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May 29, 2007

Newbridge on Easter Monday 1907

Leinster Leader 5 April 2007

Dark and dusty Easter Monday in Newbridge

by

Liam Kenny

Newbridge on Easter Monday 1907 presented a challenge for the senses according to the Leinster Leader local notes columnist of April 1907.  The Liffeyside town resembled a scene from a western movie with dust blowing down the Main Street, the street lamps turned off, and unpleasant odours permeating the atmosphere – all upsetting the holiday amenity for the inhabitants. Even the moon got in on the act, depriving the ratepayers of Newbridge of much needed illumination when the parsimonious Town Commission turned off the streetlamps:

‘On Monday evening it was decided that the town lamps should observe the usual Easter Holiday and that the moon should be allowed perform its duty in the ordinary way.’  However influential the Town Commissioners may have been their mandate did not extend to celestial bodies, as the columnist noted wryly: ‘The latter (the moon) went on strike and neither on Monday or Tuesday night did it even peep from behind a cloud.’

 It was not the only incident where the elements played a part in Newbridge over Easter 1907.  Our columnist noted: ‘There was a regular whirlwind of dust round Newbridge on Easter Monday, and everyone was lookingfor the appearance of the watering cart.’  However the municipal emergency plan was clearly on holiday too and it took representations from prominent townspeople to alleviate the Newbridge dust bowl: ‘On Tuesday morning, two influential local gentlemen waited on some of the Commissioners with the result that the watering cart, which recently did duty in Naas, made its appearance quickly on the streets.’

 And if the dust-filled streets of the town were not oppressive enough for locals there was more to come: ‘The ratepayers of Newbridge are asking what is the cause of the great delay starting the sewerage works. Complaints are being made of the constant stench arising round the town, especially now that fine weather is approaching. It is said that this grievance is  more pronounced at the lower end of the town.’

 The Newbridge Town Commissioners were not the only public body in the firing line in Easter week 1907.  The Baltinglass Board of Guardians, responsible for public health in west Wicklow,  found themselves in a quandary which, to the modern reader, shows that controversies in the health service are nothing new. The report  under the ‘In Wicklow’ local notes column set out the position: ‘ The Baltinglass Board of Guardians have been placed in a rather awkward position with reference to the providing of temporary medical offices to act in the Kiltegan and Hacketstown dispensary districts, in the places of Doctors Walsh and Kidd, both of whom have been ill for some time. The two substitute doctors appointed to act in their place have declined to continue to do duty at a lower rate of remuneration than five guineas per week.’

The Baltinglass officials attempted a solution by recruiting Dr Hartigan who had been acting in the Kiltegan district on the basis that he would be paid five guineas per week.  However their local initiative was scuppered by central budgetary concerns when the Local Government Board based in the Custom House, Dublin wrote to say it would not sanction payment higher than four guineas per week.

This bureaucratic tussle annoyed the Leader correspondent who spoke up for the unfortunate people of west Wicklow, deprived of a doctor while the office holders argued over budgets. He wrote pointedly: ‘The leaving of a large district without the services of a doctor is a matter which might lead to very serious consequences. Those who are charged with providing for the wants of the sick poor would not be doing that duty well if they were to leave a district unprovided for while fighting the question of “terms” with the only doctor who could be found available.’

 Thus an absent moon in Newbridge and an absent doctor in Baltinglass animated the Leinster leader readers of  Easter exactly a century ago.

An article on Newbridge in 1907 by Liam Kenny from his column in the Leinster Leader, 'Nothing New Under the Sun.' Our thanks to Liam.

Leixlip Historic Walk Friday 1 June 2007

Leixlip Guided Historic Walk


Local History enthusiasts may be interested in going on a historical walk in Leixlip during the town's annual whit-weekend festival (31st May to 4th June). Clane-born, Conor O'Brien, Leixlip-resident for half a century, will be conducting a historic walk on Friday, 1st June, 2007, starting at 7pm.  There is no charge. The walk will commence at the Scouts' Den (formerly an early 18th century 'penal' chapel) opposite the RC Parish Church on Station Road, Leixlip; there is ample parking in the church (public) car-park.  Conor's talk will take in the Guinness connection with Leixlip, where they had their first brewery. The Hon. Desmond Guinness has his home at Leixlip Castle for over 50 years. It will end at the Toll House, on the Liffey Bridge of Leixlip.

All are welcome.

Full particulars of the Festival Events are on the web, and contact may be made via leixlipfestival@eircom.net, tel 01 6243085.

A note from John Colgan on an up and coming historic walk of Leixlip by Conor O'Brien

May 26, 2007

Rare Books Fair Sunday 3rd June 2007 - Kildare Town

Local Studies, Genealogy and Archives

Kildare County Library and Arts Service
in association with

Lyonshill Books & Cill Dara Old Vehicles Club

presents

THE 2007 COUNTY KILDARE

RARE BOOKS FAIR

AND

GORDON BENNETT IRISH CLASSIC CAR RUN

KILDARE TOWN       1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

SUNDAY 3 JUNE 2007

All welcome - No cover charge

RARE BOOKS FAIR - KILDARE TOWN HERITAGE CENTRE and  KILDARE TOWN PARISH CENTRE
CRAFT FAIR -  BOLAND’S YARD.
CLASSIC CAR RUN - MARKET SQUARE

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF BOOKS, RARE, ANTIQUARIAN AND LOTS OF BARGAINS And FREE VALUATIONS !!!
History, local, national, literature, poetry, sport, fiction and ephemera.

