Dear Maisie I have an interest in Carrickfergus through my "De Courcy" heritage, the Anglo-Norman knight, John DeCourcy (1150-1210) having been the original constructor of Carrickfergus Castle in the defence of the Uliad lands he took from the native Irish commencing in February 1177. Jean quotes from Samuel McSkimin's 1829 work. In 1909 a 3rd edition was edited by E. M'Crum of Belfast, where the original author's name is spelt "Miskimin". There is also a work by R. Robinson, titled "Carrickhergus, Irish Historic Towns Atlas", No. 3. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, published in 1986. For more information Wikipaedia has an informative article. Just Google "Carrickfergus". Also, try www.ehsni.gov.au. Peter Wilkinson Melbourne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maisie Egger" <campsiehills@sbcglobal.net> To: "Jean irelandgen rice" <jeanrice@cet.com>; <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:13 PM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim -- Samuel McSKIMIN (1829) -- Query re Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) > What an unbelievably quick turn-around to my query about the various > sections of Carrickfergus. > > Thank you so much for this information, and for the poem. > > As the saying goes, I was "blown away" with the information you found, > Jean. > Now if only I could return to the area and check it out once more. > > Maisie > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> > To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> > Sent: 2009-04-14 18:21 > Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim -- Samuel McSKIMIN > (1829) -- Query re Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) > > >> Description >> Co. Antrim (1829) -- >> >> "The town of Carrickfergus, at present, has a much better appearance than >> at >> any former period, and extends along the northern shore of that bay to >> which >> it gives name, nearly a mile. Within the walls the streets are generally >> narrow, and are called by the following names: High-street, >> Castle-street, >> West-street, North-street, Cheston's-street, or Butcher-row, >> Essex-street, >> Lancaster-street, Antrim-street, alias Gaol-lane, Church-lane, Back-lane, >> Governor's-place, and Joymount-court. The houses are built either of >> stone >> or brick, mostly of the former, and commonly slated; many of the best >> houses >> have been built within the last thirty years. A few still present an >> antique >> appearance: the greater part of these are built in frames of oak, in that >> manner formerly called "Cadge-work." Some of them had originally windows >> that projected several feet into the adjoining street. >> >> That part of the town lying without the walls is called the Irish and >> Scotch >> quarters. The latter is on the east of the town, and its streets and rows >> are distinguished by the following names: Joymount-bank, Scotch-quarter, >> and >> the Green, alias Green-street. This quarter takes its name from a colony >> of >> fishers who arrived from Argyle and Gallowayshire, chiefly during the >> persecution in Scotland, about 1665; their descendants still retain their >> original calling. It is believed that the Irish quarter had its origin >> soon >> after. >> >> In November, 1678, we find the Duke of Ormond, then lord lieutenant of >> Ireland, and council, by their proclamation, ordering all Roman Catholics >> to >> remove without the walls of forts, cities and corporate towns; a few >> years >> after which we find the name Irish quarter noticed on our records, >> instead >> of that of West Suburb. The streets of this quarter are called Irish >> quarter >> south and west; their west ends are joined by a street called >> Brewery-lane, >> or Davy's street. A few houses a short distance from those places are >> dignified with names of Pound-lane and Tea-lane." >> >> -- Samuel McSkimin, "History of Carrickfergus, " 1829. >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> >> To: <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 5:51 PM >> Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Query re Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) >> >> >>> Query from Lister Maisie: <snip> >>> I am wondering about the significance of why this >>> area was named Irish Quarter West. Was there an Irish Quarter East, >>> South >>> and North? If so, were they so named for a purpose? >>> >>> If anyone is familiar with Carrickfergus and might know the answer, I'd >>> be >>> interesting in knowing. >>> >>> Maisie >> >> >> Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ >> >> Great place to get help with your family research. >> >> County Westmeath has been adopted! >> >> Help wanted: Still need County Coordinators >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >> the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ > > Great place to get help with your family research. > > County Westmeath has been adopted! > > Help wanted: Still need County Coordinators > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Thank you for forwarding further information on Carrickfergus. Such a lot of information between your references, Peter, and what Jean forwarded. I can still "feel" the air and dodging into a doorway to get away from the heavy rain when we were headed toward the Irish Quarter West. At that time I hadn't dug a lot into my mother's Irish relatives, and didn't know anything about their "station" in life. Later, when I pieced their lives together when they would settle in Glasgow, I realised that this family, and myriad others, are the true heroes to leave what was familiar, albeit very humble, to start a new life, even if just across the pond in Glasgow, not knowing at all if they would survive, never mind succeed. The ones from Carrickfergus "made it" well enough, but other of my mother's Irish forebears, three sisters and some of the husbands from Belfast, lived in abysmal circumstances in Glasgow, where they ended up dying in the poorhouse. All seemingly were illiterate. The First Presbyterian church was a history lesson in itself and an inspiration about how buildings can be saved if people put their minds (an money) to it. Instead of destroying the church, it was refurbished, and then some, for some enormous amount of money and paid off by the congregation in no time at all. The architecture of the interior reminded me of many of the churches in Glasgow where I grew up, with the pulpit reached by a flight of stairs for the head minister and another pulpit below for the assistant minister. This "aerie" was a great podium for any Bible-thumpin' orator as he could be seen and heard readily! I wondered, too, how such as this Presbyterian church in Carrickfergus then and now could afford the salaries of two ministers as the town itself does not have a large population. We're not "castle aficionados," but Carrickfergus was the only castle we'd been to with life-sized figures in costume placed around the battlements to add a little more realism to the "ambience." One regret was that I did not buy beautifully designed tiles of historical scenes in the gift shop while I was there as a continuing memory of our trip to this interesting town where some of my forebears began their lives in very humble circumstances, it would seem. Again, thank you for indulging me in my queries about the different quarters of Carrickfergus. Maisie . ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter J Wilkinson" <pjw@people.net.au> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com>; "Jean irelandgen rice" <jeanrice@cet.com> Sent: 2009-04-14 20:16 Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim -- Samuel McSKIMIN (1829) -- Query re Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) > Dear Maisie > > I have an interest in Carrickfergus through my "De Courcy" heritage, the > Anglo-Norman knight, John DeCourcy (1150-1210) having been the original > constructor of Carrickfergus Castle in the defence of the Uliad lands he > took from the native Irish commencing in February 1177. > > Jean quotes from Samuel McSkimin's 1829 work. In 1909 a 3rd edition was > edited by E. M'Crum of Belfast, where the original author's name is spelt > "Miskimin". > > There is also a work by R. Robinson, titled "Carrickhergus, Irish Historic > Towns Atlas", No. 3. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, published in 1986. > > For more information Wikipaedia has an informative article. Just Google > "Carrickfergus". Also, try www.ehsni.gov.au. > > Peter Wilkinson > Melbourne > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Maisie Egger" <campsiehills@sbcglobal.net> > To: "Jean irelandgen rice" <jeanrice@cet.com>; > <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:13 PM > Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim -- Samuel McSKIMIN > (1829) -- Query re Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) What an unbelievably quick turn-around to my query about the various sections of Carrickfergus. Thank you so much for this information, and for the poem. As the saying goes, I was "blown away" with the information you found, Jean. Now if only I could return to the area and check it out once more. Maisie From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim -- Samuel McSKIMIN (1829) -- Query re Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) Description Co. Antrim (1829) -- "The town of Carrickfergus, at present, has a much better appearance than at any former period, and extends along the northern shore of that bay to which it gives name, nearly a mile. Within the walls the streets are generally narrow, and are called by the following names: High-street, Castle-street, West-street, North-street, Cheston's-street, or Butcher-row, Essex-street, Lancaster-street, Antrim-street, alias Gaol-lane, Church-lane, Back-lane, Governor's-place, and Joymount-court. The houses are built either of stone or brick, mostly of the former, and commonly slated; many of the best houses have been built within the last thirty years. A few still present an antique appearance: the greater part of these are built in frames of oak, in that manner formerly called "Cadge-work." Some of them had originally windows that projected several feet into the adjoining street. That part of the town lying without the walls is called the Irish and Scotch quarters. The latter is on the east of the town, and its streets and rows are distinguished by the following names: Joymount-bank, Scotch-quarter, and the Green, alias Green-street. This quarter takes its name from a colony of fishers who arrived from Argyle and Gallowayshire, chiefly during the persecution in Scotland, about 1665; their descendants still retain their original calling. It is believed that the Irish quarter had its origin soon after. In November, 1678, we find the Duke of Ormond, then lord lieutenant of Ireland, and council, by their proclamation, ordering all Roman Catholics to remove without the walls of forts, cities and corporate towns; a few years after which we find the name Irish quarter noticed on our records, instead of that of West Suburb. The streets of this quarter are called Irish quarter south and west; their west ends are joined by a street called Brewery-lane, or Davy's street. A few houses a short distance from those places are dignified with names of Pound-lane and Tea-lane." -- Samuel McSkimin, "History of Carrickfergus, " 1829. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 5:51 PM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Query re Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim (GRIBBIN) Query from Lister Maisie: <snip> I am wondering about the significance of why this area was named Irish Quarter West. Was there an Irish Quarter East, South and North? If so, were they so named for a purpose? If anyone is familiar with Carrickfergus and might know the answer, I'd be interesting in knowing. Maisie