"Lost in Arctic Expedition"

"Lost in Arctic Expedition"
These four tantalising words next to the name Frederick Pilkington on an old family tree piqued my interest.  There had to be a story there!

No other information about Frederick, my first cousin 3x removed, except that he was one of ten children born to Richard Pilkington, of Gower, co Clare, and his wife Maria Blood.  No dates given, but research revealed Richard & Maria married in Limerick, Ireland in 1805.  So, I set about investigating Arctic expeditions of the 19th century.  No small task, as the mid-1800's was the golden age of Arctic exploration!

The driving force behind this exploration was the search for the fabled Northwest Passage, which it was believed would provide a navigable sea-route through the islands in the Arctic Ocean lying to the north of the North American continent, thus connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

They must have been hardy men, those polar explorers, to brave the freezing elements, never knowing when or even if they would see home again.  My reading revealed tales of ice-bound ships, often trapped for several seasons at a time.  Reliance on dried and preserved foods, supplemented with whatever fresh meat could be procured by hunting or trading with the local Inuit people, meant that scurvy was a constant problem.  A ration of lime juice was the only alternative to the fresh fruit and vegetables which would have prevented this.  The harsh reality of living in such close proximity in cramped and confined conditions for prolonged periods would have been a major issue too.

So then, where in this was our Frederick?  Stories of the Arctic expeditions filled the newspapers of the day, and it was these that provided the framework for my search.  Without an exact birth year for Frederick, I reasoned that based on his parents marriage date, and traditional naming patterns, the earliest I could expect to find him on any expedition would be mid-1820's.  Royal Navy expeditions led by William Edward Parry in 1827, by John Ross from 1829-1833, and by Captain George Back from 1833-1835, were the earliest possibilities.  One thing which became apparent as I read was that the number of men who died on these voyages was extremely small, and none of those who died had the name Pilkington.

A random Google search one day brought up the name William Pilkington in association with the voyage of Sir John Franklin in 1845, but there was nothing initially to link this name to the man I was looking for, or even to confirm whether he was Irish or not.  Then a year or so later, another random Google search, following one link after another, brought me to an article "The Royal Marines on Franklin's last voyage", by Ralph Lloyd-Jones, published in  Polar Record 40 (215): 319-326 (2004).  And there was Private 3rd Class William Pilkington, Royal Marine on HMS Erebus, born in Kilrush, Ireland.  Now this was a coincidence worth investigating further! 

With a William Pilkington of the right period and location, I was beginning to think maybe the old tree had the name wrong, but nothing else on the tree was wrong, so I didn't want to believe this.  The break-through came during my visit to Ireland this year.  I spent a day in the Church of Ireland Library in Dublin, scrolling through the old Kilrush parish registers, and there he was!
William Frederick, son of Richard Pilkington and his wife Maria, baptised in Kilrush on 12 July 1816. 

According to the article in Polar Record, at the time of his enlistment in Bath, England on 12 November 1834, William Frederick was described as being 5' 8" tall, with brown hair and hazel eyes and a sallow complexion.  As a younger son, William would have had to leave home to make his own way in the world, and joining the British Army was a common choice at that time. 

Sir John Franklin was a former Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's land, who reached the rank of Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy.  In 1845 he led an expedition of two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, in search of the Northwest Passage, a voyage from which no-one ever returned.  What happened to this expedition became one of the greatest mysteries of the 19th century, and it is only now, almost 170 years later that the mystery is gradually being solved.  What followed the disappearance of  the Franklin party was a long list of search expeditions, some sent by the Navy, others privately funded and organised by Franklin's wife, and still others from America.  The book "The Arctic Fox: Francis Leopold McClintock, Discoverer of the fate of Franklin" by David Murphy tells of the expedition led by Irishman Francis Leopold McClintock in 1859.  (Murphy, David (David James) (2004). The Arctic Fox : Francis Leopold McClintock, discoverer of the fate of Franklin. Collins Press, Wilton, Co. Cork)

While some of these expeditions had a degree of success in finding traces of the missing men, some of the most compelling evidence was uncovered by Dr. John Rae of the Hudson Bay Company, who in 1854 made an overland search for the Franklin men.  He heard stories from the local Inuit about a group of 30 or so white men and a boat near the north shore of King William Island in 1850.  It seems likely that William Pilkington was one of this group.  Other stories from the Inuit began to emerge too.  These theories as to the fate of the Franklin expedition have been explored in the book "Unravelling the Franklin Mystery - Inuit Testimony" by David C. Woodman (Woodman, David C. (David Charles) & EBSCOhost (1991). Unravelling the Franklin mystery : Inuit testimony. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal ; Buffalo). 

