Tuam Herald – Glenamaddy Notes – 23rd October 2024
Glenamaddy Heritage Project paid tribute to Glenamaddy-born poet and historian, Bill Keaveney, in Glenamaddy Community Centre on Friday evening 11th October 2024. His wife, Anne-Marie, and their sons Robert, John and Bill, joined relatives, friends and members of the parish community to celebrate Bill’s impressive output as a poet and historian. The comprehensive programme included readings of selections of his poetry and profiles of his two history publications which depict aspects of life in Glenamaddy and surroundings areas in the period stretching from the Great Famine to Irish Independence. In welcoming everybody, Sean Garvey, Glenamaddy Heritage Project Chairman, recounted playing football with Bill in his youth. He thanked Bill, posthumously, for bringing great honour on himself, his family and his native Glenamaddy by drawing attention to notable local history events and by acknowledging the people who shaped his formative years. Sean Giblin introduced selections of Bill’s poetry which were ably recited by John Donlon, Mary Worrall and Michael Conneally while Pat Keaveny outlined some of the many references to historic happenings in Glenamaddy which are to be found in his two history studies.
Refreshments, generously sponsored by West-Bake and Heneghan’s SuperValu and served by ladies in the community, gave the large gathering an opportunity to mingle during the interval. Musical entertainment comprising vocals, uileann pipes, whistle, concertina and guitar was provided by accomplished musicians, Ceara Geraghty, Robert Keaveney and Johnny Garvey.
In bringing proceedings to a close Sean Garvey thanked everybody who attended and those who made the tribute a fitting celebration of a highly regarded parishioner’s contribution to history and heritage. In responding, Anne-Marie thanked everyone involved in the staging of the event and all who attended the celebration which her family greatly appreciated and which exceeded their expectations. She spoke affectionately of Bill, his attachment to Glenamaddy, his wonderful work ethic and positive outlook on life and shared the welcome news that a book which Bill had just completed shortly before he passed away in September 2023 would be available before Christmas. On behalf of the Project, Anne Kirwin-Kelly presented Anne-Marie with a bouquet of flowers as a gesture of appreciation for steadfastly supporting Bill as he pursued a labour of love over many years, recording various aspects of parish heritage which otherwise may have remained hidden from view. Johnny Garvey brought down the curtain on a most enjoyable evening with a fine rendition of “Galway Bay”.
Paul Connaughton Tribute Photographs
Introducing Co-Presenters
Though I, Pat Keaveny, share the same surname as Bill, we are not related. I got to know him through his writings, not having the pleasure of meeting him in person. I hope that this evening’s tribute will be a fitting celebration of his work and an acknowledgment of the important part he has played in reminding us of what life was like in Glenamaddy in times past. It will be co-presented by Mary Worrall, Michael Conneally, Sean Giblin, John Donlon and myself. Sean will introduce selections of Bill’s poetry which will be recited by Mary, Michael and John. I will give an overview of Bill’s writings and at different stages in the programme profile his two history publications with particular reference to Glenamaddy. A few words by way of introduction to our co-presenters.
Mary Worrall is a native of Glenamaddy where she teaches in Glenamaddy Community School. Her parents ran a public house in Church Street. Her father, John L Garvey, was well versed in local history and heritage and was closely associated with drama in Glenamaddy and the very successful Annual Drama Festival, an interest which Mary has inherited. We learn through Bill’s poetry that John L. was the vocalist at Bill’s first social dance next door in the Town Hall.
Sean Giblin resides in Cashel close to where Bill came from. He is very interested in history and enjoyed discussing the past with Bill on his many visits. He has always been actively involved in community affairs and is known to have done a spot of acting in his time. His granduncle, Patsy Lyons, gets a mention in Bill’s poetry.
Michael Conneally resides in Lisheenaheltia but originally comes from Gortaganny, a stone’s throw away. He also has a keen interest in heritage and history, contributing to ‘Glenamaddy Boyounagh – Our People: Our Heritage’ book which was published in 2018. His father, Mick, operated a forge which Bill refers to in one of his poems.
John Donlon comes from Esker. As a valued, long-standing member of Glenamaddy Players, he has scooped many acting awards along the way. Following retirement, like Bill, he attended University as a mature student, very mature in John’s case, and was awarded a degree having had the distinction of holding a students’ card and a travel pass at the same time.
Some Biographical and Background Information on Bill and an Overview of His Writings
Born in Gortaganny, Glenamaddy, in 1941, Bill attended Lisheenaheltia National School and Dunmore Vocational School before joining the ranks of An Garda Síochána in 1961. He served in Donegal and Dublin until his retirement in the early 1990s, after which he attended Trinity College where he studied History and English, leading to a degree in 1995. He remained deeply attached to his Glenamaddy roots throughout his life. He leaves behind a rich legacy of published work which adds considerably to our knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the past, allowing us to view the past with fresh eyes, a very praiseworthy achievement. He has joined that select handful of authors, dating back to Father Walter Conway in the early 1900s, who documented the history of the parish of Glenamaddy from different perspectives. He trawled through parliamentary and newspaper archives to support his historical narratives. He tells a good story, making the past come alive. The fruits of his labour will endure long into the future and will be referenced by those engaged in historical studies.
He is the author of two acclaimed history books of great local interest, the first, entitled “The Land for the People, Robert Henry Johnstone and the United Irish League” was published in 2007 and the second, “The Life and Times of Martin McDonnell, Merchant, Landlord and Poor Law Guardian” was published in 2017. His first volume of poetry entitled, “Happy With The Day That’s Done” was published in 2004. This was followed in 2008 by “Tracks On The Grass”, with a third volume called “Waiting For The Light” published in 2013. All three volumes were republished with additional poems in a single volume entitled, “Poems”, in 2022. You can borrow copies of most of his books from Glenamaddy Public Library or from any public library and they are also available in The National Library in Dublin. You may already possess copies but if you don’t and you wish to obtain any of them they will be available after this presentation.
The individuals who are the subjects of his historical studies were poles apart politically and religiously. McDonnell, a hands-on, resident landlord and a staunch Catholic and Nationalist, is portrayed as being compassionate and patriotic while Johnstone who was an absentee landlord and a dyed-in-wool Protestant and Unionist, comes across as being uncaring and bigoted. Both publications shine a light on the complex social, political, religious and economic conditions of the period that stretches from the Great Famine to Irish Independence and beyond.
Bill’s poetry reflects his strong local identity. He describes the ordinary everyday things in life that are often overlooked. He never lost that sense of wonder and curiosity which motivated him to explore the world he encountered. He marvelled at the breathtaking beauty of landscapes and recalled the camaraderie, co-operation and interdependence of neighbours in the farming community in which he grew up. He cherished friendship, lamented loss and elevated the ordinary to the realm of the extraordinary. In notes prefacing the 2022 edition of his poetry we learn that Bill was influenced by Patrick Kavanagh and W. B. Yeats. He depicted a way of life that has long since disappeared and is recalled, nowadays, only by older members of the community. That lifestyle hadn’t varied much in the previous hundred years but changed radically in the latter part of the 20th century. Some aspects of the landscape he was familiar with in childhood have changed over time and many of the customs and traditions associated with his youth have faded. The sandhills of Gortaganny are depleted and much of the adjoining bog has been cut away and reclaimed, but the tireless yellow river that once turned mill wheels at Boyounagh Bridge and Woodfield still winds its age-old way towards the Atlantic. The subject matter of his poetry springs from his personal experiences. Many of his poems were published in the Tuam Herald down through the years. In conversation with Tuam Herald journalist, Mark Walsh, in April 2023, Bill said that he was always into poems and short stories. It was a logical progression from storytelling. The oral tradition of previous generations was still very much in evidence in the locality up until the arrival of television. He grew up with storytellers visiting his parents’ house at a time when life was regulated by seasonal tasks associated with farming. All news is local and audiences identified with the aspects that impacted on themselves and their neighbours, spiced up, no doubt, by snippets of local gossip that didn’t find their way into print for good reasons. He mentioned that when he was young local villages were in the latter stages of converting from Irish to English. He uses Irish words in his poems that were in common usage locally during his youth, a few of which still are.
Introductions to Selections of Bill’s Poetry by Sean Giblin
Selection No. 1 recited by John Donlon
‘A Late Call’, ‘The Dunmore Bachelor’, ‘The Dolly from Dalkey’
Bill had a sense of humour and was game for a laugh. Our first poem recited by John Donlon describes the panicky reaction of after-hour drinkers when an unexpected knock comes on the door. This is followed by two witty poems that describe the burning ambitions of the main characters with, in one case, an unexpected turn of events.
Selection No. 2 recited by Mary Worrall
‘Glenamaddy’, ‘Yellow River’, ‘Galway City’, ‘Dunlewey in Summer’
Mary Worrall will now recite four poems in which Bill recalls the Glenamaddy of his youth, walking to Mass, a distance of three and a half miles each way, attending fairs with his father and playing football in the turlough when the water drained away in summer. He recalls prominent local footballers of his youth and town traders including John L Garvey who acted as vocalist at Bill’s first social dance in the Town Hall. He describes the many faces of the Boyounagh River as it changed with the seasons. He felt at home in Galway City, returning there as often as he could. He was also very fond of Donegal, especially, Dunlewey, with mountains on one side and a lake on the other.
Selection No. 3 recited by Michael Conneally
‘Potato Picking’, ‘Exile’, ‘The Pig Fair in Glan Tomorrow’
Michael Conneally will recite a set of three poems in which Bill recalls rushing home from school to pick potatoes which his father had dug during the day and placing them in a pit to be covered with straw and coated with clay as protection against the winter’s frost. He has a vivid memory of his father ploughing with a team of horses, contrasting this with workmen ripping up the concrete pavement in the city. He describes the excitement of attending pig fairs in Glenamaddy. Fairs provided new experiences for youngsters as they learned about selling and buying.
Selection No. 4 recited by Mary Worrall
‘New Ireland’, ‘Good Bye to Farming’, ‘The Tiger’, ‘Progress’
Mary will recite the next set of four poems in which Bill acknowledges that many of the changes that have occurred in Ireland during his lifetime are to be welcomed but he remains critical of certain aspects of so-called ‘progress’. He suspects that some EU policies may be contributing to the loss of traditional farming skills. He composed “The Tiger” as the Celtic Tiger era in Ireland was coming to an end, leaving behind a trail of disruption. He is critical of urban development that destroys wildlife habitats.
Selection No. 5 recited by Michael Conneally
‘Scythe Music’, ‘Making Hay’, ‘Meitheal’
Michael will recite three poems in which Bill remembers a time before horse-drawn mowing machines became popular when oats and barley were cut with scythes. As a boy, he had the perilous job of bending the corn away from the scythe with a long stick. Making hay was associated with high summer and school holidays. With scant regard for sunburn, it was a case of all hands on deck with hand rakes and hayforks to make sure that the hay was tramped before the rain arrived. Bill describes threshing day when neighbours helped one another to ensure that all the tasks associated with the job were carried out without a hitch.
Selection No. 6 recited by John Donlon
‘The Turf Cutter’, ‘Salute to a Turf Fire’, ‘The Old Bog Theatre’
John will recite three poems in which Bill describes the process of cutting and spreading turf. Children were employed as spreaders using wooden wheelbarrows with wide wheels to prevent sinking. He recollects neighbours taking time out in the bog to exchange news and stories and recalls the comforts of a warm turf fire on cold winter nights.
Selection No. 7 recited by Mary Worrall
‘The Manager’, ‘In Green and Gold’
Mary will now recite two poems in which Bill describes the part sport played in people’s lives. In his mind’s eye he can still see Pat Ward urging on his players. Pat who excelled in the field of play in his young days went on to become a team manager, combining many roles – trainer, motivator, transport provider, all wrapped into one. Bill admired Pat’s commitment and staying power. Despite many lean seasons and suffering the loss of good players who were forced to take the emigrant boat he kept the faith and ploughed on regardless, always hoping that better times lay ahead. He recalls the exploits of another neighbour, Patrick Connelly, whose fielding of the high ball in the backline was legendary. He contrasts his agility as a player with the arthritis that afflicted him in later life and imagines that the memories of his daring exploits on the field of play eased his discomfort.
Selection No. 8 recited by Michael Conneally
‘Fox News’, ‘Site Inspection’, ‘The Magpie’, ‘The Singer’
Michael will now recite four poems in which Bill shows his familiarity with our native wildlife. Wild birds and animals have developed survival skills and are experts at adapting to local circumstances. While humans toil and worry about the future, wildlife is content to live in the present, letting the future take care of itself. He is envious of the robin’s constant good humour, brightening the darkest of days with its cheerful song.
Selection No. 9 recited by John Donlon
‘Back to Kiltevna’, ‘The Road of Life’, ‘The Spirit Road’
Over time, thousands of people from this parish have joined the millions of Irish people who emigrated to America, Canada and Australia, in search of a better life, never to return. In ‘Back to Kiltevna’ Bill describes the yearning of one emigrant who never got to realise her dream of one day revisiting her birthplace. In the final two poems recited by John, Bill reflects on the fleeting passage of time which waits for no one.
“The Land For The People, Robert Henry Johnstone and the United Irish League” – Published 2007
A relatively minor offence committed in connection with a landlord resulted in a number of young men from Glenamaddy and Williamstown, including Bill’s maternal grandfather, William Tiernan from Cashel, receiving a jail sentence. The severity of the sentence seemed disproportionate to the seriousness of the offence. Bill figured that there was more to this than met the eye and he set about researching the backstory and the role played by landlord Robert Henry Johnstone.
Robert Henry inherited part of the Springfield estate in Williamstown comprising 684 acres from his uncle William who purchased it in 1860. William acted as solicitor for the vendor who was compelled to sell to settle debts. The 44 tenants were soon to find out that Robert Henry who resided close to the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan was a hard nut to crack. A staunch Orangeman, he rose to the rank of Deputy Grand Master for Ireland. He appointed Owen Kelly, a retired RIC constable, to manage the Springfield estate in his absence and resisted all attempts by his tenants to purchase the land they farmed on the estate.
In 1899 the United Irish League, a derivative of the Land League, was active in Glenamaddy. Father Walter Conway P.P. promoted the principles of the movement. The Glenamaddy branch bemoaned the fact that local farmers were supporting graziers at a time when people in Collagach and Boyounagh were banished to marginal land unable to maintain a cow and having to go without milk in their tea. The League was adamant that members adhere to its policy of having nothing to do with graziers and bailiffs, so much so, that one member was hauled over the coals for dancing with the sister of a bailiff. It was obviously a ladies’ choice because at a disciplinary hearing he protested –“How could I help it, when she asked me out?”
John Fitzgibbon from Castlerea took an interest in what was happening in Williamstown. He had a brother working as a doctor in Williamstown and represented Michael Davitt’s Mayo constituency in parliament. He supported the division of the Johnstone estate. He was rapped on the knuckles for an inflammatory speech he gave at a public meeting in Williamstown in 1912 and as a result had to tone down his rhetoric. He supported cattle drives designed to get estate owners to sell to tenants. The British Government made it clear that such intervention would only serve to deter the Congested District Board from getting involved. This was a setback for the tenants and music to Johnstone’s ears.
On 21st February 1912 Johnstone’s agent, Owen Kelly, set out from Williamstown accompanied by three RIC constables to serve summonses. Along the way he claimed to have been verbally abused and pelted with mud. Shortly afterwards fifteen young men were arrested and brought before a court sitting in Dunmore accused of illegal assembly and riotous behaviour. Nine of those arrested were from the parish of Glenamaddy.
When the trial opened in Galway on 18th March the prosecution argued that due to publicity a fair trial could not be guaranteed in that venue so the case was transferred to Dublin. A delay in the hearing prevented the accused from availing of seasonal work in England. Finding witnesses who could afford to travel to Dublin was more difficult and visits from relatives was prohibitively expensive. It would appear that Johnstone’s political connections were at work and that an example was being made of the accused.
The case against fourteen of the fifteen which opened in Dublin on 20th June included Daniel Concagh and Patrick Cunniffe, Stonetown, John Donlon, Loughpark, James Heneghan, Cultiafadda, Patrick Fleming, Middletown, John and Patrick Mannion, Middletown and Martin Geraghty and William Tiernan, Cashel. The prosecution outlined the case against them stating that a small group had gathered in Liskea where Owen Kelly attempted to serve a summons. When he proceeded to Classaghroe to serve a second summons the number increased and was further added to when he arrived in Bushtown to deliver a third summons, reaching approximately fifty at that point. Kelly and his police escorts decided that they might encounter less hassle if they returned to Williamstown via Middletown and Cashel, only to find that others joined in.
Kelly gave evidence of being hit with mud and filth. The judge sentenced all of the accused to three months in jail with hard labour. The hard labour aspect of the sentence was set aside after local clergy interceded. William Tiernan protested his innocence, stating that he was merely a witness, but to no avail.
Fundraising wasn’t organised to assist the families of those imprisoned, many of whom, were without breadwinners for three months. After three months the prisoners were released and arrived to a tumultuous welcome at Ballymoe Railway Station. They were accompanied by a cavalcade to Williamstown where celebrations extended long into the night.
By December agitation on the Johnstone estate had collapsed. A number of factors contributed to Johnstone being able to resist the tenants’ demands for more than 20 years:
- He was strong-willed and didn’t live locally
- The law was on his side and he had sufficient influence to ensure that it was enforced.
- Tenants couldn’t hold out indefinitely
During the War of Independence the likes of Johnstone could no longer rely on the support of the Crown as law and order broke down. The RIC were resigning in droves and abandoning rural barracks, including Williamstown and Glenamaddy. Following independence the Land Commission took over the Springfield estate. In due course the tenants got possession of the land they had set their sights on. The estate was divided among the tenants in 1929. Having lost the battle the tenants won the war.
In Johnstone’s favour Bill mentions that an elderly Williamstown resident told him that when a Springfield tenant walked 57 miles to Johnstone’s residence in Cavan seeking the cancellation of a debt he was well received. That said, he was unapproachable, anti-Catholic and a strong advocate of British rule in Ireland, so much so, that when he died in 1934, his obituary stated that he was one of the staunchest loyalists in the history of the province of Ulster and that nobody had done more for the success of the Orange Order than him. Following Partition, cut off from his support base in Northern Ireland, the shoe was on the other foot and he had to adjust to living in the Catholic controlled Irish Republic.
The Life and Times of Martin McDonnell, Merchant, Landlord and Poor Law Guardian
This large volume contains a wealth of interesting local history information. Due to time constraints I’ll confine myself to just some of the many references to Glenamaddy.
Growing up in Gortaganny, Bill was intrigued by the impressive family tomb which Martin McDonnell erected inside the ruins of the medieval monastery in Boyounagh Cemetery. The epitaph on the high cross also caught his attention as it bears the only inscription in Irish in the old cemetery where many of those buried within its precincts would have been native Irish speakers. Another point of interest was that McDonnell was his ancestors’ landlord from the 1850s until the Boyounagh Estate was vested in the Congested District Board in 1918. McDonnell’s extensive business empire coupled with his fondness for publicity meant that he received a lot of newspaper coverage. He regularly placed advertisements in local newspapers used newspaper columns to publicly refute allegations levelled against him. Newspaper archives are a great source of social history which Bill exploited to good effect.
Martin McDonnell arrived in Dunmore in 1838 from Roscommon to open a shop in Bridge Street. His business expanded rapidly to include grocery, farm supplies, drapery and a public house. In due course, he opened branches in Milltown, Cloonfad, Tuam, Ballyhaunis and Mount Bellew.
In 1864, he seized the opportunity to provide an alternative to cotton which had become expensive due to the American Civil War by opening a scutch mill in Gortaganny to create employment and process flax grown locally. Unfortunately, demand for the product never matched expectation and the number of flax growers declined.
By the 1880s railway companies were tripping over one another to lay lines between large towns. At a meeting in Glenamaddy Workhouse in October 1883 McDonnell supported a proposal to construct a steam tramway going from Ballymoe to Mount Bellew, passing through Williamstown, Glenamaddy, Kilkerrin and Moylough but it was put on the long finger. After 140 years wait, our patience is running out. With an election round the corner, perhaps Eamonn Ryan will consider moving this project up his priority list.
In 1888 McDonnell granted his granddaughter, on the occasion of her marriage, the equivalent of €19,000 a year for ten years to be a charge on the townland of Cashel on his Boyounagh Estate.
Between 1853 and 1884 he purchased 15 townlands comprising 5,291 acres in the parish of Boyounagh, all of which was vested in the Congested District Board for distribution among 200 tenants in 1918.
Through Bill’s research, we get an insight into the competitive nature of Workhouse Board of Guardian elections and the type of business transacted at Board meetings. Workhouse running costs fell largely on landlords who were eager to become Guardians to control expenditure. Martin McDonnell became a Guardian of Glenamaddy Workhouse when it opened and was appointed Chairman in 1858. At Board meetings he sometimes engaged in fiery exchanges with fellow landlord and Guardian, John William Browne, Mountkelly, who at one meeting complained that the Workhouse Matron was siphoning cream from milk.
Very shortly after Glenamaddy Workhouse opened its doors the Board of Guardians approved the whipping of several boys aged between eleven and fifteen who raided the bread store. The following year the Board was advised by the Poor Law Inspector that three young female inmates could be selected for transportation to Canada. A sum of 35 shillings was available for outfitting them, about €250 in today’s money.
Father Martin Connelly who was Parish Priest of the combined parishes of Boyounagh and Templetogher from 1838 until 1858 assumed the chaplaincy of Glenamaddy Workhouse when it opened in 1853. By the following year the number of inmates had dropped from 200 to 100, having been designed to accommodate 500, prompting the Board of Guardians to reduce his annual allowance from £50 to £40. Father Connelly resigned the chaplaincy in protest but continued to attend to the spiritual needs of the inmates free of charge. This remained the position until after his death in 1858, at which point Boyounagh and Templetogher became two separate parishes with Father McNamara taking over as administrator in Glenamaddy. He became embroiled in controversy during a Board of Guardians’ election. Claiming to have been assaulted in Ballyhard by supporters of Michael Reilly who was contesting the election, he sued for £40 compensation but in the end settled for 6 pence and an apology. Due to his meddling in the election he was never officially recognised by the Poor Law Commissioners as chaplain, despite acting in that capacity. There was bad blood between himself and Reilly over Reilly’s support for a reduction in the chaplain’s salary. Father McNamara criticised Reilly who was a Catholic at Sunday Masses and endorsed Barrett who was a Protestant. When one of Reilly’s tenants stood up and protested, Father McNamara is reputed to have said, “I could put that woman’s face round the back of her head if I liked”.
At the height of the famine the Office of Public Works employed 200 men to construct the ‘new line’ of road going from Cashel to Clonberne and 300 men to build the Knocmascahill to Barna line of road. Men were paid 8 pence per day and many days they only received 4 pence. When they were laid off at the height of the famine Father Connelly wrote to the Lord Lieutenant appealing for help to relieve hardship.
The by-election of 1871 proved to be a contentious affair. Father O’Brien P.P. Glenamaddy, actively canvassed for the successful candidate, accompanying voters to the nearest Polling Station in Tuam. The result of the election was challenged. An inquiry, lasting 50 days, overturned the election result and Father O’Brien, among others, was charged with undue interference in the run-up to the election. An effigy of the enquiry judge was burned in Williamstown.
McDonnell engaged in a dispute with Dunmore Protestant Rector, Rev. Thomas Lyons, over a boundary fence. On foot of a court order in the rector’s favour a demolition squad, supported by fifty policemen, arrived to dismantle the disputed wall but were forced to retreat when confronted by a large crowd of protesters armed with sticks and stones, rumoured to have been McDonnell’s tenants from Boyounagh.
In 1886 a bitter dispute played out between McDonnell and Father Thomas Walsh, P.P., Glenamaddy. Father Walsh accused him of fraudulently operating a drainage scheme to increase the flow of water to his mill in Gortaganny. There is still evidence of the doomed project in Esker. He was also accused of insisting that his employees on Board of Works schemes redeem payment vouchers at his Dunmore shop where prices were allegedly inflated and of refusing to negotiate a long lease for a school site at Cashel. McDonnell took to the Tuam Herald to publicly refute all the allegations levelled against him.
It is well known that the Great Famine of 1845, ‘46 and ‘47 caused immense suffering and loss of life. Despite the widespread hardship endured by the great majority of people, the well-to-do continued with their hunts, races and balls. Williamstown Steeplechase was run off on 2nd November 1847 followed by a ball and supper in Gilfoyle’s Hotel, Williamstown, while Dunmore Steeplechase continued as normal at Belwell on 20th December with the customary ball in Kelly’s Hotel afterwards. The McDonnells weren’t immune from grief. Four of their children died prior to Martin erecting the family tomb in Boyounagh cemetery in 1872. A son who was a law student in Dublin died tragically following a fall from a side-car. There was a great outpouring of grief in Dunmore and Boyounagh as he was laid to rest in the family tomb. In 1900 after seventy two years in business, Martin McDonnell announced his retirement. P. A. McDermott, a former employee of his in Dunmore prior to moving to Glenamaddy where he married Malachy Keaveny’s daughter, was a member of the committee that made a presentation to the “Prince of Western Merchants” as he became know. Newspapers far and wide paid glowing tributes to a very successful businessman who during his exceptionally long career created much needed employment and helped relieve distress among his tenants during many emergencies. When he died in 1905 in Roscommon, in his 97th year, the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and more than thirty priests, including Fr. Conway P.P., Glenamaddy, officiated at his requiem Mass. It took his funeral cortege an hour to travel from Glenamaddy to Boyounagh cemetery where he was laid to rest in the family vault. He was the last member of his family to be interred there. His son, James, had a high cross with an inscription in Irish, reflecting his family’s love of the Irish language, erected on the west gable of the tomb in 1907.
Author: Pat Keaveny
Bibliography:-
Bill Keaveney – 2004 – “Happy With the Day That’s Done”
Bill Keaveney – 2007 – “The Land for the People: Robert Henry Johnstone & the United Irish League”
Bill Keaveney – 2008 – “Tracks on the Grass”
Bill Keaveney – 2013 – “Waiting for the Light”
Bill Keaveney – 2017 – “The Life of Martin McDonnell, Merchant, Landlord and Poor Law Guardian”
Bill Keaveney – 2022 – “Poems”