The recent demolition of all the former Irish Mist liqueur warehouses in Tullamore and the upcoming demolition of the great oats store of D.E. Williams have prompted this lookback at the site that may have been intended for the first canal harbour or docking point in Tullamore close to Pound Street, later called William Street and now Columcille Street and Bury Quay – where the Old Warehouse (‘Shane Lowry’s’) is now located. The newly cleared site is intended for a 1,644 sq. metre Aldi retail store and associated parking. The bonded warehouse or now Old Warehouse and the oats store south of it were built close to the canal as part of a strategic acquisition by the distiller, maltster and merchant Daniel E. Williams and at a time when the Grand Canal provided a commercial transport artery for smooth access to Dublin and Limerick. This article is no. 3 in the series on the impact of the Grand Canal on Offal
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This week we look at the background to the Vallancey report on the Offaly towns carried out in 1771 to facilitate the construction of the new Grand Canal line from Dublin to the Shannon. Vallancey was then a young engineer, employed to report to the Commissioners of Inland Navigation and his findings were published in a little known and very scarce pamphlet, AReport on the Grand Canal or Southern Line (Dublin 1771).[2] This report is useful as a window on some of the north King’s County (hereafter generally referred to as Offaly) towns and villages and all the more so because of the scarcity of published accounts of the midland towns prior to 1800.[3] The report was published in the same year as that of John Trail who was at the time employed by Dublin Corporation.[4] Vallancey was writing with a mission. He was being paid to spin the story of the benefits that would come from inland navigation and to highlight the difficulties with road transport and its adverse impact on competition and pricing of commodities so as to bolster the arguments in favour of canal construction and satisfy those who were paying his consultancy fees.
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This month we begin a series of articles on the history and heritage of the Grand Canal in County Offaly that will run to upwards of 50 blog articles in 2024 and have its own platform on our website, http://www.offalyhistory.com. Our aim is to document the story of the course of the canal from the county boundary east of Edenderry to Shannon Harbour in the west. Today the Grand Canal is one of the greatest amenities that County Offaly possesses and we want to tell the story, and for readers to contribute by way of information and pictures. All the material will be open to be used on our website and the format will allow for editing to improve and to receive additional information from you the reader, which will be acknowledged. So Buen Camino as we make our journey through a quiet and well-watered land. The year 2024 marks the 120th anniversary of the completion of the Shannon Line at Shannon Harbour and may also see the completion of the canal greenway in this county.
During the twentieth century a tradition arose of a Christmas bird, usually a turkey, being sent from Ireland to extended members of the family who had emigrated to the Britain. They arrived in a canvas bag packed in straw. The Second World War disrupted the tradition. It did not resume immediately after the War as the British Government thought that birds would be traded on the black market in contravention of food rationing as explained by the New Ross Standard 22nd October 22nd 1948.
The square proper never had a public house until that in GV 5 in recent times, while the Brewery Tap on the western side at GV 3 High Street has served the public for well over 100 years. It was only in 2018 that a new public house and night club was opened at GV 5, now known as The Phoenix. The great garage of G.N. Walshe (GV 1 High Street) replaced the Goodbody hardware store which was in business from the 1840s to 1930 and with a tobacco factory at the rear until 1886.
In 1961 I joined B. Daly & Co Ltd and two years later SI was transferred to Irish Mist (another wholly owned Williams company) to supervise the production line in the Bond Store. I joined up with Joe Scally, and I was still with him until I finished in 1985 over 22 years later. Joe and I were always involved in Production. We overcame many difficulties in the area over the years due to expansion and increased demand for output, with changes in packaging and design etc. I started on the middle floor of the Bond Store. We shared the building with Tullamore Dew. We had a staff of about 12 at the time, with no machinery as the output was small. Within a short time later, in 1966 due to increased demand, we had to move to the top floor. We became much more mechanised and we saw a dramatic increase in output, and also a big increase in staff numbers. We also saw the introduction of the Figurine, Blue decanter, the pocket Flask, the Waterford Glass decanter, and many more display packs, introduced onto the market. In 1966 a new office block was built, along with a new laboratory and a compounding unit.
Commerce, community, and creativity are all part of the weave.
Golden, sophisticated, with a dash of mystery Irish Mist occupies a special place in the history of Irish distilling.
Ireland’s legendary liqueur might well be described as the accidental offspring of Tullamore Dew.
First produced in 1947 in response to the urgent need to make economic use of excess stock of whiskey it proved to be an inspired idea by Desmond Williams, grandson of the founder of the Tullamore Dew whiskey company.
Rolling out the barrell – the last whiskey is the famous Sally Grove warehouse in Water Lane – now called Main Street with Irish Mist staff and the officers of the Excise in 1983.
The history of Irish Mist involves a secret receipt from a mysterious Austrian distiller, celebrated through the famed ceramic figure made by Coronetti, Cunardo, Italy.
Now a collector’s item the splendid figurine is a replica of an Irish officer in the Austrian army from the 1750s.
In the first half of the nineteenth century all of the original buildings in O’Connor Square were three-storey with the exception of the market house and the house where PTSB is now located (GV 8). The finest house was that of Pim/Wilson (GV 7) of c. 1740–48 (demolished 1936) and not unlike the fine houses in the square of the Quaker settlement of Mountmellick where the Pims and Wilsons would have had connections.
Over a series of articles, it is intended to examine the evolution of the ‘market place’, Tullamore to the fine square it is today. It is intended to look first at the evolution of the square over the period from 1713 to 1820 with additional comments on the building history in the last 300 years in the second article. This will be followed with analysis of the return for the 1901 and 1911 censuses and thereafter case studies of two of the houses in the square. Both are public houses, the Brewery Tap and The Phoenix, and business is conducted in the original houses albeit that both have been extended. Both are well known with the Brewery Tap one of the oldest pubs in Tullamore and The Phoenix the newest. The Brewery Tap house can be dated to 1713 and The Phoenix as a house to 1752.
In my previous article (Part 4) on the history of the Ballyduff quarries I looked in more detail at one of the Wrafter families involved in stonecutting at far back as at least 1807. In this article I will relate the story of two other Wrafter families of stonecutters. Members of these families are still active in the cutting, carving and sculpting of stone.
Wrafter family #2
This Wrafter family were also from Ballyduff and were heavily involved in the stonecutting trade at least from the 1850’s onwards. Between 1850 and the 1950’s at least 12 men from three generations of this family were stonecutters and most of them had at one time or another lived in Ballyduff and learned their trade at the nearby quarries. The lack of older records makes it impossible for me at present to say to what extent this family, and indeed even the other Wrafter branches, were involved in stoneworking before 1800.
Belonging to the earliest generation of stonecutters were Thomas (b. 1835, d. before 1882) and Patrick (b. ab. 1842, d. 1889). Five sons of Patrick Wrafter and his wife Katherine (nee Walsh) became stonecutters (John, Patrick, Jim, Joseph and Alec). After learning their trade in Tullamore Jim, Joseph and Alec practised their trade for extended periods in Cork and Dublin.
John worked a quarry of his own in Ballyduff in the late 19th – early 20th century. Patrick worked a quarry together with some employees in the neighbouring townland of Arden until at least 1928. Alec returned to Tullamore and also worked part of the Ballyduff quarries up to the 1950’s.
Stonecutters from this Wrafter family worked on the building of the new Catholic Church in Tullamore circa 1906. In 1908, they carved the stone tracery for a new stained-glass window for St Catherine’s Church (Church of Ireland) in Tullamore. Several of the Celtic cross grave monuments at Clonminch cemetery in Tullamore bear the names of John and Patrick Wrafter, and can arguably be considered works of art.
Clonminch, Tullamore 2
Fig. 1. Celtic cross headstones sculpted by John Wrafter (1866-1941). Erected in or around 1910 in Clonminch cemetery, Tullamore. The monument in the photo on the right (2) was made by John for his own family; three of his children and his wife are named on the headstone.
Four of the Wrafter brothers (John, Jim, Alec and Joseph) were active in the Stonecutters’ Union of Ireland, a trade union for stonecutters. The photo below is of representatives of various branches of the Stonecutters’ Union of Ireland, as well as of the union’s central organisation. The picture was taken about 1905. Two of the brothers feature in the photo:
John Wrafter (b 1864), representative for Tullamore and Alec Wrafter (b 1879), representative for Dublin.
