Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland

Adam Cashin (Shanbogh Line)

“The Shanbogh Cashin Family History,” by Adam Cashin (c. Feb. 2021)

The Cashin’s alternately used the name Cassin in the 20th century, often the same individuals varied the spelling and settled on neither. Some branches of the family have stuck to the Cassin spelling. Whilst the name Cashen was also used in the mid-19th century, as was more rarely Cussin and Cassion. There is no correct spelling of Cashin/Cassin, but I have used the Cashin spelling favoured by my branch for the majority of individuals; saving those individuals whose descendants I know use the Cassin spelling.

On July 29th 1915, Murtagh ‘Young Murt’ Cashin (1889-1978) of Upper Shanbogh, married Katherine ‘Katie’ Murphy (1886-1966) of New Ross at the Church of St Mary, New Ross. The witnesses were Patrick ‘Paddy’ Cassin (Murt’s brother) and Annie Barron. They had 8 children, 4 of whom died in infancy. The eldest child Statia was born October 1915, meaning Katie was several months pregnant at the time of the wedding. Their first child was born in Irishtown, New Ross; but by the time of the second child Cissie’s birth they were living in Bawnjames, Rosbercon, where they remained for the remainder of their lives

The children of Murt and Katie were as follows

  1. Anastasia ‘Statia’ Cashin 1915-1997 Married Thomas O’Brian; 3 Children
  2. Marianne ‘Cissie’ Cashin 1916-1983 Married Joseph Merrigan (1908-1957); 1 Child
  3. Catherine ‘Kitty’ Cashin 1918-2000 Married John ‘Jack’ Wilkinson (1916-1964); 5 Children
  4. Thomas Cashin 1920-1921
  5. Bridget Cashin 1922-1924
  6. Margaret Mary Cashin 1924-1924
  7. Patrick ‘Jim’ Cashin 1925-2019 Married Rita Bird (1929-Living); 2 Children. Emigrated to England 1946
  8. James Cashin 1927-1928

Murtagh was known as ‘Young Murt’ to distinguish him from the other Murtagh Cashin’s of Shanbogh. His uncle Big Murt Cashin, and an a ‘Murt Cashin of the Mudhouse’ all lived in Shanbogh, until Young Murt moved to New Ross on his marriage. Murt of the Mudhouse, is likely a distant cousin to the others. The Mudhouse Cashin’s were so called, as their name suggests, because they lived in a sod house (a house made of Mud and turf), whilst the other Cashin’s had more permanent structures. The Mudhouse Cashin family grave is in Shanbogh. Young Murt and Big Murt are both buried in Rosbercon

‘Young’ Murt was heavily involved in the GAA. He played Gaelic football in 1906 and later for Tullogher GAA; in the 1910’s he played both Football and Hurling for Milebush, when Tullogher were unable to play following the Easter rising. In the late 1920’s he played Hurling for the Pink Rock Shamrocks, a Shanbogh based team, captained by his brother Jimmy. The club dissolved in the early 30’s when most of the players emigrated. In 1950 he helped form St Canice GAA (Rosbercon) and was installed as Chairman. St Canice were Kilkenny minor football champions in 1951, but merged with Tullogher GAA in 1955. Murt then became Chairman of the united club for that year)

Murt was the third son of Thomas ‘Tommy’ Cashin and Anastasia ‘Anty’/’Statia’ Roche 

Thomas ‘Tommy’ Cashin (1863-1951) of Lower Shanbogh married Anastasia ‘Anty’/’Statia’ Roche (1863-1945) of Jamestown on 24th May 1885 at the Roman Catholic Chapel of Glenmore. The witnesses were James Doyle and Mary ‘Main’ Roche (Statia’s sister). They had 14 children, 4 of whom died in infancy. Their eldest child was born 5th January 1886, so Statia was likely pregnant at the time of the wedding. They lived with Statia’s parents In Jamestown, Glenmore until 1889/90, when they moved to Upper Shanbogh, Tullogher\Rosbercon (Catherine #1 was the first to be born in Shanbogh)

  1. Michael Cashin 1886-1960; married Mary Anne Dunne (1883-1966) in 1922. both are buried in Glenmore, with two of their daughters. No other known children
  2. William Cashin 1887-1958; Joined the Royal Navy in 1905 (having lied about his age) and served till 1927. He subsequently worked in Devon for the coastguard, where he is buried. He was listed as a Widower in 1937, but I have not been able to identify a wife nor any children.
  3. Murtagh ‘Young Murt’ Cashin 1889-1978 (see above)
  4. Catherine Cashin 1890-1893
  5. Mary Cashin 1892-1893, died shortly after her sister
  6. James Cashin 1893-1894
  7. Patrick ‘Paddy’ Cassin 1894-1977, married Mary Kearney (1905-1959) in 1929. Lived in Slieverue. 2 Children both deceased (Tommy Cassin died 11/02/21). Used the Cassin spelling
  8. Catherine ‘Kate’ Cashin 1895- aft 1978, married Patrick Joseph Doyle (1903-1970) of Killurin, County Wexford in 1930. They lived in Killurin for around 40 years, before moving to Old Charleton, New Ross to live with their daughter, Mary Walsh. Kate was listed as living in her brother Murt’s obituary in 1978; but is not listed on other sibling obituaries. 2 known Children
  9. Mary ‘May’ Cashin 1897-1992 married Peter Mernagh (1892-1990). May and Peter met when she was 13 and he 17; they were both servants at a farm in Ballyverneen. Peter fought for the IRA in the Glenmore Company in 1921. May and Peter did not marry until 1924, having known each other for 14 years. In 1984 they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the Barrowlands ballroom, which saw 600 people attend and was covered by the local press. Including their long courtship, they were together for 80 years before Peter died at the age of 98. May died 20 months later
  10. Thomas Cashin 1899-1910; died at 10 years old of Meningitis
  11. Bridget Cashin 1900-1984; Never married, spent a long period in England but returned before her death; She is buried in her parent’s grave in Glenmore
  12. James ‘Jimmy’ Cassin 1901-1984; Married Bridget Kelly (1909-1979) at Thomastown in 1932. He was Captain for the Pink Rock Shamrocks in the 1920’s, but moved to Boher, Thomastown in the 30’s and became heavily involved in the Thomastown GAA. Believed to have three children and used the Cassin spelling
  13. John Cashin 1903-1979; married Catherin Fenlon (1905-1974) at New Ross in 1933, and had at least 9 children. Appears he stayed in Shanbogh his entire life and worked for the Waterford board of fisheries as a Conservator and Waterkeeper.
  14. Nicholas Cashin 1905-1996 married Mary Theresa Kearney (1918-1988) in Middlesex, England in 1951. Emigrated to England and died in London. He was the last of the generation to die. His elder brother Billy listed Nicholas as next of Kin when he died in 1958, suggesting that they had some contact (though Billy left Ireland before Nicholas was born). No known children

Tommy Cashin lived most of his life in Shanbogh; save a small period between 1885 and 1890 where following his marriage he lived in Jamestown with his in laws. By the time Catherine was born in 1890 the family were living in Upper Shanbogh, in a four-room property and a small parcel of land. He’s primary income was as a fisherman (principally Salmon) or as a Labourer. Despite his apparent poverty, he was heavily involved in local politics and was a counsellor for Ida rural district council for close over 25 years (1899-1925) and was Vice Chairman of the Council for much of that period. He was also a Guardian of New Ross poor law union for much of the same period. He contributed significantly to the 1937-39 National Folk law project and today his contributions are online https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4758503/4749438

Tommy Cashin was the eldest son of Michael ‘Old Nial’ Cashin of lower Shanbogh and Catherine Green whose origin is uncertain but is likely Jamestown. Anty Roche was the daughter of William ‘Bill’ Roche and Mary ‘Maizhe Horseshit’ Murphy of Jamestown. Mary nee Murphy’s nickname was an insult given to her by the locals who looked down on her practice of collecting horse manure and taking it back to the farm in Jamestown to use as a fertilizer on her Potato crops. Old Nial Cashin was quite pompous and was horrified when his son married a daughter of ‘Maizhe Horseshit’. This outburst must have been somewhat memorable as it was only recorded from Oral history in 1970 by Danny Dowling, when he interviewed Nicky Forrestal of the Mill. Nicky wasn’t born until a few years after old Nial died. This Oral recording is the only source of the Old Nial nickname, and it may have been a malapropism of Old Michael

Michael ‘Old Nial’ Cashin (circa 1815/25-1887) was married to Catherine Green (circa 1830-1905) by the priest of the Roman Catholic Chapel of Glenmore on 16th February 1860 at a residence in the Townland of Flemingstown, Glenmore. At the time it was common practice for Weddings and Baptisms to take place at the family home; but no Cashin’s nor Greens were recorded as being tenants in Flemingstown in an 1850 document called Griffiths valuation. Evidence suggests that Old Nial lived in lower Shanbogh prior to the marriage and continued to live thereafter. The only Green family in close proximity to Flemingstown is the Jamestown Green’s. Nicky Forrestal stated to Danny Dowling in 1970, that he believed Catherine was a Green of Jamestown, or at least closely related to them. Possibly Catherine Green was living in Flemingstown as a farm servant at the time of her marriage. In 1872 the Shanbogh estate was put up for auction by the tenants in chief Warburton family. The auction catalogue is still available, and lists all of the current tenants including Michael Cashin. From this document we can identify the family holding in Lower Shanbogh; including their field (indicated with the hashed red lines). We can also see that Michael was paying £1/12s/4d annually for 3 acres of land and the house

Michael and Catherine had 6 children, all of whom survived infancy (a rarity).

  1. Mary Cashin 1861-1927; never married, remained on the family farmstead until the death of her mother and then worked as a housekeeper
  2. Thomas Cashin 1863-1951; see above
  3. Margaret Cashin 1866-1953; married William Barron (1855-1958) of Brownsford in 1887, and had at least 9 children
  4. Bridget Cashin 1869-1912; married James Butler (1877-1953) of Moulerstown, Glenmore in 1900 and had 5 children
  5. Murtagh ‘Big Murt’ Cashin 1871-1961; following the death of his mother when he inherited the lease on the family home he married Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Mackay (1886-1969) also of Shanbogh. He was employed as a clerk of works. He had at least 11 children, the last of whom was born in 1929. He is buried in Rosbercon, alongside his wife, 5 children and a granddaughter
  6. Catherine ‘Kate’ Cashin 1873-1905; married Peter J Brazel (1873-1943) at New Ross in 1904. Peter was a police officer. On marriage they emigrated to Singapore where Peter continued to work as a Police officer; However, Kate died in childbirth shortly after arrival alongside the unnamed child. Peter later remarried, and died in Middlesex, England

Michael Cashin’s nickname of Old Nial is recorded from oral history and may not be accurate. He used Michael on all official documents. According to oral history his family came from around Ballyneale, near Tulloger, and it is claimed that he is buried in Ballyneale. His year of birth is estimated as 1815 from his listed age of 72 on his death certificate in 1887. This may well be inaccurate; in this period many did not know their date of birth and its possible this was decades out. The civil registration of Catholic births did not start until 1864; whilst the Catholic baptism records of Tullogher and Glenmore are incomplete until the 1830s. The earliest official record we have is his 1860 marriage record. However, the 1872 the Shanbogh auction catalogue enabled his residence to be identified, and this lease when compared to the Griffith valuation shows that the same property was occupied by a Catherin Cashin in 1850. The assumption can be made that she was his widowed mother in 1850, but died before 1872 leaving the lease to Michael. We know from later generations that Big Murt inherited the lease on his mother’s death. Rather than the expected tradition of elder sons inheriting it is more probable that the older sons married and started separate households whilst the younger unmarried sons continued to hold the family home and only married once they inherited. Most likely Catherine Cashin died a year prior to Michael’s marriage and the inheritance enabled him to marry, but it could simply be that she handed over the lease and continued to reside in the property 

Michael acted as the Rent Warner for the Shanbogh landlord. In 1872, a Crown solicitor named Thomas Boyd, who was also a tenant, bought up most of the freehold of Shanbogh at the auction of the Warburton estate. Boyd paid significantly more than the value of the land in order to outbid several tenants who wished to own their land outright, borrowing the money at 5% interest for which the existing rent would not cover. He immediately raised the rent. Most tenants agreed to the rent increase, but they were almost all small tenants, like Michael, with a few acres. The major tenants who held over a hundred acres, such the Phelan and Holden families held out and refused to pay the rent increase. In 1880, three masked men opened fire on Thomas Boyd’s ‘car’; he was injured, but his son Charles died of his wounds. The authorities were quick to arrest two of the Phelan brothers (Wattie and John), the third brother, James, had the perfect alibi as he was ferrying several members of the police force across the river Barrow at the time. To support the prosecution, the authorities targeted several younger girls from Shanbogh and bought them to Dublin for their ‘safety’. Michael’s daughters Mary and Margaret Cashin were two of the girls detained against their will. They were told their parents supported their protective status and testifying would lead to a large cash reward.

Michael raised the issue of his daughter’s illegal detention through the courts; it was ruled that his daughters were staying in Dublin voluntarily and that the Government would be happy to pay for the loss of income the girl’s departure had caused. Rather than give up, Michael simply applied the full logic of the ruling and went to Dublin and took his daughters home with him. Afterall if the girls were there voluntarily then they could also leave if they wished. The authorities were unable to object, the girls returned home and did not testify in the Authorities favour. At the trial both Phelan brothers were acquitted, and proclaimed Irish heroes. Wattie however never recovered mentally from the arrest. It is unknown who actually committed the ambush of the Boyd’s and there is a variety of claims over the true motive. Locals maintain that the authorities fixated on the Phelan’s too quickly and failed to follow up on the witness’ that saw the perpetrators fleeing Shanbogh. James Phelan’s daughter recorded that her uncles probably knew the attack was coming (along with many in Shanbogh); but that it was actually perpetrated by men named Holden and Dwyer from County Tipperary; and rather than targeted at Thomas Boyed was actually targeted at Boyd’s eldest son Evans Boyd over an offense he committed against a girl related to them. Tommy Cashin recalled a story to the National Folk Law commission that some thought the act was perpetrated as revenge for Evans Boyd’s treatment of the Widow Doolin (Danny Dowling’s great grandmother); Tommy himself doubted this, but stated that in later life that Wattie Phelan believed that he himself had committed the murder

In 1881 the United Kingdom Liberal government passed the Land Law (Ireland); this established Land Courts to determine the correct rent that tenants should pay. In Shanbogh the Land Court immediately reduced almost the entire increase that Boyd had imposed. Later acts gave tenants the right to purchase their lease and lent the money to do so at interest rates lower than Boyd had borrowed at to buy Shanbogh, and Boyd lost a significant sum of money.

Oral tradition has identified Catherine Green as a Green of Jamestown. The Greens of Jamestown were originally boatmen from county Wexford who settled in Jamestown in the early 19th century, and held a considerable amount of land in and around Jamestown. This identification cannot be confirmed in any official documentation. Catherine’s estimated year of birth based on her death certificate predates the Glenmore Baptism records. The family burial plot in Glenmore makes no mention of a sibling called Catherine, and it would be appropriate for Catherine and Michael’s marriage to take place in her family home in Jamestown, if she were a Green of Jamestown, rather than Flemingstown. Bridget Green, who was a Green of Jamestown, was married in Jamestown, and she appears immediately before Catherine in the marriage register of Glenmore Chapel. However, there are no Greens in Flemingstown in 1850 of Griffith, and the closest Green family is the Greens of Jamestown

As mentioned above Michael ‘Old Nial’ Cashin is assumed to be a younger son of a widow Catherine Cashin. We can assume that the widow Cashin likely died shortly before Old Nial’s 1860 marriage. We can also infer to a certain extent that Old Nial’s father was probably called Thomas. Irish tradition is to name the eldest son after the paternal grandfather, and this tradition can be seen with Tommy Cashin’s known eldest Paternal Grandsons who were all named Thomas in his honour (eldest sons of Murt, Paddy, Jimmy and John). A Thomas Cashin was sponsor in the 1836 baptism of a Patrick Murphy in Shanbogh, suggesting that a Thomas Cashin lived in Shanbogh at the time. This tenuously allows us to link Michael to a Murtagh Cashin on Griffith in 1850; who also named his eldest son Thomas, suggesting both were sons of a Thomas Cashin. This junior Thomas Cashin (1842-1879) is the father of the Mudhouse Cashin’s. His death was recorded by Michael Cashin rather than a known relative, which further suggests a family connection between the two. A spinster of Shanbogh, called Catherine Cashin died in 1890 at the reported age of 70. Her death was reported by her niece, a Mary Cashin also of Shanbogh, who would most probably be Michael Cashin ‘s eldest daughter (other known Mary Cashin’s were married by this date). A final link maybe to a Philip Cashin, another Shanbogh Cashin, who had twin sons named James and Michael. Murtagh Cashin was sponsor at the baptism, whilst the name Michael suggests that he had a relation named Michael. However, this link is too tenuous to imply a sibling link, Philip could have been an uncle or cousin, or simply a friend with the same last name.

A possible alternative is a Michael Cashin of Shanbogh established from the newspapers in the 1830’s. In 1834 another landlord recorded as Mr Leonard (A Catholic) was ambushed and murdered by assailants in Shanbogh. A James Cashin of Shanbogh was implicated and became a witness for the prosecution. James Cashin had two brothers named Richard and Michael, a widowed unnamed mother and two sisters (Catherine and Mary). In the press Michael was identified as being about 9 years old, James about 18 and Richard between the two. Their mother was widowed at the time. James emigrated following the trial, Richard remained in Shanbogh and had no reported children, but does appear as a tenant on Griffith in 1850. A Richard Cashin was recorded as dying at the age of 40 in 1864, in one of the earliest death records for a catholic. There is no indication of what happened to Michael. It is possible that this Michael is our Michael, but that would preclude Murtagh being his brother as he was not listed a sibling by the press. A further reason to doubt the connection is that these Cashin’s lived in a lane off of the New Ross to Waterford road, which would place the family in Upper Shanbogh not lower Shanbogh. This would be consistent with the lease that Richard Cashin held in 1850, but not that of Catherine Cashin. I am therefore of the opinion that this is not the same family

We therefore have the following Conjectured family; Thomas Cashin (died between 1836 and 1850) married Catherine, maiden name unknown (died possibly around 1859), likely sometime between 1800 and 1820. Thomas Cashin likely did not come from Shanbogh but from somewhere further north within the Parish of Tulloger that favoured burial in Ballyneale. They probably had many children but we can suppose the following

  1. Murtagh Cashin (died between 1850 and 1864) Married 1839 Johanna Whyte (d.1879). They had four known children, including Thomas (1842-1879) father of the Shanbogh Mudhouse Cashin’s and Nicholas Cashin (1848-1915) who was perhaps the first line of the New Ross Cashin’s
  2. Catherine Cashin (about 1820 to 1890); Spinster who died in Shanbogh at 70
  3. Michael Cashin (died 1887) see above

This is perhaps as far as the research into the Cashin family can go; there simply aren’t the records to go back further. Cashin, whilst not a common name, is not infrequent in 19th century Kilkenny; there are many potential cousin’s but little prospect of establishing a connection. I do hope one day to track down the purported family grave in Ballyneale in the hope that this may list more information; but the likelihood is that subsequent generations have reused the grave and replaced the marker (if there was a marker to begin with).