Danny Dowling (1927-2021)
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A Glenmore Dispute: The Location of Leacht Ui Deaghaidh
Today, as our sixth excerpt from Carrigan’s, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory,( v. 4 p. 97-100 (1906)) we feature Canon Carrigan’s coverage of his correction of acclaimed Irish scholar John O’Donovan. Carrigan’s correction of O’Donovan was based upon two interviews Carrigan conducted in 1900 of a Ballyrahan, Glenmore native Peter Grant (1811-1902). Although we could not find a headstone or obituary for Peter Grant, he is forever immortalised in Canon Carrigan’s work.
John O’Donovan (1806-1861)
In previous posts we covered various aspects of John O’Donovan’s early life. His mother was from Rochestown, now in the Parish of Glenmore. After his father’s death in 1817 John spent a substantial amount of time with his paternal uncle Patrick O’Donovan, of Donovan’s Mill, at Ballyrowragh, Slieverue on the border of what is now Glenmore Parish. O’Donovan is said to have started his education in a hedge school and then attended the Hunt Academy in Waterford City. His father, Edmund O’Donovan died in 1817, and a few years later at the age of 17 O’Donovan went to Dublin.
For further information regarding O’Donovan’s early life see our post of 9 Sept. 2023.
Schoolmaster O’Donovan
According to Carrigan, John O’Donovan started a school about 1822 “in his native district.” He gathered a number of pupils some were several years older than himself. “Of the alumni of this modest academy the last survivor was blind old Peter Grant, of Ballyrahan, Glenmore, whom the writer met on two occasions, in the year 1900, and spoke of his old master, ‘poor Johnnie Donovan,’ with the greatest admiration and affection.” (Carrigan, vol. 4, p. 356). If this and other information concerning when he moved to Dublin is correct, O’Donovan was a schoolmaster for about a year. Nothing has been found in any of Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) transcribed notebooks concerning John O’Donovan being a schoolmaster in Slieverue or Glenmore.
Although a place was secured for O’Donovan to study at Maynooth he declined to go there because he did not wish to become a priest. O’Donovan’s first job was in the Public Service Office where he translated and transcribed ancient manuscripts (Munster Express, 10 Nov. 2006, p. 13). From 1830 to 1842 O’Donovan was employed on the first Ordinance Survey researching place names. He was sent into the field and travelled across Ireland. From around Ireland, O’Donovan sent letters to his boss containing descriptions of local lore, traditions and antiquities. These letters were placed in 103 volumes and became known as the “O’Donovan Letters.”
O’Donovan’s Incorrect Birthdate
Carrigan pointed out that O’Donovan incorrectly wrote that he was born in 1809 when he was actually born in 1806. In volume 4 Carrigan printed a copy of the Slieverue Parish Register proving that O’Donovan’s baptism occurred in 1806 (Carrigan, vol. 4 p. 356). Certainly, in that time before passports, driving licenses or even the State registered births and deaths many people provided incorrect ages or years of birth.
We all learn our age and birthdate from our parents. Prior to modern times little importance was attached to birthdates. Also, incorrect dates of birth for persons born in the early 19th century were probably due in large part to the fact that a sizable proportion of the population were unable to read or write. Penal laws were only fading when O’Donovan was a boy.
Notwithstanding Carrigan’s public comment that O’Donovan had utilized an incorrect year of birth, Carrigan failed to check the year of birth of Peter Grant, of Ballyrahan, Glenmore. Carrigan had access to the Parish Records, but did not find that Peter Grant was baptized on 30 June 1811. In 1900 Grant was not “over 90 years of age” as Carrigan claimed. Peter Grant was 88 or 89 when he was interviewed by Carrigan twice in 1900. Peter Grant (1811-1902) was the late Jimmy Reddy’s (c. 1926-2011) grandfather.
O’Donovan’s Letter of 30 Sept. 1841
Carrigan reprinted O’Donovan’s entire letter of 30 Sept. 1841 (Carrigan, vol. 4, p. 98-100). There were four sentences that appear to have caused Carrigan concern. After speaking with Peter Grant, Carrigan concluded that O’Donovan was wrong concerning the place where the Leacht Ui Deaghaidh was located.
“In the townland of Scartnamo about a half mile to the north of the Mill of Ballyrowragh and immediately to the left off the old road as you go from Waterford to New Ross, is shown the site of a monument called Leacht Ui Deaghaidh, i.e. the monument of O’Day, whom tradition calls the Ridire O’Day i.e. the Ritter or Knight O’Day. The site of his house is pointed out in a field on the other side of the road not far from the site of his leacht, but in a different townland, viz, in little Gaulestown…(O’Donovan’s Letter, 30 Sept. 1841)
Carrigan’s Location of O’Dea’s House and Leacht
“In the late Peter Grant’s Moon a’ Ridhizha (locally translated, the Baronite’s Bog), low down on the slope of Ballyrahan townland, and close to the old frowning rock of Corriganurra, is shown the site of “the Ridhizha O’Deaw’s house.” Who the Ridhizha O’Deaw, or O’Dea, is not quite clear. If we have to credit tradition, he was lord or owner of the whole Barony of Ida, and gave it the name of the Barony, viz., Ida, Eedeaw, or Ui-Deaghaidh, represents not the name of an individual after the adoption of surnames, but the name of the tribe that occupied it in much earlier times (Carriagan, p. 97).”
“The site of Ridhizha’s house was something more than half an acre in extent, and was covered over with foundations and low mounds, till it was levelled and tilled by the late owner, about 1840. It is now clothed with the greenest grass. The remainder of the field is low lying and boggy, and hence its name, Moon a Ridhizha. There was formerly a well here called Thubber-a-Ridhizha, or the ‘Baronite’s well.’”
“Leachth Ee Deaw, that is O’Dea’s monument bush, or ‘lone bush’ as they call it here, is on the roadside, opposite the Half -Way House in Aylwardstown, one mile and a half north of Moon-a-Rihizha. The bush was formerly surrounded by a little mound or earthen ring, which has been broken down by the trampling of cattle. Here rests ‘Brian O’Deaw,’ sometimes identified by tradition with the Ridhizha O’Deaw, who lived in Moon-a-Ridhizha. The Leachth field commands a view sublime in its extent and variety.”
“O’Donovan incorrectly placed Leachth Ee Deaw on the bounds of Scartnamore and Ballyrahan. There is, no doubt, a leachth, or lone bush on the spot he indicates, but it has never been known as Leachth Ee Deaw. It was planted there a great many years ago by a man named Kierevan, in memory of his deceased mother. The late Peter Grant, of Ballyrahan, when over 90 years of age, assured the present writer that this leachth was never called Leachth Ee Deaw; and that if it had any name at all it should be Leachth Ee Kierevawn or Kierevan’s Leachth, from the man who planted it, and was still living in his own early days.”
Peter Grant (1811-1902) of Ballybrahan, Glenmore
Peter Grant died the 10 August 1902 at Ballyrahan. He was a widower, a farmer, and aged 95, according to the death register. His daughter, Johanna Reddy, was present when he died.
Peter Grant was baptized 30 Jun 1811 at Ballinguile?, Glenmore, the son of John Grant and Bridget Aylward. Sponsors were William Grant and Mary Grant. His sister Anastatia Grant, baptized 10 June 1809, was born at Ballavrahen (sic), Glenmore and his sister Margaret Grant bapt.12 April 1807, the record reflects the address again as Ballinguile.
Peter Grant’s father is found in The Tithe Applotment Books (1829) for the townland of Ballyrahan. Plot 55 was comprised of 18 statute acres and John Grant was the tenant.
It is believed that Peter Grant (1811-1902) married Anne Grace of Glenpipe on 12 Sept 1846 at Rosbercon. Johanna Reddy (daughter of Peter Grant per the death register) married James Reddy on 24 Feb. 1881. Her address was recorded as Gaulestown. Their son John Reddy (1882-1961) married Margaret Hennessey (1886-1970) of the Rower. One of her sisters was the mother of May Roche (c. 1918-2001) of Scart, Glenmore. John and Margaret’s son, James Reddy (c. 1926-2011) married Kitty O’Hanlon of Newtown, Glenmore. Kitty died on 18 July 2021. The couple had no children.
Who Was Correct?
Generally, historians rely upon the earliest reliable written record, yet in this case both O’Donovan and Canon Carrigan were relying upon what they were told. O’Donovan was from the area and was an Irish speaker, and did not indicate where or when he obtained his information. Carrigan was not from the area and did not speak Irish. However, Carrigan found an elderly life-long resident who was about the same age as O’Donovan and provided what he had been told about the lone sceach. Relying on living boundaries or monuments is fraught with difficulties as trees fall are cut down etc. Loose stones are also easily moved or trampled by cattle.
It appears that O’Kelly (The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 112)) agreed with or followed Carrigan’s view. It seems unlikely that we will ever know definitively who was correct, if either, but O’Donovan and Carrigan were agreed that the local tradition put an O’Dea house and monument in Glenmore.
For a brief outline of Canon Carrigan’s (1860-1924) early life and work see our post of 17 Sept. 2023
For a brief history of O’Donovan’s (1806-1861) early life see our post of 9 Sept. 2023 and our post of 13 March 2021.
Please send any corrections or further information to glenmore.history@gmail.com. The featured photo above is Donovan’s Mill taken in 2023.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
Brigid Hunt née Brennan (1922-2015) of Glenmore Village & the 1965 Tramore Murder
While transcribing Danny Dowling’s Notebook 30 this week, there were two entries recorded where Danny twice interviewed Brigid Hunt née Brennan (1922-2015) who was born and reared in Glenmore Village. Danny after providing her full name in his notes thereafter referred to her a “Bridgie.” Danny’s interviews with “Bridgie” centred around her time in Glenmore, and what she remembered about her school day and her early work that led her to Tramore. However, it was only after attempting to locate an obituary for this Glenmore native that we learned of her direct link to a murder that shocked Tramore in 1965.
Early Years in Glenmore
Brigid Brennan was born on 23rd November 1922 [DD Notebook 25] to John Brennan (1872 -1957) and his wife Ellen Cahill (1876-1946). Her father was employed by the Kilkenny County Council on the roads and was paid fortnightly. Although he held a steady job, Bridgie stated, “the poverty we experienced was terrible as wages even on the Council were small.” John did odd jobs to supplement his income such as gardening for Bevan’s and Curran’s. Sometimes he also worked for Pat Hanrahan (1886-1957). [DD Notebook 30].
John Brennan (labourer) and Ellen Cahill of Ballycroney, Glenmore were married at Glenmore on 27 October 1903. John’ address at the time of the marriage was Cluan, Kilmaganny, he was 30 years of age and his father was John Brennan (labourer). Ellen was 24 years of age and was the daughter of Peter Cahill (labourer) [Civil Marriage Records].
Ellen Cahill was the daughter of Peter Cahill and his wife Mary Carty. She was born on 29 May 1876 and baptized the following day. Her godparents were James Norris and Bridget Dooling (Glenmore Parish Records).
Bridgie’s Siblings
According to Bridgie her parents, John Brennan and Ellen Brennan née Cahill had four daughters in their family. [1] Margaret “Maggie” [1905-1997] was the eldest. She was born in Kilmaganny [Birth Register: on 25 Feb. 1905] and married to Willie Brown of Tramore. They had family. [According to the marriage Register Margaret Brennan married William Browne on 25 September 1939]. [2] Bridgie married Sean Hunt (1928-1965) and lived in Tramore. [3] Mary Brennan never married and lived with Bridgie in Tramore. [4] Ellie Brennan died aged 11 of eczema in St. Patrick’s in Waterford, “in Dr. Michael Gibbon’s time in Glenmore. He made all the funeral arrangement and she is buried in Ballygurrim with the Cahills” [DD Notebook 30].
The 1911 Census shows that John, Ellen and their eldest were residing in Kilmaganny. John was working as an agricultural labourer and the couple had been married for 6 years and had two children born, but only one child was alive in 1911.
According to the death register Ellen Brennan (c. 1919-1934) died 4 December 1934 in the Co. Hospital of Waterford. She was aged 15 and died of “acute eczema of the whole body and nephritis” (12 days) (Death Register). It is likely that the renal problems she suffered caused the eczema.
Glenmore Girl’s School
Bridgie told Danny that when she was going to the girls’ school in Glenmore in the 1930’s there were about 90 girls attending the school. The teachers were Mrs. Heffernan, the principal, and Mrs. Alice Power who taught the infants and the younger girls. There were about 60 girls in Mrs. Power’s class and in Mrs. Heffernan’s class there were about 30 girls. There was religious instruction every day and the religion class started at 11 o’clock.
She said the country girls used to bring kindling for the fire. She remembers a lot of the boys were barefoot, and some of the girls in the summertime. She also remembered the children in the top seats of the chapel every Sunday before second Mass for prayers.
Danny also interviewed his sister, Mary Barron née Dowling (1928-2019) of Ballyconway concerning the girl’s school. Mary reported that when she was going to school in the 1930’s the principal teacher in the girl’s school was Teressa McGrath a native of Russellstown, Clonmel. Miss Russell came to Glenmore in the early years of the century. She then married Mikey Heffernan of Cappagh, Glenmore Village. Alice Power née Curran of Jamestown was the assistant teacher with Mrs. Heffernan. She was a native of Robinstown, Glenmore.
The school consisted of two rooms each with a fireplace. When the fire was lit in the wintertime some of the girls were sent out to collect kindling and firewood from the nearby ditches on a regular basis. Sanitary facilities consisted of dry toilets situated outside at the back of the school. There was a half hour of religious studies every morning [DD Notebook 30].
Jo Doyle née Mernagh (1932-2021) always stated that it was a wonder that children were not injured or killed on the hill behind the old schools. The dry toilets were located about a quarter way down the steep hill behind the old schools. Children would stop their rapid descent by grabbing the trees.
Glenmore Dispensary
Bridgie when working for JK’s used to tidy and clean the dispensary which was used every Tuesday when the doctor attended. She remembered well old Dr. Matt Coughlan and his son Dr. Val. The old man, she said was very lucky with his patients He used also pull teeth without an anaesthetic. She remembers Mollie Murphy of Moulerstown, to have teeth extracted by Dr. Matt Coughlan without any anaesthetic and Dick Walsh of Ballyfacey, to have a lump removed surgically from him without the aid of an anaesthetic [DD Notebook 30]. For a history of the Glenmore dispensary see our post of 25 April 2020.
Bridgie also recalled Danny’s father threshing the corn in the yard behind Patsy Ryan’s with Martin Walsh’s engine. She also said that one of the Dowling’s of Jamestown stood for her mother. A review of the baptismal record of Ellen Brennan née Cahill shows that Ellen’s godmother was Bridget Dooling [Dowling].
Glenmore Shops
The Brennan family dealt in Lizzie JK’s for their groceries and obtained their milk in Hanrahan’s. At that time Hanrahan’s and Fluskey’s, who had the Post Office, did the best business. Lizzie JK’s shop also did a reasonable trade. Bridgie said Mike Heffernan’s did the least business.
Brigid herself worked with Lizzie and said she was great to make a living. Her sister Minnie Heffernan lived with her. Their brother Fr. Tom used to spend his holidays with them in Glenmore. [DD Notebook 30] Lizzie JK Walsh née Heffernan (1884-1955) was a sister of Mike Heffernan. Mike Heffernan was the husband of Teressa Heffernan the schoolteacher.
Moved to Waterford
During the Emergency [WW II] about 1943 Lizzie got the running of one of the canteens in the Military Barracks in Barrack Street in Waterford. Bridgie worked with her as well as another girl from the City. The canteen was opened between 9 am and noon and from 6 pm until midnight. Lizzie rented a big house in Thomas Street, and it was there that they both lived. The canteen closed after the war ended in 1945.
After the War Lizzie ran a café in Tramore during the summertime. It closed during the winter. Bridgie also worked with her in Tramore. [DD Notebook 30]. On 25 September 1939 her sister Maggie married William Browne of Tramore.
Tramore, Co. Waterford
Around 1950 Bridgie married Sean Hunt and they had three children. Sean was employed with CIE as a goods porter at the Waterford north railway station. The couple had three children and resided in Ballinattin, Tramore in a Council House on Lodge Lane just off of Shrine Road. [People v. Dominic Griffin, Cr. Ct. Appeal 1965]
Bridgie told Danny that her mother went to visit her daughters in Tramore in June 1950 and died suddenly while visiting. Ellen Brennan née Cahill was in her 70’ and had been suffering with heart trouble. Ellen was buried in Tramore [DD Notebook 30]. Ellen actually died in 1946 (Death Register). John Brennan also died in Tramore in 1957 and is also buried in Tramore.
The Ballinattin, Tramore Murder 1965
There is no notation or mention in Danny’s Notebook 30 concerning the murder of Bridgie’s husband on 24 January 1965.
John Hunt was 37 and on that Sunday night he had been in Tramore at his local playing cards and enjoying a few pints with his sister and friends. He caught the bus and when he reached his stop he bid goodnight to a friend and started the mile walk home. Within 150 feet of his front door he was found by his wife Bridgie the following morning kneeling dead against the ditch. Bridgie had gone out a number of times during the night looking for him but never saw him. She only found him when she was taking her child to school. The Coroner reported that Sean had been stabbed 20 times.
The murder was widely reported in the local press. Johnny Garvey’s mother operated a guest house in Tramore and Johnny said the entire population of 4,000 were shocked and alarmed. He also said that ugly rumours circulated (Johnny Garvey, 10 Feb. 2024).
A fund was established “for the widow and young family of the late Sean Hunt, who was found stabbed to death in the vicinity of his home at Ballinattin, Tramore… The widow, Mrs. Brigid Hunt, is daughter of the late John and Mrs. Brennan, Glenmore Village” (Munter Express, Fri 12 Feb. 1965, p. 4).
Arrests & Conviction
Eventually, Dominic Griffin [Jr.], a 24 year old married panel beater from 12 Mall Lane in Waterford City was charged with the murder (Munster Express, Fri. 19 March 1965, p. 1). The ugly rumours that Johnny recalled may have been due to the fact that Dominic Griffin, Jr. was charged with raping a 17- year-old Tipperary girl at Ballinattin between November 1963 and April 1964 (Munster Express, Fri. 19 Feb. 1965, p. 1).
It is not clear what happened in the rape case, but Dominic Griffin was sentenced to “penal servitude” for life by Justice Teevan in the Central Criminal Court on 30 June 1965. The jury returned after 90 minutes finding Griffin guilty of the murder of Sean Hunt (Irish Independent Thur. 1 July 1965, p. 5).
The Appeal
Dominic Griffin appealed and his appeal was dismissed (Irish Press, Sat. 6 Nov. 1965, p. 13; (People v. Dominic Griffin, Docket 34-1965, delivered 5 Nov. 1965). The Appeals Court outlined the facts before dismissing the appeal. Dominic Griffin married on 1 August 1964 and he and wife lived in a seaside hut on Shrine Road, Tramore. On the night of 3 January 1965 a man shouted offensive remarks about he and his wife. Griffin was concerned because they were expecting their first child shortly. He suspected 3 men and the deceased was one of his suspects.
On 16 January he took his wife to the nursing home where she gave birth. On the 24th he drove to the hut to tidy it for the homecoming of his wife and child. He heard a man outside addressing offensive remarks to him. Arming himself with a bicycle lamp, shovel handle, and a knucleduster with an attached knife, he went out to search.
At the intersection of Shrine Road and Lodge’s Lane he heard the shuffling of feet on the Lane. He ran up the lane and claimed that he was attacked by the deceased. The jury and the court of appeal rejected that he had acted in self defence. The State argued that the physical evidence supported that the killer lay in wait. The Appeals court was not persuaded that the physical evidence matched the defendant’s version of events. Further the State effectively argued that “in considering self-defence, the jury would be entitled to take into account that the deceased was in his own laneway, where he had a right to be and that Griffin was in a laneway where he had no business.”
Widowhood
Bridgie appears to have remained a widow from 1965 to her death in 2015. If Brigid spoke to Danny concerning her husband’s murder Danny either did not record it or perhaps it was recorded in a notebook yet to be transcribed.
Please send any corrections, further information or photos to glenmore.history@gmail.com
See our post of 9 April 2020 regarding Glenmore Village in the 1930’s.
For a few interesting Tramore historical facts see the Tramore Surf School’s webpage.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
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
The Strange Family of Aylwardstown, Glenmore
Today, as our fifth excerpt from Carrigan’s, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, v. 4 p. 94-95 (1906) we feature what he published concerning the Strange family of Aylwardstown, Glenmore as well as information that Danny Dowling collected and recorded regarding the last of the family to live in Aylwardstown House.
The Strongs, Strangs or Stranges
They were settled at Waterford, from an early period, and held a foremost place among its citizens. Richard Strong was Mayor of the city in 1484 or 1485; Peter Strong in 1560; Paul Strange in 1597; Thomas Strange in 1607; and Richard Strange in 1634. At least two of them represented the city in Parliament, viz. Peter Strong in 1559 and Richard Strange in 1634. To this stock also belonged the Most Rev. Thomas Strong, Bishop of Ossory from 1582 to 1602, and his nephew, Most Rev. Thomas Walsh (son of Robert Walsh and Anastatia Strong), Archbishop of Cashel from 1626 to 1654.
In course of time the family acquired, probably by purchase, considerable estates in South Kilkenny. About 1560 Peter Stronge held lands to the value of £51, of the manor of Grannagh. Richard Strong, of Waterford, probably his son, is found in possession of the manor of Drumdowney, in 1573, and of the manor of Dunkit, in 1585. Edward Strong of Dunkitt, son and heir of Richard, died June 1st, 1621, being then seised of the manor of Dunkit and of the reversion of the manor of Drumdowney after the death of Thomas Strong; he left issue Richard, his son and heir, then but 12 years old, Thomas, Peter, Joan and Margaret.
Thomas Strong just mentioned, who had been seised of the manor of Drumdowney, and who may have been brother of Edward, of Dunkit, died May 28th, 1625, leaving a son and heir, Laurence, then but 10 years of age.
Another member of the family, Paul Strong of Waterford city, held the fee of several townlands in Inistioge and the Rower. He died Nov. 22nd, 1617, leaving Peter, his son and heir, then aged 39 years. Peter was succeeded, in turn, by Richard, his own son and heir. This Richard appears on the list of those who forfeited in 1653, as do also Peter Strong, of Dunkitt, who was transplanted to Connaght, and Richard Strong, the proprietor of Drumdowney.
Lawrene Strong or Strange, of Drundowney, son of Thomas (who died as above in 1625) is mentioned in one of the depositions of 1641. He was still living in 1661, at which date he was 46 years of age. He was probably the father of Richard Strange, who was appointed a Burgess of Inistioge in 1688, and grandfather of Lawrence Strange, of Aylwardstown. The said Lawrence Strange, of Aylwardstown, in his Will, proved in the year 1720, mentions his brothers James and Pierce Strange; his brother (i.e. brother-in-law) Nicholas Aylward; his sisters, Ellen Walsh, alias Strange, and Mary Kealy alias Strange; his wife Mary Strange, alias Aylward; his eldest son and heir Richard, then a minor; and his other sons, Patrick and Pierce Strange. Some of the later members of this family are mentioned on their monument in Kilmokevoge.
His Eminence, Cardinal Wiseman’s mother was a Miss Strange of Aylwardstown, probably a daughter of Peter, who died in 1824; her sister, Harriet Strange, wife of Mr. James Butler, of Kilmogar, Johnswell, died in 1858 aged 68. [Fr. Carrigan was correct. “Marriages–On the 2d instant, James Butler. Esq. of Killmogar, County Kilkenny, to Harriet, youngest daughter of Peter Strange, Esq. of Aylwardstown, in the same county,” (Freeman’s Journal, Thurs. 13 Nov. 1823, p. 3)] [For further information on Cardinal Wiseman and his visit to Glenmore see our guest author page or click here.]
In Irish, Strange or Strong is pronounced Sthraoung (a monosyllable). Strang’s Mill, in the parish of Kilmacow, is called by Irish speakers, Mwillin a Straounga, i.e. Muilleann.
Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) Strange Research
In the 1970’s Danny was corresponding with Professor John Mannion of Newfoundland. From his research he informed Professor Mannion that he believed that the Strange family came to Aylwardstown about 1690, as tenants of the new Cromwellian owners, the Ponsonby family of Kildalton, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. Danny stated that it appeared that the first Strange that came married a girl of the Aylward family. The Aylward family previously owned the Aylwardstown property before Cromwell (DD Notebook 4, Copy of letter from DD to Prof. John Mannion, of Newfoundland dated 10 Dec. 1977).
Danny informed Professor Mannion in 1977 that “some 20 years ago all the Strange family papers were stored in Aylwardstown and burned by a Mrs. Connolly.” Her son Thomas told Danny about the burning in 1975 (DD Notebook 4, Copy of letter from DD to Prof. John Mannion, of Newfoundland, dated 25 January 1977).
Thomas Alexander Strange (1856-1907)
The last of the Strange family to live at Aylwardstown appears to have been Thomas A. Strange (1856-1907). In Danny’s voluminous records we found a copy of a newspaper auction notice for February 1883.
“Received instruction from Thomas A. Strange, Esq., who is giving up his dairy to sell by auction on Thursday, 1 February 1883, at his farm at Aylwardstown, 30 prime young dairy cows, in and with calf at foot, served by a highly bred bull; 6 three year old heifers in calf; 5 two year old heifers; 3 well-bred yearling bulls; 2 five year old Hunters, well known with hounds may be inspected by V.S. before sale; 2 capital farm mares; one sow/ 12 forward store pigs, 40 tons of prime mangolds in lots; carts, tackling, plough, harrows, dairy utensils. Sale at twelve o’clock precisely and terms are cash.” The auctioneers were Thomas Walsh and Son, The Mall, Waterford (Waterford News & Star, Fri.19 Jan. 1883, p. 2).
Also in Danny’s files was another article which may help explain the auction. In January 1882, Thomas Strange entered into a wager with Mr. W. Power of Williamstown regarding their horses. Strange’s horse Garsfield was to race Power’s Hawk over a 2.5 mile hunting course. The bet was for £25, a large sum of money in 1882. Mr. JP Kennedy of George’s Street held the money (Munster Express, 14 Jan. 1882, p. 6). We could not locate an article regarding which horse won the race, but there are other articles regarding Strange and his love of fast horses and racing.
Lily Strange née Jones (b.c. 1863)
On Halloween 1973, Danny interviewed Nicky the Miller Forristal (1888-1979) who provided another reason why Thomas A. Strange may have held an auction and eventually left Aylwardstown.
“Thomas A. Strange married a girl who worked in one of the Waterford Hotels either the Adelphie or the Imperial. She was a barmaid. He was not long married before they left Aylwardstown. She was either an English or Welsh girl…When Thomas A. Strange left Aylwardstown he brought with him Tommy Neill and Anty Walsh to Liverpool where he lived on the outskirts. He had a jarvey car for hire. He got broke there and had to leave off Tommy Neill and Anty Walsh. Tommy Neill then emigrated to America, Anty Walsh returned home and went to work in Tramore.”
The Strange Children
The first English census where we could locate Thomas A. Strange was the 1891 Census for Cheshire, Birkenhead. Thomas Strange was 34, reported that he was born in Ireland and was working as a horse dealer. His wife, Lily Strange, was aged 28, working as a pork butcher, and reported being born in Wrexham. The couple had two children. Thomas Strange, aged 4, born in Ireland, and Lily Strange, aged 6, born in Wrexham. Also, present were three of Lily’s siblings (whose family name was Jones) and Jane Dargan a 21 year-old general servant, born in Ireland.
We were unable to find a marriage record for Thomas A. and Lily, but we did find a birth record for their son. In Dublin North on the 15th of January 1886, Thomas Alexander Strange of East Pier, Howth, farmer and his wife Lily née Jones had a son that they named Thomas.
By 1901 the family was living at 80 Mozart St., in Toxeth Park, Lancashire, and the family consisted of three people. Thomas Strange, aged 44, was a cab proprietor. Lily Strange was 40, and their son Thomas Strange was 15, and employed as a van driver.
Death of Thomas Alexander Strange (1857-1907)
Thomas Alexander Strange, died aged 51, in Sept. 1907. At the time of his death he was living in the workhouse and gave his profession as cab driver. He was buried in the Catholic Section of Anfield Cemetery, of Lancanshire, in a public grave.
The following year, on 19th of April, 1908, at the Parish Church of Liverpool, Thomas (1886-1959) at the age of 22 married Mary Louisa Douglass, aged 21. The groom was working as a cab driver and he listed his father as Thomas Alexander Strange (deceased). The bride was the daughter of Albert Edward Douglass, storehouse keeper. Young Thomas died on 15 December 1959 at Mill Lane Hospital.
Six years after her father’s death, at the Parish Church of Liverpool, on 5 May 1913, Lily Strange (aged 26) married Thomas Birney (aged 30) of Clare Street. The bride recorded that she was the daughter of Thomas Strange, car driver.
We were unable to determine what happened to Lily Strange née Jones, but are hopeful a reader might be able to shed some light on this.
Please send any and all corrections, further information or photos to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
The feature photo above is Aylwardstown House taken in 2004 and is courtesy of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The Anglo-Norman Aylward Family of Aylwardstown, Glenmore
Today, as our fourth excerpt from Carrigan’s, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, v. 4 p. 93-94 (1906) we feature what he published concerning the Aylward family that gave its name to the Glenmore townland of Aylwardstown. In an Inquisition of 1637, Glanseline appears as an alias for Aylwardstown, it was probably, the original name of the townland (Carrigan, vol. 4, p. 94). In Irish, Aylward is sometimes called Eye-lurth, and sometimes El-e-wurth; Aylwardstown is always called Ball-an-Eye-lur-tha (Carrigan, vol. 4, p. 94) .
The Aylwards of Aylwardstown
“They were an Anglo-Norman race and, presumably, a branch of the Aylwards of Faithleg, in the County Waterford.”
“William Aylward of Aylwardstown, gent., was pardoned in 1562 and 1571; was a juror, 20th March 1585; and was pardoned, Nov. 18th, 1602. Piers Aylward, of Aylwardstown, probably son of William, was Constable of the Barony of Ida, in 1608, and appears as a juror, in 1623. He married Ellen, daughter of John Fitzgerald, Esq., of Gurteen, and had a son and heir, Nicholas Aylward, of Aylwardstown, who forfeited the ancestral estate, viz., Knockduff, Aylwardstown, Robbinstown, Ballinerahy and Haggard, under Cromwell, and was transplanted to Connaught in 1653″ (Carrigan, v. 4, p. 93).
“In 1677 the said Nicholas Aylward had a royal confirmation of the lands (911 acres), that had been assigned him at his transplantation, in the Baronies of Clonmacnoen and Longford, in the Co. Galway. By his wife, Ellinor, sister of Thomas Kelly, Esq., Portreeve of Gowran, he had a daughter, Ellice, who married Mr. James Frayne, of Browntown; and a son Piers. Piers Aylward was made a burgess of Inistioge, in 1688, and was outlawed, as of Aylwardstown, in 1690. He married Eliza Butler (daughter of Sir Richard Butler, and sister of Sir Walter Butler, of Paulstown), by whom he acquired the house and estate of Shankill, near Gowran. His son and heir, Nicholas Aylward, of Shankill, born in 1686, conformed to Protestantism in 1711; from him descends the present Aylward family of Shankill castle” (Carrigan, vol. 4, p. 94).
Returned to Aylwardstown, Glenmore
In attempting to find out if any of the Aylwards returned to Aylwardstown post Cromwell, we did locate a Will dated 28 May, 1715. The Will of Piers Power of Carriogorontory, Co. Waterford suggests that an Aylward was back in Aylwardstown. In his Will, Power left his lands of Carrigorontory, Knockandull, and Ballygarren, with £500 due him by several persons, to Michael Head of Dublin and Nicholas Aylward of Aylwardstown, as Trustees (Entry 212, John Ainesworth, “Survey of Documents in Private Keeping: Third Series,” Analecta Hibernia (1967) Irish Manuscripts Commission).
See our post of 5 January 2023 regarding the townland of Aylwardstown and Danny Dowling’s (1927-2021) 1961 list of residents. See our post of 17 September 2023 regarding Rev. Carrigan and the publishing of his four volume work.
See, Burtchaell, Jack. “The south Kilkenny farm villages.” Common Ground: essays on the historical geography of Ireland (1988): 110-23. This interesting article discusses farm villages of South Kilkenny including Glenmore’s Aylwardstown, Rathinure and Weatherstown. The author acknowledged Danny Dowling (1927-2021) at the end of his article.
Aylwards from across the globe gathered in Waterford in late August 2023. The gathering was organised by John Aylward, retired Waterford publican and the grandson of John Aylward (1870-1929) of Rochestown, Glenmore. Julian Walton delivered an informative and entertaining account of various Aylwards. See our post of 9 October 2022 regarding John Aylward (1870-1929) of Rochestown, Glenmore.
Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
The photo of Shankill Castle was transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by RHaworth. For a concise description of “a Queen Anne home with a medieval tower house at its heart,” see the Shankill Castle webpage.
The feature photo above is Aylwardstown House taken in 2004 and is courtesy of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Rochestown, Glenmore (1961)
Today, we are going to feature information Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Rochestown in 1961. Rochestown is the largest townland in the parish of Glenmore and in some early records it was spelled as Roachestown. Some of the current residents of Rochestown can find their surnames in the earliest records of the townland.
Background
The Irish for this townland, according to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Kilkenny Ireland (1969, p. 114) is Baile na cille, place of the church. The townland is comprised of 890 acres. “Ballynakill is now a subdivision; another subdivision is Ballyilogue, i.e. Baile Ui Laodhog, O’Logue’s homestead. The site of Teampall Fhinnin, Finian of Clonard according to the Ordnance Survey Letters, is on the road north of Rochestown village in a field called Garrai Mhichil Dhuibh, black Michael’s garden. The castle site is near the road south of the village and there is also a Rochestown West village or hamlet. There is a hill called Cnoc an roithleain, hill of the wheel (probably a spinning wheel) and open-air Mass was celebrated at a site called Ath an roithleain, ford of the wheel. Other fields are Ban ard; Ban dearg; Carraig mheanach, the middle rock; Culach cisighe, angle land of the improvised road, and Siolfuar (O).” It is believed that Siolfuar is cold seed.
According to Dany Dowling (1927-2021) during the Black Plague some of the people of Rochestown hamlet near Veriker’s Cross (river road from Aylwardstown to Ringville where it intersects with the lane from Rathinure) moved west to Ballylogue. Martin Walsh’s (c. 1918-1996) mother, Ellie Walsh née Gahan (1884-1965) referred to the area around the cross as Shean bhaile (old town) and Ballylogue as new town.
Tithe Applotment Books (1829)
The landlord was Pierce Edmond Forestall, Esq. (the handwriting makes the name look like Pierc C. Forslau). There were 22 tenants recorded on 20 plots of land, but there is no way of knowing the exact number of tenants as the same name appears on different plots. All the acres below are statute acres.
