The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

IRELAND BEFORE THE 1800s
The Ballinrobe of the 1800s cannot be fully understood
without some knowledge of Ireland in the preceding centuries.
The phrase “beyond the pale” originated in Ireland. By the 14th
century, the Norman/English invaders of the island were
struggling. The remaining settlers had retreated to four eastern
counties around the city of Dublin: Louth, Meath, Dublin and
Kildare. The king's perimeter was marked with wooden fence
posts pounded into the Irish turf. These were called “pales,” from
the Latin palus, meaning “stake.” The English settlement fortified
its boundaries by turning the fence line into an impressive barrier:
a 10-foot-deep ditch surrounded by 8-foot banks and ringed by a
thorny hedge. Once settlers passed “The Pale,” they were outside
the authority and safety of English law, and subject to all the
“savageries” of rural Ireland. “Beyond the pale” then became a
phrase meaning "outside the limits of acceptable behavior or
judgment."
In the 16th century, the Tudor monarchs Henry VIII and
his daughter Elizabeth I started the re-population of Ireland with
Protestants loyal to the crown. The Irish were treated not that
different than Native Americans would come to be. The Irish
were viewed as primitive and non-industrious. They could not be
trusted with the land. The land needed to be re-populated with
loyal British subjects.
In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell declared that the
Irish must go “to Hell or to Connacht,” the land west of the River
Shannon. Connacht was chosen as a native reservation because it
was far from mainland Europe and possible Catholic support. The
Plantations of Ireland were confiscated land granted to
“Adventurers” or “Planters,” as the new owners were known.
By the late 17th century, Ireland was sucked into
England’s civil war, the conflict between the Catholic forces of
James II and the Protestant William of Orange. The decisive
battle in Ireland took place at the River Boyne on July 1, 1690,
when William’s forces defeated James’ army. James fled to
France.
After the Battle of the Boyne, the Penal Laws were
enacted in 1695. They were a series of edicts imposed by the
“Irish” Parliament (which was made up of the transplanted
English and Scotts). Irish Catholics were forbidden to attend
Catholic worship. They were forbidden to own land. They were
forbidden to receive an education. They were forbidden to enter a
profession or engage in trade or commerce. And they were
forbidden to keep any arms.
Our Grandfather Pat Gallagher, above in
a photo from 1931, was born in
Cornaroya in December 1864. He
married our Grandmother Mary
Sheridan on Oct. 18, 1896. She never
wanted her picture taken. Below, another
photo from 1931 shows our grandfather
in the fields behind the family home.
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