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The Nenagh Guardian

March 6 1844

The Nenagh Guardian revealed that it was being said that the decision to transfer the 54th Regiment from Athlone to Templemore and Birr was due to a particular incident relating to the regiment’s dog.

Stated the report: “Five companies of this fine corps were sent to protect the poor-law collectors at Ahascragh, County Galway, accompanied by a magnificent Newfoundland dog, belonging to the regiment, and a great favourite with the corps.”

The men walked several miles and on their return, they realised the dog was missing: “The rage of the men was unbounded when, on the dragoons coming up, they were informed that the noble animal had been stoned to death by the country people,” the report said.

The account went on to say that it was with the utmost difficulty that the soldiers were prevented from returning and taking summary vengeance upon the perpetrators of “this diabolical outrage”.

Apparently the soldiers vowed, however, that should they at any time be dispatched to that part of the country, they would avenge the brutal act.

As a result, it had been deemed prudent to remove the regiment immediately to another town.

Leinster Express

February 25 1854

There were some fairly serious cases due to be heard at the Mullingar Assizes the following Thursday, the Leinster Express of February 25 1854 revealed.

The list they printed, of some of the principal cases due for hearing, makes for fairly shocking reading – even today!

On the list were: Luke McDermott and others, for the murder of Thomas Keary, at Aughanarget, near, Moate on 27th January 1853; Patrick Brennan, malicious assault; Michael Green, stabbing Timothy Daly; Hugh Lunney, homicide of Thomas Cooney, William Hoey, manslaughter of Thomas Moylan, whose death was caused by Hoey furiously driving his horse and car through a mob at Ballinagaul on the 24th November 1853. This occurred when Wm H Magan Esq MP was about to remove corn which he had under a distress for rent. Mary Byrne, infanticide.

Dundalk Democrat

February 27 1864

The fourth part of the report of the 1861 Census was published, and it gave the particulars relating to the religious professions, education and occupation of the 5,798,967 people living in the 32 counties.

The Dundalk Democrat contained in-depth detail of the religious findings, revealing that 90-95 per cent of the residents of Westmeath were Catholic – with similar numbers in Longford, Louth, Meath, Wexford, Cork, Tipperary North Riding and Sligo.

In the suburbs of Dublin and in the counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone, the percentage of Catholics was under 59 per cent; and lowest of all was Antrim, where the population was 24.8 per cent Catholic. The county with the greatest percentage of Catholics was Clare, where the figure was 97.8 per cent.

Nationally, there were 693,357 members of the Established Church [Anglicans], which accounted for 11.9 per cent of the population; 4,503,265 Catholics – 77.7 per cent of the population; 523,291 Presbyterians (9 per cent), Methodists 45,399 (0.8 per cent), Independents, 4,532; Baptists 4,237, Society of Friends [Quakers] 3,695; 393 Jews and 18,798 of all other persuasions.

Westmeath Examiner

March 1 1884

The editor of the Westmeath Examiner had a word of advice for Mr EC Matthews, whose theatrical company had the previous Monday and Tuesday night given performances of the play Peep o’Day at the Lecture Hall in Mullingar. Apparently, while the acting was good, the attendances had been small.

Wrote the editor: “If it would not be out of place, we would wish to give Mr Matthews a word of advice in reference to the performance of Monday night. And it is this, that if upon a future occasion he produces the same play in Mullingar, or any other Catholic town, he will alter the part of the priest or at least have it acted in such a manner that it will not give offence to the Catholic portion of his audience.

“The idea of making a priest get into a fight and exclaim ‘That blow has upheld the Supremacy of the church’ is too glaring an insult to be allowed to pass unnoticed.”

Westmeath Examiner

March 3 1894

The final chapter in what was dubbed ‘The Mullingar Poisoning Mystery’ was recounted in the Westmeath Examiner of March 3 1894, which reported that the suspect in the case – twice cleared at trial – had departed Mullingar for New York.

Laurence Bradley, who had for 28 years been clerk of the cathedral in Mullingar, had been charged with the murder of a workman, 45-year-old James Kelly, who died on December 26 1892, of what a post mortem determined to have been strychnine poisoning. That was followed by discovery that £98 had been stolen from a safe at the cathedral, and the case made was that Bradley had stolen the money, and poisoned Kelly in the hope that his death would be perceived as suicide out of guilt over the theft. Bizarrely, the money was found some days later at the cathedral.

The account in the Examiner said that the “sensational” case had come to an end by the abandonment by the Crown of the case, which, at two different assizes, they had presented against Laurence Bradley.

Wrote the Westmeath Examiner: “To the surprise of a good many, on Saturday week last, the Government released Laurence Bradley from Tullamore Jail, and by the mid-day train he arrived in Mullingar. It was understood that he had given to the Executive an undertaking to leave the country within ten days, and this undertaking has now been fulfilled, for accompanied by his daughter, he left Mullingar at half-past six o’clock on Saturday morning last for Queenstown, en route, it is said, for New York.”

Ulster Herald

March 5 1904

A dispute over land in Westmeath resulted in a shooting that was reported upon in the Ulster Herald of March 5 1904. The account stated that at the Westmeath Assizes the previous Monday, Patrick Halion Fox, a retired army surgeon-major, was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for shooting at and dangerously wounding James Bunnon. According to the write-up, Mr Bunnon lost his arm in the shooting, which had taken place a year earlier at Aughafin in Westmeath.

Westmeath Examiner

February 28 1914

The ceilis held in Ballynagore the previous Friday night week in aid of the Irish class was a “splendid success”, the Westmeath Examiner reported, going on to state that the energetic committee were to be congratulated for the efficient and laudable manner in which they arranged matters and looked after the comfort of everyone.

“The following is a list of the figure dances on the programme, all of which were gone through in a highly creditable manner: The Connacht reel, ‘Waves of Tory’; three-hand reel; sixteen-hand reel, ‘Walls of Limerick’; ‘The Rince Fada’; ‘Haste to the Wedding’ and ‘Bridge of Athlone’.

“The following are a few among the many who contributed: Recitation, Miss B Grogan; song, Sigle Ni Ceallaig; songs, Miss K Jordan, Mr M Moran. Songs in Irish were rendered by EV Josephine Pilkington, Annie Ennis, Julia Kelly etc; double jig, Kate Gormley and B Whelehan; reel, Annie Ennis; jig, Dan Grehan and Pat Grehan; slip jig by the Irish teacher, Sean O Ceallaig, who acted as MC.

“All who had the good fortune to be present at the Ceilidh in Ballynagore retain happy memories of the event, and look forward to another such like reunion in the near future.”

The item concluded by stating that the Irish classes in Ballynagore were a gigantic success, and that great progress was being made in the study of the language.

Irish Independent

February 28 1924

‘Horrible Crimes – Coffin Stolen’ was the heading over an item in the Irish Independent relating how Messrs P W Shaw and Co had claimed, at Mullingar, compensation for goods seized in February and April 1922.

“It was stated that the articles taken included a coffin, bedsteads, pillows, spoons, forks and knives,” the report stated, going on to report that a grant of £80 was made.

On the same day, Mrs Rose O’Reilly, of Coole, who was granted £68 for hay burned, said that after her son had joined the Civil Guard, her house was raided and her daughter taken away and had her hair cut. The court also heard from James Tevlin, an employee of Mrs O’Reilly, that he had been warned not to work for her. In spite of that, however, he cut her meadows, which resulted in his own hay being burned. He was awarded £40.

Westmeath Examiner

February 24 1934

A discussion on the selection of road workers arose among the membership of Westmeath County Council.

Mr Broderick made “a strong complaint” regarding the selection of men in the Labour Exchange, saying that preference had not been given to married men.

Mr Broderick told the meeting that the assistant surveyors gave instructions to the gangers to get 10 or 12 men.

“The gangers then take on workers that belong to a certain political party,” the paper reported his grievance as being.

That political party was, apparently, Fianna Fáil, and Mr Broderick felt if that was what had happened, an inquiry should be held.

“If the gangers were allowed to go to the Labour exchange, they should select the most deserving men, irrespective of what party they belonged to,” was how his view was summed up.

The meeting told Mr Roche that as proof, he should send in a list of the men who had been refused work. He turned to a fellow member, Mr Murphy, asking if there had been trouble in Ballinagore. Mr Murphy replied that there had been, but that had been eight or nine months previously: “Each party would not allow the other to work,” Mr Murphy said.

The chairman, Mr T Maguire, mentioned a case in his own area, and said he had been informed that the names of the men to be engaged would have to come from the Labour Exchange. The report continued: “Some of the men told him they were registered nearly 12 months.

“There were 11 married men registered who had not done any work since the big snow last year.”

It was finally agreed the matter should be investigated.

Westmeath Examiner

March 4 1944

Pressure is currently (2024) on in Mullingar to have a new swimming pool provided for the town. Interestingly, a new swimming pool was also occupying the minds of the people of the area exactly 70 years ago.

A letter in the Westmeath Examiner of March 4 1944 stated that a new committee wished to make it known to the paper that a meeting had been held in Mullingar on February 14 of that year for the purpose of forming a swimming club. The swimming club was to be known as the Mullingar Swimming Club and had as its object the promotion of swimming as a sport. More significantly, the club proposed to do all in its power to have a suitable swimming pool built in Mullingar.

The letter stated that the committee intended to bring the matter to the notice of the local county councillors and to have a discussion with the county manager on the subject. “Many towns like this one in Ireland have secure good facilities for swimming,” the letter stated, going on to add that the committee had also decided to make inquiries about the ‘Independent Cup’ race in The Liffey on June 29, and had decided to send a team to compete.

The letter was signed by James Nea, John Kelleghan and Seán Ó Conghaile, secretary, chairman and treasurer respectively.

Westmeath Examiner

February 27 1954

Things were grim around Delvin, according to a report supplied to the Westmeath Examiner from “a Delvin Correspondent” who wrote: “A meeting was held in Crowenstown, Delvin, on Sunday last to consider the best way to distribute 21 acres of tillage land, taken at an auction on the previous Monday from the Irish Land Commission.

“It was decided that the best way was to number the lots and pick the names from a hat. All those who got lots were smallholders or landless men.

“After this it was discussed at a meeting the best means to bring pressure on the Land Commission to divide the Corcoran Estate between local smallholders and landless men.

“All present had sad memories of the last estate divided in the district when 10 families from the west received houses and farms. Also the publicity given by the Dublin daily papers but not a word about the scene in Delvin on the following Sunday, when a special bus arrived after first Mass to take away 15 of the finest young men – all farmers’ sons – to emigrate to try and make a living in the frozen wastes of Canada.

“As the new arrivals from the west stood around in groups talking one could hear them say as you passed, ‘If we thought things were like this up here, we could have lived on in the West’.

“As things stand in this district, it is not unusual for local smallholders to have to ask the migrants for the grass of a cow,” the report stated.