Richard Duggan of Flemingstown Glenmore
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From Danny’s Files: The 1906 Assault at Milltown, Glenmore
Over the years Danny Dowling (1927-2021) spent a great deal of time reading old local newspapers on microfiche machines in local libraries. His voluminous files are filled with newspapers articles he copied. Today, we are going to feature from Danny’s files the arrest of a well known, well liked and respected Glenmore farmer and horse breeder named Felix Mullins (1846-1919).
Felix Mullins was baptized on 11 April 1846 at Flemingstown, Glenmore the son of Patrick Mullins, Jr. (1818-1884) and Julia Brenan (1812-1891). His parents were married on 2 March 1840 at Mooncoin. Julia was from Ashgrove, Mooncoin. Felix Mullins never married. For further information on the Mullins family see our post of 10 January 2021.
The Assault at Milltown, Glenmore
The following newspaper article in Danny’s file was from the Waterford Mirror and Tramore Visitor (Thur. 19 July 1906, p. 5).
“On Wednesday morning Felix Mullins, of Glenmore, one of the most respectable farmers in the New Ross circuit, was arrested on a charge or having inflicted grievous bodily injury on an old man named Morrissey, a horse trainer, whose chief place of residence is Waterford. The accused was arrested by Sergeant Lynch, of Glenmore, and brought before Mr. Patrick Bolger, J.P., at the New Ross Workhouse Infirmary, where the injured man lay, and where depositions were taken.”
According to the statement of the victim James Morrissey, who was described as about 60 years of age, he attended the New Ross fair on Tuesday the 10th of July 1906. Morrissey “was returning by road to Waterford in the evening. He was being carried in a cart by two Tipperary men, and when they got to a place called Shanbogh, Felix Mullins overtook them. Mullins, he alleged drew on him with several strokes of a stick and he could not tell anything more until he found himself in the barracks at Glenmore.”
After Sergeant Lynch was examined, the accused was remanded on bail to the next New Ross Petty Session. Interestingly none of the newspaper articles mentioned that Felix Mullins was also 60 years of age in 1906.
Petty Session Records
Further details were found in the Petty Session Court Register, of 11 July 1906. Magistrate Bolger recorded that “Depositions of James Morrissey and Sergt C. Lynch taken and as injured man will not be able to attend for some time, case adjourned for 8 days. Mullins admitted to bail himself of £10.0.0 and two sureties of £5.0.0 each. Injured man in workhouse infirmary.”
The Petty Session Court Register, of 27 July 1906 notes that “James Morrissey still being unable to attend. Defendant further remanded until Friday 20th inst. and admitted to bail himself £10 and two sureties in £5 each.”
Hearing of 10 August 1906
The New Ross Standard (Fri. 17 August 1906, p. 13) published an extensive account of the proceedings of 10 August 1906.. Resident Magistrate Sir Wm. Paul and four other magistrates heard the case. District Inspector Smythe prosecuted. James Morrissey was described as a horse trainer from Waterford, of no fixed residence. Dr. Browne, solicitor, appeared for the defendant Felix Mullins.
Testimony of the Victim James Morrissey
“Morrissey, who is lame, appeared with his injured arm in a sling. He was sworn, and called on to listen to the deposition made by him in the New Ross Workhouse Infirmary before Mr. Thomas (sic) Bolger, J.P. after the occurrence. The deposition stated that Morrissey was a labourer and horse trainer, and had been at the Fair of New Ross on the 10th of July. He left in the afternoon to go to James Flemings , near Waterford, where he had been stopping.”
“Two Tipperary men, whom he did not know, had a horse and trap, and he got a lift from them. When he went as far as Milltown, Felix Mullins passed him with a horse and trap and John (sic) Duggan was with Mullins. Mullins said that deponent was always running down his horses, and Mullins got out of the trap, and struck deponent several times with a stick on the head. Deponent was also struck on the left hand by Mullins, and also on the legs. Deponent was attended by a doctor, who dressed and stitched his wounds. Deponent believed he must have given Felix Mullins some provocation before he struck him.”
Proper Court for Glenmore Assault Case?
