Hi, it is the boy from Barrystown. May I express my sincere thanks for the kind gesture of bringing the birthday cake to the lecture at the Stanville Lodge Hotel. Somebody remarked that the cake created a wonderful surprise and really made the night! Thanks to all in the Bannow Historical Society. Imaginatively, I am ever in Carrig-on-Bannow. I so appreciate that my greatness is well known in the place of my nativity.
An Inquisition on the property of the suppressed Priory of St John’s Enniscorthy was taken in Wexford in 1600 ( in the 13th year of Elizabeth’s reign). One of the jurors was Walter Nevell of Tullykenny. The famous scholar and Free State Senator Kathleen A. Browne indicated that Tullykenny was the modern Tullicanna. Nevell would in that era have to be a person of considerable wealth and property to be a juror. Rosegarland was before the 1641 Rebellion held by a Nevell but I do not know if the Walter Nevell was connected to the proprietors of Rosegarland—however, it seems probable that he was. The Leighs may have had Gaelic antecedents in the modern Co. Laois. The Catholic proprietors due to their almost en masse involvement in the 1641 Rebellion lost their estates. I presume that the Nevells were Catholic. Demographics in modern history are like a rapidly escalating mathematical series: one man in 1600 could by the early twenty-first century be the direct ancestor of thousands of men and women. The population in 1600 would be comparatively minuscule to modern times.
Elizabeth Kehoe of Coolhull was one of four daughters of Michael Kehoe, the shipping magnate in Dublin. She inherited a vast amount of money and land from his estate. She married Laurence Sweetman of Newbawn and they settled at Ballymackessy, near Clonroche [the boy from Barrystown now lives in Ballymackessy]. Laurence Sweetman died in February 1869 and was buried beside the side of the modern Cloughbawn Chapel. Eliza Sweetman [nee Kehoe] died in August 1876 at the venerable age of 91 at Ballymackessy House. Her remains were taken from Ballymackessy House on August 16, 1879 “for interment in Carrig-on-Bannow Churchyard.” This was a common practice in that era: the rationale of it is puzzling.
The Sweetmans had long ago owned Clonmines: in 1385 Nick Fitznicholl bestowed the messuage and garden in Clonmines on the Friars of St Augustine there; he had held these from John Sweetman.
Robert Leigh leased a farm of 148 acres [in modern measure about 250 acres] in Newbawn to Theobold Rossiter on the 13th of January 1791. As the nineteenth century moved to a close the “Hermit” Byrne of Coolroe, in the Ballycullane direction, evicted his tenants, and a most bitter controversy ensued. James A. Byrne was a miser, of advanced years, who lived in atrocious conditions and acted most callously towards his tenants: his name became a synonym for landlord cruelty. The “Hermit” Byrne held his land from Leigh of Rosegarland as did his brother Edward A. Byrne.
A crazy story was recounted in the newspapers that when the Hermit’s cart over-turned on him on the road to New Ross that a tramp cut him loose and saved his life—not knowing who he was ! Byrne gave him £1 but the tramp on discovering the identity of the man that he rescued fled into another county.
From the Forth and Bargy Notes in The People on September 15th 1923:–
“On a date last week Miss Jane Warriner, Grageen, Bannow, met with a bad accident. She went to visit a friend at Little Graigue and when getting out of the cart on reaching the place she somehow fell out and sustained a nasty fall. She lay on the roadway for some time until picked up by someone from the house. She had received a severe shaking but is progressing. A girl named Sinnott, employed by Mr M. Cleary, Ballyfrory, Bannow, had a bad cycling accident recently. She was proceeding in the direction of Ambrosetown and when at F—she collided with a cart when rounding a sharp turn and injured her lip badly so much, that she had to be medically treated and had several stitches in her lip. She is now, however, nearly all right.”
From The Free Press May 14th 1938:–
“Two very disappointing games were the result of the meeting of four teams in the Wexford District Football Championship (Southern Group) at Balwinstown on Sunday. Not for a long time have such poor displays been witnessed and many of those present went away long before the second game ended.
Ballymitty V Bannow
Ballymitty St Aidan’s easily defeated Bannow St Brendan’s and were 2 goals 2 points up within the opening ten minutes. Bannow tried for score but the Ballymitty defence proved sound. The St Aidan’s went ahead by goals and points and Bannow pulled through for a goal and a point. At half-time Ballymitty led by 6 goals 5 points to 1 goal 1 point.
