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Glenmore Verses, Rhymes & Lyrics
Over the years Danny recorded a number of verses, rhymes and song lyrics that were recited or sung by Glenmore people. Today, we are going to focus on the local verses, rhymes and lyrics and reserve the lyrics concerning Carrickshock etc. for another day. On 4 January 2020, Danny described the contributions of verses, rhymes and lyrics that he recorded as the “giving of an account, in verse of various happenings, some complimentary and others most uncomplimentary.” The local people who composed or recited verses, rhymes and lyrics were probably not aware of the fact that verses, rhymes and lyrics are all mnemonic devices, or memory devices, that aid a person’s information retention or retrieval. These mnemonic devices were viewed as a form of entertainment, but are valued today as part of the local oral tradition where information and ideas were orally communicated from one generation to the next.
The Suitor
The jilted suitor, or “wannabe” suitor features in some of the local rhymes and verses. Mick Walsh, of Grogan, Davidstown in Glenmore was interviewed on the 10th December 1969, and stated that “Peg Harte was asked by a man to marry her, but she carted him. He was mad after her especially as she had a £1,000 fortune.” After being rejected the man wrote on a poster outside Mallinarrigle chapel, the following verse:
Eliza Harte of Darbystown,
She is little and nothing,
And no great things,
She made her fortune on eggs and hens.
Similarly, Michael Power, of Busherstown, Glenmore told Danny on St. Stephen’s Day 1969 that Pat “Pand” Sheehan was married to Mary “Purse” Walsh. Mary Purse before she married Sheehan “was doing a line with” Johnnie “Pint” Holden and “she let him down.” After being rejected Johnnie “Pint” Holden composed the following rhyme:
Bad luck to you ’ould lazy Pand,
You took my love away,
To spend her life to be your wife,
On the bogs of Ballinclea.
Father Neary–Hero of the Ballyfacy Evictions
A tribute verse to Father Neary, the parish priest of Mullinavat was recorded by Danny on the 6th of May 1958 during an interview of Wattie Power, of Jamestown, Glenmore. During the interview Wattie stated that during the Ballyfacey evictions, his mother along with Danny’s great-grandmother walked from Jamestown to Ballyfacey to protest the evictions. Father Neary was there and saved the tenants from being evicted and on that account a song was composed in Father Neary’s honour. For further information on Fr. Neary and the Ballyfacey evictions see our post of 8 March 2020. Wattie provided the following verse of the song:
The poor they lost a noble friend,
The rich they lost a guide,
The orphans lost a father,
When Fr. Neary died.
School Boy Rhymes
On the other extreme, Wattie Power also recited a rhyme from his youth that referred to a local hedge school that operated in the early 19th century by a man named Philip Wallace, of Redgap.
Phillips scholars against the wall,
A pint of piss would drown them all.
Wattie Power, in 1955, also told Danny that when Wattie was a chap Danny’s grandfather first recited to Wattie a rhyme connected with the practice of keeping hens in the dwellinghouse. According to Wattie up until about 1880 it was quite a common practice to roost hens on stout sticks called cársnáns inside the front door. In some cases the hens were kept on a roost which stretched right across the kitchen from wall to wall. Wattie and Michael Power saw such a roost in Brian McCabe’s old house in Jamestown. The incident which lead to the rhyme below happened somewhere in Glenmore.
You saucy hen of little wit, How dare you down on Cashen shit, Tis in your arse, I’d drive a peg, The way you’ll never lay another egg.
Bread
In 1955 Danny recorded two verses regarding bread that were commonly recited “100 years ago”. Although both are similar one was contributed by Wattie Power, of Jamestown, and the other came from “Nicky the Miller” Forristal of Graiguenakill, Glenmore.
I. Barley bread ’ld kill a man dead,
Rye bread will do him no harm,
Oaten bread will clean the blood
And wheaten bread will strengthen the arm.
II. Barley bread would starve you dead,
Yellow meal bread would do you no harm,
Oaten bread would strengthen your blood,
And wheaten bread would strengthen your arm.
The First Faction Fight
Wattie Power, in November 1955, also recited to Danny an old verse that he heard from the old people when he was a chap regarding St. Patrick’s Day.
The first faction fight in Old Ireland they say,
Was all on account of St. Patrick’s Day,
Some fought for the eighth,
For the ninth some would die,
And whoever said wrong,
They would blacken his eye,
Until Father Mulcahy, he told them their sin,
He said boys don’t be fighting but sometimes combine,
Don’t be always disputing about 8 and 9,
Combine 8 and 9, 17 is the mark,
And let that be his birthday,
Amen said the Clerk.
Ballad of the Drowninng of Two Donkeys
Nicky the Miller in a 1977 interview provided Danny with the following verses from a ballad composed about the “blackguardly deed” of drowning two donkeys in a late in Rochestown. For our international readers the lates of Rochestown are 10 to 12 foot deep drains in the marshes that flow into the river. A man by the name of Gahan, of Rochestown, Glenmore was suspected as being the culprit and was aided by another man. The donkeys were owned by a poor local man called James the Piper. Old James Whelan, “the Walker,” of Ballyhobuck, Glenmore often sang this ballad.
Ye drifters and ye travellers with me do sympathise,
And I hope this lamentation will draw tears down from your eyes,
Concerning this cruel murder that happened here of late,
And to piper’s pair of donkeys they were drowned in the late.
The night was cold and stormy and the north wind it blew harsh,
And for to get some shelter, they strayed into the Marsh.
At 11 or 12 o’clock, their enemy came that way,
And they shoved the pair of donkey down into the dark and dismal late.
And as for his wife Catherine, ‘tis she will feel the smart,
For she was at her liberty, when she had her ass and cart.
The Loss of My Coat
Nicky “the Miller” also provided Danny with the following which are a few verses from another ballad also sung by James Whelan.
The Loss of My Coat T’was beg’n in the month of December, I remember the day of the week, I was cuttin’ furze, earnin’ my wages, The I wasn’t inclined for to sleep, I woke with the blooming of róró, When I arrived at my business, I threw my good coat on the ground, Expecting to do my endeavours, My faggots to lie them right sound. Then I was called to my dinner, Away sure I whistled and bowled, When I returned to my business again, My coat was devoured by a cow, She instantly ran away among numbers, I couldn’t convict her on oath, I sat down in deep contemplation, Bewailing the loss of my coat. I think I will go across the Atlantic, If I can get a ship or boat, And I’ll sail into some warm climate, where I won’t want ‘era coat.
The Wall Families of Treanaree
Sometimes religion or religious practices are credited with being the inspiration, or the alleged inspiration of rhymes and verses. For example, Nicky Walsh, of Grogan, Davidstown, Glenmore, told Danny that there were 3 families of Wall in Treanaree, Slieverue, each with small farms. In the past to ensure that all parishioners contributed to the Church the names and amounts paid by parishioners were read out during Mass. It was said that the Slieverue priest when reading out the list of contributors to the collection unwittingly made a rhyme of the Treanaree Wall families that stuck.
Long Tom, Tom and Tommy,
Big Nick, Dick and Foxy Paddy.
Catechism
In 1958 in the Glenmore National School, Gerald Hines, of Ballybrahee, helped other young scholars with the spelling of Catechism both forward and backwards (although it is not clear the benefit of spelling the word backwards we have included it.)
Forward:
Catty Atty Told Elly Connolly How I Stole Money = CATECHISM
Backwards:
Master Sits In His Chair Each Time At Catechism =MSIHCETAC
Mrs. Deady’s Trimmings
Our final local verse today was said to have been a prayer said by Mrs. Deady, of Upper Ballyfacey, Glenmore as part of “the trimmings” after the praying of the rosary. In Glenmore the rosary after supper each evening was recited. Allegedly a passer-by overheard Mrs. Deady one evening. According to Tom Mullins, late of Flemingstown and Dublin, this verse was attributed to the Paddy O’Connor family of Ballyfacey. Mariah Deady, who is mentioned in the verse, taught some of the Paddy O’Connor brothers when they were at school.
God bless me and my man Pat,
Make Mariah and Mikey fat,
Us four, no more,
Amen.
Update—We will be posting on the webpage a guest article from Martin Forristal concerning Mount Ida in the next week. If you have a guest article concerning Glenmore, that you would like to have posted on the webpage please forward it for consideration to our email glenmore.history@gmail.com.
If you are not aware, material added to the webpage over the past couple of weeks includes: family updates, a list from 1884 of Glenmore farmers, and more useful links.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Glenmore Redmond Volunteers and the Fife & Drum Band
For many, history was a subject in school that concentrated on Kings and wars. The everyday life of ordinary people did not feature in history books or lessons, thus it is often difficult to determine how national events impacted on Glenmore people. Thanks to Danny Dowling’s interviews and research we have details of how Glenmore people reacted to evictions and supported various national political movements. Today, we highlight the 1914 establishment of the Glenmore Committee of Redmond Volunteers and the Glenmore Fife and Drum “Redmond Volunteer Band.”
In February 1970, Danny interviewed Nicholas Forristal, of the Mill, Graiguenakill ( 1888-1979) concerning the Redmond Volunteers of Glenmore. For our international readers, John Redmond (1856-1918) of Wexford, was a politician who advocated Home Rule for Ireland by peaceful, constitutional means. Today, Danny stated that Redmond endeared himself to locals when he was first elected to the House of Commons for New Ross in 1881 and was suspended within 24 hours after giving his maiden speech. Redmond and couple dozen other Home Rule for Ireland supporters, including Michael Davitt the founder of the Land League, were suspended from Parliament.
John Redmond was a great admirer of Charles Stewart Parnell and Redmond became the party whip for the Irish Parliamentary Party. After the Parnell divorce scandal in 1890 Redmond continued to support him. When Parnell died in 1891 he became leader of the minority Parnellite faction and was elected to Parliament from Waterford which he represented until his death. In 1912 the third Home Rule Bill was introduced and passed in 1914. Implementation of Home Rule stalled first with Ulster Unionists forming the Ulster Volunteers to resist Home Rule by threatening force and secondly, due to the outbreak of World War I. In response, the nationalists formed their own paramilitary group, the National Volunteers in 1913.
The National Volunteers split over Redmond’s support of the British war effort and his advocacy that National Volunteers should serve in the British army. The Easter Rising in 1916 is said to have taken Redmond by surprise, led by a faction of the National Volunteers. As the First World War dragged on support disappeared for Redmond and his policy of Home Rule for Ireland based on peaceful, constitutional means. Controversy still exists surrounding Redmond’s support of the British war effort. For example, in 2016 a banner featuring Redmond in Dublin was defaced by protesters (see, https://www.thejournal.ie/misneach-1916-college-green-banner-john-redmond-2681018-Mar2016/ ).
In Glenmore in early 1914 a meeting was held in the Glenmore School. Father Phelan, the Glenmore Parish Priest, presided over the meeting to discuss and elect the Glenmore Committee of “Redmond Volunteers.” The school was full, and a secret paper ballot was held for the election. The “Redmond Volunteers” Committee Members elected included: Nicholas Forristal, the Mill; Jack Dunphy, Ballyverneen; Pat Reddy, Kilbride; Pat Hanrahan, Glenmore; Jim Fluskey, Glenmore; Bill Power, Robinstown. Nicky Forristal topped the poll, and Pat Reddy, of Kilbride, came in second. John Dunphy of Ballyverneen, and Nick Curran, of Robinstown, were both not elected but due to the persistence of Father Phelan they were both co-opted onto the Committee.
Danny revealed this morning that the Parish Priest was not a supporter of Redmond. Danny does not know whether it was because Redmond supported Parnell after his divorce scandal or he could not support Redmond due to his personal political affiliations. Danny stated that several Redmond supporters returning from a night drinking in New Ross stopped to shout abuses outside the house where the priest resided waking local inhabitants. Another interesting fact was revealed. In about 1870 the Parish Priest, of that time, forced all three pubs in Glenmore to close. One of the pubs was situated just in front of the present Priest’s house and disrupted Mass with drunken shouts, inappropriate conduct and the banging of mugs on the bar. Glenmore remained a “dry” parish until 1963, therefore causing those seeking a drink prior to 1963 to travel outside of the parish.
Shortly, after the “Redmond Volunteers” Committee was established in 1914 the Glenmore Fife and Drum Band was founded as a “Redmond Volunteer Band.” The band trainer was Tom Butler a sanitary officer with the New Ross U.D.C. He came out to Glenmore once or twice a week. Peter and Stephen Mernagh of Foristalstown played in it, as well as Stephen Heffernan, of Aylwardstown, and Pat Kennedy of Kilbride. Jack Murphy of Weatherstown was the Drummer. Nicky Forristal stated that he was “no use at it at all.” Ned Murphy, Jack’s father, was a drummer in the St. Mary’s Brass Band of New Ross. (Ned Murphy died in the great flu epidemic of 1918.)
The Glenmore Fife and Drum Band gave a long time training in front of Peggie Gaffney’s house in the Village. They then went into the Board Room above Fluskey’s and ended up in the outbuilding opposite the Barrack’s across the Ballybrahee Road in the Village.
Nicky Forristal reported that the Glenmore Fife and Drum Band only played once outside the parish. The band played in New Ross at a parade of the Volunteers in Barrett’s Park about the beginning of the war on a holiday the 29th of June 1914. It was the only band at the parade of Volunteers that day. Nicky reported that “they weren’t able to play at all. All the children of Ross were mocking them. Nicky Denny, of Mullinahone, who was drunk that day, tried to get the drum off Jack Murphy to belt it.”
It is not recorded whether the band broke up due to disillusionment with Redmond, the war or due to some other reason such as the lack of appreciation for their musical efforts.
The painting of the fife player above is by Manet, entitled The Fife Player (1866) Musée d’Orsay.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The First Bicycles, Motor Cars, Radios etc. in Glenmore
As the first of the New Year approaches we decided to list some of the firsts recorded in Danny Dowling’s notebooks. If you know of any other Glenmore firsts please feel free to share them.
Pat Cody, of Glenmore, in his November 1955 interview with Danny discussed the earliest local and parish men who owned bicycles. The Dooley’s of Hoodsgrove, Rosbercon were the very first in the area to get a Penny Farthing bicycle. James Dooley cycled to Dublin and back on a Penny Farthing. Although Pat Cody did not reveal when this trip to Dublin and back took place, Penny Farthing bicycles were popular in the 1870’s and 1880’s and were replaced by chain driven “safety bicycles” that had similar sized tyres in the early 1890’s.
According to Pat Cody, John Condon was the first man in Glenmore Parish to get a bicycle and it was of the Penny Farthing type. Jack Doherty of Milltown was the first to get the solid type safety bicycle. Mr. Dobbyn of Mullinavat got it for him. Mr. Dobbyn was the son of stationmaster of Mullinvat. Richard Grace of Kilbride was the first in Glenmore to get a pneumatic tyred bicycle shortly followed by Jack Power of Clune who also got a pneumatic tyred model.
In 1968 Danny interviewed Mrs. Alice Power, née Curran, (widow of Walter “Wattie” Power).At the time of her interview Alice Curran Power was 87 years of age and identifiedKatie Ennett of Cappah and Minnie Heffernan of Glenmore, as the first women in Glenmore to own and ride bicycles. She stated that John Condon of Mullinahone, Glenmore had a Penny Farthing a long time before the ladies obtained bicycles. Alice and her sister Maggie Curran were the next girls to get bicycles in Glenmore. They bought Rudge-Whitworth bicycles around 1900. At that time bicycles were not being sold in New Ross. The bicycles had to be purchased in Wexford and cost about £11 or £12 each. Alice noted that a few years afterwards bicycles got very plentiful and that Bridget Gaffney also likely had an early bicycle as she was great friends with Katie Ennett and Minnie Heffernan.
Walter “Wattie”Power, of Jamestown, in 1956 informed Danny that the first man ever to get a motor car in Glenmore was his brother-in-law, Nick Curran N.T. (national teacher) in about 1923. It was a Singer. He also recalled that the first radio in Glenmore was obtained by Fr. Bergin, C.C. and shortly thereafter Nicholas Curran also got a radio. Wattie identified Peg Purcell, of Busherstown, Glenmore as the first person “in the district” to get a treadle (foot powered) sewing machine about 1870. Peg Purcell, was Main Gaul’s mother) and was a dressmaker. Peg Purcell died when Wattie was a small child and he recalled that she wore a white bordered bonnet on her head. The make of the treadle sewing machine is not recorded.
In 1958, Danny identified the earliest motor cars and owners in Glenmore that he recalled as follows:
1. Thomas Aylward, Haggard—blue Model T
2. J.K. Walsh, The Village—two tone Morris
3. James Vereker, Grogan—Armstrong, brown
4. Michael Heffernan, The Village—Armstrong Siddey[?] blue
5. Dick Murphy, Robinstown—red, Model T
6. Dan McCarthy, Ballyfacey—Morris, green
7. Jim Walsh, The Village—black, Model T
8. Jim Donovan, Creamery Manager—black, Overland Whippet
9. Mrs. Henrietta Curran, Robinstown—Singer, red with yellow wheels
10. Julia & Ciss Donovan, Robinstown—black, Austin 7
11. Pat & Jim Hanrahan, Robinstown—grey, Ford Model B
12. Dr. Michael Gibbons, C.C.— two seater
13. Ned Grace, Forristalstown—Morris 8
Danny believes that the first steam thresher in Glenmore belonged to Martin Walsh of Ballybrahee, and Dick Murphy of Robinstown had the first tractor in Glenmore parish. He also believes that the first telephone belonged to Jim Donovan the first creamery manager. According to Danny the first electricity in Glenmore was generated by the creamery and the creamery supplied electricity to the Village during Tom Cudihy’s time. Tom Cudihy was the second Glenmore Creamery Manager and came around 1932. Danny believes that he had the first television in Glenmore and he obtained it when he lived in Jamestown. He recalls that people came all the way from Ross to watch it.
Update (24 Feb. 2021) According to the obituary of James Hannigan published in the Kilkenny People (Fri. 30 Sept. 1960, p. 5) James Hannigan, a native of Glenmore Village was the first person in Glenmore to own a phonograph.
Happy New Year to all of our readers!
Santa and Driving Out the Hunger in Glenmore
Christmas
To date 19 of Danny Dowling’s notebooks have been transcribed. Within the 19 transcribed notebooks there is very little recorded regarding Christmas or New Year’s in Glenmore during earlier times. However, in 1969 Danny Dowling interviewed Nicholas Forristal (1888-1979) of The Mill, Graiguenakill, Glenmore. Nicholas Forristal is usually referred to by Danny as “Nicky the Miller.” Nicky informed Danny that in his childhood there was no Santa Clause. Children before the First World War in Glenmore did not believe in Santa and he “did not come around.”
During Nicky’s youth the emphasis at Christmas was on “plenty of grub, steak and beef.” The grocers with whom people dealt gave big hampers to their customers at Christmas. Nicky recalled that his uncle, Billy Forristal of Ballyverneen, Glenmore, one Christmas received ½ a gallon of whiskey as a Christmas gift from Stevenson’s the Grocer’s in North St., New Ross, where Mace was located in 1969.
New Year’s
In a 1958 interview Nicky the Miller discussed a custom entitled “driving away the hunger,” which was performed on New Year’s Eve. He noted that it was practiced all over the parish of Glenmore during his youth and other parishes in “his father’s time.” Nicky’s father was Patrick Forristal, (1849-1931) of The Mill, Graiguenakill, Glenmore. Nicky’s father was born during the Famine. Paddy Forristal performed this custom each New Year’s Eve during Nicky’s youth.
The procedure for “driving away the hunger” began with a griddle of oaten bread being baked on the fire. The cake when baked was divided into 4 pieces. The head of the house took one portion in his hand, stood up from the table and walked to the front door, and as he struck the back of the door with the bread he recited the following verse three times:
Fógramég, Fógraméy, Gortamac,
Anoct Go Blén Anoct
Agus Anoct Féinye
Ó Faireac Go Deíreac
Igír na Torcac
Na Gort Gan Bolenstóce
[Update 25 November 2023–Thanks to Trish Bradfield for sending a translation for this old Irish verse. “Tell me, tell them, about the Famine tonight, and all year from my heart that no hunger goes untold, from here on in.”]
After each time the verse was recited everyone in the house would stand up and give a shout. After completion of ceremony, all in the house would get bit of the lump of bread used for striking the door. All in the house would then sit down and eat the bread with a jug of milk.
It was said that at driving away the hunger ceremonies in the Rower area the hunger was driven to Woodstock.
On behalf of Glenmore-History.com we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year with plenty of “good grub!”
The drawing of Santa above was done by Thomas Nast in 1881 and entitled “Merry Old Santa Claus.”
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Glenmore Folk Remedies For Humans & Animals
From the beginning of time people have attempted to treat illnesses with home or folk remedies. Today, many of the remedies that were employed 100 years ago may be unknown to most of us. In 1955, Walter Power of Jamestown, Glenmore was interviewed by Danny Dowling regarding folk remedies that Wattie observed prior to 1900.
Three times over the door or Trí hárd don doras
This was a rite to cure weakness or sudden illness and was observed in the parish of Glenmore down to about 1895. This remedy consisted of kneeling on the doorstep with one knee on each side of the trestle and at the same time picking a wee bit of dust from the outside of the threshold and dropping it into a small drop of water in a cup which was held in one hand. Another pinch of dust was taken from the middle of the top of the threshold and likewise deposited into the water. The third and final pinch was taken from the floor inside the threshold. When this was deposited into the water, the water was given to the sick person to drink three sups of it whilst what was left of it was emptied on the back of the fire in the kitchen. Wattie reported that this remedy never failed to revive a sick person. It used to be given to a person with amackum (bad appearance).
Cure for Rickets
Another cure which was in vogue up to about 1895, was that for rickets. This consisted of getting an ass and bringing him into the kitchen and giving him something to eat. The patient had to creep right under his (the ass’s) belly from one side to the other and back again. Then the patient went round to the ass’s head whence he crawled between the front legs right under it, and out under the hind legs and again back in under the hind and out beneath the front. This was repeated three times and corresponded to making the sign of the cross three times. Wattie Power told Danny that he went through this treatment when young and remembered it vividly.
In 1975, Danny Dowling interviewed his brother-in-law Tom Barron of Ballyconway, Thomastown, regarding some folk remedies that Tom had witnessed people use.
Measles
A cure or treatment for measles was sheep saffron (dung) and white wine mixed together. The mixture was then given to the patient to drink.
Warts
If you happened to find a stone with a hole in it containing water that water could be rubbed on warts to get rid of the warts. It was always a cure so long as the stone was found without looking for it.
Ringworm on Calves
Ringworm on calves was treated with waste oil and black sulphur mixed together and spread on the affected parts.
Worms in Cattle-tails
If a cow had a worm in her tail, a slit would be made in the skin of the tail and a bulb of garlic inserted. According to Tom Barron this was always a success.
Foot Rot in Cattle
To cure foot rot in cattle the farmer would watch where the animal let down the affected foot on the ground. The sod would then be cut in the shape of a half diamond on the spot, and the sod would be turned upside down, and the sod squeezed back into from where it was cut. As the grass withered away, the foot is at the same time curing. According to Tom Walsh of Rathinure this treatment was referred to as treasluach in Glenmore (pronounced tras-loock).
Farcy in Horses
To treat farcy in horses the farmer would get two small pieces of the she dog root, slit the skin of the horse’s forehead, and then insert the two small pieces of the she dog root in the form of a cross. According to Tom Barron this was a great cure.
Sores & Cuts on Cattle or Humans
Nicholas Forristal, of Graiguenakill, Glemore, in 1977 reported to Danny that urine was a common remedy for sores on cattle, but humans also used it. If a man cut his finger the cure was to urinate on it a few times. For sore hands, “got from binding corn,” the old people always used to put urine on their hands. It was a sure cure. Nicholas Forristal believed it was the salt content of the urine that healed the sores and cuts.
Remedy for Rheumatism
Joseph Flynn, late of Busherstown, Glenmore, but then of Grantstown in Co. Waterford, in an undated interview, provided the following remedy for rheumatism.
1 ounce cream of tartar
1 ounce epsom salts
One lemon.
Put the lot into one pint of water, and bring to boil. Then allow it to simmer until the lemon is dissolved. Then strain into a bottle which must be kept corked. A wine glassful of the liquid must be taken each morning before breakfast.
Abuse of Remedies
In 1989, Tom Walsh of Rathinure, Glenmore was interviewed by Danny and provided information concerning the “cunnawee” for the treatment of warts, the headache stone of Kilcolumb, and misadventures that befell individuals who abused the cures.
The “cunnawee” (yellow hound) was said to be served to St. Patrick by the inhabitants of Ballincrea in an effort to poison St. Patrick. Before St. Patrick began to eat he blessed the meal presented whereupon the hound instantly came alive. The hound jumped off the plate and crashed into a stone leaving the imprint of its head in the stone. Water was always supposed to be present in the impression. People with warts went there to put the water on their warts and it would get rid of the warts. Often offerings were left.
A man named Murphy from Davidstown, who was very fond of drink, went to this stone at the “cunnawee” to see if he could find any offerings. He found seven pence and a halfpenny with which he went to the pub and drank it. Sometime afterwards, he got a sore throat that turned out to be cancerous from which he died. The locals used to say it was on account of taking the offering money from St. Patrick’s stone.
Saint Columbcill’s stone is in the field west of the Kilcolumb church ruins in the townland of Rathinure. The stone has three large hallowed out bowls and originally had two small holes in one side of the stone. It is believed that this stone was the holy water font of the church and it was removed from the church during penal times and dumped in the field where it has remained. Local lore has it that any person who can place his head in the centre “bowl” at the same time placing one knee in each of the other two “bowls” will never suffer from headaches. This was a common cure for headaches in the old days. Tom Walsh related that one of the small “holes” where a thumb was able to fit in, by persons desiring to rid themselves of headaches, was knocked off by the swing of the plough striking against it. It appears that the man was ploughing the field and kept so near the stone that the damage was caused. He was dead before the next morning.
Update–New family information was added to the family page over the past week. To date 19 of Danny’s notebooks have been transcribed and only information from three notebooks has been placed on the family page so far.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Glenmore: Between Waterford and New Ross [Updated]
As touched upon in our previous post regarding the Glenmore Post Office, the main Waterford to New Ross road has always passed through the parish of Glenmore. Today, before the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge opens crossing the River Barrow at the Pink Rock in Glenmore and bypasses the town of New Ross, the distance of the N25 between the Rice Bridge of Waterford and the O’Hanrahan Bridge of New Ross is 13.4 miles.
Danny Dowling has recorded the rich oral tradition of Glenmore and his notebooks contain information regarding ships, railway, roads, and lanes that linked Glenmore to both Waterford and New Ross. Today, on the verge of the opening of the New Ross by-pass Danny wanted to highlight the known changes through Glenmore of the main road from Waterford to New Ross.
Main Road Between Waterford & New Ross
There are several old maps available on line primarily held by Trinity and UCD. Trinity has the Down Survey Maps of 1656-1658 available at http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/down-survey-maps.php. This survey was supervised by the Surgeon General of the British Army, Dr. William Petty. The purpose of the survey was to measure and record the lands owned by Catholic landholders that were forfeited. These forfeited lands were then to be distributed to English soldiers and other Cromwell supporters.
UCD has a collection of old maps available at https://digital.ucd.ie/view/ivrla:426. Maps in this collection include a 1711 map by Charles Price which is entitled “A Correct Map of Ireland, Divided into Provinces, Counties and Baronies and Showing Road…” and a 1762 map by John Rocque with a longer title, “A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland, Divided into Provinces, Counties & Baronies, Showing the Archbishop, Bishops, Cities, Burroughs, Market Towns, Villages, Barracks…Ferries, Passes: Also the Great, the Branch and the by Post Roads.”
From a Glenmore perspective the three maps above are important more from what they do not show than what they do show. Glenmore does not appear as either a market town or village. A ferry is depicted at Ferrybank and at Rosbercon. The road between Waterford and New Ross is depicted as almost a straight line from Ferrybank to Rosbercon, with little detail provided along the length of the depicted road in these eighteenth century maps.
Prior to the old mail coach road local tradition indicates that the path of the oldest known road between Waterford and New Ross commenced in Ferrybank. This road then went to Mile Post into Slieverue Village and onto what is now Glenmore Village via the High Road down through the Churns across the village stream out through Cappagh and onto Ballygurrim to Butterbridge, and onto the ferry at Rosbercon. It is believed that the “main road” made use of existing lanes that linked villages and hamlets. The road that locally became known as “the churns” derived its name from two markers shaped like churns near its intersection with the High Road.
The mail coach road shortened the journey because it was more direct. This is believed to be the road depicted in the 18th century maps. From Ferrybank the mail coach road went to Mile Post, through Slieverue Village and onto Glenmore parish. The road turned at Donovan’s Mill and followed the “High Road” across the townlands of Scartnamore, Rathinure, onto the Halfwayhouse in Aylwardstown, where the horses would be changed. Instead of turning left at the Churns to go down into the Village of Glenmore, the old mail coach road went past Forristal’s Mill in Graiguenakill, onto Forristalstown, Shambough past the old Shambough school, to Butterbridge, to Rosbercon and onto New Ross.
Travel Between Waterford & New Ross in 1829
Update: 16 June 2023–thanks to Andrew Doherty of Waterford Tides and Tales who shared the following 1829 article that describes the road between Waterford and New Ross.
“COMMUNICATION BETWEEN WATERFORD AND ROSS. —That beautiful little steamer the Eclipse arrived the quay at ten o’clock morning from Ross with between twenty and thirty passengers, performing the voyage which is eighteen miles, in two hours. This vessel is quite new and has been brought over from Bristol to see if she can made to answer on our river. We think there is little doubt of the fact. As a mode of conveyance between this and Ross, it will have many advantages.
The present road is quite abominable —rough, and all up and down hill, so much so that the nominal riders per car are very frequently in the predicament of our countryman in the bottomless sedan-chair, who said, if it war’n’t for the honour of the thing, he’d as live walk.’ In fact our travellers on this primitive road, who by the national vehicle, commonly half the way on foot, through sheer necessity; and this pleasant journey of ten miles usually occupies three good hours!” (Waterford Mail – Sat. 16 May 1829, p. 4)
This road was in use as the main road until 1836. Just three years earlier in 1833 the road became notorious when a landlord was attacked and stoned to death in Shanbough “at the Glenmore hill” as he travelled in his gig from Waterford to New Ross. For further details on this murder click here.
The New Line
In 1836 the “New Line” was built through Glenmore parish and shortened the journey between New Ross and Waterford. Instead of turning at Donovan’s Mill and following the High Road the New Line was built to run from Carriganurra to Gaulestown. A Halfwayhouse was built at Ballinaraha, Glenmore and marked the halfway point between Waterford and New Ross. The New Line continued along the top of the Village of Glenmore and at this point it ran parallel to the old mail coach road and intersected the Churns. Thereafter it went toward the river via the Pink Rock went on through Shanbough to Raheen and to the New Ross Bridge. It is believed that after the 1798 Rebellion the military acknowledged the need for a better road system to move troops. Many of the roads improved in the early part of the 19th century were designed by the military. One of the more interesting details concerning the building of the New Line through Glenmore is the fact that several local women and girls worked on its construction.
Update of 4 June 2021–the following was found regarding the building of the new line along the Barrow (Waterford Chronicle Sat. 5 March 1836, p. 7_–Letter to the Editor of the Waterford Chonicle, Ross, February 23d, 1836
“Sir—Permit me through the columns of your independent paper to draw the attention of those persons concerned in the navigation of the river between Cheek Point and New Ross, to what, if permitted to be carried on much longer, will render the navigation of vessels of a large class to the town wholly impeded, and I trust if this letter meet the eye of the contractor of the new line of road to Waterford, via Lucy Rock, he will see the necessity of discontinuing a practice which would eventually be incalculable injury to the trade of Ross.
Whether by order of such contractor, immense quantities of stone rubbish and stuff, dug in making the new road above mention, are thrown over the rock into that part of the river called the West Channel, and at the very narrowest part too, not being more than 45 or 50 feet wide at his point; ‘tis most unwarrantable, this being heretofore the safest and deepest part for vessels of a large draft of water, flowing eight fathoms and a half at low water. But if the practice I have allude to is continued, the flow being so narrow at this point, it would eventually become as shallow as other parts of the river. If such conduct on the part of those road makers be not immediately discontinued, I call on the merchants and shipowners of Ross, in defence of their trade and the navigation of the river, to take immediate steps for its prevention. Your obedient servant, Michael Dunn, pilot”
N25
Today, the N25 through the parish of Glenmore generally follows the New Line except when it was completed in about 1991 the new road bypassed going along the river at the Pink Rock. Also, the portion of the Churns from the High Road crossing the New Line was closed. Today, a large roundabout now sits near the site of Forristal’s Mill in Graiguenakill and the Glenmore Roundabout will allow motorists to bypass New Ross.
The Old Bridges at Waterford & New Ross
The two bridges that connected Glenmore to Waterford and New Ross were very important to our ancestors. A timber bridge has spanned the River Suir at Waterford from 1794 and survived until 1910. The old timber bridge was referred to as “Timbertoes,” and was built by Lemuel Cox of Massachusetts. It remained a toll bridge for a century.
[Update 14 Aug. 2022–The New Ross Standard published on 4 Oct. 1907 (p. 6) that “At midnight on the 31st Dec. next the Toll Bridge at Waterford will be, henceforward thrown open free to the public.”]
The first bridge at New Ross was built in 1779, and it survived until January 1867 when it was destroyed by an ice flow. On 8 December 2019 Danny related that locals often reported that old Jim Culleton (1867-1962) of Kilbride, Glenmore was born the night the New Ross Bridge fell. The mid-wife from Ross was not able to attend his birth because the bridge at New Ross collapsed. A quick check of the parish records revealed that James Colleton (sic) the son of John Colleton (sic) and Brigid Walsh was born at Kilbride on the 22nd of January 1867 and baptized on the 24th. A newspaper article that appeared in the Waterford News reported on Friday the 25th of January 1867 that the bridge at New Ross collapsed the previous Saturday i.e. the 19th of January. This article contains some interesting information concerning the bridge and because it was privately owned it too appears to have been a toll bridge.
Special thanks to Louise Walsh for the photos and Peter Walsh for the representational drawing of the New Line and Old Mail Road.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh