The village of Cappawhite lies at the southern edge of the Slieve Felim Mountains at the eastern boundary of the civil parish of Toem, Co. Tipperary. It is contained within the townland of Cappagh, bounded on the south (confusingly) by the townland of Cappagh, Donohill civil parish.
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| Cappawhite |
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No Buckleys appear to have lived in the village itself until the end of the 19th century. Since much of the material on this site deals with the period of about 1820 to 1880, the village of Cappawhite has not been the focus of our research efforts.
The village is still central to our story, however, because it would have been the civic center for the area – the market place, a meeting place, and the site of the Roman Catholic Church for the Parish of Cappawhite.
Although some of the Buckleys in our story married perhaps in Oola & Solohead, or at Anacarty/Donohill, the Buckleys of the area mainly claimed Cappawhite as their home. If life is bounded by birth and death, than the span of the Buckleys of Cappawhite was traveled the line between the parish church in Cappawhite and the Toem cemetery. |
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| Cappawhite to Toem |
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| Toem Cemetery |
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| Cappawhite Church |
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The area is part of the rich history of Tipperary, according to other websites:
"The area is well known for its association with historical events down through the centuries, with its ancient pattern wells, forts, motes and antiquities, form pre-Christian and medieval times down to the present century's fight for Irish Freedom." |
"In the 17th Century, "Eamonn an Chnoic" Ireland's own "Robin Hood" roamed the hills righting the wrongs of the under-privileged native Irish. This type of outlaw was known as the "Irish Raparee". Legend claims that his cave and burial place, is located in the hills between Hollyford and Cappawhite."
The material quoted here and above is from a Cappawhite Community Council site that is under development: http://cappawhite.muintir.ie. |
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| The Raparee Drive [click to enlarge] |
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The earliest church records for the Parish of Cappawhite begin in 1805. Whether this marks the time of the founding of Cappawhite, perhaps its current residents can tell us. [Information about the parish today can be found on its web page under the Archdiocese of Cashel & Emly: http://www.cashel-emly.ie/main/parishes/cappawhite.htm ]
The earliest description I have seen for the village is from 1837:
"Cappaghwhite: A village, in the parish of Toom, barony of Kilnemanagh, County of Tipperary, and province of Munster, 6 1/2 miles N from Tipperary; containing 695 inhabitants, This place, which has been much improved within the last 40 years, and contains 115 houses, is situated on the new line of road from Tipperary to Nenagh, to the former of which it has a penny post. It is a constabulary police station; fairs are held on June 4th, July 27th, Sept 29th, Nov 16th and Dec 21st; and there are an R.C. chapel and a dispensary. Cappagh House is the residence of Mrs. Fitzmaurice Hunt. Five hundred acres of land near the village were, about seven years since, leased by Col Purefoy to the Mining Company of Ireland, who after incurring some expense in searching for copper, relinquished the enterprise."
A later description reads:
"CAPPAWHITE 1889
Population 629 in 1881 Cappawhite, in the parish of Toom, barony of Kilnamanagh, upper, is 7 miles, Irish, north of Tipperary, and 5 miles west by north from Dundrum, the nearest railway station. The village rises from both sides of a hollow, and is well built. Some years ago it had considerable notoriety as the scene of faction fights, but in late years none have occurred. Some of the land of the district is fair, and some light. Oats and potatoes are the principal crops. A weekly market for butter, etc., was held some time ago, but it declined. Mr. Vere Hunt and the trustees of Thomas Dowling are the landlords. The parish of Toom was famous down to the sixteenth century, for a priory dedicated to St. Donan. It was granted with possessions by Queen Elizabeth to Miles Magrath, Archbishop of Cashel." [The quoted material can be found at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~irish/Tipperary/places/caplaces.htm]
If you look at the outlines of Cappawhite today, it appears much the same as it did in 1850, as illustrated below: |
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| Cappawhite c. 1850 |
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| Cappawhite Today |
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Modern Cappawhite seems prosperous to the casual visitor today. Many buildings in the village wear fresh paint, and there is new residential construction here and there around the outskirts.
Looking on the internet at the properties for sale in the area gave even me – a resident of Los Angeles – a bit of “sticker shock.”
Farming still seems to be the order of the day in the area, but I wonder how well my grandfather, Edward, would recognize the place today? | |
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| Cappawhite Clip [click link below] |
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