bridget McCarthy page 4

Three Pubs

They were three pubs in Ring and are still there, but under different management now, Martin Draper’s in the village, his wife died young leaving a young son Laurence, his aunt (mother’s sister) Peggy Griffin helped his father to rear him and run the pub, Laurence later married a town girl. That pub is now called Tigh an Ceol.

Below Tig An Ceol...changed quite a bit since Bridget's time

Photo EC

James Murray’s the pub in Helvick was used mainly by the fisher men coming home after a days fishing they called in for a Guinness or two. Mrs Murray was mentioned

in an article in your column ( where is all the Irish) conversing in

English to a Above Murray's Pub as it is today...photo EC

lorry driver, Mrs Murray , Mary ? wasn’t a Ring woman, she came from other side of town, James didn’t tell his sister Lizzie who lived with him and helped run the pub that he was getting married , on the morning of his wedding he called into his other sisters Molly(Murray) Linane she lived opposite the garda station, and changed into his wedding suit went off and got married and arrived home with his wife, Lizzie moved into the old part of the house than while she had a new house built for herself.

Ring College

Annie Coady’s was the other pub nearer the church, she was a very cross woman perhaps she had to be being, a widow woman running a pub on her own and no children, her niece Tessie Mooney was left the pub when Annie died, the old thatched house/pub was pulled down and a new one built but that was after I had left Ring.

Mooneys pub today photo EC

Annie had a bit of land as well and an old man ? Whelan looked after it , a little river ran through it by a bridge and this man used to dip the sheep in the river, we as children would lean over the bridge on our way to school watching. It was that same man who called out to us on our way home from school one day that war had broken out in Europe it didn’t mean a lot to us at the time.

Ariel view of Helvick

FISHING OFF THE ROCKS

My father and other men from the area used to go down the cliffs of Helvick and Sea View to fish off the rocks with a rod and line, mainly Pollock and mackerel, it was dangerous and slippery going down there.

Helvic Cove

The LOOK OUT.

There was a building on top of Helvick Head during the war called the look out, soldiers took it in turn to be on watch in case of an invasion, over Dungarvan bay, Muggort’s bay and up towards Mine Head, one of the soldiers was a local chap Michael Kenneally.

Gort na Diha

My mother had a relative Magg Landers living over at Gort na Diha/ Ballinacourty not far from the little rd. that leads to the Cunnigar, some times my mother sent us over to her with fresh fish, especially at harvest time when the apples were ripe, Magg Landers had a good orchard, she was bed ridden at this time, Magg would tell us to go down the orchard and fill a bag of apples mainly cookers, we then had to bring them in for her to inspect she would pick out the best ones and leave them on her bed side table, who got these I don’t know, as far as I know only one local woman went in with her meals each day, unbeknown to Magg we would have filled another bag and left it at the gable end of the house.

Ring from Dungarvan park

(You said you had researched the Landers of Ballinaroad away back some ago, did this Jim Landers (I think that was Magg’s husband’s name) feature in it?)

There was quiet a few small shops as well as the co-op store and 3 pubs and the mobile van to shop with, there wasn’t any bus to take you into Dungarvan so people had to shop locally, the 3 pubs sold bits of grocery , and bread also cigarettes, Maggeen Walsh in the village sold bread and sweets, Lizzie Skuce sold grocery and bread, Tessie Mooney had a little shop by the collage selling sweet and drinks, lemonade, orangeade before she moved into her aunts pub, and Molly (Murray) Linnane carried , a good stock of goods she got a lot of custom from the collage, her shop was opposite the police station.

They were about 4 small farms around Helvick and Sea View,

Garrett Quinn

Above, the little shop oppsite the garda station, is now closed
and his wife no family, Troys can’t remember their first names lived near Burks, no family Mrs. Quinn and Mrs. Troy were sisters, Tom and Mary Cuddihy brother and sister, and along the road from us Tom and Joanne Terry another brother and sister, I don’t know what happened to their lands as they didn’t seem to have any relatives, I had left Ring by this time