Danny Dowling (1927-2021)

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Posted by: glenmore.history | on July 8, 2023

Gaulestown, Glenmore (1961)

Today, we are going to feature information Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Gaulestown, Glenmore, in 1961. Unfortunately Danny did not leave notes as to how he determined the boundaries of this townland, and we note that Danny listed the Reddy’s in Ballyrahan townland, but according to their obituaries their address was given as Gaulestown, Glenmore.

We are fast approaching the last of the Glenmore townlands.

Background

The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 113) is “Baile na nGall, homestead of the Gaul family. Area 140 acres.” That is all that O’Kelly recorded regarding Gaulestown which is located in the Civil Parish of Kilcolumb.

Tithe Applotment 1829

The Tithe Applotment books, lists David O’Neill Power (c. 1788-1863) as the owner of the townland. David O’Neill Power also owned Ballyrahan & Ballinlammy, Glenmore. See our post of 26 December 2022 concerning the landlord David O’Neill Power.

There were 5 tenants listed in the 1829 Applottment Books for Gaulestown. The tenants include: Plot 51 [1] Edmond & [2] John Power (69 statute acres); Plot 52 [3] Thomas Murphy & [4] John Donovan & [5] William Kennedy (66 statute acres).

1961 Gaulestown Glenmore

In 1961, Danny recorded 4 families or households in the townland of Gaulestown. 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 or left the townland.

Danny’s recorded information reveals that in 1961, 14 people resided in the townland of Gaulestown, with the population comprised of 8 males and 6 females. The largest family was the McDonald family with 7 in the household. There was 1 household recorded with a single person living alone. All information under residents of Gaulestown not in Danny’s original list has been placed in square brackets [ ].

Recorded Gaulestown Residents (1961)

Males= 8
Females= 6

Eldest Recorded Resident

The eldest resident recorded by Danny in 1961 in Gaulestown was James Phelan (22 Jan. 1887—24 Dec. 1964) who was 74 years of age in 1961. Shortly before James died he had to have one of his legs removed. James was born in Robinstown, Glenmore in 1887 the son of Patrick Phelan (farm labourer) and his wife Mary Foran. His wife, Bridgie Phelan (19 May 1891– 5 Sept. 1972) operated a little shop out of their home in Gaulestown as late as the early 1960’s. That part of Gaulestown was known as Ballinamona (town of the turf).

Shortly after James Phelan died in December 1964 (see our P Family Surname Page for his obit), his widow sold their home. “Gaulestown, Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, sale of vested cottage with .5 acre of land, to be sold by private treaty, by directions of Mrs. Bridget Phelan. The accommodation consists of: kitchen, parlour, pantry, and 2 bedrooms. E.S.B. lighting. The out-offices consists of 3 sheds including fowl house, car house, pig house, tool house, etc. The half acre of land is at present under pasture. For further particulars, apply P.N. O’Gorman,…New Ross.” (New Ross Standard, Sat. 23 Jan. 1965, p. 1)

Recorded Work

Farmer= 2 ( 2 Males)
Farm Worker (retired) = 1 (1 Male)
Clover Meats Employee= 1 (1Male)

Gaulestown, Glenmore Residents 1961

[1] McDONALD

McDonald, Patrick (25 Aug. 1910) Farmer
McDonald, Bridget (b. 1924) wife
McDonald, John, son, child
McDonald, Patrick, son, child
McDonald, Michael, son, child
McDonald, Timothy, son, child
McDonald, Margaret, daughter, child

[2] DOYLE

Doyle, James (b. 1918) Farmer

[3] O’CONNOR

O’Connor, Willam (b. 1921) Clover Meats
O’Connor, Alice, wife
O’Connor, Mary, daughter, child
O’Connor, Johanna, daughter, child

[4] PHELAN

Phelan, James (22 Jan. 1887) Retired (died 24 Dec. 1964)
Phelan, Bridget (19 May 1891) wife

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

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh

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Tags: Danny Dowling (1927-2021), David O'Neill Power (c. 1788-1863), Gaulestown Glenmore, Glenmore Co. Kilkenny, James Phelan (1877-1964) of Gaulestown

Posted by: glenmore.history | on May 21, 2023

From Danny’s Files: Prosecution of 4 Glenmore Men

Danny Dowling (1927-2021) spent over 7 decades interviewing people and collecting information concerning Glenmore and nearby areas. Found within Danny’s voluminous files was an article from the Waterford Standard concerning the Kilmacow Petty Sessions court held in August 1903. Two cases were reported in that newspaper that involved the Sunday closing of pubs law and the prosecution of four Glenmore men.

Irish Temperance League

According to the webpage of the Irish Temperance League it was formed in the 1850’s and continues to operate to this day. By the 1870’s across Ireland, Catholic and Protestant Clergy were united in efforts to curb alcohol consumption. In Glenmore all pubs in the Village were closed by the Parish Priest and there was no pub in the Village until 1963. See our previous post of 8 May 2023.

Known as “The Great Social Experiment” Bills were introduced several years in a row in the House of Commons, seeking to control and curtail the sale of alcohol. In 1872, it became a legal requirement to display the proprietor’s name over the front door. (For more interesting facts regarding Irish pubs see the Irish Post, (2016) “A Brief History of the Pub.”) The following year, when a Bill was introduced to close pubs on Sundays the MP for Leeds argued it was a bad idea because the populace would be left without access to alcohol for medicinal uses. It was also argued that the working man lived in poor conditions and needed the comforts of a pub (Irish Post (2016)). Interestingly there was no mention or concern for the wives and children who also lived in poor conditions.

The 1873 police returns revealed that there were 1,586 publicans, beer dealers and spirit grocers in Ireland. By 1880 the number fell to 1,284. The reduction of 302 over 7 years was due mainly to the closure of “the worst case of house” and others were temporarily closed due to the economic decline in that decade that left thousands of labouring men without work (T. W. Russel (1884) A Social Experiment: Five Years Before and After Sunday Closing in Ireland, p. 6).

The Sunday Closure Act 1878

Until 1878 pubs could remain open until 11 p.m. on Sundays. The Sunday Closing Act came into operation on the 13th of October 1878. Under the ACT the hours of sale were reduced to 2 to 7 p.m. and from 2 to 9 p.m. in all places with a population exceeding 5,000. The cities with the longer hours were Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. During the 4.5 years after the enactment Sunday arrests for drunkenness fell by 53% (T.W. Russel (1884) p. 1).

Two interesting aspects of the Act was that the Sunday patrons were limited to bona fide travellers, and the Act was not permanent. A Bill was introduced into the House of Commons in 1882 to make it permanent and to extend its provisions to all Ireland. A bona fide traveller was a patron who traveled a prescribed distance from his home.

Saturday Early Closing Bills

With the deemed success of the Sunday closures the Irish Temperance League and united clergy turned their attention to Saturdays. The Saturday Earlier Closing Bill was introduced year after year commencing in 1879. Eventually, a Committee was formed which had 18 sittings for taking evidence from 40 witnesses. In total 11,091 questions were put to the witnesses.

After two days of discussion the Committee reported that “The witnesses…have given strong evidence in favour of curtailing the hours of sale on Saturdays. The Committee are of opinion that a great deal of excessive drinking which has been proved to take place on Saturday nights, and much of the squandering of the wages of the working classes would be avoided if public-houses were closed earlier on that day, and they are satisfied that such a measure would be supported by public opinion generally throughout Ireland.”

The Committee recommended that the Act of 1878 should be made perpetual and extended to the five cities exempted from the full operation of the Act. That the qualifying distance under the bona fide provisions should be extended to six miles. That all houses for the sale of intoxicating liquors in Ireland should be closed at 9 p.m. on Saturdays (Irish Temperance League (1889) Summary of the History of the Sunday Closing and Saturday Evening Closing Movement ion Ireland, and the Position of the Government in Relation to the present Bill—February, 1889.

