Carlow County - Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP TM)

Myshall
Co. Carlow

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, By Samuel Lewis. 1837

MYSHALL, a parish, partly in the barony of IDRONE EAST, but chiefly in that of FORTH, county of CARLOW, and province of LEINSTER, 8 miles (E. S. E.) from Leighlin-bridge, on the road from Newtown-Barry to Bagnalstown, and on the north side of the river Burren; containing 2874 inhabitants, of which number, 123 are in the village. The parish comprises 9220 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £4744 per annum. There is a great deal of waste mountain land, and much bog; but agriculture is improving. There are quarries which yield stone for building. The village consists of 19 houses; it has a penny post to Leighlin-Bridge, and is a constabulary police station; petty sessions are held on alternate Wednesdays, and road sessions four times in the year. Fairs are held on May 10th and Sept. 14th, for cattle, sheep and pigs. Myshall Lodge is the residence of J. Brody, Esq.; and Holly-brook, of A. Bloomfield Feltus, Esq.

Myshall Community Centre c.2009.
What was this building used for originally? It looks very 1930's style.

The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £400. There are six statute acres of glebe, on which stands the glebe-house. The church is a plain building, towards the repairs of which the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently granted £203; it was built in 1811, by aid of a gift of £800 from the late Board of First Fruits. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising the parishes of Myshall and Fennagh, in each of which is a chapel; that of Myshall is a neat building, kept in excellent order.

There is a school at Shangarry, of which the house, a good stone building, was erected at an expense of £200, partly by government and partly by subscription; and one at Myshall, in which are about 150 children. There is also a private school of about 130 children. The ruins of the old church, overgrown with ivy, are situated on the townland of Myshall, and have a burial-ground annexed; there is also a burial-ground on the townland of Ballaghmore. At Knockrimah is a chalybeate spa.

 

Myshall (Tourism)

Myshall - A small village which lies in the south of County Carlow off the main Wexford road, at the base of the North western slopes of the Blackstairs Mountainsl. The name Myshall "Midh Iseal" means low plain and the village also gives its name to the townsland and parish. The buildings which were prominent when the village was planned in the 17th century are now domestic residences, shops and bars but retain their charm of former days. The lofty summit and haunting splendour of Mount Leinster provides a magnificent backdrop for the surrounding lowlands, wide open spaces and quiet country roads.

In 1822 one Francis F. Hayden wrote of the panoramic setting of Myshall saying that it "commands as wild, as romantic and picturesque a range of scenery as ever attracted the pen of Byron, the pencil of a Reynolds, or the genius of a Thomson", and the wealth of scenery has changed little since.

There is a lovely drive with stunning scenery from Myshall up to Mount Leinster and the Nine Stones vantage point. One of Carlow's hidden gems, the Adelaide Memorial Church is located in the village. Built as a miniature of Salisbury Cathedral, this architectural gem was completed in 1912/13 by John Duguid of Dover, England., around the graves of his wife Adelaide and his daughter Constance who were killed in a riding accident near the village in 1903. In this "exquisite church of rare beauty" many objects of interest and art are to be seen in marble, mosaic, woodcarving, stained glass and ironwork. The design of the marble floor in the Chancel was taken from St. Mark's in Venice while the stained marble steps came from Galway and the red granite pillars from Aberdeen in Scotland. Mr. Duguid's portrait, with his wife's and other members of his family may be seen in the vestry.

One of Myshall's most famous sons was Peter Fenelon Collier, the founder of Collier's magazine, an illustrated general weekly. He arrived in the United States penniless at the age of 16. Starting with a borrowed $35, he was the first man to sell books on the instalment plan and eventually built a publishing empire worth $12 million.

Source: http://www.carlowtourism.com

Adelaide Memorial Church

The Church of Ireland Adelaide Memorial Church of Christ the Redeemer in Myshall is a miniature of Salisbury Cathedral. Completed in 1913, it was commissioned by a London businessman, John Duguid, in memory of his daughter Constance, killed in a hunting accident, and her mother Adelaide, who died in 1903. Both are buried here. Highlights include exquisite woodcarvings, stained glass windows with representations of local countryside and ironwork. The beautiful marble floor and the Chancel were inspired by St Mark’s in Venice and the granite pillars came from Aberdeen. The church is also known as the Adelaide Memorial Church.

Source: Image & text From www.Wikipedia.org

Noted People of Myshall & Drumphea Parish  

Peter Fenelon Collier, Dr Joseph Byrne, Tom Nolan T.D. Cappawater, Pat O'Neill Bealalaw, Sr. Teresa F.C.J., Peter Doyle, John Morris, Catherine Troy and  John B. Nolan.

Source: http://www.myshalldrumphea.com/historical-figures.htm

Rev Thomas Nolan, parish priest, (died 1886)

Thomas Nolan was born at Ballinrush, Myshall, Co. Carlow. He was a student at Carlow College during the period 1805-1818 (although not continuously) and was ordained for the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin in 1818. He was the older brother of Rev John Nolan (1810-1880) and who was parish priest, Kildare, at the time of his death. Thomas Nolan served in the parishes of Hacketstown, Myshall, Stradbally, Tullow, Ballyfin and Abbeyleix. He was a long-serving parish priest of Abbeyleix, 1838-1886. While in Abbeyleix he was closely associated with the town's Brigidine Convent. The 'Knockbeg Centenary Book' (1948) says of Thomas Nolan, 'All his life he was his people's champion against landlord aggression. In Abbeyleix he gave active support to the land movements led by Pat Lalor, and later by his son Richard.' As a young man, Thomas Nolan was considered 'delicate.' In 1819, Bishop James Doyle (JKL), writing to a sister of Thomas Nolan's, a nun in Cork, doubted if he would survive the winter. Thomas Nolan's date of birth is uncertain but has been dated to circa 1794-1798 and so was in his eighties at least by the time of his death in 1886.

The original photograph is held by the Delany Archive: www.delanyarchive.ie. Code: CC/1/3/2/4.

St. Finian, known as the ‘tutor of the Saints of Ireland’ and founder of the celebrated monastery of Clonard, Co. Meath, was born in Myshall about 470 AD. The village contains the remains of a  Romanesque church that Finian founded in the sixth century. Local tradition also links St. Columbanus, Ireland’s first great European saint, with the area. Tradition holds that he was allegedly advised by St. Croine Bheag of Carlow to leave home to follow his monastic education. His journey took him to Bangor which enjoyed a close association with Carlow town. A stained-glass window in the Catholic Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross commemorates Myshall’s association with St. Columbanus.

Source: http://trails.carlowtourism.com/19.html

Catholic Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross

 Myshall, Co. Carlow

Local tradition links St. Columbanus, Ireland's first great European saint, with the area. He allegedly was advised by St. Croine Bheag of Carlow to leave home to follow his monastic education. His journey took him to Bangor which enjoyed a close association with Carlow town. A stained-glass window in the Catholic Church of exaltation of the holy Cross commemorates Myshall's association with St. Columbanus.

[ Myshall Lodge ]

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© 2001 County Carlow Genealogy IGP

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