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Ballyshane
House
My name is Robert. I live in Ballyshane. Baile means
in Irish home, town or place, Sheain means happiness, good luck a name,
old or original.
Ballyshane house is quarter of a mile away from the
Roscrea Kinnitty road. In 1851 Dan Carry bought the house and farm.
In the late 1890;s the house was burnt and only a few
walls was left. In 1900 a new house was built. The old walls were
Perfect for a new house so the were used. There is eight rooms a
staircase and a Porch. The house and farm still stand to this very day.
Mary Dunne and her brother Johnny Carry live there now. Mary Dunne's
grandson Oliver Carry works on the farm now |
Kinnitty
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church dominates
the village from a site donated by the Bernard Family
Renovated in 1975 when
the balconies were removed and the wings extended, the church was
re-dedicated by Bishop Harty, The beautiful belfry and the suspended
ceiling inside are well worth a visit.
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The Pyramid in Kinnitty.
The
pyramid in Kinnitty is a burial tomb and is located on the foot of
Knocknaman at the rear of the Church of Ireland. It was built approx. in
the year of 1830 by one of the Bernard family. He was an architect and
an engineer who did military service in Egypt. He was probably so
impressed and influenced by the huge pyramids he saw there, that he
decided to build an exact replica of one of them, at a much smaller
scale for a last resting place for the Bernard family. Construction
began in 1830 and was completed in 1834.It is about 30Ft in height and
is thought to be the only one of its kind in Ireland
.
Steps lead down about 8
feet below ground level where the coffins were placed. Records show that
6 coffins have being placed there. The first Bernard to be buried there
was Richard Bernard sister, aged 24, in the year 1842.The last Bernard
to be buried there was in the year of 1907 .The Pyramid has featured on
radio and television programs in recent years.
It is hoped to improve
access to this unusual site in the near future
Thanks to Paddy Lowery for providing this piece of
information.
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The
mill in Cadamstown
The first
mill recorded in Cadamstown was build by a Scotsman called McMurrow in 1604. The
Mcmurrows lived on the east-side of the silver river. The garden is still known
as McMurrows garden. They built a small thatched mill which was two story’s
high. MacMurrow had no land of his own and therefore depended on local farmers
to make a living. He had a small business, but it was fairly profitable at
that time as a number of farmers in the area reverted to tillage.
The mill
gave much employment to local people, with fifty to sixty men operating the mill
and men cutting and transporting turf to the mill in groups of ten to fifteen,
and five to ten men transporting produce to the market. During the famine of
1847 the family provided free oatmeal and flour for the local people. The act of
generosity by the MCMurrow family will never be forgotten It had the effect of
lessening the hardship of the famine and the population of Cadamstown itself
only dropped from one hundred and eighty in ten years from 1841-1851.
The mill
ceased to be a flour mill in 1887.
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Kinnitty
High Cross.
Beside Castle
Bernard stands a high cross, which was brought from the site of St.
Finnans Abbey, where the present Church of Ireland stands in Kinnitty
village. This ancient cross was made in honor of the High King
Maelsechnaill, who resigned in Ireland from 846 to 862. The maker of the
cross was a man called Colman.
.
There are two
panels on the cross.
1. The arrest of
Christ and the baptism of King Angus of Cashel.
2. Adam and Eve in
the Garden of Eden and the tree of Life.
There are two
inscriptions near the base of the cross.
1. OR DO RIG
MAELSECHNAILL M MAELRUANID.
Which translates;
A prayer for King Maelruanaid, a prayer for the King of Ireland
2. OR DO COLMAN
DORO INCROSSAAN RIG HERENN OR DO RIG HERENN.
Which translates;
A prayer for Colman, maker of this cross for The High King of Ireland.
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This
wall is reputed to be part of St.Finian's Monastery
Willfield
House
Kinnitty Castle and the
Bernards
The first of the Bernard family was
Franks born in 1720. He left the property to his eldest son Thomas who was born
in 1769 and who was a M.P for Kings County in 1799 to 1833. He died 1844.
His nephew Thomas Scroope Wellesley
Bernard succeeded the property.
A sister of Thomas Scroope was Margaret
Adeline. When she died the Bernard estate was passed equally between her
two daughters, Gertrude Monica and Catherine Maude.
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