Cumann Staire Agus Seandálaíochta Oirdheisceart Na Gaillimhe

Women at a market in Galway, L’Univers Illustre 1880 Cumann Staire agus Seandálaíochta Oirdheisceart na Gaillimhe

Newsletter No. 29 Spring 2018 SEGAHS Lecture, 7.30pm in Contents The Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna. What it says in the Papers 2

Tuesday, February 27th (Lecture) Derryhiveney Estate by John Joe Conwell 3 Recommended Sources (Education) by Clare Doyle 4 Donal Boland is a writer, historian, and marine archae- Images of the Past: ‘Children carrying turf ’ 6 ologist. While Donal’s last book ‘The Mid-Shannon Galwaymen at War by Marie Bennett 7 Waterway – A pictorial book of designated and tranquil GAA Heroes of Old - Turloughmore 8 moorings’ focused on the Waterways, his next project Clans of Ireland 8 focuses on the Great Hunger. In this lecture, Donal Poems of Old 9 looks at the personal journey of people during the Great Postcards: Kilkerrin 9 Hunger through the illustrations of the period. Tales from the Workhouse 10

Ration Books by Pat Madden 10 Thursday, March 29th (Lecture) Loughrea Freemason Lodge Members 11 Long time friend of the society and regular contributor The Lawrences before Lisreaghan by Aron Donnelly 12 James Scully will present a special lecture on the his- The Workhouse Calendar 2018 13 tory of the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was designed Conference 13 to connect Dublin, Ireland's capital city westwards Meelick Medieval Church by Christy Cunniffe 14 through the midlands with the River Shannon, and al- Portumna Priory Inscriptions by Aileen O’Dowd 17 though construction work began in 1757, the waterway Larkin Matters: Ballinasloe 20 was not completed as far as the Shannon until 1804. It ______closed in 1951 but leaves a rich legacy. Annual Update April The AGM of 31 January returned the existing committee and In April, due to popular demand, we will likely have we look forward to delivering another comprehensive pro- two lectures, with details to follow once dates have gramme of events in 2018. For more, why not follow us on been finalised. facebook at www/facebook.com/SEGAHS or on twitter @SEGAHSIreland. The Irish Workhouse Centre and SEGAHS The seasonal SEGAHS newsletters are published in partnership with the Irish Workhouse Centre - Portumna, home of the society. The workhouse is open from 31st March 2018, with guided tours 7 days a week from 09.30 to 17.00. For more information, follow us on facebook or visit http://irishworkhousecentre.ie/.

The Irish Workhouse Centre, Saint Brigid’s Road, Portumna, Co Galway. 0909-759200. A centre for the Arts, Community, Education, History, and Tourism. What it says in the Papers—The ‘Tricolore’ at Loughrea A century ago, Loughrea made the national headlines for a ‘near riot’ in the town. Tensions between those who were uneasy at the growing popularity of Sinn Féin, especially those who had family members fighting in the Great War, and those swept up in the growing nationalism was a feature of life around the county. In this case, the Republican Jack O’Sheehan and his P’s & C’s troupe were embroiled in a nasty altercation at the Tem- perance Hall.

There was no escaping the fact that the mood in the country had changed and, within weeks, the last of the Republi- can prisoners had arrived home (14 months after the Rising,).

Pictured is the Connacht Trib- une, 26 May 1917 (far right) and 2 June 1917 (right). Also pictured (below) is the Temper- ance Hall at this time.

______

Upcoming Publications

Class and Community in Provincial Ireland, 1851-1914 by Dr Brian Casey. This book explores the experience of small farmers, labourers and graziers in provincial Ireland from the immediacy of the Famine until the eve of World War One. By focusing upon east Galway, it argues that they were not an inarticulate mass, but rather, they were sophisticated and politically aware in their own right.

War & Revolution in Rural Ireland: Galway 1912-22 by Dr Conor McNamara. Conor’s latest book has been shortlisted by the likes of the Irish Independent as one of their books to read in 2018. The book is an examination of how the country’s western regions dealt with the fallout from the violent struggle for independence on the ground.

2 In the first in a new series on Landed Estates in the locality, we look at some of the estates in south-east Galway. The following is an abstract from John Joe Conwell’s recent book Portumna: A Galway parish by the Shannon.

Derryhiveney (Derryhiney) Estate John Joe Conwell While Clanricarde regained much of his Portumna estate which he had lost during the Cromwellian invasion, the O’Mad- den clan was not so lucky. Henry Cromwell got possession of 4,864 acres around that family’s stronghold of Derryhiney which he later sold to the Earl of Cork and Arran. In 1717 these lands were purchased by Benjamin Gascoyne, a London merchant and in 1724 he leased some of the land to Jonathan Harding who renamed the place ‘Harding Grove’.

Harding also owned property in Co. Tipperary. In 1732 Gascoyne leased 663 acres in Gurtray (Fairfield) and Kilmalinoge to Walter Lambert of Cregclare Castle at an annual rent of £40. In 1746 he leased a further 624 acres in Fairyhill to John Loftus for £41 and in 1749 Gascoyne sold 2,434 acres of his lands to a barrister-at-law, Theobald Wolfe, for £6,250. In 1765 Wolfe leased 570 acres of land at Derryhiveney South to William Harding of Harding Grove for a rent of £45. Wil- liam’s grandson, also named William, left the property to his second son, Jonathan who died in 1815. He was succeeded by his second son, also named Jonathan.

The Fetherstonhaugh family had origins in Durham but had settled in Phillipstown (formerly Daingean), Co. Offaly in 1651. They also owned land in Mosstown Co. Westmeath where they had a seat. Theobald Wolfe’s eldest daughter, Mary, married Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh in 1770 and this marriage brought the lands of Fairyhill, Corr and Derryhiveney North into Fetherstonhaugh possession. In 1797 their son, Theobald Fetherstonhaugh, married Mary, the daughter of Jonathan Harding of Harding Grove in the parish of Kilmalinoge. The new owners leased some of the estate but for many years were themselves seated on the former O’Madden lands at Derryhiveney.

By a lease dated 13 March 1818 Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh held 634 acres at Gortaha.1 He is again listed in Griffith’s Valuation in 1856 as owning 1,800 acres in the townlands of Derryhivney North, Gortawullaun, Newtown and Sheeaun, all in the parish of Kilmalinoge; Cappagh in the parish of Tieranascragh, and Gortaha in the parish of Lickmolassy. Of this amount just over 130 acres was leased to tenants.2 In that same publication Jonathan Harding is listed as leasing all of his 612 acres in Newtown and Derryhivney South to a number of tenants.3 In 1872 Colonel Fetherstonhaugh put 500 cattle, 150 sheep, as well as horses and farm implements up for sale as he planned to let the lands at ‘Derrahiney’.

The Nenagh Guardian reported in 1853 that over 324 acres of Derryhiveney Farm (Castle Farm) was put up for sale in the Court of Chancery with George Harding, a minor, as defendant. It was bought in trust by a Mr Thorpe. In 1876 Jonathan Harding, living at Bessborough, Nenagh, owned just over 633 acres of land in Co. Galway and 163 acres in Co. Tipperary. The Galway and Tipperary properties were later acquired by the Young family with an address at Ballygibbon, Nenagh. Frederick Young died in 1906 and his son, David, who lived for some time at Harding Grove, died in 1928, after which the estate was acquired by the Estates Commissioners.

In 1874 Edward Fetherstonhaugh advertised the letting of the 300-acre Gortaha farm and in 1876 he advertised twenty five acres of hay for sale there. Also that year, Mrs Isobella Cooper offered six acres of hay for sale and the farm contents at Gortaha. Nothing remains today of the house in Gortaha. William Fetherstonhaugh’s daughter married Frank Thompson and their daughter, Florrie, married Tom Seymour from Ballymore Castle in Lawerencetown. The property then became known as the Seymour-Thompson estate. It was taken over by the Land Commission in 1930 and distributed.

References 1. Patrick Melvin, Estates and Landed Society in Galway (Dublin, 2012), p. 47. 2. Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards in the counties, cities and towns in Ireland 1876. 2. Richard Griffith, General valuation of rateable property in Ireland (Dublin, 1856).

Also refer to volume 7, Spring 2011, of our newsletter for more details on the towerhouse [part of our ‘Know Your Monuments’ series). The monuments in Derryhiveny South are the castle- towerhouse (GA118-035) and quarry (GA118-038); and in Derryhiveny North are a windmill (GA118-025), quarry (GA118-026), standing stone (GA118-028), ecclesiastical enclosure (GA118-029001) with bullaun stone (GA118-029002), another quarry (GA118-030), a designated landscape feature (GA118-031), the house (GA118-032), and an earthwork (GA118-034).

3 Recommended Sources in Local History: Pre-famine Education (with a focus on Loughrea)

The Second Report of the Commissioners of Irish Education Clare Doyle This report, published in 1826, provides an insight into the various educational establishments and their manage- ment throughout the different parishes of Ireland. It came about as a result of an inquiry or census of every school in operation in Ireland in 1824.

It is divided into two parts, the first containing the report itself (about 20 pages) and the second, the appendices, providing the bulk of interesting genealogical and local information. Appendix 22, for example, lists almost 12,000 individual schools and much information on what school life was like in the period can be examined.

Image 1: Proportion of male and female in Education by province 1824

Background As a result of the Penal Laws, when Roman Catholics were forbidden from educating their children in a formal education setting, many of the schools listed were understandably ‘cabin’ or ‘hedge’ schools. Both Catholic and Protestant returns were collected and published together in 1826.

The report lists schools by county, barony, diocese and townland. Details of individual schools are also recorded including whether they were free or fee paying, the names and income of the school teachers, a description of the school house, number of children in attendance, and the charitable societies each was associated with.

Among these were the London Hibernian Society, the Kildare Place Society, Erasmus Smith Trustees, the Asso- ciation for Discountenancing Vice, the Baptist Society, the Protestant Charter School, and several other smaller societies, all engaged in supplying a means of education to children thorough various means.1

All of this was taking place in the period prior to the Great Famine. In Loughrea town, for example, the London Hibernian Society was already well-established.

4 Loughrea’s Schooling Boom

In 1826, Loughrea had 17 schools, all located within the confines of the town. The fact that these schools were recorded as ‘pay schools’, with the exception of one on Pigott’s Lane where one pupil paid, testifies to the fact that those pupils attending could pay something – even if it was only a very small amount. There is no record indicating the cost of this fee. The school with the largest attendance was in Millgate Street where two hundred and three children were educated, of which one hundred and thirteen were male and ninety were female.

The parochial returns indicate that all of the children in attendance were Roman Catholic. The ‘master’ was Marcus Kennedy and the ‘mistresses’ were S B Cunningham and Ellen Kelly. It is likely that they were charged with supervising older female children, as well as the youngest male and female group. The school building was very old, built of lime and irregular in shape. Marcus Kennedy earned £20 per annum and he and Ellen Kelly had a ‘house and garden rent free’.2

According to the returns, the largest numbers of Protestant children were educated at Pigott’s Lane. There, forty- eight children were taught by the Protestant couple Joseph and Elizabeth Neill.3 This was the only (almost) free school in the town, again aside from one pupil who paid. They earned £40 per year and the school was well- built. Interestingly, this school was connected to a charitable society. Like the Millgate Street School, Piggott’s Lane was provided with financial assistance for salaries and upkeep. The Hibernian Place Society and the Rector of Loughrea administered the salaries, as well as providing half of the monies for the taking over of the site and building the teacher’s house.

Image 2: Header of report appendix page

5 The remaining twenty-two Protestant school-going children in the town were educated in seven other schools at Brook’s Lane, Abbey Lane, Mob Hill, Bride Street, Cross Street, Barrack Street and Main Street. Lastly, the other schools were Roman Catholic and were located at Galway Road, a second school on Bride Street and Cross Street, one at Brogue-maker’s Lane and one on Church Lane. In total, they accommodated three hundred and fifty nine Roman Catholic children.

These school buildings were mostly dirty and small. Brook’s Lane was ‘a wretched room’ as were the schools at Bride Street.4 Cross Street was recorded as ‘miserable’ and Galway Road as ‘a very bad cabin’. The school at Abbey Lane was conducted in a garret at the master Samuel Coen’s house.5 While there is no information avail- able as to the quality of education received in these schools, the large number of them speaks to the disorganised and unregulated system of education in the town at that time.

Portumna Schooling

Image 3: Details of school and teachers in Portumna town 1826

By way of comparison, in Portumna town the school teachers were listed as James and Mary McDonough. They were Roman Catholics in a pay school where they earned £9 7s 6d. The building was described as one of stone and mortar, with a thatched roof. The building operated at a cost of £50, mostly from the Kildare Place Society, while £2 5s 6d of the master’s salary was paid by the surplus of private subscriptions after payment of the rest of the schoolhouse. Lord Clanricarde and the parish priest are recorded as the subscribers. The school accommodated four Protestant children and ninety-eight Roman Catholics (fifty-four male and forty-eight female).6

On its own, the information from this inquiry provides a good basis for further study, especially as the national education system was established in 1831. This led to the setting-up of national school buildings as we know them today, right around the country. Combined with other resources, these records provide a precious piece of the jigsaw of pre-famine Ireland.

References 1. Second report of the commissioners of national education in Ireland for the year 1835, H.C. 1835 (300), xxxv, 6-18. 2. Ibid, p.1220. 3. bid, p. 1220. 4. Ibid, p. 1220. 5. Ibid, p. 1220. 6. Ibid, p. 1216.

Images of the Past... ‘Children carrying turf to pay their school fees’ - The Graphic, 31 March 1888.

6 Galwaymen at War Marie Bennett This edition of ‘Galwaymen at War’ details Galwaymen who have fought in the fields of Belgium, Ceylon, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

310 Years Ago On 11 July 1708 the Battle of Oudenarde (modern Bel- gium) took place and saw a Grand Alliance (Great Britain, and the Dutch, Austrian, and Prussian forces) victory over France. Among the 7,000 French dead and wounded, more than double the Grand Alliance total, was Galway’s Wil- liam Kegan (Clare Regiment) from Glinsk whose left arm was crippled by a gun-shot. There were many Galwaymen alongside Kegan in battle. Pictured right is the Duke of Marlborough at the battle by John Wootton.

200 Years Ago The Great (Ceylon) Rebellion of 1817–18, also known as the Uva Uprising, was the third Kandyan (Kingdon of Kandy) War with Britain in what is now Sri Lanka. On 26 November 1818, rebel leaders were beheaded effectively ending that rebellion and hopes for independence. Among those in British ranks at the Battle of Budalla was Loughrea’s Private John Sullivan who ‘wounded his hands in the King’s works at Badula’. Pictured right is ‘Killing Fields Ceylon 1818’ by Prasanna Weerakkody.

140 Years Ago The Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on the 28 and 29 of November 1878 between Britain and Afghanistan. Among those to the fore of the action was Menlough’s (decorated) Corporal John Craughwell of the 13th Foot Regiment. The battle would be key to the British victory in Afghanistan. His fellow Menloughman in the 13th, Private Michael Healy, also won the Afghan War medal in 1880. Pictured right is the painting ‘Storming the Peiwar Kotal’ by Vere- ker Monteith Hamilton.

50 Years Ago On 3 June 1968 Galway’s Anthony O’Reilly died at Kien Tuong, in a reconnaissance operation near the Cambodian border during the Vietnam War (Battle of Trong Cong). The bravery of O’Reilly, 39th Infantry Regiment 1st Bri- gade, is captured in his ‘Distinguished Service Cross’ cita- tion http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals- awards/recipient.php?recipientid=5534. Pictured right is an unattributed image from the conflict during the period.

If you would like to make contact about an ancestor or soldier from our region that you would like to highlight, we would be happy to hear from you. 7 GAA Heroes of Old - Turloughmore

Pictured right is a brief report on Turloughmore’s defeat by Thurlus from the United Irishman of 15 June 1895.

The Turloughmore club had been formed in 1886 with their President Pat- rick Murray being their driving force, aided by Secretary M O’Brien. The club were defeated in the 1893 County Final by College Road but remained a force throughout the early years of Galway Hurling.

The previous month had seen a report of a hurling tournament in Tur- loughmore where they were joined by Monivea (whom they defeated) as well as Galway, Oranmore, Claregalway and Castlegar. Pictured below is the ‘William O’Brien’ Turloughmore side of 1893/94.

The 1895 Turloughmore team was: William Joyce, J Feeney, J Hession, M Mannion, J Cunningham, M Cowen, J Gill, J Joyce, T Joyce, J Con- way, M Conway, M Rabbitt, T Badger, W Rabbit, P Divaney, T Shaugh- nessy, J Morris.

Anniversaries 300 years (1718): The first group of Scotch-Irish settlers arrive in New England, America 275 years (1743): Anniversary of the birth of Tiaquin’s Aedanus Burke—US Revolutionary soldier, judge, and politician 250 years (1768): Bishop John O'Brien's Irish-English dictionary published 225 years (1793): Founding of the Connacht Rangers / 88th Regiment 200 years (1818): Society for Promoting the Education of the Native Irish through the Medium of their Own Language 175 years (1843): Anniversary of O’Connell’s Repeal Year 150 years (1868): Anniversary of the execution of patriots Henry James O'Farrell and Michael Barrett 125 years (1893): Founding of the Gaelic League 100 years (1918): General Election and end of the Great War

Clans of Ireland Joe Mannion Each year, the joint committee of Clans of Ireland and the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains, co-sponsor an annual essay competition on Gaelic Ireland. The competition is designed to encourage original research into our Gaelic past, and is run in association with the History Department of Trinity College, Dublin and History Ireland magazine.

Each year the winning entrant is awarded a substantial cash prize of €500, together with an opportunity to have the prizewinning essay published in a subsequent edition of History Ireland. A measure of the success of the project to date has been the publication in December 2013 of an anthology of prizewinning and highly commended runner-up essays, edited by Dr Katharine Simms, entitled Gaelic Ireland (c.600-c.1700): politics, culture and landscapes. A second volume (of which the writer is joint editor with Dr Simms) is planned for publication later in 2018, and will incorporate the better quality essays submitted between 2013 and 2016.

It is the shared objective of Clans of Ireland and the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains that this very worth- while project should be brought to the attention of as many potential entrants as possible. For further details on the project, see http://www.tcd.ie/history/irishclansandchiefsprize.php.

8 Poems of Old…

The following poem has been taken from the excellent publication Kiltormer’s GAA Story, and was written by Michael Cormican. Our thanks to Gerry Horan for providing same.

Where the Ochil Meadows Grow Green are the fields around Redmount Hill And slowly the smoke rises from Ochilmore’s Mill The little stream at Rooghan, so gently it flows Sure its heaven around where the Ochil Meadows grow

On a lovely June morning you can see the lark soar O’er the beautiful beeches outside Ballymore Where the sweet smell of the woodbine and whitethorns glow Sure its heaven around where the Ochil Meadows grow

The old vault of Seymour stands alone in the night Overhead the Seven Sisters wave in the moonlight The silence is broken by the traffic as it flows Sure its heaven around where the Ochil Meadows grow

The hurling is played on the pitch by the brook You can hear the kids playing till the crows go home to rook Watch Jim in the garden as he proudly sows Sure its heaven around where the Ochil Meadows grow

Ah but there’s no mill there now, or no waterfall And no longer in the meadows does the corncrake call All that’s left now are the memories of days long ago When they assembled around where the Ochil Meadows grow

______Postcards from the Edge

This edition of ‘Postcards...’ provides an opportunity to familiarise ourselves with a village in the north of the county. Kilkerrin (Cill Choirín) is a very handsome village on the R364, about 6km south of Glenamaddy. While it is hard to conceive today, there were over five thousand inhabitants in the parish in 1831. The RC parish comprised one church at the ‘united’ parish of Clonbern, and two at Kilkerrin.

The area around Kilkerrin has some interesting geo- logical features, such as eskers, a raised bog at Cur- raghamaeigh, Lough Lurgeen and an underground stream flowing from there. A wide range of birds and other wildlife can be seen there also.

Places of interest include forts at Liscarra Crannog in Kiltullagh Lake, Saint Brigid's Well, Concannon Cas- tle, and a Franciscan Monastery. We will be making more of an effort to cover regions in the north and west of the county over future editions.

9 Tales from the Workhouse... The Land War The Land War of the 1880s put a considerable financial strain of the resources of Portumna Union, and during the troubles of the era many evicted tenants from Clanri- carde’s estates required relief.

In March 1889 the relieving officer was requested by Clanricarde’s agent, Shaw Tener, to prepare accommodation in the workhouse for those being evicted from his Woodford lands (the image, right, is of some of the huts in the Woodford area at the turn of the century). The Nation newspaper of 2nd March 1889 reported that:

“Notice was given to prepare accommodation in the Portumna Workhouse for tenants from Woodford on the Clanricarde estate as eight eviction notices were to be given. Six families numbering 43 people were evicted. The people, including elderly and children, were turned out on the roadside in very harsh weather; there was snow on the ground. The evicting party consisted of 20 emergency- men, 100 police, a troop of Scottish Fusiliers, all under the command of Mr. Hickson R.M. of Loughrea and Divisional Commissioner Byrne of Athlone, with County Inspector O' rien of Ballinasloe and District Inspectors Wade and Murphy. The houses were surrounded before the tenants arose so no time was allowed for any resistance”.

