My Home District - BannowMy home district is Bannow Bay in the parish of Bannow, in the Barony of Bargy in the County Wexford.
The most common name is Harpur and Crosbie. There are seventeen families in the townland of Bannow.
There are over eighty people altogether.
Most of the houses in Bannow are thatched and are very big and kept very nicely with a garden in front of the house and in summer the flowers are nice.
Bannow got its name from "Cuan an Banibh." The people in Bannow are called "The Bannow hogs" which they do not like.
Homes were more plentiful long ago as you would know by the ruins in Bannow namely the old church, the old ruins up Bannow road and a great many others.
Long ago people used to go to America and Australia but now the most of them are dead.
There are two songs about the townland namely "Bannow's lonely shore", and Bannow's Bright Blue Bag.
About half the land is under tillage and the other half under grass. There are

Bannow and the old castle which is in Mr Carews field which was supposed to have been a monastery in olden times. There is a very nice river which flows out to Bannow Bay and through the Ferry from Newtown and Wellingtonbridge. It is very hard to get trees to grow in Bannow. The nicest place in it is the seashore and a song is made about it Bannow's Lonely Shore.

entrance is long since fallen in.Bannow graveyard is the oldest graveyard in the parish. About three hundred years ago Bannow was a city but one stormy night it was washed away by the sea. The story is told that if you go down to Bannow Bay when the tide is out you can see the bricks and stones of the ruined city through the water. Afterwards people went out in boats and brought the stones and bricks and made a wall around the churchyard of Bannow, and that is how Bannow graveyard was made. In Bannow graveyard there is a stone coffin and if anyone with a backache lies in it, it is said that he will be cured, but no one is known to have done so.In Ballylannon graveyard there lies the ruins of an old convent which was destroyed by the Danes. All the Leigh family are buried in these ruins.

Ryan, Wade and Cullen.
The most of the houses are slated. The slated houses are large and airy and windows in them are fine and airy. Bannow got its name from the bay (cuan an Baninb) which means the bay of the pigs unfairly called by other people the Bannow hogs.
There are no old people in Bannow. The houses in the district were more plentiful long ago than they are now. There were three more houses in the green road namely Devereuxs, Walshes and Condons.
The land in Bannow is very good both for tillage and grazing. The District of Bannow is famed in songs which were made by Bannow men long ago. Several people emigrated to American and Australia and some of them are alive still.
There are a few ruins in the district. There is an old ruin in the green road and the old church of

There is one shoemaker in Bannow and his name is James Byrne. He makes boots and shoes for the people of Bannow and he repairs boots for them also. Nobody wears clogs in Bannow because they are not made now. Clogs were made about fifty years ago and everybody used to wear them then. Long ago there was a shoemaker in Haggard and his name was James Wade and he was an uncle of Mr Wade the late teacher of Bannow. He used to make the boots for the people of Bannow that time. The house he used to work in is standing still and the stool he used to sit on making the boots is at home. Some of his tools are at home too. The stool is low and there is a big box on one end of it where he used to have the leather and tools. The house is long and there are shelves on the wall and a little cupboard in the corner.There is a big window in the front

There are two forges situated in the district of Bannow. One of the forges is situated in the townland of Bannow and the other is situated in the townland of Bannow Moor. The forge which is situated in the townland of Bannow is owned by a smith named Mr Cousins. The forge which is situated in Bannow Moor is owned by a smith named Mr Cullen. There are other forges situated in the neighbourhood. Mr Bowe has a forge and Mr Duke has another forge. Mr Cullen and Mr Cousins do all the forge work for this district. Mr Cullen's forge is situated on the side of the main road. It is not a very large forge. The walls of this forge are built of mud.

Local Song: Bannow's Bright Blue Bay
Ive roamed through many an Irish scene, Where nature fairest dwells, Through seet Avoca's vale I've been, and fair Killarney's fells, But fresher far my memory keeps, One place more loved than they, Where Bannow's buried city sleeps, Beneath that brigh blue bay, and often in the Autumn time, where rose the havest moon, I've listened to the Church bells chime, and heard the reaper's time, On Bannow's Bar those murmurs deep, Make music all the day, While all around the city sleeps, Beneath that bright blue bay. They say the ancient city stood, Long centuries ago, where now we watch the faithful flood, and bright blue waters flow,From Kieran's ancient ivied shrine to Bannow's abbey grey, From Fethard cliffs to fair Clonmines, this buried city lay, One midnight as the moon went down, behind Rathdonnell's hill

opposite Clonmines stand the ruins of Barrystown castle and also the silver mines of Barrystown. Barrystown is in the arish of Bannow and the barony of Bargy. This castle was built by a man named Barry and hence it got its name. In the 1840 the mines opened but owing to jealousy among the miners it was cosed. In Bannow there is a ruined church but it is not known was it burned or pundered.
Bannow cemetry is around it and also on the ruins of the church. Strongbows wife - Eva - is buried in Bannow and her image is on the flat tomb which is over her. Tintern abbey is not very far from here.
It was founded by Earl Marchall in the year 1200. He founded it in fulfilment of a vow when he was in danger of been ship wrected. He vowed that if he reached Ireland safely he would

The Grecian lightIn the year 1848 a Grecian ship was wrecked on the bar of Bannow, and most of the crew were lost. She was loaded with yellow corn. The rest of the crew went ashore to Bannow on timber. There is a bright light seen on the bar of Bannow, usually before a storm. The lights are not seen as much those later years as they used. It starts on the Horse-Thread and it runs along the bar as far as the coast guards stations on the point of Bannow. The Horse-Thread is a heap of stones at the back of the big Borrow.The above was told me by my uncle Micheal Ryan, Newtown, Fethard on sea. Willie Ryan, Newtown Fethard on sea.

My home district is the Townland of Bannow in the Parish of Bannow in the Barony of Bargy in the County Wexford. There are seventeen families in the townland and about ninety people living in it and the most common name is Harper, other names being Walsh, Keane, Crosby.

family name as there are four families. The type of houses in the townsland are one storey thatched, houses with three rooms in each. There is one corn mill in my district owned by Mr Clyne. There is one Lady over seventy living in the district. The houses were more numerous locally in former times but the owners died and other people made use of them for outhouses. There are none in ruins now. There are no woods in the district. There is a lake joining Barnacor called Lough Bannow. How it got its name it is that a clutch of young pigs were lost in it. also it is said in an island in the Lough a clump of bushes are in the middle and that the Ban Shee cries in them. There is a river flowing from Lough Bannow and works the mill to grind the corn. There is a stream going from the river to the Shannon. There are two plantations in my district one is at the edge of Lough Bannow the other is on the side of the main road to Longford. There is one good Lime kiln in my

Once upon a time there was a strong man lived in Bannow and he was a black-smith. There was another strong man in Kilkenny and he heard of this fellow in Bannow. He said he would come down and challenge him.
The fellow in Bannow heard of this great man coming down to challenge him. So he waited till he came down and when the Kilkenny man came he asked for a light to light his fag. The man in the forge went in and got the shovel and put some ashes on the anvil and caught it by the nose and handed it up to this man on the horse. When the fellow on the horse. When the fellow on the horse had light his fag, he handed the anvil back to him and rode off. It was the question then to know which of them was the strongest, the man on the horse was the strongest because he would not have as much power as the man on the ground.

The Island Road.This road leads across the passage between the mainland at Church Lane Cross and the Island proper. (This passage was once an arm of the sea being the Eastern entrance to Bannow Bay and having a small island - Clare Island in the centre). It is believed that this channel was the one always used by boats and ships till it became filled with shifting sands. The road is more or less a causeway and has no fences and at high tide is submerged -
the tide that passes over "the bar" and round "the nordeen" flowing till it meets the regular tide under the green at the old church of Bannow. This road is the only means of approach to Bannow Island and is also much used as cartroad for drawing sand and gravel from "the Doncaire" which lies between it and the sea.
Church LaneThis narrow roadway leads from "Station Cross" to "the green" as the field round the old church is called. A gateway into this field ends the lane. Inside was Bannow Castle now only known by

TailoringLong ago there lived a tailor whose name was Bob Devereux He used to make clothes for the people of Bannow.There was another tailor named Johnny Redmond. He used to live in Canoul which is situated in the Moor of Bannow. He lived in a small thatched house in the Moor of Bannow.
ShoemakingLong ago there lived a shoemaker in the village of Carrig. This shoemaker's name was Pat Walsh. He lived in a little house which was situated where the school teacher's residence is now. He was the only shoemaker that lived in Carrig at that time.There was another shoemaker living in the townland of Haggard This shoemaker's name was James Wade. He lived where Colfers are living now. He had a shop also in which he used to sell groceries. He used to make boots and shoes for all the people who used to live in the Parish of Bannow.

County. No stories are told about it being attached at any time. The walls are standing to this day, and up until a few years ago the lofts were used to store corn.
Clonmines which is also very near here is very rich in the ruins of both churches and castles. In a few acres of land stands the ruins of three castles and two churches.
One of the churches was an Augustinian Abbey and was founded by the Kavanaghs about castle but the inside is a church.Clonmines is in the Barony of Shelburne and on the shore opposite Clonmines stand the ruins of Barrystown castle and also the silver mines of Barrystown. Barrystown is in the parish of Bannow and the Barony of Bargy. This castle was built by a man named Barry and hence it got its name. In the year 1840 the mines opened but owing to jealousy among the miners it was closed.
In Bannow there is a ruined church but it is not known was it burned or plundered
Bannow cemetry is around it and also in the ruins of the church. Strongbows wife - Eva is buried in Bannow, and her image is on the flat tomb which is over her.

Local names on various points of the seashore.
Blackhall: The Hamogue, St Bridgid's chamber. The Pound.
Haggard: Keane's Bay
Bannow: Crosslake (believed to be so called as two rivers cross there as they enter the sea).
Fox Burrow (a favourite haunt of foxes to the present day).
Ranndale (believed to be named from ship of that name which was wrecked there).
Long Gap: (so called from length of gap leading from bank to the strand. These gaps are still used for cartage of "wore").
The Windy Gap: (so called from force of wind which blows here between mainland & island).
The Clickeem, The Chapel field, Bawnreke.
Bannow Island: The Doncare, The Foxeens, The Bawnricks, Clare Island, Boston Dock, Pill House, the Nawrdeen. Beggar's Bush, The Hurl. The Ferry, Hareensmoat, The 'Mersh', Hungry Hill.
Brandane: The long ditch, The Cockle Strand.
Verneglye - The old Quay, The Clappers, Sandy Corner.
Near Old Church of Bannow: Lady's Well, Castlegarden, The Chapel Field, The Ham of the Green.
Miscellaneous: The Gottors. The Pill - river following into Bannow Bay.
Cross Lake - according to James Harper, Bannow, is named from fact that in past times funeral horses were placed on bank there as road went by there - hill eroded by the sea.

nourishment, they invariably found the principal item on the menu consisted of "Crubeens or pigs feet then popular with all Corkonians and true to their conditions nicknamed the rendiguous "Crubeen as fit and proper rader than the highsounding title Bannow Bridge. The story has been axepted without dispute. It is curious however that Joyce in his book "Irish anmed of places" explains the meaning of Bannow in Wexford is derived from the Irish word bainbh a bonnive or sucking pig, which would suggest some confusion with a forgotten tradition in the neighbourhood. A further explanation is offered by a writer who claims that the popular name applies to the arches being curved like a hoof or crab the diminutive from being crubeen. Awbeg

Seaweed (locally called "woar") has been always used extensively as manure in the district of Bannow and on this account the rents of the holdings in the District were much higher than for similar land in other districts especially inland. The weed is taken from the beach without any attempt at selection and is regarded as specially suitable for root crops - it is never used for corn or meadow or grassland. Its value lasts for the one crop hence there is great labour owing to the continued drawing of the woar.For use in growing mangolds (always referred to locally as "the mangold") it is spread in the drills before closing. For turnip crop it is spread on the stubble or red ground and ploughed into the land in late Autumn or early Spring. For the potato crop it is spread on the stubble and ploughed in and when land is drilled farm yard manure is added. As a manure for the beet crop it is better to have it ploughed into the soil at winter ploughing. It is specially good for cabbage and is just spread in the drills before closing.Woar from the various beaches in Bannow School District was confined to the tenants of the Boyse Estate (Boyse Family, Bannow House, being landlords). The woar was to be drawn only from sunrise to sunset and any breach of the rule was reported by the manin charge of the woar for the landlord. Cases were

is reached by a lane called Church Lane and during Summer months (each Sunday) has many visitors. The cemetery is enclosed by modern stone wall.Late Mr Peter Crean, Barrystown (aged 69 years) informed me that when the wall round Bannow Cemetery was being built Mr Rochford the contractor uprooted the foundations of 24 houses believed to be part of the buried City of Bannow.

There is an old legend in Bannow that there was once a man who was constantly fighting with his wife and as they had no