Why not take the opportunity to visit Kildare Town – ST. BRIGID’S CATHEDRAL, THE JAPANESE GARDENS, KILDARE HERITAGE CENTRE and the fantastic
 KILDARE OUTLET VILLAGE.

More info:- Mario Corrigan PH 087-9871046 (Tues to Sat) – Email:- localhistory@kildarecoco.ie
       Eddie Murphy  PH 087-2567908 Email:- lyonshillbooks@eircom.net

 

ANY LOCAL AUTHOR WISHING TO DISPLAY THEIR BOOKS FOR SALE SHOULD CONTACT MARIO CORRIGAN OR MARY STONES AT THE KILDARE TOWN HERITAGE CENTRE

2007 RARE BOOKS CLASSIC CARS AND CRAFT FAIR
KILDARE TOWN Sunday 3rd June

SECOND COUNTY KILDARE BOOK FAIR!

The second County Kildare Book Fair will take place on Sunday afternoon on the 3rd June in Kildare Town. This will be an opportunity for those interested in Local History and heritage as well as the general population who are interested in books and reading in general to visit a Rare Books Fair outside of Dublin. It is being organised by the Local Studies, Genealogy and Archives Department of Kildare County Library and Arts Service in conjunction with Kildare County Council and Lyonshill Books. According to Local Studies Librarian, Mario Corrigan, "there is an enormous interest in Dublin and other areas in this sort of event and after the success of the first ever County Kildare Book Fair in November last year we in County Kildare have the opportunity to have one locally. It is an ideal opportunity also for anyone who has not yet visited the new Kildare Retail Outlet Village to come to the town and see what is on offer."
The event is free and open to all and will allow people to browse the books on offer in two different venues - The Kildare Heritage Centre and The Kildare Parish Centre. "The idea behind the two venues is to encourage people to walk through Kildare Town, visit Kildare Cathedral and thoroughly enjoy the day," said Mario Corrigan who has recently published a Sli na Slainte and Heritage Trail of Kildare Town and is anxious that people enjoy the experience that Kildare the Heritage Town has to offer. This year for the first time there will be the added attraction of a Walking Tour of Kildare Town at 1 p.m. – places can be pre-booked through the Heritage Centre.

Eddie Murphy of Lyonshill Books is delighted to be able to add County Kildare to a growing list of Book Fairs that he and his colleagues have orchestrated. "It is an immensely pleasurable experience, whereby people can browse the stalls and hopefully with this new initiative in Kildare Town take in some of the rich heritage of such an historic setting - maybe pause in the local shops or the local cafes and pubs for a coffee and even visit the Outlet Village for a unique shopping experience. We do hope this year proves to be as successful as last year especially when we consider the weather last November was particularly awful and yet we had a great turn out," said Mr. Murphy.

So why not take an afternoon break on Sunday 3rd June and come to Kildare Town to the County's Rare Books Fair - maybe in search of a unique gift or just to amble through the historic streets and enjoy the experience. Why not enjoy the unique shopping experience that is ‘Kildare Retail Outlet Village,’ and Kildare Town Heritage Centre has a host of collectibles and gift ideas to wet you appetite.

As well as book dealers and local authors, The Kildare Archaeological Society, Kildare Federation of Local History Groups, the Grey Abbey Conservation Project and Cill Dara Historical Society will hopefully have information on their organisations and activities on display for people to view. The Kildare Classic Car Association will be on-hand as Sunday 3rd June is the date for their annual Gordon Bennett Commemorative Rally and the cars will be parked on the Square during the afternoon. It is planned to have a Craft Fair on the same afternoon in a third venue – Boland’s Yard just off the Market Square. All in all it is an ideal day out and most importantly - it's free.

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF BOOKS, RARE, ANTIQUARIAN AND LOTS OF BARGAINS - And FREE VALUATIONS !!!
History (local & national), literature, poetry, sport, fiction and ephemera.

 

Leixlip Chronolgy 1700 - 1730 AD

Leixlip Chronology 1700 1730

Compiled by

John Colgan

1701: In this year the first purpose-built barracks was built on the Liffey close to Dublin city (Was it at Islandbridge, or Chapelizod?) hitherto they had been billeted in private homes or in forts. [R Wyse Jackson, Queen Anne s Irish Army Establishment in 1704 , Irish Sword, Vol I, 1953, p134.]


1703-4: Richard Bulkeley is Master of Merchant Tailors Guild(s). [Tailors Hall, Notice.]


1704: 36 barracks for horse and 277 for foot-soldiers were listed this year, in some cases attached to castles. They were under the care of 25 barrack-masters. Con Costello, A Most Delightful Station , p20, notes that the only one listed in Co Kildare was at Athy. [R Wyse Jackson, Queen Anne s Irish Army Establishment in 1704 , Irish Sword, Vol I, 1953, p134.]


1704: Agmondisham Vesey assigned the village or hamlet called Allenswood, Cos. Kildare and Dublin, this year to William Norman and John Dixon. [Sarsfield Papers: List of Deeds, 1414-1808, Deed No. 89: 56th Report of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland]. A. Vesey, Senior, was Comptroller and Accountant General, Revenue Commissioners, as was his son of same name - Directory of Dublin, 1738.


1705: In a will dated 2/4/1705, Wm Clinch of Loughtown and Newcastle, Co Dublin, there was mention of domestic servants, Maurice and Nicholas Tannam. [Registry of Deeds Memo No 6-336-2227 Abstracts of Wills, Vol 1, 1708-45.]


1707: A Bill was introduced in the IHoC to make the age of consent to marriage 16 and 14 years for males and females, respectively.


1707: 6 Anne c19, Irish Statutes: An Act to preserve Bishop Narcissus Marsh's public library for ever in St. Sepulchre's parish, St. Patrick's Close, adjoining the Bishop's Palace (now Kevin St. Police Station).


1707: On 25 July, 1707 Francis Glascock, Robert Ridge and Peter Daly petitioned the Commons [No 438], that "a saving in their Favor may be inserted in Heads of a Bill now before the House, intitled 'An Act to amend an Act to prevent Papists "being Solicitors". It was referred to the Committee on the said Heads of a Bill [HoCJ, Vol 2, p509.]


1707 or 1709: A map entitled a Survey of Parcels of Land being part of the lands of Leixlip, Co. Kildare, Barony of Salt, belonging to the Rt. Hon. Col. Henry Luttrell, containing 63a 1r 24p, Plantation measure, and contains about 23 parcels marked as Luttrell s. The survey was taken by Henry Roe, 1707 or 1709, extends from Collinstown on the south west to the Main Street, ending at a road south off the Main Street into what is now the central car park (possibly in line with a ford across the river at this point; the old Liffey bridge which had been destroyed some years previously was close to the Salmon Leap falls and near to the Castle). This suggests that the west side of the town was developed and east of this old bridge was not at that time? [Map in Castletown Collection, IAA]. The map labels the Green Lane Commons and the Dublin Road west of what is now Gallivan's Cross, with a house on or near Hillford House, Gallivan's Cross and a few cabins on the north side of the Main Street, west of St Mary's Church, which is shown. No road to distillery by Rye is shown. There is a road which looks like Lannery s Lane called Large Lane - Comons [sic] ending in a cul de sac, with ambiguous road off to Rye. Some of the land is Lord Kildare s but most of it is Esq White s. Henry Luttrell was shot dead some time before 1717. A similar map to the above, by Henry Roe of 1709, tinted and showing an amusing cartoon of a bearded gent at his drafting easel and two 'cherubic angels' flitting about with a measuring chain between them. [Castletown Papers, Boxes 84 to 86, IAA]. Although there is no record to hand of a Henry Roe from Leixlip, it is likely that he did come from there, as there were at least six separate families of Roes, including two prior to 1709, in Leixlip parish in the interval, 1677 to 1757, and the baptismal records of 28 of those years prior to 1707 are missing. He may have come from Aderrig; a Roe had a croft there in 1537. He may also have come from Fermanagh. See notes on William Alexander Noble. A Symon Luttrell was listed as resident at Luttrellstown in the Directory of Dublin, 1738


1709: A lease of the townlands of Kilmacreddock to John Colman of the Parish of St. Martin's in the Fields, Co. of Middlesex. [Castletown Papers, box 36, IAA]. Was he an absentee landlord? I have found no other reference to him.


1710: On 4th June, John White Esq., a minor, of Leixlip, petitioned the House of Commons to enable him to sell or mortgage his estates to pay his younger brother and sister and other debts [HoCJ, Vol 2, p600]. Within a few days, on 10/6/1710, his wife, Mary, alias Purcell, sought control of her own lands and debt and money due to her (p.654 ibid). On the same date John's guardian, Lieut-General Sankey and Mary White petitioned the Commons for leave to bring in heads of a Bill in pursuance of an agreement between the parties (separating?) in relation to Mary's estate. The House ordered, as requested, that Messrs Conolly, Campbell and St. John Brodrick prepare the bill and that they further take into account a petition by Mary and her Father, Nicholas Purcell, that she be discharged from proceeding further on the said petition. (p.662, ibid) Six Campbells were listed in the Directory of Dublin 1738 at different addresses; a clothier, grocer and stationer denominated.


1710: The estimated population of Dublin was ~70,000, of which ~40,000 were Protestant. Those who were freemen of the city are catalogued [Gertrude Thrift, Dublin City Assembly Freedom Rolls, R/1/05/08, Dublin City Archives].


1711: The Irish Linen Board was established. Linen, wherever it was made, had to be brought to the Linen hall in Dublin to be sold.


1711: Lease Book from Castletown Estate (Castletown Papers, Box 59, No 14, IAA) notes that a lease made on 16/8/1711 by Jas Marriott to Ben. Reyner provided for 'Machfield' [sic]. It noted that Mr Proby pays £5 rent; 7 acres. A manuscript copy of the lease with Benjamin Rayner, of Leixlip, Innholder, is to hand; it is part of the deeds belonging to Marshfield House. Anecdotal evidence suggests the existence of an inn on Black Avenue, to the rear of Marshfield; this may have been Rayner's. [aka Raynor]. Benjamin Rayner had a daughter, Catherine, born 10/7/1710; A Catherine Rayner was buried, 24/8/1711, in St Mary's graveyard, Main St, Leixlip.


1712: Confirmations carried out in St Mary's on the 6/5/1712 included: Mary and Elizabeth Bolan, and Bartholomew and Robert Raynard.


1714: On 12 June 1714, the sheriff, Brabazon Ponsonby, wrote from Naas to J Dawson: Sir the magistrates met on this date and received several examinations against Popish Registered priests that celebrate mass and have not taken the Oath, and also against a Popish schoolmaster. They have granted warrants against all these. Several of the Justices met at Maynooth on the 10th inst and took examinations against a registered priest and a priest not registered and against two popish schoolmasters and granted warrants. [More of the same at Timolin and elsewhere..] The priests have all absconded themselves at present but all diligence care shall be taken by me to putt the said warrants in due execution . [Rev Wm P Burke, The Irish Priests in the Penal Times (1660-1760) from the State Papers in HM Record Offices, etc., Waterford, 1914, p328.]


c1715: Alexander Noble, working as a clockmaker at Lisnoskaugh [Lisnaskea] this year. Probably direct descendant of William Alexander Noble of the Toll/Bridge House, Leixlip, who died 1879 at Morphy House, nr Lisnaskea. [Wm Galland Stuart, Watch and Clockmakers of Ireland, Dublin 2000].


1716: John White [aka Whyte] of Leixlip in a lease dated 15/5/1716 demised to Robert Ingham, dyer, of Leixlip, the house, garden, orchard and parke [sic] called the Tenter Park and the park called the Furryhill, then in the occupation of Richard Ingham and his father, William Ingham, from 25th March last for the longest living of three lives, Richard, his wife Ann, and his brother Joseph, at a yearly rent of £6 sterling for the house, garden and orchard and 15 shillings per acre for the parks and 12d in the £ receivers fee, the rent payable twice yearly. [Reg. of Deeds Memo No: 51-86-32879] They were later evicted for non-payment of rent...
Robert Ingham had a large family, baptised in St Mary's, Leixlip: Elizabeth, b.10/5/1716; Sarah, b.5/5/1720; William, b.4/11/1722;
Mary, b. 17/6/1727 and Hestor, baptised on 10/10/1730 in Lucan. Did Robert move off the Leixlip site to live in Lucan before work on the bridge started? It seems so. Sarah Ingham of Lucan married John Quay, 9/7/1736; she was aged 16. William Ingham and Margrat Brown were married, 23/7/1746 (presumably at Lucan or Leixlip); William would have been nearly 24 years old.

Robert's son, William, had in turn another large family: John, who was born in Corgorfin, Aberdeenshire, North Brittain [sic], but baptised in the parish in 13/11/1750; Catherine, baptised, 11/8/1754; William, b. 23/12/1755; Sarah, b.10/5/1758 and Robert, b.23/7/1759 - all the latter born in Lucan.
A William Ingham - we're not sure whether it is the grandfather or grandson of that name, who was on his death in 1777, described as a linen printer residing at Palmerstown, Co. Dublin.
A John Ingham and Jane Robinson obtained a marriage licence in 1730 [Deputy Keeper's 26th Report]. Several Robinsons from the 18th and 19th c. are buried in St Mary's graveyard.


1717: Stephen Costilloe or Costello, of Dublin, gentleman, and Agmonisham Vesey, of Lucan, agreed that the former could have navigation of the river Liffey from Dublin to the bridge of Kilcullen [Sarsfield Papers, nos. 126 & 127, List of Deeds, 56th Report of the Deputy Keeper.] There's also a reference in a lease on the mills at Leixlip which refers to access on the mill race "up to Costello's works".


Agmonisham Vesey's daughter, Elizabeth, died, 15/5/1726. [St Mary s, Leixlip, Parish Register.]


Ruth Delaney, Ireland's Royal Canal, Dublin (1992), notes that the 1715 Act to encourage the draining and improving of the bogs and unprofitable low grounds and for the easing and despatching the inland carriage and conveyance of goods from one part to another within this Kingdom envisaged linking the major rivers of Ireland. The Act specified that Dublin should be connected to the Shannon via the Liffey, Rye, Boyne, Murragh and Brosna rivers. Work began on the river Liffey in the 1720s, financed by private subscription, but proved a complete and costly failure. Stephen Costello was involved in this failed scheme. [See refs. in Delaney's book, p29]


1717: Samuel Molyneux, or Molyneaux, secretary to the Prince of Wales, left lands in Co Kildare in his will of this year to his wife. [Registry of Deeds Memo No: 58-278-39; in Abstract of Wills, Vol 1, 1708-45.]


1718: A coach service between Dublin and Kinnegad was begun this year. An early traveller was Jonathan Swift, who wrote of his weary journey in an Irish stage coach [Joseph McMinn, Jonathan s travels, Belfast, 1994, p60.]


1719: On 24/7/1719, [ HoCJ, Vol.3, p198.] is reported that a petition of Stephen Costelloe [sic], Gentleman, praying this House will take into consideration his great trouble and expense in making surveys and estimates of several rivers .. in order to [make] a navigable communication.. - was read and referred to the Committee of Supply. There is a reference in one of the deeds relating to the mills of Mill Lane, Leixlip, or the Bridge/Toll House of a right of access to the millraces "up to Costelloe's works". This is he.. Costelloe also had an influence in the advocating of the development of the Royal Canal many years later.


1720: Confirmations at St Mary's on 22/8/1720 included John, Thomas and Mary Bolan; John, Walter and Patrick Donellon. The Nixon-Donnellon family lived in Ravensdale.]

c1720: Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729), founder of the Tatler, a Dubliner, friend and school mate of Joseph Addison (1672-1719), flourished. [Adrian MacLoughlin, Guide to Historic Dublin, Dublin 1979, p206] Another Sir Richard Steele, perhaps a relative two generations on, may have lived in the Glebe, Leixlip, or the previous building on this site, Glin's tenement.


1721: On 25/10/1721, [HoCJ, Vol 3, p235.] is reported that Stephen Costelloe [sic], Gentleman, secured a grant of £500 "for the many services performed by him to the public", i.e., making a navigable communication from the inland country to the sea-ports...


1722: Francis Glascock, solicitor, is examined before the Rt Hon Lord Chief Justice, Whitshed, in Dublin on 7th August, 1722. The examination relates to some apparently intercepted letters sent by him to Monsieur Cha. Patson in Paris, and vice versa. In the course of his examination and correspondence which was being cited, he refers to having seven sons, a brother Christopher Glascock, and his brother Whyte [White] being High Sheriff of Kildare to where he was then going. One address at Paris was the College of Navarre, where Mr James Wogan was. There is also mention of Mr Chas Wogan (a Lieutenant in the Spanish service) and Nicholas Wogan (a Captain in the Duke of Berwick's regiment (father of Rev. Berwick, of Leixlip). He spoke of Christopher's dealings in the Mississippi Company. Also a reference to Major Allen of St. Woolstons [sic], and Sir Charles Patson being a trustee for one Hacket. Francis Glascock was asked whether he is a Protestant and how long he hath been so, saith he is a Protestant and hath been so about 14 or 15 years. [PRO: State Papers, Ireland, transcript of Bundle 380, No (762) in PRONI, T/1719/546.]


1722: Richard Guinness (c1685- c1767), Arthur's father, was agent, ie land steward, for Dr Arthur Price, vicar of Celbridge and Canon of Kildare, who lived at Oakley Park (= St Raphael's), Celbridge [Patrick Guinness, millennium paper]. Price was also William Conolly s chaplain and a favourite. His father, Samuel, had been vicar of Celbridge before him. Arthur Price was promoted to Archbishop of Cashel in 1744.

1723: 10/10/1723, HoCJ, Vol 3, p331: Stephen Costilloe [sic], on his own behalf and other proprietors for making the Liffey navigable, was presented to the HoC and said that he had proceeded a good way in carrying out the navigation of the Liffey, and would have near finished the same, were it not for some proprietors not subscribing what they said they would. The works therefore suffered much and if the House supplied funding it would be made completely navigable. The House divided 92 for, 31 against. Mr Agmondisham Vesey was a teller for the 'yeas'. It was referred to the Committee of Supply.


1724: Confirmations at St Mary's, Leixlip, on 1/7/1724 included John Barton, Ann Bolan, and Honorita Ransfoord.


1724: Speaker Wm Conolly purchased Rathfarnham Castle and lands from Philip, duke of Wharton, son of Thomas, Marquis of Wharton, one-time Viceroy in Ireland, for the sum of £62K. Philip, in his twenties, was in debt from gambling and drink, had to sell it. Conolly sold it after acquiring Castletown house and before 1746. [Adrian MacLoughlin, Guide to Historic Dublin, Dublin 1979, p211]. As Speaker Conolly died c1729, he evidently sold it by then. A lease on a paper mill at Rathfarnham reverted to Wm Conolly this year; [Registry of Deeds Memo No: book 48-31391-210, Wharton to Jones.]


1725: Arthur Guinness born at Celbridge to Richard G. and Elizabeth Read (of the cutlers family]; godfather was Vicar Arthur Price [Patrick Guinness, millennium paper]


1728: Confirmations at St Mary's on 22/7/1728 included George Simmonds and Samuel Pechell. The Simmonds family lived at Collinstown. Daniel Simmonds was a member of the Turnpike Commissioners and had offices at Clare Street, Dublin.


1728: In June 1728 William (Speaker) Conolly agreed to purchase from John Whyte [White] for £11,883 the manor, town and lands of Leixlip, Newtown and Stacumny, with some exceptions, namely portions later purchased by his nephew William (Jnr), MP, on 7
August 1731, who came to live in Leixlip after the death of his uncle on 30 October, 1729, in his Capel Street, Dublin, residence. Speaker Conolly was born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal about 1662. He was elected to parliament in 1715 and he was made Lord Justice in 1716. His Capel St residence was more or less where the Debtor s Prison was at Bolton St end. [See Lena Boylan s History of the Conolly family.] Speaker Conolly left all his lands, manors and tenements in Co. Kildare to his widow, Katherine (nee Conyngham), and after her death (in 1752) to his nephew, who had directly inherited Speaker Conolly's estates in Dublin. His executors were his wife, nephew, Arthur Price, (later Archbishop of Cashel, who d. 30/7/1752 and who is buried in St Mary's) Marmaduke Coghill and Thomas Morlay. [Conolly Papers, TCD includes a short history of family]. Wm Conolly's town house was at Capel Street, Dublin. His widow was residing there in 1738, according to the Directory of Dublin, 1738. Arthur Price (Pryse) was schooled at TCD from 2nd April,1696, at the age of 17. His father was Samuel Price, a clergyman, and he was born in Dublin. He was awarded a BA in 1700 and a D.D. on April 16, 1724. In Watson's Almanack of 1735 he was Bishop of Meath and by the 1742 edition he was a member of the Privy Council in Ireland. He was Vice-Chancellor of the university in 1748 and later Archbishop of Cashel.
Marmaduke Coghill, S.C., was born in Co. Dublin and entered TCD on 30th March, 1686/87 when 16 years old. He graduated with a BA, LL.B., and LL.D. He was a judge of the Prerogative Court [Watson's Almanack, 1735 to about 1743], member of the Privy Council, MP for Armagh in 1692- 1703 and one time Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. Speaker Conolly's nephew, the Rt. Hon. Wm. Conolly, was elected an MP in 1727, and served for 27 years until his death on 3 January, 1754. He married Anne Wentworth in 1733 and their only son, Thomas Conolly, married Louisa Lennox in 1758. Watson's Almanack, 1735 to 1744+ has him as Cursitor in the Court of Chancery; this Wm Conolly lived at Dunsink [Directory of Dublin, 1738, Dublin Corporation, 2000].


1728: A deed showing the articles of agreement made 22/6/1728 between Wm (Speaker) Conolly and John Whyte [White]. It shows a Schedule of Leases Whyte had allocated in Leixlip. The list is of considerable interest, as most of the leases date to the commencement
of registration by the Registry of Deeds, Dublin. The following were included in the Schedule


Lease to John Peppard of 29 years from 25/3/1714 at a rent of £23 - 2 - 0 p.a.
Ditto to Robert Ingham for 3 lives at £17 - 14 - 6 p.a.
Do. to Robert Dowan for 31 years from 25/3/1724.


Two leases in Leixlip town of houses to Dennis Bollan (c1718?)


"A lease to Dennis Bollan of the Salmon Leap Inn for 31 years from 25th March 1713 at £7 - 7s per annum".


A lease of the Corn Mills made to Andrew Keating for 31 years from 26th March, 1726 at £52 - 10s per annum. [Box 28, Castletown Papers, IAA]


Robert Dowan had a daughter, Catherine, baptised on 2/7/1710 in the parish; she, or a namesake, died and was buried in St Mary's on 24/8/1719. He is probably linked to Downes Bakery, Ballsbridge, Dublin.


Dennis Bolan had at least two daughters, Anne and Catherine, baptised 21/7/1710 and 18/7/1715, respectively and a son, John, whose death and burial "in his father's toomb [sic] in the churchyard of Leixlip" is recorded on 22/6/1723.


1728: On 28/10/1728, Jeremiah Gleydhill, Inn holder, of Leixlip, Co. Kildare, did assign to James Nugent, Esq., of Tulchan, Co. Westmeath, for the sum of £76, the Salmon Leap Inn. [Registry of Deeds Memo No 57-514-39515.] The King's Inns Admission Papers list many Nugents of Co Westmeath in the legal profession, some connected with Lord Westmeath, in 1674. Gleydhill had a son, of the same name, baptised on 22/8/1729 in St Mary's, Leixlip.


Headstone in St Mary's graveyard suggests that it was George Walker, not Warner, who was William Bruce's father-in-law, and he died on 26/10/1769. Wm Bruce's wife was Jane [Walker], who d. 7/1/1781 and George Walker's wife, Celia, d. 6.9.1776. George Walker was the grandson of Rev. Geo. Walker, Governor General of Londonderry when besieged in 1689. See 1778 for birth of son to Bruces. The Directory of Dublin for 1738 [Dublin Corporation, 2000] listed a George Bruce as a merchant at Cornmarket, James & William (a bookseller) Bruce at Blind Quay, Dublin. William Bruce, bookseller in Dublin, c1720-9-37. [Advertisements in Dublin Mercury, No.13, 5th January, 1722/3 & Dublin Gazette, No 1697, 17-21 January 1737/8.]


Indenture dated 22/6/1728, articles of agreement between Wm Conolly's executor and John Whyte [he signs his name Whyte, not White] Esq. of Leixlip. It includes a lease with Patrick or John Brassil, dated 17/3/1713; one with John Peppard dated 25/3/1714; one with Robert Ingham (no date); one with Robert Down, 1724; Benjamin Reynor, dated 25/3/1716; and James Levy, dated 25/3/1712; and with John Hallion, 25/3/1713; lease to Denis Bollan re Salmon Leap Inn of 31 years from 25/3/1713 at £7 7s per annum; also tenement and garden in Leixlip to same from 25/3/1718 at £10 10s p.a.; another to John Ford, tenement and land, Leixlip from 1712; lease to Carroll Dally ditto, dated 25/3/1728; lease of the Corn Mills to Andrew Keating for 31 years from 26/3/1726 at £52 10s p.a., in
which there's a reference to a lease of 22/8/1723 from John Whyte to Hulda Brazill, widow of John Brazill, deceased, Inn holder - [perhaps the Ryevale Tavern?]. [Castletown Papers, box 75, IAA] A memorial of this lease is at the Reg. of Deeds, ref. 38-436-24908; it was for lands formerly held by Patrick Brazil, Innholder, and the lease was for 31 years at a rent of £20 sterling.


Patrick Brazill is the father of Matthew Brazill, [baptised, St Mary's, 28/4/1709] of Leixlipp [sic] who died intestate in 1723. John and Hulda Brazill had twin sons, Stanly and Patrick, baptised 25/7/1721, at St Mary's, Leixlip.


Robert Ingham's father or son, William Ingham, of Palmerstown, Co. Dublin, linen printer, died intestate in 1777. Probably the son, as the father had married in 1679 and would have been long dead by then.


A St. Mary's graveyard headstone relates Joan Levy, who d. 2/9/1743 aged 50, as wife of Thomas Thunder, who d. 31st [sic] November 1750 aged 40. The Thunders had a holding in Mill Lane, Leixlip. Three daughters, Mary, Bridget and Jane, of Thomas Thunder, Leixlip, were baptised on 11/12/1744, 1/2/1748 and 27/5/1750, respectively. [Perhaps he married again?]


1728: Indenture between John Whyte of Leixlip and John Usher of Dublin City re the mills at Mill Lane, Leixlip; Whyte was indebted to Usher. [Castletown Papers, box 75, IAA]. Us[s]her was related to the Molyneux, later tenants of the iron mills; a letter of 22 October 1726 from Christopher Ussher to his father speaks of Samuel Molyneux as 'Cousen Molyneux'. [Letter quoted in JKAS, Vol X, 1922-1928, p.196] Christopher Ussher lived at Smithfield; he was clerk to the trustees of the Linen Board, Molesworth St - Directory of Dublin, 1738.


1729: The mills at the Newbridge, by St. Wolstan's, were granted to Robert Randall, Dublin paper maker, this year. They are shown as paper mills on Alex. Taylor's map of 1783 and in 1800, Andrew Fawcett of Newbridge, who had a life interest in the mills, is described as a paper maker. They were later converted for use as a flour-mill. [Lena Boylan, Celbridge Charter, No. 177, May 1988]


There is a gravestone in Tea Lane Cemetery, Celbridge which states: To Robert Randall, of the City of Dublin, paper maker, and his posterity. Here lieth the body of his father Robert Randall who died the 16th February 1749 in the 90th year of his age. Here also lieth the body of his brother Anthony Randall who died 24th January 1761 in the 40th year of his age. Also Mrs Randall, beloved wife of Robert Randall of the City of Dublin paper merchant dec d April 1768 aged 60 years. [See also James W Phillips, Printing & Bookselling in Dublin, 1670-1800, Dublin, 1998, for extensive references to Robert Randal.]


1729: Arthur Dobbs pointed out (in 1729) that Irish linens to the value of £177,000 a year were sent to England, where, after printing and staining nearly doubled their value. At the time, the exporting of stained linens from Ireland was forbidden. [Cited by Ada K Longfield, History of the Irish Linen and Cotton Printing Industry in the 18th Century , JRSAI, Vol 67, 1937, p26-56.]


1729: On the 22d. Instant, July, stolen or stray d from Jeremy Gleydhill at the Salmon-Leap-Inn in Leixlip, a bay Gelding with a Star, and the Life hind Foot white about the Fetlock, 14 Hands, one inch high, 6 or 7 Years old; likewise a black Mare, with Star and Snip, 14 Hands and a half high, 5 Years old. Whoever brings them to the said Gleydhill or the Printer hereof, shall receive 5 Pounds Reward, and no Questions asked. - Advert in Faulkner s Dublin Journal, From Saturday July 26th to Tuesday, July 29th 1729. [Info provided by Thomas Byrne]


1730: An undated Income Statement of John Whyte [White], Esq., lists the rents due on a variety of Leixlip properties, often with some mention of the lease agreements and tenures. The approximate date is March, 1730. There is no obvious entry relating to the Toll House or Bridge House, which, in 1730, would not have existed as such. Two of the entries were as follows:
To 2 years rent due by Peter Tuite and ors. 25 Mar 1730,.....£12 - 12 - 0
House, Parke [sic] and new House, ........................................£12 - 12 - 0.
[Castletown Papers, Box 28, IAA]

A Chronology of Leixlip 1700 - 1730 AD compiled by John Colgan. Our thanks to John.

Cill Dara Historical Society Annual Outing 9 June 2007

Kildare LS Outing 07380.jpg

Details of the Cill Dara Historical Society Outing for Sat. 9 June 2007 to Birr and Roscrea - anybody interested should contact Joe Connelly 086 168 62 36. 

May 15, 2007

Federation Annual Seminar 26 May 2007

Kildare Federation of Local History Groups

8th Annual Seminar

Historians from Carbury to Castledermot and everywhere in between will gather in Kilcullen on Saturday 26 May for the annual seminar of the Kildare Federation of Local History Groups.

With over a dozen affiliated groups throughout Kildare the Federation gives locals involved in the history movement a chance to share discoveries and knowledge. The programme begins at 10am in the Kilcullen Heritage Centre where an array of Co. Kildare topics will be presented followed by an open forum. In the afternoon the participants will travel to Clongowes Wood College for a guided tour of the hallowed college and its castle orgins.  This is the eight annual seminar run by the Federation and the event will be opened by Mayor of Kildare, Cllr. Fionnuala Dukes. 

Topics to be covered on the morning include the fascinating story of the Lock Hospital in Kildare by award winning historian Hugh Crawford; the old Naas Gaol by Brian Crowley and the story of Thomas Wentworth who commissioned Jigginstown Castle by writer and broadcaster Mae Leonard. 

 For more information and registration contact Federation Secretary Larry Breen on 045 897445.

A note from Liam Kenny on the forthcoming Kildare Fedaration of Local History Groups Annual Seminar an ideal opportunity for people to meet, learn and discuss the heritage and history of Kildare - 26 May 2007 Kilcullen Heritage Centre

May 12, 2007

NAAS - Leinster Leader printing developments - 1957

Leinster Leader 29 March 2007


Men and machines – behind the scenes at the Leader

by

LIAM KENNY


The function of a paper is, to a large extent, to hold a mirror up to the community which it serves.  Indeed a paper spends a great deal of its energies reporting on the interests of every other entity in its locality but rarely turns the spotlight to its own business initiatives.  The Leinster Leader issue of 30 March 1957 could well be excused then for blowing its own trumpet to celebrate the introduction of an entirely new printing plant which positioned the Kildare paper at the forefront of print technology.

The full page feature accompanied by photographs and advertising endorsements from suppliers conveyed great pride in the company’s modernity: ‘ The Leinster Leader has continuously kept abreast of modern techniques in all branches of the printing trade and we recently installed a number of new machines which have increased output.’  Despite such investment in machinery the writer was quick to point out that the human touch was still to the fore in the Leader’s operation: ‘In other industries the complaint is heard that the machines are ousting the man. This has not occurred in our business where more workers are employed than ever in eighty years of the Leinster Leader.’

The feature introduces Leader readers to the printing staff with their new machines. We learn that an incredibly complex-looking machine called an Intertype setting machine could set 1,500 words of metal type in an hour in the hands of typesetter Charlie Singleton who had served his apprenticeship with the paper and ‘ whose son is now learning the trade.’  Another invention to arrive in the Leader works was the Monotype keyboards used for setting commercial printing such as books and magazines. Featured at the keyboards were Michael Kane and Sean Whelan who, showing the company’s investment in man as well as machine, had been sent to the ‘Monotype school in London for special tuition in the operation of the machine.’

The biggest piece of hardware on the works floor was the giant Cossor machine on which the Leinster Leader was printed weekly. The operator was identified as Dan Ryan who ‘has been with the Leader for 25 years and, is assisted by George Byrne, an apprentice.’

And in a hint that commuting to work is not a modern phenomenon the feature introduces typesetter Joe Kavanagh who, we are told, ‘resides in Dublin and travels to and from Naas daily.’

At the end of the book printing process was the bindery department, the only section within the printing trade where there was a female input at the time. A Brehmer sewing machine was being operated by Margaret Loughran, a native of Naas, under the supervision of veteran printer Owen Hegarty who hailed from Derry. Another Leader old-timer mentioned was Denis Purcell who had been with the firm for almost 40 years (i.e. since 1917 or so) and who was featured operating the new Albert printing machine described as ‘one of the most modern printing machines in the world.’

The final stage of production for books and journals was the fearsome looking guillotine machine which could slice through reams of paper.  The operator of this contraption was Liam Herbert. The description of the guillotine process explained that ‘the operator is protected from the automatically descending knife by an arm which pushes him out of range’!

On that reassuring note the Leinster Leader staff members of 1957 displayed their new inventory of equipment to a readership which had remained loyal since the paper first published in 1880.  Today, the premises at South Main Street, Naas, continues to be the heart of the Leader operation with the firm, despite many changes in personnel and technology, occupying the same business address for 127 years.

Compiled by Liam Kenny from the rich resource of the Leinster Leader files, Local History Dept., Kildare County Library. Series No.9.

 

The last instalment from Liam Kenny's Leinster Leader column for March 2007 on developments in printing at the 'Leader Offices.' Our thanks to Liam

Election Drama 1957

Leinster Leader 22 March 2007

 

Election drama as Kildare goes to the polls – a half century ago.

by

LIAM KENNY


The recent debate over electronic voting centred, at first glance, on concerns that the technology did not sustain the kind of trust that a voter needs in the mechanics of the election process. But it was hard not to conclude that there was great sentimental attachment to the time-honoured way of running Irish elections where the drama of the long counts has become a kind of national institution. And in a matter of weeks there will be another instalment of election ritual when the nation goes to the polls for General Election 2007.  Fifty years ago there was certainly no shortage of electoral drama in count centres throughout the nation and none more dramatic than the Kildare constituency.

The Leinster Leader edition in General Election week, March 1957, reported that there was excitement in the count centre at Naas Town Hall as soon as the tallymen glimpsed the first votes: ‘practically from the moment the first few boxes were opened Mr. Sweetman and Mr. Harris were fighting a neck-and-neck battle.’

Four candidates had contested the 1957 election in the three seat constituency. Bill Norton of Labour, Ger Sweetman of Fine Gael, and Tom Harris of Fianna Fail were the sitting candidates. The outsider was the second FF candidate, Patrick Dooley from Athy.

The close nature of the contest was evident from the fact that all four candidates polled within 700 votes of each other out of a total valid poll of 26,769.  Bill Norton reinforced the strong Labour tradition in the Kildare constituency by topping the poll and exceeding the quota. Also over quota on the first count was Patrick Dooley who had clearly mobilised wide support across south Kildare against the sitting trio who were all clustered around Naas.  This was to be the major story from the Kildare constituency, the newcomer from south county overtaking his FF party colleague Tom Harris who was an institution in Kildare politics.  But for a moment it looked as if an even more dramatic political outcome was to unfold with the possibility that FF might take a second seat at the expense of Fine Gael. As the count went on tension heightened among the tallymen with the margin between Harris and Fine Gael’s Ger Sweetman razor thin. The first count had begun at 2.30pm and continued until 7pm; Norton and Dooley were declared elected as stated. But all eyes centred on the ballot bundles of Sweetman and Harris which were differentiated by the narrowest of margins.

The Leinster Leader’s election correspondent reported that ‘when the count was about to be resumed at 8.15pm, Mr. B.O’Mahony, election agent for the FF candidates, demanded a re-check and a re-count.’ At that stage there were only 29 votes between Sweetman and Harris. The recheck did not alter the order of the candidates so the returning officer, Mr. P J O’Neill, proceeded to the distribution of Norton’s surplus.  Out of an even 400 transferable votes, the Labour man’s transfers went strongly to Fine Gael’s Sweetman dragging him above the quota.

 Thus the result of the 1957 General Election in county Kildare yielded no political change with one Labour, one FG and one FF being returned.  However in personal terms it was the end of an era with Tom Harris bowing out from the seat which he had held for 26 years.  His political rivals paid due tribute. Labour’s Bill Norton was reported as saying ‘It was not his business to feel concerned for the welfare of other parties but at the same time he would like to express his personal regret that Mr. Harris had not been elected.’

No doubt such magnanimity will be called for again as political futures are won and lost in the General Election about to happen fifty years on from those heady days of  1957.

Compiled by Liam Kenny from the rich resource of the Leinster Leader files, Local Studies Dept., Kildare County Library. Series No. 8

The fourth instalment for March from Liam Kenny's Leinster Leader column, 'Nothing New Under the Sun,' looks once again at the 1957 General Election. Our thanks to Liam


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