone or Museum of Ireland and Rubicon Her- showcase the permanent collection with wood, were quite dark. The 10th – 12th itage Services, who carried out the ex- two smaller galleries for temporary ex- century stone lamps cast a dull light by cavations. Archaeologists and Museum hibitions. filling the hollow with fat or oil and Assistants Deirdre Kearney and the au- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Building on a Legacy 2 05/11/2012 20:20 Page 2

78 Building on a Legacy

thor, Sinéad Marshall, worked on the re- Stone axeheads have been us. Context is paramount. Was this Ne- search, design and co-ordination of this found in the county before but one par- olithic axehead dropped in the forest or exhibition with Curator Dermot Mulli- ticular example on display here traveled buried in a pit in the floor of a house? gan. It will run for one year until April from Northern Ireland thousands of Scatters of stone tools may indicate a 2013. years ago. Neolithic quarries in pockets tool-making or settlement site nearby. Aspects of over sixty archaeo- of the unusual Porcellanite stone have Their relationship to one another on the logical sites and a selection of the arte- been found in Antrim and on Rathlin Is- ground could even tell you where the facts found are on view. All artefacts land. We can now tell that trade in this tool maker sat while working. The tiny have been assessed by the archaeologi- precious stone extended to Carlow. glass bead was found in a burial, help- cal consultants on the scheme, Rubicon Clearly certain tools were worth waiting ing to date it accurately. It is impossible Heritage Services, and some have been for. to divorce the artefact from its original the subject of professional specialist re- Daily tasks such as cooking the function, the location it was found and ports. The catalogue below (Table 2) dinner are brought home to us by pieces the society that created it. If you do hap- lists the type, date, find location (prove- of cooking pots belonging to Ireland’s pen across an artefact Carlow’s new nance) and artefact number of each ar- first farming families. Carinated bowls County Museum may be your first port chaeological object in the Museum’s were round bottomed pots used for of call, helping to record important de- collection at present. A number of arte- cooking in an open fire over 5,000 years tails about the find. fact types, such as scrapers, were in use ago. We can still see the black soot over many years and may not be tied burnt onto the outside of these sherds. Research material down to one particular period e.g. Ne- One tiny Iron Age blue-green Publications on the county’s olithic or Bronze Age. Where the spe- glass bead is the Museum’s smallest ob- monuments (Brindley and Kilfeather) cialist reports have not indicated a ject at less than 2mm in diameter. The and the results of archaeological exca- precise date they have been recorded as mind boggles at how it was made by vations are no longer a rarity. Informa- ‘Prehistoric’ as none were assigned a winding molten glass around a thin tion on the county’s material culture is medieval or later date. Other artefact metal rod. An unusual medieval ring- more difficult to access. A catalogue of types such as hone stones for sharpen- brooch or buckle was discovered in a all artefacts found in Carlow and ing knives could be prehistoric or me- corn-drying kiln. Ring-brooch specialist housed in the National Museum of Ire- dieval in date. Where finds are and NRA archaeologist Mary Deevy ex- land was commissioned by Carlow unstratified or of uncertain date they are amined this delicate piece of 800 year County Museum in 2005 (Gibbons), listed as of ‘Unknown’ date. old jewellery before it went on display. covering objects from the Irish Antiqui- ties, Art and Industrial and Folklife divi- Significant sites include Car- All artefacts on display in this sions. Archaeological artefacts are listed low’s oldest houses – the first Neolithic exhibition are officially ‘On Loan’ from by ‘townland’ and by ‘find type’ for houses ever discovered in the county the National Museum of Ireland. As ease of use and references to published from Busherstown and Russellstown noted above Carlow County Museum is sources are given where appropriate. (O’Connell and O’Neill). These 5,700 designated by the National Museum of Appendices are provided on The Jack- year old rectangular houses were built Ireland to collect and display archaeo- son Collection, as it stood in 1946, as of wood and thatched. Inside the house logical finds from Carlow in their own well as a full list of slides and photo- would have been smoky as no holes in county (National Cultural Institutions graphs of Carlow artefacts and monu- the roof or chimneys are thought to Act). ments held by the Irish Antiquities have existed to let the smoke out from division of the National Museum of Ire- the fire. Since it was used for cooking New clues to our past land. While this is an unpublished inter- the family’s food as well as for heating ‘New’ finds are steadily mak- nal report it is available for reference. the fire was probably on the go all the ing their way into the Museum; many Carlow County Museum’s col- time. It is only in our recent history that have lain in a drawer or cabinet for lection of artefacts, catalogues, original fires were allowed to go out at night as years; others are newly discovered. materials and publications is a valuable it was thought to be bad luck. New material often poses more ques- resource for researchers with potential Intricate workmanship is re- tions than it answers initially. How was for focused artefact research and com- flected in so many artefacts. Materials this made? How was it used? How did it parative studies on regional and national such as bone, stone, metal and glass come to be found here? Is it near an ar- levels. It is hoped publication of this were used to make tools and decorative chaeological site? Who did it belong to? brief overview with catalogues of will items. The oldest man-made items in Carlow’s landscape has shaped also be of assistance (Tables 1 + 2). One the whole Museum, two Mesolithic how people lived, worked and were laid example of its potential is our current li- hunter-gatherers tools called Bann to rest. Its natural resources influenced aison with researchers from the Discov- flakes, may be seen in this exhibition. patterns of settlement, industrial and ery Programme’s Late Iron Age and These worked stones were the multi- burial activity. Artefacts may be beauti- Roman Ireland (LIARI) Project to docu- tools of their time, called on for many ful or fascinating to look at but one of ment any artefacts of this date in the jobs from use as a spearhead while the more important considerations from collection. hunting to butchering meat for making an archaeological viewpoint is where While further analysis and as- dinner. they came from and what that can tell sessment of the whole collection would Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Building on a Legacy 2 05/11/2012 20:20 Page 3

79 Building on a Legacy

be required significant raw data exists Williams, B. and Gormley, S. 2002 Ar- known Carlow 02/02641 as the basis for publications dedicated chaeological Objects from County Fer- Quern stone, decorated Medieval to Carlow’s archaeological artefacts managh. Belfast. Ballyfeanan / Ballywhinnin alone. Williams’ and Gormley’s ‘Ar- NMF 12/01 chaeological Objects from County Fer- Table 1: Carlow County Museum per- Mill Stone Unknown Car- managh’ is a good model although in manent collection catalogue. low 02/02642 the ten years since it was published on- Artefact type Carved stone head Iron Age / line publication has become a more cost Date Medieval Carlow 02/241 effective and respectable alternative. Provenance Museum Ref. - CCM Glass jar labelled “Carbonised cereal Stone axehead Neolithic grains excavated at Wood Quay 1980, A resource to cherish Clowater 82/10 dating from Viking period’’ Me- Delicate beads, pottery and Stone axehead Neolithic dieval Dublin 02/02480 tools and all played important roles in Clonmore 82/37 Gilt-silver drinking horn mount Me- people’s daily lives, connecting us di- Stone axehead Neolithic Car- dieval – Viking age Carlow rectly to thousands of years of human low 83/106 83/108 occupation in the county. Carlow Stone axehead Neolithic Car- Stone lamp Medieval Car- County Museum’s role in preserving low 02/193 low 80/34 and caring for these archaeological Stone axehead Neolithic Car- Stone lamp Medieval gems ensures their survival for future low 02/194 Knockevagh 82/12 generations. I wonder what they’ll make Stone axehead Neolithic Car- Bronze tripod pot Medieval / of them. low 02/1422 post-medieval Carlow 73/216 Stone axehead Neolithic Car- Spindle whorl Unknown Bal- low 02/02390 lygowan NMF 04/05 Note: I wish to thank all the staff of Stone axehead Prehistoric Bal- Spindle whorl / weight Unknown Carlow County Museum for their kind lygowan NMF 04/05 Carlow 83/109/10 assistance with this article. Stone axehead Prehistoric Bal- laghaclay NMF 07/01 Possible stone axehead Unknown Table 2: Catalogue of artefacts recently Bibliography Carlow 83/77 excavated in Carlow - ‘On Loan’ from Brophy, M. 11/6/1892 The Proposed Burial urn Bronze Age the National Museum of Ireland for the Museum for Carlow, the Collection of Royal Oak 02/177 exhibition ‘Journeys in Time’. Antiquities and Curiosities at Browne’s Bronze palstave axehead Bronze Age Hill. The Nationalist and Leinster Carlow 80/57 Artefact type Date Provenance Times. Bronze sword Bronze Age Car- Museum Ref. - NMI low 83/105/1 Bann flake Late Mesolithic Brindley, A. and Kilfeather, A. 1993 Ar- Bronze sword Bronze Age Car- Johnstown E2757:003:001 chaeological Inventory of County Car- low 83/105/2 Miniature arrowhead Bronze Age low. Dublin. Bronze sword Bronze Age Car- Ballybar Lower E2622:024:002 low 83/105/3 Faience bead Bronze Age Gibbons, E.K. 2005 Objects from Car- Bronze sword Bronze Age Car- Moyle Big E2598:7010:001 low County Museum in the National low 83/105/4 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Museum of Ireland, Vols I + II. Unpub- Bronze sword Bronze Age Car- Ballybannon E2613:421:006 lished report. low 02/1513 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Bronze spearheadBronze Age Car- Ballybannon E2613:421:014 O’Neill, P. 2006 Ballon Hill and the low 02/1512 Food vessel pottery Bronze Age Lecky Collection. Carloviana. Metal spearhead Bronze Age Car- Tinryland E2589:001:002 low 83/107 Quartz crystal Bronze Age O’Connell, T.J. and O’Neill, N. A fixed Ballon Hill presentation case with Ballybar Upper E2588:026:001 abode: Neolithic houses in County Car- bronze razor / spear & 2 polished stones Barbed & tanged arrowhead low, in Stanley, M., Danaher, E. and Bronze Age Ballon Hill Bronze Age Ballybannon Eogan, J. Eds. 2009 Dining and 07/85 A-D E2610:048:004 Dwelling, NRA Monograph Series No. Looped and socketed axehead Hollow-based arrowhead Neolithic 6. Dublin. Bronze Age Carlow NMF 12/02 Ballybar Lower E2618:251:001 Quern - top stone, decorated Me- Flint scraper Neolithic Prendergast, E. 1946 Catalogue of the dieval Carlow 02/02637 Burtonhall Demesne Jackson Collection, in the Town Hall, Granite quern - top stone Iron Age / E2570:1032:121 Carlow. Unpublished report. Medieval Carlow 02/02638 Flint scraper Neolithic Granite pot quern – base stone - Iron Burtonhall Demesne Waddell, J. 2010 edition. The Prehis- Age / Medieval Carlow 02/02640 E2570:1040:200 toric Archaeology of Ireland. Dublin. Stone weight – loom / net weight Un- Flint scraper Prehistoric Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Building on a Legacy 2 05/11/2012 20:20 Page 4

80 Building on a Legacy

Prumplestown Lower ryland E2589:078:004 Porcellanite axe Neolithic E2626:026:025 Ring brooch / buckle Medieval Russellstown E 2571:246:001 Stone flake Prehistoric Ballybannon E2617:082:001 Flint scraper Neolithic Ballybannon E2610:144:003 Antler pick Prehistoric Russellstown E2571:172:002 Butt-trimmed form Late Ballybar Lower E2618:150:006 Flint scraper Neolithic Mesolithic Ballybar Lower Possible weaving shuttle Medieval? Russellstown E2571:293:004 E2618:001:002 Ballybar Lower E2618:140:001 Chert scraper Prehistoric Chert blade Prehistoric Tin- Grinding stone Unknown Russellstown E2572:1000:035 ryland E2589:002:001 Rathcrogue E2591:254:006 Grooved ware pottery Late Ne- Chert blade Late Mesolithic Tin- Anvil stone Bronze Age olithic – Early Bronze Age ryland E2598:098:001 Ballyburn Lower E2566:032:001 Russellstown E2571:041:003 Flint knife blade Late Mesolithic Tin- Hone stone Bronze Age Grooved ware pottery Late Ne- ryland E2589:028:001 Ballyburn Lower E2566:038:001 olithic – Early Bronze AgeRussellstown Flint knife Prehistoric Hone stone Unknown E2571:041:029 Powerstown E2601:001:001 Ballybannon E2612:4175:029 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Chert blade Late Mesolithic Tin- Hone stone Unknown Tin- Russellstown E2571:089:005 ryland E2589:098:002 ryland E2589:078:005 Grooved ware Granite quern stone frag- Convex stone scraper Prehistoric Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic ment Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Tinryland E2598:003:008 Russellstown E2571:098:005 Age Russellstown Chert object Prehistoric Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic E2571:092:002 Prumplestown Lower Russellstown E2571:098:022 Grooved ware pottery Late Ne- E2626:044:072 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic olithic – Early Bronze Age Flint knife Prehistoric Russellstown E2571:098:037 Russellstown E2571:092:019 Ballybar Lower E2618:4237:042 Flint arrowhead Prehistoric Grooved ware pottery Late Ne- Flint scraper Prehistoric Russellstown E2571:122:001 olithic – Early Bronze Age Ballybannon E2610:036:006 Chert axe Neolithic Russellstown E2571:092:032 Bone pin fragment Medieval Russellstown E2571:153:001 Grooved ware pottery Late Ne- Ballybar Lower E2618:150:008 Chert Bann flake Late Mesolithic olithic – Early Bronze Age Pottery Medieval Russellstown E2571:12002:010 Russellstown E2571:092:153 E2618:183:002 Copper alloy button Post-me- Stone axe / plough share Prehistoric dieval Busherstown Moyle Big E2595:002:115 E2581:1015:003 Pottery Medieval Moyle Big Blue-green glass bead Iron Age E2595:077:639 Busherstown E2581:5151:291 Pottery Medieval Moyle Big Bowl pottery Bronze Age Obituaries E2595:077:640 Busherstown E2583:008:002 Stone axehead Neolithic Flint flake Prehistoric Burtonhall Demesne Busherstown E2581:3007:014 E2570:1040:038 Flint scraper Prehistoric Since our last issue the following Copper disk Post-medieval Busherstown E2583:002:005 long serving members of our so- Cloghristick E2623:4001:035 Hone stone Unknown ciety have passed away: Pottery Post-medieval Tinryland Russellstown E2571:105:001 E2590:062:002 Chert blade Prehistoric Pottery Post-medieval Powerstown Russellstown E2571:309:001 E2601:012:011 Flint scraper Prehistoric Thomas Brennan Pottery Post-medieval Powerstown Russellstown E2571:360:037 E2601:012:012 Grinding stone Prehistoric Dr.Edward Gavin Hammer stone Unknown Russellstown E2571:360:041 Prumplestown Lower Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Edward Kennedy E2625:066:006 Russellstown E2571:105:008 Grinding stone Unknown Tin- Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Fr.Thomas McDonnell ryland E2589:002:009 Russellstown E2571:105:009 Quarrying wedge Post-medieval Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic James Murphy Burtonhall Demesne Russellstown E2571:105:012 E2568:1001:003 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Thomas Dunne Hammer stone Unknown Tin- Russellstown E2571:105:019 ryland E2589:208:001 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Pottery Post-medieval Prum- Russellstown E2571:105:022 plestown Lower E2628:001:004 Carinated bowl pottery Neolithic Glass bottle neck 18th century Tin- Russellstown E2571:360:014 Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:25 Page 1

The archaeology of Ballon Hill, Co. Carlow: A review and proposal

Nial O’Neill

ituated to the immediate west of bounded by the Blackstairs Mountains to site of the old rath’ and the second (SMR Ballon village, Co. Carlow, Ballon the south, Castlecomer plateau to the CW013-068) was described as ‘large and SHill has an incredible history of west and the Wicklow mountains to the curious entrenchments, locally known as yielding pottery, human remains and northeast. The Douglas River, a tributary “the walls of Troy”’ (Graves 1853, 296). other artefacts of archaeological interest. of the Slaney, is located less than 1km to Reference is also made to a possible Unfortunately, all the archaeological ob- the east. The land surrounding the hill it- stone circle on or near the hill (Graves jects recovered to date where found either self is well-drained fertile land used for 1867, 10). A third site appears in the as stray finds or as a result of what can both pasture and crop cultivation. The hill SMR records; this is a flat cemetery only be described as 19th century treasure is oval-shaped, with its longest axis run- (SMR CW013-065) to the north of the hunting. Here we clearly have a burial ning northwest/southeast. Two earth- hill. The 3rd edition ordnance survey (OS) ground of regional, if not national, im- works are recorded on the hill in the Sites map (1907) marks this spot as ’Urns portance dating to 2500-4500 years ago. and Monuments Record (SMR), the first found AD 1853’ (see OS map no. With all the disturbance the hill CW013-14/15). This reference has experienced (including to ‘urns found’ relates to work quarry works) it appears as carried out by J. Richardson though an unknown proportion Smith in the second half of the of the archaeological remains 19th century. Accounts of these have already been damaged. works were published by James Our present knowledge of the Graves in 1853, 1855 and 1867. extent of archaeological remains here can only be de- Writing in 1853 regarding ex- scribed as minimal at best. ploration works carried out However, with the application here, James Graves informs us of modern and professional ar- that ‘pans’ or ‘crocks’ have chaeological investigative pro- been found all over Ballon Hill cedures, we can gain a much and were often broken ‘when clearer understanding of the the usual incantations did not archaeology present. We may change the bones into gold’ be able to demonstrate that (Graves 1853, 296-7). The pans Ballon Hill, Co. Carlow was a or crocks referred to here are site of great importance in pottery vessels dating to the Bronze Age Ireland. This arti- Bronze Age (circa. 2500-500 cle then has a two-fold pur- BC) and more often than not pose, to review what we know accompanied burials (Ka- to date about the archaeology vanagh 1976; Ó Ríordáin and here and to propose some ini- Waddell 1993). The vast major- tial steps to further that knowl- ity of these pottery vessels fall edge. into four main sub-types; bowls (Figure 1), vases (Figures 2 and Ballon Hill is a low rise 3.5km 3), collared urns (Figure 4) and west of the River Slaney and, cordoned urns (Figure 5). although low, commands good These could contain the cre- views of the surrounding coun- mated bone of one or more in- tryside. The regional setting is one (SMR CW013-067) was reportedly ‘the dividuals or they could accompany either Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:25 Page 2

82 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

cremated bone or may also be re- unburnt bone (revealed. ferred to as an inhumation burial). Analysis of All these pottery charcoal and and burial types other organic may be found in material accom- either cist (small panying arte- stone-lined buri- facts can also als) or in simple provide very pits. useful information on the local Irish Bronze Age environment, burial is one char- crop cultivation, acterised by the weather pat- continued use of terns, and food megalithic tombs sources. Investi- in Wedge Tombs gations into and the reuse of what food peo- Neolithic burial ple ate, how monuments as was they obtained it seen at Bauno- how and where genasraid, Co. they stored and Carlow (Raftery processed it 1974),but also by may also be un- the appearance and dertaken. Ad- development of an vances in the entirely new burial analysis of both custom. This was human bone the burial of indi- and other or- viduals in either ganic materials cists (stone-lined can often pro- graves) or simple vide us with far pits and sometimes more informa- accompanied by have been, the published accounts tell of tion than can be pottery vessels. What is clear is that this a complete disregard for archaeological gleamed from high status artefacts. burial custom became a funerary tradition remains beyond the retrieval of the finest associated with our Bronze Age (2500- pottery vessels. Many references are Finally and significantly, radiocarbon 500 BC). Examples of these burials ap- made to beds of charcoal, cists with bone dates may be obtained for the death and pear nationwide. and charcoal but without pottery and burial of these individuals from undis- small to large pits containing only burnt turbed charcoal or other organic materials The published accounts of exploration material. All of these were then clearly retrieved from burials. works on Ballon Hill in the 1850s and disturbed to check for the presence of 1860s are incredible to read from a pres- pottery and other artefacts. Unlike today, th ent day perspective (also see O’Neill retrieval of artefacts was often the only The 19 Century works 2006, 36-40). The volume of pottery re- way to explain or understand archaeolog- covered, the sheer extent of deposits of ical remains. Today, however, we can The exploration works carried out during archaeological significance coupled with analysis even the smallest fragments of 1853-4 were surmised and published by the number of burials uncovered indi- cremated bone potentially telling us the James Graves, although J. Richardson cates one of the largest known cemeteries age, sex, height, and general health of an Smith oversaw the works. Brief accounts of the Irish Bronze Age. However, as individual. Evidence of disease and of later works carried out on Ballon Hill well intended as the explorations may trauma suffered by the buried individual were published in 1855 and 1867.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:25 Page 3

83 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

Cloghan-na-marbhan chamber was next discovered. However, In December 1853 works were resumed We are told that the works began at the he states that this was in the course of fur- at ‘the north side of the rath where most so-called Cloghan-na-marbhan or the ther investigation and is unclear as to of the urns were found in June and July stone of the dead. Three human skeletons whether this was at ‘the site of the old last’. However, with what he felt to be were found underneath this ‘huddled to- rath’ or not. The chamber was filled with ‘negative’ results here Smith now ‘tried gether in a small space’. At a further sand and held, near its base, 3 pebbles the west, or upper side of the rath’. Here depth four large granite blocks were arranged in a triangle and surrounded by he found traces of ‘great fires, and two overturned to reveal a ‘bed of charcoal’ burnt bone. Above these was a large in- very deep pits’. He also uncovered an urn and broken urns of ‘four distinc- ‘seven inches high, of a cu- tive patterns’. rious pattern, and ornamented by six raised hoops’ The ‘top of the hill’ (possibly NMI 1928:442) The works next moved to the top (Figure 4). He continues of the hill. Here, we are told, a over the next few days find- ‘large bed of charred wood and ing ‘deep beds of charcoal’, burned bones was struck on, two ‘many more pits’ and por- feet under the sod’. tions of pottery vessels.

The ‘neighbouring quarry’ On the 9th of January 1854 Then in the ‘neighbouring quarry we are told a large cist was search was made in spots were found on the ‘upper side of the “bearing” had remained the rath’. With the cist con- undisturbed’ and that a highly taining only bone and char- decorated urn was found embed- coal, the covering stone was ded in sand here. replaced.

The ‘site of the old rath’ He goes on to remark that a After this, works moved to the great number of the cists ‘site of the old rath’. He curi- and pits he recovered con- ously remarks that ‘here digging tained only animal and bird proved most difficult, as it was bones and no human re- paved with great blocks of stone, mains. A small number of set on end, and fitting close to- other vessels are found by gether’. We are told large quan- ‘the men’ working ‘by tities of bone and charcoal was themselves’ in the ‘rath’. observed between the stones and underneath the ‘pavement’ where In 1855 J. Richardson half an urn and fragments of two Smith sent details of further others were also found. Still on the site verted pot and over this was a small vase works on the hill that were published in of the old rath, ‘a great layer of burnt (ref no BM 11-9, 4) (Figure 2). A small the Proceedings and Transactions of the bones and charcoal’ was revealed. A cist portion of a bronze blade was uncovered Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Ar- approximately 0.6m in length and 0.3m near to the top of the burial chamber. chaeological Society Vol. 3, No. 2, in width and orientated north/south was pp374-75. Here he recounts explorations soon discovered. This cist was noted as Digging was continued ‘by the rath’ and at the ‘south side of the rath, on the top containing an urn of very elaborate pat- here two large cists were discovered. One of the hill’ then ‘ the west side’ followed tern. Also unearthed here was another urn contained an inverted urn more than by ‘near the top of the hill’ where he (ref. No. NMI 1928:444) (Figure 5) 0.33m in height and almost completely ‘tried many places’. He goes on to tell us found in an inverted position with sod or full of bone. A third cist was also found, that at about ‘ten yards from the masonry earth placed in its mouth to prevent the this example was recorded as 0.97m at the top of the hill’ discovery was made bone within from falling out. long, 0.71m wide and 0.46m deep. Works of a skeleton lying west/east, that is with were stopped at this point for a number the feet located at the eastern end. No According to Graves (1853), a five-sided of months. skull was present and he remarks that the

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:25 Page 4

84 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

body must have been interred without the numbers of vessels had been destroyed ment covered an area containing burials head as ‘the shoulder joints coming close on Ballon Hill from the planting of trees and archaeological deposits. If some of to an upright quarry stone; the collar and from quarry works, J. Richardson this pavement remains today further ar- bones were in their places, and unbroken; Smith undertook his own physical inves- chaeological investigation would be re- the body was stretched out’. He tells us tigations or ‘diggings’ to try to recover quired to understand its extent and that there was an ‘up-cut’ on the inside some of these pottery vessels. On reading purpose or function. left femur (or thigh bone) and that he re- the accounts of his works, it is clear that moved the remains and preserved them he was primarily interested in recovering The probability that the ‘old rath’ was in with gelatine. We are told he went on to the most ornate pottery vessels. However, fact an enclosure around, and perhaps check the ‘on each side of the place for us to fully understand what archaeo- contemporary with, this burial mound ap- where the skeleton was found, but dis- logical monuments are actually on or pears highly likely. It seems, therefore, covered little to interest’. near Ballon Hill, what exactly was un- that the term ‘old rath’ refers to the pre- earthed here and what archaeology may vious existence of an enclosing element Trails on other spots still remain, we might start by assessing around this part of the hill and so suggest- We are told that many ‘beds of bones and the descriptions of works published in the ing this may have been an enclosed burial charcoal only’ were found through ‘trails 19th century. These descriptions indicate mound. Mount (1999) remarks that ‘ap- on other spots’. several large monuments, numerous buri- parently flat’ cemeteries (or cemeteries Also that, ‘in one spot’ a circular stone- als containing human bone, animal bone, that were unenclosed and without burial lined pit contained, amongst other bone, pottery and grave goods in the form of a mounds) may also have been marked or a ‘remarkably large human jawbone’. probable bronze blade and 3 small stones. bounded by some features. A number of The pit measured 0.91m in diameter and such sites in Ireland, notably Urbalreagh, 1.52m in depth. The large monuments Co. Antrim (Waterman 1968), and Bal- Three possible large monuments or en- lyveelish, Co. Tipperary (Doody 1987), In 1867 a Mr. Leaky sent a letter that was closures/defined or bounded spaces are have been found upon excavation to have published as part of a short piece by mentioned in the 19th century accounts. been surrounded by circular ditches and James Graves, again in the Proceedings These were the ‘old rath’, entrenchments may in fact have been barrows’ (p.152). and Transactions of the Kilkenny and known locally as ‘the walls of troy’ and It may also be the case that the entire hill South-East of Ireland Archaeological So- a possible stone circle. was enclosed by a fosse and/or bank; ciety in New Series, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp209- however, geophysical survey, and possi- 10. Here, we are told that new works The accounts tell us it was the ‘old rath’ bly targeted archaeological testing, would were carried out on Ballon Hill and that where the best pottery was unearthed. be required to ascertain this. several cists were uncovered. These were Here, a pavement ‘with great blocks of smaller than those previously found and stone’ set on end, and fitting close to- Several clues as to the location of the ‘old contained burnt bone and no pottery. No gether’ was uncovered. We are told that rath’ are found throughout the accounts. indication is given as to where on the hill the excavation continued to a depth of six On the 20th of December 1853 it is stated these works were carried out. He tells us feet ‘bones being still found at that that works commenced ‘at the north side that these cists were irregular in shape- depth’. He carried on finding several cists of the rath, where most of the urns were approaching circular to oval and were and ‘great layers of burned bones and found in June and July last’. This seems 0.46-0.61m in diameter. He also found charcoal’ here. It immediately comes to then, to be suggesting that the north side ‘sunken pits’ understood to be where the mind to wonder if he is actually excavat- of the rath is also to the north of the hill bodies were burnt. ing into a burial mound? In a study of the as the 3rd edition Ordnance Survey (OS) burials of the Bronze Age in southeast map has a mark on it ‘Urns found 1853 In this letter he also tells us that he has Ireland (Mount 1999) it was found that AD’ which is very much to the north of had two of the cists reconstructed near 73% of graves were less than 0.74m in the hill. We are then told on the 23rd of Ballykealy House and ‘fixed in the same depth. So with bones still being found at December, 3 days later, ‘tried the west, or position in which they were on the hill’. six feet, we can be in no doubt that in upper side of the rath’ and on the July A third cist ‘in which was found two 1853 Smith was digging into a mound of 21st, 1855 ‘commenced digging on the urns’ was restored ‘exactly as it was, and material placed above the burials. From south side of the rath, on the top of the in the same spot’ on the hill. the description given it is difficult to as- hill’. From these references it appears as certain the structure of this mound as though the ‘rath’ was located on the Discussion clearly the focus was on retrieving pot- northern or north-eastern portion, of Bal- As a result of hearing accounts that large tery vessels. It appears as though a pave- lon Hill, perhaps extending north beyond

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:26 Page 5

85 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

the hill. burials that were uncovered. It appears numerous criteria such as size, orienta- that it was at a tion and contents, Whilst bearing in mind that reference is minimum of 8 however, refers made to the ‘south side of the rath, on the cists (six men- very little to Bal- top of the hill’ (that the southern portion tioned in the 1853 lon Hill as little of the enclosing element of the ‘old rath’ account and ‘sev- reliable informa- may have been located near to or on top eral’ in the 1867 tion exists on the of the hill) we are also told in the opening account taken as a archaeology here. paragraphs of the 1853 account of works minimum of two), that ‘On the summit... were formally although it was, Animal bone large and curious entrenchments, locally without doubt, There is also ref- known as “the walls of Troy” (p296). many more than erence made to From this it appears possible that the site this. Throughout animal bone of the ‘old rath’ and the entrenchments the accounts given throughout the (the walls of troy) are there are numer- accounts, from ous references to possible large either one and the same, concentric en- deposits and pits mammals such as closures or at least in very close proxim- of charcoal and deer to bird bones ity to each other. burnt and unburnt and some of this bone. With this it mixed in with de- Reference is made (Graves 1867) to ‘a is impossible to ascertain the number of posits found in cists. Animal bone is circle of stones... upright, and in a large Bronze Age burial pits. Are at least some known from prehistoric burials in Ireland circle’ being ‘on the part of the Hill of the ‘beds of charcoal’ and pits of vary- (see McCormick 1985/86) and may have which their tradition marks out for this, ing sizes mentioned throughout these ac- been placed in burial monuments as part have been found the best cists and the counts simple Bronze Age burials? He of a burial rite. Mount (1999, 142) pro- best urns’. This appears to tell us that a also uncovered at least 5 inhumation vides examples of sites where animal stone circle may have been located burials (3 found near the so-called Stone bone was uncovered such as at Halver- around the spot marked on the 3rd edition of the Dead, one in a circular stone-lined stown, Co. Kildare (Raftery 1940, 57- OS map as mark ‘Urns found 1853 AD’. pit and another ‘decapitated’ example 61). Stone circles are known to be associated found near the top of the hill). By the ac- with burials such as at Drombeg, Co. counts given, it seems that these were all Pottery Cork (Fahy 1959) and Newgrange, Co. adult skeletons. The pottery uncovered is certainly a won- Meath. It is entirely conceivable that a derful array of the funerary pottery of the stone circle may have existed on or near The human remains held by the national Irish Bronze Age. Anne Brindley (2007) Ballon Hill and possibly to the immediate museum under the Leaky Collection in- in ‘The dating of food vessels and urns in north of the ‘old rath’; however, without cludes 8 groupings of unburnt bone (NMI Ireland’ has provided us with date ranges further information we cannot be sure. 1928:459-466) and 12 groupings of cre- for the different types of Irish Bronze Only a geophysical survey of this area mated bone (NMI 1928:467-478). These Age funerary pottery. This was achieved could possibly tell if this may be true. are referred to as ‘groupings’ as it is un- through the radiocarbon dating of dozens clear, without further study, whether each of secure, undisturbed deposits from It is interesting that the term ‘walls of individual number equates to one or more burials containing pottery of these types. Troy’ was used for the enclosing ele- burials or portions of burials. She found that the Bowl vessels gener- ments around/on the hill. The term is ally date to 2200-1800 BC, Vases to often used to indicate an impenetrable Charles Mount (1999), in a comprehen- 2150-1700 BC, Cordoned Urns to 1730- fortress or concentric enclosing elements. sive study of Bronze Age burials in the 1500 BC and Collared Urns of a similar Was there then a multivallate enclosure southeast of Ireland, provides a figure of date to Cordoned Urns. Many of the pot- around the hill? Or northern portion of 442 recorded burials of Bronze Age date tery vessels from Ballon Hill have been the hill? known at that time. Of this 226 are cist assessed as part of larger research works burials; with these numbers in mind it is by Ó Ríordáin and Waddell (1993) and The human remains clear that Ballon Hill constitutes an im- Kavanagh (1973) and to these we are From the descriptions given, it is difficult portant burial site in Bronze Age Ireland. grateful for their descriptions (see Table to ascertain the number of cist and pit Mount assesses the cists and pits under 1). We are also grateful to Brendán Ó Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:26 Page 6

86 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

Ríordáin (1959) for recognising three edge. A full assessment of all the artefacts held vessels in the British Museum as being by the National Museum of Ireland needs from Ballon Hill. The presence or otherwise of a stone cir- to be carried out. This can further help to cle may also be assessed by geophysical date activity on Ballon Hill. The artefacts From these descriptions it seems as survey, perhaps focusing on the area and human remains also need to be though the small vase catalogued BM around the spot marked as ‘Urns found in looked at in relation to their findspot, was 11,9-4 (see Figure 2) is the small pottery 1853’ on the 3rd edition OS map. there any information provided to the na- vessel referred to as being found with the tional museum on where the artefacts and bronze blade and 3 small stones or possi- Assessment of the human remains human remains were found (particular ble amulets in a ‘5-sided chamber’ (the cists/pits)? Can any of the artefacts or possible blade and 2 of the 3 small stones In the 1867 account we are told of the re- human remains be related to particular are now on display in Carlow County constructions of 3 cist graves ‘I have had pottery vessels as documented in the 19th Museum). This vessel, and therefore this the bones and charcoal found in each century published accounts? And to par- burial, dates to sometime around 200 carefully re-deposited in them’ suggest- ticular grave sites? years of 1925 BC (after Brindley 2007). ing some care was taken with the bone The vessel found on the 23rd June 1853 from cists. Also, writing in 1930, the then that was recorded as having had sod or Director of the National Museum Adolf In summary... ‘scraugh’ in the mouth of the vessel Mahr, tells us that human remains from which still contained cremated bone is Ballon Hill were submitted to the mu- While much of the pottery has already that catalogued as cordoned urn NMI seum (Mahr 1930, 73-4). The Leaky col- been assessed (Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1928:444 (see Figure 5). After Brindley lection in the national museum includes 1993; Kavanagh 1976 and Brindley (2007) this vessel/burial dates to 100 both unburnt bone (NMI 1928:459-466) 2007), detailed studies of the human years or so around 1615 BC. It also and cremated bone (NMI 1928:467-478). bone, animal bone, artefacts and with a seems likely that the pottery vessel found The possibility then exists for a modern geophysical survey we can start to put all on the 23rd of December 1853 at the west, assessment of these remains. this information into context. We may be or upper side of the rath is that catalogued able to relate human bone to the pottery as collared urn NMI 1928:442 (see Fig- It is clear that with a full assessment of and to particular cist or pit burials. We ure 4). These examples serve to show that the human bone by an osteo-archaeolo- could find out: with some information and the applica- gist much could be learned. The assess- tion of modern archaeological techniques ment of human remains yields concrete when the burials took place, we begin to be able to piece together the information about individuals, informa- the demographics of who was buried archaeological activity on Ballon Hill. tion which would otherwise simply be here, However, this is just the tip of the iceberg unobtainable. To begin with, a human and much more investigation needs to be bone assessment can tell us generally the development of the hill as a burial undertaken. about the bones recovered such as the ground over time, quantity, nature and condition of remains. In addition, it can also determine age, any other uses, besides for burial, the hill Understanding Ballon Hill sex, stature, and any pathological condi- may have had tions from which the individuals may What can be done to enhance our under- have suffered. These can include disease, and reveal the true extent of the impor- standing of Ballon Hill, its archaeology, trauma, congenital disorders, dietary de- tance of Ballon Hill circa 2500-4500 its significance and the people interred ficiencies, occupational markers and, years ago. there? sometimes, cause of death. This information; the demographic profile of any com- Geophysical survey munity, the health of the individuals within it and even their physical charac- It is entirely possible that the location of teristics are all inextricably linked to the the ‘old rath’ may be confirmed by a geo- social and physical environments they in- physical survey of the hill itself. This habited (O’Sullivan et al, 2002). may be conducted either over a large area or targeted at the most likely locations of Assessment of the artefacts the ‘old rath’ based on our present knowl-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:26 Page 7

87 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

Cork Archaeological Society 64, 1-27. doned cinerary urns in Ireland. Proceed- ings of the Royal Irish Academy 76C, References: Graves, J. 1853. The pagan cemetery at 293-403. Ballon Hill, Co. Carlow. Transactions of Brindley, A.L. 2007. The dating of food the Kilkenny Archaeology Society 2(2), Mahr, A. 1930. Recent acquisitions of ar- vessels and urns in Ireland. Bronze Age 295-303. chaeological finds made by the National Studies 7. Dept. of Archaeology, NUI Museum, Dublin. Journal of the Royal Graves, J. 1855. Proceedings and Trans- Galway Society of Antiquities of Ireland 60, 73- actions. Proceedings and transactions of 78. Doody, M.G. 1987. Early Bronze Age the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland burials, Ballyveelish 3, Co. Tipperary. In Archaeological Society 3(2), 374-5. McCormick, F. 1985/86. Faunal remains R.M. Cleary et al. (Eds), Archaeological from prehistoric Irish burials. Journal of Graves. 1867. Proceedings and Papers. excavations on the Cork-Dublin gas Irish Archaeology 3, 37-48. pipeline (1981-2). Cork Archaeological The Journal of the Kilkenny and South- Studies no. 1. University College Cork. East of Ireland Archaeological Society, Mount, C. 1999. Early Bronze Age burial New Series, 6(1), 209-210. in the south-east of Ireland in the light of Fahy, E.M. 1959. A recumbent stone cir- recent research. Proceedings of the Royal Kavanagh, R. 1976. Collared and Cor- cle at Drombeg, Co. Cork. Journal of the Irish Academy 97C, 101-193.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:26 Page 8

88 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

O’Neill, P. 2006. Ballon Hill and the rior, seemingly impressed, contain faint 2150-1700 BC Leaky collection. Carloviana 55, 36-40. comb marks. Impressed or incised ornament occurs on the base. Ó Ríordáin NMI 1928:440 Vase Finely deco- Ó Ríordáin, B. 1959. Bronze Age Pottery and Waddell 1993 2200-1800 rated with false relief, horizontal whipped cord impressions and comb im- from Ballon Hill in the British Museum. BC pressions on the interior of the neck, the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquar- NMI 1928:431 ? Plain Anomalous exterior bears comb-impressed lines, tri- 89 ies of Ireland , 31-33. vessel, plain; buff-coloured with thick, angular impressions (executed with a heavy fabric. Ó Ríordáin and Wad- wooden implement- the grain of the Ó Ríordáin, B. and Waddell, J. 1993. The dell 1993 ? wood being visible) and whipped cord funerary bowls and vases of the Irish forming horizontal lines. Ó Ríordáin Bronze Age. Galway University Press. NMI 1928:432 Vase Small vessel and Waddell 1993 2150-1700 with five imperforate lugs. Decorated BC O’Sullivan, J., Hallissey, M. & Roberts, with incised ornament. Ó Ríordáin J. 2002. Human Remains in Irish Archae- and Waddell 1993 2150-1700 NMI 1928:441 Collared Urn ology: legal, scientific, planning and eth- BC Only the collar and 5cm below survive ical implications. The Heritage Council: from this vessel. The collar is deep, NMI 1928:433 Vase Decorated measuring 8cm. The rim is slightly bev- GUARD. with impressed or incised ornament. elled and decorated with three rows of Rough triangular impressions occur near Raftery, B. 1974. A prehistoric burial cord impressions. Below the collar are the base.Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 two rows of possible bird-bone impres- mound at Baunogenasraid, Co. Carlow. 2150-1700 BC sions. The ware is coarse but well Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy smoothed over. It is buff in colour with 74C NMI 1928:434 Vase Decorated , 277-312. large sections blackened. Kavanagh with incised lines and false relief, a raised 1976 1730-1500 BC Raftery, J. 1940. Bronze Age burials at rib emphasises the shoulder. Ó Halverstown, Co. Kildare. Journal of the Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 NMI 1928:442 Collared Urn Por- Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 2150-1700 BC tions of the collar only survive from this 70 vessel. The collar measures 8cm and dec- , 57-61. NMI 1928:435 Bowl Decorated oration consists of six rows of cord im- with false relief and comb impressions Waterman, D. 1968. Cordoned urn buri- pressions arranged about 1cm apart. The Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 ware is coarse with large grits and buff als and ring-ditch at Urbalreagh, Co. 2200-1800 BC Antrim. Ulster Journal of Archaeology coloured. Kavanagh 1976 1730-1500 BC 31, 25-32

NMI 1928:436 Vase Decorated NMI 1928:443 ? Pottery ves- with incised lines. Ó Ríordáin sel None Unknown and Waddell 1993 2150-1700 Table 1 NMI 1928:444 Cordoned Urn This BC Pottery vessels from Ballon Hill is a large vessel with two thick applied NMI 1928:437 Bowl Decorated cordons. The rim has a deep internal Abbreviations with incised or impressed ornamentÓ bevel the lower edge of which is moulded NMI-National Museum of Ireland Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 into a slight cordon. Two lines of hori- BM-British Museum 2200-1800 BC zontal cord are used to decorate this area. Reference No. Pottery Vessel Type There is also an external bevel on the rim Description Descriptive reference NMI 1928:438 Bowl Decorated at the lower edge of which there is also a Approx. Date ranges after with lightly grooved or impressed short slight moulding. One line of cord is im- Brindley 2007 lines and incised horizontal lines. Ó pressed under it. Immediately below this Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 raised ridge is a further fine of cord. The NMI 1928:430 Bowl Almost com- 2200-1800 BC first cordon is applied a distance of plete but in fragments. Decorated with in- 10.6cm from the rim. Within this area a cised horizontal lines and false relief. NMI 1928:439 Vase Anomalous broad chevron motif is impressed in Comb impressions occur on the rim bevel vase, ribbed with some incised ornament. twisted cord. The second cordon occurs and some of the short lines of the exte- Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballon Hill 05/11/2012 20:26 Page 9

89 Archaeology of Ballon Hill

about mid-way down the vessel. The NMI 1928:446 ? Pottery ves- BM 1920,11-9,3 Vase Incised deco- ware is extremely coarse with large grits, sel None Unknown ration with a drum-shaped base. Vessel but is well smoothed over. It is pink in was restored. Ó Ríordáin; Ó colour. Kavanagh 1976 1730-1500 NMI 1928:447 Vase (probably) Nu- Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 1959 BC merous small fragments of a probable 2150-1700 BC vase bearing incised ornament. Ó NMI 1928:445 Cordoned Urn Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 BM 1920,11-9,4 Vase M iniature Only the upper portion of this vessel sur- 2150-1700 BC? vase with finely incised ornament and vives. One cordon is all that is now visi- five imperforate lugs. Ó Ríordáin ble. The rim is flat and undecorated as is BM 1920,11-9,2 Vase Decorated 1959; Ó Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 the rest of the pot. The cordon occurs at with incised lines and incised or im- 2150-1700 BC c. 7cm below the rim. The ware is gritty pressed short lines. Suffered damage dur- but compact and is buff in colour. K a - ing World War II Ó Ríordáin 1959; Ó vanagh 1976 1730-1500 BC Ríordáin and Waddell 1993 2150-1700 BC A Museum is Born

Jake Duggan

he story of County Carlow Military Museum is quite interesting. We have all heard the stories of Carlow and the First World War and Carlow and the 1798 Rebellion, but we have little knowledge of the history of the places that display these Tfacts. Carlow can say with pride that it is one of an exclusive few counties that have their very own designated military museum and this is how it happened :

County Carlow Military Museum all began with one man , Donal “Donie” Cunningham. He was a member of D company in the FCÁ in Carlow from the early 1980s up until 1985.

In 1985 Donie joined the United States army. He had kept in close contact with his friends in the FCÁ . After completing his helicopter pilot training , he served in the Gulf War. He served through Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

Donie was tragically killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Cyprus. When the members of D company found out what had happened they debated what to do about the friend that they had lost. They came to the conclusion that a case with his uniform on display would be the best way to commemorate their friend and on De- cember the 8th 1995 an open night was held, which was attended by Donie’s family and representatives of the United States Army , for the unveiling of the case with his uniform.

With this the first step towards a County Military Museum was taken. The people of Carlow rallied when they heard that military artefacts were present and soon more items and stories were dusted off and soon the original items became far out weighed by everything and anything that fell into the golden criteria of being both Carlow and military related.

Another case was made to house this fledgling collection , and by this point more and more people had gotten involved. This collection was now getting too big for the FCÁ hut and was in dire need of relocation to “a place of its own”.

So in the late 1990s negotiations were afoot to find a permanent home for what was to be a dubbed “The Military Museum”. There was a premises acquired , the “Old Church” in the grounds of St. Dympna’s Hospital, and the County Carlow Military Museum was formally opened in the year 2001 , six years after the original case containing Donie’s uniform.

The museum has gone from strength to strength since 1995 and houses the life stories and adventures of Carlovians in uniform. It has given people a place to hang their uniforms with pride after years of service , to intrigue and captivate imaginations of the old and the young , no matter what country they served with.

You can still see Donie’s uniform on display in the County’s Military Museum. It might serve as a gentle reminder that from small beginnings great things can come to be. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Vallancey 05/11/2012 20:28 Page 1

Vallancey’s military surveys of 1776-1777 & 1796 as relating to County Carlow and its immediate environs. Edward J Law

he British Library holds manu- divide into five parts. side of the Barro, to script material, originally part of Leighlin-bridge, distant Tthe topographical collection of The survey covers much of southern Ire- from Dublin 44 miles, and King George III of England, relating to land with material in particular on coun- to express all the chief military surveys of Ireland undertaken ties Carlow, Cork, Kilkenny, Tipperary, roads and military objects from 1776 to 1782 by Charles Vallancey.1 Waterford and Wexford. The material is contained in this surround. presented not primarily for its military in- The second, to extend Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Vallancey terest but for the topographical descrip- from Leighlin-bridge was born c1725 in Flanders, of a tions it gives in support of the strategies along the western side of Huguenot family, and educated at Eton and tactics being promoted, in which it the River Barro to Water- and the Royal Military Academy, Wool- has much to interest the local historian. ford and Passage; along wich, England, before joining the army. the sea coast to Tramore, In 1750 he came to Ireland with his regi- The extracts presented here relate to Dungarvon and Youghal; ment, where he spent the remainder of his County Carlow, and it is hoped to publish up the river Blackwater life as a career soldier pursuing military papers relating to the other counties else- (by Youghal) to Cappo- surveying and engineering. In this he re- where. In addition to the survey of 1776- quin; and from thence ceived encouragement from Viscount 7 Vallancey also undertook a similar across the mountains to Townshend, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland survey in 1796, with updates in 1797, Clonmel, up the river Suir, 1767-72, who had been a contemporary which he named the military itinerary, a from the conflux of the at Eton College.2 manuscript version of which is held in the rivers Sure and Barro to British national archives.4 This later ac- Clonmel, Cahir, Thurles The origin of the surveys are set out in count incorporates much of the material and Roscrea; from thence Vallancey’s introduction to his survey of from 1776-7, but updated with regard to across the country to 1776: subsequent events particularly the war Maryborough distant from To His Majesty. between France and Britain which broke Dublin 39 miles. May it please your out in 1793, and the French expedition to ... Majesty. Bantry Bay in December 1796. This arti- Each division or survey to In obedience to your cle, which deals fully with the former be contained in a seperate Majesty’s commands, I surveys, incorporates, as footnotes, ex- report, and when finished, have commenced a mili- tracts of updated and new material from the whole to be blended in tary survey of that part of that of 1796. one survey. Ireland, being south of the bays of Dublin and Gal- Although Vallancey informed the King The object of the survey was to provide way, comprehending the that he would present the survey in five strategies and tactics to oppose an enemy harbours of Dublin, Wex- parts it appears that only three of the five either before disembarking in Ireland or ford, Waterford, Dungar- were completed, and only two of those after an invasion. Vallancey noted that if van, Youghal, Corke,3 three divisions are relevant to this paper: an enemy intended to invade the island Kinsale, Bantry, Kenmare The first to extend from with a force sufficient to take possession and Galway, the coast ad- Arklow, eastward along of it for some time he would need to as- joining said harbours, the the sea coast to Wexford semble 20 or 30,000 troops on the coasts roads leading from each of and Waterford harbours, of France or Spain, and amass transports these parts to Dublin, and up the eastern side of Wa- in proportion, and a fleet to convey them. the cross-roads lead terford harbour, to the con- Preparations of that order could not be ef- ing from each to the other. flux of the rivers Sure and fected without coming to the attention of The Execution of this sur- Barro; up the eastern the British who would be able to prepare vey, I humbly propose to to meet them at sea, or certainly on the coast of Ireland.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Vallancey 05/11/2012 20:28 Page 2

91 Vallancey’s military surveys

With this expression of confidence he stance much in our favour at all seasons for boats car- moved on to his survey of the routes in a country where nine rying 8 tons, from the sea which an enemy might take if he were tenths of the inhabitants to Carlow, for boats of 5 able to land any force on the south east would meet an enemy with tons burthen to the town of coast. He made a concise summary of the open arms. The roads in Athy, and so little fall has navigable rivers and their crossings. The general are good. this river, that in time of Barrow was navigable to Leighlin floods, and in winter, it is Bridge, and for small boats to Carlow, Vallancey’s trained military observation navigable for boats of like and the tide flowed to Saint Mullins is informative on the sizes of towns and burthen to the town of within a mile and a half of Graiguena- villages, the nature of housing, shipping, Munstereven, distant from managh. The Suir was navigable to Clon- waterborne trade, local roads and land- Dublin only 30 miles. mel, twelve miles above Waterford, and scape, farming and crops. The following The tide-water flows to the tide flowed near to Carrick, seven is extracted from the notes accompanying St Mullins, 10 miles above miles above Waterford. The Slaney was plate 3 of his survey: Ross; from St Mullins to navigable to Enniscorthy, with the tide Of the Rivers Barro, Nore Graignamannagh the nav- flowing near to that town. On the Nore & Sure; and of the roads igation is continued by the tide flowed to Inistiogue and was nav- leading from the mouth of means of 3 small canals, igable to Thomastown. The first bridges Waterford Harbour to the rest is a river naviga- over the rivers were at Graignamanagh Dublin, by Ross, Graigna- tion. From Graigna- on the Barrow; at Carrick on the Suir; on mannagh and Leighlin managh to Leighlin Bridge the Slaney it was at Enniscorthy; and on Bridge. and Carlow, the passage is the Nore at Inistiogue. Vallancey records The conflux of the rivers not so easily performed on that ‘these rivers being not fordable from Barro & Sure forms the account of some sharps. the sea to the above bridges, or near harbour of Waterford, this The boats are towed over them, consequently they form so many conflux is called parting these by force of men; the obstacles to an enemy, moving from any water; it is 12 miles distant usual allowance is one part of the sea coast contained between from the harbours mouth, man to each ton burthen, the harbours of Waterford and Wexford.’ and 4½ miles from Dun- besides the boats crew, cannon Fort; at this con- which consists of 5 others. Duncannon fort is discounted as ‘a very flux the river Barro departs Boats on the Barro trifling defence’ and he allows that an from the Sure in a direc- These boats are 45 feet enemy well acquainted with the rivers tion to the North East. long, 8 feet wide, and draw Barrow, Nore and Suire, taking advan- 10 miles above this con- about 22 inches water tage of the half flood, could convey his flux the River Nore dis- when loaded5: there are 70 troops, cannon and baggage to Waterford, charges into the Barro on boats belonging to Graig- Ross and Inistiogue, if not to Graigna- the western side. namannagh, about 20 to managh, on the one tide. Eight miles above part- the Nore, and as many being water, and on the east- tween Graignamanagh and Writing in general of the country in the ern banks of the Barro, Leighlin Bridge which are survey he notes that it stands the town of Ross, constantly employed in is well inhabited, well cul- and 12 miles above Ross is transporting coals from the tivated and inclosed, the the village of Graignaman- pits near Athy to Ross, tops of some mountains nagh, at which place is the where the coals are excepted. The inclosures first bridge over the river shipped for Dublin and are small, and fenced with Barro, next the harbours other towns on the coast. a double ditch, and a mouth. Are fit for ponton bridges. hedge of furze, which Seven miles above As these boats will con- grows to a great height, Graignamanagh is Gores veniently carry 40 men and is the common fuel in Bridge, the 2nd pass over each, and are convenient a country which has so lit- this river; from thence to either for passing these tle bog-turf, these fences Bagnels Bridge, or Royal rivers or for transporting render it very difficult for Oak, is four miles and a baggage and artillery, they cavalry to pass anywhere quarter, and 2¾ miles become a great military out of the high roads. The above this is Leighlin object in time of war, espe- land abounds with grain, Bridge, the 4th pass over cially if an invasion is ex- black cattle and sheep: the the Barro –these distances pected; and the cattle are driven to the are taken by water. construction of these boats mountains during the sum- The Barro rises in the being very uniform, they mer season, a circum- bog of Allen, is navigable are preferable to pontons

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Vallancey 05/11/2012 20:28 Page 3

92 Vallancey’s military surveys

for a bridge. Each boat is Graignamannagh bridge. small to become an object furnished with a mast and Should the enemy have for the cantonment of an sail, and by taking advan- passed Burris, we may army, or for yielding sub- tage of the tide they run reap the same advantage, sistence. Provisions, in this from Graignamanagh to by turning round the and every other improved parting-water in one tide. mountain by the road to part of Ireland are scat- Dunlackney etc. instead of tered up and down in farm- The heading Towns and villages of the passing by Rathgarran to- ers houses, yet when Barro described encompasses, Ross, wards Graignamannagh. collected, become plenti- Graignamanagh and Goresbridge as well Detachments should like- ful. For this reason large as the Carlow towns: wise be sent from Bun- flower mills with exten- Bagnels Bridge consists clowdy and Clonegall to sive granaries, have of late of one good public inn, pass round mountain Lein- years been erected in every known by the name of the ster, to fall into the great county, and in this track Royal Oak, and about 20 road to Dublin; but it must are two, one at Bagnells cabbins. be observed, that when the bridge, whose granary will Leighlin Bridge is the enemy has passed the vil- contain 1000 barrels of great pass over the river lage of Burris, the country wheat; and another at Barro from Dublin to all opens, and he can no Leighlin bridge, where are parts of Munster, the vil- longer be said to be in a likewise several smaller lage consists of one large Defilee. mills, whose produce may inn, about 30 stone built From Burris (a very in- be together estimated houses, 2 large breweries, considerable village) there equal to the former. and about 150 cabbins; it are two good roads to is situated on each side of Leighlin Bridge; one runs In a concluding statement to his descrip- the river, and would can- nearly parallel to the river tion of the first division he clarifies his ton 500 infantry and 200 Barro, the other branches statements on the numbers capable of cavalry. off to the right, opposite being billeted or cantoned in the various the angle of the Park wall towns and villages and makes pre-emp- His notes accompanying ‘plate 4’ com- of Burris, this leads round tive excuses for any omissions he may mence: the hills of Knockmahon, have made: Of the road from Graigna- Killgrany and Killcarig, Wherever I have men- mannagh to Leighlin which are well situated to tioned the number of Bridge, being a continua- command both these Troops each Town or Vil- tion of the road from Ross roads, and do at the same lage will canton, I beg to Dublin through Pole- time secure the passes over leave to be understood, monte. the Barro at Goresbridge that every building which The enemy finding it im- and Bagnells Bridge. can protect a Soldier or a possible to force Graigna- Should the enemy find Horse from the in- mannagh bridge, will so much opposition, as to clemency of the weather, hasten to pass through the attempt the pass of the is on such emergency defile formed by the river Scallagh, in order to pene- turned to that use. On Barro and the Black moun- trate on the eastern side of every other occasion, as tains, and will push on the that great range of moun- assembling Troops for Ex- eastern side of the Barro, tains, he will be much em- ercise, or on a march through Burris towards barrased. To explain this through the Country in Leighlin Bridge. more, a particular survey time of Peace, two thirds In this movement of the of the Scallagh pass, and of these numbers must be enemy we must not omit of the roads from thence deducted, that neither the to take advantage of the towards Dublin, is an- Troops or the Inhabitants Scallagh pass, through nexed to this report in may be distressed. which our troops from En- Plate 7. In a work of so extensive niscorthy, Wexford, Tul- The country from Graig- a nature as this Survey, ex- lough etc. will have a fair namannagh to Leighlin ecuted without the least opportunity of falling on Bridge, particularly from Assistance, I humbly con- his flank; and by means of Gorebridge, is much in- ceive some omissions may this pass, we might take closed and cultivated. The be expected in the Field. the like advantage over his roads are numerous and Excess of fatigue, bad ac- rear, during his attack on good; the villages too comodations in the Coun-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Vallancey 05/11/2012 20:28 Page 4

93 Vallancey’s military surveys

try, and new objects aris- Enemy was supposed to teague and Graig, with the ing each moment to view, have landed on the Eastern same tide of flood which are apt to lead from the shore of Waterford Har- brings him in, and the next original Plan of the work; bour, and to have pressed day be Master of and the deliberate reflec- forward towards Dublin; Kilkenny, Carlo etc. tions of the Closet may the opposition, may be point out objects of impor- made to the Enemy in that tance, which did not strike Route, has been fully ex- 1 British Library, maps: 51 Top L1 31-2 6 Tab 35 in the Field. plained in that Report. The harbours of Cork & Kinsale, the environs & coast adjacent, 1778; 51 Top L1 31-2 6 Tab 36 Re- In drawing up this Re- The Enemy is here support on the 1st part of the survey, 1776. port from my Field Notes, posed to enter the same 2 Many articles have been written about Vallancey, it occurs, the River Slaney, Harbour with intention, to among the most important are: from the Town of Ennis- fall on the Town of Water- J. H. Andrews, ‘Charles Vallancey and the map of Ireland’, Geographical Journal, 132 (1966), 48–61 corthy to the Harbours ford; to push to the Town Monica Nevin, General Charles Vallancey 1725- mouth, and the road on its of Kilkenny; to attempt the 1812, Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries bank from that Town to pass over the River Suire of Ireland, Vol. 123, 1993, pp19-58. Wexford, should have at Carrick; and lastly to Monica Nevin, The defence of the southern part of Ireland by General Vallancey, Chief Engineer, Jour- been contained in this Sur- make good a junction with nal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vey. I humbly propose to another body of his Vol. 125, 1995, pp 5-9. blend the succeeding Sur- Troops, landed at Corke. William O’Reilly, Charles Vallancey and the Mili- vey with this, and to add tary Itinerary of Ireland, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 106C, pp 125-217 the Plans omitted. The following are extracts of his obser- Norman Vance, ‘Vallancey, Charles (c.1726– all vations and strategies in relation to the 1812)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which is humbly submit- movements which an enemy could make Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan ted. having gained possession of Waterford 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28051] city, insofar as they relate to Carlow. 3 The original spelling of the manuscript has been Charles Vallancey Lieut: retained in quotations therefrom. Colonel and We will now suppose the 4 The National Archives, Kew, WO 30/63. Enemy in possession of 5 1796. Records the same dimensions whilst noting that they drew only 20 inches of water and could Direc- Waterford, Ross and Car- hold 50 men. It also notes that there were about 500 tor of Engineers. rick meditating to move canoes, called cots, which contain three men each Northwards to fall on and ‘are used only during the fishing season for The second division of his survey was Kilkenny, or Westwards salmon and remain in the ditches and meadows the remainder of the year’. presented to George III in 1777 when he along the Suire towards wrote Limerick, or Southwards In obedience to your towards Corke; these are Majesty’s Commands I the only movements he have completed the second can possibly make from division of the Military Waterford. Survey of Ireland, extend- Boats on the Suire, Nore ing coastways from the and Barro. Should be Harbour of Waterford to seized when a descent is Historic Howler the Harbour of Youghal, expected. A second year Junior Cert pupil writing and in-land to the Towns On the rivers Suire, Nore about nineteenth-century fashions of Cashell and Kilkenny, and Barro, between Car- stated,”Women wore corsets so tightly containing about 1200 rick, Ennisteague and laced that they were unable to breed(sic) square miles; and in obedi- Graignamanna, there are in them.” ence to your Majesty’s about 200 flatbottomed The teacher returned the work with the special command, I have boats, of 8 and 10 tons bur- comment,”This is probably accurate, but also surveyed the Har- then, constantly employed; I doubt if it’s what you meant to say.” bours of Corke and Kin- The greater part com- [ Name and address of perpetrator with sale, the Environs and monly remain at the Quays editor, who can vouch for the truth of the Coast adjacent, which Sur- of Waterford waiting for above, since he was the teacher in ques- veys I have now the hon- Cargoes. Should these be tion.] our of laying before Your assembled in the Harbour, Majesty together with the they might give such assis- following observations. tance to the Enemy, as to In my Report of the first enable him to reach the division of this Survey, the bridges of Carrick, Ennis-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 1

A History of Brigidine Foundations in Roscrea, Ireland and Kenosha and Titusville, America Anne Power

ounded in Tullow, Co. Carlow in that the two Delanys, blood sisters from Tullow convent. We are not given any ex- 1807 by Daniel Delany, Bishop of Ballyfin, were experienced nuns having planation as to why she visited Tullow FKildare and Leighlin the Brigi- entered in Tullow in 1808. Transferred to but the journey there and back cost dine sisters were the second indigenous Mountrath convent in 1810 they were £1.6s.7d. The total outlay by the Moun- religious congregation, after the Presen- among the first group of Mountrath nuns trath convent for the two nuns was £7. tation sisters, to be established in Ireland. to make their perpetual vows in 1822 to 19s.5d. It can be assumed, if this expense While there is documentary evidence on Bishop Doyle. Some enlightenment is can be taken as referring to the Roscrea the foundation of the houses in the dio- thrown on the mystery of their ‘dismissal’ foundation, that they had Bishop Doyle’s cese―Tullow (1807), Mountrath (1809), by the discovery in 1997 of a manuscript permission for the venture as he ‘exam- Abbeyleix (1842) and Goresbridge among the papers of Father Edmund ined and approved’ and signed the ac- (1858)―there is little material on the Dobson of Saffron Walden parish, Eng- count book on his visitation shortly foundations made outside the diocese― land.iii The manuscript stated that Sisters afterwards.vi It is hardly credible that Roscrea (1823), Cashel (1827) and Gertrude (Kate) and Magadalen (Brigid) Bishop O’Shaughnessy of Killaloe would Castlecomer (?-1829). It frustratingly il- Delany established a Brigidine congrega- accept into his diocese two nuns dis- lustrates that possibly nuns then did not tion in Roscrea in 1823. Father Dobson missed by such a noted bishop as Doyle take the occasion and their experience had previously lived in the Cistercian to set up a foundation from a house from sufficiently seriously to bother to write it monastery at Roscrea. It seems a reason- which they had been dismissed. Although down in any detail or ‘worse’, as Lavinia able inference to make that the setting up there are two letters in the diocesan Byrne proposes, ‘they kept silent out of a of the Roscrea foundation was forgotten archives from O’Shaughnessy to Doyle, warped desire to avoid vainglory’.i This (such a foundation would be an inde- they contain no reference to the same silence is applicable to the estab- pendent house and in a different diocese) Brigidines. lishment in 1851 of the first Brigidine in- and that insubordination was used in the Ignatius Murphy in his book stitute in America at Kenosha, Wisconsin. later annals and profession book as an ex- The Diocese of Killaloe and A. McAn- Mystery surrounds this venture and lack planation for their disappearance from drew in her article the ‘History of the Na- of documentary material makes it all the the convent records. tional school, Roscrea’ both state that more tantalisingly so. This may have been the under- James O’Shaughnessy (d.1838), parish standing of the fate of Sisters Magdalen priest of Roscrea (1810-38) went to the Roscrea (1823-42) and Gertrude Delany but a recent discov- Brigidine convent in Mountrath to per- ery by the author provides a totally dif- suade the sisters to establish a convent Within seven years of Bishop Delany’s- ferent picture and appears to show that school in his parish.vii O’Shaughnessy death there was a Brigidine foundation in they were not guilty of insubordination had been promoted to this key parish by Roscrea in the diocese of Killaloe. but rather had Bishop Doyle’s permission his uncle Bishop James O’Shaughnessy, Strangely, neither the Tullow nor Moun- for the foundation in Roscrea. There is an who with his strong sense of family had trath annals make any mention of this enlightening reference to ‘Magdalen and no qualms about promoting his nephews 1823 foundation. There is however, a Gertrude leaving the house’ in the ac- and grandnephews to the key parishes in rather pointed reference in the Mountrath counts book for 1823 accompanied by the diocese.viii In opening a convent annals to the dismissal in 1823 of two what appears to be a list of articles school, O’Shaughnessy wished to com- nuns, Sisters Gertrude (Kate) and Maga- needed to furnish a new foundation.iv In- bat the proselytising influence of the six dalen (Brigid) Delany who ‘were sent out cluded in the list are: two beds, two pairs Protestant schools in his parish.ix Among of the convent for insubordination by of blankets, two quilts, three pairs of the six schools, there was an Eramus Doctor Doyle’. The profession book also sheets, twenty-nine yards of stuff, three Smith school which had twenty-eight has the same addendum to their names yards of flannel, four gowns, four cloaks, Catholic children and a ‘notorious’ that they were ‘dismissed by Doctor a lock and key.v Sister Magdalen was also charter school in Dunkerrin parish.x In all ii These two- Doyle for insubordination’. given cash to the value of £1 while Sister there were ninety-four Catholic children brief references are rather strange given Gertrude was given 2s.6d for her visit to attending Protestant schools.xi The two Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 2

95 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

Delanys answered the call to become the cred Heart and through you the devotion into the order. The reception ceremony, founding members of a new religious will spread in Ireland’. Then he taught held in the parish chapel, was considered house in Roscrea.xiiWith ten years expe- her a prayer which she was to recite daily. such a noteworthy event that it was re- rience of convent life, theirs was the first After many repetitions the words were so ported on in detail: convent for women in Killaloe diocese stamped in her memory that she never since the Reformation.xiii The nuns arrival had the least trouble afterwards in saying Immediately after last mass, at in Roscrea was the beginning of a new it by heart. When she raised her head the which the excellent choir of Ro- era of an active apostolate in the diocese priest had disappeared and though she screa chapel performed some of Killaloe but in this they were continu- often visited the church she never saw choice and splendid pieces of ing their experience already established him again. She knew this prayer after- sacred music, a procession of in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, wards as the act of Reparation composed young ladies bearing wax tapers No particulars of the foundation by St Margaret Mary. It was this promise in their hands, and dressed in survive except that O’Shaughnessy gave to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart beautiful garbs of virgin white, them a house in Rosemary St where they which, when told by Father Bannon that proceeded from the sacristy, held school.xiv Whether O’Shaughnessy Bishop Delany had made this devotion an while in the rear, followed the continued to fund the project is unknown, important feature of his institute, inclined lovely young lady about to be but in a short time increasing numbers her to the Brigidines. received, decorated in all the necessitated a move to a house in Abbey She entered Roscrea convent in splendour which taste and fash- St near the ruined Franciscan friary.xv 1826 three years after its establishment. ion could desire. She knelt at the They were forced to move a third time Within six years this most remarkable foot of the altar, and in a firm this time to larger premises in Limerick woman, in religion Mother Teresa, was and audible voice, in answer to St where they began to keep boarders as superior and in 1832 was responsible for the Reverend Mr Blake, the of- well as continuing their work among the the move of thirty boarders and a hundred ficiating clergyman, bid adieu, poor children. The success of their work day pupils to the impressive Air Hill forever, to the wiles and vanities and the need for more postulants was House with its beautiful grounds within of this transitory world, and recognised by Father Bannon who sought five minutes walk of the town.xviii Teresa nobly took up the cross to fol- aspirants in Dublin.xvi One such was MacMahon had quietly entered into ne- low in the footsteps of the di- Anne Marie MacMahon (1791-1866) gotiations with its owner a local Protes- vine Redeemer. To those who who, because of her devotion to the Sa- tant named Smith who had got into have never witnessed the sub- cred Heart, wished to become a nun of financial difficulties.xix According to lime and soul-stirring rites of the Visitation order.xvii There was no Margaret Gibbons, Smith hoped to get a the Roman Catholic church, this house of the order in Ireland and on being good price from interested Protestants but would have been of intense in- told of the Brigidine devotion to the Sa- that pressure was put on Smith to sell to terest.xxii cred Heart, the 36-year-old agreed to join the sisters by a Mr Scroope, his Catholic the community in Roscrea. friend, by ‘other men of weight and in- By 1842 the paper noted the ‘the increas- While this devotion brought her fluence’ and by Lord Portarlington, who ing and marked success’ of the Brigidine to the Brigidines it would also impact on had large interests in the town.xx Against convent in Roscrea. In 1842 the Catholic their later history. In 1862 Mother Adele all expectations he sold the property to Directory carried a more detailed adver- Delvaux heard the story of the beginning her and, significantly, she renamed it tisement for the Brigidine boarding of this devotion from Mother Teresa Mount St Joseph acknowledging the his- school than had appeared in the 1838 ad- MacMahon (Anne Marie) then in her torical link to Mountrath. Murphy states vertisement―Tullow and Mountrath had seventies. She explained that as a young that the Roscrea community was well es- only got permission to establish boarding girl she had an extraordinary experience tablished at this juncture and had a plen- schools in 1837.xxi It cost £18 per annum while at prayer after mass in the Jesuit tiful supply of vocations.xxi for girls under 12-years of age and £20 church in Dublin. The congregation had The community seems to have per annum for those over 12-years. Its left when suddenly a priest, vested for attracted the well educated more middle syllabus offered English and French, his- mass, appeared from the sacristy. He class girls that Delany desired as the re- tory, geography, grammar, writing, arith- signed her to come near, which she did, port of a Brigidine reception ceremony of metic, the use of globes, drawing, supposing that he wished her to answer the 6 August 1838 in the Clare Journal needlework, both plain and ornamental. his mass. When she knelt down, however, shows. Two sisters made their profession The sisters also continued their work he placed his hands on her head and said while three young women, one of them a among the poor. Their work drew this ‘You must have great devotion to the Sa- niece of Bishop Kennedy, were received comment from the Limerick Reporter of Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 3

96 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

18 February 1842: ‘It is impossible to es- land as far as pupils are con- Bishop Kennedy visited the timate the benefits conferred on the poor cerned. As for postulants, we convent in Paris on his way back from children of this district by the benevolent would attract many more in Ire- Rome. There he formed a favourable im- land! Also, it would be a true and untiring exertions of the ladies of this pression of the community and on his re- work of Providence to catch xxiv community’. At this time there were both. So may the little mother turn to Roscrea, Kennedy wrote to Paris eight professed sisters, seven novices, [Eugénie de Gramont] give in April stating that the project had his and one lay sister in the community.xxv good instructions to Mother ‘entire and hearty approbation’.xxxiv On 14 But the community suffered a devastating Croft, whom she is sending May 1842, two French representatives, loss in 1841 with the sudden death of there, so that these two fish fall Charlotte Goold and Elisa Croft arrived Carlow native Agnes Hughes, a gifted into the nets of the Sacred in Roscrea from England where they had Heart.xxxi French mistress and ‘the life and soul of been engaged in plans for a foundation at the school, the greatest support in the Berrymead and outlined the details of the It wasn’t just England’s enemies who saw community’.xxvi Her death, which made proposed amalgamation.xxxv After two Ireland as the backdoor of England. the need to find a replacement French days the representatives left to give the Goold who knew of Barat’s intention is teacher an imperative, would have un- community space to consider the amal- said to have proposed a Brigidine affilia- foreseen consequences for the Brigidine gamation. Croft stayed at the Ursuline tion to O’Halloran who submitted the convent. convent in Cork while Goold returned to proposal to a surprised Teresa MacMa- While the convents were inde- France. In response to Goold’s appraisal hon and her community.xxxii Events pendent of each other, there is no record of conditions in Roscrea, Barat wrote that moved rapidly on the transfer of the of Teresa MacMahon attempting to seek ‘the details you give me are not very sat- Brigidines. On 7 March 1842 Teresa help from either Mountrath or Tullow isfactory still, if Jesus wills that the soci- MacMahon wrote to Eugénie de Gra- convents or of any correspondence what- ety begin in a Bethlehem, may the will of mont, the provincial of the Sacred Heart soever between the convents as would Jesus be done’.xxxvi Not all in Roscrea order in Paris: have been Delany’s wish. Instead, at her were in favour of the change including request the parish priest wrote to his the parish priest Dr Blake, some of the It gives me great pleasure to friend Doctor O’Halloran, Rector of the perceive that the proposal has nuns and some parents of the boarding Irish College, Paris, seeking a French girl been favourably received by school children.xxxvii Dr Blake, however, who would come to Roscrea on an au your community and I trust that seeing the change as the will of God gave pair basis to teach French in the nothing will occur to prevent its his consent as did the parents who were school.xxvii O’Halloran who regularly said being carried into effect. Al- reassured that the boarding school would mass at the convent of the Sacred Heart, though I am fully confident that continue. With ample resources of its there is nothing in the rules of Rue de Varennes, consulted Mother own, the Sacred Heart congregation your order which would render Charlotte Goold (1804-49), who was it unsuitable to the circum- could afford the large capital outlay for French-born of Irish parentage on the stances of our community, yet I the continued upkeep of the boarding matter.xxviii This meeting was the prelude am desirous of having a copy of school.xxxviii those rules, previously to our to momentous change for the Roscrea On the 23 June 1842 Elisa Croft Brigidines. It coincided with the desire of making any further arrangements, in order that each sister returned to Roscrea to initiate the the founder of the Society of the Sacred of the community may have a changes necessary for the transfer and by Heart, Madeleine Sophie Barat, to estab- close knowledge of the duties August 1842 all the arrangements were lish foundations in England and and obligations of the order pre- completed.xxxix She was appointed supe- xxix The practical reasons for the Ireland. viously to her entering it. With rior of the first Sacred Heart foundation regard to the pecuniary circum- foundations were firstly that they would in Ireland while Teresa MacMahon gave stances of our convent, we are provide English-speaking members for over her authority to her new superior the society, who in time would help the not rich, but we are however independent and our prospects are and became a novice again at 52-years of foundations in America and Australia and most favourable. I am confident age all the while both assisting Croft in secondly Ireland was seen as a way into that our affiliation to the order every way and helping her former Protestant England which was both a of the Sacred Heart, the very charges to adapt to the new rules and cus- xxx She challenge and mission for Barat. name of which is much vener- toms.xl On 21 November 1842 fifteen for- ated in Ireland, would be of wrote on 19 February 1842: mer Brigidines received the habit of the great advantage to our establish- Of the two locations offered the ment....xxxiii Society of the Sacred Heart thus ending [English] one would be the a successful nineteen year Brigidine pres- more acceptable than that in Ire- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 4

97 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

ence in Roscrea.xli This most unusual perience 1839-1890.xlv In her essay she ers Catherine McAuliffe and Joseph Fitz- transfer of an entire community from one states that Father Michael McFaul, pastor patrick, was then in the process of trying congregation to another was facilitated of St Mark’s parish, Kenosha funded the to gain this approbation. Bishop Haly, by the fact that the Brigidines had as yet two nuns to come out to America. Peter nevertheless, relented and gave them per- not received papal approbation and that Leo Johnson in his ‘The American mission to go to America but only on cer- the Roscrea community was an inde- Odyssey of the Irish Brigidines’ also tain conditions. He forbade the superior, pendent unit in a different diocese under names McFaul as the ‘promoter and Mother Peter Stein, to give them the the direction of Bishop Kennedy and had helper of their migration’.xlvi In the period Brigidine habit and Rule book to take to no links with Tullow and Mountrath 1851-61 McFaul was one of the many America.liii other than the common rule of life given priests in Wisconsin who received Irish The venture must have created by Bishop Doyle in 1828 and the remem- immigrants sponsored by philanthropist some difficulties within the Mountrath xlvii bered experience of Bishop Delany Vere Foster. On his visit to America in community. We can argue this from the brought to Roscrea by the two pioneers, 1850 Vere Foster (1819-1900), discov- document that Foran―professed before Sisters Gertrude and Magadalen Delany. ered the demand for labour in America Bishop Nolan on 21 Sept 1837―signed xlviii Mystery surrounds their further history as and Canada. Being acutely aware of stating that she was leaving the convent there is no record of them in the Society conditions in Ireland he ‘considered that of her own free will. While it was usual of the Sacred Heart’s archives. Murphy it was as natural and desirable for young for lay sisters to sign such a document suggests that by 1832 with the convent people to emigrate as it is for young bees when leaving the convent, in this case we xlix well established that they returned to to swarm’. Accordingly he set up his can infer some difficulty, as unusually, Mountrath while McAndrew says that scheme of assisted passage for those for the document was witnessed by two sen- when the Mountrath sisters were recalled, whom a good recommendation was ior priests, Patrick Fitzpatrick, P.P. of Teresa MacMahon was made superior. forthcoming. The immigrants were Mountrath and Daniel Nolan, Adminis- However the two did not return to Moun- mainly girls who went to America to trator of Ballyfin, rather than the superior trath and it seems reasonable to suggest work as servants on farms and in town as would be the norm. There is no l that were among a number of the Brigi- houses. The influx of female immigra- archival material to suggest that Bishop dine sisters buried in the parish grave- tion of the 1850s was due to the sharply Haly insisted that Foran sign the docu- yard, the wooden crosses marking their declining opportunities for women’s ment before the two priests.li Neither is graves having disappeared before they wage earning due in part to ‘the contin- there evidence to show that the 52-year- were reinterred in the Sacred Heart con- ued deindustrialization of the Irish coun- old McKay―professed before Bishop xlii vent graveyard. . tryside and because economic pressures Doyle on 10 March 1829―signed such a The success of the two Delany and demographic change caused major document. shifts from subsistence to commercial sisters in establishing a Brigidine con- The middle-aged Angela vent, parish and boarding schools in the agriculture and from tillage to pasture li McKay had twenty-two years experience very heart of a Protestant locality ought farming’. There was a pressing need for religious to provide a Catholic education of religious life and the younger Mary not to be forgotten but celebrated as a Ann Foran had fourteen years when they proud Brigidine achievement. for the families of the immigrants. How- ever, the problem of when and where set out on their long journey to St Mark’s First Brigidine foundation in America McFaul made contact with the Brigidine parish, Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha sit- (1851-1869) sisters remains. It is also possible, but uated fifty-five miles north of Chicago and twenty-five miles south of Milwau- an ill-starred and somewhat uncanonical most unlikely, that Bishop John Martin kee was the most southern port on Lake groupxliii Henni of Milwaukee called on the con- lv vent when he visited Ireland in 1849.lii Michigan in Wisconsin state. On their According to a brief reference in the arrival, the sisters faced the danger of dis- Mountrath annals two professed sisters McKay and Foran’s intrepid embarkation at Kenosha’s notoriously Angela McKay, a choir sister, and Mary venture was affected by Bishop Haly’s unsafe harbour. The year before their ar- Anne Foran, a lay-sister left the convent unwillingness to consent to a Brigidine rival, a whole family, probably Irish xliv to make a foundation in America. It is establishment outside the diocese of Kil- drowned when a steamer overturned in intimated that this was at the behest of dare and Leighlin. This is understandable rough water.lvi Angela McKay’s brother who was be- and was prudent on his part as, over forty lieved to be a priest. This reference, how- years after their establishment they had Kenosha, formerly the small vil- ever, is not corroborated by Maureen not gained approbation from Rome. In lage of Southport, was incorporated as a Funk in her history Kenosha’s Irish Ex- fact Bishop Haly, with the help of Moth- city in 1850 with a population of 6,000 in 1851.lvii The Brigidine sisters arrived at Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 5

98 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

the time of heaviest Irish immigration to The great aim of this congrega- did well in instructing large numbers of the state (1850-60). Their mission was to tion of sisters is the instruction the poor children of the parish.lxxi He was, the city’s Irish who formed nearly half of female children, as expressed however, so concerned about their finan- (533) of the city’s foreign population of in the first chapter of its supple- cial state that on two occasions he wrote 1,162.lviii One other Irish immigrant was mentary rule and constitutions; to the Society for the Propagation of the a young girl, Mary Delany who was be- which place, moreover, the con- Faith in Lyon, France pleading for finan- lieved to have been taken to Kenosha by gregation under the immediate cial assistance In his letter of 19 January McKay and Foran.lix Neither Funk or jurisdiction and authority of the 1852 he pointed to his need for $1,800 Johnson mention her, though a notice in diocesan bishop. This infant for an establishment for the Brigidines in the Catholic Almanac mentions the infant community has been established Kenosha.lxxii Just over a year later on 28 community, its two professed sisters and here but recently. There are two February 1853, he described their cir- one postulant and Sister Angela as supe- professed sisters and one postu- cumstances and the efforts that he had rior.lx There was also a substantial lant [Brigid Delany?]. Sister made to give them a permanent base and Catholic German population among Angela superior.lxv declared: Kenosha’s 244 German immigrants.lxi Other than the last two sentences, this no- The Sisters of St Bridget, who McKay and Foran arrived in tice is taken word for word from the 1828 arrived here so exceedingly Kenosha six years after the passage of rule and constitution written by Bishop poor from Ireland, as I stated in Colonel Michael Frank’s school act on 16 Doyle.lxvi Its appearance in the Catholic my last year’s report, but who June 1845, when the first free public Almanac―which depended on episcopal do now very well in teaching a school in Wisconsin opened in the base- channels for its information―shows that large school of poor children. ment of the Irish parish church of St either McKay or Foran, it must be as- They have as yet scarcely a Mark’s.lxii It was stipulated that no reli- sumed, defied Bishop Haly’s restriction home of their own, because of gious instruction be given during school on taking the rule to America and begs want means which I expected in hours. Unusually in the matter of the con- the question whether the notice was vain from Europe. Yet, in order trol of Catholic education, St Mark’s pas- placed deliberately or accidently with the to have them located perma- tor, the Swiss born Father Kundig was intention to deceive church authorities.lxv nently I had again (necessarily) instrumental in having the school act lxxiii Given their recognition in the contracted debts of $600. passed into law.lxiii Many of the Irish im- Catholic Almanac, it appears that the lit- The bishop stresses the urgency of his migrants, because of their economic cir- tle community had official approval from need for the money. Although there is a cumstances, voted in favour of the act. their arrival in Kenosha. Another report letter from Bishop Henni in the Delany School, however, continued to be held in showed that in 1851 the school had ‘a diocesan archives it makes no reference the basement until a new school was built good number of female pay scholars, to the American Brigidines.lxxiv in 1849. whilst others were taught gratis by the Despite the sisters best efforts to lxviii In this they were following On his arrival as parish priest of sisters’. put parochial education on a permanent St Mark’s parish, Michael McFaul set their Irish Brigidine experience. The sis- footing and the bishop’s efforts to settle about establishing church controlled ters clearly impressed a reporter on the them financially, the sisters for some un- parochial schools with the help of the two Wahrheitsfreund who stated that their known reason withdrew from Kenosha in lxix Brigidine nuns who were lodged in a work in the parish was ‘incalculable’. 1855. There are several possible explana- lxiv convent named for St Brigid. They The reporter was not the only person to tions for their departure. Had their status quickly established St Mark’s Female be impressed for the Almanac carried the as being uncanonical been discovered? school. The following notice appeared in notice in 1852 that the convent housed While the Catholic Almanac carried the the Catholic Almanac: three professed sisters and several notice of their rule from 1851-53 it did novices and that the school was ready to This religious congregation, not do so in 1854 only listing St Mark’s receive boarders at moderate terms.lxx named after St Bridget, the holy day school as under the care of the Sisters Surprisingly Mary Anne Foran was listed virgin and abbess of Kildare, of St Bridget.lxxv This is conceivably the as the superior though the following year and patroness of Ireland, was main reason and would explain to Bishop Angela McKay is again named as supe- founded in the town of Tullow Henni why the sisters received no fund- rior. by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Delany, ing or moral support from Ireland. Again Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Moreover, in 1852 the Swiss may be they found it hard to compete and especially protected by his born Bishop Henni (1805-81) recognised with the already established free school successor, Rt Rev. Dr Doyle. the value of their work declaring that they and that not enough parents had sufficient Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 6

99 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

means to pay private day school and sisters’ dwelling. On 18 October 1856 the order accompanied by a young woman boarders’ fees. Funk gives some other ex- same paper reported on a fair at Miss Magin came to teach school in St planations for their exodus. One reason Townsend hall which realised $650 for Mary’s parish, Medina, Orleans County, she suggests is their failure to expand be- the school fund for which Sister Angela New York.lxxxiii He makes no mention of yond one school in the parish and another offered her ‘warmest thanks to ladies and Mary Anne Foran. The nuns were under likely and influential cause of the com- gentlemen for their presence and purses’. the supervision of the pastor Fr Nicholas munity’s instability was a pastorate that It was also inferred that she was a very Byrnes (1855-1859), ‘a dignified and changed hands three times during the pe- energetic person. The new school a large warm-hearted priest’.lxxxiv Fr Thomas riod of their stay in Kenosha.lxxvi Priests brick building was almost complete on Brady succeeded Byrnes as pastor. In seemed to move from parish to parish al- 25 April 1857. 1860, however, he went to St Andrew’s most on an annual basis. McFaul was in Just two months previously in parish, Grand Rapids and must have St Michael’s Church, Porter, Rock February, Bishop Timon officiated at the taken McKay, Delany and the two white lxxxv County in 1856 and in the few years pre- public reception of two postulants, who novices with him. Again there is no vious to his coming to Kenosha he served had ‘undergone preparation for some mention of Mary Anne Foran. Unfortu- briefly in, for example, Janesville and time and were well instructed in their nately for the little group of sisters in ei- th Beloit. new obligations’. On 23 May 1857 Jo- ther 1861 or 1862 Brady joined the 15 Michigan or ‘Mulligan Regiment’ of the After their departure, the hanna and Honora Delehunty received Union army as chaplain during the Civil Brigidines were replaced by the School the white veil from Bishop Timon when War. lxxxvi As a result of Brady leaving to Sisters of Notre Dame who had been in- the ‘attendance of the clergy and the sig- become chaplain, the two white novices vited to the diocese of Milwaukee by nificant dress of the sisters and the two returned to their homes.lxxxvii Nevertheless Bishop Henni in 1855.lxxvii The order ladies [...] attracted the attention of all founded by Mother Theresa of Jesus Ger- present’. They were called in religion Sis- throughout the ‘turbulent years’ of the hardinger in Bavaria in 1833 came to ter Mary Joseph and Sister Frances. It is Civil War, Mother Angela continued to America expressly to meet the educa- not stated if they were the two postulants teach in the parish school, assisted by a lxxxviii tional needs of Wisconsin’s large German mentioned in February. Nevertheless, secular lady. immigrant population.lxxviii The Notre with everything apparently going so well, In April 1862, the twenty-year- Dame Sisters would have been aware of within nine months they were on the old Miss Ellen Eardly of Grand Rapids the work of the Brigidines through their move again. What happened the joined the two sisters taking Mary Agnes chaplain, the Rev.Anthony Urbanek who Brigidines? Did they leave of their own as her name in religion.lxxxix She was in referred to it in a letter to Archbishop accord or did the bishop transfer them? all probability the first religious vocation Milde of Vienna.lxxix And if so why? It cannot have been their from the Grand Rapid region.xc With the uncanonical status because Bishop entrance of Agnes Eardly, Mother Angela At this period, according to Timon did not deny them the right to re- opened a select school for girls where Revd Robert McNamara, Bishop John ceive candidates. Was it easier to deal both women taught school until May Timon of Buffalo pleaded for teaching with them because they had no obliga- 1866. Sister Agnes (b.1842) and her congregations to make foundations in the tions to a mother house? A brief reference younger sister Mary (b.1846), who later twelve counties of his diocese.lxxx After in the bishop’s diary of 9 February 1858 joined Mother Angela, were from Co their withdrawal from Kenosha, Sister states ‘send M. Farrell with Brigidines to Wicklow but the whole family had emi- Angela and her Brigidines were one of Medina’. In early January he was in the grated to America in the 1850s.xci There the many congregations who answered Convent of Mercy looking for a ‘colony’ is a tradition in the Convent of Mercy, his plea. However, their sojourn teaching of sisters for St Bridget’s parish. By Feb- Erie that one of the Eardly sisters had seat St Mary’s Rochester was for a very ruary they had replaced the Brigidines rious eye trouble before leaving Ireland. brief period from 1855 to 1856 but within but the four Mercy sisters found no Her mother brought her to the Mercy this time frame Bishop Timon presided at household furnishings when they arrived. foundress, Mother Catherine McAuley a Brigidine profession on 1 February Pierce writes that ‘Whatever comforts the who blessed her with a ring and she was 1856.lxxxi We know, however, that five Brigidines had possessed they took with cured of the eye ailment.xcii months later the little Brigidine group them’ adding somewhat tetchily, ‘no were established in St Bridget’s, Buffalo, The little community also cared doubt they purchased them’. New York.lxxxii A notice in the Buffalo for twenty orphan children continuing a Catholic Sentinel of 12 July 1856 an- Isaac S. Signor states that in the Brigidine tradition. Unlike in Milwaukee, nounced a sacred concert on 13 July for winter of 1858 Sisters Angela McKay they do not appear to have had episcopal the benefit of the school house and the and Bridget Delany of the Brigidine sanction with no reference to them ap-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 7

100 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

pearing in Detroit’s Catholic Almanac.xciii Nellstown until the land was of the 75-year-old Mother Angela on 18 According to Eardly, Bishop Peter Paul sold for oil purposes since January 1867.ciii The Titusville Evening Lefebre of Detroit, seen as a ‘careful and which time it has been unoccu- Journal reported her death as being from pied. Thirty-five volunteer conservative prelate’ advised Mother An- heart disease. It led with a ten line poem teams were procured, and free gela to return to her convent in Ireland. passes being issued by Colonel in her honour and, in the following brief He would not allow her to receive candi- Keese for transportation over summary, noted that the ‘dear departed dates, and advised Eardly to enter another the Titusville and Pithole plank nun’ was a ‘model of piety whose con- order.xciv The Rev. John W. McGee holds road, Fr Mignault and his com- versation was always a great source of that it was their non-recognition by the pany proceeded to Nellstown edification’.civ order in Ireland that eventually caused took down the church and brought it on wheels to Ti- their dismissal by the bishop. He states The funeral procession took tusville. The procession on its st that: return extended half a mile place on the 21 instant. On that day there was a solemn high None of the standard histories along the road and excited much mass of Requiem with deacon of Grand Rapids so much as curiosity among spectators who inquired if Pithole was being and subdeacon, at St Titus’s mentions the period of the moved to Titusville. The build- church, the Rev N. Mignault Brigidine sisters. [...] The work ing now forms the wing of the acting as high priest, and the the sisters did is important from convent, and the work of the ad- Rev J. L. Finucane, of Petro- the standpoint of its being the dition being mostly gratuitous leum Centre, serving as deacon, first beginnings of Catholic ed- the whole cost of reconstruction and the Rev Arthur Mignault as ucation in the city and, indeed, will not exceed $300. Four sisters have arrived at the convent, sub-deacon. The church was in this section of the state. Here who will devote their time to the draped in deep mourning, the in Grand Rapids they left a education of pupils. Two large walls and ceiling were fes- mark which the years have al- bells to cost $1200 will soon be tooned with streamers of black, most erased, but their courage placed in the tower of the and the altar and tabernacle and heroism ought never to be church. The bishop of Erie is were draped with black and left to oblivion.xcv expected to consecrate them on which occasion two sisters will trimmed with white fringe. The Undaunted Mother Angela take the vows of nuns and one choir sang most beautifully, and pleaded her case for a place to Bishop young lady will take the veil.xcviii during the service Mr P. Cronin Josue Young of the diocese of Erie. Misfortune overtook the sisters sang beautiful verses of Spirit Young, a convert to Catholicism and of when ‘their good friend’ Bishop Young Rest. an old Puritan New England family, ap- died suddenly on 6 September 1866. It In the central aisle, the corpse pointed Mother Angela to Titusville, Pa. was nearly two years before his successor during the service rested on a and, unlike Lefebre, was eager to see the the Irish born Tobias Mullen was conse- catafalque, which was fes- order flourish xcvi The diocese and its peo- crated bishop of Erie on 2 August tooned and draped in black, ple were benefiting from the discovery of 1868.xcix In the meantime the sisters es- trimmed with white, and illu- oil in Oil Creek on 29 August 1859. The tablished a motherhouse, started an acad- mined with numerous candles. sisters arrived in Titusville on 4 May emy and taught in the parish school of St The procession was headed by 1866 to a five-room dwelling with a Titus.c Within a short time they were Brown’s brass band, immedi- schoolroom large enough to hold sixty teaching about three hundred children ately followed by the hearse and childrenxcvii. According to Eardly the and depended on what they received for the sisters of the convent, then bishop gave instructions for additions to music lessons and on the fees from fif- the day-school children, the be made to the school. The Titusville teen or eighteen girl boarders to survive.ci Catholic Literacy Society, the Herald of 6 July 1866 throws light on the On 4 July 1866, Sister Agnes Eardly ladies of the Sodality and community involvement in moving the made her final profession while her sister Rosary, miscellaneous persons, former Catholic church building from received the white veil and the name sleighs, etc. The entire proces- Nellstown to Titusville that made the ex- Mary Joseph.cii Six girls joined the con- sion was over half a mile in tension to the school house possible. vent in the beginning of 1867. Four re- length. It was the largest funeral The building was removed from ceived the white veil after six months procession that has taken place Nellstown to its present site trial and the other two returned to their in this city, numbering over some three weeks ago. It was homes. Adversity struck the community 1,000 persons. The church paid used for a Catholic church at once again with the sudden death in bed her last tribute, her grand Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 8

101 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

solemn honours to the child of dance in St Titus’s school was 250.cx duce to ashes the result of years God, which is the greatest gift of solicitude, of privations, and In 1868 neither of the Eardly that mortal remains can re- of constant labours. In the midst sisters were in posts of responsibility. The ceive.cv of the rigors of winter, his [Fr Catholic Almanac names Sister Mary Mignault] poor devoted sisters The Catholic of Pittsburg also reported Anne Foran as superior and Sister Mary are deprived of shelter, their on her death noting that she was in the Francis as principal.cxi According to young and delicate novices are thirty-ninth year of her profession.cvi Eardly, Mary Anne Foran appeared on forced from their loved asylum, the scene in October 1868. Apparently The reports show the regard in and the hundreds of children the Foran applied to the Mignault for permis- which Mother Angela McKay was held. objects on which these holy sion to join the community.cxii It is possi- Eardly and the other sisters continued to ladies lavished their time and ble that he could have known Mary Anne teach and the Catholic Almanac shows strength, and minds, and heart’s Foran as he ministered in the diocese of that the superior was Sister Mary Agnes affection, are without a school Milwaukee when they were in Eardly while Sister Mary Josephine was in which to learn the since of Kenosha.cxiii It is difficult to understand principal of the academy. They continued God as well as merely human why Mignault gave his consent to her to accept new entrants to the convent, knowledge.cxviii coming, and even more so that he ap- two of whom, Miss Fanny M. Cleary, in pointed her superior within a few weeks religion, Sister Mary Rose, and Miss of her arrival―she was a lay sister, had Fr Mignault appealed to the people of Ti- Louisa Bunning, in religion, Sister Mary abandoned Mother Angela McKay, and tusville for help: Aloysius received the white veil of had no contact with the community for novice in July 1868 from Fr Joseph many years. Other than Brigid Delany My good people of Titusville, Edouard Napoleon Mignault, pastor of none of the sisters would have known appealed to yesterday, for the Titusville.cvii One other report noted that her. His decision must have created dis- rebuilding of our convent, testi- Fr Mignault always conducted the cere- fied to their proverbial generos- monies in the parish church with great satisfaction within the community. There is no evidence as to when or if Foran was ity. During the appeal they were solemnity and to the edification of the all willing to give. Though cviii ever professed a choir sister. people who attended. On this occasion taxed and retaxed for four years he was assisted by his brother Revd A. Misfortune struck the convent past to the amount of $70,000, Mignault and Revd J. Dunn. On 24 July once more, when on 14 January 1869, all they showed their sympathy for 1868 the Catholic gave a glowing report of their buildings were burned to the the sisters and orphans by sub- of the activities of the convent commu- ground but amazingly nearly all the fur- scribing the magnificent sum of cxiv nity: nishing was saved. The thermometer $2,500. However this proof of The community is in a flourish- on that eventful night marked 30 degrees their sympathy would be use- cxv On the 16 January 1869 Fr ing condition, and have an ex- below zero. less―for what is $2,500 to Mignault wrote of the disaster: cellent academy connected with build a mother house, novitiate, the mother house. The exhibi- orphan asylum and schools― My poor St Bridget’s Mother tion of the pupils of this female that sympathy would be power- House, Novitiate, and schools seminary, given on the 12th inst., less unless assistance comes in the largest hall of this city, are in ruins. The building was from abroad, through a gener- was one of the most brilliant af- 145 feet in length, and had been ous public. Never was greater fairs of the kind ever witnessed, considerably improved last Fall, assistance required in order to and would do honour to the and the last cent paid on it the preserve a much needed estab- most renowned academies in day before the sad calamity. lishment, the only one in the oil the country. The tragedy of Es- This sad catastrophe throws the regions and for the protection of ther was beautifully rendered by whole community, orphans, etc the devoted sisters, novices, and cxvi the young ladies in full costume, into the street. orphans. and elicited the most flattering For God’s sake, dear praises from press and audience. Seventeen orphans besides other board- and good Mr Porter, use all the cxvii ers and nuns were made homeless. influence of your worthy organ, Bishop Mullen made a visitation of the The Catholic reported that to prevent a still sadder catastro- convent on 26 September 1868.cix For phe, I mean the disbandment of both the years 1867 and 1868 the atten- One short hour sufficed to re- my poor though good and will- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 9

102 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

ing, community of sisters, and dation which they did with seven sisters home given her by her niece, the superior the deprivation of my children and were quickly teaching 400 pupils of the Sisters of Charity, Troy, New York. and orphans of the blessings of while in 1871 they opened St Joseph’s She was old and enfeebled by a fall on education. I am now hurriedly Academy, a private school for girls..cxxv ice coming out of church yet she jour- engaged in erecting a shed by neyed back to Ireland to reach Tullow the road side, for the purpose of Sister Gabriella does not place convent c.1873 late on a stormy furnishing the community with the blame for the demise of the night.cxxxii She was given shelter in the a shelter from the inclemency of Brigidines on Bishop Mullen but convent but Bishop Lynch would not the weather, until a generous squarely on Mary Anne Foran and Fr allow her to stay probably because of her public, understanding my Mignault. McGee states that Mignault uncanonical status. She was given refuge, painful position, feel that my re- and Foran discussed the matter and that however, in the South Presentation Con- lief can no longer be considered it was they who decided that the commu- vent, Cork where she lived out the re- as intrusive.cxix nity should disband and the sisters seek maining years of her life dying in 1883. life in other convents as happened.cxxvi It Her headstone recognises her as a Sister From that night they lived in the tempo- is possible that a combination of lack of of St Brigid, professed for thirty years. rary shelter until 18 April 1869 when dis- finance and Mignault’s own debilitating How this was arranged is unknown. aster struck again and this time all they ill-health made him take such a serious The indomitable pioneering possessed was burnt. It was suggested step. Before and throughout his priestly spirit, courage and fortitude of Sister An- that this was probably the work of an in- life Mignault suffered from serious bouts gela McKay and her sisters on the Amer- cendiary.cxx Within two days, on 20 April of illness.cxxvii Shortly after this event he ican mission was emulated by other 1869 Mignault promptly removed the sis- was advised by his bishop to change to a Mountrath convent sisters when they ters from the parish and brought the pro- different field. Instead he retired and began their mission to Australasia in fessed to Erie where they were lodged toured Europe including Ireland. There is 1883, coincidently the same year that Sis- with the Sisters of St Joseph and he took no record in the annals that he visited ter Brigid Delany died. the three novices to Mother Elizabeth Mountrath or any of the other convents Bruyère, foundress of the Grey Nuns in but there is a record that on the 10 May Ottawa, Canada. Writing to Mignault in 1869 the sisters of Tullow convent sent September 1869, she hopes that the three £20 to Fr Mignault for the Titusville con- ‘will persevere’ in their vocation.cxxi The vent – £10 of this was from Sister Aloy- sisters remained with the Sisters of St sius O’Kelly.cxxviii Frustratingly, neither is i Lavinia Byrne, Woman at the Altar: Joseph until the Bishop Mullen returned there a record as to who informed the The Ordination of Women in the. Roman th from the 10 Provincial Council of Bal- Tullow nuns of the situation in Titusville. Catholic Church (London, 1994), p.48. timore (1869). Although the Sisters of St Possibly Mignault had solicited help ii Mountrath Annals, DA/BC/AIr/326. Joseph had given the sisters lodgings they from them after the first fire. Sister iiiMS, The coming of the Brigidines to were not able, according to their rule, to Gabreilla does not make any reference to Roscrea, DA/BC/BGA/810.01; O’Rior- receive them into their community.cxxii As this money in her letter of June 1927. dan, Pathfinders:The Mountrath Story, ii a consequence of a suggestion of Bishop Many years earlier, as a Benedictine sis- (1997), p.11. iv Mountrath Receipts and Expenditure Mullen, the two Eardly sisters entered the ter, she sent a photograph of Fr Mignault 1823- 49, DA/BC/AIr/403. Benedictine convent in Erie. They made to Tullow convent. In an undated inscrip- v Ibid. Also included on the list were: 9 their novitiate again and in a change of tion, she asks the convent, ‘to pray for me petticoats, 14 handkerchiefs 4 towels, 1 religious names became Sister Gabriella my dear sisters, this is the third of his pic- pr shoes, 12 caps, 2 boxes, 7 pairs of Eardly, O.S.B.―the correspondent―and tures I sent you but I know you never got stockings, 6 shifts, 4 flannel waistcoats, her sister became Sister Gregoria Eardly, them as the letters were never sent.cxxix a cloak for Sr Magdalen. vi Ibid. O.S.B. Over a forty-one-year period they Nothing further is known of the vii Ignatius Murphy, The Diocese of Kil- made an important educational contribu- life of Sister Mary Ann Foran. She is said laloe 1800-1850 (Dublin, 1992), p.149; cxx tion to the Benedictines in Erie. The to have left the convent of the Sisters of A. McAndrew, ‘History of the National other professed sisters went to Rochester St Joseph with Sister Brigid Delany to School, Roscrea’ in DA/BC/AIr/306. and to the Sisters of Charity in Troy, visit friends in Rochester, N.Y.cxxx Neither viii Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, N.Y.cxxiv Following on the disaster, the sisters returned to the convent in Erie but p.50. ix parish was left with no one to administer Brigid Delany returned to Titusville McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’ in DA/BC/AIr/306. the school. In 1870, Bishop Mullen in- where she lived with charitable friends x Ibid. vited the Sisters of Mercy to start a foun- for a few months.cxxxi She accepted a Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 10

103 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

xi Ibid. xli Roscrea Connection; McAndrew, ‘The American Odyssey’, p.63. xii Tom Prior, ‘Early Years’ in Tom Prior ‘National School, Roscrea’. lxvi Brigidine Rule and Constitution & George Cunningham (eds), Convent xlii Prior, ‘Early Years’, p.33. 1828, DA/BC/AIr/359. of the Sacred Heart Roscrea, 1842-1992 xliii Mary Teresa Cullen, The Early lxvii Catholic Almanac (1852), in John- (Roscrea, 1992), p.23; McAndrew, ‘Ro- American Brigidine Story, son, ‘The American Odyssey’, p.64. screa’. DA/BC/BGA/820.2. lxviii Ibid,, p.63 xiii Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, xliv Mountrath Annals, DA/BC/AIr/324. lxix Wahrheitsfreund 18 Sept.1851 in p.149. xlv Maureen Funk, Kenosha’s Irish Expe- Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, xiv McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’; Murphy, The rience 1839-1890 , www.freepages.ge- p.65; Wahrheitsfreund, the first German Diocese of Killaloe, p.149. nealogy.rootweb.ancestry.com/.../maure Catholic newspaper in America was xv McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’. en_funk.htm accessed 29 June 2012. founded in Fr John Martin Henni in xvi Ibid. xlvi Rev. Peter Leo Johnson, ‘The Ameri- 1837, Catholic Encyclopaedia¸ xvii ‘Roscrea Connection’ in Conver- can Odyssey of the Irish Brigidines’in www.newadvent.org/cathen/10319a.htm gence Brigidine Newsletter December, The Salesianum, 39:2 (April, 1944), 61- accessed 14 July 2012. 1980, DA/BC/AIr/364 67 at 61. McFaul ministered in the dio- lxx Catholic Almanac (1852), Johnson, xviii Roscrea Connection; Murphy, The cese of Milwaukee until 1858 when he ‘The American Odyssey’, p.63. Diocese of Killaloe, p.149; McAndrew, moved to the milder climate of Mis- lxxi Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, ‘Roscrea’; newspaper cutting, souri. In 1875, he resigned because of p.64. DA/BC/BGA/810.01. ill-health and died in 1910, p.63. lxxii Salesianum 25 (July, 1930),pp 37- xix McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’. xlvii Vere Foster leaflet, 42, p.42 received from xx Margaret Gibbons, Glimpses of www.proni.gov.uk/index/exhibitions_tal [email protected] Catholic Ireland in the eighteenth cen- ks_and_events/19th_century_emigrat/ lxxiii Ibid., p.37. tury, restoration of the daughters of St accessed 29 June 2012. lxxiv Bishop J.M. Henni to Bishop James Brigid by Most Rev. Dr Delany (Dublin, xlviii A Short Biographical Study of Vere Walshe, Milwaukee, 24 July 1866, 1932), p.375. Foster First president (INTO, Bangor DA/BP/12/JW/1867/08. xxi Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, Congress Committee, 1956), p.7. Vere lxxv Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, pp149-50. Foster worked in the UK diplomatic p.64. xxii Ibid., p.150. service before giving this up to concen- lxxvi Funk, Kenosha. xxiii Ibid., p.149. trate on his emigration scheme. He was lxxvii Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, xxiv Ibid. p.150. a distant cousin of John Foster the last p.64; Rainer, ‘Milwaukee’, accessed 14 xxv Ibid. Speaker of the Irish Commons and be- July 2012. xxvi McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’; Murphy, The came the first president of the INTO. lxxviii Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, Diocese of Killaloe, p.151; Gibbons, xlix A Short Biographical Study of Vere p.64; Glimpses, p.375. Foster, p.7. lxxix Berichte der Leopoldinen-Stiftun 25 xxvii Roscrea Connection. l Vere Foster leaflet, (1853) (Wein, 1831) in Johnson, ‘The xxviii Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, www.proni.gov.uk/index/exhibitions_tal American Odyssey’, p.64. p.151; Kilroy, Madeline Sophie Barat, ks_and_events/19th_century_emigrat/ lxxx Robert McNamara, The diocese of p.386; Roscrea Connection. accessed 29 June 2012. Rochester p.64, DA/BC/BGA/820.2. xxix Kilroy, Madeline Sophie Barat, liPatrick O’Sullivan, (ed.) The Irish World lxxxi Diary of Bishop Timon, McNamara, p.343. Wide History, Heritage, Identity vol.4 The diocese of Rochester p.64. xxx Ibid. Irish Women and Migration (London, lxx Mary Gerald Pierce, RSM, Unto All xxxi Madeline Sophie Barat to Aimée 1995), p.42. ─ His Mercy: the First Hundred Years d’Avenas, Rome, 19 Feb. 1842 in Kil- lii Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, of the Sisters of Mercy in the Diocese of roy, Madeline Sophie Barat, p.343. p.67. Buffalo 1858-1958 (Buffalo, N.Y., n.d.), xxxii McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’. liii Mountrath Annals, DA/BC/AIr/324. p.21, DA/BC/BGA/820.1. xxxiii Ibid.; Murphy, The Diocese of Kil- liv Foran lxxx Isaac S.Signor, Landmarks of Or- laloe, p.151; Gibbons, Glimpses, p.375; lv Funk, Kenosha. leans County, New York, (n.d,), pp39- Roscrea Connection. lvi Ibid. 115, xxxiv Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, lvii Ibid; Johnson, ‘The American www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/isaac p.151. Odyssey’, p.62. accessed 30 June 2012. xxxv Kilroy, Madeline Sophie Barat, lviii Funk, Kenosha. lxxxiv Signor, Landmarks of Orleans p.343; Prior, ‘Early Years’, p.24. lix Mountrath Annals, DA/BC/AIr/324. County, pp39-115. xxxvi Roscrea Connection. lx Catholic Almanac (1852) in Johnson, lxxxv Sr Gabriella Eardly, O.S.B. to xxxvii McAndrew, ‘Roscrea’. ‘The American Odyssey’, p.63. Mother Josephine, St Benedict’s Con- xxxviii Caitriona Clear, Nuns in nine- lxi Funk, Kenosha. vent, Erie, Pa., 23 June 1927, teenth-century Ireland, (Dublin, 1987), lxii Ibid. DA/BC/AIr/406 temporary reference; p.43. lxiii Ibid. Gibbons Glimpses p.360; Signor, Land- xxxix Murphy, The Diocese of Killaloe, lxiv Ibid.; Johnson, ‘The American marks of Orleans County, pp.39-115. p.151. Odyssey’, p.63 lxxxvi He died after falling ill from expo- xl Roscrea Connection. lxv Catholic Almanac (1852), in Johnson, sure on his way home from the war, Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Brigidines 05/11/2012 20:30 Page 11

104 Brigidines in Roscrea and America

www.findagrave.com 1927. According to Eardly, Bishop www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/franc lxxxvii Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 Young visited one of the Brigidine con- cxiv Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June June 1927, DA/BC/AIr/406 temporary vents when he visited Europe. 1927; Titusville Herald, 3 July 1991, p.3 reference. xcviii Titusville Herald 6 July 1866, & 26 Feb.1993, p.64. lxxxviii Ibid.. DA/BC/BGA/820.2 cxv Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June lxxxix Ibid.. xcix Dunn, ‘Erie’, accessed 30 June 2012. 1927. xc John W. McGee, The Catholic Church c Titusville Herald, 3 July 1991, p.3. cxvi Copy of report in The Catholic, Ti- in the Grand River Valley (1950), p.166. ci Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June tusville, 25 (23 Jan. 1869), p.380. Booklet sent to me by Sr Janet Staab, 1927. cxvii Sisters of St Joseph Order Commu- OSB, archivist, Benedictine Sisters, cii Ibid. nity Date Book 14 Jan. 1869 sent to me Mount St Benedict Archives, Erie, ciii Ibid. by Sr Janet Staab, OSB, archivist. Pennsylvania 16511, USA. civ Titusville Evening Herald, cxviii Copy of report in The Catholic, Ti- xci The file records of the Benedictine DA/BC/AIr/832. tusville, 25 (23 Jan. 1869), p.380. Sisters, show that Ellen & Mary cv Ibid. cxix Ibid., (25 Jan. 1869), p.389. Eardly’s surname is given as Early. cvi Copy of notice in The Catholic, Pitts- cxx Sisters of St Joseph Order Commu- Their father was Patrick Early and their burgh, 23 (19 Jan. 1867), p.405. The nity Date Book, 18 April 1869. mother’s maiden name was Margaret mercy annals record that Sr Angela and cxxi Sister Jeanne d’Arc Lortie , SCC to Leigh. eight Mercy sisters were reinterred in Sr M. Lawrence Franklin, Sisters of xcii Sr Eustace, RSM to Mary Teresa the new St Catherine’s cemetery be- Mercy, Erie, 14 Nov.1974 in Cullen, Cullen, CSB, 30 Aug. 1978, Cullen, The tween 5-8 Dec. 1900, in Cullen, The The Early American Brigidine Story. Early American Brigidine Story, Early American Brigidine Story. cxxii Sisters of St Joseph Order Commu- DA/BC/BGA/820.2. cvii Copy of notice in The Catholic, Ti- nity Date Book, 20 June 1869. xciii Johnson, ‘The American Odyssey’, tusville, 25 (24 July 1868), p.189. cxxiii The Benedictine Sisters records p.66. cviii Copy of report in A century of recognise both sisters as Brigidine sis- xciv Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June progress: Diocese of Erie: 1853-1953 ters located in Titusville before their 1927; Thomas Meehan, ‘Detroit’ in The supplement to the Lake Shore Visitor (4 disbandment. The records show that Catholic Encyclopaedia, www.newad- Dec.1953) both sisters entered on 20 June 1869 vent.org/cathen/04758b.htm accessed cix Copy of notice in The Catholic, Ti- and pronounced their perpetual vows 30 June 2012. tusville, 25 (26 Sept.1868), p.4-5. before Bishop Tobias Mullen & Mother xcv McGee, The Catholic Church in the cx Catholic Almanac (1868-69), John- Scholastica Burkhardt, Prioress of the Grand River Valley, p.165. son, ‘The American Odyssey’, p.66. Erie Benedictine Sisters on 15 August xcvi James Dunn, ‘Erie’ in The Catholic cxi Ibid.. 1873. Sr Gabriella celebrated her dia- Encyclopaedia, www.newadvent.org/ca- cxii Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June mond jubilee in 1933 and d. 26 Dec then/05518b.htm accessed 30 June 1927. 1934. She taught elementary and sec- 2012. cxiii Francis Newton Thorpe, History of ondary school for 41 years. Sr Gregoria xcvii Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June Crawford County, Pennsylvania (n.d.) also taught elementary and secondary school for 41 years and d, 21 Feb. 1916. cxxiv Sisters of St Joseph Order Commu- nity Date Book, 20 June 1869; ‘Do you know that’ leaflet, DA/BC/BGA/Con- gregational research, Box 225a. cxxv Titusville Herald, 26 Feb.1993, p.64. cxxvi McGee, The Catholic Church in the Grand River Valley, p.167. cxxvii www.ebooksread.com/authors- eng/france cxxviii Tullow Receipts & Expenditure Book (Jan.1858-70) in DA/BC/AIr/543. cxxix Photo of Fr N. Mignault., DA/P/B/2/272 cxxx Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June 1927. cxxxi Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June 1927. cxxxii Eardly to Mother Josephine, 23 June 1927; Gibbons, Glimpses, p.363.

Gate Lodge at Woodside House, Hacketstown, formerly owned by the Jones family Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonmore, Co. Carlow 05/11/2012 20:32 Page 1

105

district in which Clonmore Mogue lay many prisoners were carried off. was called Hy Felimy Tuagh, that is “the 877 Ferghil, Abbot of Clonmore- Clonmore, northern Ofelimy,” occupied by the septs Mogue, died. of O’Honchon (now unknown) and O’- 886 Seachnasach, son of Focarta, Garvey; there was another Ofelimy, Abbot of Clonmore-Mogue, died. Co. Carlow. called Hy Felimy Deas, or “the southern 918 Meraighe of Clonmore-Mogue Ofelimy,” which was situated in the died. Its Antiquities County Wexford, and was the territory of 919 Flaithbheartach, son of Muirc- the sept of the O’Murchoe (pronounced heartach, Abbot of Clonmore, died. O’Murroo), now known as Murphy. Ofe- 920 Ailell, son of Flaithim, Abbot Lord Walter Fitzgerald limy Tuagh comprised the present of Clonmore-Mogue, died. County Carlow baronies of Carlow and 972 Caibre, son of Echtighern, Rathvilly: the name is now obsolete ex- Coarb (i.e. successor of St. Mogue) of [First published in the “Carlow National- cept in the parish name of Tullowphelim, Clonmore-Mogue died. ist”, March 29th 1913, as the text of a the old name of the town Tullow. Ofe- 1040 Moone-Columbkill (Moone), paper read “at a recent meeting of the limy Tuagh itself was a sub-district in the Disert Diarmad (now Castledermot), County Kildare Archaeological Soci- great territory of Hy Kinsellagh, belong- Moghna-Moshenoc (now Dun- ety.”] ing to the Mac Murrough sept; the latter manoge, Co. Kildare), and Clonmore- comprised the whole of the County Wex- Mogue were plundered by Dermot, son he name of Clonmore means “the ford, the County Carlow, and the district of Donough Mael-na-bó (MacMurrough) large meadow.” There are thirty of Shillelagh, and Ofelimy Tuagh. Mac- Lord of Hy-Kinsellagh, and he carried Ttownlands bearing this name scat- Murrough, as a surname, is now obsolete, many prisoners from the oratories. tered throughout Ireland, and four and it is represented in our day by Ka- 1052 Art, son of Muireadhach, of parishes; the latter are situated in the fol- vanagh and Kinsella.ii Clonmore-Mogue, the glory of Leinster, lowing counties:- died. In the County Kilkenny; the patron saint Clonmore is a place of exceptional inter- of this Parish Church is St. Kenny, who est on account of its antiquarian remains, From this period there is no further men- is venerated on the 11th October. which consist of:- tion of the place by the Annalists. We In the County Wexford, founded by St. A Pagan sepulchral Moat. will now describe the antiquarian re- Aidan, alias Mogue, whose festival oc- The ancient churchyard, and a plain mains, which extend for half a mile in a curs on the 31st January. cross-shaft in it. line due east and west, in the order they In the County Louth; the church is dedi- An unsculptured granite high cross. lie in, commencing with the moat on the cated to St. Columbkill, venerated on the A Blessed Well (St. Mogue’s) , and a east and finishing with the castle on the 9th June. boulder Font. west. In the County Carlow, the Clonmore with A Bullaun stone which we are about to deal. The castle ruins of large dimensions. The Moat

Clonmore lies six and a half miles as the When it was that St. Mogue founded a re- The moat is a high conical mound sur- crow flies to the south-east of Rathvilly. ligious establishment at Clonmore is not rounded by a deep trench, out of which it To distinguish it from other places of the known for certain, but it was towards the was formed. On its east side is a small name it was called in ancient times “Clu- close of the sixth century. Several saints, square earthwork, separated from the ain- Mór- Maedhóg”(pronounced Clon- besides St. Mogue himself, were buried moat by the trench; the earthwork may, more Mogue) after its patron saint. This in its cemetery; a list of them is to be or may not, be ancient; it forms a small saint was originally called Aedh (profound in Bishop Comerford’s “History of paddock, which, judging by the old-fash- nounced Ay), but by endearing the name the Diocese of Leighlin,” References to ioned tillage ridges, was used as a potato with the prefix Mo and the affix oge, the this place in the Annals of the Four Mas- garden. There is no trace of a rampart ei- name became Mo-Aedh-oge (i.e. my ters are given under the following dates; ther round the summit or the base of the young Ay), hence Maedhog or Mogue. the title “Abbot,” which occurs amongst moat. Some archaeologists hold the view This St. Mogue’s festival falls on the 11th them, must be taken as meaning the head that these moats, or “mottes” as they call April, and he should not be confused with of the religious community:- them, were erected by the Anglo-Nor- his famous namesake, St. Mogue, the pa- A.D. 771. Maccoigeadh, Abbot of Clu- mans, on which a wooden tower was tron saint of the Diocese of Ferns, who is ain-mór-Maedhóg died.iii erected for defence, during the building venerated on the 31st January; they were, 774 Clonmore-Mogue and Kil- of the stone castle. In my opinion a moat too, the sons of entirely different parents. dalkey were burned. situated near a churchyard of Celtic foun- St. Mogue of Clonmore is stated to have 834 The plundering of Ferns, Clon- dation is a Pagan sepulchral mound, cov- been a half-brother (by the mother) of more-Mogue, and Dromin (Co. Meath) ering a “kist” or slab-lined chamber Aedh mac Ainmire, Monarch of Ireland by the foreigners (i.e. the Danes). containing the skeleton, or calcined from A.D. 568 to 594i. At the time of the 835 Clonmore-Mogue was burned bones in an urn, of the king or chief thus Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland toon Christmas night by the foreigners, and commemorated. As Clonmore-Mogue wards the close of the twelfth century, the a great number were slain by them, and was founded in the sixth century, the

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonmore, Co. Carlow 05/11/2012 20:32 Page 2

106 Clonmore, Co. Carlow. Its Antiquities

The Moat (courtesy Eddie McDonald)

moat, I conclude, is a Pagan sepulchral About a perch from it, to the south, lies The Arms on the slab may be described mound. Tradition states that an under- the head, embedded in the ground on its as: - ground passage runs from the moat to the side. The head and arms are ringed, but A chevron between two stars and a ….. castle, half a mile off. not perforated, in a similar fashion to “St. above and three hands (below) ; on a Mogue’s Cross,” described further on, chief three lions rampant. The Churchyard which, however, is not so massive. There The crest is chipped away, and the motto are several granite boulders and slabs, on a scroll is illegible. Ryan in his “His- A public road encroaches on the church- some recumbent, others upright, dotted tory of the County Carlow” (p.336) states yard on its northern side, and possibly over the churchyard, which belong to an that “the following inscription, somewhat runs over the site of the ancient church, early period, and bear on them in relief mutilated, appears on a stone in the as there are no traces of any ecclesiastical either a plain or a ringed cross. One large churchyard”: - building within the present precincts of slab in the southeast corner, near a “Here : lyeth : the : body : of Mr : the burial ground; and it is not usual to sycamore tree, is remarkable in having an McHugh : Gaunkaghvi : Byrn : and : his : find interments on the north side of the oblong hole (9 inches by 6 inches) cut three : children : Murtagh : Ion : and : church ruins in an Irish churchyard. On through it. This slab is sunk in the earth Ann : he : was : ye : great : great : grand- the opposite side of this road stands a on its side, and measures 4 feet in length, son : of : Phelim : Buoy : —-ug : de- small Protestant church, built early in the with an average thickness of 7 inches. It ceased : Octr 20th : 1737 : aged ____” nineteenth century, in the exceedingly is puzzling to understand the object of the After a very careful search I failed to find plain style then in vogue. At the north square perforation, unless it served for a any trace of this slab. In 1579 a Hugh side of the church, and close to the socket in which a cross-shaft originally O’Byrn, alias “Hugh ganekagh mac Phe- boundary wall, there is an undressed stood. There are no lettered tombstones lim,” of Clonmore, was a juror on a granite boulder (4 feet long by 2 feet 4 of a date earlier than the eighteenth cen- County Carlow Inquisition. inches in breadth), deeply sunk in the tury; one of the earliest that I could dis- ground; it contains a rectangular basin cover is a Byrne slab, now lying in a Standing side by side, on the west side of occupying most of the space, and is now badly fractured condition near a fallen in the churchyard are two headstones, a receptacle for rainwater and miscella- vault at the west end of the churchyard; erected to the memory of priests, with the neous rubbish. This trough is a primitive the inscription on it reads: - inscriptions facing the west. One com- font. An almost identically similar memorates the Rev. Patrick Rosseter (? trough, both in size and shape, is now This stone was erected by Mr. Charles C.C.) who died on the 9th August 1771, placed at the base of the tall unsculptured Byrne of Sleat[y in the ] Queen’s Coun- aged fifty-two; and the other the Rev. cross (closely resembling the one at tyiv May 1745. H[ere lyeth] the Body of Nicholas Doogan (C.C.) who died on the Clonmore) in the churchyard at Aghowle, Mr Charles By[rne of …..] in the Queen’s 28th January 1767, aged forty, the cause which lies 4 ½ miles away, as the crow County who dep[arted this life] the 21st of whose death is said to have been a fall flies, to the south. About the middle of July 1768 …………. Mr Edmund Byrne from his horse (see the Journal, vol.v. the churchyard stands the broken shaft of ……… tomb. p.327). a high cross standing on a square base. The shaft is neither ornamented nor di- At the top of the stone is cut in relief a “St. Mogue’s Cross” vided into panels; in its present state it peculiar coat-of-arms, which in no way “St. Mogue’s Cross”stands to the west of stands 6 feet 2 inches in height, with resembles the Byrne or O’Byrne Arms the Protestant church, on the same side of faces measuring 18 inches and 12 inches. given by Burke in his “General Armory.”v the road and close to the road-ditch. It is Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonmore, Co. Carlow 05/11/2012 20:32 Page 3

107 Clonmore, Co. Carlow. Its Antiquities

set on a square base. The shaft and head are composed of a single piece of granite, 7 feet 3 inches high, and 4 feet 3 inches across the arms. The faces of the shaft are 15 ½ inches and 10 ½ inches in width, and not divided into panels. The head is ringed, though not perforated. This cross being less massive than that in the churchyard was probably also not so tall.

St. Mogue’s Well This Blessed Well is situated near “St. Mogue’s Cross,” and by the side of the little stream that flows under the road a little further on; the stump of a large mountain ash (or quicken tree) stands over it. The well, which is a very small one, is now sadly neglected. There is no sign of the rigs and other votive offerings usually to be met with at a Blessed Well, though in former times it was resorted to (courtesy Eddie McDonald) for cures. There is a curious little granite boulder, 25 inches long and 13 inches are very close to one another. What ob- time, though no records either of assaults broad at its widest end, lying on the right- ject they served is a puzzle to archaeolo- or sieges have been preserved. As will hand side of the well, with a hollow in it gists, though some consider that they be proved further on, a castle, badly in near the upper end, from which runs a were used to pound grain in. No name or need of repairs existed here in 1332, but groove down its length. Formerly a per- tradition appears to be connected with when and by whom it was erected we son resorting to the Well for a cure drew this “bullaun stone” in the locality. have no evidence; the existing ruins show some water from it and poured it into the additions which are not “bonded” into the hollow of the boulder before applying it The Castle of Clonmore. walls they are built against, proving that the affected part. It is strange that a place of such size and in the course of the centuries the castle importance as the existing ruins of this was from time to time enlarged. The ref- It is a strange fact that “the Pattern” castle prove it to have been should be erences to this place, lamentably few and which was formerly held at the Well took mentioned so little in the Irish Annals, far between, as far as they can be gath- place, according to Father Shearmanvii, and that previous to the sixteenth century ered, are as follows: - on the 31st day of January, the festival day it is not mentioned at all in the printed The earliest mention of Clonmore ap- of St. Mogue, Patron Saint of the Diocese calendars of Documents and State Papers pears in Thady Dowling’s “Annals of Ire- of Ferns, whereas St. Mogue of Clon- relating to Ireland (so far as they have land,” where it is stated that Sir Edmund more was venerated on the 11th of April, been edited)viii. Butler, Deputy to Sir John Wogan, the as stated in the “Martyrology of Done- Justiciary of Ireland, in the month of Sep- gal,” thus: - Nor does Clonmore appear among the tember 1313, proceeded against the O’- “Maedhog of Cluain-mór Maedhog, in County Carlow lordships which fell to Tooles and O’Byrnes, and subdued them; Leinster. Aedh was his name. He was of the share of Matilda le Marshal (wife of he then marched from Arklow to the race of Cathaoir Mór. And Aedh, son William, Earl of Warren, and widow of “Clonemoore,” and thence to Carlow. As of Ainmire, Monarch of Erin, had the Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk) when she the crow flies Clonmore is seventeen same mother.” and her four sisters succeeded to the miles from Arklow, and fifteen from Car- Lordship of Leinster on the death of the low. Breaking the march at Clonmore The Bullaun Stone last of their five brothers in 1245. This would prove the then existence of a castle There is a granite boulder lying a short would tend to show that it did not acquire in which the Deputy took shelter. distance out in the field on the south side importance till later. As far as can be of the road leading to Clonmore Castle, judged from the widely scattered scraps The next notice of this place is in 1332. and near the wooden gate leading into the of information which are given below, Friar Clyn, in his “Annals of Ireland,” re- field. The boulder is level with the Clonmore appears to have been a royal lates that about the Feast of the Holy ground, and would be difficult to find castle, that is one belonging to the Trinity, in this year, Sir Anthony de Lucy, without a guide. It measures close on 6 Crown, by whom it was placed in the the Justiciary, carried out extensive re- feet in length, and about 33 inches in custody of, or leased to, powerful barons pairs to the “Castrum de Clonmore,” after width. In it there are three large “bul and constables, to hold it against the on- which he did the same to the Castle of launs,” or artificial hollows, from 13 to slaughts of the O’Tooles, the O’Byrnes, Arklow. 1n 1334 Thomas de Wogan was 11 inches in diameter, and from 8 to 10 and the Kavanaghs; and we may be sure constable of the Castle. 1n 1355 the inches in depth. Two of the “bullauns” that its garrison had far from an easy Treasurer of Ireland was ordered to pay Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonmore, Co. Carlow 05/11/2012 20:32 Page 4

108 Clonmore, Co. Carlow. Its Antiquities

ten marks to Simon Ruly de Walterstown, custodian of the castle for its defence; and in the same year James Archibold is named as its constable. In 1356 Peter le Boteller was appointed constable. ix

We now come to the first reference of the Castle and Manor of Clonmore being in the possession of one of the Anglo-Irish barons – Sir David Wogan, Kt., of Rath- coffy, in the County Kildare. On the 24th February 1417 Sir David’s widow, Anastacia, daughter of Sir John Staunton, lord of the Barony of “Otymy” (i.e. Clane, Co. Kildare), was assigned her Clonmore Castle (courtesy Eddie McDonald) dowerx, which consisted of one third of the manors of Rathcoffy and of Kilkea, In January 1600 the County Carlow is Hewson and Reynolds, in 1650. and “further there is assigned to the said stated to be “for the most part in revolt; Anastacia the third part of the Castle or the Castles of Carlow and Laughlin, From the possession of the Ormonde Manor of Clonmore, in the east part, with being kept by wards for her Majesty, do family, the Manor and Castle of Clon- free entry and exit to the parcels afore- stand; and likewise the Castles of Ark- more passed to the Howard family, prob- said; further the third part of the Manor low, Ravilly, Clonmore, Tully, Clough- ably about 1697, when Ralph Howard of xi of Kylpype and Kylpole , in the west greny (Clogrennan), and Shrough Boe Dublin acquired from the Duke of Or- part,” etc. (Straboe, Barony of Rathvilly), belong- monde the estate of North Arklow, in ing to the Earl of Ormonde and kept at which Shelton is situated. His descen- For how long the Wogan family were in his lordship’s charge, are held still, but all dant, the Rt. Hon. Ralph Howard, P.C., possession of Clonmore is not known, the lands are laid waste about them.”xv was in 1776 created Baron of Clonmore, but probably they had obtained a lease for According to an Inquisition taken in Car- of Clonmore Castle, in the County Car- twenty-one years. low on the 18th January 1636, James, Earl low, and in 1785 Viscount Wicklow; in of Ormond (created a Duke in 1642), was 1793 his son Robert was created Earl of More than another century elapses before in possession of the Castle of Clonmore, Wicklow. Clonmore is now in the pos- we again hear of Clonmore; Silken 200 messuages, 200 cottages, 500 gar- session of the Stopford family, Earls of th Thomas, the 10 Earl of Kildare’s Rebel- den-plots, an orchard, 3,000 acres of Courtown. lion had just been suppressed, and to re- tillage, 2,000 acres of grazing land, 2,000 th ward Pierce, 8 Earl of Ormond, for his acres of wood, 500 acres of furze and The existing ruins of the castle show that activity on behalf of the Crown, Letters heather, and 500 acres of bog in Clon- it was built on the plan of a hollow rd Patent, dated the 23 October 1537, were more and the following townlands be- square, the sides by a wide fosse, now signed, granting him and his eldest son, longing to the manor: -xvi filled in, but which can still be clearly James Butler, Treasurer of Ireland, the Killmacarton (Kilmacart, 4)xvii traced on the north side. Castles and Manors of Rathvilly, Clon- Hackettstown (Hacketstown, ) more, Tullagh-Offelym alias Tullow, Kil- Ballynafunshogue alias Constable’s hill There is no keep or central tower, as the xii lasno (Kellistown, formerly Killosna) , (Constable Hill, 4) principal residence occupied all the east Powerstown, and Leighlin, all in the Ballycullane (Ballynakillane, 4) side. The whole of the south side is level County Carlow, and also the Manor of Croneskeagh (Croneskeagh, 9) with the ground; this is to be regretted, as Arklow, to hold to them and their heirs Ballygallduffe (Ballykilduff, 9) it contained the gate-tower (the only en- xiii by Knight’s service. Ballynekilly (Ballynakill, 9) trance into the bawn or courtyard) with Ballyduffe (Ballyduff, 9) its portcullis and drawbridge. The walls In 1583, amongst other persons living in Killongford (Killalongford, 9) surrounding the bawn are very high, and the neighbourhood of Clonmore, pardons Raheene (Raheen, 9) have projecting towers at the northwest (for what is not stated) were granted by Crewcrim (Cry-crin, 9) and southwest corners, thus adding to the the Crown to a family of O’Byrne, prob- Tombeigh (Tombeagh, 4) defence of the walls on the outside. The ably tenants of the Earl of Ormond; they Dromgoine (Drumguin, 4) tower at the northwest angle, known as were: - Hugh “ganagah” (i.e. the snub- Coolemanagh (Coolmanagh, 4) the Maiden’s Tower, fell in 1848. the nosed) mac Phelim O’Byrne of Clon- bawn contained the dwellings of the re- more; Margaret Grace, his wife; and their During the rebellion of 1641 Clonmore, tainers and garrison, the stablings, the sons, Phelim mac Hugh, Garrett mac like so many other castles in Leinster, bakehouse, the brewhouse, etc. The Hugh, James mac Hugh, William mac changed hands more than once; and was buildings on the east side contain rooms, Hugh, and Robert mac Hugh, all of Clon- eventually, it is said, rendered indefensi- great and small, narrow passages, and xiv more, horsemen. ble by the Cromwellian leaders, Colonels vaulted chambers, all in a very ruinous

Carloviana 2012C Carloviana - backup_Clonmore, Co. Carlow 05/11/2012 20:32 Page 5

109 Clonmore, Co. Carlow. Its Antiquities

A short account of Clonmore is given in Bishop Comerford’s “ History of the Dio- ceses of Kildare and Leighlin” (vol. Iii, pp. 178-184). In 1862 John McCall published a pamphlet on “The Antiquities and History of Clonmore in the County Carlow,” a little work long out of print; it was printed by J.M. O’Toole and Son, of 6 and 7 Great Brunswick Street, Dublin. Two views of the eastern portion of the castle ruins, interior and exterior, are given in Francis Grose’s “Antiquities of Ireland,” vol.i, from drawings by Lieu- tenant Daniel Grose, sketched in 1792; they show the ruins to be in very much the same condition as they are at present (1912).

i Annals of the Four Masters, 1881, note m. Book of Rights ,p.208 ii Orpen’s “Song of Dermot and the Earl,” p.327 iii In the succeeding notices the place- names will be given in their English form iv Sleaty lies a mile to the north of Car- low-Graigue v The O’Byrne Arms, given therein, are - Grules, a chevron between three dex- ter hands argent, Crest, a mermaid with a comb and a mirror. Motto: Certavi et vici. vi I.e., of the snub nose. Window and “Pooka head” (courtesy E. McDonald) vii “Loca Patriciana.” Note on p.186. viii There is a large gap in this series, extending from 1307 to 1509. condition; they are lit on the bawn side arrow-slit, nearly above which is a gar- ix These four references to Clonmore are by narrow slits, or windows of two lights goyle bearing a grotesque human face, to be found on pages 44, 57b, 59 and 63 with lancet-shaped heads; on the outside, which the peasants call a “pooka-head.” of Rot. Hib. Canc. Cal. at the upper floor, the windows are also x Rot. Canc. Hib., p.223b. of two lights with ornamental ogee- As stated above, the buildings at the east xi In the County Wicklow. shaped heads of cut stone; but many of are in a very ruinous condition, and it is xii The Irish form of the name was “Cill them are now shapeless gaps in the walls. astonishing on what slight support huge Osnaidh,” and more anciently still That additions took place in ancient times masses of masonry still remain in posi- “Ceann Loseada,” ; see “Annals of the to these buildings is clearlyseen by the tion. Ivy covers a considerable portion Four Masters” vol. I, p.152. fact that the newer work is not bonded to of the walls, and their present ruinous xiii Calendar of Carew Manuscripts, the older walls, and in one place a splay condition may be largely attributed to its 1515-74, p.128. is made so that the newer wall should not growth. Formerly a couple of cabins xiv Elizabeth Fiants, No. 2739 and 4163. block up a window in the older building. stood in the bawn, but they were thrown xv Calendar of State Papers, Ire., 1599- The vaulted work was turned on boards, down some years ago, and now the inte- 1600, p.438. the impression of them being clearly vis- rior is used as a potato plot. There is a xvi Co. Carlow Chancery Inquisition, ible in the mortar. There is a slender tradition, so common with most castles, No. 56 of Charles I. eight-sided turret at the northeast end, that an underground passage runs from xvii The number following the townland and a semi-circular slender turret sur- the castle to the pagan sepulchral moat name is that of the 6-inch Ordnance mounts the southeast end of these build- half a mile away eastwards; its entrance Survey Map on which it occurs. ings. Facing the public road (which runs is still pointed out in one of the vaulted where the southern portion of the fosse chambers. lay) there is a peculiar long cross-shaped Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 1

110

Carlow County Museum – Ireland’s Newest Museum Opens Dermot Mulligan, Museum Curator

n Thursday April 11th last the Carlow County Museum was established Society for having the vision to establish new Carlow County Museum on in 2005. The Board consists of seven the Museum. They should be proud of OCollege Street in Carlow Town members, three Members of Carlow what they achieved and that heritage of was opened by Minister Phil Hogan, TD, Town Council, three representatives of the county is all the better for their fore- Minister for Environment, Community & the Carlow Historical & Archaeological sight.” Martin Nevin, Chairman of the Local Government and Cllr. Tom Society (CHAS) and a County Manager’s Board of Carlow County Museum spoke O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Carlow Town nominee. The Museum Curator acts as about the pioneering members of CHAS Council. The Museum has been devel- Secretary to the Board. The position of who established the Museum saying that oped by Carlow Town Council in partner- Chairperson of the Board alternates on an “following a number of visits to muse- ship with the Carlow Historical & annual basis between the Members of the ums such as Enniscorthy, Cork, Limerick Archaeological Society (CHAS). The Town Council and the CHAS representa- and Drogheda the project was set in train. Museum is entered through Carlow tives. The Museum Board oversees A public meeting was convened in the Tourist Office and admission to the Mu- strategic development and devises the Forester’s Hall….. By unanimous agree- seum is free. Speaking at the opening County Museum’s policies. The Museum ment it was decided to launch the project Minister Phil Hogan, TD, said “that the Board has issued five annual reports, and a museum committee was set-up to existing building is in a very good loca- starting in 2007, and these can be viewed look into the availability of a suitable tion and the renovation, extension and on the Museum’s website. The present premises.” conversion didn’t happen by accident and Board members are Carlow Town Coun- The building in which the Museum is I want to thank the people and commu- cil Members Cllr. John Cassin, Cllr. Rody now housed is a landmark building nity for making sure that this particular Kelly & Cllr. Walter Lacey; Carlow His- within the centre of Carlow town. Until part of our history in now a living part of torical & Archaeological Society Mem- 1989 it was home to the Presentation Sis- the community in Carlow County Mu- bers: Mr. Seamus Murphy, Mr. Martin ters. From here generations of Carlow seum.” Nevin & Mrs Noreen Whelan with Mr. girls were educated and the Sisters legacy Michael Brennan, Town Clerk as the thrives in the town through both Scoil The Carlow Historical & Archaeological County Manager’s Nominee. Mr. Martin Mhuire Gan Smál primary school and Society (CHAS) founded and opened the Nevin was the Chairperson of the Board Presentation College secondary school. Museum in 1973. In 1979 it was relo- at the time of the Museum opening. Cllr cated to the former Theatre of the Town Hall, a space provided by Carlow Town Council. The Society managed the Mu- seum on a voluntary basis with employment assistance from FAS. In 2002 Carlow Town Council took over the operation of the Museum and has worked in partnership with CHAS to undertake the redevelopment. Pat O’Neill, President of CHAS speaking at the opening ceremony said “We have realised in this marvellous facility the ambitions of the founder members of our society, and if any museum deserves the description of a community museum this is it. The collection came from the community through the efforts and energies of our society members, and the local authorities accommo- dated our ambitions through the provision of this beautiful and historic setting.” Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Carlow In January 2011 to mark the bicentenary Town Council speaking at the opening of the Presentation Sisters’ arrival to Car- To further this partnership a Board of ceremony said “I would like to thank the low town they presented Carlow Town

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 2

111 Carlow County Museum

Council with their 1811 Carlow foundation chalice for display in the new Mu- seum. The new Museum occupies the College Street end of the former Con- vent. The front of the building, facing Tullow Street, was renovated in 1998 to house the Carlow Library & Archive. In 2000 a Fáilte Ireland Tourist Office was opened in the building. The Museum occupies the rest of the building which has four exhibition rooms; the two largest house the Museum’s permanent collection while the two smaller rooms are used for temporary exhibitions. The Museum is accessed through the Tourist Office.

Externally the Tullow Street facade of the Convent has a number of architectural features to ensure the building stands out Pulpit and banner. (Courtesy Carlow County Museum) on the town’s main street. Probably due to the narrowness of College Street cou- breathe outwards. An original fireplace room. Apart from the exhibitions that pled with the height of the building its ex- backing onto the Tourist Office has been have been installed here the former ternal appearance is quite plain. As a retained in its original position. Chapel is an exhibit in its own right. result a series of red banners have been erected along College Street to lift the Below the original stairwell a window The main part of the Chapel ceiling has building and highlight its location to vis- that was originally a door was reinstated fifty panels and each panel was gilded itors. But what the building may lack in as an opening for access to the Museum’s during the nineteenth century. Unfortu- features on the outside it more than extension. At the foot of the stairs an nately sometime during the 1960s the makes up for on the inside. opening was punched through into the ceiling was painted over. Over the years Museum extension to provide a door into some of the panels paint began to flake The Museum’s ground floor was used as the new ladies’ toilets. The large north re-revealing parts of the original gild. The the Convent’s primary school until 1960. window above the stairs had all its bro- gild is so thin it is virtually impossible to Originally there were three classrooms ken panes of glass replaced while a new strip back the paint without also stripping separated by partition walls with access teak base was installed to replace the rot- off the gild. However, just enough flaking provided by a corridor on the College ten timbers. Through this leaded window occurred to reveal the impression of the Street side of the building. Since 1989 a framed view of the Cathedral steeple patterns that were originally gilded onto these rooms had been used for a variety can be enjoyed. To retain this view and the ceiling. When the main construction of community and voluntary organisa- yet prevent natural daylight from entering works were completed and prior to the in- tional purposes. As a result alterations the building, which would damage the stallation of the exhibitions all fifty pan- were made to a number of these internal artefacts, it was decided to build a new els were skillfully re-gilded. Careful spaces. internal wall at the first floor landing all scrutiny of the ceiling by a curious visitor To provide the Museum with a flexible the way to the first floor ceiling. This will reveal that the centre of one of the display gallery it was decided to open up stairwell was previously used by pupils panels still contains the hook from which the ground floor as one large display as well as the public to access the Con- the Chapel’s sanctuary light once hung. space. To allow the building dry out from vent’s first floor Chapel to attend serv- a potentially serious rising damp problem ices. The half landing has a limestone The altar, along with the stalls, organ, the plaster was stripped off the walls. Not holy water font which now displays the wall memorials and Stations of the Cross only did the walls dry out (the new floor Convent’s 1811 chalice and is surrounded were removed in 1989 but the two has a damp proof course installed) but a by a collage of Convent photographs. wooden and plaster blind archways along series of archways and alcoves in the with the organ screen were retained along walls were revealed for the first time in At the top of the stairs one enters into with the reredos (back of the altar). The decades. It was decided not to replaster what was the Convent’s former Chapel. wooden reredos which is located in one over the walls but to retain the features This is now arguably the most impres of the blind archways contains Victorian and cover the walls instead with Hydi – sive room within all of Carlow Local Au- glass and along many of its edges con- a strong anti-damp course that looks like thorities public buildings. Consider tained gilding. This was extensively a whitewash. This prevents dampness en- ing the many architectural features in this cleaned and re-gilded. tering through the walls and yet allows room particular care and attention was the rubble walls to given to the care and restoration of this The Chapel has two types of floor boards,

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 3

112 Carlow County Museum

At the pulpit end of the Chapel are possi- Carlow Convent in 1855 at twenty one The Chapel houses the Museum’s largest bly the original floor boards of pitch pine. years of age taking the name Sister object - the magnificent hand carved These are rough, worn, and contain pro- Catherine. Unfortunately she died in nineteenth century pulpit from the next truding knots, and lack tongue and grove 1870 aged just thirty six years and is indoor Cathedral of the Assumption. The joining. The main Chapel floor contains terred in the Convent’s graveyard which pulpit, made in Bruges in Belgium, was tongue and grooved white deal floor adjoins Carlow Cathedral. In his last will controversially removed as part of the boards. Although not the original floor and testament he left ‘One thousand mid 1990s reordering of the Cathedral. boards they are still of an age to be con- pounds to Reverend Mother Superior for When the pulpit was removed from the sidered of suitable vintage that they are the time being of the Presentation Con- Cathedral it was brought into the former an important feature of the former vent Carlow, in trust for the benefit of the Chapel area and re-erected. It wasn’t until Chapel. Community of said Convent.’ It appears some years later that the Museum was al- that all of this money was used in the located the building and the pulpit is now, For some time mystery surrounded the Convent’s Chapel as the Annals state in along with the Chapel, central to its new dedication of the six stained glass win- September 1931 that “the insetting of six religious display. dows. The dedication reads “Pray for the stained glass windows in our little Chapel repose of the soul of Mr. P. Hanlon, RIP”. was completed to-day. The gift of P. Han- Directly behind the Chapel and at first Following the publication of an article in lon, Grange Co. Carlow.” In May 1933 and second floor levels directly above the the Carlow People newspaper requesting the Annals further state “Today saw the Tourist Office are the Museum’s two information about the stained glass win- completion in our little Chapel of the temporary exhibition galleries. This area dows Mr. John Murphy of Killinure, Tul- triple magnificent gift of Mr. P Hanlon, was previously the Sacristy and the Sis- low contacted the Museum suggesting Grange … in the form of six stained glass ter’s cells (bedrooms). In 2000 as that this might be Patrick Hanlon from windows, set of stalls and Stations of the part of the Tourist Office fit out these two Grange who died in 1928 and is buried in Cross – all of which so enhance the floors were developed into exhibition the graveyard adjoining St. Patrick’s beauty of our little sanctuary.” galleries. They were used on a number of Church in Rathoe, Co. Carlow.

According to Patrick Hanlon’s obituary, published in the Nationalist & Leinster Times on June 27th 1928, he died on Oc- tober 17th and his death “removes a prominent figure in the public life of County Carlow … He was closely identified with every movement for the welfare of the country. He was a staunch supporter of the tenant farmers in their fight against Landlordism and was a loyal and enthuastic Nationalist of the old school of Irish politics… For many years he was a most attentive and capable member of the old Carlow Board of Guardians… Deceased was returned a member of the first County Council, and of the Rural District Council, in 1899… The late Mr. Hanlon was a successful and The Fourth Station of the Cross (Courtesy Carlow county Museum) progressive farmer, and his interest in agriculture was shown at the meetings of The six windows in Carlow County Mu- occasions to house exhibitions organised the County Carlow Committee for Agri- seum are Mary with St. Anne her Mother; by the Museum, the Arts Office, Eigse culture…” the Sacred Heart of Jesus with St. Mar- and the Carlow County Development garet Mary; the birth of Jesus; the Fourth Partnership. Alterations were made to These details were forwarded to Sister Station of the Cross; Our Lady with St. this area including the removal of the ex- Marie Therese King, Presentation Sisters Bernadette at Lourdes; the Annunciation. isting stairwell so as to gain extra exhibi- Provincial Archivist who manually The beautiful windows were crafted by tion wall space. A new staircase was searched the Carlow Convent’s Annals Earley & Company of Camden Street, installed in the void between the floors for this period. It has transpired that Dublin and their work is considered as along with the addition of a lift, thus Patrick Hanlon of Grange is indeed the P good as Harry Clarke’s studio works. making the entire Museum building fully Hanlon to whom the windows are dedi- Two of the windows are on view as part accessible to those with physical disabil- cated. His connection to the Convent was of the Museum’s religious display. The ities. The installation of the stairs and lift through his sister, Mary Lucy, who ac- other four windows are covered with re- was one of the trickier onsite construction cording to Convent records entered the movable panels to keep daylight out. jobs and the space is quite tight; in fact

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 4

113 Carlow County Museum

several design options were considered age unit that houses the reserve collec- mountaineer. Captain Myles Keogh was before the present installation was agreed tion. It is planned over time to display in the 7th US Calvary and killed in the upon. At the end of the tour visitors more artefacts from the reserve collection Battle of Little Big Horn along with Gen- egress the Museum and return to the as well as incorporating new items that eral Custer. Kevin Barry, a medical stu- ground floor via the beautiful original are added to the collection. Through the dent from Co. Carlow was executed in main Convent staircase. temporary exhibition galleries a topic can 1920 in Mountjoy Gaol at the age of 18 be expanded and explained in more depth for his role in the War of Independence. It was decided early on in the design than may be possible in the permanent For centuries during the Bronze Age process that the existing convent building galleries due to constraints of space. Dinn Ríg was the seat of the Kings of the would be maximised as the Museum’s Province of Leinster and from where the new exhibition galleries. Therefore to ac- The majority of the artefacts were moved name Leinster came from. Carlow Sugar commodate the ancillary facilities such from the Museum store in portable boxes Factory, Ireland’s first and largest sugar as offices, toilets, onsite storage and can- and containers but some required more factory, was in 1925 the first public pri teen an extension would be required. The planning and the use of lifting equipment. extension is located to the north and north The former Nationalist & Leinster Times east of the building, described by printing press was certainly one of the Michael O’Boyle, Bluett & O’Donoghue most interesting pieces to move. Firstly Architects as a ‘bookend’. The first floor it was located in the former Museum portion of the extension is respectful of premises in the former Town Hall theatre, the Convent’s leaded windows, with the complicated by the fact it was located at installation of a flat roof below the large first floor level. Using a pallet truck the north window and a balcony in front of printer was moved to the car park side of the first window on the east side. The ex- the Town Hall. Temporarily one of the tension is clad in cut Carlow limestone to sash windows was removed and Walls complement the existing convent build- Engineering supplied a crane which lifted First floor exhibition gallery ing which was built of mainly limestone the printer out through the window. It (Courtesy Carlow County Museum) rubble. To achieve some onsite storage a was transported by a truck to the Mu- basement was constructed as part of the seum and the crane lifted the printer vate partnership in the history of the State extension. One of the most crucial times through the Museum’s ground floor fire and an innovative agricultural business. during the entire construction was the ex- exit onto the pallet truck which along The former convent Chapel exhibition cavation of the foundations and basement with other lifting equipment positioned gallery houses the Museum’s largest ob- as its location beside a nineteenth century the printer in its new display location. ject – the magnificently hand carved 19th building could have been problematic. It The culm crusher, after being washed, century pulpit from the Cathedral of the was important to have good weather dur- was transported with the aid of a JCB and Assumption. It is considered one of the ing this time to avoid the deep founda- a pallet truck while the Thompson Engi- finest pulpits in Ireland. The Museum tions becoming water logged. The neering manufactured World War 1 aero- collection contains rare archaeological existing convent foundations proved to plane wing was moved by both careful specimens of axes, swords, Bronze Age be substantial and there was very little manual handling and a large flat bed food vessels and an exquisite eleventh rain during this period. The basement trailer. The professionally made nine- century piece of Irish silver which is part was constructed with ease and from there teenth century banner ‘Tinryland and of the Jackson collection. The ground the block work and limestone cladding Bennekerry Irish National League’, al- floor contains a display of trades and were easily erected. The Museum build- though light to lift, provided its own dis- commercial life such as the forge, shop, ing is fully accessible and this is some- play challenge. Firstly it was conserved bar, Boot Factory, plumber, carpenter, thing not always possible or easy to by Rachel Phelan Textile Conservation, barber and a kitchen. The law and order achieve in a nineteenth century building. Dublin who surface cleaned the section displays the original trap door banner;fibres and tassels were restiched from the gallows of Carlow Gaol, possi- The exhibition design and installation and realigned and the painted images bly the only one on display in a Museum was led in house by the Museum staff. It were conserved. Through consultations in Ireland. All of the exhibitions will be was decided to lay out the exhibitions between Museum staff, Seamus Proctor added to and enhanced over the coming thematically and not chronologically. Carpentry and the conservator a bespoke years. Major themes of Carlow’s history were double sided MDF and perspex display identified and this was compared to the unit was constructed. Museum’s collection. Due to constraints Among the new displays are exhibitions The majority of the project costs were of space the Museum can only display a dealing with: met from within Carlow Town Council’s snapshot of the county’s entire history at John Tyndall, Carlow’s prolific 19th cen own resources but have received grant as- any one time. This is no different to the tury scientist whose discoveries still have sistance from the Heritage Council, the former Museum in the Town Hall and to an impact to this day; he is arguably the Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport, the vast majority of long established Mu- Father of Fibre Optics, discovered the Carlow County Development Partnership seums. The Museum has an off site stor- greenhouse effect and was a renowned and Fáilte Ireland.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 5

114 Carlow County Museum

The renovation, extension and conver- County/City Museums to collect and dis- Many Mesolithic (7,000 – 4,000BC) ob- sion of the building into a museum must play archaeological material found in jects were found including Bann flakes also be viewed in the overall context of their respective counties on its behalf. and stone blades. An unusual medieval its setting in Carlow’s Cultural Quarter. Prior to tendering for the main contractor ring-brooch or buckle is believed to be The Carlow 800 plan published in 2000 Museum staff met with the National Mu- first of its kind found in County Carlow. is a master plan for the town, presenting seum to discuss the overall plans for the Other finds range from a porcellanite a civic vision of Carlow for the twenty building and any advice given was incor- stone axe originally from Co. Antrim, a first century. It identified a number of porated. Post the construction works and number of grave goods, a red deer antler quarters for the town including Cultural prior to the installation of the main exhi- pick, pottery of different types and Quarter that has now come to fruition. bitions National Museum staff thor- shapes, stone axes, stone scrapers, a me- The cultural quarter runs from Tullow oughly inspected the building. This dieval bone pin, different types of arrow- Street along College Street to the Old inspection was to ensure that the Mu- heads and an iron quarry wedge. One Dublin Road encompassing the County seum met the criteria of a Designated Iron Age blue-green glass bead is the Library, Archive, Tourist Office, the Museum and that the Museum was suit- Museum’s smallest object at less than Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow able to display objects from the national 2mm in diameter. All artefacts on display College, the Visual Centre for Contem- collection. The National Museum staff in this exhibition are on loan from the porary Art & The George Bernard Shaw were extremely pleased with the building National Museum of Ireland. The impor- Theatre and the magnificent early nine- and its facilities and in fact most of what tance of these excavation results for Car- teenth century Carlow Courthouse. The they saw exceeded their expectations. low is acknowledged by the fact that Quarter is also home to Carlow Tourism, ‘Journeys in Time’ is the very first tem- Eigse – the Carlow Arts Festival & Glór porary exhibition to be held in Carlow Ceatharlach. Two years ago as part of this County Museum and it will run until Cultural Quarter plan realignment works The new Museum’s two temporary exhi- April 2013. were undertaken to College Street, onto bition galleries will accommodate both which the Museum is facing, with the travelling exhibitions and those created provision of new pavements and the in house. Making full use of these gal- opening up of boundary walls of Carlow leries and the designation status the Mu- College. The Museum is the last part of seum decided that the first temporary the Cultural Quarter to be opened. Cllr exhibition would be ‘Journeys in Time – Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Carlow the Archaeology of the M9 Carlow By- Town Council speaking at the opening pass’. It has been developed by Carlow ceremony stated that “like the Museum, County Museum in association with the many of these sites are free and together National Roads Authority (NRA), the they provide an important cluster of vis- National Museum of Ireland and Rubicon itor attractions in the heart of our town.” Heritage Services, who carried out the Archaeology Exhibition excavation work. Speaking at the Mu- (Courtesy Carlow County Museum) Nationally there are twelve official seum opening archaeologist with the There are two full time staff employed by County/City Museums in Ireland. A NRA Noel Dunne said that “Extensive Carlow Local Authorities, Dermot Mul- County/City Museum is one that is oper- archaeological research and investiga- ligan, Museum Curator and John Mc- ated by a Local Authority. Carlow is now tions were undertaken between 2001 and Darby, Staff Officer. Presently there are the second County/City Museum in Le- 2006 along the route of the Carlow By- two people engaged through Jobbridge, inster, the other being in Co. Louth. The pass in advance of road construction - the national internship scheme, two Museum is the third County/City Mu- through constraint, route selection and through the TUS programme coordinated seum in the south east region with Water- environmental impact assessment phases, by the Carlow County Development Part- ford Treasurers and South Tipperary followed by archaeological test-trenching nership Ltd. The Tourist Office is oper- County Museum being the other two. All and finally excavation of discovered ated by Carlow Tourism on behalf of the County/City Museums work closely sites. In all, 64 sites were excavated and Fáilte Ireland. To ensure the Museum can with the National Museum of Ireland, the results have contributed greatly to our function on a day to day basis there is a particularly in the area of Archaeological understanding of Carlow’s past – quite team of volunteers who since the Mu- Finds. Under the National Monuments significant findings that will form a seum opening have given selflessly of Act 1930 and its amendments all archae- tremendous resource into the future, in their time and indeed the Museum is very ological objects found with no known terms of education, tourism and local his- grateful to them for this. owner are the property of the Irish State. torical awareness.” Over the years the National Museum has Over the last ten years while the new Mu- been collecting artefacts from every seum premises were in the process of county in the country and obviously not Significant sites include Carlow’s oldest being developed the Museum engaged in all artefacts can be displayed. Signifi- houses at Russellstown & Busherstown, a variety of community projects, exhibi- cantly through the Designation Status the the first Neolithic (4,000 - 2,500BC) tions, walks and talks. Although being a National Museum empowers the houses ever discovered in the county. County Museum allows for a wide scope

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 6

115 Carlow County Museum

of displays and exhibitions to be under- schools can enjoy the special fun quiz Architect Michael O’Boyle, Bluett & taken, it is only possible to provide a while families can undertake their own O’Donoghue Architects, Dublin snapshot of the County’s wide history investigations with our junior detective Design Team Leader & Structural Engi- and heritage within the display galleries. quiz. neer Ivor Bowe, Bowe Consulting Engi- Through these outreach projects the Mu- neers, Carlow seum recognises that many other aspects Quantity Surveyor Andy Quinn of Mc- of the County’s heritage can be accessed Appendix 1 Cullagh Lupton Quinn, Kilkenny and focused on. Some of the projects the Carlow County Museum Opening Structural Engineer Tom Gleeson (R.I.P), Museum undertook or were involved in Ceremony Details for Wednesday Carlow included: The Interreg 111: the Cultural April 11th 2012 Mechanical & Electrical Engineer Eddie Exchange project with the Museum Serv- Doyle, Doyle Environmental, Ullard ice, Pembrokeshire, Wales; the Carlow 4.15pm to 5.15pm: Michael Brennan, Town Clerk, Carlow Town Heritage Trail; the Leighlinbridge Minister Phil Hogan, TD, Minister for the Town Council; Historic Town Trail; the Carlow – Trails Environment, Community & Local Gov- Tim Madden, Clerk of Works, Carlow of the Saints; the Borris House Geo- ernment was given a tour of Carlow County Council Physical Survey; the Carlow Folklore County Museum. Overall Project Coordinator & Exhibition Exhibition; the Clonegal Commemora- Following the tour Minister Hogan and Design Leader Dermot Mulligan, Mu- tive Plaques; the Carlow GAA 125th An- Cllr. Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Car- seum Curator, Carlow County Museum. niversary Exhibition 2009; the low Town Council unveiled the com- Geological Survey of Ireland geology memorative plaque in the Museum’s Carlow County Museum Contractors: walks in the Blackstairs, 2004 – 2007 and entrance hallway. Main Contractor: Bam Building Ltd, a special walk to Carlow’s Volcano in 5.15pm Kill, Co. Kildare 2008; the Heritage Boat Association Na- Opening speeches hosted next door in the Electrical Contractor: Seamus Byrne tional Rally in Carlow Town 2005; the Cathedral of the Assumption* Electrical Ltd., Carlow Carlow Cathedral Heritage Week Exhibi- Cllr. Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Car- Mechanical Contractor: Murphy & Kelly, tion, 2010; the Michael O’Hanrahan low Town Council Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny 1916 90th Anniversary Commemoration, Martin Nevin, Chairperson of the Board Lift Contractor: Kone Ireland Ltd., 2006; the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Carlow County Museum Dublin “Rubbing Shoulders with the Dead” ex- Pat O’Neill, President of the Carlow His- Leaded Windows Contractor: Irish hibition and is the national Heritage torical & Archaeological Society Stained Glass, Dublin Week coordinator for County Carlow Noel Dunne, Archaeologist, National Gilding Contractor: Naomi McBride & since 2005. Roads Authority Associates, Co. Sligo Blessing of the new County Museum led Oil Painting Contractor: Naomi McBride The Museum is conscious that it is dis- by Monsignor Brendan Byrne & Associates, Co. Sligo playing a variety of artefacts from around Minister Phil Hogan, TD, Minister for the Display Cases: Armour Systems Ltd, the County and that where possible visi- Environment, Community & Local Gov- Milton Keynes, England; Click Nether- tors should be encouraged to explore fur- ernment speech and officially declared field, Scotland ther into the County. To this end the Carlow County Museum opened. Conservators: Liz D’Arcy, Studio for exhibition panels make references to MC – Dermot Mulligan, Museum Cura- Paper Conservation, Co. Wicklow; Su- other places to visit, trails and drives to tor sannah Kelly Archaeological Conserva- follow as well as websites to view for Cllr. Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Car- tor, Dublin; Rachel Phelan Textile more information. low Town Council made a presentation Conservation, Dublin; On the Edge Ltd, of a framed Browneshill Dolmen art Co. Wicklow. Check out www.carlowcountymusuem.ie work to Minister Phil Hogan TD on be- Picture Framing: Fine Framers, Carlow or join in on www.facebook.com/carlow- half of Carlow Town Council and the Town countymuseum and twitter.com/carlow- Museum Board. Moulding: Old Mould Company, Co. countymus 6.00pm Wicklow. Reception hosted in the Visual Centre for Historical Researcher: Dr. Margaret Mur- Carlow County Museum Opening Hours: Contemporary Art. phy, Co. Carlow. Monday - Saturday Irish Translation: Máire Ui Iarnáin, Co. 10.00am - 4.30pm September - May Appendix 2 na Gaillimhe Monday - Saturday Carlow County Museum Project Cred- Graphic Design & Printing: Lightning 10.00am - 5.00pm June - August its/ Details Print & Design, Carlow; Carlow Graph- Sundays & Banks Holidays Board of Carlow County Museum: ics. 2.00pm - 4.30pm June - August Martin Nevin, Chairman; Michael Bren- Environmental Monitoring: Instrument nan, Town Clerk, Cllr. John Cassin, Cllr. Technology, Co. Meath Admission to Carlow County Museum is Rody Kelly, Cllr. Walter Lacey, Seamus free and is self guided. Guided tours can Murphy & Noreen Whelan. be provided for groups (pre booked), Carlow County Museum Design Team:

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow County Museum 05/11/2012 20:42 Page 7

116 Carlow County Museum

Contractors: Museum Committees for their vision, Public Works; Staff of Visual and the Gerrie Dunne Building Contractors; Ed- foresight, enthusiasm and pioneering George Bernard Shaw Theatre; Fiona wards Engineering, Tullow, Co. Carlow; spirit in founding and operating Carlow Cunnane and the staff of Carlow Volun- James J Farrell, Carlow Town; Paul Hoey County Museum since 1973. teer Centre; FAS; Jobbridge – National Decorator, Carlow Town; Thomas Internship Scheme; Dr. Gillian Barrett; O’Neill & Sons, Carlow Town; Proctory Director and staff of the National Mu- Alan Cashin, Tom Clowry; Ger Deering; Carpentry, Carlow Town; Walls Engi- seum of Ireland including Dr. Patrick Therese Jackman; Matt Kelly; Dr. Peadar neering, Carlow & Xenon Security, Car- Wallace, Raghnall Ó Floinn, Ned Kelly, McArdle; Hugh Maguire; Paddy low. Paul Doyle, Anthony Read, Gregory Matthews, Declan O’Connor; Mary Kelly, Isabella Mulhall, Nessa O’Connor, O’Neill, Bobby, Mary & Gemma Quinn, Museum Staff: Mary Cahill, Maeve Sikora, Carol Smith, Lorcan Scott, Joe Watters, Town Clerk Dermot Mulligan, Museum Curator; Christopher Harbidge, Padraig Clancy, (retired); Pat Mealey, John Kavanagh, John McDarby, Staff Officer; Martin Andy Halpin and Mathew Parkes. Bill Flemming & the residents of Presen- O’Rourke, Building Maintenance Super- tation Close; intendent; Museum Assistants - Deirdre Michael Murphy, Chairman and the Kearney, Sinéad Marshall, Shannon Board of Carlow Tourism, Eileen To all the people who since 1973 have Basso Gaule, Tom Roche, David Halpin O’Rourke CEO and the staff of Carlow presented the Museum with artefacts and & Jake Duggan. Thanks to all our volun- Tourism – Gwen Brennan, Lorraine objects for display. Together these objects teers who have and are assisting in the Brennan, Kay Farrell, Alison Fitzharris, give us a greater understanding of our running of the Museum. Alberto Urbina and Carolyn Wilkinson. rich past.

Grant Aid & Specific Funding Received Rónán Swan, Acting Head of Archaeol- * With the potential for several hundred from: ogy & Noel Dunne, Archaeologist, Na- people to gather for the opening it was Department of Arts, Heritage and the tional Roads Authority (NRA) decided that the Museum could not ac- Gaeltacht commodate such a crowd inside the ex- Carlow County Development Partnership To the Chairperson, Festival Directors hibition galleries. It was planned to hold European Regional Development Fund and staff of Eigse, Carlow Arts Festival the opening ceremony in what was the Interreg 111A Programme for their help and support over the years. former Presentation Convent garden, Fáilte Ireland now Presentation Close car park. Accord- The Heritage Council To the Presentation Sisters for their in- ing to the Presentation Sisters there was The National Roads Authority valuable information, support and eternal a tradition of having a party in the gar- encouragement to all associated with this dens following the Communion and Con- Thanks for help, support, guidance to the project. firmation of their pupils in the Cathedral. following organistions, societies, groups It was decided that weather permitting & individuals: The Staff of Bam Building Ltd including the Museum would have its own version Leo Harmon, Derek O’Connor, Kieran of a garden party in honour of this tradi- Cllr. Tom O’Neill, Cathaoirleach of Car- Brophy, Tavin Broaders; The Local Au- tion. Unfortunately in the hour or so lead- low Town Council, Members of Carlow thorities Museums’ Association ing up to the ceremony the weather Town Council - Cllrs Michael Abbey, (LAMA); Carlow – Kilkenny Energy broke. Several weeks prior to the opening Anne Ahern, Eileen Brophy, John Cassin, Agency; Former County Managers: Matt the Cathedral of the Assumption agreed Des Hurley, Rody Kelly, Walter Lacey, O’Connor, Tom Dowling & Joe Crockett; to host the ceremony if the weather Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. Mary Walsh and staff of Carlow County wasn’t favourable. They did this both as Cathaoirleach and Members of Carlow Development Partnership; Michael Star- a neighbourly gesture and in honour of County Council; Cathaoirleach and rett and the staff of the Heritage Council; their close ties over the years with the Members of Muinebheag Town Council. Sergeant Mary Corcoran, Crime Preven- Presentation Sisters. As a point of clari- tion Unit; Carlow Gardai; Carlow Civil fication the speeches in the Cathedral Tom Barry, County Manager; Michael Defence; Chris Corlett, Archaeologist were given from the side of the altar Brennan, Town Clerk and the Carlow Department of Environment, Community using a music stand as a lectern and not Local Authorities Management Team. & Local Government; Fr. John Cummins, from the pulpit as widely reported in the The Board of Carlow County Museum. Fr. Rory Nolan, Bernard Gerraghty and media. Speaking from the pulpit in the To all the staff of Carlow Town Council. the Cathedral Parish; Monsignor Cathedral is a practical impossibility Josephine Coyne, County Librarian and Caoimhín Ó Néill, Dr. Thomas McGrath, since the mid 1990s when the pulpit was the staff of Carlow County Library. To staff and students of Carlow College; Jar- removed as part of the renovations of the the staff of Carlow Local Authorities. To lath Judge and the staff of CRISP Car- Cathedral. It is estimated that between the staff of Carlow Town Amenity Trust. low; Mark Thomas and the staff of the five hundred and seven hundred people Pembrokeshire Museum Service, Wales; attended the opening. The President, former Presidents, com- Judith Martin and the National Council mittees and members of the Carlow His- for the Blind; Emma Whitmore, Glór torical & Archaeological Society and Cheatharlach; Grace Marshall, Office of

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 1

117

The ‘Slashing Parson’ of 1798: The Life & Death of Rev. Robert Rochfort of Clogrennane, Co. Carlow, 1775-1811. By Shay Kinsella

Introduction teenth century, and for his father’s role in However, no historical account to date the prosecution of the 1798 rebellion in has assessed the arguably more signifi- he ruins of Clogrennane House Carlow.iv In allocating a pivotal role to cant, provocative and dramatic role court mystery. Built in 1815 to Col. John Staunton Rochfort (1764-1844) played by his younger brother, the Rev- Treplace their earlier home, Clo- in that regard, O’ Toole and others base erend Robert Rochfort. The story of his grennane Lodge, its walls are the main their evidence on his considerable corre- life and early death is dominated by alle- physical reminder of the Rochfort family’s presence in the county Carlow townland of Clogrennane. However, with its back towards the public road, facing the steep incline of Clogrennane Hill, it seems resigned to obscurity, the climbing ivy camouflaging it even further into the green landscape. The correct spelling of the townland is itself characteristic of the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the Rochfort historiography: is it Clo- grennane, Cloughrenan or Clogrinan, as all variations occur in the sources? Much of the family history is unchartered and lies as damaged and brittle as the small holding of Rochfort papers in the Na- tional library.i In turn, the details of where and how these papers were ac- Ruins of Clogrennane House, completed 1815. The Rochforts left in 1923. quired is a similar story of uncertainty, Photo; Shay Kinsella the only note in the Library’s accession records being a comment on the soiled spondence with the Dublin administra- gations of brutality and cruelty in 1798 ii and damaged state of the documents. At tion in the Rebellion Papers of the that make him Carlow’s answer to pitch- least three myths exist in folklore de- National Archives, the account of his en- capping Captain Swaine. Thirty years scribing the family’s origins in Carlow, counter with William Farrell in his Car- after the rebellion, his reputation had and are symbolic of the ambiguity and in- low in ‘98, and the writings of fellow been demonised to an unparalleled de- iii vention surrounding their history. Much Orangeman John Ryan in his History and gree in the county. Accused of sectarian recovery remains to be done before their antiquities of county Carlow (1833). In butchery and the remorseless and unau- story disappears like the original her thesis, Maura Duggan outlines his ac- thorised execution of United Irish prison- Rochfort home or the towers of Clogren- tivities in great detail, and the existing ers without trial, the exploits of ‘the nane Castle. historiography of the period rightly slashing parson’ as he came to be la- grants him a central role in the turbulent belled, were recalled and elaborated on,vi In his masterly survey of the Carlow gen- affairs of that year, sharing the limelight ranking him just below Robert Cornwall try, Jimmy O’ Toole claims the Rochfort of notoriety with Robert Cornwall of in terms of violence and brutality. He name is remembered in Carlow for two Myshall Lodge. Similarly, L.M. Cullen cuts an intriguing figure in the imagina- diverse reasons: Horace Rochfort’s role claims that Rochfort was ‘so influential’, tion by his fusion of religious and mili- in promoting the development of cricket, both within and outside Carlow in 1798.v tary concerns - striking in his clerical polo and rugby in the county in the nine-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 2

118 Rev. Robert Rochfort

garb, bible in one hand and cat-o’-nine- nation by perpetuating English rule in daughter of Thomas Burgh of Bert tails in the other, unapologetic to the last Ireland and was in fact, ‘the assassin of House, Co. Kildare in a valuable connec- in his preaching of an omnipotent Protes- his country’.ix It can indeed be argued tion for the family. The Burghs, although tant Ascendancy. For decades, indeed, that the activities of the Rochfort brothers far from affluent, were ‘a family of splen- until the Rochforts finally left Ireland in and their promotion of Orange sympa- did lineage’ according to A.P.W. Mal- 1923, the legacy of Robert Rochfort’s ac- thies in Carlow were the key factor in the comson, and one worthy of Rochfort tivities in ’98 hung over the family like a defeat of the United Irishmen in the interests. Dora’s elder sister Margaretta spectre, destroying their electoral county that year. It was Robert, however, (Peggy) had already married John Foster, chances (John Staunton Rochfort was the who appeared to revel in the bloodshed. who would later become the last Speaker last of the Clogrennane branch to have a In this light, his story is highly worthy of of the Irish House of Commons and sub- seat in parliament) and tainting their en- study and is crucial to a description and sequently, Chancellor of the Irish Ex- titlement to a good name in subsequent understanding of the 1798 rebellion in a chequer and Lord Oriel. As ‘uncle’ to decades. Carlow context. John Rochfort’s children, Foster was to prove an invaluable patron and stepping- His story is engaging in its savagery and stone to promotion and societal eleva- drama, his premature death at the age of tion.xiii thirty-six locking him into a legend he could never change, unlike his brother John Rochfort succeeded to his father’s John Staunton who mellowed consider- estate on the latter’s death in December ably with time, age and hindsight. In ad- 1771.xiv As the only surviving son, John dition, the story is appealing in the inherited the entirety of his father’s prop- dichotomy of Robert’s character. On the His father, John Rochfort: 1735-1812. erty which included the lands of New- one hand he was charismatic, handsome, park in Dublin, estates in Co. Westmeath Although Cox claimed he was born into popular with the eligible women of Car- and Wexford, as well as their primary ‘the dregs of Ascendancy’, Robert low, charming in the vigour of youth, an seat at Clogrennane in Carlow which in- Rochfort (of the 17th generation from the intelligent preacher with excellent cluded the lands of Raheendoran. For original De Rochefort settlers in Ireland prospects who was always immaculately convenience during their trips to the cap- in the early fourteenth century) was born presented. On the other, he was blood- ital, the Rochforts had a residence in into a family with an impressive pedigree thirsty, vengeful, inherently sectarian, ob- Jervis St. and another on Ormond Quay in the Anglo-Irish élite.x His great-grand- sessive, paranoid, and at worst, as well as a residence on Dublin St. in father, the Hon, Robert Rochfort, had murderous. His death in 1811 was cele- Carlow town. John Rochfort extended been the Speaker of the Irish House of brated with delight in the Irish Magazine the family’s landed portfolio by leasing Commons, and his grandfather, a notable by Watty Cox, the most vitriolic critic of an estate at Clonskee, Co. Galway and Tory, had sat in the Irish parliament for the political status quo of his day. acquiring the lands of Adamstown and 47 years.xi The primary influence, how- Rochfort was granted the lengthiest and Milltown in Dublin.xv By 1812, Edward ever, on Robert’s burgeoning political most detailed mock-obituary of several Wakefield estimated that the Rochforts and social awareness was undoubtedly 1798 demons, in a publication where de- enjoyed an annual income of between his father. tails of the rebellion in Carlow were £5,000 - £7,000.xvi Despite the vicissi- given significant coverage, and where the Forty years old at the time of Robert’s tudes of the following century and a no- county received attention for the sectar- birth, John Rochfort (1735-1812) was at table decline in their fortunes, the family ian nature of events there. Rochfort’s the head of a considerable estate and was still owned 3,392 acres in 1883, across xvii death-notice was full of sardonic quips a renowned upholder of Protestant inter- three counties. However, in the 1770s, vii and devastating in its allegations. In his ests across several counties. As the son the Rochfort holdings were even more own eyes, the Reverend felt his actions in of an MP, and grandson of the Speaker, extensive, and their concomitant social, the suppression of the rebellion were a John Rochfort grew up enjoying the economic and political powers were at righteous defence of his Protestant inher- power and privileges of the landed élite their zenith. itances. The nation of the Protestant élite and appreciating a need for their protec- John Rochfort’s ascent in political circles was the one he had in mind when he or- tion. Heir to the entailed estate at Clo- was impressive and largely self-engi- dered William Farrell to ‘serve your grennane, he served as High Sheriff for viii neered. His ambition was matched by country’ by informing on his comrades. Carlow in 1758 at the age of twenty- ability, and a persuasive and confident However, to Cox and the United Irish- three.xii Two years later, in February manner of address. Although he con- men, Rochfort had in fact betrayed his 1760, he married Dorothea (Dora) Burgh, Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 3

119 Rev. Robert Rochfort

ceded he did not have the largest estate in capable of giving, that we maintained suppressing agrarian disturbances. In Carlow in 1772, he wrote to the Lord none of those pernicious doctrines im- October of 1775, the Morning Post and Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Townshend, puted to us’.xxi Accordingly, Borris (the Daily Advertiser newspaper in London and made an impassioned application for seat of the most prominent Catholic gen- claimed that ‘great numbers’ of White- the Governorship of the county, stressing try family in the county of Carlow, the boys were active in Carlow and that in- his qualifications and Kavanaghs) was chosen as the point of formers in their midst were giving up accomplishments.xviii His fervour was re- rendezvous, and on 4 December 1775, many of them to the authorities: ‘the warded in the following month when he Rochfort and a fellow Justice of the gaols of Carlow and Maryborough are was personally appointed as Governor of Peace travelled there to administer the daily crowding with them, who have so Carlow by Lord Townshend.xix By the oath to Thomas Kavanagh in his own long been a terror to peaceable time of Robert Rochfort’s birth in 1775, home, as well as to Dr Keeffe, and thirty subjects’.xxvii John Rochfort was active in John Rochfort’s position of leadership of the Roman Catholic clergy and laity of pursing the Whiteboys and had been per- and power in the county was assured. the neighbourhood.xxii Dr Keeffe had pri- sonally responsible for apprehending ‘no One of his most significant –and indeed vately told Kavanagh of his reluctance to less than six of that lawless banditti’ and symbolic – duties was the administration take the oath and seems to have been one committing them to Carlow Gaol on 19 of the Test Oath to Catholics, by order of of the first prelates in the country to do October 1775. Six months later, in April an act of Parliament in 1774. The oath so. However, he conceded it was in- of 1776, the High Sheriff and Grand Jury demanded a profession of loyalty to the evitable that he should take it and he of the county saw fit to assemble for the Crown and an acknowledgement of the would have been aware that a promise to specific purpose of thanking Rochfort limitations of papal authority. It was a John Rochfort could not be broken with- and William Paul Butler ‘for their active ‘test’ to ascertain whether or not a out suffering the consequences.xxiii and spirited conduct, and unwearied dili- Catholic was likely to acquiesce with, or gence, in pursuing, apprehending and resist the status quo of Protestant Ascen- As well as an upholder of religious su- bringing to justice, a great number of dancy in Ireland. The rewards for premacy, Rochfort was also very proac- those deluded people called White Boys, Catholics taking the oath included the tive in prosecuting any threats to his that have infested this county’.xxviii This franchise and the right to hold their es- caste’s political or financial interests. He report portrays Rochfort as a persistent, tates. As Edward Wakefield commented was especially notable in countering aggressive, and determined prosecutor - in 1812, ‘those who do not make this dec- agrarian attacks by Whiteboys in Carlow a man with no sympathy for those who laration, are still subject to the whole in the mid-1770s. The Whiteboys were chose to disrupt the status quo. For the vengeance of the penal code’.xx The fact localised, oath-bound societies deter- Carlow gentry, Rochfort had come to that Rochfort was the primary adminis- mined to eliminate injustices relating to epitomise an assertive and omnipotent trator of the oath in the county says much landholding, such as high rents, tithes and Ascendancy. Such was the primary male about his status in contemporary Carlow. the imposition of fines when renewing influence on Robert Rochfort. leases, such as those imposed on Lord His name was a byword for loyalty and Donegall’s estate in Antrim where the It is therefore hardly surprising that John he was known as an active prosecutor of ‘Hearts of Steel’ had conducted a violent Rochfort was central to the formation of disaffection and public unrest. He wrote campaign of attacking cattle, breaking the Volunteer movement in the county on assertively to Dr James Keeffe, Roman fences, raiding for arms and intimidating the 1780s. Stemming from fears engen- Catholic Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin in opponents. John Rochfort had imposed dered by the American Revolution and a late 1775, questioning why he and his similar fines on his tenants in Galway, desire to protect national interests and clergy had yet to take the oath, undoubt- and it is likely he did so across all his es- prepare against possible invasion, the edly stressing the whiff of resistance tates, including that in Carlow.xxiv There Volunteers were localised, largely Protes- which such a stance implied. Dr Keeffe was certainly a significant amount of tant, armed units who would step into the was eager to assure Rochfort of the loy- Whiteboy activity in Co. Carlow, with breach left by the withdrawal of military alty and cooperation of his clergy, and in one report claiming the county was ‘in- forces to the war. By 1780, the county November of 1775, he responded with a fested’ with a great number of such male- was drawn into the Movement with the ‘promise’ to John Rochfort that ‘before it factors.xxv Rochfort’s brother-in-law, formation of eight Volunteer Corps, and was very long, I expected I should have William Burgh complained to him of the the vast majority of the principal gentry the pleasure of appearing before him with abuse done to his estate at Aghade, near were involved – including Thomas Ka- as many as I could conveniently assem- Tullow.xxvi This was probably done with vanagh and his Catholic Corps, the Borris ble of my clergy to convince him and a view to engaging Rochfort’s support, Rangers.xxix ‘Colonel J. Rochfort’ was mankind, by the most solemn Test we are for he had a formidable reputation for credited as the head of the ‘County of

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 4

120 Rev. Robert Rochfort

Carlow Legion’ corps, which was associ- underlings with its pomp and ceremonies, county town and was received by ated on 1 September 1779, with some allowing for the impressive display of Rochfort’s Carlow Legion under arms, sources claiming that Henry Bunbury arms, uniforms, parades and soirées. The ‘amidst the joyful acclamations of num- was co-founder.xxx With this Carlow new Volunteers added an exciting new el- berless spectators’.xxxviii The following corps to the north of Clogrennane, ement to the annual Protestant celebra- day, despite torrential rain, three thou- Rochfort also established the Leighlin & tions in July of the Williamite victory at sand troops marched to Pollerton in cer- Leighlinbridge Volunteers to the south in Aughrim in the town.xxxiv William Farrell emonial procession. Rochfort (with the 1779.xxxi remembered the enthusiasm and positive other three aides-de-camp) accompanied atmosphere of the Volunteers’ early days: the Duke and Duchess (in her ornamental ‘in Carlow in particular there was one of carriage with decorated ponies) there at the handsomest dressed corps and best four o’clock where the various Corps pa- appointed in every respect that could be raded before them, ‘and were politely found [...] There was scarcely any man, dismissed by his Grace, he finding it im- even in the most trifling business, but possible for the troops to fire with any could afford to buy his own clothing and propriety, as the rain descended in tor- not only that but could afford his time to rents, to the disappointment of the great- go to drills and parades and at times to go est number of spectators we ever a long distance to reviews and pay all ex- remember to have seen assembled on penses himself’.xxxv such an occasion’.xxxix Nevertheless, a dinner was held that night, ‘where a num- British successes in the American war ber of patriotic and loyal toasts were were celebrated with gusto in Carlow. drank’ followed by a ball ‘which was Banner of Carlow Legion of Volun- When Admiral Rodney won his impor- crowded with a number of the most beau- teers founded by Col. John Rochfort, tant victory over a Spanish Squadron at tiful women perhaps in the world’.xl father of Rev. Robert Rochford the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in January Image courtesy James Adams & Sons 1780, John Rochfort embraced the oppor- Rochfort’s popularity induced him to tunity to celebrate the apparent invinci- seek election for Carlow County in 1783, The Carlow Legion quickly created an bility of British military might and right. where he pledged to abide by ‘indepen- identity for itself with its representative On 15 March he led the ‘Old-Leighlin dent principles’.xli He polled a re- insignia. The design of its oval flag Volunteers’ on a celebratory march from spectable 337 votes compared to the 508 (which was recently put up for auction in Leighlinbridge to his home at Clogren- votes and 351 votes respectively for the Adams’ of Dublin’s ‘800 Years of Irish nane Lodge, where they fired a feu-de- ultimate victors William Burton and Sir History’ sale) would certainly have em- joye (rifle salute) in honour of Rodney’s Richard Butler. However, support for bodied Rochfort’s ideologies. It depicts recent victory. The corps was ‘afterwards Rochfort was signalled by the fact that Hibernia holding a flag and staff in one elegantly entertained by the Colonel’.xxxvi 107 of his votes were ‘plumpers’ where hand and a leafy sprig in the other.xxxii A The deep impression such a host made on the voter had decided to vote for Rochfort distinctively Irish aura is created by the a five-year-old Robert Rochfort, under alone, declining their right to nominate a harp on which Hibernia lies and the ex- his own roof, should not be underesti- second candidate.xlii ternal border of shamrocks surrounding mated, nor the sight of his father in his the motto ‘Be True to yourselves’. In this new scarlet uniform with lemon facings, case, being true to oneself meant embrac- with its powerful connotations of confi- Robert’s Early Life: ing a proud triumphal Protestantism de- dence, fortitude and supremacy.xxxvii fending the status quo and perpetuating an Anglo-Irishness which placed the ma- By 1782, Rochfort had advanced to be- jority of power in the hands of a minority. come one of the aides-de-camp of the John and Dora Rochfort’s first child was The flag, measuring 71 x 66 cm, re- Volunteers’ reviewing general, the Duke a daughter, Anne, born c. 1760 (who was mained on a bracket in St. Mary’s Church of Leinster, William Fitzgerald. His sta- to live to the grand age of 102, dying in of Ireland, Carlow until a refurbishment tus as the face of the Volunteers in the November 1862).xliii Their eldest son, in 1975.xxxiii The Volunteers fulfilled a county reached a head with the selection John Staunton Rochfort was born on 25 significant public and social as well as a of Carlow as the venue for the Third October 1764, and he was to have only military role in Co. Carlow, boosting the Provincial Review of the Volunteers. On one brother.xliv The exact date of self-esteem of the local gentry and their 11 August 1782, the Duke arrived in the Robert’s birth is unclear, but can be lim-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 5

121 Rev. Robert Rochfort

ited to some date in 1775.xlv With a in 1774 from Carlow to Leighlinbridge turned south, passing in front of the younger sister, Dorothea, the four did not run in front of the ruin of Clo- Lodge and its gardens, before proceeding Rochfort children grew up in Clogren- grennane Castle along the Barrow’s towards Ballygowan (known locally as nane Lodge on the Rochfort estate in Car- banks. This did not happen until early in Aughnagash) and the Ballinabranna road. low, which extended into Queen’s the following century, just before the Iver’s map provides the only known (al- County over the Fishogue river which ran completion of Clogrennane House in beit crude) representation of the earlier through their demesne. 1815 - a new mansion built by John Rochfort seat, and Robert Rochfort’s Staunton Rochfort to replace Clogren- home – he was dead for some years be- A map of the Rochfort demesne in Car- nane Lodge, on a site higher up in the fore his brother finished Clogrennane low by Thomas Ivers in the year preced- demesne.xlvii At that stage, the Castle was House. It shows a modest two and three- storeyed building (facing Clogrennane hill, its back to the Barrow, on a site to the right of the current avenue still known as the ‘Castle Lawn’), with a number of tall chimneys on a hipped roof. The illustration shows little sign of ornamenta- tion apart from what appears to be a narrow, protruding central block with a triangular pediment. To the south of the house, however, was a considerable ornamental garden with decorative flowerbeds and walkways. A modest lodge was situated on the public road, from which visitors ascended a short flight of steps to the Rochfort home. To the rear of Clogrennane Lodge lay a field, the Castle lawn, which terminated at Clo- grennane Castle, a building which was used only for the old coach-house in its vicinity.

An inventory of Clogrennane Lodge dated October 1794 shows the degree of comfort, and indeed luxury, enjoyed by the Rochforts.xlviii The house had three reception rooms, leading off from a grand entrance hall with its eight-day clock and glass globe. It had at least five bedrooms, the principals of which had separate and adjoining dressing rooms. Clogrennane Lodge had a library which held almost seven thousand volumes, large and small. The catering and storage facilities of the house were impressive with a large Part of Rochfort estate in 1774 from Ivers’map in National Library of Ireland. From West (top) to East (bottom) note the Barrow, Clogrennane Castle at “2” kitchen, cotton storage room, a house- and Clogrennane Lodge at “3”. Courtesy National Library of Ireland. maid’s closet, pantry (with separate cook’s larder), a room for Mrs. incorporated to serve as a gatehouse en- Rochfort’s maid-in-chief, as well as the ing Robert’s birth shows the trance into the remodelled demesne. In various out-buildings including a green- contemporary layout of roads, fields and 1774 however, the public road did not house, the steward’s office and coach- xlvi Clogrennan Lodge and Castle. Unlike turn in front of the castle but continued house. The accent and understanding of the existing modern road, its counterpart west towards the Killeshin hills and the domestic who undertook the inven- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 6

122 Rev. Robert Rochfort

tory comes across in the spelling and ap- mon for such younger sons to take Holy In Dublin Castle, Rochfort associated pellations attributed to some of the items, Orders and become Reverend gentlemen with the leading figures at the heart of the such as the ‘brickfast parler’ downstairs. of the Established Church. It is unclear British administration in Ireland, who The library was simply the ‘book room’ whether Robert would have pursued such bolstered his views of Protestant right which held Mr. Rochfort’s standing and a course by natural inclination, but he and a determination to check any at- marine ‘tenniscopes’, the first floor had was hugely influenced by his mother in tempts to undermine it. His superior in all the ‘bidrooms’, and the ‘Min’s room’ this regard. It was Dora Rochfort who his new role was the Rev. Alexander Sta- was next door to the Maids’ room. strongly impressed on her younger son ples, who had been First Chaplain in the the wisdom and propriety of pursuing a Castle since 1764.liii Staples was himself Some of the bedrooms in the Rochfort clerical degree, and Robert followed her a younger son of the gentry from an es- home were named by the theme of their directions.xlix He entered Trinity College tate at Lissan, Co. Tyrone, whose eldest décor, such as the Chinese Room, the Dublin on 8 July 1791, at fifteen years of brother, the Rt. Hon. John Staples, was Cotton Room and the Yellow Bed Cham- age, where he enjoyed the privilege of an MP in the Irish Parliament, and the ber. This latter appears to have been private tutoring in his chosen field. He brother-in-law of Thomas Conolly of Robert Rochfort’s bedroom but it had re- graduated with a B.A. in the spring of Castletown House.liv John Staples would cently undergone a renovation after his 1796.l The next task was to find a lucra- play a very active role in the suppression departure in 1794 -for by this stage tive or prestigious posting, and Rochfort of the 1798 rebellion in his own locality (1794), Robert was a student in Trinity appears to have achieved the latter objec- of Tyrone and Derry and his activities College, Dublin. The inventory tells us tive when he was appointed as one of the were brought to the attention of Chief that ‘Master Robert’s bid’ is ‘Gone to Chaplains-in-Ordinary of the Lord Lieu- Secretary Pelham.lv Like Staples, D[ublin].’ The only other mention of him tenant, Lord Camden, in Dublin Castle.li Robert’s older brother was also an MP at in the inventory is the fact that ‘1 small The influence of his father as a member this stage, John Staunton representing white quilt for Master Robert’ was await- of the Grand Jury for Dublin was proba- Coleraine from 1796-7, and Fore from ing his return in the store room. bly at play here. Although the role was 1798-1800.lvi largely insignificant and left little room for personal distinction (there may have It was probably at this stage that Rochfort also made the acquaintance of Robert Cornwall, an MP for Enniscorthy, an at- Chaplain in Dublin Castle, 1796. torney based at Stephen’s Green who had landed interests in Myshall, Co. Carlow. By the age of fifteen, Robert had begun Cornwall, undoubtedly the leading figure to consider his academic studies and fu- in the prosecution of the 1798 rebellion ture career. Ten years younger than his in Carlow, served as Second Chamberlain elder brother, Robert watched John in the Lord Lieutenant’s household and Staunton’s progress in the academic and would almost certainly have made con- civic worlds with interest. John Staunton tact with a fellow Carlowman in his lord- Rochfort graduated from Trinity College ship’s employ.lvii Twenty years Dublin with a law degree in 1784 (the Rochfort’s senior, it is likely he took the year after his father’s failed election at- young clergyman under his wing in the tempt) and was called to the Irish Bar in daunting corridors of power in the capi- Belt plate from the Infantry Unit of 1786 and pursued his legal career as a tal, possibly imparting his views that vi- Carlow Yeomanry. Rev. Robert barrister in Dublin from this date. How- olence was the best way to deal with the Rochfort was captain of this unit in ever, he was always aware of his in- 1803. Courtesy James Adams & wild Irish peasantry: in 1790, he claimed evitable inheritance of Clogrennane Sons a raucous fair in Myshall ‘went off very estate and was secure, to some degree, in well, and only a few heads broken, which this fact. It was a different story for been as many as 21 chaplains in total), I assisted in making, by way of preserv- Robert, and his counterparts among the the real significance of the posting lay in ing the peace’.lviii younger sons of the landed gentry. The the huge influence played by the person- career choices of such young men were alities he met and interacted with, their Whether through personal connections, far more significant and pressing, and to political convictions crystallizing his own or through oratorical skill (in which he a large degree determined their future inherited sentiments about how to ‘be appears to have had some talent, as we prosperity or otherwise. It was very com- true to yourself’.lii shall see), Robert Rochfort secured his

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 7

123 Rev. Robert Rochfort

greatest coup at this time by gaining the The Rochforts were keenly aware and title becoming as symbolic of his inter- attentions of Lord Camden himself, the perturbed by such developments. As ests as his ecclesiastical one.lxvii Lord Lieutenant- a notorious opponent to early as September 1792, John Staunton Catholic emancipation. The young cleric Rochfort sat on a committee of Carlow Although it is likely that Farrell exagger- made his acquaintance to the extent that gentlemen in September 1792 to take ated when he claimed the United Irish- Lord Camden made a promise to provide Catholic ‘mistrust and jealousy’ into con- men ‘spread in every direction like an independent living for Rochfort in the sideration, ‘where none ought in reason wild-fire’, the organisation had certainly church.lix Advancement and financial se- or justice to exist’.lxiii The aggressive at- taken a firm, if not omnipresent hold in lxviii curity seemed assured but was inter- titude and growing fears of the Rochfort the county. One of its chief attractions rupted, to Rochfort’s fury, by the family (and many of the Carlow gentry) was the camaraderie which members outbreak of rebellion in 1798, and Cam- can be seen in the committee’s most sig- seemed to enjoy, along with a sense of den’s hasty resignation and departure nificant resolution: purpose and activity. However, seditious from the country in June of that year. For papers, clandestine meetings and a Rochfort, retribution was to be swift and That we will resist by every means in our changed attitude amongst the people did savage. power any measure that shall directly or not go unnoticed by the gentry. John indirectly tend to give the Roman Staunton Rochfort was hugely disturbed Catholics any influence over the Legisla- when details of the conspiracy began to tive Body, as we are fully convinced was emerge. In his later life, he would admit Carlow in 1798 any share whatever of the elective fran- with grudging admiration that he felt the chise to be imparted to them, the Protes- machinery of the United Irishmen and The savagery of the 1798 rebellion in tant establishment in Church and State their scheme of rebellion ‘was always Carlow is all the more evident when one would be totally subverted. pretty perfect’.lxix By late 1797, con- considers the excellent relations which frontation seemed inevitable and Walter appear to have been existed between Rochfort was also alarmed by raids for Kavanagh spoke for many of the Protes- Catholics and Protestants during the early arms on the homes of gentlemen in the tant interest in Carlow when he wrote to 1780s. According to Farrell, ‘there was vicinity of Clogrennane Lodge. His Chief Secretary Thomas Pelham in no part of Ireland where a better feeling neighbours, John Alexander of Milford Dublin Castle: ‘I beg on this trying occa- of friendship existed between both and Nicholas Roche of Fonthill had been sion to assure his Excellency of my exer- Catholics and Protestants, nor no part lxiv targeted in 1793. Although never ap- tions and allegiance and that it is my where greater numbers of both were proached, the Rochforts had extensive determination, with the assistance of gov- blood relations’.lx That the Catholic pop- firearms at Clogrennane Lodge with 28 ernment to quell the insurrection here or ulation was in the majority in the county pieces, including a case of 12 pistols, 9 perish in the attempt’.lxx Such stoicism was clear, perhaps in as great a ratio as lxv rifles and 5 blunderbusses. Such a was shared by Robert Rochfort, with the 10:1.lxi With the outbreak of a the French quantity may suggest a purpose for the notable qualification that the notion of revolution, the establishment of a firearms beyond the leisurely pursuit of defeat would never have been considered Catholic college in Carlow town and con- hunting. With the outbreak of war with by him, let alone entertained. cessions to the Catholics granted by Lan- France in 1793, the gentry gladly ac- grishe’s relief bill of 1792, Protestant cepted the idea of forming local Militias, The United Irishmen were making defi- equanimity was unsettled in Carlow as a successor to the Volunteer move- nite strides close to Robert’s home terri- which proved the genesis of what Dug- ment. Such a force would serve not only tory of Clogrennane. Robert Cornwall gan, in her remarkable study of the pe- to strengthen national defences but could estimated that there were ‘not less than riod, terms ‘a garrison mentality’- what also be used to check local disorder. In four hundred’ sworn United Irishmen – lxii we have we will hold. The thought that addition, subservient Yeomanry units ‘these deluded people’ - in the area be- Catholics might receive the franchise - a (volunteer corps of farmers officered by tween Leighlinbridge and his home in measure conceded in 1793- was an ex- the local gentry) were to be established Myshall.lxxi Just six miles from the tremely worrying notion. Popular unrest to buttress local defence. The Cloydagh Rochfort home, the town of Leighlin- and a Catholic sense of frustration which & Killeshin Yeomanry was established as bridge was a hotbed of united Irish activ- followed in the wake of Earl early as 31 October 1796, led by Captain ity, according to Kevin Whelan.lxxii Fitzwilliam’s withdrawal as viceroy (a (later Colonel) John Staunton Croppy haircuts were common, late-night man with renowned Catholic sympathies) Rochfort.lxvi The unit comprised of in- meetings by the Barrow were noticed, as engendered further paranoia and a de- fantry and a cavalry corps headed by were sprigs of trees in the windows of cided defensiveness amongst the gentry. Captain Robert Rochfort, his military homes in the area – a symbol of solidarity

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 8

124 Rev. Robert Rochfort

with the United Irishmen.lxxiii By later ence in their ages is a certain factor here: mentators of the county and country.lxxx 1797 / early 1798, according to David John Staunton was thirty-three at the time His patrols were dreaded and were so ef- ‘Hibernicus’ Byrne, Leighlinbridge was of the rebellion, while Robert was fective as to merit mention in Sir Richard ‘a very disturbed neighbourhood, where twenty-two. However, too much should Musgrave’s famous Memoirs of the dif- patrols of the soldiery and parties of not be made of Robert’s youth in explain- ferent rebellions in Ireland in 1802. This armed peasantry, not as yet denominated ing or qualifying his fervour, for many of account, despite its limiting bias, gives an rebels, alternately prowled by night, the principal insurgents in the United insight into possible factors which pro- doing so much mischief that the friends Irish ranks were of a similar age, e.g. pelled Rochfort into such assertive ac- of each party suffered in turn. Murders, Mick Heydon, the principal rebel leader tion. Musgrave alleges that a weakening house-burning, imprisonment, whipping, in the Battle of Carlow, was the same age deference to Protestant might was ob- carrying-off cattle and other property be- as Robert Rochfort.lxxvii While both served in the county in 1797, ‘the inso- came so frequent [...]’.lxxiv The murder of brothers were committed to the defence lent looks and haughty demeanour of the William Bennett (a critic, if not opponent and perpetuation of their Ascendancy, the peasants, who would not formerly ap- of United Irish schemes) in Leighlin- Rochfort family motto seems to neatly proach a gentleman but with the greatest bridge in October 1796 seems to have summarise the dichotomy in their modus humility, now challenged his attention fired the Rochforts and Cornwall into operandi at this juncture: ‘Vi Vel suavi- with a broad stare, often followed by a more decisive, defensive and aggressive tate’ – by Violence or by mildness.lxxviii sardonic grin’.lxxxi Such a situation was action. Up until that point, Cornwall ar- intolerable for the twenty-two year old. gued he ‘stood singly in opposing the in- After the rebellion, in William Farrell’s Having grown up admiring the spectacle famous disturbers of the peace’. He was account, John Staunton claimed: ‘I of the Volunteers, soaked in the pride and now joined by John Staunton and Robert clearly foresaw from the beginning how power of his caste and religion during his Rochfort in prosecuting the rebels. Their all this would end and I did all in my Trinity education, and with a nascent role would be crucial. With Cornwall, power to prevent the people under me sense that he was playing his part in the the Rochforts contributed the largest from having anything to do with so fool- grand scheme of things with the chief block of correspondence from Leinster to ish a business [...] I acquitted myself in players in Dublin Castle, Robert Rochfort Dublin Castle in 1798, and their promo- using my best endeavours to prevent returned to Carlow incredulous that his tion of Orangeism (as we shall see) cer- them joining what I knew would be their social and political inferiors would have tainly contributed to Carlow’s unique ruin, and if they have not done so, they the gall or nerve to rock his boat. Here lxxix status as the only Leinster county to be must only blame themselves’. His was an opportunity to emulate his fa- proclaimed in its entirety during that correspondence shows how he feared the ther’s fierce loyalist reputation, and year.lxxv Indeed, it could be argued that possibility of open rebellion and worked armed with the fearlessness, impetuosity the aggressive actions of the Rochfort to avoid it, but Robert foresaw it as an op- and courage of youth, his objective was brothers in the area between Clogrennane portunity to prove his metal and worked to be unmistakeably assertive. In his and Leighlinbridge played a fundamen- to provoke it. While John Staunton wrote ideal operation, violence was to be the tal, antagonistic role in fanning rebel alarmist and pleading letters to the offi- first resort. Accordingly, the United flames in the vicinity and catapulting af- cials in Dublin Castle, Robert was wont Irishmen worked hard in ‘avoiding the fairs towards a violent crescendo the fol- to take matters into his own hands and patroles [sic] of Mr. Robert Rochfort of lowing year. Thirty years after the sought to imitate the aggressive activities Clongrennan [sic], and of Mr Cornwall rebellion, a local newspaper would de- of Robert Cornwall, his colleague from of Myshall-lodge, who much to their ho- scribe Leighlinbridge as ‘a place so fre- the Castle, in nearby Myshall. Cornwall nour never ceased to harass those miscre- quently converted in “former times” to was renowned for his nightly patrols, ants by night, at the head of their the orgies of Brunswickism’.lxxvi sometimes over a radius of twenty miles, respective yeomen corps’.lxxxii Based on raiding homes, searching for arms and the fact that there were only two loyalist pikes and gathering seditious material. claimants for compensation in the after- Robert attempted to do the same in the math of the rebellion from the Clogren- Robert Rochfort’s activities, 1797-8. Clogrennane area and beyond. Riding at nane/Leighlinbridge area, it would seem the head of his cavalry corps, he tried to It appears Robert Rochfort took advan- that the Rochfort yeomanry ruled with an locate meetings, identify suspects and ar- tage of leave from his duties in Dublin effective iron fist, seriously impeding the rest recalcitrants. He quickly made a lxxxiii Castle and returned home to Clogrennane United forces. The close relationship name for himself among what Cornwall as often as he could where he proved far between Robert and Cornwall – that of termed ‘the lower orders in this county’, more zealous and impetuous in his ac- mentor and protégé -– is confirmed by as well as the ruling powers and com- tions than his older brother. The differ- the fact that Cornwall himself supplied Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 9

125 Rev. Robert Rochfort

these details to Musgrave when he was ground, where only one side had taken to have inspired Robert Rochfort in much researching his book, and he made cer- the field. The Rochforts utilised the of the savage violence he perpetrated that tain the author highlighted the impor- Cloydagh & Killeshin Yeomanry like a summer. As Maura Duggan has argued, tance and vigour of Robert’s actions.lxxxiv private defence force, and had some of the arrival of the Orange factor into Car- Thus Musgrave alleges in relation to the them on active guard duty after dark out- low’s volatile crucible proved a catalyst two men: ‘I have been assured that the side their demesne, while the remainder which brought the disgruntled elements county of Carlow would have been as presumably accompanied Robert on his of society into open rebellion from fear much desolated as the county of Wex- patrols. A regiment of the Ninth Dra- of apparently imminent Orange ford, but that these gentlemen, by un- goons from Carlow town was also regu- brutality.xciii In this regard, as chief or- abated exertions and the most undaunted larly assigned to guard duty at ganisers of the movement, the Rochfort courage , struck terror into them [United Clogrennane.lxxxix Such apparently exor- brothers must be placed at the cynosure Irishmen], by surprising and arresting bitant defensive measures were not en- of events in Carlow in 1798. In L.M. them, in their most secret haunts and re- tirely unwarranted. Indeed, in Cullen’s estimation, the suppression of cesses’.lxxxv November of 1797, a man named Patrick the rebellion in Carlow was gentry-dri- Irwin, who had been arrested in Old ven, with the Rochforts in the vanguard Efforts of a different, diplomatic kind Leighlin by Cornet Lowther of the Ninth of an Orange surge.xciv He claims a pow- were being made by Robert’s brother. In Dragoons, informed his captors that Clo- erful Carlow interest emerged which was November of 1797, John Staunton grennane was linked with Carlow as one capable of influencing other counties and Rochfort as a magistrate of the county in- of the three United Irish regiments in the which implies ‘a hidden agenda in the formed Pelham of his fears, that ‘danger’ local area, consisting of thirty men each.xc Irish politics of the day’.xcv was imminent from ‘those deluded men Also, on 19 January 1798, John Staunton stiled [sic] United Irishmen’, and estimat- informed government that ‘a yeoman of Captain Robert Rochfort and Lieutenant ing that there were three thousand men in mine’ was shot at on the road between Colonel John Staunton Rochfort were in- their ranks in the county. He petitioned Leighlinbridge and Milford when he was timately involved in the earliest creation that extra troops be sent immediately to on his way to guard at Clogrennane be- of Orange Grand Lodges at county level. Leighlinbridge or ‘that part of the county tween five and six o’ clock in the John Staunton was proposed for member- Carlow on the west side of the River Bar- evening. The first bullet missed its target, ship of Lodge 176 on 13 February 1798 row will be [...] freed to join the United but a second hit his horse in the neck (the first to be established in the capital) lxxxvi Men’. Pelham adhered to his request which caused it to throw its rider.xci and became a member the following xcvi but resisted Rochfort’s request to pro- However alarming the incident, the fol- week. Robert Cornwall joined the xcvii claim the county. His plan of an amnesty lowing months would show an increase same lodge later in the month. One for those who chose to surrender their in confidence on the loyalist side with the commentator contends that Lodge 176 arms and take an oath of allegiance was arrest of some Clogrennane farmers was ‘the most powerful club in Dublin welcomed, but the failure to proclaim the charged with membership of the United and the nucleus of a national Orange xcviii county would be misinterpreted by the Irishmen and unlawful armed assembly movement’. Records claim that on 8 rebellious elements as weakness on the at the Carlow Spring Assizes in March March 1798, ‘Lt. Col. Rochfort’ attended Government’s part, according to 1798.xcii By this stage, the Rochforts had a meeting in Dublin, and agreed to plans lxxxvii Rochfort. A month later, after the in- become a lot more self-assured because for ‘organizing the Orange men of Ire- significant surrender of some guns, pikes of their involvement in the greatest threat land, and rendering them more effective and other weapons, Rochfort reminded to United Irish activity in the county: the in their support of their King and glorious xcix Pelham that the situation had not Orange order. constitution’. The Grand Lodge Reg- changed. He had heard rumours of a let- ister for 1798 shows that on the same ter from Lord Edward Fitzgerald claim- date, a warrant for Lodge 414 (seemingly ing that French assistance was imminent, based in the Clogrennane/Leighlinbridge which was apparently doing the rounds The Orange Order & Sectarianism in district) was granted to Robert Rochfort.c of the county, bolstering United Irish Carlow Indeed, Maura Duggan argues that it was morale, and government troops continued possibly Robert himself who attended the It was the Rochfort involvement in the to be fired at by persons unknown.lxxxviii March meeting in Dublin and not his Orange Order and their leading role in its older brother, for John Staunton was a propagation in Carlow that brings them By January of 1798, fear and paranoia member of another Lodge, as we have great notoriety in the story of the 1798 re- were palpable, and the vicinity of Clo- seen.ci If such was the case, it seems bellion. It brought a notable and vicious grennane Lodge resembled a battle Robert was Master of Lodge 414.cii Be- sectarianism in its wake and can be said Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 10

126 Rev. Robert Rochfort

cause his name does not appear with that The Lodge where Robert was Master had anism needs to be addressed here. The of other Carlow gentlemen in the mem- a membership of 241, and the entire body potential of the Orange order as a militant bership of Lodge 176, Duggan has sug- of yeomanry in Carlow was estimated to Protestant force to counteract the grow- gested that this means he was evidently amount to 653 in 1798.cix Given the over- ing strength of the United Irishmen was occupied with the position of Grand Mas- lap between Orangeism and the yeo- immediately embraced by John Staunton ter of the County.ciii Whatever the exact manry, and the fact that the Rochforts and Robert Rochfort. To them, their re- details, both brothers were actively in- were dominant in two different lodges, ligion was a key facet of their identity volved at the highest level, with John Duggan may be correct is her assertion and inheritances, as much a part of their Staunton attending the inaugural meeting that ‘half, if not more’ of the yeomanry world-view as their politics; in fact, pol- of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland in body in the county was controlled by the itics and religion were inextricably Dublin on 9 April that year.civ brothers.cx The association of the Orange linked. Thirty years after the rebellion, Lodges with the yeomanry served only to John Staunton Rochfort would argue that They moved immediately to bring the or- intensify religious divisions and suspi- the hostility between the two contending ganisation to life in Carlow. Thirty years cions. In a very short space of time, Or- sects in Ireland had always been an inher- later, polemicist and Tory John Ryan angeism, Protestantism and Oppression ently religious issue, ‘a continuation of claimed the county was indebted to John became synonymous concepts in the the old grudge, carried down from the Staunton ‘for the introduction (in 1798) county in the minds of Catholic popula- Saxon or English inhabitants of the coun- of that bond of loyalty, the Orange sys- tion. Captured United Irish leader Lau- try, down to the Catholics and Protes- cv tem, within its limits’ and Duggan is un- rence Griffin claimed ‘the people in tants’.cxv To his understanding, the equivocal in her claim that the Rochforts Carlow think all Protestants Orange- religious divide was central to all other were ‘the most prominent family in the men’,cxi and Duggan has traced how issues. The Catholic peasant conceives cvi Orange association in Carlow’. Ryan fears of Orange massacres were used as himself, and his religion, indigenous to implies that the existing yeomanry corps spurs to encourage enrolment into the the land, that he is one of the original in- was used as the basis for recruitment into United Irish ranks.cxii In the spring of habitants, and he identifies all Protes- the Orange ranks. If one concurs with 1798, it is clear that the reputation of Or- tants, whether of English or of Irish Duggan’s assertion that ‘the Rochfort ange brutality in Carlow was as powerful descent, with the English, and with the corps must have been almost entirely as its actual occurrence. Fear was indeed English religion; he conceives that they Protestant in composition’, (highly likely a palpable commodity in the county, and are usurpers on the land, that have de- given the Rochforts’ religious prejudices) rumours of Orange violence were rife. In prived him or the Catholics at large, of its members undoubtedly joined the Or- January of 1798, the Governor of Carlow their inheritance, and that neither the ange movement, as Robert would have Gaol told government that residents in a Protestant nor his religion, belong to the been an audacious and unforgiving re- village to the north-east of the county soil, but to another country.cxvi cruiting agent. Watty Cox alleged that were made delirious by reports from ‘two membership of the Orange movement, or well-dressed men’ who claimed that ‘the Although his political convictions had at least Orange sympathies, was expected Orange men, Army & Protestants from mellowed at this juncture with time and of members in the Rochfort corps, and Carlow were all coming to burn their reflection, in 1798, Rochfort and his while there were some Catholics mem- houses & to murder them’. Claiming that younger brother viewed the United Irish bers, Robert tackled this by producing ‘a the priests were nursing such rumours, he movement as an embodiment of strictly neat pocket volume, bound in Orange; concluded ‘it is truly astonishing to per- Catholic grievances that posed a signifi- shewing that a Catholic may retain his ceive how eagerly they are received and cant threat which needed to be elimi- situation in the Carlow yeomen, merely tenaciously credited’.cxiii Orange confi- nated. by avoiding the superstitious practice of dence was at its height by late Spring, In 1792 as we have already seen, John going to Mass; wreathing his temples with Farrell recalling the provocative, Staunton Rochfort manifested a decided with Orange in the shooting season and taunting demeanour of the army in Car- suspicion and distrust of Catholicism in [...] tamely listening to Cromwell’s low, displaying ‘their Orange ribbons and all its forms and institutions, and resisted Coblers abusing the religion of his fore- their fifes and drums in every direction, cvii moves towards Catholic relief. In this he fathers.’ Indeed, in later life, John playing “Croppies Lie Down” and every was influenced and supported by his Stanton Rochfort would admit that the other tune that would insult or annoy the aunt’s husband (and his patron), John Yeomanry was essentially a Protestant in- people most’.cxiv stitution and that ‘I think they [the yeo- Foster, Speaker in the Irish house of manry] have always been afraid of the As the main propagators of Orangeism in Commons who was part of a notable Catholics’.cviii the county, the issue of Rochfort sectari- group ‘in the government who were pre-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 11

127 Rev. Robert Rochfort

pared to encourage strong protestant feel- the counties of Wexford and Carlow, op- Catholic population, which led Rochfort ing as far as their positions as office-hold- erated very mischievously’.cxxi Not sur- to label him as a ‘seditious person’. ers would permit’, according to prisingly, John Staunton ‘was looked on Brennan was probably a Catholic him- Hereward Senior.cxvii As the years pro- as a deadly enemy’ by the United Irish- self, given his surname and the fact that gressed and matters became more in- men and was the subject of an assassina- a Protestant was highly unlikely to be dis- tense, Rochfort increasingly read the tion plot, according to Farrell.cxxii loyal in the ranks of the county’s most issues along denominational lines. The Cornwall was under a similar threat, and confident, sectarian and diligent centre of United Irish movement was, in essence, the likelihood is that Robert was also in activity, led by the Rochfort brothers. a Catholic conspiracy, he alleged in a let- their ranks.cxxiii One intercepted paper Unsurprisingly, Robert summarily dis- ter to Pelham in October of 1797, where from Rathvilly, apparently written by and missed Brennan from the corps on Sun- he worked hard to build a case associat- for United Irishmen stated that ‘the lives day 1 April 1798.cxxviii That night at half ing the tenets of the United Irish move- of all gentlemen who have worked past ten, he rode to Brennan’s house ment with ‘the articles of the Church of against [us] are lost’.cxxiv (with a loyal retinue) to raid it for incrim- Rome, as taught in the Catholick [sic] inating material or arms. On arrival, he college or school of Carlow, which I pro- As an ordained clerk of Holy Orders, and discovered that Brennan was not at home cured with great difficulty and with some representative of the established church, and proceeded to search the house for ev- address & expense’.cxviii To support his Robert Rochfort was actuated by a more idence. His endeavours were rewarded claim, he attached a seditious ballad he primal sense of his responsibilities as de- handsomely. In a hidden drawer in Bren- had confiscated in Carlow, and drew at- fender of the faith and his inheritances, nan’s desk, Robert Rochfort discovered tention ‘not only to the concordance of than his brother. Watty Cox defined him the oath and constitution of the United the sentiments contained in it to the arti- sardonically as a ‘this Corinthian pillar of Irishmen, and a statement claiming that a cles of the Church of Rome, but even to the church and state’, and ironically, this fleet of 170 Frenchmen was en route to cxxv the very words being the same’. He also is exactly what Robert aspired to be. Ireland, amongst other seditious papers. believed the priests in his vicinity were The combination of his occupation, his On continuing his search, Robert found advising their flocks not to take the oath Orangeism and his militant pursuit of the an unregistered musket and some ball of allegiance, ‘that any oath taken under disaffected quickly created a reputation cartridges, ‘none of which belonged to the influence of fear is not to be kept’. for him as the embodiment of what Pak- yeomanry’. He concluded that Brennan enham calls ‘the bogeyman of Catholic had stolen these articles from a soldier of cxxvi The Orange Order provided John fancy’. His very clothes and hair were the Ninth dragoons when on guard at Staunton Rochfort with a much-needed carefully constructed to constitute and Clogrennane. The following day, Robert sense of security. On 1 April 1798, he re- advertise his beliefs – in contrast to the made a sworn statement to a Justice of ported confidently that his yeomanry croppy hairstyle, ‘the Loyalists all wear- the Peace (in this case, conveniently, his would ‘willingly parade every Sunday ing real or artificial queues [pigtails]’ ac- brother) and forwarded all the documen- cxxvii and attend upon any emergency, and be a cording to Hibernicus. In the thick of tation he had intercepted to Dublin. By very powerful addition to the forces of the trials in Leighlinbridge that summer, believing to have discovered a United the country upon any sudden rising. If Robert made certain to have his hair Irishman in his ranks, Rochfort’s sense of the gentlemen in every other county con- dressed immaculately. purpose was confirmed. His suspicions ducted themselves as they have done in and growing frustrations had been justi- In the spring of 1798, his prosecuting this county, rebellion would soon be sti- fied. Such incidents boosted the cxix mind led him to question the loyalty and fled’. While he employed informers Rochforts’ morale significantly, and their cxx political persuasion of those within the where he could, he was aware that confidence peaked. With an active and hallowed ranks of his cavalry corps in the Loyalism’s greatest weapon was the Orange yeomanry at their disposal, rebel- Cloydagh Yeomanry. Robert’s suspi- common fear of Orangeism and all its re- lion would be easily quashed. The Bren- cions fell on Corporal Charles Brennan ligious bigotry. Indeed, in early June, the nan case is important in that it marks the from Clonmore, Queen’s county. under-secretary William Elliot lamented consolidation of Robert Rochfort’s dan- Rochfort disapproved of ‘the general to his superior Thomas Pelham that the gerous perception of the invincibility of conduct of said Brennan’ – was he giving rebellion in Leinster ‘has certainly as- his cause, that he had a natural ability to the insolent looks and haughty manner à sumed a strong religious spirit and I can- detect disaffection, and that to eradicate la Musgrave, perhaps? – the company he not help suspecting that the Orange disloyalty he had only to act on his in- kept and the houses he frequented. It is associations, which, you will recollect, stinct. He was determined to act deci- more than likely that all of these involved were formed and promoted by Colonel sively and ruthlessly and in the Brennan in communication with the Rochfort and some other gentlemen in conviction that he was right. In the com- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 12

128 Rev. Robert Rochfort

ing months, he not only personified, but “Come on, come on [...] come up to me. commodation, as I can afford you, but I legitimised Catholic fears of the Orange Oh, my God, if one of thy creatures can beg you to desist, for if you do not I shall spectre. inspire such awe, what apprehensions go away and leave the house to your- must we be under, when Thy thunder selves.’cxxxix If Rochfort was not directly rolls, and Thy trumpet calls us to come to involved in the construction of the gal- trial before thyself in all Thy awful lows, he certainly made no move to dis- majesty”.cxxxiii mantle it. Over the coming days, his The Aftermath of the Battle of Carlow reputation as ‘the slashing parson’ was Robert would have been delighted with made as he inflicted summary justice on With such fears whipping the demor- this speech, his objective to subvert the the prisoners who arrived for court-mar- alised United Irishmen into a frenzy, they haughty manner and irreverence of the tial. Farrell places Robert Rochfort in launched an ill-fated, and easily-quashed peasantry now achieved. Having missed Leighlinbridge market-square during the attack on Carlow town on the night of 23 the ignition of the rebellion in Carlow hanging of a prisoner named Lannan, a May 1798, where 630 people were said town, he was determined to be see it sentence executed by Cornet Lowther of to have been killed.cxxix The Rochforts quenched and acquired accommodation the ninth Dragoons, an associate of the played no part in the affairs of that night in the home of Mrs Finemore in the vil- family. Rochfort was present when the but were central to the prosecution of lage, the wife of a Dublin merchant, and death sentence was pronounced on Far- United Irish suspects in Leighlinbridge in future mother-in-law of David ‘Hiberni- rell, and he was noted busying himself, cxxxiv the weeks after the battle. Colonel John cus’ Byrne. The issue of enforced liaising with officers, passing on informa- Staunton Rochfort, as the local magis- free-quartering of troops on the civilian tion he had extracted from prisoners.cxl trate, set up his headquarters as President population was so contentious in Carlow of the Court in Hackett’s Inn, in the Mar- that Thomas Addis Emmet believed it His sensational obituary in the Irish Mag- ket Square of the town. According to was of the primary causes of the rebellion azine portrays him as rabid and vengeful William Farrell, who was transported in Carlow and elsewhere.cxxxv In the af- at this time. He is said to have personally there after his arrest, ‘the most death-like termath of the rebellion, troops from the used a taws (leather whip) and a sword silence prevailed and all nature seemed regular army were billeted forcibly on the on prisoners, and clapped his hands in petrified with terror’ on the road to local population and Mrs Finemore was time ‘to the music of the Triangles’ as Leighlinbridge.cxxx The village was like obliged to accommodate some officers, prisoners were tortured.cxli A pitiable sec- a ghost-town, the terrified inhabitants re- ‘who took up their abode with her, eating tarianism is construed in the claim that he maining indoors, aghast at the instru- of her meat, and drinking of her cup, held a Bible in his hands during many of ments of justice outside the door of which often sparkled with generous these activities. Elsewhere, Cox contin- Hackett’s inn: ‘the whole apparatus of wine’.cxxxvi While polite and hospitable, ued on the theme of Rochfort’s sectarian- death or torture, as the case might be, she was ill at ease during their stay. It was ism and alleged acts by claiming that ‘to viz.: a triangle, rope and cat-o’-nine tails here that Robert Rochfort decided to ac- make the best rascal in Ireland [...] take appended to it, for it was in the public commodate himself in the first week of an Orangeman from Carlow, initiate him street before the men and women, old and July 1798, to be in the thick of the action, in all the Purple mysteries, under any of young, that prisoners were stripped naked rather than return each night to his home the B—d’s, V—r’s, or R[ochfor]t’s; let and executed’.cxxxi The inn itself was full in Clogrennane a short distance him preside at floggings and torture and of officers and yeomen, ‘Major’ Robert away.cxxxvii His stay in Leighlinbridge hanging without trial; let him shoot some Cornwall conspicuous in their number, was to make him infamous. half score peasants on their knees; let him who made to draw a pistol on Farrell burn houses and let him be sure to burn Firstly, he was resident in the house when cxlii when he proved uncooperative.cxxxii all the inhabitants therein’. While the ‘ruffians’ from Mrs Finemore’s house- Threats of violence against the prisoners veracity of Watty Cox’s claims is hugely hold decided to lay a beam from her were carried into terrifying actuality in debatable, such violence was possible drawing-room window to a correspon- Farrell’s presence. Over this chaotic given Robert Rochfort’s obsession with ding window in the adjoining house in scene of hasty court-martials followed by pursuing his foes. The rebellion had vin- imitation of a gallows, declaring ‘it summary punishment and execution, dicated his hatred of the insurgents and would be a snug corner to hang the crop- Colonel John Staunton Rochfort com- violence was seen as deserved retribu- pies in’.cxxxviii Mrs Finemore was ap- manded, held in fearful awe by locals and tion. As one member of the Militia palled but summoned the courage to prisoners alike. When Farrell proved ret- shouted to Farrell and his comrades, im- address these ‘gentlemen’, saying: ‘You icent to approach him he declared: prisoned in the guard-house behind are masters of my house and of such ac- Hackett’s inn: ‘“Ah, you croppy

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 13

129 Rev. Robert Rochfort

vagabonds, it’s a fine time for you to be create a ‘New Glossary’ whereby the mation, believing it ‘impossible’ that his praying! You are praying now but you phrase ‘a loyal man’ was to be newly de- efforts would be obstructed by a mere didn’t pray in time! What is the reason fined as ‘a Protestant from Carlow’ or rebel. Farrell was probably spared of allowing light to such rebels? Let it be ‘any fellow who has distinguished him- Robert’s ire by the knowledge that his put out immediately.’”cxliii This was the self in 1798, by some acts in support of case had already been tried by his elder mood that dominated in the village. Or- the constitution, for which he would be brother. angeism and Protestant militancy were at hanged at the present day’.cxlv their most triumphant in the wake of the In direct contrast to ‘blood thirsty’ United Irish defeat, and Rochfort would Rochfort also encountered William Far- Robert, John Staunton Rochfort was dis- certainly have been on a high, his sense rell and the latter’s account provides fur- playing his complete distaste for prose- of righteousness and superiority in- ther evidence of Rochfort’s detestation of cuting the rebellion, and was loath to domitable. That such emotions could eas- ‘rebel’ ways. The conversation they had leave Hackett’s Inn to attend executions ily have strayed into violent excess is not clearly establishes Rochfort’s anger and whenever the drums rolled to collect sol- too far a supposition. In support of this disbelief that some of the prisoners were diers for that purpose. However, when contention, evidence of his excesses can still unprepared to cooperate even when duty called, he would not be found want- be found outside Cox’s diatribes, in other the game was up. He attempted to induce ing. ‘“It is a melancholy business but I more trustworthy sources. Farrell to inform with promises that ‘you must attend it”’, he told Farrell. On his should be protected at the Castle or sent return shortly afterwards, he ‘seemed The most serious charge of savagery abroad to any place you wish’ – itself an very much agitated and distressed at what against Rochfort is found in the account indication of the powers Rochfort had, or he was after witnessing and made some of David Byrne, who was informed of the perceived himself to have in his place of severe observations on the punishment facts by his mother-in-law, Mrs employment and with the authorities the men were after suffering who were Finemore.cxliv Before his breakfast, there.cxlvi His anger is palpable in the fol- far less implicated than I was’.cxlvii The Robert Rochfort was known to employ a lowing exchange: great likelihood is that Farrell took ad- barber in his lodgings to shave him and vantage of Rochfort’s depression, and co- powder his hair in the necessary style. “Now, Farrell”, said he, “you have only operated in some way, in return for the On one particular morning, he borrowed a few minutes to live and I would recom- Colonel’s assistance in securing his re- his hostess’s dressing-gown to wear as he mend it to you to give whatever informa- lease. underwent the procedures. Before the tion is in your power to put a stop to this task was completed, word was brought to unfortunate rebellion you were engaged When the grisly proceedings concluded him that a certain prisoner had just ar- in; it is the only atonement you can make in Leighlinbridge, John Staunton was rived in the town and had been lodged in to your country for all the blood that has only too happy to return to the comforts the stables behind Hackett’s inn. Accord- been spilled and you should do it to the of Clogrennane lodge, but Robert’s zeal ing to Byrne, ‘so blood thirsty was he that utmost extent in your power, as it may be persisted. At a ‘great luncheon’ held on hearing that a prisoner had arrived, he a means of stopping it altogether, pre- there shortly afterwards, a visitor in- started up, leaving his toilet unfinished, venting more bloodshed and restoring formed his hosts that he believed Captain took a pistol, went to the guard-house, peace.” Andy Farrell of nearby Crossneen – a and shot the man’. This account provides United Irishman and survivor of Vinegar “I wish it was in my power to stop it, sir”, us with the ultimate, and supremely pa- Hill – had returned to his homeplace and said I; “when I was at liberty I done my cxlviii thetic image of Robert Rochfort in the was in hiding in the locality. Col. best to stop it and would do it again if I events of 1798: that of a hysterical cler- Rochfort showed little relish for pursuing could, but I could give no information gyman in woman’s clothing, racing to him, claiming ‘he has escaped so far; we now that would be of the least use”. murder a prisoner without trial, before shouldn’t interfere with him’. Typically, his younger brother insisted ‘No, [...] we breakfast, and returning home to have his “That is very strange”, said he, turning must proceed against him’. Amazingly, hair done. To her immense credit, Mrs away [...] Finemore was (characteristically) the the story claims that the Rochforts’ butler only person to express her horror, telling “It is not in my power, sir”, said I, “to was sympathetic to the United Irish cause him: ‘I did not think, sir, that so hand- give information against anyone”. and informed the like-minded coachman, some a young man as you could commit Pat MacDonald, to ‘Go and warn Farrell “Impossible”, said he, staring at me. such a cruel murder; as for my dressing if he is in the neighbourhood and take this bottle of whiskey’. The source of this gown, you may keep it, for it shall never In total, Rochfort approached Farrell story claims that MacDonald was either go on my back’. Such acts led Cox to three times in an effort to extract infor- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 14

130 Rev. Robert Rochfort

(understandably) afraid, or got drunk and claimed he and his household held out for demanding of cooper James Neal: ‘Open Farrell was not warned. Accordingly, he three hours, sending word to the the door you rascal until I search your was captured the following Sunday. Rochforts for assistance and extra ammu- house for rebels’.clviii Lord Camden’s These two servants were not the only nition.cliv His house was destroyed and offer of clerical patronage had evaporated Rochfort staff who failed to share their he received compensation in the amount in the heat of the rebellion, and Robert employers’ political views. The overseer of £175.6.9.clv Both he and Rev. Rochfort struggled to find a parish. His name does of the Clogrennane estate, Dick Heydon, were rewarded with commissions as Jus- not appear in any of Canon Leslie’s biog- although a member of the Carlow Yeo- tices of the Peace for Co. Carlow in raphical lists of Church of Ireland clergy man Infantry was executed in Carlow 1800.clvi However, there the similarities and their parishes in the library of the Gaol for his membership of the United end. While their beliefs may have been Representative Church Body. It does ap- Irish movement.cxlix the same, John Whitty’s actions appear pear in an addendum to one volume, in a defensive and retaliatory as opposed to list of those who ‘do not appear in any list Rochfort’s decided aggression. In addi- of Incumbents or Curates’.clix This tion, the younger man was not limited in ledger’s claim that he was ordained a As the years moved on, Robert his actions by consideration for a wife Deacon of Killala in 1804 is incorrect. In Rochfort’s role in the suppression of dis- and young family as Whitty was. In time, that year, despite the fact that he received affection assumed a great notoriety. By the latter’s role appeared minor, while his Master’s from Trinity, he was still liv- 1811, a local author calling himself ‘A Rochfort’s was singled out for its contro- ing at Clogrennane Lodge without having Carlow Friend’ suggested that ‘Rev. R— versy. In national terms, Rochfort’s no- secured a parish. He felt like he was R—‘ ranked fourth in the entire county toriety is eclipsed by such pitch-capping being left behind, the reputation he had (behind Arundel Best, Sir Richard Butler clerical magistrates as Cope and Owen in constructed for himself unappreciated by and Robert Cornwall respectively) in Wexford (where five Protestant clergy- the authorities. terms of the intensity and severity with men were killed during the rising), but he which Orangemen prosecuted the rebel- forms part of a significant minority of By contrast, John Staunton Rochfort’s ca- lion.cl A persistent fear of persecution Protestant clerics who took up arms reer was blossoming and in that year, meant the author could only print his ini- against the United Irish movement, and through his uncle John Foster’s influ- tials, but his description as ‘Captain of in this regard his legacy is unique in Car- ence, he was appointed to the prestigious yeomanry and Justice of the Peace !!!’ low.clvii No other clergyman, of whatever position of Chairman of the Enquiry makes his identity unmistakeable. The persuasion, played so decisive and signif- Board into Public Accounts, based in three exclamation marks apparently reg- clx icant a role in the events of 1798 in the Sackville St. Dublin. He had also mar- ister shock at the apparent ease with county. ried in 1801 and his son Horace was born which Rochfort reconciled ostensibly in 1805. Robert remained single, despite contradictory religious and military func- his popularity with the local female pop- tions, which appeared to others as uneasy ulation. Watty Cox claimed that he was bedmates. A later acquaintance, the di- not only partial to ‘the soft tender, arist Elizabeth Ham was also struck that amorous amusements of the Divine’ as Rev. Rochfort: Post 1798 ‘he held the seemingly anomalous pro- provided by the fairer sex, but that he fessions of Captain of a Troop of Yeo- In the years after the rebellion, Robert’s ‘prostrated himself at the feet of Venus, manry, and Clergyman’.cli There is also expectations for glorious life in a newly to whose witching charms he became a evidence to suggest that he preferred his clxi loyal nation were to be sorely disap- wasting prey’. His lack of prospects military rather than his clerical title.clii pointed. His hopes for reward in light of may have left the notoriously picky However, for Rochfort, the two roles the zeal he had shown in punishing the Protestant girls, as Wakefield saw them, shared the same objective and were in enemies of the state were never realised. cold. Incidentally, the author claimed many ways one and the same thing. He Indeed, it is likely the controversy at- that the unmarried yeomen of Ireland was not exceptional in this regard. His clxii tached to his efforts proved counter-pro- were invariably Protestants. Robert acquaintance and colleague, Rev. John ductive to his elevation. In July of 1800, Rochfort remained among their number. Whitty of Ballickmoyler (a noted Orange we find him active as a magistrate, ever enclave according to Duggan, and only a His spirits picked up temporarily with the watchful of crimes with a seditious ele- few miles from Clogrennane) was active plan to build a new Anglican church at ment. In taking a sworn statement about as a Captain in the local yeomanry.cliii Cloydagh, just outside Clogrennane an armed robbery in Ballinabranna, When his house was attacked by rebels demesne. The nearest Protestant church Rochfort noted the assailants had pre- retreating from the Battle of Carlow, it is was in Carlow town, and to remedy the tended to be loyalists to gain admission, Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 15

131 Rev. Robert Rochfort

situation, the Board of First Fruits made to accompany her to hear Captain Duke of Richmond, Charles Lennox in a gift of £500 in 1803 for its erection.clxiii Rochfort – ‘as he was always called’ – April 1807, Robert and his family under- It is unclear whether Rochfort was the in- preach. On arrival at Cloydagh church, stood that in terms of financial and social stigation behind the project, but one con- she noticed ‘it had a very unfinished ap- advancement, ‘being a Chaplain to the temporary visitor to the pearance, standing alone on a large com- Lord Lieu’t we know from the experience church-in-progress was led to believe that mon’. On entering the church“what was of others to be no reliance’.clxix Chaplains the ‘new church had been built for our dismay to see nothing but blocks of were so badly paid that even Robert’s su- him’.clxiv wood, Carpenter’s benches, chips and perior, the Rev. Alexander Staples was shavings. There were eager to leave the Castle, and begged his three of four ladies at brother (Hon. John Staples MP), as early the east end, and Capt. as 1797, to acquire for him a position in Rochford [sic] in his Christ Church Cathedral which paid surplice. Here a small £150.clxx The only extra position of some space had been swept, financial consequence Robert was able to and at a word from the secure was that of Treasurer of Carlow Clergyman, a Labourer County Infirmary, which came with a brought another form small stipend.clxxi Indeed, there appears on which we seated to be some irregularity in the accounts in ourselves whilst the his favour. Between the spring and sum- service went on, one of mer assizes, the remuneration he was the Ladies reading the awarded as Treasurer increased from responses”. £28.6.0 to a remarkable £100 – by far the greatest item of expenditure in that pre- Despite the disorder sentment. The fact that Rochfort was and frugal appoint- personally named in the former documents (brothers of ment, and only as ‘Treasurer’ in the latter, Miss burns even joked attaches a suspicion to the payments and about hurrying to get suggests that perhaps discreet efforts ‘the best seats’), one were being made, at a local level to com- can sense Rochfort’s pensate Robert for his troubles and send sense of pride in the some public money his way.clxxii church, that he had a Cloydagh Anglican church, just outside calling to fulfil and now By June of 1807, however, his spirits had the former Rochfort demesne in Clogrennane. Appar- had a house to contain it, hit rock bottom, and his mother despaired ently “built” for Rev. Robert Rochfort in 1804. Photo: Shay Kinsella however simple. The on hearing him ‘reflecting on his own building would perpetu- age, now past 30, dropping sentences ex- ate Protestant Carlow, pressive of great disappointm’t, & mark- Elizabeth Ham, daughter of an English- and there is evidence that decorative ing that his spirits are becoming man who was temporarily managing a stones from the ancient ruined church of habitually depressed’.clxxiii This was no- brewery in the county, visited Carlow in Clody in Clogrennan demesne were in- ticed by all members of his family, but es- 1804 and made a tour, even to viewing corporated into its construction.clxvii pecially Dora Rochfort who spent all of the grisly remains of Sir Edward Cros- her later life feeling the anxiety and guilt bie’s head and that of four other rebels on His contentment was short-lived how- of having suggested a religious career for a spike outside Carlow Gaol.clxv Over the ever. He was never officially appointed her younger son. She wrote to her course of her stay she made many as vicar to the parish; instead, Rev. brother-in-law, John Foster, hoping that friends, and noted how the ladies spoke Bartholomew Thomas held that position he might be able to assist ‘the dear clxviii very highly of Robert Rochfort; indeed, until 1826. Instead, financial exigen- Robert’ in the same way he had helped she commented that the Reverend ‘was a cies meant he was obliged to take a ret- her eldest son. She expressed her wor- great favourite with the Ladies I have rograde step, and return to his position as ries: mentioned’.clxvi One Miss Burn was es- a Chaplain-in-ordinary at Dublin Castle. pecially enamoured with him and/or his Even though he was personally appointed “knowing how strongly I have urged him sermons, and persuaded Elizabeth Ham by the new lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the to that choice, & feeling from that a sort

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 16

132 Rev. Robert Rochfort

of responsibility toward him, it deeply af- our thanks are justly due, and are hereby had been damaged, and that they could fects me to hear him, when, you cannot given to the Rev. Robert Rochfort [...] for not or would not risk tainting themselves wonder that I languish to snatch him his very eloquent sermon so admirably by association with him. from this state of mind & see him prop- suited to the occasion, although under- erly apply’d; but I am indeed so far taken at a very short notice.’clxxviii While post-rebellion Carlow remained a happy as to be able to assert that he will Robert’s only surviving letter, however, deferent place to its Protestant rulers, never disgrace your recommendation of betrays an awkward, unpunctuated and Wakefield observed in 1809 that the Car- him.” convoluted diction. In describing his low gentry were largely ‘ignorant and brother’s recovery from a serious illness conceited’ and prone to unwarranted and She asked about the possibility of the in 1810, Robert attempted to assure John inexcusable violence towards their social clxxxi Lord Lieutenant himself acting in Foster that inferiors. He also commented on Robert’s interest, given that he had re- how the ordinary people were proud to cently appointed him to his household, “there is very little doubt but that it has tell their tales of the cruelties suffered in and assured Foster that the wishes of any been a most resolute effort of nature to 1798.clxxxii The extremes of Robert cooperative Bishop would be adhered to. throw out superficially whatever has been Rochfort’s world-view were becoming It seems the family were moved to act en amiss with [his] Constitution, & there is less acceptable, as Wakefield, The Irish force to assist him at this time. John every degree of probability that a renewal Magazine and others were publicising. Rochfort snr. also wrote to Foster about of the Constitution will take place in con- The heights of Protestant triumphalism Robert’s promotion – ‘I shall commit the sequence of the incessant & heavy dis- were waning as efforts increased to se- arrangement relative to him, to my cara charge with which his astonishing bodily cure Catholic emancipation and Protes- sposa - & yourself.’clxxiv Similarly, John patience & submissiveness has been af- tant militancy was coming under attack. Staunton Rochfort was active on his flicted with.”clxxix In 1803, he was still an active yeoman, brother’s behalf, writing to no less an in- one of two captains in the Carlow In- dividual than the Hon. Sir Arthur Welles- However, a verdict on his habitual style fantry Corps, in charge of 150 men, part ley, MP (future Duke of Wellington) who can certainly not be made on the basis of of an organisation whose very existence had some Carlow connections, petition- one letter. So what was the real obstacle retarded the healing of social ing him to secure the living of to the advancement of this well-con- wounds.clxxxiii Wakefield was extremely Feighcullen in Co. Kildare worth £70 a nected, intelligent and capable young critical of the yeomanry as a divisive, year, for Robert.clxxv man? provocative force in Irish life. In his view, the force served only By June of the following year, all these In 1810, John Staunton confessed his efforts had come to nothing, which brings doubts of Robert ‘getting anything in the “to establish a line of separation between into question his qualification and suit- church’ and confessed his desire to see two classes of men, who ought to be ability to fulfil a clerical role. His mother, his brother with a new sense of purpose: taught to consider themselves as one. So with typical faith, believed that a church ‘I am anxious about it, as to give him marked a privilege, conferred on the mi- calling was eminently suited to Robert some active duty [...] and give him the nority, generally intoxicates them with an ‘whose demeanour has indeed been, ever opportunity of marking that he embraced idea of their pre-eminence, causes them clxxx since he determined for the Church, most the profession from liking it.’ Was ignorantly to conceive, that they are au- perfectly exemplary; he has dedicated this John Staunton acknowledging that thorized to domineer over the majority, much time to qualifying himself for, & to Robert’s militant behaviour had created and creates in the bosoms of those people the duties of his profession’.clxxvi His tal- the impression that doctrinal ministra- jealousy and will-will”.clxxxiv ents for sermons were appreciated by the tions were less significant and appealing ladies of Carlow, but also in Dublin, to him than the political and social pow- The author, who visited Clogrennane in where the directors of St. Andrew’s ers enjoyed by Anglican clergymen? 1809 and met Robert Rochfort in the Parish invited ‘the Rev. Robert Rochfort, Was this, in fact, the obstacle to his ad- course of writing his account, says much MA, Chaplain to his Grace the Lord vancement, or had tales of his violence about contemporary distaste for political Lieutenant of Ireland’ to give a sermon grown wings and flown to the authorities, and military extremism in the decade clxxxv on the occasion of the first playing of eager to hush rumours of military excess? after the rebellion. The reputation of their new organ in May 1807, and adver- His apparent friendlessness at this point the Rochfort yeomanry continued to de- tised the same in the national press.clxxvii can, in all probability, be read as a tacit cline after Robert Rochfort’s death, with The following week, a meeting of the acknowledgement from his friends, col- one commentator complaining in 1831 parishioners ‘unanimously resolved that leagues and relations that he had gone too about their raucous behaviour, claiming far in the summer of 1798, that his stock its members were mainly poor, landless Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 17

133 Rev. Robert Rochfort

and former inmates of the Carlow’s and old Clody parish – ‘in which is de- a series of deaths brought a cloud over foundling hospital.clxxxvi That same year, lineated, every little nook’ according to Clogrennane Lodge. Following his wife’s Carlow MP, Walter Blackney told the Watty Cox.cxcii While this was patently premature death (from consumption) in House of Commons that the yeomanry undertaken to allow Rochfort greater in- October 1808, John Staunton Rochfort had been the great cause of disaffection sight into his family estate to enable its was himself taken ill with a curious and in the county.clxxxvii more efficient management, to Cox, it lingering disease in his leg. Robert ac- merely confirmed that Robert was ‘truly companied him on a trip to Cheltenham of the Cromwellian order, for, he took in June 1810, on the advice of a doctor to care that no part of it should fall into the bathe in the healing waters there. To his It seemed, as all family efforts to help hands of a mere Irishman’. He sought to uncle Foster, Robert confessed his alarm Rochfort failed, that he was destined for improve husbandry on the estate, intro- at ‘this strange eruptive disease to which disappointment. It must have been hugely ducing new crops and exploiting the no medical man here can positively give demoralising for him to realise that the lime-kilns which his brother had estab- a name’.cxcviii As John Staunton recuper- sum of his authority consisted of oversee- lished in nearby Raheendoran. By 1809, ated, their mother, Dora Rochfort, de- ing the construction of walls and roads at Rochfort was using sixty barrels of lime clined in old age. Ever anxious about the behest of the Grand Jury, on which to an acre of land.cxciii Edward Wakefield Robert, she enjoyed some peace of mind his elder brother and Robert Cornwall visited Clogrennane in the summer of when he directed his energies into farm- sat.clxxxviii Dora Rochfort increasingly that year and Robert supplied him with ing. However, she would never know clung at straws, claiming that ‘any hope impressive figures detailing the previous that as she approached her end, her that we could hold out to him that seemed year’s crops. The phenomenal success of beloved younger son was also danger- not too distant, would vivify his spirits & the mills at Milford, co-owned and di- ously ill. In early 1811, Robert himself show him that he was neith’r forgotten, rected by a family friend, John Alexan- manifested signs of a corruptive and un- nor undervalued by his friends & rela- der, patently accounts for the dominance known disease. By March, John tions’.clxxxix However, this is apparently of grain crops on Rochfort’s farm, which Staunton informed his uncle that the how Robert Rochfort felt as his efforts produced seven barrels of wheat, twelve symptoms of his brother’s illness, ad- and actions of 1798, in the name of barrels of barley (destined for the gargan- vancing at an alarming rate, resembled Church and State came to nothing. tuan malt-house in Milford, the largest in those of pleurisy and sciatica.cxcix Al- Ireland at that time) and sixteen barrels though he had youth on his side, his doc- of oats. The potato, however, was the tors were extremely worried, and it soon The death and legacy of Robert Rochfort major crop with seventy barrels being looked as if Robert could not recover. In harvested in the autumn of 1808.cxciv March 1811, John Staunton reported that the illness ‘has turned into a sore abscess At this time, his father, John Rochfort Left with no other choice, Robert took in his hip, which has burst, & the physi- Snr. happily informed John Foster that over the management of Clogrennane cians who attend are afraid that the quan- Robert had found some peace at Clogren- tity of the discharge will bring on a hectic Lodge’s home farm. He had always cxcv nane, ‘enjoying a country life’. His cc taken an interest in horticulture, and ap- fever, which may be fatal.’ favourite of the traditional pursuits of the pears to have been an improving and pro- gentry was game-shooting and his love John Staunton Rochfort and his two sis- gressive farmer. In March 1801, he acted of poultry was suggested as one of the ters, Anne and Dorothea, were at their as chairman of the first meeting of Car- contributory factors to his death by mother’s bedside in Bath when she died low Farming Society at the Bear Inn.cxc Cox.cxcvi Ever keen to impress that his ac- peacefully on 23 March 1811, blissfully There is also evidence that he wanted to tions in the rebellion had forever dam- unaware that Robert lay on his own maintain Clogrennane’s reputation for aged Ireland, Cox further alleged that in deathbed in Clogrennane at the same impressive woodlands and one source his ‘ruling passion’, Robert was frus- time. According to her eldest son, ‘she claims that he wrote a treatise entitled trated by a lack of birds: ‘that species, was in the full possession of her intellects ‘Stimula to Industry’, ‘in which he which was his favourite amusement, hav- to the last & spoke intelligibly within half forcibly proves the necessity of putting ing become so timid since the thunder of an hour of her death. She had the satis- ground to its full value, thereby prevent- ’98, that all the efforts of this son of the faction of having three of her children ing that idleness which is so manifest in chace [sic] could not make them break about her without the drawback of know- the bloated countenance of the peasantry covert or tempt them to the field.’cxcvii ing the dangerous state that Robert is of Ireland’.cxci . He also undertook a de- in.’cci Having lost his wife and mother, tailed mapping of the family demesne But time was running out for Robert and and just recovering from his own trials,

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 18

134 Rev. Robert Rochfort

John Staunton now turned to face mature fall’.ccvi Cox gives a triumphal has repented of that morning’s work, and Robert’s illness. By the end of May, he role to Rochfort’s victims in his demise, has turned Methodist. “Oh, the still small journeyed to Ireland, although his own painting an apocalyptic scene of battle at voice of Conscience!”’ccix On the other foot was not fully healed yet, when he re- his deathbed. In it, vengeful and organ- hand, Cox claimed Rochfort had realised that Robert’s time was up: ‘The ac- ised locals gathered around Clogrennane mained immoveable in his beliefs to the counts I have lately received of my Lodge to sneer at Rochfort’s misery, end, even when his preferred militancy Brother have been so unfavourable that I being forcibly driven away by a faithful had gone out of fashion, alleging that mean to go by Waterford to see him as domestic. This latter, Cox claims, ‘had Robert had been encouraging John soon as possible.’ccii The end came for daily to resist the united [a pun on United Scrigg, the Catholic schoolmaster in Rev. Robert Rochfort at Clogrennane Irishmen?] efforts of the embattled Cloydagh to convert and proselytise the Lodge on 30 June 1811 at the age of squadrons of prey, which screamed round children in his care.ccx Cox was also un- thirty-six. His place of burial is unknown; the windows of his dying master’. The forgiving in dismissing the apparent gen- it could possibly be in the Rochfort plot downtrodden had assumed the upper erosity of Rochfort to his servants in his in St. Audoen’s Church in Dublin, or in hand; in this battle, Rochfort would be will, and claims ‘charity covers a multi- the vicinity of St. Mary’s Church in Car- the one to perish. low where his death was registered.cciii It was a heavy blow for his brother who It was a common practice in was comforted by his uncle who invited the popular imagination to him to stay. ‘My dear Rochfort,’ wrote attach pain and suffering Foster, ‘I received your account of your deaths to the death notices of loss of Robert with sincere sorrow – had the demons of 1798. It not you better come to us here – you may soothed the popular imagina- be as retired as you choose - & Cloghre- tion that injustice would not nan [sic] must be too dismal a monster of go unpunished and allowed late misfortunes to allow you to revive some sense of justice to pre- your cheerful spirits.’cciv vail. Robert Cornwall’s death later that year was also It was a sudden, painful and unexpected attributed to a ‘loathsome end, typical of the disappointment and disease’.ccvii According to frustration of Robert’s later years, and in Hibernicus, Cornet Lowther, death his reputation was to become even the notorious torturer of the more controversial. As the news spread, Ninth Dragoons stationed in old wounds were recalled and the hand of Carlow, ‘was attacked by a vengeance was seen in his demise. Sto- disease, in which the flesh ries of his wasting illness were dispersed, rotted off the bones; and he describing a plague of parasites which al- fell to pieces’.ccviii However, lowed those victimised by the Reverend the invective and apparent re- Grave of Robert’s brother, Colonel John Staunton some satisfaction, a taste of revenge with joicing which greeted Rochfort of Clogrennane (1764-1844) in Rochfort a smack of divine retribution. In David Rochfort’s death was remark- plot in St. Audoen’s Church, Dublin. Byrne’s version, Rochfort had died ‘like able. In his scalding obituaries, Photo: Shay Kinsella the wicked King Antiochus, of the mor- Cox saw fit to make Rochfort’s bus pedicularis, or lousy disease, the ver- as least three times longer than tude of sins’.ccxi min swarming on every part of his body that of Cornwall. Indeed, Cox’s maga- in such numbers, that a servant with a zine contains hints that Cornwall may Whatever the truth about Robert Corn- brush, could not in appearance diminish have mellowed to some degree in his old wall’s conversion, the details of a change their quantity, though constantly em- age and expressed regret about his violent of thinking in John Stanton Rochfort’s ployed in brushing them off’.ccv In Cox’s role in 1798. In imagining a painting of mind in the first three decades of the version, Rochfort had died ‘after a putrid, an Adonis shooting a satyr, Cox claims nineteenth century is confirmed by his loathsome, lingering illness, [...] inter- ‘this inimitable painting, we are in- own words. As Duggan has concluded, rupted by the foul wrinkled hag, Disease: formed, was done from Bob C—, of Car- the legacy of 1798 in Carlow was a deep whose beaver tooth knawed every fibre low, shooting Byrne, the rebel, on his and ingrained sectarianism on both sides, of the constitution, and produced the pre- knees. It is but justice to say that Mr C— and ‘the Protestant gentry regressed a

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 19

135 Rev. Robert Rochfort

century or more in their attitude towards into that of a vengeful tyrant. With his proved. the Catholics.’ccxii John Staunton had charitable donations and efforts to im- never been an advocate of violence, and prove industry and agriculture in the The improvement in the Rochfort repu- had no stomach for brutality, and with county, John Staunton Rochfort appears tation continued as the new heir, Horace time, he began to disassociate himself to have been forgiven for his sins in the came of age in 1827 and sought election from the passions of that period. By years before Emancipation. With their on a liberal ticket for Carlow county in ccxxii 1825, he was trying to distance himself noted feudal tendencies, the Carlow ten- 1830. After his mother’s death in from what he called ‘an Orange feeling’, antry and peasantry seemed glad to wel- 1808, he was reared by his maternal aunt advocating new, more liberal and pater- come back a remorseful gentleman, and her husband, Sir Robert Heron MP, nal politics, while admitting that ‘my which allowed them to resume their tra- an influential Whig politician. Horace’s early prejudices lay the other way.’ccxiii ditional allegiances free from pangs of upbringing was far more enlightened and Remaining an implacable defendant of conscience. They gladly welcomed his liberal than that of his father and uncle, the Ascendancy’s privileges, he lost his emphatic declarations and while they were alarmed by the fears of a Catholic threat, and came to be- of paternalism, that lieve that relief measures would be ben- ‘he would support the eficial for all parties in Ireland. In fact, public views and in- he welcomed Catholic Emancipation as a terests of the inhabi- means of ensuring the perpetuity of tants of Carlow, while Protestant authority: ‘it would have a he had life’.ccxviii Only beneficial effect upon the peace of the seven years after country [...] for if the hostility to the Robert’s death, the Protestant establishment is done away Carlow Morning Post with entirely, or reduced or diminished in records the county’s any degree, the Protestant establishment selective amnesia in must be the safer [...] it would remove the John Staunton’s hostile feelings that are now entertained favour as it declared by the Roman Catholics’.ccxiv In relation effusively : ‘We have to tithes, he claimed that ‘it is very unfair never yet been de- that one religion should support the es- ceived in you’.ccxix tablishment of another’.ccxv He praised Another article that the good nature and intelligence of the year claimed ‘the common people, claiming that the people of Carlow are ‘benevolence is a very strong ingredient fully sensible of their in the Irish peasant’.ccxvi Such a change obligations to Col. in attitude was probably influenced by his Rochfort,’ in light of close friendship with John Alexander of his efforts to prevent Horace Rochfort of Clogrennane (1807-1891) as a ccxx Milford House, a liberal thinker whose famine. Even young man. Nephew of Rev. Robert Rochfort. own father in Belfast, was an associate of Thomas Finn, the likely Oak Park Photo Collection William Drennan’s – one of the founders writer of the ‘Slaughter of the United Irishmen. Rochfort also in Carlow’ articles for claimed that by reading and correspon- the Irish Magazine in which Robert ding on Catholic issues, by interviewing, Rochfort was vilified, was gushing in his events in France in 1789, Horace grew up observing and even visiting the homes of praise of John Staunton Rochfort in 1818, (under Sir Robert’s influence), ‘rejoicing ‘the very lowest peasants’, he developed claiming that ‘it was a theme upon which in the French Revolution as the downfall ccxxiii a sympathetic understanding of Catholic all classes were equally eloquent in this of bigotry’. By 1830, the Carlow grievances and became determined to ad- town’, even concurring that some public gentry was a divided and contending dress them.ccxvii gesture should be made to thank Rochfort group, and the powers of the Ascendancy for his efforts on behalf of the poor and were being challenged from within. Ho- In surviving his brother, John Staunton’s his leniency at the assizes.ccxxi As John race Rochfort believed the stranglehold reputation was given time to recover and Staunton made good, Robert’s crimes on the county’s parliamentary represen- change, a process denied to Robert by his went unmentioned, but were neither for- tation, as exercised by Henry Bruen and premature death, and his legacy solidified given nor forgotten as subsequent events his father-in-law Thomas Kavanagh was Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 20

136 Rev. Robert Rochfort

‘one of the most disgraceful coalitions people. But lo! At the end of ten months, thirty five years before seeking election that ever yet was formed to put down the our once popular candidate throws him- again, and on those two further occa- free sense of any body of electors’.ccxxiv self into the arms of the oligarchy’.ccxxv sions, he failed to secure the votes. He became the poster-boy of Carlow Lib- Inevitably, perhaps, all the old prejudices Ninety years after the rebellion, author eral interests, lauded by the Carlow against the Rochforts were dusted down Michael Brophy queried the family’s lack Morning Post and supported by such no- as they returned to historical form. All of electoral success, claiming it ‘was strange that no member of the old and popular family of Rochfort had been elected’.ccxxvii The ghost of Robert Rochfort had a considerable amount to do with this. His actions were alive in the imagination of the conscientious elector for decades, impacting nega- tively on the Rochforts’ chances of becoming MPs. As one voter, Garret Cullen, put it in 1834, he could not bring himself to vote for Horace Rochfort because ‘he could not remove from his mind certain feelings engendered towards the Rochfort family, Clogrennane Castle and Clogrennane House c.1830. A painting in private hands. in consequence of certain Courtesy Patrick and Julie Rochfort conduct of some of that family in the year 1798’. The tables as Henry Parnell and Lord Milton the efforts of John Staunton Rochfort and magnitude of the issue is confirmed by in England. Although he lost the election his son were dismissed, as the editor Cullen’s closing statement that ‘he was in 1830, he was given another chance the claimed Horace bore ‘an ill-omened not singular in this regard, many other following year. name’. With even greater bitterness, the good and patriotic individuals having ghost of Rev. Robert Rochfort was held kept aloof on the same principle’.ccxxviii However, Horace Rochfort was a true lib- up as the true representative of the fam- eral and believed in fairness for all sides. ily’s politics. The correspondent claimed He saw no good in the total overthrow of that Horace was the existing political and social systems, and sought to improve the political infra- “as hostile to the present bill of Reform, The story of Robert Rochfort is of a man structure of the nation rather than over- as was his uncle, the slashing parson, to who acted in extremes, initially connived haul it. In expressing some – as he saw the unfortunate Papists of 1798. But as at by a supportive following. Its real sig- it legitimate - reservations with the ex- Mr Rochfort is only accountable for his nificance lies in his embodiment of tent of the reforms proposed in the 1831 own conduct, we shall say nothing more overtly aggressive Orangeism but also as Relief bill, Rochfort’s liberal supporters of the parson.”ccxxvi a case study of the speed with which such in Carlow felt hugely betrayed and re- militancy fell out of favour. Capable, rejected him as a turn-coat. Their attacks Horace, mortified and bruised by the sourceful and confident, his role in 1798 knew no mercy, and the Carlow Morning whole experience, retreated from politics left him disillusioned, isolated and adrift Post wrote: ‘This young stripling, this as did his father, and played no signifi- in later life as his resumé worked against political weathercock, is of all political cant role in the turbulent election crises him. In death his legend was confirmed. creeds, just as his interest guides him. He of that decade. Although a hugely popu- Tales of his savagery came out of hiding, started last year on the popular interest; lar landlord and sportsman until his death his italicised denomination in the Irish he was then the humble servant of the in 1891, Horace Rochfort would wait Magazine was rounded out and his bru- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 21

137 Rev. Robert Rochfort

talities multiplied. In investigating the Ballinkillen N.S., Co. Carlow; Any xxviii Finn’s Leinster Journal, 10 Apr. myth and the man, one comes face to face Monahan, The Praying Angel, Faulkner 1776. xxix with the arrogant belief system which Papers, Public Record Office of North- Maura Duggan, County Carlow, ern Ireland, p.217; and N.D. McMillan, 1791-1801: a study in an era of revolu- propelled him into action and one meets One hundred and fifty years of cricket tion. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, U.C.D. a remarkable figure in Carlow’s history. and sport in county Carlow (Carlow, (December, 1969), p. 38 and Appendix Even his obituarist admitted he was 1983), p. 4. G, p. xxviii. ‘gifted with abilities to move in the first iv Jimmy O’Toole, the Carlow gentry xxx Ibid, p. xxviii. circles’, and warned his readers not to un- (Carlow, 1993), p. 173. xxxi Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, ‘Ceatharlach i derestimate him: ‘Reader, do not imagine v L.M. Cullen, ‘Politics and rebellion: 1798 – nua amharc ar na staraithe’ in that his genius was of an ordinary kind, Wicklow in the 1790s’ in Wicklow: his- Carlow: history and society, edited by tory and society (Dublin, 1994), pp. Thomas McGrath (Dublin, 2008), p. no, no, as fortune sometimes wraps in er- 411-501, at p. 425. 593. mine the assassin of his country, so, navi Carlow Morning Post, 9 May 1831. xxxii See www.adams.ie, Lot 631, Inde- ture is often lavish, where she might be vii Robert Rochfort’s obituary in the pendence sale, 18 Apr. 2012. frugal’.ccxxix His story may have died in Irish Magazine, August 1811, pp. 383- xxxiii See www.rootsweb.ancestry.com: Carlow’s popular memory, but in assess- 4, hereinafter Obituary. ‘Colonel J. Rochford [sic] and Major viii ing his legacy, the last word can be left to William Farrell, Voice of rebellion: Henry Bunbury’. Accessed 15/8/2012. xxxiv Cox in perhaps his only irrefutable claim Carlow in 98, edited by Roger McHugh Duggan, County Carlow, p. 38. with an introduction by Patrick Bergin xxxv Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 23-4. that, on Rochfort’s death, (Dublin, 1998), p. 204. xxxvi Gazetteer and New Daily Adver- ix Obituary. tiser, 28 Mar. 1780. “every child of ascendancy mourned his x Obituary. xxxvii The uniform of the County of Car- departed friend, but, though all should xi Edith Mary Johnston-Liik, History of low Legion corps is described in prove ungrateful, and forget the services the Irish Parliament (Belfast, 2002), http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iris of this man, his name shall be remem- Vol. VI, p. 178. h_Volunteers_Corps. Accessed bered, while the town of Leighlin Bridge xii Burke’s Landed gentry of Ireland 15/8/2012. xxxviii shall mark the map of Ireland; or the year (London, 1912), p. 601. Finn’s Leinster Journal, 21 Aug, xiii A.P.W. Malcomson, John Foster, the 1782. 98 tinge her calamitous history.”ccxxx politics of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy xxxix Freeman’s Journal, 15 Aug. 1782. (Oxford, 1978), p. 26. xl Finn’s Leinster Journal, 21 Aug, xiv Finn’s Leinster Journal, 2 Feb. 1771. 1782. xv xli Shay Kinsella wishes to thank Sr Maura Public Record Office of Northern Ire- Ibid. 2 Aug. 1783. land (hereinafter PRONI), D562/251, xlii Robert Malcomson, The Carlow Par- Duggan for reading a draft of this paper ‘Statement of the Affairs of John liamentary Roll (Dublin, 1872), p. 25. and for her advice. Also to Patrick and Rochfort the Younger on his marriage xliii Burke’s Landed gentry of Ireland, p. Julie Rochfort of Gloucestershire for settlement with Dora Burgh of February 601. their encouragement and assistance. 28 1760’. xliv Freeman’s Journal, 27 Oct. 1764. xvi Edward Wakefield, An Account of xlv Only two dates can be found in Shay Kinsella is currently pursuing his Ireland, statistical and political (Lon- Robert’s timeline, one of which is likely PhD on the Alexander family of Milford, don, 1812), Vol. I, p. 247. to be inaccurate: his entry into Trinity xvii and would welcome any information, an- In Dublin, Queen’s County and Car- College on 8 July 1791 aged 15 years, low; John Bateman, The great landown- and his death on 30 June 1811 aged 36 ecdotes, photographs etc. on the family ers of Great Britain and Ireland years. and the area, from associates, former em- (London, 1883), p. 383. xlvi National Library of Ireland (here- ployees etc. He can be contacted at xviii Edith Johnston-Liik, History of the inafter NLI), Longfield Maps, 21 F 32 Cloughna, Milford, Co. Carlow, or at Irish Parliament (Belfast, 2002), Vol. (10), ‘A survey and pan of the demesne [email protected]. VI, p. 179. of Clogrennan situate in the Queen’s xix Freeman’s Journal, 12 Nov. 1772. county and county of Carlow, the estate xx Edward Wakefield, Vol. II, p. 513. of John Rochfort 1774, parish of xxi PRONI, T3331/10. 20 Nov. 1775. Cloydagh, Barony of Idrone West’, by Notes xxii Freeman’s Journal, 7 Dec. 1775. Thos. Ivers. xxiii Ibid. xlvii NLI, Rochfort Papers, Ms. 8682, National Library of Ireland, Rochfort xxiv PRONI, D562/251. J.S. Rochfort to Mary Rochfort, 26 May of Clogrennane Papers, Ms. 8682. xxv Finn’s Leinster Journal, 10 Apr. 1815. ii Thanks to Frances Clarke, Manu- 1776. xlviii NLI Ms. 8682 (3), ‘An Inventory of scripts Department, National Library for xxvi PRONI, T2519/4/266. the furniture of Clogrenan Lodge & of this information. xxvii Morning Post and Daily Advertiser, all moveables in the offices, farming iii For Rochfort origin myths, see Irish 26 Oct. 1775. utensils [sic] & c.’ Schools Folklore Collections, Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 22

138 Rev. Robert Rochfort

xlix PRONI, D207/34/166. Dora Burgh 1797-1827’ in Carloviana (1996), pp. cix Ibid, p. 138. Unfortunately, Duggan to John Foster, June 1807. 31-35. bases some of her assertions for the l Alumni Dublinenses 1593-1860 (Bris- lxxv Cullen, op. Cit, p. 445. strength of the Rochfort yeomanry in tol, 2001), Vol. II, reprinted from the lxxvi Carlow Morning Post, 6 Jun. 1831. 1798 on figures from 1803 (p. 139) 1935 edition, p. 712. lxxvii Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 113. when the situation had changed signifi- li PRONI T2727/3/2/135. John Staunton lxxviii Burke’s landed gentry of Ireland, p. cantly. By that time, Robert had moved Rochfort to Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley 602. from the head of Cloydagh’s cavalry MP, 22 May 1807. Robert’s posting is lxxix Farell, Carlow in 98, p. 145-6. corps into Carlow town’s infantry unit. also referred to in Hibernicus, or Mem- lxxx NAI RP 620/34/24. cx Ibid. oirs of an Irishman now in America lxxxi Sir Richard Musgrave, Memoirs of cxi NAI RP 620/36/9A No. 11. (Pittsburgh, 1828), p. 68. the different rebellions in Ireland cxii See Duggan, County Carlow, Chap- lii Gentleman and Citizen’s Almanack by (Dublin, 1802), Vol. II, p. 244. ter VI, pp. 125-143. John Watson, (Dublin, 1818), p. 125. lxxxii Ibid, pp. 245-6. cxiii NAI RP 620/35/11. By 1818, the lord Lieutenant had a Cler- lxxxiii See Tommy Clarke, ‘Carlow cxiv Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 68. ical household totalling 26 staff includ- claimants for compensation in 1798’, cxv John Staunton Rochfort’s evidence in ing 21 Chaplains-in-Ordinary. Carloviana (1998), p. 60. the Report from the select committee on liii His appointment is mentioned in lxxxiv James Kelly, Sir Richard Mus- the state of Ireland (1831-2) (677), Freeman’s Journal, 15 Sep. 1764. grave, 1746-1818: ultra-Protestant ide- p.74. liv http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John- ologue (Dublin, 2009), p. 97. cxvi John Staunton Rochfort’s’s evidence _Staples Accessed on 15/8/2012. lxxxv Musgrave, Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 246. in the report from the select committee lv National Archives of Ireland, Rebel- lxxxvi NAI RP 620/33/8 and 620/33/29. on the state of Ireland (1825)(129), p. lion Papers (hereinafter NAI RP) lxxxvii NAI RP 620/33/39. 440. 620/28/13. lxxxviii NAI 620/33/93. cxvii Hereward Senior, Orangeism in Ire- lvi Edith Mary Johnston-Liik, History of lxxxix NAI 620/36/224. land and Britain, 1795-1836 (London, the Irish parliament, Vol. VI, p. 179. xc Quoted by Conor Murphy in Mick 1966), p. 23. lvii Ibid, Vol. III, p. 509. kinsella, Conor Murphy & Edward N. cxviii NAI RP 620/33/93. lviii NLI Faulkner Papers, Cornwall to Moran, Kilcumney ’98: its origins, af- cxix NAI RP 620/36/110A. Samuel Faulkner, 5 Jul. 1790. termath & legacy (Kilkenny, 1998), p. cxx See John Staunton Rochfort’s pay- lix PRONI T2627/3/2/135. 29. ment of £20 on 1 May 1798 to Mr lx Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 49. xci NAI RP 620/35/51. Hobbs of Carlow in the Account of Se- lxi Wakefield, Vol. II, p. 599. xcii For the arrests of Patrick and John cret Service Money, Ireland, 1798 in lxii Duggan, County Carlow, p. 44. Hughes of Clogrennane, see Kilcumney John T. Gilbert, Documents relating to lxiii Freeman’s Journal, 27 Sep. 1792. ’98, op cit. p. 32. Ireland, 1795-1804 (Dublin, 1893), p. lxiv Duggan, County Carlow, p. 62. xciii Duggan, county Carlow, see Cahpter 14. lxv NLI, Rochfort Papers, Ms 8682. VI and p. 231. cxxi Gregory to Pelham, 3 June 1798, in lxvi Duggan, County Carlow, appendix xciv Cullen, op. Cit., p. 413. Ibid, p. 125-6. O, p. xxxvii. xcv Ibid, p. 432. cxxii Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 146. lxvii NAI RP 620/36/224. xcvi Duggan, County Carlow, p. 134. cxxiii For the threat against Cornwall, see lxviii Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 30. xcvii Ibid. Duggan, County Carlow , p. 81, and lxix John Staunton Rochfort’s evidence in xcviii Hereward Senior, Orangeism in Ire- Kilcumney’98, p. 36. the Report from the select committee on land and Britain 1795-1836 (London, cxxiv Quoted by Duggan, County Carlow, the state of Ireland (1831-2) (677), p. 1966), p. 76. p. 115. 75. xcix Ogle Robert Gowan, Orangeism: its cxxv Irish Magazine, August 1811, p. lxx NAI, RP 620/33/3. origin and history (Toronto, 1859), p. 384. lxxi NAI RP 620/34/23. 196. cxxvi Thomas Pakenham, The year of lib- lxxii Quoted by Fidelma Whelan, ‘United c Duggan, County Carlow, p. 136. erty (London, 1969), p. 169. Irishmen in Carlow in the 1790’s’, in ci Ibid, p. 130-1; Gowan,Orangeism, p. cxxvii Hibernicus, Op. Cit, p. 42. Carloviana (2005), p. 33. 189. cxxviii All the information on this case is lxxiii Martin Nevin, The sprig in the win- cii Gowan, Orangeism, p. 196. given in NAI RP 620/36/224. dow: 1798 in the Leighlin area (Carlow, ciii Duggan, County Carlow, p. 135. cxxix Duggan, County Carlow, p. 151. 1998), p. v and p.2. civ Gowan, Orangeism, p.198. cxxx Farrell, Carlow in ’98, p. 133. lxxiv Hibernicus, or memoirs of an Irish- cv John Ryan, The history and antiqui- cxxxi Ibid, p. 134. man now in America (Pittsburgh, 1828), ties of the county of Carlow (Dublin, cxxxii Ibid, p. 137. p. 38. The identity of the author as 1833), p. 322-3. cxxxiii Ibid, p. 145. David Byrne of Leighlinbridge, Co. cvi Duggan, County Carlow, p. 130. cxxxiv See Edward J. O’Day, Op. Cit, p. Carlow, has been conclusively estab- cvii Obituary, 1811. 35, n. 18. lished by Edward J. O’Day, in ‘From cviii John Staunton Rochfort’s evidence cxxxv Document relating to Ireland, Carlow royalist to Kentucky republican: in Report of the Select Commitee on the op.cit, p. 180. the emigration odyssey of David Byrne, state of Ireland (1825), p. 442. cxxxvi Hibernicus, Op. Cit, p. 69.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Rochfort 12/11/2012 18:42 Page 23

139 Rev. Robert Rochfort

cxxxvii For date, see letter quoted from clxiii Lewis, Topographical dictionary of cci PRONI D207/34/150, 24 Mar. 1811. Jackson Collection, J.S. Rochfort to Ireland (London, 1840), Vol. I, p. 381. ccii PRONI D207/34/157, 29 May, 1811. Keeper of Carlow Gaol, re: Farrell, in clxiv Elizabeth Ham by herself, p. 79. cciii Church of Ireland records online, Sean O’Shea, ‘The Jackson Museum’, clxv Ibid, p. 16. Carlow parish at Carloviana (2004), p. 54. clxvi The following anecdotes are taken http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie, cxxxviii Ibid. from Ibid, pp. 79-80. accessed 15/8/12. cxxxix Ibid. clxvii Canon D.W.T. Crooks & Reverend cciv PRONI D207/34/158, 2 Jul. 1811. cxl Ibid, p. 204. Iain J.E. Knox (eds.), Clergy of Cashel ccv Hibernicus, op.cit, p. 68. cxli Irish Magazine, August 1811, p. 383- and Emly, Clergy of Leighlin, compiled ccvi Obituary, 1811. 4. by the Canon J.B. Leslie, Biographical ccvii Irish Magazine, November 1811, p. cxlii Irish Magazine, July 1810, p. 307. succession lists (Ulster, 2012), p.230. 328. cxliii Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 139. clxviii Ibid. ccviii Hibernicus, p. 68. cxliv The following details are taken from clxix PRONI D207/34/166, Dora ccix Irish Magazine, Feb. 1811, p. 81. Hibernicus, op. Cit, pp. 68-9. Rochfort to John Foster, Jun. 1807. ccx Obituary. cxlv Irish Magazine, April 1810, p. 192. clxx NAI RP 620/28/160. ccxi Ibid. cxlvi Farrell, Carlow in ’98, p. 204. clxxi Accounts presented to the house of ccxii Duggan, County Carlow, p. 232. cxlvii Ibid, p. 146-7. commons of the presentments passed by ccxiii Rochfort’s 1825 evidence, op. cit. p. cxlviii The following information is taken the grand juries of Ireland, at the spring 441 and p. 452. from the recollections of Miss Annie and summer assizes, in the year 1807 ccxiv Rochfort’s 1825 evidence, op. Cit. Cummins of Castletown, given in 1949, (1808), p. 29. p. 434. in Peadar MacSuibhne, Parish of clxxii Ibid, p. 29 and p. 36. ccxv Rochfort’s 1832 evidence, op. Cit. p. Killeshin / Graigcullen (Carlow, 1975), clxxiii PRONI D207/34/166. 79. pp. 78-9. clxxiv PRONI D207/34/167. ccxvi Ibid, p. 453. cxlix Farrell, Carlow in 98, p. 164-5. clxxv PRONI T2627/3/2/135. John ccxvii Ibid, p. 453. cl Irish Magazine, April 1811, p. 175. Staunton Rochfort to Wellesley, 22 May ccxviii Carlow Morning Post, 9 Nov. cli Eric Gillet (ed.), Elizabeth Ham by 1807. 1818. herself (London, 1945), p. 79. clxxvi PRONI D207/34/166. ccxix Ibid, 16 Feb. 1818. clii Ibid. Ham claims he was always clxxvii Freeman’s Journal, 8 May 1807. ccxx Ibid, 11 May 1818. called ‘Captain’ rather than ‘Reverend’. clxxviii Ibid, 15 May 1807. ccxxi Ibid. cliii Duggan, County Carlow, p. 152. clxxix PRONI D207/34/130. ccxxii Horace William Noel Rochfort was cliv Rev. Dermot McKenna, ‘The clergy clxxx PRONI D207/33/99. 22 Jun. 1808. born on 5 Nobember 1805. All other in Carlow during the 1798 rebellion’ in clxxxi Wakefield, op.cit. Vol. II, p. 773. sources date it to 1807. However, con- Carloviana (1998), pp. 65-6. Rev. clxxxii Ibid, p. 374. fusion about his date of birth is resolved Robert Rochfort does not feature in this clxxxiii Duggan, County Carlow, p. 139. by an article in the Carlow Morning article. clxxxiv Wakefield, op. Cit, Vol. II, p.373. Post of 13 Nov. 1828, which describes clv Tommy Clarke, ‘Carlow claimants clxxxv Ibid, Vol. I, pp. 420-5. his twenty-first birthday celebrations in for compensation in 1798’, in Carlo- clxxxvi Carlow Morning Post, 6 May Clogrennane House. viana (1998), p. 60. 1831. ccxxiii NLI MS 41146/29, Farnham Pa- clvi For a petition for Whitty’s appoint- clxxxvii Hansard, 7 Sep. 1831. pers, Horace Rochfort to Lord Farnham, ment see NAI RP 620/52/87. clxxxviii Grand Jury presentments 1807, 19 Sep. 1830. clvii See Patrick Comerford, ‘Church of Op cit, p. 29-30, p.37. ccxxiv Sheffield Archives, Wentworth Ireland clergy and the 1798 rising’ in clxxxix PRONI D207/34/166. Woodhouse Muniments, WWM/G2/30, Liam Swords (ed.), Protestant, Catholic cxc Quoted from John Murphy’s contem- Horace Rochfort to lord Milton 23 Aug. and Dissenter: the clergy and 1798 porary diary, in Kilcumney ’98, p. 213. 1830. (Dublin, 1997), p. 232. cxci On forestry, see ‘Co. Carlow: Plant- ccxxv Carlow Morning Post, 9 May 1831. clviii ‘The examination of James Neal of ing of trees, 1795-1808’, signed by ccxxvi Ibid. Ballinabrannagh [...] by Robert Robert Rochfort & others, Lot 466, 29 ccxxvii Brophy, Carlow: past and present Rochfort Esquire’ in Pat Purcell Papers Jul. 2010, on www.mealys.com, ac- (Carlow, 1888), p. 33. on cessed on 15/8/12; Obituary, 1811. ccxxviii Carlow Morning Post, 17 May http://www/rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irl- cxcii Ibid. 1834. car2/PPP_Doc_1800_1.htm. Accessed cxciii Wakefield, op.cit., Vol. I, p. 420. ccxxix Obituary. 15/8/2012. cxciv Ibid, pp. 420-5. ccxxx Ibid. clix Canon Leslie, Biographical index cxcv PRONI D207/34/86, 28 Jul. 1809. Church of Ireland Clergy, P-Y, p. xix. cxcvi Obituary. clx See Malcomson, John Foster, op.cit, cxcvii Ibid. Table three and p. 278. cxcviii PRONI D207/34/130, 30 Jun. clxi Irish Magazine, August 1811, p. 384. 1810. clxii Wakefield, Account of Ireland, Vol. cxcix PRONI D207/34/149, 11 Mar. 1811. II, p 578. cc Ibid.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_History Prize 05/11/2012 20:50 Page 1

140

Kavanagh Castles of Co. Carlow Órla Kenny or my history project this year I de- Leighlinbridge Castle field gate said that archaeological exca- cided to do a tour of some castles Next we drove to the picturesque village vations took place in 1955 and a silver Fowned by the Kavanagh family in of Leighlinbridge. On the banks of the finger ring of the 14th century was found. County Carlow. A number of these cas- River Barrow is Leighlinbridge Castle, tles are quite close to where I live. The also known as the Black Castle. This was Ballymoon Castle Kavanagh family occupied a lot of castles one of Ireland’s earliest Norman castles Another Kavanagh castle is at Ballymoon in Co. Carlow. and was built by Sir Edward Bellingham. which is outside Bagenalstown on the Fe- On a bright Sunday afternoon in early A fifty-foot tall broken tower can be seen nagh road. Its ruins date to the 14th cen- February along with my Mam and Dad today. During the 14th century the Ka- tury. It is a very striking building. I we took to the road with a map and some vanaghs recaptured most of heir land in enjoyed walking around and exploring books about Carlow castles from Carlow the area, including the castle. this castle. Some beautiful granite stone library. We drove to a number of the sites, walls can be seen. Square towers can be to Graiguenaspidogue, Ballyloo, Castle- Rathnageeragh Castle seen on three sides of the castle. A small town, Ballymoon, Garryhill and Rath- Next we took the road towards Garryhill, timber footbridge from the main road nageeragh to see what remains today. the centre of Kavanagh country, and on gives you access to the castle. Bally- towards Drumphea before coming to moon Castle is now a tourist attraction Graiguenaspidogue Castle signposts for Rathnageeragh Castle. We for visitors to Carlow. We stopped just down the road from my travelled along a narrow road under the house close to the Fighting Cocks public foot of Mount Leinster before we found I enjoyed the trip from Fenagh south- house and opposite the old petrol station. the castle. This looked to be a castle of wards towards Garryhill, which leads to We entered a field now owned by Mr. great strength, towering high into the sky. Borris and St. Mullins, which is the heart James Reddy. My Grandad had told me A courtyard is visible. Horses graze hap- of Kavanagh Country. While on the road where to go as he had been told all about pily in the fields surrounding the castle. we also stopped to look for Garryhill this castle years ago. In the field you can The Kavanagh family built this castle as Castle, where Art Óg Kavanagh lived as still see some granite boulders, evidence an outfort. In the last century a set of King of Leinster during the 14th century. of a castle, and similar to the granite at manacles was found in the castle walls. My Great-Great-Uncle, Mr. John Ryan, Ballyloo Castle. The castle was a Ka- who lives in Garryhill, told me the castle vanagh home in the 1400s. My Grandad Ballyloughan Castle was burnt by the English in the late also told me that years ago after the castle Next we travelled back through Garryhill 1300s. He said it was a wooden building had been demolished music, laughter and singing could be heard at night at the site.

Ballyloo Castle For the next castle we drove the short distance to Ballyloo, which is just off the main Carlow/Wexford road. Again my Grandad knew this site as it was just across the field from his birthplace in Ballyloo. This castle is on land now owned by Mrs. Bradley and formerly by Mr. Jack Little. The remains are up along driveway. Art Óg Kavanagh built the castle in the 1400s. It was four stories high with a lovely view of the country. It was a granite building. The castle ruins are now nearly covered in bushes and Rathnageeragh Castle Photo: Órla Kenny hedging. and towards Bagenalstown and found the with a thatched roof. Castletown Castle impressive remains of Ballyloughan Cas- We drove next to Castletown Castle, tle. This castle stands in the middle of a The Kavanagh family occupied many which is on the main Carlow/Wexford large grass field. It is about fifty feet high. castles in Carlow and I hope you enjoy road. The walls of the castle are still The Normans built it around 1300 but the reading about my trip to a selection of standing. Arthur Kavanagh acquired the Kavanaghs occupied it during most of its them and the photographs. castle in 1631. The castle was renovated history. It is a beautiful castle with a and extended by the Monaghan family. A gatehouse in the centre and two large large tillage farm surrounds this castle. towers are also visible. A plaque at the Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Going to the Pictures 05/11/2012 20:51 Page 1

141

GOING TO THE PICTURES

DAN CARBERY

t must be difficult if not impossible given permission to go but on our condi- published in the Nationalist and Leinster for the young people of today to un- tion that it would not effect our atten Times, our local newspaper. Most films Iderstand the pleasure and excitement were in black and white, but there would of going to the cinema in 1940s and dance at normal films. Children can be 1950s. Saturation television, DVDs and very astute in handling parents. be special mention of a coming colour all the other modern technologies are film being in glorious Technicolor. now taken for granted. We kept in touch with what films were coming by observing the “stills” which The times of showing in the Ritz Carlow In my youth we did not go to the cinema were photos on display outside the cin- were generally as follows: Sunday a or the movies, we said we were “going to ema. The programmes for the current matinee at 3pm with first house at 6pm, the pictures”. This was the most popular week were displayed but there was also and second house at 9pm. Monday, leisure activity at the time. We looked a special place for coming attractions. Wednesday and Friday had two houses forward to every visit to the Ritz or Col- Posters were also printed each week giv- 6.30pm and 9pm. Tuesday and Thursday iseum, both on Tullow Street, Car- low.

My father, a great man for the “pictures” himself, was very strict with his children. We had definite rules about how often we could go. It was every two weeks. We would push this a little and when requesting permission to go he would ask how long is it since you last attended. The earlier cinema on the site of the present Post Office We would say it will be two weeks on Friday and not ing the week’s programme. These were had one house 8.30pm. one week last Friday. This was more distributed to shops for display in the likely to bring a positive response from window. Free passes were given to the The Ritz opened in 1938. There had been him. shopkeeper and some of my school a cinema, owned by Slaters, in Burrin friends were fortunate to have access to Street on the site of the current Post Of- If a religious film came we would be these. The programme of films was also fice. It was, however, destroyed by a fire.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Going to the Pictures 05/11/2012 20:51 Page 2

142 Going to the Pictures

There was also a much earlier cinema on cial edition of news showing the corona- played by John Gregson and also starred the same site which is illustrated on page tion of Queen Elizabeth in 1952 which, Barry Fitzgerald and I think Noel Purcell. 25 of Carloviana 1971. There were three although short, brought people to the The director needed a scene showing a different admission prices. The cheapest Ritz, including my aunt Melba Governey. hurling final complete with packed sta- seats were at the front close to the screen On Sunday there was also an episode of dium, a band and parade of players be- with entry from the side of the cinema in a serial that always ended in drama such fore the game. In September 1957, Charlotte Street. Then the stalls were at as the hero being pushed over a cliff and Kilkenny were playing Waterford in the the back further from the screen. The falling to his death. You had to go the All Ireland Hurling Final at Croke Park. most expensive seats were on the balcony following Sunday to find out what hap- I attended the game and saw John Greg- upstairs. I am afraid there was a certain pened. He had either fallen onto a ledge son parade with the Kilkenny team amount of class distinction at the time or managed to grab hold of a projecting around the park with the crowd cheering even when “going to the pictures”. bush to save his life. My father’s rule of him. This footage was included in the only allowing us to go every two weeks film, the World Premiere of which I at- There were regular changes of pro- prevented us from following the serials. tended at the Savoy Cinema in O’Connell gramme so you could go every night of At the end of the programme the National Street Dublin on Thursday 13th March the week to see a different film by alter- Anthem was played and the majority of 1958. nating between the Ritz and the Coli- those attending stood until it was com- seum. The Sunday programme was stand plete. When watching the pictures all those alone. Monday and Tuesday was the years ago we gave little thought to those same film and then a change for Wednes- As already mentioned the local newspa- responsible for showing it from the pro- day and Thursday with a further change per The Nationalist published the pro- jection box or room. That was until it for Friday and Saturday. This meant four grammes of films at the various cinemas broke down and the screen went blank. different programmes in the week. The in the region. I have the copy of Saturday The audience went wild with whistles of foreman in our family building firm of D 23rd January 1937 that my mother kept as protest until the showing restarted. & J Carbery was Tommy Corcoran, a it records the death of her eldest brother great man for the pictures. He went al- Michael Governey who died at the age of To get some idea on the running of a cin- most each night to the earlier showing 28. This edition includes advertisements ema I spoke to Carlow native Val Slater and then adjourned to his club “The for Carlow Cinema, which was located in a former manager of the Ritz Cinema in Workman’s” in Browne Street for some Burrin Street opposite the Deighton Hall Tullow Street Carlow. Val is a well- relaxation after a hard day’s work on the on the site of the present Post Office. The known driving instructor, but he spent building sites. Sunday programme was Two Black much of his earlier working life in many Sheep starring Otto Kruger and is de- cinemas across the country. He started in If a particularly good film came it might scribed as “a pathos drama with touches the Coliseum Carlow, then worked in the show for the full week without a change of light comedy blended in a gripping Ritz and, after years in various cinemas of programme. You could pre-book tick- play of strong human appeal”. The sup- in Ballina, Athlone, Sligo and elsewhere, ets to make sure that you got in. Saturday port film was Joe E. Brown in Alibi Ike. he returned to manage the Ritz.The cin- night was very popular and a long queue Entry prices were Balcony 1/8 Stalls 1/- ema was owned by Amalgamated Cine- often formed along the footpath from the Pit 4d. Other cinemas listed were Athy mas Ireland Ltd the Elliman Brothers Ritz at the corner of Charlotte Street, to Picture Palace and Palace Cinema Bage- Company and had various local directors wards the old Garda Barracks. nalstown (The Perfect Talkie Cinema). such as Des Early the solicitor and The importance of the cinema at the time Carmel McDonnell (nee Duggan) both The normal programme had the main fea- is shown by the Carlow and District notes well known. Many people worked in the ture film but there was also a support giving a full review of all the films for the Ritz over the years and included Joe film. The show opened with advertise- week at Carlow Cinema. The Muinebeag Carter and his son Brendan who worked ments for national and local businesses. Notes did likewise for the Palace Cin- as projectionists. The Kavanagh sisters These were followed by trailers showing ema. of Browne Street were ticket sellers and extracts from future films or coming at- attendants. Hogans also worked there. tractions. Next came the support film I also have a copy of The Nationalist and an interval to allow for a toilet break dated July 5th 1958, which is the edition The decision on what films were shown and, of course, if you had the money, to recording my father’s obituary. On the was made in Dublin. When films were buy a tub of ice cream. This was always same page there are advertisements for released in Ireland the major Dublin Cin- a special treat when “going to the pic- the Ritz Super-Cinema Carlow and the emas got them first and, sometime later, tures”. I remember we had Pathe or Coliseum Carlow as well as the Astor they came to Carlow and to the smaller Movietone News also at times. This was Cinema Muinebeag (Bagenalstown), the cinemas around the country. The film pre-television days and it was wonderful Grand Central Cinema Tullow, and reels came to Carlow Rail Station packed to see some of the major news items on Myshall Parish Hall Cinema. The Coli- in steel boxes. I can recall seeing the man film, including extracts from All Ireland seum was showing “Rooney” all week from the Ritz wheeling a hand truck up Football and Hurling Finals as well as In- Monday to Saturday. I well recall this Dublin Road with the previous night’s ternational Rugby from Lansdowne Road comedy film made in Ireland about a films for dispatch to their next destination and other grounds. I can recall the spe- hurler. The main character Rooney was and of course collecting the new films for Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Going to the Pictures 05/11/2012 20:51 Page 3

143 Going to the Pictures

that night’s showing. Sunday at the matinee. opened up and closed when the picture The great actors and actresses such as opened and at the end. At the end of a The Coliseum Cinema Tullow Street Car- Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, matinee one always seemed to come out low opened on 16th September 1941. It Charlton Heston, Shirley Temple, Mari- of the hall dazzled by the bright light of was situated on the site of nos. 59-61 Tul- lyn Monroe, Yul Brynner, Bing Crosby, the day which had continued at its own low Street and had seating for 750. The Deborah Kerr and Bob Hope were all pace as you had stepped off for a few first film shown was “Bachelor Mother” names to look forward to, with John hours.” starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven. Wayne proving to be the best cowboy of them all. Mrs. Margaret Haughney of Leighlin- I spoke to Paul Delaney who worked in bridge recalls going to The Astor Cin- the Cinema from 1958 until it closed in The picture hall in Borris was in the cen- ema, Borris Road, Bagenalstown. This 1994. He started on December 8th 1958 tre of the town, which really was the was owned by Brownes. “ The price to employed as a rewind boy and, over the Town Hall. At that time, to gain entry, get into the Cinema was 4d into the pit. years, progressed until he was manager. you had to pay by giving your money to The first film I ever saw was Going My In the earlier days, films were collected the lady who looked out through a little Way with Bing Crosby in it. We would at Carlow Railway Station. They had to window. She told you to keep your ticket have walked into Bagenalstown for the be wound onto special reels and spliced and “there is no going in and out” were 6pm showing. We started going to the together for showing. When Paul started, the famous last words. As you stepped pictures at 14 years of age and there 10 people were working there including towards the double door past a well posi- would have been 5 or 6 of us walking in Robert Fleming and John Fitzpatrick. tioned sweet stand you knew that you en- together. We would have gone to the cin- Two of Robert’s sons Aidan and Gregory tered a totally new world. Finding your ema about every 3 or 4 weeks. The also worked in the Cinema as did Harry seat with the help of a well directed flash Usher Ginger Clarke was very strict; if Hogan known as ‘Buster Crabbe’ who lamp that was held by one of the stewards there was any talking during the film or was charged with controlling the young was the next big hurdle. At the front of messing he would put you out straight patrons. Working with Paul when the the hall there were wooden benches away.” Coliseum closed were Joan Collins, Edel known as forms and the rest of the hall Byrne and Nan Brown.The Coliseum was filled with chairs arranged in rows. To conclude those of us who grew up in was demolished to make way for the The front seating cost less as it was the pre television age will each have their present entrance road into the Carlow nearer the screen than the chairs and was own happy memories of “going to the Shopping Centre from Tullow Street. affectionately known as the pit. The ma- pictures”. I only have to pause and think chine for showing the picture was situ- back to the excitement and wonder of it In preparing this article I asked some ated at the back of the hall. It had two all to a young boy growing up in Carlow friends to recount their memories of big reels on either end. The man showing long ago. I can recall so many of the “Going to the Pictures” in their youth. Fr. the picture always seemed to smoke and films and the stars. Our favourites were Tom Little included the following in his when the shaft of light from the machine of course the Westerns. First we had a reply: lit up the white screen his smoke turned Roy Rogers, Gene Autry (who actually a distinct blue colour. visited the Ritz in 1939) with their horses “On being asked to write this article on Trigger and Champion. We knew the “Going to the Pictures” it brings back There were always advertisements of name of every cowboy’s horse. Later we such happy memories of a time long great things in Graiguenamanagh, Bage- had Randolph Scott and my favourite gone, when as children with friends we nalstown, Tullow and Carlow, shown at John Wayne who also played in many went to see the latest story in town. the beginning. It was not until you saw war films. The comedies were Laurel the two big shells opening that you knew and Hardy, Abbot and Costello together One of the highlights of the month when you were in for a great treat of being at with The Marx Brothers and many oth- we were young was the day we were al- the pictures. ers. My favourite channel for T.V. films lowed to go to the pictures. The week be- is TCM where I can record and view the forehand we had to be so good to our It was at the pictures that one learned that old black and white films at my leisure. Mam. Our pocket money was saved up. it was nice to sit beside a girl for the first Promises were made that we would be time. I never forget one time when there With all the modern special effects and good at the pictures and on the way was a break in the picture everyone stood multi-million budgets available to films home. At that time we had to travel on up leaving myself and the girl I was sit- today they produce magnificent specta- bicycles and if it were at night then we ting beside on the edge of the form to cles but I doubt if they give anything like had to have our bicycle lights in good “see saw” to the floor causing an enor- the excitement and entertainment we got order for fear of meeting the Garda. mous thud. When the lights came on we as youngsters “Going to the Pictures”. were the object of everyone’s laughter. The name of the picture was posted up outside of the church, which could not Graiguenamanagh Hall owned by Joyces fail to attract your attention as the adults was more up market. It was a real Picture THE END chatted after mass. Friday night was the Hall with seats, which sprung up when first showing but it could also be seen on you stood up. It also had a curtain which Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 1

144

Observations on a flint leaf-shaped arrowhead from Ballintemple, Co. Carlow and some related finds from the county Isabella Mulhall

n 29th November 2011, a flint leaf-shaped Oarrowhead (Fig.1) was discovered just off the L2021, close to the River Slaney, around 3.5km south of the village of Ardattin in the townland of Ballintemple, Co. Carlow. It was a surface find, made in Coillte’s Ballintemple Nursery during the course of a routine plant health inspection being carried out by Cathal Ryan, an inspector with the Forestry Service. The discovery was reported by the finder to the present writer at the National Museum of Ireland, in line with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2004. On behalf of the State, and under Section 68 (2) of the National Cultural Institutions Act (1997), the arrowhead was then acquired, on 4th April 2012, by Carlow County Museum, Fig.1 The Ballintemple arrowhead Photo:courtesy of Carlow County Museum where it is currently on display.

The presence of the arrowhead removed, and has a small amount of The artefact can be classified as ii at Ballintemple raises a number of cortex or exterior chalky surface at the a broad leaf-shaped arrowhead . Leaf- challenging questions, with implications base. It has very light patination, that is shaped arrowheads are so-called because i that reach to the heart of prehistoric to say, has very little surface weathering . they lack the projecting tangs associated Carlovian life. How old is it? Who made it? How was it made? What was it used for? And how did come to rest, finally, in Ballintemple? These are the questions that will be addressed here in this article. Doubtless, the artefact has many secrets it can unveil to us about life in Ballintemple and the surrounding areas in prehistoric times. When considered alongside comparable arrowhead discoveries, from a variety of contexts within Carlow and further afield, it presents a range of fresh insights into the rich and diverse nature of this county’s prehistoric past.

Date and description of object The Ballintemple arrowhead measures approximately 4cm long x 3cm wide and has a maximum thickness of 0.5cm. It has bi-facial invasive flaking Fig.2 Barbed and tanged arrowhead from Ballyglass West, Co. Mayo where flakes from both faces are Photo: Jonathan Hession, courtesy of the National Roads Authority

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 2

145 Ballintemple arrowhead

with the later barbed and tanged further afield? Could it have been are well attested from this period and arrowheads (Fig. 2). They were introduced into the area as a finished would have played a pivotal role in the manufactured by pressure flaking; the product or even as an arrowhead pre- transportation of raw materials or original blank piece of flint was shaped formvii as a result of trade contacts with finished products. No examples of by removing flakes from the surface and neighbouring communities? Explaining Neolithic log boats have so far come to worked to a sharp point. This technique the arrowhead’s apparent isolation light in County Carlow, but a recently allowed for the production of finely demands a wider understanding of flint discovered log boat from Greyabbey Bay, crafted tools, such as piercing exploitation practices and trade patterns Co. Down dating from the late fourth arrowheadsiii. Leaf-shaped arrowheads in the area in the early Neolithic period. millennium BCxiii clearly illustrates the are primarily known from the early range and complexity of the Flint was the best-known and Neolithic (c. 4000-3200BC), a period technological skills known from the most ubiquitous of the stone sources used that witnessed the introduction of period. in the pastviii. ix However, given that there farming to Ireland and a corresponding are no bedrock flint sources (in situ Function of arrowheads move towards a more sedentary way of deposits) known in County Carlow, Functioning as single piece life. It was also marked by new secondary sources of flint would have projectile points, arrowheads would have developments such as pottery production, been exploited. These would most likely been very diverse tools, but would in addition to advances in stone working have arisen as a result of recurrent primarily have been used for hunting techniques. A diverse range of lithic glaciations which would have eroded smaller animals. They would most likely (stone) technologies is associated with a flint out of the bedrock in County Antrim have been affixed to their shafts using range of artefacts from this period which (primary source), and transported it in a some sort of adhesive such as resin, also includes lozenge-shaped southerly direction where it was sometimes reinforced by twine or animal arrowheads, javelin or spearheads, eventually redistributedx. It seems most sinewxiv. An example of a chert convex scrapers, plano-convex knives likely that the context from which the arrowhead from the stone tool and polished stone axes. flint was procured for the Ballintemple assemblage excavated at the site of an Broad leaf-shaped arrowheads arrowhead would have been either the enclosed early Neolithic settlement such as the one from Ballintemple, river deposits or glacial tills in County complex at Tullahedy, Co. Tipperary possess a flat base and are not very Carlow, or the beach deposits found clearly demonstrates how arrowheads widely known from the archaeological along the eastern seaboard (research is were hafted in grooved wooden shafts; in recordivwith leaf-lozenge shaped still ongoing in this regard). this instance, the outline of the shaft was arrowheads and elongated leaf-shaped left on the actual arrowheadxv. Closer to arrowheads being more commonly It is important to note that in the history home, a leaf-shaped arrowhead was foundv. of the nursery at Ballintemple, no topsoil found at a depth of about 3m in bog at The arrowhead is a striking was ever introduced into the area from Clonaddadoran, south of Port Laoise, early example of the technical and outsidexi. This suggests that the with part of the birch shaft still aesthetic expertise of stone craftsmanship arrowhead was not inadvertently brought attachedxvi. This find is an exceptional in prehistory. In particular, it into the area from outside in recent times, firsthand demonstration of the intricacies demonstrates a preference for the use of which in turn strengthens the argument of the hafting process. good quality flint with excellent fracture that Ballintemple and surrounding areas Abundant evidence of properties (i.e. the ease with which it can were inhabited since at least the early arrowheads in the archaeological record be flaked during the course of Neolithic period. The discovery in the reflects the importance of archery in both manufacture). It has been argued 1970s of three Neolithic polished stone hunting and warfare in Neolithic timesxvii. elsewhere that skilled flint knapping axeheads in the neighbouring townland At the Neolithic site of Hambledon Hill played a crucial role in ensuring the of Carrickslaney further testifies to a in Dorset, England, an adult male was success rate of arrowhead productionvi. Neolithic presence in the wider areaxii. uncovered with a leaf-shaped arrowhead The Ballintemple arrowhead has all the Determining the exact nature and extent embedded in the vertebrae of his upper hallmarks of having been manufactured of this presence would however, be thoracic cavityxviii. At Poulnabrone by one such skilled flint knapper, and difficult in light of the limited evidence Dolmen, on the Burren in County Clare, would undoubtedly have been a valuable available. Furthermore, it would be the tip of a flint or chert arrowhead was possession to whoever owned it. impossible to establish whether the found lodged in the hip bone of an adult . inhabitants of the area were arrowhead male. There was no trace of infection or manufacturers or whether they were healing, indicating that this was a Raw materials used in the simply arrowhead consumers who perimortem wound - one which occurred manufacture of arrowheads sourced their supplies elsewhere. The at or around the time of deathxix. That the Ballintemple River Slaney would doubtlessly have Arrowheads may also have had arrowhead was an isolated or “stray” find served as a navigation channel, opening a ceremonial or ritual function, as I will raises some important questions. Was it up endless possibilities for the go on to explain, given that they have manufactured locally using raw materials communities along its banks, and come to light as grave goods available in the Ballintemple area or creating wide-ranging trading accompanying burials in megalithic could the materials have been sourced opportunities for them. Indeed, log boats tombs and single burials of the period.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 3

146 Ballintemple arrowhead

during the excavation of an early Neolithic structure at Oakpark/Painestown, Co. Carlowxxiii. The deposition of arrowheads in post-holes and slot-trenches may have been for ritual purposes and may indicate a ceremonial element to the house-building process. Parallels for such depositions are numerous in the Irish archaeological record. A rock-crystal leaf-shaped arrowhead was recovered from a posthole during excavations of a Neolithic house structure at Ballyglass, Co. Mayoxxiv. The latter appears to be the only example of a quartz projectile in the Irish archaeological recordxxv At Knowth, Co. Meath, a finely executed leaf-shaped arrowhead was brought to light along with small Fig.3 Leaf-shaped arrowhead from Ballybar Lower, Co. Carlow. fragments of Neolithic pottery in the Photograph: Studiolab, courtesy of the National Roads Authority stone-lined trench of a sub-rectangular Neolithic house. The house was uncovered in the area adjacent to the south east of Ballintemple. This Eastern entrance of the Knowth Passage Contexts from which arrowheads have arrowhead has a marked point and fine Tombxxvi. been recovered secondary working on both faces but, Finally, a broken leaf-shaped One of the mysteries of the unlike the Ballintemple arrowhead, has a arrowhead was recovered from the wall- xx Ballintemple arrowhead is its isolation. rounded butt . It was also a stray find slot of Neolithic house at While leaf-shaped arrowheads have most that did not come from a clear Ballintaggert/Lisnagonnell, Co. Downxxvii commonly been recovered in apparent archaeological context, in contrast with whilst at Corbally, Co. Kildare, an contexts, such as in habitation sites or other examples known from the county. unfinished leaf-shaped arrowhead was sepulchres, the Ballintemple arrowhead, Like the arrowhead from Ballintemple, unearthed in the packing material of a as a stray find, was not found in its isolated context remains an enigma. rectangular Neolithic housexxviii. It has association with any archaeological site, been suggested by many commentators monument or object. As I have hinted Habitation sites that the deposition of broken pottery and above, it is unclear at present why the Leaf-shaped arrowheads Ballintemple arrowhead ended up where have been recovered from a it did- far removed from any related substantial number of the early settlement evidence. What is clear from Neolithic habitation sites the archaeological record, however, is excavated to date in Ireland. At that leaf-shaped arrowheads were Ballybar Lower, Co. Carlow a associated with both the living and the leaf-shaped arrowhead was dead in the early Neolithic period. They recovered during the excavation have been recovered from a wide range of a localised series of twelve pits of contexts that show their use in hunting, (Fig. 3) ahead of the N9/N10 warfare, as part of the house-building Carlow Bypassxxi. However, process, as grave goods accompanying unlike the arrowhead from burials and in ceremonial gatherings. Ballintemple, it is a small leaf- lozenge shaped arrowhead that Isolated discoveries was unfinished due to a knapping Stray or chance discoveries of single error. It was found in a pit together arrowheads commonly feature in the with two flakes and a blade, all archaeological record. While there are no which can be dated to the early other projectile points known from the Neolithic period on technological townland of Ballintemple, a well-finished and typological groundsxxii. flint leaf-shaped arrowhead was A small flint leaf-shaped unearthed by chance in 1969 in a “newly arrowhead came to light along with Fig.4 Court tomb at Creevykeel, Co. Sligo ploughed bog” in the neighbouring flint débitage and pottery sherds in Photo: National Monuments Service of the townland of Monaughrim, located to the an area of post- and stake-holes Dept. of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 4

147 Ballintemple arrowhead

stone implements (including arrowheads, stone axeheads and quernstones) in the foundation trenches or postholes of Neolithic houses was for ritual purposes. This is a pattern that is known across the island of Ireland and has been observed in a considerable number of the eighty or so Neolithic houses that have been excavated to date in the country.

Burial sites In addition to their recovery from settlement sites, leaf-shaped arrowheads are also commonly found in burial tombs of the period, most notably court tombs. A court tomb consists of a long cairn of approximately rectangular or trapezoidal shape with an unroofed court giving access to a longitudinally placed gallery of one or more chambersxxix. There are no examples of court tombs known from County Carlow but examples from elsewhere in Ireland include Bavan Court Tomb, Co. Donegalxxx and Creevykeel, Fig 5. Miniature leaf-shaped arrowheadsfrom Tullahedy, Co. Tipperary Co. Sligoxxxi (Fig. 4), both of which Drawing by Patsi Bates, courtesy of the National Roads Authority produced well-executed leaf-shaped arrowheads in addition to other lithic country, are located at Brownshill, in the Archaeological finds from the site at material including lozenge-shaped townland of Kernanstown, and Magheraboy also included a broken arrowheads, hollow scrapers, end Haroldstown, where remarkable porcellanite axe, scrapers, a javelin head scrapers and plano-convex knives. The examples of megalithic engineering are fragment, quartz crystals and early appearance of arrowheads in this context undoubtedly in evidence. Neither of these Neolithic potteryxxxiv, testimony again to seems to denote that they were used as tombs has been scientifically investigated the extensive trade-networks that existed grave goods to accompany the dead. to date and therefore nothing is known of throughout the island of Ireland in However, their presence in the tombs the remains contained therein or their Neolithic times. may also be explained by the possibility associated gravegoods. Future that they were originally embedded in the excavations at these sites may indeed Lithic scatters actual remains of the dead, and therefore reveal a fuller picture of the socially Finally, in addition to the do not constitute gravegoods per se. In complex nature of the society in which contexts outlined above, leaf-shaped other words, they were used to lethal the megalith builders of County Carlow arrowheads have also come to light as effect and entered the tomb “in” the lived. part of lithic scatters such as the one remains, rather than “with” them. excavated at Glenulra, Co. Mayo, Dolmens, or portal tombs as Causewayed enclosures situated 2.5km southeast of the Céide they are also known, have likewise Leaf-shaped arrowheads have Fields (Neolithic Field System). This site yielded arrowheads during the course of also been recovered from Neolithic produced artefacts of flint, chert and archaeological investigations. causewayed enclosures such as the one quartz/rock-crystal including one broken Excavations at Poulnabrone Dolmen, excavated in Magheraboy, Co. Sligoxxxiii. leaf-shaped arrowhead. The arrowhead in County Clare, referred to above, This large multi-functional early this instance was manufactured from produced several arrowheads in addition Neolithic earthwork was radiocarbon chert. Findings such as these imply an to a triangular bone pendant, two stone dated to between 3900 and 3600BC and area of stone tool production where beads, part of a mushroom headed bone partially enclosed circa five acres of artefacts of all levels of completeness pin, a polished stone axe, several other hilltop. Causewayed enclosures have were found in addition to manufacturing flint and chert implements and over sixty xxxv xxxii invariably been interpreted as settlement lithic waste or débitage . sherds of plain coarse pottery . The sites, ceremonial or ritual centres, trading Excavations of the enclosed likelihood exists, of course, that leaf- centres, communal meeting places, settlement complex at Tullahedy, Co. shaped arrowheads and other associated mortuary sites and even cattle Tipperary, referred to above, revealed early Neolithic grave goods would have compounds. Given the diverse range of evidence of intense on-site stone tool also featured as an integral part of the uses attributed to these sites it is productionxxxvi. However, unlike the burial rite in the portal tombs of County unsurprising that finds of arrowheads Ballintemple example, arrowheads from Carlow. Some of the most impressive and broadly similar to the one from this site included nine miniature chert well-preserved portal tombs in the Ballintemple are not uncommon. leaf-shaped arrowheads (Fig. 5). In Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 5

148 Ballintemple arrowhead

addition to these, an array of other stone surrounding areas in the early Neolithic Graeme Warren, School of implements including scrapers, complete period almost six thousand years ago. It Archaeology, University College and fragmentary polished stone axes and speaks to us perhaps of a community that Dublin: for providing information on simple blades and flakes came to light. had access to flint and possessed the Ballyglass, Co. Mayo rock-crystal Recent analysis of the lithic finds from expertise in lithic technology, or perhaps arrowhead ahead of publication. the site has also shown that the majority who fished in the nearby River Slaney of arrowheads recovered there were and hunted small animals or, indeed, Killian O’Driscoll: for providing access unfinished examples which appear to engaged in warfare. Does it speak to us to this unpublished thesis - have been produced by novice knappers, of a community that may have had Understanding quartz technology in or which broke during the course of contact with the tomb-builders from prehistoric Ireland- University College manufacture. It has also been Haroldstown and Brownshill who firmly Dublin. demonstrated at that site that some left their mark on Carlow’s rich examples were never completed as they landscape? Can we dare to imagine a Michael Stanley, National Roads may have been considered too small thriving community who felled their trees Authority: for providing the illustration and/or too thick for manufacture, whilst with “Carrickslaney-type” stone axes and of the Tullahedy miniature leaf-shaped others were rejected because they were farmed the surrounding lands? arrowheads (drawn by Patsi Bates) and not fully symmetrical or because their Future finds of archaeological the image of the barbed and tanged size ratio was problematicxxxvii. By significance will undoubtedly shed arrowhead from Ballyglass West, Co. contrast, the Ballintemple arrowhead, as further light on this area. Indeed, there is Mayo (by Jonathan Hession). I have mentioned, demonstrates high every reason to believe that further quality craftsmanship by a very evidence of the Neolithic lies hidden Jimmy and Frankie Quinlan, Ardattin experienced flint knapper. beneath the rich agricultural lands of Cottage Museum, Co. Carlow: for local Ballintemple and surrounding areas. The historical information on the area. Concluding remarks: the deep tantalising secrets of this enigmatic archaeological significance of the arrowhead may some day be revealed to Tony Roche, National Monuments Ballintemple area us in full. Service: for providing the image of Although there are no other Creevykeel Court Tomb, Co. Sligo. archaeological objects dating from the Acknowledgements: Neolithic period recorded from the Cathal Ryan, Forestry Inspector, Forest Colleagues and friends, especially Peter townland of Ballintemple, several Service, Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Jones and Kim Briggs, for their archaeological sites are known from the Marine: for reporting the find to the insightful comments on the text. Ballintemple and may quite possibly be National Museum of Ireland and for his prehistoric in date. assistance at the time of discovery. Bibliography: The Archaeological Inventory Anderson, E. (1994) Flint and stone of County Carlow lists three oval Dermot Mulligan, Curator, Carlow tools. In M. Ryan (ed.) Irish enclosuresxxxviii which showed up as faint County Museum: for providing Archaeology Illustrated, 35-8. Dublin. and indistinct cropmarks during aerial permission to describe the arrowhead photography of the areaxxxix. Subsequent from Ballintemple here and for Brindley, A. and Kilfeather, A. (1993) to the publication of this inventory, aerial providing photographs of same. Archaeological Inventory of County reconnaissance carried out in 1996 Carlow. revealed two sub-rectangular shaped Claire Anderson, Irish Antiquities Dublin. cropmarksxl. There is a distinct possibility Division, National Museum of Ireland; that some of these cropmarks, for her comments on the manufacture of Byrne, G., Walsh, P., Warren, G., particularly the latter two, may represent the arrowhead from Ballintemple. McIlreavey, D. and Rathbone, S. (2009) the remains of Neolithic settlements such . Archaeological excavations at Glenulra as those uncovered at Corbally, Co. Matthew Parkes, Natural History Scatter (92E140). StratigraphicReport. Kildare or Knowth, Co. Meath referred Division, National Museum of Ireland: Irish National Strategic Archaeological to above. These would provide a for his comments on the sources of flint Research Fund 2009. Dublin. framework for the Ballintemple in prehistoric Ireland. arrowhead and would enable us to gain a Cleary, R. and Kelleher, H. (2011) better understanding of the complex Noel Dunne, National Roads Authority: Archaeological finds at Tullahedy, Co. nature of prehistoric settlement in the for providing images (from Studiolab) Tipperary: Neolithic settlement in North Slaney hinterland. Without recourse to and information on the finds from the Munster. Cork. archaeological investigation however, the Carlow Bypass excavations. precise nature, function and date of these Danaher, E. (2004) Symbolic enclosure: enclosures remain unknown. Pat Doody, Coillte, Ballintemple, Co. a tantalising Neolithic space in the The Ballintemple arrowhead Carlow: for providing information on north-west. Archaeology Ireland 18, has undoubtedly something to tell us Ballintemple Nursery, Co. Carlow. No. 4, 18-21. about life in Ballintemple and

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Ballintemple Arrowhead 05/11/2012 20:53 Page 6

149 Ballintemple arrowhead

Driscoll, K. (2010) Understanding .php?Year=&County=Carlow&id=1916 i Claire Anderson, pers. comm. quartz technology in prehistoric Ireland. ii Ibid. Retrieved 21/08/2012 from, O’Neill Hencken, H. (1939) A Long iii Anderson 1994, 37 http://www.lithicsireland.ie/PhD_Quart Cairn at Creevykeel, Co. Sligo. Journal iv Claire Anderson, pers.comm. z_lithic_technology_Bibliography.html of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of v Woodman et al. 2006, 128 Ireland 9, 53-98. vi Green 1980, 2 Dunne, N. (2009) An exciting array of vii i.e. an unfinished arrowhead finds from the Carlow Bypass. Seanda Purcell, A. (2002) Excavation of three viii Woodman et al. 2006, 81 NRA Archaeology Magazine 2007 Issue Neolithic houses at Corbally, Kilcullen, ix Although flint dominates the 2, 64-66. Co. Kildare. Journal of Irish archaeological lithic record in Neolithic Archaeology 11, 31-75. times both in County Carlow and Eogan, G. and Roche, H. (1991) further afield, chert was also used Knowth. Multi-period. Retrieved Sheridan, A. (1994) The First Farmers. extensively in the production of 05/08/2012 from, In M. Ryan (ed.) Irish Archaeology arrowheads. A wide range of other lithic http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details Illustrated, 47-52. Dublin. resources was also available and was .php?Year=&County=Meath&id=3799 exploited in the Neolithic, though not to Sternke, F. (2009) Appendix 8- Lithics the same extent as flint or chert. Forsythe, W. and Gregory, N. (2007) A Finds Report for E2620 Ballybar Siltstone was used at Ballyglass West, Neolithic log boat from Greyabbey, Co. Lower, Co. Carlow. In L. Hackett and Co. Mayo for the production of a Down. Ulster Journal of Archaeology R. Hanbridge N9/N10 Kilcullen to barbed and tanged arrowhead (Fig. 2) (Third Series) 66, 6-13 Waterford Scheme: Kilcullen to found adjacent to a spread of burnt Powerstown. Final report on stone and charcoal dated to the Middle Gillespie, R. (2009) A treasury in time archaeological investigations at Site Neolithic period (Gillespie 2009, 8). around Charlestown, Co. Mayo. Seanda E2620, in the townland of Ballybar x Matthew Parkes, pers. comm.. NRA Archaeology Magazine 2009, Lower, Co. Carlow. xi Pat Doody, pers. comm. Issue 4, 8-11. xii Topographical Files, National Sternke, F. (2011) The Stone Tools. In Museum of Ireland Green, S. (1980) The Flint Arrowheads R. Cleary and H. Kelleher xiii Forsythe and Gregory 2007, 6 of the British Isles (Parts I and II). BAR Archaeological finds at Tullahedy, Co. xiv Sheridan 1994, 49; Sternke 2012, 11 British Series 75 (i), Oxford. Tipperary: Neolithic settlement in North xv Sternke 2012, 10-11 Munster. Cork. xvi Waddell 1998, 49 Hackett, L. (2006) Ballybar Lower, Co. xvii Waddell 1998, 49 Carlow: Prehistoric Activity. Retrieved Sternke, F. (2012) What lies beneath. xviii Mercer 1980 05/08/2012 from, Seanda NRA Archaeology Magazine xix Lynch 1988, 106 http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details 2012, Issue 7, 10-11. xx Topographical Files, National .php?Year=&County=Carlow&id=1495 Museum of Ireland Waddell, J. (1998) The Prehistoric xxi Hackett 2006; Dunne 2007, 66 Herity, M. (1987) The Finds from Irish Archaeology of Ireland. Galway. xxii Sternke 2009, Appendix 8 Court Tombs. Proceedings of the Royal xxiii Monteith 2008 Irish Academy 87C, 103-281. Warren, G.M. (forthcoming) The xxiv Warren forthcoming Chipped Stone. In S. Ó Nualláin, S. xxv Driscoll 2010 Large, S. (2004) Greene and K. Rice (eds.), Excavation xxvi Eogan and Roche 1991 Ballintaggert/Lisnagonnell, Co. Down. of the Centre Court Tomb and xxvii Large 2004 Neolithic and Bronze Age. Retrieved Underlying House Site at Ballyglass, xxviii Purcell 2002, 39-41 05/08/2012 from, Co. Mayo. Dublin. xxix Waddell 1998, 78 http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details xxx Herity 1987, 198-200 .php?Year=&County=Down&id=11346 Woodman, P., Finlay, N. and Anderson, xxxi O’Neill Hencken 1939, 84-5 E. (2006) The Archaeology of a xxxii Lynch 1988, 107 Lynch, A. (1988) Poulnabrone- a stone Collection: The Keiller-Knowles xxxiii Danaher 2004, 20 in time. Archaeology Ireland 2, 105-7. Collection of the National Museum of xxxiv Ibid. Ireland. Dublin. xxxv Byrne et al 2009, 6 Mercer, R. (1980) Hambledon Hill: A Websites accessed: xxxvi Cleary and Kelleher, 2011 Neolithic Landscape. Edinburgh. National Monuments Service, xxxvii Sternke 2011, 241 Monteith, J. (2008) IDA Business Park, Archaeological Survey of Ireland xxxviii CW018-002001; CW018-002002 Carlow: Archaeological Resolution (for (www.archaeology.ie) and CW018-002003 Valerie J. Keeley Limited). Oakpark or xxxix Brindley and Kilfeather 1993, 28 Painestown, Co. Carlow. Retrieved Searchable Database of Irish excavation xl CW017-056 and CW017-057. 05/08/2012 reports National Monuments Service, http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details (www.excavations.ie) Archaeological Survey of Ireland

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Dictionary of Irish Biography 05/11/2012 20:56 Page 1

150

Dictionary of Irish Biography

Reviewed by Jimmy O’Toole

oth nationally and internationally be that of Pierce Butler (1744-1822) born and defeated in 1922. In a constituency the publication in 2009 of the at the family seat Ballintemple, near Tul- carve up in the 1930s Carlow was joined BDictionary of Irish Biography low, Co. Carlow, elected to the U.S. sen- with Kildare, Wicklow, and Wexford and (DIB) was greeted by a very favourable ate and architect and signatory of the in 1938 Paddy Cogan, who lived at Bal- media reaction while the book critics American Constitution. Butler has been lykillduff, Tobinstown, was elected for were equally enthusiastic, with few criti- written about extensively on both sides Wicklow and he was re-elected in four cisms of any consequence being penned. of the Atlantic, and one would have subsequent elections before his eventual Statistically the nine volume work had thought a mention in the DIB would have defeat in 1954. The only other political just about everything – covering 2,000 been merited. The nine volumes contain entry is Tom Nolan, T.D. who was years, it includes 9,700 biographies writ- countless lesser known political figures, elected for Carlow/Kilkenny on five oc- ten by 700 contributors. The articles who would fall far short of Butler’s casions between 1965 and 1981. He was range from 200 to 15,000 words with an standing on the international stage. An- appointed Minister for Labour in 1980 – impressive eight million word content . other Carlow-born politician who en- the only elected representative from Co. On the international stage the Dictionary joyed political success out of Ireland was Carlow to hold ministerial office during won the 2009 American Publishers Tom Reid (1881-1963) who was elected the 20th century. Award for Professional and Scholarly ex- a Labour MP for Swindon in Wiltshire in cellence (prose) for best multi-volume 1945, a seat he held for eight years. Reid John O’Donovan’s splendid book Mem- work in the Humanities and Social sci- was born at Mount View, Grange, Tullow bers and Messengers (Carlow 2003) pro- ences. and was one of a family of seven sons. vides a comprehensive listing of every He enjoyed a distinguished career in the parliamentarian elected for Carlow dur- The DIB was a collaborative project be- British Colonial Civil Service holding ing the 20th Century. Those, inexplicably tween Cambridge University Press and several posts in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). excluded from the DIB, were - John the Royal Irish Academy and the editors He spent 26 years serving as Mayor and Hammond, MP, The Elms, Athy Road, were James McGuire of University Col- Chief Executive Officer of the capital Carlow, elected 1891; 1892, 1895, 1900 lege Dublin and James Quinn of the Colombo and as a member of the Ceylon and 1906; Michael Molloy, MP, Grange, Royal Irish Academy. Typical of the Legislature in charge of labour affairs. He elected 1910 (Jan and Dec). He was the glowing tributes from critics was this line was primarily responsible for drafting a last MP to represent Co. Carlow in the from the Sunday Tribune “...all 7,000 new constitution under which the island, British House of Commons; Gearoid O’- pages of it has just been published to the re-named Sri Lanka, won its independ- Sullivan, TD, a native of Cork who lived sound of dropping jaws, purring appreci- ence. He was the last white member of in Dublin, elected 1921 and 1922 for Car- ation and universal acclaim”. The histo- Government and in Colombo a city street low/Kilkenny and on five subsequent oc- rian and academic Diarmuid Ferriter had – Reid Avenue – is named after him, and casions for South Dublin; Patrick no reservations either – “It is an indispen- he is also remembered on a plaque in Gaffney, TD, Tullow St., Carlow, elected sable reference work, as well as reflect- Government House. James Wynne 1922; Ned Doyle, TD, Laragh, Ballon, ing a wide definition of what constitutes (1841-1908) from Slyguff, Bagenal- elected 1923, 1927 (June and Septem- an historically significant character.” stown, was mayor of Port Elizabeth, ber); Thomas Bolger, TD, Downings, South Africa and later held a seat in par- Tullow, elected 1925 by-election; Francis These words may be all very well when liament for the city’s North End con- Humphreys, TD, Shangarry, Myshall, the nine volumes are looked at from a na- stituency. elected 1932, 1937, 1938, 1943, 1944, tional perspective but the acid test of their 1951 and 1957; James Hughes, TD, Kel- value, sense of fairness to those deserv- It is difficult to get to grips with the terms listown, elected 1938, 1943, and 1944; ing mention, and their much talked about of reference set for individual inclusion. Joseph Hughes, TD, Kildrenagh, Bage- “comprehensive nature”, can only be For example the way in which Carlow nalstown, elected 1948, 1951, 1954 and properly accessed when analysed on a parliamentarians are listed is little short 1957; Desmond Governey, TD, Kilkenny county by county basis. In Co. Carlow, at of haphazard. Of the sixteen elected to Road, Carlow, elected 1961, 1965, 1969, least, these tests would leave the DIB the House of Commons (3) and Dail 1973, 1981 and 1982; M.J. Nolan, TD, coming up short in several of the subject Eireann (13) during the 20th century, only Athy Road, Carlow, elected 1982, 1987, headings set by the editorial team - four are listed . Walter McMurrough Ka- 1989, 1992, and 2002; John Browne, TD, artists, scientists, lawyers, actors, musi- vanagh, elected unopposed to the House Ballinacarrig, Carlow, elected 1989, cians, writers, politicians, criminals and of Commons in a by-election in 1908; 1992, and 1997. saints. James Lennon was in prison when he was elected in 1918 – was re-elected in 1921 From the world of academia the exclu- The most glaring omission must surely sion of Prof. Denis Donoghue is difficult Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Dictionary of Irish Biography 05/11/2012 20:56 Page 2

151 Dictionary of Irish Biography

to understand. He was born in Tullow in Richards, also missed the cut. 1928 and brought up in Warrenpoint, Co. Down where his father served in the Carlow’s Hollywood connection is ig- RUC. Educated at UCD, he later became nored. The murder of top Paramount film Professor of English and American Liter- director William Desmond Taylor on ature, before taking up the Henry James February lst, 1922, led to the discovery Chair of English and American Letters in that the victim’s real name was William New York University. He has published Cunningham Deane Tanner, who was several books including Warrenpoint born at The Elms, Athy Road, Carlow on (1991) a memoir in which he recounted April 26, 1872. The actor/director ap- his memories of Tullow. A father of eight, peared in several movies and the shoot- his youngest daughter Emma’s book ing that led to his death was never solved. Room was one of the works shortlisted Other names that might have been infor the 2010 Man Booker prize for liter- cluded were the novelist James Murphy ature. The omission of Nicholas Aylward (1839-1921), from Glynn; Edward Mur- Vigors (1785–1840) is another surprise. phy (1818-1896) was a native of Bal- The Old Leighlin born zoologist and lyellin and was elected to the Canadian politician was a co- founder of the Zoo- Parliament . Mary O’Toole (1874-1957), logical Society of London in 1826 and its was a women’s rights activist in America first secretary until 1833. He succeeded and was the first woman to be appointed to his father’s estate in 1828 and was a judge in the District of Columbia Mu- M.P. for the borough of Carlow from nicipal Court. Bagwell, Phillippa Jocelyn (c1853 - 1832 until 1835. He later served be- 1937), philanthropist, and promoter of tween1837 to 1840. Inclusions in the Carlow listing that could cause a raised eyebrow or two include the local industry. Perusal of D. J. O’Donoghue’s book The footballer Tommy Murphy (1921-92) Baillie, William (1723-1810), printmaker Geographical Distribution of Irish Abil- whose address is actually given as and art dealer, native of Kilbride. ity (1906) touches briefly on the success Graiguecullen, Co. Laois; William Dar- gan, railway engineer, believed by many stories of several Carlow born talents, Bergin, Liam D (1913-94), newspaper to have been born in Laois; on the other some featured in the DIB but many oth- proprietor and editor, born Carlow town. side of the county Charles Guilfoyle Doran (1835-1909) Bergin, Patrick (1913-1991), trade union- is given a Carlow address but ist and republican , born Carlow town. his birthplace at Ardnaboy, Knockananna, is in Co. Wick- Brownrigg, Abraham (1836- low. But there is some good 1928),catholic bishop of Ossory, born news for those who were omit- Ballypierce, Clonegal. ted. According to Dr. Kevin Whelan in a review of the Dic- Byrne, Edmund (c1655/6-1723/4), alias tionary the 9,700 selections Edward Hamson, Archbishop of Dublin, were made from a wider data- born Ballybrack, Co. Carlow. base of 60,000 and in his words “....the website will Butler, Richard (1761-1802), 7th baronet, eventually list the unfortunate MP, was born, probably at Garyhunden, 50,000 who missed out”. One Co. Carlow. can only hope that some very deserving Carlow names, Cloney, Thomas (1774-1850), insurgent many more than mentioned in leader, and catholic activist, probably this review, will be favoured born at Ballybeg, near St. Mullins. with a little space. Cogan, Patrick (1902-1977), politician, Biographical details of the fol- was born at Ballykillduff, Tobinstown lowing people linked to Co. Collier, Peter Fenelon (1849-1909), pub- Carlow by birth, career or who died in the ers now largely forgotten. Among them lisher, and newspaper proprietor, born in county are published in the Dictionary of are Samuel Downing, renowned engi- Myshall. neer, John McCall and W.J. Onahan, a Irish Biography - notable Irishman in Chicago, who did Commins,Andrew (1832-1916), barrister Bagenal, Beauchamp (c.1735-1802), much for Irish literature. Notable military and politician, born at Ballybeg, Co. Car- landowner and MP born Dunleckney careerists William Brereton, General Sir low. Manor. Dudly St. Leger Hill and Captain Edwin Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Dictionary of Irish Biography 05/11/2012 20:56 Page 3

152 Dictionary of Irish Biography

expert, born Borris House. historian, born in Ballon.

Keogh , Myles Walter (1840-76), soldier, O’Toole, Rose (d.c. 1629), politically sig- born at Orchard House, Leighlinbridge. nificant member of the O’Toole family.

Kerney, Leopold Harding (1881- Swayne, Sean (1933-1996), catholic 1958),diplomat, was born in Carlow. priest and liturgist, born in Julia Creek.

Lawlor, Edward (1939-99), property de- Tyndall, John (1820-93), scientist and veloper and philanthropist, born in Tul- mountaineer, born in Leighlinbridge. low. Sources - Members and Messengers, Lennon, James (1880-1958), republican John O’Donovan, 2003; The Geographi- and advocate of credit reform was born cal Distribution of Irish Ability, D.J. O’- in Borris. Donoghue, 1906; Carlow’s International Achievers, Jimmy O’Toole, 1999. MacDonagh, Oliver Ormond Gerard (1924-2002) historian, born in Carlow town.

McGrath, Joseph (1858-1923) first regis- trar of the NUI.

Maguire, Nicholas (c1460-1512) bishop of Leighlin and Historian, born Tullam- Crosbie, Edward William (1755?-1798), aguinna.. 5th baronet, victim of a miscarriage of justice, Viewmount, Carlow. Maher, Anne (Mary Columba) (1777- 1855), Dominican prioress. Dargan, William (1799-1867), engineer, was born in Co. Carlow. Maher, Michael (1860-1918), Jesuit priest, philosopher, and psychologist. Delany, William (1835-1924), Jesuit and president of UCD was born in Leighlin- May, George Augustus Chichester (1816- bridge. 92), lawyer, and lord chief Justice of Ire- land. Donovan, Robert (1862-1934) journalist and professor, born in Leighlinbridge. Murphy, John (1753-1798), catholic priest and insurgent leader, executed in Doran, Charles Guilfoyle (1835- Tullow. 1909),civil engineer, Fenian, and biblio- phile was born Ardnaboy, Knockananna. Moran, Patrick Francis (1830-1911), car- dinal, born in Leighlinbridge. Doyne, William Thomas ((1832-77), railway engineer, born Old Leighlin. Nolan, John (Amnesty Nolan) (1846 – 87), nationalist and amnesty activist, born Farrell, Michael James (1899-1962), in Ballon. writer, was born in Carlow town. Nolan, Thomas (1921-1992), politician Haughton, James (1795-1873), social re- and businessman, born Cappawater, former and philanthropist born in Carlow Myshall. town. O’Donohoe, Patrick (1808-54), Young Haughton, Samuel (1821-97), geologist, Irelander,was born in Clonegal. physiologist, and mathematician was born in Carlow town. O’Kelly, Denis (Count) (1728-1787), ad- venturer, professional gambler, racehorse Kavanagh, Arthur McMurrough (1831- owner and breeder. 89), landlord and politician, born in Bor- ris House. O’Meara, Frank (1853-88), landscape painter, was born in Carlow town. Kavanagh, Walter McMurrough (1856- 1922), landlord, politician and financial O’Neill, Thomas Patrick (1921-1996),

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow's Olympic Connections 06/11/2012 22:13 Page 1

153

Carlow’s Olympic Connections

Jimmy O’Toole

n the four decades since the Munich Greystones, Co. Wicklow, and is a regu- Olympics sports fans in Co. Carlow lar visitor to the family farm at Wells and Iwill have had more than a passing in- is a frequent guest of Carlow Rowing terest in the fortunes of competitors in Club, where he is an honorary member. track and field, rowing and swimming His son Jack is a keen rower and rowed and for very diverse reasons. The 1972 for Oxford Brookes University at Henley games saw Carlow’s first ever Olympian in 2004. Sean Drea, from Bagenalstown compete in the single sculls rowing. In 1988 in T.J Kearns was born in the village of Seoul T.J. Kearns from Rathvilly carried Rathvilly on June 2nd 1966, to Jim Kearns Carlow hopes in the 110m hurdles, while and his wife Pauline (nee Bolger, a native in the swimming pool that same year his of Tullow). After winning a succession of second cousin Gary O’Toole, from Bray, county titles in the 110m hurdles, he re- was competing for Ireland. It was in the peated these successes at national level, Seoul Olympics that another name would securing sufficient points to represent Ire- emerge and whose success as a world fa- land at Olympic, European and world mous trainer would continue to endure championship competitions. Growing up, right up to the London Olympics 2012. sport played an important part in the lives That athletics trainer is Bro. Colm O’- of the Kearns family. T.J.’s brother Linus Connell, a Cork born Patrician Brother, was a key player with the local G.A.A. who received his secondary school edu- senior football team, and played for many cation at St. Patrick’s Monastery in Tul- years on the Co. Carlow senior football low. championship team .

Sean Drea, was born at Wells near Bage- T.J.’s first appearance in Olympic games nalstown, on March 3rd, 1947, and was was in Seoul in 1988. Four years later in educated at the local St. Josephs Acad- Barcelona he achieved much improved emy. During an illustrious rowing career times with a 7th placing in the quarter fi- in Ireland, specialising in single sculls, he nals. Again in Atlanta in 1996, Kearns se- went on to represent his country in world cured a third placing in the first round championships and the Olympics. In the Seán Drea with a time of 13.67. His personal best Munich games in 1972 he put in a strong time of 13.55 was achieved in 1996 - an performance with a 7th place finish. In Irish record he held until his time was 1973 he won lst place at the Henley Re- overtaken by Peter Coughlan. Apart from gatta, repeating the victory in 1974 and his three Olympic appearances T.J. 1975. A record speed he set at Henley the semi-final with a time of 6:52.46. was not broken until the 1990s. He However he missed out on a medal posi- brought rowing performances in Ireland tion, finishing fourth, after a disappoint- Kearns represented Ireland at European to new highs when he won silver in the ing third quarter performance in the final. and World Championships - in the latter World Championships in 1975 where he Later he spent many years in Philadelphia event in Tokyo in 1991, he achieved 7th finished second to Peter Michael Kolbe. as a coach with the Fairmount Rowing position in the semi-finals. Three years In 1974 he won the U.S. national cham- Association, and one of the highlights of later in the European Championships he pionships and he was favourite for the his career there was the coaching of John came in third in the qualifying heats, World Championships in Rostee, but had Riley of the U.S. at the World Champi- dropping to sixth in heat two. Now living to withdraw to undergo emergency sur- onships in 1989 and 1991. He rowed in in Blackrock , Co. Dublin with his wife gery to have a kidney stone removed. the Heads of the River Race in 1997 with a veteran Schuylkill Navy Crew. Emma and four children, he is engaged At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal Sean in property sales valuations and travels Drea broke the 2,000m world record in Today Sean is engaged in farming near extensively in the Middle East.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Carlow's Olympic Connections 06/11/2012 22:13 Page 2

154 Carlow’s Olympic Connection

In the parish of Tullow there was a sec- other school in the world and much of the the nice face of athletics. They ran natu- ond interest in the Seoul and Barcelona credit for that goes to Bro. O’Connell. He rally, were very relaxed, and their talent Olympic Games where Bray swimmer is a former headmaster of the school, and had nothing to do with drugs and Gary O’Toole represented Ireland. Gary’s continues in the role of athletics coach. steroids. People clutched at that. Sud- grandmother was May Kealy, from denly everyone wanted to know Kenya’s Crosslow and her sister Anne Kealy was A farmer’s son, Colm O’Connell was secret – where the athletes came from T.J.’s grandmother . Gary’s parents Aidan born in Caherduggan, Co. Cork on 16th how they trained. So it was around that and Kay lived at Charnwood, off Killar- August, 1948, the second of five chil- time that reports and cameramen started ney Road, in Bray and it was in the dren. He entered the Patrician Juniorate turning up”. Training facilities are still nearby Presentation College Pool that at Mount St. Joseph, Tullow in Septem- basic at St. Patricks but on the plus side Gary developed his early interest in ber 1962, and made his first profession at Bro. O’Connell admits the altitude is an swimming . Our Lady of Lourdes, Ballykealy, in Au- advantage, there are no distractions in gust 1965. He sat his Leaving Certificate this remote region, the climate is dry and While studying at University College, at St. Patrick’s Monastery, Tullow , in mild and the boys enjoy a healthy, high Dublin, he won a 200m breaststroke sil- 1968 and following his university educa- protein diet of maize and beans. ver medal at the 1989 European Long tion in Galway and Maynooth, he was on Course Championships in Bonn. He also the teaching staff at Ballyfin College, At London 2012 another St. Patrick’s ath- won a gold medal at the World University County Laois and St. Patrick’s Secondary lete David Rudisha took gold in the Championships in 1991 when represent- School, Newbridge, before he was ap- 800m, and set a new world record in the ing University College Dublin. He helped pointed to Iten in 1976. process. The influence of the Kenyan break five national relay records, includ- methods is spreading. Mo Farah the So- ing short course and long course. Since The list of international successes by for- malian born British runner who won gold his retirement from competitive swimmer St. Patrick’s boys is impressive. in the 5000m and 10,000m events in Lon- ming Gary has been a priactrising or- Ninety-five per cent of Kenya’s national don spent several months training in thopaedic surgeon with specialist interest team come from the area. The country Eastern Kenya. Since 1976 twenty five in cancer and sports knee surgery, and has shone at middle and long distance world champions and four Olympic gold continues to provide expert analysis for track events ever since, newly independ- medallists have come though St. Patricks RTE sports programmes. He is married ent , it sent is first team to the Tokyo making Bro. Colm O’Connell the most to Sorcha, and have twin daughters Libby Olympics in 1964, winning bronze in the successful running coach in history. and Robyn and the family live in Donny- 800m. After the Kenyans boycott of the Unique in one other way – he has never brook, Dublin. 1976 and 1980 Olympics , it was their been to an Olympic games, watching dazzling resurgence at the 1988 where events instead on a television in a hotel Bro. Colm O’Connells teaching career they won four gold, two silver, and a in the nearby village. took him to Kenya where the Patrician bronze that turned the spotlight on their Order, with its worldwide headquarters in athletics training and in particular the Mount St. Joseph, was purchased from Tullow, open a school at Iten on the rim man responsible. That was the year of the the Patrician Order by the Morrissey fam- of the Great Rift Valley in 1961. For the drugs scandal involving Ben Johnson of ily in 1994 and has since been developed order is was just another of its many Canada, who was stripped of his gold as prestigious hotel, country club and schools around t he world. But St. medal in the 100m. In the months after- golf course, with an international visitor Patricks High School, a struggling outwards visiting journalists seeking out the cliental. Bro O’Connell was a guest of post of education in this vast country, is secret of the Kenyans success were told the Morrisseys on one occasion. no ordinary school. It produces more in- by Bro. O’Connell “Suddenly the ternational and Olympic athletes than Kenyans seemed like a breath of fresh air,

CHAS outing, summer 2012 - Titanic Exhibition, Belfast

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Wastegrass 06/11/2012 22:16 Page 1

155

The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock

Christopher P. McQuinn

ituated on a side road off the Tul- centuries) to the town. In 1932 the Mass danger, of course threatened the priests, low to Ardattin road lies the town Rock was placed in the Square beside an as government persecuted them unceas- Sland known as Crosslow. Here is altar used for Benediction. Three years ingly and bitterly, with the result that found a farm called The Wastegrass, earlier, in 1929, it was also placed in the priests have celebrated Mass with their which is now owned by Mrs. Mary Square to mark the centenary of Catholic faces veiled, lest they should be recog- Moore. On this farm lies an example of Emancipation, an event attended by an nised by those present.” one of Ireland’s many Mass rocks. The estimated 10,000 people1. In 2012 the story of this Mass Rock, and that of the Mass Rock was displayed for the dura- James Keeffe, Bishop of Kildare and Moore family, provides an example of tion of the Congress in Tullow’s Church Leighlin5 (1702 – 1787) “preached the the emergence and development of Irish of the Most Holy Rosary. The Waste- Word of God incessantly in glens and Catholic culture in Tullow, in the diocese grass Mass Rock provided a connecting bogs, for chapels in his time were few of Kildare and Leighlin, and even in far link between the present and the past. and wretched6. off Australia. Historical Background Eucharistic Congresses A Mass Rock (Carraig an Aifrinn in June 2012 saw the 50th International Eu- Irish) was a stone used in mid-seven- charistic Congress take place in Dublin. teenth century Ireland as a location for Eighty years earlier a similar event took Catholic worship. These stones were place, just ten years after the trauma of generally located in isolated places, due the foundation of the state. The 1932 to the difficulty and danger involved aris- Eucharistic Congress provided a platform ing from Cromwell’s campaign against on a national and on a local level to cele- the Irish, and the Penal Laws of 1695. brate religious and national identity. In Bishops were banished and priests had to Tullow, on both occasions, a Mass Rock register to preach under the 1704 Regis- was transported from its home at The tration Act. Priest hunters were em- Wastegrass (where the Moore and Doyle ployed to arrest unregistered priests and Burial place of Bishop James Keeffe at families have acted as its custodians for Presbyterian preachers under an Act of “The Old Graves”, Carlow; the inscrip- 1709. tion includes the following:

These penal laws were aimed at the elim- “HERE HE DESIRED THAT HIS RE- ination of Catholicism as a political MAINS force2. Papal recognition of the Catholic SHOULD BE LAID AMONG THE Stuarts claim to the throne of England re- POOR sulted in these measures against FOR WHOM HE HAD LIVED Catholics, who were regarded as having AND WITH WHOM AFTER DEATH divided allegiance3. HE DESIRED TO BE ASSOCIATED” Photograph courtesy of Brendan Kealy In many instances a stone to serve as the Mass Rock would be taken from a church ruin. Because these services were ille- The practice of using Mass Rocks waned gal, they were not scheduled, and their as the implementation of the penal laws occurrence was communicated by word lessened, and they began to be repealed, of mouth between parishioners. Daire and as worship moved to thatched Mass Keogh4 quotes a report to Rome from houses. Similar stones, known as Mass Bishop Hugh MacMahon of Clogher Stones are found in Scotland. (1660-1737): “To hear Mass these people must rise early and travel through frost and snow; some of them advanced Mass Rock was displayed in Church in years, leave their homes the previous of Most Holy Rosary, Tullow, June day to make sure they arrive in time and 2012. place where Mass is celebrated….Greater Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Wastegrass 06/11/2012 22:16 Page 2

156 The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock

ated with the Mass Rock. This was also used at the 1929 Centenary Celebrations in the Square; it appears in a photograph taken at the time. The photograph shows the font on the ground in front of the Mass Rock. Above the rock is a portrait of Bishop Daniel Delany10 who was devoted to the Blessed Eucharist, and organised one of the first Corpus Christi processions in Ireland in 1784. To the Mr. Garret Moore points to original lo- left and right of the rock are busts, one of cation of Mass Rock at “The Camel’s Bishop James Doyle (JKL)11 and the Corner”. There was a Mass Path stile other of Daniel O’Connell. here also.

The Wastegrass Mass Rock Bishop James Doyle (1786-1834) The Wastegrass Mass Rock was originally sited at The Camel’s Corner which An t-Ath Peadar MacSuibhne (Fr. P. lies between three hills bordering The Swayne), the noted historian, visited The Wastegrass. These hills acted as look-out Wastegrass in 1940s with the Tullow posts during Mass in penal times. The Parish Administrator, Fr. James Mahon, Camel’s Corner is located at the junction a personal friend of Garret’s father, of three farms: Moore’s The Wastegrass, Nicholas. On seeing the font, he pleaded O’Toole’s of Tullow Hill and Ley- to be given it for a museum in Knockbeg bourne’s, Mount Vernon. College, but without success. The Mass Rock now stands on its end in Garret Moore remembers Mass being the ditch of another field, with its top side said at the Rock in his mother’s time for facing out towards the field. Mr. Garret the Crosslow people. He thinks it may Moore says that it was placed there prior have been said by one of his brothers, Fr. to his father’s time. The top side has a Nicholas Moore. Fr. Tom McDonnell, number of carvings: a simple cross, sur- then Chaplain to Tullow Community rounded by the letters “I H S”7, and a School, said Mass at the Rock, on a num- heart with a cross on top8. A square ber of occasions in the 1980s, for groups pocket has been chiselled out to contain Mass Rock in the Square, Tullow, 1929 of his pupils. relics9. for celebrations to mark the centenary of Catholic Emancipation. Doyles of “The Wastegrass” Garret Moore (b. 1927) remembers the In the mid 1800s The Wastegrass was Mass Rock being loaded, in 1932, onto a owned by a Mr. Peter Doyle. Three boys horse’s cart, by four men using planks, to lived with the Doyle family, and from be transported to Tullow for the Corpus there attended the Patrician Monastery Christi celebration in the Square, as part School in Tullow to prepare for studies of the Eucharistic Congress. The men infor the priesthood. Peter Doyle prom- volved were his father, Nicholas Moore ised a gold watch to the first of them to and Tom Wheeler (father of Mrs. Lil become a priest. The three became Maxwell, Pairc Mhuire, Tullow and of priests: Father J. Dawson, S.M., Dublin, Mrs. Mary Cullen, Dublin Road, Tullow) Father Patrick Cosgrave, C.C., Ballyfin, who worked on the farm, and two others. who died in 1894, and Father Edward Kavanagh12, P.P., Monasterevin, who The Mass Rock had previously been dis- died in 1925. Fathers Cosgrave and Ka- played in the Square in 1929 where cere- vanagh were both from Clonegal and monies were held to mark the centenary were nephews of Mrs. Doyle. The watch of the Catholic Emancipation Act. The was won by Father Dawson13. highlight was the Corpus Christi procession, in which an estimated 10,000 peo- The Doyle couple had no family. A ple took part. The Mass Rock was niece, Mary, also a Cosgrave, from Or- positioned on the left, outside the present chard, Clonegal, came to live with them. Bank of Ireland. Garret is in possession Bishop Daniel Delany (1747-1814) Her uncle, Peter Doyle, was closely re of a small stone holy water font, associ

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Wastegrass 06/11/2012 22:16 Page 3

157 The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock

lated to Bishop Michael Comerford14. Bishop Thomas Fox bedrooms downstairs, as well one bed- Mary Cosgrave inherited the farm, and At Knocklow Bridge stand the ruins of a room upstairs, and a loft for storing ap- married a Garret Moore from Canon- mill once owned by the Fox family. A ples. squarter. They were the grandparents of stone in the gable wall facing the bridge Mr. Garret Moore, now living at The bears the inscription “TF” – Thomas Fox. Bridie left Tullow on 5 September 1894 Wastegrass, Mr. Paddy Moore, Tullow A member of the Fox family fell into debt and reached Echuca on 19 October. Hill, Mrs. May Fox, Castlebar, Co. and, on hearing that the bailiffs were on Travelling with Bridie, were M.M. John Mayo, Fr. Nicholas Moore P.P., Borris, their way from Tullow to arrest him, es- (Synon), three professed Sisters: Teresa Co. Carlow (d. 2004), Sr. Bernie Moore, caped by foot across Dawson’s field on Flynn, Patrick Flynn and Vincent Crowe, Irish Sisters of Charity, Zambia (d. 2007, the far side of the river, eventually mak- and two other postulants: Norah Cooke Dublin), Mrs. Rita Kearney, Kilconnor, ing his way to Australia. A son of his, and Maryanne Kenny. Bridie had a Fenagh, Co. Carlow, and Fr. Eddie Thomas Martin Fox (1893-1967) was or- strong link with Echuca as her aunt, Moore, P.P., Allen, Co. Kildare. dained a priest, and went on to become Mother Benedict Moore, was Superior. The Moore family were also closely re- Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia- A second link was that another relative, lated to Bishop Edward Nolan (1834- Forbes, near Sydney, Australia. His term Bridie Gaynor, was already in Echuca. 1837)15. Bishop Nolan’s mother was of office was from 1931 to 1967. Bishop Her name in religion was Sr. Ursula. named Mary Moore. Fox made two visits to the Wastegrass, one in the 1940s, and one during the 1950 The group travelled first to England, and Holy Year. He was accompanied by a joined the ship, the Austral, at Tilbury, younger priest. Bishop Fox paid partic- from where they sailed to Australia. Bri- ular attention to the Mass Rock, marking die kept a diary of her voyage in two out the inscriptions on it with chalk, be- notebooks, and sent them home to her fore filming the rock. family17. These writings give a fascinating account of life on board ship, such as Sr. Gertrude (Bridie) Moore daily Masses celebrated by Irish priests In September 1894, the not yet seventeen also bound for the Australian mission, the year old Bridie Moore from The Waste- interaction of the nuns with the other pas- grass set sail for Australia join the Brigi- sengers at concerts, talent shows and dine Sisters. She had been born on 24 balls (“of course we were lookers on and October 1877 to Garret Moore and Mary did not take part in the dancing”18), dis- Cosgrave, and was baptised on 28 Octo- embarking and sight-seeing at ports of ber by Fr. Patrick Cosgrave, sponsors call, including Gibraltar, Naples, Pom- being Patrick Cosgrave and Winifred peii, Port Said, Suez, Colombo, celebra- Kelly. tions and sports (which she took part in) as the Equator was crossed, the birth of a baby girl on board, and the welcome to her new convent home. Bishop Edward Nolan (1793-1837) Bridie’s mother would become very upset when she received letters from her, and would spend the day in a small field near the house19.

The following is an extract from The Brigidine Story Echuca, which was produced in 1986 to coincide with celebrations to mark the centenary of Echuca’s foundation: “Sr. Gertrude Moore was a young Irish girl who came from Tullow Original Moore homestead is now a farm to Echuca in 1894 with the intention of building. entering the Convent. Being rather young she remained in the boarding Bridie was reared in the old thatched school until she entered as a postulant in house, as was the present Garret Moore 1897. She was a niece of Sr. Benedict and his siblings16. This building is now Moore, Echuca foundress. A gentle, lov- used as a shed, but two of its windows able personality, she spent her life in and the outline of the house can be seen. Echuca, but died in Mentone in 1922 It had a sitting room, a kitchen and two while convalescing. She had suffered Bishop Michael Comerford (1830-1895)

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Wastegrass 06/11/2012 22:16 Page 4

158 The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock

much from constant illness borne without Doyle and Moore families have played WEBSITES complaint. Her great educational contri- their part in this story. www.delanyarchive.ie bution lay in preparation of teachers for www.wikipedia.org their work20.” BIBLIOGRAPHY Sr. Gertrude Moore was Principal of St. Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Tullow 1 Carloviana (1989), p.17. Mary’s School, Echuca in 1917, perhaps (2005) Tullow its Church & its People 2 Salvador Ryan and Brendan Leahy (Ed- until 192021. In 1922 she was on the Pri- Publication to commemorate bicentenary itors), Article by Daire Keogh, Treasures mary School staff, when owing to ill of dedication of parish church of Irish Christianity p. 145 health she had to give up her duties and go to Melbourne for a complete rest. She Brigidine Post Primary School, Patrician 3 William Nolan and Thomas McGrath had a heart attack while at Mentone, and Post Primary School, Tullow (1978) A (Editors), Article by Thomas McGrath, died on 7 February. Sr. Gertrude is Commemorative Magazine Kildare History and Society p.297 buried at Cheltenham cemetery in Mel- 4 Ryan and Leahy, op. cit., p.146 bourne22. Brigidine Sisters (1986) The Brigidine 5 Bishop James Keeffe took his Doctor- Story Echuca. Publication to commem- ate degree from the Sorbonne, Paris, and orate the centenary of the arrival of the had been parish priest of Tullow, before Brigidine Sisters in Echuca, Victoria, being named bishop in 1752. (Comer- Mass Path23 Australia ford, Collections Dioceses of Kildare and A Mass path went through The Waste- Leighlin Vol 1, p. 83). He continued to re- grass, passing through Mount Vernon Byrne, E.A. (2012) Political Corruption side in Aghade, Tullow. Keeping a low (Leybourne’s farm), meeting the Blind in Ireland, 1922-2012 A crooked harp? profile due to the penal laws banning Lane at a right angle bend where Jim Manchester and New York: Manchester bishops, Dr. Keeffe’s letters from Rome Murphy’s house now stands; one side of University Press to him were addressed: “Patrick Keeffe, this bend goes to Mount Wolseley Village Shopkeeper, Tullow” and his letters to and the other side meets the Shroughaun. Carlow Historical and Archaeological Rome were signed “ex loco nostri The big field of Leybourne’s, through Society (1989) Carloviana refugii”, i.e. “from our place of refuge.” which the Mass path went, was known as In his eighties he began the building of the Infirmary Field. If a farmer had an Comerford, M. (1886) Collections relat- Carlow College. animal that was not thriving he would get ing to the Dioceses of Kildare and Leigh- 6 Comerford, Collections Dioceses of Kil- permission from Mr. Leybourne to graze lin Vol.1 Dublin: James Duffy and Sons dare and Leighlin Vol. 1, p. 83, quoting it in the field, which would lead to its re- Bishop James Doyle. covery. In the corner of the Infirmary McEvoy, J. (1993) Carlow College 1793- 7 “IHS”: IHSOUS (Greek: Jesus) from field was a brick pond where bricks were 1993. Carlow: The Carlovian Press the first three letters in capitals of the made in former times. The future name in Greek alphabet. It can also refer Supreme Court Judge John O’Byrne24 McGrath, T. (1999) Politics, Interdenom- to the Latin: IESUS HOMINUM SALVA- (1884 – 1954), as a young boy, walked inational Relations and Education in the TOR (Jesus Saviour of Mankind – see daily to the Patrician Secondary School, Public Ministry of Bishop James Doyle Wikipedia). Fearghus O Fearghail (Ryan Tullow, from Killabeg, beyond of Kildare and Leighlin, 1786-1834. & Leahy - op. cit. p. 140) gives the Coolkenno, over stepping stones across Dublin: Four Courts Press monogram as Greek, representing a pro- the River Dereen at Tomkin’s farm, fession of faith in Jesus (IHSOUS) as through Moore’s farmyard, and along the Moore, B. (1894) Diary of Bridie Moore, Son (HUIOUS) and Saviour (SOTER). same Mass Path. Tullow, Co. Carlow. Delany Archive, The reverence and affection with which Carlow. Transcript privately published Christians regarded the Holy Name of Jesus reach back to the earliest days of Nolan, W. and McGrath, T. (2006) Kil- Christianity. Many religious groups, e.g. The Journey dare History & Society Dublin: Geogra- the Jesuits, have also incorporated a cross phy Publications with “IHS” as their emblem. The “IHS”, The Mass Rock at The Wastegrass has as on penal wooden crosses, is often ac- witnessed an important part of the jour- Ryan, E. (1958) Monasterevin Parish Co. companied by three nails – one for each ney of Irish Catholicism: its struggle for Kildare, Some Historical Notes Naas: hand and one for the feet – incised in a two centuries under the Penal Laws, its Leinster Leader Ltd. fan shape fashion and pointing to a date. growth and development as a confident (Ryan & Leahy, op. cit. p. 140). The power, its challenges of recent times, its Ryan, S. and Leahy, B., Editors (2012) carving on the Wastegrass Mass rock is healing and reconciliation as we experi- Treasures of Irish Christianity Dublin: very weathered, so there is no evidence ence the theme of the 2012 International Veritas Publications of these symbols. But there is space for Eucharistic Congress – “Communion them. with Christ and with one another”. The 8 The Sacred Heart is often depicted in

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Wastegrass 06/11/2012 22:16 Page 5

159 The Wastegrass and its Mass Rock

Christian Art as a flaming heart shining School system in 1831. In 1833 he com age (1804-1811) and in Maynooth, where with divine light, pierced by a lance- pleted the construction of Carlow Cathe- he was ordained in 1819. He was on the wound, encircled by a crown of thorns, dral, and died the following year. surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. 12 Fr. Edward Kavanagh was ordained staff of Carlow College from 1819 to This symbol of devotion to Jesus’ love in Maynooth in 1873. Having served in 1834. Dr. Comerford (ibid. p123) deals for humanity spread rapidly after the re- various parishes, he was appointed parish with his controversy with Bible Society ported visions of St. Margaret Mary Ala- priest of Ballon in 1894. During his three in Carlow, 1824. Professor Nolan was coque in France in the late 1600s. Again, years there he added two porches to the vice-president of the college when the Jesuit order did much to propagate Church of St. Peter and Paul, erected a Bishop James Doyle (JKL) died in 1834, this image. (See Wikipedia). marble High Altar and Reredos, and built and he succeeded Dr. Doyle as bishop. 9 Traditionally in Catholic worship first National Schools in chiselled granite. He He died four years later, at the age of class relics of at least two saints, at least took a strong part in the anti-Parnellite forty-four, a victim of typhus fever one of which had to be a martyr were in- campaign. caught in the course of his ministry. serted in a cavity in the altar and sealed, 13 Eileen Ryan, Monasterevin Parish, Co. 16 Mr. Garret Moore, interview with pres- a practice meant to recall the use of mar- Kildare, Some Historical Notes. p. 74-75. ent writer, June 2012. tyrs’ tombs as places of Eucharistic cele- 14 Bishop Michael Comerford (1830- 17 Diary of Bridie Moore, Tullow, Co. bration during the persecutions of the 1895) was born in Carlow Town. He be- Carlow, 1894, formerly in the possession Church in the 1st to 4th centuries. came parish priest of Monasterevin in of the Moore family, and now housed in (SeeWikipedia). 1878 and was named Coadjutor Bishop Delany Archive, Carlow 10 Bishop Daniel Delany (1747-1814) of Kildare and Leighlin in 1888. He 18 Ibid., transcription p.9. was born at Paddock, near Mountrath. resided in Braganza, Carlow. He was 19 Mr. Garret Moore, interview with pres- He was educated in a local hedge school, outlived by the aged Bishop James ent writer, June 2012. moving to priestly studies in St. Omer Lynch, whom he had been appointed to 20 Brigidine Sisters, The Brigidine Story College, France and in College of Lom- succeed. Bishop Comerford published a Echuca, p. 45 bards, Paris. He was ordained in 1770 large amount of material during his life, 21 Ibid. p.61. in St. Omer, where he served for 7 years including the three volume work, Collec- 22 Ibid. p. 22. as Professor of Rhetoric. Returning to tions relating to the Diocese of Kildare 23 A Mass path is a pedestrian track or Ireland, he was appointed curate in Tul- and Leighlin, between 1883 and 1886. road connecting destinations frequently low and became Coadjutor to Bishop While Parish Priest of Monasterevin, Dr. used by rural communities, most usually Keefe, whom he succeeded in 1788. Comerford had the Parish Church of the destination of Sunday Mass. Mass Among his achievements were the com- Saints Peter and Paul completed, erected paths typically included stretches cross- pletion of Carlow College in 1793, the parochial residences and Christian Broth- ing fields of neighbouring farmers, and building of Tullow Parish Church in ers’ Schools. He had Carlow Cathedral were likely to contain stiles when cross- 1805, and the founding in Tullow of the embellished during his time as Coadjutor ing fences, or plank bridges when cross- Brigidine Sisters and Patrician Brothers Bishop. He is buried in front of the high ing ditches. in 1807 and 1808 respectively. altar in the cathedral and is commemo- 11 Bishop James Warren Doyle (1786- rated by the Flemish pulpit which was 24 Justice John O’Byrne was from Se- 1834), known as JKL, was born close to formerly in the cathedral, and which is at skin, Tinahely. Graduating from The New Ross. Following his joining the Au- present in Carlow Museum. Royal University in 1907 with first place gustinian Order in 1805, he studied for 15 Bishop Edward Nolan was born in and first class honours he joined the civil his Doctorate at Coimbra, Portugal Tullow in 1793. His mother, Mary service, went on to study law, and was (1806-1808). He served in the Por- Moore, married James Nolan (b. 1758) in called to the Bar in 1911. He was Attor- tuguese and British forces opposing the 1787. Dr. Comerford in Collections, ney General from 1924-1926, having pre- French invasion of Iberia. He was or- Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin vol.1 viously been involved in drafting the dained in 1809 in Enniscorthy. Dr. p.122 recounts, that while Mary Moore constitution of The Irish Free State. He Doyle was Professor of Rhetoric and then was still a girl, Dr. Keeffe, the then was appointed to the Supreme Court in of Theology in Carlow College from Bishop (See note 4 above) gave her an 1940. Justice O’Byrne chaired two en- 1813-1819. In 1819, at age 33, he was episcopal ring, telling her to keep it for quiries into alleged political corruption: consecrated Bishop of Kildare and one of her sons who should be a bishop. The Ward Tribunal, 1946 and The Locke Leighlin. He was politically assertive, Edward’s mother kept the ring, not men- Tribunal, 1947. and a prolific writer of books and pam- tioning the matter except to her husband. phlets on pastoral, political, educational When Bishop Keefe died she gave it to and interdenominational matters. Dr. his successor, Bishop Delany, informing Doyle was a powerful ally, and sometime him of the circumstances of how it came critic, of Daniel O’Connell in the political into her possession. Dr. Delany accepted campaign for Catholic Emancipation, ap- it, but only on trust, and returned it before pearing before parliamentary committees his death in 1814. Edward Nolan was ed- of the houses of Lords and Commons in ucated in Carlow College from an early 1825. He helped to establish the National

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 1

160

The Tithe War in north-east Carlow

James P. Shannon

aTithes were a tax of one tenth of Then on June 18th, at Newtownbarry A long list of resolutions opposing tithes the profits from lands and the (now Bunclody), Co. Wexford, yeomen and committing the people to peaceful Cstock upon lands, used for the up- fired into a crowd, killing 17 and wound- means of protest were passed, and pub- keep of the church. First introduced into ing 20. On 14th December the same year lished in the following week’s “Carlow Ireland during the reign of Henry II, they forty policemen clashed with 20,000 anti- Morning Post.”ii One resolution, pro- were not generally applied until the reign tithe demonstrators at Carrigshock, Co. posed by Rev. Mr. Healy and seconded of Elizabeth I. There were two types of Kilkenny. The chief constable and 16 of by Mr. P. Byrne specifically condemned tithe: great or rectoral, on corn, hay and his men were killed and seven more were illegal associations and pledged them- wood; and small or vicarial, on flax, gar- seriously wounded. selves if such appeared in the area to “as- den produce and potatoes. Pasture land sist the constituted authorities in every and its produce was exempted from tithes The struggle continued throughout the way we can, to exterminate it from by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1735. country for the next several years and the among us.” north-east Carlow area was to play quite This tax was extremely unpopular in Ire- a significant part in it The following Sunday, May 6th, an even land for two main reasons. Firstly since bigger meeting took place in the Chapel the tithe proceeds went, at least nomi- .A public meeting of “the Landowners yard, Hacketstown. The report in the Car- nally, to the upkeep of the Church of Ire- and Tithe-Payers of the united Parishes low Morning Post estimated the crowd as land, the majority of the population, who of Clonmore, Kilquiggan and Knockbal- “not less than twelve thousand persons.” did not belong to that Church, felt that it listine” was held on Sunday, April 29th The reporter went on to say, “The utmost was an unjust imposition on them. It 1832 at Killalongford. At least five thou- good order was observed, and it could not meant that they had voluntarily to support sand people attended. Edmond Burke of but have occurred to many of the specta- their own clergy and also by law to sup- Liscolman, who chaired the meeting, tors how happily that scene contrasted port the clergy of the Established Church. gave a rousing speech in which he with the deplorable events which in the Secondly since pasture land was exempt likened the country to “an overburdened days of the rebellion took place on that the burden fell entirely on those who and goaded ass obliged to bear two rid- very spot.”iii (St. Brigid’s Church is built tilled their land. Landlords and large- ers” “We must contribute,” he said, “to on the site of the military barracks that scale graziers thus paid no tithe, while the the maintenance of the clergy of the Es- was attacked in the Battle of Hacket- small tillage farmer and the cottier found tablished Church and the clergy of the re- stown. In earlier centuries this was the their meagre profits being assessed for ligion of the people.”i site of Hacketstown Castle.) the tax by the tithe proctor. Cornelius Kelly of Clonmore proposed a Mr. James Kenny of Kilmacart chaired It is no wonder then that this tax was bit- resolution condemning the tithe system this enormous meeting and Mr. Matthew terly resented and that it was the cause of and gave a concrete example of the griev- Healy acted as Secretary. much complaint and ill feeling over ousness of the burden it imposed on the many years. This finally erupted in what people. The living of Aghold, together The first speaker was the Parish Priest of was known as the “Tithe War,” which with one third of the profits of Mulli- Hacketstown, Rev. D. Lalor. He con- was fought between 1831 and 1838. The nacuff, Crecrin and Liscolman, called the demned the tithes as unjust and urged his war started in Graiguenamanagh on 3rd vicarial tithe, belonged to the Rev. Mr. people to refuse to pay them. He himself, March 1831, when the cattle of Fr. Mar- Mcgee. Rev. Mr. Morgan, who lived at he said, would do so and the government tin Doyle were seized for tithe by the New Ross, drew the other two thirds of could seize his goods or put him in jail. tithe proctor. Fr. Doyle protested about the revenue of the said parishes, called If so, he expected that he would come out this and was backed by his bishop, James the rectorial tithe. Mr. Morgan pocketed as good a man as ever. He referred to vi- Doyle, the famous JKL, who issued a annually £450 from this source. Mr. olent and bloody events in Skibbereen, pamphlet advocating a policy of passive McGee, by employing “two decent fat Newtownbarry and Carrigshock, all resistance to tithes. proctors”, had raised the income from his caused by the tithe dispute. He urged peo- share from about £350 to at least £650 ple to resist the tithe system, but to do so The anti-tithe agitation soon spread per year. This meant that the two rev- legally. His native Queen’s County was throughout the country. Unfortunately the erend gentlemen between them were ex- currently in a deplorable condition owing policy of passive resistance was not al- tracting from the union at large a total of to illegal assocons. If any Whitefeet ways followed and there were a number eleven hundred pounds a year. Thirty should come among them he advised the of bloody clashes. The first of these, at years earlier the total income had been people to seize them and give them up to Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, on May only £500 a year. justice. “Go on legally and constitution- 31st 1831, resulted in seventeen deaths. ally,” he said, “and there is no doubt Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 2

161 Tithe War in North-East Carlow

whatever but you will prosper.”iv The sheriff offered the cattle for sale but took the opportunity to condemn the ac- nobody offered to buy. The sheriff and tivities of some Whitefeet who, he said, Rev. Mr. Molloy followed with advice in his numerous helpers and protectors then had been active in the area. He urged a similar vein. He expressed the opinion drove the cattle to Carlow, accompanied them to follow the advice of their great that if people’s property were seized and by “a tremendous crowd of people which leader, O’Connell and have nothing to do sold for tithes it would be a miserable accumulated at every step.”vii The cattle with such illegal organisations. He also wretch indeed who would bid for it. He were lodged in the yard of Mr. McDow- advised that they stay away from arms referred to Lord Stanley’s Bill, then be- ell, the governor of the jail, and the peo- and from drink. fore Parliament, which would empower ple, on the advice of several Catholic the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to collect clergymen, went peaceably home. Monday night passed without incident the tithes for the parsons. Would the and again on Tuesday morning the town noble marquess who fought so gallantly A fact worth noting is that the cattle were was crowded by thousands of men. at Waterloo consent to become tithe- valued at £8 a head, a total of £112, James Caulfield of Levitstown addressed proctor-general? (Cries of “he will not.”) whereas the amount of tithe and expenses them outside the gaol at eleven o’clock. He instanced what had happened at Rath- owing came to less than £35. After him came Rev. Mr. Gahan who drum where no one could be found to urged them to be peaceable and not to at- purchase the cattle seized but two magis- On the following Monday the sheriff tempt the slightest infraction of the law. trates. He also advised the people to shun again attempted to sell the cattle. The illegal associations. streets leading to the yard where the cat- At twelve o’clock it was announced that Fr. Lalor then proposed a set of resolu- tle were held were packed with people, the sale had been postponed until the fol- tions to be sent to Parliament as “ the pe- many of whom were making a great deal lowing morning, whereupon the people tition of the Parishioners of Hacketstown, of noise with tin horns and cows’ horns dispersed with the intention of coming in the County Carlow.” These resolutions in order suitably to express their con- again in the morning. That night was were unanimously adopted. tempt for “the parsons and their armed again quiet. After that Messrs. Shea and Hayden ad- followers.” dressed the meeting and “after giving Wednesday morning again saw enormous three cheers for King William, three for The sale was announced at twelve o’- crowds of men from many miles around Old Ireland, and three for O’Connell, the clock amid “the most tremendous and coming in to Carlow. At twelve o’clock vast multitude dispersed in the most volcanic execrations ever witnessed or the arrival of two thousand Kildaremen peaceable and orderly manner.” v heard before.”viii At this stage the Sheriff was greeted by enthusiastic cheering. At ordered the two bailiffs to drive out the half past twelve Mr. Caulfield again The Tithe War in the area heated up bullocks. There followed a most extraor- spoke to the assembled masses, pointing shortly after that when, on May 16th, the dinary scene, best described in the words out the injustice of the tithe system and sheriff and his bailiffs seized fourteen of the “Carlow Morning Post”: “to his also once again imploring them to con- head of cattle, the property of Mr. Philip [the Sheriff’s] great astonishment, and to duct themselves peaceably and constitu- Germaine of Lisneveagh, Rathvilly, for the utter and ineffable surprise of the tionally. arrears of tithes. This was done at the suit whole multitude, Byrne, the senior bailiff of Rev. Mr. Whitty, the rector of refused, threw up his situation, and mixed At half past two the Sheriff sent for Mr. Rathvilly. The officers of the law were with the people; the other bailiff could Caulfield and informed him that the bul- protected in the execution of their duty not be found…….. When poor Byrne re- locks would be either sold or released on by two troops of dragoons, two compa- fused, the Sheriff, in a fit of Tory mad- the following day. nies of infantry and twenty-three police- ness, ran at him, and thrusting a sharp men, all under the command of Major stick at his belly, exclaimed in the elegant By ten o’clock on Thursday morning the Ryan. Such protection was probably nec- diction of aristocratic phraseology, “God streets were again crowded and when Mr. essary in view of the size of the crowd damn your soul you rascal, go to the devil Caulfield arrived with his Kildare men that assembled to watch the proceedings. out of my sight.” All now was cheers, and around twelve o’clock the crowd was es- As the Carlow Morning Post related, “At shouts, and groans, and yells, and horns; timated to number twenty thousand. three o’clock in the morning fire blazed Byrne was chaired forthwith, carried Once again the speeches, delivered on on every hill and horns were sounding through the town, a collection made to re- this occasion by Messrs. Lalor, Gahan throughout the entire district, extending ward his honesty, and he is now styled by and Walsh, called on the people to behave twenty miles in every direction, and in the people, “the patriotic bailiff.””ix peaceably. the morning about twenty thousand persons were assembled.”vi Despite the vast For the rest of that day the crowds re- At noon the dragoons, military and police numbers of people present no opposition mained on the streets, at one time visiting were led out to prepare for the sale. Mr. was offered and no insult even was given. the offices of the “Carlow Morning Post” Caulfield and other gentlemen now The people in vast numbers were adher- and giving three cheers for that newspa- arranged that the multitude of men would ing admirably to the non-violent policy per. Later Mr. John Reynolds addressed be well away from these, at least twenty advised by their leaders. them and urged them to continue to act perches. They were kept informed of lawfully and constitutionally. He also what was happening by Mr. Caulfield and

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 3

162 Tithe War in North-East Carlow

some others who were continually gal- ing Post” for “acting his part in a most wonderfully named William Wentworth loping back and forth between the people impartial and honourable way; he seems Fitzwilliam Hume of Humewood, Kilte- and the military. About sixty “re- to have nothing to do with the bullocks gan. There was a curious history to the spectable and prudent farmers” were or the tithe party – he is merely in the ca- tithes of Kiltegan parish. About forty “stationed at the place of sale, in order to pacity of commanding officer, and pos- years earlier the tithes of the parish had witness the transaction, and to see the sesses fully the confidence of the been rising and had reached a level con- man who would bid.”x Eleven magis- people.”xiv sidered by the people to be grievously op- trates were in attendance, including the pressive. Accordingly a plan was worked two deputy lieutenants of the county. The same paper commented on the sobri- out to prevent their future increase. The ety of the people, “ not a glass of whiskey Mr. Hume of that time, landlord of the Immediately before the sale commenced drunk in town as yet - …. The priests are Humewood estate, was asked to purchase three yeomen were found sitting behind doing their duty” in his own name the legal right of collect- one of the houses in the street where the ing the tithes of the parish thenceforward. people were assembled and one of them, The cattle were now brought out. Again This he did, for the sum of fifty pounds named Walker, had a loaded gun in his no bidder could be found. The sale was per annum.xvi The tenants breathed a col- possession. They were brought before the abandoned and Mr. Germaine was asked lective sigh of relief, confident that Mr. magistrates, but Col. Bruen decided that to drive home the bullocks. Hume would see them right and that no offence had been committed and they there would be no further increases in the were released. The “Carlow Morning At this point Major Ryan spoke to Mr. burden of tithe. Post” commented acidly that “Colonel Caulfield, Mr. Germaine and other lead- Bruen decided ….. there was no harm ers and expressed a hope that the peace- Alas for their hopes! Mr. Hume gave the whatever in a yeoman and an orangeman able conduct of the last six days would right to collect the tithes as part of his sitting behind a house privately, with a continue; that there would be no exhibi- daughter’s dowry to his son-in-law, a loaded gun, in company with two others, tion or procession of bullocks through the Protestant minister, who raised the sum and all this occurring during the excita- town, and that no injury would be in- collected annually to over £400. This tion of a tithe sale. Verily, it looks like a flicted on the property or person of Mr. son-in-law was now dead and the tithes Newtownbarry scheme; but yet we are Whitty. had reverted to the current Mr. Hume, he informed that there has been no offence of the many names, who now set out to whatever, and thus Master Walker, the The bullocks were now freed and “the exact from the recalcitrant tenants what Orangeman, has been acquitted.”xi whole multitude accompanied them out he considered his due. of town without any exhibition save the The Sheriff now drove out one bullock triumphant acclaim which was raised by Mr. Hume was helped in his efforts by a and offered it for sale. There was no bid- fifty thousand men as they went along. body of cavalry that arrived in Baltin- der and so “after a solemn pause and The bullocks were all crowned with lau- glass on Sunday November 11th and also much writhing and gnashing of teeth rels on leaving the town and followed by “the police of the district, the infantry, among the shoneens, the poor bullock is home by ten thousand men from previously stationed in the town, a body remanded back again to prison, and the Rathvilly and the neighbourhood.”xv of rifles from Hacketstown, and some or- sale adjourned till Friday at one o’- ange bums from Orange Donard.”xvii All clock!”xii When Mr. Caulfield conveyed Despite the remarkably peaceable behav- of this help achieved very little. The en- this news to the crowd a wild shout was iour of such vast crowds the authorities tire day on Monday, November 12th “was raised by the vast crowd, and the people were evidently still fearful of some kind spent in marching and just at nightfall an then dispersed peaceably, with the inten- of violent revenge being attempted old horse and some four or five pigs were tion of attending again on the morrow. against Rev. Mr. Whitty. A brief item in marched into Baltinglass in solemn pro- the “Carlow Morning Post” of Thursday, cession and lodged in the pound by the By the time appointed for the auction on May 31st, 1832, is worth quoting in full. very heroes, probably, who vanquished Friday the town was even more crowded. Under the heading “Parson Whitty” the the immortal Bonaparte on the plains of The multitude on this occasion was reck- story ran: “This meek divine is now Waterloo. The medals, however, were not oned to number fifty thousand. Once under the protection of six policemen: we worn on this occasion.”xviii again Mr. Caulfield and his assistants en- should have said five, for one of these sured that a wide space separated the peo- worthies being a papist, was removed, as On the succeeding days Mr. Hume’s ef- ple from the military and this time the being an unsafe guardian for the Rev- forts continued. On the Tuesday the com- additional precaution was taken of post- erend Apostolic Minister. Ha! Ha! Ha!” bined forces gathered a total of “ one ing men behind the houses “to prevent cow, one car and three sacks or any of the yeomen from firing among the A better proof of the baneful effect of the bags.”xixAnd so the campaign went on. military and thereby causing a riot and tithe system on inter-denominational re- Failing to find sufficient livestock or slaughter.”xiii Obviously the yeomen were lations could hardly be found. other easily portable goods to seize, Mr. not trusted. On the other hand the com- Hume was at last reduced to seizing the mander of the regular troops, Major The next major event in the Tithe War in corn and hay in haggards. Ryan, was praised by the “Carlow Morn- the area occurred on the estate of the

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 4

163 Tithe War in North-East Carlow

After a fortnight of this he proceeded to amply sufficient to cover fully, or nearly Rev. D. Lalor, P.P. of Hacketstown, re- sell the seized goods by auction on Mon- fully, one shilling in the pound of his ex- stored tranquillity.” day November 26th. On that day eight penses – having the honour and glory and pigs were sold, being bought back by popularity of his campaign as more than The officers and Fr. Lalor were greatly their owner for the amount of his tithe, adequate compensation for the remaining helped in their endeavours by the appear- £4- 12s, plus costs of 7s 6d. nineteen.” ance on the scene of “our County and Borough candidates, Messrs. Blackney, At this stage three floats, or carts arrived, On Saturday, December 1st the tithe col- Wallace and Vigors, accompanied from sent from Dublin by Thomas Rhames, lectors were at Rathdangan, where they Rathvilly by nearly one hundred free- 12, Whitefriar St., to take away whatever found the people totally unwilling to bid holders on horseback and a vast number of the seized property might be bought by for the seized corn. Two stacks of corn of the boys on foot, who unharnessed the the bum-bailiffsxx. When the drivers of were purchased by the bum-bailiffs and horses and drew the coach into Hacket- these carts saw what was happening they then, after Mr. Hume had consulted with stown, amidst the most joyous acclama- attempted to withdraw, but were pre- the Magistrate in attendance, it was de- tions.” Each of the candidates addressed vented by the police from removing the cided to burn the corn. The bailiffs car- the assembled people, who then “re- horses or floats. The drivers then refused ried it outside the haggard and one turned home in the most peaceful and or- to have any more to do with such activity Twamley ignited it. One of the bailiffs derly manner, after drinking a few barrels and returned to Dublin by the coach, pre- threw some of the burning corn at some of Carter’s strong ale, ordered them by sumably at the cost of their jobs. of the women present. It was evident that Mr. Vigors.” the people were deeply outraged by the The auction continued on the Tuesday, wanton destruction of the corn, but The policy of peaceful resistance was when five sacks of oats belonging to “Notwithstanding these provocations, the holding, but only just. One gets a definite William Donegan of Deansfort, valued at previous irony of the magistrate, and impression that, but for luck, a very ugly £5 16s were sold to one of the bailiffs for their own excited feelings, the people incident might well have developed on 5s. A cow belonging to James Whelan of preserved their peaceful demeanour and this occasion Rathdangan, value £6 10s went to the loyal conduct.”xxi At Baltinglass fair on Saturday 8th De- same man for £1. The entire haggards of cember “some tithe pigs were discovered six farmers were purchased for the own- On the following Tuesday a haggard at to be offered for sale; in a few minutes ers. Tynneclash, valued at £40 was sold to the fair business was abandoned, and all Hume for £2, another at Portrishen, val- eyes were anxious to see these extraordi- More than two thousand people attended ued at £70 went to Twamley for £1. 15s. nary animals, but in vain; they were run this sale. The Roman Catholic clergy of After that the tithe collectors moved to by themselves at a most furious rate, the parish were there to ensure that no Cornawn Hill where a large crowd nearly a mile out of town.”xxii breach of the peace would occur and they awaited them. Four haggards were auc- were successful in their efforts. Every- tioned here and despite the size of the Agitation continued throughout Ireland thing went off quietly. crowd and the smallness of the police es- and by 1833 arrears of tithes were calcu- cort on the occasion there was no trouble. lated to amount to more than £1,000,000. The “Morning Post” on Monday, Decem- The cost to the state of enforcing the pay- ber 3rd 1832 carried a long article on Mr. On Thursday December 13th the “Morn- ment of tithes was proving prohibitive; Hume’s campaign in which he was cuting Post” went so far as to confer on Mr. the cost of collecting £12,316 in arrears tingly portrayed as “a champion of the Hume a new title, “Willy the Wisp.” In in the year 1831 had been £26,000. militant church as by law established in doing so the paper announced, it was Clearly this was not sustainable, and the Ireland.” “The invaluable blessings re- “impelled by an admiration of the grand leaders of the anti-tithe campaign were sulting to a neighbourhood from a natural and ample scenes we have witnessed hopeful that if the pressure could be kept protector being resident on his estate,” these days past of military revolutions up and violent action could be avoided said the author, “is now being every day and conflagrations of corn haggards, in that the sheer cost to government would more manifest in the splendid achieve- which our Captain acted a very conspic- eventually force a solution. By 1834 the ments of this most just, and prudent, and uous part; we have presumed to follow government was ready to make a serious philanthropic gentleman.” The article the example of our ancestors, in confer- effort. In February of that year the Chief went on sarcastically to make the point ring a name that epitomises the history of Secretary, Edward John Littleton, intro- that Mr. Hume’s tithe-gathering efforts the magnificent victory gained over the duced a bill for the commutation of tithes were costing far more than was being Idolatrous Papists of this neighbour- into a land tax payable to the state. This gathered: “ Here is a highly respectable, hood.” There had been an incident, the would eliminate the hated tithe proctors and as all his neighbours know, a most writer reported, when one of the military and the tithe farmers, and was thus ac- wealthy gentleman, undertaking a tithe knocked down with his musket an unof- ceptable to Daniel O’Connell and the campaign. In the short space of only three fending countryman. This led to some ag- other leaders of the anti-tithe agitation. weeks, and with the assistance of about itation and the situation might well have However the House of Lords defeated the three hundred soldiers, he is able, by tithe got out of hand, “but the interference of bill and the government of Lord Grey re- seizures and auctions, to realise a sum the officers and the active exertions of the signed, to be replaced by a new adminis-

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 5

164 Tithe War in North-East Carlow

tration led by Lord Melbourne. John Fitzgerald and wife, one son and Partly as a response to these evictions and one daughter. partly to advance the anti-tithe cause a The rejection of the bill caused the Car- Michael Heron and wife, one son and one large public meeting took place on Sun- low “Morning Post” to prophecy that daughter. day December 14th 1834 on the Hill of “tithes are now extinct in good earnest. James Whelan and wife, two sons and Rathduffmore, about two miles from The people will not pay, the government five daughters. Hacketstown. The stated purpose of this will not interfere, and thus through the gathering was to deliberate “on the pro- unexampled folly of the hereditary legis- A number of new tenants were installed, priety of addressing the King for the dis- lators the unfortunate parsons will fall described by the “Leinster Independent” missal from his Majesty’s councils of the victims to starvation.”xxiii as “three or four orange tenants, who, Duke of Wellington, the enemy of every ever since, for want of means, have been species of reform in Church and State, The Tithe war raged on throughout the forced to let their new farms in con-acres, and taking to his councils the tried friends country and this same year saw two no- and to take in as grazing cattle the stock of the Throne and the people.” Also “to torious incidents. At Doon, Co. Limerick of the former tenants.”xxiv petition the legislature for the total abo- there was a riot when the local Church of lition of Tithes, and for the enactment of Ireland rector seized for tithe, and offered Colonel Howard’s agent eventually rein- remedial measures to protect the people for sale, the cow of a Catholic priest. At stated some of the evicted families as ten- from the exterminating system which Rathcormack, Co. Cork, when the ants. This led to bad feeling between many of the Landlords of the country Archdeacon of Cloyne, Rev. William these families and those of the evicted have lately adopted towards their ten- Ryder, entered the home of a widow, who had not been so fortunate. On a Sat- antry.”xxvii Mrs. Ryan, in pursuit of forty shillings in urday night in early February 1835 a des- tithe there was a confrontation between perate quarrel occurred between the two Thomas Byrne chaired this meeting and local supporters of Mrs. Ryan and the groups and they beat each other severely Daniel Shea acted as Secretary. The troops of the Royal Irish Dragoons and on the road. On the Sunday morning one meeting was very well attended; the the 29th Regiment. Nineteen people were of them, “a man named Martin Whelan, ground on which the people stood was killed and thirty-five injured. This “Mas- was found with his head nearly cloven in measured before the meeting broke up sacre of Rathcormack” proved to be the two, it is supposed, from the blow of a and found to measure 21,168 square feet. last fatal incident in the Tithe War, but the spade.”xxvThe coroner’s jury brought in a Allowing two square feet per person, the dispute itself was much inflamed by the verdict of “found killed by some person “Morning Post” calculated the attendance deaths and it was to take several more or persons unknown.” as 10,584,xxviii “all of whom conducted years before a solution was finally found. themselves in the most peaceable and or- Around the same time as the Ballybrack derly manner.” evictions, in the townland of Barraderry Meanwhile much sectarian bitterness had the following people were evicted by the Prominent among the platform party been stirred up, and many regrettable, if Rev. Mr. Westby: - were the parish priests of Hacketstown, non-fatal, consequences were to follow. Widow Farrell, two sons and two daugh- Fr. Denis Lawler, and of Baltinglass, Fr. In the year 1834 seventy-one people were ters. Daniel Lawlor, as well as Mr. Roach, evicted from their holdings in the town- Widow Farrell, four sons and three Chief Constable of Police, whose con- land of Ballybrack on the estate of Mr. daughters. duct the “Morning Post” was pleased to Ralph Howard, M.P. for Co. Wicklow. Another Widow Farrell, three sons and report was “most gentlemanly.” That They were listed in the “Morning Post” one daughter. paper also noted that there had been sev- as: - Thomas Higginson and wife, three sons eral policemen “in coloured (presumably Widow Lyons, one son and one daughter. and three daughters. plain) clothes” among the crowd. These Widow Whelan, one daughter and four William Haydon (a blind man) and wife, also “conducted themselves very prop- sons. and three sons. erly; they appeared rather spectators than Another Widow Whelan, one son and James Farrell and wife, one son and two otherwise.” three daughters. daughters. Patrick Lyons and wife, one son and one John and Henry Haydon, two brothers. The first speaker was Rev. Denis Lawler. daughter. Joseph Bulger and wife, three sons, five The respect and esteem in which this man Thomas Boland and wife, and four sons. daughters and one brother. was held by his parishioners was evident Thomas Whelan and wife. James Goss and wife, two sons and three in the hearty cheering that greeted his Thomas Neill and wife, three sons and daughters. standing up to speak and continued at ap- three daughters. Mary Toole and her son, both persons of propriate times during his remarks. He James Whelan and wife, and five sons. weak intellect. was indeed a very able man and earlier Michael Neill and wife, two sons and that year had been one of the three priests four daughters. There was also a report of evictions on named on the terna by the pastors of the Joseph Farrell and wife, two daughters the estate of Lady Elizabeth Strafford, diocese for appointment as co-adjutor to and one son. daughter of the late Earl of JKL. Thomas Whelan and an aged aunt. Aldborough.xxvi

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Tithe War 06/11/2012 22:17 Page 6

165 Tithe War in North-East Carlow

Fr. Lawler delivered a lengthy and very of the law, and in no instance to allow was allowed to pass the charge on to his able speech in which he outlined the their abhorrence of the [tithe] system to immediate sub-tenants by way of an in- whole history of Tithes from the time of lead them to the commission of crime.”xxx crease in the rent. This did not eliminate Charlemagne down. He condemned the the hated charge entirely, but it did reduce present system of Tithes as an unjust and That same month, December 1835 nearly it and it did get rid of the tithe proctor and oppressive tax on the seven and a half two hundred Catholic tenants were the tithe-farmer and so a weary country million Catholic Irish who were com- evicted from the lands of Mr. Brewster at was prepared to accept it as a tolerable pelled to pay the parsons for ministering Haroldstown. A Protestant landowner, compromise. to the other half million, and he went on Mr. Myles Young of Ballykilduff, took to advocate that the meeting petition the pity on their destitution and in the words This outcome, although short of outright Parliament to abolish Tithes altogether of the Leinster Independent, “ invited victory, must be seen as quite a triumph and that the King be petitioned to get rid them, one and all, to take possession of for O’Connell and his staunch allies the of the Tory government. his out-offices, which were at once exten- Catholic clergy. They had succeeded in sive and commodious; and here the poor harnessing the power of public opinion Fr. Lawler was followed by Mr. M. Fur- people are welcome to remain until they and using it to force the establishment to long who proposed to the meeting an ad- can settle in some other domicile. Mr. change an unjust system. Even more redress to the King in which was set forth Young has also offered such of them as markably they had managed to persuade the arguments against Tithes. Several choose to accept it, a rood of land to each the people, in the face of galling provo- other speakers followed, among them family, at a moderate rent, to build a cation, to remain within the law (for the Rev. Daniel Lawlor, and Mr. Daniel house; and to such as cannot pay rent, a most part – there were acts of violence – Shea. The meeting passed a number of spot for a house, without any charge.”xxxi see footnote).xxxiii To bring together resolutions along the lines suggested by The paper highly praised this “act of crowds of such magnitude and to keep the organisers. benevolence and charity” as “humane them peaceable and orderly despite the and Christian conduct of a respectable festering sense of grievance felt by so Rev. Denis Lawler again addressed the Protestant landholder.” many was an outstanding feat of leader- multitude before the end of the meeting. ship. Their victory was not total, but it He highly praised the services of Daniel The year 1836 saw the foundation by nevertheless was a real victory, and in the O’Connell and “proposed that they show Daniel O’Connell of the Reform Registry winning of it the people of north-east their gratitude in some substantial man- Association and once again the clergy Carlow had played a valiant and hon- ner. He would, he said, commence by his were active in leading the formation of ourable part. subscription of £1, and trusted the land- local clubs to further the aims of the new i Carlow Morning Post, May 3, 1832 holders of the parish would follow his ex- organisation and to raise funds for its ii ibid. ample. He then proposed three cheers for support through the collection of the iii Carlow Morning Post, May 10,1832 iv ibid. the King, three for Daniel O’Connell, and “Justice Rent”. Fr. Lawler chaired a v ibid. three for the total and unqualified aboli- meeting for this purpose at Hacketstown vi Carlow Morning Post, May 21, 1832 tion of tithes. After which the meeting on August 29th, and a public meeting on vii ibid. viii Carlow Morning Post, May 24, 1832 st separated in the most orderly and peace- the subject was held on August 1 , Fr. ix ibid. able manner.”xxix Lawler again in the chair. This meeting x Carlow Morning Post, May 28, 1832 xi ibid. was addressed by Mr. Mara from the xii ibid. It was noticeable that the agitation was Dublin headquarters of the Association, xiii ibid. xiv ibid. being led to a great extent by the Catholic who went on the same day to address xv ibid. clergy, as indeed was to be expected similar meetings in Rathvilly, Tullow and xvi Carlow Morning Post, November 15, 1832 given the political and social conditions Myshall. xvii ibid. xviii ibid. of the time, given also the fact that this xix Carlow Morning Post, November 29, 1832 entire anti-tithe protest had been started However that was practically Fr. xx ibid. in the first place by the Graiguenamanagh Lawler’s last act of leadership in Hacket- xxi Carlow Morning Post, December 10th, 1832 xxii Carlow Morning Post, December 13th 1832 priest with the support of his bishop, stown, because he was transferred to xxiii Carlow Morning Post, August 16th 1834. JKL. Bagenalstown shortly thereafter. The xxiv Leinster Independent, February 14th 1835 xxv ibid. parishioners of Hacketstown showed xxvi Carlow Morning Post, November 1st 1834 It was also noticeable that the clergy were their esteem for him by inviting him back xxvii Carlow Morning Post, December 20th 1834. very concerned that the campaign should to a public dinner in his honour on Thurs- xxviii Ibid. xxix Ibid. th xxxii not be allowed to get out of hand and that day November 17 . xxx Leinster Independent, December 5th 1835 the people should be careful to stay xxxi Leinster Independent, December 18th 1835 xxxii Leinster Independent, November 12th 1836 within the law. Thus we find in Decem- Finally the government found a workable xxxiii Lord Gort, speaking in the House of Lords, said that ber 1835 when a large meeting of the solution to the long running tithe conflict in 1832 alone there were 242 homicides, 1,179 robberies, 401 burglaries, 568 burnings, 280 cases of cattle-maim- people of the Kiltegan area assembled to when they passed the Tithe Commutation ing, 161 assaults, 203 riots and 723 attacks on houses, all protest at the enforcement of tithes, their Act in 1838. Under this act the tithe was directly attributable to tithe-enforcement. parish priest, Rev. Fr. Cullen of Rathvilly reduced by a quarter and became a rent urged them to be “scrupulously observant charge payable by the head landlord who

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_History Festival 06/11/2012 22:19 Page 1

166

The History Festival of Ireland Turtle Bunbury

PERSONAL THOUGHTS the marquee stood would become mud c/o [email protected] and for tracks. However, the Victorians who laid those who attended the 2012 event, I down the lawns at Lisnavagh knew all hope you enjoyed the show. y brother Andrew about drainage and despite the festival first fired the idea of coming in one of the wettest weeks of the Ma history festival at year, the water had virtually all drained THE HISTORY FESTIVAL WEEK- me in November 2012. I then span it over away by the time the first guests arrived. END to Hugo Jellett, the incoming CEO and And, as it happened, the sun shone for Artistic Director at the Eigse Carlow Arts most of the weekend. On the weekend of 9-10th June 2012, Lis- Festival. And Hugo passed it right back Maintaining a festive ambience navagh House hosted the inaugural His- to me and challenged me to get a show was also a challenge because history has tory Festival of Ireland. Blessed by one up and running. a habit of being desperately serious. of the few sunny spells in an otherwise Getting a good selection of However, I think we managed a reason- rain-lashed summer, upwards of 600 peo- speakers was all important so I was very able balance and a strong sense of hu- ple arrived at the Victorian mansion to fortunate indeed when people like Diar- mour pervaded between matters stern and enjoy two days of non-stop historical en- maid Ferriter, Kevin Myers, Catriona solemn. As curator of the event, I missed tertainment – debates, presentations, Crowe and David Norris agreed to come just about every talk apart from the two I on board. I also struck lucky when both Myles Dungan and Patrick Geoghegan, rival radio historians at RTE1 and New- stalk, gave the weekend the thumbs up. By the time I had twelve good speakers on board, I felt able to relax. In the end, I think we had close to thirty speakers so there was a great diversity of minds, although not enough women speakers. There were some events where there were too many speakers, and other events where the speakers were effec- tively of the same opinion. I hope we’ve learned how to redress these conundrum and I’m confident that we get a date pinned down soon, we can get an equally Lisnavagh House Photo: Greg Denieffe good line up of historians, both Irish and was actively involved in. That was a readings and performances. There were international, pinned down for 2013. downside for me personally, but it was two venues – the handsome oak-panelled There’s no point hosting a festi- terrific to watch everyone spilling out library in Lisnavagh House, and an ele- val if people don’t know you’re having from the various talks looking satisfied, gant canvas marquee on the lawn it. As well as Facebook and Twitter, we and clearly there was a wonderful ambi- wherein the guests sat on church pews. garnered some key support from the ence about the event, as evidenced by the media, which helped get the word out to incredible applause – see SATURDAY historical enthusiasts across the country. http://www.turtlebunbury.com/histo- By the time, the weekend finally came, ryfestival/2012/festival_intro.html - The first debate in the library considered the festival was already a household which concluded that the event was ‘a the wisdom of the government’s plan to name for many people, thanks to some roaring success’. stop history from being a compulsory excellent coverage in the Carlow Nation- We’ll aim to mirror that in 2013. subject on the junior curriculum from alist, Carlow People, Irish Times, Exam- We’ll conjure up another raft of talks and September 2014. The intended chair was iner and Sunday Independent, as well as debates, bringing in a little more audi- Catriona Crowe of the National Archives. on local and national radio, and from ence participation. We will probably in- Unfortunately she and speaker Diarmaid Tommy Graham of History Ireland mag- troduce a genealogical angle for 2013 Ferriter had a flat tyre and then got a little azine. also as family history is of such excep- lost so, much to their disappointment, The incessant rains looked set to tional interest to people these days. they missed most of the talk. As Diar- be our greatest challenge and we were If anyone else has any sugges- maid said when he finally took his seat, desperately worried that the lawns where tions, I’m always game on to hear them Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_History Festival 06/11/2012 22:19 Page 2

167 History Festival

‘at least we weren’t headed to the inau- spondents reported on the Irish War of In- By midday, the Lisnavagh Li- gural geography festival’. In their ab- dependence. Stuart Rosenblatt explained brary was fizzing along as Maurice sence, Myles Dungan of RTE One’s ‘The how the Irish Jewish Family History Walsh steered Ruth Dudley-Edwards and History Show’ took the chair, while travel Database was compiled. And finally Ann Kevin Myers through a discussion called writer and documentary maker Manchán Matthews gave a presentation on ‘What has the Catholic Church ever done Magan and art historian Robert O’Byrne Cumann na mBan and the misuse of the for us?’, aided and abetted by some use- debated the merits of learning history at International Red Cross insignia in 1916. ful audience participation. school. Did any of the villains of Irish This was followed by another Meanwhile, events in the mar- history have any virtues? Or were there five back-to-back 15 minute presenta- quee kicked off with a presentation enti- any virtuous Irish heroes who were really tions on some of the ‘Unsung Heroines’ tled ‘Hidden Gems and Forgotten People’ villains? Such was the challenge laid of Irish history, chaired by Fiona Fitzsi- by Larry Breen of the Federation of Local down to five historians who gave back- mon of Eneclann and featuring Catriona History Societies (www.localhistory.ie) to-back 15-minute talks on ‘Five People Crowe (Hilda Tweedy), Sr. Maura Dug- and Pat Devlin of the Federation for Ul- Who Put the Hiss into History’. The talks gan (the Dominicans of Bagenalstown), ster Local Studies (www.fuls.org.uk). were by Patrick Geoghegan (Lord Maurice Walsh (Rosamund Jacob), Tur- This focused on the extraordinary breadth Castlereagh), Ruth Dudley-Edwards tle Bunbury (Lola Montez) and Robert and depth of local history across Ireland, (Constance Markiewicz), Micheál Ó O’Byrne (Maria Edgeworth). and ways in which lesser-known stories Siochrú (Oliver Cromwell), Tommy Over in the marquee, Tommy could be brought to light. Graham (Francis Higgins aka ‘the Sham Graham ignited a second History Ireland The local history talk tapered Squire’) and Martin Nevin (Dermot Hedge School, this time focusing on neatly into a presentation by Marian MacMurrough, King of Leinster), while ways in which the 1000th anniversary of Lyons, Professor of History at NUI the chair was ably filled by Paddy Culli- Brian Boru’s history over the Vikings at Maynooth, about the upcoming year of van, leader of ‘The Late Late Show’ Clontarf might best be celebrated in the Gathering, a tourism initiative to House Band and resident Satirist with the 2014. He was joined by medieval histo- bring the Irish diaspora from across the Leviathan Political Cabaret. rians Seán Duffy and Edel Breatnacht, as world back to Ireland in 2013. Paddy Cullivan then went to the well as Pat Wallace, former director of Many of the Irish who emi- marquee to entertain guests with his Al- the National Museum of Ireland. grated to North America in the mid 19th ternative History of Ireland, told through A series of diverse talks and century were invariably drafted into the maps, slides and songs such as ‘Going readings followed. Michael Sheridan opposing armies during the American Forward’ and ‘She’s a Model and she gave a talk called ‘Murder in Monte Civil War. Their fate was the subject of a works in Spar’. Carlo’ about a Wimbledon finalist from Hedge School, or round-table panel dis- The fourth and final Saturday Co. Waterford who was involved in a cussion, chaired by Tommy Graham of debate sparkled in the library with chair- grim murder story. This was followed by History Ireland magazine, and featuring man Diarmaid Ferriter inviting Ruth talks by Val Byrne on ‘Feaghe mac Hugh Myles Dungan, Tom Bartlett, Lar Joye Dudley-Edwards, Myles Dungan, and the Clonmore connection’, Hugh and Jack Burtchill. Manchán Magan and the Daily Beast’s Fitzgerald Ryan on the luckless Petronilla Back in the library, the second Royal correspondent Tom Sykes to muse and Dame Alice Kytler, Marc-Ivan O’- debate was underway with Senator David upon whether Queen Elizabeth II’s visit Gorman on the murder of Carlow-born Norris in the chair. The subject was the to Ireland in 2011 was truly historic, or Hollywood director William Deane Tay- British Empire and whether it could have just an elaborate trade and public rela- lor, and Alison Maxwell on an iconic existed without the Irish contribution. tions stunt? Dublin restaurant called Jammets. The topic was hotly debated by the Irish By mid-afternoon, the Library Independent’s Kevin Myers, Professor was hosting a presentation by Kevin Micheál Ó Siochrú, and Patrick Geoghe- SUNDAY Myers on whether those who left the Irish gan from Newstalk’s ‘Talking History’ Army to fight for Britain in World War radio show. The congregation also en- Sunday morning in the marquee Two deserved to be classed as deserters. joyed a soliloquy from the chairman began with a focus on how to record and Both Kevin – and Ruth Dudley-Myers th about his recent campaign to become 9 chronicle local and family history. who fielded audience questions alongside President of Ireland. Manchán Magan joined Ida Milne, Mary him – were firmly of the view that they In the marquee, a series of read- Muldowney and Regina Fitzpatrick of should not have been so-classed. ings and presentations got underway’ the Oral History Network Ireland as they The final event of the 2012 His- lead off by British military historian Josh explained the thinking behind their cam- tory Festival was a stunning performance Levine who told the extraordinary story paign ‘Turning Talk into History’. Robert by Jeananne Crowley in which she proof ‘Operation Fortitude’, an Allied plan O’Byrne then interviewed festival curator vided an introductory look at the life of to confuse the Germans into thinking the Turtle Bunbury about the ongoing Van- Sydney Ownenson, Lady Morgan, one of D-Day landings would take place around ishing Ireland project, and its companion the most remarkable hostesses of 19th Calais rather than Normandy. Former piece, Vanishing Carlow, which was on century London, told through her child- BBC correspondent Maurice Walsh then exhibition at the GBS Visual Arts Centre hood memories of Ireland and her rise spoke about ‘The News from Ireland’, his in Carlow from 9th June until 26th August. through the ranks of the British hierarchy. project to examine how foreign corre- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 1

168

The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

Greg Denieffe From “The Oarsman’s Bunburys. Tom Bunbury was the eldest son Farewell to his Oar” of Captain William and Pauline The family has a proud history of (nee Stronge) McClintock Bun- rowing achievement at Eton Col- bury. His father was born William lege and at Oxford [Brasenose McClintock and in 1846 he as- Many oars have I had – lo! These College, Oxford University and cups are a token – sumed the additional name of Oxford Etonians]. Carlow Rowing Bunbury, his mother’s maiden Since first a raw Freshman I Club has been the beneficiaries of name. William was a Captain in splashed in a crew; the family on more than one occa- the Royal Navy and sat as a Mem- sion. However, very little was ber of Parliament for County Car- Their shafts may be warped and known by the members, of the low between 1846 and 1852 and their blades may be broken, wonderful rowing history that ex- again between 1853 and 1862. He isted on their doorstep. was also the younger brother of But their staunchness lived on John McClintock the 1st Lord to be centered in you. The previous evening I visited Carlow Rowing Club to view the Rathdonnell. Tom succeeded to Lo! All these old oars that I lost seven commemorative pencil oars the title on the death of his uncle with or won with celebrating the family’s achieve- in 1879. Tom’s father died in 1866 ments at Henley Royal Regatta. while he and his brother Jack were Return to remind me of failure These were donated to the Club in at Eton. or fame. 2000 by Turtle’s father, the current In January 1897 Baily’s Magazine th The traditions are yours of those and 5 Lord Rathdonnell. The oars of Sports & Pastimes published a blades I have done with; were for many years hung in the five page review of Lord Rathdon- stairwell of old Lisnavagh and nell’s life to that time. Tom and his The wood may have changed, then in the cellar following demo- Brother Jack’s exploits with the but the soul is the same. lition in the 1950s of the main part oar are given due mention as is of the house. They are now William’s win at Henley in 1896, proudly displayed in the a win that he would repeat later R. C. Lehman, 1901. gym/function room of the Club. that year.

An extract from Baily’s Magazine of Sports & Pastimes; Introduction “When a boy of ten years he was th On the 25 August 2011, I visited sent to Eton and educated under Lisnavagh House, Rathvilly, John Hawtry and Dr. Warre. He County Carlow, Ireland and met distinguished himself greatly by the charming Turtle Bunbury, his love of sport and became an nd Great Great Grandson of the 2 expert oarsman, winning the Lord Rathdonnell. The house that sculling in 1868, and the pairs exists today is about one third of twice, in 1867 with his cousin Mr. the original building but it still has Calvert, and in 1868 with Mr. F. A. the feel of a grand country house. Currey. He rowed in the Eton The reason for my visit was to see Tom Bunbury (2nd Lord Rath- donnell) dressed in whites eight at Henley in 1867 and 1868, first-hand the home of the rowing winning the Ladies’ Plate on each Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 2

169 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

occasion, he being captain of the Kingston R.C. boats and rowing stroke (sic). He also played in the Wall and Field Ladies Plate eleven at Football for two and Radley three years; twice ran second in the School Hurdle Race, and one Bow. S. H. Woodhouse year was fifth in the school mile. 2. A. G. P Lewis His brother, Jack Bunbury, who 3. W. R. L. Mirehouse afterwards rowed for Oxford rowed with him in 1868, and Dr. Warre by “Spy” in 4. J. H. Ridley stroked the Eton eight for the next “Vanity Fair” two years, so that three years in 5. J. Edwards Moss succession there was a Bunbury at 6. T. K. Mc the stroke oar: his young son, bent He returned to Eton in 1860 as a Bunbury on following his father’s footsteps, Housemaster, and in 1884 was 7. W. C. Calvert pulled stroke in the Eton eight at elected Headmaster, a position Henley in 1896, when they won which he retained until 1905. He Str. W. D. Benson the Ladies Plate” took much interest in sport at Eton, and the high standard of Cox. F. E. H. Elliot Dr Edmond Warre’s contribution rowing to which the Eton eights Eton College beat Radley College to Eton’s success at Henley cannot attained was due in a large meas- by three lengths in the final of the be overstated and Tom and Jack ure to his coaching. His schoolboy Ladies’ Plate in a time of 7m. 55s. were fortunate to be rowing under crews won the Ladies’ Plate eight They also beat Kingston Rowing his tutelage. times and reached the final of the Club in a heat of the Grand Chal- Grand five times.[1] Warre was born in 1837 and edu- lenge Cup but withdrew from the [2] cated at Eton and Balliol College, Ox- Warre died at Eton at the age of next round. According to ford, where he had a distinguished 82. His son Felix Warre rowed at Baily’s, W. C. Calvert was Tom’s career, taking a double first (1856 Henley with Tom’s eldest son cousin and they rowed together and 1859). He was an outstanding Billy in 1896 & 1897. again the following year. oarsman and at Eton he won the 1868 Blade Inscription School Pulling for coxed pairs in A wonderful collection of Dr 1854. At Oxford, he went Head of Warre’s rowing medals was in- Grand Challenge the River with Balliol in 1855 and cluded in the ‘Marine Sale’ held 1859, won the University Sculls by Bonhams of New Bond Street, University College and Pairs in 1855-56, the Univer- London on 22nd March 2011. Also sity Fours in 1856 and 1858, and included were medals won by Kingston R.C. was O.U.B.C. president in 1858. He crews trained by Dr Warre at Eton. rowed for Oxford in The Boat These included the 1867 Eton Ladies Plate Race in 1857 and in 1858, win- College House Fours and 1867 University College ning the former. He also won the and 1868 Ladies’ Plate medals, Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta crews that Tom Bunbury rowed in. Pembroke College in 1857 partnering Arthur Lonsdale. Details and photographs can be Warre and Lonsdale were runners found at this address up in 1858 but Warre won Silver http://www.bonhams.co./eur/auc‐ Bow. W. Farrer Goblets again in 1859 partnering tions/18783/lot/57/#. . c John Arkell. There were also two 1867 Blade Inscription 2 J. M C. Bunbury wins in the Ladies’ Plate in 1855 3. F. Johnstone and 1858. Grand Challge Cup

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 3

170 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

4. J. H. Goldie There was plenty of in-house rac- 1874, Katherine Anne Bruen ing at Eton and Tom was suc- [daughter of Henry Bruen, of Oak 5. J. Edwards Moss cessful in the ‘House Fours’ for Park, Carlow]. She was a frequent 6. F. H. Currey three years in succession, the prize giver at the local regatta run ‘School Pulling’ twice and the by Carlow Rowing Club on the 7. W. C. Calvert ’School Sculling in 1868 the year River Barrow. In 1901 he pre- he won all three. Tom Bunbury sented a silver cup “The Rathdon- Str. T. K. Mc C. Bunbury left Eton in 1868 but according to nell Challenge Cup” to Carlow ‘Henley Royal Regatta, A cele- Rowing Club for competition by Cox. F. E. H. Elliot bration of 150 years’ by Richard junior fours at the regatta. Lord The Ladies’ Plate final was a three Burnell [1989], he represented Rathdonnell died in 1929.[4] boat affair with Eton College beat- Eton College again the following ing University College, Oxford year when he and W. C. Calvert and Pembroke College, Oxford in were beaten in the final of the Jack was the younger and only a record time of 7m. 18s. Eton Silver Goblets by London Row- brother of Tom Bunbury. Shortly College lost in the final of the ing Club. before Jack’s birth, his parents and Grand Challenge Cup to London The Henley records for 1869 had elder brother moved to the new Rowing Club but there is no men- this to say about the race; “A good house at Lisnavagh, Rathvilly, tion of this race in the inscription race to Fawley, when Messrs. County Carlow. Jack was an ex- on the oars used by Tom or Jack.[3] Long and Stout gradually drew tremely talented and by far the away and won easily by 3 lengths. most successful oarsman in the Time 9 min. 20s. Messrs. Finch family. He began his rowing at St. The 1868 Eton crew had a young and Goldie, Lady Margaret, Cam- Peter’s College in Radley in the man in the four seat that would bridge, entered but withdrew.” early 1860’s and in September leave a lasting impression on the Losing to Albert de Laude Long 1865 he joined his brother Tom in world of rowing. John Goldie only was no disgrace as his successes at Dr Warre’s House at Eton. His lived for forty seven years but is Henley include five wins in the first success at Henley Royal Re- still remembered to this day. After Grand, eight wins in the Stew- gatta was in the two seat of the leaving Eton he went to St. John’s ards’, four wins in the Goblets and Eton Crew that won the Ladies’ College, Cambridge. Goldie cap- a win in the Presentation Cup for Plate in 1868. The boat was tained St. Ives Rowing Club in four oars without Cox in 1872. A stroked by Tom and for the next 1869 and won the Colquhoun staggering eighteen wins between two years Jack would stroke the Sculls in 1870. He stroked the 1868 and 1877. Eton eight to two more victories in Cambridge crew in the Boat Race in the same event. There are two 1869, 1870, 1871 and 1872. Cam- After leaving Eton, Tom received 1868 oars in the Carlow Rowing bridge’s victory in 1870 ended a commission in the Scots Greys. Club collection as each member of Oxford’s nine consecutive years of On his retirement from the army the crew would have received victories and Cambridge won he was a captain in the Leicester- their own winning blade. He was again in 1871 (Jack Bunbury was shire Yeomanry and Hon. Colonel also a good sculler winning the in the Oxford crew) and 1872. He of the Sixth Battalion, Royal Irish Eton Silver Sculls in 1870.[5] captained Leander from 1873 to Rifles. In 1918 he became presi- 1876 and stroked them when they dent of the Royal Dublin Society won the Grand Challenge Cup in and took a keen interest in the suc- 1869 Blade Inscription 1875. The second Cambridge boat cess of the annual horse show. He is named “Goldie” after him and his was a notable breeder of Short- Grand Challenge name was given to the Goldie Boat‐ horns and a frequent prize-winner at the Dublin Shows. He was also house, used by the University Oxford Etonian Club crews. H.M. Lieutenant and High Sheriff for County Carlow. He married, in Ladies Plate

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 4

171 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

Radley Ladies Plate know as The Boat Race.

Lady Margaret, Cambridge 1870 was the first appearance of Radley Collge B. C. an Irish club at Henley Royal Re- gatta. Trinity College, Dublin be- Dublin Univty B. C. Bow. F. E. H. Elliot came not only the first Irish entry but also the first from overseas, al- 2. F. G. Ricardo beit at that time not a foreign Bow. A. C. Yarborough entry. They entered for the Grand, 3. M. C. Farrer Ladies’, Stewards’, Visitors’, 2. R. E. L. Naylor Wyfolds, Goblets and Diamonds 4. F. A. Currey but thinking better of it and having 3. J. S. Follett 5. J. Edwards Moss only nine men to man the boats 4. F. C. Ricardo they withdrew from the Stewards’ 6. F. Johnstone and the Wyfolds. The crew that 5. F. W. Currey lined up in the final against Jack 7. J. S. Follett and his Eton eight were from the 6. A. W. Mulholland Str. J. W. Mc C. Bunbury bow: J. O’G. Delmege, S. McIvor, 7. C. W. Benson W. Murray, D. H. Doran, C. B. Cox. W. C. Cartwright Barrington, E. T. Kennedy, I, Str. J. W. Mc C. Bunbury McIvor, F. E. Bird and P. S Abra- The Eton eight for Henley in 1869 ham (cox). At the end of racing was unusual in that their bow man, Cox. W. C. Cartwright they recorded Ireland’s first win at F. E. H. Elliot rowing at exactly the regatta by winning the Visi- Jack kept his place in the stroke nine stone was the coxswain of the tors’ which at that time was a seat of the Eton eight in 1870 and winning Ladies’ crews of 1867 coxed fours event.[6] and 1868 when he weighed 7 Eton won the Ladies’ Plate for the stone 2 pounds and 7 stone 11 fifth successive year. Radley Col- Another Irish connection with the pounds respectively. Jack moved lege was beaten in the heats and 1870 Eton crew was Andrew Wal- into the stroke seat replacing his Dublin University Boat Club row- ter Mulholland who rowed at six. brother and Eton won the Ladies’ ing as Trinity College, Dublin was He was the eldest son of John Plate rather easily beating Radley overcome in the final by two Mulholland, 1st Lord Dunleath of College in a heat and Lady Mar- lengths in a time of 7m. 46s. In the Ballywalter Park, Couny Down. garet Boat Club, Cambridge by Grand Challenge Cup, Eton lost to You can read about John Mulhol- four lengths in the final in a time London Rowing Club in a heat land and The Mulholland Cup of 7m. 58s. In the ‘Grand’, Eton and London lost yet again to the [The rowing championship of the lost their heat to their old boys, Oxford Etonian Club in the final. river Lagan and Belfast Lough Oxford Etonian Club by ¾ length, 1867-1878] in my article dated The Eton old boys club had first the winning time being 7m. 34s. 25th October 2011 on the ‘Hear the won the Grand in 1844 and re- Oxford beat London in the final. Boat Sing’ website at this address peated that success in 1866, 1867, http://hear‐the‐boat‐ 1869 and 1870. They would win it sing.blogspot.com/2011/10/greg‐deni‐ for a final time in 1871 and Jack 1870 Blade Inscription effe‐on‐mulholland‐cup.html. Bunbury would be in the four seat to enjoy his greatest sporting John Mulholland was educated at Grand Challge Cup achievement. But before that there the Belfast Academy but all three of his sons went to Eton College London R. C. was the little matter of the most famous boat race in the world. The and then to Balliol College, Ox- race between Cambridge Univer- ford. sity Boat Club and Oxford Uni- Andrew was born in 1852 and was versity Boat Club and simply Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 5

172 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

at Eton from 1865 to 1871. Ac- before Cambridge beat them in April 1st, the two crews set off but cording to The Eton Register, Part April 1870. The pressure was back it was Cambridge who, despite a III, 1862-1868, Andrew was in the on Oxford and, as such, much of last minute spurt by Lesley and the Eton VIII in 1870 and the Oxford it fell on their young stroke. Oxford crew by the Mortlake VIII of 1877 (sic) and died at the brewery, won by a length in 23 age of 24 of typhoid fever on 2 On 11 Feb 1871, The Graphic said minutes and 5 seconds (‘with a June 1877. Oxford was struggling to find a foul wind from the north east’). suitable stroke as ‘it is said that Mr. Bunbury, who came from The Oxford University Boat Club Eton with a great reputation, has Crew 1871 Andrew had two brothers, Henry not “last” enough for the place’. Bow. S. H. Woodhouse (Eton & Lyle Mulholland [1854-1931] Nonetheless the mustachioed Jack University Coll.) who succeeded his father as Lord was chosen as stroke. In the build Dunleath and Alfred J. Mulhol- up to the race, Cambridge were 2. E. Giles (Westminster & land [1856-1938]. It was not An- able to field ‘a good stroke and a Christ Church) drew but Alfred who was in the good No. 7’ while Oxford, with Oxford University Boat Club crew 3. T. S. Baker (Lancing & five veterans from 1870’s ‘Dark Queen’s) of 1877 and who took part in the Blue’ crew, ‘will have men who most famous university boat race are untried to fill both those im- 4. E. C. Malan (Sherborne & of all time. Gordon Ross sums up portant places.’ The Graphic pre- Worcester) the race succinctly in his book dicted a victory for Cambridge.[8] ‘The Boat Race’ [1954], “Varity, They were soon out practicing on 5. J. E. Edwards-Moss (Eton spice and all manner of things the water, displaying their prowess & Balliol) graced 1877. The race is histori- to a few riverside spectators, in a 6. F. E. Payne (Cheltenham cal, controversial . . . unbelievable boat built by Messrs J and S G. S. & St. John’s) . . . the result? . . . a dead heat!” Salter. Sometimes they were After finishing at Eton College in steered by Mr. W. Benson while 7. J. W. Mc Bunbury (Eton & 1870 Jack went up to Oxford Uni- Mr. E. G. Banks coached them by Brasenose) versity where he quickly joined horse-back from the bank.[9] Str. R. Lesley (Radley & Pem- the Brasenose College Boat Club, the On February 25, the Penny Illus- broke) oldest collegiate boat club in the trated stated that Jack had ‘much world. In his short stay at the uni- improved on his trial-eight form Cox. F. H. Hall (King’s School, versity he won The Trial Eights … and if he can make the heavy Canterbury & Corpus Christi) [1870], The Silver Sculls [1871] men behind him row forty in an At Henley in July 1871, Jack was and The Silver Challenge Oars for outrigger as well as he did the defeated by Mr. William Fawcus pairs [1871] for his college in the boys’ crew forty-eight, he will be of the Tynemouth Rowing Club, Oxford University rowing able to show an older on younger [7] shortly before Fawcus defeated events. See appendix 3 for a shoulders than is often seen’. But Mr. Long, the Wingfield sculls complete record of Jack’s races for much doubt was still placed on winner. Jack also stroked (sic) the Brasenose. Jack was only at Ox- Oxford having ‘almost a boy for a Eton boys to win the Grand for ford until December 1871 when stroke to a mammoth crew’. He Oxford Etonians in 1871.[10] he left to pursue a career in the weighed 8lb less than the average army.As preparations for the an- member of the Oxford team. On This was the sixth and final time nual University Boat Race be- February 23, Oxford decided to that the Eton old boys would win tween Oxford and Cambridge got swap Jack with the No. 7, R. Les- the premier event at the premier underway, many wondered ley. It seems to have worked better regatta in the country. It was whether the 12-stone Jack Bun- for them and by March 18, the Jack’s finest hour in a boat and bury might be selected as the Ox- Penny Illustrated favoured Oxford probably his last. The up-and- ford stroke. Oxford had enjoyed a over Cambridge. On Saturday coming London Rowing Club was run of nine consecutive victories Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 6

173 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

beaten in the final by 1½ lengths William McClintock Bunbury was Jesus College, Oxford in a time of 8m. 5s. born at Lisnavagh in 1878, the eldest son of Thomas Kane (Tom) Trinity Hall, Cambridge In fact the winning Oxford crew McClintock Bunbury, 2nd Baron Emmanuel College, Cambridge was stroked by F. E. Armitstead. Rathdonnell, and his wife, Lady The rest of the crew was as fol- Katherine Anne (Kate) Rathdon- Henley [Eton Crest] 1896 lows, F. E. H. Elliot (Bow), W. nell. Billy was educated at the Farrer (2), M. A. Farrer (3), J. W. Dragon School in Oxford and Balliol College, Oxford McClintock- Bunbury (4), J. Ed- Eton College [April 1892 – De- Trinity College, Dublin wards-Moss (5), A. G. P Lewis cember 1897] where he was in (6), S. H. Wood-House (7) and E. Rev S. A. Donaldson’s House. Bedford Grammar School E. Grubbe (Cox). Donaldson was successor to Rev Radley College Boat Club In December 1871 Jack purchased Edmund Warre and like him an a commission in the 2nd Dra- enthusiastic rowing coach. As was goons. He succeeded his brother his father before him, Billy was Tom, to the office of High Sheriff captain of boats at Eton and Bow. Hon. M. C. A. Drummond for County Carlow in 1877 and stroked the winning Ladies’ Plate 2. C. M Black the following year married Myra crews of 1896 and 1897. The two blades used by Billy in these Watson. Four days after the wed- 3. F. Warre ding, Jack was made a Lieutenant events are the only two in the colin the Scots Greys. He was no lection bearing the Eton College 4. E. L. Warre stranger to trouble or misfortune; crest. He joined the Scots Greys however in October 1882 he and shortly after leaving Eton. He was 5. J. L Philips posted to South Africa in Decem- Myra had a son, Geoffrey. Things 6. J. A. Tinne got worst not better and in 1883 he ber 1899 and died ten weeks later was forced to sell his house at on the 17th February 1900 having 7. W. Dudley Ward Moyle and a few years later he been shot in both legs in a raid on moved to England. There is some a Boer position 8 miles outside Str. Hon. W. McClintock Bun- confusion over where Jack resided Kimberley. According to a letter bury from Harry Scobell (Billy’s imme- but according to Turtle Bunbury in Cox. R. A. Blyth his online history of the family, his diate superior) to Lord Rathdon- nell dated 19th February 1900, principal residence was in At Henley the Eton crew beat Billy was buried in the cemetery Cheshire. On 2nd October 1892, Jesus College, Oxford in their first just outside Kimberley. He is not Geoffrey died aged nine. A year heat and Radley College in their listed on the Kimberley Boer War later, on the 14th October 1893 second heat before beating Balliol Memorial at Kimberley Cemetery Jack died. He was 42 and was laid College, Oxford by 2½ lengths in but there are 130 graves there con- to rest alongside his son in the the final in a time of 8m. 6s. graveyard at St. Helen’s Church, taining unknown soldiers. He is Tarporley, Cheshire.[11] however named on the Memorial In the Eton crew was Felix W. to the Fallen Heroes of the Royal Warre, son of Dr Warre who was Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) on coach to Billy’s father and uncle Princess Street in Edinburgh whilst they were at Eton. Felix which was unveiled in the pres- was born at Eton and later went to ence of his parents on 16 Novem- Balliol College, Oxford. He rowed ber 1906. for Oxford in the successful 1898, 1899 and 1901 Boat Race crews. 1896 Blade Inscription His Henley sucesses include two wins in the Grand in 1900 and Billy Bunbury Ladies Plate 1903, the Stewards’ in 1900, the 1878-1900 Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 7

174 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

Silver Goblets with J. H. Hale in nering C W H Taylor. In 1903 his a time of 7m. 1s. The Grand Chal- 1901, the Visitors’ in 1899 and college crew won the Steward’s lenge Cup was won by New Col- 1901 and his two wins in the and with Leander he won the lege, Oxford who beat Leander Ladies’ in 1896 and 1897. Grand again. Club by 2 feet in a time of 6m. 51s. Like his father, his rowing medals and other rowing memorabilia Felix Warre also returned to win a were offered for sale by Bonhams 1897 Blade Inscription second Ladies’ but this time row- in March 2011. Details can be ing on strokeside in the six seat found at this address Ladies Plate having been on bowside the previ- http://www.bonhams.co./eur/auc- ous year. tions/18783/lot/59/. Emmanuel, Cam Another returning member of the In the photographs of the Ladies’ Balliol, Ox crew was John Lionel Philips. He Plate medals, W. McClintock- was Captain of Boats in 1897[12] Bunbury’s name can be clearly Trinity, Ox and he and Billy won the Eton seen on the name shields. School Pulling that year. After Henley [Eton Crest] 1897 leaving Eton he went up to New College, Oxford and in his first Christ Church, Ox year there won the OUBC Fours Kings College, Cam and raced in the Trial Eights but failed to make the Oxford Univer- Bedford Grammar School sity Blue boat. This is not surprising as New College were Radley B. C. particularly strong having won the Grand at Henley earlier that year. His Eton, Henley and OUBC Bow. W. H. Chapman medals were offered for sale in William Dudley Ward January 2012 by Jordan’s An- 2. W. Astor tiques. Included were his Ladies’ 3. Hon. W. E. Guinness Plate Medals for 1896 and 1897 Also in the ’96 crew was one of and the name shield for the 1896 the most successful rowers of that 4. H. J. Hale crew with W. McClintock-Bun- time, William Dudley Ward. He bury’s name at stroke. For the was so successful that he was de- 5. Lord Vivian record, I couldn’t resist and after picted by “Spy” [Leslie Ward] in contacting the seller a successful 6. F. W. Warre Vanity Fair on 29th March 1900. deal was done! He rowed for Cambridge in the 7. J. L. Phillips Boat Race in 1897 when Oxford Occupying the three seat was Wal- won. As President of CUBC he Str. Hon. W. McClintock ter Edward Guinness, 3rd son of rowed in the winning Cambridge Bunbury Edward Guinness (1st Earl of crews in the 1899 and 1900 Boat Iveagh) and younger brother of Races. At Henley Royal Regatta Cox. G. A. Lloydd Rupert Guinness. Walter was born he was runner up in Silver Goblets in Dublin in 1880 and had a dis- Stroking the boat for the second in 1900 partnering R Etherington- tinguished political career serving year in succession, Billy and his Smith. Rowing for Third Trinity, under Winston Churchill. He was Eton crew beat Radley College in Cambridge he won the Stewards' created the 1st Baron Moyne in their first heat and King’s College, Challenge Cup in 1901. In 1902 1932 and was assassinated in Cambridge in their second heat he won the Grand Challenge Cup, Cairo in 1944 by the militant Jew- and Emmanuel College, Cam- the Steward's Challenge Cup ish group Lehi for his role in bridge in the final by ½ length in again, and the Silver Goblets part- British Palestinian policy. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 8

175 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

His brother Rupert was a success- Eton's best-known holiday takes The above photograph originally ful rower winning the Ladies’ place on the so-called "Fourth of appeared in Vivian Nickalls’ auto- Plate with Eton in 1893 and the June", a celebration of the birth- biography “Oars, Wars and Diamond Challenge Sculls at day of King George III. The day is Horses” which was published in Henley in 1895 and 1896 for Le- celebrated with the Procession of 1932. It reappeared on page fifty ander Club. Rupert succeeded his Boats, in which the top rowing in Peter Mallory’s epic 2,500 page father in 1927 becoming the 2nd crews from the top four years row “The Sport of Rowing” in 2011. Earl of Iveagh and Chancellor of past in vintage wooden rowing Tom Bunbury (Lord Rathdonnell) of the University of Dublin (Trin- boats. The "Fourth of June" is no is seated center, being the elder ity College). In 1939 he presented longer celebrated on 4 June, but “Captain” with his son Billy his Dublin residence, Iveagh on the Wednesday before the first standing on the right. Unfortu- House, St. Stephens Green to the weekend of June. The first boat in nately there appears to be two er- Irish Government and the gardens the procession is the ten-oar rors in the caption both of which to University College Dublin. He Monarch pictured above. This is relate to the Bunburys. The Eton was president of Dublin Univer- followed by the rest of the fleet in Registers published in 1901 & sity Boat Club between 1949 and the following order and seniority 1906 list Tom as Captain of the 1967. of crew; Victory, Prince of Wales, Boats in 1868 [not 1863] and J. L. Britannia, Thetis, Hibernia, St. Philips as Captain of the Boats in You will find more about Rupert George, Alexandra, Defiance and 1897 and not Billy. It is still a Guinness and his rowing exploits finally Dreadnought. There are wonderful picture and I am very on the ‘Hear The Boat Sing’ web- two excellent articles on the pro- grateful to Peter for the scan of the site. Firstly, there is Tim Koch’s cession on the ‘Hear The Boat photograph. entry on 26 March 2010 “The Sing’ website. The entry dated the Rowing English Gentleman” and 11 May 2010 is called “Etonians then Göran Buckhorn’s entry on and their Boaters” and that on the 24 August 2010 “The Sculling 5 June 2011 is called “Tim Koch Earl To Be”. On the 2011 Eton’s Procession of The Rathdonnell Cup Boats”. Floret Etona It is purely speculation, but I believe that William’s death in 1900 led directly to Lord Rathdonnell [Tom Bunbury] reviewing the rowing exploits of the family and of his wish to mark his son’s passing in some way. Carlow Rowing Club [founded 1859] has most of the hand written minutes since the founding of the club but unfortunately there is a gap from the late 1890’s to the early 1900’s. In any event Lord Rathdonnell presented a silver cup to the Club in 1901 for competition between junior [now Intermediate] fours.

Eton 4th June, Procession of boats, 1889 Inscription 1901

PRESENTED TO THE

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Bunbury 06/11/2012 22:21 Page 9

176 The Rowing Bunburys of Lisnavagh

CARLOW ROWING CLUB lished 1989. and pastimes (Vinton, 1899).

BY [2]. The Eton Register, Part III, [11] From the Burial Register at 1862-1868. Published 1906. St. Helen’s Church, Tarporley: Lord Rathdonnell Entry 219. Geoffrey McClintock [3] Ibid. TO BE COMPETED FOR AN- Bunbury, abode Calveley, buried NUALLY [4] The Times, Obituaries 24 May 4th October 1892, nine years of 1929. age. Ceremony performed by BY JUNIOR OARSMEN W.O. Hughes. Entry 259. John [5] The Eton Register, Part III, William McClintock Bunbury, IN 1862-1868. Published 1906. abode Somerby, buried 17th Octo- ber 1893, 41 years. Ceremony per- FOUR OARED BOATS [6] In Black & White - A History formed by E.W. Evans. Details I would like to thank everyone of Rowing at Trinity College, and photograph supplied by Mau- who has helped me in colating the Dublin. Raymond Blake, 1991; rice Hunt, Hon. Archivist to the rowing achievements of the Mc- pgs 29-30, and Henley Royle Re- Parish of St. Helen’s, Tarporley, Clintock-Bunbury family, espe- gatta - A celebration of 150 years, Cheshire. cially author, historian and TV London, Richard Burnell, Pub- [12] The Eton Register, 1893- presenter Turtle Bunbury who has lished 1989; pg 104. 1899. Published 1901. allowed me to use his website and [7] Oxford Rowing – A History of photographs to add backround and Boat-Racing at Oxford from the [13] J. L Philips’ medals are as fol- colour to the lives of Tom, Jack Earliest Times, Rev. W. E. Sher- lows; Eton College Trial Eights, and Billy, the only three ‘wet- wood, Published 1900; pgs 187- 1895 & 1896; Ladies’ Challenge bobs’[14] from County Carlow. 188, 227, 261, 291-292, 301 & Plate, 1896 & 1897; Oxford Uni- For further information on the Mc- 353. versity Boat Club Trial Eights Clintock-Bunbury family please 1897 and Oxford University Boat vist Turtle’s website at [8] Sporting Notes - The Graphic Club Four Oars 1897. Name www.turtlebunbury.com. (London, England), Saturday, shields for all but the 1897 Ladies’ February 11, 1871; Issue 63. Plate are also included. ************************** [9] University Boat-Race - Penny [14] According to Webster’s On- References. Illustrated Paper (London, Eng- line Dictionary a wet-bob is a boy [1]. In Retrospect 1839-1989 - An land), Saturday, February 18, at Eton who goes in for boating, Exhibition Sponsored by Phillips 1871; pg. 109; Issue 490. but a dry-bob is one who goes in for cricket. at Stoner Park and HRR. Pub- [10] Baily's magazine of sports

Carloviana 2012 Shemus Cartoons_Layout 1 12/11/2012 18:57 Page 1

177

The “Shemus” Cartoons in the Freeman’s Journal Felix M. Larkin

artoons can say things that are perhaps He used a number of pseudonyms during his long ca- less easy to say in a more straightfor- reer, and even ‘Ernest Forbes’ was a contrivance: his ‘Cward journalistic context’ – that’s a quo- full name was Ernest Forbes Holgate. He dropped tation from Steve Bell, the Guardian’s brilliant the surname when signing his work; and in 1927, cartoonist, in an interview published in the Irish when he had returned to England after the Freeman Times on 21 August 2010. The essential truth of that closed down, he formally changed his name by deed statement is demonstrated by the impact earlier this poll to Ernest Forbes. The pseudonym ‘Shemus’ was year of the Doonesbury cartoon strips in focusing at- exclusive to the Freeman’s Journal.4 tention on controversial Texas anti-abortion legisla- tion.1 Several Martyn Turner cartoons have had a When Forbes joined the Freeman, its princi- similar impact here in Ireland: one thinks, most ob- pal proprietors were Martin Fitzgerald, a successful viously, of his cartoon in 1992 about the young girl Dublin wine merchant, and Hamilton Edwards, a rein the so-called X case imprisoned within the con- tired British journalist who had once worked with fines of the Irish State behind barbed wire, like in an Lord Northcliffe in London but was now living in internment camp.2 Another cartoonist who had that Ireland.5 It is likely that Edwards, with his experience kind of impact was ‘Shemus’, whose work appeared and connections in London, recruited Forbes to the in the Freeman’s Journal in the final years of that old Freeman. The Shemus cartoons are broadly similar and distinguished Irish newspaper. in style to cartoons that were appearing at that time in London newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and The Freeman published some three hundred the Daily Mail, both Northcliffe publications. Forbes Shemus cartoons between 1920 and 1924. They are remarkably hard-hitting commentaries on the events of that turbulent period, and were aptly described in Dáil Éireann in 1923 as ‘artistic bombs’ by the prominent Labour Party deputy, Cathal O’Shannon.3 During the War of Independence, their main target was the increasingly brutal nature of British rule in Ireland. Later, they attacked the new government of Northern Ireland and the anti-Treaty elements in the new Irish Free State with all the venom previously directed against the British authorities. This reflected the editorial policy of the Freeman; the Shemus cartoons were subject to the Freeman’s editorial policy, not independent of it.

The cartoonist was an English artist, Ernest Forbes (1879–1962) – afterwards well known in London and in his native Yorkshire for his land- scapes and portraits, both drawings and oil paintings. Carloviana 2012 Shemus Cartoons_Layout 1 12/11/2012 18:57 Page 2

178 The “Shemus” Cartoons in the Freemans Journal

remained essentially a British cartoonist in exile The most notorious of the Shemus cartoons while in Ireland, at his best when treating his Irish depicts de Valera as the mouthpiece of Erskine subject matter from the perspective of British politics Childers. Entitled Giving Him His Lines, it appeared and focusing on British politicians. After the British on 10 February 1922 – shortly after the Treaty de- left Ireland in 1922 and Forbes was thus deprived of bates in the Dáil had concluded. The caption has a British context for his work, his cartoons became Childers saying to Dev: ‘That’s fine. They fit you as much less subtle and insightful – and he produced well as ever – all except the cap, but that can’t be fewer of them. helped. Now, don’t forget to say it exactly as I told you.’ The cap that doesn’t fit de Valera is the French The superb quality of Forbes’ work at its best revolutionary ‘Liberty Cap’, the bonnet rouge. is evident in the cartoon entitled It Means Nothing to Childers was intellectually one of the most formida- Them, published shortly after the occupation of the ble opponents of the Treaty, and there was particular Four Courts in Dublin by armed anti-Treatyites in animosity towards him in the pro-Treaty camp. The April 1922, the prelude to the outbreak of the civil Freeman faithfully reflected that animosity, and war. Apart from the force of its message – the punch boosted it. An editorial also published on 10 Febru- that it packs – it is a most accomplished and skilful ary 1922 warned that de Valera was ‘in danger from piece of drawing. Its unambiguous message is that the Childers’ medicine’, a message reinforced in the armed resistance to the Treaty, symbolised by the cartoon by attributing Childers’ influence to flattery. gunmen in the foreground, flouts majority opinion in The demonization of Childers by the Freeman and Ireland. The building in the background is the Bank others led to his execution by the Free State govern- of Ireland in College Green, Dublin, the seat of the ment in November 1922, after he had been found last Irish parliament before the Act of Union of 1800. guilty by a military tribunal of little more than a tech- The caption has one gunman asking ‘What’s all the nical infringement of the law.6 noise?’, to which the second replies ‘Don’t worry. It’s only the voice of the unarmed people’. Henry, The Ruthless is another Shemus cartoon which attacks a specific individual unfairly. Published on 8 June 1922, the target on this occasion was Sir Henry Wilson, the former Chief of the Imperial General Staff in Lon- don who became Unionist MP for North Down at Westminster in February 1922. In March 1922 he was appointed advisor on security matters to the new government of Northern Ireland. He was strongly anti-nationalist, and the Freeman held him responsible for the spate of sectarian violence directed against the Catholic population of Belfast.

In this cartoon, the Grim Reaper reports back to Wilson – thereby suggesting in stark terms where blame for the atrocities in Belfast lay. It is a deeply troubling image in view of the fact that Wilson was himself

Carloviana 2012 Shemus Cartoons_Layout 1 12/11/2012 18:57 Page 3

179 The “Shemus” Cartoons in the Freemans Journal

shot dead by two IRA men in London just a fortnight our mission to “twist a few tails”, as a former editor after the cartoon was published. Professor Keith Jef- of the Irish Times was fond of saying.’9 I feel sure fery’s recent biography of Wilson indicates that he that that is a sentiment which Shemus – Ernest was, in fact, a relatively moderate voice within Ulster Forbes – would have wholeheartedly endorsed. unionist circles.7

Felix M. Larkin is chairman of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland. His book, Terror and Discord: the Shemus Cartoons in the Freeman’s Journal, 1920–1924, was published by A&A Farmar in 2009.

1 The cartoon strips appeared in the Irish Times, 12– 17 March 2012. 2 Illustration no. 30 in Mark O’Brien, The Irish Times: a history (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008), between pp 160–1. 3 Dáil Debates, vol. 3, col. 2935, 26 June 1923. 4 For further biographical information on Forbes, see Felix M. Larkin, Terror and discord: the Shemus cartoons in the Freeman’s Journal, 1920-1924 (Dublin: A. & A. Farmar, 2009), pp 13–24. 5 For an account of the history of the Freeman’s Jour- nal newspaper, see Felix M. Larkin, ‘A great daily The Freeman’s campaign against Wilson has organ: the Freeman’s Journal, 1763–1924’, in His- a curious symmetry with its campaign against Ersk- tory Ireland, 14:3 (May/June 2006), pp 44–9. ine Childers. In both cases the Freeman was guilty 6 Andrew Boyle, The Riddle of Erskine Childers of encouraging widely-held prejudices, which led to (London: Hutchinson, 1977), p. 319. their deaths. The Freeman will not have changed 7 Keith Jeffrey, Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: a anyone’s opinion of Childers or Wilson, but its treat- political soldier (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ment of them shows how the press can shape the tone 2006), pp 279–80. of political discourse. In these instances, it was a par- 8 Desmond Ryan, Remembering Sion: a chronicle of ticularly nasty tone. The Shemus cartoons were an storm and quiet (London: Arthur Barker, 1934), p. important ingredient in shaping that tone. The writer 280. Desmond Ryan, who was on the Freeman’s staff in 9 Irish Times, 15 March 2012. the 1920s, recalls in his memoir Remembering Sion that the Childers cartoon so disgusted him that he resolved to leave the Freeman on account of it.8 His reaction parallels that of some US newspapers which declined to use the recent Doonesbury strips. Com- menting on the Doonesbury strips, Martyn Turner said this: ‘Most cartoonists actually enjoy the thought that they might be upsetting the odd person through their drawings. Perversely we still see it as

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 1

180

Letters from Clonburrin 1880-1930 Carmel McCarthy

ogether with my siblings, I grew in Ireland in the latter part of the nine- The Fryer archive in Queensland Univer- up in Clonburrin House, near the teenth century and the early decades of sity ultimately owes its existence to the Tvillage of Fenagh, Co. Carlow. the twentieth. fact that Charlie Fryer, Jack’s father, em- Our parents had bought the house and igrated from Clonburrin to Australia in farm in 1945, as World War II was draw- 1880, aged 26. Having settled near ing to a close. My earliest memories go Springsure in Central Queensland, he back to the harsh winter of 1947 when began work at Orion Downs, a sheep sta- the river Burrin which bordered our land tion owned by a Mr Wilson. The follow- was flooded in a spectacular way. Now ing year a young local girl aged sixteen, and again we children were reminded Rosina Richards, arrived in the station to that another family had lived there before care for Mr Wilson’s four step-children. us, but normally that did not bother us as Rosina and Charlie married two years we swam in the river, climbed various later (1883), and they had seven children, trees, explored every nook and cranny of of whom Jack was the fifth. the farm, and played with a doctor’s bag that we found in one of the unused The various letters related to Clonburrin rooms. We knew that, among previous in this Fryer archive give us first-hand owners, there had been a family called entry into the everyday life of the Fryer Fryer, and that one of them had been a family there from 1880-1930. In particu- doctor. There was a room in our house lar they highlight the sense of distance called the “dispensary” in which were as- and separation caused by emigration, as sembled all kinds of empty medicine bot- they document how the family of Charlie tles, and once, while digging in the and Rosina Fryer struggled to make ends garden, my brother found an Indian coin meet in a distant land. The letters bear – a rupee dated 1862. The hill sloping witness to how concerned the Clonburrin down towards the Blackford bridge was Jack Fryer family was for their young son and his called Fryer’s Hill. As children, that was family in faraway Australia. They also il- as far as our knowledge of the previous lustrate the extent to which one particular occupants of Clonburrin House stretched. Jack Fryer won a scholarship to the Uni- family in rural Co Carlow was affected 4 However, this was to change signifi- versity of Queensland in 1915. By the by events on the world stage, as well as cantly, when a Google search pointed us end of the first term, however, he aban- by local issues, such as those linked to to the Fryer Library in the University of doned his studies and, at the age of 20, the Land League.6 In order to understand Queensland. This library was named in volunteered for military service in the the context of the letters more fully, a honour of “John Denis Fryer, a graduate first Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He brief picture of the Fryer family in Clon- of the University, who served overseas in was commissioned in 1916, and sent to burrin now follows, based on the letters World War I and died in 1923 as a result France where he was exposed to gas poi- and supplemented by other sources. The of injuries received during his war serv- soning in early 1917. After a period of primary family consisted of William F. ice.”2 Among the extensive archival ma- hospitalization in England, Jack returned Fryer, his wife Elizabeth S. Fryer and terial donated to the University of to France in August 1918 for the Battle their seven children. Queensland by the family of John Fryer of Amiens, the turning point on the West- (aka Jack) are twenty-three letters, all of ern Front. There he was again wounded, William Francis Fryer (1829-1914) of them linked to Clonburrin in one way or this time by a stick bomb. Back home Kinsale, Co Cork, was admitted to the another, and written by various members after the war, he re-enrolled in 1920 at the Royal College of Surgeons on 12 Octo- of the Fryer family.3 These letters are University of Queensland to complete his ber 1849,7 and the following year passed mainly addressed to Jack’s father, Char- English degree studies. However his a preliminary examination in Glasgow.8 lie, who had emigrated to Queensland health began to fail, and on 7 February It is not clear when he graduated, or when from Clonburrin in 1880. Charlie was the 1923, at the age of 27 he died. His death exactly he and his family came to live in oldest son of Dr William F. Fryer, the certificate gives the cause of death as pul- Clonburrin. The first letter from Clonbur- owner of the doctor’s bag and medicine monary tuberculosis, an illness which rin in the Queensland archive is dated bottles that we had played with as chil- may have been exacerbated by exposure 1880, while the Irish Valuation Office dren. Covering a period of over fifty to gas poisoning during the war, though records William Fryer as living in Clon- 5 years, these letters give us fascinating this is not certain. burrin in 1879. These records also specify glimpses of family life in a rural setting that John Bath was resident in Clonburrin

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 2

181 Letters from Clonburrin

in the 1850s-1870s, and before him, sons: William Thomas (1887-1949), In 1917 young Henry Fryer (son of Char- Francis Dillon, Resident Magistrate. Charles George (1889-1917, killed in ac- lie and Rosina), brother of Jack, visited Slater’s Directory of Ireland (1894) indi- tion in France), Henry Hardy (1892- Clonburrin while on leave from military cates that William Fryer, M.D., was the 1980), John Denis (1895-1923), Richard service. In 1919 Uncle Willie and Aunt “Dispensary Medical Officer and Regis- Alexander (1899- ?), and Walter Pon- Linda Fryer visited Clonburrin from Ip- trar of Births, Marriage and Deaths for sonby (1906-1980). The older four of the swich, and were received by Kitty and Myshall.” six sons enlisted and fought in World War Maggie. I. Henry visited Clonburrin in 1917 while All we know of his wife, Elizabeth Stuart recovering from war injuries.12 Writing Rosina Fryer, Jack’s mother, first worked Cochrane (= Lizzie Fryer), is what can be from there to his mother (Rosina) in Aus- as a child-minder at the Orion Downs gleaned from her letters to Charlie and tralia, he describes Clonburrin as “Dad’s sheep station where she met her future Rosina in Queensland. She died in Clon- old home”. husband. She later qualified as a nurse burrin in 1894. William and Lizzie Fryer and midwife – she is said to have deliv- had seven children: Charles (1854-1944), Lily, the second of the Fryer children, ered her first baby at the age of twelve! Lily (1856?), Willie (1859?), Kitty married a Belfast man, Sam McCurry, In 1895 she and Charlie worked as a mar- (1861), Harry (1864-1936), Tom (1866?), who worked in the GPO in Dublin. They ried couple at the local hospital, she as and Maggie (1868-1929). The dates for lived first in Blackrock, Co Dublin, and matron and Charlie as wardsman. It was Charlie come from the Fryer archive, then moved to 3 Spencer Villas, here that Jack was born later that year. while those for Kitty, Harry and Maggie Kingstown (= Dun Laoghaire). One of come from the 1911 census of Ireland. their daughters, Ruth, married Horatio Extracts from the Letters (1880-1930) The dates for the other four children in Mathews, and lived in London, while an- Some preliminary comments on letter- between are estimations. The letters and other daughter, Christabel, is mentioned writing in the nineteenth century may be other records indicate that this family in Lizzie Fryer’s 1889 letter to her daugh- helpful in appreciating the context and resided at Clonburrin from about 1875- ter-in-law, Rosina. contents of this particular collection. One 1936.9 They would have moved to Clon- can reasonably presume that what we burrin some years earlier than 1880, but Willie Fryer, brother of Charlie, and son have in the extant Clonburrin letters in not before 1871, since the Valuation Of- of William and Lizzie Fryer, took his the John D. Fryer archive does not repre- fice cites John Bath as resident there in final medical exams at Edinburgh in sent all the letters that were actually writ- that year. None of the Fryer children 1882, was a surgeon on a Clan Sinclair ten by the Fryer family to Charlie. therefore could have been born in Clon- ship later in 1882, a medical assistant in Instead what we have are those few that, burrin, given that Maggie, the youngest, London in 1884, and had a medical prac- for one reason or another, Charlie and his was born in 1868. We know from the tice in Suffolk, and later in Ipswich in family members actually preserved. In a Fryer archive that Charlie was born in 1891. He married Linda about 1890.13 It world that did not yet have access to Oulart, Co Wexford, in 1854. In 1894, seems that the four young Australian Fry- phone, fax, text-messaging, or e-mails, when Lizzie Fryer was dying in Clonbur- ers developed close connections with correspondence by letter-writing played rin, their second son Willie, then aged their uncle Willie and aunt Linda in Ip- a far more vital part then than it does about 35, had a medical practice in Ip- swich, when recovering from war today. It was a lifeline connecting fami- swich, while Harry was farming in Clon- wounds or while having a break from ac- lies separated by thousands of miles from burrin. William Fryer and three of his tive service. home, whether because of work or mili- children – Kitty, Harry and Maggie – are tary service. Reading through the Fryer listed in the 1901 and 1911 censuses as Tom first tried for the Civil Service, but archive, we sense this separation and the only Fryers living in Clonburrin in the failed the entrance examinations in 1884. loss, and the attempts to close the gap first decades of the twentieth century. He then studied to gain employment in through frequent letters. Small wonder Kitty, the last surviving member of the the Bank of Ireland and was stationed that many of the letters implore Charlie Fryer family in Clonburrin, moved to first in Clonakilty (1888), and later in to communicate more regularly. England in 1936 (aged 76), and the house Clonmel (1894). By 1930 he was retired was sold to Patrick Walsh, who in turn and living in Cornwall. Harry, Kitty and A second preliminary comment concerns sold it to our parents in 1945. Maggie continued to live in Clonburrin the one-sided nature of the correspon- with their widower father. None of these dence. We do not know how regularly Charlie Fryer, the oldest of the Fryer chil- three married, and on the death of their Charlie replied to these letters. When he dren, spent two years studying medicine, father in 1914, each inherited a third of did reply from time to time, one gets the after which he worked for a short time in the land and property. Maggie died in impression that it was never often the National Bank (now the Bank of Ire- 1929, while Harry continued to farm in enough, especially when we read the land) in Enniscorthy.10 As already men- Clonburrin until his death in 1936 (aged poignant exhortation of Willie to Charlie tioned, he emigrated to Queensland in 72). On Harry’s death Kitty moved from in his letter of 1894: 1880, and some three years later married Clonburrin to England, and Clonburrin Rosina Richards. Their first child was a was sold in 1937 to Patrick Walsh for Now dear Charlie, will you daughter, Elizabeth Fryer (aka Lizzie £575. It was bought by Peadar and Kath- like a good fellow write 1884-1985).11 She was followed by six leen McCarthy in 1945 for £1400. home if you can manage it at

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 3

182 Letters from Clonburrin

all. You perhaps think we Mrs Ruddock’s farm. The a “Charlie Fryer and his brother Willie” don’t care, but we do indeed, two Roses John and Willie are to cousins, sons of an Uncle Henry and have written to you sev- are gone to America, and Fryer. Her journey to the Horse Show eral times. If you have not Frank Nolan he is married to with Papa is by train. Most interesting succeeded as you wished, Sarah Bow that was at Mr G. from a political viewpoint are her refer- don’t think that that will James. Tom Jenkinson has ences to the “Land Leaguers” and the so- make any difference, be- left the cottage and is in Mrs cial upheaval linked to their agitation. cause you will always be my Burgess’s farm and man by brother, no matter what, the name of Nolan has it Clonburrin, 25 Jan 188214 though we used to have our now. My dear Charlie, squabbles. Harrie and I go over to We were indeed glad to get a Nurney three days in the letter from you again. We Even if what we now possess has been week to Mr Weir. It’s a good had been first saying the day preserved somewhat randomly, and given ride over. I ride the ass and before it was a long time that we do not know exactly what Charlie Harrie the bay mare. The since you wrote, and were and Rosina may have written in reply, Butlers of Ballybar go too. wondering the cause of it. It nevertheless we have an extraordinary The two asses are here still, was doubly good news to first-hand window into the day-to-day the old one is as big a rogue hear that you are quite well, concerns of a family trying to remain in as ever, but Bob is a very except for the bruise to your communication with each other across good ass; old Bill is alive finger, which I hope by this continents and against the background of still, he’s twice as strong as time is quite well. We are all war and its tragic effects on family life. when you left us. He is quite quite well thank goodness, fat. Harrie hunted Gipsy this except Papa has been laid up We begin with the earliest letter in the winter. She hunts well. with a sprained ankle for the archive, written by Tom (aged 14) to his George James is not in the past two months, and Harry brother Charlie (aged 26). The handwrit- land yet. I suppose out got his second finger in his ing is that of a young person, and his in- where you are their [sic] is left hand broken by the little terests are very local. He mentions a no such thing as winter. Are threshing machine, which number of neighbours by name – some of you fond of riding? I sup- you may remember Papa these family names persist in the general pose you ride a great deal. bought just before you went locality to the present day. The date is How many horses have you? out, but thank God he is May 1880, so it must have been just some Have you any young ones? quite well now, and Papa is months after Charlie had emigrated to John Nolan has made great getting much better. Lily is Queensland. It is clear from Tom’s letter improvements on his farm. in Dublin now; staying with that Charlie has already written to the He has squared our old field. Aunt Margaret. Willie has family and described something of his I take up this letter again left Butlers and is living with new life, since Tom asks him how many as it was to [sic] late to go Aunt now. He is studying horses he has, and whether he likes rid- with the last letters so I take very hard and I think expects ing. When Tom speaks of riding to Nur- it up again. There is a great to be going to Edinburgh in ney three times a week with his older change in Fenagh since you April next (DV). Lily went brother (Harry, aged 16) to a Mr Weir, left. I go every day to Nur- to Dublin last August on a this is most likely a reference to some ney now. Harrie does not go visit to Mrs Wynn, Mrs Bad- kind of schooling, as William Weir of now. As Harrie has told you ham’s sister, and then came Nurney is recorded as a Church of Ireland all news, and I have not any- home for Xmas with Willie. clergyman in 1880 (irishgenealogy.com thing that would interest She returned with him again website). you, so I must say good bye. which makes it very pleasant I am dear Charlie, your for him. Clonburrin, Garryhill, May loving brother, Tom. Willie has grown I think 1880 very much since you left, but My dear Charlie, Letter no. 2 in the Fryer archive comes Harry has grown more than I was glad to hear from you from Kitty (aged 19). Written some two any. Maggie has grown very and to know that you are years later, her perspective includes fam- much. I am the smallest now quite well. I am going to tell ily news, as well as local and political of any of the family. Charlie what happened since you left comment. She is concerned about various Fryer is going to the Church. us. Rourke has left us long injuries – her father’s ankle and Harry’s He is very soon to be or- ago and Farrell is in his finger. She records that her sister Lily has dained now. His brother place and Taylor in Reddy’s left the family nest, and is now working Willie has a very good ap- place. Henry Dillon is dead in Dublin, while staying with an aunt, and pointment now. He is second and Tom James and Mr that Willie is studying hard for his med- mate of the ship which he is Vesey. John James has got ical exams. The references she makes to in, and has 5/9d per day. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 4

183 Letters from Clonburrin

The last place he has been to quiet good boy. Greyburns are married with was Calcutta. And now, dear Charlie, I the exception of Maria. Bab I was up in Dublin for think it is time I should bring has gone to Australia with his the first time last September. my letter to a close. All unite wife. He has a dairy farm and I went up for a week with with me in fondest love to goes into town every day with Papa. There was an excur- you, hoping to hear from his milk. Have you ever seen sion train at the time, it was you soon again, anything of Anthony Ralph? the time of the Horse Show. Ever dear Charlie, your The old man is still alive and There have been a great loving sister, Kitty. so is old Rourke. All your old many changes in Ireland P.S. I hope you will be friends ask constantly for you owing to this Land question able to make out my letter … Charlie Fryer has been or- and a number of murders for it is frightfully written. dained for Church of Eng- have been made, which was K. F. land. All the family left when very sad indeed. Numbers of the father got married to his people have left Ireland. Letter no. 3 is from Charlie’s father, and second wife. The girls are liv- Nearly all the upperters [?] is difficult to decipher, as he overwrites ing in Dublin. are reducing their house- part of the letter at right angles. It is the Did you have an opportu- holds, doing with less ser- first of six extant letters from William to nity of getting your photo- vants. Lord Rathdonnell, Mr his son, almost all of which are charac- graph taken? Get it done and Pembury, Mr Bagnall are all terized by a plea to write more often. send one. … I think Harrie is gone to England for the writing to you … He has hunting. John Watson has 14 September 1882 grown very much. Tommie come from India. He is in My dear Charlie and Maggie have also grown England now. Mrs Gray is Why do you not write? You very much. Capt. Murray going to live [sic] us later. ought to know that we are al- (who lived at Janeville) with Gary has come of age. Mrs ways anxious to hear from his family have gone to Desey has gone to live near you, and as each week passes America. He was smashed he Bagnalstown. A great num- by we say, it is a wonder says through the [?] and dis- ber of people are gone to Charlie does not write. Many honesty of his agent. Do you America. Three of Mrs things have occurred since we ever see anything of Mrs Fenelon’s children are gone. last wrote. Among the first Blackett’s friends who got Mrs Butler’s old house is kind of news is that Lillie is you to write last time to us. knocked down. going to be married next No- Write soon and tell us all par- This winter so far has vember to a McCurry. He is in ticulars as to your position been very mild. There is a the [?] offices of the G.P.O. and how you are getting on. new Dr. in Bagnalstown, Lillie met him when in God keep you and your which the Land Leaguers Dublin. family, got. Dr. Allen seems to be Willie is going over to Ed- Your affectionate father, getting a good deal to do inburgh next week to sit for WF Fryer now. Mr Henry Bath is dead, his exams. He is thinking of he died last Friday. He has getting into the army. Harry is Letter no. 4 is to Charlie, this time from left the little girl his wife had working away at the farm. He his mother, Lizzie. She signs her name in a very large fortune. Mr is very fond of farming. I do full at the end of this, and all her letters Gluer has taken agencies in not know what Tommie will (including those to Rosina, her daughter- Limerick. An agent now has turn his mind to. H. B. is stay- in-law) as: “Your loving mother, Lizzie not a very pleasant post. Old ing with us for the last fort- S. Fryer.” Exhorting Charlie to write Spot is still alive. And old night. Did we mention to you more regularly, her concerns in this letter Rourke15 looks out in his that Mr Beresford16 was relate mainly to family news, and to garden sometimes. He is a dead? Old Rourke is still Charlie’s religious practice. kind wonderful old man. He alive. He is a wonderful old has the white hat still which man. Saw on the paper the Clonburrin 20 September you gave him. other day that the Govern- [1882] 17 I think I have told you all ment are going to help emi- My dear Charlie, news. We would miss Harry gration to Australia this year. It is now a long long time so dreadfully, we do not like Labour has gotten very since we have had a letter the idea of his going so far. scarce. It was very difficult to from you, but I trust you are He is now a great help to work lands this harvest. It was well and happy. I suppose Papa. Farming is the only also very wet and a good deal you are now quite natural- thing he likes. He is a very of corn was damaged. All the ized to the “New Country”

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 5

184 Letters from Clonburrin

and to its habits. Since last Willie gives of how he secured his first an appointment in the secre- you wrote to us many medical appointment, the colourful de- tary’s office GPO Dublin. changes have occurred and I tails of his journey thousands of miles The wedding passed off very am sure you are surprised at away from home, and a short account of well. It took place at Fenagh the news your father’s letter the wedding in Fenagh Church of Lily, Church. This was on Nov. 8. contained regarding Lily their sister. I had to start from home on getting married. The man the 17th for Liverpool as it she has chosen is indeed S.S. Clan Sinclair was there I joined the ship. I very nice and good. Indian Ocean, Near spent a night at a cousin’s of You would not know Colombo the Purves, a Mr. Paxton, a Harrie now, he is grown so 20 December 1882 solicitor, and I had a run tall, much taller than Willie. down to Chester which is a The latter has left for Edin- My dear Charlie, very quaint old town. I had burgh to pass his examina- I am sure you will be rather not time to see very much of tions. I trust poor fellow he surprised to get a letter from Liverpool. will be successful. We have me from here. I hope that But I have seen now a all the horses still. Gypsey is nothing is wrong with you as good deal of things all in a as stubborn as ever and your it is nearly a year now since heap. We passed Gibraltar, father is anxious to get her we heard from you. I am which is a fine rocky place, sold, but cannot sell Pied now a fully fledged surgeon. then called at Malta and saw Bob. … I went over to Edinburgh as the monastery where they How are you off now for I told you in my break for a have some twenty-six mum- a place of worship? Is there month before the exam and mified bodies of monks, and no way you could have serv- read up with a grinder there the Cathedral which is a ice every week? I trust dear and passed successfully, and beautifully antique piece of Charlie you do not forget got this appointment, sur- architecture, containing each day reading God’s geon to this vessel, a steamer some silver that the Knights word. May it indeed be a of nearly 3000 tons. The of St John brought with “Lamp unto your feet, and a salary is only £4.0.0 a them from Rhodes. The ceil- Light unto your path.” month, but we are fed well, ing is painted very nicely, I hope dear Charlie you so it is fully worth a hundred representing different will write very soon and reg- a year or even more than that scenes, the subjects of which ularly to us, you know it on land, and I was fortunate I could not tell. Then the gives us such pleasure to in getting it so soon. walls have beautiful carving, hear from you and know The way I did was this: and the floor was formed of how you are getting on. I one of the lodgers at the marble slabs bearing the ar- forgot to mention Isabelle house where I stayed, a Mr. morial characters and in- Watson that lived in Stevenson, knew the man- scriptions of the knights Ballintrane. She was a long ager of the firm in Glasgow, whose graves they covered, time ailing and suffered very and so it was decided that if altogether forming a splen- much before her death. She I were successful in my did mosaic. Then the Palace died very happy trusting in exam I should get it. The has an interesting old ar- her Saviour. house that I lodged in was mory, and a cranial chamber, Lily Smith and Maggie owned by Mrs Purves’ sister, the walls of the latter are unite with me in much love a Mrs Farquharson, a very covered with most splendid to you and may God bless nice woman. I was made tapestry I ever saw, repre- you and keep you in the nar- very comfortable when senting at the top the row path for his dear Son’s there, and was shown the knights’ different battles sake. chief places about Edin- with the Turks and lower I am your loving mother, burgh by her husband. Edin- down the continents of Asia, Lizzie S. Fryer burgh is a very pretty city. Africa, America.18 I heard at home that John We stayed at Port Said Letter no. 5 is from William (then aged Purves is about to leave Mrs for a few hours, nothing par- 23) to his brother Charlie. This letter Beresford and take a farm on ticular did I see there – a lot comes not from Clonburrin, but from the his own responsibility. I sup- of native sellers came S.S. Clan Sinclair, a ship belonging to a pose you have heard too, around the ship, but I did not company set up in 1869 to operate pas- that Lily is married. She will buy anything as they were senger routes between Britain and Bom- live at Blackrock, her hus- asking too high a price. We bay via the Suez Canal. A rather long band’s name is Sam Mc- saw a good deal of flying letter, its interest lies in the description Curry, a Belfast man. He has fish in the Indian Ocean and Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 6

185 Letters from Clonburrin

had rather a rolling passage don’t think that that will you given up all your old causing some of the passen- make any difference, be- friends? Willie is at present in gers to feel sick. cause you will always be my London at Acton with a Dr I hope they will soon brother, no matter what, Francis. He likes his place have a letter home from you, though we used to have our very well. Lillie is quite well, knowing that you are getting squabbles. had a daughter last Xmas day. on well. A good deal of the Things go on just the Tommie is reading in Dublin people ask after you, and same at Clonburrin. Harrie is for C.S. examination [civil now hoping that you are the Steward now, and is the service]. … quite well and praying God biggest of us. Tommie is in Mr O’Neill has got a farm to bless you, through and for Dublin reading for the Civil from Mr Brien at Killoughter- our Redeemer esp. Service and I hope he may naune. He is doing very well. I am, Your affectionate be successful. Geo Lacey is still the same. brother, Willie Now with love to you His nephew Geo had to go to dear Charlie and asking you the Lunatic Asylum. I hear Letter no. 6 also comes from Willie (now to excuse this short letter. however he is getting better. 25) to his brother Charlie, this time writ- But the next one will be Garry Grey had to go to ten from London, where he has a new ap- more full. God bless you. France for his health. You pointment. Once again there is a familiar Your affectionate know his mother died of con- and poignant pleading with Charlie to brother, Willie. sumption also his sister Het- write home, because all of the family are tie. Did you ever get anxious to have news of him. Letter no. 7 is the second letter from newspapers from us, as it’s Charlie’s father, William (now aged 55). said that the newspapers are Monkton House, Acton, He is responding to the news just re- finally detained at the offices. London W. ceived that Charlie has married Rosina Mr and Mrs Bunbury 26 March 1884 the previous year (1883). One can sense (Miss Watson that was) are the disappointment that Charlie has not living in England. The Land My dear Charlie, been in contact personally to tell them his League movement caused a You must think it strange my news. great number of gentlemen to long silence, but as we have go to England for hunting. never heard from you, we 20 May 1884 Will unfortunate Ireland ever are at our wits end thinking My dear Charlie, have peace? Charlie Fryer is what has become of you. But I was glad to hear that you going to London next month Mr Wilson’s secretary … had settled for a home life and for a curacy. None of your told me that you were Mail trust that you and your wife Uncle Henry’s family are liv- Contractor for the Govern- will be a comfort and help for ing with him since his mar- ment out there, so I hope it is each other, but why my dear riage. The girls however go a step upward for you. I have Charlie will you not write on visits. They are living in often wished to get a vessel home to some of us? We all Dublin. going out to that quarter but have written from time to I will now bid you a fond the only ones that do are be- time and you have never adieu, praying that God will yond the influence or inter- replied to any. Surely the let- help you and direct you and est that I can command at ters do not miscarry, as Willie her whom you have chosen present. wrote from England to you by for a helpmate, in all your I am a Medical Assistant that friend of Mrs B. and it ways through this world, and here with a very nice man was through him that we bring you to that better world who has a family of three learned of your marriage. Will above for Christ’s sake. daughters. It is an indoor ap- you send a photograph of All send their love, pointment so I am treated yourself and wife. Is she Aus- Your affectionate father, like one of the family. They tralian or British? What are W.F. Fryer are all well at home. … you doing now for a liveli- Now dear Charlie, will hood? Letter no 8, also from Charlie’s father, is you like a good fellow write Harrie was disappointed very moving as it expresses his joy, and home if you can manage it at you had never written to him. that of the entire family on the receipt of all. You perhaps think we He is thinking of America. the much longed-for letter from Charlie. don’t care, but we do indeed, Purves recommends the It is touching for its deep faith. and have written to you sev- Cape. Purves was speaking a eral times. If you have not short time ago that you had Clonburrin succeeded as you wished, not written to him. Why have Bagnalstown

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 7

186 Letters from Clonburrin

12 June 1884 soon and give an account of Clonburrin your present position. Bagnalstown My dear Charlie God help you and Rosina, 29 October 1885 It was with great joy indeed Your affectionate father, WF that we received your letter Fryer My dear Charles, yesterday containing your Once more again we write to photo and your wife’s. You Letter no. 9 is the first of four letters from you in hopes it may receive will no doubt receive a letter Lizzie to her daughter-in-law, Rosina. No a reply from you. All your I sent to you about a fortnight date is given, but its contents show that family ask constantly, “Have ago, asking you to write. You this letter came soon after Charlie’s letter you heard from Australia? will give my love to your wife to his father (letter no. 8). It is a gentle How is Master Charles?” and I pray God that your mar- letter, in which Lizzie welcomes Rosina Now I may begin by ask- riage will be a blessing to you (aged 19) into the family and assures the ing you how you and your and to her. Oh, my dear boy, young couple of her prayers. wife are getting on. Your ask for God’s blessing on all mother each day is expecting your doings, and if the prayer Clonburrin, 16 June [1884] to get a letter from her in an- of faith, however weak, as- My dear Rosina, swer to hers. I hope you are cends, He will in His own I felt truly glad when Char- getting on in worldly matters good time give you a bless- lie’s letter arrived to his fa- successful, and above all ing. You will each of you I ther, as I could not imagine things, in heavenly laying up pray be a help to each other what was the cause of his a good store in heaven. Have through this sinful world, and continued long silence. I am you had any family, what as He has promised this, He united in warm congratula- has God sent? will never leave nor forsake tions for you and Charlie by We have Willie and Tom any who call upon Him. May all at home, and pray God at home now. Tom was read- we all call upon Him hourly will bless you both spiritu- ing for CS Exams but failed. for all our supplies of com- ally and temporally, for His He is now reading at home fort. When you write next dear Son’s sake, and enable for Bank of Ireland. Willie give all the particulars of your you each day to “cast your who is now writing to you, doings. Oh often, dear Char- care upon Him who careth has left London, and is try- lie, during your long silence for you.” Your “photo” is ing for Japan on board one we have said, What is the very nice but I should not of P&O Steamers. I hope he poor fellow doing? Is he have known Charlie his face may succeed. We are all well happy and comfortable and has gotten much thinner. thank God. Maggie was increasing in worldly prosper- Had you a large wedding? down in the south with the ity? Charlie’s sister Lily has one Swantons in the summer, Lillie is most happy. She little daughter. Her husband and Kitty is now in Dublin has got a Christian husband. is in the General Post Office. with Lillie. Kittie is small but Maggie He is an excellent young Your niece is a very nice grown a nice graceful pretty man. She is very happy. I child and good tempered. girl. Harrie is more inclined hope you will send me a Harrie is still at home look- for the Cape or Canada. He is long letter and tell me how ing after the place, but in- speaking of going to the Cape you are getting on, as I shall tends (I think) to emigrate. and get [sic] into the Police always be glad to hear from Gary Gray went to Australia for three years so as to be able you. a short time ago. He was in to see what the country is. 19 All unite with me in fond delicate health. … Your He is a very clever fellow love for you and Charlie, mother has just come in about the farm. He does I am your fondly at- from driving. She says old everything for me (with tached mother, Lizzie S. Mrs Lawler was asking for Purves) in the buying and Fryer you. So you will see you are selling, and is able to hold a not forgotten. Harrie wrote plough. He has a fine manly The main theme of letter no. 10, written three times to you he says, disposition. by Charlie’s father in 1885, is yet again and you did not reply to him. We have had a very dry one of reproach that his son is not reply- Be sure dear Charles, write time for the last couple of ing to their many letters. He gives some and tell us everything about months. Meadows and corn local news as well as details on the fam- you. … bad. We had a wet winter and ily. Harry is now running the farm at I am trying to think of early spring which kept work Clonburrin, while his father fears that he news but I cannot do so. All very backward. may emigrate to join the Cape Mounted at home send their love. Now be sure and write Police. God bless you, your af- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 8

187 Letters from Clonburrin

fectionate W.F. Fryer. scarcely any society beyond Minnie Watson. It came off the clergy. Suffolk does not on 14 February of this year. Letter no. 11 is Willie’s third letter to his boast of many resident gentry, Robbie Watson got promoted brother Charlie. From it we see William, but I expect in the summer in the “Cape” police and is as yet unmarried, in a medical practice in there will be a good many married. John is at home Suffolk. His sister Kitty is with him, tennis parties, and I imagine doing well as a horse dealer. probably keeping house. Willie’s letter is not much sickness, as the peo- He is the champion polo full of interesting details relating to Clon- ple are very long-lived and player of the world.20 His fa- burrin and the neighbourhood. don’t ail much. ther is still the M.F.H. There is another doctor of Mr Phillips is the clergy- Meadlerham, Straham the name of Cuthbert here. man of Fenagh now. Mrs Suffolk This is a village of about 700 Baddham is dead. And the 25 March 1888 inhabitants, boasts a church, daughters work as gov- four public houses, one gen- ernesses. Matt Farrell works My dear Charlie eral shop, two butchers and for Father. I don’t know what At length after this long si- about a half dozen smaller has become of James Reddy. lence I feel I must drop you a hucksters. I came here on the Rourke is still to the good. So line to let you know how we death of a man named Taylor is old Anty Nolan but she has all are doing and indeed we who drank himself to death. I been superannuated as dis- would like very much to was lead [sic] to imagine that pensary hostess. And Fanny know how you are. Well here the practice was worth far Tuthill née Ralph is dead. I am in a small room in a more than it really is. This I do not know of anything small cottage, with a nice lit- man Taylor had been an assis- more to tell you. Purves has tle fire in the grate and with tant with Cuthbert and they left Fenagh Lodge and has Kitty as my companion. I treated him very badly so he taken Richard Newland’s dare say you have not begun started on his own account farm at Newtown and I think fires yet if you ever need to. and did very well for a time is doing well He has got five We have had a very long spell and then gave way to drink. children. Johnny Rose is of cold weather, snow and The Cuthberts of course did dead. frost off and on since Xmas, not like him and don’t care I hope you and Rose are the farmers in consequence much about me. There are quite well and with love to very backward with their two, father and son, but the you both in which Kit joins, work. This is a great corn latter is not at all popular, I am your affectionate raising part of England, but being very rough in his man- brother, Will the farmers are growling very ner. His father holds the much at the state of things parish appointment and being Letter no. 12 is Lizzie’s second to her and the prices. They are hard nearly past his work I think daughter-in-law that has been preserved. enough up and many of them there would be a chance of The year is not given, but reference to her have become bankrupt. my getting it if he resigned. little granddaughter “Lizzie” (born 1884) I am here since November Now you will want to and to “children” implies a date about 1887 working away on my know how they all are at 1887-1889, by which time the two oldest own and at present can just home. Father and mother are sons were born. We learn from this letter keep my head above water. I both well, father working that the Australian grandchildren have have got a mare, Betsy, and away at the Fenagh dispen- been ill, as Lizzie attempts to console trap and a kind of gig. Kit and sary still. Harry, who has Rosina. True to character, she also ex- I live here in a tiny cottage, grown a great big fellow, presses concern for the spiritual welfare there being no decent house minding the bit of ground for of the family. available. I am not yet mar- him. The rent was reduced ried, but hope before the year 30% last year, so that it has Clonburrin, 30 July [1887- that I may be. come down a good deal. 1889] This is a very flat part of Only Harrie and Mag are My dear Rose the country about 25 miles at home. Tom has got into the As Father wrote to Charlie, I from the sea (German Bank of Ireland and is sta- thought I would put off writ- Ocean), and as there are no tioned at Clonakilty at pres- ing to you for a little while. intervening mountains we get ent. Beauchamp Brady is I suppose Charlie has gotten the pure and unadulterated dead. Inglis came home after his father’s letter with the N.E. sea breeze and a pretty his military service. You one from Christabel. At this cold one it is. It is a very quiet knew I think that he had en- time I was very glad when I part too, very little hunting, listed. He is now married to got your letter and dear little

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 9

188 Letters from Clonburrin

Lizzie’s “photo.” She must to write, and underlines her request. typhoid fever and his death be a fine little thing and a was a happy one and he died great companion for you. 22 January 1891 trusting in his Saviour. What an anxious time you My dear Rose, When you get this letter must have during the chil- Your affectionate letter dear Rose do make Charlie dren’s long illness, but your which I duly received on the write to us, and please God Heavenly Father did not for- 20th gave me very much he will get a long letter from get you through all, but sent pleasure. We all felt so glad us all telling all the news. I kind friends to be a comfort. hearing the good news of am sure Willie will be de- How truly can we say, “His your and Charlie and the lighted when he hears we tender mercies are over all dear children. What a good had a letter from you, for his works.” His promises are child dear little Lizzie must Willie is so anxious to know true and steadfast. Little be. about Charlie. Christabel [McCurry] is A friend of mine left us I trust dear Charlie has with us still, her father has about four years ago for given his heart to the Lord. left to see the Cumberland Brisbane and I begged of her May your loving Father Lakes and to attend meet- to try and get me some news guide you both by his Holy ings in Ipswich. I am truly of poor Charlie. Miss Spirit each day. For his dear glad to learn from your letter Stephen’s friend knew Mrs Son’s sake … both you and Charlie are so Gillespie and each day we Where is Charlie work- happy and love each other, were expecting to hear some ing and are you near a as the old Proverb is “the news of Charlie and you. Church? I hope Charlie is wealth of the cottages is Willie was married last getting on well. Tell Charlie love.” Are your father and November and is living in Mr Bates is living in mother still living? And have England. He is a doctor. Har- Janeville. He has eight chil- you any brothers and sisters? rie is attending to the farm dren. Robbie is quite a I was sorry to hear Charlie’s and Tom, Charlie’s youngest young man. latest employer made so brother, is in the Bank of Ire- I hope this letter will many mispractices, but I land. Lily, your eldest sister- reach you and that Charlie trust the Lord will open in-law, is married eight will take courage and write. something better for Charlie years. She had four children, Do make him dear Rose. soon. … three of them are alive, two Grandfather, Aunts and Have you good earnest boys and two girls. She is Uncle unite with me in fond- ministers near you? And is settled near Dublin. Her hus- est love for you dear Rose, there a branch of the Young band has an appointment in dear Charlie and many Women Christians Associa- the Post Office. The two kisses for the darling chil- tion near you? A great many other sisters are unmarried dren. people are gone to America and living at home at pres- Believe me to be, your lov- from this part, so that labour- ent. ing mother ers have become very I shall always be so glad Lizzie S Fryer scarce. Tell Charlie Anthony to hear from you when you Ralph never writes to his have time and tell Charlie to Letter no. 14 comes from William, now family. His sister does not take courage and write to us. aged 62, his fifth extant letter to his son know whether he is alive. It will give us such pleasure. Charlie. It is a rather lengthy letter, so His father is dead some time. I do love the dear little ones. what follows is slightly abbreviated. We … Their dear grandfather, aunts learn that Charlie has been unemployed I hope, dear Rose, you and uncle Harrie unite with due to strikes. We also get an update on will soon write again. With me in sending them a great family news, as well as farming prob- very much love, in which I many kisses. lems. am united by all for you and How very different the Charlie. Kisses for the dear weather is here, winter and a Clonburrin, Bagnalstown, children, very severe one. Tell Charlie 26 September 1891 Your loving mother, an old friend of his, the sec- Lizzie S. Fryer ond Miss Gray of Upton is My dear Charlie, married to Mr Dawson. We were all so pleased get- Letter no. 13 is Lizzie’s third to her They are in Melbourne at ting your letter on 1st August daughter-in-law. In it she gives a sum- present with Mr George and to learn that you, Rose mary of the family in Clonburrin, and is Watson, and Charlie’s old and the children were all building up a picture of Rosina’s in-laws friend Forbes Watson was well, but sorry to know you in Ireland. She begs Rosina to get Charlie buried yesterday. He died of were so long idle owing to Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 10

189 Letters from Clonburrin

the strikes, which I hope commission out in Africa. and is a most generous man. may soon pass away and that Bow has come home from Did I tell you the manager of you may be able to get some the ranches in Manitoba, and the National Bank where appointment more congen- is now in London, having you were in Enniscorthy ial. Your mother is thank got some clerk work as sec- turned out very badly and God quite well and has been retary to some gentleman. … had to be dismissed. … with Lillie in Blackrock for I suppose when this the last 6 weeks. I expect her Letter no. 15 is from Charlie’s mother, reaches you it will be Xmas, home next week. The stay written in 1891, on her return from her and I am joined by all, dear will make her strong I hope visit to Lily and family. She appears re- Charlie, in wishing you, dear for the winter. … We had freshed by the change of air, and her Rose, and all the children a Tommie at home for his hol- mood is upbeat. Once again she urges her very happy and bright Xmas idays a few weeks back. He son to seek ways of having some kind of and New Year. May the Lord is still in Clonmel. Willie Sunday service. She includes various up- indeed bless you both, guid- and the wife are quite well dates on the wider family and neigh- ing you both always by His when we heard a short time bours. Since the letter is quite lengthy Holy Spirit and leading in ago. Tell my little grand- with this kind of detail, it has been abbre- the narrow path ever keeping daughter I sent her letter to viated here. you in it. For His dear her cousin in Blackrock and Cross’s sake because all she was very glad to get it. I 20 November 1891 reach their finish. Love and suppose she will write her My Dear Charlie, kisses for the children. another. I suppose Rose got You will say it took a long Your loving mother, the letter your mother wrote time to finish this letter. I Lizzie S Fryer to her, and I will wait till was in Dublin the time your your mother comes home to letter arrived and did not re- Letter no. 16 is from William (now aged send you this as the women- turn for some time. I was 65) to Charlie, and is very direct and folk contrive to have more to staying with Lily. Her eldest quite firm. From it we learn that Charlie write about than the men. was delighted with the card. has asked for £100, which his father ei- This has turned out a Her cousin Lizzie sends ther cannot or does not wish to give him, very long wet season with hers. Lily is going to live in and he explains why. One way of estimat- us, a large quantity of hay Kingstown as she thinks the ing the value of £100 then would be to spoiled, and corn from being air is better than Blackrock. compare it to the sale of Clonburrin too ripe shelling a second Her husband is a very good House and land in 1937 for £575. The growth. I had Kellett’s field Christian man, he is so anx- formulation of the letter gives the impres- cut and … they shook it out ious to do good for his Mas- sion that William is under pressure, both one fine day to tram, when ter above. She has been most because of the amount of errors it con- suddenly a heavy shower of fortunate in getting such a tains, and the difficulty of deciphering the rain came, and for 6 weeks good pious man. handwriting. on and off we could do noth- I heard dear Charlie ing with it. I fear it will not your prospects are getting Clonburren [sic] be much use as fodder. I hear better and brighter. It is very Bagnalstown, Ireland a great many in the same sad to think there is so little 20 February 1894 way as sufferers. Mr Nolan thought of in keeping the had to cut one of his large Sabbath. I have been think- My dear Charlie, fields with scythe and ing could you not manage to We were indeed pleased get- hooks… collect the nearest people to ting a letter you [sic], after John Watson has left the you and have a prayer meet- such a long silence, as your Army, he is now Master of ing if there is no place of last was written in August the Meath Hounds, has a worship near you. I hope 91. It disappointed us your large salary for hunting Rose and the children are having said nothing about them. I heard 2,900 a year. quite well, living in the bush. your children, or as to your He is married to a Miss How are you managing their domestic concerns. It must Booth of Co Wicklow. You education? … be a great trial to you to have may perhaps have seen her Willie has bought a prac- no work but would it not be father at Ballydarton. Rob- tice in Ipswich. He has got- wiser for you to stay with bie Watson you are aware ten some money with his one employer than going was in the Cape Mounted wife, she is very nice and about from one place to an- Police, and when he filled up good. Her uncle, Mr Bad- other? his time, I believe he got a ham is very fond of Willie And now Charlie, as to

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 11

190 Letters from Clonburrin

the £100 which you ask me I felt very much disap- become so depopulated and for, just at present it is quite pointed Charlie did not men- the gentry are dying out. Kil- impossible. I could [sic] give tion anything about you or connor empty. Three at Bal- it unless I borrowed it, the children, how you are lydarton. Three at Myshall. which I do not wish to do. getting on or where you are. Inglis Brady going to the You know there are Kitty I feel this is such a stu- dogs drinking. and Maggie as well as your pid letter I have so little Tom is now in the Bank mother to be provided for, news to tell. I can thank God of Ireland at Clonmel. Harry and the only way I could do to write we are all well. All farming at Clonburrin but it that was by insuring my life unite with me, dear Rose, in is not paying. I am at Ip- for a small sum, so that much love and praying the swich where I have a good when it pleases God to sum- good Lord will bless you, bit of hard work, but cannot mon me, they may have a Charlie and the dear chil- complain of the way I get few pounds to keep them, till dren, and guide you by His on. Henry Nolan and G. they look about and see what Holy Spirit each day for his James are dead. is to be done. In your former dear Son’s sake. We buried mother at the letter you stated that land Your loving Mother, end of Dr Carey’s grave. was going to the bad and Elizabeth S Fryer They had great difficulty in several rich persons were sinking the grave as they being [?] so that they had to Letter no 18 comes from Willie (aged 35) came upon a rock, and con- turn to labor, and being the to tell his brother Charlie of the death of sequently had to pick it case, would it be wise for their mother. It recounts a brave ending away. Michael Nolan was you if I could manage about to a brave life. very kind in getting every- the money to invest? I will thing he could done for us, now give this paper to your Clonburrin and in helping in every way. mother, who will write to Bagnalstown I hope you and Rosina Rose. 22 August 1894 and the children are well. I God bless you and I hope suppose the latter must be you ask Him to guide you in My dear Charlie, getting big now and be a the perfect way. Our dear mother passed help to you. All at Clonbur- Your affectionately away early on Monday rin join me in love to you all. William F Fryer morning at 1.20 am. Her end Your affectionate was very peaceful, like a brother, Willie Letter no. 17, from Lizzie to Rosina, is child falling asleep, and so included with William’s letter above. Al- patient she never murmured. Letter no. 19 was written by Charlie’s though Lizzie makes no mention of Char- I was home with her for a son, Henry, to his mother Rosina. Read- lie’s request for money, we get the fortnight. She was in bed the ing between the lines, it would seem that impression that she is quite perturbed whole time, and so weak that he was on sick leave from military serv- about their situation, and prays that all she could not sit up, had to ice in 1917, with at least an arm injury, if will be well. She would like to know how be lifted from one side of the not more. It is interesting to read how this things really are for the family and chil- bed to the other. Harry was young Australian soldier viewed Clon- dren, but feels powerless. Her comment devoted in his nursing of her. burrin, where his father grew up, and also about this being “a stupid letter” possibly She knew us all up to the last to read the list of people he gives who re- reflects her anxiety. It could also point to almost and seemed to be membered his father Charlie. a deteriorating health situation, as she conscious of what was said died six months later. though she was to [sic] weak Clonburrin to articulate clearly. She died 31 July 1917 My dear Rose, trusting fully in her Saviour As Father is writing to Char- and his work for her. My dear Mother, lie, I wish to send you a line, Poor father is much cut As you will see by the ad- this same time. I have been up and I am fetching him dress I am at Dad’s old expecting a letter from you, over to Ipswich with me for home, and a very pretty but I trust you and the dear a change for a month. It will place it is too. Everything is children are well. Many do him good. I am writing looking lovely. changes have occurred here this letter at Sandymount, at And the people about since I last wrote to you. Uncle’s on my way to Ip- here are all very nice, and Willie is settled in England swich. So it accounts for the make you welcome. And the and has two children. Char- slight mourning paper. You old people wish to be re- lie’s sister Lily has five chil- would be much struck with membered to Dad. I expect dren. the changes in Fenagh. It has Dad will tell you the names Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 12

191 Letters from Clonburrin

of them. There was a Mr and 19 October 1919 you were the centre of it all. Mrs Purves, Pat Kinsella, It was a great pleasure to Charlie Nolan and Tom My dear Lizzie, us to get to know the boys, Tuthill. So I expect Dad will I feel quite ashamed to write and we were so glad to be remember them. to you, having left your lov- able to make a little bit of I am leaving here tomor- ing letter so long unan- home for them. I always felt row for Ipswich to spend a swered, and you unthanked how I should appreciate any- few days there [with Willie for it, but for a long time I one doing the same for my and Linda]. Then from there felt as if I could not write to boys in case of need. I am I have to report at Wey- anyone, except just to my very [sic] we never saw mouth. And from there I ex- own boys and girls, and then Charlie. I am sure you must pect it will be to a Training I had the servant difficulties, have felt it very much when Batt then on to France again. from which everyone seems you got the others back and So you see I am having a to be suffering, and which one short. But indeed you good trip around. kept me busy at other things have much to be thankful for I had a letter from T. besides letter-writing. in getting the others back Gillespie. He is on his fur- Yes, we do feel very sad safe. I hope Will and Henry lough also. So we are run- and lonely without our dar- are still much recovered than ning things pretty closely. ling Nan. The boys knew when I saw them last. Please Getting wounded the same what a sweet, happy, un- thank them for their letters, afternoon. Then he left Dart- selfish girl she was, just the also Jack. We shall miss ford the morning after I ar- one everybody seemed to go them this Christmas, espe- rived. And now we are on to, but God knows best. Our cially as we shall have nei- furlough together. So I ex- dear child is happier with the ther Will nor Douglas. The pect we shall soon be back in Lord she loved and served, former is in the Ladybird,21 France together again soon. than we could ever make one of the two monitors left Well, Mother, I wish you her. in the Danube, and is now at could all have as good a trip Kathleen has had a lovely Buda Pest. He is a bit lonely around the old country as I holiday this summer and is but is glad he went, it is such have had. Especially now as really better than she has a unique experience. Dou- everything is so green and been since the great shock glas is surveying in the looks so well. I have been and sorrow. Mediterranean this last six haymaking with Uncle these You will see from the months and has been be- last two days. So you see my above address that Uncle tween Alexandria and Port arm is pretty well alright Willie and I are having a lit- Said, but it is altogether a again. tle holiday with Aunt Kitty two years’ job. He seems to Well, Mother, I shall and Aunt Maggie – he has like it very much. Dermot have to knock off now hop- not had a holiday for eight has just entered Cambridge, ing this will find you all in years, and I could not leave with a view to the medical. the best of health. I am your home this summer while I suppose it will be loving son, Henry Kathleen was away as we nearly Christmas time when had nothing but a nice young this reaches you, so please Letter no. 20 comes from Aunt Linda housemaid who could not be accept our best wishes for a Fryer. Together with her husband Willie, left, so I have come too. very happy one for you and she was taking a break in Clonburrin in I know I ought to have yours. If you should ever 1919 after the death of their daughter written our hearty and loving find your way over to Eng- Nan. She is writing to her niece-in-law, congratulations to you long land, you know that you and Lizzie Fryer in Queensland, the oldest ago, but you will forgive me, your husband will have a child of Charlie and Rosina, now aged won’t you and accept them warm welcome. 35, to congratulate her on her recent en- now. I was really pleased to With our love for each, gagement to James Gilmour. It is a long hear of your engagement Your affectionate Aunt chatty letter, so what follows here is a and no doubt in this you are Linda Fryer shorter version. The Charlie she refers to married and I trust very, very is Lizzie’s brother, the second son of happy. I do not know where Letter no. 21 was also written by Aunt Charlie and Rosina, lost in action in your house is, but I expect Linda Fryer in 1923 to Lizzie Gilmour World War I. this will reach you. (née Fryer), to express her condolences I cannot think what your on the death of Lizzie’s brother, Jack Clonburrin old house will be like with- Fryer. Like the previous letter it was full Bagnalstown out you, the boys spoke as if of family news as well, so the paragraphs

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 13

192 Letters from Clonburrin

below have been abbreviated somewhat. his daughter who visited Queensland. He family. Malachy Ryan dead. Although no address is given as to where also describes how weak his sister Mag- William O’Neill still alive she was writing from, it was most likely gie in Clonburrin is – she died four and living at Ballyloughin. from their home in Ipswich. months later (4 March 1929). Clonmore empty; a son, the only son, of Mr Letchford is 9 December 1923 At Clonburrin living at a place called My dear Lizzie, Fenagh, Bagnalstown Hitcham about 20 miles It is a very long time since 30 October 1928 from Ipswich. The Bates any communication has scattered over the world. passed between us. I see My dear Charlie, Robbie married in Dublin, your last letter was written in It is ages since I sent a letter Sissy died recently in West March to tell about Jack. I to you but you have heard a Australia. Her sister Lottie had just written to your bit about us from Kathleen, married to a man named mother when your letter ar- who has spoken about all Phelp is living out there, rived so I am afraid yours your kindness to her and for with some government job got left as I felt you would which I am very grateful. It connected with emigration. hear all news of us from it. does not seem so long since Georgie and Rachel are in Now I have as usual left my your boys were with us and South Africa married. Tom is letter to [sic] late to arrive in yet it is. I was very glad to [sic] Canada, Bertie dead. time for Christmas but I hear of all your doings. Kilconnor occupied by a hope the New Year will not I am here for my usual lower class of farmer who be very old when this arrives holiday until Friday next, 4th does not keep it up as for- to wish you all a happy New November when I return for merly. The previous occu- Year. … my usual routine. pier a Mr Steward was killed It was terribly sad about Maggie has had a nasty in the war and his widow dear Jack, the future seemed bout of illness and is still in and sister-in-law are living all so bright before him, but bed, weak and thin. I believe in England, near Chichester. God saw fit to take him to she had influenza and after I dare say Kathleen has Himself. I wonder how his pneumonia and heart weak- told you about all of our fiancé is and has she make ness. She apparently kept family. Like you I am a up her mind to come to Eng- about too long before seeing grandfather, of Will’s two land… I wonder is Henry a doctor. She has a damaged children, Patience 6 and married yet? Are any of the left lung, the result of a Lena 4. older boys engaged? pleurisy in 1895. She is now I was at the opening Now I must close this fearfully emaciated and I meet of the Carlow Hounds very uninteresting letter, fear will be a long time be- on Tuesday. The Master is a hoping you are all well, par- fore she will be strong again. Mr Hall and the Huntsman ticularly your husband and Harry and Kitty are very Mr Grogan. His father lived little girl. I do hope your well and are kept busy. at Slaney Park near Tullow. mother is stronger and get- Harry has acted as nurse and I wasn’t mounted, Harry had ting over all her misery and been most attentive. I be- to go into Carlow and her sorrow, at least as much lieve he didn’t have his stopped to see the meet. as anyone can. Life can clothes off for a full night. Harry hunts pretty re- never be the same, but she The doctor too, O’Con- spectably. I was not fit be- has many dear ones left to nor, a comparative new- hind or I might have ridden her. comer to Bagnalstown, has his hunter to the meet, but as With my love and very also been very attentive and I have been only exercising best wishes for a happy New treated her very skillfully. the horse since arrival and Year for each of your dear You would find many had not been on a horse’s ones. changes if you were here back for two years, I was Your affectionate Aunt now. All the Watsons and quite sore, and as one gets Linda Grays gone, Denny Beres- old one does not get over ford, now a widower, an oc- stiffness so easily. Letter no. 22 is the second last of the casional resident. Garryhill Harry has got some land Clonburrin letters. It was written by shut up, Myshall House near Ballydarton22 and is Willie (aged 69), while visiting at Clon- burned during the trouble- doing fairly well cattle deal- burrin in 1928, to his brother Charlie some times of Free Staters ing (selling) and some horse (now aged 74) in Queensland. He lists a and Republicans. Michael dealing. He got some good number of interesting political and social Nolan and his sisters the prices I believe for some changes. The “Kathleen” he refers to is only remains of the Nolan hunters. Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 14

193 Letters from Clonburrin

J. Purves is still alive, over 80. Mrs. died early this year. He is living in R. New- land’s farm, Boherduff. One of his sons is in America, the other in South Africa. Two daughters, Mela and Janice, are at home, the other, Sissie is married in Scotland. I think this is all the news I have. With love to you and all your family, Your affectionate brother, Will

The last of the Clonburrin letters (no. 23) preserved in the Fryer Library comes from Henry (aka Harry), and is addressed to his brother Charlie. Harry, now aged 76, was the one who maintained the farm in Clonburrin from teenage years through to his death in 1936, even though at one period (1884) there were fears that he might go to join the Cape Police in South Africa. The update he gives Charlie mentions a number of people who can be still be remembered today by locals living within a radius of about five miles.

Clonburrin Bagnalstown 19 October 1930

My dear Charlie It is a long time since a line Letter no.23. Harry Fryer to his brother Charlie passed between us, so I the bachelors) who had a 14/- for wheat. The potatoes thought I would drop a line pub in Dublin. Clonmore blackening and cattle unless and wish you and yours all has a Rothwell. Myshall in very good condition sell- the compliments of the sea- House was burned in the ing badly. So you see it will son. I hope you are all keep- troubled times and all the be a bad year for farmers. ing well. land is divided. Janeville Tom (our brother) has I don’t know if you has a man called Bradley, an retired and is living in Corn- heard that poor Maggie has ex R.I.C. man. wall. Lillie is in London. gone to rest. Willie told me I saw the death of Rob- Willie’s three boys are mar- that he would write to you bie Bates about a fortnight ried. Purves is keeping well, and let you know, but I have ago in the paper, his wife goes to the fairs the same as not seen him for the last died about a month ago. We forty years ago. He some- year and half. I don’t know have had a very wet season. times asks about you. Bertie if he told you would see a It was very hard to get hay Nolan and Jack Lomax are great many changes in this or corn saved. There is a lot the only two old people left place. Not a Watson in the of hay not saved and a great in Fenagh that you knew. whole neighbourhood, Bal- deal spoiled and there is a I hope your boys are lydarton divided amongst great deal of corn in the well. Remember me to ex soldiers, Kilconnor with fields, some in sheafs, more them. Also Lexie one of the Nolans, Lum- in shoots and bits not cut. McMillan.23 clone with Morrow, a The grain is not very good, Michael Nolan is laid up at retired school-teacher, Ever- quite small and price bad – present. He got a stroke green with a Miss Corrigan, 7/- to 9/- for oats, 10/- to about a fortnight ago and he Upton with a Nolan (one of /14- for barley and 12/- to has not been able to speak

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 15

194 Letters from Clonburrin

since. Pat (the one you the concern that Charlie’s parents, espe- have come from this voyage. It seems knew best) died a couple of cially his mother, showed regarding reli- that in later years Lily and her family years ago. Kitty joins me in love to you all. Your affectionate brother, HH Fryer. I haven’t heard from any of you. I thought you might not have heard of Maggie’s death.

Concluding Comments The focus in this article has been on the extant letters written by the Fryer family of Clonburrin to their oldest son Charlie who emigrated to Queensland in 1880, and also to certain other members of his family. In the nature of things it is a one- sided correspondence, with a certain ran- dom character as to how and why the extant Clonburrin letters survived. As already mentioned above, it is reasonable to suppose that Charlie and Rosina would have received other letters from Clonbur- Clonburrin House, 1901 rin that, for one reason or another, were not preserved. However, since the focus gious values and practice. There is hardly moved to London. Tommie, on retire- of the archive is on Jack, in whose mem- a letter in which she does not pray for the ment from the Bank of Ireland, settled in ory the Fryer Library was named, it is un- spiritual wellbeing of Charlie and his Cornwall, and Kitty, on selling Clonbur- derstandable that the archive should family. rin also moved to England. Only Maggie contain many more letters apart from Second, these letters are particularly in- and Harrie, as well as their parents, died those related to Clonburrin. In addition to teresting for the insights they give regard- in Clonburrin. Finally, there is Charlie, these latter, the material donated to the li- ing the neighbourhood of Clonburrin and who emigrated to Australia, and lived in brary by Jack’s family contains several the surrounding villages of Fenagh, the Springsure and Rockhampton dis- letters and postcards from Jack and his Myshall, Garryhill, and Nurney, all tricts of Queensland. It is ultimately three older brothers, written from various within a radius of five miles. There are thanks to him that we now have access war locations and other postings. It also references also to the larger entities of directly and indirectly to the various contains letters written by various grand- Carlow, Bagenalstown, Tullow and Old “Letters from Clonburrin”. children of William and Lizzie Fryer to Leighlin. Many of the family names men- Charlie’s children, as well as family birth, tioned in the letters can be linked to their The narrative thread of the letters returns marriage and death certificates, school twenty-first century descendants who still us from Australia to Europe as Charlie’s records, newspaper cuttings, photos, mil- live in the general area. four older sons find their way back to the itary insignia and other memorabilia. “old country” and into the thick of World Third, and perhaps most striking, is the War I. After Jack’s premature death he If the contents of these other letters were world-wide network of connections em- was honoured by his alma mater through added to those printed above we would anating from this house in rural Co Car- the establishment of the Fryer Library, have a richer portrayal of the various low. William senior was born in Kinsale, and the Fryer Folios, a journal which il- characters, particularly of Jack and his Co Cork, trained in Glasgow, and prac- lustrates the range of special collections siblings. Nevertheless, the Clonburrin let- tised as a country doctor in the Fenagh in the Fryer Library, and publishes schol- ters as they stand are absorbing at a num- and Myshall district of Co Carlow, arly research based on these sources. By ber of levels. First, they are authentic whereas his son Willie trained in Edin- way of conclusion, I wish to acknowl- letters, written out of love and concern burgh, was a medical officer on a passen- edge the interest and enthusiasm of Lau- for Charlie and his family. The authors of ger ship travelling to India, had medical rie McNeice, Director of the Fryer these letters could never have known that appointments in London and Suffolk, and Library of Queensland University, and to one day we would be privileged to read finally settled in Ipswich, having bought thank her for her generous help at every how they longed to hear more often from a practice there. His description of pass- stage in researching these “Letters from their emigrant son and brother, as they ing through Gibraltar, Malta and Port Clonburrin.” filled him in with minute details concern- Said is reminiscent of someone doing the ing the family, friends, and neighbours he Grand Tour – the rupee recently dug up had left behind. We can also be struck by from the garden in Clonburrin may well 1 Permission to reproduce the Fryer let- Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Clonburrin 06/11/2012 22:37 Page 16

195 Letters from Clonburrin

ters and photos contained in this article 1891 refers to the manager of the “Na- 19 Founded in 1882, many Irish served in was kindly granted by Laurie McNeice, tional Bank where you were in Ennis- the Cape Mounted Police, which had its Manager and Senior Librarian, Fryer corthy.” headquarters in Capetown – it ceased to Library, University of Queensland, Aus- 11 Lizzie married James Gilmour in exist in 1913. tralia. 1919, and they had a daughter Alexis 20 Sir John Watson came home from India 2 Laurie McNeice, “John Denis Fryer: A (aka Lex). Lizzie qualified as a teacher, in 1884. The first recorded polo match Life Remembered,” Friar Folios 3 and was the author of a biographical ac- was played in Co Carlow in 1872. (2008): 4. count of her brother Jack. She oversaw 21 HMS Ladybird was an Insect class 3 John D. Fryer Collection, University of the donation of the Fryer archive to the gunboat of the Royal Navy, launched in Queensland, Australia (UQFL23). University of Queensland. 1916. Originally built to patrol the River 4 For an illustrated overview of Jack 12 Henry’s grandson, Colin Thomas, Danube during World War I, it was later Friar’s life, see Laurie McNeice, “John lives in Springsure. His sister Beverly shipped to China to serve on the Yangtze Denis Fryer: A Life Remembered,” Bain kindly sent us a photo of a picture River. Friar Folios 3 (2008): 4-7. of Clonburrin, painted by Christabel 22 Situated about 45 metres down a lane 5 Jack Fryer’s army records contain no McCurry, daughter of Lily McCurry on the Myshall road just after Fenagh mention of his having been exposed to (née Fryer), in 1901 for her cousin Church, this field was later used by Fe- poison gas during his war service, though Lizzie Gilmour (née Fryer). nagh GAA club. his close friend P.R. Stephensen states 13 Willie and Linda had seven children: 23 Mary Alexis McMillan was Jack this as a fact in his obituary of Fryer pub- Nan (who died in 1919), Douglas H. Fryer’s fiancée at the time of his death. lished in the UQ student magazine (Naval Commander), Will (Navy), Der- Galmahra in May of 1923 (P.R. mot (MD, Cambridge), Kathleen, Norah Stephensen, “The Death of a Friend”, and Eileen. Douglas Fryer visited the Galmahra, May 1923: 28-31). In dis- McCarthy family in Clonburrin in July cussing new information concerning the 1964. origins of the Fryer Library, and the man 14 Not June, as currently listed in the for whom it was named, Mark Cryle, for- UQFL23 archive; its contents point to mer Fryer Library Manager, questions winter. the assumption that Jack’s death was due 15 There are many references in the let- to gas poisoning; see M. Cryle, “A Very ters to “old Rourke” (a very near neigh- Small Acorn”, Fryer Folios, June 2010: bour who lived in the small cottage very Faction Fighting 7-13. Noting the cause of death given on close to Clonburrin on the Raheenwood Fryer’s death certificate, Cryle con- road). cludes: “How much, if at all, his war 16 The Bunbury Papers In his Traits and Stories of the Irish service contributed to his terminal dis- (www.rootsweb.ancestry.com) record Peasantry William Carleton describes a ease cannot ever be known.” (p. 9). the death of Capt. Denis Pack-Beresford faction fight as follows: 6 Founded by Michael Davitt in 1879, on 28 December 1881 at his residence, On the O’Hallaghans being driven to the the Land League’s chief objective was Fenagh House, Carlow. “He had been churchyard, they were at a mighty incon- to abolish “landlordism” in Ireland, and suffering from an acute attack of gout venience for weapons. Most of them to enable tenant farmers to own the land which he appeared to have surmounted; hadd lost their sticks, it being the usage they worked on. The period of its agita- but that dread enemy was only momen- in fights of this kind to twist the cudgels tion is known as the “Land War.” Kitty tarily baffled, for, it returned on the from the grasp of the beaten men, to pre- Fryer refers to the Land League in her morning of Wednesday last, and put a vent them from rallying. They soon, letter of 1882 to her brother Charlie, as sudden termination to the life of this however, furnished themselves with the does her father in his letter of 1884. widely-known and popular gentleman.” best they could find, videlicet, the skull, 7 As recorded in 1849 in the journal 17 The year 1882 is deduced from con- leg, thigh, and arm bones which they Medical Intelligence, p. 615. tents (Lily’s impending wedding; found lying about the graveyard. This 8 The British Medical Journal of 8 Nov Willie’s exams). was a new species of weapon for which 1873, in a paragraph titled “Medical 18 The Tapestry Chamber in the Grand their adversaries were scarcely prepared. News,” and a subtitle, “Apothecaries Master’s Palace in Valetta contains the Out they sailed in a body - some with Hall, Dublin,” mentions William Fran- famous Gobelin Tapestries. Woven in these, others with stones, and making cis Fryer as one of “the following gen- France for Ramon Perelles Rocaful, the fierce assault on their enemies, ab- tlemen [who] passed the preliminary Spaniard who was Grand Master from solutely druv them back - not so much examination in arts.” 1697-1720, they were donated by him by the damage they were doing, as by the 9 William Fryer and his family, though in 1710. Also known as the Indies Tap- alarm and terror which these unexpected not poor, would have been tenants of estries, they depict exotic scenes from species of missiles excited. the landlord, Sir Frederick Ponsonby South America, the Caribbean, India (1815-1895), Sixth Earl of Bessbor- and Africa and are still in excellent con- ough. dition. 10 His mother Lizzie in her letter of

Carloviana 2012 Page_article[1]_Layout 1 12/11/2012 19:01 Page 1

196

A recently taken photograph of a manhole cover in Charlotte Street, Carlow.

It reads:

M Mc Hugh & Sons Foundry Carlow

The cover was spotted by the ever watchful Jimmy Donegan who would like to know more about the location of the foundry

Members of CHAS at the Glen View Folk Museum, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim September 2012.

Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Officers and members 06/11/2012 22:47 Page 1

197

2012 Officers and Members of the Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society

President

Pat O’Neill Vice President

Bertie Watchorn Secretary

Deirdre Kearney Treasurer

Catherine McGuill Public Relations Officer

Noreen Whelan Editor

Jim Shannon Committee

Pat O’Neill, Bertie Watchorn, Deirdre Kearney, Catherine McGuill, Noreen Whelan, Jim Shannon, Martin Nevin, Dan Carbery, Joe Brennan, Seamus Murphy, Des O’Mahony, Richard Codd, Mrs.Margaret Minchin, Peadar Cullen, John Burke, Honorary Life Members

Kevin Kennedy, Rose Murphy, Seamus Murphy, Martin Nevin, Willie White.

Members Declan Alcock, 96 Pearse Road, Graiguecullen, Carlow Ivor Bowe, Bowe Consulting, Strawhall Ind.Est. Carlow Noel Alcock, 42 Staunton Avenue, Graiguecullen, Carlow John & Bernadette Boyd, 8 Shaw Park, Athy Road, Carlow Thomas Alcock, Oisin, Derrymoyle, Carlow Dr.Geoffrey Bremble, Chapel House, 11 Cothill, Oxford John Alexander, Milford, Co.Carlow Joseph & Mary Brennan, 63 Green Road, Carlow Bernie Atkinson, 56 The Downs, Pollerton Big, Carlow Joseph & Deirdre Brennan, 1 Strawhall Villas, Carlow Eric & Jean Atkinson, Coolnakisha, Leighlingridge, Phyllis Brennan, 32 College Gardens, Granby Row, Carlow Robert Aughney, Lumcloone Cross, Fenagh,Co. Carlow Sheila Brennan, 32 College Gardens, Granby Row Carlow Margaret Baragry, 8 Larkfield, Carlow Ms Brid Brett, Ballyhide, Carlow James Bolger, 7 Henry Street, Graiguecullen, Carlow Edward Brophy, 1 Sycamore Road, Rathnapish, Carlow Michael Boyce, “Mulroy”, 14 Braganza, Carlow Gregory Brophy, Castlemore, Tullow, Co. Carlow Ivor Bowe, Bowe Consulting, Strawhall Ind.Est. Carlow Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Members 06/11/2012 22:48 Page 1

198 members

Mrs. Brigid Brophy, Slievereagh, Rathdangan, Co. Wicklow James Downey Jnr, 20 Monacurragh, Carlow John Burke, “Aghaboe”, Knocknagee, Carlow Owen Doyle, Tinnaslee, Graiguenamangh, Co. Kilkenny Fergal Browne, “Churchview”, Rutland, Carlow Mrs Lil Doyle, Ballycullane, Hacketstown, Co.Carlow Turtle Bunbury, Old Fort , Tobinstown, Tullow, Co. Carlow Mrs Marian Doyle, 3 Dolmen Gardens, Pollerton, Carlow Msgr Brendan Byrne, The Shroughawn, Tullow, Co.Carlow Thomas Doyle, Chapel Hill, Baltinglass, Co.Wicklow Rev. Gerald Byrne P.P., Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny Percy Drea, Wells, Bagenalstown , Co.Carlow Margaret Byrne, 16 Sutton Grove, Sutton, Dublin 13 Margaret Dunny, 11 Braganza, Athy Road, Carlow Joseph & Sarah Callinan, The Field, Pollerton Little, Carlow Dr Colmain Etchingham, Ballinguilky, Hacketstown Vincent Callanan, Cloneen, Nurney, Co. Carlow James Farrell, Grosvenor, Kilkenny Road, Carlow Dan & Attracta Carbery, Glencarrig, Green Road, Carlow Joseph Feeley, Moytura, Dunleckney, Bagenalstown Kay Carbery, 58 Monacurragh, Carlow George Fitzgerald, 25 Riverside, Carlow Eugene & Patricia Carbery, Mortarstown, Carlow William Fitzgerald, 50 Sycamore Road, Rathnapish, Carlow Michael Carbery, 1 Pembroke, Carlow Dr Tom Foley, Leighlinbridge, Co.Carlow Sr. Mary Carmody, 4 Pinewood Avenue, Carlow Desmond & Jean Foot, Pound Lane, Borris, Co. Carlow Mrs Claire Carroll, 7 Braganza, Athy Road, Carlow Tony & Olive Fortune, 16 Sharon Avenue, Brownshill Road Matthew Cleary, Erindale Lodge, Kilkenny Road, Carlow Andreas & Mary Froelich, Sandfield, Oakpark Road, Carlow Francis & Aine Coady, 43 Barrow Lock, Leighlinbridge Sean Gavin, “Garryduff House,” Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny Richard Codd, Munny, Coolkenno, Tullow, Co. Carlow Thomas & Marian Geoghegan, Ballincarrig, Carlow Gerry Coen, Kilkenny Road, Carlow Bernard Geraghty, Oakpark, Carlow Mrs. Frances Cole, “Ballybar, “ Carlow Christopher & Mai Glancy, 16 Oak Grove, Royal Oak Road, Sr Eileen Comerford, Apt.7, Poachers Lock, Leighlinbridge Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Paul & Noeline Connell, 11 The Glade, Oakpark Rd., Carlow Mrs. Kathleen Goodwin,7 Aylesbury, Dublin Road, Carlow Ann Connolly, Red Mills, Goresbridge, Co.Kilkenny Robert & Betty Graham, Crossneen, Carlow Michael Conry, Avila, Tullow Road, Carlow Mrs Jane Hancock, Corries, Bagenalstown, Co.Carlow James & Brenda Conway, Coppenagh, Tullow, Co. Carlow Mrs Donna Hannigan, 22 Barrow Lock, Leighlinbridge L.V. & Rita Conway, Straboe, Tullow, Co.Carlow Derek Hardy, Knocknagee, Carlow John Conway, Rathvinden, Leighlinbridge, Co.Carlow Patrick Healy, Pollerton Castle, Carlow John & Dawn Coogan, Castlemore, Tullow, Co. Carlow Rory Healy, Pollerton Castle, Carlow Thomas Corrigan, Knockfield, Castledermot, Co. Kildare Mrs Muriel Hendy, Narraghmore Manor, Athy, Co.Kildare Claire Cotter, 33 College Gardens, Granby Row, Carlow Mrs. Anna Hennessy, Ballytiglea, Borris, Co. Carlow Thomas & Kathleen Cox, Ballyknockan, Fenagh, Co.Carlow Seamus & Mary Hogan, Rathrush, Rathoe, Co.Carlow Norman & Christine Cree, Ballyknockan, Leighlinbridge Paddy Holohan, Ballycarney, Blackbog Road, Carlow Ken & Maureen Crowe, Derrymoyle, Carlow Michael & Pauline Hosey, The Boulders, Tinryland Kathleen Cubberly, Ballycormack, Bagenalstown William & Kathleen Hosey, Castlemore, Tullow, Co. Carlow Kathleen Cullen, Killamoat, Rathdangan, Co. Wicklow Robert Gerald Howson, Carlow Road, Leighlinbridge Peadar Cullen, Killamoat, Rathdangan, Co. Wicklow Mrs. Betty Hughes, Ballinabranna, Co.Carlow Kieran Cummins, Upper Tomard, Milford, Co. Carlow John Hughes, Kildrenagh, Bagenalstown, Co.Carlow Michael Daly, Caherea, Browneshill, Carlow Robin & Nora James, “The Dormer”, Brownshill Rd.,Carlow Pat & Eileen Darcy, Crossneen, Carlow Brigid A. Johnson, 36 Eastwood,Bagenalstown, Co.Carlow James & Marlene Davis, 2 Borlum Wood, Green Rd., Carlow Jim & Helen Jordan, Ratheadan House, Leighlinbridge James Deane, The Shop, Tinryland, Co.Carlow Mrs Pauline Jordan, Church Road, Bagenalstown,Co.Carlow Cynthia Deane, Co. Carlow VEC, Athy Road, Carlow Thomas Joyce, Rathgorvan, Ballymurphy, Borris, Co. Carlow Eamon & Cathleen Delaney, Tobacco Meadows, Carlow Una Kane, Castledermot, Co. Kildare Paul & Breda Delaney, 22 Heatherfield, Dublin Road,Carlow Dan Kavanagh, Rathshanmore, Hacketstown,Co. Carlow James & Catherine Dempsey, Ballinacarrig, Carlow Larry Kavanagh, 17 Shillelagh Grove, Tullow, Co.Carlow Randall Dempsey, Hanover Cross, Carlow Darryl Kealy, Shroughan, Tullow, Co. Carlow Hugh Dolan, 35 Oakley Park, Tullow Road, Carlow Paul Keane, Tullow Road , Carlow John & Mary Dollard, 8 Monacurragh, Carlow Deirdre Kearney, “Ardmore”, Brownshill Road, Carlow James Donegan, St. Killian’s Crescent, Carlow Thomas Kehoe, 57 Dublin Street, Carlow Eddie Donohue, Rathvarrin, Ardattin, Co.Carlow Edward Kelly, 118 St. Clare’s Road, Graiguecullen, Carlow Margaret Donohue, 13 Sherwood, Hacketstown Rd., Carlow Michael Kelly, 17 Ashdale Close ,Kinsealy Court, Swords Martin & Bernadette Doogue, Hillcrest, Baltinglass George Kenny, 4 Frederick Avenue, Carlow Thomas & Mairead Doolan, Ballinacarrig, Carlow Arthur Kennedy, Cappagh, Ballon, Co.Carlow Anthony & Phil Dooley, Barrowside , Carlow William & BrigidKepple, Rathrush, Rathoe, Co. Carlow Padraig Dooley, 23 Dolmen Gardens, Carlow Thomas King, 7 Sycamore Road, Rathnapish, Carlow Mrs.Michelle Doorley, Kilree Street, Bagenalstown Rita Lacey, Closh, Ballylinan, Athy, Co. Kildare Michael Doran, Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow Michael Lawler, 14 The Elms, Athy Road, Carlow Leslie & Cora Dowley, Oak Park, Carlow Michael & Margaret Lawlor, 20 New Oak Estate, Carlow Anne E. Dowling, Kellistown, Carlow Fr Andy Leahy C.C., 3 The Rise, Tullow, Co.Carlow John A. Dowling, Linkardstown, Carlow John Lohan, 33 Pairc Mhuire, Muinebheag, Co. Carlow Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Members 06/11/2012 22:48 Page 2

199 members

Martin J Lynch, 118 Beechwood Park, Pollerton, Carlow TeddyO’Brien, 19 Ashgrove, Tullow Road, Carlow Brian & Mary Lyons, Crossneen, Carlow Seamus O’Connor, Carlow County Council, Athy Rd,Carlow Paul & Carmel Lyons, Oakpark Road, Carlow Mrs Eileen O’Connor, Rosemount, Borris, Co.Carlow Tony Lyons, Boherbee, Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny John O’Donovan, Kilnock, Ballon, Co. Carlow Jim & Bridget Mathews, 12 Luttrellstown Green, Peter O’Dowd, Shankhil, Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny Luttrellstown, Co.Dublin Anne O’Dwyer, The Forge, Castlemore, Tullow,Co. Carlow Brendan May, Gardenfield, Tuam, Co. Galway Carmel O’Dwyer, 14 Sharon Avenue, Brownshill, Carlow Mrs Pat Maye, “Atrium”, Brownshill Road, Carlow John O’Gorman Solicitors, Athy Road, Carlow Kathleen McCarthy, Clonburrin House, Fenagh,Muine Bheag Mrs. Betty O’Gorman, 59 Dublin Street, Carlow Michael McCarthy, Clonburrin House, Fenagh,Muine Bheag Anne O’Hara, 13 Frederick Avenue , Carlow Cornelia McCarthy, Flanders Cross, Knocklonogad, P J O’Hare, Glenamoy, Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow Bagenalstown Co. Carlow Des & Breda O’Mahony, “The Kerries”,22 Braganza, Carlow Mel McDermott, 43 Friar’s Green, Tullow Road, Carlow Gerry O’Malley, 64 Green Road, Carlow Edward McDonald, Clonmore, Hacketstown, Co. Carlow Eilish O’Neill, 22 Bagenal Court, Court Place, Carlow Jim McDonnell, Hillview, Brownshill, Carlow Msgr Kevin O’Neill, St.Patrick’s College, Carlow James McDonnell, 17 Mirfield Road, Solihull,West Midlands Maurice O’Neill, Kilmurry, Ballon, Co. Carlow Joseph McDonald, 4 Heatherfield Court, Carlow Nial O’Neill, 43 Connolly Villas, Ennis, Co.Clare Tony McEvoy, Cheshire Home, Tullow, Co. Carlow Patrick O’Neill, 21 Bullock Park, Carlow Rev. John McEvoy P.P., Paulstown, Co.Kilkenny Paul O’Neill, Everton, Springhill, Carlow Mrs Catherine McGuill, Sandbrook Lodge, Blackbog Road, Eileen O’Rourke, 35 Quinagh Green, Carlow Carlow Hugh O’Rourke, St. Anthony’s, Ballyhide, Carlow Barry McHugh, Mountain View House, Green Road, Carlow Bernard O’Shea, 34 Bullock Park, Carlow Rev. Dermot McKenna, 20 Sherwood, Carlow Fr PhilipO’Shea P.P., Myshall, Co. Carlow Christopher McQuinn, 18 Shillelagh Grove, Tullow Jeremiah O’Sullivan, Geatagreine, Coill Sean Dubh, Fonsie Mealey, Georgian Mews, The Square, Castlecomer Sean Leachlainn, Co.Ceartharlach Anne T Meaney,3 Kilcarrig Street,Bagenalstown,Co. Carlow James&Carmel O’Toole,Borlum House, Kilkenny Rd,Carlow Peter & Margaret Minchin, Coolnacuppogue , Bagenalstown Mrs. Helen Pender, Russellstown, Palatine, Carlow Michael & Mary Monahan, Johnsduffwood, Old Leighlin Muriel Poole Downey, Ryle Belle, Ballinaboley, Anne T. Mooney, 42 Bourlum Wood, Green Road, Carlow Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow Charles & Ann L Moore, Tullow Lodge, Tullow, Co. Carlow Ann Power, 42 Kilcarrig St, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Margaret Moran, 109 Beechwood Park, Pollerton, Carlow Mrs Marie Quirke, Newtown, Bagenalstown , Co.Carlow Luke & Helen Morrissey, 30 Conway Park, Muinebheag Mrs. Eithne Reddy, 28 Borlum Wood, Green Road, Carlow James Mulhall, Castlemore, Tullow, Co.Carlow T.J.G. Redmond, Heywood, Oakpark, Carlow Dermot Mulligan, 19 Marble Court, Paulstown,Co. Kilkenny Mrs Mena Rice, Main Street, Borris, Co. Carlow Patrick & Joan Mulligan, Marian Ville, Tullow Rd, Carlow Patrick Roche, Coolnakisha, Leighlinbridge, Co.Carlow Frank Mulvey, 44 Feltham Hall, Blackbog Road, Carlow Michael Roche, 20 Tanner Hall, Athy Road, Carlow Anne Murphy, Pollerton Little, Carlow Brid De Roiste, 15 Clarence Gate, Kilkenny Road, Carlow Christopher Murphy, Barnagoole, Bagenalstown Peter & Anne Rose, Spahill House, Borris, Co.Carlow Eileen Murphy, Drumphea, Garryhill, Co. Carlow Oliver & Phillo Seery, Tinryland, Co.Carlow Ger & Kathyrn Murphy, “Duncar”, Browneshill, Carlow Denis Shannon, Tinryland, Co.Carlow Kevin Murphy, Pollerton Little, Carlow James Shannon, “Lorien”, Scotland,Hacketstown,Co. Carlow Michael Murphy, Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow Jack Sheehan, Dunleckney, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Padraig Murphy, 65 Blackheath Park, Clontarf, Dublin 3 Richard Sheehan, Dunleckney, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Patricia Murphy, Killinure, Tullow, Co. Carlow John Sheil, Bohermore, Bagenalstown, Co.Carlow Patrick E.Murphy, Ratheadon, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Kae Slattery,“Windover”15 Sycamore Rd,Rathnapish,Carlow Patrick Murphy, 2 Oak Park Drive, Carlow Seamus & Bridget Somers, Killinane, Bagenalstown John Murphy, Coolkenno, Tullow, Co.Carlow Derek Stacey, Brannockstown, Naas, Co. Kildare John Murphy, Killinure, Tullow, Co.Carlow George & Anne Stephenson, Elmdale, Knockfiled, Rody Murphy, 4 Oak Park Road, Carlow Castledermot, Co.Kildare Matthew & Kathleen Murray, Ballyhide, Carlow Jack Stratton, “Rockdale”, Kilmeaney, Carlow Martin & Rosaleen Nevin, Carlow Road, Leighlinbridge Valerie Stratton, “Rockdale”, Kilmeaney, Carlow Ann Nolan, Wayside, Station Rd, Bagenalstown,Co. Carlow Derek & Joan Treacy, 57 Highfield, Dublin Road, Carlow Breda Nolan, Station Road, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow Robert & Irene Watchorn, Ballinakill, Ballickmoyler, Carlow Catherine Nolan, 6 Bagnal Court, Court Place, Carlow Seosamh Watson, Glenview, Nurney, Co. Carlow Frank Nolan, “Sunnydale”, Oak Park Road, Carlow Oliver & Mary Whelan, 152 Seapark, Malahide, Co. Dublin Liam & Sheila Nolan, Newtown, Bagenalstown,Co. Carlow Mrs Noreen Whelan, 17 Sycamore Road, Rathnapish,Carlow Eamonn A. Nolan, 90 Green Road, Carlow Fr Edward Whelan P.E., Ballon, Co.Carlow Henry Nolan Snr, 7 Oaklawns, Dublin Road, Carlow Paul White, Oakpark, Carlow Patrick M. Nolan, College Road, Kilkenny Arthur Willis, Rathrush, Rathoe, Co.Carlow Kennedy & Bernie O’Brien, Tinryland, Carlow Tony Wynne, 92 Jennings Lane, Atherton, California Carloviana 2012 Carloviana - backup_Advert 06/11/2012 22:56 Page 1

200

Carloviana 2012 Costello Memorial Chapel

A remarkable example of one man's deep love for his wife, this tiny R.C. chapel on Bridge Street in Carrick is the smallest in Ireland and reputedly the ucond smallest in th• world. When Mary Josephine Costello died at the age of~ on 6th of OCtober 1177 her hurt· broken husband, Edward C.ullo, had her ~ embalmed and placed ~ the care of the Marist Slsten in Carrick-on-Shannon, He Immediately commiulaMd this beautiful Chapel In her memory and as a last rntlno p1ace for - bolh.