One of the more interesting exchanges in the court commenced when Dr. Browne suggested that the case could be dealt with by the magistrates. In essence this would have meant that Felix Mulllins would face a simple assault charge rather than being sent to stand trial for a felony. Browne argued that there was never any danger at any time of Morrissey’s life except from septic poisoning. No bones were broken, and the man was all right.
District Inspector Smythe—It is my duty to ask that the case be returned for trial. It was a serious assault case, endangering life.
Dr. Browne—The man is all right now; and he was never in any danger except from septic poisoning, which might result from any wound.
Morrissey—Are you a doctor?
Mr. Colfer—Oh, he is.
Dr. Browne held a doctorate degree, but was not a medical doctor. Apparently ignoring the exchange between the victim and a magistrate, Dr. Browne continued to plead for having the case to be summarily dealt with by the Magistrates.
Morrissey—There are five wounds in that head there, and look at my hand and leg.
Dr. Browne reminded the court that the lameness of Morrissey’s leg was natural.
Morrissey—But sure I was struck on it. I was not well able to put it under me this morning, and I can’t walk too much on it, and it was the sergeant asked me to walk down, and that hand is useless since, and the doctor put splays to it.
Chairman—Unless the magistrates had medical evidence to show that his man was not so seriously injured as apparently according to that deposition he was, they would not like to take the responsibility of reducing the charge.
Dr. Browne said he would have had the doctor, who was attending Morrissey present, only he thought the Crown would. District Inspector Smythe replied that he would not have the doctor present unless the magistrates ordered it. Dr. Browne said that unfortunately Dr. Dwyer who attended Morrissey when he came into the hospital was away on holidays. However, he would send for Dr. Hickey who was presently attending Morrissey in the hospital.
When Dr. Hickey arrived at the court the Magistrates stated that they were in agreement that they did not want to hear from Dr. Hickey. They agreed that the proper medical testimony should come from Dr. Dwyer who treated Morrissey after the assault.
Testimony of Sergeant Cornelius Lynch of Glenmore R.I.C.
Sergeant Cornelius Lynch deposed that on the evening of the 10th of July information reached him that James Morrissey had been seriously assaulted on the road near Milltown, County Kilkenny. Witness arrested Mullins, and having given him the usual caution Mullins said: “He is always running down my horses. He has put a many a pound out of my pocket.” Witness found Morrissey lying on his back in the haggard of James Power, Jamestown, Glenmore. Morrissey had some drink taken.
Morrissey interrupted—If I required a character in the morning, I could get it. Morrissey then went on to belittle the character of Mullins and his horses, and Dr. Browne called the attention of the court to his statement. Browne said this was the sort of thing that was going on, and “that Mullins was submitting to this a long time.”
Testimony of Richard Duggan of Flemingstown, Glenmore
Richard Duggan, replying to District Inspector Smythe, testified that on the 10th July he was in New Ross. He left New Ross to return home about four or five in the evening with Mr. Mullins, the defendant, in a trap. “On the road home he remembered passing James Morrissey at Milltown. Morrissey was on the side of the road with blood on him. That was not the first time he saw Morrissey.”
“Witness first saw Morrissey at the New Ross side of Milltown. Morrissey was then in a car with two other men whom witness did not know. Morrissey was arguing, witness could not say with whom, but recollected that Morrissey said something to Mullins, and Mullins got off the car and went over to him. Witness saw no assault.”
Dr. Browne—We admit he struck this man.
“Examination continued, witness said that a wrangle then took place between Mullins and Morrissey, but witness did not see Mullins strike Morrissey. Witness was watching the beast at the time. Witness saw an ash plant in Mullins’ hand. After the wrangle Mullins got on the trap and drove off. When Mullins was leaving, witness saw Morrissey in a stooping position on the ground with blood on his head and face. Witness did not remember anything more and drove home with Mr. Mullins.”
Dr. Browne—I don’t want to ask the witness anything.
The Testimony of Sergeant Cornelius Lynch of Glenmore R.I.C.
“Sergeant Lynch then added to his deposition. When he reached Jamestown, about half past seven on the evening on the 10th July, he brought Morrissey in an ass’s car to the barracks to which he was not able to walk. He then sent one of the police to Dr. Dwyer who came and dressed his wounds.”
“Sergeant Lynch stated that there were four bad cuts on Morrisssey’s head, into which Dr. Dwyer put several stitches. There was a cut on the back of each of his hands. There was a cut on his right leg. Morrissey remained in the barrack all night until the following morning, when he was removed to New Ross Union hospital, and will have to go back to the hospital again.”
Under cross examination Sergeant Lynch stated that he was stationed in Glenmore for the past two and a half years. “He made inquiries about the character of Morrissey since the assault, and heard that he was of a drunken, quarrelsome character. Witness also heard that there was a warrant against Morrissey for being drunk.”
Cross Examination of the Victim
“James Morrissey, was recalled for cross-examination and admitted that a fortnight before the assault he was fined in this court for assault. He was also fined, he said, a long time ago for drunkenness. The injured man then volunteered the statement that he was horse trainer and that if he wanted a character he could get it from Mr. Power, of Faithleg; Mr. Power, of Bellevue; and Captain Bloomfield.”
Morrissey said that he would not ask a “character “from Felix Mullins, who called him an old blackguard, but he alleged the contrary to be the fact. According to the newspaper he went on to make a number of saucey (sic) remarks. He admitted that Felix Mullins got him a job with his brother Kieran, but he did not want the job because Kieran Mullins would only give him a shilling a day. He would not stop with him.”
Further questioned, Morrissey denied that he abused Felix Mullins or Felix Mullin’s horses, or tried to prevent farmers sending their mares to him. The witness then went on to comment that everyone knew about the performance of Mullin’s horse at Tramore race, and he alleged that a good cob would beat him.
Dr. Browne—Was Mr. Mullin’s horse bet?
“Bet,” said Morrissey with withering emphasis, “ oh indeed he was.”
Dr. Browne to the Magistrates—”This is the sort of thing that has been going on.”
Sergeant Lynch stated that Mr. Felix Mullins was one of the most respectable men in the parish of Glenmore, and bore the highest character. The case was then returned for trial for the next quarter session in Thomastown. The defendant reserved his defence, and continued on bail.
Thomastown Quarter Session Court
The Kilkenny People (Sat. 6 October 1906, p. 2) carried a short account of the case and amazingly incorrectly reported that Felix Mullins was from the Inistioge (sic) area.
“A true bill was found against a most respectable farmer named Felix Mullins from outside Inistioge (sic) for assaulting on the 10th of July James Morrissey thereby doing him bodily harm. Mr. D.J. O’Brien, B.L. (instructed by Mr. Brown, LL.D., New Ross) appeared for the prisoner. He said he was instructed to plead guilty on behalf of the prisoner who was a large farmer and kept stallion horses.”
“According to his instruction this man, Morrissey, circulated around the country damaging reports as regards the prisoner’s horses, and one day when they met on the road Morrissey refused to allow the prisoner to pass. The prisoner then it appeared struck Morrissey with an ashplant. They had already given Morrissey compensation for the injury done to him.”
“Mr. E.K.B. Tighe, D.L., Woodstock, was called to give evidence as to the prisoner’s character. Witness knew him for the last 18 years and always knew him to be a most respectable man. On the occasion of his Majesty’s visit to Kilkenny in 1902, it was witness’s intention to present the prisoner as one of the most worthy men of the district to his Majesty, had the latter been able to come to Woodstock. His Honor allowed the prisoner out on his own recognizance.”
[The King that visited Kilkenny in 1902 was Edward VII. Less than 20 years after Tighe testified for Felix Mulins his home, Woodstock House, was one of the many stately homes burned in 1922.]
Unfortunately, no record of the sentence given to Felix Mullins could be located. Given the fact that Felix Mullins paid compensation to the victim, admitted the charge, was given a sterling character reference by an important and connected person and was released on his own recognizance, it is likely that his sentence was a fine.
Prior Charge of Assault
It did not come out in any of the newspaper coverage, but research in the Petty Session Registers revealed that Felix Mullins was charged on the 17th of April 1865 with unlawfully assaulting Thomas Walsh at Ballycroney, Glenmore (Petty Session Register, Rosbercon, 13 May 1865). No outcome for the case could be located. In 1865 Felix Mullins would have been about 19 years of age.
The End
We believe that James Morrissey died in the Waterford Union hospital on 13 January 1916 at the age of 78. It was reported that he was a bachelor, worked as a groom, and lived on Peter St. in Waterford City. No obituary or death notice could be located. If his age at death is correct James Morrissey was 68 at the time of the assault in 1906.
Felix Mullins, died at his residence in Flemingstown, Glenmore on the 24th of January 1919. Notwithstanding the 1906 assault case, the New Ross Standard (Fri. 7 Feb. 1919, p. 4) reported that “The deceased was a well known, extremely popular, and highly respected gentleman, and was the member of a widely connected and popular county family. His frank and gentlemanly disposition and benevolent nature earned for him the deepest esteem of all who knew him, and the most profound regret was felt at his death. The funeral to Glenmore was of huge proportions, and the attendance numbered many public and business men, and showed the immense popularity of himself and the members of the family and relatives.”
See our obituary page for the longer obituary published by the Waterford News & Star (Fri. 7 Feb. 1919, p. 8).
Please send corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com.
The featured photo of the thoroughbred horse is courtesy of the New York Public Library’s Digital Collection. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. “Chestnut sorrel thoroughbred.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-c4ca-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.
For information on the historic Thomastown Courthouse on Logan St. see the National Inventory of Architectual Heritage website. This building was also burned in 1922, but rebuilt in 1925.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh
One Hundred Years Ago: September 1922
By the end of August 1922, the Free State troops firmly controlled New Ross and Waterford. However anti-Treaty troops or Irregulars continued to attack the troops in New Ross and Waterford. Additionally, the Irregulars continued to employ disruption tactics honed during the War of Independence. Telegraph and telephone wires were repeatedly cut or damaged, roads were blocked, and bridges destroyed. Ambushes of mail and goods trains were prevalent and ambushes of Free State troops became a common feature around the country. Newspapers had difficulties communicating during this month because the postal workers went on strike which restricted or stopped the delivery of mail and the use of telegraphs and telephones by the general public. Today, we shall highlight what happened locally and what Glenmore people were reading in local newspapers 100 years ago.
The Civil War
The month of September commenced with reports in local newspapers of heavy fighting elsewhere around the country. Deadly ambushes were reported in Kerry, Cork, Offaly, Mayo, Tipperary, and Sligo. It was reported that a railway repairer engaged in repair work near Mallow was killed by Irregular forces who warned other railway employees that they would “meet the same fate if they took up sjmilar work.” Due to the attacks on bridges, roads and railways in some areas of the west food became scarce. “All fairs and markets have been stopped for some time and the people are in a deplorable way. They are faced with starvation…” Rev. Father Hayes, of Labasheeds, appealed to his parishioners, and 100 men turned up and repaired all the destroyed bridges in their locality. In response the Irregulars threatened to set barricades with bombs, with the lever pins of the bombs removed (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 5).
Rumours began to surface that peace talks were taking place. However, all efforts to arrange negotiations failed. After a lull of almost week in early September ambushes in Dublin resumed. Four attacks on Free State troops took place in a single day in four different parts of Dublin. This led to “the civilian populace…[receiving] more than its share of the casualties” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 4). Newspapers also reported that a female courier was apprehended on her way to Mountjoy. It was reported that in her possession were confidential communications from de Valera to Liam Mellowes. The Daily Express of London reported “the communications reveal the hopelessly chaotic state of the entire Republican organisation. More significant still are the confessions by de Valera of his personal errors in judgment which led up to the beginning of the civil war…” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 29 Sept. 1922, p. 5).
Reminiscent of the War of Independence, 39 prisoners escaped from the Cork jail on Friday the 22nd by tunnelling from a cell to a ventilation shaft that led to a manhole in the centre of the footpath in front of the jail (New Ross Standard, Fri. 29 Sept. 1922, p. 7).
At the end of September the threat of starvation from the Civil War continued. With no train service for several weeks and roads and bridges damaged and blocked, serious shortages of food were reported in Killarney. On the 16th fifteen cartloads of food being conveyed were seized by the Irregulars at Brennan’s Glen. The people of Tralee were said to be facing starvation. People attempting to travel through Kerry were warned that “the jaunting car …offers virtually the only means of getting about with any degree of safety. It may be that it is more innocent looking that a motor car in the eyes of armed men…and road obstructions are more easily negotiated…” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 29 September 1922, p. 3).
Locally, mail and goods trains were targeted by Irregulars and others. On the 28th of August armed men between Waterford and Glenmore took mail from the up mail train, including mail for New Ross (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 7). Due to the continued attack on trains the railway suspended some services. Locally, this meant that the last mail leaving New Ross was at 4:20 p.m. instead of 9:15 p.m. (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 4). Twice during the week of the 4th of September goods trains from Waterford were held up by a party of Irregulars between Mullinavat and Ballyhale. Goods consisting of bacon sugar, tobacco and cigarettes were stolen (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 8). On Saturday the 15th in the evening the up mail train between Waterford and Glenmore was help up by a number of men. “A quantity of stuff was taken including some drapery. Some of the articles were subsequently returned. The passengers were ordered not to look out of the windows” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 22 Sept. 1922, p. 7). On Friday the 22nd the up train from Waterford to New Ross was held up in the Slieverue area. “Stuff was taken away” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 29 Sept. 1922, p. 7).
Armed Attacks on Waterford & New Ross
On Sunday the 26th of August about 10:30 p.m. “another attack” was made on the Free State troops at the Waterford railway station. Six men opened fire on the soldiers from behind a wall running up from the railway on the Ferrybank side. A bomb was flung into the station from the cliff above the station resulting in glass shattering. The Free State soldiers returned fire and brought out a machine gun which drove the attackers out. On investigating the place where the attacking irregulars had been a handkerchief saturated with blood was found as well as fifty rounds of ammunition. The wall behind the irregulars was also splattered with blood. There were no casualties among the Free State soldiers (Munster Express, Sat. 2 Sept. 1922, p. 2). Private George Lackey, a native of Glenmore, was not so lucky. On the 2nd of September while stationed at Thomastown with other Free State troops he and another private named Martin Brennan, of Castlecomer, were serious injured by the accidental discharge of a rifle (New Ross Standard, Fri. 8 Sept. 1922, p. 8).
Notwithstanding the attack on Sunday the 26th of August, the curfew on Waterford was removed on the following Tuesday (Munster Express, Sat. 2 Sept. 1922, p. 5). On the night of the 5th of September heavy firing took place in Waterford when bands of Irregulars attacked different places in the city. Shortly before dusk a flying column of Irregulars was spotted on the heights overlooking the city, on the Ferrybank side of the Suir. A second band of Irregulars began shooting near Grace Dieu. A third band took up sniping positions behind Larry’s Knock. Once the shooting began it continued until a lull occurred when the cinema was being emptied. Two unarmed Free State soldiers were shot at just outside the Coliseum Theatre, but both avoided being injured while the woman behind them was shot. By 11 p.m. at Newtown the Irregulars began firing a Thompson machine gun. “Fortunately, at this period virtually all pedestrians had left the thoroughfares.” In the city centre most of the shooting took place in the vicinity of George’s Street, Peter Street, Broad Street and High St. Less intensive firing took place on the Quay, the Mall and Parnell Street (New Ross Standard, Fri. 8 Sept. 1922, p. 6).
The Irregulars attacked the Manor St. Police barracks. Shots were also fired at Lady Lane Barracks, but the garrison did not respond. It was reported that six or seven Irregulars were wounded in the attacks. Other casualties included an elderly lady named Katie Walsh who was shot and killed while reading in her sitting room in Bakehouse Lane near the Lady Lane Barracks. The bodies of two Irregular who were believed to have been killed in the attack on the train station a week earlier were discovered and dug out of a field in Ferrybank (New Ross Standard, Fri. 8 Sept. 1922, p. 6).
Further details were gleaned from the Munster Express such as the fact that the Irregulars’ position on Larry’s Knock was on Mount Misery and provided a commanding view of the city. It was also reported that 15 to 20 Irregulars within the city were using a weapon known as “Peter the Painter.” This weapon was a German automatic pistol that converted into a short rifle. It was reported that the Irregulars mixed among the crowds leaving the local picture shows. Kate Walsh who was shot and killed while reading a book in her sitting room at 13 Bakehouse Lane was 66 years of age. She was shot in the arm and called out to her upstairs neighbour. The neighbour rushed for help and sent neighbours scurrying for the priest, doctor, police and the widow’s son. A few minutes after the priest and doctor arrived, she died (Munster Express, Sat. 9 Sept. 1922, p. 6).
As the Irregulars continued to re-destroy bridges near New Ross, the town reintroduced bicycle permits (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 7). Thus while the Irregulars continued to use the guerrilla tactics of the War of Independence the Free State Forces exercised some of the same unpopular control tactics as the British. For example, the Munster Express reported on a raid in Ferrybank conducted by Free State troops. These troops seized a duplicator, typewriter and a huge quantity of Irregular propaganda. Patrick Murphy, a prominent Irregular, was taken into custody (Munster Express, Sat. 2 Sept. 1922, p. 40). At the beginning of the article a little notice stated that the article was “passed by military censor.”
Between one and two a.m. on Sunday the 11th the people of New Ross were awakened by brisk rifle fire. Shots were coming from Rosbercon and also from places in the upper streets of the town. Just before the shooting began a sentry at the Tholsel stopped a man who was staggering as if drunk. The sentry began to search the man. Suddenly three or four men in their stocking feet rushed the sentry and took his weapons and fled (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 5).
Post Offices
Post offices featured heavily in the news articles in local papers. At the end of August, the Rower was the scene of “An exciting affair.” Near midnight eight to ten men broke into the post-office. The men demanded the old age pension money. When told that the pension had been distributed, they searched the office but did not find any money. They then went to the shop of an elderly man in the village and took away his goods. Next they broke into the shop of Mr. Butler. While in the Butler’s shop a group of Irregulars arrived having been summoned by a resident. The Irregulars surrounded the Butler shop and although the raiders were armed with a shot gun and a couple of revolvers they were disarmed by the Irregulars. The raiders were compelled to return everything that they had stolen and they were paraded in front of the villagers for identification. The raiders were found to be civilian who lived nearby. “After getting a severe threshing they were allowed to go” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 8).
The Munster Express at the beginning of September published articles regarding the threatened postal strike. The New Free State government proposed to cut the wages of the workers because the “cost of living had decreased.” The workers disputed that the cost of living had decreased and thus began a war of words. In the same edition the Munster also published the story of a post card that took was in transit for six years. “On Saturday the 26th of August Wm. Morrissey, a draper, on the Main St. of Carrick-on-Suir received a postcard that had been posted in Clonmel on 6 November 1916. The card was legible and in good condition. It related to the purchase of wool from the War Office” (Sat. 2 Sept. 1922, p. 6).
The Irish Postal Service workers went on strike at 6 p.m. on Sunday the 10th of September (Munster Express, Sat. 16 Sept. 1922, p. 3). In Dublin the services were almost at a standstill. The public had neither letters or telegrams during the strike. As the strike was nearing two weeks, a frustrated New Ross Standard editor wrote, “One of the most regrettable features of the struggle is the nature of the propaganda supplied to the Press…It is time the public made itself felt in this matter, otherwise both the strikers and the Postmaster-General may continue to think that the Irish people want columns of propaganda instead of a postal service” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 22 Sept. 1922, p. 4). A notice appeared on the back page of the edition that the New Ross post office remained open for the paying of the old age and army pensions. It was also noted that some letters arrived by armed guard from Dublin but had to be collected at the post office (New Ross Standard, Fri. 22 Sept. 1922, p. 8).
As outlined in our previous blog posts the Glenmore post office in 1922 was in Fluskey’s. In addition to collecting and distributing mail the post office had a telegraph as well as telephone and telephone exchange. On Friday the 22nd of September “a number of men” under the cover of darkness visited the post office and dismantled the telephone (Wicklow People, Sat. 23 Sept. 1922, p. 8). It is not clear from the article whether the dismantling was the work of Irregulars or striking postal workers. (To read our previous blog post on the history of the Glenmore Post Offices click here.)
Resident Magistrates Terminated
During the later part of the War of Independence some areas or parishes set up IRA or parish courts to hear minor criminal cases. It is believed that an IRA court or parish court was established in Glenmore, and this court sat in the Glenmore Creamery. At the same time the former Royal Petty Sessions courts in Rosbercon and Kilmacow etc. continued to operate with Resident Magistrates sitting as judges.
