Melancholy Doings in Nenagh 31 October 1849

Melancholy Doings in Nenagh 31 October 1849

Thank you to TM, Harrington/Hingerty researcher in UK, for providing the image and bringing this interesting episode to my attention.

Nenagh R.C. Chapel in 1849 - built between 1839 and 1841.
Nothing now remains of this structure.

Melancholy Doings in Nenagh- 

as reported in the Tipperary Vindicator Saturday 3 November 1849

The well-nigh unprecedented and exciting circumstances of a Catholic Clergyman calling for the interference of police and military in order that by force he should open a Catholic Chapel, occurred on the morning of Wednesday in Nenagh. 

Before daybreak the inhabitants were aroused from their slumbers by " The measured tread of marching men"  a large body of police having been called in from the neighbouring stations on the previous night, the 79th Highlanders being also placed at the disposal of the Resident Magistrate, Captain Plunkett, and all the pomp and circumstance of war being had recourse to for the purpose of opening a house of worship which the great bulk of the parishioners had firmly resolved not to interfere with, in consequence of the unhappy incidents for which the parish of Nenagh has become notorious.

What had led up to the police and military being called in to maintain order and allow a priest to forcibly access his church?

On the death of a previous Parish Priest, the parishioners of Nenagh had expected that a much loved priest who had served the parish for 20 years and had in the past few years operated as the parish priest in all but title, would be appointed as the next parish priest. However, the Bishop of Killaloe appointed another priest as the Parish Priest, and also appointed a new Curate and had relegated the much loved priest to the position of second Curate.

The parishioners objected, called on the Bishop to change the appointment, held mass meetings and rallies etc... all to no avail. The new Parish Priest and the new Curate arrived to take up their positions. Unrest continued unabated. In protest the parishioners bricked and boarded up all access to the church. Even the entreaties of the much loved priest did not dissuade them.

Finally, four months into the dispute, the new parish priest decided to take matters into his own hands and assisted by the Curate as " no individual whatever in the town of any class being found to aid them in this labour" and neither the police nor the military were willing to wield the sledge hammer, to tear down the barricades on the doors and windows.

Meanwhile:

Hundreds of persons excited to the utmost possible pitch and breathing vengeance, assembled on the instant at the entrance to the streets leading to the Chapel; with the utmost difficulty, they were kept from throwing themselves on the bayonets of the constabulary and the military. 

Eventually, the Parish Priest and the Curate were able to break into the Chapel and in the coming days held services which were attended by a few hardy souls who faced abuse and threats from large, angry crowds as they attended the Chapel.

On 7 November, The Tipperary Vindicator reported 

The parishioners of Nenagh had started attending services in neighbouring parishes during the troubles and many continued to do so after the Chapel had been forcibly re-opened.

As a consequence, if you are looking for records of Baptisms and Marriages during this time and believe that the families involved lived in Nenagh, they may have been attending other parishes and receiving the sacraments, not in Nenagh, but in a neighbouring parish. You will need to look further afield to find the records. Likewise, if you find a record in a neighbouring parish during this period, you cannot assume that the family lived in that parish as they could be from Nenagh..... historical context is very important when searching the records......

For a summary of the events and a slightly different viewpoint from that of the newspaper articles, see page 88 Nenagh and Its Neighbourhood by Sheehan

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