Share your History

Have you any history of the village that you would like to share? 

People love reading stories from the village about people or things that happened. If you have anything, please do share it.

Anyone is welcome to send in an article on any topic relating to Enniskerry history – people, places, or events. You can do so by contacting me at enniskerrylocalhistory@gmail.com or leaving in a written piece to Kennedy’s of Enniskerry, Enniskerry Village, Co. Wicklow.

If you have any photographs to share, you can add them directly to the Local Photos page using the Photo Uploader or just email me.

Click here to view Shared History to date.

58 thoughts on “Share your History”

  1. HI, I HAVE A PHOTO OF SOME PEOPLE FROM ENNISKERRY TAKEN AROUND THE 1930s, IT’S LOOKS LIKE A LOCAL THEATRE GROUP. I KNOW ONE PERSON IN THE PICTURE AND WAS WOUNDERING IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN PUTTING IT UP ON THE SITE TO SEE IF ANYBODY CAN PUT NAMES TO THE OTHER PEOPLE.

    THANKS, NIVRUM.

    Reply

  2. I have quite a few images of newspaper clippings about Enniskerry from old publications. Really interesting to read as they give an insight into life in the village. Not sure if your interested in up loading them. Let me know

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  3. Church of Ireland Library at Braemor Park,Churchtown,dublin has considerable information on Enniskerry residents in the 1660 Powerscourt Parish records. Also there are maps of all the townlands owned by Lord Powerscourt(done by hand in 1816) which show all the fields(in each townland), the size of the fields,even the houses are marked, the names of all the tenants. The book of maps is kept at the Irish Architectural Archives, Merrion Square for sale keeping and owned by The Hon Grainia (Wingfield)Langrische.All the names of the people living in Enniskerry in 1816 are on the maps e.g. Buckley, Shirley, Toole, Quigley, Pharr, Vanna etc. Examples of names in Cookstown: Buckley, Gaskin, Collins, Grey, James, Russell,Troy, Williams. Monastery: Bagnall, Darlington, Dixon, Doyle, Keegan, Patrickson,Stronge,Young and Whelan etc.

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    • Hi Anne,
      Thanks a million for that information – it is very useful. It would be a nice project to correlate the 1641 depositions and these names.

      I wasn’t aware about the townland maps – so that is a great find. There were a lot of maps in the NLI manuscripts of South Wicklow townlands, so I was surprised not to see many of Powerscourt – now I know where they all are!

      Thanks again for sharing this,
      Michael

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      • Hello Michael.The Book is called “Maps of the Estates of the Right Honorable Richard Viscount Powerscourt in the Counties of Wicklow and Dublin”. The maps are beautifully done entirely by hand.It gives extraordinary information on the townlands in 1816 and the tenant farmers etc and their land. The book was done by William Armstrong in 1816 at the request of Lord Powerscourt. Example:Aurora: Gallagher,Graves, Hurley, Jones, McGurk, MacMahon, Scanlan, Sutton, Quinn etc. The Hearth Money Rolls 1669 for Wicklow are also available to view at the National Archives.There are 2000 names of householders on the list living all over Wicklow. Fascinating information.

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  4. v interesting the poem about the Dargle and Mr Mustard. The Mustards had their share of tragedy. They lost two children very young: Cecil in 1877 and Lucy in 1878, aged 7 and 10. The curate of the time reports that the whole school went to Cecil’s funeral and sang a hymn. Not many months before, at the Sunday School, the Rector offered a prize of sixpence to the child who recited Psalm 32 best. The curate wrote in his diary:”Little Cecil and Lucy Mustard answered particularly well”.
    I understand that the remains of Dargle Gate Lodge was pulled down some years ago to make way for new houses.

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  5. It has been a pleasure to discover EnniskerryHistory.org. I have created a new Facebook page concerning the village. You may view the page here : –

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enniskerry/152446301490042?sk=wall

    Please “LIKE” this page. I would also be interested in any comments you or your readers may have. For any further information you may contact me by e-mail (or via the “Page Owners” section of this Enniskerry page).

    Yours Et Cetera,
    Stephen O’Reilly
    stephenor@free.fr

    Reply

  6. I know this is a bit random but does anyone remember ‘Noel Roe’s’ dance hall….it’s where my parents met. It would be wonderful to see any old photo’s of the place or of people who use to dance there.

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    • Hi Lorraine,

      I’m sure someone will remember. I’ll ask around too. I remember my aunt mentioning a dance hall at Kilternan I think. My impression was that a lot of courtship resulted from there!!

      Michael

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        • Looking at the Wikipedia entrance for Barnaslingan, it mentions “Butler’s Tea House”, which is now a private house (referring to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Did You Know…?, p. 14. as source) and a ballroom called “The New Era”, at the Scalp Service Station prior to 1963 (referring to Rowe, David (2010). Sketches in South Dublin. Dublin: An Taisce, p 111 as source).

