Great Connell Churchyard

@

Connellmore Cross

Crosaire Chonaill Mhoir

Great Connell Graveyard Overgrown with Church in Background

As children living on Great Connell Road we often explored the two old graveyards adjacent to Connellmore Cross Roads – in those days one would enter these old overgrown graveyards with some feeling of interpretation, and often as a “dare” – those were different times in Ireland – there was a silent respect, nay even a niggling fear of what would or could be waiting in a graveyard.

Great Connell Graveyard

The more famous of these is located within the surviving (although crumbling) ruins of Great Connell Priory (established in 1202 and finally suppressed in 1541) and is a “protected structure” (KD 023/16) #1.

There is larger graveyard alongside the “main” road – Great Connell Road – surrounding what is termed “Great Connell Church”  which is somewhat more overgrown and difficult to navigate. #2

Great Connell Church Interior Doorway / Roof Damage

The official record published by Kildare County Council  (Ref: K208) states that the graveyard is in the townland of Great Connell [Grid ref 281924(E), 214216(N)], and the RC parish of Newbridge. I was somewhat surprised to note that this graveyard is still officially “open”. #2

Great Connell Church Interior Chancel Area / Roof Damage

The denomination of the graveyard is recorded as Roman Catholic #2, although I am not sure that this is totally correct, as there are a mixture of Catholic and Protestant headstones located in this graveyard, and in his study of Great Connell Priory Thomas A. Loughlin suggests that “A Church of Ireland Church was built north of the site” in 1780 #1. Despite the visual evidence provided by the headstones, some of which are obviously Church of Ireland / Protestant and some Roman Catholic, I am open to correction on my surmising that the church was not exclusively Roman Catholic in this instance.

Great Connell Church Interior Doorway

Great Connell Church Interior View of Window

Sadly, the church building itself is deteriorating at an exceptionally fast pace, the roof has now almost completely collapsed, the floor has been pulled up over the years, and only few of the floorboards remain, and the old inscriptions which once adorned the windows have faded considerably even in the few years since I last visited the graveyard.

Unfortunately, the County Council have not considered it prudent or necessary to include this old, although disused church, on the protected structures list for the county, and even now at this late stage the Council could rectify this and protect what remains of the structure, which could then be made safe and even restored.

Great Connell Church Interior Roof over Doorway

The graveyard is surrounded by a combination of an earthen bank and a rough coursed stone wall about three feet high (for younger readers that’s about one-metre-high), in my memory there was once a small pond just outside the walls on the Newbridge (eastern?) side of the cemetery – I remember collecting tadpoles there as a child – but it looks like the pond is long gone. The old gate is easily opened,  there is also a stone style nearby allowing relatively easy access to the graveyard – however it is fairly uneven and overgrown underfoot so some visitors may not be able to progress very far into the graveyard.

There are a couple of well-worn paths, one leading to what remains of the ivy covered entrance to the old church which is located in the centre of the graveyard site, and another which leads to some of the easily accessible graves and around the other (eastern?) side of the old church. Many of the roof slates lie on the ground beside this wall of the church.

Great Connell Church with Railed Graves in the foreground

Unfortunately, there is ample evidence of some unwelcome visitors to this peaceful place – evidenced by litter, drink containers, and persons dumping their household rubbish inside the wall or along the earthen bank. So much for our Irish reputation for respecting graveyards – those buried there, regardless of religion / or none, should at least expect that their last resting place would not be disrespected by the few.

Great Connell Graveyard Overgrown

The graveyard is a most secluded spot, there are many mature trees within and on the boundary of the graveyard, as I mentioned previously it is extremely overgrown – to the point of being relatively inaccessible in parts because of the brambles, saplings and dense undergrowth. Those graves and headstones which are readily accessible are in many cases partially covered with ivy, mosses and lichens.

Great Connell Church & Graveyard

The Kildare County Council record  states that the church and graveyard are clearly marked on the 1st edition OS 6″ map and the 1897-1913 OS 25″ map, and that most of the headstones are from the 19th and 20th century. #2

Great Connell Church Roof Collapsed

The graveyard although overgrown contains many old (and a few new) headstones which vary from single upright headstones set into the ground, cross-shaped memorials, with a selection of enclosed (kerbed) graves, some with attractive railings. Some “table” or bevelled stones set into the ground covering the whole grave some of which are inscribed. I wonder if there are any crypts or vaults in this graveyard – difficult to determine as it is considerably overgrown.

I wonder if there are any accessible records for those buried here – they would be a fascinating resource, or indeed is there any prospect of the community of the area and the town would, with permission from the Council, consider clearing some of the scrub and opening up the graveyard to those who have family members buried there, or indeed for those who have an interest in researching their family tree……

So I had a look at some of the epitaphs and inscriptions on the headstones – then as now most record the name, places and dates of birth or death, some with rank or profession, but each one a lasting memorial to an individual or individuals who were loved and cherished in life and remembered after their death.

It is probable that some of the families of those interred here have “died out”, or left the area, but there is ample evidence that some of the people commemorated here have descendents still living in Newbridge and the surrounding area.

Great Connell Graveyard, Frederic William Lee Morier

TO THE BELOVED MEMORY OF / FREDERIC WILLIAM LEE MORIER / LIEUTENANT ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY / ELDEST SON / OF VICE ADMIRAL MORIER / AND FRANCES LEE HIS WIFE / HE WAS BORN / ON THE 7^TH DAY OF AUGUST 1842 / AND DIED AT NEWBRIDGE / THE 7^TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 1869 / “BEHOLD I TAKE AWAY THE DESIRE / OF THINE EYES WITH A STROKE” / EZ: XX1V.10 / I WAS DUMB AND OPENED NOT MY / MOUTH, BECAUSE THOU DIDS’T IT” / PS: XXX1X.9. / THIS STONE IS PLACED IN / REMEMBRANCE OF HER DEARLY / BELOVED SON BY HIS MOTHER.

Frederick was just 27 when he died in “Newbridge Barracks, Kildare, Ireland”, his father was (Admiral) William Robert Morier (1790 / 1864) and his mother was Frances (Fanny) Lee Bevan (1819 / 1903). It would appear that he had two sisters and two brothers, as far as I can determine he never married. #3

Great Connell Graveyard, Doctor Thomas Gethin Kerin Newbridge

ERECTED / IN / AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE / BY THE SORROWING / WIDOW OF / DOCTOR THOMAS GETHIN KERIN / IN NEWBRIDGE / WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE / 8^th DECEMBER 1888, AGED 71 YEARS / NOT LOST TO MEMORY, NOT LOST TO LOVE / BUT GONE TO HIS FATHERS HOME ABOVE / BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD.

Could one assume that his wife Sarah was buried here as well, however there is no memorial to Sarah that I could find. Thomas Gethin Kerin’s Will is however available. “On the 5th February 1889, Letters of Administration of the personal estate of Thomas Gethin Kerin formerly of Tramore County Waterford but late of Newbridge County Kildare M.D. who died 8 December 1888 at latter place were granted at the Principal Registry to Sarah Kerin of Newbridge the Widow” The Effects amounted to £172. #4

Great Connell Graveyard, William Kingston Young / Mary Jane Young / Trophina Evelyn Young

IN / LOVING MEMORY / OF / WILLIAM KINGSTON YOUNG L.P.S.I NEWBRIDGE / WHO DIED 24^TH APRIL 1901 / AGED 41 YEARS / AND OF AN INFANT DAUGHTER / TROPHINA EVELYN WHO DIED 5^th MAY 1889 / AGED 8 MONTHS / AND OF / MARY JANE WIFE OF  / WILLIAM KINGSTON YOUNG / WHO DIED 15^TH DECEMBER 1920 / AGED 60 YEARS / “JUST AS I AM WITHOUT ONE PLEA”

According to the 1901 census both William Kingston Young and his wife Mary Jane were born in Co. Cork, William was a Pharmaceutical Chemist. They had three other daughters and one son. #5

Great Connell Graveyard Margaret Matilda Hoyle Fisher

TO THE MEMORY OF / MARGARET HOYLE / THE BELOVED WIFE OF / HUGH WOOLCOMBE-BOYCE / 19^th PRINCESS OF WALES OWN HUSSARS / WHO DIED MARCH 1887 / AGED 26 YEARS

This inscription led me to the following information – Margaret Matilda Hoyle Fisher (b. 1860 / d. March 1887 at Piercetown House, aged 26) married Captain Hugh Woollcombe-Boyce (b. 1861 / d. March 1890 at the age of 28) in May 1886. The couple had one daughter Margery Barbara Woollcombe-Boyce (b. Feb 1887 at Piercetown House, Newbridge) who was orphaned at the age of tree. #6

Great Connell Graveyard Eyre Powell’s railed grave

TO EYRE POWELL Esq. / BORN 10^th AUG 1810 DIED 29^th DEC 1871 AGED 61 YEARS / ALSO / TO THE MEMORY OF / GEORGE EYRE POWELL / MAJOR ROYAL DUBLIN MALITIA / BORN 15^th MARCH 1813 DIED 4^th JAN 1870 AGED 56 / AT LUGANO SWITZERLAND / AND TO THEIR SISTER / CHARLOTTE POWELL / WHO DIED 26 JUNE 1895.

