Hi,
I'm researching William Murphy of Liscarrol (1816-1906). William was from Churchtown originally and married an Olympia Wigmore. William throw of a sledge over the wall of Liscarroll Castle was commerated in a poem by Con O'Brien. Does anyone have more information on William or his family?
MURPHY'S FAMOUS THROW OF
THE SLEDGE AT LISCARROLL CASTLE
'Twas back long ago, in the year '68,
When the landlord and agent were running the State,
And the tenant implored, with his hat in his hand,
That their "Honours" might let him hold on to the land.
And the Fenians were scattered, and chased day and night,
But what matter, although they went down in the fight,
They left us the spirit that laughed at all fear,
And inspired them to die for the cause they held dear.
'Twas then you might find a "great" boy, here and there,
Who "Lepped" a big river, with five feet to spare,
With a gun in his hand, and a bag on his back.
While he laughed at the game-keeper hard on his track,
Or who hammered the Peelers in Buttevant Square,
When they tried to arrest him, the day of the fair.
Now big William Murphy, well known far and wide,
A fine able man, without swagger or pride,
Was famous for throwing the sledge, and the weight,
About his friends sent a challenge, for miles all around,
Declaring his master, could nowhere be found.
But at length and at last, a bold rival was got,
To challenge Big Bill, on his own native spot,
On next Patrick's Day, at the sledge and the weight,
And the County all round took a note of the date.
From Buttevant, Churchtown, Kanturk, and Greenhall,
From Charleville, Mallow, and Freemount and all.
Such Crowds in Liscarroll were never since seen,
When the Rivals peeled off, and stood out on the green.
And the Colonel from Buttevant, said half aloud,
That he never saw men with more cause to be proud,
McCarthy the Challenger, gave a big throw,
And Murphy was beaten a half yard or so,
Then at it again, and McCarthy still won,
Till somebody shouted that William was done,
Then he caught up the sledge in a temper, and threw,
And said "Hand me my coat, I think that ought to do"
And McCarthy remarked 'twas as well for him go,
For the Devil himself couldn't "bate" that same throw.
Then Murphy looked up at the Castle hard by,
And he gazed at the wall that stands sixty feet high,
And he called for a sledge, for his temper was hot,
And he asked if they thought him a crawler, or what.
So they brought him a sledge, that was twelve pounds in weight,
And he rolled up his sleeves, for he couldn't be "bate"
And he paced sixty feet from the foot of the wall,
While a silence came over the soldiers and all.
And the muscles, like whipcord stood out on him there,
As he stood to his mark, for he judged it with care
Then he balanced, and swung, with his terrible might,
And the sledge sailed aloft, like a bird in its flight,
Clean over the wall, that stands forty feet high,
While the crowd stood around, and 'tis small wonder why,
Then the big fellow smiled, and said, "Now get a man,
To throw it half way, after that, if you can."
Such shouting, and cheering were never since known,
As William walked off, with some friends of his own,
And his record still stands, as the years come and go,
And a stone marks the spot where he stood for that throw.
Poem by Con O'Brien, The Bard of Ballyhea, was originally published in the Cork Weekly Examiner
jjfmurphy
Saturday 9th Mar 2013, 10:01PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi John
My name is Doreen McElligott and I am the Parish Liason for Liscarroll, Co. Cork. I have heard of the said poem, and if you give me a few days I will find out a bit of local information for you about William Murphy. Please join Liscarroll Parish as well, as there is local history about Liscarroll Castle which may be of interest to you.
Regards
Doreen
Monday 11th Mar 2013, 10:12AM -
Thanks Doreen.
I was able to find some infromation about him on the Ballyhea GAA web site:
William Murphy of Liscarroll was another noted player in those days. This man's fame will live long in local history for his feat in throwing a sledge over the walls of Liscarroll Castle. The late Con Walshe of Castledod told Jim Meagher that he remembered seeing Murphy play. He told of an incident in a "scoubeen" match between Ballyhea and Liscarroll parishes. In the course of play Murphy was unfairly tackled by a Ballyhea player. Murphy, a man of great build and physique, dropped his hurley and catching the Ballyhea man by the neck of the coat and seat of the pants, he heaved him over the ditch. The Ballyhea man concerned was an employee of Walshes' of Castledod, and had to suffer the jeers and jokes of his fellow-workers for many a day.
Another Ballyhea player who dared to tackle Murphy was William Burke of Cooline. Burke, by all accounts, was a hurler of exceptional skill. He was small in stature, and had a very clever knack of upending opposing players with a tackle which certainly would not be permitted under the present-day rules of the G.A.A. Hurling was not as fast then as it is nowadays. Very often, in a scoubeen match, the ball remained practically on the same spot whilst players endeavoured to hurl it backwards and forwards.
I also know that he was married to an Olympia Wigmore who I assume was a member of the Liscarroll Wigmores. They had 4 sons who were priests who all went to the United States - two becoming prominent in New England - Monsignor Daniel W. in Dover New Hampshire and John W. who was Vicar General of Maine (the other two died young - Stephen of TB in Dover and James of yellow fever in Macon, Georgia)
jjfmurphy
Monday 11th Mar 2013, 02:26PM -
Hi John
I have done a little bit of research and have a record of the said William Murphy in the 1901 Census living in Liscarroll with his son. http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000549215/. The exact location can be viewed on our google map on the Liscarroll page. (Go to end of Main street and turn left and the address no. 10. Castle Heights can be viewed. His house was here behid the iron gate. He was related to Boss Murphy of Churchtown which you may already be aware of. The said Murphys descendents are living in Leap in Churchtown. He was also related to the Murphys of Egmont in Churchtown. I believe Liam Murphy and his sister Mary Murphy are living in Egmont at present. His family are buried in Castlecor Cemetery in Kilbrin. http://historicgraves.com/castlecor-demesne/co-klbn-0331/grave and according to your information about Monsignor in Dover, I believe this is the burial place of his wife. The said William Murphy is buried separately.http://historicgraves.com/castlecor-demesne/co-klbn-0350/grave. I hope this information is of help to you. If you decide to visit Liscarroll let us know and we can take you on a tour of where William threw the sledge over the castle wall.
Regards
Doreen.
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 12:00PM -
Hi Doreen,
Thank you for the information. It has been very helpful and particularly the links to the graves and the house location. At some point Gerry and I want to commerate William and we have been trying to find living direct decendents but with no luck so far (doesn't help that 4 sons of his were priests).
Thank you again.
John
jjfmurphy
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 05:12PM -
Hi Doreen, I am Gerry Murphy, great grandson of William Boss Murphy (1831 - 1911) of Leap who was a nephew of William the weight thrower. John whom you have been helping is a great great great grandson of Daniel Murphy who was William's father.
I am impressed with your local knowledge. Please come the next Churchtown Historical & Heritage Society event on 27 July in Churchtown to commemorate Jack Moylan. Preliminary details are as follows:
Churchtown to honour Jack Moylan.
Former Churchtown man and Irish Flat-Race Champion Jack Moylan will join a select band of local luminaries on the Pillar of Honour in Churchtown’s Village Square, when, at a Special Ceremony on Saturday July 27th,, a plaque to his honour will be unveiled. The unveiling will coincide with the Gathering Festival being organised by the Churchtown Development Association. Jack’s record is unique: not only was he Irish Champion Flat-Race Title-holder in 1926, but he previously finished 2nd and 4th in Aintree Grand Nationals! His seven Irish Classic wins included back-to-back Derbys, two St. Legers, and a victory and a dead-heat in the 1,000 and 2,000 Guinea respectively. The event in honour of the man who also became grandfather to eleven times British and one Irish winning champion jockey, Pat Eddery, is being organised by the Churchtown Historial & Heritage Society.
We had a very successful Sean Clarach MacDomhnaill event in January which you can view on Youtube. Google BruhennyTV. Sean Clarach was born in Rath.
The CHHS operates on an ad hoc basis and likes to do something every six months or so.
Gerry
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 05:33PM -
John, we need - with appropriate permissions - to put up a plaque near Liscarroll Castle to commemorate the Weight Throwing event too. It's long on my to-do list! Gerry
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 05:51PM -
Hi Gerry
Thank you, I will put that date in my diary. It would be great to have an event to commemorate William, let me know if such an event is taking place. I will be glad to assist in any way possible.
Regards
Doreen
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 07:29PM -
Hi John
How many children did William have altogether? Maybe it would be worth checking http://www.mallowheritagecentre.com/begin_searching.html . Mallow Heritage Centre has access to Birth/Marriage and Death Records for the Cloyne area.
Regards
Doreen.
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 07:55PM -
That’s a good question Doreen.
William was married to Olympia Wigmore (I’m guessing who was a Liscarroll Wigmore)
I’ve found records for 6 sons – the 4 priests (John, James, Stephen and Daniel) and William and Michael - Micheal was married in the US but returned to Ireland.
It gets confusing though - Looking at the Mallow record I see that there are two Stephens and two Michaels listed as children of William and Olympia - the years of baptism are 10 years apart – not sure if this is just a data error or possibly later children named after children who died.
For daughters, I have Mary and Ann (though I’ve two Ann’s again with significantly different years of birth).
I also have possibly an Agnes and Julia – listed on US censuses as sisters (the sisters seem to have gone to the US to act as housekeepers for the priests)
http://images.dover.lib.nh.us/DoverHistory/father_murphy.htm
http://www.maineirishheritagetrail.org/mihc_007.shtml
jjfmurphy
Wednesday 13th Mar 2013, 08:38PM -
Good news. I found a video I took in 1984 of my father (Jack Murphy 1920 - 2000, buried at Kilbrin) pointing out the stone that marks the spot where he says William Murphy stood when throwing the sledge over the Liscarroll Castle wall. This is important as I belive the stone may have been accidently removed. Gerry
Saturday 16th Mar 2013, 11:49AM -
Fantastic that you found the video Gerry , thank you very much for your help
Mallow Cork
Saturday 16th Mar 2013, 04:12PM -
Hi Gerry
I believe that the stone was removed when the old flag stones were being replaced, so great that you have the video. I was looking at your family tree and remembered recording a headstone in Shandrum Graveyard which may be another link. Have a look. http://historicgraves.com/shandrum/co-shan-0319/grave.
Doreen
Tuesday 19th Mar 2013, 10:19AM -
Looking forward to watching on Bruhenny TV
jjfmurphy
Wednesday 20th Mar 2013, 04:06AM -
Hi all,
Found another Wigmore/Murphy connection in Ballymacoda Cork
The graves of a Murphy family, and a Patrick Murphy married to a Hannah Wigmore
Patrick Murphy was from Baltdaniel
about wife Hannah is states she is interred in Cloyne and they had a son David who died in September 2005
Have a look here and see what you think http://historicgraves.com/hill-ballymacoda/co-thbm-0137/grave
Annemarie
Mallow Cork
Tuesday 17th Dec 2013, 02:27PM