St. Marys, Drumlish, Ireland

The parish of St. Marys in Drumlish, Ireland, is the parish of my ancestors. We came to the town hoping to see some ancient, charming little town like in The Quiet Man or Darby O'Gill, but the town hasn't stayed in the past. It's mostly a suburb of Longford now, with the modern housing and church to go with it. Still, as modern churches go, it is a fine one.

St. Mary's, Drumlish

In the front lawn is the tomb of John Canon Keville, born in 1852, ordained in 1878, and died in 1929. He began work on the church in 1904 and it was dedicated in 1907.

Keville Tomb

The church was rebuilt and rededicated in 1969. A plaque in the back indicates various donors of church furnishings, including the ambo and sanctuary lamp by a "Mrs. Noreen Kiernan and family in memory of Charles Kiernan." Kiernan is one of the family names so perhaps they are not-so-distant relatives.

Donor list

Sanctuary lamp

The nave is nothing particularly noteworthy, though the altar has a nice front-piece with Christ fallen as He carries the cross.

Nave

Altar

The baptismal font is good though probably more recent than many of my ancestors might have used.

Baptismal font

The statues to Our Lady are nice but not outstanding. One window dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes is very nice.

Our Lady and Madonna with Child!

Our Lady of Lourdes window

We walked over to the rectory after visiting the church. If the church had the usual records, we could patch in some of the holes or confirm uncertainties in the family tree. We rang the bell for daytime and there was no answer. Looking around, we found no car, so the priest must have been out on duties. On our way back to our car, we did notice a strange decoration outside.

Shocking addition to the church

We weren't sure why the church needed an AED, especially outside tucked in a corner not easily accessible. Maybe they have lots of functions on the ground, like picnics or bazaars, and someone helpfully donated the device.

It was good to visit the church even if it wasn't what I expected.

Drumlish, Ireland

Going back to the ancestral home town (on my mother's side) of Drumish, Ireland, was not what I expected. It looks like most modern towns, with neat rows of almost exactly the same houses and a main street featuring a pub, a store, a church, a library, and a post office.

One little bit of history that survives is the Old Corn Mill on the edge of town. The mill was owned by the Rogers family and ran from the 1750s to the 1950s. It was used to grind corn and oatmeal. When the famine hit in 1846 and 1847, the local oat crop helped the town suffer less than other areas in Ireland. The mill was shut down in the 1950s and has recently undergone restoration. It is still not available for tours or wandering through, but I managed to get a few snaps through the fence.

The Old Corn Mill, Drumlish

Inside the mill

The walkway along the back

Good old waterpower!

Where the stream feeds from

Right by the Old Corn Mill is a nursing home with retirees aplenty. Across the way is a playground, which is a pretty smart thing to put next to a retirement community. The grandkids can come visit and have a fun time and the old folks can get out and enjoy the outdoors without going too far.

J and L loved the playground. An Archimedes screw is down near a small stream bed, which was unfortunately dry. Even so, a small puddle provided enough water for J and L to crank the screw and deliver a little water to the top of the screw. From there, the water could go down a trough and power a water wheel. Sadly, there wasn't enough water for the wheel to start going.

Water plus science equals fun

J screws around while L watches!

In the playground is a sit-and-spin that doesn't require the parents to put any effort in. That was awesome!




The playground also has some old favorites and new favorites, like a zip line and the spinning web (which did require parental power).

J the self-powered!

Coming back for another run

L and the spinning web

Only good shot of the moving spinning web (should have taken a video)

On our way out of town, we visited the Old Catholic Graveyard but did not see any family markers.

Old Catholic Cemetery