The Leinster Express on 6^th January 1872 reported that “On Monday morning last the remains of the late Eyre Powell arrived at Newbridge, from Dublin, by the eleven o’clock train for interment in the family burying place at Great Connell…… The coffin, which was of highly polished Irish oak, mounted with massive brass fittings, and bore upon it the inscription “Eyre Powell, died 29th December, 1871, aged 61 years,” was carried by the tenantry of the deceased gentleman.” #7

Eyre Powell, was selected to occupy the first chair of the Town Commission formed in 1865.

Great Connell Graveyard the Goff Family

IN / LOVING MEMORY / OF / ADA GOFF / WHO DIED 3^RD JULY 1893 / AND OF ANNE JOHNSTON GOFF / WHO DIED 13^TH JULY 1894 / DAUGHTERS OF / ROBERT J GOFF JP / PIERCETOWN HOUSE, NEWBRIDGE, / ALSO HIS SON / ALEXANDER GEORGE GOFF / WHO DIED 17^TH NOVEMBER 1898 / ALSO THEIR BELOVED FATHER ROBERT JOHNSTON GOFF  / WHO DIED 16^TH APRIL 1907 / ALSO IN LOVING MEMORY OF HIS SON / ROBERT WILLIAM GOFF / WHO DIED ON THE 13^TH OF DECEMBER 1916 / AT FOLKESTONE KENT AND WAS BURIED THERE  / THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT.

HIM THAT COMETH ONTO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT / “NEARER MY GOD TO THEE”

The name Goff has been synonymous with Irish bloodstock sales and was founded by Robert J. Goff after he was appointed official auctioneer to the Turf Club in 1866. This site states that Robert died in 1907. #8

Ada Goff’s Will “On the 31^st October 1893, Letters of Administration of the personal estate of Ada Goff late of Piercetown County Kildare Spinster who died 13 July 1883 at same place were granted at the Principal Registry to Robert Johnston Goff of Piercetown Esquire the Father” The Effects amounted to £1,346 10s. 3d. #9

Sources:

#1 Full title “The Priory of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine at Great Connell” from a study by Mr. Thomas A. Loughlin and available at Desk Study Great Connell Priory

#2 Kildare County Council – Graveyard Details

#3 A Parcel of ribbons Frederic William Lee Morier

#4 National Archives Will Calenders (Pdf)

#5 National Archives 1901 Census

#5 National Archives 1911 Census

#6 The Peerage .com

#7 Kildare .ie History

#8 Goff’s History

#9 National Archives Will Calenders (Pdf) Goff

Photographs ©dwdepaor

Pollardstown Church & Cemetery

Situated in the Townland of Pollardstown, the parish of Newbridge, which is in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin [Grid Ref: 276710(E), 215580(N)] ¹

The Church & Cemetery is within walking distance of the public car park which is provided for visitors to the nearby Pollardstown Fen (also well worth a visit) and I have visited this old Catholic Church ruin and cemetery on a few occasions over the past number of years. The cemetery is always well-kept, grass generally neatly mown, there is an air of obvious respect for those whose last resting place this is.

The cemetery is always well-kept (Pic. 2008)

In the grounds surrounded by the graveyard, the remains of an old stone church can be seen – the ruins probably held together by the ivy and vegetation which is growing through and over the surviving gable ends of the church.

The surrounding walls are covered in vegetation and lichens.

Access is via an old gate or alternatively via a stone “stile” built into the wall, the whole site is surrounded by a wall, for visitors it is important to note while it is reasonably level underfoot, there are some deep “trench” like dips in parts of the site.

Pollardstown Church West Gable (Pic. 2008)

Pollardstown Church West Gable increasingly being overgrown (Pic. 2016)

In some areas the surrounding walls and the other remnants of the church building are covered in vegetation and lichens, as are many of the older headstones & grave markers.

Pollardstown Headstones covered with lichens or mosses make them difficult to decipher.

In his article on Pollardstown Church James Durney notes that “Pollardstown was a lightsome and ambitious church of the thirteenth century, an architectural satellite of Kildare Cathedral” ² headstones appear to date from 18^th to the 20^th century – the cemetery is currently closed.

