Granny and the Celtic Camogie Team

Annie Byrne and the Celtic Camogie Team, Coolock (c. 1929-36)

Before she got married, my maternal grandmother, Annie (Byrne) Wynne, played camogie. This is a picture of her taken with the Celtic camogie team. Granny is the first girl on the left, kneeling in the front row. In this picture, she was probably about twenty years old, or maybe a year or two older.

In those days, camogie players wore gym-frocks to their knees, long-sleeved blouses, and a belt around their waists. It certainly does not look like the most comfortable attire for playing in. Granny also wore a polo-neck jumper. She was the goalkeeper, maybe explaining the variation in her uniform.

The Celtic camogie club was established in Coolock, in Co. Dublin, in 1929. Granny was their first captain. She played with the team until she married my grandfather in August 1936. Once she was married, she had to give it up. It was not socially acceptable for married women to play sports in public in Ireland then.

At the time, Coolock was a small village in the countryside, situated on the north side of Dublin. Granny cycled to practice from Jane Place in Dublin city. They practised in a field where the Odeon Cinema now stands. The club did not own the pitch, but the owner gave them permission to play there. There was little funding available for women’s games back then.

Like hurling, which is played by men, camogie is a fast and skilful field sport. Players use a curved wooden stick known as a hurley, and a hard leather ball called a sliothar (pronounced shlit-her).  Both hurling and camogie evolved from ancient Gaelic games played for more than 3,000 years.

Image credit: ‘Granny with her camogie team’, from my cousin Aileen’s collection.

………………….. 

© Black Raven Genealogy

Succession rights

In nineteenth-century Ireland, many people rented their property on a week-by-week basis. They had limited tenancy rights and faced eviction at any time, on the whim of their landlord. Despite this, or maybe because of it, Irish people formed a unique attachment to the land. It often passed from one generation to the next and remained in the same family for centuries.

As they had no legal rights to the property, this ‘inheritance’ was rarely subject to a written will. So, probate records, much used by genealogists abroad, are often of limited use in Ireland.

But, there is another way to trace the occupiers of a property over time – the Cancelled Books. These books record changes in landlord and occupier, as well as in the size and value of their holding. When the number of amendments made a book difficult to read, it was cancelled, and a new one opened. Hence the name. Unfortunately, the books covering the Republic of Ireland are not available online. A recent visit to the Valuation Office provided an insight into the fortunes of my paternal Byrne family from Co. Kildare.

Griffith published his Primary Valuation for Co. Kildare in 1853. It showed my third great-grandfather, Andrew Byrne, at his rented property in Athgarvan. At the time, Andrew had a cottage with an annual valuation of just ten shillings - as shown at plot 2e on the below map. His garden measured only fifteen perches in size. Bear in mind there were 160 perches in a single acre of land – this was a tiny garden for a man who worked as a gardener.

Excerpt Griffith’s Valuation, Athgarvan, Co. Kildare, 1853

The earliest Cancelled Book for Athgarvan began a few years after 1853. In that short time, Andrew Byrne had already replaced Patrick Clynch as the occupier of the property at 2a. His new holding included a cottage and sheds, with a combined value of fifteen shillings a year. It's unlikely the house was any better than his previous one, but the new garden was over an acre in size. It was valued at an extra fifteen shillings a year. Andrew finally had a decent garden to call his own.

Andrew remained at this property and likely cultivated his garden for many years. Then, the Cancelled Books show Edward Byrne replaced him as the occupier of 2a. This revision was dated 1877, five years after Andrew had passed away. Andrew died of bronchitis on 26 October 1872, at the age of sixty-eight years, leaving his wife, Anne, behind.

Edward Byrne was Andrew’s son, born in Athgarvan, in 1850. He was the second youngest son - the youngest, Andrew, was still a minor in 1872. In June 1878, Edward married Margaret Mullins. If his mother was still alive, she probably continued to live with them. But, within ten years, Edward’s name was also removed as the occupier of 2a. The change dates to 1887 and suggests he passed away at a young age.

Owen Doran, Edward’s brother-in-law, replaced him as the ratepayer on record. Owen had married Edward’s sister Mary Byrne in May 1878. The Dorans had seven children, all baptised in the parish. They lived in Rosetown, the townland adjoining Athgarvan, before moving into the Byrne cottage. Then, in 1891, the family moved to New York. The cottage passed to a William Dowling, and most likely out of my family for good.

Looking back to the mid-1850s when Andrew Byrne replaced Patrick Clynch at 2a. Andrew's wife was born Anne Clynch. Chances are she was related to Patrick, especially now we know she moved into his home. But, it might take some work to figure out their precise relationship.

See further reflection on where Andrew Byrne was living in 1853, here.

……………….

© Black Raven Genealogy

Moving on

What makes someone up sticks and move to a different location?

In nineteenth-century Ireland, more often than not, the answer was hunger. But, in the case of my third great-grandfather, David Carroll, he stuck it out in Co. Tipperary for the whole duration of the Great Famine (1845 to about 1850). Then, in its immediate aftermath, he up and left the county.

That much I knew already. Griffith’s Valuation showed David Carroll in the townland of Coolmoyne, Co. Tipperary, in 1850. His son placed him in Co. Limerick by 1859. Now, it's time to carry out a more thorough search of the property tax records, to see what else can be discovered. 

First, I checked the House and Field Books.[1] Griffith’s team used these notebooks in the years before the published Valuation. They start about 1844 for southern counties and record the names of those paying the property rates. The House Books were the most interesting for my purpose.

The book for Coolmoyne was ‘copied’ on 21 May 1847. And, although I already knew David lived there from at least 1841, this book provided a description of his home. He lived in a house, 31.6 feet long, 15.6 feet wide, with ceilings 8 feet high. It sounds like a two-roomed cottage to me, especially as both other houses on the page were only 15 feet long.

David Carroll, House Book, Coolmoyne (v. 1641 - v. 1692)

It was even more interesting to learn that a man named Richard Carroll had property in Coolmoyne too. Richard leased a forge of some kind. He was not mentioned in the Field Book, meaning he had no garden.  And, nearly everyone in rural Ireland had a garden then. It was necessary to grow the potatoes, the staple diet for much of the population. So, perhaps Richard resided elsewhere, maybe even with my Carroll family. According to Griffith’s Valuation, he no longer leased the property in 1850. I do wonder who he was and if or how he was related to David Carroll. More food for thought!

Richard Carroll, House Book, Coolmoyne (v. 1641 - v. 1692)

Next, I visited the Valuation Office in Dublin and inspected their original Cancelled Land Books. These books record changes in holdings, post Griffith’s. The earliest book for Coolmoyne was dated 1860, ten years after the Valuation. All it confirms is, by then, David Carroll no longer leased the house in Coolmoyne. He had been replaced by a woman, probably a widow, called Mary Daly. David's absence supports his son’s assertion he was in ‘Co. Limerick’ by February 1859. It would have been nice to learn the year he left. Still, this increases the likelihood I have located the right David Carroll. 

The book also shows David’s immediate landlord, Thomas Cahill, left Coolmoyne by 1860 too. Thomas Cahill was a farmer, leasing seven acres of land from John Maunsell in Coolmoyne. He also leased thirty-nine acres from George Fennell at Coolmoyne (Fennell), where he lived. I decided to find out what happened to Thomas Cahill, hoping it would shed light on why David left Coolmoyne. It was not a happy story.

By October 1859, Cahill was struggling to make ends meet. He was ten pounds short when he went to the fair in Killenaule to pay the annual rent. His landlord was not at all impressed and refused to accept the amount offered. And you know what that meant. Eviction!

The next morning Cahill got up early and told his wife he was going to check on his animals. He left all his money on the table beside his bed and went out. That was the last time she saw him alive. They later found his body in a pond near his home.[2] Presumably, poor Cahill could not face such an uncertain future.

Perhaps, Cahill, in his attempts to survive, had increased David's rent beyond sustainable levels. David had probably already left Coolmoyne when Cahill died. But, his landlord's financial struggles, coupled with an unsympathetic landowner, was probably enough to have prompted anyone to move on.

---

[1] The original House and Field Book manuscripts are held at the National Archives of Ireland, Dublin. FamilySearch had copies freely available online until recently, but unfortunately, they have since been taken down.

[2] Cork Examiner, 19 October 1859, p.4.

………………….

© Black Raven Genealogy

Q.E.D.

If I'd any lingering doubts that Michael Byrne was a nephew of Mary Power, here it is confirmed it in writing.

Mary Power, 1919, Death certificate, General Register Office

Michael Byrne – nephew - registered Mary Power’s death in 1919.

Q.E.D.!

You may be wondering why this is significant. Well, until recently, my great-grandfather Michael Byrne was my longest standing genealogy brick wall. The search for him has been an ongoing saga here at Black Raven. And, discovering his relationship with Mary (Leahy) Power was crucial to uncovering his past.  You can catch up on how this brick wall finally collapsed, by reading:  

• Another attempt to outfox an elusive great-grandfather
• A glimpse over the brick wall
• Chasing the elusive Michael Byrne, again
• The brick wall crumbles 

……………………… 

© Black Raven Genealogy

‘A Good Death’

In September 1881, Miles McGrane died of tuberculosis. Margaret, his wife of thirty years, had celebrated her fiftieth birthday eight months before. She was left alone to finish rearing their children, the youngest of whom was ten years old. Death was not a stranger in the McGrane household, however. Only five of their twelve known children had lived to see their tenth birthdays.

The situation Margaret found herself in was far from uncommon in Ireland then. She was born Margaret Doyle in Dublin city in January 1831. In the years before her marriage, famine had claimed the lives of over one million people. Death, on this scale, was a shock to the Irish nation. But, in more normal times, early death was so prevalent it was an accepted part of everyday life. 

The path to Margaret (Doyle) McGrane

Sometimes, I wonder how people coped with seeing their relatives die so young and in such numbers. And, I’ve come to the conclusion, their belief in God allayed the fear of death, far more then than it does today. 

No doubt grief took its toll, but the focus was more on achieving a ‘good death’. Margaret’s husband died a ‘good death’. Having been sick for two months, as a Catholic, he would have received ‘the last rites’. This sacrament helps ensure the terminally ill are emotionally and spiritually prepared to die. Little else mattered, either to those facing death or to those who mourned their passing. And, as it still does today, belief in the afterlife provided a great comfort to those left behind.

When Miles died, Margaret became the head of the household. The responsibility for managing the family’s finances passed to her. And, even though she had never learnt to read and write, she proved herself a capable provider. Most likely, she had little choice.

Margaret set up a greengrocer's shop at her home in Lower Oriel Street. The venture was presumably a success as her eldest daughter followed in her footsteps.

My third great-grandmother even operated as a local estate agent of some kind. It’s hard to know now what this entailed exactly. But, the advertisements she placed in the newspapers of the day are a testament to her enterprise.

Freeman’s Journal, 4 August 1888, p. 1

Freeman's Journal, 31 January 1900, p. 1

In the eyes of Margaret’s surviving children, their mother was a rock of strength. She was usually present to help with the birth of her grandchildren. Then, if they died as infants, as many did, it was often Margaret who carried their remains to the cemetery.

Margaret resided in Lower Oriel Street for the rest of her days. She continued to share a home with her youngest daughter Alice. Alice married James Vickers and together they had three children, Alice, Patrick, and Myles. 

At the age of seventy-two years, Margaret developed asthmatic bronchitis. She suffered from the disease for five months, before it finally claimed her life. On 9 August 1903, she died at her home, surrounded by her family. Her funeral took place in Glasnevin Cemetery. There, she shares a grave with her husband, their infant children and a grandchild.

Without a doubt, Margaret also died ‘a good death’.

……………

© Black Raven Genealogy

More about Miles McGrane

We learn the most about my third great-grandfather Miles McGrane from a single, isolated incident in his life. In July 1867, he assaulted a police officer who was attempting to arrest him for fighting in the street, in Dublin city. The newspapers of the day covered the court case, although, as noted HERE last week, they failed to provide a reason for the fight or a motive for the assault on the police officer. Miles served two months hard labour in the Richmond Penitentiary for this crime. 

Miles worked as a general labourer, probably employed on a week-by-week basis. So, his stay in prison undoubtedly had devastating consequences for his family and their attempt to keep a roof over their heads, not to mention the toll it may have taken on his health. Most likely, his wife and children were forced to rely on the generosity of family and friends while Miles was locked up. Miles accepted his punishment and never spent time in jail again. 

Miles McGrane, General Register, 1866-67, Richmond Bridewell Penitentiary

The registers of the Richmond Bridewell contain a wealth of information concerning my errant ancestor. They provide a description of what Miles looked like when he was thirty-six years old – a fantastic find, given there are no known photographs of him surviving today. 

He was five feet, five and three-quarter inches in height, with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion.

At the time of his arrest in 1867, Miles gave his address as 17 Aldborough Court, off the North Strand.  According to the Dublin Street Directory of 1862, houses 1 to 18 in Aldborough Court were divided into tenements.

Lodgers in such accommodation tended to change their address on a frequent basis, but this house, or a room therein, appears to have been a McGrane family home for many years. Although church records indicate Miles and his family lived at various addresses in Mecklenburgh Street (now Tyrone Street) in the 1860s, both before and after his imprisonment, Miles McGrane’s father John died at 17 Aldborough Court, over five years previously, in December 1861. 

The prison registers show Miles was born in Thomas Street, in Dublin city. And, a record of his baptism was found at the nearby Roman Catholic Church of St Catherine’s on Meath Street. It took place on 9 November 1830, naming his father as John McGrane and his mother as ‘McGurk’. Baptism records for his siblings confirm his mother’s given name was Margaret.

Miles was only fifty years old when he died of chronic bronchitis, caused by consumption (tuberculosis), on 3 September 1881.  He died at his residence, 1 Lower Jane Place, surrounded by his wife and family. He had been sick for two months.

His interment took place in the family plot at Glasnevin Cemetery, where he joined his daughter, Rosanna, who died aged six years in 1879, and his daughter Elizabeth, aged three years, who predeceased him by only two weeks.

Our McGrane lineage

Main source: Miles McGrane, General Register of Convicted Prisoners, 1866-67, Richmond Bridewell Penitentiary, accessed FindMyPast.ie., (click on the image to enlarge).

………………

© Black Raven Genealogy

Looking for trouble – Miles McGrane

Genealogists researching their family tree face a constant risk of uncovering some unsavoury truths about their ancestors. But, up until now, for me, it has always been possible to distance myself from such would-be wrongdoers, by labelling them as in-laws or even as relatives on a collateral line. Now, though, on this occasion, we are talking about my third great-grandfather – on my mother’s side.

It seems Miles McGrane probably had a tendency to overindulge in alcohol, which, when he was in his thirties, got him into trouble more than once.

The first incident occurred on 31 March 1865, when Miles was in his thirty-fifth year and at a time when his wife was five months pregnant with their eighth child. There were two men named Miles McGrane living in Dublin city then, but the second Miles was a businessman and far more ‘well-to-do’ than my labouring-class ancestor. So, I strongly suspect this case involved my Miles McGrane, at a time when he was supposedly working.

On the day in question, there was a fire-escape stationed at Nelson’s Pillar in Sackville Street, Dublin. Miles McGrane came along driving a horse and dray and crashed into the fire-escape, knocking it over. One of the shafts broke, causing £3 worth of damage to the appliance.

During the resulting court case, the fire officer on duty claimed he had shouted a warning as the cart approached, but the driver was ‘under the influence of liquor at the time and took no notice.’

Luckily, Miles McGrane had the £3 necessary to cover the damages and lodged it with the court. The judge then closed the case, and Miles avoided a prison sentence. He was not as lucky the next time he ended up in court, though the circumstances of this second incident were entirely different. 

One Sunday night in July 1867, Miles McGrane and a man named Edward Denis were fighting at Mulligan’s Court, off Moore Street, in Dublin city, in front of a large unruly crowd. 

When a police constable attempted to arrest the two men, Miles McGrane became 'exceedingly violent'. He tried to draw his sword from the scabbard for use against the constable. (Presumably, the police officer wore the sword, not Miles, though the account is unclear.) A second police officer came to assist with the arrest. The crowd started rioting and throwing stones and launched an attack on the policemen. Edward Denis escaped their custody.

‘Both police constables lost their hats in the tumult, and constable 105 also lost his baton and gloves. Both officers were knocked down and kicked most unmercifully by the prisoner McGrane, and the crowd generally.’

The following morning, Edward Denis was rearrested, and he and Miles McGrane soon found themselves before the courts. Denis, who had not assaulted the police officers, got away with a five shilling fine. Miles McGrane got to serve two months in prison, with hard labour.

In this instance, the prisoner was my third great-grandfather, no doubt about it. There was no mention he’d been drinking again, but really, what else might explain his actions that night?

Hard to know what to say! :-} 

Our McGrane lineage

See also: The McGranes of Fishamble Street Dublin 

Source: Saunders's News-Letter, 3 April 1865, p. 3; Penny Despatch and Irish Weekly Newspaper, 27 July 1867, p. 8.

……………

© Black Raven Genealogy