Drawing of Old Bawn House and Gardens

This house was built at a time when the normal residence for a gentleman in such a remote district was a fortified castle, however the house was enclosed by a wide fosse and probably provided with a drawbridge. To the south of the house there was a large pleasure garden laid out with walks, ponds and avenues of trees.

Old Bawn House was damaged in the rebellion of 1641. It was restored immediately at a cost of £3,000, a huge amount for the time. A census in 1660 reveals that there were thirty occupants in the house when, in addition to the Bulkeley family, there were servants such as a dairy maid, a porter, a brewer, a gameboy and a stabler. Elsewhere in Old Bawn there were others who worked on the estate such as a gardener, steward, smith, carpenter, miller and labourers, revealing a thriving village economy based around Old Bawn House.

Old Bawn House

After the Bulkeleys, the house passed to Lady Tynte who leased it and in 1830 Old Bawn was bought by the Mc Donnell family who established a paper mill behind the house. This was one of many mills along the Dodder in the nineteenth century. The house fell into disrepair during the early 1900′s it was used as a storehouse when the lands were being developed in the 1960′s, and eventually what remained of Old Bawn was demolished in 1976.

Old Bawn House in 1972

Did you know?

In 1641 William Bulkeley reported that his mother-in-law Elizabeth Maynwaring was compelled “by force of armes” to marry a Catholic, “one Mr. Phillip Pursell of Ballyfoyle, a Papist & a Rebell” during the rebellion. He claimed that his wife lost her inheritance as a consequence and applied for £1,000 compensation.

You can see the depositions from the 1641 Rebellion online at http://www.1641.tcd.ie/. Search under the name Bulkeley for those relating to Old Bawn tenants.

For more on Old Bawn House, see Source.

]]> http://brianhayestd.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/joint-celebrations-in-itt-today/ Thu, 24 May 2012 17:06:32 +0000 BRIAN HAYES TD Dublin South West http://brianhayestd.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/joint-celebrations-in-itt-today/ ITT celebrated 20 years in Tallaght today and also the opening of the new ‘Zip Way’

On 11 November 2011, Michael D. Higgins was inaugurated as the ninth President of Ireland.

The Hell Fire Club, Perched high on a mountain-top overlooking the city of Dublin, is undoubtedly the area’s most famous landmark. I remember when during the summer holidays a group of us would often spend the day here after hiking up from Tallaght. Situated at 1275 feet, near the summit of Mount Pelier Hill. It was built in the Eighteenth century on the site of a sacred Stone Age tomb. The tomb dates from the Neolithic Period (4500 – 2000 BC) and was constructed within a circle of large boulders known as a cairn.

Speaker Connolly is said to have built the house on Mount Pelier Hill in 1725. Connolly was one of the wealthiest men in Ireland; he had a Dublin house in Capel Street and a country estate at Castletown, near Celbridge. He constructed the club as a hunting lodge. Connolly destroyed the cairn while building the hunting lodge, making use of the boulders in its construction. Sometime later the roof, which originally was slated, was blown off in a great storm. Locals attributed this misfortune to the work of the devil, in revenge for the destruction of the cairn. Not to be outdone Connolly set to work and built a massive arched roof of stones keyed together as in a bridge, and of such impregnable strength that it withstood the efforts of wind or devil

The building consisted of two large rooms and a hall on the upper floor. A small loft was over the parlor and hall. The hall door was reached by a flight of steps. On the ground level was a large kitchen, servants’ quarters and a number of small rooms. All the windows faced north, commanding a magnificent view of Dublin.

After Connolly’s death in 1729, the Hunting Lodge remained unoccupied for a number of years until it was acquired by the infamous Hell Fire Club, from which it got its name. Hell Fire Clubs were established in the eighteenth century, and were associated with outrageous behavior and depravity. One story I always remember my Gran telling me when I was younger concerned the Devil himself made a brief appearance there at some unspecified time in the past. A mysterious stranger seeks shelter on a stormy night, and a card game ensues. A member of the household drops a card, and sees that below the table, the otherwise affable and charming visitor has a cloven hoof. His or her screams made the Devil ‘aware of her discovery, and he at once vanished in a thunder-clap leaving a brimstone smell behind him.

Richard Parsons, the first Earl of Rosse, established the Hell-Fire Club in Dublin in 1735, was twice Grand Master Mason of Ireland, in 1725 and 1730… The president of the Hell Fire Club was named ‘The King of Hell’ and was dressed like Satan, with horns, wings and cloven hooves. One custom was that of leaving the vice-chair unoccupied for the devil – in whose honour the first toast was always drunk.

The Clubs became associated with excessive drinking. Scaltheen, a drink made from whiskey and butter was served in abundance during meetings of the Hell Fire Club. Another story about the club concerns a young Bohernabreena farmer, who curious to find out what went on at the meetings, climbed up Mount Pelier one night. He was found by the members of the Club, dragged into the building and allowed to see the nights’ activities. He was found the next morning wandering around the area, unable to speak and legend has it that he spent the rest of his life deaf and dumb, unable even to remember his name.

Cursed from the very beginning, the aristocratic members of The Hellfire Club used this place as a headquarters for their wild debauchery.  Whatever stories are associated with the building, it is still a very popular place to visit, used by both hillwalkers and families alike.

Hospital chief executive Eilish Hardiman said the authority’s findings were serious and far-reaching. “The safety, welfare and wellbeing of patients are key priorities for this hospital,” she said. “The hospital accepts the recommendations of the Hiqa report in their totality and without exception.” (Times) >

The patient safety watchdog conducted a year-long investigation into the running of the hospital’s emergency department after an inquest into the death of a patient raised serious concerns about overcrowding and the management of risk. (Times) >

Minister Hayes stated “Flooding problems arising from the Killinarden Stream and its tributaries has been a persistent problem in the West Tallaght area for many years. It has especially been a problem in the Knockmore Estate. We all saw the consequences of the floods last October and the impact it had, destroying a number of houses and businesses and cutting off access to many estates as well as the closure of the N81.”

Minister Hayes continued, “A total of 66 homes and a number of commercial premises were destroyed last October with the high volume of rain. The flood prevention measures in place were not able to cope with the sheer volume of rainwater.

Minister Hayes further stated, “In the aftermath of the flooding I visited a number of families whose homes were affected and saw at first hand the damage. It’s hard to believe that over a short space of time the water levels in hallways and kitchens were above radiators and kitchen presses. I brought together officials from South Dublin County Council and my own Department – OPW and asked that they work together to put in place measures to ensure that something like this never happens again. ”

Commenting on the works to take place, Minister Hayes stated, “The works will involve four principal elements. Firstly three screens located on the Jobstown and Killinarden Streams will be redesigned. The building of a new swale and the increase of the existing wall at Knockmore Park and Avenue will compliment this in order to divert flood flows from residential areas. The third element is the installation of two new screens and headwalls at the N81 and DeSelby. The final part of the works will involve improvements to the maintenance of the stream located between Hazelgrove Golf club and Jobstown Inn.”

Minister Hayes concluded, “These works will finally address the major problem of flooding in these areas and will also give greater protection to householders. I hope that these works will be completed in the coming months.”

Eilísh Hardiman, chief executive of Tallaght hospital, said the proposal envisaged “an overarching campus governance arrangement”. This would allow for separately governed hospitals in the Tallaght medical quarter with state-of-the-art and patient-friendly children’s, maternity and adult hospital facilities, she said. (Times) >

The 32-year-old man was shot in the legs when he answered his front door at Corbally Green in Tallaght at around 10.45pm last night.

He is currently being treated in Tallaght Hospital but Gardaì claim his injuries are not life threatening.

Detectives in Tallaght say they do not know why the man was shot and have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. They are currently treating the case as one of mistaken identity.

The man who works as a bank clerk is not known to Gardaì and has no previous convictions.

A gunman with a scarf around his face fired five shots from a 9mm handgun and hit the man three times in the legs.

The victim’s partner and ten-year-old child were in the house at the time.

