- KillaloeA post-town and parish, and the seat of a diocese, in the barony of Tull a, county of Clare, and province of Munster, 20 miles (E. by S.) from Enni s, and 87 (S. W. by W.) from Dublin, on the road from Scariff to Nena gh ; containing 8587 inhabitants, of which number 1411 are in the town. Th is place, anciently called Laonia, derived its present name, suppos ed to be a corruption of Kill-da-Lua, from the foundation of an abbe y, in the 6th century, by St. Lua or Molua, grandson of Eocha Baildearg, K ing of Munster, and which became the head of a diocese. Turlogh O'Brie n, in 1054, built a bridge across the Shannon at this place, which had gro wn into some importance, though little of its previous history is relat ed ; and, in 1061, Hugh O'Connor destroyed the castle which had been erect ed here, and burned the town, which was again reduced to ashes in 1080 a nd 1084, by the people of Conmacne. In 1177, Raymond Le Gros, after his tr iumphant entry into Limerick, came to this place, where he received the ho stages of Roderic, King of Connaught, and O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, w ho took the oath of fealty to the King of England. On Richard de Clare's o btaining a grant of certain lands in the county of Clare, this town, as co ntaining the only ford over the Shannon, obtained for some time the appell ation of Claresford. In 1367, after the recall of "Lionel", Duke of Claren ce, from the government of Ireland, who had acquired considerable trac ts of territory around the town, Murrogh-na-Ranagh, one of the O'Briens, m ade himself master of all the country beyond the Shannon, and destroyed th is town and several others belonging to the English. Gen. Sarsfield, in 16 81, posted a strong party at this place, to defend the passage of the riv er ; but having abandoned their post, the English advanced into the weste rn provinces ; and in 1691 the same general, at the head of a select bo dy of cavalry, passed the river and destroyed a convoy of ammunition on i ts way to Wm. III., then at Limerick.
The town is pleasantly situated on a rising ground on the western ba nk of the Shannon, near the noted falls of Killaloe, and about a mile fr om Lough Derg, and is connected with the county of Tipperary by an ancie nt bridge of nineteen arches. It consists of one square, and a principal a nd several smaller streets, and contains about 300 houses. There is a sma ll infantry barrack. A flourishing trade in stuffs, camlets, and serges w as formerly carried on, and two well-supplied markets were held weekly ; b ut both the manufacture and the markets have been discontinued. Above a nd below the bridge there are numerous eel weirs, which produce a strong c urrent in the river, and there is also a salmon fishery. In the vicinity a re some very extensive slate quarries, from which, on an average, about 10 0,000 tons are annually raised for the supply of the surrounding count ry to a great distance. A mill, with machinery driven by water, has been e rected at an expense of £6000, for cutting and polishing stone and marbl e, and working them into mantel-pieces, flags, slabs, and other article s, in which about 100 men are employed, and for whose residence near the w orks are some handsome slated cottages. A spirit of cheerful industry a nd enterprise seems to promise much for the increasing prosperity of the t own. Close to these mills is a yard for boat-building, belonging to the Sh annon Steam Navigation Company, whose head-quarters are at this place, a nd who have established a regular communication by steam-packets, for goo ds and passengers, up the Shannon, through Lough Derg to Portumna, Athlon e, and Banagher, and from Banagher by canal-boats to Dublin. The company a fford employment to a great number of persons in the construction and repa ir of docks and ware-houses. About a quarter of a mile from the villa ge of O'Brien's Bridge is the pier-head, where the steam-boats transfer th eir cargoes and passengers to a packet-boat, which is towed at a rapid ra te to Limerick, between which place and Dublin packet-boats ply daily ; t he trip to Portumna and Williamstown is beautifully picturesque. Below t he bridge the navigation of the Shannon is interrupted by a ridge of rock s, over which the water rushes with great noise ; and the appearance of t he town at this place, with the waters of Lough Derg in the distance, a nd its venerable cathedral rising above the bridge and backed by a fine mo untain range, is strikingly romantic. To remedy this obstruction of the na vigation, the Board of Inland Navigation constructed a canal through the b ishop's demesne, avoiding the rocks, and joining the river beyond the fal ls ; it has also erected an hotel, called Ponsonby Arms, for the accommoda tion of families visiting Lough Derg and its neighbourhood. This lake is a bout thirty miles in length, and abounds with beautiful and interesting sc enery, more especially in that part which is near the town ; the shores a re embellished with several handsome mansions, embosomed in luxuriant woo ds and plantations, and with several ancient and venerable castles. Pik e, perch, trout, and various other fish are taken in abundance, among whi ch is found the Gillaroo trout. Fairs are held on April 5th, May 24th, Sep t. 3rd and Oct. 20th ; and petty sessions once a fortnight. A constabula ry police force is stationed in the town.
THE TOWN OF KILLALOE (1996 Census, Population 972)Killaloe stands on the River Shannon, on the southern end of Lough Der g. It owes its origin to the sixth century monastic establishment of St. L ua, which first stood on a small island in the Shannon, about 1km. downstr eam from Killaloe bridge. Later the monks moved to more spacious grou nd on the mainland opposite. This monastic centre was called Cill Dálua, ( Killaloe), or the Church of St. Lua.KILLALOE remained an important centre for many centuries. In 1579, Sir Nic holas Malby, the Governor of Connaught was directed by Queen Elizabe th to designate Killaloe, Quin or Ennis as the capital town of the Coun ty of Clare. He chose Ennis.In 1650 Cromwell's army encamped for ten days at Ballina exploring a passa ge across the river. Thirty years later, King James's men marched throu gh on their way to defend Athlone. Patrick Sarsfield maintained a strong g arrison to defend the passage of the river. In August, 1690, he crossed t he Shannon with a select body of cavalry to destroy an ammunition tra in on its way to William of Orange, then besieging the City of Limerick. W ith the coming of peace after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 the town beg an to take on its present day appearance. Most of the houses on Main Stre et and at the lower end of the town were built during the eighteenth centu ry. A distillery was erected at John's Street, about which Arthur Young wr ote in 1777 "The whisky stills at Killaloe trebled in five or six years ". Killaloe also had a flourishing woollen and cloth industry which employ ed over 150 people at five shillings a week. The two weekly markets wou ld indicate a certain prosperity among the farming classes in the second h alf of the eighteenth century. In 1793 the first Post Office was open ed in Killaloe. The nearest mail coach stop was at Birdhill. A foot messen ger conveyed the mail twice daily from there to Killaloe. In 1837 Killal oe consisted of one square, and a principal and several smaller streets, a nd contained about 300 houses. Above and below the bridge there were numer ous eel weirs as well as a salmon fishery. A spirit of cheerful industry a nd enterprise seemed to promise much for the increasing prosperity of t he town. The Shannon Steam Navigation Company had their headquarters he re and had established a regular communication by steam packets for goo ds and passengers up the Shannon, through Lough Derg to Portumna, Athlon e, and Banagher, and from Banagher by canal boats to Dublin. The company a lso afforded employment to a great number of people in the construction a nd repair of docks and warehouses. Below the bridge was a ridge of rocks o ver which the river rushed with a great noise. Many a Viking raider must h ave cursed this obstacle but the thought of all the plunder to be had alo ng the shores and islands of the Shannon would have spurred these hardy pi rates on. The Shannon Steam Navigation Company, however, constructed a can al through the bishop's demesne, avoiding the rocks, and joined the riv er beyond the falls. From there their steam boats continued down riv er to the pier head above O'Briens Bridge.In 1837 Lewis described the bishop's palace, Clarisford House, as "fine ly situated in a highly improved demesne, near the only ford across the ri ver into this county from that of Tipperary; the mansion is handsome a nd of modern appearance and, though small, forms a pleasant residence". T he representative body of the Church of Ireland sold the property in 1977.
During the famine years the town of Killaloe lost 191 people. Between 18 41 and 1851 the number of inhabited houses in the parish dropped from 1,2 53 to 920. In Killaloe 50 houses were listed as unoccupied in 1851, the nu mber of mud cabins fell from 38 in 1841 to 4. By 1861 the parish had lo st a total of 441 families.
In the nineteenth century Killaloe was described as being pleasantly situa ted on rising ground on the western bank of the Shannon, near the noted fa lls of Killaloe and connected with the County of Tipperary by a brid ge of thirteen arches. The falls have since vanished beneath the higher wa ters necessary for the implementation of the Hydroelectric Scheme.After the attack on Scariff R.I.C. Barracks in 1920 the Auxiliaries search ed the countryside for people suspected of involvement. They found three m en in hiding in Williamstown House. They were Alfie Rogers and Brud McMah on from Scariff and Martin Gildea from Galway. Micheal Egan from Whitega te was caretaker at Williamstown House and he was also captured. Two other s, John and Michael Conway were captured en route and all six were tak en by boat to Killaloe. The boat landed at the jetty of the Lakeside Hote l. After questioning in the hotel the Conway brothers were released. The o ther four were taken to the bridge at Killaloe around midnight where th ey were shot. A small concrete bunker can now be seen on the Killaloe si de of the bridge, as a reminder of this event during the Troubles.Today's Killaloe is no longer the capital of Ireland or Clare but it is st ill the water capital of Lough Derg and the southern limit of the recommen ded navigable part of the Shannon by small craft. The Shannon hydroelectr ic scheme created an artificial lake between Lough Derg, which acts as t he main reservoir, and the weir at O'Brien's Bridge farther down river. Ki llaloe is the most important boating and fishing centre within the three c ounties of Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. There are facilities for saili ng and a large marina. Hector Newenham introduced water skiing to Killal oe in 1956. By 1958 it had become a regular sport here and spread to the r est of Ireland. Today, fishing, cruising, boating, sailing, swimming, wind -sailing and water skiing are all well catered for, while all arou nd is a rich heritage waiting to be explored.
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| Family History Researcher |
- Family beliefs say the POWERS family came from Killaloe County Clare (as r eported by Thomas H. Ryan, grandson of Martin Powers, in his book entitl ed "The History of Outagamie County" published in 1911, in the biograp hy of his father Daniel Ryan who married Winnifred Powers, daughter of Mar tin Powers.)
1845-1854 Boston "State" Lists of index passenger arrivals (Power/s) Fi lm # 0205873 checked, no apparent matches.
About that time frame from another traveller "Set out from Killaloe on Wed nesday the 25th of May 1853, arrived at Dublin at the hour of 10 of o'clo ck at night we took the Steemer for Liverpool (arrived there) the next d ay about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and arrived in Liverpool about 3 o'clo ck on the Morning following. The fare to new york was from 4 pounds sterl ing 10 shillings to 5 pounds sterling for each Adult. We had to take our c ourse to Quebeck at 3 pounds sterling 10 shillings for each Adult and ha lf price for the rest."
1860 Census Buchanan, WI, page 247; Listed living with wife Mary and t wo children, Patrick and Mary, Listed age as 64, born in Ireland, occupati on as Farmer. Living next door to Richard Powers
March 2002 Response for information on the Powers and Cox families from the County Clare Hertigage Centre at Corofin, County Clare; The Powers or Power name was relatively strong in County Clare during the 19th century, their Master List of Baptisms records 146 families with that name. No record of a marriage was found in County Clare church records, although many parishes church books do not start until later in 1800's. The Church Registers for Baptisms in the Parish of Ogonnelloe do not start until 1832 and are riddled with gaps and ommissions, however one possible baptism was found for a Mary Powers born 5/03/1840, daughter of Martin, no mothers name and family resided in an area known as Bealkelly. The Cox family also lived in Bealkelly. The neighboring Parish of Killaloe Church Registers do not start until 1828 and no Baptisms were found. The Tilthe Applotment Books for the area are dated in 1827, however no Martin Power/Powers is listed as owning or leasing land in the Killaloe or Ogonnelloe area. This of coarse does not mean he did not live in the area, but that he held no titheable property (agricultural land) (He possibly had a trade or occupation outside of farming) The 1855 Land Records also show no record of a Martin Powers (he possibly had already immigrated according to family beliefs)
In the 1855 Griffith's Valuation of the area of Bealkelly - Purdon, all of the land appears to be owned by Simon Purdon, with many names listed as leaseholders or tenants. Many of the same names that settled in the Hollandtown area, such as Clune, Farrell, Cox and O'Brien.
Need to look in book by Brian Mitchell, published in 1988:Irish Passenger Lists, 1847-1871 : Lists of Passengers Sailing from London derry to America on Ships of the J. & J. Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line
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![POWERS, Martin [End of Branch]](img/male.jpg)
Abt 1795 - 1870 (~ 65 years)
Baptism
