The Conversion of Ballyshannon 1856

The ballad below entitled “The Conversion of Ballyshannon”  recalls  one of  the first missions given in Ballyshannon in July 1856 where Very Rev. Daniel McGettigan (1815-1887) was Parish Priest of Kilbarron. Indeed a few months  earlier he had been  elevated  to the position of Coadjutor Bishop of Raphoe on the 18th May 1856. 

Fr. McGettigan continued as parish priest of Kilbarron until 1867. In 1870 he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh. 

Russian gives Mission in Ballyshannon 1856

In July 1856 there was a  Redemptorist Mission given by Fr. Pecherin in St. Patrick’s Church in Ballyshannon. Fr. Pecherin gave a series of mission in Raphoe diocese in 1856 and was in Doe in May and in Killybegs in June 1856.Vladimir Pecherin (1807-1885) had a controversial career following his departure from his native Russia and his conversion to Catholicism. He settled in Ireland in 1851 and as a member of the Redemptorist Order he gave missions all over the country. He also became the first chaplain to the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

Returning to the ballad a third priest is named as Fr. Smallen and this is a reference to Fr. Thomas Smollen (1829-1909) who was a curate in St. Joseph’s Church on the Rock in Ballyshannon.Fr. Smollen later served as parish priest in Clones and Enniskillen and was Dean of Clogher from 1907. (The ballad gives different spellings for the three priests named above).

The Conversion of Ballyshannon

Come all you Roman Catholics wherever you may be,

I hope you will join together in love and harmony;

All with these lowly fathers all in Ballyshannon town,

That has forgot all earthly joys to gain a Heavenly crown.

So now my dearest brethern the time is drawing nigh,

That we will be called upon to praise the Lord on high;

I hope we will be happy yet salvation we will find,

And conquer all our enemies like Father Petcherine.

And as for  Bishop Gettens the people well do know,

He is a credit to his country in the diocese of Raphoe;

Long may he reign and prosper and wear a glorious crown,

His Lordship we can never forget in Ballyshannon town.

He has brought these holy Missioners all with him for to dwell,

And all bad vice and wickedness was in the town has fell;

The children educated and their manners cultivated,

All heresies defeated and bigotry put down.

So now like loyal brethren we will assemble all,

And join those lowly fathers will vice and fall; (sic)

We will forget all earthly joys and them we will leave behind,

and with the Cross and Crucifix we will follow Petcherine.

It is for the Blessed Virgin a patron she will be,

And likewise to St. Joseph and the Blessed Trinity;

May the angels always guard them,

And may the Lord reward them,

And protect those holy fathers wherever they may be.

So now to conclude and finish I will leave down my pen,

I hope we will be patronized all by our Heavenly friend:

I mean brave Father Smallen that time guardian of his flock

He is a member of that holy Church built on  St. Peter’s Rock.

Ballyshannon Musings:  Good to hear that people from the Ballyshannon area are enjoying the blog worldwide. Please let people with an interest in Ballyshannon and surrounding areas know about this site, particularly people who are not living locally and those who are abroad. The site is called Ballyshannon Musings and there are a number of back issues available on the internet. 

Copy this link and it can be googled at  http://ballyshannon-musings.blogspot.ie/ The site can be located on the internet (or by connecting to my Facebook page). New items will be posted every week on Ballyshannon Musings during 2013, the year of “The Gathering”. 

Below is an extract from an email received from a young Ballyshannon man following the blog in Australia .

.

It's great to have an account of the history of Ballyshannon in such an easy to read and access way. I'm currently out in Australia and I can easily see how it's so popular in many countries. It's nice to keep in touch with back home and read the history of the area.

Lots Happening for Ballyshannon 400 Gathering Events

Check a recent blog to read about  what happened in Ballyshannon  400 years ago. Ballyshannon will have lots of interesting events to commemorate this event and it would be an ideal time for our diaspora to be here for some or all of Ballyshannon 400 from 5th-11th August when there will be daily events of a historic, cultural and community nature. In the lead up to Ballyshannon 400 visitors will be in town for the Ballyshannon Folk Festival which takes place from the 1st to the 4th August also for a Dedication Service and weekend events to commemorate the Erne Fishery Case  on 3^rd and 4^th of August. A future blog will discuss the victory in 1933 won by the people in what has become known as The Erne  Fishery Case .

