Saturday, August 21st, 2021
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Counterfeiting in Glenmore
During the Famine the local newspapers were full of articles where people were arrested and convicted of “coining” or counterfeiting coins or passing or possessing counterfeit coins. Today, we are going to highlight a counterfeiting case involving a Glenmore farmer who paid part of his rent with counterfeit sovereigns. The sovereign was a gold coin introduced in 1817 as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816 to replace the guinea. The guinea was worth 21 shillings or £1.05 and the gold sovereign was worth £1. Interestingly the Great Recoinage was deemed necessary to stabilise the British currency after the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars caused severe economic problems in Great Britain. The sovereign continued to be in circulation until World War I, but remains legal tender in the UK today.
The following short article appeared in the Waterford Chronicle on Saturday the 21st of March 1846 (p. 3). The case was then reported in several other newspapers including the Kerry Examiner (27 March 1846, p. 3).
“COINING. On Monday last two men named Walsh and Sweeny, farmers from the county of Kilkenny, near Glenmore, who were of good character hitherto, were arrested on a charge of coining and committed to prison. The particulars of the case are as follows: the coiners came to pay rent to their landlord, to whom they paid nine sovereigns and some notes; they received receipts and departed. In short time after the money was sent to the bank, where the gold was discovered counterfeit, but the notes were good. The following morning Constable Hughes proceeded to the residences of the prisoners, and there found some coining utensils, for making sovereigns, as well some stamps for half crowns, which, together with some metal found in the same place, the constable brought into town. The persons charged are fully committed for trial.”
The following week, two national newspapers the Pilot and the Freeman’s Journal, quoting a Waterford Freeman article, supplied more details concerning the event. Interestingly the Waterford Freemen ceased publishing in 1847 because subscribers failed to pay their subscriptions. These articles reveal that a farmer named Peter Walsh, a resident of Weatherstown, Glenmore, on the 18th of March went into Waterford City to pay his rent to his landlord Mr. Robert Smith. According to the newspaper he tendered good notes for £6 and 9 sovereigns which were “base coin.” The landlord did not suspect that the coins were counterfeit until he went to lodge them in the bank and the bank informed him that the 9 sovereign coins were not real. Sergeant Hughes was informed and he arrested Peter Walsh and a labourer named Sweeny. At the time of his arrest Peter Walsh had on his person “three bad sovereigns, two base half crowns, mixed with good coins and 9 base half-crowns concealed.” The labourer Sweeney had one bad half crown. Hughes went to Walsh’s residence where he found “the instruments for casting the coins, the dies, the metallic substances, the receipts for polishing, and chemical ingredients. Waterford Freemen.” (The Pilot, Wed. 25 March 1846, p. 1).
On the 3rd of April 1846, Peter Walsh, of Weatherstown was granted bail on the application of Mr. Hassard, a solicitor. The court required two sureties’ posting £40 each. “Walsh, the farmer, from Weatherstown [was] committed to the city jail on a charge of passing base sovereigns a few weeks back” (Waterford Mail, Wed. 8 April 1846, p. 2). Thus, for attempting to pay his rent with 9 counterfeit coins valued at £9 two men had to post £40 each in order for Walsh to be released on bail. Unfortunately, this is the last newspaper article concerning the counterfeiting and no where is the first name of the labourer Sweeney provided or whether he continued to languish in jail.
That may have been the end of the story except for the parish records and a headstone in Glenmore cemetery. From the parish records we were able to discover that a Peter Walsh, of Weatherstown, was married to Anastatia Murphy and had 7 known children: [1] James Walsh, bapt. 2 Dec. 1836; [2] Mary Walsh, bapt. 18 Mar. 1838; [3] Patrick Walsh, bapt. 1 Dec. 1839; [4] John Walsh, bapt. 19 July 1841; [5] Edmund Walsh, bapt. 17 June 1842; [6] Michael Walsh, bapt. 23 Aug. 1844; [7] Bridget Walsh, bapt. 19 April 1846. All of the children when baptized had an address of Weatherstown, except Bridget who was born about a month after Peter Walsh, of Weatherstown was arrested. Bridget Walsh’s address was provided as Busherstown, Glenmore.
The only headstone with the name Peter Walsh, in the cemetery adjacent to the Glenmore Parish Church, has the following inscription:
Erected by Mary Walsh, of Weatherstown in memory of her grandfather Michael Walsh and her grandmother Mary Walsh. Her father Peter died in 1847. Her mother Anastasia Walsh née Murphy died in 1862 (sic). Uncles Patrick and Micheal Her sister Bridget Gahan née Walsh died in America 1856 (sic) aged 42. Her brother James died 17 May 1908, aged 72.
Danny Dowling interviewed Martin Cody, of Weatherstown, Glenmore in May 1977. Martin stated that the Walsh family had a farm of 40 Irish acres in Weatherstown, Glenmore. The last of the male line of this family in Weatherstown, was James Walsh who remained a bachelor and died in 1909. He lived with his sister Main Walsh, who never married. Main or Mary Walsh died in 1919. Jim and Main spoke Irish. Their land went down to Connolly’s Cross and the old name for that part of Jim Walsh’s farm was “Flohanins.” In 1977 Martin said that the Walsh farm was owned by William Fitzgerald of Weatherstown. His father brought it. A sister of James and Main Walsh married Tom Gahan, another native of Weatherstown. They emigrated to Boston and had two sons Frank and John. Frank Gahan fought with the US Army in Europe during the First World War and visited Weatherstown at that time. Lastly, Martin stated that the Walsh’s mother was one of the Sé Óg Walshs of Tullogher, and Jim and Main were first cousins of Dickie Doherty of Ballinlammy, Glenmore.
From the parish records we believe that it was the Walsh’s grandmother, rather than mother was one of the Sé Óg Walshs of Tullogher. Also, the 1901 census reveals that Anastatia Walsh née Murphy was an 87-year-old widow in Weatherstown living with her son James Walsh and daughter Mary Walsh. James Walsh was 60 years old and Mary Walsh was 57 years of age. Also reported in the household was Andrew Cashin, aged 30 who was listed as a domestic servant with the notation “idiot”. We were able to verify that James Walsh, died on the 17th of May 1908 at Weatherstown and James Synott was present when he died. The 1911 census reveals that Mary or Main Walsh was living alone and her landlord is listed as Patrick Fitzgerald. It is assumed that when her brother Jim died she sold the farm to Patrick Fitzgerald but continued living in the farmhouse.
We also verified that Bridget Walsh, of Weatherstown married Thomas Gahan on 16 August 1881 at Glenmore. The first record located in Boston reveals that in 1883 Thomas Gahan was living at 20 Beach Chsn. and working as a labourer (Boston City Directory 1883). The couple in addition to sons Frank and John also had a son Peter who died on 18 April 1885 of measles at the age of 2. Bridget Gahan née Walsh died on 10 Dec. 1887. She and her son Peter are buried together at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston. Bridget’s year of birth is incorrectly recorded as 1852 instead of 1846. We were unable to locate a 1919 death record for Mary/Main Walsh and we did find that another brother of Jim and Mary or Walsh. Michael Walsh (bapt. 1844) (farmer) married Catherine Mackey, of Weatherstown, on 23 September 1866 at Glenmore. She was the daughter of Philip Mackey (farmer) of Weatherstown. There was only 1 child located for this couple. Anastatia Walsh was born on 20 January 1867 in Weatherstown. It is not known if the family emigrated or remained in Ireland.
Danny Dowling also recorded information provided by Nicky the Miller Forristal in November 1977. Nicky revealed, “Old Jim Walsh and Main Walsh, of Weatherstown were brother and sister. They had a farm. Jim Walsh was known as “Bothered Jim.” He was kind of deaf and used to talk high. He was a big man. Old Cashin, the shoemaker, was invited out by Jim Walsh to visit him. The invitation extended over a long time, and finally Cashin did visit him, thinking he was going to have a great evening with a few drinks thrown in. After sometime Jim said to Main ‘get a pawpeen for Cashin.’ That was all he got.”
Lastly, from the information provided on the headstone Main Walsh erected we were able to trace the Walsh family, of Weatherstown, back another generation.
The parents of Peter Walsh (1809-1847) were Michael Walsh, of Weatherstown and Mary Walsh née Walsh of Tennefala, Glenmore. Tennefala is near Rosbercon, Tullogher. Per the baptismal records, the following children were born to this union: [1] Bridget Walsh, (bapt. 28 Jan. 1798); [2] John Walsh (bapt. 7 May 1802]; [3] Mary Walsh (bapt. 2 June 1807); [4] Peter Walsh, (bapt. 28 Aug. 1809); [5] James Walsh, (bapt. 30 July 1812); [6] Patrick Walsh, (bapt. 7 Aug. 1815) and [7] Michael Walsh, (bapt. 23 Jan. 1820).
The grandfather of Peter Walsh (1809-1847), Michael Walsh, was baptised on 19 August 1773 at Weatherstown, Glenmore. Michael was the son of Peter Walsh and Mary Walsh.
Given the fact that Peter Walsh was quickly released on bail, that he had a solicitor, and no record of a trial could be located it may be the case that the landlord, Robert Smith, was not interested in prosecuting so long as the rent was paid. There is no conclusive proof that the Peter Walsh, of Weatherstown, charged with counterfeiting in 1846 was the Peter Walsh (1809-1847) of Weatherstown, but he is the most likely candidate at the moment based upon the available records.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The featured photo above is an 1843 gold soverign coin featuring a young Queen Victoria.