Kilmacow Petty Sessions 27 August 1903

The Kilmacow Petty Sessions were held on Thursday the 27^th before Ulick Bourke, Resident Magistrate and Major Giles. Mr. Bowers, CPS was also present.

Catherine McDonell, a Mullinavat Publican

Two cases involving pubs were reported in the Waterford Standard newspaper. The first involved Catherine McDonnell a Mullinavat publican who was charged with having permitted drunkenness in her house on Sunday the 5^th of July. It was alleged that Mrs. McDonnell had put “everyone out” by 7 p.m., but James Dalton regained entry by climbing over the wall that surrounded the premises.

The police found James Dalton drunk on the licensed premises after 7 p.m. when they visited. Mrs. McDonnell swore that she did not provide Dalton with any drink after 6:30 p.m. Major Giles was strongly in favour of a conviction, but Mr. Bourke did not agree with him. “After a lengthened debate Major Giles gave way on a point of law, and the case was dismissed.” (Waterford Standard, Sat. 29 Aug. 1903, p. 3).

Four Glenmore Men Arrested in Slieverue

The second pub case was entitled, “A Serious Question for Publicans—How long Can a Man Stay in a Publichouse?”

Sergeant Quinn charged Richard Grant, Slieverue, with a breach of the Sunday Closing Act. Head-Constable Keegan prosecuted, and Mr. P. A. Murphy defended.

Sergeant Quinn testified that on Sunday, June 28^th, he visited the premises of Richard Grant at twelve o’clock noon and found about 40 people on the premises. Quinn went through the drinker and thought they were all bona fide travellers. Quinn belived that Edward Murphy, Pat McDonald, Robert Walsh and Francis Rielly were from Glenmore.

At 2:30 Quinn again went to the “house” and found the same men drinking. He spoke to them in the presence of the publican and asked Murphy why he was there so long. Murphy replied he could remain from six in the morning until six at night if he liked. “He went away with Rielly. Walsh and McDonald were there also, and they had been there the same time.”

“Mass commenced at eleven and was over about twelve, and these people attended the service. All four men live in the parish of Glenmore, and Glenmore Chapel would be nearer to any of them than going to Slieverue, but they could not get a public house” in Glenmore. Sergeant Quinn noticed Rielly “had the appearance of drink.” Sergeant Quinn went on to testify that Murphy and the publican had been summoned some time previously for similar offences, and the cases had been dismissed.

Mr. P.A. Murphy for the defendant cross examined the sergeant. Quinn testified that “his case was that these men stayed an overlong time in the house, and though bona fide travellers at 12 o’clock they had no right to stay until 2:30.”

“Mr. Murphy said the case would undoubtedly go further, but he would like it clearly understood the case for the Crown was that at 12 o’clock these men were admittedly bona fide travellers, but they were not bona fide travellers at 2:30. He contended that no such offense as the present one against the publican should have been brought. The police could only have brought a case of permitting drunkenness, but there was no such charge in this case. Mr. Murphy then read several recorded cases to prove his contentions. An exactly similar case occurred before, and the magistrates’ decision was reversed by the County Court Judge. “

The magistrates dismissed the case, but allowed a case to be stated, where the matter “will be thoroughly threshed out in the Superior Court. Mr Bourke, R.M. drew up the various points to be submitted for argument. The cases against the four men found on the premises were adjourned.”

Cases Adjourned for the Bona Fide Glenmore Travellers

Thus, it appears that the publican with legal representation had his case dismissed, but the four Glenmore patrons had their cases adjourned until the unnamed Superior Court could rule on various points of law the magistrates sent to it. No further newspapers articles could be located regarding these cases from 1903, so the question of whether a bona fide traveller could lose his status and thus fall foul of the law was not published. However, the reporting of the case clearly illustrates the Sunday Closure Act was still in operation and any Glenmore person seeking a drink on a Sunday when he went beyond Glenmore parish he became a bona fide traveller within the meaning of the Act. As a bona fide traveller Glenmore people were entitled to seek alcohol at pubs more than 6 miles from home.

