Ballyfacey Glenmore

Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the Glenmore residents of the townland of Ballyfacey, around 1961.  However, first a couple of facts concerning 1961. Disney released in 1961 its classic 101 Dalmatians that has stood the test of time. On 13 August 1961, fences began to be erected in Berlin that later became the Berlin wall–which did not stand the test of time.

Place of the Waste Land

The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny (1969, p. 109)  is Baile an fhásaigh which translated is place of the waste land. Situated in the old civil parish of Kilbride, this townland is divided into upper and lower Ballyfacy. The total acreage of Bllyfacey is 998 acres. According to O’Kelly “a great new forest stretches from Ballyfasey Upper widening through Ballynoony to Glenpipe…and Ballyfacey village nestles near the cross-roads.”

Ballyfacey Irish Field Names

Some of the field names recorded by O’Kelly include:
Bán an bhaile, the village bawn;
Bán ard;
Bán mórl Bán na lao;
Carraig an rointe, rock of the division (but O’Kelly states it might be carraig an rince, rock of the dancing; Croichtin;
Currachs’ Frachans, bilberry land;
Gort nua; Páircín  na lao;
Páirc na stille, the spring well field;
Seangharraí; and
Stríoca fada, the long stripes.

Past Blog Posts

Ballyfacey was featured in our previous blog post of 8 March 2020 concerning the failed Ballyfacey evictions in 1885, and on 27 June 2022 we posted a short article on the The School Collection: Ballyfacey National School, Local Heroes.

Danny’s List

Danny Dowling, in 1961 recorded families or households in the townland of Ballyfacey. 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 in 1961, 45 people resided in Ballyfacey Upper and 26 in Ballyfacey Lower, for a total of 71 residents. The population the townland was comprised of 35 males and 34 females. There were two children where it was not possible to determine the gender of the children. The John Phelan family was the largest family with thirteen members in the household. There were no households recorded of a single person living alone.

Recorded Residents

Males= 35
Females= 34 (The gender of 2 children not recorded.)

Eldest Recorded Resident= Bridget Walsh née McDonald (27 March 1870-25 Aug. 1961) of Ballyfacey Upper. Bridget died shortly after Danny made his list of residents. At the time of her death in August 1961 Bridget was 91 years of age.  Her obituary from the Munster Express has been added to our W family page.

Recorded Occupations

Farmers = 12  ( 9 males including a retired farmer; 3 females)
Farm Workers = 9 (all males)
Co. Council Workers = 2 (males)
Creamery Workers = 1 (male)
Teachers = 1 (male)
Knit Organizer = 1 (female)
Shop Keeper  = 1 (female)

RESIDENTS OF BALLYFACEY LOWER, GLENMORE

[1] O’CONNOR

O’Connor, George (9 Jan. 1881) Retired Farmer (dead—no date of death recorded)
O’Connor, Bridget (1 Aug. 1886) wife
O’Connor, John (21 Dec. 1913) son, farmer
O’Connor, Katherine, daughter-in-law
O’Connor, Bridget, granddaughter

[2] O’CONNOR

O’Connor, George (b. 1920) Farmer
O’Connor, Bridget (b. 1925) wife
O’Connor, Mary, daughter
O’Connor, Alice, daughter
O’Connor, Bridget, daughter
O’Connor, Patrick, son
O’Connor, Patrick (b. 1923) brother, creamery worker

[3] PHELAN

Phelan, William (2 Feb. 1902) Farmer
Phelan, James (6 April 1894) brother, farm worker

[4] RYAN/MURPHY

Ryan, Bridget (9 March 1882)
Ryan, John (6 Jan. 1912) son, Council worker
Murphy, Michael, son-in-law, Council worker
Murphy, Catherine, daughter
Murphy, Richard, grandson
Murphy, Bridget, granddaughter
Murphy, Margaret Mary, granddaughter

[5] FREYNE

Freyne, Edward (12 May 1889) Farmer
Freyne, Johanna (11 Feb. 1903) sister 
Freyne, Margaret (4 March 1908) sister

[6] McDONALD

McDonald, James (23 June 1914) Farmer
McDonald. Patrick (11 Sept. 1918) brother, farm worker

RESIDENTS OF BALLYFACEY UPPER, GLENMORE

[7] O’MUIRITHE

O’Muirithe, Diarmuid (11 Nov. 1935) School Teacher  (Family moved to New Ross)
O’Muirithe, Maire (31 Jan. 1935) wife, knitting organiser
O’Muirithe, Sean
O’Muirithe, Barra
O’Muirithe, (infant)

[8] AYLWARD

Aylward, Mary (2 Nov. 1904) Farmer
Aylward, John, son, farm worker
Aylward, Daniel, son, farm worker
Aylward, Bridget, daughter-in-law
Aylward, Matthew, grandson
Aylward, Mary, granddaughter
Aylward, James, grandson

[9] DEADY

Deady, Margaret (5 Feb. 1902) Farmer
Deady, John, son, farm worker
Deady, Anna, daughter
Deady, Patrick, son, farm worker
Deady, Michael, grandson

[10] DOLLARD

Dollard, James (27 March 1902) farmer
Dollard, Mary (27 May 1910) wife, (died 8 Jan. 1963)

[11] PHELAN

Phelan, John (17 July 1908) Farmer
Phelan, Statia (10 April 1916) wife
Phelan, Michael, son, farm worker
Phelan, Kathleen, daughter
Phelan, Mary, daughter
Phelan, John, son
Phelan, Denis, son
Phelan, James, son
Phelan, Noreen, daughter
Phelan, Thomas, son
Phelan, Anastatia, daughter
Phelan, Eileen, daughter
Phelan, Bridget, daughter

[12] WALSH

Walsh, Richard (8 Dec. 1913) Farmer
Walsh, Kathleen (15 Nov. 1914) wife
Walsh, Breda, daughter
Walsh, Philip, son, farm worker
Walsh, Thomas, son, farm worker
Walsh, Richard, son
Walsh, Andrew, son
Walsh, Bridget (27 March 1870) mother

[13] DUNPHY

Dunphy, Mary (27 March 1902) Farmer (died 24 Aug. 1961)
Dunphy, Richard, son, farm worker
Dunphy, Eileen, daughter-in-law

[14] YOUNG/O’LEARY

Young, Johanna (13 Aug. 1890) (died 9 Oct. 1960?)
O’Leary, Kate (25 Dec. 1910) niece, shopkeeper

Please send any corrections or further information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh