Internet remains down so I'm using my
phone as a mobile hotspot. It works just fine but I'm keeping my eye
on data usage. While I was out today, there was a brief period of
service, because some email has landed in the inbox. Of course it's
out now so I'm writing this offline to copy and paste the moment I
get a signal.
This morning dawned sort of cloudy but
as the morning progressed it was obvious this would be a beautiful
day. I simply could not waste it and chose my destination. Getting
there was only half the fun.
I've put aside the Byrne family history
for the moment and turned my attention a bit north of here. I'm off
to Co. Laois shortly, to see Barrowhouse and Monebrock townlands and
try to figure out if there are any remaining Fennells in the area. If
so, could we be related?
Starting up the nasty little car that
I'm driving, I headed up the N80 once again. The GPS does not much
like the name of a townland as a destination so the Google Maps app
on my phone was once more pressed into service. It works perfectly
and has a very pleasant narrator. A townland is the smallest division
of land in Ireland. Every square inch of this country is in a named
townland. Knowing the townland of your ancestors is key to finding
the data that every family historian is looking for. Once you have
that information you need to know the parish – civil and/or
Catholic.
Genealogy alert:
Getting this all lined up is not that
easy. The parish records are now online, some even indexed on various
paid databases, but if you don't know the parish you're looking for,
good luck. If you find the parish and subsequently find the name(s)
you are seeking in the record of baptisms or marriages, you might be
lucky enough to find out the townland name. When recording the data
for these events, the priest seemed to have complete freedom as to
what he recorded. It could be “I married Michael Fennell and
Bridget Whelan” and then name the witnesses. The date was recorded
in the left margin and the year and month would be – fingers
crossed – written somewhere obvious in the preceding lines or
pages. Some priests recorded the townland of the groom and some
recorded that of the bride as well. The really dedicated (thank you
Father so and so), included the names of the fathers of each of the
couple. In the civil registers you would get all that information and
usually a rough idea of the ages and whether they were bachelor and
spinster, or possibly widowed. Civil registration began in 1864 and
that was too late for my folks. Church records start at various times
and if you are lucky they go back earlier than 1800. Some didn't
start until after 1830.
Knowing the townland is important, but
it might not give you the name of the parish, to start your search
for records. What is needed, in my humble opinion, is a list of
parishes with their geographical area defined, including a list of
townlands. Some parishes span county borders – sometimes more than
two. Clonegal parish, in the civil parish of Moyacomb, is in Wicklow,
Wexford and Carlow. It's not unique. If you know the townland it is
easier to find the parish. It's all a huge catch-22.
Back on the narrative trail again.
This time my journey did not take me
into Athy, at least not until later. I'm not exactly sure of the
route because I was simply following “the voice” but I did cross
a lovely stone bridge over the Barrow River, which also flows through
Athy. The centre span is usually high to allow the canal boats to
pass underneath. The rivers in this part of Ireland are not wide and
raging. They are narrowish and although there might be a tiny bit of
fast water and a little drop here and there, most are quite
navigable. The Barrow is a salmon fishing river, but it's catch and
release. I couldn't stop to catch my supper.
Following the Google voice I did get to
the townland of Monebrock. It is locally known as Mount Brook. I've
seen it written both ways, but the townland.ie database only uses the
former name. It's a bit rolling, but flatter than Wicklow and
Wexford, and the fields seem quite large. I declined to turn into a
farm yard to inquire if there were Fennells anywhere. As it happens,
there was a friendly lady out for a walk so I stopped and I asked her
if I'd reached the right area. I had.
Then I asked if there were still any
Fennells in the area. She didn't think so although not a native of
the place. She had just walked past St Mary's Chapel of Ease and said
that Noah Burke was there in his white van and he would know, if
anyone did. Luckily when I got to St Mary's [just up the road and I'd
been there before] and started to wander through the little cemetery,
there was Noah.
He confirmed that in fact there were no
more Fennells and hadn't been for a very long time. He was born and
raised in Barrowhouse – the townland they once occupied – and has
a very good knowledge of local history. I told him that I wanted to
find the homeplace of Fennell ancestors. Noah said that the Fennell
place was now just a ruin and would I like to see it. YES! So, I
followed his little white van and soon he stopped on a side road,
beside what first appeared to be a pile of rocks and trees. Closer
inspection showed it to be a very old house which has been taken over
by trees and vines. Apparently the original house was larger and
included the part that now had just a few bits of what seemed to be
stone walls.
I thanked him profusely and spent a few
minutes walking around and taking photos after he drove off. Oddly I
did get the same feeling I had when walking the land where my Byrne
ancestors had lived. I really don't know if Nicholas and Ann or their
son Michael and his wife Bridget (Whelan) Fennell were the occupants
of that house, almost 200 years ago. If not their particular house,
the place was home to their close relatives. They had about 50 acres.
It's now used by a gun club. Hmm.
Of course, when I was taking the
pictures it was cloudy. The sun has some sort of connection with my
camera. When the camera comes out the sun goes in. As soon as I had
driven about half a kilometre, it was once again shining brightly.
I took a roundabout route into Athy and
now I've approached it from 3 different directions. It's a busy
place. One day I will do a long walk along the shores of the Barrow
River from the centre of the town. And, I want to take the barge trip
on the river – also on a sunny day if possible.
From Athy I decided to just drive
around before heading back to Bunclody. I noticed the sign to Moone
and off I went. I went to Hell in Grand Cayman Island. Why not go to
Moone in Ireland? There is a celtic high cross there as a reason for
a visit.
There was a slight diversion en route
when I saw the turn off for Burtown house and gardens. It is owned by
Fennells, but not mine. These are – or were – Quakers. I paid the
admission and wandered about the lovely gardens for a bit and came
close to the house. The family still lives there so there are no
tours. I declined to stop for a snack in the cafe.
It pays to be easily distracted here.
You never know what beautiful view or scenic gem or historic spot you
will find.
From Burtown House, on the road again,
it was off to (the) Moone. Finding the village was easy enough. It's
well marked. What a lovely little place it is.
Finding the high cross is a bit
trickier. The signage is definitely in need of an upgrade. I drove
almost right to it before turning around thinking I'd missed it. So,
back to the village and I asked a friendly couple. Actually everyone
is friendly. With better directions, and only one misstep at what I
thought was the right “green gate,” I did eventually come to the
cross. It's inside of a ruined chapel and is very medieval looking.
It was worth the trouble and I can check off another landmark of
Ireland's Ancient East. I was the only one there.
Leaving the site in my rear view mirror
I followed the GPS now, to return to Bunclody. After I took the last
photo of the cross my phone shut down. I'd wanted to use my camera
today but it seems to be no good. I've put in several different sets
of new batteries and every time, it tells me the batteries are dead.
Surely I can't be so unlucky as to always buy dead batteries. Can I?
So – the phone it is. I will now consider getting a spare battery
for it, although they are pricey. It's cheaper than a camera and the
phone does take great pictures.
So, now back in my nest, I await a full
charge on the phone so I can once again get online. Photos will have
to wait. The phone doesn't talk to the laptop and photos will only
upload if the phone is on wifi. That's it for today. All in all it
was a wonderful day.
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