countykilkenny

In the Ashbourne News Telegraph - Friday 06 May 1904 (where else would it be?) is a feature entitled "Kilkenny Castle", which includes:

In the drawing-room two mascots of the family are_preserved—a crystal ball and an old key. The crystal ball is of extreme age, and its origin is entirely legendary. In Pagan times such halls were used for divination, even as they are now by Bond-street soothsayers, but in Ireland and Scotland they became • valued possession of the early Christian saints. They were always associated with the working of miracles, and were believed to possess healing properties of supernatural power. The 'Osiden Key" was the chief butler's symbol of office, and hung at his girdle when he attended the King. The rise of the Ormondee is, indeed, marked by this little key. The founder of the great family which for seven centuries has borne the surname of Butler was an Anglo-Norman, by name Theobald Walter, eon of Herveius Walter by his wife Maude de Valois, and brother of .Archbishop Hubert Walter. who occupied the See of Canterbury in the reigns of Richard I. and John. Theobag Walter came to Ireland with Henry 11., and, for services rendered in the King's cause, had conferred upon him the title of "Chief Butler of Ireland." This Theobald Walter's only son was the first to assume the surname of Le Botiler, or Butler.

and this illustration

Symbol of office

Yes, a similar story in 1912 via Trove -
"... One relic preserved within its walls is the "Golden Key," which is a symbol of the office of Butler granted to the head
of the family more than seven centuries ago. ..."
See - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/170952979?searchTerm=%...

The key doesn't look very C13th. More like C18th.
O Mac will unlock the mystery ...

My wife's maiden name is Butler and she was the 2001 representative from South Australia for the Rose of Tralee quest. Her name resides on a glass wall in Tralee.

Barretstown (or Barrettstown) is in Kildare?

The machine would have held the track up while a series of vibrating prongs were lowered to rattled the ballast/stones under the sleepers. And if its not too early here's a YouTube of the going's on. youtu.be/j60braEk5c8?t=1m15s

The line is still twin tracked, and still very straight near Barretstown, Co. Kildare, if that is where we are.

Apparently for packing stones under railway sleepers. A ganger in the signal maintenance department of the then C.I.E. was killed at Dundrum Station in Tipperary when a tamping machine was reversing, and the man was inspecting pins in the sleepers. (Nenagh Guardian, 21 April 1962) In 1966, British Railways planned to save £5 million every year by replacing pick-and-shovel gangs (reducing line maintenance staff from 23,000 to 16,000) with Tamping Machines. They were made by Rolls-Royce at their Shrewsbury factory. Theirs was called the Duomatic Levelling and Tamping Machine. (Irish Press, 1 September 1966) Could ours be a Rolls-Royce model?

I think the device might be following it, not preceeding it. I'd guess from the three optical instruments on it that it's checking the camber.

24 September 1904 was a Saturday ...

She is pretending to read 'The Lady of the House' with subtitle 'King and Queen in Ireland'.

Spot the Differences ...
catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000591565 catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000591566

[Aside] Interesting article about 'The Lady of the House' - irishmediahistory.com/2015/09/29/lady-of-the-house-1890-1...

That's the 4th 14th May 1904 edition


We've previously seen the same publication, if not the same edition, used as a prop.

Edit: It was the 15th April 1905 edition which we've seen before. Uncharacteristic of Pole not to reuse a prop. Perhaps the 4th May 1904 edition had disintegrated my then.

John Spooner Printed on good quality paper to still be in decent condition, having been in prop use for 5-ish months.