Alice Furlong

Tallaght was a small and isolated place in those days, so it is not surprising that Katharine Tynan, the poet who lived at Kingswood, knew the Furlong family. In her biography she recalls the autumn of 1888 when she was leaving Tallaght to live in London, “Before going on to the London life, I must speak of my neighbours and friends, the Furlongs, a family consisting of a father, mother and four daughters who lived not far away in a cottage in the Dublin Mountains.  Of the four sisters, three wrote poetry. They were wild, leggy young things, with manes of black hair, like mountain ponies, and they were always chattering about poetry and the things that make poetry, at the top of their cheerful young voices”.

Tallaght Village in 1900

In 1899 a London publisher, Elkin Matthews, launched Alice’s first book of poetry titled Roses and Rue and its success established her as one of the best Irish poets of her time.

Alice’s family later moved from Bohernabreena to live in Bawnville House which then stood opposite Ahern’s pub on the Old Bawn Road. She continued to write and became heavily involved in the Irish language movement, the Gaelic League, founded in 1893 by Douglas Hyde and Eoin MacNeill. She is credited with the first translation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth into Irish.  Other books were to follow, including Tales of Fairy Folk and Queens and Heroes in 1907.

Alice's father, James Furlong

In 1900 Queen Victoria made an official visit to Dublin, an event which was opposed by various organizations and individuals, including Alice Furlong. During her three week stay, the Queen visited local schools, hospitals and convents and was guest of honour at various banquets. Despite the best efforts of the authorities to attract Dubliners to turn out, they were disappointed that they failed to have any popular demonstration to welcome her. One of the events organized to celebrate the Queen’s stay was a children’s picnic party which took place in the Phoenix Park. Invitations were issued in the Queen’s name to the school children of Ireland, urging them to attend. Free train tickets were given to children in all parts of Ireland, and transport companies offered cheap excursion trips to the Queen’s party.

The business community donated supplies of goods for the picnic party, including 300 gallons of milk from the Lucan Dairy, one ton of biscuits from Jacob and Co., 10,000 bags of sweets donated by Williams and Woods Co., plus a ton of jam and 3,000 buns from the bakers Johnston, Mooney and O’Brien. To the delight of those opposed, the picnic was considered a failure, attended by less than 10,000 but the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr. Pile, claimed that “50,000 loyal servants were in attendance”.

In response to this failure, Inghinidhe na hÉireann (The Daughters of Ireland), an organisation made up of female nationalists, founded by Maud Gonne, announced they were “proud of the sturdy resistance of the little Dublin children”, resolved to reward them for their patriotism, and at once organised the Patriotic Children’s Treat. Alice Furlong was a member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann and is credited with the idea of the alternative picnic, which was held on Sunday, 1^st July 1900. The event was attended by 30,000 children who marched in procession from Beresford Place to Conturk Park. More than twenty wagons were required to transport the cakes, sweets, fruit and ginger beer to the park, which was, according to Furlong, “distributed free to reward those children who had refused to cheer the English Queen”.

As a result of her involvement with Daughters of Ireland and the Irish language and literary movement Alice Furlong would have known most of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. It is suggested that following the execution of these leaders she became so depressed that she withdrew into seclusion to her home in Tallaght. Kathleen O’Brennan, a journalist and friend of Furlong, wrote the following in 1916, “Having ceased to write in English, she read almost exclusively in Irish, finding this the most satisfying, and she lived with the Gaels. Her love of the language was only shared with her love of Tallaght. To her this little village in the Dublin Hills, and all they recalled, filled her life. She was unhappy away from Tallaght and of recent years looked forward to resting there under the sunshine of the hills. She was an exile away from home, even but a few miles from its beauty.”

There was little doubt that she loved the natural environment of her native Tallaght. At the age of seventy-one, Alice Furlong died. Her funeral took place on 24^th October 1946. She was buried in the family plot atTallaght Cemetery (St. Maelruain’s) where a huge crowd was in attendance.

Eamonn Maloney TD.

This post is a synopsis of Eamonn Maloney’s talk to Tallaght Historical Society on 9th March 2012. A version of it also appeared in The Echo on 22nd March 2012.

Rovers win Dublin derby

Two great results for two of my favourite football teams. A visit to Tallaght stadium in Dublin, my first of the new Airtricity Premier League season, was rewarded with a convincing 4-0 win by Shamrock Rovers over Shelbourne. Mind you, Shels did not help their cause by losing a player after only seven minutes. Goalkeeper Dean Delany was red-carded for a foul in the box on Billy Dennehy. Gary Twigg converted the spot kick. A back pass from Stephen Hurley drifted slowly towards the goal, ending up in the back of the net, much to the amusement of the home supporters in the 5,000 crowd. Kick-off had been delayed for ten minutes because of the number of spectators waiting to gain entry. President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins was in the stand. Will be interesting to see the replay on RTÉ’s Monday Night Soccer show.

SRFC 4 Shels 0

A long-range strike from Ronan Finn just before half time made it 3-0. Shels continued to battle against the odds but Aaron Greene added another for the Hoops, who had Gary McCabe sent off for a second offence. So both sides in the Dublin derby were reduced to ten towards the end.By that stage the three points were already in the bag for the Hoops, who remain at the top of the table along with Sligo Rovers.

Jack MIdson

Less then 24 hours later I was delighted to see another 4-0 scoreline, this time in favour of AFC Wimbledon who were at home to Burton Albion. A badly needed three points to keep the Dons clear of the relegation zone in npower League 2, their first season back in the Football League. Glad to see Jack Midson is still sharing the top spot for goalscorers in the division with 18 goals. After the soccer, it was time to switch my attention to the RaboDirect PRO12 rugby matches involving the Irish provinces. On Friday night in a sell-out match at the RDS (coinciding with the Tallaght match) Leinster lost by a single point against the Ospreys, 22-23. Tommy Bowe was rested by the Welsh side but turned up as a guest on RTÉ’s Saturday Night Show with Brendan O’Connor. Looking forward to seeing Tommy back in action for Ulster next season! Listening to some of the Ulster match away to Treviso the news was not good but by the time I got round to checking the result I was delighted to see that a last gasp try by Ian Whitten had secured a 23-27 victory. There was also time to watch the first half of the Connacht match against Munster shown live on TG4. An impressive performance by Connacht for forty minutes but not enough to match the strength of the visitors who went on to win 16-20. Finally some GAA thoughts. On Sunday I was anxious to see how the Monaghan footballers would do in their Allianz National Football League division 2 match against Galway. Monaghan lost home advantage because of the ugly scenes at Clones at a previous match and they had to play the game at a neutral venue at Pearse Park in Longford. The Farney men went down by 0-12 to 1-14 (17 points) and are now in danger of being relegated to division 3 next season. That would be a terrible shame as there are still some great footballers on the team. One of them is Paul “Jap” Finlay from Ballybay, profiled in this excellent piece by Keith Duggan on Saturday in the Irish Times.

As part of the programme, two public lectures take place in Rua Red, Tallaght, on Wednesday evening next 28th March 2012.

PROTECTED STRUCTURES NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE TALK BY WILLIE CUMMING, SENIOR ARCHITECT, NATIONAL INVENTORY OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE, DEPT ARTS, HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT (7PM – 7.45PM)

Willie will provide an introduction to the Work of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage-The NIAH survey of South Dublin was published in 2002.  The talk will explain why and how buildings are rated by the NIAH, illustrated by examples from the county, and introduce other work by the unit including the Inventory of Historic Gardens & Designed Landscapes.

LETTING IN LIGHT-A HISTORY OF SOUTH DUBLIN WINDOWS TALK BY  DR. NESSA ROCHE, ARCHITECTURAL ADVISOR, DEPT OF ARTS, HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT (8PM-9PM)

We take windows for granted but their appearance developed over hundreds of years depending on many factors such as architectural styles, the difficulty of getting enough light into houses before electrification, the technologies of glassmaking and timberwork and the availability of money.  This talk will look at the socio-historical development and importance of windows.  The architectural heritage of South Dublin is enlivened by the survival of authentic period windows and window glass. We can trace why our windows look like they do by taking a visual journey back in time to see how and why people made and used the windows they did.

All welcome but pre-booking is essential. To book please contact Rua Red on 01-4515860 or info@ruared.ie

For further information and the full programme of events, see Explore Architecture.

Karl Whitney’s excellent essay Open Space: walking the boundaries of Tallaght has been shortlisted for the Some Blind Alleys Essay Grant.  Karl’s essay takes the form of a narrative of a walk taken through Tallaght, and is  informed by his own memories of living there, as well as historic research.

You can read the piece here and if you like it, please go here to vote for it. Voting closes this Friday 24th March at noon.

Gardai have asked for the Public’s assistance in locating 42 -year old Gerard Daly from Bailieboro, Co Cavan. Mr Daly was last seen at his home at Cornaveagh, Bailieboro, on 26th June 2011. He is 1.77m ( 5″ 10″ ) in height, of broad build, with dark hair and blue eyes.

Mr Daly is originally from Knockmore Grove in Tallaght, Co Dublin. Gardai say he is well known to dog enthusiasts and breeders. Anyone with information is asked to contact gardai at Bailieboro on 042 – 9694570 or the Garda Confidential line on 1800 – 666111 or contact Trace Missing Persons Ireland on 0851097526 or by Email ontraceireland@gmail.com.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : Trace Missing Persons Ireland

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Its merits do not depend on a statistical headcount of how many leading children’s hospitals outside this island have or do not have co-location. Many of those were established and/or built many decades ago so they should not be cited (on this issue) in this debate.

Dr Finn Breathnach has been one of the saner voices in this debate for some years but his view is not entirely helpful on the issue of co-location. If we are going to get this right at long last, co-location is essential. (Independent) >

When Eugene O’Curry, working on behalf of the Ordnance Survey, visited Tallaght in 1837 he reported on the Friar’s Walk. It was at that time within the garden of the former Archbishop’s Palace. He wrote to Larcom, the head of the mapping project; “There is a fine raised walk running within the garden from North to South, which is called the Friar’s Walk, and a handsome round moate-like eminence at the north end of it is called the Bishop’s Seat”.

Dominican College Friar's Walk, Tallaght.

The Friar’s Walk he refers to is still to be seen in the garden of St Mary’s Dominican Priory. The fact it was commonly known as the Friar’s Walk some 20 years before the arrival of the Dominican order in Tallaght indicates it is a medieval artifact associated with the old monastery founded by St. Maelruain in 769AD. The “handsome round moate-like eminence” at the north end of the walk is now much degraded and is surmounted by a Calvary scene comprising a cross and some statues (the old plaster figures were replaced recently by a more modern work ). The term Bishop’s Seat suggests it may once have been a significant motte fortification built by the Normans in the late 12th or early 13th century to house their appointed bishop.

Today the Friar’s Walk is a raised flat piece of land approximately 150 metres long and lined on either side by mature trees. These include oak, beech, and chestnut. Halfway along the avenue it is bisected by an East-West pathway. Beside this path are two unusual stones situated under some ancient yew trees. One of these stones is a large bullaun stone, perhaps used by the monks of old to grind herbs for medicinal use. The other, larger stone was dug out of the Archbishop’s Bathhouse in the early 19th century. It has long been regarded as the base of the ancient cross of Tallaght which stood in the village until the late middle ages. This would seem to be the case, considering there is a slight depression carved into one side for holding holy water. However, its earlier function was something quite different.

The Bullaun Stone in the Priory Grounds

About 2 years ago Conleth Manning, an archaeologist with the OPW visited the site and examined the stone. He felt the upper surface of it and remarked on how smooth and polished it was. This, he said was an indication of its use as a millstone. He considered it was the base stone of a medieval horizontal mill. The peculiar spiral shape of the hole in the centre of the stone has long been a source of mystery. The shape of this hole, Conleth said, was caused by the rotation of the shaft connecting the horizontal waterwheel with the upper grinding stone of the mill.

The Friar’s Walk today is part of a beautiful wooded garden reserved by the Dominicans for quiet reflection and retreat.

Tallaght Historical Society meets once a month at the County Library, Tallaght and new members are always welcome. The next talk is Alice Furlong, Tallaght Poetess by Eamonn Maloney TD, on 8th March at 7:00 p.m..

Tomás Maher is teaching an evening course in local history for adults at Tallaght Community School, beginning on 6th March 2012. For details please contact Owen Morris at owenmorris@yahoo.com.