History of rush

LeoB wrote: »

Margaret Burke Sheridan was an opera singer. She was I think the first Irish singer to perform at La Scala. She was from Mayo and the Palmers had her sing for them. Do you remember the Palmer decendents coming back about 20 years ago looking for ground rent, I think from houses in the Bawn area? That cabinet would fit in my hall, handy for throwing the car keys on!!

The barracks were behind the Firestation?

Can you throw any light on Range wall?

LeoB wrote: »

No dont know a thing a thing about it. Have asked 1 or 2 and they drew blanks also.

Would like to know the date of the photo you mention that icludes the Garda at the door.!!!! The conductor on the last Howth tram was a Garda stationed in Rush back in the 1920s. Tom McCarville a native of Newbliss Co. Monaghan and Peter Fallon from Ballinasloe Co. Galway were among the founding members of St. Maurs G.A.A club back in 1928, and Mr McCarville was the conductor. He later joined the Fintan Lawlor pipe band and Laurence O'Toole band and performed against St. Maurs pipe band on a few occasions. I met his son a few years ago. Jeasus im full of useless information......

Brendan is couch to our 1st football team

This maritime district, according to the survey and valuation of 1824, comprises 14 parishes subdivided into 174 townlands, and has been assessed to the ancient subsidies as extending over 30,370 arable acres, and 1,699 acres then deemed unprofitable. The [408] parishes there assigned to it are Lusk, Holmpatrick, Baldungan, Balrothery, Balscadden, Naul, Hollywood, Grallagh, Garristown, Ballymadun, Palmerstown, Westpalstown, Ballyboghill, and Dunabate. In this scope are 12 small towns and 16 villages. The surface of the barony is for the most part level, and the soil productive, resting almost entirely on limestone. it is, however, badly supplied with rivers, and its harbours have not been much improved. Being the most remote from the metropolis it is principally used in tillage.

This society took its rise during the period of the first crusade at Jerusalem, about the year 1118; and although formed at a period later than the other military order of the Knight Hospitallers, or of St. John of Jerusalem, soon outstripped it in wealth and power, and was also the earliest abolished. The name assumed by the knights had, according to some, a reference to vows entered into for the defence of the holy temple against infidels; and according to others, from the acccidental occupation of some chambers adjacent to the temple, by the original members of the order.

The knights were ecclesiastics; differing in this from those of Saint John, who although bound by strict monastic rules were not in orders; their vows were very strict, enjoining celibacy, poverty, humility, and inveterate war against infidels; to the latter it must be admitted they adhered pretty steadily, but the former injunctions were often interpreted with great laxity. Their dress in peace consisted of a long, white robe, having the cross of St. George on the left shoulder, and worn after the manner of a cloak or mantle; a cap, turned up, such as heralds call a cap of maintainance, covered the head; and the staff or abacus of the order, having at its extremity an encircled cross, was borne in the right hand. Their panoply in war did not differ materially from that of the knights of that period, except the distinctive cross, the badge of the order being emblazoned on the cuirass, and the Agnus Dei was displayed on their banners.

Their superior, elected for life, chosen by the order and styled the grand master, took rank as an independent prince. Immediately under him were the preceptors or priors, each ruling over his peculiar district, and subject to the grand master and the statutes of the order. The number of the knights' companions were unlimited; they were each attended by two esquires, who were usually candidates for admission into the order, into which none were enrolled but those who could prove their nobility of descent for two generations.

Their preceptories or priories were usually surrounded by what was called a peculiar; that is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction independent of the bishop of the diocese, and were generally erected near a river, often on a slope, or at the bottom of an eminence; they were sometimes built with that jealous regard to strength and security usual in the baronial residences of the day, but frequently were of a moderate size, capable of accommodating from twenty to thirty knights; the dread of the order, who were accounted the best lances in Christendom, serving them for ramparts and fosses. There was always a chapel, and sometimes a church attached, and the surrounding meadow served them as a tilt yard and place of exercise.

Few of these buildings have escaped the wreck of time; many of them have merged into private residences, and of those which remain, Clontarf Castle is, we believe, the most perfect specimen extant in this country.

The institution of the Knights Templars exactly suited the taste of an age tinctured with all the elevating spirit of romance, and heightened by the spirit of religious enthusiasm; and the Christian world was so well pleased with the unexampled valour and Christian virtues displayed by the first members, that in the space of 126 years from their first institution, they were possessed of no less than nine thousand manors in Christendom; and at the time it was determined to put a period to their existence, they were in actual possession of sixteen thousand.

But these times of their prosperity passed away. Corrupted by luxury and profusion, they degenerated from their austere simplicity, and original purity and uprightness; and instead of illuminating the world by their good example, they became the model and standard of every vice that could disgrace humanity. Pride, covetousness, cruelty, and infidelity, aggravated by every species of tyranny and oppression, were the distinguishing marks of their character; and independent of all authority, and trampling on all laws human or divine, they became the objects of universal hatred and detestation; and their character, as given by Matthew Paris, fully presents the picture which Sir Walter Scott has so admirably portrayed of them in his novel of Ivanhoe.

Philip, King of France, was a prince naturally avaricious and jealous of his prerogative; he beheld their rising greatness with a malignant eye, and their possessions with envy; and taking advantage of the general feeling against them, he determined, in conjunction with the pope, to suppress the order.

Luxury, intemperance, and cruelty were crimes too general in that age to bear particularly hard upon the Templars—they were, therefore, accused of sorcery, unnatural lusts, and idolatry—charges so monstrous as almost to exceed belief; but which were readily credited in that credulous age: and the people being prepossessed against them, Philip found it easy to carry the iniquitous transaction through his courts; and upon the proofs adduced, their estates, houses, and effects were seized; and their persons simultaneously secured in castles, prisons, &c.—their estates and effects were sequestered into the hands of commissioners; and the grand master and several of his knights were subjected to the torture, under the extremity of which they gave vent to expressions which were afterwards wrested into a confession of their guilt, and they were publicly condemned and burned alive in Paris in the year 1307.

In England, Edward the Second, tempted by the amazing accession of property consequent on this persecution, followed the example of Philip—the designs of both being alike favoured by the pope. It was, therefore, publicly ordained by the king and his council, that all of the order throughout his dominions should be seized; and in the year 1307, the order for their suppression was transmitted to John Wogan, Justiciary of Ireland, on the Wednesday immediately after the feast of the Epiphany, enjoining him to have the same executed without delay. The mandate was accordingly obeyed; and on the morrow of the purification they were everywhere seized and committed to prison—Gerald, fourth son of Maurice, lord of Kerry, being then grand master of the order in Ireland.

It does not appear that the Templars of Ireland were as hardly dealt with as those on the Continent; perhaps their conduct was not so flagrant: they had fought and bled in defence of the English power in this country; for in the year 1274, William Fitz Roger, the prior of Kilmainham, was taken prisoner with several others, by the Irish at Glyndelory, when many of the friars were slain; and in the years 1296 and 1301, William de Rosse, the then prior, filled the honourable situation of lord deputy of the kingdom; and in 1302, but a few years before their ruin, he was appointed chief justice of Ireland; this argues that he at least was a man of unblemished reputation and acknowledged probity; and, perhaps, may account for a degree of lenity with which they appear to have been treated by the authorities here; as we find the king, Edward the Second, found it necessary by his writ, dated September the 29th, 1309, to further command the said Justiciary to apprehend without delay all the Templars that had not yet been seized, and them to safely keep in the castle of Dublin, together with those who were before apprehended.

Their doom was not finally fixed until "1312, in which year, on the morrow of Saint Lucia the virgin, the moon appeared variously coloured; on which day it was finally determined that the order of Knights Templars should be totally abolished."

The trial of those who were seized was conducted with great solemnity in Dublin before friar Richard Balybyn, minister of the order of Dominicans in Ireland; friar Philip de Slane, lecturer of the same; and friar Hugh St. Leger; among other witnesses were Roger de Heton, guardian of the Franciscans; Walter de Prendergast, their lecturer; Thomas, the abbot; Simon, prior of the abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr, and Roger the prior of the Augustinian friary in Dublin. The depositions against them were weakly supported; yet they were condemned, and their lands and possessions of every kind granted to their rivals—the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, an order still represented by the Knights of Malta.

In England many of the knights were committed to monasteries, there to do penance for their supposed offences, with a daily allowance of four pence to each. The grand master was allowed two shillings per day. To many of their chaplains the king allowed three pence per day for their diet, and twenty shillings yearly for their stipend or livery: their servants had two pence per day, and inferior servants one penny, and either five or ten shillings yearly for their livery; and for this allowance they were to perform the same services they had before done for the knights; and in Ireland the king, on petition of the master, granted the manors of Kilcloghan, Crooke, and Kilbarry for their support.

The possessions of the order in Ireland were very considerable; they had, in addition to their chief seat of Kilmainham, the prior of which sat as a baron in parliament, two other commanderies in this county, viz—Clontarf, which furnishes the present illustration, and Baldungan in the barony of Balrothery, besides many others in various parts of the kingdom.

The road is uphill most of the way to the ruins, which are conspicuously situated on the summit of a rising ground, about two miles from Skerries, commanding an extensive prospect of the surrounding country. The ruins now surviving consist of the eastern and western ends of what must originally have been an extensive castle and church, the materials of which were probably utilised to build the enclosing wall around the graveyard - still used as a burial ground. The most striking feature is the great tower of the church or abbey, 70 feet high and 22 feet square, entered by an arched doorway, leading to a flight of 53 steps to the battlements, on the eastern side of which is a two-arched bell-turret. The buildings originally formed a spacious quadrangular court, flanked by four square towers, and were erected on the site of an ancient dun or moat.

In the beginning of the 16th century this castle belonged to the de Berminghams, from whom it passed by marriage into possession of the Howth family, subsequently being held by the Barnewalls with their manor of Balrothery. In June, 1642 it was defended by the Confederates of the Pale against the Parliamentary forces, and according to a contemporary tract entitled New Intelligence from Ireland, dated 17th June, 1642, Colonel Trafford besieged it with cannon, and put all the garrison, about 200 in number, to the sword, while two priests who were among the defenders, were examined on the rack and afterwards deported to France.

The following more detailed accounts of the siege appear in another tract or bulletin, undated, but evidently issued within a few days of the other: -

(I) "The Lords of the Pale are besieged in Baldongan Castle by our forces, who sent to Dublin for Ordnance to batter it, which was sent them, guarded with 400 men, but what they have done is not yet knowne."

"Sunday last was the day appointed for a set battle, which (it is said) was given, but what is done is not yet knowne; we hope to heare by the next post."

(2) "Colonell Trafford went out from us with some 1,000 men to forage and light upon a part of the enemy, who betook themselves to Baldongan Castle, some 12 miles from us who besieged them. Two large pieces were sent to him which came there; ten shot two shots [sic] onely that night; and on the next day they beat down the Castle and put all to the sword which were about 200, none of any note in it, but two Priests that were Captaines to those Rebells, one of them was brought home, and was examined and put to the Racke, but confessed little; that day 26 Priests were shipped for France, which deserve better to be hanged."

These interesting ruins are maintained in excellent order, and are easily accessible, as the field where they stand is entered by a stile from the road.

The sea here affords a plentiful supply of the
ray thombacks, commonly called maiden
ray, which are dried and saved by the inhabitants,
and an oil extracted from them. A large rock oys-
ter is also found here, but so full of salt that it is
more particularly used in sauces. The fishery here
has, as before suggested, greatly declined. In 1820
there were twenty-three boats of from twenty-five to
fifty-five tons burthen, and each employed on board
eight men ; at present only eight of these boats are
engaged in the fisheries, and each of them employs
eight men. The harbour is dry, and wherries cannot
get round the pier-head until half flood ; they are li-
able to be wrecked should the wind blow hard from
the eastward, in which case they are obliged to haul
up close to the ground, and frequently get scraped in
consequence. The wear and tear of ropes is thus
very great, and, unless some assistance towards erect-
ing a new harbour is obtained, the fishing vessels will
be destroyed in a few years, already more than half
have been lost since the abolition of the bounties.

The botany of Rush exhibits on its sandy fields
and shores, hordeum maritimttm^ sea barley ; salsola
kalu prickly saltwort ; arenaria peploides, sea sand-
wort ; glaucum luteum^ yellow-horned poppy ; gen-
tiana campestris, field gentian ; agrostema githagOj
corn cockle ; cerastium semidecandrum, little mouse-
ear chickweed; cerastium arvense^ field mouse-ear
chickweed ; spergula arvensis^ com spurrey ; reseda
luteay base rocket ; papaver hyhridum^ round rough-
headed poppy ; nepeta cataria, cat mint ; lemurics
cardiaca^ motherwort ; cakUe maritima, sea rocket;
siryapis alba^ white mustard ; erodium cictUariumy
hemlock stork's bill ; artthyllu vidnerarta, kidney
vetch ; sonchus arvensis, com sow thistle ; carduus
marianusy milk thistle ; carejc arenaria, sea sedge ;
trifolium arvense, hare's-foot trefoil ; fucfis dliaius,
ciliated fucus ; fucus actdeattes, prickly fucus \fucus
plicatus^ matted fucus \ focus corneuSf homy fucus. —
On the rocks, conferva setacea, bristly conferva;
statice armeria, sea pink, &c. — In the marges, apium
graveolensj wild celery. — In the hedges, trifolium
officinaie^ melilot. — In the com fields, centaurea
eyanusy blue bottle : and, on the ditches, lichen syU
vaticusj wood lichen.

Returning to the main land, a sandy shore, inter*
spersed with low ledges of rock, leads to LOUGH SHINNY, an inlet of about a quarter of a mile square, affording, perhaps, the very best natural situation for a harbour along the whole coast of Leinster, and an excellent roadstead in all but east winds. Near it, on the sea coast, is a petrifying spring that deposits large incrus- tations of various figures on the rocks along which it dribbles. These incrustations evince their calcareous nature by fermenting strongly with spirit of vitriol, and in other appearances correspond exactly with spar or limestone.* Fine crystals are also found in mi adjacent cliff. There are likewise on the coast of this line large rocks of the Irish slate, lapis Hiberni- cus. Grey radiated manganese ore is met with, and a copper mine, formerly worked here, has been recently inspected, with the object of ascertainingthe propriety of applying more extensive capital and improved ma-chinery to its productions. Sea lungwort, pulmona- ria maritima^ with other plants and weeds of the sea, abound along this shore

as corruptly called from its more ancient name of Knightstown, also the ancient estate of Lord Howth. It was formerly a chapelry subservient to Lusk; and the site of the old church is still traced in the centre of a burial ground, thickly set with obscure tombstones and bristly with nettles. A tasteless arch rises amidst those, erected in honour of some individual whom, even in tradition, it has now ceased to commemorate. Near it, on the day of visit, was a freshly sodded grave, rustically adorned with the emblems of innocence and chastity - garlands of white paper fantastically cut out and wreathed over laths and osiers, a simple tribute of surviving affection. In the adjoining valley are the remains of a mill, long since deserted even by the babbling, unimpeded stream, that once turned its vigorous wheels.

