Coolkenno History

COOLKENNO POLICE BARRACKS - Over the past year, I've been broached to post about the old RIC barracks in Coolkenno. Not much is recorded apart from small details in newspapers in the mid and late 1800s and the 1901 Census, which as you can notice on the attached picture, was censored to maintain confidentiality, safety and respect towards the constables stationed there. If you look clearly at the attached picture of the 1901 Census Return, you will only recognise initials of names. The Irish Constabulary was created in the 1830s in order to quell the autonomous powers of local militias which were controlled by magistrates. This law enforcement clearly failed in the sectarian, civil war of 1798. Our own local example was 'The Coolkenna Corps', under Colonel Abraham Augustus Nickson and his son, Captain Abraham Nickson of Munny House. This militia unit were renowned for promoting fear and anguish to the local populace and their atrocities are still passed down to this day. The locality once had many barracks dotted around the locality. We know of the ruins in Munny, known locally as Bill Browne's House, as being a barracks in the early 1800s. The unit that was stationed there in 1834 consisted of Constables Gorman, Perolz, Bailey and Willis. They would later be involved in a controversial ambush at the Crablane on October 31st 1834, which would see the policemen battered and left with serious injuries by unknown local assailants. It appears Munny Barracks may have closed after the elderly Captain Nickson gave up his lifetime lease of Munny House in 1858. Killabeg is stated to have had a barracks during the Eliza Davis affair of 1845, in which the young Ms. Davis was accused of murdering her own baby. Other details regarding this barracks are non existent and may have only been in existence for a very short time. The original Police Barracks of Coolkenno was actually based at Maguire's, known today as 'The Fleece' public house, or shall I say, former public house. In 1852, the Griffith's Valuation highlights that Bryan Maguire leased the premises for £8 annually. This too, was also of short existence. By 1870, the Barracks was moved to Cooper's old homestead on Coolkenna Street, close to St. Michael's Church and the Sunday School, which I may also remind you, was used as a Petty Sessions Building during certain times in the 1800s, thus making the location very suitable. This building was once an 'Inn' or public house, as shown on the Neville and Skinner Map of 1778 (attached below). In the 1839 Fitzwilliam Registers, the Cooper's were recorded as the only publicans in Coolkenno. How many of us know that the Boley Road to Shillelagh and the road from Harris' Hill to the Crablane was once part of a crossroads? The northern road stretched onwards towards Harris' Hill and Kilquiggan, the southern route brought you to the Crablane and Aghowle, the eastern route (Boley Road) went to Shillelagh whilst the western route, which is now practically eradicated, was the road to Tullow. This of course was the original road network around Coolkenno before the main Tullow-Shillelagh road was constructed in the late 1800s. The building itself may be well over 250 years old. In October 1878, the transferring of constables to new destinations was recorded on a national broadsheet. Coolkenno lost Sub-Constables Barry, Gearon and Neill whilst gaining Sub-Constables Murtha and Kerkland. Two months later, the accidental, yet fatal shooting of Constable Quinless was mentioned during a stint of hunting on St. Stephen's Day. Naturally, privacy of the constables became more in focus during the era of nationalism. The RIC, was soon declared and viewed as enemies of Ireland by republicans and nationalists alike. Membership resulted in possible execution by the republican forces, discounting that a high proportion of its ranks were Roman Catholics and moderate nationalists. When martial law was declared across much of Ireland in 1919-1920, many rural barracks ceased to function safely in order to regroup numbers of constables to the safety of towns. It is unknown if this led to the closure of Coolkenno Police Barracks. However, it had failed to be reopened as a barracks by the time of the Free State's foundation in 1922. Today, older generations recall the Minions Family who resided there, with the title of the Barracks, after their surname. Others may know of it as Bayley's old homestead, while many of us drive past it on a regular occurrence not knowing that it once was where the local 'troublemakers' were held.