Whether the men were bona fide travellers is another issue. A quick search of the 1901 Census reveals more then 1 person named Robert Walsh and Edward Murphy in Glenmore parish. Two of this group with the same names lived within 2 or 3 miles of Slieverue. However, there were no persons found named Pat McDonald and Francis Rielly, although a family of Riellys lived in Slieverue parish in Ballyrowagh adjacent to the Glenmore line.

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

The photo of Stapleton’s pub of Slieverue was taken today. It is not known where Richard Grant’s pub was located in 1903 in Slieverue.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh

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Tags: Danny Dowling (1927-2021), Edward Murphy of Glenmore, Francis Rielly of Glenmore, Glenmore Co. Kilkenny, Irish Temperence League, Mrs. Catherine McDonnell, Pat McDonald of Glenmore, Richard Grant a Slieverue publican, Robert Walsh of Glenmore, Saturday Early Closing Bills, Slieverue Co. Kilkenny, Sunday Closure Act (1878)

Posted by: glenmore.history | on May 8, 2023

When Glenmore Lost Its Distinction

It is hard to believe today that Glenmore was once heralded the only Village in the country that did not have a pub. In previous posts we identified some of the early pubs in the Village and ultimately the entire parish was dry from 1906 to 1963. For information on early Village pubs, see our post of 31 March 2020. The lack of a pub led to some unusual cases where locals were charged with operating shebeens. This law was generally enforced against the poor. It was presumed alcohol was being sold when the police deemed the person in possession could otherwise not afford the alcohol. For further details on Glenmore people charged with operating shebeens see our post of 5 April 2020. Today, we are going to feature the newspaper accounts from 1963 when Glenmore lost its distinction as the only Village in the country without a pub.

Front Page Kilkenny People

On Friday the 5^th of April 1963, Glenmore was splashed across the front page of the Kilkenny People under a headline “Dry Village May Get Two Pubs.” The first sentence of the article shows the lack of knowledge the jounalist had regarding Glenmore. “Glenmore’s traditional boast it never had a pub or a police-barracks may end as far as the pub aspect is concerned.” Over three years ago when we were doing the shebeen research I read this first sentence of this Kilkenny People article to Danny. I can still recall Danny’s reaction. He moved swiftly from amazement, visited annoyance and settled on dismissal. “The author,” he concluded with a smiled “hasn’t a clue.”

Just Plain Got It Wrong

Danny identified the field where the Sallies now stands as the site of the first RIC Barracks in Glenmore. The old people often spoke about its location when he was a young chap. He was not certain of the date it moved to its present location, but he noted it was before the mid-19^th century. He also stated that he knew of no Glenmore man who boasted that there was no pub in the Village or Parish. Danny explained that there was a belief that many people were killed returning to Glenmore from distant pubs. It was believed that it would have been safer to have a local pub. When I queried whether the article was correct that “two pubs” were on the cards for Glenmore, Danny nodded and said that much was true.

Glenmore’s Two Applications

[1] Anastatia Walsh

Getting back to the two pubs proposed for Glenmore, the article relates that Mrs. Anastatia Walsh, of Graiguenakill, Glenmore was granted an application by Judge McD. Fawsitt for a declaration that premises she proposed to build in Glenmore Village were suitable for a pub. The application for the actual license had to go before the Circuit Court at a later date.

Getting a license to operate a pub was an expensive undertaking. Mrs. Walsh was represented by a barrister in the circuit court, various notices had to be placed in newspapers and the number of licenses across the country was limited. An existing license had to “be extinguished” before a new license could be issued. Needless to say a person with a license willing to extinguish did it for a fee.

[2] Richard “Dick” Hanrahan

At the Kilkenny Circuit Court in April 1963, a similar application was made by Richard Hanrahan of the Village. His application was adjourned to be heard in Carlow Circuit Court the following week. We did find that Richard Hanrahan placed a notice in the Munster Express (Fri. 25 Jan. 1963, p. 12) advising that on the 2^nd of April he would seek a certificate from the Circuit Court allowing him to apply for an intoxicating liquor licence for premises in Glenmore. We were unable to find what happened at Carlow Circuit Court, but Dick Hanrahan never opened a pub in Glenmore.

Midleton’s Loss Was Glenmore’s Gain

Mrs. Walsh’s application was brought under Section 15 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act of 1960. Although it was stated in the article that the Village had a population of 1,250 it was the entire parish that had that population not the Village. The article noted that Mrs. Walsh had procured the consent of two existing license holders in Midleton, Co. Cork, to the extinguishment of their licenses (Kilkenny People, Fri. 5 April 1963, p. 1).

Michael Keohan, Main Street, Midleton, testified that he was the holder of a license in Midleton and he was prepared to extinguish his license if Mrs. Walsh’s application was granted. Miss Johanna Kavanagh, Main Street, Midleton also testified that she was prepared to extinguish her license if Mrs. Walsh’s application was granted. The Judge then stated, “I hope they have not given up drinking in Midleton.” Miss Kavanagh replied that there “were still a good number of public houses there.”

Other Witnesses

Supt. W. Coonan, Thomastown, testified that the gardai had no objection to Mrs. Walsh’s application. The plans for the proposed premises had been submitted to him, and he considered they were satisfactory.

Michael J. Shalloe, a Waterford architect, testified that Glenmore was ten miles from Waterford and as far as he could judge the nearest licensed premises would be four and a half to five miles away in Slieverue.

Mrs. Walsh told the court that if her application was granted she would run the business herself.

Munster Express

The journalist from the Munster Express was a bit more knowledgeable concerning Glenmore, but still managed to confuse the Village with the Parish. On the same date of publication, the Munster Express placed its article on page 16 while the Kilkenny People placed it on the front page. In its article entitled “Glenmore Loses Its Distinction,” the Munster Express explained that “after a lapse of just over 100 years, the parish reputed to be the only one in Ireland without a “pub” is again to have a licensed premises. The Village was without a pub, but the parish had a licensed pub until 1906. Citing the Licensed Vintner’s March issue, the Munster Express noted “the last pub in Glenmore was closed just over a hundred years ago by a decree of the then parish priest” (Munster Express, Fri. 5 April 1963, p. 16). The article ironically ended with the fact that the Glenmore district was renowned for its malting barley contracts for Guinness, Smithwicks and other breweries and distilleries.

Correction by Kilkenny People

After its front page article of 5 April 1963 the Kilkenny People on 26 April 1963 attempted to correct its earlier article. Ignoring the fact that it got the information concerning the police barracks incorrect, it did attempt to address the widely held belief that Mrs. Walsh’s establishment would be the first licensed premises in Glenmore Village. “However, this is not the case as a seven day licence was held by the late Mr. J. Kirwan, of Scartnamore, Glenmore. The licence was withdrawn 57 years ago in 1906,” when an RIC sergeant caught a housewife leaving the premises with a “can” of beer, before opening time on a Sunday morning.” (Fri. 26 April 1963, p. 8). Needless to say Scartnamore is not in the Village of Glenmore, cans of beer were not available in 1906, and there were pubs in the Village of Glenmore prior to c. 1870 when Masses were disrupted and the parish priest caused the pubs to close their doors.

Grand Opening

The long awaited Glenmore Village pub opened in November 1963. Notwithstanding its popularity in the press earlier in the year, very little was written about its opening. The Waterford News & Star in its Clover Meats Column wrote that “during opening night at the new local pub at Glenmore last Friday, Mick Morrissey, Bacon Dept, was the first to tap out a hornpipe on the new floor” (Fri. 15 Nov. 1963, p. 12).

The Munster Express also published a few lines. “New pub opened for the first time in many years—a new licensed premises opened in Glenmore village on Friday night last and good patronage is being accorded the new enterprise. The proprietoress (sic) is Mrs. Anastasia Walsh” (Munster Express, Fri. 15 Nov. 1963, p. 10).

Distinctive Glenmore Discussed in New York

Perhaps the most unusual article appeared in the Evening Herald written by a correspondent in New York in May 1964 just six months after the grand opening. The correspondent stated that he had the pleasure of meeting a young hurler, Mike Duggan, of Glenmore ”which he described as a “fair sized town” near New Ross. “Mike who hurls for Kilkenny, told me an interesting fact about Glenmore. The fair sized town never had a pub until last year. Mike is a Pioneer” (7 May 1964, p. 12).

Anastatia Walsh née Doherty (c. 1907-1972)

Anastatia Walsh continued to operate the pub from 1963 until her death in June 1972 at the age of 65. She was a native of Rosbercon and was the widow of James Walsh (c. 1901-1958). James Walsh was a native of Glenmore and was the Captain of the Glenmore Company of the old IRA. In 1933 he joined An Garda Siochana and was serving in Limerick where he died in 1958. He was survived by Anastatia and two sons and two daughters. James’s obituary can be viewed on our W Family page by clicking here.

After Anastatia’s death the pub was operated by her son Sean Walsh (c. 1936-1995) for a time, and Sean sold the pub to Mickey Barron. We are happy to report that the Glen Bar has survived COVID and continues to operate in Glenmore Village and is run by Pat Barron.

See our post of 7 April 2022 featuring a recording made by John Ennett entitled, “Dancing at Sean Walsh’s.”

Please send any photos, corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com. For anyone who hasn’t visited Glenmore in a while I did not crop the photo of the pub because it shows the recent addition of road and parking lines as well as the patio area in the front of the pub.

Update 8 May 2023: A reader contacted me to state that the village of Annestown, Co. Waterford has never had a pub. However according to Annestown Heritage Trail From Battles to Tranquility (p. 5) Annestown once had 5 pubs! A local magistrate in the early 1800’s ordered all the pubs closed because they were used as meeting places for local gangs.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh

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Tags: Anastatia Walsh née Doherty (c. 1907-1972) native of Rosbercon, Capt. of Glenmore Co. old IRA, Danny Dowling (1927-2021), Glenmore Co. Kilkenny, Glenmore Pub, James Walsh (c. 1901-1958) of Glenmore, Mike Duggan native of Glenmore

Posted by: glenmore.history | on April 30, 2023

Mullinahone, Glenmore (1961)

Today, we are going to feature information Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Mullinahone, Glenmore, around 1961. Over the years the spelling of Mullinahone, similar to other townlands, has varied and included Mullenahone. Mullinahone is located in the Civil Parish of Kilmakevoge.

Background

The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 116) is Mullan na h-uamhan, or hillock of the cave. The townland is comprised of 295 acres. O’Kelly notes that “there was a mill on the Glenmore river which rises in Ballynaraha and flows into the Barrow at Ballyverneen. The site of a castle which was levelled circa 1800 is in the Castle field a few fields west of Glenmore chapel. Another field is Moin fhluich.” Danny recorded that Muínlucs was the area of Mullinahone near the Ballybrahee bridge. For further information on Glenmore Castles see our previous post of 8 July 2021.

The Tithe Applotment Books 1833

The Applotment Books record 5 tenants in the townland. The Mullinahone tenants listed in the 1833 Applotment Book include: [1] Richard Phelan, 119 acres; [2] Kyran Mullins, 29 acres; [3] Pat Grace, 6 acres; [4] James Aylward, 16 acres and [5] Thomas Aylward & [6] James Aylward, 21 acres. “These lands are held from the Earl of Bessorough by Mr. Richard Phelan.”

1961 Mullinahone, Glenmore

In 1961, Danny recorded 4 families or households in the townland of Mullinahone. The only surname recorded in Griffith’s in 1833 that was recorded in 1961 (and is still present today) is the Phelan family. 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 or left the townland.

The recorded information reveals that in 1961, 13 people resided in the townland of Mullinahone with the population comprised of 7 males and 6 females. The largest families were the Walsh/Murphy and Phelan families which each had 4 members in the two households. There was no household recorded with a single person living alone. All information under residents of Mullinahone not in Danny’s original list has been placed in square brackets[ ].

Recorded Residents

Males = 7
Females= 6