Moyvane is unusual in that three of our establishments refer to different names of the village – Murhur National School, Moyvane Post Office and Newtownsandes Co-op. The Village Development Association are gearing up to have a second plebiscite to make Moyvane the legally recognised name on the register of electors and bring to an end more than a century of name-changing. The name Moyvane was adopted by the village in 1939 when Father O’Sullivan, who was the Parish Priest at the time and he had hoped that “Newtownsandes be given a Christian burial”. However, Newtownsandes remained on as the name of the village’s electoral division. In December 2000, the Development Association launched a plebiscite to make Moyvane the official name, but it failed because less than half the population voted in favour of the change.
Click here to view a 5 minute RTE documentary on the name change (5mbs – Real Video file)
Click here to listen to a 3.5 minute Radio 1 documentary on the name change (0.5mbs – Real Audio file)
Dan Keane hoped then that their plebiscite plans had not gone up in smoke like the poem he wrote about the landlord whom Newtownsandes is named after.
When Georgie Sandes went down to hell the Devil got the thongs, Saying a long time I have waited to roast this tyrant Sandes. The poor he hunted from their beds, the rich he robbed and broke, And now he’ll be tormented with plenty of fire and smoke.
Now 5 years later, they are hoping that a second plebiscite will be successful with the majority of the Moyvane population xpected to vote for the name change. Recently, Gabriel Fitzmaurice explained to Pat Kenny on RTE Radio One, the many aspects of the plebiscite and the multiple village names used down through our history.
Click here to listen to the fascinating 10 minute interview (6mbs – WMA file)
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