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South Kilkenny Historical Society’s Events for Heritage Week 2024
Below are two local free events for Heritage Week 2024.
Mystery Tour of Carrigeen
Tour Guide: Eoin Walsh
Sunday, August 25th
Starting point and time: St. Kevin’s Church, Carrigeen at 2pm
Free – all welcome
Walking in the footsteps of the O’Neills’ of Owning
Tour Guide: Paddy O’Shea
Saturday, August 31st
Starting point and time: Owning National School at 10.45am
Free – all welcome
Ancient Irish Wakes: The Merry Wake, Keening and the Art of Crying
A Lecture by – Ann Moylan, MA (Hons) Ethnomusicology
Friday 23rd August from 6.00 – 7.45 in Loughboy Library
“Regardless of whether custom calls for festive or restrained behaviour, the study of death rituals throws into relief the most important cultural values by which people live their lives. Life becomes transparent against the background of death, and all fundamental social and cultural issues are revealed.”
Understanding the origins of our Wakes and Funeral Practices may be a key to explaining why we Irish hold our death rituals in such high regard within our communities. This lecture will explain how our ancestors would have seen death not as being instantaneous, but they in fact believed that the spirit of the deceased would continue to preside over the proceedings throughout the three nights of the Wake.
The Wake, unlike today, would not have been led by the clergy, but by the Mna Caointe (Keening Women), or the ‘Caoineadh’, who were hired as professional ‘criers’ and without them, the Wake could not take place. In stark contrast, within the same room, there was what became known as the Merry Wake which was a much-anticipated event of games, boisterous festivities and even courtship.
This 2-hour lecture will explore how, whether riotous or reverent, the Wake was an important ritual for the Irish to honour the spirit of their dead. It will be an immersive event and designed to look as if taking place at a 19th Century Irish Wake, finishing with the creation of a vocal soundscape, a modern-day Keen, as a tribute to the fascinating heritage of our ancestors.
(Please note that due to mature content, this is an adult only event.)
Places are limited. Please phone 0567794176 or email loughboy@kilkennylibrary.ie to book a place.
Loughboy Shopping Centre, Waterford Rd. Kilkenny. R95 TD71
The Flipside: Gowran Kidnappings
On the reverse or flip side of Mons. Paul Fitzgerald’s obituary (1938-2006) is a short article written by Sean Keane entitled, “Fr. Pat’s Donkeys Survive Kidnapping” (Kilkenny People, 19 January 2007, p. 9). The article has nothing to do with Glenmore, other than being in one of Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) files. However, it is just the type of article Danny would have clipped and put in his Animal Antics file although strictly speaking these animals were not up to any antics in this case. See our post of 27 January 2023 for animal antics.
It was reported that Fr. Pat Dalton of Gowran, Kilkenny purchased two donkeys and a cow made of plastic, from a furniture wholesaler. A number of similar animal figures were sold at a parish auction. The plastic animals according to Fr. Pat were a source of interest to anyone passing and to the children going and coming from school.
Unfortunately, on a number of occasions Fr. Pat’s herd was kidnapped from the front garden of the Parochial House. “The life-sized figures have been through a terrible ordeal at the hands of mischievous pranksters in Gowran.” Fr. Pat reported that he had no intention of putting his animals in a safe place in “order to curb local high jinks.” Strangely no ransom demands were made which is surprising given that a number of similar animals were sold at the parish auction. Happily Fr. Pat’s animals were not harmed in any way. The animals were found in various parts of the parish and collected or returned to Fr. Pat. However, one of his animals was slightly injured when Fr. Pat himself dropped it after it was recovered.
One controversy that may have led to the animal kidnappings was thought to be about the road signs placed around the area lambasting Fianna Faíl and Labour over their failure to support a pedestrian crossing for the Village’s national school. Fr. Dalton stated, “I suppose they will now complain me to the ISPCA.” Fr. Dalton also stated that he had no intention of fettering his animals to stop them from wandering. He hoped that those responsible “would refrain from making asses of themselves and desist” from the kidnappings.
No further articles concerning the kidnappings were located, so perhaps the practice did stop.
Keeping the Old May Day Tradition
The month of April is quickly coming to an end, and Wednesday is May Day. Decorating a May Bush is an old tradition that our founder Danny Dowling (1927-2021) enjoyed. For a few years he acted as the judge of a May Bush competition in New Ross.
It is a simple process and children particularly enjoy it. If you carry on the tradition, wherever you are in the world, please send a photo. Please see some of our previous posts if you need a little inspiration….1 May 2022 and 22 April 2021. The photos below are from 2023.
Happy May Day!
Glenmore History Update
Thanks to the tireless work of Pat and Orla Dowling, we are happy to report that another box of our founder Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) notebooks have been located. We are beginning the process of transcribing and recording the information on the Glenmore History webpage. Today, DD Notebook 29 containing the inscriptions Danny recorded in the 1960’s of the headstones in Kilcolumb graveyard has been added to our Roots page. You can access the inscriptions by clicking here.
The earliest date of death recorded is 1711 and the most recent is 1929. The inscriptions feature common local names including Aylward and Mullally and some unusual names for Glenmore such as Myler and Archdeacon. Danny noted some of the headstones were common quarry slabs with homemade inscriptions and some were from O’Keefes stone masons. Simple prayers are reflected as well as “Do Thou Her Soul From Sins Deliver Who Art The Only Pardon Giver. Amen.”
Over the past month we have also been adding to information and obituaries contained in the Glenmore Family pages.
Dr Kathleen Moore Walsh
South Kilkenny Historical Society
Dates for your diary! The programme of events from January to July 2024 for the South Kilkenny Historical Society has been released.
LECTURE PROGRAMME
[1] Friday, 19th January–Speaker: Brian White
“Waterford Diviner Experiments in Ireland, 1891 and 1899,” This talk will include the input of Mr Jones, Mullinabro in the experiments.
[2] Friday, 23rd February–Speakers: Dr Ruth Duffy and Dr Alison Garden
“Acts of Union: Mixed Marriage in Modern Ireland”
[3] Friday, 22nd March–Speaker: John Dorney
“The Army Mutiny of 1924”
[4] Friday, 26th April–Speaker: Mary Ann Vaughan
“Kilkenny’s Titanic Survivor”
Lectures will take place in Mullinavat Parish Hall, commencing at 8 p.m.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The AGM for the SKHS will be held on Friday, February 9th, 2024
COACH TRIP
The annual coach trip will be held on Saturday, June 1st, 2024 to Lismore, Co. Waterford.
FRAOCHAN SUNDAY
Sunday, July 14th, 2024
Any and all queries to Eddie Synnott, Chairman, 086 8124349 or edsynnott@yahoo.co.uk
The photo of RMS Titanic was taken by Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart (1843-1923) as it left Southhampton on 10 April 1912. Photo is in the Public Domain via and courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.