Continuing the update to the previous post on businesses in the village, here is the centre of the village, looking north (click to enlarge). Comments/corrections please!
Businesses Version 2: #1: Main St
Based on feedback from others to the previous post on businesses in the village, I plan to update the business lists on a series of maps. First up – Main St (does anyone actually call it Main St by the way?!!). Click to get a bigger image:
Census, 1861
Next Sunday, 10th April is Census Day 2011. In filling out the forms, we will be continuing a long tradition stretching back to 1821, perhaps 1813, and almost 1801! The first Census was to occur in 1801, but because the Act of Union came into effect on 1st January 1801, Ireland was not included. A…
Book Launch
I’m delighted to announce that the Book Launch is scheduled for Saturday, 30th April, 2011, and will be held in the Parochial Hall, Enniskerry Village, Co. Wicklow. There is an open invitation to anyone who wishes to attend. I’ll be posting more details closer to the time. The book cover is one of my…
Bridge at Enniskerry
Here’s an excerpt from The Dublin Builder (Vol. VII, No. 138, p. 228, September 15, 1865)*: New Bridge at Enniskerry A handsome singe-span bridge, dressed with cut granite, is in the course of erection of the river at Enniskerry, county Wicklow, from designs by Mr H. Brett, county surveyor. When completed it will be broad…
Businesses in the Village
It is difficult to find information on businesses in the village from the 19th century, save for a few clues from receipts and personal knowledge from family histories. So as a gift to future historians of the village, I thought it would be useful to try to list the businesses that have existed in the…
Happy St Patrick’s Day
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s another treat from Michael Wood – a postcard for the occasion from Enniskerry. Michael thinks it was produced for the American market, with space for a one cent and two cent stamp. Also, the fact that the message and address are on the same side means that it is post-1907,…
Movietone News Reel
A lot of us have been enjoying the Pathe news reels. Michael Wood sends in another link to Movietone news reel, which is really something special. The video shows the son of the 8th Viscount, soon to be 9th Viscount, with his new wife Sheila Wingfield arriving at Powerscourt in 1933. They are drawn up…
School Photographs
Some school photographs from the past – ca. 1950s? If you know anyone who isn’t identified or have a more accurate date, let me know. Click on each image to see a larger version.
Calling all contributors
The site is three months old this week and I’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of great support from others who share a passion for Enniskerry’s history. I welcome contributions from all those who have a story to share. Contributions can be short or long and about recent or ancient history – or…
Drawing stones: Workmen’s Account Books of Powerscourt
One of the most important treasures, and my personal favourite of the village’s archives, is the set of Workmen’s Account Books for Powerscourt that are held in the National Library of Ireland*. These beautiful ledgers show in pedantic detail the daily lives of workers at Powerscourt and are available for several years in the 1840s,…
Mary Josephine Wogan
Úna Wogan tells a great story of one of her ancestors, Mary Josephine Wogan (1894 – 1980): Mary Josephine Wogan was born 6th March 1894 at Church Hill, Enniskerry. She was the eldest surviving child of Michael and Sarah Wogan. The 1911 Census return shows her at 17 years of age living with her parents…
Five O’Clock Tea at the Dargle
Allen Mustard has sent in some information on his ancestor, Thomas James Mustard (1826 – 1902), who lived at Dargle Gate Lodge, Cookstown Enniskerry, taking payments for entering into the Dargle Glen. He had served in the RIC, and his son was born in the married quarters of the Barracks at Enniskerry. The Dargle Glen…
Farm Workers at Powerscourt
Contributor Nivrum sent in this photo from around the 1930s of farm workers at Powerscourt. It’s a really great picture – he thinks the people in the photo are Edward Murphy, possibly Peter Coogan and possibly Kit Carney, from left to right. (Click on the image for full size) Farming in the area was…
Pathe News Reels
This is a great find by Úna Wogan, who sent me on the details. They are a series of British Pathe newsreels based in and around Enniskerry and Powerscourt. I’ve divided the ones I can find into the categories below. Click on any of the links below to play. You can enlarge by clicking on…
The Priest and His Dog
Enniskerry in the first half of the nineteenth century had no shortage of strong characters representing the churches, with Revd Robert Daly, the rector of Powerscourt parish and his namesake Revd Daly CC, the Roman Catholic curate for the area. It is likely to be Revd Daly CC, the Roman Catholic curate, who was the…
18th Century Surveys of Wicklow
One of the great sources of information I had in studying the village’s history was the range of parliamentary inquiries of the 19th century, with their detailed data collection and data analysis providing a great source of contemporary information. However, I confess to neglecting similar inquiries of the 18th century. A relatively recent publication by…
New local photos section on website
I’ve done a little bit of reorganisation of the website based on feedback from readers and have included a new section for user contributed photographs. This consists of a gallery of photographs that have been sent in. As time goes on, with hopefully more photographs, I plan to make galleries aligned to the various themes…
Houses of the past
I was really thrilled to receive this photo from Michael Wood, who has kindly allowed me to reproduce it on the website. The photo is from a collection taken a member of the Wingfield (Powerscourt) family, taken around the beginning of the twentieth century. The Wingfields seem to have embraced photography from its inception –…
Terry Wogan’s Ireland: Enniskerry
A recent BBC TV show saw Terry Wogan revisit many parts of Ireland, including the home of his ancestors, Enniskerry. The clip below shows this visit. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything Terry says (or at least how he says it), it is a beautiful piece of film showing Enniskerry and Powerscourt in all…