Detached three-bay two-storey house, c.1850. Two-bay two-storey lean-to return to rear possibly incorporating fabric of earlier house. Rubble stone barn, c.1850 and conservatory, c.1920, to left-hand side. Rubble stone farm buildings, c.1850. Corn mill, rebuilt 1852, possibly containing fabric of an earlier mill, to site, now derelict. ROOF: Double pitched slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and nap rendered chimney stacks to gable walls; lean-to monopitch slate roof; cast-iron rainwater goods. WALLS: Rough-cast render, rubble-stone walls and limestone quoins to mill. OPENINGS: Square headed openings with rendered reveals; granite cills, aluminium casements and timber sash windows to side and timber sash windows to front elevation; round headed timber sash to rear elevation; round headed door with leaded fanlight; fluted timber ionic columns and probably original timber panelled door

The grinding of grain for both animal and human consumption was the main use to which water power was put. There were many of these mills dotted around the country, the vast majority of which no longer exist, although some remain abandoned and forlorn, such as the image above from County Monaghan. The Doomsday Book compiled shortly after the invasion of England in 1066 by William of Normandy "William the Conquer" lists 7,000 water mills in England, we can only assume that Ireland proportionatly had as many.

The grain was ground between to cylindrical stones about four ft in diameter and perhaps six to eight inches deep, the top stone rotated while the bottom remained stationery, the grain was fed into a hole in the center of the top stonel and exited around the outside, the gap between the two could be adjusted with the tentering gear, which narrowed the gap resulted in finer flour. This was simply adapting the quern stone principle that had been used for centuries before the Christian's era. On the Orkney Isalnd north of Scotland an example of an early horizontal mill survives, this is on Harray Island (I think) the technology was probably brought to Orkney by the Vikings. The horizontal mill consisted of a vertical shaft to which blades were attached a stream of water was directed onto the blades causing the shaft to rotate driving the top stone,

A
Andrews Brothers, Family Victuallers, Main Street
Archbold, John, Draper
Armstrong, Michael, Wine and Spirit Merchant, The Square

B
Baring, The Hon. C., Lambay Castle, Lambay Island
Brunskill, Rev. N.R., Kenmure Church

C
Crely, Robert M., Shipowner and General Merchant

D
Derham, Mrs. Margaret, Vintner

E
Echlin, Matthew, Builder, Contractor, Carpenter, Painter, Decorator, and Undertaker, Main Street

F
Fahie, Charles J., Physician and Surgeon, Medical Officer, Local Dispensary
Flynn, J.J., General Draper
Follanus, Philip, Grocer
Fynes, Edward, Saddler

G
Gailey, J., Blacklands
Gough, Thomas, Builder and Contractor and General Undertaker
Grimley, Stephen, Wine and Spirit Merchant, Main Street

H
Hartford, Mrs. B., Farmer
Hartford and McDonald, General Drapers and Hardware
Hennessey, Miss, Lady Superintendent of The Cottage Hospital

J
Jones, John, General Boots and Hardware

K
Kane, Michael, pensioner
Kelly, Patrick, Grocer and Vintner, Main Street
Kelly, Richard, Whitestown House
King, Mrs. Mary, Grocer and Vintner, Millview House

L
Lamb, John, Mason
Langan, David, Shoeing and General Smith
Langan, Thomas, Blacksmith
Langan Bros., Blacksmiths
Lee-Norman, A.H., Estate Agent for Lady Palmer, Rush House

M
McManus, John, Clerk
McSweeney, Rev. M., C.C.
Martin, J., Stationmaster, Rush and Lusk Station
Martin, James, Family Grocer, Draper, Hardware and General Merchant

O
O'Byrne, Rev. Laurence, P.P., The Presbytery
O'Hara, Mrs. Brigid, Vintner

P
Palmer, Lady, Kenmure House
Parochial School, Miss Crofton
Purcell, Robt., Geraldine House

R
Robertson's Rush Bulb Farm Co. Ltd., Bulb Growers, W.E. Todd, Manager
Rooney, Edward, Farmer, Cornhill

S
St. Lawrence, Wm., Farmer
Smith, Mrs., Retired Draper

T
Todd, W.E., Bulb Farm Manager

W
Walsh, Captain Matthew, Woodview
Walsh, Joseph, Family Grocer, Tea, Wine and Spirit Merchant, Carpenter and General Contractor, Main Street, Rush
Walsh, Patrick, Mason
Walsh, Thomas, Coachbuilder
Weldon, Mrs., Postmistress

martinn123 wrote: »

Porters 1912.

M
McManus, John, Clerk
McSweeney, Rev. M., C.C.
Martin, J., Stationmaster, Rush and Lusk Station
Martin, James, Family Grocer, Draper, Hardware and General Merchant


Above is my great-grandfather, I traced his entry in the 1911 census to a house in Rogerstown. later transferred to Cavan Railway Station.
Our family was then absent from Rush until 1961 when we moved into The Old Rectory, mentioned above, on the Skerries Rd. Were tenants of the Palmers, and visited Kenure House, regurarly.

Kept up the association with Rush, by marrying the niece of Attracta Foley, mentioned by LeoB, despite this still reminded I am not a native of Rush.:D

At the railway station, the sixth from Dublin, and which is common to Rush and Lusk, the trains from Dublin to Drogheda stop at 23 min. past 8 and 39 min. past 11, a.m., 9 min. past 4, and 53 min. past. 5, P.m. The up-trains to Dublin stop at 55 min. past 8, and 48 min. past 11, A.M., and 48 min. past 5, and 55 min. past 8, p.m.

RUSH, a small sea-port and fishing town, in the parish of LUSK, barony of BALROTHERY, county of DUBLIN, and province of LEINSTER, 6 miles (N. E.) from Swords, and 13 ½ (N. by E.) from Dublin; containing 2144 inhabitants. This town, which is situated on the eastern coast, contains 442 houses, chiefly inhabited by fishermen; and has, since the 16th century, been celebrated for the great quantities of ling which are taken and cured by the inhabitants. Previously to the discontinuance of the fishing bounties, 22 boats were employed in this fishery, which number has since been reduced to 16 of about 40 tons each, carrying seven or eight men. The harbour is difficult of access, and consequently adapted only for small vessels. The channel has from seven to eight feet depth at low water, and is much exposed to a heavy swell during the prevalence of winds from the north-east. A small pier has been erected on a ledge of rock extending into the sea, and covered on the north side by a reef of rocks, which affords good accommodation to the vessels employed in the fishery.
The sands are celebrated for early potatoes, which are produced here in abundance. On the south side of the bay, and to the east of the pier, are beds of fine compact limestone and black slate clay and conglomerate limestone alternating. A coast-guard station has been established here, forming one of the nine which constitute the district of Swords; a constabulary police force is stationed in the town, and there is a martello tower on the beach.
A patent exists for fairs on May 1st and Sept. 29th, but they are not held. The parish church is three miles distant, and therefore, for the accommodation of the town, divine service is performed once every Sunday in the parochial schoolroom, a large and commodious building, in which are a lending library and a depository of bibles: In the R. C. divisions the town forms the head of a union or district, including also Lambay island and part of the adjoining districts: there are chapels at Rush and on Lambay island; the former was built about 70 years since, and a tower, embattled and surmounted with a cross, was added to it in 1833, by subscription; the interior is well fitted up and has a carved altar-piece brought from France.
Adjoining it is the residence of the parish priest, built in 1823 by subscription, to which the late Mrs. Palmer, of Rush House, largely contributed and also gave an acre and a half of land for a site. A dispensary in the town is supported in the usual manner.
About half a mile from the town is Rush House, now called Kenure Park, formerly the residence of the great Duke of Ormonde, and subsequently of Sir Henry Echlin, Bart., from whom it was purchased by an ancestor of Sir W. H. Palmer, Bart., its present proprietor. The mansion is spacious and handsome, and contains many good apartments, a collection of valuable paintings by the first masters, and a selection of vases and other relics from the remains of Pompeii, collected by the late Mr. Palmer when in Italy.
The demesne is richly embellished with stately timber, and commands some interesting views, embracing the town of Rush, Lambay island, and a great expanse of sea; and within the grounds are the picturesque ruins of Kenure church, in which is a large tomb inscribed to the memory of George, fourth Baron of Strabane, who died in 1668. Near these ruins are the remains of an ancient castle, a holy well dedicated to St. Catherine, and part of an ancient cross.