The second half was very dull and uninteresting and several of the players took a rest by stretching their limbs on the grass. In this half Power, the full-back of the Bannow side, played a sound game. Ballymitty kept their flags waving with continuous scores and at the end had a huge score to their credit as follows:–
Ballymitty—11 goals, 11 points;
Bannow—1 goal, 5 points.
Ballymitty—W. Carthy, P. Murphy, P. Doyle, N. Harpur, N. Carthy, J. Neville, R. Tobin, J. Hanlon, J. Whitty, R. Neville, J. Carthy, W. Martin, P. Codd, M. Redmond, J. Mc Cormick.
Bannow—E. Harpur, A. Cullen, P. Hannon, P. Wade, J. Foley, T. Ryan, P. Byrne, P. Power, T. Crosbie, P. Carthy, P. Kehoe, N. Doyle, J. Duffin, P. Stafford, R. Evans.
Mr F. Murphy refereed.”
The Bannow St Brendan’s were in a continuity of a kind with the Bannow and Kiltra United team set up by Tommy Moran in circa 1817—but the former were more successful! My own theory is that the separate Bannow Club derived from the sense of apartness of the people —from the rest of the parish of Carrig-on-Bannow— living on the Boyse estate in times previous.
The Bannow Grammar School was at Scarview House , Bannow with Mr William James as Principal. I will try to summarise the details in an early prospectus of it. The object of that institution was to offer a better, a more useful and a more comprehensive education than could be acquired elsewhere in Ireland without enormous expense. It was exclusively Protestant and founded in 1830 by the Rev. Henry Newlands; Scarview House was near Kiltra.
The terms of this establishment for Tuition, Board and Washing; for paper, pencils and ink; for the attendance of a Physician and Nurse-tenders with medicines, if required, were without any extra or additional charge whatever for each pupil thirty pounds per annum, payable quarterly in advance.
The subjects studied were elocution composition, arithmetic in all its branches, book keeping, history, geography, astronomy, and the use of the globes, mathematics, land and coast surveying, mapping, delineation charts, drawings, plan drawings and ornamental writing “and are thus prepared for situations in the Army, Navy and other public offices as well as for Architectural, Mechanical, Civil and Military engineers.”
Lectures are delivered twice a week on Mechanics, Architecture, Chemistry, phonography and shorthand.
Sunday school every Sabbath morning. The minister of the parish instructs the boys in the Holy Scriptures one day every week.
The religious principles, moral conduct, and gentlemanly demeanour of the pupils are particularly attended to, no care is spared to train them up “in the way they should go.”
The days of entrance into this establishment are the first days of February, May, August and November; as classes are arranged on those days pupils cannot, without inconvenience, be received in the intermediate time. Three month’s notice or a Quarter’s salary to be given on the removal of a pupil. No day pupils are received—Entrance money is required and no washing trowsers are admitted.
There are two vacations in the year—four weeks in the summer, commencing on the 1st of July and two weeks in Winter commencing 20th of December.
Scarview House was situated within a few yards of the sea. The pupils received fresh meat for dinner; for breakfast and supper bread and milk—breakfast at nine, dinner at two and supper at six o’clock.
Every young gentleman had a separate bed. The pupils had the use ten lathes, cabinet-maker’s work benches and tools, smith’s forge, laboratory, gymnasium, an electrifying machine and apparatus, reflecting telescope, surveying instruments. Corporal punishment was not resorted to in that school.
I have no idea what a washing trowsers was.
Rev. Richard Boyse died at Halkin Street West, Belgrave Square, London on the 8th of March 1864, aged 75. He had succeeded his brother Tom Boyse as owner of the family estates.
The Rev. Robert Walsh LL.D., visited and explored Bannow in the late 1820s but his account published in a Wexford newspaper in 1828 caused huge controversy; I will quote a couple of paragraphs of what he wrote:
“A discovery was made a short time ago, connected with this encampment which adds considerably to the interest which it arouses. About five years before my visit some labourers were putting up a new hedge around the cliffs to prevent the sheep which graze there from falling over. On turning up the soil they discovered about one foot below the surface the remains of fires at regular intervals on the edge of the precipice. They were supposed to be the watch fires of the Videttes stationed around the encampment. Some of the flagstones on which they were made were also found and as there is no such stone in that part of the country they must have been brought for that purpose by the strangers [the Normans]. Sundry pieces of bones of sheep and oxen consumed by the army were strewn around the fires, particularly cows’ teeth, the enamel of which remained perfect though the osseous parts were decayed.
On the whole promontory fragments of rings and spears were picked up wherever the soil was disturbed. Curious to see some of these remains I asked my companion to get a shovel and dig for me. He upturned pieces of charcoal and burned bones which I brought away with me as mementoes of the first fires ever lighted by the Anglo-Normans on the shores of Ireland. It is now nearly seven hundred years since that event and everything connected with it at this spot is in singular preservation. It is so remote as to be entirely out of intercourse with other places and it is seldom trampled by human feet. Tradition says the soil was never turned up and the surface continues to this day as it was left by the Normans. It is, and always, has been a sheep walk.”
The reasoning in the above is not exactly water-tight: if fires were lit there and cooking carried on it does not follow that the Normans did that. Danish invaders, Gaelic armies could have come there in a misty past. The reports of past discoveries could have been exaggerated as Rev. Walsh could not easily contradict them.
The Carrig-on-Bannow fair was changed from Carrig to Wellingtonbridge in June 1919; the first fair at Wellingtonbridge was held on Thursday July 3rd 1919. It was held on the first Thursday of every month for the sale of cattle, sheep and pigs.
From the Wexford Independent, November 30th 1844:–
“The Interest in Tullacana Mill
To Be Sold
Tullacana Mill is ten English miles from Wexford, three from Taghmon, three from Carrig and two from Duncormac. The mill is newly built, within the last year and well-fitted for flour and country business and in an excellent neighbourhood for both. A new kiln, dwellinghouse and out-house, all in the best repair; with about three acres of prime land. Immediate possession will be given.
Apply at the premises.
November 23, 1844.”
From the notes in The People on June 28th 1919:–
“A Trip Round the World”—Those who have already heard Father Paul Kehoe P. P. Cloughbawn, lecture on this subject will travel, even at considerable inconvenience, to hear him relate his own personal experiences and observations on his recent world tour in the Tobacco Factory, Broadway on Sunday 29th June at 6 o’clock (new time). The lecture will be copiously illustrated and being in aid of Our Lady’s Island Parochial Fund should in a special way bring a big gathering. The lecture will be amusing, instructive and entertaining.” Fr Paul Kehoe was a native of Moortown, Ballymitty.
The Forth and Bargy notes in The People on June 28th 1919 had this musical item:–
“Ballymitty Band—The members of the newly formed Ballymitty fife and drum band are making excellent progress in the matter of learning and the weekly lessons given by Messrs Brereton and Walsh Taghmon are being well attended. There was no practice meeting this week on account of the mission being at present conducted there. They have procured nearly all the instruments required with the exception of a bass drum as the old one is very bad repair and it is the intention of the committee to procure a new one as soon as possible. The boys in general display a fine musical taste and in a short time Ballymitty perhaps may boast of a band second to none in the county.”
The Bannow Sean Mc Dermott’s Athletic Club was formed in early 1919 or a little bit later. It was combined with the Bannow Sean Mc Dermott’s Football team. Sean Mc Dermot was one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Easter Week Rebellion in 1916. Tommy Moran who founded the Bannow-Kiltra United football team had strong republican beliefs and changed the name of the Club later to the Bannow Sean Mc Dermott’s. Mc Dermott as a result of polio in his childhood walked with a limp and a stick. He was most influential in the new nationalism that led to Easter Week 1916. On the first Sunday of June 1917 the Bannow Sean Mc Dermott’s travelled to Clonmines and played a football practice with the newly formed team there. The Mc Dermott’s were short of some of their players as they had not recovered from their exertions at an athletics contest in Wexford on the previous Thursday but nevertheless a team was got together and a rattling game was the outcome; the result being a win for Clonmines on the score of 2 goals 2 points to 1 point for the Sean Mc Dermotts.
On January 6th 1917 in The People, there was a preliminary notice of “Highly Important Letting of over 1, 000 acres for grazing, meadowing and tillage”. Walsh and Corish Auctioneers Wexford and Taghmon were instructed by the representatives of the late Francis Leigh D. L. “to let by auction about 1,000 acres of the lands of Rosegarland, Ballylannon, Rosspile, Poldoon, etc. The estate was held in trust for some time for the Leigh minors.
