Margaret Phelan née Forristal (1858-1940)
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Glenmore Weddings in the late 19th Century
Danny Dowling when he interviewed local people would usually note the date of the interview and often the place, time of day and weather conditions. The following information concerning late 19th century Glenmore weddings was obtained from one of Danny’s favourite interviewees and friend, Nicholas Forristal, (1888-1979) of the Mill, Graiguenakill, Glenmore. Danny interviewed “Nicky the Miller” on 23 October 1964 in Nicky’s home in Graiguenakill; it was a “coolish, showery” evening.
Nicky the Miller said that Dick Phelan (c. 1825-1923), of Shanbogh married Johanna Conry (c. 1827-1911), a niece of Fr. Conry who was then the parish priest of Glenmore. Nicky believed that the marriage took place in the Glenmore Chapel in the 1850’s because his father Paddy “the Miller” Forristal (1849-1931) when a boy saw the cavalcade of the wedding passing by the Mill after the marriage. “Paddy the Miller” was born in 1849. The custom in those days was for the wedding parties and guests to travel to the Glenmore church on horseback. No carriages or drivers were used at that time. “Before the wedding and before either the bride or bridegroom set out for the church,” all the wedding guests first went to the home of the bride or the bridegroom and “drank plenty of whiskey.” What makes this unusual is the fact that the weddings usually took place at 8 a.m.
The bride and bridegroom, from their respective homes, would set off for the church with their guests “in a procession on horseback.” After the ceremony led by the bride and groom all the guests went in a cavalcade to the marriage feast which was usually held in the barn of the bride’s father or family. “Paddy the Miller” told his son that when Dick Phelan and Johanna Conry were married they led the wedding cavalcade riding together on a single horse. She sat before him on the horse.
Nicky the Miller went on to relate that James Phelan, a son of Dick Phelan and Johanna Phelan née Conry, of Shanbogh, married Peggie Forristal, of Ballyverneen, Glenmore around 1896. Nicky attended the wedding and the “wedding feast.” The bride and bridegroom travelled from the Glenmore chapel where they were married to Ballyverneen, where the wedding feast was held, in “a two horse carriage followed by a procession of drivers and horsemen.” About 150 people were in the wedding procession.
The wedding feast took place in the barn. A long table of planks the whole length of the barn was made on stands with seating to match. The meal consisted of “plenty of spuds in their jackets placed in heaps all along the table with large dishes of pig’s heads that had been cooked in a boiler and cabbage etc. placed at short distances all along the long table. Large quantities of milk, whiskey and beer were available.” The whiskey was served in glasses and the beer in mugs. No note was recorded how the milk was served. Two or three meals were provided as the feast lasted until about midnight. Music was supplied by fiddlers. “It was a wonderful day of eating and drinking and merriment.” Nicky remarked that he well remembered that at about midnight old Paddy Forristal, father of the bride stood up and said “Everybody to their own homes now men.” Immediately everyone commenced to get ready to leave.
Contemporary Records
Although a lot of historians once discounted the value of the oral tradition, or the passing of information from one generation to the next through spoken word, people like Nicky the Miller prove the value of the oral tradition. From parish records it was found that Richard Whelan married Johanna Conry, of Robinstown, Glenmore on the 17th of February 1860. Although no further information was provided such as their respective fathers’ names there is a notation of a disposition being granted by Wm. W. Walsh, the P.P. of Rosbercon regarding the banns. Thus, it appears that the groom’s home parish was Rosbercon, and Nicky the Miller’s father was 12 years old when he saw the wedding cavalcade. These records also highlight the difficulty often encountered. Some records record the family name as Phelan and other records record the family name as Whelan. There are similar difficulties with Dowlings, Doolings and Doolans.
The parish records of Rosbercon provide that at least six children were born to the Phelan and Conry union: James Phelan was baptized 15 August 1861 (his Godparents were John Phelan and Bridget Conry); Mary (b. 9 April 1864); John Phelan (b. 8 June 1866); Jeremiah (b. 10 June 1867); and John (b. 12 Dec. 1869). [It is assumed the child born in 1866 died and a younger sibling was also given the name John.]
Glenmore parish records provide that James Phelan and Margaret Forestall were married 12 June 1895. Nicky the Miller 68 years later was able to provide the approximate year of the wedding as “around 1896.” The bridegroom, James Phelan, was a farmer and the son Richard Phelan of Shanbogh and the bride was the daughter of Pat Forrestal, of Ballyverneen, Glenmore, a farmer. The best man was Jerimiah Phelan, and the maid of honour Mary Forrestal. A review of the 1901 census provides that James Phelan and his wife Margaret Phelan née Forristal were living in Shanbogh Upper with his parents. Per the 1901 census Margaret was born about 1861. Parish records provide that a Margaret Forristal was born on 4 July 1858 the daughter of Patrick Forristal and Ellen Forristal née Kennedy. Although it is not in the interview notes it appears that Margaret Forristal was Nicky the Miller’s aunt. It does not appear that James and Margaret Phelan had any children.
One of the most surprising aspects of this research is the longevity found at a time before antibiotics, through the Great Famine, later when TB was rampant and in the 20th century when the Spanish flu killed millions, some of the above mentioned people lived very long lives. Richard Whelan, of Shanbogh, died on 20 April 1923 at the age of 98. Johanna Phelan née Conry died at the age of 84 on 29 January 1911. Margaret Phelan née Forristal of Shanbogh, a widow died 28 March 1940 at Ballyverneen, Glenmore at the age of 81. Her nephew Laurence Forristal was present at her death. Paddy the Miller Forristal died at the age of 82 in 1931 and Nicky the Miller died at the age of 91 in 1979.
Other Glenmore Weddings
Nicky the Miller also stated that in the late 19th century, in Glenmore, the wedding of the more well to do farmers were held in the mornings, but the weddings of the poor were held in the evenings near nightfall. About 70 years ago prior to his interview Nicky the Miller stated he saw two men without overcoats and two women in shawls (bride, bridegroom, bestman and girl) walking past the Mill at dusk to Glenmore Chapel to get married. They were from Forristalstown. All the poorer people walked to the ceremony. They married with no festivities “and possibly only the ordinary daily meal as the wedding breakfast as we call it now.”
No stories told before the fire on a coolish, wet night would be complete without a ghost story. Before the interview ended that night in October 1964, Nicky the Miller related the following. Dan Doolan, of the Pink, Shanbogh, often told Nicky that when he got married to Anty Mullally, of Forristalstown, both of them walked to Glenmore Chapel at night to be married. Whilst walking back after the ceremony, from the Churns down the New Line, the bride and bridegroom walked with their bestman and woman. All four noticed that a fifth man was walking with them. They recognised that the man who had joined them was Neddy Doolan, of Busherstown, who was dead. He was killed jumping on a horse in Rosbercon one evening after a fair some time previously. He was to have been best man at the wedding and he told Dan that he would be at his wedding dead or alive. It appears that he kept his word.
Although we cannot vouch for what the wedding party saw, a review of Glenmore parish records provides that Daniel Dooling, of Shanbogh, a 26 year old farmer married Anastatia Mulally on 30 August 1886. At the time of her wedding the bride was 28 and her father was Thomas Mulally (farmer) of Forristalstown. Daniel’s father was Edward Dooling, of Shanbogh. A year prior to this on 26 August 1885, Edward Dooling, of Busherstown, Glenmore, a 26 unmarried farmer’s son, died of a “fractured brain” that he sustained 3 days earlier. His sister Maggie Dooling was present when he died at Busherstown.
For information concerning other Glenmore weddings that have been featured in blog posts please see the 1937 wedding of Etta Walsh posted 22 December 2020 or the 1917 prosecution of Glenmore wedding guests from our post of 27 September 2020. For a practical example of a long successful marriage see Enduring Love posted 14 February 2021.
The featured photo is a print of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. “The penny wedding” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1848. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/50f9c000-8cb8-0134-43b3-00505686a51c
Please send any corrections or any ideas for future articles to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh