Last minute book choice about Ballyshannon area for Christmas.

A LOCAL BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS 2018

This book is available in a limited hardback edition with dust jacket  in A Novel Idea Ballyshannon and for postal delivery from Anthony Begley anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

The book is also available in softback in A Novel Idea, Local Hands  in Ballyshannon and the Four Master's bookshop Donegal Town. Lots of colour, history and rare photographs of the area from Rossnowlagh to Finner to Belleek and all local townlands

Happy Christmas

from Ballyshannon

Rolling Back the Years Christmas in Ballyshannon 100 Years Ago

Ideal Christmas gift:  A Local History book available in a quality limited hardback edition with dustcover as above in : A Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon and Four Master's Bookshop Donegal Town and for postal delivery contact the author anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Christmas Time  in Ballyshannon in 1918

Christmas goods were still in scarce supply in the Ballyshannon shops and there was not as much liquor consumed as in other years, partly because of the cost. Nevertheless the shops put up as good a display as possible in what were difficult circumstances coming just after the end of the World War in November 1918. The local newspaper “The Donegal Vindicator” described the mood in the town at Christmas 1918: 

“There was some little liquor consumed, but not as much as in other years. Perhaps it does not taste as well, or would the reason be that it is too dear? Anyhow the “Old Coleraine” was better in the bottle, as the election fever is not over yet, and a slight breeze would fan the flame, and neither a Sinn Féin nor Parliamentary “black eye” is very imposing. In the town the festive season was duller than ever, not even an Irish Ceilidh, with French dances, to relieve the monotony. No football, and shooting matches were taboo, as D.O.R.A. (Defence of the Realm Act) had put the kibosh on that kind of sport. A tame game of billiards was the only kind of recreation indulged in. A rural band of “mummers” visited the town. A good number of people came home to the town for the Christmas holidays, but in this respect the defenders of the Empire were in the majority, khaki everywhere you turned”. On Christmas morning the masses in St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s Churches were well attended, “and the large numbers who approached the altar rails was edifying. The Altar Committees in both parishes spared neither time nor energy, and the interiors of the Churches reflected credit on the willing workers.” The Christmas congregations in St. Anne’s and the Presbyterian Church were also impressive.

Former home on the Mall Ballyshannon  of Edward Kelly last M.P. from County Donegal to sit in Westminster one hundred years ago. Known locally as Condon's as they were the last family to live there.

Ballyshannon man last Donegal M.P. elected to sit in Westminster Parliament

The 1918 Election was held on Saturday 14^th of December and, locally, there were no polling booths in Bundoran and the Sinn Fein Party had difficulty getting their supporters to the polling booths in Ballyshannon. There were eight polling stations in Ballyshannon. There were four single seat constituencies in County Donegal- North, South, East and West. Sinn Fein won three of the seats with Joseph O’ Doherty topping the poll in North Donegal,  Joseph Sweeney topped the poll in West Donegal and P.J. Ward in South Donegal (this area). 

 In a pact agreed between Sinn Féin and the Irish Parliamentary Party in East Donegal, Edward J. Kelly, a native of the Mall, Ballyshannon, and a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party was elected in the 1918 Election. He sat in parliament from 1919 until Ireland gained independence in 1922. Most people know his former home as Condon's as they were the last family to live in the house up to 60 years ago. As you can see in the photo it is a ruin today.

Spanish Flu rampant in Ballyshannon Workhouse and in the wider area

The Spanish Flu

In the Ballyshannon area there were many topics of conversation and concern one hundred years ago. World War One ended in November 1918 but also in November, the local newspaper “The Donegal Vindicator” was reporting on The Spanish Flu which worldwide, and in the Ballyshannon area, caused more deaths than the war:  “That dread scourge influenza has been working havoc in Ballyshannon. It came in a mild form at first, and when people has just began to think it had abated, during the past week its ravages became more intense, and the Angel of Death has gathered into its fold three of the inhabitants of the place.”  Three other natives of the district also died from influenza in the same week. Speculation as to how the Spanish Flu spread worldwide centred on returning soldiers form the World War, and the Flu spread where ever there were large gatherings of people in confined spaces. Wakes were considered to be a source of spreading the disease and the 1918 General Election held in December 1918 with larger gatherings and movements of people, also assisted the spread.

A Peaceful Christmas

One hundred years ago the ending of the World War, in November 1918, brought much relief to people in Ballyshannon who had family fighting in the war. Christmas also brought much sadness as many people remembered the large number of young men from the area who had died in the War. The war years saw trade at the Mall Quay in major decline owing to the scarcity of shipping and the consequent high freight charges demanded. With little local prospects of work many men had joined the British Army. During World War 1 over 40 men from the Ballyshannon area lost their lives and after the war returning soldiers found it difficult to adjust and find work in peacetime. They also faced the rise of Sinn Féin and the outbreak of the War of Independence. 

Ideal Christmas gift:  A Local History book available in a quality limited hardback edition with dustcover as above in : A Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon and Four Master's Bookshop Donegal Town and for postal delivery contact the author anthonyrbegley@hotmail

Happy Christmas

from Ballyshannon

A Christmas Memory of two Ballyshannon orphan sisters separated by the Famine.

Famine Orphan Girls' Memorial at Ballyshannon the only one in Ireland.

A LOCAL BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS

This book is available in a limited hardback edition with dust jacket as above, in A Novel Idea Ballyshannon and for postal delivery from Anthony Begley anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

The book is also available in softback in A Novel Idea, Local Hands  in Ballyshannon and the Four Master's bookshop Donegal Town.

Ballyshannon has the only Orphan Girls’ Memorial in Ireland remembering 19 girls aged 14-18 from the area who were shipped to Australia at the height of the Famine. They left   Ballyshannon in October 1848 and arrived in Sydney Australia in February 1849.  They went to make up for a shortfall of females in Australia for domestic work and ultimately for marriage. Below you will find the true story of two sisters, Jane and Margaret Carberry who were to go. But first a visualisation of what the departure of the 19 orphans might have been like. Soinbhe Lally is a well-known author who published “The Hungry Wind”  (1997) an historical novel based on the orphans from Ballyshannon, and, although a work of fiction, it contains a very moving and realistic account of the hardships the girls encountered. Soinbhe described the   departure of the orphans, including one called Marya,:

“On the morning of their departure they put on their new clothes. Marya’s dress was of coarse brown linen, made with a full skirt and loose sleeves which were gathered at shoulder and cuff. The coarse material did not rub her skin because underneath it she had a fine cambric vest, and there were five more cambric vests in her sea chest. She had a choice of petticoats one of white linen and one of red flannel. The ward was chilly, so she chose the red petticoat and packed the white one into her sea chest. Her new brown boots came above her ankle and buttoned up the side. Under the boots she wore long woollen stockings which reached above her knee. She wished she had a mirror to see herself. A long mirror like the one in the Master’s rooms. Never before had she worn such fine clothes.They walked two by two through the town, across the bridge and down the lane to the harbour. A cart laden with their sea chests had gone before them. Curious townspeople came to doors and windows to look at the orphans who were going to Australia. Some young men cheered and wished them luck.

“The blessing of God with you, children,” an old white-capped woman called out in Irish from an upstairs window. Marya waved back to show her that she understood.”

       Ballyshannon workhouse today showing the  well-preserved admission block
through which the girls were first admitted to the workhouse

The separation of the  Carberry Sisters

Two sisters were to go together to Australia but unfortunately fate intervened. These were the two Carberry sisters. Jane Carberry was born in Ballyshannon and arrived in Sydney, aged 14, along with a shipload of orphans from Ireland, including the other 18 girls from Ballyshannon workhouse. They landed in Australia from a ship called ”The Inchinnan" in February 1849. Jane Carberry was said to be a nursemaid and could read and write. She had no relatives in the colony. After assessment at Hyde Park Barracks she was sent to Yass to work, where she met Henry Gibson Kemp and they were married in the Church of England at Gundaroo (or Tumut) on 23 June 1850. Jane was in Australia less than a year and a half when she was married. Between 1851 and 1874 they had a total of 13 children about half of whom died in infancy. Jane died in Tumut New South Wales in 1917 and she is buried there.
Margaret Carberry was in Ballyshannon Workhouse and was originally to go with her sister Jane to Australia. However she took sick and was too weak to travel. She died in Ballyshannon Workhouse and was buried in St. Anne's Church in Ballyshannon on St. Stephen’s Day 1849. Their parents William and Ellen Carberry were both dead and in  the burial records at St. Anne’s Church in Ballyshannon are the following entries: William Carberry aged 65 was in the workhouse and was buried on 28^th January 1847, his wife Ellen Carberry was buried in St. Anne’s on 14^th May 1847.  
Christmas 1849 and the Carberry sisters were separated with Jane in Australia and her sister Margaret dying in Ballyshannon Workhouse. Jane was aged 14 when she landed in Sydney and Margaret was aged 15 when she was buried in Ballyshannon, the day after Christmas Day.  One wonders when  Jane heard of her sister's death?

One of the information plaques on the Famine Orphan Girls' Memorial 

in Ballyshannon

  Margaret Carberry an orphan from the workhouse was unable to go to Australia 

 with her sister Jane and she was buried with her parents at St. Anne's graveyard

 in Ballyshannon on St. Stephen's Day 1849.

The memory of the 19 orphan girls shipped to Australia is today remembered in Ballyshannon with a fitting memorial opened in 2014, and well worth a visit as it is open all the time beside the ruins of the workhouse.

The orphan girls could be forgotten, again, if their memory is not kept alive, by people visiting the memorial and remembering.

A LOCAL BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS

This book is available in a limited hardback edition with dust jacket as above, in A Novel Idea Ballyshannon and for postal delivery from Anthony Begley anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

The book is also available in softback in A Novel Idea, Local Hands  in Ballyshannon and the Four Master's bookshop Donegal Town.

Ballyshannon man elected M.P. on this day 100 years ago

Edward Kelly from the Mall Ballyshannon was elected an M.P. on this day in 1918

The 1918 Election was held on Saturday 14^th of December and, locally, there were no polling booths in Bundoran and the Sinn Fein Party had difficulty getting their supporters to the polling booths in Ballyshannon. There were eight polling stations in Ballyshannon. The counting of votes for South Donegal took place in the Market House in Donegal Town on Saturday 28^th December. There were four single seat constituencies in County Donegal- North, South, East and West. Sinn Fein won three of the seats with Joseph O’ Doherty topping the poll in North Donegal and  Joseph Sweeney topped the poll in West Donegal. 
In this area of South Donegal Peter J. Ward, a solicitor with offices in Donegal Town and Killybegs,  topped the poll for Sinn Fein. A local branch of Cumann na mBan had been formed in Ballyshannon,  and women  canvassed during the 1918 Election, where women over 30 who were householders had the vote for the first time. There was still much ground to cover before all women over 21 would have the vote. 

In a pact agreed between Sinn Féin and the Irish Parliamentary Party in East Donegal, Edward J. Kelly, a native of Ballyshannon, and a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party was elected in the 1918 Election. 

A LOCAL BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS

This book is available in a limited hardback edition with dust jacket as above, in A Novel Idea Ballyshannon and for postal delivery from Anthony Begley anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

The book is also available in softback in A Novel Idea, Local Hands  in Ballyshannon and the Four Master's bookshop Donegal Town.

 Next blog this Saturday 15th December is "A Christmas Memory of two Ballyshannon Orphan sisters separated by the Famine".

On this day. An Unusual Happening in Ballyshannon on Christmas Eve

The Erne estuary leading up to Ballyshannon where an unusual shipping incident happened on Christmas Eve 1846

On Christmas Eve, 1846, the schooner Confidence was lying just inside the Bar at Ballyshannon waiting for suitable conditions to leave. The ship was bound for Liverpool with bacon, ham and lard and had been charted by Mr. Edward Chism, a baker and grocer of Castle Street Ballyshannon. After a time a boat owned by Mr. Wade, woolendraper, of the Mall, pulled alongside the vessel and the men who claimed that they were from the salt works at Ballyshannon, asked  the master, Joseph Davidson, for permission to come aboard to light their pipes. The manufacture of salt was carried on at the saltpans, situated at the back of Myles’ property and there was also a saltpan at Portnason. Salt water was brought from the bar in large boats, and in special barges, towed by horses, which pulled the barges along from the shoreline. The salt water was then placed in large containers at the saltpans. John Greene and Andrew Teevan of the Port operated the saltpans but were most probably unaware of the men who boarded the schooner.

Several men went on board the schooner and then produced guns, overcame the captain and crew, and took nine bales of bacon, a number of hogsheads of ham and lard from the ship. Signs of the desperation and shortage of food are evident in the use of firearms to seize the food. It is also clear evidence of food leaving the harbour at Ballyshannon during a period of the Great Famine. By Christmas Day the police recovered some of the food buried in the nearby sand dunes and the soldiers were out searching the area. (This area in modern times is located behind Finner camp). James Currie was arrested in the town carrying a ham which he claimed to have found in the sandhills. He was later sentenced to nine months hard labour for his part in the incident. Two others were also arrested for their part in the robbery. This act of piracy happened, sadly, on Christmas Eve, at the height of the Famine, when people in the area were struggling to survive.

Ideal Christmas gift:  A Local History book available in a quality limited hardback edition with dustcover as above in :

 A Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon, Local Hands Ballyshannon, and Four Master's Bookshop Donegal Town and for postal delivery contact the author anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Christmas Memories and Christmas advertisements in Ballyshannon from 1934

Can you guess which surviving pub claimed to be the oldest in Ballyshannon owned at one time by the Breslins?

Advertisement in Christmas edition of The Donegal Vindicator 1934.  Stephens is the location of Saimer Court today

A copy of “The Donegal Vindicator” for Saturday 22^nd December 1934 which I was reading recently was a reminder of how much things have changed in Ballyshannon in just over 80 years.  Read some local news from 1934. Included below are advertisements for business premises and see if you remember any of them. John Stephens Cash House in their advert. above were offering vouchers to their customers- sounds familiar today. Aodh Ruadh G.A.A club were organising a novel event. Two steamers were delivering coal to the Mall Quay.

Ideal Christmas gift Local History book available in a quality limited hardback edition with dustcover as above in : 

   A Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon and Four Master's Bookshop Donegal Town and for postal delivery contact the author anthony
rbegley@hotmail.com 

Local News at Christmas  in 1934

• A  huge story in Ballyshannon was the Demolition Order being served on houses which I have written extensively about in “Ballyshannon Genealogy and History” as The Ballyshannon Clearances.  Many houses in the town were condemned and to be demolished in areas like Bachelor’s Walk and the Back Street. The paper was expressing the concern of some of the occupiers of these dwellings that rents might increase from one shilling to three shillings a week for new houses. Modern new houses in Falgarragh Park and East Rock and Bachelor’s Walk were built in the following few years.  

·        The Mall factory was just getting in to full swing with workers going up and down the Mall to work. This was considered a good start for local industry. The factory was called “The Ballyshannon Hosiery Company Limited” and the proprietor was Thomas Swan. There were 30 staff working at sewing and knitting machines, and produce included underwear and hosiery. See photograph of workers at the hosiery factory in " Ballyshannon Genealogy and History" page 426. Some years later the factory was taken over by O’Donnell’s Bakery and today is a derelict site overlooking the Mall Quay. .

·        Further up the Mall was the progressive bakery of Hugh Caldwell where staff were working day and night baking fancy Christmas cakes and all types of bakery goods for special orders. Today the Mall bakery site is a derelict building which once buzzed with activity.

·        Last Sunday Sligo Rovers B team travelled to play Ballyshannon in the second round of the Connaught Cup but the match was abandoned before full time due to heavy rain.

·        Turkeys reached 9 pence per pound in the Market Yard and supply was good and demand brisk.

·        A steamer laden with coal arrived at the Mall Quay for Frank Morgan, Coal merchant, on Friday last and sailed light on Monday. The paper regretted that the steamer made the return journey empty.

·        Wireless fans were being specially catered for by Radio Eireann and by English and continental stations with many pantomimes being broadcast.  

·        A 25 card drive was to be held on St. Stephen’s Night under the auspices of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (A.O.H.) in the Fine Gael Clubrooms. Could this possibly have been the ’98 Hall?

Christmas Advertisements

Check out the advertisements below – a  good few families and relations are still living in the area.  John Myles was importing Whitehaven coal by steamer to the Mall Quay just like Frank Morgan above. E. Cassidy’s below were in the premises now occupied by Rossanos, Trish's Hairdressing salon is where Kathleen Meehan's shop below was.

Now the lower part of the Imperial Hotel

    Ideal Christmas gift a local History book available in a quality limited hardback with dustcover as above 
  in A Novel Idea and Four Master's Bookshop Donegal Town and by post contact the author anthony
rbegley@hotmail.com