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COMHMRLE CATHRACH 1 PHORT LMRGE 1 WATERFORD CITY COUNCIL The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society and the editor of DECIES gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Waterford City Council towards the publication 3);. of this journal. PHORT LAlRGE 1 WATERFORD COUNTY I COUNCIL The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society and the editor of DECIES gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Waterford County Council towards the publica- tion costs of this journal. Cover Illustrations Front Cover: Reginald's Tower, Waterford, Ireland, from the Detroit Publishing Co., Catalogue J-- foreign section, Detroit Mich.: Detroit Photographic Company, 1905, print Number 12050, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C., 20540 USA. Back Cover: The Southern Lunette, Ardmore Cathedral. Courtesy of Ddnal O'Connor ISSN 1393-3116 Published by The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society Printed by G .K. Print, Grannagh, Waterford. Decies 64 0 Decies 64 PAGE Editorial .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Contributors ....................................................................................................... ix Archaeological and Paleoenvironmental Investigations in the Townlands of Shanacoole and Pilltown, Kinsalebeg, Co. Waterford Linda Hegarty ............................................................................................................... 1 The Iconography of the Southern Lunette in Ardmore Cathedral, Co. Waterford Ddnal O'Connor ........................................................................................................... 23 The Estate of Maurice Brown of Rathmoylan: Its Origins and Descent Niall O'Brien ......................................................................................................... 41 The Lismore papers: An Introduction Donal Brady .................................................................................................................. 47 Rus in Urbe: Samuel Barker's Waterford City Garden, William Fraher ............................................................................................................. 69 Ballygunner Temple Patrick Grogan ............................................................................................................. 79 Kilmacthomas Union: The Administration of Poor Law in a County Waterford Workhouse 1851-1872 Ger Crotty ..................................................................................................................... 105 Denis B. Cashman: The Fenian Years Pat McCarthy .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 149 Edmond O'Donovan, Fenian and War Correspondent, and his Circle Eva 0 Cathaoir .............................................................................................................175 Father Ted Comes To Portlaw: Letters of The Rev. Edwyn Thomas, 1914-I9 15 Julian C. Walton ..................................................................................................... 205 Book Reviews ................................................................................................................ 225 Constitution of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society ......................... 229 Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society Membership 2008 .......................... 233 WATERFORDARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY OFFICERSAND COMMITTEEMEMBERS OFFICERS Chairman: Dr. Eugene Broderick, 1 Pheasant Walk, Collins Avenue, Waterford. Vice-chairman: Ben Murtagh, Primrose Hill, Threecastles, Co. Kilkenny. Hon. Secretary: BCatrice Payet, 5 Doyle Street, Waterford. Hon. Treasurer: Tony Gunning, 7 Ballinakill Vale, Waterford. Hon. Editor: Donnchadh 0 Ceallachiin, 5 Doyle Street, Waterford. P.R.O.: Partick Grogan, 4 1 Summerville Avenue, Waterford. COMMITTEE Dr. Niall Byrne William Condon Fergus Dillon George Kavanagh Eileen O'Connor Seamus Reale Eddie Synnott James Walsh All original contributions are the copyright of the contributors. The views expressed by each contrib- utor are not necessarily those of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society, the Editor, or of the Editorial Committee. Hon. Editor: Donnchadh 0 Ceallachiin Editorial Committee: Eugene Broderick (ex-oficio),Ben Murtagh, BCatrice Payet, Eddie Synnott. Decies 64 A BHREA liom mo bhuiochas a ghabhiil le gach kinne a chabhraigh liom iris na bliana seo a fhoilsifi, go hiirithe coiste an chumainn agus an coiste eagarthbireachta. Eddie Synnott typeset and laid out the current issue of Decies and once again he deserves the gratitude of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society. However, the greatest debt of gratitude is due to the authors of the articles - the local historians. Without their dedication, perseverance and sheer love of uncover- ing our history and heritage no local journal would ever make it to the printers. To quote from The Heritage by Siegfried Lenz, The.. local historian, the gently agitating mole grubbing through our.. past.. he teaches me, if not awe then reverence for the elo- quent relics of our early times; in the course of years of fanatical col- lecting, he has transformed his house into a museum of regional histo- ry, and there I learn that any understanding of the world must begin at home or end there. To the ten 'moles' who have contributed to this year's journal - mo rnhfle buio- has. I would like to point out to intending contributors that the final deadline for the submission of articles for Decies 65 (2009) is 1 May 2009. Articles received after that date will be held over for publication in the follow- ing year's journal. vii List of Contributors Donald Brady obtained his BA in History and English at NUI, Maynooth. He has been County Librarian in Waterford since 1982 and is particularly interested in the preservation and collation of the historical resources of the county. He was director of the West Waterford Heritage Week in 1991 and 1992, and was co-ordinator of Waterford County Council's Famine Commemoration Programme. He is editor of Handsard's History of Waterford: Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the Illustrious Family of the Boyles and co-editor of Teacht na bPra'tai Dubha: The Famine in Waterford 1845-50. He published A Guide to Waterford Writers in 2006 and a new edition of Charles Smith's The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Waterford in 2008. Ger Crotty works as a Maintenance Team Leader with Genzyme Ireland. He obtained a BA in History and Sociology in 2007 from University College, Cork as part of the Oscail programme. He served as an officer in the Reserve Defence Forces from 1993 to 2007 with twenty-eight years service in total. He has a pas- sionate interest in military and Irish history, in particular the nineteenth and twenti- eth centuries. He lives in Portlaw with his wife Bernie. William Fraher is Curator of Waterford County Museum, Dungarvan. He has written extensively on the history and architecture of Dungarvan and contributed to Decies and other journals. He has recently completed studies in European Art History at University College, Cork and Museum Studies and Management at the University of Ulster. He is currently researching the country houses and demesnes of County Waterford. Patrick Grogan is a native of Waterford and a retired civil servant. He is currently PRO of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society and a committee member of Waterford Music. He is a frequent contributor to Decies. Linda Hegarty is an independent archaeological consultant based in Poulcarroll House, Tulligmore, Ballinhassig, Co. Cork. She carried out the archaeological escavations in Kinsalebeg as a Project Director with Headlong Archaeology Ltd. Her publications include contributions to the Archaeology and the National Roads Authority Monograph Series. Pat McCarthy was born in Waterford and educated at Mount Sion CBS. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and an MBA from NUI, Dublin, where he currently lives. He is employed in the pharmaceutical industry and is Correspondence Secretary of the Military History Society of Ireland. He is a frequent contributor to Decies. Decies 64 * Niall O'Brien is a young farmer from Ballyduff, west Waterford. He is a member of the Co. Waterford Heritage Forum. He has published a local history book in 2008 entitled Blackwater and Bride: Navigation and Trade, 7000 BC to 2007. Niall has also published articles in other historical journals. This is his first article in Decies. Eva 0 Cathaoir is a native of Hesse, Germany, and has chosen to spend her life in Ireland. She is a historian specialising in the poor law and the Irish Republican Brotherhood and has contributed to the Wicklow, Clare and Carlow volumes in the History and Society county series. Do'nal O'Connor was Professor of Old Testament at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth until 1985 when he was appointed parish priest of Ardmore, Co. Waterford. His articles in Decies explore the importance of the DCise in twelfth- century Ireland: Lismore under the guidance of Bishop Malchus, as the foremost centre of Church Reform; Ardmore's achievement in architecture and figure sculp- ture, coinciding with its brief period of diocesan status under Bishop Eugene. Julian C. Walton is a retired schoolteacher and librarian with a lifelong interest in Irish history and genealogy. He is a former editor of The Irish Genealogist and of Decies, and has written and lectured