August, 2022

Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Cappagh, Glenmore around 1961. The Irish for this townland, according to Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny (1969, p. 109) is Ceapach, which translates to a tillage plot. The townland is comprised of 162 acres. Kelly notes that the townland is “part of the pretty village of Glenmore, a modern village without a public house until very recently, is on the southern border of this townland. Most of the village is in Graiguenakill and the R.C. church and National School are in Robinstown.”  

In the 1833 Griffith’s Valuation Applotment Records the townland was referred to as Cappa and located in the Civil Parish of Kilcoan. The landlord of Cappagh and Ballybrahy was George Toie (?), of Waterford. There were 15 tenants listed in the townland: [1] Lawrence Boulger (37 acres); [2] Thomas Boulger (42 acres); [3] Walter Boulger (7 acres); [4] James Cashen; [5] Richard Dumphy (sic) (4 acres); [6] James Forestal (2 acres); [7] Edward Grant (8 acres) ; [8] Patrick Roach (4 acres); [9] Michael Alward (sic); [10] Patrick Henebury (1 acre); [11] Bridget Neil (house); [12] Edmund Shannahan (house); [13] John Butler (house); [14] Michael Conoly (sic) (house); and [15] Thomas Green (house).

Danny Dowling in 1961 recorded six families or households in Cappagh. 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 or left the townland. The recorded information reveals that in 1961, 38 people resided in Cappagh with the population comprised of 19 males; 18 females and one unknown. Two families tied for the largest family of the townland. The Ennett family had eight members in the household as did the Wattie Power family. There was no household recorded of a single person living alone.

Recorded Residents

Males= 19
Females= 18
Unknown= 1 (first name of child born c. 1961 not recorded)
Eldest Recorded Resident = Ellen Cassin (1879-1963) née Malone was a native of Ballyduff, Piltown.  She moved to Glenmore after her marriage. Ellen died in 1963 at the age of 88 and had been a widow since 1907. Her obiturary is located on our families page click here to access it. Her husband James Cassin’s tragic drowning was the subject of a blog post of 8 November 2020. 

Recorded Work

Farmer = 1 (1 male)
Farm Labourer/Worker = 1 (1 male)
General Labourer = 1 (1 male)
Shop Keeper = 1 (1 female)
Shop Assistant = 1 (1 female)
Creamery Worker = 1 (1 male)
Creamery Shop Assistant = 1 (male)
Motor Garage Worker = 1 (1 male)
Motor Panel Beater =1 (male)
Road Worker = 1 (male)
National Teachers = 3 (2 females; 1 male)
Postman = 1 (1 male)
Factory Worker (Meat)= 1 (1 female)
Factory Worker = 1 (1 male)

CAPPAGH RESIDENTS

[1] ENNETT
Ennett, Patrick (5 July 1903) Farmer
Ennett, Mary (b. 1921) wife
Ennett, Marguerite, daughter
Ennett, John, son
Ennett, William, son  (died 2 April 1962)    (1948-1962)
Ennett, James, son
Ennett, Francis, son
Ennett, Desmond, son

[For a recording made by John Ennett, see our post of 7 April 2020]

[See our blog post of 5 August 2020 concerning the memories of Jimmy Ennett of Glenmore in the 1960’s and 1970’s]

[2] POWER
Power, Walter (8 Feb. 1912) Postman
Power, Bridget (29 Aug. 1910) wife
Power, Elizabeth “Elsie”, daughter, shop assistant
Power, John, son, motor panel beater
Power, Patrick, son, farm worker
Power, Margaret, daughter, meat factory worker
Power, Daniel, son, motor garage worker
Power, Michael, son

[3] JONES
Jones, Patrick (5 Feb. 1897) Road Worker
Jones, Alice (5 April 1890) wife
Jones, Patrick, son, creamery worker
Jones, Seamus, son, general labourer

[See our blog post of 25 April 2021 regardjng the efforts of the Jones brothers to save a man from drowning.]

[4] CASSIN/DOYLE/SUTTON
Cassin, Ellen (15 Feb. 1879) Retired                (“died”—no date of death provided)
Doyle, Anastatia (15 Nov. 1906) daughter
Sutton, John, grandson-in-law, factory worker
Sutton, Ellen, granddaughter [of Ellen Cassin]
Sutton, Margaret, great-granddaughter
Sutton, Anne,  great-granddaughter
Sutton, (no first name provided)                     (Suttons “gone to live in Ferrybank”)

[5] HEFFERNAN
Heffernan, Eileen (b. 1923) Shop Keeper
McEvoy, Helen, boarder, National Teacher
McEvoy, Morgan, boarder, National Teacher
Shanahan, Mary, boarder, National Teacher

[6] WALSH
Walsh, William (2 March 1912) Creamery Shop Assistant
Walsh, Margaret (b. 1917) wife
Walsh, Patrick, son
Walsh, Eamonn, son
Walsh, Marion, daughter
Walsh, Anne, daughter
Walsh, Monica, daughter

[See our post of 27 February 2022 written by Mrion Cody Hendrick née Walsh regarding the entertainment businesses of Bill Walsh (1912-1985).]

Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com. The featured drawing above depicts women’s fashions at Easter 1962 (advertisement by Shaw’s) Munster Express, 30 March 1962, p. 5).

[Update 4 Nov. 2022: Special thanks to Jackie Walsh for sharing the photo of her mother (Margaret Ryan) and her siblings.]

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh