This One Is For Harriet
Without her participation, and enthusiastic enjoyment, of what has to be the premier Branick Family Foible, we would not now have our “Delamain Lodge”.
R. I. B.
May, 2011
Some newer history of the old house – and some rebellious activity
The transition:
Dr. Robert Branick
The lease of Delamain Lodge was sold at auction in 1793 – about the time of Capt. Wm.’s death in France. We do not know who was living in, or caring for, the house, at that time. It was probably his “business” friends, and earlier in-laws, the O’Shaughnessys, from whom it had almost certainly originated, and with whom he had earlier close contacts. In any event, historians tell us smuggling continued on Galway Bay until the end of the 18th C., and, as has been suggested, Delamain Lodge was one terminus.
A prominent Galway family, the Dalys, lived in Delamain Lodge in the first half of the 19th C. We believe it was about this time that the cottage was enlarged, and given its elegant Georgian features – gated driveway, formal entry door, marble fireplaces, cornices, etc.
An old historian told us “after the Dalys, came the church”, and that one of the last of the Kinvara Dalys died fighting for the Boers in the Anglo-Boer war (c. 1900).
The Church:
The Catholic church owned the lease, at least by the late 1840’s. Fr. Francis Arthur (P.P. 1847-1866) lived there after Fr. P. Forde’s heroic death (Dec. 25, 1848), serving those ill and dying of the famine and its communicable diseases. Fr. Forde may also have lived and died in Delamain lodge, but we have no residence records preceding Fr. Arthur’s – yet.
Fr. Arthur was an outspoken critic of Britain’s inept, indifferent efforts to alleviate the suffering of the time. It is not surprising that he offered refuge to a fugitive from the abortive “Young Irelander’s” 1848 rebellion. Of the three principal leaders of that movement, John Blake Dillon was the only one to escape capture. He was a friend of the parish assistant priest (curate), Fr. Martin Kelly, and made his way to Kinvara where the priests gave him refuge.
On learning that the English had been alerted to his presence, the priests disguised Dillon in clerical garb. Fr Kelly led him out of Delamain Lodge – probably via the tunnel – and across the rocky fields of Ballybranaghan, Townagh, and Croshua, to a farm house in Duras. A Kinvara fisherman, John Holland, previously alerted, met them there. He sailed them across Galway Bay on an adventurous, wild, trip to the Aaron Islands, from whence Dillon escaped to the United States (In the U. S., John Blake Dillon met up with a number of “Young Irelander” co-conspirators, including co-leader, Australia escapee, Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Meagher, commander of the renowned Irish “Fighting 69th” Brigade, during the war between the states).
Fr. Kelly, recovered from “mal de mer”, returned from Aaron to his priestly duties.
Fr. John Maloney replaced Fr. Arthur in 1870. Besides his parish achievements, which were major, he is remembered for planting the large trees around the walls and house, now huge, and unique for the neighborhood.
Fr. Tom Burke was the next P.P., and he stayed on a very long time. He was quite aged and ill at the time of the 1916 Easter uprising, and probably aware his curate, Fr. John O’Meehan, was an avid Irish Nationalist, and most supportive of the Galway brigade of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.), – precursor of the I.R.A.. It was rumored Fr. O’Meehan had smuggled guns, through Delamain Lodge, to the Galway Volunteers. The authorities in Gort were told of this, and on learning of Easter Monday’s Dublin revolt, made plans to arrest Fr. O’Meehan that night.
Galway Volunteer, Capt. Liam Mellows, also had plans for Fr. O’Meehan. He dispatched Vol.s Padraig O’Fathaigh and Tom Odea, with a driver, Vol. Morrissey, to Kinvara to rescue Fr. O’Meehan, and bring him to Volunteer headquarters at Killeneen – that same night!
In the early, dark, hours of Tues. morning, the Irish Volunteer escorts arrived at Delamain’s gates shortly after the arresting authorities. In the ensuing confusion and melee, shots were fired. No one was injured, but it is accepted, in the Irish rebellion of 1916, the first shots fired in the west of Ireland were outside the gates of Delamain Lodge. Pauric O’Faithaig was captured by the British but released after the general amnesty a year later.
Fr. O’Meehan, forewarned, had earlier left for a “safe house”. He later returned to his priestly parish duties in Kinvara, and remained active in recruiting, organizing, and giving spiritual advice to the I. R. B. recruits. Later, Bishop O’ Dea , transferred him to Rahoon Parish, Mont Pellier Terrace, Salthill, where the “Volunteer’s Priest” continued his republican activities. He escaped capture by the British during the rebellion – several times, in very close calls. His roommate, Fr. Griffin, was not as fortunate. In their fury for missing Fr. O’ Meehan in a 1921 raid, the English “Auxies” summarily executed Fr. Griffin. His body was dumped in a shallow grave near Barna where grazing cows indicated his remains (the road on which the priests lived in Salt Hill – Mt Pellier Terrace – is now Fr. Griffin Road).
Bishop O’Dea, wisely, sent Fr. O’Meehan to Scotland for the duration of the rebellion. He returned to Ireland after the truce, and died April 12, 1923.
Old, sick, Fr. Burke died in 1917, probably quietly sympathetic to his curate’s extracurricular activities, though, most certainly, concerned.
Canon Fahy, P.P (1918), was energetic. First, he “closed” the tunnel. Then, he removed the thatch roof, raised the gables, and installed the slate roof. This required installation of huge attic beams, strapped together with iron in the “King’s Post” fashion. Local lads were enlisted to help remove the thatch and were rewarded at the end of the day with a meal (remains of the thatch coated the attic floor, including the old electric wires and junction boxes, until the ceilings were replaced 60 years later). He later installed the first back door out to the garden, now in the center of the house, and subsequently added the small extension which included the first bathroom (this allowed the outhouse to be retired with honors. Its business end became a dump for old bottles, many of which are now proudly displayed in the washroom.)
Canon Fahy Is also remembered for blessing the remains of the Laughnane brothers – tortured to death by the Auxies – in spite of personal risk.
Cannon Garrihy became P.P. in 1944. He was a proud athlete, and a large picture of him in his football uniform dominated the parish office (now the sitting room), along with his many trophies – apparently quite intimidating to those seeking permission for marriage, baptism, etc.
In1950, parish volunteers constructed the bungalow up the “Green Road” (now Mickey Sullivan’s family home), for the curate’s residence, and, in 1954 they constructed the final extension, which included the present kitchen, an adjacent room (now the washroom), and another bathroom – all said to be for the housekeeper. The downstairs was then evacuated and allowed to mildew and decay for 25 years.
Canon Mulkerrrin followed, and was the last priest in residence, as Bishop Browne sold the property out from under him, in 1976, to a small Galway corporation. The village was stunned, and rumors were rampant, esp. after one of “His Lordship’s” relatives bought the lodge a year later.
We visited the last housekeeper in residence, Katie Killeen, at Maryfield Nursing Home in Athenry, about 1985. The staff were amazed she was receptive. Among other pithy comments, she told us she refused to milk the cow, or slaughter the chickens – “if he wanted milk, he could buy it”. This would have been during Canon Garrihy’s term.
The barn was abandoned shortly after Katie’s rebellion. The chopping block, discovered imbedded outside the lower door, is now a light stand in the lower bedroom.
Thus ended the official ecclesiastical, and unofficial revolutionary, history of Delamain Lodge. Besides demolition remnants in the barn, generated by repairs to St. Colman Church, the only artifacts saved thus far have been an old wooden kneeler, found in the attic, and a very old, ornately carved wooden candle holder, discovered when the new sewage line was dug, now on a shelf in the kitchen. There was a last rites anointing kit, and a number of framed religious pictures in the barn when we first inspected, but they quickly disappeared.
(Note: In 1982, we were pleasantly surprised by a visit from San Francisco Salesian priest friend, Fr. Larry Byrne. He was the first to bless the house for us, and said Mass in the sitting room on an old kitchen table salvaged from the back yard (later repaired by Brian Honan (Gort), and now in the downstairs kitchen). Cousin, Sr. Joan Clement B.V.M., began her regular visits shortly after, and over the years, left rosaries and scapulas hanging throughout. To date, they have not been disturbed. Her Denver pastor, Fr. Mel Thompson, started his regular visits soon after, and cousin Fr. Charles Durkin did likewise, leaving the small St. Francis shrine in the kitchen representing San Francisco, and the “Star Of the Sea” plaque (the name of his last parish), now by the first “back door”. Shortly after, Canon Mulkerrin’s successor, Kinvara’s current P.P., Fr. Frank Larkin, lived in Delamain Lodge for six months while arranging for the new parish house.
Finally, Fr. Patrick Frietag, P.P. St. Monica parish, Mercer Island WA, visited in 2011 to start his “Sabbatical”. He said daily Mass to pray for all associated with the house (including those from the distant past – cf. “Paranormal”). His gift, the Holy Water font from Knock, is just inside the front door).
In spite of Bishop Browne’s controversial sale, Delamain Lodge has not exactly been a devotional desert.
Some recent history of the old house:
Here come the Yanks!:
In the three years following the Bishop’s sale of Delamain Lodge, a few interior repairs had been attempted. After closure of the “Delamain Lodge Seafood Restaurant”, the property was again offered for sale by auction.
Friend Jarlath O’Connor (San Francisco, Ca / Milltown, Co. Galway), having previously alerted us to the sale, arranged for our interests to be secretly represented at the event – Great Southern Hotel, Galway (we have subsequently learned, there are very few secrets in Irish villages).
By May, 1979, the California Branick family owned a historic old Irish country home. Harriet agreed to the purchase sight unseen (“If you really want an Irish house, it’s O.K., we can have an Irish house.”). The often asked question, “why”, has yet to be answered.
Damage Control:
Over the next 30 years, the entire house – interior and exterior – was repainted, restored, or replaced. Sean Conole (Townagh) was the first tradesman to come to the rescue, upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms to a functioning level, just days before our first Kinvara family vacation (1979). Grandparents, Irene and Brennan Davis spent that entire “vacation” cleaning, painting, and repairing the interior. Jarlath, with the help of Johnny Fahy (Townagh) had already furnished the bedrooms with 150 year old iron beds, complete with horse-hair mattresses, from the old abandoned Imperial Hotel in Lisdoonvarna (just recently replaced), and very old, handmade, wooden chairs from a Polish Jewish furniture company, obviously, no longer in existence.
Johnny’s wife, Mary (no longer with us), looked after the interior in our absence, in the early years.
Tommy McCormick (Kinvara) salvaged the outbuildings, rebuilt stone walls, and replaced rotted wooden windows. The family pitched in with their daily chores (Harriet’s philosophy was “work a day – play a day”).
Around 1984, we were introduced to “decorator” David Flaherty (an expert in “very, very, old houses”). For the next 25 years, David devoted his time and expertise to restoring and improving the house and gardens. He occasionally made a firm suggestion, but usually prefaced his remarks with “Wouldn’t it be lovely, if…….”. If, however, he found anything to be “pure rotten”, there was no hesitation. The repair would be finished before our next visit.
David enjoyed surprising us with special improvements – rosettes around the chandeliers, a stone barbecue with matching table and benches, “Heritage” colors in the interior, etc. Best of all, he found two hairy donkeys and a pony! His wife Bridie, and the Flaherty sons (Gort) soon became very involved. They had to, if they ever wanted to see David!
The magnitude of the eventual total job would have been almost too intimidating, if known beforehand, but nothing intimidated our contractor – decorator – friend, David Flaherty (1946-2009) – “Keeper of the Keys, and Master at Arms” (Bridie and her “boys” have filled the void, while continuing David’s traditions, and remembering the “Master”).
Some special projects were particularly interesting:
Downstairs:.
The downstairs was initially tolerated, but after Harriet’s cousins, the Murphys from Cork, told us creatures of the night were scurrying around behind the chipboard walls, action was forced.
The job was the same in all rooms. The chipboard was removed, along with generations of decayed wall paper, and damp crumbly plaster (plus a few mummified carcasses). The original stone walls were still secure. Some interesting findings were uncovered – a deep recess in the scullery wall above a still functioning scullery sink (all previously sealed off), evidence of a past fireplace fire, etc.
The hope was to accent the stones with pointing, but they were too irregular in size, shape, and texture. David explained this was typical of 500 – 600-year-old construction. Rough textured white plaster was applied throughout – also typical of 500 – 600-year-old construction.
The fireplace was rebuilt using the fireplace stones from the old “Black and Tan” barracks in Gort – the same fireplace that warmed the British authorities before they were dispatched to Delamain Lodge in the 1848 and 1916 incidents previously mentioned, and, possibly, even from the old O’Shaughnessey Gort Castle.
The ceiling beams were uncovered, cleaned of old nails, creosoted, and left exposed (interesting fragrance that summer). The cement kitchen floor and stairs were surfaced with slate from Moher, and finally, a double core radiator was installed in each room.
Harriet then began enthusiastically furnishing, and decorating an 18th C, Irish country kitchen, along with its two old bedrooms and scullery.
Out-buildings:
Whether to level or repair the outbuilding ruins was decided by another of Harriet’s philosophies – “They were here before we were”.
As mentioned, Tommy McCormick agreed to save the old buildings – rebuilt walls, new roofs, doors, and shutters. A large opening in the center of the barn was reconstructed with a stone arch Tommy found in a ruin in the countryside. The animals, hay, donkey carts, and the old Massey-Ferguson tractor now had proper homes.
Of great importance, the two-holer seat over the business end of the outhouse was saved, and stored in one of the sheds, just in case.
Water:
The household water was collected off the roof, stored in a cistern, and pumped to the attic as needed. The Regional Hospital laboratory found it fit for human consumption (after a ceramic filter was installed, the tiny bugs swimming around in flower vases were no longer visible – reassuring). In dry spells, the roof run-off was supplemented by a Ballindereen water truck (its water out of a local river, nearby cattle notwithstanding).
The existing system functioned as well as could be expected, until the summer of 1987, when three U. S. Congressmen and their wives were coming for their first ever Irish vacation, arranged by cousin Dan Flanagan (Wash. D. C.).
We went over shortly before the visit to be sure all was well. It had been a very dry summer, the cistern was almost empty, and the Ballindereen truck was no longer in service!
Again, the village came to the rescue. Toddy Byrne was a good friend, highly respected, and wise to the ways of Irish bureaucrats. On learning of the crisis, he delayed his vacation exit (he was literally backing out of his driveway when approached), took us first up the hill to the man in charge of the Kinvara waterworks for a permission slip, then down the road to the local county engineer for another signed paper, and then to Tommy McCormick to arrange for an immediate hook-up. David Flaherty was alerted for the in-house plumbing adjustments, and Toddy, justifiably satisfied with a job well done, drove off on his “holiday”, after about an hour’s delay.
The Congressional delegation had a wonderful Irish vacation. They thanked us and cousin Dan profusely, and left very special gifts from the Capitol as expressions of their gratitude.
Only in Ireland……..
The pier, the tunnel, and the cellar:
The pier
Historians have described a tunnel connecting the pier to the cellar – sounds reasonable. The location of the pier was obvious. Its foundation was clearly visible at lower tides. At the base of this foundation, a few feet above high tide, there was a cave-in, including the overlying stone wall, long overgrown with bushes and weeds It was eventually repaired. Fortunately, we have a pre-repair photograph taken in 1979. When no more practical projects were available, the old stone “jetty” was restored, starting in 2005. Permission to finish was eventually granted, and the “smuggler’s pier” was resurrected.
What about the cellar?
In the 1793 notice of auction, the description of the house included the mention of a “cellar”. Though “extensive vaults” were also described by Fr. J. Fahey in 1893 – in connection with suspected smuggling – their location was a mystery.
The remains of the cellar were discovered by pure accident. Just as the pier project was getting underway, we received a very early morning phone call from a very excited David. Along with his sons, he had been digging a new drainage ditch for household (grey) water and came into the collapsed remains of what must have been a very large underground room.
The large stones, many with smooth faces and cement remnants, extended beyond the depth and perimeter of David’s excavation. Those extracted can be seen lining the planters, pathways and curbs in front of the house, most are still undisturbed – cellar located, though, in a rather sad state of repair.
That left the tunnel.
About 25 years ago, nonagenarian Ritchie Burke (Kinvara) proudly told us of his adventure with friend Mickie Greene exploring the tunnel in 1917. About 10 feet in, their candles blew out, and they fled in fright (maybe ghosts?). He clearly remembered a cut lintel stone over the entrance, which was down at the end of the sea wall (i.e. at the pier). This would have been shortly after Curate O’Meehan’s I.R.B. arms smuggling adventure. In 1982, Mr. Quinn (Croshua) mentioned that while he was helping with the new roof, Canon Fahy “closed” the tunnel. He thought it was about 1917.
The tunnel has been described as running from the pier to the cellar. A line drawn from the cave-in at the base of the pier to the caved-in cellar runs straight across the barnyard – itself artificially raised well above the level of MacInerney’s adjacent field, supported by a stone wall. The distance from pier to cellar is, perhaps, 30 yards..
It is probably not prudent to put in writing the source of the following observations and conclusions. Suffice it to say, excavations along the line from the pier to the caved-in cellar would come upon construction rubble starting at a depth of about three feet – stones, cement remnants, and, interestingly, some old tan fenestrated bricks (bricks had been used as ballast on the old sailing ships). Of course, some of this would have been saved for investigation, in case anyone was interested. If David had been present at such an exploration, he would have said, “Well, something was down there, that’s for sure!”.
While the findings of such an excavation could initially seem disappointing, they would have supported long held suspicions. Canon Fahy was extremely thorough in solving the nuisance of the smuggler’s tunnel, and its terminus, the cellar (both almost certainly wet and rat infested by that time).
Smuggler’s tunnel located, though also in a very sad state of repair.
Paranormal:
It seems every very old, large, Irish house has its own resident spirit(s). Delamain Lodge was always very quiet in that regard. Recently, however, there have been some suggestions of change.
The report, six years ago, of tattered, starving, peasants clinging to the lower carriage gate, begging for food, was, admittedly, a bit dramatic. It is known, however, that Fr.s Ford and Arthur were receptive to the starving, and as generous as they could be, sacrificing and working tirelessly for those ill and dying during the 1840s famine. Fr. Ford, in fact, died a martyr to that cause, possibly in Delamain Lodge.
Ellis’ spirit, in the meantime, may be making a presence (though not a problem). The usual reports of lingering hallway perfumes, an unexplained blur in a sitting-room photo, lovely young ladies in a nocturnal hallway, are all interesting, but not worrisome. Perhaps she has just been waiting all this time to be found and is now thanking us for our interest.
It has been suggested we pray for such a spirit – also not a problem, now that we believe we know who she is.