Introduction

Boardsmill is a special place with a strong community.  I am delighted to be one of the representatives for this area. I have always felt that Boardsmill was often overlooked as historians and visitors when they come to the area are so impressed by the castle and abbey ruins in Trim that they do not document much beyond those highlights.  This booklet is one of my Covid projects. I commenced it in the first lockdown and completed most of the research and returned to it in the third lockdown. I have now brought it to a conclusion.  In the middle I found out there was a local group working on a history and I offered to help edit and try to get a grant for their production. I am very happy to still help with that production as it will be hugely interesting with the involvement of local people and I beg their forgiveness for producing this in advance of their production. That is why I titled this booklet as “Towards a History of Boardsmill.” Also for that reason I avoided totally the subject of the GAA club, other people will do that subject correct justice. I do believe that the GAA club really put Boardsmill on the map so they are a hugely important part of the community and history.  

My local chipper serves a Boardsmill with chips. A Boardsmill is a battered sausage with onion in it also and it is very tasty. So Boardsmill joins other places which give their names to foods such as Peking Duck, Chicken Kiev, Spaghetti Bolognese and Dijon Mustard.

Another of my memories of Boardsmill is walking along the Factory Road in the summer and a minibus with Northern Ireland plates full of a jolly crowd stopped just beside me and the driver asked me the question “Where are the races?” What races? I thought to myself and then it dawned on me, I was in Bellewstown townland and the races were at Bellewstown over near Drogheda. The driver had put Bellewstown, Co. Meath into his satnav and arrived at Bellewstown, Trim!

I would like to thank Deirdre Hoey and Trim in Days of Yore Facebook Page for pictures.

Boardsmill

In 1797 Beaufort recorded the place on his map of the diocese as “Boorsmill.” In 1836 the Ordnance Survey recorded Boardsmill at the north end of Brannockstown townland, near the River Boyne and 2½ miles from Trim. John O’Donovan said the name in Irish was “Muileann an Chláir” meaning the mill of the Board and was not derived from Board’s Mill. It was described as a corn mill with a well supplied stream. Close by was a Roman Catholic Chapel and a few small dwellings. “The whole collection goes by the name “Boardsmill.”

In 1849 William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde, wrote about a journey along the Boyne – “The next bridge we meet is that of Inchmore, near which the Kildare Blackwater empties itself, and beyond it that of Scarriff, below which latter, the river is broken into a great number of islands, and intersected by weirs. The road approaches to within a few yards of the stream at this point; and here the true sylvan beauty of the Boyne commences, a circumstance of which the neighbouring proprietors seem to be aware, for now every mansion, lodge, or cottage, seems proud of its locality, and we find the elevated, sloping, wooded banks here, studded with Boyne Views, Boyne Banks and Boyne Lodges, one of the latter of which is located at the next bridge we meet with, Derrinydaly. The country through which the river passes at this point is light in soil, very thinly populated, and chiefly used as meadow or pasture land, a circumstance owing partly to the yearly inundations.”

St. Brigid’s Church

There is no record of a church at Boardsmill on the 1812 Larkin map of Meath. In 1836 the Ordnance Survey recorded the presence of “a Roman Catholic Chapel… convenient to a good corn mill.” A government report in the same year said that one thousand people attended Mass there with Mass being said twice each Sunday. In the 1831 Census there were 6269 Roman Catholics in the whole parish of Trim with 726 members of the Church of Ireland. Lewis in 1837 described the church as “a neat modern edifice”. Rev. Fr. Thomas Mulvaney had the marble altar and rails erected in the early 1920s. The altar was the gift of Owen Farrell, Harcourt Lodge, in 1921.

There are two chalices in Boardsmill – both undated – one with inscription “The property of Trim Church”

The main windows are in memory of Patrick Daly, Thomas and Jane Reilly, Parents and Relatives of Patrick Newman, the Parents of James Harnan, Clonee; Thomas O’Byrne, Richard Herbert, Thomas Dunne, Parents and Brothers of Elizabeth Moore, Mrs. Anne Daly, Rev. John McKeever, Vincent and Rosemary Eivers and Family, Roriston.

There are three holy water fonts in memory of Very Rev. M. Woods, PP of Trim and Boardsmill, who died 26 November 1920.

St. Brigid’s National School

St. Brigid’s National School is situated in the parish of Boardsmill. Early records suggest that originally there were two hedge-schools in the locality, one in Kilmurray and one in Dalystown. In 1826 Clement Waters had a boarding school at Boyne View House. Boarders were charged between twenty five and thirty guineas a year and day scholars were charged six to eight guineas. Around 1838 a number of local people formed a school committee and an application was made to the Commissioners of Education in Dublin for permission to build a school in the area. That application was granted and a plot of ground, the location of the current community hall, was purchased.

Work began in 1839 and the school opened in 1840. The first teacher appointed was Patrick McCann. A roll number, the school’s official identification with the Department, of 1827 was given to the school at that time. In 1851 Patrick Hughes, from Bohermeen, the son of a herd was appointed teacher in Batterstown N.S. He had been trained at the Trim Model School for one year. He was aged 17 when he entered the Model School.  In March 1853 there were 85 boys on the rolls.  In 1856 the school had a roll of 55 male pupils with an average attendance of 22 per day with one male principal. In 1873 there were 49 boys and 46 girls attending Batterstown NS, a total of 95 pupils. It seems that both boys and girls were educated together at that time in that one room and there could have been up to 100 children attending school there. The school was known as Batterstown School. An application was then made to the Commissioners of Education to build another room and this was also successful. A separate Roll number, 3443, was awarded to this room and this it seems was deemed to be a girl’s school. In 1910 the attendance was 48 pupils. In the 1930s the figure had risen to 80 but the attendance fell back after the War.

Work on the current school began in 1953 and it was officially opened on 4th October 1954 by Richard Mulcahy, then Minister for Education. The Taoiseach of that time, Fíne Gael’s J.A. Costello also attended the official opening and even cancelled a cabinet meeting that day to attend. The Taoiseach was a first cousin of Reverend Monsignor John Mc Keever P.P. Trim. The cost of the new school was £5000, Boyd Barrett was the architect and Mr. Maguire from Athboy was the contractor. A new roll number was given to the school, 17947K, and this continues to be the roll number used today. Principal of the school at that time was Peadar Lehane. At the time there were almost 60 pupils. In 1971 there were 78 pupils, ten years later in 1981 there were 114 and by 1988 there were 125 children attending the school. Since then enrolment at the school increased to a figure of 194.

In the mid 1980s a major extension costing £225,000 was added and opened on 30 October 1986 when Most Rev. Michael Smith blessed the building. The architect was Gerry Boylan and the contractor was Patsy McCabe, Wilkinstown. Since then several extensions have been added. (From school website).

In 1985 the old school in Boardsmill was converted into a community centre for the parish.

Ballymulmore

In medieval times Ballymulmore was part of the manor of Trim. In the 1830s John O’Donovan derived Ballymulmore from Baile Mhaolmórdha, Mulmore’s town. Máel mórda is derived from mórda, meaning great or haughty. This was a favourite name among the early Leinstermen and borne by several of their kings. In the latter middle ages it was especially favoured by the O’Dempseys, O’Reillys and the Mac Sweeneys. It has generally been anglicised Myles among the O’Reillys of Cavan who were given the name Muintir Maolmordha or the people of Maolmordha.

The element baile occurs in one tenth of all townland names. In Meath baile or a derivation occurs as the first syllable in 111 out of 1600 townland names or approximately 7%. The earliest occurrence of baile in monastic charters (e.g. Kells) was followed by an increase in its distribution following the Anglo-Norman use of the Latin villa and the English tūn qualified by the name of a feudal tenant.

In 1836 Ballymulmore was the property of Mrs. Leslie and was let to Mr. Fox at 18s.5d. per acre. The townland contained 521 acres including 6 acres of water. The soil was described as good, producing wheat, oats, etc. The only good house in the townland was the residence of Mr. Fox.

Foxbrook House is located in the townland of Ballymulmore. A late eighteenth century gable-ended house its name is derived from its owners, the Fox family. In 1802 Matthew Fox and his family were living at Foxbrook. Matthew held the title, ‘The Fox’. Tadhg O Catharnaigh was chiefain of Teffia in the eleventh century and, for his wily ways, became known as ‘An Sionnach’ The Fox. His descendants became proprietors of the entire barony of Kilcoursey in Co Offaly and acquiring the title ‘Barons Kilcoursey’, they adopted his nickname as their own surname in place of O Catharnaigh, and the chief of the family took on ‘The Fox’ as a title. The current holder of the title, John William Fox, The Fox, Chief of his Name, lives in Australia. Matthew was born in 1745, died in 1808, and married Elizabeth Grierson of Doolistown, Trim. Buried at Laracor, Matthew was succeeded by his son, James D’Arcy Fox, who lived until 1850. James Fox married Harriet D’Arcy of Hyde Park, Westmeath in 1803 and appears to have taken the name D’Arcy as a second surname. The original parkland features surrounding the house and avenue have been removed.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Foxbrook: Fox.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Bird, Cunningham, Dowling, Fox, Hayes, Kelly, Leslie, Malone, Muggan, Mullady, Ryan, Walsh. Charles Powell Leslie, of Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, was the major landlord in Ballymulmore. He successfully contested the election of 1842 and held the seat until his death in 1871.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Bird (carpenter), Cox, Farrell, Herbert, Hoey, Keegan, Kelly, Matthews, Merryman, Miggins, Murray, Ryan (tailor), Sherrock, Smyth

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Bird, Douglas (civil engineer), Gogarty, Harnan, Herbert, Keegan, Kelly, Miggins, Murray, Ryan (tailor), Sherrock (land steward), Smyth.

Batterstown

In medieval times Batterstown was part of the manor of Trim. O’Donovan derives Batterstown from Baile an Bóthair, meaning the town of the road. The word bóthar means a road or avenue originally for cattle and is derived from bó, meaning cow. Batterstown, in parish of Trim, and Batterstown, in parish of Kilconnigan, lie in the direction of a branch of Slighe Mór, or great western road, that led from Tara south-west towards Trim and onto Galway. There are three other Batterstowns in County Meath.

Scarrif Bridge is a single-arch rock-faced limestone road bridge over river, built about 1860, with ashlar string courses, copings and plaque. There was an earlier medieval bridge the north-west. The execution of the masonry of this road bridge is of particular interest. The diagonal coursing of the stone is an unusual feature of the bridge. Clearly the work of skilled craftsmen, the variation in treatment of the stonework adds textural interest to the bridge.

The ashlar string courses and parapets contrast with the rock-faced voussoirs and walls. The site is of archaeological interest, due to the remains of the earlier bridge. Plaque reads: ‘Drainage under the Acts 3th and 6th Vic Cap 89’. The Irish name for the bridge is “Droichead na Scairbhe” which means the bridge of the rough shallow ford. A ford was a shallow place in the river which people used to get across before bridges were introduced to Ireland. A small settlement called Ballyconnell Village was located just south of Scarrif Bridge.

In Batterstown townland there is a number of archaeological remains. An enclosure is located on a fairly level landscape with a west-east section of the River Boyne about 280 metres to the north. The cropmark of an oval enclosure defined by a single slight fosse is visible on Google Earth and was first reported by Jean Charles Caillere in 2018. An enclosure is an area defined by an enclosing element, a bank, wall, fosse or scarp, and may date to any period from prehistory onwards.

In 1836 Batterstown was the property of Mrs. Leslie and she let the land to John Drake at 10s. 6d. per acre. It contained 267 acres including 6 acres of water. The road from Trim to Killucan passes though the townland. All the houses are very poor except Mr. Drake’s residence. The soil was described as good.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Carey, Drake, Farrell, Hanbury.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Armstrong, Banin, Durke, Drake, Fox, Hanbury, Keegan, Leavy, Mulligan, Smith, Walsh. Richard and Christopher Drake and James D. Fox were the main landowners in the townland. Most of the townland was a grazing farm with one herd held by Richard Hanbury from Richard Drake. There was a forge and a National School.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Brien, Donoghoe, Drake, Finn (Cattle Dealer, Dressmaker), Gibney, Lynch (Grocer’s Assistant), Magin, McGloughlin, Mooney, Murray (Dress Maker, Van Driver, Railway Servant), Sheridan, Skelly

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Drake, Gibney, Howe, Lynch, Mooney, Murphy (gardener), Murray (Clerk in Bakery, Bakery Van Driver, Railway Porter), Sheridan, Skelly.

Bellewstown

In 1399 William FitzRoger Bellew held the townland. In 1470 Robert Missett was granted Bellewstown and erected a castle there but it was burned down when the O’Connors of Offaly and Berminhams invaded the Pale. In medieval times Bellewstown was part of the manor of Trim. In 1624 there was more than one mill at Bellewstown and also a fishing weir on the river. O’Donovan derives Bellewstown from Baile Bheileóg meaning the town of the Bellew family. Bellew is a Norman toponymic, in other words from a place name, de Belleau. The name may also be derived from bel eau,  the fair water. The family settled in Louth and Meath shortly after the Anglo-Norman invasion. There are two other Bellewstown in County Meath. Bellewstown contain three fine houses; Harcourt Lodge, Higginsbrook and Waterloo Lodge.

Possibly dating to 1760 Casey and Rowan describe Harcourt Lodge as a small and very charming two-storey gabled house. Rev. William Lightburne, Dean of Derry (1593-1671) married a daughter of Nicholas Stafford, Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin. They had three sons, Richard, William and Stafford. Richard was born in 1670 and became curate of Killucan and vicar of Kilclonfert and later Killaderry. William Lightburne, born 1654 at Trim, became rector of Kilberry and died in 1689 at the camp in Dundalk where the Williamite army was overwintering before marching south to fight at the Battle of the Boyne.

Stafford, born in 1662, graduated from Trinity College in 1679 with a B.A. and died in 1697. Stafford Lightburne was portreeve or mayor of Trim in 1677, 1682-4, 1686 and 1691.  Stafford is listed as one of the Justices of the Peace for Meath in 1667. Stafford Lightburne was Member of Parliament for Trim 1692-3 and 1695-7.

His son, Stafford, born 1690, was curate at Laracor 1722-1733, Rector of Churchtown 1733-47 and vicar of Rathgraffe 1747-51. Rev. Stafford Lightburne was also curate of St. Michans Dublin 1716-21. In 1704 he married Hannah, second daughter and co-heiress of Willoughby Swift of Hereford and Newcastle, Co. Meath, a first cousin of Dr. Jonathan Swift. Swift employed Stafford as curate at Laracor from 1722-1733. Stafford was in line for a substantial estate but it was tied up in litigation. Swift appealed to the Lord Lieutenant on behalf of Stafford and also intervened with the House of Lords on his behalf successfully so that Stafford inherited the estate. Stafford Lightburne was buried at Trim. His children included Willoughby, Harcourt, John, Stafford, Deborah and Mary Hannah. Willoughby was Lord Mayor of Dublin 1773-4. Stafford was vicar of Rathgraffe from 1751 and died at Trim in 1759.

In 1809 Joseph Lightburne is listed at Harcourt Lodge. In 1810 he married Miss P. Meadows of Newbury, Co. Wexford. Joseph Lightburne of Harcourt Lodge died in 1831 aged 73 years and was buried at Trim. His daughter, Ellinor Olivia, died 1842 aged 11 years. Maria Lightburne, who was born 1812 at Harcourt Lodge, married Mark Leland Tew of Trim in 1840 and emigrated to Canada where she died in 1892.

Stafford Lightburne graduated from Trinity College, emigrated to Canada where he was called to the bar. He then moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Stafford Lightburne stated that he had seen Roger Tichborne in St. Louis in 1860. In that year the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Newcastle visited St. Louis and Lightburne and a number of witnesses visited the Duke with the story.

Roger Tichborne was born in 1829 in Paris into a prominent and wealthy Catholic Hampshire family. Raised in France he joined the British army and served with the 6th Dragoon Guards in Dublin. Leaving the army Tichborne went to South America.  In April 1854 Tichborne boarded the ship “Bella” bound for New York.  The ship sank with apparently no survivors. Tichborne’s mother refused to believe he was dead and launched an international hunt for him. In 1865 she received a letter from an Australian lawyer claiming to have found Tichborne, living as a butcher in Wagga Wagga. The man was brought to England where his mother accepted him as her son. However a number of the family did not. When Tichborne’s father died the man from Australia claimed his inheritance but a trial was held to establish his right to the estate. The civil and criminal trials which followed held the record as the longest court case in British legal history until the 1990s. The country was divided, with the Establishment opposing the claimant but many ordinary people supporting a man who they regarded as being deprived of his rightful inheritance. Following a very celebrated trial the man was found to be a fraud and was imprisoned.

In the 1850s Harcourt Lightburne held lands at Townspark North while Penelope Lightburne held lands at Bellewstown and at Chambers Street and Scarlet Street in Trim town. In 1850 Harcourt Lightburne had a house at 19 Talbot Street, Dublin and in 1862 Mrs. Harcourt Lightburne is listed as of 66 Gardiner Street. Harcourt Lightburne was a contributor to the memorial clock in the church tower in Trim in memory of Dean Butler.

Jemima Lightburne lived at Harcourt Lodge. A couple of Potterton sisters lived with her there. There is a chalice and paten in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland cathedral which were gifted to the church by Mrs Mary Lightbourne and Mrs. Jane Lightbourne.

Today Harcourt Terrace in Trim commemorates the family. Harcourt Terrace is a small stretch of the street between Emmet Street and Watergate Street.

Higginsbrook House is a Georgian house, on the banks of the River Boyne, upstream from Trim town. It is located in the townland of Bellewstown. The house was erected in 1743 by Ralph Higgins. A corn mill was situated nearby. Joseph Higgins was a local magistrate in the 1770s. Joseph Higgins of Higginsbrook died in 1798. In 1835 Higginsbrook was the residence of Mr. Joseph T. Higgins, coroner for the county and owner of the corn mill.

Frederick Higgins, the son of Joseph and Anne Higgins, was born in 1804. In 1854 Frederick Higgins held a house, outbuildings and 53 acres of lands from Patrick Russell. Frederick Higgins married Frances Anne Mooney in 1855. Frederick Higgins died in 1882.

In 1901 and 1911 Higginsbrook was home to Frederick and Elizabeth Higgins and their six children. Frederick George Higgins was born in 1857 to Frederick and Frances Anne Higgins. Frederick George married Elizabeth Daly about 1888. Frederick was listed as a farmer. The house had seven rooms, five windows to the front and eleven outbuildings. Frederick died in 1926. The house was home to Frederick Robert (F.R.) Higgins. Higgins was born in Foxford, Co. Mayo, the son of Joseph Higgins of Higginsbrook and Annie French. Higgins grew up in county Meath. He became a poet and was a close friend to W.B. Yeats. He became Managing Director of the Abbey in 1935. In his poem ‘Auction’ he writes about Higginsbrook.  Higgins died in 1941 and is buried in Laracor churchyard, see attached photo. In 1982 Eleanor Higgins of Higginsbrook, aged 82, died and was buried in Trim

This road is called the “Factory Road” after the tuck mill which the Higgins family ran on the river. For woollen cloth a preliminary scouring was required in an alkaline solution either fullers’ earth or urine), which was pounded in water powered fulling stocks. This absorbed any grease, oil, or dirt which had lodged in the cloth when it was woven, whilst simultaneously thickening the fabric. The cloth was then fulled, that is, continually pounded in a soapy solution by wooden fulling stocks, which imparted a felted finish. Fulling or tuck mills were in use in Ireland from the Anglo-Norman period onwards, but the vast majority of the surviving sites date to the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The earliest reference to a tuck mill identified in the county was at the Mills of Trim, where a tuck mill is mentioned from the mid-16th century. Trim is also the location of one of the few records of an 18th century tuck mill. Ten other 19th century tuck mills were identified, scattered throughout the county with a slight cluster in uplands to the north-northwest of Meath.

The term ‘Tuck mill’ (which is also common in the English west country) is the one most frequently used for such mills in Ireland, where their creation and use is closely linked with the domestic woollen industry. There were a number of small Tuck mills across the county servicing the needs of the local community. In some cases a single waterwheel would often power both a fulling stock or a pair of millstones. There is the remains of a circular dovecote at the roadside.

Higginsbrook was used as a film location for the movie ‘Becoming Jane’. The film tells the story of a possible relationship between Jane Austen and an Irishman, Jeffrey Lefroy. Higginsbrook also featured in the ITV series ‘Northanger Abbey’.

Waterloo Lodge is located upstream from Trim town on the northern banks of the river Boyne. Waterloo Lodge may have been erected about 1815 following the battle in which Wellington was triumphant. In 1835 Waterloo Lodge was described as a very handsome house and the residence of Mr. Hynes. John Hinds of Waterloo Lodge died at Julianstown in 1848 and was buried in Ardbraccan graveyard. He was a solicitor and was called ‘the poor man’s friend’ because he defended so many poor people. He also had a home at Upper Dorset Street, Dublin.

At the north of Bellewstown townland a mound was discovered on a hillock. The mound was situated on top of a prominent hillock, it is not depicted on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map but it was within a wood at that time. It was described in 1969 as a low, sub rectangular and flat-topped mound defined by scarps which had been quarried into at north, east and west. A rescue excavation in 1999 of the southwest quadrant revealed that the mound was composed of an orange sandy clay, with a collection of stones at one point. However, no artefacts or any evidence of burials or any other function was recovered, although other features were in the vicinity. The archaeologist, D. Murphy, suggested it might have been a ring-ditch or barrow. A structure was located about thirty metres southeast of the hilltop mound and towards the bottom of the slope. Archaeological excavation recovered evidence of a possible house. The floor was a layer of compacted sand stained with charcoal. A line of post-holes and burnt timbers were close to a hearth. No artefacts were recovered from it. A medieval house was located on an east-facing slope and about 20 metres southeast of the hilltop mound. Archaeological excavation revealed the base of a stone wall, bonded with mortar, and the east face of a north-bound return at its west end. Inside the angle was a mortar floor and there was plaster on the north and east faces of the walls. A sherd of late medieval pottery and a bone button were recovered from the mortar floor. Situated on top of a prominent hillock and at the east edge the hilltop mound the archaeological excavation revealed portion of a fosse or ditch that was filled with a brown clay and had a bank. This is interpreted as a field bank and drain. Situated on top of a prominent hillock and at the west edge the mound the archaeological excavation revealed a hearth with some cremated bone and two pits containing clay with flecks of charcoal that were only partly excavated.

In 1836 Bellewstown contained 481 acres and was the property of Mr. Morton. It was let in farms at an average of 30s. per acre.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Farrell, Higgins.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Andrews, Browne, Carthy, Guirke, Higgins, Lightburne, McDermott, Might, Owens, Walsh, Young. Simon Browne rented a house, woollen mill and gardens from Frederick Higgins. There were two large grazing farms with herds, one held by Thomas Russell from Samuel Coates and the other held by Basil Orpen from Drake C. O’Reilly.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Andrews, Brady, Carrew, Daly, Darby, Farrell, Freer, Higgins, Hughes (Water Bailiff), Might, Murray, Sutton.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Andrews, Brady, Daly, Darby, Dunne, Fallen, Farrell, Higgins, Hughes, Lynam, McElroy, Sutton, Ward.

Brannockstown

In medieval times Brannockstown, then known as Ballybrennocke, was part of the manor of Trim. O’Donovan derives Brannockstown from Baile Bhranóig, Brannock’s town. However another derivation seems more logical: Baile na mBreathnach – the townland of the Walshes. MacLysaght suggests that Brannock is a toponymic from Brecknock but can appear as a synonym of Walsh Breathnach. The Walshes, meaning from Wales, settled in Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion.  Wolfe disagrees with this derivation of the surname and says that Breathnach is a separate name.

A ring-ditch was first reported in the townland by Jean Charles Caillere in 2018. Located on a slight north-facing slope in a gently undulating landscape the cropmark of a circular enclosure, diameter about 11 metres, defined by a single continuous fosse feature is visible on Google Earth.

The church is situated on a level landscape. Dopping’s Visitation Book in 1682-5, refers to a chapel of St Newglasse at Brannockstown as a chapel-of-ease to Trim. There are no visible remains of a church within a rectangular graveyard with rounded corners retained by a low wall. The graveyard has been extended to a farm track that allows access from a public road to the northeast.

An earthwork is situated on the summit of a small east-west ridge that is known as ‘Shane Hill’. This in the field on the opposite side of the road to the graveyard. An aerial photograph from the 1960s shows a small rectangular enclosure defined by a bank and outer fosse on top of the hill. It has since been removed, but it may have been a small moated site.

To the west of the graveyard is the remains of a ring-ditch. Located on a slight north-facing slope in a gently undulating landscape. The cropmark of a circular enclosure defined by a single continuous fosse feature is visible on Google Earth. It was first reported by Jean Charles Caillere in 2018.

In 1835 Brannnockstown Cottage was located in the middle of the townland. The residence of Mr. Costello it was described as a “good house” and he also had “well arranged gardens”.

In 1836  Brannocktown was the property of Mrs. Leslie and was let out in farms of from 10 to 70 acres at an average rent of 21s. per acre. The townland contained 918 acres of which 127 was uncultivated and 6 acres of water. There was a large portion of bog in the south end of the townland.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Bourke, Brogan, Butler, Casey, Commons, Costello, Egan, Flood, Fose, Fox, Harnan, Higgins, Hoyle, Keeffe, Kilkenny, Martin, Quinn, Reilly, Rourke, Tyrrell, Veldon,

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Brien, Colligan, Commons, Cormick, Cunningham, Egan, Ennis, Farrelly, Flood, Fox, Harald, Harnan, Hoey, Hughes, Keeffe, Kilkenny, King, Lawless, Lynagh, Malone, Martin, Murray, Reilly, Ryan, Sheridan, Short, Smith, Walsh. Charles Hughes was the biggest land occupier in the townland, renting 327 acres from Charles Powell Leslie, of Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, who was the major landowner in the townland and who held 108 acres of bog for himself. William and James Flood held a cornmill, house, outbuildings, herd’s house and land of 213 acres from Leslie. John Sheridan held a forge.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Boyne, Brien, Brogan, Colgan, Cox, Dunne, Egan, Ennis, Farnan, Farrell, Fitzsimons, Flaherty, Flood, Gogarty, Harnan, Hoey, Johnston, Keefe, Kilkenny, Mangan, Moore, Quinn, Smyth, Tully. Patrick Harnan was the oldest of the Harnan family and he was a farmer and publican. James Flood was a farmer and a miller. Henry Tully was a corn-miller. Edward Moore was a boot and shoemaker.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Balfe, Boyne, Brady, Brien, Colgan, Comerford, Cox, Egan, Ennis, Farnan, Farrell, Fitzsimons, Flood, Geraghty, Gogarty, Gunning,  Harnan, Hoey, Johnston, Keefe, Kilkenny, Quinn, Smyth, Tully. Patrick Geraghty was a Shop Assistant and Barman. Bridget Hoey was an Assistant National School Teacher. Patrick Colgan was a Grocer’s Assistant. John Comerford was a Ganger, Road Steward. Ellen Tully was a Washer Woman. Thomas Balfe was a Butcher.

Brannockstown Graveyard

Clonee

In medieval times Clonee was part of the manor of Trim. O’Donovan derives Clonee from Cluain Í, the low lawn or meadow. Cluain place-names are most common in wet and spongy regions where meadowland is a valued resource. Ballyowen means the town of the river.

In 1836 the townland was the property of Mrs. Leslie and was let at 20s. an acre. It contained 468 acres with 13 acres of water.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Daly, Fox, Hanbury, Nugent, Reynolds.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Daly, Harnan, Hanbury, Reynolds.

Charles Powell Leslie, of Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, who was the major landowner in the townland with Hugh Hanbury holding 191 acres, Edward Daly holding 143 acres and the rest of the townland divided up into 3 smaller farms.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Giles, Hanbury, Harnan, Lynam, McManus.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Hanbury, Harnan, Lynam, McGuire, Webb.

Dalystown

In medieval times Dalystown was part of the manor of Trim. O’Donovan derives Dalystown from Baile Uí Dhálaigh meaningO’Daly’s town. The Daly’s were originally from Westmeath and were chieftains of Corca Adhaimh in Westmeath. The Daly surname is a very distinguished name in Gaelic literature. The first recorded O’Daly was Curonnacht Ó Dailigh who presided over a bardic school in Meath in the early twelfth century. The name is one of the thirty most common names in Ireland. A ring-ditch, ringfort and enclosure site in the townland may have been the home of the O’Dalys.

A ring fort was situated on the summit of a locally prominent hill, called ‘Violet Hill or Dalystown Hill. The ‘old fort’ is noted in a land sale of 1815 and it is depicted on the 1836 and 1912 editions of the OS 6-inch map. This was described in 1970 as a circular area with a diameter of 21 metres. The visible profile of the monument had been removed by 1995.

A ring-ditch was situated on a fairly level landscape. The cropmark of a circular enclosure, with a diameter about eleven metres, defined by a single fosse feature is visible on aerial photograph from the 1960s. A ring-ditch is a circular or near circular fosse, usually less than ten metres in diameter and visible as cropmarks/soilmarks on aerial photographs.

In 1836 the townland contained 524 acres and was the property of Mrs. Leslie. It was let to Mr. Fox and to Mrs. Rochford at 18s. 5d. and 28s. per acre respectively.

In 1837 Lewis described Dalystown as a village in the parish of Trim containing 20 houses and 118 inhabitants.

In 1913 Rev. B. J. Guy paid for the erection of the St. Bridget window in St. Patrick’s Church, Trim in memory of his parents, Patrick and Bridget Guy of Dalystown, R.I.P.  Rev. Benvenutus Guy was born 1862. Educated in France and All Hallows, he joined the Capuchins and studied at Cork where he started compiling the history of the Capuchins. Ordained in 1889 he later became secular and was attached to Middlesborough. He died at Masham 9 November 1927 and was buried in the New Cemetery, Trim.

Dalystown Races date back to the nineteenth century. In latter years the races were organised by different organisations, Meath Hunt, Kill Harriers and  Tara Harriers.

Meath Hunt Races, Dalystown.

 Ah, yes I’ve been to Dalystown

To see the Meath Hunt Races,

One of the best of Point-to-Points

That youth and fashion graces ;

And youth and beauty when combined,

What lovlier sight to view

Upon the hill of Dalystown

When skies are fair and blue.

And fair and blue the skies had been,

and soft the breeze that day,

And never shone so bright a sun

Upon a scene so gay;

And whether in an humble Ford

Or grand Rolls Royce they came —

A simple Irish colleen,

Or a proud and titled dame.

Each a queen in her own right,

The right that beauty claims.

Before whom each may bend the knee —

Sir Knight or humble James;

The ladies all dressed in their best

Fur coats and Irish tweeds,

While rubber boots and leather coats

Supplied the wise ones’ needs.

While the pink coats of the members,

As they went to and fro,

A touch of colour added

To the brilliant scene below;

There nature’s stand provided

An uninterrupted view

Of each race from start to finish,

While the casualties were few.

Drin Lad was soon a favourite

For the heavy-weight hunt race,

Well steered by Mr. Lillington

Who soon showed them the pace

He won in brilliant fashion,

By twenty lengths and more,

With Miller’s Book a second,

And third and last Saus Peur.

Then Mrs. Parr’s Accredit,

With the Joint Master up,

Who scored another triumph

In the Carrolstown Grand Cup;

The ladies’ race next followed,

With Miss Byrne on Rathview

Was winner of the Fowler Cup

By just a length or two.

With Water Lily second,

While third was Lindy Lou ;

For such a valuable Cup

Competitors were few.

Then for the Joint Master’s Cup,

The Joint Master won

On Mrs. Webster’s Drummond,

The famous Bubble’s son.

Lord Granard’s Blarney Castle,

Ridden well by Lord Fingall,

Was three-quarters lengths behind him

And was well backed by all;

Marksman, the third,

by Gold Court, Dam by Marfrio,

The light weight hunt race winner

Will far much farther go.

He’s kin to Golden Millar

And I think May Crescent, too.

So if he wins the King’s Cup

I won’t be surprised, will you?

Good luck to Tommy Cosgrave,

Who won the Farmer’s Race,

His lore and love of horses

To his forebears you can trace;

So may he long continue

The hunting to support

And be in love as lucky

As he is this year in sport.

Good luck to Mr. Connell,

The Joint Master of the Meath’s,

The same to Mr. Lillington,

Who won the laurel wreaths;

Good luck to all the winners,

Who won at Dalystown,

Oh, sure ‘twould be a pity

To put the hunting down.       Written by Mary Connolly, Dunboyne, 1933.

Dalystown Races

When point-to-point racing, one of the oldest forms of equestrian sports, separated from steeple chasing in the latter half of the nineteenth century it became little more than an end-of season get-together for hunting folk. They became colourless events, where riders dashed headlong across farmland, with no set course, the only object being to get from one point to another faster than the other riders and with absolutely no accommodation for spectators, hawkers or side shows. My own experience of this particular form of entertainment was confined to an annual outing to Dalystown races about 4½ miles from Trim on the Kinnegad road and it was certainly anything but colourless.

The Dalystown meeting was a Mecca for farmers, farm workers, hawkers, city folk and people not even remotely connected with racing. It was a day out for the people of Trim, a day when the town went to the country. The annual pilgrimage to the hill, usually in March and often in the most inclement weather, was not for the geriatric. The natural grandstand, the hill, had to be climbed in order to get a view of each race. The bookmakers, refreshments and side shows were situated at the base of the hill. The repeated climbing and descending between races ensured that it was a leg weary crowd that made their way down the hill at the end of the day’s racing. During the course of each race the horses and riders would disappear behind some trees for a period, only to emerge some minutes later with the positions completely reversed. The fact that a horse might be leading into this blind spot was no guarantee that it would not be trailing by a distance when the race emerged again into view. But this was what made Dalystown exciting. I had my own favourites then and I never failed to put a shilling on such greats as Knight of Clonee, Last of the Dandies or Kings Shilling. There were others, too, such as Third Estate and Spudson. Then there was always a tip for Bunny Cox in the fourth or Dick Hoey in the fifth. But Dalystown was much more than six or seven hotly contested races. To a youngster like myself with only a passing interest in the equestrian one up manship that inevitably dominated point-to-point meetings, Dalystown was the side shows. It is the side shows that live on in my memory long after the challenge cups and the prestigious trophies are forgotten. Take the three card trick man with his lucky entourage. They seldom failed to find the lady despite having to keep one eye out for the law. Then there was the charming old lady who kept white mice in the jam jars and offered fancy brooches and jewellery to unappreciative youths, the roulette table buckling under the weight of small-time gamblers and the balloon busting. The aim here was to burst any one of a dozen balloons on a board by kicking a football from a distance of about 12 feet. Johnny Fairplay drew the crowds with his cry of “Come and have a go with your old pal, Joe, your mother won’t know and I won’t tell her.” If this invitation didn’t succeed, the prospect of his monkey going to drink a bottle of stout would. The monkey never did though and all his patrons ever ended up with was a dud raffle ticket.

The patrons of the beer tent weren’t as shy as the monkey and could continue to tipple long after the horse boxes and side shows had left the course. The races also proved a blessing to the car and bicycle park attendant, car pushers and vendors of all sorts.

But no meeting of Dalystown would be complete without at least one good row. Many a dispute over land, animals and domestic affairs was settled at Dalystown. We never did leave the meeting with any money and if we did manage to back a winner at evens or 2/1 we would almost certainly lose it at Johnny Fairplay’s Trick of the Loop or some of the other catchpennys. But we always left the hill happy and tried because Dalystown was as much a test of physical stamina as any modern marathon. – Written by Thomas Murray Trim. 1993.

Dalystown had a cricket team in the 1920s.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Bagnall, Cosgrove, Dixon, Doolin, Fox, Hanbury, Kelly, Kilkenny, Reilly, Reynolds, Rochford, Shierson, Williams.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Bagnall, Cosgrove, Dixon, Doolin, Hanbury, Kelly, Kilkenny, Rochfort, Shierson, Williams, Wynne. Charles Powell Leslie, Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, was the major landowner in the townland.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Adams, Bagnall, Bradley, Byrne, Cosgrove, Cowley, Ennis, Foran, Gill, Goffrey, Green, Guy, Keefe, Kelly, Kilkenny, McLoughlin, McManus, Mahan, Monaghan, Morgan, Nevin, Rafferty,  Reynolds, Sherrock, Shierson, Smyth, Weily, Weir, Wynne. Edith Weir was  a bookkeeper.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Bagnall, Bradley, Cosgrove, Cowley, Ennis, Foran, Gannon, Gill, Guy, Keelaghan, Kelly, McLoughlin, McManus, Morgan, Murray, Nevin, Putson, Rafferty,  Reynolds, Sherrock, Shierson, Ward, White. Charles Reynolds was an auctioneer.  Samuel Nevin was a farmer and ran a general store.

Drinadaly – Derrindaly

O’Donovan derives Drinadaly from Doirín Uí Dhálaigh meaning O’Daly’s little oak wood. The placename element doire which  is anglicised ‘derry’ is  found mainly to the north and west of Meath in Connacht and Ulster.

Thechurch is situated on a prominent flat-topped knoll with the River Boyne about 80 metres to the east. It is described as ruined by Ussher in 1622. Dopping (1682-5) lists Drinadaly as one of the chapels of St Patrick’s parish church in Trim. There is a small chapel or mortuary enclosure with slight walls. The west gable has a slate on the inside commemorating Archibald O’Reilly with the date 1820, when the enclosure was probably built. There is a small pointed opening in the south wall, while a porch projecting about a metre  from the east wall has a pointed doorway. There is no indication of an older structure. An octagonal piece of stone may be part of the base of a font but it was not noted in 2004, and a small bowl with lugs is also missing, both were present in 1969. The church was within a subrectangular graveyard defined by masonry walls around the mound that might originally have been a motte.

Upriver from the church there is an enclosure situated on a slight rise on the north bank of the River Boyne. This is depicted as a rectangular hachured feature only on the 1912 edition of the OS 6-inch map. It is a rectangular grass-covered area defined by low earthen banks and outer fosses with trees on most of the banks. The entrance is by a causeway towards the north end of the northwest side. There are two rectangular house-sites adjacent to each other at the centre, with the doorways facing towards each other.

Boyne Lodge was erected for the Barnewalls in the eighteenth century. The Catholic Bishop of Meath, Bishop Plunket spent a day with Mr. Bartholomew Barnewall at Boyne Lodge in 1796. The building was remodelled about 1810 by the O’Reillys. All that survives from the Georgian period is one six panel door and some shuttering in a room at the rear. The O’Reilly’s claimed descent from the O’Reillys of Breifne. James Archibald O’Reilly of Boyne Lodge and Rahattan, Co. Wicklow married Cecelia Drake of Roristown. James was presented to George IV on his visit to Dublin in 1821. James died in Kingstown, Dublin in 1848. His third son, Richard Lattin O’Reilly, succeeded him at Boyne Lodge. Richard L. O’Reilly of Boyne Lodge supported the establishment of a Dublin to Enniskillen railroad to pass through Trim in 1846. In 1876 D. C. O’Reilly of Boyne Lodge, Trim held 123 acres in county Meath. Drinadaly was sold in 1874 though the Encumbered Estates Court Property. The field names included The Lawn, the Triangle, The Sally Plantation, Brady’s Garden, The Paddock, the Paddock Meadow, The Boyne Meadow, The Woodfield, The Brickfield, The Seven Acre Field and the Three Acre Meadow. The mansion was called Boyne Lodge and was described as handsome and commodious, with first class stabling, coach house and farm offices. The property came into the ownership of the Redpath family. In 1901 Grace Redpath, widow, and her family were living at Boyne Lodge. In 1911 Alexander William Redpath, who was born in Co. Mayo, and his wife were living at Boyne Lodge. Henry Redpath of Boyne Lodge was a direct descendant of Henry Usher, archbishop of Armagh. Known as Alec, he was the son of Alexander Redpath, and was the third generation to live at Boyne Lodge. Mr. Redpath was the first secretary of Trim Agricultural Show which was founded in 1929. He was president of Trim Pitch and Putt Club and chairman of Boardsmill Co-operative. He died in 1972.

Boyne View House is located in Drinadaly townland and in 1835 was the residence of Mr. Keary. In 1754 the property was in the ownership of Alexander Woods. In 1916 the house was occupied by the Watkins family. William and Bridget Kane moved from Stonetown, Dunderry to Boyne View in 1917. William’s brother, James Kane, was born about 1872 and was educated at St. Finian’s Seminary, Navan and was ordained at Maynooth in 1899. He served as curate in Ballivor and Mount Bolus parishes before being appointed parish priest of Slane in 1922. He served there for seven years and was transferred to Kilcormac where he died in 1937. William Kane died in 1943. His brother, Thomas, was involved in Democratic Party politics and representing the twenty-first district of New York county as an Assemblyman in 1912. His sister, Mrs. Feely, was owner of the Central Hotel, Trim, for a period. William was succeeded by his son, William, who died in 1980.

In 1836 the townland contained 642 acres and was the property of Mr. Blackwood. The land was let to Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Keary at 42s. and 25s. per acres respectively. It was mainly under pasture.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Boyne, Carey, Farrell, Gannon, Hanbury, Hinds, Smith.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Bligh, Coughlan, Darby, Flood, Gannon, Grimes, Hannigan, Kelly, Lewis, O’Reilly, Redmond, Smith. Edward Lewis was the main land occupier with two large farms of 206 and 105 acres. Drake C. O’Reilly held the house and 123 acres. The main landlord was Hon & Rev. William S. Blackwood.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Clinch, Douglas, Farrell, Gannon, Keeffe, Mackrell, Miggin, Newman, Plunkett, Rafferty, Redpath, Reilly. Mary Reilly was an Attendant in a Lunatic Asylum. Peter Rafferty was a farmer and a publican. Robert John Mackrell was Clerk Second Division Land Estates Court.  James Plunkett was Pensioner of R. I. C.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Andrews, Clinch, Corrigan, Douglas, Farrell, Gannon, Harvey, Larkin, Mackrell, Mac Naoimhain, Miggin, O’Rafferty, Plunkett, Redpath.

John Mackrell was a land steward. Arnold Mackrell was an under steward. Bridget Newman filled out her family’s census form, Mac Naoimhain, in Irish.

Doolistown

In medival times Dowlestown was part of the manor of Trim. O’Donovan derives Doolistown from Baile Uí Dhubhlaigh meaning O’Dooley’s town. The Dooleys or  Ó Dubhlaoich  were lords of Fertullagh, which is nearby in Westmeath. The family were driven out of their homelands by the O’Melaghlins and Tyrrells and migrated to the Ely O’Carroll country. Wolfe  says that there was another branch who were from Clann Mhaonaigh and a branch of the O’Melaghlins of Meath who were dispossessed in the eleventh century. Ó Dubhlaoich is derived from ‘dubh laoch’ meaning black hero.

Doolistown or Doolystown house was a two storey three bay Georgian house with a good doorcase. John Grierson of Doolistown was the son of Robert Grierson of Newtown, Co. Meath. John known as “Honest Johnnie Grierson” married Elizabeth Higgins in 1728 and died 1775 aged 68. He and his wife are buried at Laracor graveyard. John left Doolistown to his youngest son, William, his oldest son, James, only got 5 shillings and was not to “pretend any claim to Doolistown.” William lived at Doolistown but he was also a merchant operating in Dublin selling tobacco at 40 Meath Street. William married Abigail Higgins of Higginsbrook. When William died in 1793 he was buried at Laracor and after his death his widow carried on his merchant business in Dublin.

Doolistown appears to have been transferred to the ownership of the Grierson‟s relatives, the Fox family. Matthew Fox married Elizabeth Grierson, daughter of John Grierson of Doolistown. The family claimed the title of  “The Fox”. Matthew, born in 1745, died in 1808 leaving issue James, John, Joseph and William and five daughters. The third son, Joseph, succeeded at Doolistown. In 1807 he married Frances D’Arcy of Hyde Park, Co. Westmeath and they had three daughters. In 1835 Doolistown House was the residence of Mr. J. Fox. He died in 1855.

In 1836 Doolistown townland contained 418 acres, the property of Mrs. Leslie. All except 80 acres was let to Mr. Fox, who had a handsome dwelling and well laid-out farms. Mr. Fox had the large part of the land under pasture. There were 3 smaller farms on the 80 acres.

Doolistown was home to the McDonagh family. For six years Doolistown was the home of Terence Hanbury White, author of “The Once and Future King”, filmed as Camelot, and his beloved dog “Brownie”. His father, Garrick Hanbury White, a former Royal Irish Constabulary man from Co. Meath, had joined the Indian Civil Service. The name, Hanbury, is associated with Trim and Laracor. His father, a district superintendent of police, and hismother, Constance White, had a tempestuous marriage. White’s mother, who was considered beautiful, had been berated by her own mother for being unmarried at almost 30. In response she swore she would marry the next man who asked her. She did, and the result was a disaster. To escape the coming war, White moved to Ireland, where he devoted himself to hunting, fishing, falconry, and developing his Arthurian novels. In the late 1930s the owners of Doolistown House were approached and asked would they take White as a lodger. In February 1939 White moved to Doolistown where he lived out the international crisis and World War I.

White took lessons in Irish and attended the religious devotions of the family almost converting to Roman Catholicism. In 1940 he began work on “Candle in the Wind”, the third book in his trilogy. White was a sad and lonely man and while at Doolistown he suffered ill health and depression. His fantasy, “The Elephant and the Kangaroo,” is loosely based on his time at Doolistown. Trim Castle may have been the model for the room in the “The Queen of Air and Darkness”. White’s “The Elephant and the Kangaroo” is very critical of the Irish people and the people at Doolistown were offended by their portrayal. Vincent Eivers of Roristown was an acquaintance of White’s and said his book was “a desperate thing.” White taught Vincent how to divine water and took him on hawking expeditions. Marie Mac Sweeney wrote an article on Terence Hanbury White in Meath in the 2004 issue of Ríocht na Midhe.

In 1960 Ambassador Irish Oil, an American company, drilled for oil at Doolistown estate.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Carey, Cunningham, Douglas, Farrell, Fitzsimons, Fox, Hughes, Kennedy.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Allen, Carey, Cunningham, Donohoe, Farrell, Fox, Gannon, Heney, Hughes, Keeffe, Kennedy, Newman, O’Brien, Quinn, Sheridan, Smyth. Charles Powell Leslie, Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, was the major landowner in the townland. Joseph Fox was the biggest land occupier with 191 acres and Mary Carey was the next biggest with 111 acres and the rest of the occupiers being very small.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Burke, Carroll, Cleary, Farrell, Fitzsimons, Garry, Hughes,  McDonagh, Monaghan, Murray, Quinn, Reilly, Rickard.

Joseph Cleary was a carpenter. 

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Byrne, Cleary, Farrell, Fitzsimons, Garry, Hughes, McDonagh, Mulligan, Murray, Quinn, Reilly, Rickard, Sheridan. Laurence Murray was a coachman and horse trainer. Joseph Cleary was a carpenter.  Thomas Sheridan was a horse shoe smith.

Fearmore

O’Donovan derives Fearmore from Fiair Mór (Féar Mór), meaning great ley fields. In 1836 Fearmore consisted of 449 acres of which 184 acres was uncultivated and bog. It was the property of Minor Leslie and let at 16s. per acre. A large portion of the townland was bog on which there were 5 or 6 mud cabins but the remainder was good land producing wheat, oats and potatoes.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Hanbury.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Bagnall, Brennan, Connolly, Cox, Cully, Cunningham,  Donnellan, Flanagan, Hanbury, Johnson, Kelly, Merryman, Morgan, Oaks.  Charles Powell Leslie, Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, was the major landowner in the townland. Richard Hanbury and Richard Bagnall were the two major land occupiers with Leslie holding 151 acres of bog himself.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Adams, Fox, Gannon, Gunning, Kelly, Lynch, Merryman, Morgan, Rafferty, Ward.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Burke, Fox, Gunning, Kelly, Merryman, Morgan, Percy, Rafferty, Ward. James Rafferty was an apprentice carpenter.

Glebe

A glebe is a portion of land assigned to a clergyman as part of his benefice. This glebe was surrounded by the townland of Ballymulmore and was the site of  Clonee church, the foundations of which survive. The place name element Cluain is associated with monastic settlements such as Clonard and Clonmacnoise. In Meath there are townlands named ‘Glebe’ in the parishes of Killallon, Kilbride, Loughcrew, Killeagh, Julianstown, Moynalty, Kilbeg, Rathmolyon, Ardbraccan, Siddan, Killaconnigan, Clongill, Rathregan, Killeen and Dowth. There are townlands named ‘Glebe’ in almost every county in Ireland.

The church is situated on top of a prominent local hill surrounded by Clonee townland, with a the River Boyne about 460 metres to the west. A church at Clonly is listed in the deanery of Clonard in the ecclesiastical taxation (1302-06) of Pope Nicholas IV. Ussher in 1622, describes Cloney as a chapel-of-ease to Trim, which was in a decayed condition. According to Dopping in the 1680s, the St Magalee (Magdalene ?) chapel at Cloney belonged to Trim, but only the walls were standing and it was not enclosed. The church is evident as a grass covered platform. The graveyard is an oval area defined by earthen banks and hedges but the few headstones date from 1742 and are close to the church.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Hanbury

Monktown

This property was in the possession of the Cistercian abbey of Bective Abbey. In 1540-41 it is recorded as “Monketon, near Trim” in Irish Monastic Possessions which were listed as being confiscated by Henry VIII. The monastery was dissolved in 1536 and were granted to Thomas Agard the following year for a period of twenty-one years. Sir Gerald FytzGarrald held one messuage ( land measurement) and 60 acres in Monktown.

A ringfort or rath is situated on a slight rise on the north bank of the River Boyne at a point where it changes from a local south-north course to a west-east one. A ringfort is a roughly circular or oval area surrounded by an earthen bank with an external fosse. They functioned as residences and farmsteads and broadly date from 500 to 1000 AD. This one at Monktown was described in 1985 as a D-shaped grass-covered area defined by a ditch or fosse. There was an entrance causeway at the north. Its visible profile was removed by 2000 but it became visible as a circular area on Google Earth.

Another ringfort or rath is located on what is probably a rise in a fairly level landscape. The fort is gone but was identified in satellite photographs in 2018. The cropmark of a circular area, diameter about fifty-five metres, defined by a single fosse feature is visible on Google Earth. It was first reported by Jean Charles Caillere. A souterrain was located at the centre of the rath. A souterrain was an underground passage consisting of one or more chambers connected by narrow passages or creepways, usually constructed of drystone-walling with a lintelled roof over the passages and a corbelled roof over the chambers. Most souterrains appear to have been built in the early medieval period by ringfort inhabitants as a defensive feature and for storage. An L-shaped excavated feature consisting of a pit with a narrow pit extending northwards is possibly a souterrain. It is visible as a cropmark on Google Earth, and it was first reported by Jean Charles Caillere in 2018.

In 1836 Monktown contained 244 acres and was let to Messrs. J&S Lewis at 18s. 5d. per acre. The soil was described as good, producing wheat, oats and potatoes.

Tithes (1832): Families in the townland: Lewis, Neill.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Lewis, Reilly, Neill. Francis Manning was the major landowner of the townland.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Collins, King, Lewis, Merron, Smith.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Houlihan, Lewis.

Newtownmoynagh

In medieval times this townland was part of the manor of Trim and was known as  Horsenewtown. O’Donovan derives Newtownmoynagh from Baile Nua na Muimhneach, meaning the Newtown of the Munstermen. Newtown was one of the simplest and most common place name elements introduced by the Anglo-Normans. There are 19 townlands with the term ‘Newtown’ as their first component in county Meath. O’Donovan provided Muimhneach for a Munsterman. However an alternative derivation could be the Newtown of the plain of the horse, moy n’each.

Griffith’s Valuation (1854/5): Families in the townland: Andrews, Bird, Carroll, Flood, Gannon, Hanbury, Lawless, Mooney, Sheridan, Walker, Weldon. Charles Powell Leslie, Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan, was the major landowner in the townland with Richard Hanbury, Samuel Hanbury and Hugh Hanbury occupying most of the townland in three separate farms.

1901 Families in the Census in the townland: Bird, Bowles, Mooney, O’Hara, Quinn, Sheridan.  Thomas and John Sheridan were general smiths.  Michael Bird was a carpenter.  Marcella Mooney was a laundress.

1911 Families in the Census in the townland: Bird, Bowles, Farrell, Garaghty, Macken, McCabe, Mooney, Quinn, Reid, Sheridan, Sharkey, Smith. Michael and Thomas Bird were carpenters. Mary McCabe was a seamstress. Thomas Snr., Thomas Jnr. and John Sheridan were general smiths.  James Quinn was a miller.

Landowners in 1640

In the 1640s and 1650s the lands of Ireland were confiscated by Cromwell and ownership was transferred to new owners. The landowners in 1640 were identified. Sir Arthur Loftus held quite a large part of the lands of the area. He held most of the land in the following townlands: Newtowne Moyneagh, Branockstowne, Dolistowne, Baterstowne, Cloney, Ballyimullmore and Dalistowne. Cloney had an eale weare, some thatched houses and a chappell.

Adam Missett, Irish Catholic, held Bellewstown on which there was one stone house, one mill and one weare. Margary King, widow, Irish Catholic, held Drinadaly on which there was a small chapel, a weir and some thatched houses. Thomas Might, Irish Catholic, held Moncketowne on which there was one stone house, some cabins and a weir.

The Loftus family were based at Rathfarnahm Castle and its members were leading political and church figures in the late sixteenth and seventeenth century. Sir Arthur Loftus was an Anglo-Irish politician and landowner. He was the son of Sir Adam Loftus  and Jane Vaughan. Arthur served as the member of Parliament for Wexford County, where the family held large estates of lands, in the 1639-49 parliament and was Provost Marshal of Ulster. Arthur was knighted by Charles II after 1660.  Loftus married Lady Dorothy Boyle, daughter of Richard Boyle, 1^st Earl of Cork. Arthur died 27 May 1665. His son, Adam, was created Baron of Rathfarnamh and Viscount Lisburne in 1685. Adam commanded a regiment in support of King William at the siege of Limerick and was killed there.

1641 Depositions

The 1641 depositions chronicle the harrowing events of the uprising by Catholic landowners against plantation settlers in the early 17th century. The rebellion, which began on October 22, 1641, led to more than a decade of violence and was one of the excuses used by Cromwell for coming to Ireland. The depositions record the claims for compensation by the Protestant settlers who suffered at the hands of the Catholic rebels. While many certainly do chronicle real events others were exaggerated in order to secure increased compensation.

There are a number of mentions of the Boardsmill/Castlerickard area in the depositions.

John Calbecke, of Monketowne in the parish of Trim had his house broken into and robbed by rebels from Athboy. A number of the robbers were caught and brought to Trim Gaol where they were hanged. Six weeks later when a general rebellion broke out Calbecke hid out in the woods for three days until things had died down. He escaped to Dublin with the help of his servant, an Irishman. Clabecke’s lands and goods at Monskstown were seized by Thomas Might of Trim.  Clabecke claimed loss of goods to the value of £381.

Hugh Cooke of Slaine Clonie, (possibly Clonee) in the lordship of Moygar, parish of Trim, had been robbed of cattle and beasts, horse, corne and hay  by John Rochford, Rory Lenan blacksmith and Tiege OCullen miller of Castlerickett, Walter Fagan and William Fagan both of Branockstowne farmers,  Mr Thomas Nugent of Dallystowne and others.

Thomas Hugines of Rorriston in the Parish of Tryme was at Roriston robbed and dispoiled of goods including corne worth £200 and cattle horses and sheep, toorfe worth £40 and other goods.

The Land Movement

William Flood of Boardsmill chaired the meeting which established the Land League branch of Trim and Boardsmill. The meeting took place in the Town Hall, Trim in late 1880. William Flood was elected as President of the branch. His brother, James Flood, was also involved.

In 1881 the Trim and Boardsmill branch of the Land League condemned the arrest of Michael Davitt. A branch of the Ladies Land League was formed in Trim in 1881 with Miss. M. Rooney, Boardsmill being a committee member.

In 1890 a public meeting to promote Irish nationality was held on the hill of Dalystown, presided over by Michael Rafferty and addressed by J.P. O’Byrne. There were about twenty constables present with two taking notes.

World War I

The following men signed up in the first two years of the war. All were ex-members of the Boardsmill Irish National Volunteer Corps.

Columbus Balfe – 2^nd Irish Guards; got ear trouble with the noise of the guns and sent back to base.  In 1916 was attached to the R.A.M.C. at Boulogne

Christopher Gogarty  – 2^nd Irish Guards; was wounded in the Battle of  Loos; was invalided home but returned and was killed in 1918.

Peter Quinn – 2^nd Irish Guards; was killed at the Battle of Loos

James Sheridan – 2^nd Irish Guards

John Balfe – 2^nd Irish Guards

John Sheridan – Army Service Corps

Philip Farrell – Dublin Fusiliers

Michael Ennis – Royal Irish Fusiliers

Patrick McManus – Leinster Regiment, wounded in knee in 1916; then moved to Base Hospital

Patrick Morgan – Leinster Regiment

James McManus – Leinster Regiment

Mathew Hanley – 1^st Irish Guards, wounded and subsequently discharged.

Christopher Gogarty, son of William and Jane Gogarty, Brannoxtown, Trim, was killed in the First World War. He was a Guardsman in Guards’ Machine Gun Regiment, 4^th Battalion. The four Machine Gun Companies in the Guards Division were formed into a unit named the 4th Battalion Machine Gun Guards on 1 March 1918. He had previously served in the Irish Guards. Born in Brannockstown his father’s occupation was a shepherd. His occupation was farm worker. He enlisted in January 1915 at Drogheda. He served in France from 16 August 1915. He was wounded at Loos in September 1915, hospitalised in England and returned to Front in 1916. He was transferred to the Machine Gun Guards in February 1918. In March and April 1918 the German advanced and the desperate fighting on this front threw a severe strain on the Guards. Gogarty died of wounds at Doullens Casualty Clearing Station, France, on 30 March 1918, aged 26. His memorial is VI.F.8 at Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No. 1.

James McManus died in World War I. He was a Private in the Leinster Regiment, 2^nd Battalion, Baptised on 15 September 1898 he was the son of Patrick and Ellen McManus, nee Cosgrave, Dalystown, Castlerickard. His father’s occupation was farmer and agricultural labourer. He enlisted in Mullingar. James died of wounds, France & Flanders, 4 June 1918. Aged 19 his memorial is in Ebblinghem Military Cemetery. The cemetery was begun by the 2nd and 15th Casualty Clearing Stations, who came to Ebblinghem in April 1918 at the beginning of the German offensive. They used the cemetery until July. James was awarded the Military Medal. His father had died before James had died.

His brother, Patrick, also served with the Leinsters and was wounded by a bullet through the knee. Surviving the war he died in 1978. Their cousin, William Smyth, was also killed in the war. William Smyth was a private in the Leinster Regiment. Born in 1898 he was the son of Patrick and Anne Smyth, nee Gallagher, Dalystown, later of Clonee, Ballivor and later of Donore, Hill of Down. His father’s occupation was Farm Labourer. Enlisting in Trim he was killed in action, 30 May 1918, aged 20. He was buried in Cinq Rues British Cemetery, Hazebrouk, France. The cemetery was used chiefly by the field ambulances and fighting units of the 29th Division from April to August 1918 for the burial of casualties sustained during the German offensive.

Private Peter Quinn, 6552 Irish Guards, 2nd Bn. Was the son of James and Elizabeth Quinn, of Newtownmoynagh, Boardsmill, Trim, Co. Meath, Peter was born on 30^th September 1895 and died 30 September 1915, aged exactly 20 years. Commemorated at Loos Memorial, Panel 9 and 10. France. A member of the Irish Volunteers in Boardsmill he joined up in 1914. Previous to this he had worked as a labourer. His father was a miller.

A John Bagnall served in WW1 but I do not have further details. In the 1901 Census there was a 15 year old John Bagnall working as a farm labourer on the farm of the Guy family at Dalystown, Trim. This John Bagnall was born in 1884 and baptised in Trim parish, with parents Daniel and Elizabeth Bagnall, nee McLoughlin, Dalystown. His father was a labourer.

The Leinster Leader reported in October 1915-

“Two Trim brothers, John and Columbus Balfe, of Boardsmill near Trim, who are at present serving with the Irish Guards, have had a wonderful escape from death in the recent big battle. They were members of Boardsmill National Volunteers and volunteered last January—both being magnificent specimens of Irish manhood, and over 6 feet tall.

In a letter to his mother received during the week Columbus writes:—”Just a few lines to tell you I received both your  letters and parcels this morning, after being in the trenches since Sunday morning. The parcels were no use to us, all broken, only the tobacco. Dear Mother, I had a rough time of it since and I don’t know how we escaped as we had a terrible narrow escape all of us. We made a charge on Monday with fixed bayonets. It was a sight to see. It was Hill 70 at any cost. So I faced it under a shower of solid lead. Their maxim guns were cutting the grass under my feet and I don’t know how I got out of it. All your prayers must be heard for us anyway, and I prayed my best going for them. We took the Hill anyway off them, but we had a lot wounded and killed and I or Jack never got a scratch. It was a miracle. I will never be shot when I was not done that day. The wounded and dead fell every side of me. I lost my regiment that night. I was the whole night out lying by myself and did not I hear that poor Jack was shot. I was in a bad way. He did “his bit” very bravely. I would like to see an Irish paper to see what it says about the way we wiped them. I had a very narrow escape. A shell went into the ground right beside my right foot. It did not burst. If it did I was gone. It is very hard to escape the constant shelling and Jack Johnsons always going day and night. Jack had a narrow escape. He went to fetch some water to make some tea and when he came back his trench was blown to atoms. Five fellows were buried in it, but they were not dead when we got them out. Gogarty is wounded, but not seriously I believe. He got hit in the head and arms. We cannot get any particulars of Quinn at all but some say he is wounded also. Sheridan is all right and a very good friend to me he is. He went out on several occasions under heavy shell fire and got grub for both of us. It is impossible to get it up to us with shells flying. It was the Inniskillen Dragoons that relieved us and they were three days late.

We should be only 48 hours in the trenches and 48 hours off, so instead of that it was five days. We are going into action again in the morning so don’t forget, to say all the prayers you can for us. We are all well prepared to meet God anyway as we get absolution from our chaplain every night. Now mother, don’t be a bit uneasy about us as God is good and I know He is supporting us. Well, mother, if you saw us coining down from the trenches you would never know me. Mud and sludge, it is raining desperately on us, also you can guess how we feel. Send us some cigs. and tobacco. I lost all my kit in the charge. It was cut off me. It won’t be long I expect until we have all the Germans out of France.”  

Local Landlords

In the twelfth century Hugh de Lacy retained Trim and surrounding area as a demesne manor and made it the caput or head of the new lordship. This area included most of Boardsmill.

Through a complicated series of inheritances the lordship, castle and manor of Trim passed from the Mortimer family into the hands of Edward Plantagenet and, on his accession to the throne in 1461, they became crown property. The castle and manor of Trim were entrusted to a series of constables and other custodians during the late middle ages and the early modern period.

The lands came into the hands of the Wesley family of Dangan, a family which included the Duke of Wellington and Lord Mornington. The Boardsmill lands were surveyed in 1781when Richard Colley Wellesley succeeded his father Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington who died in that year. Lord Mornington sold his entire Meath estates in 1816.

The first Leslie to come to Ireland was Bishop John Leslie who was Bishop of the Isles in Scotland. He moved to Ireland in June 1633 when he became Bishop of Raphoe, and he built Raphoe Castle in Co Donegal.

At the age of 67, Bishop Leslie married Catherine Cunningham, the teenage daughter of the Dean of Raphoe, and they had five children, two of whom lived to adulthood. Bishop Leslie was known as the “fighting bishop” and defeated Cromwell’s forces at the Battle of Raphoe. At the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the bishop, then aged 90, rode from Chester to London in 24 hours. As a reward for his loyalty, Charles II granted him £2,000. In 1665, Glaslough Castle and demesne was sold by Sir Thomas Ridgeway to John Leslie, by then Bishop of Clogher. When John Leslie died at the age of 100 in 1671, he was reputed to be the oldest bishop in the world.

His son John, who was then aged 26 and inherited the estate, was Dean of Dromore. He never married, and his brother, Canon Charles Leslie, who succeeded him at the age of 71, only enjoyed the estate for a few short months and died the following year.

Charles Leslie had three children – Robert, Henry and “Vinegar” Jane. Henry and Robert were friends of Dean Swift, who was a regular visitor to Castle Leslie. Swift wrote many verses about the Leslies, not all of them complimentary:

Charles Powell Leslie I, who inherited the estate in 1743, improved farming methods in the district, was MP for Hillsborough (1771) and Monaghan (1776).

Charles Powell Leslie’s brother-in-law, Lord Mornington, was the father of the Duke of Wellington. But Charles died before Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. He was one of the few landlords to refuse Castlereagh’s offer of a peerage in return for voting for the Act of Union. He died in August 1800.

The estate passed to the eldest son, Charles II Powell Leslie, a keen amateur architect who designed many the present farm buildings at Castle Leslie and the fairy tale gate lodge that looks down the lake to the castle.

Charles Powell Leslie III (1821-1871) loved big house parties and wanted to entertain on a grand scale. Charles choked on a fish bone before he could realise any of his major architectural fantasies. He died unmarried in 1871.  

The Leslie family purchased their Meath estates, including those around Boardsmill about 1832.  The Meath lands were located all over the county, Summerhill, Trim, Enfield, Ratoath and Dunshaughlin, producing an annual rent of between £6,000 and £7,000 per annum. Leslie fell foul of the Famine Relief Committee of Trim when he did not contribute to their funds instead providing employment and relief for his tenants directly. Colonel Charles Powell Leslie’s estate in Meath was sold in the Encumbered Estates Court, in 1858.

Castle Leslie in Glaslough has now been converted into an upmarket hotel and even hosted the wedding of former ‘Beatle’ Paul McCarthy.

Peadar Ó Liatháin

A native of Cúil-Aodha in west Cork, Peadar Ó Liatháin arrived in Boardsmill on the 3rd November 1951 to take up a teaching post in the local National School. Peadar O Liatháin was invited to become secretary of Boardsmill Hurling club in 1956, on the sudden death of then secretary Pat Fay, with, as he says himself, ‘a very limited knowledge’. His appointment coincided with the club’s second junior championship success. “The club was founded in 1944, three years later they won their first title, the junior championship,” Peadar recalls. “We were very lucky to win the junior again in ’56, my first year as secretary. We beat Navan O’Mahonys in the final at Trim in November.

They were leading by twelve points at half-time and probably thought they had it won but we came back in the second half to beat them. Incidentally, Peter McDermott came on as a sub in the second half of that game.” Peadar continues: “We were up senior the next year but didn’t do too well. Then, in ’58, we won the championship and O’Growney Cup double which was an outstanding achievement for a club which had just been senior for two years. We beat Kiltale in the final of the senior championship while we beat Trim in the O’Growney Cup decider at Navan. “We won the O’Growney Cup again two years later and the championship in ’64, ’71, ’73, ’74 and ’75. We had a great team in those days. Half of them would have played for Meath, the likes of Sean and Michael Garrigan, TJ Reilly, Seamus Carney, David Perry, Joey Grehan, Ben Kelly, Vincent Guy, Eamonn Cograve, amongst many others. Unfortunately, we haven’t won the senior since. “We won the senior and junior double in 1975 and were the first hurling club to receive the ‘Meath Club of the Year’ award. “We also won several camogie championships and our Under 14 hurlers were Meath’s first representatives in Feile na nGael. We also acquired a fine playing field and dressingrooms in Kilmurray.” Boardsmill celebrated the ruby anniversary of the first SHC and O’Growney Cup success at a well attended dinner and presentation night in the Wellington Court Hotel on 22nd of January this year (1999). Many of the successful panel were present to receive their commemorative plaques from Hurling Board Chairman Sean Colgan. Presentations were also made to the club’s successful team of 1998 which won medals at junior and U21 grades. In 1997 we won our first ever football titles, the Under 14 championship and Under 13 leagues. Peadar retired as principal of Boardsmill NS in September ’94. He’s fulsome in his praise of Cumann na mBunscoil’s contribution to underage football and hurling in the county. Incidentally, Peadar is an Honorary President of Cumann na mBunscoil. “Christine O’Brien and the Guys, Brid and Edel, our past pupils, won Leinster medals in ladies football but were unlucky to lose out in semi-finals and finals. Another past pupil, Alan Ashe, won an All-Ireland minor medal in 1990. Another Boardsmill man, Henry Balfe, would have played with the Meath minors about thirty years ago. Paudie Guy and Thomas Reilly won Leinster and All-Ireland U21 ‘Special’ hurling medals this year and there are others from previous years who would have won medals with Meath at Under16, 18 and 21 levels.” Since retiring from teaching, Peadar spends most of his time in Cork but his duties as Treasurer of the Hurling Board (he’s held that position since the mid-fifties) and as a member of the Co. Board’s Special Investigations Committee, not to mention his commitments with Boardsmill, ensures he’s a regular visitor to his adopted county. The Cork native had been involved with all Boardsmill underage teams up to the early part of this decade. Others such as Tommy Murray, Paul Daly, Patsy Brady, Larry McLoughlin, Mick Kelly and Hughie Reilly and others, would have helped out. Nowadays, Michael Leonard, TJ and Hughie Reilly, Peter McLoughlin, Thomas Darby and Christine O’Brien keep the flag flying.

Growing up, Peadar attended Cúil Aodha NS and Coláiste Íosagáin secondary school. There he became close friends with GAA commentator Micheal O Muircheartaigh and their friendship continued at St. Pats Training College. GAA legends such as Sean Purcell of Galway and Sean Murphy of Kerry (both selected on An Post’s ‘Team of the Millennium’) and Jerome O Shea of Kerry also attended the training college at that time. Naomh Ábán (home of current Cork football stars Anthony O Loingsigh and Micheal Ó Cronín) is Peadar’s local club. He is currently a Vice-President of Naomh Ábán. His brother, Donal, who played with the local club, is the holder of a Munster Colleges medal, which he won with Coláiste Íosagáin, and also garnered a Tipperary senior football medal with Fethard. Donal’s son, also called Donal, was centre half back on the Rebel County team which defeated Meath in the 1996 All-Ireland junior final. This year’s All-Ireland senior football decider was an occasion of mixed emotions for Peadar. “It was a difficult All-Ireland for me,” he admits. “Obviously I was hoping that the two lads from home (Anthony and Micheal) would do well but, of course, I also wanted Meath to do well. I had no regrets when the final whistle went. “Sean Boylan has been a friend of mine for ages now and he’s one of nature’s gentleman. He came to Boardsmill school to present medals in the past. I remember the night he was appointed manager by the Co. Board. It was a case of ‘sure he’ll do until we find someone better’. Time has shown there isn’t any better. No one can begrudge him his success which hasn’t changed him one bit and will not be repeated. “I have made numerous friends in the GAA, Co. Board and club officers, players (hurling and football), but I’ll name only five. Liam Ó Craobháin, Rúnaí Contae, Peter McDermott, Brian Smyth and Paddy Dixon of the famous 49ers, and Mattie Gilsenan. Though Boardsmill played many hard games down the years there was never any bad feelings and I enjoy going to Trim, Kilmessan, Rathmolyon, Longwood, Athboy, Kildalkey, Navan, Dunderry, Kiltale etc and meeting up with the old and young again.” The failure to make any headway in the standard of hurling in the county disappoints Peadar. Peadar concludes: “Finally, I have to pay tribute to the people, parents and children of Boardsmill. They gave me so many happy and satisfying years, putting up with numerous mistakes and inexperience. They all had a great pride in Boardsmill and would do anything for school and club. We had a school mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart since 1961 and now on February 1st, the Feast of St. Brid, patroness of the school “I had the luck to teach two generations and sometimes a third. Families were big when I first came, 5, 6, 7, 8 and even 12 sons from one family made sure that the classes were full size or more. I taught Seamus Kennedy who won the Ras Tailtean and a Minor hurling championship and the Minister for the Environment Noel Dempsey came to Boardsmill and won underage competition. I taught in three schools, the ‘Old School’ (1849), the ‘New School’ (1953) and the ‘Very New School’ (1986). We started with two teachers and ended with five.

From the Hogan stand Website – December 31, 1999

 Seamus Kennedy

When Seamus Kennedy won Irish cycling’s greatest prize, the Rás Tailteann, in 1978, he declared that he had achieved his life’s ambition, and that he was going to retire. “I’m finished now. I will retire at the end of the season. I have won everything I can,” he is quoted as saying in July 1978. But that was never going to happen. Kennedy’s passion for cycling was such that he would never retire from the saddle. Kennedy passed away on Monday of last week, following illness. He was aged 65. The Boardsmill native did win everything it was possible to, with his name prominent for forty years, from the 1960s, up to veteran categories in the early 2000s. His introduction to cycling was through the short-lived Ballivor club set up by enthusiast, Jack Bird, in the early 1960s. The club had a circuit which passed by the Kennedy homeplace at Fearmore, in Boardsmill, where the young Seamus, then active in the local GAA club, decided he was going to get involved with bikes. Kennedy later paid tribute to Jack Bird’s role in his cycling career. He won a league for beginners in Ballivor in 1964, before moving to Navan Road Club the following year, where he stood out as one of the more impressive novices.

Gene Mangan, a fellow Rás winner and work colleague of Kennedy’s, recalls first meeting him as a 16 year-old at Mick Christle’s training camp in Carlow in 1965, and says Kennedy had a chirpy enthusiasm and was all muscle, and who could run well too – unusual for a cyclist. He was a perfectionist and was fascinated by the bicycle as an object, Mangan says.

Over the next few years, he started collecting prizes – in 1968, the All Ireland 1,000 metres sprint final at Ceannt Stadium; the Belfast-Dublin Classic and All Ireland 100 miles mass start, and the following year, the 25 miles time trial championship and the 75 miles Rás Ceatharlac.

Listing out his achievements for 1968, which included Meath and All Ireland titles, both road and track, the writer says he was the first Irishman (seventh) in the overall placings in the Rás Tailteann, only yielding defeat to the dominant Czechs.

The Rás Tailteann had been founded by Joe Christle in 1953, and Kennedy first took part in 1965. At the time, Meath, Kerry and Dublin were providing most of the prominent and successful riders of the era, when the event captured the imagination of the country as an Irish Tour de France.

By the time of his eventual win in 1978, Kennedy had set a record of sorts – since his first outing in ‘65, he had lost the Yellow Jersey more times than anyone else. He had worn it for a total of 13 days and won eight stages, but had lost it four times without winning.

He was regarded as a wonderful cyclist, with a very professional attitude and a meticulous approach to his preparation, diet, and any aspect of his life that impinged on cycling. While not an exceptional climber, he was fast, focused, aggressive and ruthless in the sprints. According to Tom Daly’s history of the Rás, he was a classic single-day racer, a feared rider who never gave an inch, always generating breaks, staying away and winning the sprint. Such tendencies didn’t always help in a team-led Rás Tailteann which needed a multi-day strategy, and at times led to acrimonious finishes to stages.

Kennedy was unlucky, and very disappointed, to lose out on winning the 1975 Rás. He had a puncture on the second last stage, riding for the Ireland team. He had snatched the lead at the end of the opening Dublin to Monaghan stage, and held the advantage until the blow-out at Ballymore-Eustace. He finished up third overall to Paddy Flanagan and German rider Zebisch, only beaten by 43 seconds overall that year.

In 1978, Kennedy was riding for his father’s native Kerry, in a team sponsored by Allied Irish Finance, where he worked. The race was won on the Letterkenny to Warrenpoint third last stage. With a tail wind aiding the riders, the 101 miles was covered in a very fast three hours, 37 minutes and at the finishing line, Kennedy outsprinted Christy Reynolds of the Meath PJ White team.

In his history of Navan Road Club, Noel Coogan writes: “That gave Seamus the yellow jersey and he held the coveted garment on the Saturday spin through some tough roads in Louth and Meath on the way to Balbriggan. The final stage went through Skerries, Swords, Ratoath and Clonee en route to 15 laps around a short circuit in the Phoenix Park.”

Gene Mangan recalls that it was a very decisive Rás, and that Kennedy tactically rode it very well. He became the fourth Meath man, after Ben McKenna, Brian Connaughton and Colm Nulty, to win the race, and was to be followed by Philip Cassidy’s first win five years later. his brothers, Michael and Timmy, rode in the Rás that year, on the Meath Sheerin team.

That victory also drew down the curtain on part of the National Cycling Association’s chequered history. Kennedy was the last NCA man to win the Rás under the old regime. The Irish Cycling Tripartite Committee had brought together the three different factions in Irish cycling, the NCA, the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation, and the ICF. Kennedy went on to win a major race in the Naul, which included teams from England, and was the first major event after ‘Unity’ of the factions, and was a significant race to win.

He rode the Rás 18 times, every year from 1965 to ‘81, and in 1983 for the last time. On three occasions, in 1969, ‘72 and ‘75, he won the first stage of the race, and shared in six team victories. With his brother, Michael, Shay O’Hanlon, Paul Tansey and Seamus Reynolds, he rode with a Trim team sponsored by Michael Vaughan and Tirolia, and managed by Noel Clarke.

He won the 100 miles road championship four times, and national sprint and points titles were among his many successes. Stage race successes included the Rás Uladh, Rás Mumham and Rás Connacht. With other Meath riders, he represented Ireland in the three-day classic international race, the Grand Prix Humanite in France, and spent some time on the Belgian circuit.

He won the first stage of the Tour of Tunisia in 1978, and was fourth overall, and was third overall in the tour of Israel in 1975, when he finished second to Kilmessan’s Noel Clarke in a stage. Kennedy was on the 1980 Olympic panel, and expressed regret at not having taken part in an Olympics. Up to a decade ago, he was still winning races as a veteran, in the Klondyke Cup, Navan RC championship, Beechmount Cup and Cycleways Cup. In later years, he became involved with the Dunboyne club close to his Kilcloon home, and his last race was the Gerry Brannigan Memorial in Clonee last November.

From Meath Chronicle 19 May 2012

Clonee Graveyard

Gravestone Inscriptions in alphabetical order. Noel French.

BAGNAL – SEE REYNOLDS, WILLIAM.

BANNON –  James Bannon of Bolaykigh in memory of his father and mother. Brothers and son.

BIRD – With love we remember Johnny Bird, Ballyconnell, died 3^rd April 2009 aged 72 years. Rest in Peace. Bird.

BLADES – SEE REYNOLDS WILLIAM

BRADLEY – In memory of the Bradley family, Dalystown, RIP. (Two stones with same inscription in two different places)

BYRNE –  Byrne (cross)

CONLON – SEE  MOORE.

CORCORAN – This memorial was erected by David Corcoran and his wife, Catherine, in memory of his father, Denis Corcoran and his mother, Judith. The former died April the 14^th 1779 aged 60. The later January the 4^th 1780 aged 80 years.

CORRIGAN – In memory of John Corrigan, Robinstown, Ballivor, died 7^th November 1922. His wife, Jane, died 14 August 1932, interred in Killaconnigan.

CORRIGAN – Erected by Mrs Nora Corrigan in loving memory of her husband, John Corrigan, Carnisle, died 10 May 1921 aged 64. 

COSGRAVE – In loving memory of Edward Cosgrave died 28 October 1917. His wife, Elizabeth Cosgrave, died 10 January 1940. Their children, Thomas, died 16 September 1936. Katie died 16 April 1916. RIP. Erected by Peter Cosgrave.

DALY – Sacred to the memory of Mr Edward Daly of Inchamore who departed this life on 22^nd of January 1852 aged 76 years. Also in memory of his son, Patrick Daly, who died November 30^th 1856 aged 28 years. Also Anne, wife of the above Edward Daly, died 3^rd May 1874 aged 87 years. RIP.

DALY – Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of Edward Daly of Clonee who died 11 September 1882 aged 23 years. Also his father, Edward Daly, who died December 28^th 1888 aged 69 years. RIP.

DALY – Of your charity pray for the soul of Peter Daly of Kilglynn, Co. Meath, who died 31^st August 1864 aged 52 years. Also his wife, Mary who died 16 March 1862 aged 43 years. And also four of their children, Anne, Mary, Kate and Lizzie who died young.

DONLY –  Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Erected by James Donly in memory of his father, Patrick Donly, who departed this life July the 13^th 1839 aged 50 years.

DUNN –  This monument is erected by Thomas Dunn in memory of his beloved wife (Rest of inscription buried)

ENIS  – SEE MITCHEL.

ENNIS –  In memory of John Ennis died 9 August 1914. His wife, Rose Ennis, died 28 May 1929. Their son, John Ennis, died 15 March 1947.

FARRELL – In loving memory of Pamela Farrell, Kilmurray, Trim, who died 16 March 1984 aged 16 years. RIP. We loved her in life, let us not forget her in death.

(FITZ?)SIMMONS – Bridget ….simmons… of her husband (?) who departed this life …. 1834 aged 48 years. (Broken headstone)

FOX – Fox family. Newtownmoynagh.

GALLAGHER – In loving memory of Thomas Gallagher, Carnisle, Kildalkey, died 18 May 1962 aged 79. His wife, Mary (Molly) died 28 May 1979 aged 73.   Their son, James, died 11 April 2004 aged 67. Interred in England. RIP.

GURNEY – SEE MORGAN, ROBERT.

HARNAN – Erected by Anne Harnan in memory of her beloved husband, James Harnan of Rathmolyon who died February 13^th 1904 aged 55 years. The above, Anne Harnan, died April 25^th 1949 aged 90 years. Also her son, James Harnan, who died November 12^th 1965.

HARNAN – In loving memory of Richard Harnan, Clonee, died 18 January 1880 aged 67. His wife, Alice Harnan, died 3 January 1903 aged 79. Their daughter, Mary Lynam, died 16 September 1893 aged 35. Their sons. Richard Harnan died 16 September 1908 aged 61. Michael died 15 July 1916 aged 62. Hubert died 13 June 1931 aged 69. Brian died 30 September 1934 aged 74. RIP. 

HESNAN – In loving memory of Thomas Hesnan, Moyrath, Kildalkey, died 16 August 1936. His wife, Anne, died 10^th October 1945. Their son, Thomas, died 8 January 1975. Elizabeth Hesnan died 18 December 1990. Rose Hesnan died 26 June 1999.

HUGHES – Erected by Patrick Hughes in memory of his parents, Patrick and Catherine. Also their sons; John and Matthew. The above Patrick Hughes died 29^th November 1906 aged 67.

KELLY –  IHS. Have mercy on the departed friends of Bryan Kelly.

KELLY – Erected by Michael Kelly in memory of his father and mother. Also his brothers James and Brian. His nephew, Michael, died 29^th October 1943. And his wife, Ann, died 27^th February 1927. In loving memory of Thomas Kelly, Dalystown, died 11 December 1947. His wife, Margaret, died 1 December 1923. Mary died 26^th March 1939. And Nancy died 5 November 1988. And pray for the souls of Sister M. Lucy Kelly IBVM. Nellie Myland nee Kelly. Catherine Reilly nee Kelly.

KELLY –  (Large wooden cross) In memory of all who rest here, known and unknown. May God grant them peace with Him in Heaven. Erected by Tony Kelly. July 2009.

KIERNAN – Of your charity pray for the soul of Francis Kiernan of Ballinadrimna, Co. Meath, who died 28 January 1879 aged 94 years. Also his beloved wife, Catherine, who died 28 January 1879 aged 77 years. Also his two children, Francis and John, who died in the year 1863. Mother of Sorrow pray for the soul of Catherine Kiernan, Ballinadrimna, died 25 June 1899 aged 70 years RIP.

Dear Kate is gone but not forgotten,

Never shall her memory fade.

Fondest thoughts shall forever linger,

Around the grave where she is laid.

Erected by  her loving sister, Bridget.

KIERNAN – In loving memory of Peter Kiernan, Rathkeenan, died 17^th October 1959. His wife, Elizabeth, died 23^rd January 1950. Their daughter, Margaret, died 20 August 1941.  Their son, Peter, died 11 February 1976. Rest in Peace. Erected by their loving family.

KILKENNY – Erected by Catherine Kilkenny of Branoxtown in memory of her beloved father, Patrick Kilkenny, who died March 27^th 1858 aged 40 years. Also her beloved brother, James Kilkenny, who died April 3^rd 1862 aged 27 years.

LYNAM – SEE HARNAN, RICHARD.

MC AULEY – SEE MIGGIN.

MC LOUGHLIN – In loving memory of Edward McLoughlin died 28^th January 1938 aged 75 years. Dalystown, Longwood. His wife, Elizabeth died 3^rd June 1944 aged 73 years. RIP. Erected by the McLoughlin family.

MC LOUGHLIN –  In loving memory of Peter McLoughlin died 23^rd August 1936. His wife, Mary, died 15^th August 1950. Son, Edward, died 22^nd January 1969. Daughter, Mary, died 2^nd November 1972. Rest in Peace.

MC MANUS –  In memory of the McManus family, Donore.

MC MANUS – Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on the soul of Patrick McManus, Dalystown, Longwood, died 14^th October 1976 aged 81 years. Also his parents Patrick and Ellen and their grandson, Thomas (Tom) McManus, late of Canada and Batterstown, died 19 June 2019 aged 92. RIP.

MIGGIN –  In loving memory of Christopher Miggin, Kilmurray, Trim, died 27 February 1990. His parents, Anne and Tommy. Also brother, Tommy. And grandparents, Eleanor and Patrick. RIP. Miggin.

MIGGIN –  In memory of Dennis Miggin, Corballis, who died 22 April  1901 aged 70 years. Also his son, James, died 15 August 1886 aged 19 years. And his son, Patrick Miggin, died 18 April 1908 aged 45 years. His sister, Mary Miggin, died 8 February 1909 aged 79 years. And his wife, Bridget Miggin, died 22 March 1921 aged 89 years. John Miggin, Kildalkey,  died 18 December 1922. His wife, Roseanne, died 19 July 1954. Their daughter, Mary Bridget McAuley, died 13 June 1976. Their sons Charles died 7 January 1966. Dennis died 13^th July 1943. His wife, Catherine, died 13 July 1939.

MIGHT – IHS. This stone was erected by James Might in memory of his father, Nicholas Might, who departed this life March 6^th 1806 (?) aged 76.

MITCHEL – Erected by John Mitchel in memory of his grandfather, Thadeus Enis, departed April the 16^th 1781(last digit unclear) aged 71 years.

MOORE – Filial affection endeavours to commemorate John Moore who departed this life the 12^th June 1789 aged 81 years. He was a loving husband and a ardent parent. At his right hand lies his son, Michael, intered in the year of Our Lord 1800 aged 22 years. By his left side lies his eldest son, Lewis, who cut this memorial in the 80^th year of his age. Forgive him his sins and be merciful to the souls of the departed. Amen. 

MOORE – Moore and Conlon.

MORGAN – In loving memory of Patrick Morgan, Dalystown, died 18 October 1935 aged 57 years. Also his wife, Julia Morgan, died 7 October 1979 aged 89 years. Their son, Peter Morgan, 4 June 1940 aged 18 years.  James Morgan died 13 November 1981 aged 58 years. Anna Mary (Bunty) died 30 May 2007 aged 72 years. RIP.

MORGAN – In loving memory of Philip Morgan, Doolistown, Trim, died 17 June 1958. Also his loving wife, Marcella, died 1 November 1974, interred in Trim. Also his parents, grandparents, relatives and family who are buried in this graveyard. May they rest in peace. Erected by their loving son and daughters.

MORGAN –  In loving memory of Robert Morgan, Kilmurray, Trim, died 4 March 1969. His wife, Mary, died 6 May 1952. Their children, Roseann and Brian. Their son, Frank, interred in Leicester. Pray for Rita Gurney died 2 January 2014, interred in Leicester.

MYLAND – SEE KELLY, MICHAEL.

NEIL –  IHS. This stone was erected by James Neil in memory of his mother, Margaret Neil, who died February 14^th 1830 aged 64 years. Also his father, Thomas Neil, who died March 13^th 1830 aged 69 years.

O’RAFFERTY –  In loving memory of Thomas O’Rafferty, Ardenew, Longwood, died 16 March 1948 aged 70 years. Erected by his wife, Julia Anne.

RAFFERTY –  In loving memory of the Rafferty family. May they rest in peace.

REILLY – SEE KELLY, MICHAEL.

REYNOLDS – Erected by Charles Reynolds in memory of his son, Frances Reynolds, died May the 2^nd 1770 aged 21 years.

REYNOLDS – Erected by William Reynolds in memory of his mother Ellenor Reynolds, alias Blades who departed this life September 21^st 1789 aged 66 years. Also his father, Charles Reynolds, who departed this life  March 16^th 1797, aged 71 years. Also in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Reynolds, alias Bagnal, who departed this life August 12^th 1824 aged 61 years. Also George Reynolds, Moydrum, died 14^th July 1863. And his wife, Anne, died 4^th November 1860.

RYAN –  In loving memory of Matthew Ryan died 20 April 1930.

SHERROCK – Of your charity pray for the repose of the soul of Robert Sherrock died 20 February 1934 aged 75 years. Mrs Marcella Sherrock  died 25 March 1945 aged 80 years. Their son, Patrick, died 17 March 1962 aged 58 years. Their son, John, died 10 September 1976 aged 75 years. RIP.

Brannockstown Graveyard

Gravestone Inscriptions in alphabetical order. Noel French.

BALFE – Erected in loving memory of our dear mother, Elizabeth Balfe, Boards Mill, Trim, who died on 26^th January 1933 aged 75 years. Also her beloved grandson, Willie Flood, who died the 3^rd February 1916. James Flood who died on the 18^th December 1965 aged 87 years. His wife, Mary May,  died 26^th October 1966 aged 84 years.  

BYRNE – SEE KEARNEY

CASTOLO – SEE KEEFE

CONNOLLY – In loving memory of Rose and John Connolly, Boardsmill. Their great grandson baby, William Mooney. Rest in Peace.

COWLEY – In loving memory of James Cowley died 24^th March 1939. His wife, Mary, died 3^rd October 1978. Baby daughter, Mary, died 29^th December 1929.

DALY – Here lieth the body of Mary Daly, alias Sheredan, who died 10^th April 1799 aged 71 years. This monument was erected by her husband, Frances Sheredan, and their sons, Patrick, James and Frances.  Memoria: St. Patrick was born the year 373 that is 1417 years since. He began to preach …….

DORAN – Erected to the memory of Patrick Doran who departed this life 17 March 1860 aged 83 years.  Also his father and mother, William and Julia Doran, who died January 1808. Also Patrick Doran died 5^th February 1961 aged 70 years.

DUNNE – In loving memory of Paddy Dunne, Bellewstown, died 21^st January 2009 aged 93 years. And remembering the Dunne family. Rest in Peace.

FARNAN – Erected by Thomas Farnan in memory of his loving wife, Jane Farnan, died 26^th March 1896 aged 31 years.  Laurence Farnan died 3^rd January 1946. His father, Thomas, died 25^th October 1948.

FARRALL – Erected by Margaret Farrall in memory of her husband, Richard Farrall, who departed May the 26^th 1801 aged 56 years. May he rest in peace. Amen.

FARRELL – Erected by Margaret Farrell in memory of her beloved father, Robert Farrell, died 30^th April 1830 aged 40 years. Also her beloved mother, Mary Farrell, died 27^th March 1962 aged 75 years. And her beloved brother, James Farrell, died 8^th May 1874 aged 50 years.

FLOOD – SEE BALFE.

GOOREY – SEE MC GRATH

GORMAN – This stone was erected by Patrick Gorman of the City of Dublin, Grocer, in memory of his father, Martin Gorman, late of Castletown in this county, whose remains is here interred, who departed this life the 8^th January 1804 in the 50^th year of his life. Here lieth the body of the above named, Patrick Gorman, who died the 19^th June 1824 ….

HERBERT – SEE WALSH

HOEY – Erected by Michael Hoey, Brannoxtown, in memory of his parents, sister and wife. Michael Hoey died 27^th September 1968.

KEARNEY – Erected by Michael Kearney of Gilbertstown in memory of his father, Bryan Kearney, who died 27^th April 1860 aged 74 years and of his mother, Mary Kearney, alias Tyrrell, who departed this life 3^rd May 1845 aged 56 years. His wife, Mary Kearney, alias Byrne, died 14^th January 1876 aged 51 years. And of her brother, Richard and his sisters Bridget and Mary who died young. KEEFE – Erected by Michael Keefe in pious memory of his beloved wife, Bridget Keefe, who departed this life the 2^nd September 1818 aged 47 years.

KEOGH – SEE MC GRATH    

MC GRATH – IHS. Erected by Bridget McGrath, Dogstown, in memory of her parents, Patrick and Rose McGrath. Also her sisters: Jane McGrath, Julia Goorey, Mary Roarke, Rose Keogh, Bridget Rochford. Also William Rochford who died 15 December 1913 aged 28 years.

MAHER – Erected by Patrick Maher, Trim, in loving memory of his wife, Elizabeth (Lillie) died 23^rd February 1913 aged 32 years. 

MOONEY – SEE CONNOLLY.

O’BRYAN – Here lieth the body of Judith O’Bryan, alias Castolo, deceased May the 3^rd 1753 aged 35 years. Also the body of Daniel O’Bryan deceased April 5^th 1757 aged 53 years. This stone was erected by Patrick, son of the above.

QUINN – In memory of Jim (Sam) Quinn, Doolistown, died November 23^rd 1964 aged 57 years. First Chairman of Boardsmill GAA club in 1944. Erected by Boardsmill GAA in 2009 to commemorate GAA 125 years. Rest in Peace.

REILLY – IHS. Here lieth the body of Phillip Reilly, Doolistown, who departed 12?th September 1817 aged 40 years, who erected this stone in memory of his father, Bryan Reilly, who departed the 2^nd of March 179?1 Aged 53 years. Also his mother alias Reilly who departed the 27^th of September  1802 aged 3?6. Also his sister, Mary Reilly, who departed the 1^st of January 1814 aged 43 years. Also his wife, Margaret Reilly, who departed 27^th January 1816 aged 30 years.

ROARKE– SEE MC GRATH

ROCHFORD– SEE MC GRATH

SCHOLEY – IHS. Here lieth the body of W. Scholey who dept…. (Rest buried)

SHEREDAN –  SEE DALY

SMITH – Erected by Michael Smith, Doolistown, Co. Meath, in memory of his beloved wife, Mary Smith, who departed this life 3^rd January 1876 aged 59 years. Also his mother, Mary Smith, died 15^th September 1867 aged 67 years.

SMYTH – Erected by John Smyth in memory of his beloved wife, Mary Smyth, who died 6^th November 1903 aged 84. John Smyth died 25^th March 1910 aged 70.

STENSON – This stone was erected by David Stenson in memory of his father, John Stenson, who departed this life the 1^st day of April 1788 aged 62 years. Here also lieth the bodies of his brothers and sisters ……

TYRRELL – SEE KEARNEY

WALSH – Erected by James Walsh in memory of his father, Patrick Walsh, who died the 18^th December 1838 aged 78. Mary Walsh died on the 13^th of February 1849 aged 74 years. Thomas Walsh died 1^st of October 1869 aged 73 years. Margaret Herbert and child died on the 7^th April 1867 aged 34. Margaret Herbert died 27^th July 1899 aged 37 years. James Herbert died 4^th December 1942 aged 80 years. Rose Herbert died 4^th November 1952 aged 61 years.

Drinadaly Graveyard

Gravestone Inscriptions in alphabetical order. Very overgrown. Noel French.

ANDREWS – In loving memory of Christopher Andrews, Kilmurray Ave. Trim, died 28^th November 1966 aged 72 years. His wife, Sarah, died 27^th February 1995 aged 89 years. Their son, Christopher, died 11^th July 1948 aged 21 years. John J. Cullen, brother of Sarah, died 19^th August 1975 aged 76 years. William Andrews, son of Christopher and Sarah, died 21^st July 2004 aged 54 years.

ANDREWS – In loving memory of Peter Andrews, Kilmuray, Trim, 1^st March 1938-10^th  July 2011.

BIRD – In loving memory of Michael Bird died 22 June 1932 aged 84. His wife, Catharine, died 17 January 1940 aged 85. Their son, Thomas, died 18 May 1938 aged 50. Also Michael died 23^rd August 1961 aged 67. Catherine (Cissie) died 4^th March 1966 aged 81. Mollie died 14^th September 1976 aged 89. Josie died 24^th March 1959 aged 62, Trim. Christy died 9^th July 1974 aged 83, Dublin. Sr. Vincent died 12^th February 1968 aged 74, England. Sr. Aquinas died 20^th November 1978 aged 89, England. Sr. Francis died 28^th October 1980 aged 82, England.

BLIGH – In loving memory of Mary Bligh, Waterloo Lodge, died 28 December 1940 aged 39 years. Her daughter, Sheila, died 13 October 1960 aged 22 years. Also Patrick Bligh died 7 July 1948 aged 5 months. Also Mrs. Pauline Bligh died 13 November 1987 aged 45 years. Johnny Bligh died 11^th February 2018 aged 86 years. Denise Phelan, Monasterboice, died 15^th April 2018.

BRADY – Brady.

BYRNE – This stone was erected by Christan Byrne in memory of her husband, Edward Byrne, who departed this life December 4^th 1761 aged 38 years.

BYRNE – IHS This stone was erected by Peter Byrne in memory of his father, James Byrne, who died February 22^nd 1795 aged 84 years. Also two of his children Christopher and Anne. May they rest in peace.

CAHILL – Pray for the soul of Teresa Cahill died 1899 aged 89. John P. Hanly died 1925 aged 83. Teresa Hanly died 1883 aged 36. Bertie and Andrew died 1883. Teresa Tina died 1901 aged 19. Joseph died 1923 aged 50. Madeline died 1932 aged 63. Madeline Hanly, nee O’Reilly, died 17^th July 1954 aged 70. Her husband, Angus Hanly, died 16^th November 1958 aged 83. Interred at Ferrybank Churchyard, Waterford. Refurbished by David Dickenson of Waterford, 2012.

CAREW – Pray for the soul of Patrick Carew who died 17 March 1897 and for his mother, Anne and wife, Bridget.

COLLWELL – IHS This stone was erected by Bryan Collwell in memory of his father, Matthew Collwell who departed this life December the 3^rd 1750 aged 70 years. Lord have mercy on his soul. Amen.

CULLEN – SEE ANDREWS.

DICKENSON – SEE CAHILL.

DONOGHUE – In loving memory of Anne Donoghue, Drinadaly, Trim, died 2^nd June 1982 aged 67. Paddy Donoghue died 15^th April 2009.

DUIGNAN – SEE RUSSELL

DOUGLAS – In loving memory of Thomas Douglas died 18^th March 1941. And his beloved wife, Jane, died 6^th December 1947. Rest in Peace.

FARRELL – Erected by Owen Farrell, Harcourt Lodge, Trim, Co. Meath in memory of his father, Edward Farrell died April 18^th 1875 aged 77 years. Also his uncle, Owen Farrell, died August 11th 1879 aged 74. Also please pray for the soul of said Owen Farrell, Harcourt Lodge, Trim, died October 12^th 1926 aged 75 years. Mary Farrell died 27 March 1934 age 84. May they rest in peace with God. Amen.

FARRELL – Erected in memory of Owen Farrell died 8^th August 1879 aged 74 years. His brother, Edward, died 19^th April 1875 aged 77 years.

FARRELL – In loving memory of Matthew Farrell, Drinadaly, Trim. Died 13 November 1949 aged 66.  Also his father, Edward Farrell, died 31 October 1917 aged 58. And his mother, Mary Farrell, died 12 March 1932 aged 83. His twin brother, John Farrell died 12 September 1953 aged 79. RIP.

Matt died 6 February 1980. Peter died 10 June 1982. Edward died 26 August 1997. Rest in Peace.

FAY – In loving memory of Lill Fay, died 22^nd August 2004. Rest in Peace. We hold you close within our hearts and there you shall remain.

GARRY – In loving memory of Thomas Garry (Carnisle) died 3^rd November 1950 age 73 years. His wife, Catherine, died 19^th December 1980 age 92 years. Their son, Thomas, died 3^rd September 1955 age 26 years. Patrick Garry died 29^th November 2000 age 77 years. RIP.

GARRY – Erected in memory of Patrick (Pat) Garr, Portlester, died 11^th March 1999 aged 92 years. Also his parents Mary Garry, Crossinstown, died 19^th January 1909. John Garry died 21^st December 1963 (Interred in Ballivor) Rest in Peace.

GUNNING – In loving memory of Matt Gunning, Drinadaly, died 9 June 1999 aged 76. His mother, Alice, died 19 September 1944. His father, Patrick, died 6 March 1960. His sister, Nancy, died 25 January 1948. And her baby son, Patrick. Elizabeth (Betty) Gunning, wife of Matt, died 6 April 2007 aged 84. Erected by their family.

HANLY – SEE CAHILL.

KEATING – To the memory of William Keating, a native of Co. Tipperary, who departed this life March 31^st 1829 aged 70. This token of affection is placed over his remains by his daughter, Mrs. Jane Walker of London.

MC GARRY – Sacred to the memory of Michael McGarry, Shanco, who died 9^th January 1888 aged 91 years. And of his wife, Bridget, who died February 1855 aged 28 years. His son, Michael McGarry, died 24^th June 1924. His wife, Bridget, died 27^th March 1948. Their son, Harry, died 27^th May 1963. Also uncles and aunts. RIP.

NEWMAN – In loving memory of Christopher Newman died 10 March 1901 aged 65. His wife, Bridget, died 5 December 1928 aged 73. Also their daughter, Margaret Newman died 11 October 1941 age 46. Their son, Patrick, died 16 April 1967 age 79. Katie Newman died 10 November 1886 age 97. O’RAFFERTY – In loving memory of Patrick O’Rafferty died 11 November 1944. Also his wife, Elizabeth, interred in Kildalkey. O’REILLY – SEE CAHILL. PHELAN – SEE BLIGH. RUSSELL – Lord have mercy on the soul of Thomas Russell, Harcourt Lodge, who died 9^th January 1879 aged 79 years and his wife, Catherine J., who died 6^th March 1871 aged 69 years. Also their sons, Robert, who died 11^th March 1866 aged 28 years. William J. who died 16^th June 1878 aged 34 years. Also their daughters Mary E. Duignan who died 28^th November 1887 aged 57 years. And Kate M. Russell, who died 12^th March 1891 aged 50 years. Also Louisa Mary, wife of William Russell, who died 7^th February 1882 aged 33 years. And their granddaughter Kathleen Russell who died 13^th April 1875 aged 3 months. RIP.