January, 2023

Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Ballynaraha, Glenmore around 1961. Over the years various spellings of this townland have been used, but the two most popular are Ballynaraha or Ballinaraha. The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Ireland (1969, p. 115) is Baile na ratha, or place of the rath. The townland is in the old civil parish of Kilmkevogue and is comprised of 290 acres. The townland is named from the rath and fields are bán riach, a grey bawn; bantá sceachán, the whitethorn bawns.

Tithe Applotment Books 1833

According to the 1833 Applotment Books, the owner of the townland was the Earl of Bessborough. There is a notation in the Applotment Book that Mr. John Walsh “as middle man has let to these tenants, he having the original lease from the Earl of Bessborough.”  There were eleven tenants listed including [1] Patrick Sutton, 2 acres; [2] Martin Sutton, 13 acres; [3] John Power, 12 acres; [4] Michael Irish, 31 acres; [5] Patrick Kelly, 17 acres; [6] Thomas Reddy, 17 acres; [7] Patrick Forristal, 17 acres; [8] James Dughan, 8 acres; [9] Richard Dughan, 18 acres; and [10] Fitzgerald & [11] Dooling? 18 acres. [No first names were provided for Fitzgerald and Dooling.

1961

In 1961, Danny recorded 5 families or households in Ballynaraha. 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, 12 people resided in Ballynaraha with the population comprised of 6 males and 6 females. The largest family was the Forristal family with 5 in the household. There is one household recorded with a person living alone which was Edward Roche (b. 1905). All information regarding residents of Ballynaraha, not in Danny’s original list, has been placed in brackets[ ].

Recorded Residents

Males= 6
Females= 6

Eldest Recorded Resident

The eldest resident recorded in the townland was Bridget Forristal née Reddy (1884-1969) who was 78 in 1961. Bridget was a native of Gaulestown, Glenmore, the daughter of James Reddy (farmer) and his wife, Johanna Grant. The birth register records Bridget’s birth at Ballinaraha (sic).

On 11 February 1918 Bridget married John Forristal (farmer) of Ballynaraha and her place of residence was listed as Gaulestown, Glenmore. John Forristal (1879-1961) was the son of Patrick Forristal and his wife Mary Phelan. John died, aged 81 on 29 January 1961, and his unmarried brother Edmund died on the 23^rd of November 1960, aged 78.  

Recorded Work

Farmer = 4 (3 males; 1 female)
Farm labourer = 1 (1 male)
Council Worker = 1 (1 male)
Garage Storeman= 1 (1 male)

BALLYNARAHA RESIDENTS

[1] AYLWARD

Aylward, James (10 April 1904) Farmer
Aylward, Mary (20 April 1909) wife            (née Grant)

[2] KNOX

Knox, Patrick (11 March 1913) Farmer
Knox, Margaret (12 April 1896) wife

[3] FORRISTAL

Forristal, Bridget (27 April 1884) Farmer       [died 19 Nov. 1969]
Forristal, Patrick, son, assisting relative
Forristal, Mary, daughter
Forristal, Kate, daughter
Forristal, Bridget, daughter

[4] BROPHY

Brophy, James, Council Worker
Brophy, Edward, brother, garage storeman

[5] ROCHE

Roche, Edward (1 June 1905) Farmer

See our blog post of 18 April 2020 regarding Ballynarha native Laurence Duggan (1832-1905) who returned to visit Glenmore decades after emigratig to the US. On his holiday Laurence was tragically drowned in Waterford City.

[Update–One helpful reader stated that a person from the Forristal Ballyranaha family was due to sail on the Titanic in April 1912, but for whatever reason did not. The 1911 Census shows that there were 5 in the Forristal household. Mary Forristal was 68; John Forristal was 32; Patrick Forristal was 31; Edmund Forristal was 28 and James Forristal was 24. This information was once common knowledge in the parish and discussed for years.]

Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmorehstory@gmail.com.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh