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Eustace Family of
Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland; Master Painters & Decorators:
By
Ronan Eustace; as published in Journal of the Old Drogheda Society (2007)
The Eustaces of
Drogheda, County Louth in Ireland have been one of Drogheda’s most prominent
painting and decorating families for several generations.
Originally from the
Chord Road area of Drogheda, they were connected by marriage to the Downe family,
another well-known family of painters and decorators. The Downes brothers
(Edward and Thomas) and their father Richard were master craftsmen and their
meticulous attention to detail was a byword in Drogheda’s painting and
decorating business for several decades. The Downe family originally lived on
Chord Road but eventually moved to premises formerly owned by the Thornton
family at 33 St. Peter Street in Drogheda.
Peter Eustace was born
in 1854 and died in 1920 in Drogheda at the age of 65 years. He was the son of
James Eustace and Mary Dunn. Peter married Anne Downes on Sept 17, 1874 in the
west ward, Union of Drogheda in the town of Drogheda. James Eustace’s occupation
is listed as a plasterer. Anne Downes was the daughter of Richard Downes, a
painter. The witnesses at the wedding were Andrew Wilson and Kate Farrell.
Anthony Goss, parish priest officiated at the ceremony.
Mary Eustace, age 70, widow of
plasterer, died July 4 1874 of old age, no medical attendant present.
Her death was registered
in West Ward, St. Peters, Drogheda on July 14 1874 by Jane Leonard who was
present at death which took place on Stockwell Lane, Drogheda.
Peter
Eustace and Anne Downes had a large family of fifteen children of which 12
survived.
Their children included;
1. James
Eustace who was born 10 Sept. 1875 at St Peter's, East Ward, Drogheda. He
married Maria Flaherty. They were living in Galway in 1911. James died in 1960.
They were the parents of May (1904), Esther (1907, Clare (1910), Alacoque (1911)
and Tony (1912) who became a medical officer for County Meath;
2. Richard
Joseph Eustace was born in 1877 and did not marry;
3. Peter
Eustace, born in 1881, married May Reilly in 1912 and had a large family,
including Gerald Eustace who became a priest and Cal who became a nun and
Oliver, Joe, Paddy, Rory, Malachy, Dessie and Marie.
4. Thomas
Eustace, born in 1883, married Nancy Callan and died in 1957. Nancy Callan was
born in 1891 and died in 1984;
5. Charles
Anthony Eustace, my father, was born in 1884 and died in 1971. Charles married
Mary Jane Lennon, a daughter of Peter Lennon who was superintendent of the
Drogheda Corporation Waterworks Department. Peter Lennon also had a long
connection with Drogheda’s Volunteer Fire Brigade.
6. Eva
Eustace born in 1887 married Alfred Connolly in 1912. He was a brother of
Patrick Connolly who had a Public House at the corner of Shop Street and Dyer
Street;
7. Mary
Eustace, born in 1890, married George Crean of Rathmines, County Dublin in 1916
and died in 1969;
8. Adam,
twin to Eve died young;
9. Eve,
twin to Adam died young;
10. John
Eustace born in 1892 married Mae Bolger;
11. Alacoque
(Cosy) Eustace born in 1894, married Walter O’ Gorman;
12. Anthony
Charles Eustace was born in 1896 and died in 1969. He married Emilie Cecilia
Nicholson from London.
Charles Anthony Eustace and Mary Jane Lennon
had a large family. Their children were;
1. Peter
Eustace who married Greta Moran from the well-known Mornington family who were
publicans;
2. Charles
(Charlie);
3. James
(Jim);
4. Nancy
Eustace, born 1917, who married (1) Joe Corcoran and (2) Vivian Bowkette;
5. Frank
Eustace;
6. Catherine
Carmel Eustace, born in 1928, died in 2004;
7. Dymphna
Eustace, died 26 March 1982 ;
8. Antoinette
Eustace, born 1931, died 1997;
9. Kevin
Eustace, born in 1915, who drowned at age 17 in the River Boyne in a tragic
accident in 1932. Kevin fell into the river when playing with some of his pals
opposite Kieran’s Pub on Merchant’s Quay. Although a large crowd was gathered
and someone threw him a lifebuoy, it was of no help because he was unable to
swim and could not reach it.
10. Ronan
Lennon Eustace born 5 February 1926 is the author of this article. He married
Carmel McQuillan who was born 28 July 1929 in 1958. She died 22 May 1994.
Peter Eustace
and May Reilly had a large family which included:
1. Gerard
Eustace became a priest;
2. Cal
became a nun;
3. Joseph
Eustace was a furniture manufacturer on Dyer Street in Drogheda;
4. Oliver
Eustace who was also a furniture manufacturer on Dyer Street with his brother
Joe (above);
5. Patrick
(Paddy) Eustace who operated a garage business with his brother Rory who
follows;
6. Rory
Eustace operated the garage business with Paddy above;
7. Malachy
Eustace, was engaged in painting and decorating;
8. Desmond
(Dessie) Eustace was engaged in painting and decorating. His daughter Marie
married Michael Carr, a member of the well-known Carr family from St. Peter
Street;
9. Marie
Eustace.
Ronan Eustace married Carmel McQuillan in 1958.
They are the
parents of four children:
1. Richenda
Eustace, born 20 November 1959; married Frank Byrne on 30 January 1980 and has
three children including Justin born 16 June 1980, married Hazel Rositor on 21
September 2007; Sarah Jayne, born 13 July 1989 and Elsie born 26 May 1994;
2. Alan
Eustace, born 7 February 1959, married Clair Curran on 20 June 2004 and has two
children, Arron born 13 May, 2003 and Ronan B. born 16 June 2006;
3. Paul
B. Eustace, born 7 August, 1964;
4. Anthony
Charles Eustace, born 20 October 1968 who is a painter and decorator;
Painting and Decorating:
The Eustaces and Downes dominated the painting and
decorating trade in Drogheda during the late 1800’s and early
1900’s. Drogheda was a smaller town in those days and practically every shop
front was made from wood. Modern fascias like Perspex and plastic were unknown.
Long apprenticeships and excellent workmanship were the norm. The Eustace and
Downes families became very accomplished in delicate paintwork like sign writing,
gilt-work, graining and wallpapering. They guaranteed their work and their
craftsmanship was always in demand. Climbing to great heights was sometimes
required, but to them such danger held little fear.
The Downes family decorated St.
Peter’s Church in 1900. They also worked on all of the other churches in
Drogheda as well as Presentation Convent, Sisters of Charity and most of the
schools of the town. Richard Downes, the father died in 1912 and his wife
Elizabeth died in 1906. Thomas died in 1925 and his brother Edward died in 1955.
Neither of the sons married and the family name died out.
My father gave a good
description of St. Peter’s Church at the time, stating the confessionals were
french polished by two ladies. The Stations of the Cross were painted on zinc
sheeting by a Belgian artist who married a lady from the Chord Road area. The
angels on the walls of the centre aisle were painted on canvas and fixed to the
walls with gold side. Unfortunately the angels have disappeared,
Charles Anthony Eustace learned
the painting and decorating trade from his grandfather Richard Downes and Uncles
Thomas and Edward Downes. Charles married Mary Jane Lennon in 1908 and on the
14th of March of that year sailed to America on the S.S. Haverford
from Liverpool. My parents lived several years in Philadelphia. It is known that
on one occasion Charles acted as Petit Juror in a quarter session at City Hall.
Note : Charles Anthony Eustace, a house painter, and his wife Jane traveled to
Philadelphia in March 1908 to visit a D. Wade (connection on maternal side).
My parents returned to Ireland
from the USA in 19___. On arrival in Ireland, they found a country rife with
civil strife. They lived at 21 Trinity Street in Drogheda. One of my father’s
first jobs was working as a foreman painter on the painting and decorating of
Gormanston Aerodrome buildings that included Barrack Quarters, Mess Rooms,
Technical Building, Instructional Buildings and the Flight Sheds. This was a
very large undertaking requiring as many as 75 painters. Charles Anthony Eustace
was described by the main project contactors, Messrs. MacLaughlin & Harvey as a
“good, reliable man who carried out his duties in an energetic and conscientious
manner.”
My father took pride in his
sartorial elegance and always wore suits of the finest quality. He had a fine
singing voice and sang in the Dominican Church Choir. He also took part in many
productions of the Drogheda Operatic Society which was directed by the Misses
McGoughs of Laurence Street. My father’s great hobby was shooting and fishing,
and all the local estates and rivers were always open to him. He was a man of
great artistic ability and had attended the National College of Art in Dublin.
On his return from America, he continued to work for his uncle Eddie Downes in
the greater Drogheda area.
My Uncles Joe, Peter and Thomas
and cousins Malachy and Desmond were all in the painting and decorating business
and had premises in the Dyer Street area. Thomas Eustace entered the licensed
liquor trade in the 1930’s and also owned the Railway Bar on the Dublin Road as
well as running the bar and restaurant at the Drogheda Railway Station until his
retirement in 1955. Thomas was the father of Dr. Joseph Eustace, the well-known
eye specialist, Reverend Father Austin Eustace, who was Parish Priest of
Donaghmore, County Tyrone for a number of years, and Sister Mary Alaoque and Dr.
Monica Eustace Ryan. Thomas lived in Paradise Place in Drogheda. When he died in
1957, Ireland’s President Sean T. O’Kelly and his wife attended the Requiem Mass
at St. Peter’s Church as did General Richard Mulcahy TD. (Dr. Monica Eustace was
married to Dr. James Ryan who was a brother of Mrs. Sean O’Kelly.)
In 1942 when I was only sixteen,
I was told that the family business was eventually going to be mine, and Eddie
Downes wanted me to be trained to continue the high standards of the company. I
remember vividly that first morning at work, when my father, Uncles Joe, Peter,
cousin Malachy and Eddie Downes were there to meet me. (Looking back, I should
have walked out). At that time all the family worked for the Downes Brothers
firm. One of my first tasks was to paint the walls of St. Peter’s Church in
Drogheda which was a task no one was too keen to perform on a sixty-foot ladder,
even though there was a helper to move the ladder.
At that time and for many years
previously, most painters and decorators were skilled at making their own paint
and various materials such as yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, and cobalt
blue, colours used since time immemorial by great artists like Monet, Rembrandt,
Raphael etcetera were steeped over night in linseed oil or turpentine and
blended to get correct colours desired by clients especially owners of the large
period homes such as the Beaulieu House, in the surrounds of the town, which
were keen to impress their friends and guests with their good tastes. White lead
and zinc were used in the making of the undercoat. White and red lead was used
for priming and filler consisted of white lead and gold sides and pumice powder
was used to bind it all together. Terebene was used for drying out the paint.
Red lead was toxic and dangerous to birds and animals. We had to be especially
careful when we applied it to farm gates because cattle could lick it off and
become seriously ill or die.
Eddie Downes died in 1955 and I
took over the business. We re-established the retail trade in 1959 which had
been dormant for a number of years. In 1962, Noel Mullen, a highly-regarded
painter and decorator who had served his time as an apprentice to Charles
Anthony Eustace took over the contracting business and continued the high
standards of the Downes Brothers Company. Many years later, Noel painted the
curtains on the main altar at St. Peter’s Church in Drogheda. In 1976, I closed
the retail business and went back to decorating. In 2007 at the age of 81, I was
still continuing to do an odd job of painting and decorating.
Francis Eustace emigrated to the United
States and is found on the 1870 Federal Census, Jersey City, New Jersey. |
