Known locally now as Dan Mullan`s, this old house goes back quite a while. 1n 1832, there was a Hugh Moran living in this place, one of the many Moran families in Tullybrick, over the early 1800s. It was a small holding, situated along the side of the Tullybrick glen. Then, by 1856, Andrew Moran, most likely Hugh`s son, was occupying this house. By 1901, James Mullan, who originally came from Glenelly, is living there. James is 54, his wife Rose, is 48, so it is unlikely that he ` married in` to Andrew Moran`s family. Andrew was still the owner until the 1890s. At that time, James and Rose had five sons, Barney 21, John 17, Neil 15, Dan 11 and James 9. They had one daughter, Madge 19. Dan eventually took on the farm and was the last person to live there. He never married and so had no heirs.
Dan was drawn into the politics of his early lifetime, as the Irish War of Independence eventually reached the Sixtowns. Many young people on both sides of the political divide, from 1919 to 1923, got involved to varying degrees, in what was happening around them. Dan joined the local brigade of the IRA and had the rank of 1st lieutenant in the local battalion. Local folklore has it that his neighbours, the Phillips, would always warn him if the police came looking for him at any time.
When the troubles passed, Dan just carried on working his little farm until he died. Many years later, some children who were playing in Tullybrick glen, accidently uncovered an old rifle which Dan had hidden away many long years before which their father quickly disposed of. Dan was a great story teller and ceildhied around the houses of Sixtowns.
