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Patrick Hawe (1871-1933) of Rochestown, Glenmore & the Curse of the River Barrow
When Jo Doyle née Mernagh, of Weatherstown, Glenmore, was a child she often heard the story that a curse had been put on the river Barrow. As she recalled it had to do with a woman condemned or left to die in New Ross. It was said that because the Friars in the Priory somehow let the woman down she died. As she was dying she placed a curse on the River Barrow that every year it would claim three lives. Last summer Danny Dowling recalled the curse involving three drownings but stated that he believed the curse sprang from the killing of friars in New Ross during the middle ages.
The Friar’s Curse
The only priory in New Ross in the middle of the twentieth century belonged to the Augustinians. I thought that I was on the right track when my husband told me that when he was a student at Good Counsel in New Ross, from 1966 to 1972, Father Kelly while discussing superstition told the amazed students that people sometimes came to the priory and asked for the Friar’s curse to be placed on another person. According to the Topographical Dictionary of Ireland published in 1837 a chapel belonging to a community of Augustinian Friars, consisting of only four friars, stood on the hill near the site of an older friary of the same order. However, Patrick Donovan in 1946 published an article in the New Ross Standard identifying the “Bearers of the Cross” Friars, popularly known as the “Crouched” Friars as authoring the curse. Crouched is said to have developed from crux the Latin word for cross. According to Donovan the Priory of the “Crouched Friars” lay in the rectangle bounded by the present Priory Street, Priory Lane, Quay and a line formed by the continuation of William St. to the river. He believed that it stood quite near the river. It was established in the 13th century. Thus, it was not near the site of the oldest Augustinian Priory referenced in the 1832 text. (Patrick Donovan, “The Story of Ross,” New Ross Standard 29 Nov. 1946, p. 2)
According to Donovan, there were several different stories concerning the origin of the curse, but the oral tradition of the upper parts of New Ross, provided that the “Crouched” Friars were demanding more money from the townspeople than they were prepared to provide. Eventually things came to a head and there was a fight on the Quay between the “Crouched” Friars and the Rossmen. Three friars were killed or drowned; the priory was broken into, the remainder of the Friars were driven from New Ross and their priory destroyed. When departing the Prior stood up in his boat, raised his arms and cursed the town. He commanded the Barrow to take each year the lives of three townsmen as a penalty for the deaths of his three friars. (New Ross Standard, 29 Nov. 1946, p. 2). After the killing of the “Crouched” Friars the Church placed an interdict on the townspeople, churches were closed and Christian burial was denied to all. According to Donovan the interdict was not lifted until the Franciscans rebuilt the destroyed priory about 25 years later. Donovan noted that the townspeople of Ross passed the story down through the generations and continued to believe in the curse as each year they counted the persons drowned.
Intentionally or not, the New Ross Standard over the years when reporting on drownings often reinforced the curse in the minds of readers. Such was the case in August 1933 when two different articles appeared in the New Ross Standard on the 18th of August. On the last page of the newspaper a short article entitled “Three Drowning Cases in a Month,” gave brief details of three drownings that occurred in the previous month in the vicinity of New Ross. The first death involved a boy from The Maudlins (New Ross) was lost at the Quay. The second reported case involved a young man named Doolan who lost his life at Tinneranny and the third drowning was Patrick Hawe, of Rochestown, Glenmore. It was also reported that Patrick Hawe was a fisherman and champion oarsman. Over the previous 35 years Patrick had competed and won numerous prizes in cot racing at New Ross, the Pink Rock and Waterford Regattas (New Ross Standard, 18 Aug. 1933, p. 12). It is not known whether young Doolan was from New Ross, but Patrick Hawe was living in Glenmore, approximately 8 miles south of New Ross at the time of his death in 1933.
The August 1933 Third Drowning Victim
The second and much longer article published in the New Ross Standard, on the 18th of August, was entitled, “The Toll of the Barrow” and provided details regarding the discovery and recovery of Patrick Hawe’s body from the river and the subsequent inquest (18 Aug. 1933, p. 7).
In 1933, Patrick Hawe, was living in Rochestown, Glenmore with his daughter Catherine Dillon. On the eighth of August Patrick had gone out fishing with his 17 year old grandson Patrick Dillon. After returning home that evening Patrick went back to the river to secure Tommy Connolly’s boat. There was a strong wind blowing and it was believed that he pushed the boat out in the water to moor it a safe distance from the rock. When he did not return to the house his grandson went down to the river around 4 p.m. and saw the boat drifting near the Wexford side of the river and raised the alarm. Two days later, on Thursday the 10th of August, Patrick’s body was recovered in about ten feet of water approximately twenty yards from the bank. On both Wednesday and Thursday extensive dragging of the river was performed by Sergt. O’Mullane and Gardai Nolan, Price and Barrett, of the Glenmore Barracks and local fishermen.
On Friday the 11th of August Mr. J.D. Fitzgerald, coroner of Kilkenny conducted an inquest at Rochestown into the circumstances of the death of Patrick Hawe. Inspector O’Donovan, Thomastown, conducted the proceedings for the Gardai. The following jury made up of local Glenmore men from the townlands of Rochestown and Rathinure were sworn—Mr. M. Roche, Rathnure (foreman), Messrs. J. Kennedy, do.; Martin Kehoe, do.; Peter Forristal, Rochestown; Jas. Walsh, do.; John Aylward, do.
The first witness was Catherine Dillon, the daughter of the deceased. She testified that her father lived with her. On the day of his death he left the house telling her that he was going to the river to secure Phil Conway’s(sic) fishing boat. She saw him walking in the direction of the river until he was out of sight. She never saw him alive again. When he left the house he was in his usual good health. He was 63 years of age and his occupation was fisherman. She was aware that he was not able to swim and stated that she identified his remains when they were found.
The second witness was Patrick Dillon, aged 17, the grandson of the deceased. Patrick Dillon testified that when his grandfather did not return to the house he went to look for him. He saw a boat drifting on the river Barrow on the Wexford side. He and Patrick Delahunty rowed over to the drifting boat and brought it back. He stated that it was Philip Connolly’s boat, the one that his grandfather had. When Patrick found the boat the oars were tied in it as was the anchor. Patrick Dillon said he fished with his grandfather last year and this year. He was fishing with him the morning of his death and when they came in his grandfather secured the boat. The reason his grandfather went down afterwards was to secure the boat because of the wind. He never saw his grandfather swimming. He believed he must have fallen out of the boat. To his knowledge, he was not able to swim.
Michael Kent of Piltown, Campile stated that he and Thomas Molloy helped search for the body of the deceased. They used hooks and searched some sixty yards below the pill, and at five p.m. on Thursday they recovered the body. The body was fully clothed. He assisted in bringing the body to the house of Catherine Dillon.
Dr. M.P. Higgins, Waterford testified that he performed a post mortem along with Dr. Valentine Coughlan, Waterford. The lungs of the deceased were water-logged and the stomach and intestines were full of water. The heart and other internal organs were well developed and normal. There were no marks of violence on the body. In his opinion death was caused by asphyxia, due to drowning. Dr. Coughlan agreed. The Coroner said that apparently the deceased must have got heaved out of the boat into the water. The jury, returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence that the deceased accidentally drowned.
Patrick Hawe (1871-1933)
Patrick Hawe was baptized at Glenmore on the 16th of March 1871. He was the son of Michael Hawe and Catherine Hawe née Malone of Rochestown, Glenmore. The following siblings of Patrick were gleaned from the Glenmore parish records: (1) Catherine Hawe, b. 26 August 1865; (2) Bridget Hawe, b. 25 January 1867; (3) Daniel Hawe, b. 17 February 1869; (4) Edward Hawe, b. 24 April 1875; and (5) Elizabeth Hawe, b. 6 November 1877.
Patrick Hawe married Mary Merrigan (c. 1862-1922) of Milltown at Glenmore on 30 October 1895. Mary was the daughter of Michael Merrigan and Mary Morrissey. Patrick and Mary Hawe née Merrigan had one child Kate Hawe who was born on the 28th of October 1896. Kate Hawe married John Dillon, a fisherman from Carrigcloney, Glenmore on the 2nd of August 1915. John was the son of Michael Dillon a platelayer for the railway. At the time of Patrick Hawe’s death in 1933 he was residing with his daughter Kate Dillon née Hawe and her husband and children.
It may seem odd today that a man who made his living on the River Barrow could not swim, but according to Danny Dowling it was quite common for local fishermen not to be able to swim.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The above featured photo of the Crouched Friars statute in London is available at http://[[File:Statue Of ‘Two Crutched Friars’.jpg|thumb|Statue of two Crutched Friars in London]]
![http://[[File:Statue Of ‘Two Crutched Friars’.jpg|thumb|Statue of two Crutched Friars in London]]](http://[[File:Statue Of 'Two Crutched Friars'.jpg|thumb|Statue of two Crutched Friars in London]]){kind=link}
The page of the medieval manuscript is from the Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. “Historiated initial and another coat of arms.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed December 12, 2020. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-e47a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Michael J. Hanrahan (1888-1968): Struggled Along
Last week we highlighted the article written by Peter Roughan for the Kilkenny People concerning his interview of Michael J. Hanrahan. Today, we will focus on Mick’s early years as he disclosed to Peter Roughan in the 26 September 1959 article in the Kilkenny People. The interview is in italics. We conclude with some information we were able to find about Mick and his brother John’s time in the U.S.
Mick’s Early Life
Roughan quoted Mick, “Well, I suppose I’ll have to start now with the day I was born, although ’tis very little I can remember about that, but, dad — God be good to him — came from Powerswood, over near Thomastown. I was called after him; and God rest my mother, she was Hanora Mullins — they always called her Onie Mullins — from Gaulstown, here in Glenmore; and I was born on December 8, 1888, the very same year that Kilmacow footballers beat Wexford county team. I often heard them all talking about that match when I was a lad. We were living then in No. 2 Barronstrand Street, Waterford, and the place is a big shoe shop now.
A review of the Glenmore Parish records reveals that Michael Hanrahan (farmer) of Powerswood, Thomastown married Hanoria Mullins, of Gaulstown, Glenmore, on 23 July 1885. Michael was the son of Patrick Hanrahan (farmer) and Hanoria was the daughter of Nicholas Mullins (farmer). Hanoria Mullins was baptized in Glenmore on 16 Dec. 1854 the daughter of Nicholas Mullins (farmer) of Gaulestown, Glenmore and Mary Mullins née Mackey. In the Thomastown records a record was found where a Michael Hanrahan was baptized in 1848 in Powerswood, the son of Patrick Hanrahan and Ellen Hanrahan née Cassian.
Orphaned
Returning to Mick Hanrahan in his 1959 interview he recalled, “I was one of six lads, Pat — God rest him — died here in Glenmore about two years ago; Dick has a drapery business beyond in Ross, and Jim has a grocery and bar right opposite Dick’s place; poor Nick – Lord have mercy on him — died over in Gaulstown during the 1918 flu; and John is out in New York. We were all very young when we lost our parents, but thank God we struggled along nicely.”
The death register reveals that Michael Hanrahan, shopkeeper, died in Waterford on 3 October 1898, at the age of 45. His widow, Honora Hanrahan née Mullins died in Glenmore on 5 April 1902 at the age of 42. Her cousin John Hanrahan was present at her death. Per statements made to Danny Dowling by various Powerstown, Hanrahans, Michael Hanrahan was buried in Inistioge. Honora was buried in Glenmore.
The following children were born to the couple. Only Patrick the eldest was born in Gaulestown, Glenmore. All the other children were born on Barron-Strand St. in Waterford City.
(1) Patrick Hanrahan (26 June 1886-9 Sept. 1957) (2) Nicholas Hanrahan (8 Dec. 1887-14 Nov. 1918) (3) Michael Hanrahan (8 Dec. 1888- 1 June 1968) (4) Ellen Hanrahan (bapt. 16 Feb. 1890-died young) (5) James Hanrahan (5 May 1891-14 Sept. 1977) (6) Richard Hanrahan (3 Sept. 1892- ?) (7) John Hanrahan (3 Feb . 1894-15 Aug. 1980)
In the 1901 Census, three of the orphaned Hanrahan brothers, Nicholas (age 13), Mick (age 12) and John (age 7) were residing in Gaulestown, Glenmore on the Mullins farm with their maternal uncle Richard Mullins (age 39) and their two maternal aunts Kate (age 29) and Bridget Mullins (age 33). The other three orphaned Hanrahan brothers were living in Glenmore Village with John Hanrahan (age 55) who was listed as a farmer and cooper. Pat (age 14), James (age 9) and Richard (age 8) are listed as nephews although John Hanrahan is listed as their mother’s cousin on the death register. Also residing in the home of John Hanrahan in 1901 was his wife Ellen (age 60) and their 25 year old son James (farmer).
In the 1911 Census, John and Ellen Hanrahan are both aged 69. John is still working as a cooper. Two of their nephews are residing with them. Patrick is 24 and also working as a cooper. James is 19 and is employed as a shop assistant. On the Mullins farm in Gaulestown, Richard Mullin’s age is recorded as 62. Nicholas Hanrahan is 23 and Michael Hanrahan is 22. Richard Hanrahan is not recorded in either home and as discussed below John Hanrahan emigrated to the US in 1909.
School Days
Mick in speaking of his school days stated, “I first went to the Brothers’ school in Mount Sion [Waterford], where I can always remember a grand man there, Bro. Hamilton. who used to try to teach us to sing, he was a great singer himself, but he had a hard ]ob with some of us!
In my class at that time we had lads whose names I can remember very well, Nicky Gaule, Nicky Bowe, a chap of the Kervicks, and a lad named Colfer. I finished my schooling beyond in Ringville school under a man named Dick Grace, a great teacher Dick was.”
Farming
“I left school when I was confirmed, I was just turned eleven then, and took to the farm, and I was following a pair of horses long before I was fourteen. That was nothing in those days, lads were better able to manage a pair of horses then than driving a motor now. Sure farming today is a holiday compared to my time. I can remember the old harvest day. Begor we were going here and there after the threshing engine from one haggard to another giving a hand everyone used to help each other then. Now, the whole job is done in the field in less than a day with all the machinery they have in the country. In a way, ’tis a blessing, for farming in my young days was next door to slaving.”
Emigration
Naturalization Records filed by Mick on the 18th of August 1913 reveals that he left Queenstown on the SS Philadelphia and arrived at the port of New York on the 24th of January 1912. The physical description of Mick is provided in the application. Mick recorded that he was 5’9”, 155 lbs., with brown hair, blue eyes, ruddy complexion, with a scar in the middle of his forehead. Mick recorded that he was born in Waterford on the 8th day of December 1888 and in 1913 was employed as a porter and residing at 524 First Avenue, New York City. The entry records from 1912 reveal that Michael gave his contact person in Ireland as his uncle Kieran Mullins of 25 St. Alphonsus Road, Waterford. He also stated that he was going to his brother John Hanrahan of 220 Harrison Street, Brooklyn, New York.
The 1930 Federal Census reveals that Mick had married and was residing at 2340 102nd St., Queens, New York. Mick was 41 years of age, recorded that he immigrated in 1912, was married to Anna, aged 35. The couple were parents to Richard, aged 8; Michael aged 4 and Laurence not yet a year. Mick reported that he was employed as a chauffeur for a builder. In the first half of the twentieth century people who drove professionally in most US states were required to obtain “chauffeur” licenses. Thus, truck drivers, bus drivers etc. were the holders of chauffeur licenses. During the World War II draft registration in 1942 Mick recorded his employer as Huron Stevedore Co., of Pier 57, New York City.
The following small death notice was located in the Daily News (New York, New York) of 3 June 1968 for Michael J. Hanrahan:
“Hanrahan—Michael J. On June 1st–Native of Glen More (sic), Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. Member of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Husband of the late Anna. Father of Richard, Michael and Laurence. Brother of John of Hampton Bays, and Richard and James of New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland. Survived by 7 grandchildren. Reposing at William E. Law Funeral Home, 1 Jerusalem Ave., Massapequa. Requiem Mass, Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church, Massapequa Park, Wednesday, 9:45 A.M. Interment, St. Charles Cemetery.”
In researching Mick it came as a surprise to find that his youngest brother, John, emigrated to the US in November 1909 at the age of 15, three years before Mick emigrated. In most cases older siblings went to the US and later younger siblings joined them. However, in this instance John sailed on the SS Teutonic from Queenstown to New York. He listed his last address in Ireland was with his Uncle Richard Mullins, of Gaulestown, Glenmore and his final destination was to his uncle John Mullins, 283 Clinton St., Brooklyn, New York. John registered for the WW1 draft, listed his age as 23 with an address of 220 Harrison St. of Brooklyn. He was employed as a clerk. By 1930 he was married to Marion F., had a daughter also named Marion and was employed as a salesman (clothing). The 1942 WWII draft registration provided his physical description as 5’7” tall, with blond hair, gray eyes and was employed at Roger’s Peet Co. at 479 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The Social Security Index revealed that John died in August 1980.
Although Mick and his siblings were orphaned when they were young with the help of their extended family as Mick said himself “they struggled along nicely.” Three of the brothers became businessmen and raised families. Two emigrated to the US where they played Gaelic sports, worked and raised families, and one brother remained single and died tragically in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. The obituary of James Hanrahan is on the obituary page, accessed from the homepage by clicking on the Roots button and the death notice for Patrick Hanrahan is on the H family page.
The featured map is of New York City printed in the Commercial and Financial Chronical 1909 (c) University of Toronto.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Margaret M. Walsh (1879-1959) of Davidstown, Glenmore: Her Small Contribution to the Irish War of Independence.
It is often difficult to find historical information regarding women because they often did not work outside the home or farm and there are few newspaper accounts of their activities. Today, we are going to feature, Margaret M. Walsh, a woman who was born and reared in Glenmore, lived abroad in Worcester, Massachusetts for a few years at the turn of the twentieth century, returned to Glenmore and spent the rest of her life in Glenmore. In many respects Maggie Walsh, as she was locally known, after returning to Ireland lived a typical life as a spinster in her brother’s home filled with her nieces and nephews. However, what is unique about Maggie is that she provided a handgun and ammunition to the local IRA during the Irish War of Independence.
According to the Glenmore parish records, Margaret M. Walsh was born on the 14th of April 1879. She as the youngest child of Patrick Walsh (farmer) of Davidstown, and his wife Margaret Walsh née Kennedy of Rathinure. Patrick and Margaret Walsh were married on the 6th of February 1868. Patrick was the son of Laurence Walsh (farmer) and Margaret was the daughter of Patrick Kennedy (farmer). At the time of the wedding in 1868 the fathers of both the bride and groom were deceased.
Maggie’s siblings included:
(1) Bridget Walsh (27 Nov. 1868-22 Dec. 1890) Bridget died at the age of 22 of TB while working in Massachusetts.
(2) Laurence Walsh (4 May 1871—9 Sept. 1940) Laurence was a twin with John. Laurence was the elder twin; he was born at 10:30 a.m. Both twins became priests.
(3) John Walsh (4 May 1871—13 Dec. 1929) John was the younger twin and was born at 10:32.
(4) Robert Walsh (27 March 1872—12 Feb. 1951) married Mary Walsh, of Carriganura, Slieverue and they farmed in Davidstown, Glenmore. The couple had a large family.
(5) Mary Walsh (9 August 1873—12 April 1948) married Tom Mullins, of Flemingstown, Glenmore. The couple had a large family.
(6) Patrick Walsh (27 Feb. 1875—9 Jan. 1952) married Catherine Brennan, from around Knocktopher, and they farmed in Ballinacrea, Slieverue. Later they bought Charlestown House and were the parents of Robert “Robbie” Walsh who was wounded in Croke Park on Bloody Sunday in November 1920.
Although little is known about Maggie Walsh’s early life it is believed that she received the normal schooling of the era and generally helped around the house and farm. Her eldest sister Bridget went to Worcester, Massachusetts to their Uncle Rev. Robert Walsh (1841-1908). Bridget was a housekeeper for her Uncle. Father Robert Walsh lived in the house of the Immaculate Conception parish at 47 Prescott St. in Worcester. Father Michael Mernagh in Glenmore Times (2000, p. 40) disclosed that Father Robert Walsh attended a hedge-type school in “Irish’s barn.” He attended secondary school in Waterford “where he walked weekly.” He studied at St. John’s in Waterford and was ordained in 1866 for the Springfield Diocese in Massachusetts. Bridget Walsh died in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1890 at the age of 22. She is buried in St. John’s cemetery of Worcester with her Uncle Father Robert Walsh who died in 1908.
Although Maggie is known to have gone to Massachusetts exactly when she went and when she returned to Glenmore is not known. The 1901 census for Grogan, Davidstown, Glenmore, provides that Maggie was 21 living at home with her father Patrick and mother Margaret, brother Robert and his wife Mary. Her nephew Patrick Walsh was 7 months old. In the 1911 Census of Grogan, Davidstown, Glenmore, Maggie was aged 31 and again living at home with her father Patrick, aged 72, and mother Margaret, aged 74. Patrick and Mary Walsh reported in the Census that they had been married 43 years, had 7 children, and 6 were alive in 1911. Also, in the house was Maggie’s brother Robert, aged 39, and his wife Mary, who was aged 32. Robert and Mary Walsh reported that they had been married for 12 years and had 6 children.
The U.S. Census of 1900 provides details concerning Father Robert Walsh and Maggie was not living in Worcester, Massachusetts at that time. Turning to immigration records, several records were found of Father Robert Walsh entering the U.S. For example, on 13 September 1891 Robert Walsh, Clergyman, aged 50, arrived at Boston, Massachusetts from Ireland. The only record located for Maggie entering the U.S. was in 1904. She sailed on the S.S. Republic from Queenstown, Ireland on the 24th of June 1904 and arrived in Boston on the 1st of July. Maggie was aged 25 and was traveling with her Uncle Father Robert Walsh (aged 63) and her brother Father John Walsh (aged 30).
When Father Robert Walsh died on 6 March 1908, at his home at 47 Prescott Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, Maggie was with him and provided the personal information for his death cert. Father Robert Walsh was the son of Laurence Walsh and Bridget Walsh née Murphy. In 1907, Father Robert Walsh executed a Will naming his niece Margaret M. Walsh as his executrix and gave her various personal items he owned which were located in the parochial residence on Prescott St. The personal property included an onyx mantel clock, silver teapots, sugar bowl, spoon holder and silver spoons marked with the letter W. In addition to several charities Father Robert Walsh in his Will gave the sum of one thousand dollars to M. M. Walsh to carry out intentions he communicated to her. The residue of his estate he gave outright to his niece Maggie. There is no mention of a handgun, but when Maggie returned to Ireland prior to 1911 she had a handgun and ammunition in her possession.
Once Maggie returned to Glenmore she lived in her childhood home with her brother Robert, sister-in-law Mary and their large family. Maggie also spent a lot of time in Flemingtown, Glenmore with her sister Mary Mullins and her family. During the Irish War of Independence the local IRA sought firearms from persons that they knew owned firearms. Mostly they collected shotguns from farmers. Maggie’s nephew Nicky Walsh, of Davidstown, Glenmore informed Danny Dowling that when Maggie was approached concerning her handgun she readily handed it over to the “local lads” with the ammunition she had. Nicky stated that Maggie’s handgun was described as dainty, but he did not know if it was a small caliber revolver or a derringer. Nicky thought that anyone who returned from the U.S. were approached as it was known generally that local people returning to Ireland often brought home weapons.
Maggie was the last of her family and in the end was living in her childhood home in Davidstown with her unmarried nephews Nicky and Mick Walsh. The following obituary appeared in the Kilkenny People on Saturday the 15th of August 1959.
Death of Miss Margaret Walsh—We regret to record the death of Miss Margaret Walsh of Davidstown, Glenmore, which took place recently at the ripe old age of 80 years. The deceased lady was the youngest and last surviving member of a family of six. Two of her brothers were Ossory Priests, the late Very Rev. Laurence Walsh, P.P., of Johnstown, who died in September, 1940; and the late Very Rev. John Walsh, P.P., Gowran, both of whom were noted Churchmen. Fr. John Walsh laboured for a number of years as C.C. in Callan, where he will be long remembered as the priest who rode the white horse. He was an outstanding horseman.
Her sister, Mrs. M. Mullins of Flemingstown, Glenmore and two farming brothers, Patrick of Charlestown, Kilmacow, and Robert of Davidstown, pre-deceased her. She was sister-in-law of the late Rev. W. Walsh, Melbourne. She was highly respected by all who knew her, her kindly and charitable disposition being a strong trait of her noble character, and throughout her long life she was deeply religious. During her last illness, she was attended by the Very Rev. William Brennan, P.P., Glenmore, and Dr. Kehoe, Waterford. Her remains were removed to Slieverue Church on Tuesday evening and lay overnight before the High Altar. Office and High Mass were celebrated on Wednesday at which the Very Rev. J. Canon Ryan, P.P., Slieverue, presided. The celebrant was Rev. Dr. Hughes, C.C, Slieverue. Deacon, Rev. T. Greene, C.C., Mooncoin: Sub-Deacon. Rev. Fr. Phelan. M.C., Very Rev. W. Brennan, P.P., Glenmore. The interment took place at Slieverue in the family burial ground.
The chief mourners were — Tom Walsh, Rathenure; Larry Walsh, Waterford; Nicholas and Michael Walsh, Davidstown; Richard and John Walsh, England; Robert Walsh, Chicago; Mrs. Hickey, Kildrummy, Windgap; Mrs. Laridge, Ferrybank; Sister M. Brigid, Holy Faith Convent, Celbridge; Dr. Laurence Walsh, Charlestown; Dr. John Walsh, Quebec; Patrick Walsh, Ballincrea; James Walsh, Thomastown; Mrs. P. Rockett, Slieverue; Miss C. Walsh, do., and the Mullins family, Flemingstown (nephews and nieces). Mr. Power, Ferrybank, had charge of the funeral arrangements.
It is not known what role, if any, Maggie’s dainty handgun may have played in the Irish War of Independence but it must have been of some value because it was taken with thanks.
Special thanks to Margaret Claridge Phelan for the photos of Father Robert Walsh, the grave marker and the photos of Brigid and Maggie. The featured photo of the Walsh sisters of Davidstown, Glenmore, in the cart, is from the Poole Collection and provided by courtesy of the National Archives. It is believed that the Walsh sister on the right is Brigid Walsh and the sister on the left is Maggie.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Rev. Stephen Lower (c. 1727-1799): The Saviour of Slieverue & His Grave in Glenmore
Last month Danny Dowling made a point of explaining the importance of the grave of Father Lower in Kilivory graveyard. Danny explained during the 19th century and well into the twentieth century people from all over the country visited the grave of Father Lower believing that the soil had healing powers. In fact, as reported in a 1951 newspaper article written by a clearly sceptical author people were still visiting the grave. Danny Dowling also provided two other important contributions that Father Lower made locally. Father Lower was the first priest to record the baptisms and marriages in the old combined parish of Slieverue and Glenmore. Thus, the early church records, commencing in 1766, that we rely heavily upon today in performing family research is due to the efforts of Father Lower. Father Lower is also credited in 1798 with stopping the burning of Slieverue by British soldiers during the uprising.
Today, the graveyard and ruins of the Kilmakevogue Church are locally known as Kilivory. The church originally was dedicated to St. Mochaevog, an Irish saint, an abbot and patron of Liath Mochevog in Co. Tipperary. After Strongbow’s invasion of Ireland in 1170, the church was placed under the patronage of St. James. In about 1240 Kilmakevogue Parish was one of the parishes that came under the control of the Nunnery of Kilculiheen, of Ferrybank. It is believed that local people began to refer to the area as Kilivory because they thought mochaevog meant ivory in Irish. Irish historian and scholar, John O’Donovan (1806-1861) did not believe that the translation was correct. Interestingly, John O’Donovan was born and raised locally in Atateemore, Slieverue. O’Donovan was the son of Edmund O’Donovan, of Atateemore and Eleanor Hoberlin of Rochestown, Glenmore.
The grave of Father Lower is found in the interior of Kilivory church ruins. Thus we know that by 1800 the church was no longer being used as a church but it was the place where Father Lower chose to be buried. His marker is a large slab that does not lie on the ground. The marker is on several large stones ensuring that the marker is several inches above the grave itself. Although the inscription is faint from exposure to the elements the inscription is still legible and reads as follows:
Erected by the Rev’d Tho Malley Doctor of the Sacred and White Faculty of Bordeaux in memory of the Rev’d Stephen Lower Bachelor of Lovain, Doctor of Rome Prothnotary Apostolic Archdeacon & Vicar General of Ossory & Parish Priest of Ida who dep’t this life the 9th of January 1800 aged 73 years.
Jeroen Nilis, in “Irish Students at Leuven University, 1548-1797,” Archivium Hibernicum (Vol. 60 (2006/2007), pp. 1-304, p. 212) listed in entry 831, dated 1750, Lower, Stephanus. “Born of Protestant parents and brought up in that religion until he reached his twenty-third year; then, moved by divine grace, he left his parents and his native land and went to Flanders with the intention of becoming a Catholic; this he did, having renounced the Protestant religion before Abp. Crivelli who preceded Molianari as nuncio.” It is noted that for nearly 30 years Father Lower was the parish priest of Slieverue and Glenmore parish.
On Friday the 20th of July 1951 the following article appeared in the New Ross Standard. Corrections and translations not part of the original newspaper article are in square brackets [ ].
CUSTOM AS REGARDS PRIESTS GRAVE—There is a peculiar custom in one of the old parochial districts, comprising the once united parishes of Glenmore and Slieverue, that, in the old churchyard of Kilmakevogue, people, for many generations, are in the habit of taking away the clay that covers the last resting place of a priest. The writer understands that the custom still prevails and, on questioning an inhabitant of the district that, if this custom continued for so many generations, the coffin of the dead priest must have long ago been exposed. He was informed that this was not so, and that everyone who took away soil replaced it with other clay; so that the grave remains in its way as it originally stood.
Parish Priest of Ida—To ascertain the authenticity of this story, the writer had access to the diocesan history of Ossory, published by the able archaeologist, the Very Rev. Canon Carrigan. He gives a description of the old church of Kilmakevogue and its surrounding graveyard. He states that in the south-east corner, opposite where the altar stood, rests the Very Rev. Dr. Lower, P.P., and that his “grave is hollowed out to a considerable extent by people taking away the clay therefrom in the belief that it possesses virtue to heal their bodily ailments.” This Fr. Lower was the Vicar-General of Ossory in his time, and is described as the ” parish priest of Ida.” In fact, he was pastor of the united parishes of Slieverue and Glenmore, which were divided into separate parochial districts in 1846. He died in the year 1800, aged 73, and as recorded by Father Carrigan, was buried in Kilmakevogue.
Reared a Protestant—Became a Priest—According to Very Rev. E. O’Farrell, P.P., who wrote a paper on the parish of Ida, which appeared in Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society, Father Stephen Lower, D.D., was born in the parish of Glenmore, at a place called Trinaree. He goes on to say: His father was commonly called Shaun Lower. It is said of him that he was an expert ploughman, and a great whistler. [Trinaree is in Slieverue parish] He was landlord of Trinaree, where he lived, and of the adjoining townland of Ballarourach. He was, however, a Protestant, and from this fact the lane leading from the high road to where he lived is, up to this day called Boreen-a-Sassanach [translated the English lane]. Dr. Lower was consequently reared a Protestant. In his youth he was taken from his native place, sent to the Continent, and placed in a Protestant College for his education. Young Lower soon began to feel scrupulous with regard to the religious tenets inculcated by the Superior of the establishment, and becoming more uneasy every day, determined to make his escape, and did so after a short time. He made his way to Rome, renounced Protestantism, studied for the priesthood, and in due time became a priest. Having been ordained, he came back to his native country.
Canon Carrigan, who describes Fr. Lower, as one of the grandest characters that figured in the ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Ossory, says his fathers’ name was not Shaun but Richard. He also mentions that Fr. Lower took out the Degree of Doctor of Divinity in Louvain. On May 4th, 1764, he was appointed P.P. of the newly-formed parish of Rosconnell or Ballyouskill, and was translated from thence to Slieverue and Glenmore on November 16th, 1766. He became Vicar- General of the diocese in December, 1773; Canon of Blackrath. January 5th, 1775. and Archdeacon of Ossory, June 14th, 1778, and died on Jan. 9th, 1800.
‘98 incident—Here is an incident recorded of Fr. Lower, quoted by Fr. Carrigan, from the Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society— ” During his missionary career he lived in the village of Slieverue. In the troubled times of 1798, it is said that a party of cavalry passing through, were, in their wantonness, about to set fire to the place, having, it is well known, liberty at that time, without the least hindrance, to destroy property of every description, and even to take away life. History relates that the cruel Attila surnamed ‘the Scourge of God,’ when proceeding to sack Rome, was met by the holy Pontiff, Leo the Great, and was persuaded by him to relinquish his impious designs on the city. The barbarian was so terrified by the holy Pontiff, that he commanded his soldiers to cease hostilities, and thus Rome was saved. In like manner, Father Lower boldly approached the ruthless officer of those ruffians, took his horse by the bridle, and led him and party to a considerable distance from the place. Whether, as Attila was frightened into compliance by seeing two venerable personages guarding the person of St. Leo this wicked officer was deterred from resisting the good priest by seeing some similar vision we know not. Certain it is that he allowed himself and party to he led away from the place, and saved the little village from conflagration and the inhabitants, from insult, if not massacre.
Although local tradition makes no comparison to St. Leo, the Great, the memory of Father Lower and his intervention in 1798 at Slieverue is still remembered today among older Glenmore residents.
UPDATE–two death notices were published in December 1799 indicating that Rev. Stephen Lower died a year earlier than the date recorded on his flat grave marker.
In Saunder’s News-Letter on Thursday the 12th of December 1799, the following death notice appeared on page 2. “Died–On Monday last, in the 74th year of his age, the Rev. Stephen Lower, D.D. Titular Vicar General of the Diocese of Ossory, and for nearly thirty years P.P. of Ida, in the county Kilkenny.”
A slightly longer death notice appears in Finns Leinster Journal on Saturday the 14th of December 1799:
“Died. Friday evening in the 74th year of his age, the Rev. Stephen Lower, D.D. titular vicar general of the Diocese of Ossory, and for nearly thirty years P.P. of Ida, in the county of Kilkenny. He was deservedly beloved by his relatives and parishioners, and universally esteemed for the innocent and probity of his life.”
For a brief history of the current parish church of Glenmore, St. James, see, https://glenmore-history.com/st-james-catholic-church-of-glenmore/ .
The featured painting is a fresco painted by Rapheal of Pope Leo the Great (c. 400-461) meeting Attila the Hun in 452. Leo persuaded Atilia not to sack Rome. The Feast day for St. Leo, the Great, is 10 November. The fresco is available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leoattila-Raphael.jpg .
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
[Updated] A Deadly Sunday Outing on the River Barrow: James Cassin, of Carrigcloney, Glenmore (c. 1868-1907)
Last summer when we were discussing the disappearance of Peter Forristal in 1916, Danny Dowling spoke about how Forristal and other young men who lived near the River Barrow often rowed across the River Barrow on Sundays to drink in a pub in Ballykelly. Glenmore was a dry parish where no alcohol was legally sold. For many living along the River Barrow the nearest pub was across the river in Wexford.
In about 1870 the then parish priest forced all three pubs in Glenmore Village to close. A pub on the edge of the parish, the Shanty, lost its license shortly after the railway was built in 1904. Glenmore Parish Priest, Father Phelan was instrumental in that pub losing its license. After the pubs in and near Glenmore parish closed Glenmore remained a dry parish until 1963. Danny noted that the failure to allow a pub to operate in Glenmore parish sometimes led to tragedy as Glenmore people travelled to have a couple of pints. Today, we are going to highlight a 1907 tragedy that resulted in the death of a Carrigcloney, Glenmore man.
James Cassin, a married labourer, living in Carrigcloney, Glenmore drowned on the 15th of September 1907 in the River Barrow near Rochestown, Glenmore. The New Ross Standard on Friday the 20th of September published details concerning his death and inquest. The following information was gleaned from this article.
On Sunday the 15th of September 1907 James Cashen (sic) drowned leaving a wife and six children. It was reported that Cassin was employed in Cody’s, brickyards of Glenmore. Although the newspaper reported that the drowning took place at the “Blackrock” on the Wexford shore about midway between Aylwardstown and Rochestown, as reported in a previous blog post, the Blackrock Quay, of Rochestown, is where the ferry for the Ida steamship picked up Kilkenny passengers (see, https://glenmore-history.com/the-ida/).
It also was reported that some Rosbercon chaps were on the river in a “freakish, unreliable cot,” which they abandoned on the Carrigcloney bank of the river. They took a prong and left the cot on the river bank. Cassin, Tom Kelly and Michael Power went to the river and when they discovered that the prong was missing they got into the “freakish” cot and rowed to Ballinlaw. Ballinlaw is on the Kilkenny side of the river south of Carrigcloney. However, given other statements in the newspaper, it is likely that the three men rowed across the river, visited a Wexford pub, and while rowing back across the river the cot capsized.
A “girl” named Hannah Holden, of Fisherstown hillside of Co. Wexford heard the cries of two men clinging to the half sunken cot. She never saw the third man in the river. Hannah Holden ran “for all she was worth to the nearest house, that of James Kinsella, the only man who happened to be about for miles around. Kinsella, a delicate little man, who has to exist on a small out-door relief pittance barely sufficient to keep body and soul together, turned out to the rescue, trying to feel as brave as a lion, though inwardly quaking for fear of being unable to save his poor fellow-mortals from an awful death”
Kinsella and Hannah shouted words of encouragement to the two men. There was no boat in the slip, so Kinsella, Hannah and a young boy dragged a boat from a yard and across forty feet of deep mud to launch it into the river. It was recorded that Kinsella was so overcome with fear of being too late, that he could not “bear to look on the wretched strugglers, whose strength was fast ebbing, as evidenced by the weakening of their terrified appeals.” When the prong was afloat Kinsella took the oars and the young boy acted as his guide. “While he sculled to the wreck near the middle of the river…with great expertness as a river-man, Kinsella got his boat stern on to the drowning men, so as to avoid a second, capsize, and hauled the two exhausted men into the prong.” It was noted that this rescue was not the first time Kinsella saved lives on the river. “Brave Kinsella is sorely grieved that he was not about in time to save all three.”
Cassin’s body was found on Monday evening and the inquest was held on Tuesday afternoon. The South Kilkenny Coroner, Dr. Walsh of Graiguenamanagh held the inquest which returned a verdict of accidental suffocation. The inquest learned that the three men had three pints of beer taken, and “it is some consolation for the poor widow to know that the lost husband was quite sober when death overtook him.” It was reported that the cot was a featherweight racing skiff brought down river that day by three young lads from the New Ross area named Dooley, Fitzgerald and Kavanagh. Cassin could not swim and being unable to grasp the upturned cot, he “could make no fight for life.” It was revealed that Kelly and Power could swim, but they were handicapped by their clothes and boots. They spent nearly an hour hanging on “for dear life” to the cot before Kinsella rescued them.
Lastly, it was reported that the remains of poor Cassin were laid to rest in the Glenmore graveyard on Tuesday evening. He was a son of Andrew Cassin, of Kilmacow, and a relative of the Cashens of Listerlin. His funeral was reported as being one of the largest funeral gatherings ever assembled in Glenmore. Although it was reported that he worked in the brickyards, it also stated that the deceased was esteemed and one of the best and most conscientious farm workers in South Kilkenny.
The Munster Express (“Boating Fatality on the River Barrow,” 21 Sept. 1907) and Kilkenny People (“Young Man Drowned, Heroism of a Young Lady,” 21 Sept. 1907) also reported the drowning, but both credited a Miss Costelloe of hearing the cries of all three men and rowing to them. Miss Costelloe was able to save two of the men but they watched in horror as Cassin sank from sight. No mention is made of James Kinsella or the young boy. The name of the deceased was incorrectly listed as John Cashen rather than James Cassin.
The Widow and Children
The 1901 Census for Carrigcloney, Glenmore provides that James Cassin (aged 33) was married to Ellen (aged 22) and their eldest child James was a year old and their second son John was three months old. A marriage record was then found for James Cassin and Ellen Malone. The couple married on the 13th of September 1899 in Piltown. James was listed as a labourer the son of James Cassin, also a labourer. It appears that the New Ross Standard erroneously listed his father as Andrew Cassin. The bride Ellen Malone, was listed as a farmer in Garryduff and she was the daughter of John Malone, farmer. The following birth certs were located for the six children of the couple all born at Carrigcloney, Glenmore: [1] James Cassin was born on the 23rd of December 1899; [2] John Cassin was born on the 15th December 1900; [3] Michael Cassin was born on the 14th of August 1904; [located by Adam Cashin] [4] Margaret Cassin was born on the 1st of April 1902; [5] Mary Cassin was born on the 7th May 1903; [6] Anastatia Cassin was born 15 November 1906 and [7] Ellen Cassin was born on the 22nd of February 1908 five months after her father’s death.
[UPDATED] The Cassin family could not be located in 1911 Census for Carrigcloney, Glenmore. However, Adam Cashin located the family in the 1911 Census living in Cappagh, Glenmore. Ellen Cashin (sic) was a widow, aged 32. The following children are living with their mother: John, aged 11; Michael, aged 6; Statia, aged 4 and Ellie aged 3. A nine year old named Margaret Cassin was found living as a boarder in the home of Johanna Devine a 60 year old widow, farmer in Old Court, Templeorum, Kilkenny. A ten year old James Cassin was living in Tullagher, Listerlin, Kilkenny in the home of Ellen Cassin a 68 year old widow. James is listed as an undefined “relative.” Also present in the house are Ellen’s sons Michael and Thomas Cassin, aged 40 and 36 respectively. Michael and Thomas Cassin are boot and shoe makers.
[UPDATED] The Cassin headstone was located in Glenmore cemetery. The inscription is as follows:
In loving memory of James Cassin Glenmore Died 9th Sept 1907 Aged 39 yrs His wife Ellen Died 31st July 1963 Aged 85 yrs Their son John Died 7th Nov 1943 Aged 41 yrs Their daughters Margaret Died 2nd Jan 1926 Aged 24 yrs Ellen McBride Died 2nd Sept 1976 Aged 68 yrs Anastasia Doyle Died 1st Oct 1996 Aged 90 yrs
[UPDATED] The death cert for Ellen Cassin née Malone (c. 1879-1963) provides that she was still living in Cappagh, Glenmore when she died in 1963 at the age of 84. Her daughter, Ellen McBride was present when she died.
The Rescuers: James Kinsella (c. 1843-1909) & Hannah Howlen (c. 1879- )
In the 1901 Census of Fishertown, Wexford, James Kinsella, was 43 years old, and employed as a fisherman. The bachelor was living with his 70 year old widowed mother Anne Kinsella. Both James and his mother could not be located in the 1911 census. James Kinsella died on the 10th of March 1909 at the age of 56. His death cert notes that he died of heart disease and had been suffering with it for 3 years. Thus, in September 1907, when he saved the two men clinging to the capsized cot, James Kinsella was suffering from heart disease that caused his death 18 months later.
In the 1901 Census of Fishertown there is no Hannah Holden or a Costelloe family. In the house listed next to the Kinsella home was the Howlen family. Hannah Howlen, aged 22, was the daughter of Michael Howlen, aged 62 and his wife Catherine aged 63. Also in the home were Hannah’s two brothers John (aged 28) and Michael (aged 24). All three men were fishermen. We believe that Hannah Howlen was “the girl” that raised the alarm and helped Kinsella launch the rescue boat.
The Rescued Men: Tom Kelly & Michael Power
In the 1901 Census two Michael Powers were located in Glenmore. The one closest to the river was Michael Power of Rochestown, an agricultural labourer, aged 25, married to Kate Power, aged 25. The couple had two children John, aged 1 year and Patrick, aged 1 month.
In the 1901 Census there were also two Thomas Kelly’s in Glenmore. Both lived near the river, however one was 70. Therefore we believe that Thomas Kelly of Griguenakill, aged 20, a railway labourer, in 1901 may have been one of the rescued men. Thomas was the son of Catherine Kelly, aged 53 in 1901. Also present in the home was her 54 year old brother Michael Breen, a farm labourer.
The 1899 Double Drowning at Rochestown Point
Eight years prior to Cassin drowning two men drowned in the River Barrow also returning on a Sunday from a visit to a pub. In 1899 two men were also rescued while clinging to a capsized boat and ironically their name was Kelly. The 1899 double drowning may be found at https://glenmore-history.com/a-double-drowning-at-rochestown-point-in-1899/ .
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
James “Jim the Weaver” Walsh (1870- c. 1960) of Glenmore Village: Looking Back
Sixty-one years ago today an article appeared in the Kilkenny People entitled “Glenmore Man Looks Back” written by Peter Roughhan. This 1959 article is packed full of interesting details and names of Glenmore people including early football players and brick makers. Special thanks to Glenmore-History.com reader Kelvin Johnson Treacy who found the article and sent it on so we could share it. At the end of the article information that Danny Dowling collected over the years concerning the Weaver Walsh family is provided.
GLENMORE MAN LOOKS BACK—Often it makes me wonder if one old custom, or pastime, if you like to call it, is dead and gone in the country, for you never hear anyone using the word “cuardeact” now at all, and you scarcely ever hear anyone saying in the heel of the evening, “I’m going ‘cuardeact’ for an hour or two.” Well, I know one place around here where you needn’t wait for the heel of the evening to go and have a chat; you need only ramble into Jim Walsh’s beyond in Glenmore any time of the day and you can sit and listen to Jim ‘until the cows come home, and the last thing he’ll tell you is “don’t be long before you come again.”
When I first heard about Jim Walsh and where I could find him, it put me in mind of the story we used to hear about the lad who was going to New York to a sister of his, and his mother kept reminding of where she lived, “in the first house on the left as you go in,” Well, that’s where I happened to find Jim over in Glenmore — in the first house on the left as I went in! Honest to Goodness, I thought I went to the wrong house for I never expected him to have his coat off, and his sleeves rolled up, chopping up a skeagh tree for firing.
“Hold on a minute ’till I put this hatchet away, I don’t like leaving sharp tools lying about the place, and we’ll sit up in the haggard and have a nice quiet chat for ourselves.” And upon my word, a nice quiet chat it was. I could sit and listen to him all day, and so could anyone that’s fond of a bit of ” cuardeact.” Well, now, no one can tell a fellow’s life story better than himself, but Jim Walsh caps ’em all, for his memory can nearly take him back to the day he was born, and that was November 21, 1870.
“Aye, please God, I’ll be 89 on my next birthday, and there’s plenty of work in me yet.” And, I couldn’t say “no” to that, for he looks as fresh and healthy as a lad half his age, and still able to shave himself. “I worked hard ever since I was a lad,” says he to me, “and thank God, I never had much sickness in my life. Now would you believe it, I was born in this house where I’m living, and my father lived in the same house since he was a lad. God be good to him, Pat Walsh, he was one of the old Glenmore weavers, and my mother was Mary Haberlin of Rochestown, her father was Johnnie Haberlin, the blacksmith.”
MASTER CURRAN
IT was a Father Edward Walsh that baptised me, and Johnnie Cody and Bridget Hanrahan from the village here who stood for me. God be good to them all, sure they’re dead years and years. And so is my old schoolmaster — Master Curran — a great man to handle children, and he turned out some great scholars in the village here.”
Like a lot of the lads in Jim’s young days, he left school early. ” Aye,” says he, ” I was only nine when I had to turn out to work, and the first job I ever got was over at Denis Maher’s of Ballyvarring, I was put minding cows for a bob a week. I was living over there at the farm, and they looked after me in great style. We had plenty of good, wholesome food to eat, oaten stirabout for breakfast, no tea in those days at all, spuds and bacon for our dinner, but Friday was a devil of a day, we used to get red herrings, and then we got spuds and plenty butter, and new milk in the evening”
“I stayed there for about two years, and I can remember the boss going into Waterford one day and bringing me back a pair of boots. Sure I never wore a boot in my life ’till then, always went barefooted, and when I got them on my feet, I couldn’t walk at all in them. I used to come home every Saturday night with my bob to my mother, and as soon as I got out on the road with the new boots on I took ’em off and slung ’em around my neck and trotted the whole of the five miles home. If I kept the boots on, I wouldn’t be home yet!
They nearly made a cripple of me. I got used to ’em, but it took a long time, they were like ton weights on my feet.”
When Jim said good-bye to cowminding, he took to brickmaking in the brickyard beyond at Pill. “My father was working there” says he to me, “and he managed to get me a job over there with him. The bricks were baked in what we called clamps, and there were ten arches in each clamp, and anything between three and four thousand bricks in an arch. We used to set the fires with about five hundredweight of Welsh coal, and a bed of furze, get that going in the evening after sealing up the clamp with blue mud, and then we had to look after the fires all-night until about four in the morning. We’d draw the bricks our about dinner time, and then the whole gamut had to start again.”
MADE BY HAND
“All the bricks were made by hand. We used what they called a breastboard, and ’twas a good lad who could make about twenty bricks in half an hour. Oh, there was a great gang of lads working down there at Pill in my Days, I can remember the most of ’em; Dick Rockett of Slieverue; Dan Cody of Carrickcroney; Tom and Bill Forristal of Ballyverneen; Robin Irish of Ballinalammy; Dick Hennessey of Moulerstown; George Young; Paddy Doherty; Ned and Mick Phelan of Bigwood; Pat Murphy of Killivory, and Mickey Power of Carrickcroney.”
“I couldn’t say which of ’em dug up a full branch of deer’s antlers down below in the clay pit one day, and another of the lads came across a boar’s tusk about half-a-foot long. You’d never know what you might dig up in old places like that, but we never came across any gold at all.”
“The wages in those days making bricks wasn’t too bad. On piecework a good lad could earn about thirty shillings, but you had to keep hard at it all day to earn that. It used to be a long day working from seven in the morn ’till six in the evening, still, we were all happy down there. At dinnertime we used to have many a great hunt doing tricks and giving out riddles to good eight miles from here each other. My father was a great hand at some of the questions. I remember one day, some lad asked him how many pounds in a million farthings, and he gave him the right answer in less than no time.” Jim’s memory, of course, couldn’t go back to the time in Glenmore when the weaving was done there, but he was able to tell me a lot about what he used to hear from his father who worked at the trade. They spun for blankets and sheets in the ould days, and right opposite his door he pointed out to me the spot where the old weaving sheds stood. All the spinning of flax was done there, even for bags and sacks of all sizes.”
“This village was a lively spot in my young days,” he told me, ” we had a couple of tailors working here, and one or two shoemakers as well, there was a lot of firkin making in the village too. I often walked to the sally bogs in Kilfane to cut sallies, and the firkins were made in Furlong’s yard, but that trade is gone out now, you never hear of ’em using a butter firkin now at all.”
“I often walked from here to Coolroe bogs with my father to foot sod turf. We thought nothing of walking nine or ten miles to work then, but when I was over in England at the time of the first war, I thought I was in heaven when I used to get on a bus or a tram to go to work. Aye, I remember the time I was in a shell factory in Sheffield, and we earned great money there too. But I must tell you a good story about that factory. ‘Twas in winter time, and we couldn’t stir for snow, ’twas about four feet thick on the roads, and this Saturday night I couldn’t get back to my lodgings, so I went into a pub, and had a couple of hours there with the boys, back into the factory with me, and got into one of the furnaces where I was nice and warm. They used to let the furnaces cool down every Saturday. ‘Twas the luck of God that I had my billycan with me that night. I woke up the next morn, and I was just after stepping out of the furnace when who should walk up behind me but one of the bosses.” “Now then, Walsh,” says he to me, “what are you doing in there?” “Oh, I was only climbing jn to get my billycan out, I left it in there last night when I was finished working,” says I to him, and he believed me. “If it wasn’t for that billycan. I’d be sacked on the spot. In any case, I didn’t stay long in Sheffield after that, I went to Birmingham, and had a grand job helping a couple of fitters for a few months, I got tired of England and came back home, and got a job on the Co. Council.”
STONE-BREAKING
Well, Jim’s time on the ‘ county’ must have been nearly half his lifetime — a good forty years or so. “You know Jim Robinson, don’t you,” says he to me, “well, the man who had his job then as road surveyor was a man named Bowers, and ’twas he set me on first, and put me stonebreaking over on the side of the road near Carriganurra for fourteen bob a week. I was on that job for a long time, and then I was sent over to the quarries in Christendom to work. I used to walk there, and back every day a good eight miles from here. I went scraping the roads over at The Rower as well, and that was a good ten miles. I did every kind of a job on the roads, cleaning out ditches, cutting gullies, and the last bit of work I did on the ‘county’ was to clean out a drain beyond at the Skough bridge, and I was eighty-one years and one month then. That’s nearly nine years ago, and I had to retire then, even though I was still able to do a good day’s work. I saw some great times on the ‘ county,’ but I can tell you ’twas a devil during the last war to be out on the roads all day without a smoke of a pipe, but, I made my own tobacco, Peter, I used to dry the skin, of a furze bush, and fill my pipe with that, and I didn’t feel so bad at all, I had something to pull at anyway.”
In Jim’s spotless little kitchen he showed me a few old heirlooms, which he thought the world of. “Just look at that clock” he says to me, “do you know that ’tis hanging there for the last seventy years, and ’tis one of the first two clocks — eight-day ones — that came into Glenmore, and before my father bought that clock, he had a wall-wagger that he bought from a travelling German watchmaker for four shillings. There’s a dresser there and as ould as I am, I never remember it to be made, for ’tis over a 100 years ‘ould, and that glass press was made before I was born by a man named Sullivan over in Kearney Bay.” I couldn’t make anything like a good guess at the age of a three-legged skillet, that Jim thought the world of. Honestly, it could either be 40 or 4,000 years old. You don’t see many skillets now, butJim’s is still in good condition. Well, no chat with an old Glenmore man would ever finish without something said about football, and Jim’s not the only one who likes to rake up all the great men who used to kick for the village years ago.
We had some of the best in the country here in Glenmore,” he told me, “lads like Dick Delahunty of Aylwardstown; Ned Hartley of Weatherstown; Ned Roche of Coolnaleen; Jack Morrissey of Aylwardstown; Jack Grant of Ballinahara; Peter Flannery of Ballyhobuck; Jack Power of Robinstown; Andy Freyne of Kilbride; the two Briens from Carriganurra, John and Tom; Dick and Larry Curran from The Rower, they were sons, of old schoolmaster Curran, two great men no doubt, and two powerful lads, Pat and Dick Reddy from Kilbride. I was about 17 or 18 years of age when I saw them play in a match over in Ross, and they fisted the ball from one goal to the other. It never touched the ground, and nearly everyone of them had a clout at it, and then they scored! Sure the men in those days would walk ten or twelve miles on a Sunday to kick a football, and walk it back home again, and think nothing of it, and be up the morn after at cock-crow to do a hard day’s work. But the lads today don’t eat oaten porridge that we used to be reared on. ‘Tis all tea today, but, still, Peter, we’ll have a cup before you go,” and we did, and a good cup it was.
Well, before I leave Jim Walsh, I must say that he is one of the most interesting chaps you could have a chat with, God bless him, he is wonderful for his eighty-nine years, as happy as the day is long, and sure, we all wish him many more long years with us. God be with you, Jim, and ’twas great to sit above in your haggard, and listen to you talking about ould times.
_____
Thanks to the details in the article it was easy to locate the birth records for Jim Walsh. James Walsh was born on the 21st of November 1870 the son of Patrick Walsh, weaver, of Graiguenakill and Mary Walsh née Haberlin. He was baptized at Glenmore and his Godparents were John Cody & Bridget Hanrahan. He was the second son and one of six siblings (two boys and four girls).
His parents were married on the 16th of February 1863 at Glenmore. Witnesses to the marriage were Michael Walsh and Catherine Bolger. Mary Habberlan (sic) was baptized on the 25th of July 1845 at Rochestown and was the daughter of John Habberlan (sic) and Margaret Mackey. No birth cert could be located in the Glenmore Parish records for Patrick Walsh. According to Danny Dowling, Patrick’s father, Old Jack “the Weaver” Walsh came from the Campile are of Co. Wexford to work in Gaffney’s linen mill. The birth of Patrick’s children reveals that he worked as a weaver and sometimes as a labourer.
The known children of Paddy “The Weaver” Walsh and his wife Mary Walsh née Haberlin include:
[1] Anastatia Walsh was born on the 4th of December 1863. Godparents: Martin Kelly & Ellen Bulger. [2] Alice “Ally” Walsh was born and baptized on the 20th of July 1866. Godparents: James Kelly & Bridget Ennett. The child’s grandfather, John Walsh of Gregnakill (sic) registered this birth. The father’s occupation was listed as weaver. [3] John Walsh was born on the 30th of April 1869 and baptized on the 2nd of May 1869. Godparents: Columb Halley & Mary Maher. At the civil registration Patrick Walsh was listed as a labourer. Margaret Wallace, nurse was present at birth and registered it on the 6th of May 1869. [4] James was born in 1870. [5] Margaret Walshe born 20 Nov. 1874, baptized the following day. Godparents James Murphy & Catherine Walsh. Civil registers records father’s occupation as weaver, and Catherine Butler was present at birth and registered it on 1 Dec. 1874. [6] Mary Walshe was born 18 Aug. 1878, and baptized the following day. Godparents: William Walsh & Catherine Dunne. Mary’s birth was registered by her father on the 17th of August and he recorded his occupation as farm labourer.
“The Weaver” Walsh family lived in the first house on the left on the Churns hill road when entering the Village. In the featured photo the darker house on the left of the three attached houses is the former home of “The Weaver Walsh” family. For a rough drawing of the Village see, Glenmore Village in the 1930’s https://glenmore-history.com/glenmore-village-in-the-1930s/. Although Jim Walsh did not mention his wife or children we believe that he did marry and did have at least one child Walter Walsh and also raised a couple of step-daughters.
Unfortunately, the public death register ends in 1966. Only one James Walsh died over the age of 89 died between 1959-1966. As lively as James Walsh appeared to be when interviewed on 31 October 1959 it is difficult to believe that he died in less than a year. A 90 year old James Walsh died in the Waterford hospital in January 1960. His address was recorded as 41 Costello Place, Waterford and the Munster Express of 5 February 1960 provided that the deceased who died on that date had a son and daughters. Unfortunately, the names of the son and daughters is not provided. This James Walsh was buried in Ramsgrange, Co Wexford.
We hope that someone can provide the missing information concerning the colourful James “the Weaver” Walsh.
Special thanks to Jacqueline Walsh for the old photo of the Churns hill road in the Village of Glenmore. The photo was taken before the 1960’s when the Glenmore Pub opened. The old Village pump can be seen in the photo now where the pub is located.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh