Public Service

As the world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day we mark this day as our founder, Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) fifth anniversary. To mark Danny’s anniversary, and celebrate his life’s work, in partnership with Glenmore Tidy Towns, we have three more Glenmore golden heritage signs. This brings to 8 the heritage signs that have been placed around the Parish of Glenmore.

Kilivory Cemetery

The first of the three signs was placed at the entrance to Kilivory Cemetery referred to on maps as Kilmakevogue Cemetery. This cemetery has several prominent graves including the Forristal vault and William Gaffney (c. 1762-1798) the leader of the local United Irishmen during the 1798 rebellion. For the markers recorded by Danny in 1961 for this cemetery see our Roots page. However, perhaps the most important grave is that of Rev. Fr. Stephen Lower (c. 1727-1799) who, according to Danny, is credited with three important events:

[1] Fr. Lower was the first priest to record the birth, marriages and deaths in the old combined parish of Slieverue and Glenmore. Thus, we are fortunate that our records go back to 1766.
[2] Fr. Lower during the 1798 Rebellion is credited with stopping the burning of Slieverue Village by British soldiers returning to Waterford after the Battle of New Ross. It is said that Fr. Lower took the bridle of the officer’s horse and led the troops away from the Village.
[3] Well into the middle of the 20^th Century locals took soil from Fr. Lower’s grave for the treatment of skin complaints.

Site of Penal Church in Glenmore Village (c. 1711-1813)

Across from the Creamery low in Hanrahan’s field is the site of Glenmore’s Penal Church. Irish Penal Laws were first enacted in 1695 after the Williamite Wars and the Siege of Limerick. The Penal Laws commenced with Catholics being unable to keep weapons and expanded until Catholics could not teach or run schools within Ireland. Eventually, it was a crime for a Priest to celebrate Mass. During the penal period Catholics gathered in secret to attend mass. Danny as a young man learned that the first Catholic Church in the Village of Glenmore was a penal period church consisting of a thatched stone building that looked like a barn. He believed that it was built around 1711.  

Enforcement of the Penal Law relaxed, and in 1803, just five years after the 1798 Rebellion, the 3^rd Earl of Bessborough gave an acre of land to the Parish of Glenmore for a new Catholic Church.  The new St. James’s was completed in 1813. The stones from the Penal church in Hanrahan’s field were used to build the cemetery walls around St. James. This adjoining cemetery opened in 1805. For a brief history of St. James’s of Glenmore see one of our first posts 16 November 2019.

The Site of the Thwarted Ballyfacey Evictions in 1885

Our third sign is to go up in Ballyfacey Upper sometime this week at a site where evictions were stopped.

On 27 August 1885 a large party of armed bailiffs, police and a Resident Magistrate walked from Mullinavat to Ballyfacey, Glenmore, to evict six tenants. Mullinavat and Ballyfacey townland were owned by the widow Louisa Tigue of Woodstock House near Inistioge, Kilkenny. Locally, Land League Chapters had been organised early by local clergy to try to stop evictions.

On that day in August 1885, Church bells across the area rang out from Mullinavat, Glenmore, Listerlin and Tullogher calling the people to Ballyfacey. Fr. Patrick Neary (1828-1887) was driven to Ballyfacey from Mullinavat in an ass cart and is credited with stopping blood shed and saving lives that day as locals pelted the armed party with stones.

The home of Mrs. Anastatia Dollard (c. 1819-1898) was barricaded. It was to be the place of the first eviction. When three bailiffs attacked the house boiling water was thrown on them from inside the house. Eventually it was suggested to R.M. Bodkin that they could gain entry through the thatched roof. Fr. Neary pleaded with Bodkin not to enter through the roof or his wife would be a widow before night. After conferring with the Sheriff, it was decided that the armed party would return to Mullinavat. Subsequently, this success story was reported extensively at Land League meetings and in newspapers. For further information, see our post of 8 March 2020 regarding the Glenmore Land League and the Ballyfacey evictions.

Please send any corrections, additional information, suggestions for other heritage markers or photographs to glenmore.history@gmail.com .

Thanks to the Glenmore Tidy Town’s team and especially Pat who erects the signs.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh