In 2003, my Dad (Maurice Hugh Gleeson) wrote this account of his grandfather. The diaries mentioned are from 1888 and 1890 and are still in Dad's possession in Dublin.
Maurice John Gleeson, July 2013
My grandfather, Martin Gleeson, was born in
Shallee. Shallee is small, not even a
village, just a townland, in the parish of Killoscully and Ballinahinch, about
12 miles from Nenagh, Co Tipperary. It lies on the slopes of the Silvermines
Mountains in the shadow of Keeper Hill. Apart from being the birthplace of
grandfather its main claim to fame is that it is one of Europe’s oldest mining
sites. In 1848 the Mining Company of Ireland were mining there, extracting lead
and zinc and small amounts of silver. In Griffiths Valuation of 1848 (a
well-known survey of land ownership) this Company is shown to have been the
owner of 26 acres, 3 perches, and 6 roods of land. The rest of the townland
was devoted to farming, the land being divided into numerous holdings ranging
in size from 225 acres down to 2 acres. The larger holdings were often divided
and let to sub-tenants. The names Gleeson and Ryan are conspicuous among
listings of the owners and lessees.
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| Martin M Gleeson c1895 |
It was in this rather lonely part of the county that John and Anne Gleeson
(Anne’s maiden name was also Gleeson) had their home. We can suppose that they
had been born in the early 1840’s and that as children they would have lived
through the famine years of 1845 to 1848. The records of their children’s
births show that John had worked as a farm labourer.
Their first child, Martin, was born on Tuesday, July
3, 1866. Only two days later the infant was baptized in Ballina, a town on the
Tipperary side of the Shannon and a sister town to Killaloe on Shannon’s West
bank. In those times when infant mortality was higher than now, such a prompt
Baptism would not have been unusual. It may have been that John or Anne had
supportive relatives in Ballina and this may have encouraged them to undertake
the journey of 15 miles with their new infant.
A few days later (Wed, 18 July 1866) his aunt Winifred Gleeson formally
registered the infant’s birth. Sadly it must be recorded that Aunt Winifred did
not sign her name to the document but instead inscribed “her mark”. [A similar
situation arose several years later, in 1877, when John Gleeson came to
register the birth of his own daughter, also Winifred, and had to place his
“mark” rather than his signature to the record]. [MJG: the X mark was required on all certificates and was not necessarily a sign of illiteracy. However, they probably were illiterate. In the 1901 census, Anne Gleeson is described as being able to read but not write].
During the next few years John and Anne’s family was
increased by the arrivals of Timothy, Nora, Winifred, Paddy and Mary. Except in the cases
of Martin and Winifred (Feb 9, 1877) their exact Dates of Birth are not known. [MJG: we now know the birth dates of all the children except Paddy] All five of these younger siblings eventually emigrated, Timothy and Winifred
to Australia; Nora, Paddy and Mary to the U.S.A.
As he grew up during the 1880’s
young Martin developed a great interest in sports of all kinds, excelling
especially in weight lifting and throwing, and in Gaelic Sports, both football
and hurling. He was enthusiastic enough to be in frequent correspondence with
the Editors of “Sport”, a
newspaper devoted to sporting activities.
The formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association (see note below) in
1884 provided him with a focus both for his energies and also for his patriotic
ideals, so that in 1885, at the age of nineteen, he was instrumental in the
formation of the Killoscully Hurling Club. He was proud of his athletic
achievements as may be seen from his diaries that follow.
In spite of the apparent
illiteracy of his Father and Aunt, Martin seems to have studied well and in
1888 he was acting as a teacher in Ballinahinch National School near Newport on
the other side of the mountain. He had been substituting for a Mr. Herbert who
was “away on training”. Of course all substitutions come to an end and with the
impending return of Mr. Herbert, Martin applied for and obtained a post as
assistant teacher in Baltinglass National School, which was under the management
of Rev. A. Wall, the Parish Priest. In his letter of application Martin gave
the name of his friend, Mr. Mallen (of Grange Con), as a reference. The
friendship with Mallen lasted throughout his lifetime and indeed continued into
the following generation between their respective sets of sons who became
boarding students in Rockwell College, Cashel, Co. Tipperary.
Martin arrived
in Baltinglass on June 2nd, 1888 to take up his new position. He
immediately threw himself into his work (and social activities) and continued
to exercise his prowess as a weight thrower. Fortunately he kept a diary of
this important first year in Baltinglass. This diary is quite a small one,
measuring only 4½” x 3” so that the writing is correspondingly cramped and the
sentences incomplete. However, the diary has been transcribed and can be found
in the latter part of this memoir. His enthusiasm for native sports remained
undiminished and during that first year in West Wicklow he joined the Baltinglass
(Maurice Davins) Football Club and “played with them until the club broke up”.
