An old women in Dunlavin told me that she heard that this district suffered very little from the famine, because long ago many rich people lived around Dunlavin. When the famine came they were very generous to their poorer neighbours.
Before the famine there lived

At the present time people begin to wear boots when they are very young In Dunlavin a hundred years ago the people did not begin to wear boots until they were about 25 years of age. They went barefooted. A man named James Kearney, who lived in Cryhelp, about three miles east of Dunlavin never wore boots that my grandmother ever remembers. He died in hospital when he was 60 years of age, in the year of 1870. The people in olden times only wore boots to Mass on Sundays, and for that reason their boots lasted for a long time.

got from my father, and his address is.Mr.F Thomas
Dunlavin Upper
Dunlavin
Co.Wicklow.This is my own address
Frank Thomas,
Dunlavin Upper,
Dunlavin,
Co.Wicklow.

Dunlavin is my Townland and it is in the barony of Talbotstown it is a very small town. There are about eighty families in it.
The population is not very large there are about 2,000 in the parish and about 500 in the town.
There are different types of houses in the town, the majority of them are two storied and they have all slated roofs.
A story is told as to how Dunlavin got its name. One time there was a Prince named Lúadháin and he wanted to marry a Princess, but her father would not give his consent, so he resolved to take her by force. One night they ran away and hid in a Dún in Tournant. For two days her father and his soldiers searched for them, and when he found them he shot the Princess first and then the Prince. Hence the town ever afterwards was called Dúnlúadháin.
There are very few old people in Dunlavin, one of them is old Mrs Fay who is over ninety years of age.

In the year 1897 a man and his son named Cullen came from Kilgowan to Dunlavin a distance of three miles, to sell cabbage.
It was Saturday and the priests were hearing confessions in Dunlavin Church. When they were passing by the church the father told his son to mind the cabbage while he was at confession.
When the man went into the confessional box he was making the sign of the Cross, he said "In the of the Father and of the Holy Ghost Amen." The priest asked him where did he leave the "Son," the father replied that he left him ouside to mind the cabbage and not let anyone steal it.

Information I have received from an old resident of Dunlavin, states the twenty years ago a certain " Mr Moore" dwelt in this town.
This man who was a solider in the British Army was famed for his playing on the concertina. For twenty eight years he served with the army fought through the African War and was one day playing music in his barracks when the Prince of Wales unexpectedly payed a visit to the barracks. He was so charmed by the music that he recommended some present should be made to the musician.
Some time later he was presented with a silver mouthed concertina on which his name, number and regiment was engraved. Until lately the instrument was in the possession of his friends from whose house in Dunlavin it was taken to Dublin and there unfortunately lost.

I have heard that around this District Mr James Carney was the best weight thrower within living memory. He lived in Merville Colbinstown a mile and a half from Dunlavin. His house is now in ruins in Merville and he is dead about twelve years. He was sixty years of age when he died.
He was once challenged by a Wexford man to throw a twelve pound sledge and Mr Carney travelled from Dunlavin to Wexford to compete. The contest began and Mr Carney as declared the winner by throwing the weight one hundred and fifty feet. He was therefore champion weight thrower of Wicklow and Wexford.

died of starvation and sickness during the famine years. Bodies were found out through the fields and roads of those poor districts where they used to be out trying to seek food and died of weakness.
The potatoes failed in the ground and then the people went along digging them out and cutting the seeds or eyes out of them with knives and they sowed them and they produced a crop the next year. The people of Dunlavin used Indian meal instead of potatoes it was sent over from England by the British Government and the wealthy people who lived there paid for it with there own money, Dunlavin was fairly thickly populated in the year of the famine. It is very seldom that old people of this district talk about the great famine or tell stories concerning it

This district was not so badly affected during the famine as other places in Ireland, because the potatoes did not fail so badly as they did in other places and many of the people were fairly wealthy and they helped the poorer people a little. Some of the fairly wealthy people at that time were Byrnes and Dowling and Dunnes they all lived from three to four miles around Dunlavin. The potatoes rotted in the pits during the winter.
There were many houses in this district occupied at that time of the famine but nothing is to be seen of them now except stones some of these houses were on Mr William Dunne's land of Griffinstown about two miles from Dunlavin. The only food the people had during the famine was porridge which was made from Indian meal The people did not die in great numbers around here, great fevers

There are six graveyards in the district, three Catholic and three Protestant. Two of the Catholic graveyards are being closed shortly as they are full. Their names are Tournant and Tober. Two of the Protestant graveyards are situated in the town of Dunlavin One is by the Church, and the other is in a space in a row of houses.
This graveyard is very old.There is a new graveyard about a quarter of a mile outside Dunlavin called Boherboy. It was built in the year 1932. The southern corner of Tournant graveyard is allotted to the Nortons My father, grandfather, and great grandfather are buried in that corner. My great grandfather was the first to be buried there. He was one hundred years old when he died in the year 1740. Tournant is about two hundred years old.
There are about ten palm trees in the western and northern corners of the graveyard. Those trees were placed there by people who had just buried some person

There is only one saint connected with Dunlavin and his name is St Nicholas The church is called after his name. It is still in use It was built in the year 1815 by the tradesmen of this district but I do not any of their names. There were some improvements made on it since. It was done by Mr William and Thomas Kirwan Uppertown Both of them are dead more than forty years.
If a stranger entered the church of Dunlavin he would easily know that St Nicholas was its Patron Saint because there is a picture of him hanging on the wall in the men's long aisle and a large statue in the men's short aisle with a tub at his feet and three little children in it,
Those children were about to be drowned by there father but St Nicholas went to this man and asked him for his children and he would take care of them. The man did so but it is not

known who this man was.
There are only two churches in the whole Dioces of Dublin under the Patronage of St Nicholas one in Dunlavin and the other in Francis St Dublin. St Nicholas came to Ireland first in the year 460. He had a holy well situated near his church. It is in Tournant. He never worked any miracles in the district of Dunlavin.
There are only a few people in this district called after St Nicholas and no special feastday kept in honour of the Saint,

affected but killed none of them.
Some of them are, Thomas Grace, james Carey Dunlavin and John O'Connor,
I know a woman who could stop blood by a certain prayer she repeats silently No one knows the prayer Her name is. Mrs Nugent she lives in Frynstown about two miles outside Dunlavin. I know a few people whom she cured. There names are John Sheridan, Patrick Murphy and Thomas English.

There are at least three very remarkable Raths or mounds in the parish of Dunlavin. Tournant mound, half a mile South of Dunlavin, stands out boldly as it looks down on seven counties, and looks up the back at Lugnaquillia, monarch of the Wicklow mountains. From here, on a clear day, one would imagine he beheld the whole of Erin, the Wicklow Mountains being the "Ultima Thule" as a background, and the long, level, undulating plains and counties all spread out in full view, as it were, at one's feet. This mound, circular and guarded by a fosse, is supposed to be one of the Royal residences of the Princes of Leinster up to the 5th century, and surely these rulers chose a lovely spot.
A short distance behind the mound of Tournant is a still larger mound where the Princes and the people were buried, and on the summit of which lies a remarkable ancient stone. These

two mounds, for their picturesque position, their size and apparent importance, and their traditional glories, would seem to rival, as they are more imposing than, far-famed Tara itself. Whatever is the real history of Tournant it is a site and a mound which, coming down from Pagan times, give a glamour and a glory to the comparatively modern Dunlavin which nestles at its foot.
The next Rath is that of Tober. There are many Tobers in Ireland, but the Tober which lies or stands about a mile North-East of Dunlavin is the one we are interested in. There was, of course, a famous well there in which the river Greise rises. There are the ruins of an ancient mansion where members of the Tynte family formerly dwelt. There is an ancient graveyard where people are buried up to the present day. Tradition tells us of an ancient monastery near the great well of Tobor of which there are now no remains, but a great circular mound stands boldly up like Tournant looking down

A lane called "The Blind Lane" leads from the Dunlavin - Hollywood road, to the Dunlavin - Naas road.On one of the sides lies a big stone covered with moss.Two men who lived in teh townland of Logatrina some years ago, one named O'Neill, and the other Browne, set out one night with spades and picks, to see if any treasure could be found.They returned and never touched the stone, neither did they tell why they did not touch it.

The majority of the local fairs are held in towns though there is still a number of them-mostly sheep fairs-held in fields and at cross roads throughout the country. There is also a number of important fairs that is now discontinued
The local fairs are held in the towns of Dunlavin, Baltinglass, Ballymore Eustace, Hacketstown, Naas and Castledermot. The fair of Dunlavin is held on the second Wednesday of every month. The fair is held on the Fair green. There are two fairs held in Baltinglass. A Pig Fair is held on the third Monday of every month and a cattle sheep and horse fair on the third Tuesday The fairs of Ballymore Eustace and Hacketstown are held on the first Tuesday and last Saturday of each month respectively. There is a fair held in Naas on the third Wednesday of every month. Like Baltinglass there is a pig fair held on the day previous. Long ago a monthly

There is a place called Rathattan not far from where I live. Rathattan got its name from a great rath that was there long ago. Tober is situated near Dunlavin and it got its name from a great spring well that was in some field in Tober. It is said that the remains of the well is there still. Cryhelp which is also situated near Dunlavin got its name from soldiers. A lot of Danish soldiers were in Ireland long years ago and they could not get any help and they went up Cryhelp crying out for help ever since that they called that place "Cryhelp". Dunbuike got its name from the great King Buirket who lived there long ago. Athgraney got its name from being a very sunny place. Hollywood or Cnoc Rua is so called from all the holly trees that grow in the Demense in the district. It is said to have got its Irish name Cnoc Ruadh from all the ferns that grow in in demense as they wither in the Autumn and give the hill a red appearance.
After the Danes were defeated at Glenmama

There were many heroes long ago but there are not very many of them now.
There was a man in Dunlavin, who was a very good runner. There used be Sports meetings and prizes were given to the winner of the race. They had to run from Hollywood to Dunlavin. The winner's name was Kearns (R.I.P.) and he got a silver tea-pot for prize.
About twenty-two years ago, a man by the name of Curran, from Aughrim, lifted an anvil in his teeth in the forge in Kiltegan. He lifted it from the floor and put it on a block about a foot high. The anvil was very heavy. (He put the anvil in a sheet and lifted the sheet in his teeth.

My town land is Gormanstown. It is situated between Kilcullen and Dunlavin. The land in this district is of fair average quality and nicely wooded. In most cases the farms are large and more adapted to grazing. It is a thinly populated place.