A fascinating new book on the life of Cornelius Furlong, late of Killogan Castle, Fethard-on-Sea, who was a Land War hero, has been published by his grandsons and is available to buy.

Cornelius J Furlong (1859-1936) is best known for successfully negotiating and concluding the sale to the tenants of the 320 or so holdings on the massive Ely Estate in south County Wexford. The Ely Estate consisted of some 14,200 acres, with the Marquis of Ely having his seat at Loftus Hall. The Ely Estate stretched from Churchtown and Slade on the tip of the Hook peninsula and among the areas included were Fethard-on-Sea, Templetown, Haggard, Balliniry, Burkstown and Killesk in south county Wexford. The Ely Estate also included areas of Tintern, Adamstown, Old Ross, Horetown and Taghmon.

The difficult and painstaking process of negotiating the sale of the estate on behalf of the tenants was initiated in 1902 but the negotiations were only completed when the tenants signed agreements in early months of 1906. The process of inspections and agreeing boundaries was undertaken by the Irish Land Commission and this process would take a further eight years, with ownership of the holdings not completed until early 1915. The thorny question of reinstating or providing holdings for evicted tenants was also part of the process and this aspect often became contentious and problematic. The tenants of the estate formed a committee and mass meetings of the 320 or so tenants were held on a number of occasions in the old Church at Templetown.

The committee was headed by Furlong who showed his extensive knowledge of the Land Acts, remarkable leadership and skill, together with an unfailing perseverance and patience in seeing the negotiations through to completion.

By way of thanks for his efforts the tenants presented him with an illuminated address and a valuable silver tea set.

Cornelius J. Furlong was born in 1859 at Lough, Bannow, and moved with his parents to Killogan Castle, Fethard-on-Sea when he was about 10 years old. He took over the family farm on the death his father Michael in 1890 and from an early age was deeply involved in land agitation during the Land War of the 1880s.

He continued his education throughout his life, and was an avid reader of legal, economic and political books, magazines and papers.

He became a member of the New Ross Rural District Council in 1902 and represented the people of the Templetown area on the council for 15 years. He was most vocal on issues such as the state of the roads in the area and the construction of cottages for labouring families.

He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1908 and officiated at the Petty Sessions in Arthurstown. He was known for his fairness and for making a balanced judgement on the case. He died on November 14, 1936, aged 77 years.

The book (240+ pages) was written by his grandsons Nick and William Cosgrave, Enniscorthy, and is available from the authors at 053 9233530, cosgravebill@eircom.net or cosgraven@gmail.com and is priced at €15.

New Ross Standard