The Barony Echo is now in its second year. The Society’s quarterly is for you – members and friends of the Society and for all who have an interest in and share a sense of the value of our local story. This story, our story is huge – too big for any one person to record. It is a communal story that often goes beyond the boundaries of our ancient barony – a story that is being told in many parts of Britain and in the U.S. It is being written about on a small island off the west coast of Canada and in the bustling city of Panama in Central America. Don’t forget that when we tell part of that story we are historians. And so, to get a fuller picture of that story we need you to tell your story, to share a memory, to give us, at the Barony Echo, even a fragment, a copy of photograph, the name of a nearby place – a field, a well, a hill. Please don’t let the story die; don’t bring it to the grave with you. It is all part of the picture, part of our story. And if you don’t have a story tell us what you would like to see in the Barony Echo. Talk to a member of the Society, send in a handwritten note to me at Woodhouse, Cheekpoint, email the editor at woodhouseduo@gmail.com.
Gaultier Placenames
Ballygunner ( Baile Mhic Gunair). The names of the three townlands comprising Ballygunner – Ballygunnermore, Ballygunnercastle, and Ballygunnertemple, are all derived from the Viking, more correctly the Danish Viking, Gunair, who presumably controlled the area in the 10th century. The old church according to Canon Power was dedicated to St Mochorog, a contemporary of St Kevin of Glendalogh. By the 16th century, probably under early Norman influence , the church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Power adds an interesting detail on the history of Ballygunner – he suggests that the original name referenced in the Annal, Wars of the Gaedhil, may have been Dun Fan Connrath.
Ballymaclode. According to Canon Power, a settler named McLeod gave the townland its name. The townland is situated to the left of the road past Becketts on the Dunmore Road. A gold collar, probably from the Bronze Age, was found in the townland in the early part of the 20th century. There is an interesting sub-division in the townland which in Power’s time was known as Glennacruter ( Gleann an Chuithire – the Glen of the Harper). Can anyone tell us if the name survives and where it is?
The Faithlegg Motte
The Norman Motte at Faithlegg is perhaps the earliest structure of the Normans in the south-east. It probably dates from the arrival of Juvenis Ailward, the original Aylward who supplied the ships for the 1171 Norman invasion led by Henry 11. The motte is located near Faithlegg Church and is on private land. It is a substantial domed mound about 10 meters high upon which the early Normans built a palisaded stronghold. An area of flat land extended from the motte. This was called the Bailey – a place of safe- keeping which housed animals at night. This word gives us words associated with law courts and law officers - the Old Bailey, bail, bailiff.
Where Passage Gets Its Name (contributed by John Burke)
The very earliest maps of Ireland have reference to Crook or Crooke. The reports state that Strongbow, King Henry 2nd and King John landed at Crooke. Although there was a ferry there long before the Normans came and before the Knights Templar were granted the rights to it, the name Passage doesn’t appear in official documents until the 14th century. Passage comes from the Latin word for a ferry “Passagium”. One of the first references to the name is in the “Registrum de Kilmainham” when mention was made in 1325 of “Passagium”. The village was well established by the 14th century. On October 2nd 1394, King Richard 2nd with a massive force of 30,000 archers and 4000 men at arms arrived in Waterford. The Fleet anchored at Passage and the army marched to the city.
Society’s Donation to Waterford Hospice
Following the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society’s Barony Field Day in July a cheque for 10, 041 Euros was presented to Waterford Hopsice. Several local organisations including the Life Boat Committee, the Dunmore East Tidy Towns group, the Killea Road Bowling group worked with the Society in fund raising. The highlight of the Barony Field Day was the Dunmore East Mayoral Election which itself raised a substantial amount. The Society wishes to thank all who contributed to our very successful Barony Field Day and who helped with other fundraising activities such as the annual calendar. The 2016 Calendar will be on sale shortly at local outlets in Dunmore, Crook, Gaultier Glanbia, Cheekpoint and several outlets in Waterford.
Lecture Series
The Society’s 4th annual lecture series started in September with a very interesting talk on the early settlement of the South East. The speaker was Prof. Peter Woodman of UCC. This was followed in October by a fascinating talk given by Society member and PRO, Michael Farrell. The talk, entitled The Struggle for the Land in Gaultier and The Story and Exploits of the Carbally Ladies Land League was entertaining and very informative and very well received. Michael has done extensive research on the period and he gives us the names and actions of those who participated and who contributed so much to the land reforms of the period. A more complete summary of the talk will appear on the Barony of Gaultier’s web site and on our Facebook page. The November talk by noted UCC author, Eibhar Walsh is entitled “Remembering Dunmore” and members are looking forward to this. The lecture takes place on Thursday November 12 in the Ocean Hotel Dunmore East and starting time is 8 pm. The spring 2016 session open on Feb 18 with archaeologist Claire McCutcheon talk on the Towers of Waterford Harbour. Ms McCutheon has long standing Dunmore connections. The March talk will be by Helvic historian Sylvester Murray whose subject is the History of Fishing on the South East Coast.
Waterford and Irish contributions to the making of Canada
Barony Echo editor is spending some time in Canada and has had time to pursue his interest in Irish contributions to the making of Canada. The story of the Irish role in the making of Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost province, is well known, particularly the part played by Waterford traders and settlers in the late 18th century and early 19th century so we’ll keep that for another day except to say that one day while driving along the Cape Shore south of St John’s my eyes were taken off the road for a moment by a sign which read Tramore Players. I was to learn from its Director Arlene Morrissey , whose family came from County Waterford that the Theatre Company was named for the first postmaster in the area, a Mr Foley from Tramore, Co Waterford. Dungarvan is remembered in New Brunswick through the legend of the Dungarvan Whooper. This legend, well known throughout the Canadian Maritimes, is about a young Irish lumberjack who was murdered near the Dungarvan River in New Brunswick and whose ghost gives off terrifying howls near the spot where he was murdered. We’ll relate the story of the Irish in Quebec another time but here in eastern Ontario there are settlements especially along what is known here as the Opeongo Line, a colonization route particularly associated with the Irish settlers of the 19th century with village names such as Barry’s Bay, Clontarf, Mount St Patrick, Killaloe, Westmeath, Tramore, McGrath, Moloney’s Mountain, Cormac, and many more. Across the Ottawa River in French speaking Quebec, many villages retain a strong Irish identity - Mayo, Farrelton, Brennans Hill. The Opeongo line is about 2 hours’ drive north and west of Ottawa. Future issues of the Barony Echo will carry articles on the Irish in the Making of Western Canada, particularly the contribution of Waterford man, John Palliser.
Nurse Mary Davis
Mary Davis of Sunnyside, Dunmore East, is buried in St Andrews graveyard in Dunmore East. Her headstone tells us she was a nursing sister in the Boer War and in WW1. It must have been a remarkable life in the service of others but very little is known about her. We would be grateful if any reader could tell us anything about especially her war time experiences.
A Waterford War Diary.
Gaultier man, Laurence Crotty, kept a diary of his 300+ days of war in 2014-2015. The Society was fortunate to obtain a copy of his diary through the good graces of Damien Tiernan and the generosity of Laurence’s living relatives, Larry Gear and his sister Catherine Gear. Laurence was from Ballinamintra near Dunmore East and his account of the time on the Western Front is both touching and revealing. In June, 2015 Society members Michael Farrell and Ray McGrath journeyed to Belgium and followed Laurence’s war time journey from just north of Paris where Laurence first saw action to his death during the second Battle of Ypres in Belgium in July 1915. An account of that journey with extracts from Laurence’s diary will appear in the Christmas edition of the Waterford News and Star. Are dheis De a anam.
“Cillineach” (contributed by Michael Farrell)
When you are travelling from Waterford on the Airport Road, towards Cloghernagh, near the Airport there is a long straight stretch of road. This stretch of roadway is in the heart of the townland of Ballygarron. At one time there was a church and burial site in Ballygarron. It was situated on the left side, a hundred meters from the entrance to the Business Park, as you are travelling towards Cloghernagh. Although there is no evidence of the church today, locals know where it was situated. At some stage the area became known as a place of fairy dwelling and was called a “lios”. The tradition was that it would not be cultivated. In the 1843 Ordnance Survey Map, this spot is marked “Site of Killeenagh Burial Ground”. Matthew Butler in his column in the Waterford News in the 1930’s, tells us that in Dr. Dinneen’s Irish dictionary we see that “Cillineach” means a place set for the burial of unbaptised children, and that such a place is generally near a “lios”. Matthew Butler also states that long after it ceased to be a burial place adjacent to church, local Irish speakers spoke of it as a burial place for unbaptised children. If you look closely at the particular field, you can see some timber posts which enclose a portion of the field that is not being farmed and is clearly showing lack of use. This area is the exact site of the “Cillineach”.
Short articles, ideas, notes etc from readers are welcome. Please send material to woodhouseduo@gmail.com
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