DINNER PARTIES

Archdeacon Samuel Dorman was associated with Knockmourne Parish from 1892 till he died in 1951. He lived in Knockmourne Glebe rectory in Curraheen, Conna. He was a familiar and well-liked member of the local community.

His wife, Jane died in 1944 and in 1945, he married Charlotte Bond of The Manor, Castlelyons. Archdeacon Dorman died in March 1951 and Charlotte died in April 1960.

Rev Dorman and his first wife are buried in St Luke’s Churchyard. The plot is next to that of Canon Abraham Hobson, his successor, who died in 1963 and was the last clergyman to live in the rectory.

Mrs Nan O’Connor (RIP) of Ballybride recalled working for the Dorman family between 1942 and 1945, before she married. In those days, many young girls either went into domestic service or had to emigrate. Mrs O’Connor and her sister Rita (who later married Albert Griffin, Ballynoe) both worked for the Dormans and had their own room in the rectory. When she started, Nan took the place of her elder sister Sheila, who married Tommy Sheehan of Tallow.

Nan worked in the kitchen and scullery area downstairs and did much of the cooking. Rita was parlour maid and her duties included looking after the dining room upstairs. A bell was rung when the Dormans wanted their meals - the daily menu was written on a slate with a piece of white chalk. Nan’s wages at the time were £2-10s-0d per month.

Mike Coughlan of Curraglass worked as a gardener and Paddy O’Sullivan from Ballynoe did the farming. When Paddy left, his brother Michael replaced him. Johnny Mills of Ballynoe also worked in the garden now and again. He was also a land steward in Ballinscurlogue and lived in the old Church of Ireland schoolhouse. Each had his or her own job to do and there was no overlapping.

The staff in Curraheen worked six days a week but never on a Sunday or holiday. Miss Molly O’Brien of Curraglass called every Monday to do the laundry. The Archdeacon was very interested in the welfare of his staff and was particularly anxious that they were able to attend Mass. If, for some reason, they had no transport, he would drive them there himself.

Rev Dorman kept three cows for his own use. The milk was separated in the dairy and churned into butter. He was also a keen beekeeper and produced his own sections of honey. The Dormans made a variety of jams, which they preserved in large stone jars and kept in a closet. The jam was made from gooseberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and blackberries. They had a fine orchard, full of eating apples, from which they produced apple jelly. They preserved the apples in a loft, where they also stored potatoes.

Close to the house was a large sundial, which accurately told the time on fine summer days - and there seemed to be a lot of them then! In a fine walled garden they grew plums and pears.

Rev Dorman was especially proud of his wide variety of blooms, especially his daffodils and roses. Among the vegetables he grew was celeriac, which was a turnip-rooted celery. It had a distinctive celery flavour and was very popular on the continent. He also kept hens and guinea fowl in a closed area.

Apparently, Mr Dorman also had a great interest in carpentry and joinery. He made some lovely pieces of furniture for the house, such as in-laid tables and chairs etc. He was one of the few people in the area to own a car at the time and thus, travel was no problem for him. Before he got his car he travelled around in a pony and trap.

The Dormans often hosted dinner parties for their friends. Generally they were held indoors, but in fine weather the tables were placed out on the lawn, close to beds of brightly coloured roses. The ladies wore long dresses and large ornate white hats.

Rev Dorman and his wife often visited the Bowles family of Aghern House and the O’Gradys of Carrigeen Hall. When shopping, they regularly called to Ned Mellerick and Miss Mary (Polly) Arnold in Conna village. Edward Dorman, their son, travelled from Cornwall now and again to visit his parents and he was always referred to as Master Edward.

'GET OUT WITH YOURSELF'

Mrs Jane Dorman was a very pleasant and generous person. When anyone in need called to her door, she would literally give them her own clothes, if she thought it would help. When she died in 1944, Rev Dorman’s sister sold her mansion in Glanmire and came to live in Curraheen, until he remarried in 1945.

Miss Dorman did not have the same generous disposition as her sister-in-law and an incident that Nan O’Connor remembers, bears this out. One day a traveller came to her door looking for something to eat. She allowed him to come into the kitchen. She got an egg plate from the dresser and put two spoon fulls of food on it. The man sat down and looked at it in amazement. He said “I see Ma’am that you keep a bee!” She wasn’t very impressed with his wit and retorted “Get on with what you are eating and get out with yourself ”.

Nan relates another amusing incident which occurred during one of the indoor parties. Her sister Rita and Molly O’Brien were ahead of her, taking food up the stairs into the dining room. Nan was carrying the roast beef on a large valuable ware dish, which was a family heirloom. Suddenly and quite accidentally, Molly hit the dish with her heel and sent it flying. It sailed down over the banisters and crashed onto a basket of logs on the ground floor. The three women hastily washed the roast beef and put it on another plate and brought it back upstairs to the guests. They were none the wiser and ate it with relish.

Nan told Rev Dorman that there had been an accident because he could see that the plate was missing. After the guests had gone he asked her what had happened. She told him and even though he wasn’t happy with the situation, he said nothing more. Soon afterwards he got the dish repaired by having it stapled together. Eventually Master Edward got it.

Rev Dorman generated his own electricity. The little generating station was constructed to the east of the house on a brook that ran north and joined the River Bride. It provided the clergyman with electric light at a time when very few enjoyed the luxury. The lights were on beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceilings in all the main rooms.

When Curraglass National School was burned down in 1942, Rev Dorman was very distressed. He immediately went to the scene of the fire to see if he could be of assistance. He

TOLL BOARDS

He had among his possessions a toll board, stating the cost of holding stalks for cattle, horses, goods etc at the old fairs or markets in Conna. These duties were payable to Hilary F. L. E’Estrange (owner of Conna Castle), through his chief collector, Timothy Kirby. The toll board came to light during the three day auction at Knockmourne Glebe after the clergyman had died in 1951. Frank Power of Garryanne, realising its historic value, purchased it for the local community. It was stored in Mrs Elsie Power’s old courthouse in Conna for many years. It is now in safe keeping in the history room of the social centre.

Nan O’Connor’s maternal grandfather, Thomas Barry, who was originally from Tipperary, was coachman at Carrigeen Hall. He and his wife lived in a gate lodge near the river on the north side of Mogeely Bridge. The windows had diamond shaped leaded lights. Unfortunately, there is now no sign of the structure or the old entrance gates and piers at the entrance to the drive into the mansion. Nan recalls her grandfather wearing a black suit with tall hat, white shirt and dicky bow. He drove the gentry wherever they wanted to go. He had a daughter named Ellen, who was Nan’s mother. Nan fondly remembers going on holidays to her grandparent’s home in Carrigeen and to her, it was like going on a foreign holiday.

Nan’s story gives a glimpse of what life was life in the “big houses” in the 1940s and ‘50s.