The pioneering travel book on the Irish canals was Green and Silver (London, 1949) by L.T.C. Rolt. Tom Rolt made his voyage of discovery by motor cruiser in 1946 along the course of the Grand Canal, the Royal Canal and the Shannon navigation from Boyne to Limerick. The Delanys writing in 1966, considered Rolt’s book to be the most comprehensive dealing with the inland waterways of Ireland. [1] In this extract Banagher gets a severe press very unlike the optimism of the 1890-1914 period and again in the 1960s. Banagher also got a severe jolt post 2008. Things are now improving with sunlit uplands breaking through.
Moving off to Shannon Harbour Rolt got sight of the many arched bridges at Shannon Bridge and passed beneath the swinging span. See last week’s blog by Donal Boland covering the same trip in 2023 as far as Tullamore.
Shannon Harbour with the police barracks and the collector’s/agent’s house.
“Just below, was the Grand Canal depot with a canal boat lying alongside the quay. Opposite, and commanding the bridge was a gloomy fortress backed by a defensive wall of formidable proportions which extended westward like a grey comb along the crest of yet another of the green esker ridges. It was a symbol of the more peaceful times that have now come to the Shannon that, according to the signs displayed, part of the fortress had now become a village shop and bar.”[2]
A singlehanded trip from the River Shannon to the town of Tullamore along the western section of the Grand Canal was conducted by the writer over seven days in August, 2023. The trip was conducted aboard the heritage vessel Bomb Scow a converted thirty-three foot Royal Navy seaplane tender. Our thanks to Donal Boland for this comprehensive overview of the Brosna Line, Shannon Harbour to Tullamore which is better presented as one extensive with its helpful picture coverage. This comprises articles 6 to 10 in the series on Grand Canal Offaly.
Content
Overview
Entrance from the River Shannon
First Lock Number 36
Lock 36 to 35
Lock 35 to 34 Shannon harbour
Lock 34 to 33 Clonony Barracks
Lock 33 Belmont…
Belmont to Tullamore
Memories
Appendix 1: Hull and Spoke Concept
Appendix 2: The Napoleonic Aspect
1. Overview
A singlehanded trip from the River Shannon to the town of Tullamore along the western section of the Grand Canal was conducted by the writer over seven days in August, 2023. The trip was conducted aboard the heritage vessel Bomb Scow a converted thirty-three foot Royal Navy seaplane tender.
The trip, was a fact-finding event to record the on-water experience as part of an initiative to highlight the possibility of attracting more visitors to this section of the canal. Described here as The Grand Extension, previous research had revealed its construction was later than the eastern section of the canal and forming part of the British Militaries Napoleonic defensive network.
The route commenced in the west on the callow fringed landscape of the River Shannon, travelling through boglands on a raised section of the canal and terminating to the east in an Esker dominated upland landscape, encountering the villages of Shannon Harbour, Belmont, Ferbane, Pollagh, Rahan and the town of Tullamore.
The Stllwater Navigation extending for a distance of twenty two miles and rising some ninty feet is comprised historically of the waterway, ten locks, twenty bridges, eighteen aquaducts, four feeders and four spillways. Presently the waterway is managed by four lock keepers or waterway patrollers with overlapping areas of responsibility, who operate the lock systems and control the sections water levels.
The Grand Extension, Town and Villages The heritage vessel Bomb Scow moored on The Grand Extension
2. Entrance from the River Shannon
The Stillwater navigation of The Grand Extension is accessed from the River Shannon by way of the Brosna River and its confluence with the Shannon. This entrance is characterised by magnificent over-hanging foliage to the north and earthen banks associated with the canal’s construction to the south. An isolated, derelict bridge-keeper’s cottage that stands on Bullock Island is passed as you enter the River Brosna waterway.
The confluence of the River Brosna waterway with the River Shannon
The River Brosna waterway
The confluence of the River Brosna Waterway and The Grand Extension
3. Lock Number 36
Lock 36 is the final, lowest lock on the Grand Canal system and the first lock you meet when arriving from the River Shannon. A long, floating jetty stands on the southern bank immediately below the lock, providing access to land by way of a large sloping ramp. The lock constructed of cut-stone is entered via wooden balanced, hanging gates that incorporate water control sluices, operated by the lock keeper utilising a rack and pinion mechanism mounted on the gates topside. The gates are opened and closed by way of the long balance beam that extends from each gate.
An engraved stone plaque mounted on the north wall of the lock, details the construction and features of the extension.
The entrance to Lock 36 and its large waiting jetty
The empty cut-stone lock chamber and wooden gates
The full lock chamber and upper-gates
The upper lock gates opened and the ever-attendant lock keeper
4. Lock 36 to 35
This short section of the canal provides an initial experience and understanding of the Stillwater navigation. It is many times narrower than the River Shannon with a defined navigation path bordered by moored vessels to the north and a rich reed-based ecosystem to the south.
Entering the first section of The Grand Extension
The short canal section extending from Lock 36 to Lock 35
Lock 35
5. Lock 35 to 34
The second, Lock 35 on the system, provides access from the first level up to the second level which is comprised of Shannon Harbour, Griffith and Clonony bridges and a section of canal extending to the thirty fourth lock that contains numerous moored vessels for most of its length The waterway beyond the moored vessels starts to provide an understanding of the true characteristics of this Stillwater navigation.
A feature of this canal is the construction of bridges and locks immediately adjacent to one another, this allowed for the transfer of horses (which were originally employed to pull barges along the navigation) from one towpath to the other.
Entering Shannon Harbour
Shannon Harbour
The canal extending to Clonony Bridge and Lock 34
Clonony Bridge and Lock 34
6. Lock 34 to 33
The section of canal east of Lock 34 is best described as the military section as along its northern bank lies the remains of Clonony Military Barracks – most likely the military destination of the canal and the reason it was constructed swiftly. The military grounds are defined to the west by a wooden fence and metal gate and to the east by a long roadside timber fence. The towpath within the military grounds is substantially wider encompassing a lay-by or mooring area. Immediately east of the military grounds lies L’Estrange Bridge and Quay which was utilised by the L’Estrange family for commercial purposes possibly associated with the barracks.
The canal beyond L’Estrange Bridge and Quay displays its mature natural character as a tranquil linear still-waterway navigation mostly devoid of habitation and humanity broken only by the arrival of Belmont Mill.
The Eastern and Western boundaries of the Military Lands
The lay-by and broader towpath within the Military Grounds
L’Estrange Bridge / Quay and Belmont Store
The magnificent natural features of The Grand Extension
7. Lock 33
Lock 33 or Belmont Lock is the only double lock on the Grand Extension. A double lock is constructed when a high lift is required at a location. The standard lift for locks on the canal is circa eight feet while the lift a Belmont Lock is some fifteen feet. Transiting this lock is a delightful experience hard to describe and best experienced.
Belmont Mill and Lock
Lock 33 at Belmont
Filling the lower level
Filling and emerging from the upper level 8.Belmont to Tullamore
The canal extending east from Belmont Lock to Tullamore is best described as isolated continuous delightful for some and a horror for others. The mind may transition into a relaxed static state imbibing the natural landscape and the activities of inhabiting creatures or one may be bored to insanity. The architecture of the locks, bridges and associated buildings coupled with the relatively unchanged landscape propels one back in time to the period of the canal’s construction in the early eighteen hundreds. This relaxation is interspersed by interludes of surprise and delight when a bridge is encountered and frantic activity when locking from one level to another. The villages of Gallen/Ferbane, Pollagh and Rahan when encountered are a connection with present times providing basic mooring facilities. The town of Tullamore provides an opportunity for the replenishment of supplies and the possibility of fresh water. The facilities available to the canal traveller are sparse and presently reflect the industrial era of canal usage.
A simple water tap
The continuous Stillwater Navigation
A canal bridge endowed with generations of growth
Bell’s Bridge and Lock 32
Gallen Village, bridge and rest area
Gallen Village bankside mooring area
Pollagh Village and Canal-Side facilities
Lock 31
Lock 30 and the canal manager’s house.
The canal-side facilities at Rahan Village and the Thatch pub – a former Williams branch shop
Ballycowan Castle of 1626 and beside it the Huband aqueduct dated to 1803. Huband was a barrister and a director of the Canal Company from 1777 for most of the years to 1835.
Srah Castle, Bridge and and the railway bridge
Sragh Bridge and Lock 28
Entering Tullamore at the Clara Road Lock 29
The spur from the canal main line to Tullamore Harbour
The canal side facilities in Tullamore Town
9. Memories
Memories of this trip are especially positive
The waterway was weed free with a good water level
The courtesy and efficiency of the water patrollers was first class
The lock landings were in a good condition
The lock operating systems all worked well
The lock surrounds were neat and well maintained
The lock keeper’s cottages were a joy to behold
Canal-side moorings and services were adequate and of their time
About two kilometres from Shannonbridge on the Clonmacnoise road (R444), in the townland of Clerhane, a narrow laneway leads to the site of all that now remains of a once thriving industry in limestone quarrying. While the origins of the quarries are lost in the mists of time it can be assumed that the stone for all the major building projects in the area was sourced locally. The heyday of the operations can be regarded as being from the early nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. While their many monuments and buildings in stone will stand for centuries, the memories of the quarries that produced them, their owners, the workforce and methods of operation are in danger of being totally forgotten.
In 1120 Turlough O’Connor, high-king of Ireland, built a ‘principal’ bridge on the River Shannon at a place called Áth Cróich. Recent study has proven that this is an earlier name for Banagher.
SIR MATHEW DE RENZY (1577-1635)
Sir Mathew De Renzy writing in December 1620 about West Offaly with particular reference to roads and passageways made two clear statements regarding a major crossing point on the River Shannon at Banagher and how there was practical and convenient access to the West and Galway from that location.
1. ‘At the Benghar there ought a towne or a good fort to be made, to keep that passage of the Shannon, for that in no other place can come any horsemen near the river to take passage out of Connaught but only here, by reason of the impediments of the bogs and woods; from this passage it is but 30 or 34 miles to Galway all hard and fair ground.
2. At Banagher ‘…to be no more than about 30 miles (from the Shannon at Ahcro or Benghar to) to Galway over the Shannon, all hard and faire ground
Both these references leave no doubt that there was a major crossing point at Banagher in the 1620s. More importantly the second quote equates Banagher with a place called Ahcro (Áth Cróich). This information was crucial to the recent acceptance by the Locus placenames project (Locus) that the two places are synonymous. Consequently, in future editions of their definitive dictionary of Irish placenames, Banagher and Áth Cróich will be recorded as one and the same place. The implication of this decision is that it requires a major revision of Banagher’s early history.
We had a blog last April on the 100th anniversary of the death of Matthew Kane. Now we recall the first procession in his memory from Tullamore to his place of burial in Mucklagh in late January 1922. Those early weeks of February 1922 saw the commencement of the removal of the British forces from Offaly in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. The barracks at Daingean, Clara, Shannonbridge and the great Birr barracks were handed over to the IRA. In the first week of February the Offaly Independent was again issued after a break of fifteen months due to the burning by the Crown forces in early November 1920 (see an earlier blog).
We are so delighted to see Offaly feature in this week’s episode of Droichid na hÉireann. Lochlann Ó’Mearáin will visit one of Europe’s oldest surviving suspension bridges at Birr Castle before stopping off at Shannonbridge to learn all about the historical importance of the bridge in the villag
All this and more on Monday the 31st of January at 7:30pm on RTÉ One. #visitoffaly #offalyhistory #droichidnahÉireann #RTÉOne
Having looked at the programme check out the bridges of Offaly. You can download Fred Hamond’s study of the bridge of Offaly from the Heritage Section of the Offaly County Council website.
More on Monday night
Fred Hamond writes in the first of his two books:
Bridge builders
4.1 From the early 1600s until the late 1800s, the Grand Jury financed most of Offaly’s road bridges. In 1898, responsibility was transferred to Offaly County Council. In the more recent past, the National Roads Authority has assumed responsibility for bridges along the national primary routes.
4.2 In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Grand Canal Company erected numerous bridges in connection with the cutting of a canal from Dublin to Shannon Harbour via Tullamore. Bridges are also associated with the Edenderry and Kilbeggan branches of the Grand Canal. The Shannon Commissioners also erected a number of bridges during improvements to the navigability of the River Shannon in the 1830s. 4.3 In the 1850s, major drainage schemes throughout the county led to the construction of many bridges by the Board of Public Works. A second phase of drainage and bridge construction was undertaken by the Office of Public Works in the 1950s.
4.4 Various railway companies also erected bridges in the later 1800s, notably the Great Southern & Western Railway with lines from Portarlington to Athlone (1854-59), from Ballybrophy to Limerick (1863), and a branch to Banagher (1884). The Midland Great Western Railway opened a branch to Clara in 1863 and to Edenderry in 1877. There were also two minor companies: the Roscrea & Parsonstown Railway (1858) and Parsonstown & Portumna Bridge Railway (1868). Iarnród Éireann is now responsible for all railway bridges along the lines still in use and has recently been engaged in the replacement of level crossings with bridges
. 4.5 Since the 1950s, Bord na Mona has been extracting peat from bogs in the northern half of the county. This necessitated the construction of mineral railways for the transfer to the peat to power stations and briquette factories, and the erection of bridges over rivers and under roads.
4.6 Several of Offaly’s many demesnes also have significant bridges, notably at Birr, Kinnitty Castle and Charleville. Birr boasts the earliest surviving wire suspension bridge in Ireland (c.1825). Ardara Bridge, near Cadamstown, is the oldest surviving bridge in the county and possibly dates from the 15th century. 5. Heritage assessment and protectio
In Tullamore alone there are so many: that at Bridge Street may date from the early 1700s. Then there is one at Church Road known as Pound Bridge that may date to 1795. Clara Road is a canal bridge called after an owner of land at Tinnycross – Cox just at that at Whitehall is after Charles William Bury. Who has not heard of Digby bridge in recent weeks. In Birr there is the suspension bridge in the demesne and Oxmantown Bridge of 1817.
Anyway, take a look at the series on Monday 31 Jan. and read your Hamond.
Birr Castle and the suspension bridge to the rightThe old Kilbeggan bridge in the distance over the Grand Canal at Tullamore, about 1910. Well before the new bridges of 2013.
In a new six-part series for RTÉ One, Droichid Na hÉireann tells the story and history of Ireland’s beloved bridges. Presented by actor Lochlann Ó Mearáin, the series explores the history, architecture, landscape and above all the people behind these extraordinary bridges and the pivotal role they have played in historic events and in modern day society.
From road to railway bridges, viaducts to footbridges, these man-made structures have long been an integral part of our country’s infrastructure. But beyond their primary function, how much do we really know about these structures?
Travelling across the length and breadth of the country, Lochlann explores century old stone bridges to modern contemporary designs from natural geological formations to great engineering feats, to reveal their hidden history and impact, far greater than just bricks and mortar.
He rediscovers the remarkable tales behind our bridges through a wealth of fascinating human stories told through expert commentary and local storytelling.
On his breath-taking visual journey through some of Ireland’s most beautiful landscapes, Lochlann ventures to the hills of Donegal to Poisoned Glen under the shadow of Mount Errigal, visits the beloved Shakey Bridge in Cork City, walks across Ireland’s longest rope bridge in Kells Bay and explores one of Europe’s first examples of a suspension rope bridge in Birr Castle. In the walled city of Derry he visits a structure that bridged communities together, he listens to a unique musical performance at Bellacorrick Musical Bridge in Mayo and travels to Connemara to visit the iconic Quiet Man Bridge. While in the midlands he explores one of Europe’s finest examples of a suspension bridge in Birr Castle and travels to the Drogheda to visit a Victorian bridge supposedly built on foundations of cotton wool.
Droichid na hÉireann explores the rich architectural and historical heritage of Ireland’s most fascinating and visually spectacular bridges
A new attraction on Offaly’s Shannon boundary
Uncivil engineers at Meelick weir relief bridge
03-01-22
Episode 1: Dublin
In the first leg of his expedition around Ireland, Lochlann O’ Mearáin explores some of Dublin’s iconic bridges. Starting of in the leafy suburbs in the Strawberry Beds, Lochlann visits Farmleigh Bridge and learns about the inventiveness of the Guinness Family. He ventures to Lucan to discover what wildlife live under the shadow of Lucan bridge. He travels to Clontarf to learn more about Dublin Bay and biosphere. Back in the bustling city, along the River Liffey, he takes a trip to the elegant and iconic Ha’Penny Bridge. He visits the striking and contemporary harp shaped Samuel Beckett Bridge and takes to the water to marvel at the design of Spencer Dock Bridge.
10-01-22
Episode 2: Mayo/Galway
From the soft and craggy bog lands of Mayo to the vibrant City of Tribes, Lochlann ventures West this week. He will discover the history behind the construction of Newport Railway Viaduct, listen to a unique musical performance in Bellacorrick and learn about the famine at Bunlahinch Clapper Bridge. Lochlann travels to wild and beautiful Connemara to visit Carricklegaun Bridge in Leitir Mor and follows in the footsteps of American actor John Wayne as he visits the iconic Quiet Man Bridge in Oughterard before finishing his travels in the heart of Galway city at O Brien’s Bridge.
17-01-22
Episode 3: Clare/Kerry/Limerick
Starting off at the most westerly point of County Clare on the Loop Head Peninsula, Lochlann learns about the geological formation and power of the Atlantic Ocean at the Bridges of Ross. He makes a short trip to the village of Bunratty where he discovers the significance of the renowned Durty Nelly’s pub and Studdert Bridge. He learns about the Treaty Stone at Thomond Bridge in Limerick City and heads to the Kingdom County to marvel at Lios Póil Viaduct and visit Ireland’s longest rope bridge in the sub-tropical gardens of Kells Bay.
24-01-22
Episode 4: Cork/ Waterford
This week Lochlann heads to Ireland’s most southerly point to view the spectacular Mizen Head Footbridge and then heads to the Rebel County to learn how the Shakey Bridge acquired its name. Over the River Finisk, Lochlann visits the Hindu-Gothic Bridge at Dromana. Hopping on his bicycle he gets a taste of the Waterford Greenway whilst crossing over the Ballyvoyle Viaduct and finishes his epic adventure at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, the longest bridge on the island of Ireland.
The suspension bridge in Birr demesne. Courtesy of Paul Moore
31-01-22
Episode 5: Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Louth
On this week’s episode, Lochlann will reveal some of the most breath-taking bridges in the heart of Ireland. Starting off by viewing one of Europe’s oldest surviving suspension bridges in Offaly, he will sail along the River Shannon to gaze upon The Athlone Railway Bridge before walking across the Joe Dolan Memorial Bridge. Finishing his travels on the River Boyne where he marvels at the great engineering feat of the Boyne Viaduct and discovers if there is any truth behind the viaduct being built on a foundation of cotton wool.
Shannon bridge about 1897. A beautiful Lawrence compositionfrom the bumper published volume.
07-02-22
Episode 6: Donegal/Derry
This week Lochlann heads north to picturesque Donegal. He will try his hand at the traditional game of handball at Bundoran Bridge, take a look at the history behind the disappearance of the Donegal railway line and catch up with musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh under the shadow of Mount Errigal. He will then travel to the walled city of Derry where he will sail along the River Foyle to learn about how one modern structure has built bridges between two communities.
We hope to have a full blog on Shannonbridge of the 1750s very soon and also the ‘oldest bridge in Ireland’ at Clonmacnoise. After that we have Banagher of 1690 and that of 1843.We have also to do the suspension bridges at Kinnitty and Birr and, of course, that at Cadamstown.We need more contributors please.
An account of Clonmacnoise in the early years of the ninteenth century was published by William Shaw Mason (c.1774–1853), as part of his three-volume A Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland, drawn up from the communications of the clergy (1814–19). Included in this survey is one Offaly parish – that of Clonmacnoise, published as part of vol. 2 in 1816, pp 142-150.
Shaw Mason was born in Dublin in 1774 and died there in 1853. He was for many years involved in the pursuit of history and was secretary to the Commissioners of Public Records. One attractive sinecure he had was Remembrancer or receiver of first fruits.
Patrick Fitzgerald
The contributer of the Clonmacnoise piece was the local vicar, Patrick Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald noted that there was no town in the parish save Shannonbridge which had a few slated and 280 thatched houses.The parish had 586 families, comprising over 3,000 of a population with only eight Protestant families. Potatoes and milk were the basic foodstuffs with some fish. English was the usual tongue with only some Irish spoken. Patron Day was 9th September as it still is but at that time 3,000 to 4,000 people would attend. The principal owners of land in the parish were Lord Rosse, Rev. Henry Mahon, Edward Armstrong-Frazier and H. P. Lestrange. The number of Protestant families must have one of the lowest in the county and can be conrasted with Ballyboy and Killoughy in 1826 with 7,250 RC and almost 500 Protestants.
Clonmacnois* is the ancient and modern name of the parish. It is situated in the barony of Garrycastle in the King’s County and in the diocese of Meath. Longitude 80 5 ’west; latitude 530 20’ North. (The name Clonmacnois evidently derived from the word ‘Cluain’ meaning a retired lawn, or small nook of land, free from rocks, near a river. . .) Its boundaries are on the north the river Shannon, from which it is separated from the county of Roscommon; on the east, by Kilcleagh and Lemanaghan parishes on the south, by Thesaurin parish, and on the West by part of Thesaurin parish, and by the Shannon which divides it from Galway and Clonfert.
The length of the parish from East to West is about eight Irish miles and the breadth from North to South is about three. About 3723 acres are arable and fit for pasture; the meadow ground is in general indifferent; there is a little upland meadow, as it mostly lies along the banks of the Shannon. But it contains more than double the above named number of acres of bog, as a large branch of the great Bog of Allen runs up into the parish, including every kind of soil. It contains upwards of 12,000 acres.
There is no river in or adjoining to this parish except the Shannon which mears it as already mentioned. A lake called Clonsalagh, which is computed to cover ninety acres, produces good pike and perch and some eels. This sheet of water is situated nearly in the centre of the parish, and derives its name from the townland in which it is. On the North and East, it is surrounded by hills, which, if planted, would produce a fine effect, and on the south and west by a large bog. The parish abounds with hills, the tops of which are allotted to pasturage as all the valleys are tilled and produce fine crops of corn; though the general appearance of the soil which is very light and sandy, might lead at first view to an opposite conclusion. There are neither mountains nor woods here, nor have there been any remarkable indigenous plants found.
Mines, Minerals, &c.
Limestone is the general substratum of the soil in all parts, when mixed with bogstuff and clay; it makes excellent compost for the purposes of manuring.
Modern Buildings, &c.
The high road leading from Ballinasloe to the counties of Meath and Kildare runs through the parish, in a direction East and West. Another crosses it nearly from North to south, and there is also a third road, but this is of very little note. It can boast but of one town that of Shannonbridge so called from a very handsome bridge built across the river. Here is a small barrack capable of accommodating a company of soldiers. A large tower and battery are building and in a state of great forwardness on the western (or Connaught) side of the bridge. This is the great pass from that province to Leinster. A Magazine has already been erected behind the barracks. There is no market held here, the want of which is severely felt by the soldiers, who are obliged to purchase their meat at Ballinasloe, six miles distant.
The village contains a few slated houses of two stories high and the rest, to the number of 280 are thatched. In consequence of the great number of artificers employed in the military works house rent has increased rapidly. The average rent for building ground amounts to ten shillings per foot. Its inn is nothing more than a stopping point, but the village contains several shops for retailing spirits without licence better known throughout the country by the name of Shebeen Houses.
It is singular, that not a possessor of a fee simple estate resides in the parish, neither, if we except the glebe house, is there is more than one good slated house in it, which belongs to Mr. Coughlan who holds about 200 acres of land, on which he resides.
Ancient Buildings, &c.
The Abbey of Clonmacnois is situated near the river Shannon. It was built about the year of our Lord 561 at which time it was held in high veneration. The Churchyard annexed to it contains nearly two Irish acres; it is one of the greatest burial places in Ireland, upwards of four hundred corpses are supposed to be buried there annually. There are also the remains of ten other chapels of lesser note, now totally in ruins. A door of one of them is very curiously and very beautifully carved. About half quarter of a mile thence, are the remains of a Bishop’s palace, now wholly in ruins, some of the walls are the only parts that have as yet escaped the ravages of time. In the church-yard are two large Round Towers one about 62 feet high, and 56 in circumference; its walls are 3 feet 8 inches thick, and the other is 5 feet 6” high, 7 feet in diameter and three feet thick. Here are also two large crosses, one of which is marked with some rude carving and bears an inscription in antique and unknown characters. At a small distance stands what appears to have been a religious house for nuns; it is also in ruins, no part of the building remains, except a single arch. A full account of this interesting place may be found in Archdall’s Monasticum and Ledwidge’s Antiquities of Ireland.
The landowners in the parish, none of whom was resident. From Shaw Mason, ii (1816), p. 150.
Present and Former State of Population &c.
From every information that could be procured it appears that there are 586 families in the parish, comprising of 1618 males and 1558 females. Eight only of these families are Protestant, the rest Roman Catholic. The people in general are very comfortable and dress neatly, some in grey frize, and some in coarse blue cloth. Potatoes and milk form the general food, to which is often added fish procured from the Shannon and the lake. The poorest keeps one cow, and some have three or four. There are very few who do not keep one horse for work, and some have two.
The fuel is turf. This is plentiful and of good quality. The houses are in general very neat and comfortable, mostly built of stone and mortar. One person only is named here as having lived to 90 years of age. Few arrive to 70.
The Disposition and Genius of the Poorer Classes
The people here are very industrious. They are courteous to strangers but have a stubborn disposition in their intercourse with each other. Their general language is English, although they sometimes speak Irish to one another.
There is but one patron day held here, on 9th of September in honour of St. Kieran their tutelary saint and this is numerously attended. From 3000 to 4000 people assemble there to do penance from different parts of Ireland, even from the county of Donegal. Tents and booths are erected round the churchyard for the accommodation of the people. This assemblage continues for two days and often ends in quarrels. Its abolition would be a desirable circumstance. Some persons have been obliged to keep to their beds for weeks in consequence of beatings received at such meetings.
The Education and Employment of Children.
The children are brought up to husbandry. Some parents send their children to the petty schools in the neighbourhood, during the idle season of the year. When asked why they did not send them regularly and constantly, their answer was that they could not spare them from the work. The girls are generally employed in spinning.
There are no public schools. The parish clerk keeps a licensed Protestant school, which is very badly attended, not more than fifteen children receiving instructions from him. There are, however, three Roman Catholic schools, whose average number of pupils fluctuates from forty to eighty. In harvest time and spring, the number sinks much lower, in consequence of the children being kept to assist in the agricultural labours. The quarterly salary for tuition is 1s. 8d. for reading and spelling 3.s 4d. for writing and arithmetic. There is no public library nor any collection of Irish or other manuscripts relating to Ireland.
Religious Establishments; Tythes &c.
Clonmacnois is a vicarage in the gift of the Bishop of Meath, and is not united to any other parish. About two miles and a half from the church stands the glebe house, where the vicar resides on a glebe of about forty acres. All sorts of grain pay tythes. Wheat, bere and barley are set at from 10s. to 12s. per acre; oats and flax at eight shillings, neither meadow, potatoes, nor rape pay tythes. Sheep pay at the rate of £1.13s. 4p. per hundred. The tythe is but indifferently collected. Some indeed pay punctually, but others very badly. There are two Catholic chapels in the parish, with a priest to each.
IX Modes ofAgriculture Crops Etc.
The inhabitants adhere very tenaciously to the old modes of agriculture. Burning for manure is much practiced, it is called ‘boiting’. The ground when thus prepared, is planted with potatoes, then wheat, barley and oats. The wages of the labourers are 10d. per day in summer and 3d. in winter without victuals but is somewhat higher in harvest. The stock is chiefly cows, horses and sheep of the old Irish breed. The general acreable rent, particularly for late takes is from a guinea and a half to two guineas, but on old takes, from 15s. to a pound. No duty services or payments are exacted from the tenants. Most of the land is set in small farms of from about 10 to 15 acres but there are a few of 25 acres. There is neither market nor fair, nor even a pound or a constable in the parish.
X Trade, Manufactures, Commerce, &c.
None
XI. NATURAL CURIOSITIES
The list of incumbents from the First Fruits’ Records.
The Reverend Philip Barret, Clerk, was collated on 26th day of May 1743 to the vicarage of Clonmacnois in the King’s County, and Diocese of Meath.
Stephen Bootle, 14th July 1762, Vicarage Clonmacnois, King’s County.
Joseph Pasley, 4th February 1763, Vicarage Clonmacnois, King’s County
William Donaldson, 7th November, 1764 Vicarage, Clonmacnois King’s County
John Baily instituted 15th December 1778, Vicarage Clonmacnois, King’s County – episcopally united to the Rectory of Ballygart in County Meath.
John Fitzgerald, instituted 10th October 1799 Vicarage, Clonmacnois, County Westmeath.
The records of the Valuation Office stretch all the way back to the 1830s and are an invaluable source for the genealogist or local historian. They allow a researcher to trace the occupiers of land and buildings for decades. Just as importantly they give us insight into our ancestors’ lives in Ireland long ago. The enormous collection – thousands of ‘books’ and maps – cover every house and garden, field and townland, village and town in the country. These records have survived when so much of our heritage was lost. The majority of the collection was kept, organised logically, catalogued and safely stored. The records are now held in three repositories: The National Archives of Ireland, The Valuation Office of Ireland and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, and are generally accessible for researchers. Some of the records are available free online, with plans to add more. [Laura Price will give a lecture via Zoom on this topic on Monday 1 November to Offaly History. Get the link by emailing us at info@offalyhistory.com. You do not have to be a member and you are welcome.]
…..The soft and dreary midlands, with their tame canals,
Wallow between sea and sea, remote from adventure….’
‘Dublin Made Me’ Donagh MacDonagh
Lumcloon
Once a month, my uncle Billy Holohan who was the Assistant County Engineer for West Offaly, would come to Tullamore to report to his superior, the County Engineer Tom Duggan, in the courthouse.
After the meeting he would sometimes pick me up from my mother’s house in Clonminch and bring me to stay with himself and his wife Nell in Gallen Lodge in Ferbane. The highlight of the journey, for both of us, was an inspection of the progress on the construction of the two cooling towers of Lumcloon Power Station.
We watched as immense rings of slim, angled columns emerged and were tied together by large circular bands to form the base from which the structures would rise. Over the next few years we marvelled at the gradual ascent of the elegantly modulated shapes, first curving inwards and then subtly outwards to form a lip. Billy tried to explain to me the structural engineering concepts behind the design, but as a small boy I could only marvel at the height and sheer scale of the undertaking.
An impression of the proposed mills at Leamanaghan. Very high and very prolific. Our thanks to Kenneth Smyth for this picture.
Leamanaghan Castle
Unusually for an engineer, Billy had a deep interest in history. He brought me along on his site inspections and introduced me to Clonmacnoise and Sier Kieran. His favourite stop on our return journey to Tullamore was Leamanaghan where we roamed amongst the remains of the Monastery. He delighted in showing me the hoof mark inside the gate of the school which marked the passage of St Manchan’s stolen cow and then brought me over the fields to St Mella’s Kell which I still believe is one of the most romantic spots in Ireland.
Lemanaghan Castle, top left. This was where the Annals of Clonmacnoise was completed. The castle was demolished in the 1950s as was Kilcolgan nearby to provide filler. Courtesy of Offaly Archives
Then in 1959, in an act which was deeply symbolic of Ireland in that peculiar time between economic stagnation and rapid growth, Leamanaghan Castle was bulldozed to provide hardcore for works at Lumcloon Power Station. The Castle, which was derelict but still substantial, had been the ancestral home of the Mac Coghlans. Cardinal Rinuccini had stayed there (or more likely nearby Kilcolgan, also demolished) during his time as Papal Nuncio to the Confederation of Kilkenny and the Annals of Clonmacnoise were translated into English in the house. I was dumbfounded but hadn’t the courage to ask Billy whether it was the ESB or the County Council who were responsible.
Cooling towers of the old economy, so succesful for Offaly from the 1950s to the 2000s in regard to employment.
The Cooling Towers
The cooling towers were completed and over the years, became part of the public perception of the Midland landscape.
Driving westwards you knew you were approaching Kildare and Offaly when the Allenwood towers became visible, then Portarlington and Rhode emerged with Lumcloon in the far distance. Their harmonic shapes complemented Croghan, Endrim and Bellair hills and provided points of vertical interest in an otherwise soft and dreary plain. The bogs, which had been perceived for centuries as profitless and impassable were now a proud testimony to national energy self-sufficiency and local technological advance.
However, with the passage of time, what was originally considered a solution, became a problem and peat extraction began to be wound down with grievous personal and economic consequences which are still being felt. The Power Stations were closed, their towers and buildings demolished and their sites converted to other uses.
Portarlington was the second last to go. At 10.30 on the morning of the 4th of April 1997, the cooling tower that had taken three years to build and stood for forty seven years, vanished in three seconds at the hands of an English demolition expert who already had many redundant cooling towers on his c.v..
Futile last minute efforts to save it were led by the Heritage Council and a local preservation group organised by Progressive Democrat Senator, Cathy Honan. Architect Gerard Carty of Clonbullogue, now a director of the world famous Grafton Architects, wrote in protest that the Power Station was ‘A monument to those visionaries who grafted a semi-industrial outlook onto the principally agricultural psyche of the Midlands’. Their protests crumbled in the face of the ESB’s assertion that ’ It was built for power generation and that function is over’.
The crowds watching the spectacle of the demolition were serenaded by local accordionist Louis Melia who played his composition ’The Tower I Loved So Well’ during the countdown to the explosion.
An era had ended and the advent of wind power was at hand.
Wind Turbines
Because of the absence of nearby dwellings but with existing connections to the national grid, the Midland bogs were identified very early on as first choice locations for large scale wind energy generation. But, whatever about their ecological impacts, the visual impacts of turbines can be a lot more substantial than those of cooling towers.
Unlike one or two isolated towers, turbines spread haphazardly over large areas of the landscape. Though man-made, their scale and large array results in their being read as part of the natural landscape itself- which can be visually disturbing. As the blades rotate in different cycles, they can often cause visual irritation, even from very far away. The scale of the turbines can be incongruous and though they are generally no higher than the former cooling towers, there are a lot more of them. All in all, their visual impacts are significant and often unassimilable. But then, maybe the cooling towers were also, but in the 1950s any development was welcome, while today’s affluence allows us to make choices.
But whether it is cooling towers or turbines, the greatest sensitivity should always be shown when their development impinges on historic sites. Leamonaghan paid a price for the construction of Lumcloon and shouldn’t be put in the firing line a second time.
The old world that was partly destroyed in the 1950s.But the shrine at Lemanaghan survived in its original locus. A remarkable survival in its locale. Ballycumber castle was used for filler as was Kilcolgan. So much for heritage in 1920s to 1960s Ireland. Heritage was in a linguistic form only and divorced from real life.So much empty platitudes.
A Flashpoint
With the imminent lodgement by Bord na Mona of its proposal for a 17-turbine wind farm with blade heights of up to 220 m, the bogland island of Leamanaghan with its ancient monastery and graveyard will be in the forefront of the conflict between architectural heritage and power generation. Preliminary images show turbines dominating its surrounding landscape on its northern side.
However, just as in the 1950s, the likelihood is that national energy needs will trump all other considerations- particularly in the light of the recent correspondence from the Office of the Planning Regulator directing the Council to dramatically increase Offaly’s megawatt production.
This should not mean that the vulnerable character of Leamanaghan be disregarded, but that the most careful consideration needs to be given to the interface between it and the future wind farm. As one of the most sensitive locations in Offaly (and also to make restitution for the shameful razing of the Castle) the balance of the argument should favour the protection of its history and beauty.
The windmills of the past or a message of hope. Lemanaghan 120 years ago before the data centres and when most things were in the head of the local person and not in the Cloud.Courtesy of Offaly Archives
A Return to Profitless Bog?
As wind replaces peat extraction, it is not unthinkable that it may in turn be replaced by a less visually obtrusive or ecologically harmful form of energy production.Turbines last for about twenty years before they need replacement and a point may come when this is no longer economical.
In March of this year the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe declared that ‘Nuclear energy can be a critical component of a decarbonised energy system for those member states that choose to consider it as a part of their sustainable development and climate change strategy’. It will be interesting to see how other European countries respond to the technological advances which are now delivering safer nuclear energy.
I wonder if in seventy- or eighty-years’ time, as the last of the turbines come down and the land gently recedes back into its ancient role of profitless bog abounding in nesting snipe, will a small and nostalgic group emerge to campaign for the preservation of the remaining few of these iconic structures?
While perusing some late 19th century newspapers a reference to The National Indemnity Fund 1888 caught my eye. The object of this fund was to provide an indemnity for Parnell against an Order for costs in the event of him loosing a defamation action against the Times.
This fund received contributions from virtually every parish in Ireland, and also from outside Ireland. I found records of fundraising events in England, Scotland, U.S.A., New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.
However, I was more interested in the small contributions made by the ordinary people of Ireland, the vast majority of whom would not have been in any way well off. They would have been tenant farmers who lived a very precarious life due to their lack of security of tenure and volatile rents. Reflecting their means some the contributions are very small reminding us of the story of the widow`s mite in the gospel of St. Mark.
I was very pleased to find contributions from my own neck of the wood in west Offaly. I found a fascinating letter from Michael Reddy of Shannonbridge in the Freeman’s Journal of 26th October 1888.
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