Saturday, July 8th, 2023

Today, we are going to feature information Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Gaulestown, Glenmore,  in 1961. Unfortunately Danny did not leave notes as to how he determined the boundaries of this townland, and we note that Danny listed the Reddy’s in Ballyrahan townland, but according to their obituaries their address was given as Gaulestown, Glenmore.

We are fast approaching the last of the Glenmore townlands.

Background

The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 113) is “Baile na nGall, homestead of the Gaul family. Area 140 acres.” That is all that O’Kelly recorded regarding Gaulestown which is located in the Civil Parish of Kilcolumb.

Tithe Applotment 1829

The Tithe Applotment books, lists David O’Neill Power (c. 1788-1863) as the owner of the townland. David O’Neill Power also owned Ballyrahan & Ballinlammy, Glenmore.  See our post of 26 December 2022 concerning the landlord David O’Neill Power.

There were 5 tenants listed in the 1829 Applottment Books for Gaulestown. The tenants include: Plot 51 [1] Edmond & [2] John Power (69 statute acres); Plot 52 [3] Thomas Murphy & [4] John Donovan & [5] William Kennedy (66 statute acres).  

1961 Gaulestown Glenmore

In 1961, Danny recorded 4 families or households in the townland of Gaulestown. 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.

Danny’s recorded information reveals that in 1961, 14 people resided in the townland of Gaulestown, with the population comprised of 8 males and 6 females. The largest family was the McDonald family with 7 in the household. There was 1 household recorded with a single person living alone. All information under residents of Gaulestown not in Danny’s original list has been placed in square brackets [   ].

Recorded Gaulestown Residents (1961)

Males= 8
Females= 6

Eldest Recorded Resident

The eldest resident recorded by Danny in 1961 in Gaulestown was James Phelan (22 Jan. 1887—24 Dec. 1964) who was 74 years of age in 1961. Shortly before James died he had to have one of his legs removed.  James was born in Robinstown, Glenmore in 1887 the son of Patrick Phelan (farm labourer) and his wife Mary Foran. His wife, Bridgie Phelan (19 May 1891– 5 Sept. 1972) operated a little shop out of their home in Gaulestown as late as the early 1960’s. That part of Gaulestown was known as Ballinamona (town of the turf).

Shortly after James Phelan died in December 1964 (see our P Family Surname Page for his obit), his widow sold their home. “Gaulestown, Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, sale of vested cottage with .5 acre of land, to be sold by private treaty, by directions of Mrs. Bridget Phelan. The accommodation consists of: kitchen, parlour, pantry, and 2 bedrooms. E.S.B. lighting. The out-offices consists of 3 sheds including fowl house, car house, pig house, tool house, etc. The half acre of land is at present under pasture. For further particulars, apply P.N. O’Gorman,…New Ross.” (New Ross Standard, Sat. 23 Jan. 1965, p. 1)

Recorded Work

Farmer= 2 ( 2 Males)
Farm Worker (retired) = 1 (1 Male)
Clover Meats Employee= 1 (1Male)

Gaulestown, Glenmore Residents 1961

[1] McDONALD

McDonald, Patrick (25 Aug. 1910) Farmer
McDonald, Bridget (b. 1924) wife
McDonald, John, son, child
McDonald, Patrick, son, child
McDonald, Michael, son, child
McDonald, Timothy, son, child
McDonald, Margaret, daughter, child

[2] DOYLE

Doyle, James (b. 1918) Farmer

[3] O’CONNOR

O’Connor, Willam (b. 1921)  Clover Meats
O’Connor, Alice, wife
O’Connor, Mary, daughter, child
O’Connor, Johanna, daughter, child

[4] PHELAN

Phelan, James (22 Jan. 1887) Retired   (died 24 Dec. 1964)
Phelan, Bridget (19 May 1891) wife

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

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh