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Enduring Love: Peter & May Mernagh
It is often said that the true test of love is whether an individual wants to spend the rest of his or her life with another person. Today in honour of Valentine’s Day we are featuring Peter and May Mernagh who were married in Rosbercon on the 9th of July 1924 after a long courtship. Thus began a marriage that flourished until the couple were only parted when Peter died on the 16th of November 1990. When I asked their son Liam Mernagh if they ever spoke of why their marriage endured for over six decades he said with a laugh, “they didn’t have time to fight.”
The Groom
Peter Mernagh was born the 29th of February 1892 at Sparrowland, Bree, Wexford. He was one of 16 children born to John (Jack) Mernagh and Mary Mernagh née Kielthy. Peter’s parents were married on the 28th of November 1885. John Mernagh was from Galbally, Bree, Wexford and Mary Mernagh née Kielthy was from Ballybrennan, Wexford.
On 2 February 2020 we published a blog on the New Ross to Waterford railway and highlighted the tragic death of Peter’s father, Jack Mernagh, in a threshing accident in the autumn of 1911. (The blog post is available at https://glenmore-history.com/glenmore-and-the-new-ross-to-waterford-railway-line/). The Mernagh family had moved around 1906 from Wexford to Ballyverneen, Glenmore. Jack Mernagh was employed as a ganger with the railway. From a 1988 newspaper interview we have Peter’s memories recorded concerning his father’s tragic death. His father was on the threshing machine feeding in the sheaths when one of his legs became entangled in the beater. “I’ll never forget when they told us. The man said that my father’s last words spoken in a quiet tone were ‘I’ve lost my leg.’ The Mernagh family were poor and it took all of his mother’s savings to buy the coffin. A box would cost you around nine or ten shillings.” Peter was consoled that his father had last rites before he died. The local curate had a premonition that someone was dying and made it to the injured man before he died. (Kilkenny People, Fri. 23 Dec. 1988, p. 4).
The Bride
Mary Cashin was born on the 14th of March 1897 at Shanbogh, Rosbercon. She was one of 14 children born to Thomas Cassin (sic) of Shanbo (sic) a fisherman and Statia Cassin née Roche. Thomas Cassion (sic) married Statia Roche on the 24th of May 1885 at Glenmore. Thomas was the son of Michael Cassion (sic), and Statia Roche was the daughter of William Roche of Jamestown, Glenmore.
Mary was generally known as May. As was the custom at the time when May was Confirmed her formal education ended. May was 11 when she was Confirmed and was walking with her mother one day when the widow Ellen Dunphy stopped on the road. She asked May’s mother how old May was and said that when she returned she would take the girl home with her. Thus in 1908 May Cashin moved to the Dunphy farm in Ballyverneen where she worked until she married in 1924 at the age of 27. Liam Mernagh stated that May Cashin was well treated and was fond of Mrs. Dunphy.
According to a newspaper article May revealed that she met her future husband in 1910 when he also went to work on the Dunphy farm. The 1911 Census reveals that the widow, Ellen Dunphy was 53 years of age. Her son John Dunphy was 31 years of age. There were three servants listed in the household: Mary Cashin, age 14; Peter Mernagh, age 18 and Thomas Brophy, age 33. Peter was a ploughman “who worked behind the horses from dawn ’til dusk,” and from shortly after they first met in 1910 Peter had only had eyes for May, who worked as a housemaid. (George Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12).
The Courting Years
Although May joked that Peter was a slow starter and it took 14 years after they met for Peter to propose (Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12), in addition to the couple being very young and poor the country was in turmoil for most of the years between 1910 to 1924.
Liam Mernagh stated yesterday that his parents did not speak a lot about their involvement in the Old IRA and Cumann na mBan. For our international readers Cumann na mBan was an Irish Republican women’s paramilitary organisation.
Peter came from a very republican family. In 1916 he armed himself with a double-barrel shotgun and set out walking with other members of his family for Enniscorthy to join in the Easter Rising. They were on the Enniscorthy side of New Ross when the countermand came from McNeill. They returned home (New Ross Standard, Thurs. 22 Nov. 1990, p. 10). During the War of Independence Peter was a known Republican. In a 1986 newspaper interview Peter recollected being awoken by his mother at around 4 a.m. one night with the Black and Tans at the door. “It was a frosty night …, and when I said to hold on while I’d get some clothes, they said I didn’t need any. I didn’t wait much longer after that, and leapt out the window with them firing after me.” When he later returned home his mother informed him that the Black and Tans were not actually looking for him that night (Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12).