On the first of September local papers advised the citizens that all resident magistrates in Ireland were notified by the Irish Free State Government that their services were terminated. Pending the expiration of their notices the resident magistrates were placed on leave. The decision to terminate the resident magistrates was part of a general scheme of reconstruction of Irish Legal machinery (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 5). Under this scheme the parish courts developed in some areas were also to be terminated and district courts establish with trained lawyers to be appointed as judges.
Life Went On
Notwithstanding the ambushes in Dublin and attacks on trains etc. the Glenmore area appeared to remain calm. For example, a two week Mission was conducted by the Vincentian Fathers and opened in Glenmore on the 3rd of September. Also, the employees of the malt stores of P.J. Roche & Sons, New Ross went on their annual excursion to Duncannon (New Ross Standard, Fri. 1 Sept. 1922, p. 7). Other areas were not so fortunate. Boarding house keepers and hotels in Tramore reported that 1922 was one of the leanest years on record (Munster Express, Sat. 2 Sept. 1922, p. 5).
Notwithstanding the difficulties of travel the fairs and markets continued to operate in New Ross, Waterford and Thomastown. Good supplies of stock and buyers were reported although prices were down. The potato crop around Waterford was reported as being the best for many years both in quality and quantity. Farmers were perturbed at the bad weather, but the heat wave compensated for everything (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 7).
The New Ross Show was held mid-month and some competitors traveling by train encountered a recently repaired railway bridge was again destroyed. These competitors unloaded their horses and walked them to the Show. There were also two reports of women with pony and carts attempting to cross damaged bridges on their way to New Ross and they and/or their animals ended up in waterways and required rescue (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 September 1922, p. 5). At the New Ross Show John Hartley, of Ballincrea, Slieverue, was awarded first prize in the class for the best sire, other than thoroughbred, calculated to get good hunter and harness horses. T. Freaney, Glenmore and Dick Doherty, Mooncoin were awarded first and second awards for the best untrained 4 year old gelding and filly (Munster Express, Sat. 23 Sept. 1922, p. 5).
It was reported that the [grain] harvest in 1922 was a month later than in 1921. In some local places barley was not ripe (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 8). The Agricultural Gazette published that R.B. Matthews developed a method of harvesting with the aid of electricity. His sheaves of corn were stacked as soon as they were cut. Traditionally, farmers allowed the corn to mature in the field. Through his stack he passed a current of air driven by an electric Sirocco fan. It was proclaimed that all risks of weather or bird damage to the stocks in the field were eliminated and his ground cleared for ploughing as soon as the corn was cut (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922). Unfortunately, electricity was not available in all areas of Glenmore parish for almost 40 years.
A woman from Shanbogh died at the remarkable age of 103 (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922, p. 8). Unfortunately, no further information such as the centenarian’s name was provided. The elderly also featured in an article about a sports carnival to be held in Ballycullane on the 17th where “old man’s races and challenges” was advertised. One man aged 70 wagered that he could beat anyone of the same age in a half mile flat race or over the hurdles in a 120 yards race. He was staking two weeks of his old age pension on the races (New Ross Standard, Fri. 15 Sept. 1922).
At the quarterly meeting of the Kilkenny Co. Council on the 17th the Council set about appointing rate collectors based upon tenders received. For the vacant collectorship in Ida district six tenders were received. Each candidate for the post submitted a tender indicating how much of each pound of the rates collected they would keep for their services in collecting the rates. The six persons seeking the post included: Richard Duggan, Flemingstown, Glenmore, 2 ¾d in the £ (d is one pence in a pound made up of 240 pence); P. Walsh, Inistioge, 3½d; Peter Kirwan, do. 4 ½d; E. J. Murphy, New Ross, 4d; Martin McGrath, Listerlin, Tullogher, 4d; and Richard O’Keefe, Coolull, 4d. Richard Duggan, of Flemingsown, Glenmore was unanimously elected (Kilkenny People, Sat. 23 Sept. 1922, p. 2).
Please send any corrections or additional information to glenmore.history@gmail.com .
The featured photo above is from Freemans Journal, Thurs. 14 Sept. 1922, p. 3. The caption: Farmer carrying a bag of flour on his back across a destroyed bridge following a narrow footpath in the centre of the bridge.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh