Did the O’Gorman Mahon walk the Flaggy Shore?

[Sduddy]

The mention of Mount Vernon house in this piece in Saturday’s Irish Times, describing a walk by the Flaggy Shore: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-sty ... -1.4168586 , reminded me that I came upon an entry in the New Quay baptisms that shows that the O’Gorman Mahon might have visited there in 1850:
08 Nov. 1850: Philip of William J. Skerrett and Ann McMahon, Finevarra; sponsors: The O’Gorman MacMahon, Mrs. Dalton.
The priest has spelled the name “MacMahon”, but I still think it must be the O’Gorman Mahon.
New Quay baptisms: https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls ... 1/mode/1up

Mount Vernon was once owned by the Skerrett family: http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/Lande ... sp?id=1792
It was named after Mount Vernon, Virginia, the home of George Washington, and the story goes that cypress trees still standing in the garden were a present from George Washington: https://www.ireland.com/what-is-availab ... l/1-89785/

Sheila

[Sduddy]

Here is “Postscript”, the poem by Seamus Heaney mentioned above in the piece by O’Dwyer: https://vimeo.com/73559117

And here you can take a virtual walk by the Flaggy Shore. You can see the cypress trees on the horizon. Keep walking and you will see the lake with the swans. I see a few daffodils too, so it was this time of the year: https://www.google.com/maps/@53.1569154 ... 312!8i6656

Sheila

[Sduddy]

Oysters called Red Bank Oysters came from near the Flaggy Shore, and are mentioned in James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Here is some more on the oysters and the “Oyster Road”: In Parish of Kilkeedy, Frank Brew writes on the big houses of parish of Kilkeedy (Tubber), including Rockforest House in the townland of Magheraraheen, also called Rockforest (pp 97-100). This house was built in the 18th century and, looking at the photograph on p 99, I notice that it is very like Mount Vernon (New Quay). It was the residence fo Bindon Blood. The story goes that Bindon Blood was responsible for the building of the road that goes from New Quay to Kilkeedy/Tubber (the N67 and then L4507). Frank Brew says,

It is named the New Line on the map, but it was always known as Bindons Line, and credit for its construction was given to Bindon Blood. It was also known as the “Oyster Road”, and it is said that the real reason for making it was to carry the oysters from the beds around the shore to the market. It connected with other roads across Ireland and relays of horses were used to get the oysters as speedily as possible not alone to Dublin, but via Rosslare to the kitchens of the Houses of Parliament in London.

It’s hard to believe that the oysters were still edible by the time they got to London. I remember when eels were sent to Billingsgate, in the 1950s, but that involved packing them with ice and sending them from Shannon Airport.

Sheila

[Sduddy]

“The Sale of Burton Bindon Estate, Munnia, Rossalia and Corranroo” on “What New” mentions the Red Bank Oysters: https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/cocla ... burton.htm

Here are some mentions of the Red Bank oysters taken from The Clare Journal:

Clare Journal, Thur 12 Jun 1856:

Deaths: We have to announce the decease of Burton Bindon, Esq., of Movina lodge, in this County, and of D’Olier-street, Dublin. This Gentleman was well known as the proprietor of the Red Bank Burren Oysters. His death took place suddenly in the 79th year of his age.

Clare Journal, Thur 19 Jan 1865:

The Burren Estate. The two remaining unsold lots of the Burren estate were purchased by private sale on Friday, by William Lane Joynt, Esq., agent to Lord Anally, for £11,000. Thus the nobel lord has become the owner of all the Burren estates of Mr John S Kirwan. The noble lord is also the owner of the Duke of Buckingham’s estate at Ballyvaughan, Mr Burton Bindon’s at Currenroe, on which are the famous oyster beds, Mr John B Scott’s at New Quay, Sir Hugh Dillon Massy’s Broadford estate, and Mr John Westropp’s at Kilkeryne. These represent, as a whole, one of the largest territorial possessions in the hands of any peer or commoner in Clare.

Clare Journal, Mon 27 Jun 1870 (from Limerick Reporter):

Successful Oyster Farming – Mr Henry O’Connell, son of our respected fellow citizen Mr Coleman O’Connell, of Catherine street, is at present in Burren engaged in farming an experimental oyster bed on the French principle of suspended tiles and fascines for the protection of oyster spawn. Some naturalists assert each oyster brings forth nearly two millions of young annually but the mortality incidental to sea life is enormous and very few of the spawn ever arrive at maturity. To prevent this wholesale slaughter of oyster [word smudged] Mr O’Connell formed his experimental bed on last summer and the result was so very satisfactory as to induce him to enlarge the parc this season. Great praise is due to Mr O’Connell for his efforts to induce his fellow countrymen to farm oyster laying, as he has shown by his letters in the columns of this paper the enormous profits that may be realized by oyster farming – Limerick Reporter.

Clare Journal, Thur 1 Sep 1870, Advertisement:

Red Bank Burren Oysters. Martin Lally Begs to inform his numerous customers and friends that he has made arrangements with the Proprietors of the Celebrated Banks for a supply of First Class Oysters during the Season. This first batch has arrived this day. Causeway, September 1st, 1890.

Sheila

[Sduddy]

Clare Freeman, Sat 13 Jan 1877:

Burton Bindon’s Oyster Beds. From our correspondent.
New Quay, Thursday. The famous oyster beds of the late Mr Burotn Bindon, which were held by Mr Edward Singleton, of D’Olier-street, Dublin, have been surrendered on this day, at the expiration of his lease, to Mr Wm. Lane Joynt, agent to Col. the Hon Charles White, whose father, the late Lord Annaly, bought the Currenrue Estate in 1848. The Red Bank oysters in the Currenrue Estuary of Galway Bay are not surpassed in delicacy of flavour by even the English natives. The Banks are very large and it is stated that a limited liability company with a capital of £10,000, will be formed in Dublin to stock and work the beds. This will give much employment in the district, and resume the great trade the late Mr Burton Bindon almost created.

Sheila

[Sduddy]

The History of New Quay in 12 Tales, by Kathleen Fawle, was published last year (2023), but I did not know of it until I read a recent review in The Irish Times. The word “tales” in the title has a folksy sound and is a bit misleading, I think: the book is a regular, well researched history of that locality. I found so much of interest that I quickly decided to stop underlining, or the book would be ruined. It was a revelation to me that New Quay was quite a fashionable watering place in the 19th century, and a revelation that the Skerrett family enjoyed a lavish life style in its heyday. Included in "The Tale of Corcomroe Abbey" is a history of the Cistercians in Ireland. And in "The Tale of Saint Patrick’s Well", Fawle refers to the traditional belief that Saint Patrick never came to Co. Clare, but allows for the fact that the boundary with Galway may have changed. I’m very pleased to have found that review and to have the book on my shelf now.

I am writing about the book under this topic, as the Flaggy Shore gets several mentions. Since my first contribution, I sometimes wondered if the Flaggy Shore road was actually in existence at the time that The O’Gorman MacMahon was chosen as godfather for Philip Skerrett (1850). But Kathleen Fawle’s book has reassured me: she writes, “The Irish Board of Works was also set up in the 1830’s [along with Poor Law and Workhouses] and among its responsibilities was building a number of new roads, particularly in the remoter regions of Ireland. As well as improving communications the development of new roads also gave employment to the poor in areas where work was scarce. The road between the New Line and the Martello Tower in Finavarra was built in 1841. In 1846, William Minor Skerrett gave Rev Jackson, the curate for New Quay, a half-acre site for a Protestant church at the Flaggy Shore. Two years later the Burren Roads Committee agreed to use available funds to build a road to the church, extending the road along the Flaggy Shore. However, the problems of widespread poverty and destitution did not go away, and the population continued to increase.” (page 49).

Forum readers will be interested in the list of contents, I think:
The Tale of the Skerretts of Finavarra House.
The Tale of the 19th Century Poor in New Quay.
The Tale of New Quay Placenames History and Origin.
The Tale of The O’Dalaigh Poets.
The Tale of Mount Vernon Lodge.
The Tale of Sea Trade and Fishing.
The Tale of Red Bank Oysters and Burton Bindon.
The Tale of Peter Comyn.
The Tale of Corcomroe Abbey.
The Tale of Oughtmama Monastery.
The Tale of Saint Patrick’s Well.
The Tale of Turlough Hill.

Sheila