Check out the events you might like to attend later in the year including Ballyshannon 400 on http://www.ballyshannon.ie 
Lots happening in Ballyshannon in the summertime including:

Ballyshannon Folk Festival http://ballyshannonfolkfestival.com/

Ballyshannon Show http://www.ballyshannonshow.com/ 

Welcome New Attractions for Visitors to Ballyshannon in 2013

  

1. "Local Hands"  Arts and Crafts Gallery  newly opened in Main Street Ballyshannon.
2. Dicey Reilly's Micro-Brewery Market Street, the first established in County Donegal. Good to see an old Ballyshannon industry enjoying a new lease of life. Ballyshannon in the 19th century had a distillery and a brewery overlooking the modern footbridge on the Erne close to the Mall Quay. Mulligans also had a successful business on the Mall in recent times
3. The Ballyshannon and District Museum, with coffee shop available, is newly opened  in Slevin's Department Store.

 Next Blog posted Saturday 15th June "A Forgotten Story and the Top Ten Blogs in 2013"

A New Local History suitable for those at Home and Away
 

Anthony Begley, local historian, published a new book entitled: "Ballyshannon. Genealogy and History" which reveals newly researched history and genealogy of the town, extending as far as the Rossnowlagh, Cashelard, Corlea, Clyhore, Higginstown and Finner areas. Includes the parishes of Kilbarron and Magh Ene.

The genealogy material provides detailed guidelines for anyone tracing their roots in the area or anywhere in County Donegal or Ireland. The book contains 500 pages and is richly illustrated with stunning colour, aerial photography, original illustrations and rare photographs of the area not seen before.

Topics include: How to go about Tracing your Roots/The first settlers in the area/ Newly researched history of the town of Ballyshannon and the townlands in Kilbarron and Mágh Éne parishes/ Records of the first travellers and tourists to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Belleek and Ballintra/An aerial guide to place names along the Erne from Ballyshannon to the Bar/Flora and Fauna of the area/ A history of buildings and housing estates in the locality/Graveyard Inscriptions from the Abbey graveyard, St. Joseph’s and St. Anne’s /Rolling back the years with many memories of the Great Famine, Independence struggle, hydro-electric scheme, Gaelic games, boxing, handball, Boy Scouts, soccer, mummers, characters, organisations, folklore and lots more.

Book Available from The Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon, Ballyshannon and District Museum, The Four Masters Bookshop Donegal Town or Anthony Begley West Rock Ballyshannon. anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com  Enquiries welcome for postal and other details.

The blogs are original and are not taken from the book above.

The Most Unusual Legal Case Ever in Ballyshannon

Wrack versus Wreck

    The wreck directly reached the rock

And wronged the Rector’s wrack,

       The Rector rushed to wreak the wrongs
Of wrack upon the wreck:

Can rectitude direct the Rector,

Recklessly to wreak

     Upon the wretched wreck, the wrongs

Of Rector’s wracky rock?

 A trading vessel called “The Henrietta Charlotte” was wrecked on the shore  near Ballyshannon  sandbar. The Rector (Minister), who lived not far from Wardtown Castle, claimed the right to the seaweed on that part of the shore where the ship had run aground. He sued the ship-owner for damage to his seaweed! His claim was unsuccessful. The case was humorously known as - Wrack versus Wreck. William Allingham captured the mood of the times in his humorous poem above called  “The Wreck of the”Henrietta Charlotte.”  Like myself when you know the background you can read the poem again and get a better understanding. (Wrack refers to the seaweed found along the shoreline).

The ruined residence of the rector is still identifiable on the way to Kildoney and is recognisable from the roadway as there is a very extensive walled enclosure still standing. Kildoney Glebe was the residence of the minister who served at St. Anne’s Church in Ballyshannon. A coloured aerial photograph of the remains of Kildoney Glebe are contained in my book “Ballyshannon Genealogy and History” page 256.  (see below for details).

Famous Pickpocket operated in Ballyshannon 1771

George Barrington whose real name was Waldron was born in Maynooth Co. Kildare in 1755. He joined a troop of strolling players managed by a man called Price. They put on performances for the garrisons and the gentry in large towns in Ireland. In 1771 they arrived in Derry but their funds were exhausted and despite performing plays there, Barrington resorted to a new source of income. Barrington was a good looking fellow, very plausible, so he engaged in pick pocketing from the merchant and shopmen in Derry. 

They moved on to Ballyshannon where they spent the autumn and winter of 1771. On Tuesdays and Saturdays they performed plays but for the remainder of the week they engaged in pick pocketing. During their stay Barrington was attacked by a violent fever and the company of strolling players moved on without him. However a young actress with the group called Miss Egerton was smitten by Barrington and stayed with him until he recuperated. They then moved on but she was drowned while crossing the Boyne. Barrington later in life went to London to carry on his illegal business and was eventually arrested and sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. He died near Sydney in 1804.

 A Narrow Escape for a Ballyshannon Lady in 1833

A poor Ballyshannon woman was looking out of a two-pair of stairs window, when her opposite neighbour offered her a glass of whiskey. Unfortunately she leaned out too far across to reach it and fell down into the street. Luckily she fell on a gentleman who was passing at the time who broke her fall. He enquired as to whether she was dead or not and she replied that she believed that she was not dead but speechless. He had her conveyed to the hospital where she has made a speedy recovery. She had shown great female presence of mind as she had held on firmly to her glass of whiskey and had not spilled one drop during her fall!

This story from Ballyshannon was recorded in a book of comic stories in 1833.

Ballyshannon Musings:  Good to hear that people from the Ballyshannon area are enjoying the blog worldwide. Please let people with an interest in Ballyshannon and surrounding areas know about this site, particularly people who are not living locally and those who are abroad. The site is called Ballyshannon Musings and there are a number of back issues available on the internet. 

Copy this link and it can be googled at  http://ballyshannon-musings.blogspot.ie/ The site can be located on the internet (or by connecting to my Facebook page). New items will be posted every week on Ballyshannon Musings during 2013, the year of “The Gathering”. 

Below is an extract from an email received this week from a young Ballyshannon man following the blog in Australia .
.

It's great to have an account of the history of Ballyshannon in such an easy to read and access way. I'm currently out in Australia and I can easily see how it's so popular in many countries. It's nice to keep in touch with back home and read the history of the area.

A New Local History suitable for those at Home and Away 

Anthony Begley, local historian, published a new book entitled: "Ballyshannon. Genealogy and History" which reveals newly researched history and genealogy of the town, extending as far as the Rossnowlagh, Cashelard, Corlea, Clyhore, Higginstown and Finner areas. Includes the parishes of Kilbarron and Magh Ene.

The genealogy material provides detailed guidelines for anyone tracing their roots in the area or anywhere in County Donegal or Ireland. The book contains 500 pages and is richly illustrated with stunning colour, aerial photography, original illustrations and rare photographs of the area not seen before.

Topics include: How to go about Tracing your Roots/The first settlers in the area/ Newly researched history of the town of Ballyshannon and the townlands in Kilbarron and Mágh Éne parishes/ Records of the first travellers and tourists to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Belleek and Ballintra/An aerial guide to place names along the Erne from Ballyshannon to the Bar/Flora and Fauna of the area/ A history of buildings and housing estates in the locality/Graveyard Inscriptions from the Abbey graveyard, St. Joseph’s and St. Anne’s /Rolling back the years with many memories of the Great Famine, Independence struggle, hydro-electric scheme, Gaelic games, boxing, handball, Boy Scouts, soccer, mummers, characters, organisations, folklore and lots more.

Book Available from The Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon, Ballyshannon and District Museum, The Four Masters Bookshop Donegal Town or Anthony Begley West Rock Ballyshannon. anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com  Enquiries welcome for postal and other details.

The blogs are original and are not taken from the book above.

Lots Happening for Ballyshannon 400 Gathering Events

Check a recent blog to read about  what happened in Ballyshannon  400 years ago. Ballyshannon will have lots of interesting events to commemorate this event and it would be an ideal time for our diaspora to be here for some or all of Ballyshannon 400 from 5th-11th August when there will be daily events of a historic, cultural and community nature. 

In the lead up to Ballyshannon 400 visitors will be in town for the Ballyshannon Folk Festival which takes place from the 1st to the 4th August also for a Dedication Service and weekend events to commemorate the Erne Fishery Case  on 3^rd and 4^th of August. A future blog will discuss the victory in 1933 won by the people in what has become known as The Erne  Fishery Case .

Check out the events you might like to attend later in the year including Ballyshannon 400 on http://www.ballyshannon.ie  Lots happening in Ballyshannon in the summertime including Rory Gallagher Festival in June http://www.rorygallagherfestival.com/ 
Ballyshannon Folk Festival http://ballyshannonfolkfestival.com/

Welcome New Attractions for Visitors to Ballyshannon in 2013

  

1. Dicey Reilly's Micro-Brewery Market Street, the first established in County Donegal. Good to see an old Ballyshannon industry enjoying a new lease of life. Ballyshannon in the 19th century had a distillery and a brewery overlooking the modern footbridge on the Erne close to the Mall Quay. Mulligans also had a successful business on the Mall in recent times
2. The Ballyshannon and District Museum, with coffee shop available, is newly opened  in Slevin's Department Store. 
3. "Local Hands"  Arts and Crafts Gallery  newly opened in Main Street Ballyshannon.

 Next Blog posted Saturday 8th  June is called The Conversion of Ballyshannon

Ballyshannon 400 and Forthcoming Blogs for our Worldwide Diaspora

Ballyshannon 400

Ballyshannon 400 will showcase the cultural, sporting and community activities for which the area is renowned. There will be a host of events on in the town every day from 5th-11th August. Ballyshannon 400 looks back to a moment in time when the town was granted a charter and became a borough town. Ballyshannon Town Council in association with Backing Ballyshannon are organising a week of events to mark the granting of a charter to the town 400 years ago (1613-2013). There will be daily events from the 5^th – 11^th August 2013 when it is hoped that many of our diaspora and friends will visit Ballyshannon.

Background to the Charter of 1613

• The English government as part of the conquest of Ireland set about planting the land with settlers from mainland Britain. The Ulster Plantation at the beginning of the 17^th century resulted in the dispossession of the Gaelic chieftains and their replacement by servitors and undertakers who were rewarded for their military service in the wars against the Irish amongst other things. The O’ Donnells lost all their lands in the Ballyshannon area as did the Cistercian monks at Assaroe and the Ó Cléirighs at Kilbarron Castle. 

• To maintain control of places like Ballyshannon the English demolished the O’Donnell castle in the Market Yard. They erected barracks to control this important crossing point on the Erne which led into west Ulster. Sir Henry Folliott who had served in the military wars against the Irish was granted the town and much of the surrounding areas. He later became one of three members of his family to be Barons of Ballyshannon. Trinity College was also granted lands including the area around Wardtown Castle and lands around Bundoran.

Ballyshannon Created a Borough by Royal Charter 1613

• On the 23^rd March 1613 Ballyshannon was granted a charter by King James1 which allowed it to have borough status. Around the same time Lifford and Donegal Town were also created as borough towns.
• Ballyshannon was to be developed as a town with a strong military garrison to defend the English interests and to control the native Irish.  
• Another reason for developing the town was to make it economically attractive for the settlers as a centre for trade for merchants and others. 
• Ballyshannon was ideally located as a seaport which could expand on this commercial trade through importing and exporting goods. 
• The town was to grow as a centre for supplying a wide hinterland including the strong garrison based here.

Some of the Privileges of being a Borough Town 

• Ballyshannon was granted a corporation with 12 burgesses under a Provost (Portreeve). The first 12 appointed were Bennet Payne (Provost), Henry Folliott, William Rastell, Richard Bennett, Stephen Orme, William Atkinson, John Connor, John Glasson, Hugh Allingham, John Forster, John  Stephenson and Francis Edmunds.

• The burgesses also had the right to hold fairs and markets in Ballyshannon. The memory of these markets is maintained in the Market Yard which nowadays is a car park. Until recent times the town also had a Market House and a Fair Green which nowadays is Allingham Park. The town down through the subsequent centuries was a successful market town and the cattle and horse fairs drew dealers from Ulster, Connacht and served a wide area. The biggest fair of the year was the Harvest Fair held annually in September.

• Under the Charter Ballyshannon was entitled to have a court of record which could try civil cases up to the amount of £3-6-8.

• The burgesses also could introduce bye-laws, regulate tolls and set up a guild of merchants with a common seal.

Ballyshannon had Two Members of Parliament 

• The burgesses were able to elect 2 members of parliament in this closed borough. This meant that a small elite controlled who the members of parliament would be; and needless to say whose interests they would serve. People like “The Speaker Conolly” who had been born in the town and went on to become one of the richest men in Ireland, in the early 18^th century, controlled (through the burgesses) the election of these members of parliament.The first two members of parliament for Ballyshannon were Paul Gore who resided at Magherabeg near Donegal Town and Edward Cherrye whose name is still recalled in a place name on the road to Belleek called Cherrymount. 
• When these closed boroughs were disbanded by the Act of Union 1801 the Earl of Belmore who lived at Castlecoole which stills stands close to Enniskillen golf club was paid £15,000 compensation as he controlled the 2 seats at that period. He had originally bought the 2 seats in parliament from the Conollys for £12,000. Castlecoole is a fine period house which was built with Portland stone, marble etc. which had been shipped to Ballyshannon and then brought by barge up the Erne to Enniskillen. From the Act of Union onwards Ballyshannon no longer had 2 members of parliament.

Ballyshannon the Largest  and Oldest Town in County Donegal in the 17th Century

• Towns as we know them today were quite small in the 17th century.  In 1695 Ballyshannon was the biggest town in County Donegal with a population of 134 made up of 71 Irish and 63 English and Scots. Donegal Town had a population of 95. Letterkenny had a population of 73.

 

• In the overall history of the town it should be remembered that Ballyshannon is recognised, in the legendary accounts, as the place where the first settlers resided over 5,000 years ago. The area has a very rich Gaelic culture which will be discussed in a future blog which will reflect on the O’Donnells, the Ó Cléirighs and the other families who have left us a proud heritage prior to the Ulster Plantation. 

Lots Happening in Ballyshannon in Early August 2013- Hope You Can Make It

In the lead up to Ballyshannon 400 visitors will be in town for the Ballyshannon Folk Festival which takes place from the 1st to the 4th August also for a Dedication Service and weekend events to commemorate the Erne Fishery Case  on 3^rd and 4^th of August. A future blog will discuss the victory in 1933 won by the people in what has become known as The Erne  Fishery Case 

So Ballyshannon will have lots of interesting events happening and it would be an ideal time for our diaspora to be here for some or all of Ballyshannon 400 from 5th-11th August when there will be daily events of a historic, cultural and community nature. 

Check out the events you might like to attend later in the year including Ballyshannon 400 on http://www.ballyshannon.ie  Lots happening in Ballyshannon in the summertime including Rory Gallagher Festival in June http://www.rorygallagherfestival.com/ 
Ballyshannon Folk Festival http://ballyshannonfolkfestival.com/ 

Forthcoming Blogs in June 2013 

1st June The Most Unusual Legal Case Ever in Ballyshannon

8th June The Conversion of Ballyshannon 

15th June A Forgotten Story plus The Top Ten Most Popular Blogs in 2013 

22nd June The Games People Played a Century Ago

Ballyshannon Musings:  Good to hear that people from the Ballyshannon area are enjoying the blog in over 40 countries. Please let people with an interest in Ballyshannon and surrounding areas know about this site, particularly people who are not living locally and those who are abroad. The site is called Ballyshannon Musings and there are a number of back issues available on the internet. 

Copy this link and it can be googled at  http://ballyshannon-musings.blogspot.ie/ The site can be located on the internet (or by connecting to my Facebook page). New items will be posted every week on Ballyshannon Musings during 2013, the year of “The Gathering”. The blogs are original and are not taken from the book below. 

Welcome New Attractions for Visitors to Ballyshannon
  

1. The Ballyshannon and District Museum, with coffee shop available, is newly opened  in Slevin's Department Store.
2. Dicey Reilly's Micro-Brewery Market Street, the first established in County Donegal
3. "Local Hands"  Arts and Crafts Gallery  newly opened in Main Street Ballyshannon.

A New Local History suitable for those at Home and Away 

Anthony Begley, local historian, published a new book entitled: "Ballyshannon. Genealogy and History" which reveals newly researched history and genealogy of the town, extending as far as the Rossnowlagh, Cashelard, Corlea, Clyhore, Higginstown and Finner areas. Includes the parishes of Kilbarron and Magh Ene.

The genealogy material provides detailed guidelines for anyone tracing their roots in the area or anywhere in County Donegal or Ireland. The book contains 500 pages and is richly illustrated with stunning colour, aerial photography, original illustrations and rare photographs of the area not seen before.

Topics include: How to go about Tracing your Roots/The first settlers in the area/ Newly researched history of the town of Ballyshannon and the townlands in Kilbarron and Mágh Éne parishes/ Records of the first travellers and tourists to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Belleek and Ballintra/An aerial guide to place names along the Erne from Ballyshannon to the Bar/Flora and Fauna of the area/ A history of buildings and housing estates in the locality/Graveyard Inscriptions from the Abbey graveyard, St. Joseph’s and St. Anne’s /Rolling back the years with many memories of the Great Famine, Independence struggle, hydro-electric scheme, Gaelic games, boxing, handball, Boy Scouts, soccer, mummers, characters, organisations, folklore and lots more.

Book Available from The Novel Idea Bookshop Ballyshannon, Ballyshannon and District Museum, The Four Masters Bookshop Donegal Town or Anthony Begley West Rock Ballyshannon. anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com  Enquiries welcome for postal and other details.

Next Blog posted Saturday 1st June is called "The Most Unusual Legal Case Ever in Ballyshannon"