The British government officially pronounced Sir John Franklin dead on 31 March 1854, although later findings confirmed his date of death as 11 June 1847.  In 1866, a statue of Franklin containing a memorial listing all those lost on the voyage was erected in Waterloo Place in London.

Sir John Franklin Memorial

Waterloo Place, London

ⓒK. Vincent 2016

However, it was not until 1981, 130 years after the event, that the puzzle really began to be solved.  Modern forensics testing of artefacts and human remains revealed that the crew had died from lead poisoning, starvation, tuberculosis and hypothermia.  Evidence of cannibalism indicated the desperate situation the men had found themselves in.

And now, in 2014 comes the news of the recent discovery of one of the ships, lying on the sea floor in the waters off King William Island in remote northern Canada.  Further investigation by the Canadian search team has confirmed that it is the wreck of William's ship, the Erebus.

While the exact details of the death of William Frederick Pilkington and his final resting place are not known, it has been somehow satisfying to follow this story and piece together the missing last 5 or so years of his life.  The Franklin expedition and the numerous searches and investigations which followed contributed much to the knowledge of the Arctic region and in his small way, our man contributed to this.  William and his ship-mates were posthumously awarded the Arctic Medal in 1857, for service in the Arctic between the years 1845-1854.  I feel now that he is no longer "lost in the Arctic".

William Frederick Pilkington

born Kilrush, co Clare, Ireland in 1816

died in the Arctic circa 1850

May he rest in peace.

Panel commemorating the crew of HMS Erebus

Royal Marine William Pilkington on right side.

©K.Vincent 2016

London

Wednesday 28th May.
After almost 4 weeks in Ireland, today dawned bright and sunny, and by far the best morning, weather-wise, of the whole month.  Such a shame to spend it travelling. Although I was looking forward to seeing my family at home again, there was a definite sense of loss to be leaving Clare.  The month had been so full, but gone so fast.  The question, asked so many times during my stay "And how long are ye home for?", was in my mind as I drove down the Motorway towards Limerick.  I really did feel that I had a tiny place here in this beautiful county which my grandfather left 110 years ago.  He and his brothers left an Ireland which was changing, and a way of life which was rapidly disappearing, to forge a new life in a land where a man would be judged on his own merits with none of the expectations or limitations enforced by the position in society to which he was born. I wonder if he knew, when he left, that he would never return? 

Arrived at Shannon airport with plenty of time to drop off hire car, and boarded my flight to London.  I managed to work out the intricacies of the London rail service, and caught a train from Heathrow to Putney.  Well, several trains, actually.  It was wonderful to see Tom and Sally again when they met me at the station.

A relaxing couple of days spent with Tom, sharing and comparing notes on family history.  Tom is my 2nd cousin, and nominally the "head" of our branch of Pilkingtons, being the eldest son of the eldest son - the 7th Thomas Pilkington in a direct line back to the earliest identified Thomas in county Clare.  It was his family tree which really got me started on researching the Pilkington family in county Clare.  I was pleased to be able to hand over to Tom a copy of the Waterpark book.  Tom has a great collection of family memorabilia, including photographs and the family bible which had belonged to our great grandparents Thomas Pilkington & Mary Haughton.  One treasure is Sarah Anne Haughton's sketchbook, which Tom kindly allowed me to photograph - some of the pictures are on a separate page here.

Pilkington family bible

The day after I arrived, Sally and I went off to explore nearby Ham House, a magnificent 17th century National Trust mansion and surrounding gardens.  The house contains a big collection of portraits, and ornate furnishings from the period. The following day, we went for a walk in the huge Richmond Park, originally developed as a hunting park for King Charles I in the 1600's.  The park is home to herds of red and fallow deer, and contains the beautiful Isabella Plantation which we enjoyed exploring.

Saturday was my last day, and another beautiful sunny one.  Tom and Sally drove me to the station mid-afternoon, to make the train trip out to Heathrow for my evening flight home. I had a lovely few days with them, but as the saying goes - all good things do come to an end, and it was time for me to make my way homeward.

The flight home was under-booked, so I was lucky enough not to have companions - the luxury of being able to stretch out across 3 seats meant I was able to sleep for much of the trip.  Arrived home to a cold and windy winter Monday morning in Melbourne, and stepped straight back in to the usual round of domestic issues and work.  Wonderful to see my family again - they all seem to have survived quite well without me.

This had been such a wonderful experience, and the memories of this trip, the people and places I visited, will stay with me for many years.  The next few months will be spent processing the information I collected in my travels, hopefully expanding the knowledge of our family origins, and exploring the links to the other Pilkington families from Clare.

But, every bit of information gained leads to more questions, so will this family history journey ever really end?

The last of Clare...

Loop head continued....
After such a beautiful walk with Laura of The Long Way Round Walking Company, it was time for some refreshment.  Back in Kilbaha, I stopped at the Lighthouse Inn for a bowl of delicious chowder.  The Lighthouse Inn is the pub which was originally run by Susan Pilkington Haier, my 2x great-aunt, back in the 1860's and remained in the Haier family until recent years. I hadn't visited it before, but it was one of the things I wanted to do.  Due to its location right on the foreshore of Kilbaha Bay, the facade of the building had sustained some damage during the storms of the past winter.  Repairs were in progress, both to the Inn and the surrounding areas. 

In the pub, I happened to run into Pip, who had called in to speak to the owner.  Good to see him again, as I hadn't expected to do so.  Pip told me that another mutual cousin had just arrived in Kilbaha from England for a short stay at their family cottage.  So off I went to introduce myself to Veronica, another 4th cousin on the Keane side.  Good to make her acquaintance as well, and exchange email addresses for future reference.



I then went for a short walk around the Kiltrellig end (eastern side) of Kilbaha Bay, visited the memorial to the Grave of the Yellow Men, which was a new addition since my last visit 7 years previously.  The story of the Yellow Men is one of those recorded in our family records, being memorialised in a poem written by Amy Griffin.

 

 

The Grave of the Yellow Men

None knew from whither those drowned men came,
Swept in by the foaming tide.
So a grave was dug without a name,
Where they slumber side by side.

Their deeds are not spoken above the clay,
They perished we know not when.
Only a green mound marks today,
The Grave of the Yellow Men.

Even the wild wind sings their dirge,
While the sea birds in echo cry.
And eternally wet by the briny surge,
Is the spot where the strangers lie.

Benefiting for those whose lives are dark,
And whose death was full of pain,
But never recording stone doth mark,
The Grave of the Yellow Men.

Fond wives may have wept through the dreary night,
For the husbands they loved so well,
And at first faint dawn of welcome light,
Arisen, their beads to tell.

To hear the babes as the brightly wake,
Has father come home again?
Oh, hearts may have longed they might only break,
On the Grave of the Yellow Men.

We know they died on the raging deep,
But they lived we know not how.
Well their secret those slumberers keep,
None will ever tell it now.

But we know that the name of each lost one there,
Has been graved by his Maker’s pen.
Nor will He at last have forgotten where
To seek for The Yellow Men.

by Amy Griffin (1855-1910)

From here, I drove out to Ross and had a wander around the rocks there before driving along the coast road to Kilkee and back to Kilrush where I had hoped to catch up with Colin Keane again to see some old family papers he had brought down.  Unfortunately, Colin had decided to go out to Kilbaha for a drive, so we probably passed on the road.

the beach at Ross

I did eventually catch up with Colin over dinner in Crotty's pub, with Paddy Waldron & Kay Clancy.
After keeping myself busy all day so that I wouldn't think about it, it was finally time for my presentation that evening to Kilrush & District Historical Society.  KDHS meets once a month, with a guest speaker on a topic of interest, and Paddy Waldron has always included me on the invitation list each month via Facebook.  Earlier in the year, when I had yet again declined the invitation (Kilrush being a bit far from Melbourne to allow it), I added the comment that I would definitely be there for the May meeting.  Back came the reply from Paddy asking if I would like to be the presenter for that meeting!  After a bit of consideration I agreed, although by the time this evening had come around I was wondering why I did!  I had put together a powerpoint presentation which included some of the references and photos from our family collection, and traced the history of our branch of Pilkingtons (and Griffins) from their earliest records in Clare up to their settlement in South Gippsland.  There is a quite indistinct recording of the presentation here - apparently I needed to inhale the microphone as I spoke.  There was a good turnout for the presentation, and it seemed to be well received, although I did wonder why anyone else would be interested in our family! 

I am so sorry that I wasn't able to have a couple of days in Clare following the presentation.  In hindsight it was a big mistake, although doing so would have meant I wouldn't have had the time with Tom & Sally in London before coming home.  There were several people present who I would have very much liked to follow up with on potential family connections.  In particular, a man named ..... wait for it ..... Tom Pilkington, who lives in Ennis, and who is almost certainly a distant cousin of mine.  Tom owns land at Gortmore which has been in his family for generations.  Gortmore is an adjoining townland to Cragleigh.  In the course of my research, I have found several similarities and parallels between his family and mine, which I would very much have liked to explore further with him.

Sadly, this evening was time to say goodbye to my Clare friends - Larry, Paddy, Kay in particular, but also everyone else who had made me so welcome during my visit.  We retired back to Crotty's for a drink to unwind (well, for me to unwind), and then it was time to re-pack the bags, and toss some unnecessaries to meet to weight requirement for the flight to London.

Loop Head Peninsula

Tuesday 27th May:
Up early today, and off to Loop Head to meet up with Laura Foley of The Long Way Round Walking Company.  I had been in contact with Laura a couple of weeks previously regarding a guided walk to see some of the places mentioned in our family diaries and letters. So today was the day, and it dawned fine and sunny.

As I had arrived back in Kilrush quite late the previous evening, I had decided to call at the supermarket first thing today to pick up some lunch supplies.  Hadn't factored in the Irish "nothing open before 0930" though! I did have some dry crackers and fruit left, so wasn't going to starve even if it was uninteresting!
I met Laura and her sister at the Loop Head carpark.  After changing into hiking boots, we set off for a 15km Loop Head hike.

Our way took us along the Shannon coast of the Loop Head Peninsula, and thanks to the weather there were clear views across the Shannon estuary to the Kerry mountains.  The similarities with the view across Waratah Bay to Wilsons Promontory at home were obvious, and I'm sure that it would have been a constant reminder of their Irish homeland for my grandfather, his brothers and cousin.

Across the Shannon to Kerry

The first point of interest was the Hanging Gardens.  In the 19th century, Henry Keane, brother of the both the infamous Marcus and my 2x great grandmother Anne, had a summer residence known as The Cabin along the Loop Head Peninsula.  On the cliff face below his home, there is a wide ledge, its location providing shelter from the Atlantic weather.  Henry Keane widened an existing crevasse in the rocks to provide access to the ledge, and created a garden here.  Nothing remains of Henry's home or garden today, but the ledge is a picture of sea-pinks and provided us a sheltered grassy spot to admire the view and enjoy the scones provided by Laura.

Entrance to Hanging Gardens



The rock wall of the Hanging Gardens

 

We continued our walk along the Shannon coast, visiting places with names familiar to me from my great-uncle Fred's diaries in 1904-05, and earlier from his cousin Amy Griffin's diary of the 1870's.

Poulnapeasta - the water dragon's lair, Moab's Washpot, Aillnagroagh and Horse Island.  Laura was a wealth of information on the area, including the botany, pointing out various plants which were edible, and identifying the wildflowers.

Moab's Washpot

 

Horse Island

Horse Island is not actually an island at all.  Unfortunately, it has been fenced by the current owner, so it wasn't possible to go onto it.

Aillnagroagh as sketched by Sarah Haughton in about 1859

Aillnagroagh as photographed by me in May 2014

 



Not a lot has changed in the past 150 years!  Minus one stack, but otherwise pretty much as it was.

 

From Horse Island, we left the coast and cut across farmland to the Atlantic side of the peninsula, coming out near Fodry, and following the cliffs back to the lighthouse. The scenery on this side was every bit as spectacular as along the Shannon.

 

The beautiful sea-pinks

The Chimney is a rock formation mentioned in Amy's diary.  Passing through the Chimney seems to have been a challenge to be passed by all family and visitors to the Kilbaha cottage.  I was keen to see this formation, and Laura pointed it out with the advice that it wasn't something she would recommend doing.  It was quite a deep hole in the rocks leading down to the shingles below, and the potential for accidents would be significant.  I don't know how much it may have changed since Amy's days, but my impression from her writings is that it was quite a narrow opening.

The Chimney

Further round we came to Gull Island, so named for the masses of gulls nesting on the rock ledges along the sides.  With this came spectacular views back to the lighthouse and Lovers Leap - the gap between the mainland and Diarmuid & Grainne's Rock, also known as Cuchullins Leap.  This was the location of Amy Griffin's daring crossing in a makeshift crane which hoisted her across.

Gull Island

Lighthouse & Lovers Leap

The birdlife along the cliffs on the way back was amazing. Apart from the gulls, there was a large colony of Guillemots nesting. These birds only spend time on land while nesting, coming ashore in May and leaving their nests again in August.

 

It was a great walk on a beautiful spring day, tracing the footsteps of my forebears, in the places they loved and wrote about.  Thanks to Laura for helping me to add another layer of memories to those passed down the generations.

Guillemot egg



unknown wildflower

Ennis again...

While I had been in New Ross, I had received a call from Larry Brennan in Ennis.  He had been doing some detective work and told me he had obtained some information which pin-pointed the location of the little Beechpark burial ground which we had been unsuccessful in locating at our previous attempt.  We had arranged to meet in the evening, after my day in Kilrush.

We met at the agreed time, and set off - first stop was a visit to Glenard House at Clarecastle.  Glenard was the home of my grandfather's eldest brother, Thomas Henry Pilkington (1859-1916).  He was a Civil Engineer, and Assistant County Surveyor for East Clare.  Tom stayed on at Waterpark after his parents' death in 1884, until moving to Glenard in 1893.  The move came about because he had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a reduced rental for Waterpark from Lord Inchiquin.

We were very warmly welcomed at Glenard by the present occupants, Mary and her daughter Lorraine.  It is a lovely old home, and I was delighted to be shown a big old cupboard in the bathroom in which my great-uncle Fred Pilkington had inscribed a message:

Fred W. Pilkington

putting things into this press

11-7-1881

 

and underneath:

Home again 1889  

 

 

 

The dates indicate that this huge old cupboard would originally have been located at Waterpark, and moved to Glenard with the family, although how they would have negotiated it up the narrow stairs and into the bathroom I do not know!

 

 

Tea and scones over a chat with Mary and Lorraine were very welcome, but Larry was anxious to move on to our next appointment.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Glenard House c1904

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                         Glenard House 2014

Our next stop was to meet up with Father Tom, the  Ennis Parish Priest, who was going to come to Beechpark with us.  We drove to a farm a little further down the road from the old Beechpark entrance.  Larry had been able to access an old map on which the little burial ground was marked, and by comparing it to a modern map had been able to fairly accurately locate it.  There is still quite a bit of ill-feeling locally towards Marcus Keane, even today, so Larry was cautious about publicising the location, for fear of drawing unwanted attention for the family who own the land now.  I'm quite sure I wouldn't find the place again, unaided!

 

So we set off for some more cross-country mud tramping, dodging some cattle in the process, and eventually found the little fenced burial ground with rusted iron gate firmly in place.

 

 

I think it would be many years since anyone has gained access via this gate.   While Larry endangered himself climbing over the spiked iron railing, Fr. Tom & I walked around the side until we found a low stone wall to scramble over. 

The burial ground was on the top of a small escarpment overlooking a stream, and was fenced on 3 sides.  It was seriously overgrown, but would have been a beautiful outlook at the time it was made.  We pushed our way through the tangled undergrowth, and found 4 small headstones marking the grave locations.  Unfortunately, my camera didn't do the job in capturing the inscriptions, but Fr. Tom did an excellent job.  See the gallery at: http://www.ennisparish.com/gallery/?album=25&gallery=558

The headstones were quite readable with not too much effort.  Only that of Marcus Keane was slightly askew, and the reading was more difficult.

 

IHS

In Memory of

Margaret Mary Barnes

who died at Beechpark

31st May 1883

 

 

 

IHS

In Memory of

Marcus Keane

Beechpark

Born 7th Feb 1815

Died 29th Oct 1883

 

 

IHS

Here Lies

Louisa Isabella Keane

wife of Marcus Keane

and Third Daughter of

Nicholas Westby

Born 13th Mar 1821

Died 3rd Oct 1894

 

 

IHS

Here Lies

Perceval William Keane

Eldest Son of

Marcus &

Louisa Isabella Keane

Born 3rd Sept 1848

Died 28 Apr 1910

 

 

Margaret Barnes has been variously described as a Housekeeper, or a Companion, or possibly a family connection although I haven't found any evidence of this.

In 1883, when Margaret Barnes and Marcus Keane died, the Keane family vault at Kilmaley cemetery was apparently full.  The bodies were temporarily stored in another vault until the burial ground at Beechpark was ready to receive them.  However, when the vault was opened to retrieve the coffins, they were not there - had been stolen by persons unknown.

Edinburgh Evening News 18 September 1884
 

 

This is why the headstones in the Beechpark cemetery for Marcus & Margaret begin "In memory of...", while those of Louisa & Perceval begin "Here lie...".  However, the bodies turned up again 9 years later in a different vault in the Kilmaley cemetery, and were eventually re-interred at the Beechpark burial ground.

Derby Daily Telegraph 5 October 1891

Both events were widely reported in newspapers

across Great Britain & Ireland. 

 

Perceval is another interesting character.  The eldest of seven children of Marcus & Louisa, he married in 1873 to Mary Frances Ellis. The marriage produced one daughter, Isabella Louisa born in 1874, but did not last, probably due to Percy's partiality to alcohol.

 

Percy was sent to Australia twice in an attempt by the family to make something of himself.  The first time, he arrived in Melbourne in March of 1877 on board the ship "Mysore", but evidently he didn't find the young settlement of Melbourne to his liking, because just 2 months later he sailed for London on board the ship "Renown".

 

The second visit to Australia was in 1896, when he was sent out to his cousins, Tom & Charlie Griffin, and Fred & Dan Pilkington, possibly in the hope that some hard work in the Australian bush would dry him out.  Not too sure how long this visit lasted, but by 1901, he is back in Ireland, where the census records him living at Kiltrellig with his Pilkington cousins.  Family letters & diaries relate his life of alcoholism.  He died in Barrington's Hospital, Limerick in 1910 - cause of death given as "softening of the brain".

 

Back to the present, and we said goodbye to Father Tom, and set off on a drive to locate another old Pilkington family home - "Cragleigh".

Some of the Pilkington family lived at Cragleigh from possibly the late-1700's until my 2x great-grandfather Thomas Pilkington moved to Waterpark in the mid-1820's.  It then became the home of the Kenny family.

 

Cragleigh underwent a major restoration in recent years.  It took us some time driving around small country roads, backing up for passing traffic, and enquiring of joggers and dog-walkers, before we finally found the property.  It is set well back from the road, and not visible from the street, being hidden behind security gates.  I settled for a photo of the original gateposts, and a distant shot of the house from across the fields on the drive back.

 

Cragleigh House, Ennis

 

 

I'm so grateful to Larry for making all of this happen - there is no way I would have found any of tonight's locations without local assistance.

Back to Kilrush just in time for a late dinner at the pub, and then a reasonably early night in preparation for another big day - my last full day in Ireland - tomorrow. 

 

 



Kilrush

Monday 26th May
Today I had tentatively booked a tour with Dolphin Watch Carrigaholt.  Waiting for a call from them to confirm whether the trip would go ahead.  The weather was fine, so I was optimistic, but unfortunately received a text in the morning saying they were not going out that day.  On the off-chance, I rang Dolphin Discovery, Kilrush, to see if they may be going out.  The lady I spoke to said they hadn't been out in 3 weeks, due to unsuitable weather, but that today may be ok - she would check and confirm.  A little later, and I was booked for an afternoon trip.

I went for a walk around town to orientate myself, and to check out the location of the Teach Ceoil, the former St. Senan's Church of Ireland which has now been restored for use as a community centre.  It is located in the Kilrush Old Church of Ireland Cemetery, and is the venue for my talk to Kilrush & District Historical Society the next evening.



Site of soup kitchen from Famine times, in the churchyard.
The plaque on the left is a memorial to the soup kitchen
The stone monument is to all those, named & un-named, buried within the grounds.

The Old Cemetery is located in the old Church of Ireland churchyard, but burials there are not confined to those of the Protestant faith. It is currently undergoing a restoration project by a dedicated group of volunteers, and as I wandered down the path I saw a group hard at work with line-trimmers and mowers.  Among them were my "Facebook friends" Kay Clancy & Paul O'Brien, and Michael O'Connell who I had met when I did the walk at Carrigaholt on the first day of my trip.

Kay showed me around the Cemetery, including a Pilkington headstone connected with my family.

Erected by Francis Pelkington, Gower,
in memory of his beloved wife
Elizabeth Pelkington alias Walshe
who died Jan 5th 1893 aged 55 years
R.I.P.

Francis Pilkington (1823-1896) was a son of Richard Pilkington & Maria Blood, and a nephew of Thomas Pilkington of Cragleigh.  Francis (Frank) and Elizabeth married quite late in true Pilkington form, and didn't have any children.  It is very likely that Frank is also buried in this plot, but no-one ever arranged the addition of an inscription.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the enormity of the task in front of them, I left the workers hard at it.  They have been trying for some time now to obtain funding and support for an ongoing program of maintenance to minimise further degradation of this important historical location.  Just after my visit, some funding became available from the late Kilrush Town Council, which was put to good use clearing blocked drains which had caused the graveyard to flood.

So, off to the Kilrush Marina for my dolphin-watching expedition.  While dolphins are always fabulous to watch, my main interest in doing this was to see the coastline from the water.  Just lucky for me, then, that the skipper announced he was taking the boat in a westerly direction rather than their more usual easterly one.  This took us out of the harbour, past Scattery Island then down-river to the level of Carrigaholt, where the castle was easily visible on the shore. 

Kilrush Harbour is of interest - the lock gates operating to keep the harbour full of water, and provide safe anchorage at the marina.  Prior to the construction of the lock in about 1990, the Kilrush Creek area would have consisted of extensive mud flats and only been navigable at high tide.


Kilrush Creek Lock

Once through the lock, we passed container ships and storage tankers moored, waiting for clearance to go up-river.  After a little time, we did come across some dolphins, and enjoyed their antics.  Trying to photograph them was a challenge which I gave up on very soon, and settled for watching them as they frolicked around the boat. 

The return trip took us closer to Scattery Island, (Inis Cathaigh in Gaelic), providing a tantalising glimpse of the history contained there.

Scattery Island

Scattery was originally settled as a monastic colony in the 6th century, and in the last few centuries has played a role in the navigation of the Shannon, being home to generations of river pilots.  At one time it formed part of the Keane estate, and features in Charlotte Keane's 19th century diary, where she writes fondly about boat trips to the island and its inhabitants.

Returned to Kilrush with time for a coffee and then a quick change before the drive to Ennis to catch up with Larry Brennan for my next adventure!

The waterfront at Cappagh, on the way back into Kilrush