Nationalist, Jan. 1922. The epidemic of robberies still continues unabated, but we think that recent action by the I.R.P. (Irish Republican Police) in effecting a number of important arrests will help to clear the air considerably. All of those larcenies are low and mean, and it is not improbable that drastic steps will be taken to deal with the matter. Cloydah Parish. The Social Evening kindly given by Mr. and Mrs. Rochfort at Clogrenane House on the 11th January, was a pronounced success and thoroughly enjoyed by all present. A plentiful supply of tea and lovely cakes was to be had in the large diningroom, where we noticed some magnificent and beautiful oil-paintings adorning the walls. In the study, music and various competitions took place. The following gave valuable help and assistance --- Rev. John Trotter, Miss Roantree, Miss Alexander. Miss Jeffs, the Misses Weakley, the Misses Collier, the Misses Rochfort, Mr. and Mrs. Stedman, Mr Evans, Mrs Thomas, Miss Maggie Shirley, Mr. J.C. Bell, Miss Mary Bolton.

Nationalist 1922. ( abbreviated transcriptions) Mrs Donnelly , Broughillstown, Rathvilly. With feelings of deepest regret we chronicle the death of Mrs C. Donnelly, which sad event occurred at her residence on Sunday last. Deceased lady, who had reached a ripe old age, was in failing health for some years. Two daughters entered the religious life, and one of her sons, Rev. P. Donnelly, Carlow is one of the most popular priests in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. She was mother of Ger Donnelly, a respected Carlow citizen, and also John Donnelly,who was recently liberated from Ballykinlar Camp. Her husband, Mr. J. Donnelly, has reached the patriarchal age of 94 years. Maria McGrath, Cloneen, Bagnalstown, Carlow. Miss Maria (Babs) McGrath died on January 3rd at 21 years of age. Her illness although not prolonged she bore with all the fortitude and patience that might have done credit to one experienced in the trials and crosses of the world. Her parents did their upmost in accruing her the best medical treatment, but at length it became evident that she was not for this world. That she was too good for this world is the sentiment expressed by everyone with whom she was acquainted. The end was peaceful and happy , and befitted a life that was considered by all who knew her to be exemplary. The chief mourners were :- John McGrath (father) James McGrath (brother) John Cummins and James Cummins (uncles) Edward Murphy and James Walsh (uncles).

Michael, Thanks to Michael Purcell for the articles of 1922 in Ireland. This was an eye opener to me as a relative of mine was shot while in his car because he did not move fast enough when a military person with a gun told him to. He was in his car with his brother preparing to return home. It was the most mindless, senseless of deaths and I never understood what might have precipitated it, nor why the military would be allowed to shoot at unarmed civilians. Your articles illuminate the thinking of the time, and also perhaps the rush to judgement on the part of jittery armed men with little oversight. It was a tragedy I've never understood, but these articles shed a bit of light on the times in general. This took place in Ardee, but I imagine the feelings encompassed all of Ireland at the time. Thank you, Michael. Dee In a message dated 2/20/2010 10:44:17 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, mjbrennan@blueyonder.co.uk writes: For anyone who may have missed the current and very interesting subject of 1922 period in Carlow kindly provided by Michael Purcell, I have put all the documents in one location along with some others which are scattered around the website: http://www.igp-web.com/carlow/Carlow_1922_index.htm Regards Michael Brennan Carlow Website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlcar2/ My Laois Page: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mjbrennan/index.htm ======================================= Before you post a message to the IRL-CARLOW mailing list you must subscribe to the List. Its FREE! --------------------------------------- To subscribe to the IRL-Carlow mailing list, send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the Subject box. No additional text is required. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

IMPORTANT NOTICE. A collection is presently being made by the Carlow Brigade, Irish Republican Army, to raise funds to enable the army and police force to carry out its duties in connection with the preservation of order and protection of the public until such time as the Irish Government is in a position to take over same. The support of prisoners is presently costing £10 per day. The necessity for making arrests is quite evident if the public is to be freed from gangs who are operating for the purposes of loot. Liam Stack (Commandant).

Re: previous email, I should add that many of the men who joined the Irish Free State Army in 1922 done so because unemployment was rife. Most of them were unpolitical neither pro- or anti-Treaty, some of them even had pro-British loyalties, Many of them served out their time in the Defence Forces owing allegiance only to the elected government of the day.

Following the departure from Carlow of the British army forces in 1922 "Tatler" paid a visit to Carlow Military Barracks which was then occupied by the Irish Free State Army under the command of Commandant Liam Stack. Tatler's statement "more hygienic" may be a reference to the fact that upon taking over the Military Barracks it was discovered that the Northumbland Fusiliers had left behind 57 unemptied "piss-pots" !. Nationalist Feb. 1922. During the week I had occasion to visit the Carlow Military Barracks, and I was very much impressed by the type of young Irish soldiers I saw there. I knew some of them , and if the rest of the National Army are of the same type there need be no fear of the future. But apart from this , I must admit that whoever is responsible for the care of the buildings are to be congratulated. Carlow Military Barracks to-day are cleaner and "more hygienic" than in the days when the British Army of Occupation was quartered there. And again , the officers N.C.O.s and men were polite, with that politeness which is racy of the soil, not the cool , suspicious and formal politeness which I experienced during the last few years when duty forced me to the gate of Carlow Military Barracks. [ note added by Michael Purcell 2010. Unfortunately matters were a bit more unsettled than Tatler observed. The Irish Free State Army at this time was split in its loyalty to the Free State Government. Many of those who joined were supportive of the Treaty but another section strongly opposed the Treaty, two opposing armies were emerging . As a Brigade or Unit formed its loyalty from the majority of the soldiers in it, the soldiers opposed to their views would leave and join a different Unit where "republican" views prevailed. Soon whole Brigades and Units throughout Ireland were pro-Treaty or anti-Treaty. Most Commanders took their orders from the Free State Minister for Defence, Richard Mulcahy, the anti-Treaty people still owed their allegiance to Cathal Brugha, who had just resigned as Minister for Defence, and to de Valera who had resigned as President, all were preparing for resistance to the implementation of power by the pro-Treatyites . Barracks were taken over from the departing British army by local units with the result that in some areas the Military Barracks were in the control of a pro-Treaty garrison, in others anti-Treaty soldiers were in possession . During February 1922 clashes were occurring between the two forces, arms, ammunition, armoured cars and transport were taken from one side by the other as arrests and counter arrests were made. No one knew it at the time but the demarcation lines were been laid for the Civil War. To make matters more confusing the Irish Free State Army was also known as "the National Army" "the Dail Troops" "the Republican Army" "the Regulars" " Beggars Bush Troops" or simply "the Staters" whereas those who opposed the Treaty managed to retain the title "Irish Republican Army" sometimes called " the Irregulars".

Michael, My dad and his brother lived in rural Kilkenny at that time, and it was hinted that they more or less had to emigrate because pf reasons political. Of course neither one ever talked about it, at least not to us younguns. Carlow not being very far away, I enjoy your glimpses into history. (I found out from Tom Lyng's great book "Castlecomer Connections", Appendix 1, that they were both in the North Kilkenny battalion, I.R.A. Volunteers, A Co., the Swan, residence Cloneen, in 1922.) It certainly brings the story more to life. Thanks for posting your snippets. Jack Langton

indeed Turtle, thank you, how did your 1847 - An Irish Perspective - lecture in the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco go ? is it on youtube ? On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 1:25 PM, <GORDONFLOOD@webtv.net> wrote: > ...thank you Turtle, thank you....the more from you the richer we. > > ======================================= > Before you post a message to the IRL-CARLOW mailing list you must subscribe > to the List. Its FREE! > --------------------------------------- > To subscribe to the IRL-Carlow mailing list, send an email to > IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without the > quotes) in the Subject box. No additional text is required. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

I did not get to comment on this report before it was posted yesterday. The incident took place in December 1921 during the Truce, therefore Constables Ronayne or Morrissy should not have been "on duty" as stated in the report, and they were probably unarmed as the Royal Irish Constabulary were technically confined to barracks during this period. Unless they were working undercover it would seem they were waiting for a train when they were attacked. But this report was compiled by the Irish Republican Police who may be trying to justify the action of the "group of men" who attacked them by claiming that the Constables were "on duty". Royal Irish Constabulary 1921. Report on incident at Carlow Railway Station on 15th December 1921. Constable Ronayne and Constable Morrissey were on duty near the weighing machine at Carlow Railway Station, between two and three o'clock in the evening, when a group of eight or nine men came on the plarform, one of them rushed over to them and shouted "hands up" and then presented a revolver and fired blank point at Constable Ronayne. The bullet struck him in the chest and he fell on the platform. While he was down, he received some very severe treatment with some of the men kicking him on the ground. Constable Morrissey was dragged to the ground and kicked about the place. When the attackers cleared off Constable Morrissey went to Ronayne's assistance and with the aid of a civilian managed to drag the wounded man several hundred yards to the County Infirmary. He was later transferred to Steeven's Hospital in Dublin where he made a good recovery. Constable Ronayne had joined the British Army in 1914 and fought all through the war in France. After being demobilised in 1919 he joined a shipping company. He joined the Royal Irish Constabulary on the 15th March 1920. His wage was £180 a year while in the police. In January 1922 Constable Ronayne was awarded £2,200 in damages in a Malicious Injury claim at Carlow Court. The award was levied off the County-at-Large.

Hi Mick, I have found the items you posted very interesting - not least because they slow history down to the daily reality of what was going on across the county, from dancing mania to constable muggings to the liberation of prisoners to the frantic struggle to think what on earth one should get Princess Wotshername for her wedding present. Best wishes to you and Jean, Turtle Turtle Bunbury www.turtlebunbury.com Old Fort, Tobinstown, Tullow, Co. Carlow, Ireland Mob: + 353 - (0) 87 - 6453 486 Skype: turtle1847 Turtle Bunbury is a best-selling author and travel writer based in Ireland. He will be speaking at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco on Monday 15th February 2010. His subject will be 'Around the World in 1847 - An Irish Perspective'. Turtle's acclaimed 'Your History in a Book' venture offers an innovative way to transform your family history into a compelling read. Turtle's seventh book, Vanishing Ireland - Further Chronicles of a Disappearing World, with photographer James Fennell, was the 5th biggest selling hardback - and the top-selling Picture Book - in Ireland's non-fiction charts over Christmas 2009. On 18 Feb 2010, at 21:30, michael purcell wrote: > We have only a few more items to post dealing with the 1922 period > of Irish > / Carlow history. > The extracts published to date were from the pages of 15 Nationalist > and > Leinster Times newspapers > recently uncovered in the Pat Purcell Papers combined with some > reports from > Irish Republican Police records. > I hope the details have been informative and interesting for our > Listers. > I thought we should share the data because the events recorded > represent > a very crucial, defining period in Ireland's history. > We are now coming up to the commencment of the Irish Civil War > ( sometimes > referred to as the War of Brothers), > but I feel that Listers may have had enough details of this sad and > devastating juncture in our history. > However, here in Ireland the depth of the divisions from this period > and the > legacy of the conflict remains with us to the present day, > mick. > ======================================= > Before you post a message to the IRL-CARLOW mailing list you must > subscribe to the List. Its FREE! > --------------------------------------- > To subscribe to the IRL-Carlow mailing list, send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the Subject box. > No additional text is required. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message >

please replace the name Turtle with an equally generous "Michael," to whom we are grateful indeed.

...thank you Turtle, thank you....the more from you the richer we.

We have only a few more items to post dealing with the 1922 period of Irish / Carlow history. The extracts published to date were from the pages of 15 Nationalist and Leinster Times newspapers recently uncovered in the Pat Purcell Papers combined with some reports from Irish Republican Police records. I hope the details have been informative and interesting for our Listers. I thought we should share the data because the events recorded represent a very crucial, defining period in Ireland's history. We are now coming up to the commencment of the Irish Civil War ( sometimes referred to as the War of Brothers), but I feel that Listers may have had enough details of this sad and devastating juncture in our history. However, here in Ireland the depth of the divisions from this period and the legacy of the conflict remains with us to the present day, mick.

Royal Irish Constabulary 1921. Report on incident at Carlow Railway Station on 15th December 1921. Constable Ronayne and Constable Morrissey were on duty near the weighing machine at Carlow Railway Station, between two and three o'clock in the evening, when a group of eight or nine men came on the plarform, one of them rushed over to them and shouted "hands up" and then presented a revolver and fired blank point at Constable Ronayne. The bullet struck him in the chest and he fell on the platform. While he was down, he received some very severe treatment with some of the men kicking him on the ground. Constable Morrissey was dragged to the ground and kicked about the place. When the attackers cleared off Constable Morrissey went to Ronayne's assistance and with the aid of a civilian managed to drag the wounded man several hundred yards to the County Infirmary. He was later transferred to Steeven's Hospital in Dublin where he made a good recovery. Constable Ronayne had joined the British Army in 1914 and fought all through the war in France. After being demobilised in 1919 he joined a shipping company. He joined the Royal Irish Constabulary on the 15th March 1920. His wage was £180 a year while in the police. In January 1922 Constable Ronayne was awarded £2,200 in damages in a Malicious Injury claim at Carlow Court. The award was levied off the County-at-Large.

Michael, These articles have been very interesting and informative. Freedom has it costs and is usually paid for in human life. Thanks for allowing us access to them. Bob In a message dated 2/18/2010 4:31:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, carlowmike@gmail.com writes: We have only a few more items to post dealing with the 1922 period of Irish / Carlow history. The extracts published to date were from the pages of 15 Nationalist and Leinster Times newspapers recently uncovered in the Pat Purcell Papers combined with some reports from Irish Republican Police records. I hope the details have been informative and interesting for our Listers. I thought we should share the data because the events recorded represent a very crucial, defining period in Ireland's history. We are now coming up to the commencment of the Irish Civil War ( sometimes referred to as the War of Brothers), but I feel that Listers may have had enough details of this sad and devastating juncture in our history. However, here in Ireland the depth of the divisions from this period and the legacy of the conflict remains with us to the present day, mick. ======================================= Before you post a message to the IRL-CARLOW mailing list you must subscribe to the List. Its FREE! --------------------------------------- To subscribe to the IRL-Carlow mailing list, send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the Subject box. No additional text is required. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

"Tatler" was a correspondent for the Nationalist newspaper, here he writes of a visit to Duckett's Grove in Jan. 1922 when Liam Stack and fellow officers were in residence and were training the Irish Army out there. The statues he refers to were used by the soldiers for target practice. The prisoner is one arrested by the Irish Republican Police and was being held in custody at Duckett's Grove pending the handing over of the Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks in Carlow town. Members of Cumann na mBan looked after the cooking and cleaning. Nationalist, January 1922. Duckett's Grove ! The very name is certain to be a tradition in these districts. Only once had I occasion to visit the mansion, and I certainly had some emotion when I saw our flag floating over the turret. I offered a sentry a cigarette but he refused and I admired the discipline. There were old field pieces, but they were for ornament and not use. The statues were reminiscent of the Kildare Street Museum and Greek civilisation. I paid some attention to a statue of a Greek goddess which would make a fine symbol of a resurgent Erin. I visited one of the prisoners, and he had absolutely nothing to say about the diet. It was good and compared very favourably with the Rath or Ballykinlar.

Nationalist and Leinster Times, February 1922. Death of the Duke of Leinster. On Thursday of last week, Maurice, the sixth Duke of Leinster died, after a prolonged illness, in a nursing home in Edinburgh. He was born in 1887 and was unmarried. Educated at Eton, he was a talented young man, but he suffered from a nervous malady almost from his boyhood, and was destined to lead the life of an invalid. His youngest brother, Lord Edward FitzGerald --an historic name in Irish history -- succeeds to the title and estates, and bears the distinction of being premier Duke and Marquis and Earl of Ireland. The new Duke was born in May 1892. Another brother , Lord Desmond, was killed under tragic circumstances during the Great War. The father of the present Duke was very popular and was a man of a very attractive personality. He was held in the highest esteem by the tenants on the extensive estates in Kildare, and died in December 1893, at a comparatively early age. His mother Lady Hermione Duncombe was the eldest daughter of the Earl of Faversham. She died in March 1895. The Leinster Estates were sold to the tenants under the Wyndham Land Purchase Act for over £1,000,000. The new Peer was an officer in the West Riding Regiment, in which he served during the Great War. In June 1913, he was married to Miss May Etheridge, the actress. Both the bride and the bridegroom were 21 years of age at their marriage. [ note from Michael Purcell 2010. In March 1922 the new Duke, Lord Edward FitzGerald , presented himself to the Irish Free State Government offering to help establish the newly founded Irish Army, his request was turned down. He was married four times, he killed himself in 1976 , aged 83 years. Some years ago members of a FitzGerald family living in California claimed they were the rightful heirs to the title "Duke of Leinster" they claimed that Lord Desmond Fitzgerald had faked his death during the Great War and had escaped to Canada where he lived out his life until his death in 1967 at the age of 79. The claimants state they are the direct descendants of Lord Desmond. In order to prove this claim they took their case to the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, and are at present awaiting a decision on the matter. Members of Carlow County Heritage Society were engaged by representatives of the FitzGerald family to carry out research to assist with this legal action . ].

Hello all, I apologize for not responding to this earlier, but we have had a serious family medical emergency here. It has stabilized and I am in need of some distraction, so I am trying to catch up on email, etc. The Owen Cummins who wrote this letter to the editor was Owen Lorcan Cummins, son of Walter Cummins of Busherstown, Killerig and Anne Kehoe of Mount Neil, Rathvilly. Walter was the son of James Cummins and Alicia Cullen (who was the first cousin of Cardinal Cullen). Owen had immigrated to New York City, but returned home in about 1920 when he inherited his uncle Joseph Kehoe's farm in Mount Neil. He was a farmer, and had been a salesman in New York, so perhaps he was an auctioneer as well. I have more info and documentation on this family if anybody is interested, though of course more on the Cumminses than the others (though I have a good bit on the Cullens). Does anyone recognize the name "Lorcan" used as Owen's middle name? I haven't been able to identify any connection. Sue ----- Original Message ----- From: "michael purcell" <carlowmike@gmail.com> To: irl-carlow@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 7:43:01 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [IRL-CARLOW] Owen Cummins in 1922 ! There is mention in documents of an Owen Cummins in the Carlow area since the mid-1700s, I wonder if this Owen is related to the dozen or so other Owen Cummins (Cumminsess !) that we know of ? Sue might know ?. Could this man have been an Auctioneer ? otherwise I' m not sure what he is writing about. To the Editor, Nationalist and Leinster Times, Carlow. January 1st 1922. Mountneill, Manor, Rathvilly, Co. Carlow. Sir-- The enclosed letter kindly give space for publication in your paper, which reminds me very much of a weekly journal that I had the pleasure of reading for over twenty years, it being a paper for everyone to read, the New York "American". Dear Friends --As we are now living under a banner of a Free State which to my way of thinking, means freedom in every sense --free to write, free to express a person's opinion, free to do as you please, so long as you keep within the walls of the law, which is established to keep peace and order in our Free State. We can all be officers of this law by standing shoulder to shoulder and man to man by expressing our opinion and admonishing any crime or act of injustice done to our fellow man or our country. I wish to call your attention and especially our ratepayers attention to this. Why does any particular body of men use as a cloak the workingman, who , not of his own fault is out of employment ?. Nine shillings and sixpence to the pound has been collected from our ratepayers for the purpose of giving employment in repairing our roads, which are a disgrace. Instead of putting men to work, they create an officers' pension roll amounting to hundreds of pounds to be paid yearly. This is an act that requires a thorough investigation . Why is our money wasted ? Some readers object to paying one shilling for an honest act performed by an Auctioneer. They don't realise the fact of the great responsibility that rests on the shoulders on an Auctioneer. He has to satisfy the man who purchases and the man who sells and is ever ready to give justice to each party. He is the poor man's friend --always with a smile to greet you ; as a man of honour and profession , he is ready to make any sacrifice when you need him. And yet a grumble at paying one shilling to the pound to a man of this generous type. But people don't grumble when they are compelled to pay nine shillings and sixpence to the pound by one of the first brutal Coercion Acts passed against the Irish people --to seize all their belongings, even the beds they lie on, for taxes they must pay. Oh ! you Irish people how soon you forget your little book. Very rrespectfully yours, OWEN L. CUMMIINS. =======================================

Thanks for your help Treacy, Roger and Brian. Yes it looks like the location is what is now known as Kilcruit, just north of Kilgraney. Thanks Again Ken

Hi! In case the original query was not satisfactorily answered. (I know there was a query about Kilkriite just recently but infortunately I no longer have the original query and responses). **** While looking over an old map of Carlow from the 13th century (from Michael Brennan's Carlow website) I noticed a location called "Kilkriite" next to another place called Kilgrany. Comparing the old map to a modern map I would say that "Kilkriite" was in the area between Ballinkillin and the river Barrow, following a northwesterly direction. Bye for now, Roger ******************** http://nolanfamilies.org ******************** ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Brennan" <mjbrennan@blueyonder.co.uk> To: <irl-carlow@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 4:15 PM Subject: [IRL-CARLOW] Ballinabranna House and Bagenalstown House > There is also a link to Ballinabranna House on the Carlow website at: > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlcar2/Ballinabranna_House.htm > and Bagenalstown House at: > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlcar2/Bagenalstown_House.htm > > Regards > > Michael Brennan > > Carlow Website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlcar2/ > My Laois Page: > http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mjbrennan/index.htm > > > > > > ======================================= > Before you post a message to the IRL-CARLOW mailing list you must > subscribe to the List. Its FREE! > --------------------------------------- > To subscribe to the IRL-Carlow mailing list, send an email to > IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" (without the > quotes) in the Subject box. No additional text is required. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-CARLOW-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >