CK Heritage Blog
Reared as a townie in Youghal – little did I think that the majority of my life would be spent in the lovely Deise. Now having spent fifty-one years living in Shanacoole – I hope to live long enough to see Waterford win another hurling All-Ireland.
Dan Duskey was a showman with a small travelling outfit of his own – going from village to village in the earlier part of the last century. His wife, Peggy, sons and daughters made up the entire cast.
There are many stories about the hard-working Dan and his village show while touring around the South of Ireland. He arrived in Clashmore village in West Waterford before the Second-World-War with a van pulling one wagon. His theatre at the time was a one-pole all-canvas tent and it was one that had seen better days. Dan was undeterred. It was all that he could afford and he set up just below the bridge.
John (Sean) O’Connor, Principal of Piltown National School, told a great story from the 1950s when Waterford had an outstanding hurling team. Some older people will remember Ned Power, Austin Flynn, Tom Cheasty, Frankie Walsh, Johnny Kiely and Philly Grimes. They won the All-Ireland in 1959.
As great characters move on to a higher place we tend to remember them by the telling of stories and events that they amused us by. Telling of such memories is to be commended but writing them down for future research and generations is even a better deed. Anybody doing research into the light social history of our society will realise how many of our older people have left us in recent years. We hear the term “Why didn’t I ask him that when I had the chance?” Time moves on and people move on, so let us capture what we can while we are able.
We go back to 1952 for this story about a small circus coming to Piltown for a single performance. Corvenieo was the name of this show family and they mainly erected their one-pole tent in small towns and villages all over Ireland. Such a visit from a circus in those pre-tv times was a very exciting event for the locals.
As the summer approaches – we shall walk more in an effort to stay young and fit. Then when you think of where to go – consider the wonderful historical scenic route that is the Cliff Walk at Ardmore. Just three kilometres long – it reminds us firstly of St. Declan – who was here before St. Patrick.
i. Early Life
Born at Curragh, Ardmore in February 1896 to Timothy and Mary Lennon, Bill Lennon would become one of the most enigmatic characters of the War of Independence period in West Waterford. His early life was difficult as by 1898 his mother had died at just 36 years, leaving the children in the care of an aging father. By late 1901, it appears that Bill’s father had also died at the age of 61. The elder was a British Army veteran and had served in India in the 1870s with the Devonshire Regiment, ironically a unit which was later garrisoned at Waterford City in 1921 and one which the Waterford Brigades spent much of their efforts trying to defy. His passing had orphaned the younger children and by 1911, the 14-year old Bill appears to have been boarding with a Lombard family from the townland of Drumgullane which is located between Ardmore and Clashmore.
i. The Fight on the Western Front
It takes a rebellious heart for a mere teenager to leave the bosom of rural West Waterford and decamp to fight for the British Army in The Great War, especially considering the vast numbers of Irishmen who were falling at the ‘Front’. Nonetheless, this is what Bill Foley and his older brother Robert from Ballycurrane, Clashmore contended to do. They served with the Royal Munster Fusiliers and while in the forces they both qualified as proficient marksmen, a skill which would stand them in good stead for the challenges ahead closer to home.
Michael ‘Mick the Cooper’ Cunningham was born on February 24th 1875 to Patrick & Mary Cunningham, Ballyheeney, Clashmore. His father came from a long line of Coopers and Michael, the second son, followed him into the trade, a craft which would later bring him half way around the world with the Royal Navy, as far East as the Persian Gulf to as far south as Simonstown in the Western Cape of South Africa. At that time cooperage was one of the most important positions to hold on a ship due to the necessity for casks for water and provisions and men generally reported directly to the Purser i.e. the ship’s accountant or “the one who held the purse strings”. Contrary to popular belief, coopering was not all about making barrels or casks for stowage and much of their time onboard would also be given over to the repair of leaking or damaged vessels. These skilled craftsmen would also make various other everyday ‘staved’ items such as churns, buckets and tubs and were generally proficient at ‘hooping’ too as a secondary skill.
On this day May 10th 1921, a young man named James Quain lost his life during an engagement in the War of Independence. That day a party of British Marines from Ardmore Coast Guard Station were on patrol carrying out ‘round-up’ operations in the Piltown/Monatrea area. Some local volunteers and others from the Flying Column itself were in the vicinity of Monatrea when four or five of them became isolated not far from Moord Cross Roads and were taken by complete surprise by the Marines. The volunteers had to flee and disperse under heavy fire, with the tragic result being that young James Quain from Youghal was mortally wounded as he tried to get away.