Christmas Long Ago

In December 1996 Deirdre Walsh carried the following interview in the Kerryman with Denis Nolan from Lyre. “Densy”, as he was affectingly known, was a tailor.

Denis Nolan from Glountane, Lyreacrompane thinks all the fun has gone out of Christmas. "I can remember a lot about Christmas from about the age of seven. Christmas was a big treat in those days, because the excitement only went on for a week. Now it starts in October and goes on right to the end of the year,” he said.

Denis recalled the old custom of shopkeepers giving what was called "a Christmas box" to their customers. "You’d get a pound of tea and maybe half a stone of sugar or bottle of whiskey in the box. Every family would get one from their shop”, he said. "I remember walking to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and seeing all the candles in the windows. It was beautiful. There’s nothing like that nowadays”.

Denis remembers that most people didn’t have much money long ago, and Christmas presents were often scarce. "All you’d get in your Christmas stocking was a couple of tin whistles and a sixpence. Our parents didn’t have much money but there was always plenty of food in the house. ” The best thing about Christmas long ago, Denis believes, was the social side of it - people calling to each other’s houses. "Every house would get in a jar of porter and the house would be full every night with visitors and family, telling stories and singing songs. And then the next night, everyone would go to a different house in the area." He thinks the younger generation don’t really appreciate the true spirit of the festive season. “There was always peace and happiness and every one was friendly and got on with each other in those days. That seems to be gone too I’m afraid”, he said.

Great Craftsmen in Knocknagoshel.

Cobbling, smithwork, a small amount of tailoring and carpentry still live on in this district. Best cobbler of the old days was Dick Breen, whose skill for making strong boots for work on the land was widely well known.

The village possessed two forges but with the advent of rubber tyres and the consequent fall in the use of the common wheel, work soon slackened. The most famous Smiths were Charles Begley, John Murphy and Tom Begley of Ballincartin.

The Tailors of the village were Dan Murphy, Charles Hartnet, Jim Griffin and Tom Horan each of whom had several men, including journeymen, employed for most of the year. These journeymen went from place to place receiving a few days work from the local tailor and a “tip” for the road. Some would remain for months and others just long enough to earn cash to take them to the next town.

Carpentry consisted mainly of cart making along with an odd piece of furniture. The names of Daniel Carmody and Tom Broderick will always be associated with wheel making in this area. Others were; Tom Piggott, J Roche and P O’Sullivan who were well known builders of haysheds. (Kerryman March 27, 1971).

The late Denis “Densy” Nolan

Maurice Nelligan

The grandfather of Maurice Nelligan the eminent heart surgeon who died in October 2010 came from Duagh. Davy Nelligan was the head teacher in Templeglantine NS in the 1870’s until he retired in 1921. Davy was married to Lizzie Mullane from Doonakenna, Templeglantine. Lizzie also taught at Templeglantine NS. Davy & Lizzie lived in the teacher’s residence attached to the schoolhouse. Their son Seán, Maurice Nelligans father, was a Marconi wireless operator. Maurice’s uncle David was a spy for Michael Collins. He wrote about his exploits in ‘The Spy in the Castle’. He went on to become chief superintendent with Garda Siochana when it was set up in 1922. But when Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932 David was relegated to a minor job in the Land Commission.