The following is an extract from an article on Children's Burial Grounds in county Mayo: JRSAI, 1969. While it deals with county Mayo, the reason for the existence of special burial grounds for children was the same throughout Ireland and the types of site found in Mayo are the same as used in other counties. An introduction to a survey of these, and other forgotten burial grounds, in the West. R. B. Aldridge "Particular attention does not seem to have been given to the recording and mapping of what are known as "Children's Burial Grounds," primarily used for the burying of unbaptised children. In some areas many are shown on the 6 inch Ordnance Survey maps, whilst in others only a few are marked. Knox mentions most of the well known ones, as does O'Donovan, and these are mostly on the maps. Without local help and interest many can be passed over unnoticed, and in time will be forgotten or destroyed. Some have been lost already in land reclamation work. Probably in most cases unbaptised or stillborn children were not permitted to be buried in consecrated ground, so that special plots outside the normal burial grounds were very necessary. In more recent years these sites have continued to be used as C.B.G's; certainly in many cases burials have taken place within the last twenty years, and even up to as late as 1964 in one case. Obviously in penal times, famines, and before the building of many R.C. Chapels and graveyards during the past 170 years, the distances from isolated villages and farms to a consecrated burial ground were often too great or too difficult for normal use. In many cases I have used the term C.B.G., when it is most probable that the site was also used for adult burials in the past. In some cases there were sites of ancient churches or graveyards, or of ruined abbeys etc., that could be used; in others a convenient rath, or portion of one, was set aside for burials, or a small piece of ground outside a village fenced in; these latter sites not being consecrated ground were used probably for the burial of unbaptised children only. A rath being considered as pagan in origin, was an obvious choice for the burial of the unbaptised. There are no suitable raths in much of the bogland of the west, and though adults might have been taken long distances to consecrated ground, small local enclosures were made for unbaptised children to be buried in. These were often used for the burials of adults also. All the above can be considered as "Communal burial" as opposed to "Private burial places." O'Sullivan deals with the customs connected with children's burials in many parts of the country, and gives a list of some sites, viz gardens, fields, hedges, bushes, a cliff ledge (Donegal), high water mark, outside a church wall, or to the north side of the graveyard. The first five sites can be looked on as "Private burial grounds." The others are "Communal," such as the one at Inver, on the east side of the Broadhaven at high tide mark, (Mayo 10), and another near Ballycroy, marked "Druid's Circle" on the map (Mayo 44). Near the village of Cross is "Toberaningaun Lisheen (Children's Burial Ground)" with a spring well in the centre of it; in this is a grave and headstone to Private Hopkins, R.I.R., dated 1919 (Mayo 121). TYPES OF SITE (a) a prehistoric tomb (b) a very slightly elevated flat rectangular or circular piece of ground. (c) a small plot inside the vallum of a rath. (d) a small plot outside a rath. (e) a small piece cut off from the inside perimeter of a rath. (f) a mound 5 or 6 feet high. (g) marked by a cairn of stones. (h) in an old graveyard with remains of a building, used only as a C.B.G. now. (i) inside the foundations of an old church or abbey building. (j) with the reputed site of a vanished church nearby. extensively used burial places, probably village burial grounds before the building of any nearby chapels, and now C.B.G.'s only. " one reference mentioned:O'Sullivan on the burial of Children. J.R.S.A.I. 1939.

This page has been updated and moved to: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colin/FergusonsOfIreland/Leitrim.htm Colin Ferguson

Aghaboe Abbey is in the path of Corridor 3, a proposed highway connecting Duclin and Cork. Kathy Brennan, Ann Arbor Michigan, is fighting a battle from here in the US to try and prevent this road from destroying the farmlands and historic sites in Laois. To read the article go to www.annarbornews.com click on local features and Don Faber to read the full article

The following discusses something of emigration from all of Ireland, before the dates mentioned - the paper it is taken from deals only with the Shirley estate in Co. Monaghan. 'Assisted Emigration from the Shirley Estate, 1843-54: by Patrick J. Duffy, published in 'The Clogher Record', Vol. XIV, No. 2. p. 7-63 INTRODUCTION Much, but not enough, has been written about assisted emigration from nineteenth century Ireland - that is, emigration which was largely paid for by government or private individuals or institutions, but chiefly by landlords. The ideological implications of emigration have been the same for the nineteenth century and today: it is what might be described as a political and social 'hot potato'. Encouraging people to leave Ireland is a very risky undertaking. Even at the height of the massive outmovement in the 1840s, the official agencies of public opinion were at least ambivalent, and at most opposed to emigration and this attitude continued throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century. The editorial policy of the Freeman's Journal, for example, disapproved of the flow of people out of the homeland, but at the same time the paper carried many advertisements for shipping lines to America as well as articles of advice to potential emigrants. The Catholic Church was opposed to the emigration, as evidenced in the pronouncements of some of the hierarchy, but at the same time many individual clergy on the ground in destitute rural parishes encouraged members of their flock to leave. Fr Patrick Moynagh from the parish of Donagh in north Monaghan, for example, helped many people to emigrate to Canada in the 1830s and 40s. As the nineteenth century progressed and as emigration to North America proceeded, information and knowledge of emigrant destinations and opportunities increased. Certainly by the mid-nineteenth century, America beckoned more and more brightly to all from cottier to cabinet minister with its promise of a solution to the increasing 'impoverishment of the Irish countryside. The Devon Commission (in 1845) was frequently preoccupied with the disposition of the Irish to emigrate - often commenting on the reluctance of Catholics to leave home and the readiness of Protestants to go, a reflection no doubt of earlier and more established emigration traditions and contacts among Ulster's Protestant population. But the willingness of the Irish generally to emigrate became a feature of comment more and more frequently in pre-famine years, and this change in attitude was significantly related to the growing volume of outmigration and the increasing intensity of the information feedback to Ireland. By the 1820s, official government attitudes to emigration from Ireland had come full circle from the early eighteenth century, when emigration was frowned upon as a loss to the home economy. In the 1730s and again in the 1780s, emigration was prohibited or severely restricted. In 1783, for example, the Irish Parliament outlawed the emigration of certain artisan classes. Landowners were universally opposed to emigration which depleted their tenantry and often took away their best tenants. In the early 1700s, a great many families, mostly Protestant tenants, had left the Clones area much to the annoyance of estate agents. The post-war crisis after 1815 permanently changed the attitude of the political establishment to emigration, especially emigration to British north America. In keeping with changed perspectives on the population explosion spreading throughout industrialising Europe following the writings of Thomas Malthus, emigration of the poor was especially seen as an economic and social safety valve. In Victorian England it was viewed as a 'method of procuring social order at a minimum of cost' Part of the reason for official encouragement of emigration was the increasing pressure on the English economy by escalating numbers of impoverished labourer and Emigration from the Shirley Estate 1843-54. pauper immigrants from Ireland. Many of these, added to native paupers, were a growing burden on the Poor relief system in England. Liverpool was becoming a distinctively Irish city with large communities of Irish poor. South Ulster especially had a strong seasonal labour connection with the north of England and Wales which made people very familiar with these places. By the 1840s, the correspondence on the Farney emigrants shows many of them passing back and forth across to Liverpool by steamer from Dundalk and Newry with considerable ease. Some references: R J Dickson, Ulster Emigration to colonial America 1718-1785, Belfast, 1966, 186. See Clogher Record 1962, 201. D McLoughlin, Information flows and Irish emigration: the image of America in Ireland 1820-1870, unpublished MA thesis, Maynooth College, 1983, 78. Malthus in fact recommended state assistance to emigrants from Ireland in the 1820s. Following the establishment of the workhouses in Ireland, paupers were frequently assisted to emigrate by the Boards of Guardians: see P. Livingstone, 'Castleblayney Poor Law Union 1839-49' Clogher Record V (1964), 239-241.

A note from the Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society (1904): As related by W. H. Maxwell in his "Wild Sports of the West of lreland" (Lon.,1832). It is asserted, but with what truth I cannot pretend to state, that the inhabitants of (the Island of) Inniskea are prone to litigation, and a curious legend of a lawsuit is told upon the main, illustrative of this their quarrelsome. disposition. A century ago, two persons were remarkable here for superior opulence, and had become the envy and wonder of their poorer neighbours. Their wealth consisted of a flock of sheep, when, un- fortunately, some trifling dispute occurring between them, a dissolution of partnership was agreed upon. To divide the flock one would suppose, would not be difficult, and they proceeded to partition the flock accordingly. They possessed one hundred and one sheep, fifty fell to each proprietor, but the odd one-how was it to he disposed of? Neither would part with his moiety to the other, and after a long and angry negotiation, the animal was left in common property between them. Although the season had not come round when sheep are usually shorn, one of the proprietors requiring wool for a pair of stockings, proposed that the fleece should be taken off. This was resisted by his co-partner, and the point was finally settled by shearing one side of the animal. Only a few days after, the sheep was found dead in a deep ditch: one party ascribed the accident to the cold feelings of the animal having urged him to seek a shelter in the fatal trench ; while the other contended that the wool remaining upon one side had caused the 'wether' to lose its equilibrium, and that thus the melancholy catastrophe was occasioned. The parties went to law directly, and the expenses of the suit actually devoured the produce of the entire flock, and reduced both to a state of utter beggar. Their descendants are pointed out to this day as being the poorest of the community, and litigants are frequently warned to avoid the fate of Malley and Malone. Much may be, and undoubtedly was, said on both sides, but the judgement has not been handed down. The law of England applicable to such cases is dependent altogether on the evidence adduced as to the facts. An Irish brehon applying his rigid code would have felt very confident of his decision in such a case. The Brehon Law Code provided for such like extraordinary causes of action-see "The Book of Aicill," p. 375.

Dear all. I am posting this again in the hope that there may be some new people out there who can help me find my Great Uncle Martin Brennan. He was born in 1888 in Ballickmoyler, Co.Laois. IRL. His fathers name was Mark BRENNAN and his mothers name was Kate LALOR also from Ballickmoyler, Co.Laois. IRL In 1963 my Great Uncle Martin BRENNAN passed away while he was living at: 1.Adela St, Antrim Rd, Belfast 15. NI. He was a lodger in these premises and worked as a Professional Gardner in the area for a number of years. He had no relatives living in Belfast at the time of his death. He did not have any business interests in the area and he did not retire to any Retirement Home in the city. He did not leave a will as far as we know and he didn't own any property in the city. Question: 1. Does anyone know where he might be buried? He was a devout Roman Catholic and was often seen walking around reading the Bible. 2. Where would he have worked? There seems to be lots of Hospitals, Churches and Parks in the area. Any help would be most appreciated especially if anyone finds a Headstone inscription, that would be great. Regards and good luck with your research Michael Brennan Kent England Home: michael@janbren.freeserve.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am also researching the following members of my family: All descendants of William BRENNAN, (c1800's) of Ballickmoyler, Co.Laois. IRL MORAN & LALOR/LAWLER/LAWLOR, Arless Co. Laois. IRL. KELLY/CARTER, Ardateggle, Co. Laois. IRL. BULGER/BOLGER/BRENNAN, Dublin City. IRL. BORAN, WALL & RYAN, Arless, Co.Laois. IRL. BRENNAN, James, IRL. BRENNAN, Martin, d1963, Belfast, N.IRL

From an 1820 Directory: Wilson's Dublin Directory for the year 1820: Johnston, Hon. Justice, 36 Harcourt St.& Hebe Hill, Queen's County ------------------------- Baptism: Rev. Averall's Birth, MArriage, Death Register: 1793 March 8th; Leecke or Lucke William from Boley, near Abbeyleix Queen's/Laois 1793 Nov 29th; Kingsley son of Mr. from Donaghmore, Queen's County Queen's/Laois Marriages: 1793 Feb 3rd; Groom: Dier, Robert, jun. from Queen's Co/Laois to: Jackson, Ann 1793 April 4th; Waldron, Thomas; from Queen's Co??Laois to: Rudd Elizabeth Deaths/Burial 1796 March ; Garner, Thomas Borris in ossory, Queen's Co. /Laois c. 1807 March 20th; Booth, Sister ;Maryborough (Portlaois)

The Hedge Schools were all over the country, the master was paid something for his teaching and he was not paid well - but he was also paid in kind. So - what did the children learn? This is recorded: What did they learn? Reading, writing and arithmetic were then, as now, regarded as the basis of schooling. Reading and spelling of English was the first task to which the small children were set, and they learned by 'rehearsing', that is by repeating the lesson all together, from the 'Rational, Spelling Book', the 'Hibernian Preceptor' or 'Reading Made Easy', three popular lesson books. William Carleton, at the age of six, learned the whole alphabet and a few simple spellings, like b-a-g bag, on his first day at the hedge school, and Daniel O'Connell did even better, for when he was only four years old he learned the alphabet, once and for all, from a hedge schoolmaster named Mahony, in an hour and a half. Slightly older children were taught writing and figures, first on slates - which, with the pencils, were home made, and later with paper and quill pens. Voster's arithmetic was the usual text book for figures; this was superseded later by Bonnycastle's and Deighan's. The older children, and young men and women up almost to the age of twenty, went on to algebra, geometry, rhetoric, Latin and Greek. Classical learning was highly regarded. 'I have known many poor men, such as broom-sellers, car-drivers and day-labourers who could speak Latin with considerable fluency' wrote a Killarney schoolmaster in 1808 to an English scholar of his acquaintance; in actual fact his letter is in Latin, as more suiting the dignity of a scholar. The master was paid by the parents, at so much per child per quarter, from about 1/6 (1 shilling 6 pence) or 2/- (two shillings) for the small ones learning reading and writing to ten or twelve shillings for the young men learning the Classics. But with small classes and poor clients the master was lucky if he made forty pounds a year - 'passing rich' as Goldsmith says. Of course this was not all his income, for he got many presents from grateful parents, such as potatoes, butter, fowl, pieces of bacon, turf and milk. He also made something on the side, by writing letters, drawing up wills, preparing petitions and other documents or keeping accounts for a fee. There is the case of a master of about 1860 - a National Teacher by now - whose spare-time job as land steward to a big farmer paid him once-and-a-half as much as his salary as a teacher. Sometimes there was a default in payment; the parents were not satisfied with the teacher or were too mean or too poor to pay, and the master could lament, like Mícheál Ó Longáin in West Limerick - "Is ainis mo ghnó a's is róbhocht dealbh mo shlí Ag teagase na n-óg a's ní fónta meastar me dhíol. Ach geallaimse dhóibh, gach lóma fleascaigh sa tír Gura fada go ngeóidh rno shórtsa eatartha arís!" ("Miserable is my business and most-poor my lot, instructing the young and not being honestly paid. But I promise to them, to each rustic boor in the land, that long will it be until my like comes among them again.") Such verses were sung far and wide, to the discomfiture of those who had wronged the master, for, like the poets of old, the hedge schoolmasters used satire as a sharp and dreaded weapon, and one against which there was little defence. There were times when the satire recoiled upon the master, as when a young woman, mocked in verse by Donnchadh Rua Mac Conmara, set fire to the school and forced the master to fly for his life: such extreme measures were rare, however, for usually the master was highly esteemed in the community, and few had the temerity to 'cross' him. It must he admitted, however, that there were masters who failed to keep up the high standards expected, as when the rakish Eoin Rua O'Sullivan was engaged to instruct certain young ladies, and was found, alas!, to have carried his teaching too far, with the result that he had to fly the district and take refuge as a recruit in the British navy. In the second half of the eighteenth century the laws against education were relaxing, and in many districts they were not rigorously applied by kindly magistrates or lenient landlords. With more settled conditions there were many decent Protestants growing more and more disgusted with the indignities heaped upon their Catholic fellow-Irishmen, and in 1782 the 'Volunteer Parliament' passed an Act which gave Catholics some freedom to teach schools and attend them. But this did not end the days of the hedge schools; it meant that they were no longer illegal, but it did not mean that school buildings and other facilities were provided overnight. In some places, especially in the towns, it was not long until school buildings appeared, and clerics, nuns and layfolk taught openly and with general satisfaction. But as we might expect, there were many country places where the only change was that the school could now be held in a farmhouse kitchen or other such place without risk to the owners. Often the older boys had to work during the day, and did their lessons at night, hence the 'night school', a direct off,shoot of the hedge school. Often a farmer gave a barn or a large byre over as a school, and stools, desks and blackboards began to appear. Printers could now produce schoolbooks in numbers, and some of the 'chapbooks' sold cheaply and used as reading books look rather odd to us today, titles such as 'Freeny the Robber', 'Famous Rogues and Rapparees', 'The Devil and Doctor Faustus', 'The History of Witches and Apparitions', and others even more unsuitable.

Dear Harry I don't suppose you know what part of Laois your Patrick lived in do you? There is only one McDONNELL listed in the Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864 Mc Donnell, Laurence County : Laois/Leix/Queens Parish : Borris Location : Borris Little I have tried every variation of McDONNELL in the search I could think of but nothing came up I'm afraid. Regards and good luck with your research Michael Brennan Kent England Home: michael@janbren.freeserve.co.uk I am also researching the following members of my family: All descendants of William BRENNAN, (c1800's) of Ballickmoyler, Co. Laois. IRL MORAN & LALOR/LAWLER/LAWLOR, Arless Co. Laois. IRL; KELLY/CARTER, Ardateggle, Co. Laois. IRL BULGER/BOLGER/BRENNAN, Dublin City. IRL; BORAN, WALL & RYAN, Arless, Co. Laois. IRL BRENNAN, James, IRL; BRENNAN, Martin, d1963, Belfast, N.IRL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Newall" <handsnew@direct.ca> To: <IRL-LAOIS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2000 1:29 AM Subject: McDONELL > Hello listers, > > I am new to this list and I'm researching the McDONNELL name. Here's what I have: Patrick McDONNELL born in Queens County Ireland about 1824. (I understand that Queens County was changed to Laois County [ another spelling on a map I found is Laoighis] and the county seat is Port Laois - formerly Maryborough.) Patrick had 3 daughters, born in Ireland I believe. The family emigrated to Wolfe Island Ontario Canada sometime before 1862. There 8 or 9 sons were born, one named William Joseph and another named Peter. I have no other names. Can anyone help? > > Harry Newall > > > ==== IRL-LAOIS Mailing List ==== > This list is sponsored by the Laois, IrelandGenWeb website - http://www.rootsweb.com/~irllex/ > >

My shortest mail ever :-) Something I've been meaning to say to lists - I found out a while ago that down in Kerry they pronounce the word Castle like Cashel. I don't know where else in the country this is done, but I'd guess a few places. So - they call Castleisland - Cashelisland. A small thing, but if any of you are looking for an elusive Cashel - anything in some county or other and have had no luck finding it - then try changing your Cashel to Castle and you might find it. Jane

I would like to ask everyone who has my name in their address book to remove it - PLEASE. Even if you have only clicked reply all - it could be there........ PLEASE.........I'm begging you - honest. If I get Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or whoever they are from Hahahah or whoever it is again, I'll crack up!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE............make sure my name isn't in your address book - whatever e mail programme you are using. I'm being hit at least five times a day........... If I get hit by making a reply to you then that's just my tough luck................ Please and thanks - what we're working on is too important......... Jane

Hello listers, I am new to this list and I'm researching the McDONNELL name. Here's what I have: Patrick McDONNELL born in Queens County Ireland about 1824. (I understand that Queens County was changed to Laois County [ another spelling on a map I found is Laoighis] and the county seat is Port Laois - formerly Maryborough.) Patrick had 3 daughters, born in Ireland I believe. The family emigrated to Wolfe Island Ontario Canada sometime before 1862. There 8 or 9 sons were born, one named William Joseph and another named Peter. I have no other names. Can anyone help? Harry Newall

Extracted from 'Ireland Long Ago' by K. Danaher, Mercier Press 1962 While the area is Co. Limerick, it shows the Hedge School and the interaction between Landlord and people, and not all Landlords were bad and we had Hedge Schools and people such as this in every county in Ireland. It also shows that while you may never find a reference to your ancestors in any parish register or official document, they may be referred to somewhere, in some book and some day you or others may read that book and tell the story. The Hedge School About ten years ago an old schoolmaster down in County Limerick told me this story from his childhood: - "I remember one evening - it would be in 1884, in the month of November - when I ran home from school to my grandmother's house. It was cold and misty and I was hungry, with nothing in my head but the thought of a big plate of pandy and butter and a wedge of the Hallow E' en applecake. Coming in through the yard I heard the excited voices talking Irish inside, and when I came to the kitchen door I saw my grandmother and old Aunty Norry sitting at the fire with an old, old priest whose head was as white as snow. They never noticed me; they were lost in the memories of long ago, and I soon forgot my hunger listening to them. In time I got my supper, but I sat up until late, intent on the conversation. It was then I heard this incident from a vanished world." "A night school used to be held in the house of my grandmother's father, Tom Culhane of Riddlestown. The teachers were a poor scholar, who used to live with them, and the local curate, Father Darby Egan. They studied Latin and Greek as well as Mathematics, English and other subjects; the priest it was who taught the Latin. One night he finished a book of Virgil with them and was telling them the story of the next book they would begin the following night. Then the class broke up and the boys went off home. One of them, a lad named Connors, lived a couple of miles away, and before he got home he was arrested by a patrol of soldiers and dragged off to the jail in Limerick as a suspected Whiteboy. There was little justice in those days, and the best he could hope for was to be pressed into the British Navy, to save his neck from the rope, for the war against Napoleon was on then, and many an accused man was given that choice, so as to fill the ranks. Word came back to Culhane's, and the woman of the house, my great-grandmother - her name was Mary Mulcahy, Torn Culhane's wife - put on her cloak and went straight up to the Landlord's house, where she was a good friend of the housekeeper, and so got speech with the landlord, Mr Blennerhasset. He was an important man, a magistrate and a member of the Grand jury, and sure enough, he took Tom Culhane into Limerick with him next day and procured young Connors' release. The same night the school was in session again when Tom Culhane returned in triumph bringing young Connors with him, and when all the handshaking and congratulations were over the woman of the house demanded that young Connors should tell all his adventures. He swept off his hat and bowed low to her, saying 'Infandum Regina jubes renovare dolorem!' Everyone laughed at that, because it was the first line of the new book of Virgil, what the hero said when the Queen asked him to tell of his adventures. And the old priest who came to visit my grandmother was the same young Connors, returned after many years in the American mission." The old schoolmaster who told this tale is, like all the others concerned, now dead. God rest them all. But the little picture of the past remains bright and clear. The old thatched farmhouse with the bright fire in the kitchen. The priest and the poor scholar vieing with each other in learning. The little circle of attentive young men. The farmer's children listening and picking up a bit of the classics here and there - they had had their lessons in the three R's from the poor scholar earlier in the day. The flow of erudition, Latin, Greek, Rhetoric, Philosophy and Mathematics. The farmer and his good wife looking on in admiration and the servant boys and girls amazed at so much wisdom. And there was nothing unusual in all this, for similar gatherings could be found in many farmhouses up and down the country.

My name is Jane, I am from Co. Laois, and I live in Ireland I got seriously into genealogy, history, culture about 4 years ago and I began posting to the various rootsweb newsgroups. At that time I was simply interested in surname distribution around Ireland and placename variations. I began to build up databases, graveyard transcriptions are something which fascinated me initially - I collected everything I could lay my hands on for each and ever county, I turned to name lists - all and any for anything from the 1800-1900 period. Then, I realised that my home county had very few records or so it seemed. There are recrods - hidden away is how I describe them, the strays from Laois - these kind of records - a reference to someone who married in another place or another country can point you to the location of that surname in the county you search in, there are lots of Laois records as well - for Laois - here in Ireland. I began transcribing the graveyards of Laois and I have covered about 1/3 of them - all unpublished. I began transcribing the Tithe records for Laois - I hit that on and off, I also began transcribing the parish records for Laois. I wanted to put my jig saw together - all the names from each source, match them up, find people living and dead. A friend asked me how long the parish work was going to take me - mathematicians think differently than we scientists do ( that's what I am - a scientist) and I said I don't know, he asked why are you doing this - I said because I like it - he said what will you do with it - I said share to whoever needs it - he said "Why?" I timed myself on one film - ten parishes in all - how long would it take me to cover that film. The answer was 365 days of five hours writing a day before I even hit a computer and had to do it all again. Why? I was at home in August and went to a set dancig course going on in Castletown, it's absolutely fantastic, they have dancing classes for three hours in the morning - and then in the afternoon the people who organise it take those on the course around teh county to showe them places and do things. At night, they have sessions organised in different places around teh county. Sheerans pub in Coolrain is really the main place but so many other places. These organisers - they get no payment for the tme and energy they give those who come to the course they organise, nothing for driving these people around in the afternoon or at night - Why do they do it? When we were there that time, we were invited to a wedding out in Dowlings pub in Errill, two musicians from Carlow were getting married in Errill, two fiddlers. We went, when we walked in the door there was the usual table of musicians in the pub, out in the yard another table - people standing al round these musicians - some leaving some coming - the musicians I mean - moving from one palce to another - there was also a marquee and in there the music was organised, someone calling different musicians and introducing them, there was dancing - old sean nós style - nothing like you've ever seen - or have seen rarely, there was story telling, we had mummers, we had singers and musicians of every sort. At 6am the following morning the Bride was playing her fiddle and all the music still going on - on the next day at 2pm there was still music. The wedding went on until the following Tuesday. These people all did that for nothing - they came from every one of the thirty two counties or Ireland to that wedding. It was for me a once in a life time experience. I go to music festivals all over the country, we meet the musicans all those others interested in the different aspects of our culture. I speak with old men who are story tellers, those who just talk about life as it was and it is. Lots of us are collectors - archivists of sorts, we talk and we chat, compare stories, drink lots of guinness and laugh an awful lot. We enjoy ourselves. Last weekend we were away somewhere in Ireland at a festival organised by musicians for musicians - the people who would be away during the summer, playing together. One session began in a pub at 3pm - there were two fiddlers and a box player, a friend of ours sat down and was asked to produce his maaaachine - a guitar. Etiquette calls for the musicians to wait to be invited into the group - it doesn't matter if the newcomer is the most famous musician in the country - the invitation has to be issued. By 5pm there were 15-20 people playing together. Like I said the music began at three o'clock, between then and 8pm there were sean nós singers, storytellers, different versions of different songs, musicians coming and going from the session. At 8pm the Bean an Tí gave them food so there was a break, then it began again - this session finished at 2am. Why do these people play like this and for so long? Not for money - they rarely get paid. Some will be invited back the followig year and they may get some money the others just come along because they love it. That's the why for everything. Jane

Jane, You must be on every Irish genealogy list! Hahaha :) I have MAHERs from Co Laois. Still putting together names and dates as some living relatives have been located whose ancestor moved to Co Laois. The move would have taken place between 1860 and 1919. Hopefully my "new" cousins will be able to tell me more. I don't even know the townland yet! (Tho I will venture a guess that it would be close to Co Carlow, where the family came from.) Debbie

You are lucky there was only one listed in the Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864 (1851-52 for this area) Cassidy, John County : Laois/Leix/Queens Parish : Ardea Location : Killeen/Killeenlynagh Regards and good luck with your research Michael Brennan Kent England Home: michael@janbren.freeserve.co.uk I am also researching the following members of my family: All descendants of William BRENNAN, (c1800's) of Ballickmoyler, Co. Laois. IRL MORAN & LALOR/LAWLER/LAWLOR, Arless Co. Laois. IRL; KELLY/CARTER, Ardateggle, Co. Laois. IRL BULGER/BOLGER/BRENNAN, Dublin City. IRL; BORAN, WALL & RYAN, Arless, Co. Laois. IRL BRENNAN, James, IRL; BRENNAN, Martin, d1963, Belfast, N.IRL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Osborne" <os461@pciol.net> To: <IRL-LAOIS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 6:42 AM Subject: Cassidy > Would anyone have any information on John Cassidy > born early 1800's in the parish of Ardea, town of Killeen > or Killenlynagh, or any info on him living in that parish > in 1840 to approx 1847 ? > > Thanks in advance > Frank > > > ==== IRL-LAOIS Mailing List ==== > > >

Does anyone have any information about the Arless Brass/Pipe Band which was around in the 1920's and 1930's. Most of my family of BRENNAN's played in this band and I am trying to find out if there were any records or photos of who played in the band. Regards and good luck with your research Michael Brennan Kent England Home: michael@janbren.freeserve.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am also researching the following members of my family: All descendants of William BRENNAN, (c1800's) of Ballickmoyler, Co.Laois. IRL MORAN & LALOR/LAWLER/LAWLOR, Arless Co. Laois. IRL. KELLY/CARTER, Ardateggle, Co. Laois. IRL. BULGER/BOLGER/BRENNAN, Dublin City. IRL. BORAN, WALL & RYAN, Arless, Co.Laois. IRL. BRENNAN, James, IRL. BRENNAN, Martin, d1963, Belfast, N.IRL

Hi list I am searching for CASSIDYS in Laois. Here is what I know. DENIS CASSIDY was born in 1826 County Queens (now Laois). JOHN CASSIDY was born in 1835 I believe in County Queens (now Laois). Both men came to North America. Judy in Canada

When I was young(er) we used to dress up on St. Stephen's day and go round the pubs singing songs to collect money for the wran. You'd go through the town and we'd all meet different groups doing the rounds, and people would give to each group. I think then the money was pretty much kept for ourselves. I always thought it went on everywhere around Ireland and it's only in recent years I've found that no, only in some counties at that time and in fewer now. # These days, in Dublin we have one big meeting down in Sandymount on St. Stephen's day. It's an organised charity event, we have music - singing, dancing on the streets, people dressed up. It goes on for a few hours and the people who organise it also collect donations. As far as I know similar charity events are organised in other parts of the country. The Wren Boys (extracted from JCAHS, 1894, Vol. III, p. 22) "St. Stephen's his day" is a red-letter event in the canaille calendar of Cork and neighbourhood. When the "wran-boys," as they are locally termed, have captured a wren, the luckless bird is borne through the streets in a sort of triumphal progress, secured in a bush of holly or other evergreen, which is usually garnished with streamers of coloured ribbons, or variegated papers, according to the resources of tile exhibitors. In early morning the city resounds with the din of the wren-boys (which term, by the way, embraces matured manhood), who are making a house to house visitation, singing at each halt a chant, something as follows:- "Mr. Blank is a worthy man, And to his house we've brought the wran; The wran, the wran that you may see Is guarded by the holly-tree. Sing holly, sing ivy, sing ivy, sing holly, To keep a bad Christmas it is but a folly; For Christmas comes but once a year, And when it comes it brings good cheer. The wran, the wran, the king of all birds, St. Stephen's his Day was cot in the furze; And though he is little, his family's great, So arise, good lady, and give us a trate. Sing holly, sing ivy, etc. Yet if you do fill it of the small, It will not do for our boys at all; But if you fill it of the best, We hope in heaven your soul may rest. Sing holly, sing ivy, etc. This lyric, with its refrain, is long drawn out, and as its aim is the acquisition of largesse, the ballad does not fail to make eulogistic reference to the good cheer provided by the worthy master and mistress of the house, and their high reputation for hospitality during the festive season. Richard Dowden, mayor of Cork in I845, issued a proclamation during his mayoralty forbidding, on the score of cruelty, "the hunting of the little bird on St. Stephen's day by all the idle fellows of the country," a precedent which has never been followed by any of his successors in the civic chair. The origin of this brutal custom is not known. Professor Ridgeway, writing to the Academy, suggested the theory that the death of the wren symbolizes the death of winter; other correspondents of the same journal traced analogy between the Cork wren-boys and the Rhodian swallow-boys and the crow-boys of ancient Greece who went around with similar begging-songs. Goldsmith, while dealing elaborately with the superstitions connected with other birds, does not notice the custom in his brief article on the wren; but the English General Vallancey, who spent a considerable time in Cork and the neighbourhood, and became an enthusiastic student of the Irish language and archaeology, asserts that the Druids regarded the wren as a sacred bird, which caused the early Christian missionaries to place it under ban, and issue an edict for its extermination. Windele, the Cork antiquary, however, assures us that Vallancey "dreamt things as visionary, and disported ill fancies as wild and incongruous, as any of the Irish Keatinges or O'Hallorans who had preceded him." Another origin of the wren-slaughter is advanced in Hall's "Ireland," which contains a sketch of the St. Stephen's Day ceremony by the distinguished Cork painter, Maclise. " As to the origin of the whimsical but absurd and cruel custom," writes Mr. Hall, "we have no data. A legend, however, is still current among the peasantry which may serve in some degree to elucidate it. In a grand assembly of all the birds of the air, it was determined that the sovereignty of the feathered tribe should be conferred upon the one who would fly highest. The favourite in the betting-book was, of course, the eagle, who at once, and in full confidence of victory, commenced his flight towards the sun; when he had vastly distanced all competitors, he proclaimed ill a mighty voice his monarchy over all things that had wings. Suddenly, however, the wren, who had secreted himself under the feathers Of the eagle's crest, popped from his hiding-place, flew a few inches upwards and chirped out as loudly as he could, "Birds, look up, and behold your king." In other parts of Ireland it seems the wren and robin find special favour. Mr.Watters of the Dublin University Zoological Society, asserts in his "Birds of Ireland" that the most heartless youngster who indulges in "practical ornithology" with the eggs and young of other birds, regards the redbreast as too sacred to be molested. "Wild and untutored," he writes "ask him his reasons for allowing it to remain in safety, and in many parts of Ireland you are simply answered "The robin and the wren Are God's two holy men" apparently a local variant of the Lancashire folk-rhyme: "Cock Robin and Jenny Wren Are God Almighty's Cock and Hen" In view of the fine Corsican spirit in which the wren is annually done to death in the South of Ireland vendetta, it is needless to say that the rustic rhyme quoted by the Dublin ornithologist has no place in the bird-lore of these parts. Nor does the pretty fiction of the robins forming a coverlet of leaves for the dead Babes in the Wood, so generally potent for their protection elsewhere, invest them with any peculiar sanctity in the eyes of the average Cork person.

This is taken from an old post of mine on Christmas here in Ireland. Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 05:42:12 -0000 From: "Jane O'Brien" mailto:jayohbee@iol.ie To: IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com, At Christmas we eat mince pies, made from pastry and a fruit mixture called mince meat -seems this tradition came from the times when meat used to go off quickly and meat was put into pies with various spices and kept better - or maybe the rankness was simply not so noticeable! Today's mincemeat is made from currants, raisins, sultanas (golden raisins to you), sugar, lemon rind, cherries, apples and other dried fruits, plus a good dollop of whiskey! To keep it. Then, we have plum puddings, basically same mix as mincemeat, except here there are breadcrumbs, flour and eggs and the mix is put in pudding bowls and boiled for about 6 hours, Oh, how could I forget - the Irish recipe has guiness in it! Delicious on Stephens day - too heavy for Christmas after all the rest of the food. Served here with whipped cream or brandy butter. Also, there is the trifle, made from sponge or boudoir biscuits as the base, soaked in sherry, fruit salad mix on top, followed by jelly (jello to you) which mixes inwith the fruit, topped by custard and then topped again by whipped cream. Trifle would generally be eaten on Christmas day as it is much lighter than the pudding. Meat: We either go for the turkey or goose (used to be the tradiotional dish way back when your parents and grandparents emigrated) but then the turkey took over, so, goose goes with potato stuffing, turkey with a regular bread stuffing. In Cork they eat a lot of spiced beef over Christmas - or used to before BSE hit!! Thought the Irish are back eating beef. We haven't had as much BSE as Britain. Vegetables: Carrots and parsnips mashed together, brussels sprouts, marrowfat peas, celery. Potatoes roast and or boiled/mashed. Depending on family. There is also the ham, boiled or baked. Usually boiled the night before and then baked for a while on Christmas Day with a brown sugar and clove topping. That's the food. We give, give and give at Christmas....Charities are out in their thousands and every where you go there is a box looking for donations. They make a bomb at Christamas time.......meaning a lot of money. We are recognised as being a very generous nation. It's the truth so I might as well say it. Then on Stephens day there;'s the wren or wran. Only caried out in a few places nowadays, in every town when I was small and that wasn't too long ago. If you want to know about the wran let me know and I'l get back with that! Methinks this is a long enough mail. Also one other thing...the pies, pudding, trifle, turkey are alll British traditions which we've taken on.... :-) Jane ----------