Milltown, Glenmore (1961) [Updated]
Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Milltown, Glenmore, around 1961. The Irish for this townland, according to Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny (1969, p. 103) is Baile an m huilinn or place of the mill. This townland is comprised of 195 acres. Kelly also noted that part of the roadway in this townland is called Bother na Tra and a field name of Ton riach or a grey bottom land.
Griffith’s Valuation of 1830
Given the name of the townland there must have been a mill located there, but we were unable to find reference to one on any of the old maps. In the 1830 Tithe Applotment Records, the following names were recorded. George Ivy, Esquire and Edward Murphy were the landlords and the following men were recorded as tenants: Andrew Phelan; David Malone, Thomas Doherty; Michael Greene; Darby Greene; Patrick Cody; Thomas Heneberry; Denis Merrigan and Edmond Merrigan. Only a few names from 1830 remained in the townland in 1961.
Milltown, Glenmore 1961
Danny recorded 5 families or households in Milltown around 1961. Birthdates or birth years are provided for some of the older residents gleaned from available public records. For some time after drafting his notebook, Danny recorded the dates of death or simply recorded that a resident had died. The recorded information reveals that 24 people resided in Milltown with the population comprised of 17 males and 7 females. The Ryan family was the largest family with ten members in the household. There was one household recorded of a single person living alone.
Recorded Residents
Males= 17
Females= 7
Eldest Recorded Resident= Richard Barron (1880-1963). Richard was 80 in 1961.
Recorded Work
Farmers = 3 (1 male & 2 females)
Farm/Agricultural Workers = 13 (all males)
Road Worker = 1 (1 male)
Electrician =1 (1 male)
Mechanic = 1 (1 male)
Bookkeeper = 1 (1 female)
MILLTOWN RESIDENTS
[1] MURPHY
Murphy, John (6 April 1899) Road Worker (died 10 Feb. 1964)
Murphy, Denis (2 Nov. 1902) brother, farm labourer
Murphy, Mary (4 Feb. 1894) sister
Murphy, Mary, niece
[2] DOHERTY
Doherty, Eileen, Farmer
Doherty, Richard, son, farm worker
Doherty, Luke, son, farm worker
Doherty, Thomas, son, farm worker
[3] RYAN
Ryan, Laurence (25 Oct. 1911) Farm Labourer
Ryan, Mary (16 Dec. 1910) wife
Ryan, Thomas, son, farm labourer
Ryan, James, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Edward, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Laurence, son, farm labourer
Ryan, Patrick, son, farm labourer
Ryan, John, son, motor mechanic
Ryan, Mary, daughter, bookkeeper
Ryan, Kathleen, daughter
[4] MERRIGAN*
Merrigan, Bridget (24 July 1896) Farmer
Merrigan, Patrick, son, farm worker
Merrigan, John, son, farm worker
Merrigan, Anthony, son, electrician (dead)
Merrigan, Michael (4 July 1888) brother-in-law, farm worker
[5] BARRON
Barron, Richard (no other information recorded except Danny recorded dead.)
[Richard Barron of Glenmore, bachelor, farmer, died on the 11th of October 1963 at the age of 83. The Glenmore Parish records provide that Richard Barron was born on 21 April 1880 the son of Peter Barron and Catherine Barron née Forristal].
We covered the tragic death of Tony Merrigan, of Milltown, Glenmore in our previous post of 21 May 2020.
*[Additional information (15 May 2023). The Merrigan family of Milltown had several other children including: Michael Merrigan; James Merrigan; Birdie Merrigan Fitzgerald; Nell Merrigan Doherty; Peg Merrigan O’Brian and Tess Merrigan McDonald. Special thanks to Sean Merrigan for sharing this information.]
Please send any further information or corrections to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Darby (b.1778) and Michael Greene (b1790) were the sons of Patrick Greene of Jamestown and Anne Cody of Milltown who married in 1778. I’ve identified 9 children of the couple but only Darby and Michael have any further evidence beyond their baptism record. Presumably Patrick took over the tenancy of his Cody in-laws as all of their children were born in Milltown
Michael Greene married Johanna Murphy in 1818 and had at least one son, another Darby Greene b1826. The name Darby is a corruption of the Irish Diarmaid or Dermott, but it was also anglicised as Jerimiah. On Griffith Jerimiah Greene is listed as the only Greene tenant in Milltown. Whether this is Darby senior or his nephew is unknown. No other records for any of the Milltown Greene’s has been found. Given the Jamestown residence of Patrick Greene he must have been closely related to the current Jamestown Greenes.
The Rosbercon petty courts recorded an incident that occurred on the 7th of September between a Darby Greene, Bridget Greene (Widow), Thomas Greene and Michael Greene all of Jamestown against Andrew Henneberry, Patrick Merrigan and Denis Merrigan all of Milltown. The incident appears to have been part of a longer running dispute between residence of Jamestown and Milltown. The listed Thomas and Michael Greene are established to be the sons of Bridget Greene (nee Cullerton). Its possible that the listed Darby Greene is another brother, but he does not appear on the family grave in Glenmore. More likely this Darby is the younger Darby Greene from Milltown who by 1856 had moved to live with his Jamestown cousins. That Darby Greene of Jamestown died in 1870, listed as a farmer and a bachelor, aged about 40; which would be broadly consistent with an 1826 birth.
When the Greenes left Milltown can be definitely established as after 1850, potentially before 1856, and certainly by the time Catholic deaths were recorded civilly.