Thursday, June 16th, 2022

Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Milltown, Glenmore, around 1961. The Irish for this townland, according to Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny (1969, p. 103) is Baile an m huilinn or place of the mill. This townland is comprised of 195 acres. Kelly also noted that part of the roadway in this townland is called Bother na Tra and a field name of Ton riach or a grey bottom land.

Griffith’s Valuation of 1830

Given the name of the townland there must have been a mill located there, but we were unable to find reference to one on any of the old maps. In the 1830 Tithe Applotment Records, the following names were recorded. George Ivy, Esquire and Edward Murphy were the landlords and the following men were recorded as tenants: Andrew Phelan; David Malone, Thomas Doherty; Michael Greene; Darby Greene; Patrick Cody; Thomas Heneberry; Denis Merrigan and Edmond Merrigan. Only a few names from 1830 remained in the townland in 1961.

Milltown, Glenmore 1961

Danny recorded 5 families or households in Milltown around 1961. Birthdates or birth years are provided for some of the older residents gleaned from available public records. For some time after drafting his notebook, Danny recorded the dates of death or simply recorded that a resident had died. The recorded information reveals that 24 people resided in Milltown with the population comprised of 17 males and 7 females. The Ryan family was the largest family with ten members in the household. There was one household recorded of a single person living alone.

Recorded Residents

Males= 17
Females= 7
Eldest Recorded Resident= Richard Barron (1880-1963). Richard was 80 in 1961.

Recorded Work

Farmers = 3 (1 male & 2 females)
Farm/Agricultural Workers = 13 (all males)
Road Worker = 1 (1 male)
Electrician =1 (1 male)
Mechanic = 1 (1 male)
Bookkeeper = 1 (1 female)

MILLTOWN RESIDENTS

[1] MURPHY

Murphy, John (6 April 1899) Road Worker (died 10 Feb. 1964)
Murphy, Denis (2 Nov. 1902) brother, farm labourer
Murphy, Mary (4 Feb. 1894) sister
Murphy, Mary, niece

[2] DOHERTY

Doherty, Eileen, Farmer
Doherty, Richard, son, farm worker
Doherty, Luke, son, farm worker
Doherty, Thomas, son, farm worker

[3] RYAN

Ryan, Laurence (25 Oct. 1911) Farm Labourer
Ryan, Mary (16 Dec. 1910) wife
Ryan, Thomas, son, farm labourer
Ryan, James, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Edward, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Laurence, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Patrick, son, farm labourer
Ryan, John, son, motor mechanic
Ryan, Mary, daughter, bookkeeper
Ryan, Kathleen, daughter

[4] MERRIGAN*

Merrigan, Bridget (24 July 1896) Farmer
Merrigan, Patrick, son, farm worker
Merrigan, John, son, farm worker
Merrigan, Anthony, son, electrician (dead)
Merrigan, Michael (4 July 1888) brother-in-law, farm worker

[5] BARRON

Barron, Richard (no other information recorded except Danny recorded dead.)
[Richard Barron of Glenmore, bachelor, farmer, died on the 11th of October 1963 at the age of 83. The Glenmore Parish records provide that Richard Barron was born on 21 April 1880 the son of Peter Barron and Catherine Barron née Forristal].

We covered the tragic death of Tony Merrigan, of Milltown, Glenmore in our previous post of 21 May 2020.

*[Additional information (15 May 2023). The Merrigan family of Milltown had several other children including: Michael Merrigan; James Merrigan; Birdie Merrigan Fitzgerald; Nell Merrigan Doherty; Peg Merrigan O’Brian and Tess Merrigan McDonald. Special thanks to Sean Merrigan for sharing this information.]

Please send any further information or corrections to glenmore.history@gmail.com.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh