Transcribing the Graves of All Saints Church, Fenagh, County Carlow, Ireland
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Transcribing the Graves of All Saints Church, Fenagh, County Carlow, Ireland Transcribing the Graves of All Saints Church, Fenagh, County Carlow, Ireland: Sleeping Histories By Susan Ni Chuileann Transcribing the Graves of All Saints Church, Fenagh, County Carlow, Ireland: Sleeping Histories By Susan Ni Chuileann This book first published 2018 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2018 by Susan Ni Chuileann All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-1613-X ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1613-7 CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Preface ........................................................................................................ xi WHERE ARE WICKED FOLK BURIED? ............................................ xvii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 The Village of Fenagh, Co. Carlow Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Late summer, 2009 ................................................................................ 1 County Carlow and all her troubles and beauty ..................................... 2 The psychology of home and “blow-ins” ............................................... 6 The village of Fenagh Co. Carlow ......................................................... 8 All Saints COI church, Fenagh, Co. Carlow ........................................ 13 The psychology of village life ............................................................. 15 The graves of All Saints ....................................................................... 17 Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 21 The Graves of Fenagh Introduction .......................................................................................... 21 Late spring, 2012 ................................................................................. 21 Grave meditations ................................................................................ 23 “Sack ’em ups” and Irish graves .......................................................... 27 Irish graves: carving, cutting and dressing ........................................... 28 The social lives of gravestones ............................................................ 31 John Corrigan’s grave .......................................................................... 32 Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 43 Fenagh through the Centuries Introduction .......................................................................................... 43 Early summer, 2013. ............................................................................ 44 Kings, queens and general unrest ......................................................... 45 The Great Frost of 1740 ....................................................................... 48 vi Contents Hunger, cold and costs ......................................................................... 55 Ring-a-ring-a-rosy ............................................................................... 57 Fenagh landlords and Carlow rebels .................................................... 61 Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 69 Living as the Landed Gentry Introduction .......................................................................................... 69 Early winter, 2014 ................................................................................ 69 The Beresford family of Fenagh House and Lodge ............................. 70 The Watson family of Ballydarton House ........................................... 76 The Gray family ................................................................................... 88 The Garrett family ............................................................................... 92 The La Touche family .......................................................................... 99 Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 105 A Close-Knit Community Introduction ........................................................................................ 105 Early autumn, 2015. ........................................................................... 106 “General Advertiser and Morning Intelligencer (London, England) November 12, 1778 ................................................. 108 “WILL (1735) JOHN JAMES of Ballyknocken, Carlow ............. 110 The Lucas family of Clashganney ..................................................... 119 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 121 Appendix ................................................................................................. 123 The Transcribed Graves of All Saints, Fenagh, co. Carlow In the walled area ............................................................................... 134 Under the Chancellery Window ......................................................... 135 General Notes .......................................................................................... 137 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 139 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Pencil sketch of the resting place of Daniel O’Connell in Glasnevin Cemetery Figure 2. Riverfield House August 2011 Figure 3. The small bridge at Ballydarton House Figure 4. A map of County Carlow Figure 5. A photo of the granite cottages circa 1900 (image Roots Web Ancestry, 2017) Figure 6. A view of the granite cottages in Fenagh, Co. Carlow 2010 (photo by the author) Figure 7. The church with the old school in the background circa 1900 (image from Root Web Ancestry, 2017) Figure 8. A cottage in Fenagh village Figure 9. Image of Clonmacnoise (photo by Susan Ni Chuileann, 2014) Figure 10. Map of Fenagh with All Saints church grounds outlined dating to 1816 (image from Roots Web Ancestry, 2017) Figure 11. The rose carving on the gravestone of Annie Rose Figure 12. Graves close to the walls of All Saints church (Image by the Author) Figure 13. Stones laid flat during the 1950s at Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly (image by author) Figure 14. The Griffith headstone (photo by Susan Ni Chuileann, 2013) Figure 15. A sketch of where graves were in All Saints between 1700 and 1750 by S. Ni Chuileann Figure 16. British soldiers hunting Whiteboys circa 1760 (Madden, 1888) Figure 17. The Feltis name as spelt by an army surgeon Figure 18. Fenagh House and Lodge, 2014 Figure 19. Major General Sir Denis William Pack Beresford (1818–1881) Figure 20. Three views of the walled area in All Saints graveyard Figure 21. The view of the trees and road outside Ballydarton Estate House Figure 22. Kilconner House in Fenagh, Co. Carlow Figure 23. Lamplight in Riverfield House Figure 24. Gods Acre, Fenagh Road Figure 25. Ballydarton House, Fenagh, Co. Carlow Figure 26. Upton House, Fenagh, Co. Carlow viii List of Figures Figure 27. Image of Robert Watson now interred in All Saints church Figure 28. Janeville House, Fenagh, Co. Carlow Figure 29. Images of the grave of David La Touche Figure 30. The grave of John, Cuthbert, and Ralph James Figure 31. Record of James children 26th Sept 1821 Figure 32. The grave of Thomas James, Clonee and his wife and granddaughter Figure 33. The grave of Lansel and Thom James, twins who died five months apart in 1793–1794 Figure 34. Map showing Rossdilig and Tomduff ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all who work at Cambridge Scholars Publishing for their support and encouragement. Warmest wishes and heartfelt gratitude to the villagers of Fenagh, Co. Carlow, both past and present, who made me feel so at home in the ten years I have lived in this part of the world. Special thanks to the now deceased Denis Pack Beresford who made an initial start on transcribing the graves in All Saints in the 1800s, and to the very much alive Dr Jane Lyons, who was most generous in her advice and chats on transcriptions and graves. To my Uncle Richard, (now well into his nineties and hale and hearty), who instilled in me a love of reading, nature and graveyards. I love you to bits! For my children, Shane, Rebecca, Rachel and Evan, and of course, my granddaughter, Princess Isabella. PREFACE It all started in the summer of 2010 when I experienced an immensely enjoyable day of tours and browsing in Glasnevin Cemetery Museum, Dublin, Ireland. Recently divorced and having moved from my home town of Wexford to Carlow the previous year, I was beginning to explore the world around me as a single woman once again. I had simply driven to Dublin and ended up in Glasnevin and thought—why not? I had always wanted to do the tour of this cemetery, and this seemed like as good a daay as any. I followed my tour