Mamó and Dadó
Titles sometimes used by Irish grandchildren in times past for Grandmother and Grandfather.
The Mary Stoddart
On Tuesday 6th April 1858, the Mary Stoddart a low hulled barque that had sailed from Scarborough, broke anchor in a storm in Dundalk Bay and ran aground between Soldier’s Point and Blackrock. Onlookers on the shore could see the crew hanging onto the rigging, the ship’s decks being two to three feet below high tide. When repeated attempts to rescue the men failed, due to the violent storm that raged, the crew on the Mary Stoddart spent the next few days tied to the masts while further attempts were made to save them.
Three days later, on a Friday morning, Captains Kelly and Hinds attempted another rescue, but Kelly’s boat overturned and he and one of the men, James Murphy, drowned. Captain Hinds, whose boat was also unable to reach the Mary Stoddart, lifted the surviving members of Kelly’s crew out of the water but one of them, Gerald Hughes, died on the way back to shore. All of the men were suffering from exposure and exhaustion and, unfortunately, a young fisherman, James Crosbey aged 25, died in a local woman’s house not long afterwards.
Nine men died altogether, five on the ship and the above mentioned four in the rescue attempts.
The following year a lifeboat house was established at Blackrock, funded by Lord Clermont.
(From The Parish of Haggardstown and Blackrock a History by Noel Sharkey)
Malcolm Brown Distillery Dundalk 1800-1925
The distillery was established in 1800 by Messrs James Gillichan and Peter Goodbey and changed hands many times until its closure in 1925.
It was not only famous for its whiskey. In 1817 the company, which had changed its name to Malcolm Brown, built a great chimney, said to be the tallest one in Ireland at the time. It was 24ft sq. at its base, 14ft sq. at the top and 162ft high. It was built that high for economic reasons - at the time alcohol duty was calculated on the length of time a pot still was working, so by building a very high chimney, Malcolm Brown could have the firing completed in as short a time as possible. The regulations were changed in 1823, when duty was calculated on the quantity of spirits distilled, and the chimney came to be known as “Brown’s Folly”. This chimney not only became the principal landmark within miles of Dundalk, but it was also used by sailors as a leading navigational aid for over 100 years.
(From The Ireland Whiskey Trail www.irelandwhiskeytrail.com)
The Young Irelanders and The Fenians
For a history of the struggle for independence see www.libraryireland.com