On another occasion the Black and Tans raided his mother’s house and fearing for his life he fled the house in his nightshirt and spent the night in his bare feet in muck, kept warm by the farm animals which gave him cover. “When I got back to the house the following morning my mother noticed I was bleeding.” A bullet had grazed his backside apparently when he was escaping over the ditch (Kilkenny People, Fri. 23 Dec. 1988, p. 4).
Very little is known about May’s work in the Cumann na mBan, but Liam Mernagh stated yesterday that his mother did say that she carried hidden weapons and messages in farm buckets. Although some of the women in Dublin acted as snipers the majority of women in the organisation gathered information and carried weapons and communications.
Notwithstanding the dangers associated with the War of Independence Glenmore continued to have dances, music and sports. Glenmore, like a lot of parishes in the south, danced sets known as lancers. The dances would go on all night. Dances would be held at the end of threshing, in barns and at crossroads (Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12).
If the dance was held in a barn or home of a big farmer there would be supper, and if the host was well off he would buy a barrel of beer which cost about £10 in the early twenties. According to Peter the young and old would dance on the hard concrete floors of the houses. “That time all weddings were held in the houses and were called breakfasts, even though they would not finish ’till breakfast the following day.” Dances at cross roads were frowned upon and the young people were always worried about that the clergy appearing. “According to Peter the biggest threat were the Nightingales…correspondents from local papers would go to these parties or dances and would publish a list of those who attended. It was a terrible thing if your name was printed in the paper as the parish priest would also see it” (Kilkenny People, Fri. 23 Dec. 1988, p. 4).
As a talented musician Peter sang, played fiddle and melodian at these types of gatherings and he was a member of the Glenmore Redmond Volunteer fife and drum band. (For information regarding the Glenmore Redmond Volunteers and the Fife and Drum Band see, https://glenmore-history.com/glenmore-redmond-volunteers-and-the-fife-drum-band/ ). When his family moved to Glenmore they continued mumming and helped introduce it into the area. Sports were a popular pastime, and Peter along with the Hanrahan’s of Glenmore was responsible for introducing hurling to the parish. Peter remembered a time when there wasn’t a hurler in Glenmore. “It was all football in the 1920’s…My old friend Mick Heffernan played and the best sportsman that Glenmore ever had, Dick Hanrahan played his football with Wexford (Kilkenny People, Fri. 23 Dec. 1988, p. 4). “[Hurling] was quite a different game then though, as you’d rarely get to play on a cut field and could spend half the time looking for the ball in the long grass” (Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12).
Marriage
Concerning their long courtship Peter in his 1988 interview explained, “Sure we couldn’t afford it — we were hardly making £1 a year hiring out…You’d hardly get a house that time because there was none going and you would be saving a good four or five years for a wedding.” Reflecting on marriage Peter opined that young people today don’t wait long enough before getting married. “They only know each other a couple of months and they are married. The following year they are parted…The problem is that they don’t give the matter proper consideration in the first place” (Kilkenny People, Fri. 23 Dec. 1988, p. 4).
On the 9th of July 1924 the couple were married at Rosbercon by the curate, Fr. Greene. Peter was 32 when they tied the knot and May was 27. James Mernagh served his brother as best man and Kate Cashin served her sister as the maid of honour. Peter and May enjoyed a trip for breakfast to Waterford, and an afternoon in Tramore as their honeymoon. Peter had just 3s. 6d. in his pocket (New Ross Standard, 21 March 1986, p. 12). After working at Dunphy’s Peter then went to work for Jim Fluskey as the farm manager. He remained at Fluskey’s until he retired after he suffered a road accident on his way to work one morning on his bicycle.
To this union ten children were born and May proudly noted that she reared nine children on just 10 shillings per week and expressed that they were blessed because at the time she was rearing her family many families were wiped out by consumption and other diseases. (Jacob, New Ross Standard, Fri. 21 March 1986, p. 12). May went to work at 11, served in the War of Independence and reared a large family on 10 shillings per week and never indulged in alcohol or tobacco. May only survived Peter by a year and a half.
Peter and May had 3 daughters and 7 sons. Their daughters include: Maureen Mernagh, Biddy Duggan and Cissie Power. Their sons include: Liam Mernagh, Seamus Mernagh, Paddy Mernagh, Fr. Michael Mernagh, Jack Mernagh, Thomas Mernagh and their youngest child, Louis Mernagh, who died at the age of six months.
Special thanks to Fr. Michael Mernagh and particularly Liam Mernagh for sharing the family photos. The featured photo above was taken on Peter and May’s 50th Wedding Anniversary.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
55th Wedding Anniversary
Front row (left to right) Cissy, Peter, May and Maureen; Back row (left to right) Liam, Seamus, Paddy, Biddy, Tom, Fr. Michael and Jack.