The Sale of Athboy in 1909

On the 8th June 1909 a meeting was held in the Market House in Athboy. A mixture of emotions probably hung in the air including hope that the man, whom a gathering of locals had met off the train from Dublin, would be able to give the townspeople much needed support. This man was Joseph Coghlan-Briscoe, secretary of the Towns Tenant’s League. Athboy had recently founded its own branch of this organisation due to the fact that the 8^th Earl of Darnley,, Ivo Bligh, had chosen to sell the town at a public auction in Dublin later in the month.

Bligh had become the Earl in December 1900 following the sudden death of his brother Edward, and only four years after their father John, thus leaving the estate with two sets of death duties to pay. As a result the estate, which had held lands in Meath since 1723, was financially crippled. After selling his land round Athboy to the Land Commission and the demesne at Clifton Lodge to the Welsh coalminer and adventurer Mordecai Jones, he turned to selling the town rents for “whatever price may be realized”.

The auction was to take place over two days, 15-16th June and the town was divided into 110 lots. The lots included the RIC Barracks, court house, hotel and some 46 other rentals including dwelling houses, cottages and local businesses. The total value of the 110 lots was £1,000 in annual rent. The auction was heavily advertised in The Meath Chronicle, The Freemans Journal and The Irish Times. The first advert in the Irish Times on 10th June 1909 praised the area as being “among the finest grazing country in Ireland” and described the local people as being of an “industrious” and “respectable class”.

The Towns Tenant’s League meeting was presided over by John Martin who held a yearly lease on property on Connaght St. Other attendees included miller Thomas Newman and Dr. JW Greene. In his address Coghlan-Briscoe spoke of how “the situation today in Athboy might be the case for a good many towns in Ireland tomorrow”. Many of the people in Athboy had built their homes on the land owned by the Darnley estate and so they paid what was called ground rent. While the Land Acts had made it much easier for farmers to purchase their land there appears to have been a certain lack of protection granted to town tenants. Coghlan-Briscoe pledged to help seek aid from the local Ulster Bank and to help arrange for travel to Dublin for the auction so that “every tenant worth his salt” could attend.

At 8.3oam on 15th June 1909 townspeople from Athboy took the train to Dublin in time for the 1pm auction at JH North & Co. on Grafton Street. North, who described Athboy as “a thriving and historic town” had previously been involved in auctions of ground rents in Limerick City and in Tramore, Co. Waterford. The local Town Tenants League, with the aid of Coghlan-Briscoe, had secured the opportunity for tenants to purchase their lots privately. One by one the tenants met with North and Coghlan-Briscoe in the drawing room at the auction house. The following day’s Freeman’s Journal remarked that in general the tenants “came out with a placid smile on their countenances” indicating that “matters had been indisputably settled”. Although privately he may not have appreciated the tenant agitation, Ivo Bligh was reported to have expressed his wish that the townspeople be able to purchase their own holdings. He did not attend the auction however but was instead represented by his land agent Claude Coghill and his solicitor AV Montgomery.

The auction made £8,700 on its first day with the majority of the tenants arranging a private treaty to buy their homes. The first parts to be sold were Chapel Street (O’Growney St) to Upper Bridge Street which included the court house and RIC Barracks. When the latter came up for auction one audience member was heard to ask “can you put the polis out if you buy it?” The second day saw Lower Bridge Street, Fallons Row and Barrack Lane sold. On average tenants purchased their holdings on a 12 year purchase agreement. Those who gave security were allowed to pay two thirds of their fee over 5 years, while weekly tenants were allowed make a 10% deposit on their purchases.

It was to the advantage of the people of Athboy, as JH North said, that “the town… [was] a material one”. This was a market town filled with local businesses. People were well equipped to organize themselves and secure the literal ground beneath their feet. The assistance of the secretary of the Town Tenant’s League, Joseph Coghlan-Briscoe brought advantages too. He was well versed in helping towns in situations like this. The entire incident is remarkable as it shows a fascinating example of the often over looked issue of land ownership for rural townspeople and how the land question extended beyond just agricultural land.

We have since updated this article to include photographs of both the auction book and the accompanying maps which were provided to us by Peter Coffey and Patricia Castles.

The entire Main Street of the town including Upper/Lower Bridge St and Chapel St.

Main Street and Upper/Lower Bridge Street.

Chapel Street/Windy Harbor (O’Growney Street)

The Fair Green

Fair Green featuring signature of James H. North (auctioneer).

Conditions of Sale in this case signed by R. Carey who was then postmaster in Athboy.

Mr. Carey purchased his lot for £150

Fallon’s Row.

Upper and Lower Bridge Street.

There were 110 lots in total.

This section of the map which comes with the auction book shows Chapel St. and Main Street.

Description of Particulars

Tenure

Conditions of Sale

Conditions of Sale (2)

Lot 2

Lot 3-5

Lots 6-8

Lots 9-11

Lots 12-13

Lots 14-15

Lots 15-18

Lots 19-21

Lots 22-24

Lots 25-27

Lot 28

Lots 29-30

Lots 31-32

Lots 33-35

Lots 36-37

Lot 38

Lot 39

Lot 40

Lot 41-43

Lot 44-46

Lots 47-49

Lots 50-52

Lots 53-54

Lots 55-57

Lots 58-60

Lots 61-64

Lots 65-67

Lots 68-70

Lots 71-73

Lot 74

Lot 75-77

Lot 78-80

Lot 81-83

Lot 84-86

Lot 109-110

Memorandum of Francis Morgan

Rear of Auction Book

Postscript:

The Meath Chronicle published a list of some of the purchasers from the auction.