Tag: Clashmore

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Local Snippets

The Dusky Dan Variety Show

A guest post by Mike Hackett
Old Travelling Circus

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. 

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Historical Biographies War of Independence

Cumann na mBan

A Brief local history of the cumann na mban

Cumann na mBan or the “Irishwomen’s Council” was founded in April of 1914 at Wynn’s Hotel, Dublin and was a Nationalist organisation which aligned closely with the Irish Volunteer movement. Initially much of their activities on a local level involved fundraising and providing first-aid training for their members, but their primary objective of “advancing the cause of Irish liberty” and to “assist in arming and equipping a body of Irish men for the defence of Ireland” would ring more and more true as Ireland approached the revolutionary events of Easter 1916 and latterly during the War of Independence.

Cumann na mBan Poster
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Industrial Heritage

Rural Electrification

ESB Rural Electrification of Clashmore in 1958

The ESB Rural Electrification Scheme rolled into the Clashmore District in the Spring of 1958 covering the areas of Clashmore, Piltown, Aglish & Villierstown. It was stated in the local press that “the introduction of this scheme should mark the beginning of a new era of progress and prosperity for the people of the district. It will eliminate drudgery and make life easier for all and on the farm will make for efficiency and lower production costs…” and it was initially expected to cost approx. £120,000.

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Industrial Heritage

Clashmore Distillery

Clashmore Distillery (1825 – 1840)

The history of Clashmore Distillery is a brief but colourful one and indeed this establishment stood alone in this county for the best part of 170 years until the recently established Blackwater Distillery produced it’s first spirit back in 2010.  

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Industrial Heritage

A Rich Vein of History

The River Licky – A Rich Vein of History

Like most other rural areas of the country at the end of The Great Famine years, the parish of Clashmore & Kinsalebeg was also experiencing the after effects of the heavy toll felt after successive potato crop failures and the latent dereliction of the very poorest in society by many of the ruling classes of the time.

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