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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Dublin => Topic started by: mattiemae on Saturday 05 May 07 06:49 BST (UK)
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Was there a fort in Tallaght in the 1930s near Old Bawn Road? My mother and her family often talked about the Irish rebels firing at the fort from the fields around their home. The house was hit once by return gunfire from the fort but they said the military at the fort would try to avoid hurting any people or property in the area. Thank you. :)
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Hello mattiemae,
There are some old buildings mentioned on the Tallaght4Kids (http://www.tallaght4kids.ie/history/timeline.html) website.
I wonder if one of them could be the fort to which you refer.
Chris
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Thank you for the information. There was nothing on that particular website but I was able to reach one that gave me the South Dublin County History. Maybe the barracks mentioned in the history (re: Battle of Tallaght) were still around when my mother lived there. I couldn't find anything else about them. Thank you for trying to help. :)
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Samuel Lewis refers to Tallaght in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/t.php) published in 1837.
Maybe the fort is one of the buildings that he mentions.
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Thank you for your information. :)
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Thank you for your information. :)
I'm doing my best to find this fort for you mattiemae 8) More progress might be made if some of the Dublin members posted replies 8) Maybe there are no members in that part of Dublin.
Chris
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MattieMae,
You will find an excellent history of Tallaght on this link.
http://www.southdublincountyhistory.ie/tallaght_intro.htm
RonnieG
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Thank you for the link. I had already read the history and am still puzzled as to where the "fort" the rebels would shot at is located. "Constabulary barracks" are mentioned in the Battle of Tallaght but there is no indication of where those barracks are located - or if they would be thought of as a "fort" to children. There is also a mention of a Tallaght Palace but again no hint about location or if any of it survived until the 1930s. My mother was in her early teens when she lived in Tallaght (I think on Old Bawn Road) and her brothers were ten and eleven years of age when they moved away. Again, thank you for trying to help me put all this information together.
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MattieMae,
Do you know of what era your mother was speaking about.
As you're probably aware, Ireland has had more than its share of rebels and causes for rebels down through the years but I think the 1930's would have been fairly quiet, certainly in Tallaght.
RonnieG
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Ronnie G.
The time my mother spoke about was in the early 1930s. Their home (a thatched cottage) was hit by a stray bullet. She said that her home was preserved and is now in a park in Tallaght. She was able to find the scar above the window caused by the bullet. My mother was killed in an automobile accident in 1978 and her last brother died in 1996. I only have the notes I took while they were alive and the journal my mother kept on her last visit home in 1977. I don't even know where the park with their home is located. My grandfather left for the U.S. in 1925 and it happened before he immigrated. Any ideas?
Mattie Mae
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MattieMae,
Do you know of what era your mother was speaking about.
As you're probably aware, Ireland has had more than its share of rebels and causes for rebels down through the years but I think the 1930's would have been fairly quiet, certainly in Tallaght.
RonnieG
Hiya RonnieG,
I tend to agree that the 1930s may have been fairly quiet but sure didn't the bold boyos require a bit of occasional shooting practice. What better place than an area like Tallaght where they wouldn't have been interrupted too frequently. In fact, I've just had a look at a site about the History of IRA 1922 to 1969. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army_(1922-1969)) Reading between the lines I imagine there were probably troublesome incidents involving shooting during the 1930s
When de Valera's Fianna Fáil party won the 1932 election, the IRA expected the Free State party Cumann na nGaedheal not to respect the result and prepared for another civil war. However to their surprise, Cosgrave's party peacefully gave up power and instructed the police and armed forces to obey the new government.
I've found an article about Sighle Humphreys who was a Republican activist. She married Donal O’Donoghue, a veteran of the IRA Dublin Brigade, in 1935. He had been interned during the Civil War and participated in the hunger strike of anti-Treaty prisoners in 1923. He became editor of An Phoblacht in 1934 and was imprisoned again in 1936 for making seditious speeches. I imagine that there were probably a number of isolated incidents taking place as well as the seditious speeches. Source: University College Dublin Archives. (http://www.ucd.ie/archives/html/collections/humperys-sighle.htm)
Chris
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Thank you Ronnie G. and Christopher. The explanation you gave in regard to the fighting in the fields and the "fort" seems the most possible.
Mattie Mae
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The palace mentioned was the old name for St Marys Priory in Tallaght Village, mentioned in the previous link http://www.southdublincountyhistory.ie/tallaght_history.htm. the end of the
Old Bawn road reaches to Bohernabreena, which is still a very rural place. Most of the locals are from original farming families as they have some kind of ban on new building, so there may be decendants there ::). Old bawn itself was famed for Old Bawn House.http://www.askaboutireland.ie/show_narrative_page.do?page_id=2077.
I know there is a good book, Malachi Horan remembers, based on a memories of a great story teller from around that time.
There is a Tallaght Historical Society but I can't find any details. I know there is a lot of interesting stuff around about Tallaght at that time, but strangely enough its not to be found on the internet. I would imagine the Staff in South Dublin County Council Libraries, would be more thatn happy to help.
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:fFhmPKBXXrYJ:www.southdublinlibraries.ie/services/local_studies/allroads_pdf_files/7th%2520Sixteen.pdf+malachi+horan+remembers&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ie&client=firefox-a
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Thank you for the added information.
Yes, it was a rural area when my mother and her family lived there. Her cousin lived at Parkhouse on Old Bawn Road but my mother was unable to locate her in 1977. My grandmother's notes (from 1948) says she lived "opposite Maldoons" on Old Bawn Road. All in Tallaght. My mother was unable to locate her cousin. She would be in her eighties by now. She was married with four children when they lived in Tallaght. We lost touch with the family in the late seventies but are looking forward to trying to find them when we visit Ireland. Thank you again. Tallaght has a long, rich history judging by all the information I have read so far. Everyone's help is very much appreciated. Thank you again.
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I think that pub is Ahernes now. Opposite is Dodder Valley Park. If you are still looking for relatives why not contact the local paper, The Tallaght Echo, "letters[á-t]echo.ie", you may get lucky, whats the surname, I'm from Tallaght myself
Moderator Comment: e-mail edited, to avoid spamming and other abuses.
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Thank you Marie M. Yes, I was going to try to find some of my relatives in Tallaght, if possible. The surname for relatives living in Tallaght is Donahue. Other relatives we will be looking for have the surnames, O'Connor, O'Reilly, Shuley, Madden, Concannon, Kettle and Kearney, among others. Most lived in Dublin but I have addresses for Drynam, Swords, Rathfarnham and Kingstown, to name a few. The majority are in County Dublin, I believe. We corresponded with and sent many packages to the Donahue family. I even spoke to them on the phone once, years ago. Thank you for the link, too. MattieMae