His efforts as
a teacher seem to have found favour with his School Manager, Fr. A Wall,
because within 18 months in Baltinglass he was appointed to the position of
Principal at the National School at Stratford-on-Slaney; a small village with
less then 400 inhabitants about seven miles from Baltinglass. This school was
also under the management of Fr. Wall. His work in Stratford commenced on 1st
Jan 1890. It is interesting to find that
he had received no formal training in teaching until 1892 when, as Principal,
he undertook a one-year course in St. Patrick’s Training College in Drumcondra,
Dublin.
His two
diaries, the second of which was written after his transfer to Stratford, show
that he had a serious turn of mind with an interest in both the philosophical
and practical aspects of his profession. These diaries also show his
over-riding interest in sports of all kinds, but especially in Gaelic football
and hurling. His competitive temperament is clearly shown. However he did not
neglect other aspects of life and he notes his attendance at various social
events and dances and the ladies whom he met at them. He was obviously of a
romantic disposition (but at age 24 weren’t we all!). Amongst the press
cuttings that are included in his diary are numerous entries of poetry and
doggerel. Those lines dealt mainly with “love”, and “friendship” and had been
submitted for publication to the Students Column of the “Irish Emerald” under
the pseudonym of “Old Jeff”. Was “Old Jeff” really our young Martin? Yes! I
think so!
In his diaries he makes several references to
measuring fields and calculating their areas for various farmers, who might
have needed the results for the purposes of sales or lettings. In those days
this task seems to have been a normal duty for the local schoolteacher as one
who could be trusted to do the necessary measurements and calculations in an
accurate and impartial manner. This aspect of his work seems to have continued
throughout the years. As late as October 1934 he refers to it in a letter to
his son Jack.
In 1891 we find that he had become Hon. Secretary to
the Tullow Teachers Association and in that capacity he was writing to
Government Departments and to the newspapers about the various issues that were
concerning teachers at the time, e.g. the need for legislation to enforce
compulsory attendance at school; the fact that pupils (or their parents) had to
pay towards their tuition; teachers pensions, etc. It was probably through this
organization that he met his future bride, Mary Walsh, who was a teacher in
Ballyconnell National School, near Tullow, Co. Carlow. Martin’s work with this
organization may also have sparked off his later interest and involvement in
politics,
His interest
in Sports and Athletics continued in spite of his extra responsibilities and he
took part in, and organized, several Athletic meetings and in 1896 he founded
the Stratford-on-Slaney Football Club.
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| The diary of Martin M Gleeson (Aug to Nov 1890) |
In his diaries Martin makes few references to his
mother or to his siblings. His father is not mentioned at all so it is probable
that John Gleeson had died prior to 1888, [MJG: we now have a death record from 1885] leaving a young family (the youngest,
Mary, would have been an infant in arms when Martin first came to Baltinglass).
The presumed early death of his father seems to have thrown Martin into the
role of “head of family” and as such he undertook the care of some of his
younger siblings. We find that in 1890 his youngest brother, Paddy, was lodging
with him in Rathbran (near Stratford) and eventually acted as godfather to
Martin’s firstborn, Jack, in 1898. His sister Mary also stayed with him in Stratford
and appears on the 1901 Census Form as a member of the household. His earlier
diary of 1888 also notes that he sent 10 shillings to his brother Timothy (a
contribution to Timothy’s fare to Australia?). In 1900 his brother Paddy
emigrated to the USA at the age of 20 accompanied by his sister Nora who was
already resident in America. In the Passenger manifest Nora’s age is given as
25. By that time Winifred and Timothy had probably made their journeys to
Australia. Family lore has suggested that the family went through some turmoil
following their mother’s re-marriage to Ryan (Christian name unknown) [MJG: Patrick Ryan, per 1901 census and 1895 marriage record] and this
seems to be confirmed by the unsettled residences of the two younger members of
the family.
The courtship of Martin and Mary continued through
1896 and included the exchange of many cheerful and affectionate letters, those
of Mary having survived. In these she addresses Martin (perhaps ironically) as
“Mr. Gleeson”. On Thursday, Jan 7th, 1897 Martin and Mary Walshe
were married in Ballyconnell Church (in
the District of Hacketstown in the Union of Shillelagh) with Lucy Walshe (later
Goggin) as bridesmaid and his longtime friend and colleague Patrick Browner as
best man (Mary had previously worked “as Literary Teacher in charge of children
in Industrial School for nearly two years” at the Convent of Mercy in
Clonakilty, Co Cork, and had come to Ballyconnell NS about 1892).
After a
respectable interval their first child, John (Jack), arrived on June 18th
1898 to be followed by Anne (Ciss), Martin (Steve) and Lucy (Baby).
By 1901 they
had moved into the house at the Stratford-on-Slaney crossroads just opposite
his National School and the R.I.C. Barracks. This house came with land –
i.e. an orchard at the rear, a farmyard containing a cowshed, a hay barn and a
stable, and a field of some three acres which was used as a paddock for the
pony that pulled the trap, as well as for grazing cattle. The house was
double-fronted and according to my childhood memory the entrance hallway was
flanked at one side by the parlour and at the other side by the dining room.
The house had a large kitchen with a larder or storeroom at the back.. Upstairs
were 5 bedrooms, one of which was later converted to a bathroom in the mid
1930’s. At the front of the house was a conservatory that Martin used as an
office and to hold his large library. At the rear of the house was a dairy
where the milk of four dairy cattle was churned into butter. By the purchase of
the house and the land he had now become a farmer and landowner. This was a big
“come-up-in-the world” for one who had started life as the son of a farm
labourer and it must have given him immense satisfaction and pride.
In the early
1900’s Martin would have enjoyed the social status of being school principal,
while Mary was
the Principal of the girl’s School. As well as being a District County
Councilor (he was elected a DCC in 1912)
he also became a Peace Commissioner and was (in todays jargon) a “mover and
shaker” for the local community. Amongst his many interests was the development
of the Irish language and among the newspaper clippings are reports of Gaelic
concerts that he organized in both Baltinglass and Stratford.
He was a
stalwart supporter of his Church, and I remember attending Mass with him in
Stratford Church (this was in the mid 1930’s). It must have been shortly after
Easter because the names of people who had contributed Easter dues were read
out together with the amount of each individual contribution. At £3-00,
Martin’s name topped the list jointly with that of Tom Wade, a prosperous
farmer who lived across the road in Stratford Village. (And yes! You have read
it right, the names and amounts of dues were individually read out from
the pulpit).
Ireland in the
years 1910 to 1922 was a troubled country in a political ferment. A Home Rule
Bill had been passed, and then held in abeyance when the 1914/18 War
intervened. Many Irishmen enlisted in the British Army in the belief that they
were fighting “for the rights of small nations” (including their own). Then came
the Rebellion of Easter 1916 and the War of Independence which finished in
1922. Martin has left no written record of his political views of this time,
but the records show that he was acquainted with Arthur Griffith, the leader of
Sinn Fein, and that he had supported the Treaty of 1922. In spite of the
turmoil the education of his children had continued and all of his family had
been sent, as boarders, to Secondary Schools: the boys to Rockwell College and
the girls to Tullow. A County Council scholarship enabled his eldest son, Jack
to go to UCD where he gained a degree in Civil Engineering. Jack’s brother,
also Martin (nick-named “Steve”) and his sisters trained as Primary School
Teachers.
After the formation of the Irish Free State Martin
continued to be active in local politics. One of his initiatives in 1924 was to
influence, the Land Commission to acquire the Lord’s Wood, near Baltinglass,
for division into allotments for people in the town. In this matter he acted in
partnership with a Mr. Byrne TD. Although the purpose of the Land Commission
was to provide land for agriculture and small-holders, this particular piece of
land finished up as the site for Baltinglass Golf Club, somewhat to the
annoyance of the local Baltinglass population and, possibly, to the dismay of
Martin himself. He remained a Councilor until at least 1936 and maybe even
later.
In July 1932,
after thirty-five years of marriage, his wife Mary died. She is buried in
Baltinglass Cemetery in the part known locally as Teachers Row. She died of
cancer but knowing that she was about to die she had nevertheless insisted to
her daughters, Ciss and Lucy, that they should not delay their forthcoming
marriages. The two marriages were therefore celebrated as previously planned
within four weeks of her death. What a pity that she did not live long enough
to see her daughters’ marriages!
Martin survived her by eight years into a
mellow old age and my childhood memories of him date from this time. Some
memories stand out. On one occasion he took me to the orchard behind the house,
pointed out an apple tree and said that it was mine. I’m not sure if I ever had
any fruit from it, but what an original and nice present for a ten-year-old!
On another
occasion my brother Gerard and I were given the task of cleaning some tiles
that were about to be laid on the new conservatory floor. Granddad gave us a
six-penny piece each. I immediately protested on the grounds that I had cleaned
many more tiles than my younger brother. I was immediately led to the kitchen
where he opened a drawer in the table and took from it a number of pennies,
which he pressed into my willing hand.
It is interesting to recall that the tiling of the conservatory floor
was part of a bigger project involving the construction of an indoor toilet and
bathroom. Up to then, the toilet facility was primitive, being a noisome* hut in
the back yard and a place to be avoided except in case of dire need. When the
work was finished Lucy and Dick Barron moved from Baltinglass and took up
residence in Stratford as company and care for the old man.
I remember him as a kind, tolerant and loving
grandfather, very interested in the progress (scholastic and otherwise) of all
of his grandchildren. He died on Saturday, Jan 13 1940, and quoting one of the
newspaper obituaries having had a “brilliant and well-spent life”. He is buried
in Baltinglass Cemetery beside his wife and his granddaughter Anne Marie
Gleeson, my sister, who died in 1939, aged 4.
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| Martin M Gleeson c1930 |
Maurice Gleeson
10 Nov 2003
*noisome, very smelly indeed
