Just over a week ago, some members of the travelling community, with some animals and vehicles, arrived in Portlaw, where they stayed for four days approximately. They were mainly members of a Delaney family, who told me they confine their travels to County Waterford. Some Reilly travellers were also present on the day I visited them. Of particular interest was their traditional horse-drawn caravan, which they told me was now forty years old. I was offered access to the interior, which had a nice solid-fuel cooker/heater. A picture of the caravan is hereunder, parked outside the entrance to the former Malcomson Cotton Mill, which later became a Tannery. In recent years, I have photographed travellers with the surname Reilly in both mid-Tipperary and County Carlow, some of which are online, or have been published (with permission).
Above: M. Delaney himself, head of the travelling family referred to previously.
The gate seen here was formerly the gate to the Malcomson mansion - Mayfield House,
which in 1934 became the Tannery office.
Members of the Delaney and Reilly families.
John Reilly with young Mary Delaney on horseback.
The gate seen here was formerly the gate to the Malcomson mansion - Mayfield House,
which in 1934 became the Tannery office.