Five months later, after the evictions of families around Stoneyisland, the Board of Guardians passed a resolution protesting against the Clanricarde evictions and stating that this was ‘pauperising’ the union due to the increased rates. Clanricarde would not heed the pleas, and would go on to oppose land reform up to his welcome death. ______Ration Books Pat Madden During the Emergency (the Second World War in Ireland), every individual was issued with a ration book and, in fact, rationing continued long after war’s end in 1945. The commodities rationed included sugar, tea, butter, soap, clothing, and more—i.e. all items which were scarce and needed to be imported.

Inside each ration book were pages of instructions in both Irish and English followed by pages of numbered squares, either marked by the product name, or in the case of the books below, containing a letter to be used for different pur- chases. Introduced at the beginning of the war, rationing only came to an end in Ireland on December 17th 1951.

10 Loughrea Freemason Lodge Members—Requested following the Freemasons article in our Winter edition. Lodge No.210 Lodge No.357 8 Jun 1750 4 Dec 1760 John Cannon 17 Feb 1812 Thos Cubitt Cancelled 4 Dec 1760 Jas Kearney 17 Feb 1812 Dan Dean 4 Dec 1760 Edw Perry 17 Feb 1812 John Newman Lodge No.248 4 Dec 1760 Sam Clark 17 Feb 1812 Chas Burbee 8 May 1754 Revd Michl Gillway 4 Dec 1760 Pat Reynolds 17 Feb 1812 Wm Foulshem 8 May 1754 Robt Hardiman 4 Dec 1760 John Madden 11 Mar 1812 Timt Humphry 1755 Domk Power 4 Dec 1760 Peter Forster 11 Mar 1812 Richd H Williamson 1755 Patrick Golden 27 Dec 1760 Mat Bodkin 18 May 1812 Chas Delmotte 1755 Revd Walter Shirly 27 Dec 1760 Joseph Hanbury 18 May 1812 Holland Hart 1757 David Cosgrove 27 Dec 1761 Wm Robins 18 May 1812 Jas Brown 1757 Mark White 27 Dec 1761 John Quin 24 Apr 1813 Geo Dan Canswell 1757 Pierce Blake 27 Dec 1761 John Flanagan 24 Apr 1813 Wm Lewis 1757 John Hanly 27 Dec 1761 John Brodrick 6 Aug 1814 Edw Kelly 1757 Joseph Ridge 27 Dec 1761 Robt Swanwick 6 Aug 1814 Pat Kelly 1757 Garrett Kilkelly 27 Dec 1761 Thos Larkin 31 Dec 1814 Michl Conway 1757 Joseph Power 27 Dec 1761 Thos Follan 4 Dec 1817 John Dinnin 1757 Mark White 31 Aug 1770 Michl Silk 4 Dec 1817 Wm Hall Cancelled 7 Oct 1813 30 Jan 1776 Pat Coen 4 Dec 1817 Pat Oughegan 30 Jan 1776 Thos Brodrick 4 Dec 1817 John Flaherty Lodge No.281 30 Jan 1776 Wm Green 23 Feb 1818 Wm Hally 3 Mar 1796 Michl Lynch 10 Jul 1806 Wm Teasey 23 Feb 1818 Thos Josh Dorgan 3 Mar 1796 Domn Cunniffe 10 Jul 1806 Owen Flanery 23 Feb 1818 Doml Cuniffe 3 Mar 1796 Malachi Madden 10 Jul 1806 Thos Toole 23 Feb 1818 Wm Campbell 1 Jul 1799 Wm Green 10 Jul 1806 Michl Oughegan 12 Jun 1819 Peter O'Nail 1 Jul 1799 Fras Coghlan 8 Jan 1810 Michl Connolly 27 Aug 1812 Stephen Madden 1 Jul 1799 John Whyte 8 Jan 1810 Sam Smith 9 Dec 1820 Thos King 1 Jul 1799 Wm Whyte 8 Jan 1810 Sam Jos Cowen Cancelled 1838 1 Jul 1799 Geo C Barrett 8 Jan 1810 Pat Flaherty 1 Jul 1799 John Taggart 8 Jan 1810 Jas McClelland Lodge No.87 1 Jul 1799 Thos Jordan 8 Jan 1810 Will Gilmor 13 Jul 1738 Josh Power 9 Aug 1801 Thos Latta 8 Jan 1810 John Brazier 13 Jul 1738 Mat Bodken 9 Aug 1801 Wm Whyte 8 Jan 1810 Wm Graham 13 Jul 1738 Jas Lynch 9 Aug 1801 And Fulton 8 Jan 1810 Alexr Kilpatrick 1755 Geo Skerrett 9 Aug 1801 Peter McNad 5 Jul 1810 Sam Burrowes 1755 Hu Rowen 9 Aug 1801 Jas Walker 5 Jul 1810 Wm Den Leonard 1755 Robt Merser 9 Aug 1801 John Waits 5 Jul 1810 John Roper 1755 Walter French 9 Aug 1801 Jas Beaton 5 Jul 1810 Davd Graham 1755 John French 9 Aug 1801 Jas Lainmon 5 Jul 1810 John Dreain 1755 John Donnellan 9 Aug 1801 Jas Caldow 5 Jul 1810 Sam McCracken 1757 Danl Kilkelly 9 Aug 1801 Thos Cunniffe 5 Jul 1810 Wm Burke 1757 Heny Nugent 9 Aug 1801 Mau Ward 5 Jul 1810 John Branagan 1757 Josh Skerrett 9 Aug 1801 Pat Brien 9 Sep 1810 Wm Lowriss 1757 Jas Barrett 9 Aug 1801 Fras Morris 9 Sep 1810 Dens McFarland 2 Oct 1758 Pat French 4 Jul 1802 Wm Brien 9 Sep 1810 Wm Johnston 2 Oct 1758 Edw Wall 4 Jul 1802 Pat Deaoy 9 Sep 1810 John Butler 2 Oct 1758 Davd Straton 4 Jul 1802 Micht Cunniffe 17 Feb 1812 Thos Hudson 2 Oct 1758 Garrett Geagan 21 Jun 1804 Dens Horan 17 Feb 1812 Jas Eno Cancelled 7 Oct 1813 4 Jan 1807 Geo Collins 17 Feb 1812 Dan Hughes If you have a query or request following 4 Jan 1807 Pat Mulholland 17 Feb 1812 John Rutledge any of our articles, or a heritage query in 4 May 1807 Wm Boyd 17 Feb 1812 Sam Hopping general, feel free to send us an email at 31 Oct 1814 Josh Tackaberry 17 Feb 1812 Wm Hughes [email protected]. Cancelled 4 July 1822 11 By the early years of the 18th century the Lawrence family had removed from Ballymore to Lisreaghan, a place which would become synonymous with the family to the modern day. Following his booklet on the family last year, in this article Aron Donnelly looks at the history of the family prior to setting down roots in Lisreaghan.

The Lawrences before Lisreaghan Aron Donnelly The Lawrence family of east Galway were undoubtedly of Elizabethan origin, and records suggest they came from the County Palatine in Lancaster (highlighted, right) in England. It appears that their ancestry can be traced back to the time of Richard I 'the Lionheart', with one of their forebears, Sir Robert Lawrence, accompanying the king to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.

They first appear on the Irish landscape in the late 16th century, and they owed their new position to their service to the Crown in the extension / expansion of English power into the Gaelic lordships. John Lawrence, and brother Walter, had come to Ireland in 1571 to help Sir John Perott—who was then governor of Munster—suppress the Desmond Rebel- lion (1569-1573).

When Perott became Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1584, the brothers returned as part of his ‘valiant staff of armoured knights all clad in polished armour bright’. Walter was appointed governor of the city and gaol of Naas while John, the elder of the two brothers, acquired land in the barony of Longford, in south east Galway. He did so through his marriage to a daughter of Donal O’Madden of Longford Castle, last chieftain of the ancestral O’Madden territory.

John Lawrence was established on the western plateau of Redmount Hill, in the heart of O’Maddens former territory, by the second decade of the seventeenth century. The family lands centred around Ballymore in 1618, at which time the estate was confirmed in the possession of ‘John Lawrence of Ballymore, gentleman’.

John Lawrence had at least five children; Walter, John, Edward, Peter and Joseph. In 1603, his eldest son and heir Walter Lawrence married Cecily, daughter of Sir John Moore of Cloghan – a government official and Lady Mary Burke. It may have been this Walter who was responsible, at least in part, for the construction of a tower house on the lands of Ballymore.

The Lawrences and Ballymore Castle It has been stated that the castle was erected in Ballymore around 1585, and this is possibly based on the appearance of the earlier Walter Law- rence in the Inquisition of the barony of Longford in that year. A date of 1620 and the initials WL were noted in the late nineteenth century as having been incised on a chimneypiece, albeit it has been taken that this referred to alterations or later building works carried out at the towerhouse.

It is more likely however, given the absence of any reference to a castle there in 1618 in the Patents of James I, that 1620 is indeed the original construction date making it one of the later towerhouses in the barony and a near contemporary of the somewhat larger Lismore Castle of the O’Maddens under construction also about that time.

Walter Lawrence died in 1635 and was survived by his only son John. Like the Moores of Cloghan, the Lawrences were Roman Catholic and the principal branch remained so into the eighteenth century. And like the Moores, many of the principal members of the family were buried at Meelick. John Lawrence was married thrice - Firstly to Dorothy a daughter of John O’Donelan of Ballydonelan, by whom he had two sons; Walter, and James who died young; - Secondly to Mabella, grand-daughter of Feardorchadha O’Kelly, last chieftain of Hymany, by whom he had one daughter, Mabella; - Thirdly to Mary grand-daughter of John McCoughlan, last chieftain of Devlin McCoughlan, by whom he had four children; Walter, Honora, Christian and Dorothy.

Like so many of the other Anglo-Irish families in this era, in this way the family became mainly of ‘Irish Stock’.

12 In his lifetime, John experienced at first hand the traumatic upheaval in land ownership undertaken by the Cromwel- lian regime in the mid-seventeenth century. Being Roman Catholic and Royalist, the Lawrence’s lands were not ex- empt from confiscation under the Act of Settlement of 1652 and John Lawrence was ordered to vacate Ballymore and allocated lands elsewhere within the barony. He claimed Ballymore back in 1654 from the ‘Usurped Powers Com- missioners’ sitting at Athlone and Loughrea, with little satisfaction.

John Lawrence was among the many Royalist landowners who failed to recover possession of all of his former estate after the restoration of the Monarchy in 1661. Those lands allocated him almost adjacent to Ballymore, at Lisreaghan, were however confirmed in his possession by patent from the Crown dated 1676. The castle of Ballymore was re- puted to have remained the property of the Cromwellian grantee Sir Thomas Newcomen, with Lawrence said to have remained at Ballymore Castle until his death in 1675.

Two years before his father’s death, John’s surviving son and heir – Walter of Lis- reaghan – continued the family connection with the family of Cloghan Castle (pictured) by marrying his cousin Cecily, daughter of Colonel Garrett Moore. The couple had two sons, John and Walter and a daughter Honoria. Both sons were mi- nors at their father’s death in 1677. The eldest, John, died young and without heirs so the younger son, Walter, inherited the family estates. Ballymore’s new occupants were Eyre’s tenants, the Seymours, descendants of Cromwellian settlers. The Lawrence’s future lay at nearby Lisreaghan (Bellevue).

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The Workhouse in 2018 The Irish Workhouse Centre have begun preparing their schedule of events for H1 2018.

March: Official opening for 2018 season, Saint Patrick’s Children’s Festival (Lego, Minecraft, Trains), and more. April: Field Trips, completion of Local History Certificate course (UL), exhibition by artist Kieran Tuohy, and more. May: County Fleadh, Conference, Exhibition with Oireachtas na Gaeilge, Fundraiser (Cancer Support), and more. June: Archaeology Course and Conference, Fit for Fun Festival, children’s events, and much more. ______May 5th Conference in partnership with the Mountbellew Workhouse Orphan Girls Project

In 1853, a group of 33 young girls from the Mountbellew workhouse were transported to Australia on the ship ‘Palestine’. These co-called ‘bride-ships’ carried destitute girls from workhouses (poorhouses) and orphanages around the country.

The Mountbellew Workhouse Orphan Girls Project aims to trace the orphan girls’ descendants in Australia and to look at possible descendants of relatives in the surrounding lo- calities of Mountbellew, Caltra, Castleblakeney, Moy- lough, Newbridge.

In partnership with the Mountbellew project group, and to mark the return to Ireland of some of the descendants of those girls, the Irish Workhouse Centre is hosting a free conference on May 5th next. Speakers will include Paula Kennedy of the project, Dr Christy Cunniffe, Dr Conor McNamara, Bill Marwick OAM, Clare Doyle, and Aron Donnolly. Booking in advance is essential given the demand for our conferences and limited capacity. All donations on the day will contribute toward the development of the Workhouse Museum.

13 The Franciscan Friary at Meelick has enjoyed the attention of antiquarians and modern academics, and is therefore well-documented. This is in stark contrast to the parochial medieval church that stood for several centuries at the heart of the parish. When exactly the medieval parish church at Meelick (Fig. 1) fell out of use is uncertain, but it is likely to have occurred after the Reformation when parish churches were taken over by the Established Church.

Meelick Medieval Church Christy Cunniffe The ruined remains of Meelick medieval parish church are located in the townland of Meelick, less than a mile to the west of the River Shannon and close to the well-known Franciscan Friary at Meelick. It is recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map, sheet 109, as ‘Eglish Church in ruins’, while the 25" edition map simply notes it as ‘Eglish Church (Remains of)’.

All that survives of the church today is a small section of the south wall of the nave, and the footings of the west gable. Some earthworks consisting of a series of embanked enclosures associated with the church are also evident to the south. These probably constitute small gardens used by the resident priest.

There is no surviving information as to who the founder was. It is tempting, however, to see the native O' Madden's as instrumental in its construction, albeit they are not referenced in any of the papal bulls that we have for the site. The O'Madden’s have very strong associations with Meelick, and were the patrons of the Franciscan Friary. Papal permission to construct the friary was granted to them by Pope John XXIII, in 1414 (Twiss & Twemlow 1904, 467).

The name Teampull an Eaglais, as gleaned from the local people by O'Keeffe, is a reference to the actual church and does not provide us with any further clues as far as either a familial or a saintly association is concerned. While we do not have a clear foundation date for the construction of this parish church, it is sufficient to say that there was a church here for several centuries prior to when the friary was built.

While there is no way of knowing for certain, it is likely that there was a church here prior to the thirteenth century, which, at that time went on to become the parish church. What remains has suffered drastic deterioration and lost all of its essential identifying features in the years since the OS was undertaken. There was still enough of it intact at that time for the surveyors to make some sense of its general layout and size.

Figure 1

View of the church looking south-west from the road. The upstanding wall constitutes a section from the middle of the south wall, while the collapsed wall on the right is what survives of the west gable. The grassed-over foundations of the north and east walls are evident in the form of a series of low banks.

14 O' Keeffe, who recorded the site in 1838 during the progress of the Ordnance Survey, mentions that both the north and east walls were level with the ground, and that the west gable was still standing to the height of the surviving south side-wall. That is not the case today as can be seen from the photograph (Fig. 2). He also noted that about 16' of the south wall was still standing, and that the entrance, a pointed doorway, was located in this wall at about a metre from the west end. This wall has deteriorated drastically since then.

O’Keeffe estimated that the building was originally about 27 feet in length, by 20 feet in width (O' Flanagan 1928). These dimensions are clearly out of proportion for a medieval church, and suggest that O' Keeffe must have misinter- preted its length. A quick, paced out measurement of the surviving structure, suggests that the church was at least 36 feet long internally on its east-west axis. Perhaps O'Keeffe's notes were meant to have read 37 feet, not 27 feet.

While O'Keeffe observed that there was no graveyard associated with the church, he also noted that the 'people call it Teampull an Eaglais, and say that it was the oldest burying-place in Connaught'. This is doubly interesting as it both implies that it actually had a graveyard at some time in the past, and also provides us with the element Teampull in its designation, which indicates the presence of a church of late 12th or early 13th-century date (Mac Giolla Easpaig 1996, 809). This fits-in with the accepted 13th-century date for parish formation in Connacht (Nicholls 1971).

As to the graveyard, it was in fact one of the crucial components required during the medieval period in order for a church to function as a parish church. A stone font, to be used for performing the sacrament of baptism, one of the essential elements required for the cure of souls, was another necessary component (FitzPatrick 2006, 63). Current folk memory recalls that the graveyard which was originally associated with the church was situated east of the modern roadway. That graveyard is not noted on any of the OS maps, nor is it visually recognisable in the landscape.

Of relevance to this discussion is the presence of a linear configuration of houses on the eastern side of the road which is annotated on the first edition map. A very evident break occurs in the settlement pattern that appears to re- flect the location of the graveyard. Sometimes, a piece of negative evidence can be the key to unravelling a mystery like this. A combination of superstition and respect for the dead would have prevented people from building on the site of a graveyard. It therefore seems likely, that the tradition of burial had died out here by the early modern period.

It is highly probable that the function of community burial transferred to the Franciscan Abbey, where it became fashionable for people from a wide geographical area to seek burial. We can see from the large number of funerary monuments that are still there, and the survival of an important document recording the purchase of burial plots, that wide-scale burial was occurring at the friary since at least the early seventeenth century, when the structure was largely rebuilt (Fennessy 2007). One reason for this popularity has to be linked to the availability of friars to say masses for the dead.

Despite the paucity of documentary sources, it is tempting to assume that the parish church itself had fallen out of use by the seventeenth century. An enduring piece of folklore recalls that a white horse carried messages between Lorrha and Meelick. A wooden trackway referred to as the 'casán gearrán bán', supposedly linking the two sites, is recorded as having been discovered by men cutting turf in the Munster bog.

The legend states that the rider-less Capaill Bán travelled along this trackway carrying messages back and forth between the two sites. While such sto- ries cannot be substantiated, popular tradition implies a link between the two sites.

Figure 2

External view of west gable footings with the upstanding section of the south wall in the background to the right.

15 A further piece of dating evidence for the church comes in the form of a diagonally tooled fragment from a window splay. This fragment helps to demonstrate that the structure was of at least late twelfth or early thirteenth-century.

A field adjacent to the townland of Meelick is known locally as Bawnmore. This could be a reference to the presence of a large bawn or enclosure, though there is no evidence of a castle there today. A castle is recorded as having been built near Meelick Church in 1203; the entry in the Annals of Loch Cé states that 'William de Burgh marched at the head of a great army into Connaught and so to Milick, and did there profanely convert the church into a stable round which he erected a castle of a circular form, wherein he was seen to eat flesh meat during the whole time of Lent'.

Whether this is the site of that particular church is uncertain, if not, then there must have been a second church nearer to the Shannon, close to, or under, the present parish church. For two congregational churches to be able function so close to each other does not make economic sense. Excavation only has the possibility of resolving this question at this place in time, but as excavation is expensive and not a pressing matter in this instance, the question of whether the Anglo-Normans erected a castle here will have to remain a mystery.

A series of low profile earthworks adjacent to the church may be the surviving remains of small enclosures and gardens originally for the use of the resident priest. There is generally a small glebe attached to the parish church for the upkeep of the incumbent. Nothing of this nature is annotated on the OS maps. An entry in the 1302-8 ecclesiastical taxation, records Meelick as being a vicarage in the Deanery of Clonfert (Sweetman 1891, 221). Its value at that time is returned at 16s 2d with a tithe estimated at 19¾d.

A number of entries recorded in the Calendar of Papal Registers provide the names of clergy, and other persons, who held rights to draw rental from certain designated parcels of parish property in Meelick over time. These entries have to be carefully interpreted, but when properly analysed and the various irrelevant strands of information ignored, they can be of great interest in building up the story of an otherwise silent place. - Firstly, in 1427, Pope Martin V appointed Donald O' Shaughnessy a canon of Clonfert as perpetual vicar of Mylygsynna (Meelick), in the diocese of Clonfert. The vacancy had been caused by the death of Donald Okanan- nayn. The value of the vicarage at that time was noted as not exceeding 6 marks. - In 1451, Pope Nicholas V dispensed Malachy Macuollachyn (MacColohan) to receive and retain the canonry, the prebend, and the vicarage of Meelick, but instructed that upon obtaining Meelick, he was to relinquish his interests in Kyllmocomna (Kilmochonna, Lusmagh) (Twemlow 1915). - In 1464, an application was made to Pope Paul II following a vacancy in the archdeaconry of Clonfert, created by the death of Jacobi (James) O' Broghy. The results were that Odo Occallay (O'Kelly), a canon of Clonfert, was to be elected to the position which also included the vicarage of Meelick and Kiltullagh (Twemlow 1933). - A complaint made in 1487 to Pope Sixtus IV by Nicholas Fahy, perpetual vicar of Kilcroner (Kilcrimple now Balli- nakill parish), claims that Carbricus Machkan, the Dean of Clonfert, had usurped several parcels returning rents, that were meant for the support of secular clergy in the diocese, including those of Meelick (Twemlow 1955).

An entry in the Obligationes pro Annatis Diocesis Clonfertensis shows that Donati Ohanynd, Archdeacon of Clon- fert held the prebend of Meelick and Kiltullagh (Egan & Costello 1958). Another record for 5 November 1499 relates that the ‘perpetual vicarages of the churches of Myltechnasyna and Mumbro chinoy’ (Meelick and Muintir Kenny) were vacant at that time.

It maintains that Odo Obrog, an Augustinian canon of the monastery of St Mary de Portu Puro, in Clonfert, had made unlawful claim to them both. However, representation was made to pope Innocent VIII by a namesake of Odo’s, another canon, named William Obrog, to have the vicarage confirmed on him. It seems unlikely despite conformation by Innocent on the latter, that he ever managed to get possession (Fuller 1998).

A man named Donatus mcKynno is recorded as holding the vicarage of Mylech Synna (Meelick) in the Visitations of the Diocese which is dated by Professor Kenneth Nicholls to between 1565 and 1567 (Nicholls 1970, 144). While only a few entries exist, they are of interest, and provide useful clues to the various families vying for possession of the vicarage and its valuable revenues. As can be gleaned from the foregoing, various members of the O'Brogy 'family' seem to have had a keen interest in the vicarage over an extended period, between the 1460s and 1500.

I wish to thank Charlie Killeen for allowing me access to the ruins of Meelick parish church, which is situated on his land, and also for his interesting insights into aspects of the folklore attached to the site. I also wish to acknowledge the help of Mrs Bridget Killackey who first drew my attention to the site of the graveyard. My good friend James Scully was, as always, of great assistance. I wish to also recognize the assistance of Declan Kelly, former Clonfert Diocesan Archivist. He has a broad knowledge and critical understanding of the various clerical appointments, and the movements of parish clergy in the diocese during the late eighteenth and nineteenth century.

16 Portumna Priory Inscriptions Aileen O’Dowd

Portumna Dominican Priory is an excellent example of a large religious house, and while the main structure was erected by the Dominican Order after 1414, the initial phase of the building comprising of the nave and choir was built c.1254 as a Cistercian House by the Anglo-Norman baron William de Cogan.

It appears that this foundation did not prosper over the long-term and, following some decades of disuse, it was taken over by the Dominicans very early in the fifteenth century when a papal indulgence was granted for its completion. The Priory was then suppressed during the Reformation and soon came into the ownership of the Earl of Clanricarde around 1582. It was finally abandoned by the Friars c.1712, when they moved to Boula.

Following recent clearance work, several memorials were uncovered for the first time in many decades. While all were once upright, these are almost all now recumbent and only barely legible. In total there are twenty-five external inscribed memorials (numbered 1 to 25 in the attached map, albeit number 7 is a cross) with most of the ‘new finds’ being in the south-west of the site. There are also nine wall plaques / stones (numbered i to ix, with all but one ‘internal’ to the Priory ruins. Finally there are twelve inscribed recumbent stones (A to L, J being illegible) within the structure, all recumbent.

The majority of the external memorials date to the two to three decades either side 1800. The Kenney and Cooke memorials are among the first one meets on entering the graveyard on the southern gable of the ruins, with the oldest (external) memorial being that of Mary Braderick (1759). The internal Madden wall-tomb, from just over a century before (1648), is the oldest internal inscribed stone / plaque.

Plan of Priory - Note, the ‘X’ on the map denotes apparently un-inscribed memorials.

16 B ii G I vii viii K X 17 18 E A iii vi F H J X 19 C iv i 20 D v 9 5 4 21 1 22 6

24 11 7 13 10 2 23 25 14 8 15 3 12 17 External Memorials with Inscriptions

1. Erected by Jno Kenney in memory of his daughter Catherine Kenney who dept this life April 13th 1808 aged 20 years. 2. Erected by Jno & Martin Ryan in memory of their father Thos. Ryan who departed this life Dec 25th 1806 aged 66 yrs. 3. Eternal rest o lord give unto the soul of Mary Gannon alias Dain who dep. this life Dec. 10th 1804 aged 50. 4. O Lord have mercy on the soul of Joseph Cooke who died Sept 25th 1834 aged 76 years. Erected by his wife Mary Cooke alias Murry. May he rest in peace. 5. The monument was erected by John Clarke in memory of his beloved wife Catherine Clarke alias McGennis who dept this life 1st March 1816 aged 43. 6. Erected by Elenor Boughan alias Burke in memory of her father & mother John & Hannah Burke & brother John pray for them & posterity Dec ye 7th 1784. 7. 17th Century Preaching Cross. 8. Here lies the body of Luke Burke dept this life April 1805 age 56. Also, his wife, Mary Burke, died April 1805, age 60. Erected by their son, Patt Burke. 9. Willm. Fogarty depd this life August 17 1767 aged 50 yrs. Erected by his son John Fogarty. 10. O Lord have mercy on the soul of Martin Quinn who departed Jan. 10th 1780 aged 95 yrs. Also his wife Mary Delapp dep. Jany. 6th 1799 aged 65 yrs. Erected by their son Theady Quinn March 1816. 11. Pray for ye soul of Mary Braderick who dyed ye year 1759 aged 21. 12. O Lord have mercy on the soul of Patk Whelan died 23 June 1833, aged 74. And his son, Denis, died 4 March 1834, aged 40. Erected by his son Thomas Whelan. 13. This stone was erected by Thomas Howard in memory of his wife Mary Howard alias Ken who dept. this life Nov. 27th 1787 aged 51 yrs. 14. This stone was erected for Francis Maddin and Mary Maddin alias Burk. Confectioners. 15. Annabell Palmer, wife of John Palmer, Esq., died Fairy Hill, Co. Galway, 12th September 1816 aged 45 years. Her daughter Annabell Palmer died Santa Cruse House Co. Tipperary 8th November 1845, aged 35. Samuel Palmer Esq., of Palmers- town House, Co. Galway, died 1st September 1854, aged 72 years. 16. Here lies the remains of Sidney Armstrong alias Williams who dept this life March 18th 1809 aged 36 years. 17. Margaret Doolan, wife of William Doolan died 17 April 1788. Also two infant children, Thomas & Anna Maria, Jan 1789. 18. Beneath this tomb lies the body of Isabella Ellis, died 3 August 1779. Also, Robert and Anne McCaughey, her parents. Robert died June 1802 aged 85 and Anne died May 1806 aged 88. Monument erected by Captain Robert Ellis of the 56th Light Dragoons, son of said Isabella Ellis and grandson of Robert and Anne McCaughey. 19. This monument was raised by Jane Porter in memory of Mr. Phillip Porter Joseph Porter Isacc Porter & Thomas Porter who departed this life the 4th April 1791 aged 50 years. Father, son, & grandson to said Phillip. They lived and died in the love and fear of the Great Creator. 20. Erected by Michael Kelly in memory of his wife Margarit Tennyane who died in 1827. Also his two sons Patk and Michl who died in 1810. 21. Erected by Patrick John Lyons in memory of his father Patrick Lyons who died April 11th 1803 aged 55 years. And his mother Hannah Brien who dept this life August 2nd 1811 aged 57. 22. Erected by Richard Ruth in memory of his wife Bridget Ruth alias Geoghegan departed this life April 14th 1799 aged 69 years. And his mother. 23. Here lies the remains of Mary Burke who died 24 October 1779 aged 70 years. Erected by Patrick Cleary. 24. In memory of Mary Magrath who dept this life 29th Feb 1804 aged 55 years. 25. “AMOR HONOR et JUSTITIA (Masonic lodge motto). Here lieth the body of Richard Tydd who departed this life No- vember 7th 1788 aged 54 years. This monument was erected by wife Jane Tydd otherwise Dooly.

18 Wall Plaques / Stones with Inscriptions i. ETERNAL REST O LORD GIVE UNTO THE SOUL OF OWEN KELLY WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 1768 AGED 81 YRS. ERECTED BY TIMOTHY KELLY. ii. HERE LIES THE BODY OF EDMUND HEARNE OF TIREHAN AND ELLIS DAVILL HIS WIFE AND THE REST OF THAT FAMILY GOD BE MERCIFULL TO THEM AMEN 1688. iii. THIS MONUMENT WAS RAISED BY THOMAS HIGGISON FOR HIS PARENTS VALENTINE HIGGISON & MARY HIGGISON & THEIR POSTERITY FOREVER 1688 PRAY FOR THEM. iv. JOHN CUNNINGHAM OF PORTUMNA DEPARTED THIS LIFE 5 MARCH 1864 AGED 72 YEARS. PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF M BRIDGET CUNNINGHAM WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 7 AUGUST 1869 AGED 66 YEARS. ERECTED BY JOHN FORRESTAL. v. ETERNAL REST TO THE SOULS OF JOHN AND ELEANOR CUNNINGHAM, ALIAS FORRESTAL, AND THEIR SON THOMAS. ERECTED BY THEIR SON JOHN CUNNINGHAM. ALSO DAUGHTER MARGARET MARIA WHO DE- PARTED THIS LIFE 21 FEB 1855 AGED 20 YEARS. vi. ETERNAL REST O LORD GIVE UNTO THE SOUL OF THOMAS CONNOR WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE FEBR 4TH 1769. vii. PRAY FOR THE SOULES OF BRASSELL MADDIN OF CREGGIN & KATHERINE KEOGH, HIS WIFE, 1688. FOR THEMSELVES AND POSTERITY. viii. PRAY FOR THE SOULES OF PATRICK E CANAVAN & CLARA CANAVAN HIS WIFE WHO RAISED THIS MONUMENT FOR THEMSELVES & THEIRE POSTERITY 1688. ix. ORATE PRO PATRIBUS CHRISTOPHER OWEALSH, AMBROSIO OMADDEN, PETRO OLURCAN ET THADAE OLURCAN ORD. PRAEDI. QUI HUNC LAPIDEM ERIGI FECERUNT IN MEMORIAM SUAE SEPULTURAE ET ALIORUM FRATRUM, ANNO DNI 1670 MAY. Author’s Note: This is translated as ‘Pray for Fathers Christopher Walsh, Ambrose Madden, Peter Larkin and Timothy Larkin, Order of Preachers, who had this stone erected in memory of their burial place and those of their brothers, 1670 AD’.

Inscribed Memorials within the Structure A. Anthony Hough died 6 May 1818, 79 years. Erected by his sons John, Patrick & Edmond Hough. B. Catherine Golden alias Boughan died May 1789 aged 58. Also Margaret Goulden died 1780 aged 20. Erected by Owen Goul- den. C. Here lies the body of Dermot Meagher of Cloncrogin who dyed the 27 day of April 1681. D. To the memory of Allen McDonagh Esq., of Willmont House who departed this life July 1825 two of his children, Thomas & Anne also lie beneath this tomb. E. John Connor died Feb. 4 1788. Bridget Connor alias Nilly died July 6th 1786. Erected by son Mr. John Connor. F. Pray for ye soul of Mr. Wm. Madden died at Caherglas, 1757. G. Erected by Timothy Kirvore for his brother Jam Kirvore who died Jan 16th 1787 aged 20 yrs. Also his father Edmd. Kirvore who died April 5th 1790 aged 78 yrs. H. Sarah Elizabeth Heron died 17 January 1844 aged eleven months. I. Thomas Healy died 10 March 1761 aged 26. Erected by Thomas and Ann Healy. J. Tressy/Treacy (Killimor). K. Maddin / Coghlin ? 1648 (Latin). L. Peter Pelly, sometime Captain in the service of his most Serene Highness the Elector of Bavaria, the 18th of July 1792. His sister Anne Geoghegan alias Pelly erected this monument as a memorial. ______

HERITAGE WEEK 2018 For another few weeks, at least, the Irish Workhouse Centre remains Heritage Council All-Ireland Champions for our ‘Reaching Out’ efforts. This year, we are again pulling out all the stops and we would like to invite all of you to get involved, to suggest ideas for events, and to contribute any way you feel able to. If you would like to be part of the plans of the Irish Workhouse Centre and / or the South East Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, please email [email protected] or [email protected].

19 Larkin Matters... Ballinasloe In the seventh in our series reproducing sections from William Larkin’s maps of Galway from 1819, we focus on the Ballinasloe town area. Larkin was the country’s foremost surveyor at the beginning of the nineteenth century and his maps include now long lost placenames and suggest new interpretations for existing places.

Membership

SEGAHS welcomes all new members. As a member of our society you will learn a great deal about your heritage in an interactive way by having access to regular lectures and gatherings. You do not need to have any qualifications or a high-level knowledge as the wonderful thing about community and local history is that anyone can get involved. The annual society membership fee is only €20.

Articles

If you have a heritage-related article or query that you would like to share with the society, we would be happy to hear from you. You can contact us at [email protected], or by visiting our facebook page at www.facebook.com/SEGAHS, by following us on twitter @SEGAHSIreland, or by coming to one of our lectures or field trips. ______

Is eagras deonach é Cumann Staire agus Seandálaíochta Oirdheisceart na Gaillimhe (SEGAHS) a bunaíodh chun bua na staire, na seandálaíochta agus an bhéaloidis in Oirdheisceat na Gaillimhe a chun chun cinn. Is fédir teagmháil a dhéanamh leis an chumann ag an seoladh ríomhphoist [email protected], ar an suíomh Idirlín www.facebook.com/SEGAHS, nó trí chabaireacht linn ar twitter ag @SEGAHSIreland.

South East Galway Archaeological & Historical Society (SEGAHS) is a voluntary organisation highlighting the richness of the history, archaeology, and folklore of South East Galway. If you would like to make contact, you can do so by e-mailing us at se- [email protected], by visiting our webpage at www.facebook.com/SEGAHS, or by following us on twitter @SEGAHSIreland.

SEGAHS Journals are edited by Steve Dolan. If you would like to submit an article, please do so at [email protected].