          Were they the same building?

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          • I work in the Scalp petrol station (Applegreen} and this used to be a dance hall years ago.When i started 8 years ago-2004 you could see where the stage was.Also the cloakrooms and toilets were there.Today the ceiling still has the hand painted stars from all those years gone by.The shop and house were used in Ballykissangel a good bit.The house next door was Butlers tea rooms and Mr Thomas Butler and his two sisters still live ther today.

        • Hi I remember my mam telling me about the dance hall at the scalp.i think dickie rock played there aswell,also in the the hall on the bray rd.my uncle seamus doyle from monastery was in a band ,i think the diamonds were there names,they played in the hall on the bray rd.Anyone have memories of these days my mam was kathleen doyle married to joe doyle enniskerry.

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          • Hello Catherine I grew up next to your Mam in Monastery and knew her well, and I also played in the band with your uncle Seamus.

        • Hi, My mother is one of the Butler’s daughters! Mum’s grandmother (Annie Butler and husband Thomas) was the woman who ran the tea rooms and ballroom. We are trying to find out some family tree stuff ourselves now and its proving very interesting.

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          • Deirdre when we lived on Church Hill (60’s early 70’s ) the McGraths were our next door neighbours and a Ms/Mrs Butler lived with them (she was an elderly lady). Was she one of the Scalp Butlers?

          • Deirdre, Have we caught up with you at last? Are you Aine’s daughter- living in Norwich? My mother Ciss was also Annie and Thomas Butlers daughter. I can remember serving icecream outside the tearooms on a Sunday. It came in a huge canvas bag with dry ice! The tearooms catered to cycling clubs mostly. Annie served a “ham tea” huge slices of ham with salad. The dances were mainly on Saturday night and attracted a great crowd.My father was Hugh O’Neill and his brother would sometimes play the trumpet in the band.I spent many summer holidays running around wild and climbing up thhe Rock at the Scalp. My name then was Brigid O’Neill and I stayed between the Butlers and Maisie Doyle who lived up the laneway a bit. Are any of the Butlers still alive and is the house still in private hands? Love to hear more. I now live in South Australia and have lost contact with many rellies.

          • We have lost contact with Deirdre because we did’nt know her married name. Could you please forward this comment and our email address to her? We would love to get in contact again with her.
            Breda Rogers Stirling South Australia 5152

          • Would you have a picture of Butlere Tea Rooms?
            I’m trying to figure out where we went as children for afternoon tea to a place where there was only gas light, no electricity , would this have been it, Madeleine Kennedy

        • Hi Una,

          The premises beside Butlers was owned by Pat Hayden , their claim to fame was
          That they had a real maple floor which would have been ideal for Ballroom
          Dancers,

          Regards,
          Andy

          Reply

    • I remember Noel Roes dances in the British legion hall on the weekends, thats where the lads would stand against one wall and the girls on the other and hope you got to dance with the girl you liked, or when there was a ladys choice you were terrified if no girl picked you to dance with her,so it was much better if you already had a boyfriend or girlfriend.
      Yes there was also a dance hall at butlers in the Scalp.

      Does anyone remember the picture shows on saturday afternoon also provided by Noel Roe? Before the pictures he would have a talent contest where you might win a three penny bar of choclate and a threepenny bit. My brother Pat won it once. The pictures started with a serial before the main picture with Hopalong Cassidy and other cowboys of the time so you had to go every week to see what happened next. All fond memories.

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      • the photograph in the side bar of the local lads namely tommy delaney george mc nulty jack kearns noel keogh kevin o connor dick seery and seamus doyle was taken circa 1958 playing at a dance in noel roe,s dance hall bray road it may have been taken by michael arnold

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        • Hello Seamus. I was not sure who took the picture of us in the hall but you are probably right because as you know uncle Michael worked in photography most of his working career.
          Tommy

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  9. A photo submitted by nivrum shows a group of ladies dressd as nurse’s I think I know the name of two of them. front row centre is my aunt eileen Arnold and next to her on the right is her cousin May Windsor. My aunt went on to be Mrs R. Moohan and her cousin Mrs Tony Byrne. neither of them as far as I know was a nurse. Were they volunteers during the war years like the local defence force (LDF)?

    Reply

    • Kate Murphy(back row 5th from left) wife of Edward Murphy(Kilgarron hill) was in the Red Cross, I was told that this photo was taken at the side of the hall on the Bray road. My guess is that they trained in the hall, I think it was taken in the early 40s.

      Reply

  10. Hi,

    I’ve only just found your website and I’m really enjoying it. My father was Denis (Denny) Doyle from Enniskerry, he died in 2006 and I’m thinking of him to night – the interview with Angela Wogan O’Neill really touched me as she grew up in the same era as my Dad.

    Thank you for the memories,
    Denise

    Reply

  11. Hi Denise

    I’m glad you enjoyed Angela’s piece. I told her about your comment and she was very sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing. She asked me to ask about your Aunt, the last Angela knew was that she lived in Shankhill?

    Reply

  12. Re Charlie MIlls, He lived in. 2 Kilgarron Hill beside BIll Seery
    He was married to Ellen (nellie) she was English they had no family he worked as a gardener in the convent which later became sports hotel he had a brother john who worked in Bray driving a bread van
    When Charlies wife passed away my Mother Mary Reid looked after him. When he died in 1966 his house passed to me, My Brother Tommy and his wife Mary now live I know that any items from Wwi are in the
    National Museum,

    Regards Andy Reid, Sandyford,

    J

    Reply

  13. Thanks for the reply Andy. I didn’t realise his house was te one Mary and Tommy live in, will pass on the information, Thanks again. Úna

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  14. Michael
    I will be giving a talk in the Powersourt Arms Hotel on 10th October 2013 at 8.30pm
    Communications, Wicklow links to the 8th Wonder of the World and also Enniskerry Past, that will include the timeline of the building of the R.C. Church in Enniskerry and Lord Powerscourt horse riding feate between Paris and Fontainbleau in France. Enniskerry links with aviation history.

    Reply

  15. Hi,

    Looking for any information about William & Julia Cowell, Cookstown Cottages. Julia (nee Cruise) died on 22nd January, 1845. She an actress.

    Reply

  16. Michael,
    Can you provide any further information on Captain Halpin, who I beleive lived at Monastery House, Enniskerry.
    Do Halpins still live in the house?
    Any personal papers?
    etc
    Regards
    Roy Stokes

    Reply

  17. I am researching the Powerscourts in Benburb and would be interested in making contact with your society. I have already published 3 articles on the tenants on the Benburb estate in our journal Duiche Neill. Regards Brendan mc Anallen.

    Reply

  18. Thrilled to stumble upon this site this morning and will be ordering the book today. I am granddaughter of Andy Doran born 1899 and daughter of Michael Doran. I’d love to hear from Frank Shorrt who’s a distant relation (and my Godfather) and commented on here about researching my grandad Irish ploughman champion. Angela Laidlaw (Doran).

    Reply

  19. Hi Angela I lived in Monastery and was about the same age as your father Michael, we grew up together. I left to go to Canada in 1966 but have fond memories of my life growing up in Enniskerry, i remember your grandfather Andy and particularly your Grandmother she was a lovely lady, and all of us boys remember his Steam engine and threshing mill and sometimes worked with him at various farms in and around Enniskerry during the threshing season. Your uncle Andy who lived in Canada before I came here invited me down to his house before I left for Canada and gave me some useful information about the area i now live in, we had a visit from him back in the late ninties at our home in Canada Tom Delaney(tommy)

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  21. My friends grandfather was a gardener at Powerscourt in 1901 census he was a shepherd and lived at number 1 Annacrivey.I would like to know if there is any information about this please? He later became gardener caretaker of fruit hill house county wexford and inherited the estate on the death of the owner.
    Look forward to your reply Joyce Hunt

    Reply

  23. I would like to contact Anne Mulligan about the shepherds/gardeners at Powerscourt .On the 1901 Census my friend’s grandfather,William Kirby’s occupation was shepherds but later married Margaret cracey servant and became caretaker gardener at Fruit Hill House Campile County Wexford.He inherited this house and 189 acres on the death of the Glascott family.

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  24. to Michael Seery My friend has her grandfather and grandmothers references embossed on Annacreby house paper in 1902.margaret Tracey was house and parlourmaid there for five years and William Kirby was a shepherd they married in 1903 but both sang a duet at Merriment Hall in 1902. they sang a duet song title the Honeysuckle and the bee on All Hallowes night third anniversary.Margaret also sang Because I love you,the year before they married.We have a copy of the programme.We also have the references Louisa Burton gave them ,husband the late Alderman Graham .I look forward to any information ,photos etc about these two people who married and Wiiliam Kirby became gardener caretaker and then owner at Fruit Hill House County Wexford,We wondered if William Kirby worked at Powerscourt as a gardener
    Thank youJoyce Hunt

    Reply

    • Hi Joyce – a belated expression of interest in the above Kirby information you had posted on behalf of your friend.
      William and Margaret are also my grandparents and I have the same documents including their wedding photo.
      Curious as to which of my 1st cousin is your friend – I have done some research on the Kirby family tree (happy to share) but have no info on Margaret Tracey.

      Please mail me on philipbutlerlucan@yahoo.co.uk
      Philip Butler

      Reply

  28. Great site Michael my Grandfather Matt Murray grew up in Kilmolin 1898 he worked in Powerscourt as a gardener also my Mam & Dad lived in the cottage 1957 when they got married I heard many story’s & names from Enniskerry over the years

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