Grogan Glenmore Kilkenny
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Grogan & Davidstown, Glenmore (1961)
Today, we are going to feature information that Danny Dowling (1927-2021) recorded regarding the residents of the townland of Grogan, Glenmore around 1961. Danny recorded this information as Grogan, but had no separate Davidstown townsland list. We believe that two households in Davidstown were recorded in Ballinlammy (see our post of 14 Dec. 2022 for further details.)
Sometimes Davidstown is referred to as being in the parish of Slieverue. In any event, rather than ignore Davidstown we will include it with Grogan. Both townlands are in the civil parish of Kilcolumb. In the 1829 Griffith’s Valuation Applotment Records the townlands of Grogan and Davidstown were owned by the same landlord O’Mealy. We believe that the landlord may have been W.W. O’Mealy Esq. of Rerehaven, Co. Cork.
GROGAN
According to O’Kelly’s, The Place Names of the County of Ireland (1969, p. 113), the Irish for Grogan is Gruagan, a place of hard soil. The townland was comprised of 421 acres. O’Kelly noted that there is a rath south of the road running from the main road through Ballinclare.
In the 1829 Tithe Applotment Books, there were 12 tenants-in-common listed in Grogan who shared 364 statute acres. The listed tenants-in-common include: [1] John Walsh; [2] Edmond Murphy; [3] Thomas Murphy; [4] Patt Wall; [5] Richard Mullally; [6] William Grant; [7] Thomas Dwyer; [8] Matthew Ryan; [9] John Wallace; [10] Richard Deneiff; [11] John Haberlin and [12] Rose Haberlin (widow).
DAVIDSTOWN
The Irish for Davidstown, according to O’Kelly (p. 113) is Baile Dháithí, or David’s homestead. This townsland is comprised of 406 acres. The ancient church called Cill Cloigeann, church of the skulls, is recorded in the Ordnance Survey Letters as Cill Cloiginn and by 1969 was “long destroyed.” Bóithrín an teampaill leads to the church. Tobar Phádraig is in a field called Conbhui on Davidstown hill which is mentioned in the legendary Ballincre curse attributed to St. Patrick on his dish of dog meat. This tale is recorded in the Ordnance Survey Letters.
There are two small raths and Davidstown hamlet is in the Seanbhaile field. “Other fields are An áth, the ford; Bán leathan; Bán na rátha; Cosán ausseys (O); Croichtin; Faiche; Fraoch mór, heather land; Garraí leac, the flag garden; Garraí Michil, Móin Jack; Páirc na róide (O); Poll buí; Sceachán, sceach land, and Scru vois (O).”
Who was David?
A footnote in an article by C.A. Empey, “The Cantreds of the Medieval County of KilKenny,” in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1971) (Vol. 101, No 2, pp. 128-134 fn. 33) may provide a clue as to the David that gave his name to the townland. According to Empey in 1314 the Barony of Ida was held by John FitzWilliam de Rupe, John Lercedekyn, David Bronfedyr, and William FitzRobert de Sancto Albino by the service on one knight (The Red Book of Ormond, p. 133).
William, it appears, held the manor of Drumdowney in Odaygh (Ida) as part of his purparty, for his widow held a third party of it in dower in 1364 (Cal. Ormond Deeds, I, no 95 (3), (7), (8);cf, iv, no. 361, p. 306.) The Roche (de Rupe) purparty may have included the townland of Rochestown in Kilcolumb, while Davidstown in the same parish may represent the purporatory of David Bronfedyr. (Purparty is a legal term meaning part of an estate that was held in common by parceners. Generally, to divide or sever a part of the common land led to the portioned severed land being in purparty.)
There were 9 tenants-in-common listed in Davidstown in the 1829 Tithe Applotment Books who shared 422 statute acres.The listed Davidstown tenants-in-common include: [1] James & Michael Lawler; 2] Maurice? Manus? Lawler, [3] John Grant; [4] John Deuso?; [5] William & Thomas Walsh; [6] Widow Forastall; [7] Thomas? Mullally; [8] Matthew Walsh; and [9] Edmond Mullally.
1961 Residents
In 1961, Danny recorded 5 families or households in Grogan. 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, 28 people resided in Grogan with the population comprised of 16 males and 12 females. The largest family was the Doherty family with 7 in the household. There was no household recorded with a person living alone.
Recorded Residents
Males= 16
Females= 12
Eldest Recorded Resident
The eldest resident recorded in the townland of Grogan was Catherine “Kate” Murphy née Irish (1891-1975) who was 70 in 1961. Kate was the widow of William Murphy who died in 1954, an she was a native of Ballinlammy, Glenmore.
Kate was the daughter of James Irish (farmer) and his wife Mary Heneberry. Interestingly two different dates are provided in records for Kate’s birth. The parish records provide that Kate was born on the 29th of July 1891 and baptized on the 30th. Kate’s birth was not registered until the 3rd of November by Margaret Taylor who was present at the birth. Margaret Taylor registered the 14th of August as Kate’s birthdate. Given the baptism took place on the 30th of July we believe Kate’s correct date of birth is the 29th of July 1891. The obituary of Catherine “Kate” Murphy née Irish (1891-1975) can be found on our M family page.
Recorded Work
Farmer= 5 (4 Males; 1 Female)
Farm Worker/Labourers= 11 (11 Males)
Grogan, Glenmore Residents
[1] MULLALLY
Mullally, Johanna (17 July 1898) Farmer
Mullally, Margaret (1929) daughter
Mullally, Richard, son, farm worker
Mullally, Seamus (18 June 1935) son, farm worker
Culleton, John (4 March 1885) employee, farm labourer
Connors, John (3 May 1888) employee, farm labourer
[2] VEREKER
Vereker, James (26 March 1904) Farmer
Vereker, Mary (11 June 1908) wife
Vereker, Kathleen, daughter
Vereker, John, son, farm worker
Vereker, James, son, farm worker
Vereker, Richard, son, a scholar
[3] MURPHY
Murphy, Catherine (29 July 1891)
Murphy, Edward (27 Aug. 1927) son, Farm Worker
[4] RYAN
Ryan, Thomas (5 March 1908) Farmer
Ryan, Margaret (11 June 1904) wife
Ryan, Anastatia (5 March 1942) daughter
Ryan, Bridget (7 April 1943) daughter
Raftice, Bridget (3 May 1902) sister-in-law
[4] DOHERTY
Doherty, John (11 Oct. 1894) Farmer
Doherty, Bridget (19 Oct. 1898) wife
Doherty, Patrick, son, farm worker
Doherty, Richard, son, farm worker
Doherty, Stasia, daughter
Doherty, John, son, farm worker
Wall, Ellen (6 March 1896) sister-in-law
[5] WALSH
Walsh, Nicholas (23 June 1919) Farmer
Walsh, Michael (13 Nov. 1912) brother, farm worker
Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Some of our previous articles regarding Grogan/Davidstown people or places include:
[1] Our post of 2 Oct. 2022 concerning the Davidstown Queen of the Plough 1958, Peggy Mullally;
[2] An article on Margaret M. Walsh (1879-1959)of Davidstown found in our post of 26 Nov. 2020. Margaret donated her handgun and ammunition to the local IRA in the War of Independence.
[3] Our post of 5 May 2020 that includes a short article about the Skow Bridge Platform in Davidstown in 1951.
The feature photo above is of Peggy Mullally (c. 1932-1997) of Davidstown, who was Queen of the Plough in 1958.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh