THE 19th CENTURY IN
BONANE
The early
19th Century saw a relaxation of the harsh penal code of earlier
centuries and an explosion in population, due largely to the abundant
food source provided by the potato.
By 1826
there were two schools in Bonane, one at Dromagorteen and the
other at Tulloha. These schools almost certainly began as undercover
or "hedge schools" during penal times, when the education
of Catholics was forbidden.
The first
national school opened at Tulloha on 2 January 1837. This school
served the "scholars" until 1999, when a new school
was opened, on the same site.
On 15 April
1847 a second national school opened at Gortnabinny to serve the
western part of the parish. This school was ultimately amalgamated
with Tulloha school in 1967.
By 1840
the Parish Priest, Michael Enright, was able to openly petition
for funds for a new church at Milleens - a far cry from the repression
of the penal laws!
Fr. Michael Sheehan, P.P., 1858-1870, was the last priest in the
Parish who used Irish as the sole medium of preaching and instruction.
He also changed the place of residence of the Parish Priest from
Esk na Muice, in Glengarriff, To Releagh, Bonane. Subsequent to
this change Bonane replaced Kilcascan as the official title of
the parish.
The Census
of 1841 showed that the population had swollen to 1379 souls.
The failure of the potato crop in 1847 and 1848 led to widespread
famine, death and immigration, with devastating effects on the
population. The Census of 1871 showed a drop in population to
905, a trend, that continued throughout the remainder of the 19th
and 20th centuries.