At present I am engaged in researching Ballinacourty Lighthouse families, from the establishment of the station in 1858. For those who remember Bobby and Biddy Higginbotham I thought a short profile might interest readers.

The Higginbotham family had a long association with Ballinacourty Lighthouse. Robert (Bobby) Higginbotham and his wife Bridget (Biddy) were a well known couple in Ballinacourty. For a number of years I worked with Bobby at the leather factory in Dungarvan. It was here I came to know this quiet-spoken man with spiked white hair which seemed to stand unattended on his head, who always had a mischievous twinkle in merry blue eyes and a customary rolled cigarette held between two fingers. To me he was a real gentleman, always pleasant and eager to learn how your day went. His greeting 'Well, how are you today, son' was a genuine enquiry. When I started work in the buffing room of the leather factory Bobby was always on hand to help advise. Bobby Higginbotham came from a long line of Lightkeepers who served at most, if not all, of the lighthouses around the country. Researching the family was easy enough, thanks to Bobby's daughter, Mary Stack. What was exciting, though, was to discover that Bobby's grandfather, William, was the first Lightkeeper at Ballinacourty.

The Higginbotham family have their roots in Wexford. William was born in 1828. He was married to Mary Carr and the couple had 12 children. Five of these: Joseph, Henry, Patrick, John, and James all served as Keepers. William did not stay at Ballinacourty; he was transferred to other stations, but returned in 1877. In March 1887 he passed on responsibility to his son Henry. Henry was dogged by illness and in the course of his service he had to be relieved of his duties on a number of occasions. This culminated in 1890 when he had to wire headquarters for assistance. Presumably through illness, he was retired later that same year; he was aged 26 at that time. He paid a courtesy visit to the station in 1897. This led me to believe that he must have lived in the area, and through further research I located Henry who was a retired naval man who was living in Stradbally at that time. Joseph was never posted to Ballinacourty but did relief duty for George Donleavy on two occasions in the latter part of the 19th century. His brother Patrick later took charge of Ballinacourty. Patrick married a local lady, Mary Morrissey, of Ballynaskeha and later of Main Street Dungarvan, on 7 August 1899. George Donleavy, the Lightkeeper at Ballinacourty at the time, attended the wedding and dressed the flagstaff on the tower in honour of the occasion. Patrick and Mary had two children, Mary and Bobby. Bobby was born in 1904 at Inisheer Lighthouse where his father Patrick was stationed. As a youngster he travelled extensively as Patrick was transferred to various lighthouses around the coast. It was a dream childhood, and in later years he would recall the events with great enthusiasm to his children. His experiences could not but have a telling effect. He was reared on his father's stories of wrecks and rescues, and that yearning to take charge of a lighthouse must certainly have been a goal for him. He was appointed Attendant of Ballinacourty Lighthouse in 1951, and was witness to the light being converted to electric in 1964. He spent a total of 27 happy years as Attendant of the lighthouse. Bobby married a local lady, Bridget Fitzgerald of Tallacoole.

The couple had a very close relationship and were devoted to each other. Bobby was a jovial character by nature; he was well able to spin a yarn, yet he was a man of strong moral and ethical principles. He was never more happy than when engaging you in serious conversation, and then walked away smiling with a parting 'there you are son!' leaving you wondering whether he was serious. Much later you realised that the wily Keeper had indeed taken you for a ride. I am also sure that he would cringe at this outpouring of attention. One of Bobby's favourite leisure pursuits was shooting. He was a keen hunter and was accompanied during the hunting season by Dick Daly, Billy Maher, and Michael O'Connor. His daughter Mary recalls that the house was full of pheasants during the season. He was also good at catching lobsters and there was always plentiful supply of these in the house. The couple had two children, Eileen and Mary. Like their father, the girls grew up in an idyllic atmosphere. Prior to the light being electrified in 1964 their weekly chore of polishing all the brasswork in the lantern was eagerly looked forward to (oh yeah?). In stormy weather the girls were allowed up the tower to observe the elements at their worst. There was nothing more thrilling or exciting than watching wave after wave breaking over the retaining wall. The downside to this was quite often flooding finding its way under the dwelling-house door.

Biddy was a strong minded woman who spoke her mind regardless of the circumstances or the company. On these occasions Bobby suffered no discomfort- he probably derived a certain enjoyment. As an illustration of this, I leave you with a little extract from the life of Bobby and Biddy. Canon Farrell was on a fundraising campaign. Alterations were being carried out at Ballinroad church. Everyone remembers the occasion. He went from house to house asking for contributions. Arriving at the lighthouse, he was invited in. Bobby offered a chair. The parish priest went into great detail about the work that he was about undertake and went on to say that his particular mission on this occasion was the raising of funds to replace the stations of the cross which hung on the walls of Ballinroad church. Biddy remained tight lipped and allowed him to finish before she launched into the attack. 'Now then, Canon Farrell, you mean to tell me that you are going to replace the Stations?' 'Well…yes…they are going to be replaced' the priest replied. Bobby observed the proceedings with a certain amount of glee as his wife swung into action. 'Well…now Canon Farrell, I am certainly not going to contribute to the removal of a Station which was donated and placed on the wall by my father!' The parish priest was taken aback but was not about to be undone by a mere woman. 'If you're so mad about it' he replied 'I will bring it down to you and you can hang it over your bed!' I leave you to ponder the outcome, and picture Bobby chuckling quietly at the Canon's remark. Bobby Higginbotham retired from his position as Attendant in 1978. Biddy died in 1979; her beloved Bobby followed her two years later. Bobby's sister Mary died in 1980.

©Eddie Cantwell June 2006