THE NAMED AND THE NAMELESS
The Carmelite Nuns established the Mount Carmel Industrial Lace School solely to provide employment to the women and girls of the town. Knitting, crochet, and lace making were taught and sold.
Certainly, the premier workers are recorded and remembered: Margaret Fitzharris, Bridget Howlett, Eliza Wherry Roche, Anty Whitty.
Elizabeth Scott (Bewley Street), Margaret Fitzharris (Chapel Lane), and Mary Daly (Bewley Street) executed the lace sent for exhibition from Mount Carmel to Edinburgh, where it was awarded the gold medal.
At the Chicago Exhibition in 1893, workers from the school plied their needles in the presence of large admiring crowds. Lady Aberdeen, the wife of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was in charge of them. Through her patronage and that of Baroness Burdett-Coutts many Royal orders came to the school.
On April 24th 1900 Margaret Fitzharris from Chapel Lane went to the Viceregal Lodge in Dublin to show samples of Mount Carmel Lace to Queen Victoria, who was on a state visit to Ireland at the time. A shawl of Mount Carmel rose-point lace had been presented to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her diamond jubilee in 1897
Bridie Fleming from The Bullawn in New Ross was the last surviving lace maker of the Monastery.
A host of other skilled needle workers have been lost to history, but perhaps their memories are cherished within family lore. We would love to hear from descendants of these women and to weave a more comprehensive account of their lives so that they can be shared and preserved for posterity. Please contact us at mountcarmel1817@gmail.com.
Here we list names recorded in the 1912 Wages Book, but we remember with pride and gratitude all the others who gave of their very best to ensure the name of Mount Carmel Lace was a byword for world-class quality.
LACE MAKERS: ( as recorded)
Maggie Fitzharris
Annie Kehoe
Elllie Walsh
Sarah Whelan
Mary Treacy
Mary Anne Nolan
Mollie Lanegan
Johanna Brennan
Hannah Stacey
Lizzie Howlett
Lizzie Fardy
Sophia Carty
Rose Carty
Ellie Whitty
Chris Redmond
Chrissie Redmond
Mollie Bennett
Mollie Daly
Eliza Scott
Bridget Howlett
Bridget Maddock
Ellie Roche
Teresa Whelan
Bridget Malone
Crochet Makers ( as recorded)
Bridie Flemming
Stasia Flemming
Molly Culleton
Maggie Shea
Kathleen Kehoe
Nan Murphy
Ellie Ryan
Maggie Stacey
Annie Culleton
Mrs. Doyle
Ellie Brennan
Julia Roche , wearing lace made by her mother, Eliza Roche
Eliza Roche nee Wherry
1841 - 1916
Elizabeth or Eliza Wherry was born in New Ross in 1841. She was the daughter of Alexander A. Wherry, an RIC Police Officer. He was promoted to Sub-Inspector in June 1848 at which time he was a widower. He died in 1849 leaving his children with no parents. Each child was awarded a gratuity of £38.5.4 from an award fund. My father John Wall said that the children were cared for by a lady whose name was Hornice. I am aware of one brother who was very close to Eliza and have a letter he sent to her dated 19 July 1873. The letter is signed as follows, Your ever affectionate Brother M A Wherry
It was sent from Chatham Army Barracks in England. He was stationed there having recently returned from India. It is said that she had a sister as well who emigrated to England and settled there.
Eliza Wherry married John Roche a pig farmer and dealer from Ballyanne village outside New Ross in 1855. A young bride, Eliza married at the age of 14. At that time the legal age for a girl to marry was 12.
Ten children were born to Eliza and John between 1856 and 1875. Her husband John died in 1878 at the age of 44 years. One of their daughters Frances (Fanny) continued to run the pig business. The children’s names were Bridgit, William, Mary Ann, Bridgit (the first child named Bridgit died early in life). Eliza, James, Frances, Sabina, Patrick and Julia.
Their home was listed as 10 Cockpit Lane later renamed as Haughton Place. It was located opposite the entrance to the Haughton Hospital location and close by the Carmelite Convent in New Ross. The National Archives of Ireland lists Eliza's occupation as ‘Lace Mistress’. Eliza’s husband passed away in 1878 leaving his 37year old wife to rear 9 children between the ages of 5 and 20.
Money was scarce and benefits were non-existent. To support her family Eliza worked hard to develop her skill in lace making. She is reported to have been one of the foremost lace mistresses attached to the lace making school in the Carmelite Convent. Payments for her work are listed in the financial annals of the convent. This income was significant in supporting the large Roche family in 10 Cockpit Lane. As the years passed the children grew and fled the nest to make their own way in the world. Examples of Eliza’s lace making survive to this day and are attached here. Her daughter Julia, the baby of the family, went on to make crochet and was also skilled at making men’s shirts. In 1905 Julia married James (Jimmy) Wall from Carrick on Suir. They had two children May and John Wall. John Wall married Jennie O’Keeffe from Carrick on Suir. They had three children, one girl and two boys. I was the middle child called Thomas Augustine Wall and the author of this account.
Eliza Roche is my Great Grandmother. She was prominent in lace making under the tutelage of the nuns at the
Carmelite Convent in New Ross. She lived to the age of 75 and died in !916.
My father had a very strong affinity with the Irishtown in New Ross. He attended the Augustinian college and was a member of the then two rowing clubs on the river Barrow. As a young boy living in New Ross, I would join my family in attending Sunday evening devotions at the Carmelite Convent. I was always intrigued about why the Carmelite Nuns were an enclosed Order.
Thomas Augustine Wall
17 February 2023
A Visit to Queen Victoria
A letter from the Countess of Aberdeen to Mrs. Margaret Fitzharris from Mount Carmel New Ross Lace School.
The occasion was a visit to meet Queen Victoria in the Viceregal Lodge in Dublin in April 1900 and referencing a photograph which we will publish if possible.
ANECDOTES
Bridie Fleming from The Bullawn in New Ross was the last surviving lace maker of the convent.
In 1970 Sr. Mary Brigid made a recording of an interview with Bridie where she describes how young the girls were when they entered the school, how the classes were structured and the types of hours they worked as well as the practice of taking work home
Bridie Fleming make her sample piece aged fourteen years old and at that stage, she had been honing her skills for four or five years and had perfected her lace-making skills. It’s proof that they were learning needlework early in their school years at the National School before moving to the Lace School.
She described how the French lace merchant Waree brought a professional female teacher from France who taught Margaret Fitzharris, who as an old woman taught Bridie Fleming.