A history of the site of Ballyporeen
Just alongside the parochial hall in the centre of Ballyporeen, recent works have been going on to create a beautiful sensory garden. This soon to be opened community facility however is located on a plot which has a colourful history.
150 years ago it was the site of a thriving pub, but this location also witnessed a wedding forever remembered in song, running battles during the War of Independence and it became a storage place for coffins and grass seed. The site is sandwiched between the local parochial hall and Hale’s Pub (previously the Bally-Hy). In recent times most locals referred to the site as “Brien’s, while previous generations know it as “Griffith’s”. Few people, however, realise that this pub was world famous in years gone by as the site of the “Wedding of Ballyporeen”, which was immortalised in song and story. In Bassett’s Directory of Tipperary of 1889, the Ballyporeen entry notes “the house where the song was written is shown to the stranger with pride and veneration”.
The song ‘The Wedding of Ballyporeen’ first appears in print in the early 1800s but was most likely written in the late 1700s as there’s a record of it being played in 1797 in Scarborough, a seaside town in North Yorkshire, England which incidentally, was twinned with Cahir in 2003.
The song’s author is disputed with different suggested composers coming from Ireland, England and the United States of America. Let’s start with the latter: in 1803 the song was being published in America with inference that its origin was from New York.
In England, the case is made for James Field Stanfield (1749–1824) being the author. Dublin born, James’s life is interesting and varied in its own right. James initially studied in France for the Catholic priesthood. This didn’t materialise and he went to sea, initially from Liverpool working the Atlantic slave trade route. Here, he experienced the horrors of the slave trade describing the ships as “floating dungeons” and latterly wrote about his experience and became an ardent abolitionist. On his final journey back to England he was one of only four survivors.
After initially plying his trade as an actor in York, he moved onto the Scarborough–Sunderland circuit, hence the 1797 rendition of the song mentioned earlier at Scarborough Theatre where by now, James was the manager.
After an unsuccessful stint as a wine/brandy merchant in Sunderland, James again returned to acting in the North Yorkshire area and surrounds. Married twice with 10 children, James continued to travel with a stint in Edinburgh and Glasgow. He died at the age of 74 in 1924 and is buried in Lambeth, London.
Local Irish folklore asserts that John Philpott Curran (1750–1817) wrote the song. Born in Newmarket, Co. Cork, his life is equally interesting and varied. Privately educated, John was primed for life in the Protestant church championed by the local pastor. His private education involved Midleton College, followed by a stint in Dublin at Trinity College which resulted in John studying law, then moving onto London at Kings Inn and finally, Middle Temple. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1775. After an undistinguished start where he lacked confidence to close out an argument, he quickly recovered his confidence and became a renowned barrister.
His ability to speak passionately on a chosen subject, quick wit and skilful oratory served him well, however, his uncompromising style, particularly in relation to his values, led to John issuing or accepting challenges that would be settled by duels. Today we are far removed from duels, but in in the 1700s they weren’t that uncommon amongst the gentry. John was involved in five, involving Captain St. Leger, Lord Clare John Fitzgibbon, and Chief Secretary Robert Hobart. John survived these duels and continued to practice, generally championing Irish causes including Catholic Emancipation, defending numerous United Irishmen including Wolfe Tone and Napper Tandy.
John also served as an MP with the Irish Patriot Party as a Liberal Protestant, serving 3 constituencies Kilbeggan (Westmeath), Rathcormac (Cork) and Banagher (Offaly). He strongly opposed the Act of Union so much so that he contemplated emigrating to the United States of America. In 1806 he was appointed Master of Rolls for Ireland.
Married to Sarah Creagh, they had 9 children, their youngest daughter Sarah Curran being the most prominent, as despite her father protestations she was secretly engaged to Robert Emmet in 1803, the same year Emmet was hanged for treason. John retired in 1814, spending the last 3 years in London and died at his home in Brompton in 1817. While he was initially buried in Paddington Cemetery, his wishes were carried out and he was reinterred at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin in 1834.
Local folklore as recalled by Denis Fox of Ballyboy, Clogheen and recorded by Mona Morrissey, Ballyboy, Clogheen and Helen Aherne, Kilcommin, Cahir in the Schools Collection, recorded in the late 1930’s as part of the Irish Folklore Commission, gives a detailed account of the song’s origin. John Philpott Curran was travelling between Cork and Dublin, most likely by coach which was soon to be regularised by Charles Bianconi. There are two accounts as to who was accompanying John, one his youngest daughter, Sarah and the other a fellow college student. Taking account of the timing of its composition, it’s more likely that it was fellow students who were accompanying John on his travels. The Inn at Ballyporeen was to be their stop for the night and when John Philpot Curran learned that a wedding was taking place there that night between the hotel waiter and waitress, it was decided to make a right night of it. They invited all locals, so much so that they went out to the street to gather people of all ranks.
What followed was a “wild night of carousing and reckless dare devilry on the part of the travellers” as recalled by Denis Fox, and in the early hours of the morning John Philpot Curran was “called on to commemorate the occasion by way of a ballad, hence the result, this famous song ‘The Wedding of Ballyporeen’, now sung in all parts of the world.”
LOCAL EVENTS
Whatever of the origin, the song was widely published in the 1800s and 1900s and recalled as being sung on many occasions throughout Ireland and frequently recalled in print whenever there was a raucous wedding that needed comparison. In Ballyporeen itself, a Grand Bazaar in aid of Ballyporeen Catholic Church in the Sisters of Mercy Convent grounds on a Sunday in September 1897 had 10 stalls, one being named ‘The Wedding of Ballyporeen’ which was “Tastefully decorated with a profusion of flowers, bunting and evergreens”.
In August 1941 in the local town hall, Ballyporeen Dramatic Society celebrated what they noted as the 103rd anniversary of the song with a humorous drama to a packed hall. Incidentally, on the night Mitchelstown Dramatic Company also played out a drama and were “loudly applauded”, the night was wrapped up with songs from locals, namely James Fitzgibbon and T. Williams, Glenacunna and Pat Russell and William O’Brien, Ballyporeen.
While it’s not certain who the proprietors were at the time, Griffith’s public house and shop have a long association with the location. Thomas Griffith was operating a business there in 1846, but it’s highly likely he was doing so for some years previous. Thomas was married twice, initially to Mary Neill and latterly to Bridget Hannigan and had at least 11 children from both marriages. Thomas passed away in December 1864, with his son William Griffith taking over the running of the business.
William married Margaret Luddy from the nearby townland of Newcastle in 1876 and they had three children. Agnes was a Dominican nun in England, Helena died young and Ambrose became a priest in Canada. William ran the business up to the late 1880s when his sister Bridget Griffith took over the running of the business and did so successfully for 36 years from 1883 to 1920. As was common for a village business at the time, the premises had many functions and Bridget operated not just a public house, but also a drapery and grocery business. She also immersed herself in local and national affairs being the leading light in the Ballyporeen branch of the Irish Ladies Land League.
PUBLIC AUCTION
When Bridget Griffith passed away aged 82 in March 1920, there was no heir apparent as she was not married and her siblings had either passed away or dispersed to different parts of the world. Her brother Thomas B. Griffith, who was by now living and working in England as an Inland Revenue Officer, gave instruction to Mitchelstown auctioneer E.M. O’Brien to sell by public auction this licensed premises and an unlicensed premises in Church Street on the 11th February 1921. The details of the sale are as follows: “Seven-day licensed Premises, Main Street, Ballyporeen; yearly rent, 13s 10d; P.L.V., £8; Licence Duty £5”. Note the date, at this time Tipperary like the rest of Ireland was immersed in the War of Independence and just 4 days later, the IRA staged one of many attacks on the adjoining R.I.C Barracks (today’s parochial hall) from the rear utilising the rear of Griffith’s yard and the area where the handball alley is now located.
Just a month later another more sustained attack on the R.I.C. Barracks by Sean Hogan’s Flying Column resulted in a night of terror in the village where the Black and Tans burned the business premises opposite Griffith’s, namely O’Farrell’s and Kearney’s.
Michael O’Brien, Church Street, a local businessman, bought both premises, but the pub licence appears to have been transferred and by 1925 the building is listed as being “burnt out”. This