The Memories of Séamus Balfe

© John Hussey

Full title: Another world: hill farming in the Wicklow Mountains: Séamus Balfe’s memories of Lackan, Kylebeg and Ballynultagh

Creator / Author: John Hussey

Item Type / Page count: Book / 107p

When Published: 2019

Publisher / Place of Publication: The Author / [Co. Wicklow]

About: If this book came out in a hardback edition it might be known as a ‘coffee-table’ book, given its size and format (21 x 30 cm). It is a handsome presentation of the recollections of Séamus Balfe on social and farming life in the uplands of West Wicklow. The book arose out of a series of interviews that John Hussey conducted with Séamus Balfe between 2006 and 2019 and this end result perfectly preserves memories of a way of life that will disappear all too soon.

ID number(s): 9781913108182

Contents: Introduction – Life around Lackan in the early 1940’s – Shops and Traders – Escapades in Dublin — Entertainment — Hill-farming at Lackan and Kylebeg — Fairs, marts and droving – Ballynultagh: a forgotten place — Wicklow houses — Illnesses, doctors and death — Easing off and easing out.

Extra #1: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #2: Includes maps and photographs.

Extra #3: Link to John Hussey’s page on Academia.edu

A Hollywood Blockbuster

© Brendan Corrigan

Full title: The History of Hollywood, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: Brendan Corrigan

Item Type / Page count: Book / 402p

When Published: ca.2015

Publisher / Place of Publication: The Author / [Not stated]

About: A handsome publication that is a comprehensively-researched history of the Hollywood area in West Wicklow. Hollywood may be a small village, but this is a huge history and one that will probably be the definitive account for years to come. The author pays particular attention to placenames and people – two elements that provide the foundation for all local history – and their story will resonate with people near and far.

ID number(s): None

Contents: Preface and acknowledgements – List of abbreviations. [Part I – The story of Hollywood] Hollywood before the Normans – Sir Geoffrey de Marisco – The Butlers and the Fitzgeralds – Robert Pipho of Hollywood – 17^th and 18^th centuries – The 1798 Rebellion – The early 19^th century – The Famine and its aftermath – The Land War – Independence and beyond – The O’Reilly Family of Rathattin – The Guirke Family of Knockroe – St. Kevin’s Church (RC) – St. Kevin’s Church (Ch of Ire) – Education in the 19^th century – Soldiers of fortune. [Part II – The Placenames of Hollywood] Introduction – Lord Waterford’s Estate – Killerk, Bannagroe and Athgarvan – Blakestown and Britonstown.[Part III – The People of Hollywood] Introduction – Hollywood Upper – Hollywood Lower – Knockroe – Dragoonhill – Slievecorragh – Broughills Hill – Cheneys or Kiernans Hill – Hollywood Demesne – Newtown – Knocknastreile – Rathattin – Athgreany – Conlans Hill – Mullicagh Upper – Mullicagh Lower – Woodenboley – Drumreagh – Dunboyke – Scalp – Toor – Lugglass Upper – Lugglass Lower – Knocknaboley – Corragh – Coonmore – Walterstown – Johnstown – Harristown – Ballintober – Ballysize Upper – Ballysize Lower – Glebe – Killerk – Bannagroe – Athgarvan – Blakestown Lower – Blakestown Upper — Britonstown. [Appendices] I. Patrick Lynam – II. Grants – III. Evictions of 1830 – IV. Crops grown in Hollywood in 1851 – V. Names of residents 1780s/90s – VI. Tithe Applotment Books – VII. Rev. Rickard’s List of Evictees. List of Maps and Illustrations – Select bibliography – Index for Parts I and II – Index of Surnames in Part III.

Extra #1: Includes dozens of photographs, maps, plans and tables of data.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4 A review of this book appears in the Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society, Number Nine, 2017.

Noelle Keogh’s Carnew Collection

© Noelle Keogh

Full title: Carnew: a Town of History & Heritage

Creator / Author:  Noelle Keogh [Co-ordinator, designer and editor]

Item Type / Page count: Book / 264p

When Published: 2015

Publisher / Place of Publication: [The Author] / Carnew, Co. Wicklow.

About: A most interesting compilation of photographs, historical book extracts, articles and short pieces. A large number of the articles had their origin in interviews with some local residents. The editor / co-ordinator has produced a unique and substantial collection of material relating to Carnew. There has been considerable local interest in this publication, resulting in all copies being quickly sold out.

ID number(s): None

Chapters: Disclaimer – Introduction – [ABOUR CARNEW] Extract from Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837 — Extract from the Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland 1844-1845 – Extract from Slater’s Directory 1894 – My Memories of Carnew (taken from an interview with Andy Brennan) – [BUSINESSES] Public Houses — Shops – Post Office & Bank — Butchers – Bakers — [TRADES AND MANUFACTURING] Blacksmiths and Forges – Occupations & Trades (taken from an interview with John McEvoy) – Tailors, Drapers & Shoemakers — Manufacturing – Kilcavan Quarry (taken from an interview with John Wilkinson) – Picture Gallery – [EDUCATION] Carnew National School – School Days (taken from an interview with Bill Molloy) – Picture Gallery including 1923 School Roll — All Saints National School – Documentation on School Dispute – Coláiste Bhríde – The First Class – Picture Gallery – Other Schools – [RELIGION] Religion (taken from an interview with John McEvoy) – All Saints Church – St. Brigid’s Church – Church of the Most Holy Rosary – Wesleyan Chapel – [AGRICULTURE] Fowl Market – Castle Dairy – Fairs & Marts (taken from an interview with John Wilkinson) – Ploughing Matches – Agricultural Show — Threshing – Corn Mills – My Memories of the Threshing (taken from an interview with John Wilkinson) – Agricultural Work (taken from an interview with Bill Molloy) – [SPORTS AND RECREATION] Horse Racing — Cricket — GAA – Carnew Emmets GAA Club / by Etty Kilbride – Photo Gallery — Tennis – Sports Day – Recreation — Music – At Home Week – [LAW AND ORDER] (taken from an interview with John Wilkinson) – [MILITARY] Military Records up to and including World War 1 – World War 2 (taken from an interview with John Wilkinson) – Memories of World War 2 (taken from an interview with John McEvoy) – [THEN AND NOW] Photo Gallery – [1798] Information from Interviews – Unrecorded Account as Told by an Old Resident – [CARNEW CASTLE] – [LANDLORDS] – Fitzwilliams — Landlords – Big Houses – [FAMINE] — The Poor House (taken from an interview with John McEvoy) – [EMIGRATION] – [MEDICAL] [RURAL ELECTRIFICATION] Working on the Rural Electrification (taken from an interview with Andy Brennan) – [SNOW OF 1947] (taken from an interview with John McEvoy).

Extra #1: Profusely illustrated with photographs.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Bringing Home the Bacon

© AskAboutIreland

Full title: The Bacon Curing Industry

Creator / Author: Alexander W. Shaw

Item Type / Page count: Book Chapter / 17p

When Published: 1902

Publisher / Place of Publication: Browne and Nolan Ltd., / Dublin.

Parent Publication [book]: Ireland : Industrial and Agricultural / edited by William P. Coyne / 532p

About: The book from which this chapter is taken is an official handbook detailing agricultural and industrial progress in Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. This edition was published following the International Glasgow Exhibition of 1901 in an attempt to give a full and detailed account of Irish industry and agriculture at the time. This chapter appears between pages 241-257 of the book. It briefly looks at the history of bacon curing, provides detailed statistical analysis relating to pig production for the previous 60-year period and relates some of the then current practices in pig processing.

ID number(s): None

WW Connection #1: According to the author of this book chapter, “Tradition has it that the birthplace of the bacon curing industry was Baltinglass in the County Wicklow and that the county was at one time the scene of operations of a large number of small curers, who cured long sides for the Dublin market.”. He does not present any substantial evidence for this, but it certainly opens up an avenue for future research.

Extra #1: Contains photographs and tables throughout the text.

Extra #2: Link to the full text of the book chapter here.

Extra #3: Link to the full text of the entire book at Ask About Ireland.ie [Warning: this is a very large file]

Extra #4: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #5: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Donard as Community Exemplar

© The Publisher

Full title: Stone on the Pier: Green Memoirs and Stories from Donard 2008

Creator / Author: Compiled and edited by Pauline Devine

Item Type / Page count: Book / 94p

When Published: 2008

Publisher / Place of Publication: Donard, Co. Wicklow / Donard I.C.A. Co-ordinated Intergenerational Project.

About: This book  is the fruit of a project which began in 2005. It comprised three strands. Firstly, members of Donard I.C.A. and their friends wrote stories. Secondly, writer-in-residence, Pauline Devine interviewed and recorded the memoirs of senior citizens of the area. Lastly, the pupils of the local school engaged in local activities and wrote about their experiences under the supervision of their teachers. The themes of community and sustainability are strongly reflected in the pieces that appear in this book which was accompanied by project exhibitions held locally.

ID number(s): None

Chapters: Foreword — Introduction — Contributors — Stone on the pier / Bridie Tyrrell — Neighbours / Mary Manley — Making music in hard times / Tommy Whittle — Local food from farm and river / Lily Allen — Earwigs in the house / Claire Walsh — Football in Donard – the glory years / Jack Flynn — Girl on a farm / Jude Kearney — ‘The old people had Gaelic’ / Bill Cullen — School, work and play in Coolamadra / Kit Walshe — The windy road to school / Bridget Whittle — Slow cooking / Lil Dwyer — Adventures in the open air / Jimmy Moore — Wholesome times / Margaret Fielder — Brown paper schoolbook covers / Maureen Quigley — Body clocks in time with the seasons / Nora Whelan — My first day at school / Mary Stynes — Granny’s Hat / Josephine Ryan — Children’s corner: stories and responses — The Irish Countrywomen’s Association in Donard / Maureen Quigley — List of sponsors.

Extra #1: includes several colour photographs of the contributors and historical black & white pictures of the locality.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Second Collection of Articles on West Wicklow History

© WWHS

Full title: Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society: Number 2, 1985-1986

Creator / Author: West Wicklow Historical Society & contributors.

Item Type / Page count: Journal (Complete issue) / 88p

When Published: 1985 /6

Publisher / Place of Publication: West Wicklow Historical Society / Baltinglass (?), Co. Wicklow.

About: The second publication of a set of articles on aspects of West Wicklow history. This issue covers locations from Blessington to Tinahely with contributions from natives of the area and other historians.

ID number(s): 0790-1739

Contents: West Wicklow Historical Society 1985 Officers — Honorary Life Members of WWHS — Ireland’s First Aviator – a Baltinglass man? — Editorial / Maria Brosnan — Main st. (South side) Baltinglass 1894 (compiled from Land Valuation Office Revision Books and Slater’s Directory of Ireland 1894) / Paul Gorry — The Society’s Report / Maeve Baker — He lived in the Slaney / Jerome Keogh — Kilcommon Church of Ireland School, Tinahely / H. B. Weir — A Cemetary Cairn at Carrig, Blessington, Co. Wicklow / Theo Clarke — Michael Dwyer in Captivity / Con Costello — ‘Kilranelagh’, a poem / James J. Doyle (1869-1916) — The Valentine Family -Part 2: The Valentines of Donard / Paul Gorry & Anthony E. S. Valentine — Some West Wicklow Memorial Inscriptions / Brian Cantwell — Merginstown School, Dunlavin / Maura Kelly — Wicklow Biographies: No.5: Mór Ó Toole / Danny Boland — Wicklow Biographies No.6: Albina Ó Molloy / Cora Crampton — Wicklow Biographies: No.7: Thomas Eustace, 1st Viscount Baltinglass / Cora Crampton — Fishing for Pearl in the King’s River / Maria Brosnan — The Greenes and Kilranelagh House / Paul Gorry — The Railway Children (the Cott Family) / Liam Kenny — Aspects of the Land War at Local Level, Phase One: 1879-1882 / Joseph Rattigan — Local Agricultural Methods c.1803 / Paul Baker — The Homes of Imaal, a poem / Jerome Keogh — Graney / Dorothy Leonard — Index to the Coolattin Estate Records, 1847-56, Part 2 / Paul Gorry — Thirty Five Years in West Wicklow (“Going to the Country”) / Rhoda Byrne — Appreciations: John Ó Donovan, Jimmy Nolan of The Wood, Joseph Morrin — Book Reviews / Joseph Rattigan and Paul Gorry — List of Members.

Extra #1: Contains black & white photographs and cover illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Link to the full text of this issue online via West Wicklow Historical Society website

Hat-Tip: To the West Wicklow Historical Society who have arranged for the digitisation of this issue of their Journal and its free accessibility online.

Country Diary of a Dunlavin Lady

© The Publisher

Full title: Monica Carr’s Country Diary

Creator / Author: Monica Carr

Item Type / Page count: Book / 142p

When Published: 1997

Publisher / Place of Publication: Cork Publishing Ltd. / 19 Rutland Street, Cork

About: Monica Carr wrote a popular column in the ‘Farming Independent’ in Ireland. This book is a compilation of some of those ‘Country Diary’ columns which evoke memories of a simple and less mechanised farming culture.

ID number(s): 1860769551

Chapters:  Mean, hungry January — Sound the horn! — Boiling the bones — Walk on, walk on — Winds of change — Another age — Candlemas lore — Séan’s dilemma — Rooks build in Spring — Animal welfare — Going out like a lion — Dogs in the kitchen — Cycling in April — Polishing and superstition — Holy Week — Good Friday — Water everywhere — April hurries away — Family woes — The Spring Show — Glorious May — Summer blooming — On the treadmill — Joys of June — Sick friends — That sinking feeling — Picnic time — The scythe was king — Loneliness — A feast of colour — Home from America — Great inventions — Sunshine habits — Mushrooms — Season of fruit trees — Harvest of the binder — Accidents — Blossoming forth — A four-legged pest — Counting the pennies — Tremendous shock — Down from Dublin — A little rain — Autumn scents — Grandfather’s penknife — Salty bacon — Bulls and wrens — Martha’s passing — Plucking the turkey — Christmas Eve — December 31.

WW Connection #1: Monica Carr is the pseudonym of Mary Norton, who was born in Dunlavin in 1922.

Extra #1: includes some decorative illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.