Pollardstown Church East Gable (Pic.2005)

Pollardstown Church East Gable (Pic.2016)

The east and west gable walls survive, however there is little remaining of the north and south walls. Three windows remain in the Western gable, the centre window slightly higher than the ones to the side, where there were probably windows on the Eastern gable there is now a large aperture, both gables are now significantly overgrown and on my recent visit the increase in vegetation was noticeable.

Pollardstown Church Western Gable showing Cut Stone windows

The Church stood 34 feet long by 26 feet wide ⁴

Pollardstown Headstones covered with lichens or mosses make them difficult to decipher.

Many of the older headstones are leaning, some damaged or broken and while some are legible others covered with lichens or mosses make them difficult to decipher. One headstone which is succumbing to the undergrowth reads “ERECTED BY / M^RS MARIA DUNNE / OF CALICKNOCK / IN MEMORY OF HER BELOVED / HUSBAND M^R MICHAEL DUNNE / WHO DIED AUGUST 13 1872 / AGED 70 YEARS.

Wooden Cross alongside boundary wall

County Kildare Burial Grounds Survey notes that the site is recorded on the “Record of Monuments and Places – Ref. No. KD023-003001 and that “The site is of considerable archaeological, architectural and historic interest, attesting to the long-standing ecclesiastical presence in the area.¹

As always, when visiting old ecclesiastical sites or cemeteries, due respect must be accorded to those interred there whether or not in marked graves.

Sources:

¹ County Kildare Burial Grounds Survey [Accessed 11 April 2016]

²  Pollardstown Church History [Accessed 11 April 2016]

³  Ireland in Ruins [Accessed 11 April 2016]

⁴  Allen Parish History [Accessed 11 April 2016]

Photos ©DWdePaor

Things We Walk Past Every Day

“A sense of curiosity is nature’s original school of education.”
Smiley Blanton

We walk past them many times, never once stopping to have a real look at some of the items which adorn our footpaths, walls and roadside locations. Why are they there, what was their function (if they no longer have an obvious one), when were they put there and how did they survive the building boom and road building / widening programmes this country experienced in the late 1900’s and early 2000’s. Sadly some items of historic and cultural interest did not survive, and were removed and cast aside probably in dumps or may even have been scrapped – hopefully some are being stored in a Council Yard awaiting reinstatement at some future date.

Some (but by no means all) of the items listed below have no practical function in this the 21st century, but they were essential and performed a critical function in the past, they may have provided water for the community, or in the case of the cut benchmark were of critical importance in the first ordinance surveys carried out in Ireland.

The next time you pass something on the side of the road take a second look, think how that item or structure contributed to the community in the past, and try to ensure that these items of street furniture remain part of the landscape for many years to come.

Cut  Benchmarks

Example of a “Cut Benchmark” in Newbridge, Co. Kildare

The photograph shows one of the more common forms of Ordinance Survey “cut benchmarks”; the benchmark indicated the height of a particular point above sea-level (then determined at Poolbeg Lighthouse). These are quite common and can be seen in many places around the country. As can be seen from the photograph the benchmark was formed by carving a horizontal bar into a brick or stone (often found on what were considered “permanent” structures such as building walls, bridges etc.), an arrow was carved underneath the centre of the horizontal bar. The shape of the benchmark is not unlike a “crow’s foot”. The height value was gauged from the centre point of the horizontal bar.

“Sea level was defined to be the low water of spring tide at Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay on the 8th April 1837. This reference point remained in use until it was superseded in 1970 by a point mean sea level at Malin Head, Co. Donegal, which is 2.7 m higher”. (#1)

Old Water Pumps

Glenfield & Kennedy – Kilmarnock Cast-Iron Water Pumps. Reg. No. 11818056

There are a number of examples of old cast-iron water pumps (now disused) around the town, dating to a time when there was no mains water supply that most of us take for granted in these modern times. Some of the pumps are stamped with the manufacturer’s name “Glenfield and Kennedy – Kilmarnock”

Glenfield & Kennedy – Kilmarnock Cast-Iron Water Pumps. Reg. No. 11818054

There is however an interesting link to modern times as one of the principles of this company (Glenfield and Kennedy – Kilmarnock) a Thomas Kennedy invented and patented the first “accurate device for measuring water consumption” (#2) which ultimately led to the ability to charge for water consumption.

According to the Buildings of Ireland website these water hydrants are “of some historical and technical interest, dating to a period before mains water supply when a communal source of clean drinking water was deemed sufficient. The survival of the water hydrant in its original location is of importance – elsewhere removed and re-instated as ornamental features…….survives as a reminder of early cast-iron work. The water hydrant is attractively sited on the side of the road and is of artistic importance, having been conceived as an aesthetic, as well as functional, piece.” (#3)

Cast-Iron Water Pumps. Reg. No. 11818012

There are a number of similar (although not all of the same design) water pumps around the town and although they are now superfluous to our needs, they survive as attractive pieces of street furniture, and as testament to those days when water had to be collected in churns and buckets and transported to the kitchen……now its conveniently available at the turn of a tap.

 

The Watering Gates

Although construction of the British Cavalry Barracks in Newbridge commenced circa 1813, the formal structure of the walls we now refer to as the “Watering Gates” does not appear to exist in 1859.

A View of the Watering Gates in Newbridge

However an outline of the current “watering gates” are marked alongside a ford and are seen to be in existence in 1871, the ford at this point of the river presumably once lead to the site of the original “RC Chapel” which was located just opposite the Watering Gates at the end of Chapel Lane.

One of the stone pillars at the Watering Gates adjacent the River Liffey in Newbridge

The original purpose of the Watering Gates was to provide an area where horses from the nearby cavalry barracks were brought to drink along the banks of the River Liffey.

A road once led from the barrack stables through an archway of the barracks central tower (now demolished), eastwards between the Barracks parade grounds to the Liffey. The horses were led through the watering gates, allowed to drink, and then lead back to their stables.

The photograph shows one of the relatively ornate pillars which marked the entrance to the Watering Gates.

Old Walls

Remaining Walls of the Cavalry Barracks, Newbridge

Old stone walls exist in and around Newbridge, some may have been built in the 1800’s in conjunction with the Cavalry Barracks, others will predate that construction work.

Old Walls – Wildlife Havens, Newbridge

While most people know that hedgerows act as corridors for the movement of wildlife and also provide nesting areas for birds, older stone walls are also important for wildlife – they tend to support insects, in winter they support mosses and lichens, then during the summer months they can support many species of wildflowers. Old walls such as the one in the photograph should not be disturbed, but left in their natural state.

Guard Stones

Guard Stone located @ junction of John’s Street, & Eyre Street, Newbridge

A number of Guard Stones remain in Newbridge, although I suspect there were many more in bygone years. They were developed during the era of horse-drawn carriages and were positioned at the base of building walls at street corners to prevent damage to buildings by cornering carriages. The stones were sloped to guide carriage wheels back onto the roadway should the carriage take the corner too sharply. Sometimes guard stones were also positioned at gateways (arches) to prevent damage to the stonework structure of the gate / arch.

Guard Stone located on Main Street (@ Brophy Farrell’s) (Damaged)

The surviving Guard Stones in Newbridge are positioned mainly on building corners where minor streets meet the Main Street, and are small but important historical features of the streetscape. The fear is that when re-development occurs that no provision for conservation and replacement of the Guard Stone will be included in planning conditions, and the stones will be discarded with other concrete rubble from the building work.

Post Boxes

Traditional Post Box Main Street Newbridge Co. Kildare (Possibly Edward V11 era)

How aesthetically pleasing the older post-boxes are, much more attractive street furniture than the new style rectangular boxes perched on the top of a steel pole. This post-box located on Main Street Newbridge has been freshly painted (fair play to An Post), however the fear is that these old style post-boxes will disappear from the streetscape in the name of progress.

As far as I can determine the photograph shows an Edward VII Post Box (Green), which means that it would have been erected between 1901 and 1910 [Edward V11 (born 1841) was King from 22nd January 1901 until 6th May 1910]. ( #4)

Some Street Features Are Gone:

Water Pump @Dan Byrnes Crossroads 1987

This photograph was taken in 1987 at Dan Byrne’s Crossroads, the pump has since been removed and is no longer a feature at this crossroads….I remember it sometime later painted in distinct Mayo colours – wonder where it ended up? (The Yield Right of Way sign has since been replaced by traffic lights).

Sources:

#1 Science & Technology in Action. The wonderful world of maps [Online]. Available from: http://www.sta.ie/perch/resources/lessons/sta9-a4-osi-mq.pdf [Accessed 22 June 2014]

#2 Future Museum [Online]. Available from: http://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/life-work/key-industries/engineering-firms/glenfield-kennedy.aspx [Accessed 22 June 2014]

#3 Buildings of Ireland website [Online]. Available from: http://www.buildingsofireland.ie [Accessed 22 June 2014]

#4 BBC History Website [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_vii_king.shtml [Accessed on: 23 June 2014]

All photographs © D. de Paor