bridget McCarthy page 5

Street leading to Ballinagoul Village (ec)

People In the Village

Dave ( the prophet) Tobin no relation, he was a strange man, he never looked clean, used to carry all his belongings in a sack on his back, he was convinced that they would be poisoned if he left them in the house while he was out. He never went to church, & was always calling out Anti Christ slogans, he was harmless but as children we kept our distance from him, his brother Johno also lived in the village in separate houses up little passages from the road another brother lived at the crossroad leading down to the pub and pier, Pat, he had a modern house they were called Gaeltact houses, Pat was married to Hannie Terry whose mothers house was close by, they had no children, used to have a nice vegetable garden on the side of the house, another brother James lived on the Helvick Road.

Leaving Ballinagoul (ec)

He was married and had 8 children, 4 boys and 4 girls,( you mentioned one of the boys Nicholas Tobin was on TV away last year,) most of them were good singers, 3 older boys Jimmy, Dave and Paddy died as young men of TB. They were fishermen as was their father, Kate and Bella went to London Alice married a man from Old Parish I don’t know what happened to Maggie.

Photo (ec)

How easily a surname could die out, there is no Tobin left of that big family, of the older family, Dave the prophet not married, Johno not married, Pat married but no family, James had 4 sons who died young, none married so no one to carry the name on.

Ned Donavan a fisherman in the village used to make creels/baskets with willow whips weaving them in and out, they used the creels to carry lines and stakes out onto the bar much the same place where you do the oyster now, my father used to go down the strand to dig for bait, knife fish and I think mussels , stakes were about 3 foot long a few yards of line with hooks and bait, another stake and so on, then when the tide was far out the stakes were pushed into the sand and left till next low tide and hope fully a good catch of fish, I’ve forgotten what type of fish they caught.

Boat at Ballinagoul (ec)

Mikie Curran had a nice new house as well as a big old house, he laid out a lovely garden with a big rockery unusual for Ring and took a great pride in it and the surroundings, he lived up a small by road leading from the village to the main Helvick Rd. Richie Harty cows used the same route and clapped as cows do outside Currans gate, it caused a big row between the men and they didn’t speak to each other for years.

Heading for Helvick (ec)

Mikie Curran was the only house in the village who had electricity, there was a small river running through his land he dammed it, and erected a water wheel, I don’t know if it was running during the summer when the river was very low.

Catherine Kenneally lived on the main Helvick Rd., she was an old ginger/foxy haired woman, if a fisherman was on his way to Helvick to fish and saw her on the Rd he would cross fields to avoid her they were very superstitious and said she was bad luck.

At the crossroad leading down to the lower village and pier in a big house lived Charlie and Lizzie Skuce, they had a little shop selling grocery and bread .They were the only Protestants in Ring , Lizzie became a Catholic some time before she died and although Mr Skuce attended Mass every Sunday after her death he didn’t become a Catholic till on his death bed, they had no family.

Thatched cottage on the way to Ballinagoul (ec)

Kate Troy lived half way down the upper part of the village, when as children we were on our way down to the strand by the pier we tried to keep very quiet as if Kate saw or heard us we were called back to fetch water from the pump for her. Later on when I was a bit older she would call me in to help her with ironing or darning socks

( I was a dab hand at mending socks) as she used to take in washing during the summer months when visitors were around, in return I would get my tea which was better than I would have at home.

She fostered 2 boys from the Dungarvan hospital/ poor house when her own family had left home, she was the only person in Ring to do that, one of the boys stayed all his life in Ring and married a local girl and had 1 son who still lives in Ring and is married there, I won’t give his name as his friends may not know of his background.

Leaving Helvick(ec)

The 2^nd. boy John Keatings went to London after leaving school and never returned or kept in touch with his foster mother.

The men in the village played pitch and toss at the crossroad.

Ellen (Bagge) Terry had 3 sons Mike, John and Richie and a daughter Mary their house was on the main Rd., all lived together, none of them got married, each night

after tea, the three men went to different houses or places in the village and Ellen and Mary went down to Kate Troys, they met back home about ten o’clock exchanging all the news and gossip they had heard. Richie used to call into to see my father in later years, they both would sit either side of the fire for about an hour and hardly exchange a word, smoking their pipes. They had their picture painted once and it used to hang in the technical school. ( I don’t know if its still there.)

When anyone died in the village Ellen washed and laid out the body ready for the wake and funeral.

Only recently was I told that my mother laid Ellen out when she died.

Half way down the village was a little old thatched house known as the half way house Jack (Maura Nell) Cuddihy and Nancys, very few people passed their open door without calling in for a chat, if the children in the village hadn’t done their home work the master at school next day would say I suppose you were Jacks and Nancys last night. It wasn’t easy doing home work in our house with so many younger siblings, no peace or quiet and only a paraffin lamp for light.

Ring Church graveyard (ec)

A travelling man came by a couple of times, I don’t think he was a tramp although he slept rough most of the time, he used to write songs and sell them, the one I remember is O my Sweetheart Dungarvan.

Tinkers called Cartys came and camped for about a week every year in a boreen a bit up Sea View, the women would knock on every door in the village selling pegs .ribbons and lace, most people bought some thing in case a curse was put on them,

The men would mend pots and pans or anything else that needed doing, they didn’t cause any trouble but locals didn’t leave things lying around like they would normally.

To Be Continued...