Plot 73 included (1) James Donovan; (2) Tomas Haberlin & (3) Thomas Walsh, with 60 acres; Plot 74 (4) Thomas Walsh, 115 acres; Plot 75 (5) Laurence Forastall, 41 acres; Plot 76 (6) Richard Gahan, 106 acres; Plot 77 (7) John Kelly, 57 acres; Plot 78 (7) John Walsh, 34 acres; Plot 79 (8) Richard Walsh, 2 acres; Plot 80 (9) Thomas Forastall, 20 acres; Plot 81 (10) Patt Gahan, 50 acres; Plot 82 (11) John Forastall, 20 acres; Plot 83 (12) James Forastall, 12 acres; Plot 84 (13) John Vericar, 23 acres; Plot 85 (14) Patt Kelly, 34 acres; Plot 86 (15) James Fitzgerald, 41 acres; Plot 87 (16) Edward Dollard, 36 acres Plot 88 (17) Patt Doyle, 5 acres; Plot 89 (18) Thomas Gahan & (19) Richard Forastall, 7 acres; Plot 90 (20) Martin Denn, 2 acres; Plot 91 (21) Patt Neill, 1 acres; Plot 92 held by the landlord, 19 acres and Plot 93 (22) Laurence Ennis, 37 acres.
See our post of 6 November 2022 regarding the killing of Catherine Hanrahan née Power of Rochestown in July 1822.
Griffith’s Valuation (1847-1864)
The landlord for Rochestown was primarily Benjamin Conn, Esq. Other landlords included Edmund Forstall, Esq. and Miss Julia Sweetman. There are 34 plots recorded for Rochestown. This list provides a fascinating account of how tenancies were often shingled with the landowner leasing or renting to one person who in turn sub-let or rented part of the holding to others. The following tenants are listed and an effort was made in the record to distinguish the various tenants with same or similar names.
- Thomas Walsh (Tom) 41 acres and on this land were Ann Ryan who had a house & small garden (free) house worth 5s; John Ryan who rented from Thomas Walsh (Tom) a house worth 7s. and (3) John Terry who had a house and office free worth 6s.
- Thomas Walsh (Tom) also rented 14 acres from Miss Julia Sweetman and sublet a house and garden to George Young. Young’s house was valued at 2 s.
- Joseph Gahan and John Gahan, Jr. each held 22 acres belonging to Benjamin Conn, Esq. Joseph’s house was valued at 6s. and John Jr. house was valued at 4 s.
- John Gahan, Jr. and Joseph Gahan also rented 56 acres from Miss Sweetman. Sub-tenants for John Gahan Jr. included John Haberlin who had a house valued at 5s.; James Kirby, Sr. who also had a house valued at 5s. and Peter Kirby who had a house valued at 2s. Joseph Gahan leased a house to George Young valued at 5s.
- James Walsh leased 102 acres, a house and offices from Conn. His house was valued at £7. Walsh sub-let to Thomas Neill a house valued at 5s. and to Michael Henneberry a house valued at 8s.
- James Walsh leased 11 acres from Miss Sweetman.
- James Walsh and John Dollard leased 8 acres from Conn.
- John Dollard leased a house, offices, and 34 acres from Conn. The buildings were valued at £3 15s.
- Ellen Kelly leased a house, offices and 44 acres from Conn. Her house was valued at £2. John Haberlin had a forge on plot 9 that he leased from James Walsh. It was valued at 6s.
- John Forrestal (Poer) leased a house, office and 40 acres from Conn. The buildings were valued at £4 15s.
- John Gahan (Waria) and Patrick Gahan leased a house, offices and 43 acres from Conn. They sublet a house and office to Paul Landrigan valued at £1.
- Patrick Gahan and partners leased 2 acres of wasteland from Conn. The land had no recorded value.
- Patrick Henneberry leased a house and 1 acre of land from James Walsh.
- Bridget Forrestal leased 6 acres from Conn.
- Bridget Forrestal leased a house, offices and 14 acres of land from Edmund Forstall, Esq. Her house was valued at £1 15s. Edmund Holden also leased from Forstall a house & garden valued at 9s. and Mary Cashin had a house leased from Forstall valued at 5s.
- Edmund Forstall, Esq. owned plot 16 which consisted of a house, offices and 146 acres of land. His buildings were valued at £20. On plot 16 Forstall leased a house and gardens worth 12s.. to James Forrestal (Dick). He also had another house with offices worth £3 that was vacant. Forstall owned a salmon weir valued at £10 and leased to Richard Malone a house and gardens valued at £1 13s.
- Forstall rented a couple of acres to Thomas Aylward.
- Thomas Aylward leased a house, offices and 24 acres from Forstall. His house was worth £2 10s. James Aylward leased a house worth 8s. from Forstall. Patrick Kelly leased a house and small garden from Thomas Aylward valued at 10s.
- James Forstall, Jr. leased from Edmund Forstall, Esq. a house, offices and 18 acres. The house was valued at £2 10s. Thomas Greene rented a house from James Forstall, Jr. valued at 8s.
- James Forrestal, Jr. leased from Conn 3 acres
- John Vereker leased from Forstall a house, offices and 20 acres. The house was valued at £2 10s.
- John Vereker leased 3 acres from Conn.
- Denis Magrath had a house, offices, and 68 acres. His landlord was Conn. The house was valued at £2.
- Edmund Ryan rented 1 acre from Forstall.
- John Forrestal, Jr. leased a house, offices and 2 acres from Forstall. The house was valued at £1 10s.
- John Fitzgerald rented a house and 2 acres from James Walsh. The house was valued at £1. Michael Kirby rented a house and garden from Forstall valued at 14s.
- Conn held 37 acres in this plot. Richard Walsh leased a house and offices (valued at £2 10s.) Catherine Manion and Mary Donovan leased houses from Conn each were valued at 5s.
- Thomas Walsh (Jack) rented from Conn a house, offices and 29 acres. James Kirby, Jr. rented a house and garden from Joseph Gahan valued at 15s.
- James Costello leased a house, offices and 1 acre. The house was valued at £1.
- Morgan Denn leased a house, office, 2 acres and a salmon weir from Forstall. The house and the weir were valued at £1 1os. each.
- Thomas Gahan leased 3 acres from Joseph and John Gahan, Jr.
- Thomas Gahan rented from Miss Sweetman a house, offices and 6 acres. The house was valued at £1 15s.
- James Duggan rented a house with 1 acre from Miss Sweetman. The house was valued at 10s.
- John Doyle leased a house, office and 5 acres from Miss Sweetman. The house was valued at £1 12s.
For further information on Pierce Edmond Forstall Esq. and the Conn family see, Martin Forristal (2019) “Mount Ida.” See also our post of 7 October 2023, “An Old Anglo-Norman Glenmore Family: The Forrestalls.”
ROCHESTOWN (1961)
In 1961, Danny recorded 16 families or households in the townland of Rochestown. Birth dates 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, 62 people resided in the townland of Rochestown with the population comprised of 33 males and 29 females. The largest household was the Heffernan family with 8 persons in their household. There were 2 households recorded with a single person living alone in each house. Information under residents of Rochestown not in Danny’s original list has been placed in square brackets [ ].
Recorded Rochestown, Glenmore Residents (1961)
Males= 33
Females= 29
Eldest Recorded Resident
The eldest resident recorded by Danny in Rochestown, Glenmore was Alice Walsh née Doherty (1875-1962) who was 86 in 1961. Alice was the daughter of Richard Doherty and his wife Mary Merigan of Milltown, Glenmore. Alice was baptised the 3rd of February 1875, yet her birth cert provides that her birthdate was the 15th of April. Her father registered her birth on the 5th of May and obviously gave her birthdate in April to avoid being fined for the late registration. James and Alice were married on 23 August 1904 in Trinity Without, Ballybricken, Waterford. James was living on Morris Road and Alice was resident on Presentation Row. James was the son of James Walsh and his wife Mary Power of Rochestown. Their witnesses were Martin Walsh and Johanna Doherty.
Recorded Work
Farmers= 7 (6 Males; 1 Female)
Farm Workers = 8 ( 8 Males; 0 Females)
Clover Meats 8 = ( 6 Males; 2 Females)
Secondary School Teacher = 1 (0 Males; 1 Female)
Retired Labourer= 1 (1 Male; 0 Females)
Fisherman= 1 (1 Males; 0 Females)
Rochestown, Glenmore Residents 1961
[1] FORRISTAL
Forristal, William (21 Dec. 1915, Clover Meats [Billy Forristal was the first Glenmore person I met in October 1991. He was a fountain of information and for years wrote the Glenmore column for local newspapers.]
Forristal, Bridget (b. 1921) wife
Forristal, Alice, daughter, secondary school teacher
Forristal, John, son
[2] WALSH
Walsh, James (27 July 1877) Farmer dead [died 7 April 1963 in Waterford]
Walsh, Alice [née Doherty] (1 Feb. 1875) wife, died 5 August 1962 [death register reveals her granddaughter Alice Walsh née Wash of Scartnamore, Glenmore was with her]
Walsh, James Patrick, grandson, assisting relative
Walsh, Rosaleen, granddaughter
[3] FORRISTAL
Forristal, John (b. 17 March 1887) Farmer
Forristal, Ellen (b. 1 April 1883) sister
Forristal, Mary (b. 3 April 1881) sister
Ennett, John (b. 1911) nephew-in-law, assisting relative
Ennett, Bridget (b. 1921) niece [née Walsh]
Walsh, Mary (May) (b. 1919) niece
[4] WALSH
Walsh, Ellen (17 Oct. 1883-1965) Farmer
Walsh, Joseph (b. 1914) son, assisting relative
Walsh, Kathleen (b. 1916) daughter
Walsh, Martin [25 Dec. 1918-6 Jan. 1996] son, assisting relative
[5] CONNOLLY
Connolly, Philip (b. 13 Oct. 1891)
Connolly, Edward (b. 14 April 1908) brother, Clover Meats
[These brothers were the last to live in their family home in Ballylogue, Rochestown, Glenmore.] The featured photo above was taken in 2021 when vegetation was removed from around the long house.]
[6] DELAHUNTY
Delahunty, Patrick, (b. 21 June 1911), Farm Labourer
[7] MAGUIRE
Maguire, Catherine (b. 20 April 1890) dead
Maguire, Elizabeth (b. 1925) daughter
Maguire, Patrick, grandson
[8] AYWARD
Aylward, James [Sonny] (4 June 1900-23 April 1962) Farmer
Aylward, Bridget (b. 1902)
Harney, Michael, son-in-law
Harney, Ellen, daughter
[9] DILLON
Dillon, Catherine (b. 28 Oct. 1896)
Dillon, Patrick (b. 1916) son, Clover Meats
Haberlin, Richard, grandson, scholar
[See our post of 27 March 2021 regarding daughter Ciss Dillon (1919-1997) and her WWII work .]
[10] RYAN
Ryan, Philip (b. 17 Oct. 1886) Farm Labourer
[11] KIRWAN
Kirwan, Thomas (b. 7 July 1898) Farm Labourer
Kirwan, Ellen (b. 5 Sept. 1898) wife
Kirwan, William, son, Clover Meats
Kirwan, Alice, daughter, Clover Meats
[12] GRAHAM
Graham, John (b. 1901) Clover Meats
Graham, Mary Ann (b. 1916) wife
Graham, Thomas, son, child
[13] HEFFERNAN
Heffernan, Patrick (b. 1924) Farmer
Heffernan, Anastatia, wife
Heffernan, Mary C., daughter
Heffernan, Catherine, daughter
Heffernan, William, son
Heffernan, Edward, son
Heffernan, Maria Bernadette, daughter
Finn, Patrick, farm labourer
[14] AYLWARD
Aylward, James (b. 1929) Farmer
Aylward, Mary, wife
Aylward, Margaret (b. 1900) mother
Aylward, Mary, sister
Aylward Eileen, sister, Clover Meats
[15] KEOGH
Keogh, John (b. 1916) Farmer
Keogh, Margaret, wife
Keogh, Martin, son
Keogh, Sean, son
Keogh, Eamonn, son
Keogh, Bridget, daughter
Keogh, Margaret, sister
[16] FORRISTAL
Forristal, Michael, Retired Labourer
Forristal, Peter, son, fisherman
Forristal, Michael, son, Clover Meats
XXXXXXXXX
Please send any corrections, further information or photos to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh