The parish of Rathgormack is situated in the
Barony of Upperthird which forms one of the
sub-divisions of the Dioceses of Waterford and Lismore. The placenames of the parish of
Rathgormack
site and the corresponding
Mothel/Clonea
site are available and they detail some of the historical and scenic sites of the area.
The placenames of
Dysert/Windgap is also available.
These pages are extracts of a book written at the turn of the century by Rev. P. Power called "The Place-names of Decies."
Probably the single most historical site in the area is that of Mothel Abbey. This Augustinian site was the home for hundreds of years to a large monastery of monks whose abbot controlled a large tract of mid-Waterford until Henry VIII imposed English rule over the county and the monastery's power was destroyed for ever.
Their lands were seized and Curraghmore Estate was established. The abbey now is a ruin with an adjoining cemetery being the final resting place to some of the wealthiest people in the area's past, such as the De La Poer family.
Rathgormack's most famous "son" has to be the Highwayman, William Crotty. He lived in the early part of the 18th century when Ireland was under the rule of the British Crown. His life and how he lived can be found at this page.
Certain family names predominate in the area with the following being a list of names in a decreasing order (from left to right) of frequency. The "Power" name is the most common name with over thirty families going by it. A more in-depth register of the Family-names occurring in the Rathgormack/Clonea-Power area nowadays can be found at this link.
Many people left the area in search for a better life in the "New World" due to the famine or poverty of the mid-1800s. Obvious centres of migration where the large metropolises of New York and Boston, but there are strong links to places like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland which were areas settled by a lot of Waterford immigrants. Indeed large sums of money were collected and sent home to fund the building of the new church in Clonea in the 1860s. A short history of the names appearing in the area from 1640 and 1850 are available at this link.
The area is rich in history, though much of the oral traditions have been lost in the last few generations. The area was actually a strong Irish speaking area even into the early years of the last century.
This area of North Waterford has been lived in for thousands of years with the scattered remains of bygone tribes to be found all over the countryside. There are many lioses or ring forts which were the homes to bronze age peoples in almost every townland.
Reference is made to Rathgormack and Mothel in the Down Survey of 1654. You can read more about it at the
Rathgormack family names. The English didn't think much of the area, referring to it as "cold and course land" yet they still proceeded to seize it and give it over to cronies of Oliver Cromwell.
During the early part of the 19th century Rathgormack was the scene of much violence when two gangs staged frequent faction fights at patterns, fairs and other social gatherings of the day. The "Gows" and the "Poleens" forced the pattern of Mothel to be abandoned for a period of time due to the scenes of degeneration and excess. The gangs viewed the fights as recreational even though the loss of life was a common feature of the contests. Their popularity dwindled with the coming of the famine and the emancipation of the Catholic religion.
The darkest episode in Irish history, the Potato Famine of 1845-49, touched the Rathgormack area as much as all the other districts of the county. In the middle of September 1845 the maturing potato crop began to rot over much of Ireland. How many people were effected is unknown as in any time of agitation few records survive from the period. Sean and Sile Murphy compiled a very fine book on events of that time in "The Comeraghs - Famine, Eviction and Revolution". It details how people were evicted in the area, in some instances their dwellings were destroyed. Some people migrated from their home areas to settle on "rent-free" land around Coumshingaun Lough. Living conditions in those remote areas must have been appalling.
When the newly installed British government decided that the impoverished country could raise the funds to pay for food, rents went up and families began to be evicted. Rebellion followed in late 1840s and Rathgormack was a scene of unrest and lawlessness. John Hearne, a local land owner of the time reported that the area was a nest for rebels saying " The farmers there (Rathgormack) are a curse to the country. They oppress the labourer, and rob the landlord. You have none or few of their sons in the army or navy, but in the ranks of the enemies of British rule you will find densely congregated". The unrest continued for a number of years with attack and reprisals occurring such as the burning of the Rathgormack police station. James Stephens and Michael Doheny, two of the leaders of the Young Irelanders found refuge in the area in 1848 when they sheltered in Rathgormack.
In order to provide labour and a source of income in the area some work relief schemes were started in 1846. Roads were widened and repaired, hills and hollows were levelled. A "New Line" as it is still known was cut and built as a new road between Carrick and Lemybrien. A road was started between Coolnahorna and Clogheen in Tipperary, which was to pass through the Gap but this never got beyond the preparation phase.
Republican activity was high during the troubles at the start of the 20th century. This was due to the many hiding places in the Comeraghs and the willingness of the local population to aid the "Flying Columns".
Rathgormack was attached to the 3rd Tipperary Brigade at the end of hostilities in 1921 and was known as F Company of the 8th Battalion Carrick-on Suir. There were 30 men in the company. Mothel/D company had 57 men, Clonea/E company had 72 men and Windgap or G company had 30 men. You can read more about those troubled times at Phoenix Publishing.
One of the darkest incidents in the bitter struggle to happen in the Rathgormack area was when the 3rd Tipp. brigade under Dinny Lacey executed District Inspector Gilbert Potter, of the RIC station in Cahir, in response to the execution of Thomas Traynor in April 1921. This event occurred around Coolnahorna and Moonminane. There is further information about the operations of the IRA in the Comeragh area in "The Comeraghs - Refuge of Rebels by Sean and Sile Murphy, though this is probably long out of print.
Christianity was, and still is, a major influence on the area with no less than
fifteen church ruins in the surrounding countryside. There are now only three in operation at Rathgormack, Mothel and Windgap. Organised religion can be traced back to the sixth century A.D. when a religious house was erected by St. Brogan, whose identity is disputed, he was succeeded by St. Coan. These two saints are now the patrons of Clonea parish.
These were all Norman outposts and the area was known as Powers' Country as the land was coveted by member of the De Le Poers following the Norman conquest of 1169.
These stone structures are some of the earliest surviving buildings in the area as earlier dwellings were made of timber or turf.
