The big day in Hugh’s life came when on Saturday 9th July 1910, at 3 o’clock, he married his long time sweetheart Miss Barbara Mary Ennis at St. Peters Church in Ballymitty, County Wexford in Ireland.
St Peters RC Church in Ballymitty, County Wexford, were Hugh and Barbara were married on Saturday 9th July 1910. The chalice that is still used for the Mass, was presented to St Peters church by the Ennis family in 1910.
The marriage was recorded at the Parish Church in Carrig-on-Bannow in 1910 (All the Parish marriages were registered there up to 1940), the marriage was witnessed by John Keogh, a Irishman that Hugh held in the highest esteem, it was also witnessed by Edith Ennis who was Barbara’s younger sister, aged 31, from Hugh’s family only his brother Richard attended the wedding, Hugh was then aged 35 and Barbara was aged 32, she was one of three children belonging to Mr. John J. Ennis J.P, formerly a Chief Purser and went on to be the Passenger Manager of the Allan Line. Hugh McElroy’s brother Reverend the Prior Richard McElroy RCL who had just recently been made Prior of St Mary’s Priory in Bodmin, performed the marriage, Barbara’s father presented the priest of St. Peters Church with a silver chalice to be used in the ceremony of Hugh and Barbara’s marriage, the silver chalice remained in the church to this present day, and has been used in all their masses ever since, an item of great detail and beauty.
Hugh with Barbara and little John Patrick Ennis (son of Barbara’s brother John) This photo was taken in Waterford, County Wexford, while they were still on honeymoon in October 1910
Courtesy of National Library of Ireland – Poole Collection, reference number Poole 0 8041
Hugh had known Barbara when they were both growing up in Liverpool; and he often met Barbara at her father’s office which was situated in Liverpool, Barbara’s father had just moved to “Springwood” from 5, Derwent Road, West Derby in Liverpool, after his retirement, 5, Derwent Road is where incidentally Barbara, her sister Edith and brother John were born, their mother Elizabeth, was also born in Liverpool, she was 8 years younger than John Ennis her husband.
After their marriage, Hugh and Barbara lived with her father for a short while, because she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her farther, Mr. John J. Ennis, was a 75 year old widower, who shared the Family Estate and home with his younger brother Aidan Ennis (aged 70) who was a farmer, there was also sixteen other people who were accommodated in the house “Springwood”, which was on the family estate, in Tullycanna, Ballymitty in Co. Wexford, which is situated about one mile along the Wexford Road from Ballymitty Church, John Ennis was by then a sick man and was cared for by a resident nurse, at his home (which would be considered a large house in those days) consisted of ten occupied rooms, also fifteen out offices (other buildings) and had nine windows at the front of the house, (the house is still the same today, nothing has changed, only the paint) it was run by domestic servants, the farming property also employed farmhands and a stableman, Hugh and Barbara stayed there just short of 12 months and then moved back to England, to the “Polygon” which is situated in, The Polygon, Southampton, at the time of the disaster they had been married for less than two years, (22 months to be exact) and there were no children to the marriage.
Hugh and Barbara’s Marriage Certificate
The Ennis Family no longer live in Springwood as there are now, no surviving members, Louise Ennis (who was Barbara’s cousin) died in November 1987, aged 87, also Aidan Ennis, (son of Barbara’s brother, John) who was a Jesuit priest, died in 2006 in Dublin, aged 93, a gentle and very caring man, who I had the privilege to meet in 2003, “Springwood” was sold soon after Louise died, to John and Patience Nolan, who were from Rhodesia in Africa, John Nolan, would never allow “Springwood” to be photographed, for what ever his reasons were; I obtained six photos of “Springwood” for my research, that were later approved by John Nolan.
"Springwood” the Ennis family home
