P atrick Street - Kilkenny Archaeological Society

P atrick S treet
                    BY M RS. C. J. K EN EA LY

E A S T SIDE
 T H O U G H Low er P a tric k S treet is of resp ectable an tiquity, it
       does n o t appear to have been p a rt of the original High
 Town b u ilt by th e N orm ans. T he late M r. K ieran D rea, in an
 in terestin g article on th e b o u n d aries of St. M ary 's Parish, publish
in th e St. M ary 's C ath ed ral C en ten ary Souvenir, holds th a t the
H igh Tow n corresp o n d ed w ith St. M ary 's P arish and th a t the
original w alls su rro u n d in g th is sm all tow n, b u ilt probably ab o u t
 th e year 1200, c u t across w h at we know as Low er P a tric k S tree t
 a t th e en tra n c e to th e Journal Office, wh ich is the so u th ern
 bou n d ary of St. M ary 's P arish today.
       W hen tw o h u n d re d years la te r it w as found necessary to
build stro n g er w alls, R o b e rt T alb o t exten d ed th e wall to e n ­
close a m uch larger area term in atin g in St. P a tric k 's G ate, and
I th in k we m ay be sure th a t th e citizens where n o t so slow to
tak e advantage of th is p ro tectio n to build new dwellings, and
so Low er P a tric k S treet was born. T he new ly enclosed portion
rem ained in St. P a tric k 's Parish, th u s we have the stre e t divided
betw een the tw o P arishes, th e upp er or so u thern end being in
St. P a tric k 's, th e low er end in St. M ary's.
       T here is som e evidence to suggest th a t th e nam e C roker
S treet, w hich appears in old d o cum ents, refers to this low er p o r­
tion of P a tric k S treet and th a t it w as called after C ro k er's C ross
w hich stood on T he P arade. M any distin g u ished people have
lived in P a tric k S tre e t from tim e to tim e. T h ere is m ention of
a K eteller m ansion, b u t I have n o t been able to locate w here it
stood. It is also suggested th a t th e house in w hich A rchbishop
R inucinni lived durin g th e C onfederation P eriod w as situ ated in
P atric k S tre e t and, certainly, th e description of his house given
in co n tem p o rary m an u scrip ts su p p o rts th is view. It is desribed
as a large, w ell-built m ansion situ ated con v enient to St. M ary's
C hurch on th e one h and and to th e official residence of Lord
M o u n tg a rre t on th e other.
       Since K ilkenny C astle w as th e residence a t th a t tim e of
Lord M o u n tg arret, P a tric k S treet w ould fulfil these conditions.
The garden of th e house stre tc h e d back to th e city wall and a d ­

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jacen t was a little used en tra n c e into the city. T his points to
one of the houses on the low er end of P a trick S treet on the
w estern side— th e gardens of w hich w ere b o u n ded by the Tow n
W all— and th ere was a sm all opening or sally p o rt in the city wall
the rem ains of w hich is still visible at the end of th e Provincial
Bank garden.
       T here is evidence of a large house in this locality w hich
m ight very well be th e house assigned for th e use of th e Papal
N uncio during his stay in th e city. T his house stood in a lane­
way or passage w hich ran from P a tric k S treet to N ew S treet,
en terin g P a tric k S tre e t w here th e K ilkenny Journal Offices now
stand . H ogan tells th a t a right-of-w ay th ro u g h here existed up to
ab o u t 100 years before th e tim e he w rote.
       Tighe, in his survey of the Co. K ilkenny in 1801, refers to
this house and said it was ow ned by th e F rench G eneral St.
R u th and was left by him to pay £12 a year to som e charity n o t
then know n. It has been established th a t th e F rench Genera!
never visited K ilkenny, and th e nam e is th o u g h t to be a m is­
take for the nam e R othe. If th is was a R o th e m ansion, w hat
m ore n a tu ra l then th a t the fam ily of th e then Bishop of O ssory
should offer it for th e use of th e N uncio.
       It is also significant th a t the houses w hich have been built
on the site of th is old house w ere ow ned by the Bryan fam ily of
 Jenkinstow n, w ho acquired them by inheritance from the R othe
family. T he su b seq u en t h isto ry of th is old house may be of in ­
terest. Tighe tells us th a t Dr. Ellison ta u g h t school there while
 the new college w as building. T his w as in 1790.
       A fter th a t it was let as a barracks. It was taken dow n about
 1817 or 1818, w hen th e new en tran ce for th e C ork road was b e­
 ing co n stru cted , and the th ree houses w hich now stan d there,
 Nos. 30, 31 and 32, w ere b u ilt in ten d in g to be used as an hotel;
b u t w h eth er they w ere ever used for th is purpose or n o t I do
 n o t know . T he su b seq u en t h isto ry of these houses I will come
 to later.
       In later tim es P a tric k S treet has always been a residential
 d istric t and m uch favoured by the professions. In 1884 there w ere
 5 docto rs, 5 solicitors and 1 d e n tist living there.
       The Rev. Jam es G raves, one of th e founders of th e first K il­
 kenny A rchaeological Society, lived in P atrick S treet before be­
 ing appointed to E nnisnag Parish. H e is described as C u rate of

OLD K ILK EN N Y REVIEW                              7

St. P a tric k 's and, while resid en t here, engaged in research for
his m ost fam ous w ork, th e H isto ry of St. C anice's C athedral.
       H e lived in th e tw o houses adjoining St. P a tric k 's G ate,
first on th e O rm onde R oad side an d later m oved to th e B utler
H ouse side to th e house w hich w as la te r to house th e Society's
m useum . H e w as an a rd e n t h o rtic u ltu rist, and in O ctober of
1859 we find an ad v ertisem en t in th e K ilkenny Journal of an
auction of his fu rn itu re and also of rare plants, fuschias, cine­
rarias, ch rysanthem um s, to be held a t his residence in P a tric k
Street. A fte r he m oved to E nnisnag, he was also noted, I u n ­
d e rsta n d , for his rem ark ab le collection of ferns, w hich w ere said
to be am ong th e b e st in Ireland.
       A n o th e r nam e co n n ected w ith th e stre e t is th a t of Sir
D enis Pack, a fam ous soldier w hose m o n u m ent m ay be seen in
St. C anice's C athedral. H is son received large e state s in C ounty
C arlow from Lord B eresford on condition th a t he ad o p ted the
nam e B eresford, w hich he did, and fou n d ed the fam ily of P ack
Beresford.
       W illiam R analow , o rg an ist of St. C anice's C athedral, who
is also com m em o rated th ere by a plaque, was also a resident.
N o t th e least notab le of th e form er in h a b ita n ts of P atrick St.
was th e b rillia n t family, th e H ack etts, children of Dr. John
Byrne H a c k e tt, of w hich one m em ber, M iss F lorence H ack ett,
still lives in K ilkenny.
       I have been greatly helped in m y research es into the earlier
h isto ry of P a tric k S treet and its in h a b ita n ts by the records of
the V aluation Office, and m u st record m y in debtedness to the
C om m issioner and th e officials of th e office w ho gave me every
possible help. Before dealing w ith P a tric k S treet p roper I m ight
m ention th a t th e Bank of Irelan d o pened its first b ranch in K il­
kenn y on th e 1st June, 1835, in a house form erly occupied by a
M r. Leech. T his house w as N o 10 T he P arade, at p resen t M iss
K enny's house. T he Bank m oved to its p re se n t prem ises a b o u t
1870.
       On th e 1st of January, 1860, th e Im perial H otel opened. It
was th en d escribed as new ly erected , b u t I th in k incorporated
p o rtio n s of th e old R ose Inn or R ose H o tel w hich was ow ned
by H ew itson. T he p ro p rie to r of th e Im perial w as W a lte r H anlon,
who h ad previously ow ned th e Bush H o tel in Rose Inn S treet.
       N o. 1, according to p resen t-d ay num bering, is the P robate

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Office, and has been so as far back a t least as 1880. E arlier it
w as ow ned by a M rs. B aker and le t to P a tric k G race, while a
W illiam R ichardson occupied No. 2. A n ad v ertisem en t in K.J.
of 1835 says: “ To be sold a t M r. R ich ard so n 's, P a tric k S tre et
— a D eto n atin g G un.” R ecen t re c o n stru ctio n of N o. 2 disclosed
a large h o rizo n tal beam in front, w hich suggests a shop w in ­
dow, and tra d itio n says a public house.
       3. M c G ra th 's is associated w ith th e nam e of Jack. W e have
a John Jack succeeded by R o b e rt Jack an d Sons, Sadlers and
H arnessm ak ers. V ery fine h arn ess of all kinds was m ade on the
prem ises. Succeeded by W illiam Shiels, who m arried a M iss
Sm ith, ow ner of a b oot-shop in H igh S tre e t and know n as th e
1 G e tta Percha ' m an because he in tro d u ced ru b b er bo o ts into
K ilkenny. Succeeded by E. and J. M orrissey, H ardw are, who
w ere succeeded by th e p re se n t ow ners in th e same business.
   4. A hum ble little house dw arfed by its m ore m agnificent
neighbours, b u t one w ith a big nam e in business. It was for
years a fancy goods w arehouse ru n by th e M isses B. and J.
A ikenhead. T hey sold toys, perfum ery, trim m ing stationery, and
w ere agents for L ondon B roken T ea at l/8 d . per lb. T hey m u st
have done a good business, since th e y lasted so long, the nam e
going b ack to a b o u t 1860 and th e ir ad v ertisem ents appear re ­
gularly in th e K ilkenny Journal and local guide books. They
w ere succeeded in th e sam e business by th e M isses A rm strong,
a shop w hich m any still rem em ber. In la te r tim es we have
N urse P arr, M r. O 'N eill, Incom e T ax A gent; M r. D elehanty,
O ptician, an d C oyne's H aird ressin g establishm ent.
   5. Of th e n ex t tw o houses I am to ld th a t an inscription on a
beam found d u rin g reco n stru ctio n gives th e nam e Ferguson and
the d a te 1747. T his m ay be th e d ate of building, on th e o th er
h an d th e c u t stone chim neys an d hood m ouldings on the low er
w indow s m ight suggest an earlier date. A n y fu rth e r inform ation
w hich m ay com e to light on th e earlier h isto ry of these two
houses will certain ly be welcom e. T he house now ow ned by
M r. O 'N eill, L.D.S., was ow ned in 1849 by C harles M ossom
and h ad num ero u s ten an ts: H en ry M cC reery, C aptain M inchin
(1860), P a tric k D illon, C orp o ratio n T reasu rer, and Dr. Griffin.
       6. (C ro tty 's). T his is th e house w hich was apparently
once ow ned b y Sir D enis Pack, as his rep resen tativ e rem ained
th e lan d slo rd s of th e prop erty . Sir D enis died in 1823 and about

OLD K ILK EN NY REVIEW                             9

  th a t tim e, or later, a M rs. Pack and th e M isses P ack had a
 boarding school in P atrick S treet. T his m ay n o t be the sam e
 house, b u t it is the only house in P a tric k S treet connected w ith
 the nam e Pack, so possibly it is. T hey left in 1830 and, in 1831,
 opened th e N ore View S em inary for ladies on th e Quay.
         A list of K ilkenny schools of 1824 gives: “ P atrick S tre e t—
 C atherin e P ark ; R.C.; £400 incom e; 22 pupils; ladies' boarding
 school; good house.”
         B ut ap p aren tly d id n 't last long on th e Quay, for in 1835
 th ere is an ad v ertisem en t for th e N ore View Boarding School
 w ith M rs. O 'N eill as Principal. ‘ F ren ch is th e Language.” “ The
 house stan d s in an airy situ atio n com m anding an extensive view
 of the co u n try w ith a Q uay in fro n t an d a garden to the rear for
 the purpose of exercise.”
         T he school in P a tric k S treet was taken over by M rs. and
 the M isses M o rris w ho o pened w h a t th ey d escribed as th e Lo-
 gerian A cadem y of m usic, on M ay 11, 1831.
         By 1849 th e prem ises w ere v acan t b u t in 1860 it was o cc u ­
pied by a T hom as C haplain, an au ctio n eer who later m oved two
d oors up to No. 9 and was follow ed by a m an called Bracken,
 then th e S outhern Railw ay Co., T he W e st of E ngland Insurance
Co., Sam uel W ilson, A u ctio n eer and th e late Dr. C ro tty , Solici­
tor, w hose fam ily still live there.
        T here have been m any schools in P a tric k S tree t w hich I
have n o t been able to place. In 1831 a M iss W helan had a
 Boarding and D ay School for young ladies. In 1835 a M rs. M ay ­
cock opened a Boarding and D ay School for young ladies in
P atric k S treet, w hich ta u g h t th e F ren ch and E nglish languages.
M usic, D raw ing, W riting, A rith m e tic and Plain and O rn am en ­
tal w ork. T he m usic w as co n d u cted by M r. M aycock who we
are told had been a P rofessor for 30 years, had the hon o u r of
leading th e b and of his late Royal H ighness, the D uke of K ent,
for several years perform ing freq u en tly durin g th a t period b e ­
fore H is M ajesty and every b ran ch of th e R oyal Fam ily.
        A lso th e P a trick S treet L adies' School of M iss E lliot, w hich
I will com e to later.
        (7)        Dr. Boyd. T he next th ree houses w ere b u ilt in 1759
by W illiam Colles. T here was a com m on pum p for the three
houses beh in d No. 9 and th e lease gave th e te n a n ts of the o th e r
tw o houses the rig h t to d raw w ater an d carry aw ay same.

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      A C aptain R ogers lived th ere in 1849, th en in th e 1860's
M aria Nixon follow ed by W illiam K enealy who lived there
while M ayor of K ilkenny in 1872 and up to the tim e of his
death in 1876. A note in th e m argin of th e V aluation L ists says
th a t W illiam K enealy sp en t £35 chiefly on in ternal im prove­
m ents. H is w idow , Rose K enealy, rem ained in occupation after
his d eath. L ater te n a n ts w ere R oland G riffin, b ro th e r of Dr.
Griffin, M rs. K atherine Lanigan and now Dr. Boyd.
       (8)      O riginal Lease W illiam C olles to John Flem ing in 1759,
of new ly b u ilt house in P a tric k S tre e t co n tains a covenant to
repair th e pum p in th e adjoining house of W illiam Colles and
gives th e rig h t to take w ater therefrom .

                 PA T R IC K STREET (E A ST SID E )

      A h u n d red years la te r H enry L oughnan leased to Joseph
G resham th en T hom as C haplain; John Symes, F ernan O 'Toole,
P ettigrew Coyle and Con K enealy, son of W illiam K enealy who
lived th ere u n til ab o u t 1902, A n d rew G riffith of C loth Hall,
P atric k O 'Keeffe, C.A.O., M rs. Lynch an d now M r. D elehanty.
      (9) A C aptain M inchin is th e first nam e I find here fol­

OLD KILK EN NY REVIEW                                11

 low ed by A lice Lynch, an In sp ecto r of Schools called Shannon,
 M iss Shannon, M r. O 'C onnor, Professor of E nglish in St. K ier­
 an 's College, John Lanigan, Solicitor, and M rs. Lanigan whc
 late r occupied No. 7 and Joseph Koss, O rganist in St. M ary 's
 C ath ed ral and P rofessor of m usic in St. K ieran's College, and
 now M r. M a tt D w yer w ho p urchased it recently from the T ru s­
 tees of St. K ieran's College.
        (10) A M rs. Susannagh M cG rath was Landlord. T enants,
 G eorge S. G eary who lived here in the 1860's and 1870's and
 m o st probably rep resen ted th e firm of G eary B rothers, p h o to ­
 graphers, exam ples of w hose w ork are still to be seen.
        L ater a F a th e r H ogan, a retired p riest, lived th ere w ith his
 sister and h er d aughter. They k e p t b o ard ers of whom George
 G ilm ore who later took over th e ten an cy was one. H is daugh­
 te r M iss M arjorie G ilm ore who is now ten an t, has it set in flats.
 F a th e r Hogan m ay be th e p riest who left these tw o houses Nos.
 9 and 10 to St. K ieran's College. H e was a b ro th e r of John H o­
 gan, K ilkenny historian.
        (11) A very large house w hich was once apparently even
larger, extending over p o rtio n s of the space now occupied by
 S ta th a m 's G arage. T he first nam e I have here is E dw ard Cooke,
Esq., a P ro te sta n t gentlem an who c o n trib u te d £1 tow ards im ­
p rovem ents in th e R.C. C hapel and Chapel H ouse of St. P a t­
ric k 's Parish in 1831.
        H e had a k ennel yard and garden in N ew Street. A fter him
cam e John Lawson, probably the sam e John Lawson who oc­
cupied B utler H ouse ten years earlier and ow ned a considerable
house p ro p e rty in K ilkenny. He w as succeeded by W illiam R an a ­
low who had a Piano and H arm onium W areroom s here, m oving
here from John's Quay. H e was o rg an ist in St. C anice's C a th ed ­
ral and a Professor of m usic. H e was succeeded by his sons
F ra n k and A lfred R analow . A lfred was also an organist and a n ­
o th e r b ro th e r was a n o ted singer and to u red the w orld w ith
D am e M elba. M rs. John R. S tatham bought it and let the b o t­
tom p a rt to W alsh, an au ctio n eer from W aterford who used it
as a show room , and later to the Royal Insurance Co., the up­
per p a rt being set in flats. It has now been sold to th e In su r­
ance Co. who in ten d to dem olish and rebuild it.
       S ta th a m 's G arage. T he R everend Sam uel M adden ow ned
this p ro p erty and the next house in w hich he lived in 1849. This

12                   OLD K ILK EN N Y REVIEW

part consisted ap p aren tly of a y ard or garden and outoffices,
also a sm all house w hich was le t as an office to John W alsh,
possibly th e ow ner of the hotel opposite. A bout 1914 M essrs.
L am bert, S m ithw ick and W . H effernan con v erted it into a gar­
age w hich was later taken over by S tatham s.
       S tatham s who had com e to K ilkenny from W exford, first
sta rte d as jew ellers in High S treet, w here th eir relatives, O 'C on­
nors, jew ellers, now are. M r. and M rs. S tath am w ere keen cyclists
w hich w as then an innovation. Soon they com m enced selling
bicycles. M r. S tatham joined w ith his b rother-in-law M r. Pow-
nall and com m enced business, first n ear th e presen t M ayfair
Ballroom , later m oving to H igh S treet n ex t d oor to London and
N ew castle. S tatham s w ere one of th e first to sell cars in K il­
kenny and had show room s in H igh S treet w here H ipps now is
and in Jam es's S treet w here th e “ K ilkenny People ” offices
now are.
       On tak in g over L am b ert's prem ises in P a trick S treet they
extend ed it considerably and it has been still m ore im proved
and exten d ed by the p resen t p roprietors.
       (12) T his house is now ow ned by M essrs. S tatham s Ltd,
 and is set in flats of w hich th e first floor and m o st of the
ground floor is occupied by M iss Foley, M asseuse.
       The R everend Sam uel M adden leased it from the H on. W.
F. Tighe. T he follow ing also lived th ere, T hom as E. M urphy a
 d en tist, H enry Beam en, Dr. H olm es a re tire d arm y doctor, M r.
 and M rs. O 'C arroll of th e C hina H all, M r. Carew , d en tist and
 finally th e late G eorge S tatham .
       (13) O ccupants w ere M iss M ary K ingsm ill, M rs. H orne,
 R o b e rt R adw ell, M r. M ah er N .S.P.C.C. Insp ector, Brennan,
 Brophy, Royal Liver Insurance Co., G ran t, M anager Labour Ex­
 change, M rs. Lloyd and now M r. W all.
        (14) The principal business carried on here in the last cen­
 tu ry was th a t of F errier B rothers, th e fa th e r and uncle of Mr.
 G eorge F errier and M isses F errier of Kilree, K ilkenny.
        T h ey w ere tw o Scottish farm ers who feeling th a t th ere was
 no fu tu re for farm ing in th e ir own co u n try se ttled in Kilkenny.
 T hey sta rte d to m ake ag ricu ltu ral m achinery first in Chapel
 A venue above th e arch and later m oved dow n to P a tric k Street.
        T hey w ere th e first to introduce a reaper into Ireland. P re ­
 viously h arvesting had been carried o u t by h and and w orkers

OLD KILK EN NY REVIEW                                 13

w ere re c ru ite d from th e W est of Ireland. T hese w orkers, feel­
ing th a t th e ir livelihood was th re a te n e d , fiercely opposed the
intro d u ctio n of the reaper. T here w ere o th e r difficulties. The
people of P a tric k S treet o bjected to th e sm oke from th e fu r­
naces w hich cam e in th ro u g h th e ir w indow s and th ere w as a
law suit ab o u t th is and an o th er law suit ab o u t th e p a te n t for the
reaper w hich w as ow ned by an English firm . A ll this trouble
forced th e F erriers to give up th e m an u factu re of m achinery and
they tu rn ed to sales of agricu ltu ral m achinery, seeds, fertilizers,
etc. One b ro th e r w ent to A thlone and sta rte d business there.
      A t th e beginning of th e cen tu ry th ey w ished to sell o u t b u t
th eir lan d lo rd M iss O 'Reilly refused perm ission. C aptain Cuffe
w as anxious to s ta rt his th e a tre th ere, b u t this was im possible.
E ventually M r. Poe persu ad ed M iss O 'Reilly to agree to a sale.
The building now houses the offices of M essrs. Poe and Kiely,
Solicitors.
      (15) T his house and the next w ere ow ned by H en ry H a rt­
ford su b seq u en tly by C ath erin e H a rtfo rd T yndal. T en an ts w ere
H en ry J. L oughnan, Jam es L oughnan, G eorge H. Lowe, Solici­
to r, M rs. C laire Lowe, Jam es Poe, C lerk of th e C row n, father
of Jam es Poe of A rchersgrove, and th e M isses Susan and H a r­
riet Poe. On th e ir d eath is was acquired by Dr. Roche.
      (16) B utler H ouse. T he h isto ry of th is house and the p re­
vious house has been given by M r. P. W alsh and publishd in
the No. 8 issue of th e O ld K ilkenny R eview so I will n o t dw elt
upon it beyond saying th a t in 1840 it was occupied by Sam uel
Chaplin who let the low er p o rtio n to John Lawson.
      In 1831 a Sam uel Chaplin an au ctio n eer and valuer lived in
Rose Inn S treet. T his is q u ite possibly th e sam e m an, and he
m ight very well be th e fa th e r of T hom as C haplin, auctioneer
and fu rn itu re m ak er who lived in No. 6 in 1860 and in N o. 8
in th e 1870's. A t th a t tim e th e u pper p o rtion (next th e gate)
was No. 13, th e low er portion N o. 14. In 1861 N o. 13 was a
M asonic lodge and after th a t was occupied by Rev. Jam es
G raves and then th e A rchaeological M useum ab o u t 1868. N o. 14
w as occupied in 1861 by Z ach arah Johnson, then by John Jam es
follow ed by C harles Jam es. T he tw o houses are now ow ned by
Dr. Roche w ho has co n v erted them into flats.