- Tinryland House also known as the Parochial house,
- Tinryland, Co.
Carlow
- Original
photograph held by the Delany Archive:
- www.delanyarchive.ie. Code:
P2/237
TINRYLAND
(Tigh
an Raoireann; House of Raoire; A very ancient name of a Royal Residence) -
The townland of Tinryland is located just 3 miles SSE of Carlow town, just
to the western side of the N 80 road. The townland's size of 545 acres is
a bit larger than the Irish average, but about normal for this part of
Carlow. To describe the shape of the townland, it looks like a miniature
state of Texas, about 1 1/2 miles north to south, and 1 1/4 miles in
width.
The main town-centre area, with the church, school and several
other buildings is, in fact, in the center of the townland. Based on
aerial photography flown in 1995, there were about 60 houses and other
buildings in the townland. The land is relatively level, with a 60 to 70
foot high "hump" in the centre of the townland - where the school and
church are located. The boundaries of the townland are determined
primarily by small streams.
Parish of Tinryland Catholic Population in 2000 was 1,600. the name of
the parish church is St. Joseph's Church, Tinryland which was built in
1819 in the style of Cruciform. J.K.L. (Bishop James Doyle) was
Bishop-Elect of the diocese when he consecrated the New Church at
Tinryland.
Father Thomas Tyrrell P.P. Tinryland (1823-1846) played a very
important role in Co Carlow elections of M.P.'s in the 1840's to the
extent of erecting in Tinryland church a 'crib' to accommodate "the black
sheep who voted Tory". A stained glass window in the church commemorates
Thomas Keogh, and his wife Alice, and Lt Col. Myles Keogh from Orchard,
Leighlinbridge.
An archaeological find in Linkardstown in the 1940's proved to indicate
a stone burial plot from the period 2,500-2,000B.C. Hence such burial
places are known as Linkardstown-type burials.
Church alterations took place in 1974 under architects Tyndall, Hogan &
Hurley, Dublin; building contractors were the Carbery firm of Carlow. the
three galleries with their stairs of stone were taken down. A new
sanctuary area was constructed and a new alter and Baptismal font of
Wicklow granite installed.
Mr Paddy Dowling native of Linkardstown, passed away in Jubilee year
2000. He was chosen as "Carlowman of the Century by the Old Carlow Society
for his pioneering work in brining electricity to rural Ireland in the
1940's. Tinryland parish was one of the first rural parishes in Ireland to
be electrified and Tinryland church was the first rural church in Ireland
to use electric lighting.
(From a book called The Churches of Kildare & Leighlin 2000AD by
John McEvoy).
Tinryland memories from the 30’s
by Peadar Mac Murcadha
I must say I have many pleasant and happy memories of my childhood
growing up around Tinryland in the 1930's and early 1940's. I lived with
my grandparents, Peter and Kate McMorrow at Mac's Cross which is the
junction of the Arms Road, the Ballybar Road, Ballinacarrig Road, and
the Chapel Road. : They had a small shop on the junction of the Arms
Road and Ballinacarrig Road. Tom and Kate Dempsey lived in a house on
the junction of the Arms Road and the Chapel Road. The Priest field with
its majestic beech trees bounded the Chapel Road junction with the
Ballybar Road while Dowling's field with a lone sycamore tree bounded
the remaining junction of Ballybar Road and Ballinacarrig Road.
This
latter junction was bounded by a hedge from whence grew the lone
sycamore at the crown of the comer. Beneath the tree on the roadside was
a grass bank in which was set a small flagstone on which cards were
played in the long summer evenings. The Priest field had a stone wall
inside of which stood the beech trees, from one of which was strung the
aerial serving the battery wireless in my grandparents home. From the
cross I could see the Clogrennane hills and in the summer evenings often
watched the white plume of steam curl up from passing trains on the
railway line between Milford and Carlow. One could also hear the
putta-putta sound of the passing canal barges on the river Barrow. Local
men regularly played "Nap" and "Solo" beneath the sycamore during the
summer months and in Dick Hayden's house during the winter.
The younger
men often played pitch and toss under the canopy of the beech trees on a
Sunday and during summer evenings. Regulars met under the beech trees
after Mass (II am) on Sundays the whole year round, discussing crops,
harvest, ploughing, and community gossip, driving many a wife to
distraction trying to keep the dinner warm for her gossiping husband. My
grandparents sold Paraffin oil, Candles, Clarendon meal, Oatmeal,
Washing soda, Bread soda, N-K-M toffee, Palma and Fry cream chocolate,
Half-time Jimmy chocolate, Peggy's leg, Bread, Cigarettes, Tobacco,
Snuff, Biscuits in small paper packs and Minerals. The bread was
supplied by Slaters and McDonalds both of Carlow and Paisley of
Tinahely. It was the Oil deliveryman who brought the news of the Pope's
death and also of the passing of the English Monarch. The four roads
were water bound sand and gravel and the only place to spin a top was
the flat tombstones above at the Chapel providing you avoided the Priest
or the grave owner.
You could also spin a top at Kane's Cross or
Jordan's Cross on the Carlow/ Wexford Road as it was tarred, but not as
good as the limestone slab on the grave, where your top spun so fast it
seemed motionless. Such a top was said to be sleeping!. The
Schoolmaster got the daily paper, which was delivered by the postman on
his rounds. The time of delivery depended on the postman's weight of
delivery but generally coincided with our 5-minute midmorning break. In
the summer evenings the schoolmaster would. with paper under his arm,
arrive at our cross and read the main items of the paper out loud for
the benefit of the locals gathered there.
He would often say "If you
read the leading article and understand it you could hold your own in
any company". Often on a Saturday during the year he would take you in
tow on his stroll and educate you in the grasses, sedges, wild flowers
and weeds along the hedgerow. He would name all the birds and often took
us down the Black Bog to watch the snipe twist and turn in flight when
disturbed. I have many other happy memories of Tinryland at that period
of time. It was a great spot to grow up in childhood and I pray that
today's scholars are as happy as we were then.
Peadar Mac Murcadha now resides in Galway.
Source: Tinryland Emigrant’s Letter c1996
More Stories from the
Tinryland Emigrants Letter
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