Telling Duntocher's story

IN 1816, landscape painter John Knox, travelled the 10 miles or so from Glasgow, to paint the Clyde from Faifley and Duntocher—two small settlements which were part of the parish of Old Kilpatrick. It was an early autumn scene, a rolling wooded hillside with a textile mill in the distance. It was pleasant, green and largely unoccupied. By the mid 1840s it was an entirely different picture.

In the late 17th century, a group of Glasgow merchants, looking to diversify their business away from the tobacco trade established the Dalnotter Ironworks. That incarnation of the enterprise faltered and in 1813 it was sold to William Dunn (1770-1849). Under his stewardship the enterprise enjoyed a significant rise in business and Dunn’s entrepreneurialism changed Duntocher forever.

Dunn purchased the Duntocher Mill and its near neighbour the Faifley Spinning Company. He established a small industrial empire, a network of factories and mills, which provided a strong pull for workers from the North of Ireland and turned Duntocher into a ‘factory village,’ little more than a dormitory to serve the factories, mills and mines Dunn owned. The workforce increased from around 150 in 1808 to a few thousand in the 1840s—a substantial proportion of them were Irish.

In the 1841 census 46 per cent of the population of the Old Kilpatrick parish were born outside Scotland. They worked in the factories and mills but also as miners; in nearby Broadfield Colliery—now the World of Golf on Great Western Road—as navvies on the railway, and as agricultural labourers in an area which was still a predominantly farming community.

Where the Irish went the Catholic Church followed. Catholic Church presence in Duntocher stretches back to the 1830s when Fr Gifford, parish priest at the newly opened St Patrick’s in Dumbarton, quickly opened a Sunday School at Glenhead in Duntocher.

It was a subsistence existence, living conditions were poor and there was little spare cash to assist in building the parish. Fr Mackenzie opened the first chapel. His successor, Fr Moloney—a native of Limerick—became Duntocher’s resident priest for the next three years and made financial appeals ‘back home.’ He travelled to Cork in 1842 looking for funds to build a chapel for the 3000 ‘poor Irish (who)... now stand in need of the consolation of religion.

Two more Irish priests served in quick succession until the arrival of Fr Alexander Munro who was described as ‘one of the most outstanding priests in the modern history of the Church in the west of Scotland.’ Lauded as a theologian, Fr Munro, a Scots-born convert, had studied in Valladolid, Spain. Following his ordination, he served for a short time in Duntocher before returning to Spain as a tutor in 1853. He became parish priest at St Andrew’s Cathedral following the restoration of the hierarchy in 1878.

Hard times

In July 1846, Milton Mill burned to the ground inflicting an almost fatal blow to the local economy. There were no casualties, but an estimated 700 workers were ‘thrown idle by the unfortunate occurrence.’ Fr Munro estimated that 400 of his congregation had been made destitute and had left the area, and that in turn impacted the economic viability of the parish.

Increased immigration into the area only added to the problems. The ‘pull’ factor of steady employment replaced by the ‘push’ factor of the Great Hunger in Ireland. A succession of epidemics through the 1830s and 40s compounded the misery. In December 1848 a cholera outbreak cost 20 lives in the Old Kilpatrick area—most of them in Duntocher, where poverty was exacerbated by unlucky geography and poor sanitation. The Scotsman newspaper reported that: “This village lies in a hollow and is imperfectly drained and there is much filth both within and without many of the houses. In the higher and better aired end of the village (Faifley and Hardgate) no case of the disease has occurred.”

In August 1850, Fr Munro—supported by Bishop John Murdoch—made a public appeal for funds. The parish property purchased in 1841 was no longer fit for purpose. It was in disrepair and stretched beyond capacity, trying to serve as a chapel, a presbytery, and a school room. The congregation numbered more than 1400, but the chapel could only

accommodate 240. Fr Munro estimated that for £600 he could build a church and a house. Explaining the need for external financial support, he described something of the parlous position of the Catholic population.

So great is the poverty of that people, that when the clergyman visited every individual among them, calling up on all to contribute to the fund for raising a chapel, he found only 268 individuals able to contribute. Of these, a considerable number could not give more than a halfpenny weekly.

Hard times persisted. In 1851, another of Dunn’s mills burned down. This time it was immediately rebuilt. Fr Munro steadied the ship, but in 1853, he left, bound for Valladolid, and it fell to his successor Fr Francis Danaher, to take up the reins. A decade later Fr Munro (Scots) and Fr Danaher (Irish) found themselves on opposing sides in an unseemly turf war, characterised as ‘Paddy sows and Sandy reaps,’ which broke out over who should hold sway in the control of the diocese—the indigenous

population or the more populous Irish.

A priestly influence

The appointment of Fr Danaher to St Mary’s, Duntocher (above left) changed things forever. Born in 1827 in Croom, County Limerick, Fr Danaher was one of four brothers who became priests. They trained at All Hallow’s College in Dublin, which was established to train missionary priests. Following his ordination in 1850, Francis joined his older brother James as his assistant at St Mary’s Greenock. Two more brothers served as priests in North America. After Greenock, Francis, spent a short time in Glasgow and then moved to Duntocher in 1853 where he remained until his death, 21 years later.

Fr Danaher’s passion was education and in Duntocher he made a substantial contribution to improving the life chances of generations of Irish Catholics. He quickly set up day and evening classes. Variously described as indefatigable and a zealot, his skills as a preacher became a money spinner for his parish and the charities who sought his support.

The American Civil War all but ended the cotton trade and consequently the textile mills in Duntocher. In an impassioned appeal for a village, Fr Danaher publicised the distress in his community where two thirds of the population were directly employed in cotton factories. William Dunn—the man who started it all—died in 1851 and although his legatees wished to help, they were hamstrung by dispute over Dunn’s will.

National legislation in 1872 mandated education for all children between the ages of five and 13. In the same year, Fr Danaher opened a new 200 pupil school. Two thirds of the funding was raised locally through his ‘indefatigable exertions.’ He was elected to the Old Kilpatrick School Board, third in the poll behind the local laird Andrew Buchanan and the industrialist James White (Lord Overtoun) and ahead of his Duntocher rival United Presbyterian minister Rev John Stark, who, like Fr Danaher, was described as a champion of education.

Fr Danaher died in 1874, on a visit to his brother, James, in Hamilton. At the School Board meeting following his death, the board noted their appreciation of the ‘value of his services’ and the ‘pleasant nature of... relations with him.’

The politics of Ireland

Fr Danaher’s legacy was not only to local education, but also political leadership, for not only were the Danahers passionate educationalists they were also vocal Irish Nationalists. The signs were there from the beginning.

In 1853, the Danaher brothers attended an event at the Tontine Hotel in Glasgow where 200 prominent Irish Catholics gathered to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and during their time serving together in Greenock, there had also been some (metaphorical) pushing and shoving, played out in the pages of the local press against local anti-Irish sentiment.

Under Archbishop Charles Eyre’s stewardship, public demonstrations of Irish Nationalism among the clergy were discouraged but James Danaher continued to publicly advocate for Home Rule.

Fr Danaher played an unattributed and perhaps unwitting role in shaping 19th century Home Rule politics in Glasgow, as a mentor to John Torley. Torley was one of the most influential and well-known Irish Republicans in Scotland. He was born in Duntocher in 1852, just a few months before Fr Danaher’s arrival.

Torley demonstrated a precocious talent for oratory and politics. Locals repeat handed down stories of Torley, as a teenager, standing at the cross reading the newspaper aloud, surrounded by a crowd of older (illiterate) men.

In 1871, aged 19, Torley identified himself as an ‘Enemy of England’ in his donation, reported in an Irish newspaper, to aid ‘The Exiles,’ 33 Fenian prisoners (including Davitt), freed by Gladstone on the condition they live abroad for the remainder of their sentence. While still in his teens he joined the ruling body of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. In 1874, the same year Fr Danaher died, Torley (aged 22) was the keynote speaker at the St Patrick’s night festivities in Duntocher and by 1878 (aged 26), according to his family, he had visited Paris where he met and befriended the legendary land rights campaigner Michael Davitt.

Torley maintained strong and lifelong connections with Limerick Fenians. In Duntocher, where the community roots were in in the North of Ireland, it is not obvious how Torley’s connection with Limerick developed. One explanation is that it may have been established through Limerick native and Irish nationalist Fr Danaher.

Torley had close lifelong connections with several high-profile republicans including Jim Boland, father of Easter Rising veterans, Harry and Gerry, John Daly, Fenian Mayor of Limerick and Pat Hoctor, IRB organiser and GAA activist.

Unsurprisingly, Torley’s activities attracted government attention. Dublin Castle authorities dispatched an investigator to Duntocher. The report back reassured authorities that Torley was ‘of superior education and a leading man; politically among his neighbours. John Torley attends political meetings and speaks well... I am inclined on the whole to suspect John Torley is of good character.’

A local leader

Indisputable as his commitment was to Irish Republican politics, Torley was also a champion for affairs closer to home. He served on the Old Kilpatrick School Board and regularly sparred with Duntocher’s United Presbyterian minister, Rev John Stark, described by the local newspaper as ‘a dangerous companion in any enterprise.’ Their verbal sparring often descended into something more offensive, Stark calling Torley ‘a creature,’ ‘an Irish Paddy’ and ‘a Fenian.’

Opinionated, smart, combative and no respecter of reputations, Torley was a constant irritant to fellow Councillors. His skills had been hewed in the Young Ireland Society and the IRB. The local newspaper carried frequent reports of bad-tempered Board meetings and the antagonistic back and forth between Stark and Torley but concluded that ‘alas the world of Old Kilpatrick is not big enough for two suns to shine in.’

Torley was the first Catholic Councillor to be elected in the west of Scotland—victorious in a former Tory stronghold against a local landowner. He was nominated for the County Council by a unanimous public meeting and stood as a Home Rule candidate. His acceptance posted in the local press, was uncompromising: “I have no doubt of the result, the radicalism of Duntocher will not make the present act as a dead letter—it will not again consent to hand over the government of county affairs to a class alien in sympathy and whose only recommendation is that it has mismanaged for two centuries.”

He benefited from some fair winds—a concentrated and partisan electorate, the 1884 Parliamentary Reform Act which considerably extended the franchise, and the not inconsiderable national publicity he received following his ‘outing’ at the Parnell Commission as a leading figure in the IRB.

The Parnell Commission was a special judicial inquiry examining defamatory allegations printed in The Times, which alleged that Charles Stuart Parnell—charismatic leader of the Irish Home Rule movement—was directly involved in murder and other outrages. During the enquiry, the identity of the leaders of the secret organisation, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, were exposed, including its Scottish leader, John Torley.

Following his electoral success, Duntocher threw a party. Local artist William A Donnelly produced an illuminated address to extol Torley’s virtues and the community’s role in his success: “Duntocher will be pointed to as one spot in Scotland where Irishmen stand together shoulder to shoulder and work as one man for the principles they cherish.”

By this time, the Irish community in Duntocher had established roots and built up organisations among them a famous football team, a branch of the Young Ireland Society, a flute band, an Orange Lodge and a branch of the Irish National Foresters, whose glorious 19th century hand painted banner is held in the community.

In his work as a county councillor, Torley (above right) built strong cross-community alliances. He had a loyal, local support team including publicans, William Scott and John McLaughlan—both Protestants—Patrick Bannon, John George Barry, artist and journalist William A Donnelly, and his employer and fellow councillor, ECC Stanford.

In 1895, Torley discovered that old resentments die hard when his application for a publicans’ licence was refused by a single vote and the newspaper reports reflect the general surprise at the decision. Eventually he was successful, and his liquor supplier was John Daly, his comrade in Limerick.

Torley, by this time married and a father of four, continued to juggle his local and Irish Republican commitments. A timeline of his activities makes for dizzying reading, including visits to Fenian prisoners in Portland Prison, fundraising trips to the US and speaking tours in Ireland.

John Torley died suddenly in 1897 aged 44. The men who witnessed his deathbed will were Pat Hoctor IRB and GAA man, and publican JB McCreadie from the east end of Glasgow. At his funeral over one hundred members of the Irish National Foresters ‘dressed in full regalia’ lined the route to the cemetery, and shops and businesses closed as mark of respect.

Others from Torley’s circle became elected representatives—Patrick Bannon and John George Barrie became councillors. The Home Rule activism continued, and a later resident, Patrick Cassidy’s grave notes his Presidency of the UIL (United Irish League).

Most stories of Irish settlement in Scotland focus on the bigger populations in Lanarkshire and Glasgow. In terms of contributing to the Irish story Duntocher punches above its weight.