Fig 2. Photo of members of the Stonecutters Union of Ireland (obtained from Barry Wrafter). Alec Wrafter (Dublin) back row, 2nd from the left. John Wrafter (Tullamore) back row, 2nd from the right.
James (Jim) Wrafter (b 1872) was Treasurer of the Union (perhaps the Dublin Branch) about 1909.
Joseph Wrafter (b 1882) was elected Annual Auditor of the Stonecutters’ Union of Ireland in 1907. Joseph was not living in Dublin at the time so involvement in the union would have meant regular trips by train to Dublin to attend meetings in Capel St. Several years later Joseph moved to Dublin and by 1932 he had been elected the General Secretary of the Stonecutters’ Union of Ireland. He died in Dublin in 1936.
Among the members of the Tullamore Company of the Irish Volunteers in 1916 were several stonecutters and masons from the Bracken, Wrafter and Molloy families. Joseph Wrafter was an active member and played a big part in the events of 20 March 1916, which became known as the “Tullamore incident”. In a skirmish, shots were fired and a bullet from the gun of Peader Bracken (another stonecutter) hit police sergeant Ahern. Joseph and his fellow volunteers were tried by a military court and ultimately released without conviction. Joseph was the father of the late Sister Oliver, who was a Presentation nun in Rahan and a keen local historian.
Recurring issues at the Union meetings reported by the press were demands for the use of Irish limestone in construction and the employment of Irish stonecutters in quarrying and dressing stone. Another demand was that available jobs should go to trade union stonecutters.
In 1896 stonecutters of the Stonecutter’s Union at the Ballyduff quarries went on strike over demands for higher wages and a half-day on Saturdays. The strike was short-lived as a settlement was promptly reached. Three decades later in 1922, there was another dispute over wages. This time the settlement resulted in a reduction of wages of stonecutters by 5 shillings to £3-10s, and of quarrymen by 2 shillings to £3. This may have reflected a decrease in the demand for quarried stone. In the early years of the 20th century concrete blocks began to replace stone for construction purposes, a development that was much criticized by the Stonecutter’s Union.
Several of the next generation of the Wrafter family entered the stonecutting trade. I will mention just two of them here. Patrick Joseph, born c. 1899, son of James, emigrated to America. He states his occupation as stone carver on his wedding certificate of 1922 in Albany, New York State.
John born 1891, son of John (b 1864), became a stonecutter/sculptor in Tullamore. By the 1930s he had left the stone trade and became a grocer and publican, with premises on Harbour Street (Wrafter’s Harbour Bar).
The latter half of the 20th century saw the continuing decline of the stonecutting trade. The carving of headstones was one of the few activities that survived for the employment of stonecutters. Among the Wrafters of Tullamore the trade died out. Four or five decades passed without a Wrafter putting his signature to a piece of stonework. Then in the late 1990s the Wrafter name appeared once again in connection with stonework. Barry Wrafter, the great-grandson of stonecutter John Wrafter, born 1864, and grandson of John Wrafter of the Harbour Bar, revived the family tradition, and has made a name for himself as a sculptor and stone carver.
Growing up in Ennis, Co Clare, Barry returned to the trade of his forefathers as an outlet for his creative talent. He became interested in stone carving and sculpting after learning about the history of stonecutting in his family. Barry is one of only a few stone carvers using traditional methods and skills operating at the current time in Ireland. Since 1999 he has been commissioned to produce several public works throughout Ireland. His most ambitious work to date is undoubtedly the hurling sculpture in Kilkenny city (Fig 2), which he worked on in 2016-17. Closer to the home of his ancestors is “The Turf Cutter” from 2007, which is to be seen at the entrance to Belvedere House Garden and Park, near Mullingar (Fig 3).
Fig 3. Barry’s major work, the Kilkenny Hurling sculpture in Irish limestone completed in 2017. (Photo: http://www.barrywrafterart.com)
Fig 4. The Turf cutter sculpture at the entrance to Belvedere House and Gardens. (Photo: http://www.mckeonstone.ie)
More recently (in 2022), Barry was employed in the restoration of the Primark store (also called The Bank Buildings) in Belfast. The building, made of red sandstone from Scotland and completed in 1900, was ravaged by a fire in 2018. Some of his work can be seen in the photos below.
Fig 5. Pieces of carved sandstone ready for mounting into place in the Primark department store in Belfast. (Photo: Barry Wrafter)
Fig 6. Part of the facade of the Primark department store in Belfast during restoration. (Photo: Barry Wrafter)
Wrafter family #3
The third Wrafter branch involved in stonecutting may have started with Timothy Wrafter, born about 1804. Timothy, who lived in Aharney (a townland about 6 km northwest of Tullamore), was a stonecutter and farmer. He married Bridget Houghran in 1839 and had a large family; they had at least 11 children between 1840 and 1861.
At least two of the sons became stonecutters. John, born 1840, had settled in Chicago by 1880. He was married to Mary Molloy. He died in Chicago in 1904, age 65, occupation “Stone cutter”.
Another son, Timothy, born in 1849, married Anne Somers in 1877 and emigrated with his wife and two young children to Australia in 1883. They settled in the Brisbane area, where Tim continued his trade as a stonemason. Before leaving Ireland he probably worked for John Molloy at the Ballyduff quarries.
Timothy’s nephew, also called Tim, was a stonecutter according to the 1911 census. He was living with his parents in Ballykillmurray, close to Tullamore and the quarries, according to the same census. A couple of years later, in 1913, Tim made the same journey as his uncle had done 30 years earlier. He arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on 19 December 1913 on the ship Perthshire. Working with his uncle Timothy, the younger Tim learned the ropes of the trade.
Timothy eventually procured the business from his uncle and together with his two sons, Denis and Joseph, who were apprenticed as stonemasons, they founded the firm, T. Wrafter & Sons in Brisbane. It is still owned and run by the Wrafter family. They are the fifth or sixth generation of this Wrafter family involved in stonecutting. The company produces monuments, memorials, public works, and carries out church work, stone artworks and heritage restorations.
One of their most recent works is a 5-meter-tall Celtic cross standing on the grounds of Nudgee College in Brisbane. The monument, erected in August 2021 to mark 130th anniversary of the college, celebrates the school’s Irish Catholic heritage. Peter Wrafter, Company Director and a qualified stonemason, is a former pupil of the school. The material sought after for the cross was one that would exhibit good weathering properties and would have a colour resembling crosses in Ireland. Australian black granite was chosen and after a sandblast finish resembles the colour of Irish limestone. This beautiful work of art is a testament to the legacy of the Ballyduff stonecutters.
Fig 7. A recently erected Celtic cross on the grounds of Nudgee College in Brisbane made by T Wrafter and Sons, Stonemasons. (Photo: https://twstone.com.au)
Fig 8. An example of one of many public works in stone designed and produced by T Wrafter and Sons, Stonemasons., Brisbane. (Photo: https://twstone.com.au)
Given the prevalence of the name Timothy in this family there may be a link with another Timothy Wrafter who died in 1815 and whose headstone can be found in the graveyard of the old Church of St Carthage in Rahan. The tombstone is ornately carved as can be seen below.
Fig 9. The gravestone of Timothy Rafter who died in 1815, aged 33, in the graveyard of the old Church of St. Cartage in Rahan. (Photo: Paul Stafford. From booklet Offaly Tombstone Inscriptions. 1. Rahan Graveyards)
Thomas Wrafter is another Wrafter stonecutter that emigrated to Australia in the 19th century. Thomas ran a quarrying business on the outskirts of Adelaide in South Australia in 1880. He employed several stonecutters. He may be the same Thomas Wrafter that emigrated from Ireland and arrived in Brisbane in 1866. I have not been able to link him to any specific branch of the Wrafters.
Conclusion
In my research into the quarries and stonecutters of Ballyduff and Tullamore a picture has emerged that shows that the limestone quarries of Ballyduff produced some of the finest building and monument stone in Ireland. Moreover, the stonecutters that originated in Tullamore were widely recognized as some of the best in the country, and those that left Ireland (mainly to Australia) found that their skills were highly valued in their new homelands.
Many thanks to John Wrafter for these articles. Great research and we look forward to a printed publication in due course, Ed.
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