Planning is in full swing for the History Exhibition as part of Enniskerry’s Gathering Weekend, 24th to 26th May. Tell your neighbours and your grannies to bring their expertise on Sunday as well. We need them to help us identify people in old photographs and bring their own photos and memories too… More details as they…
New Book: “Enniskerry: archives, notes & stories from the village”
I’m just putting the finishing touches to the new book which will be sent to printers soon. The details are below. There will be an initial print run of 100 copies, so if you would like to pre-order a copy, just complete this order form. The price is €17.50. For that, you get over 200…
Lewis Strange Wingfield RHA
Sometimes I come across people from the past that I would really would have liked to meet. Lewis Wingfield is one of them. He was the youngest brother of the 7th Viscount Powerscourt, Mervyn. Their father died in 1844, when Lewis was two and Mervyn eight, leaving the estate in Chancery for 10 years. Another…
Enniskerry Carnegie Library
Enniskerry Library was built in 1911, after land was made available by Lord Powerscourt (8th Viscount). His father had made land available in the same plot thirty years before for a school, which can be seen in this photo. According to Brendan Grimes in his book on Carnegie Libraries, the application was made to the…
Some unusual photographs of Enniskerry
Some more unusual images of Enniskerry have come our way in the last fortnight from contributor Nivrum. The first is a view from St Mary’s Church which shows clearly the old National School (where the library is now situated), the bridge over the river, the cottages at the bottom of Kilgarran Hill and St Patrick’s…
Religious Demographics since 1742
In recent discussions about the 1926 Census, there was a consideration about whether the population of Protestants has declined since the foundation of the Free State. I thought it would be interesting to trace the proportion of the population in each religion across three centuries in our area. By looking at proportions, we don’t need…
Landowners in Enniskerry, 1876
The following is a list of returns for Enniskerry in the report “Landowners in Ireland: Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards” published in 1876. The list is not comprehensive, as it is only informative if people who are resident on that land. For example, Benjamin Lee Guinness comes in as owning…
A road that never was?
One of my favourite maps I have come across is one drawn to mark out an alternative route from the village to Kilmalin avoiding the steep incline of Kilgarran Hill. I have drawn a representation of this map, and while it lacks the elegance of the original, it does indicate how much information it contains….
10 Irish History Blogs for 2013
There are no shortage of Irish history blogs and the following are ones I check in on regularly or have recently discovered. They are well-researched, well-written and well-illustrated! Some recent posts are linked to give a flavour of their content. In no particular order (apart from No. 10…) Happy New Year! The Irish Aesthete: Robert…
The Tooles of Ballyreagh: A townland in the 1850s
Ballyreagh is towards the south end of the parish of Powerscourt on the northern edges of Powerscourt Mountain. Driving today, as you pass the entrance to Crone wood heading towards Glencree, you immediately enter Ballyreagh – the road roughly divides the townland in two. Its northern boundary is marked by the Glencree river, along the…
Report on the state of wine at Powerscourt (1853)
The following was logged in the Guardian minute books regarding the wines in the cellar at Powerscourt. This survey was carried out during the minority of Lord Powerscourt, when his mother (who remarried Lord Castlereagh) was one of the three Guardians of the Estate, which was managed by Captain Cranfield: Report on the State of…
Volume 2 of Journal Now Online
Volume 2 of the Journal has been published. You can read all of it or individual contributions at the Journal page. It is possible to purchase a hard-copy of the Journal and an e-copy for your Kindle. Enjoy!
“The Big House” seeking your help
Big Mountain Productions (who produced ‘Genealogy Roadshow’ and ‘The Tenements’) have been commissioned to produce a four-part television series called ‘The Big House‘ for TV3. A living history experiment based in Strokestown House, Co. Roscommon, the series will also feature testimonials from former staff who worked in Big Houses all around Ireland. Unfortunately, as we…
Enniskerry History Talk
Roundwood and District Historical and Folklore are hosting me giving a talk on Monday 26th November, 8.30pm. Details below and on their excellent website.
Powerscourt family and local notables, 1901
Here’s a high resolution version of the Powerscourt family portrait, taken in 1901. Lord Powerscourt, 7th Viscount, is seated in the centre, with his wife behind him and children behind him, including the future 8th Viscount, who had just come of age. The 7th Viscount died in 1904. There are several Enniskerry notables are in…
Powerscourt National School in the 19th Century
Background It seems hard to imagine now, but in the early 1800s, there was no system of education in Ireland. The provision of education was chaotic, and relied on local support, support of Christian Societies, and the efforts of parents keen to educate their children. Successive governments of the time did little more than commission…
The Leyland Link
This year’s Journal features local stories and people. The articles will be published online in advance and the compiled Journal will be available from September in paperback. This article is from Joe Walsh. How vital a good transport link is to an area, to a community. For us growing up in Kilternan in the 40’s…
St Moling’s Well
Thanks to Maurice Dodd for this information on St. Moling’s Well. St Moling’s well is situated in the north west corner of what is now a golf course on the Powerscourt Estate, at Kilmolin, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The townland of Kilmolin is named after the well. With the building of the golf course, the well opening…
10,000 Hits
Last week the website passed a milestone, with 10,000 hits since its inception, and over 30,000 page-views. Thanks everyone for visiting and sharing your expertise (264 comments and lots of Shared History). Apart from the various website pages (of which Local Photos page is most popular) the most read articles so far were: Tragedies at…
The Widow Dixon
This year’s Journal features local stories and people. The articles will be published online in advance and the compiled Journal will be available from September in paperback. This article is from Michael Seery Mrs Dixon’s Barn is part of Enniskerry lore. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Roman Catholic community used the…