Kilkenny character reflects on remarkable life after 90th birthday

We spoke to Ned in the company of his wife Anna, in their lovely sitting room with a roaring fire in Mullinavat village in recent times. Born 90 years ago, Edward ‘Ned’ Delahunty was one of eight children born in Ballinakill, a small townland near the famous South Kilkenny landmark of Tory Hill in the Mullinavat parish.

A farmer’s son, his parents, John and Catherine, farmed 160 acres in different parts of the parish and also in Templeroum parish.

Ned was one of the last pupils to attend the old national school, now the parish church hall in Mullinavat. Later, when the new school was built 85 years ago in the village, he transferred there for a short time before his 13th birthday.

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He learned to milk cows as a very young boy; it was the thing to do then. Milking by hand, he was still not a teenager when he learned to drive and ploughed with horses at 12 years of age. Ned told me that an acre a day was good going when ploughing. All going well with the soil, he loved the soil—every inch and blade of grass on the family farm.

There were always horses in the Delahunty family, who had been in Ballinakill for generations, going back as far as James Scurry, the Irish scholar whose mother came from the same house and who lived there and in Knockhouse afterwards. Scurry was spoken highly of in 1820 when he published in Waterford an Irish translation of John Baptista Manni's Four Maxims of Christian Philosophy. He is remembered still, and a local history group has kept his name alive, as he is buried in the Mullinavat graveyard in the graves of his in-laws—his wife’s people, the Delahuntys. The Irish scholar was buried three times; “there is another story in that for another day.”

Ned’s father bred a horse, ‘Lough an Easpaig,’ which went on to represent Ireland in show jumping. Ned remembers, as a young man, watching this horse jumping on his own over fences and returning to jump them again and again. He was bred to be a show jumper and was highly successful.

Ned rode ‘Lough an Easpaig’ bareback and was thrown from him, resulting in a very sore back for months after. Still, he loved the adventure and was perhaps responsible for the Army purchasing the horse as a show jumper; Ned may have tamed the horse well.

He loved the land, and his father, who lived to the age of 96, purchased a David Brown tractor. Ned was the first of the boys to drive and use it. From there, they started a hire machinery service for farmers. His father was a careful man with finances, and as Ned said, not a penny went astray. This allowed them to purchase other machinery, and with his brother Michael, who, as he said himself, was a good bit younger, they worked together for a long time with the family-owned machinery until Ned was about 30 years of age.

It was seasonal work then, and when he married Anna Cody from Castlebanney (married 60 years last month), he moved to Castlebanney and worked at Clover Meats for five years. Interestingly, he recalled his time in the beef-killing section at the plant in Ferrybank and the task of carrying 16-stone carcasses on their shoulders. He got on well there with his manager, Richard Frisby, who was also from Mullinavat. However, as it became seasonal, he shifted to work at Roadstone Ltd at the block plant in Grannagh.

A nugget of industrial times then was that, on many occasions, overtime lasted a good many hours per week. He remembers working 35 hours extra in a five-and-a-half-day week. The money was very good there, but after over a decade, the man who came from the soil always had a great grá to go back. He teamed up again with his dear brother Michael, and for 35 years, they crisscrossed the South Kilkenny countryside—ploughing, sowing, reaping, cutting, and in modern times, silage and all that came with new kinds of machinery.

He loved the old ‘fetes,’ dancing, and playing in the hurling and football tourneys that accompanied them. He met Anna at one of these in Ballyhale after hurling a match for Mullinavat against Knocktopher. As they say, “the rest is history.” They had four daughters (Catherine, Mary, Noleen, and Olivia), who are now blessed with children of their own, giving Ned and Anna three great-grandchildren in recent times, ensuring a fourth generation follows.

He played for Mullinavat from around 17 to 32 years of age for their senior and underage teams, playing junior hurling and football. A fierce defender, he remembers playing against the likes of Denis Heaslip and Eddie Keher in hurling games. He said that in his time, John Sutton from Rahard at midfield was one of the greatest, and after him, another Mullinavat man, Mossy Murphy, both of whom won All-Irelands with Kilkenny. Three of his sons-in-law, John Dunphy and Michael Law, have championship medals with Mullinavat and All-Ireland medals. Willie O’Connor captained a winning Kilkenny All-Ireland team, and Olivia’s partner, Steve Monks, also enjoys sport.

Ned now has great joy in seeing his grandson, young George O’Connor (joint captain), playing senior hurling for his beloved Mullinavat.

Ned, now marking his 90th birthday, still gets in a bit of work, does his exercises each day, walks, and visits his dear brother Michael every morning for a family chat. They have lots in common and are “brothers in arms,” sharing a love of the land and machinery and having worked so well together for nearly four decades. He is in remarkable shape and knows it.

Born a few fields from Tory Hill, he remembers the cross being erected in 1954, the frocan berries being picked and eaten, and going up before any roads were put in. He recalls it being planted with trees by the State and the respect the older generation had for the hill, its history, and traditions, as well as the many stories associated with it.

Ned and Anna have a lovely residence in Mullinavat village. One would not guess Ned is 90 years old, as he demonstrated how, each morning and evening, he goes through a routine of exercises. In years gone by, the game of darts was big for Ned. He loved throwing them and won many dart matches. His time on different tug-of-war teams was special to him. He teamed up with different people over a long number of years—participants from Slieverue, Glenmore, Mullinavat, Tullogher, and elsewhere—winning many tournaments. More importantly, he enjoyed the participation, the friendships, the competition, and the after-match chats.

He is happy at 90, blessed with health and activity, interested in farming and news programmes on TV, reading the paper, going for walks, still driving his car, and attending Saint Beacon’s Church with Anna each morning when they can, to hear Fr Liam giving sermons of useful knowledge to those present.

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