(Some of) The Carbery Story
Gathered through a process of osmosis
By Jerry Carbery, Athy, Co. Kildare

Orphaned Brothers to Edenderry

Around 1800, Two Carbery brothers, Dan and John, were orphaned in Edenderry, and went to live with their Aunt Sarah Murphy (nee Carbery) and her husband , who lived in a rented farm between Athy and Stradbally , at the end of a small roadway, opposite the “Bleeding Horse” pub. It is beside Brackney Wood. The land is now owned by the Mullins family. During their time on the farm, they worked alongside their Uncle. They also experienced the eviction of one of their uncle’s relations from “Coursetowm House” which is about a mile from Athy and on the same road.

Dan (1) and John move to Mullenroe

When their Uncle died, one of the brothers went on horseback to Co. Meath , to ask the Landlord to transfer the renting lease to them or to their Aunt. He declined to do this but gave them permission to harvest whatever crops they had sown.

They moved a few miles south to a place called Mullenroe, which is now part of Ballintubbert, where they rented a home with outbuildings on 12 acres of land for £13-13-0 per year. Kathleen Boland (nee Carbery), is the 5th generation of Carberys now living in this house, with her husband Pat and children Mairead and Patrick, There is a granite trough at the front of their house, which was brought from the original house and farm near the ‘Bleeding Horse’ pub.

John

It seems that John moved a few miles north east of Mullenroe, to Churchtown. Carberys from this area are mentioned in the baptismal and marriage records of Athy Parish Church.

My daughter Mary and I recently called to see Tom Carbery who is living in Rheben (about 1 mile from Churchtown cemetery). It is not in the memory of either of our families that we are related. But Dan (1), from 1784, was buried in Churchtown cemetery, which is a few miles from his own parish of Ballyadams. In addition to his wife Sarah and some of their children being buried with him, there are also the remains of his nephews John and Thomas Carbery. The family plot of Tom Carbery from Rheban, is right beside where Dan (1) is buried, so it looks as if Tom’s relationship with our family could have started in 1784. Tom mentioned to us that he is living in the old family home and that he remembers a photograph of a relative dressed in a uniform, with a row of brass buttons, and that he has an army medal dated 1914-1918. There is a record in Athy Heritage Centre of a Peter Carbery from Athy being killed in 1915, during the First World War.

Dan (1) and his family

Dan continued working both on the farm in Mullenroe and as a carpenter. He married Mary Lawlor, who died after the birth of their daughter Anne. Dan then married Mary’s sister Sarah, and they had 12 children. Some of them died at a young age, while others (Margaret, John, Kathleen, Sarah, and probably Elizabeth), emigrated to America. Sarah returned after a few years. This was during the time of the “great famine” (1840s), which took place while they were in their late teens and early twenties.

Dan (1) dies

We have a copy of the will left by Dan when he died on the 27th March 1860. In it he leaves his land and home to his wife Sarah to be inherited by their son Thomas when she died. He divides his carpenters tools between his sons Thomas and Dan and leaves his silver pocket watch to Dan. My brother Dan (1944) has this watch in working order and hopes to have it on show for the Carbery get-together in May 2004.

Dan (2 ) moves to Luggacurren

Dan’s son Tom (Thomas) married Kate Whelan, while his other son Dan married a local schoolteacher, Kate Dunne. Dan and Kate lived with her family in Kellyville for a time, and it was here that my grandfather Dan was born.

Dan then moved 6 miles away to Luggacurren, Co. Laois where he and Kate rented a two storey house in the middle of the village with 3 acres of land for £4 a year, from Lord Lansdowne. In 1885, they opened a shop in part of their house, while Dan also worked on the farm and as a carpenter. He did a lot of work for Lord Lansdowne, through Lansdowne’s agent, J Townsend Trench. We have a letter from Trench to Dan, dated August 1876, saying that he “cannot consent him taking on other clients while he is working for him”.

Dan (2) and Kate move to Kerry

During the 1870s, Dan was asked, by Lord Lansdowne go to Sneem, Co. Kerry to supervise the building of Rosdohan house for a friend of Lord Lansdowne, Dr. Samuel Thomas Herd who was a retired sergeant major from the Indian Army. Dan and Kate moved down to Kerry with the family in 1875. As part of this job, Dan was sent to London to find out all about the new “Portland Cement” , which was going to be used in the building of Rosdohan house , and we have a copy of Dan’s detailed expenses for this trip.

The family probably stayed in Sneem for a few years before returning to Luggacurren. I guess this because my father (Joe) told me that the boys in school in Luggacurren , made fun of his father’s Kerry accent when he came back. They brought a grandfather clock about 6’6” high back from Kerry with them. However, in order to fit it in on the horse and cart with the rest of the belongings, they had to cut it in half. This clock stood on the first landing of the stairs in St. John’s House, Athy for almost 100 years, with the mark of my Great-grandfather’s saw across its middle. Its laboured 12 gongs for midnight still rings in my ears.

After his experience in Sneem, Dan seems to have greatly expanded the building side of his business. Records detailing work he carried out in Athy and Baltinglass include the stand at Athy race course which was beside Tonlegee house. He also built a new school in Luggacurren in 1885. I think this school was burned down in 1921, it was on the Eastern side of the parish chapel on the far side of the road, the site is now covered by trees.

The Luggacurren Evictions

Around this time, Lord Lansdowne reduced the rent of his tenants on his Kerry estate, because of the poor quality of the land, and the tenants in his Luggacurren estate - about 90000 acres- requested similar reductions, but were refused. Dan joined the “Irish National Land League”( we have his membership certificate) and he became involved in public meetings etc. Shortly afterwards, the tenants, including Dan, stopped paying rent to Lansdowne’s agent, instead putting the unpaid rent into a separate fund managed by the tenants. Thus, the “Luggacurren evictions” began. Dan was involved with two other carpenters, Pat Knowles and Bill Breen, in building temporary timber huts for evicted families, in the field beside the church. The huts were paid for out of the “rent fund” . When Dan, Kate and family were evicted on 2nd June 1889, they moved into the last of the huts. Soon afterwards they “loaded all their goods” and Dan’s daughter (my Grandaunt Sarah), remembers walking into Athy. His property was taken over by a Scotsman, Thomas Mullins.

The first home they lived in is now Ted Hughes’ home opposite the Parish Church. They then moved into a now demolished house at the western end of Meeting Lane, beside what is now the offices of “J Brennan, solicitors”. Dan said that the good side of the “evictions” for him, was that it brought him full time into the building business in Athy. At this time my Grandfather, Dan was 24 years old, and the eldest of 8 children, 5 boys and 3 girls.

Purchasing St. John’s House

Shortly before my great grandfather died (in 1896) a detached 2 storey house called “St, John’s House”, and its adjoining yard, millhouse and mill, came on the market. Only two people turned up at the auction, my Great Grandfather, Dan, and a local malster called Matt Minch. While they chatted beforehand, it became evident to them that Dan only wanted the house and Matt wanted the yard and mill. As arranged, Matt made the only bid at £100, so Dan split the cost with him and paid £50 for St. John’s House. Dan built on an extra storey to the house. Recently while looking at an old photograph of Rosdohan house in Sneem, I realised that the design of the roof, window surrounds, gable ends, etc, match the new extensions to St. Johns. Thus, either Dan brought the details in his head, or stored the drawings in the grandfather clock, all the way from Sneem.

Dan (2) dies

Dan died at his residence in Emily Square, Athy in 1896, before the renovations to St. John’s house were completed. He had undertaken the building of some very fine buildings which are still in use to-day, Rathoe Church, Co. Carlow, Mount St. Mary’s School, St. Mary’s School and the convent chapel belonging to the Sisters of Mercy, in Athy.

Dan’s widow Kate hesitated before moving into St. John’s House after it was renovated, as rumours were about that it was haunted. Those of us who have lived there, have experienced the reasons for these rumours. Sin Scéal eile.

Dan (3) and his brothers continue

My grandfather Dan, (1865-1849), continued his father’s building business in Athy, with his brothers John and Tom , while another brother Peter set up a building business in Carlow, and their brother Dennis started a building business in Kildare town. Tom had a love of shooting. He was working on the roof of Barrowhouse Church, which is a few miles southwest of Athy, when some pigeons were spotted coming towards the church. He rushed inside and reached for the shotgun, which he had left for such an event, behind the altar. Unfortunately, the gun discharged into his arm. My maternal grandfather, Dr. Jerry O’Neill, had to amputate his arm on the kitchen table in St. John’s house. We have a chair which was especially adapted for Tom with two brass fittings on one side, which enabled him to fit a swinging desk for writing or reading on. Tom later died of T.B.

When Dennis died in Kildare, his family were very young and the business closed. When Peter died in 1944, his only son Peter had already decided on a career in banking and so Dan’s son Dan (4), my Uncle Dan (1904-1959) moved from Athy to look after the business in Carlow. My father Joe (1907-1999) was in the meantime working in Athy with his father Dan, and continued running the business there.

Conclusion

And so the journey continues. At the moment there are at least eight people in the family directly involved in the carpentry/building line.

There has been a great link up between the Carberys who stayed in Ballintubbert and the Carberys who moved to Luggacurren , through the building trade and especially working together as carpenters/joiners. Tom Carbery of Ballintubbert (1907-1988) ran his own building business and joinery works.

One of these was Bill Carbery, David’s father, who was in America for eight years, met and married his wife Anna Hegarty, who was from Killarney. He worked as a carpenter on the building of the Empire State building. He returned with the family to Athy and while working on the building of the Hydroelectric works at Poulaphouca (Co. Wicklow), he died as a result of an accident on site on the 14th June 1941.

I spoke recently to John Lacey originally from Luggacurren and now in his late 80s and in St. Vincent’s Hospital, Mountmellick. He confirmed, from a photograph I had brought with me, the house in Luggacurren that Dan (2) had been evicted from which he said was always known as ‘Carbery’s House’. He remembers the school that Dan Carbery (2) probably built, being burned down, he remembers the timber smouldering when he passed it by one Saturday morning. His father worked with the Carberys in Athy and his most recent home is in Clopook beside Michael Lynch whose great-grandmother is Maria Carbery, born in 1830 and married David Cramer. According to John, Luggacurren, means “The bed of the rock”

I realise that the above is only a brief account of some of the details that have marked our family’s journey since 1784. My daughter Genevieve has set up a website (www.carberys.com) which will enable our story to be told, acknowledged and to continue. We are in contact with recent generations of the family who emigrated and who are living in Canada, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, France and the U.K. I am not aware of anyone being in contact with the descendents of Dan (1) above, who went to America in the mid-1800s.

I want to acknowledge all of the work that our cousins John Waldron in Canada and Jim Burke in Dublin, have put into researching the story of the Carbery family. John has written a book entitled “The Carberys of Luggacurren”. I have his permission to copy parts of this book for family use, and it gives a very detailed account of history of the “Luggacurran Carberys”.

CARBERYS! Where do they come from?
By (Fr) Adrian Carbery, Kellyville, Co. Laois

FROM ADAM & EVE WE DON’T DOUBT, BUT WE CANNOT TRACE THE LINE!

Carbery (Cairbre) comes up prominently in early Irish stories and history.
King Cormac Mac Airt, High King of Ireland, was succeeded by his son Carbery in the latter half of the third century, A.D. This was the time of the Fianna and Finn Mac Cumhaill, the great hero of the era. When Carbery came to the throne, unlike his father Cormac, he felt that the Fianna had become too powerful and didn’t like having to pay tribute to them for protection as High King. So he formed a coalition with the other provincial kings to disband them. Only Munster supported the Fianna. At this time too, there was a split in the Fianna camp when Goll Mac Morna came over to the side of the High King. Carbery provoked war with the Fianna by killing Finn Mac Cumhaill’s servant, Ferdia.

The war was bitter and bloody, and reached its climax at the Battle of Gabhair (Cath Gabhra) in Leinster. The Fianna were heavily outnumbered and were overcome by the coalition forces. In the heat of the battle, High King Carbery went head-to-head in combat with Oscar, son of Oisín, grandson of Finn. Oscar killed the High King, and lay dying himself covered with countless wounds when his father, Oisín, found him. Weeping, Oisín carried away the dead body of his son accompanied by another of the heroes of the Fianna, Caílte Mac Rónán. In that battle the Fianna was defeated and their power was broken in Ireland forever.

Cairbre also appears in a wonderful story from the life of St. Brigid. As a young girl, Brigid went to listen to St. Patrick as he “preached God’s holy word from a hill” in the plain of Lemhuin (Co. Tyrone). Little Brigid fell asleep during the great sermon. Afterwards she came to apologise to Patrick and on her knees asked his pardon. Patrick forgave the girl and asked her what had entered her mind as she slept. She told him she had a vision of the two sons of King Eochaidh, Bressal and Carbery. In the vision, Bressal, the elder of the sons was represented by a huge stone in a field, and Carbery, the younger son, was represented by a smaller stone. Under the falling showers, the large stone wasted away like salt, while the smaller stone sent forth bright sparks to the heavens. St. Patrick interpreted this to mean that: “the rain represented the rain of celestial grace falling in vain on the unbeliever, Bressal, while, its dews descending on the believer, Carbery, brought an increase to him of the God’s blessings for the future”.

Along with these colourful stories, there are many scattered references to Carbery (Cairbre) in the dim distant past. Cairbre Ceanncait (Cat-head!) reigned as King of Ireland in the late first century: 88-93 a.d.

One of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages (Niall Naoigiallach) was Cairbre. This was at the time the young Patrick was picked up in Britain as a hostage and brought here to spend six years as a slave on Slemish mountain in Antrim. Did Carbery bring Patrick to Ireland??

In another account, Carbery, son of Cormac, reigned as King of Leinster from 546-567. He was succeeded as king by his son, Colman who died in 576.

Another Cairbre is back in Leinster as king in the ninth century. He died in 876 and was succeed by his son Cinaeth.

From the 13th to 17th century the Carberys occupied part of Co. Sligo where there was a fort named Dun Cairbre. The Carberys owned much of west Cork where Rosscarbery and surrounding areas were Carbery-country. Ballymacarbery in Co. Waterford corroborates the Carbery presence there in the form of the McCarberys, and in Carberystown, near Trim in Co. Meath they have stamped their name on the landscape.

The parish of Carbury in Co. Kildare is linked in the records to a Norman family who became tenants in that area in 1304. But the ancient name comes from the same root, Cairbre, and reveals the exploits of Cairbre’s cousins in that area at an earlier stage.

Hugh Carbery of Ballymore, Co. Westmeath, was outlawed for his activities on the side of James II in whose army another Carbery was an officer.

Tom Carbery, Ballintubbert, who died in 1988, maintained that our family had a link with the Carberys of Co. Westmeath. But we couldn’t all be descended from the outlaw, could we? And just maybe there have been a few more outlaws in the ranks who haven’t been declared! But that’s only ‘maybe’!

Then there was a bishop from Westmeath - James Joseph Carbery, born in Mullingar in 1823, ordained Bishop of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1883. He died in 1887. He’s a good one from the Westmeath Carberys!

And if he came to our party, we could hardly turn away Cardinal John Joseph who was born 100 years ago in Brooklyn with the misfortune of spelling his name ‘Carberry’. But an extra ‘R’ could hardly rule out a cardinal! He was ordained a bishop in the ‘50s, Archbishop of St. Louis in 1968 and Cardinal in ’69. He died in 1998. But maybe we’re pushing it to go into different spellings, and if you allow in a cardinal now, you never know who’s the next in the queue waiting to join the real Carberys – horse trainers, jockeys, God knows what else! So we are what we are, let’s settle for it and celebrate it!


A short History of the Carbery Name.
By Joe Carbery, Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia (originally Athy, Co. Kildare)

The name is derived from Cairbre, which means charioteer. Two Ard Ri (High Kings) of Ireland were named Cairbre –

1. Cairbre Liffeachar, son of Cormac mac Airt (210 AD- 284) who broke the power of the Fianna. He was killed at the battle of Gabhra.
2. Cairbre Ceann Cait (= “Cat Head”) (Circa 10AD)

There was also a king of Leinster by that name ca. 500AD.

Earlier on, the Tuatha De Dannann had a poet/musician called Cairbre who could turn a battle by the power of his songs.

Later, the Carberys were chieftains in the district of Clonlonan in Co Westmeath. One of them, Hugh Carbery, was outlawed by the English regime for fighting on the side of King James against William of Orange.

(Some more of) The Carbery Story
The Story of Joe Carbery and Bridget Dunne
By David Carbery, Donadea, Co. Kildare (originally Athy, Co. Kildare)

Joe Carbery - Bridget Dunne
(1869 -1951) (1865-1948)

Joe Carbery was the son of Thomas Carbery (1832-1917) and grandson of Dan Carbery (1784-1860). He was christened and later married Bridget Dunne in Ballyadams Church on June 22nd 1897.

Joe had three brothers – Dan (1867), Tom (1871) and John (1862) and four sisters, Sarah (1860), Fanny who died young, Mary (1874) and Annie (1865).

Annie and Mary emigrated to America, where Mary became a nun and Annie married Michael Woods. Sarah married Bill Woods and Dan also emigrated and became very involved in the Transit Union in New York City. He married but had no children. Dan sponsored most of the family who emigrated to America at that time.

Tom (1871) married Kate Walsh and lived in Ballyadams where they had six children - Josie married to Paddy Gaffney, Mary married Ged Dowty, Kathy married to Paddy Molloy of Castletown, Jim married Margaret Fennell, Maurice married Josephine Hyland and Tom married Maureen O’ Halloran.

Joe Carbery, who lived in Ballintubbert, Co. Laois moved to farm land in Ballyadams after his marriage to Bridget Dunne. Here they had six children - Tom, Bill, Danny, Denis, Delia and Kathleen. Joe and Bridget later moved to Athy where they opened a shop in The Bleach area.

Of their children, Denis (1902-1902) died in childbirth. Kathleen, Delia and Tom remained in Athy. Tom worked as a carpenter and became very involved in the political life in the County Kildare area. He had a remarkable political career serving over 40 years and he never failed to be re-elected. He was chairman of Athy UDC as well. After his death, Carbery Park in Athy was named after him. He and his wife Delia who lived in St. Martins Terrace had two children – Joe, who died young (1931—1951), and Delia who married John Kenny and later emigrated to America. Kathleen married Bill Joy and had four children - Breda, Billy, John and Joe.

Bill Carbery (1900-1941) emigrated to New York in 1922 where he met and married Anna Hegarty on June 6th 1926. He worked as a carpenter on many prestigious buildings including the Empire State Building, for many years the tallest building in the world.

Bill and Anna had two children born in America, Eileen and Joe. During the depression they returned to live in St. Patricks Avenue Athy, where Liam, Ann and David were born. Bill was tragically killed on June 14th 1941 while working on the Hydra Electric Scheme at Poulaphuca. He was buried in the ancestral grave in Churchtown outside Athy. Two months after Bills death, Anna gave birth to a baby boy, Patrick (1941), but sadly he died at birth. Anna remarried an hotelier from Killarney, widower Roger O’ Donoghue who had two children, Roy and Denis from his marriage to Grace Hegarty.

Anna died in New York in 1985 (1900-1985).