Togher's Financial Sector - 03 - Credit Union

From humble beginnings in the old Muintir na Tire cottage to its present location since the early 1980s , the Blog looks back at the history of the Togher branch of the Lough Credit Union.

The Lough Credit Union
100 - 103 Bandon Road , The Lough

The Lough Credit Union opened for business at the junction of Bandon Road and McCurtains Villas at The Lough parish in 1966. Almost immediately , it opened a sub office in Togher which was housed in the old Muintir na Tire house and operated by local members of the community there. 

Muintir na Tire cottage , Togher Road
Original home of Credit Union in Togher

Muintir na Tire site in present day

Circa 1980/81 , a new purpose built sub office of The Lough Credit Union was opened on the corner of Shournagh Lawn fronting onto the Togher Road. In 1989 , it applied for planning permission to extend its footprint. As of 2026 , its area has increased again with an internal staff car park with enclosed customer parking spaces on the main Togher Road outside its premises. This year marks its 60th Anniversary since its founding! Nowadays its nestled inside Togher's newest estate , Shournagh Grove.

Future site of Credit Union 1971
* right of transformer Owenacurra Court

Future site of the Credit Union 1976
Photo shows members of the Pearse , Wilkinson
 & Carroll families

Aerial view of Credit Union 1996
( corner of Shournagh Lawn on Togher Road )

Location of " new " Credit Union 2009

Extended footprint to right of Credit Union 2019

Aerial view of The Lough Credit Union , Togher Road

 

To date The Lough Credit Unions have a combined asset size of  €115m with 14,000 members and a staff of 19 across its 2 branches under the leadership of Jamie O'Leary.

Jamie O'Leary CEO
The Lough Credit Unions

 

Old Credit Union signage

Updated Credit Union signage 2026

 Why the " Lough " Credit Union?

People would be forgiven for thinking they were in another Parish when they pass the " Lough " Credit Union in Togher. The reason for the name lies in the fact that when The Lough Credit Union opened a sub-office in Togher to cover a wider demographic distinct from its catchment area on Bandon Road , it did so under its registered business name. Allied to that was the fact that Togher at the time was a part of The Lough R.C. Parish.

Togher's Financial Sector - 02 - Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland , Hazel Road , Togher 1976


The second in the series dealing with Togher's financial houses looks now at the Bank of Ireland which opened in the early 1970s to capitalize on the booming population and its surrounding region populated by farmers.

Paul O'Byrne - Branch Manager
Togher Bank of Ireland 1970

Newspaper information on BOI Togher
Paul O'Byrne ( Bottom right )

1970 newspaper ad detailing new Togher branch 

The Bank even traveled!
Cork Examiner January 3rd 1970

While it wasn't Togher's first ever financial institution , it was nonetheless one of it's founding fathers. When plans were put in place to build a second shopping centre - Southside shopping centre ( the first being Togher shopping centre off Togher Road in 1969 ) , the bank was one of the original tenants occupying the corner unit which fronted onto Hazel Road.  Like all other businesses located there it was built on the former site of Hosford's farm. 

Bank of Ireland 1971
Corner building on right next to tree

Side entrance view to Bank of Ireland
Right side of photograph 

The Bank of Ireland opened for business in 1970 under the leadership of Dublin born Mr. Paul K. O'Byrne ( see all above ) and was , besides the Credit Union ( then housed in the Muintir na Tire cottage opposite the National School ) , the only business where people could save and borrow. The building was constructed with bricks and a PVC fascia. It was entered from the side near Byrne's butchers and had steps leading up to Hazel Road along its southerly wall. Pedestrians could also use the footpath which rounded its way up and alongside a raised flower bed. Children of the time would often playfully annoy the clerks who worked in offices which were in full view from the footpath which made its way up Hazel Road. All that separated both from each other was a small grass verge.

Alternate view of Bank of Ireland
* Note grass verge on right side off Hazel Road

However it's tenancy was to be short lived as it never came out of the 1970s! Following the completion of Wilton shopping centre , it became clear that a move was on the cards and indeed in early 1979 , the bank closed its doors in Togher for the last time and moved to a unit just inside the main doors of the new Wilton shopping centre ( the centre having opened in 1977 ) while its own new standalone building was under construction. This eventually opened in 1980 ( see below ) and Togher's first and last branch of Bank of Ireland had found a new home where it exists to this very day. The old premises in Togher became Casey's launderette. 

Bank of Ireland conjen box 1970s

 

Interestingly enough , while in Togher , it never suffered a bank raid. In fact the only unit to have an armed robbery was the Five Star! ( read here ). Also , eagle eyed readers will probably have noted the 1970s photograph displays the logo Bank of Ireland Group. The reason for the name was because a year  earlier in 1969 , The National Bank of Ireland , Hibernian and Bank of Ireland merged to form the Bank of Ireland Group. 

Bank of Ireland logo 1970s

The Bank of Ireland was from an historical point of view first created on 5 April 1783 ,  243 years ago in a private house in Dublin. By 1922 , it was appointed as banker to the Government of Ireland. Below are the old Irish currency notes which would have been issued by the Central Bank of Ireland during the 1970s. Interestingly enough , when Ireland transitioned from the old system of Pounds , Shillings and Pence £sp a.k.a. LSD on Monday 15th February 1971 , the notes were retained ( Lady Lavery series introduced as first native Irish currency on 10th September 1928 ) while new coinage was minted. However certain coins such as the old penny were interchangeable almost up to 1980.

Irish One Pound note
10th September 1928 - 30th September 1976

Old One Penny coin ( 1d )

New Irish One Pound note
June 1977 - June 1990

New One Pence coin 1971

Like a ghost which deserted its place of origin , the former Togher branch of Bank of Ireland has since 1980 been sited off Sarsfield Road next to Wilton shopping centre. However people of a certain age will well remember its old home off Hazel Road in Togher.

Cork Examiner 1979 advertisement
for new location of Bank of Ireland

Former Togher branch of Bank of Ireland
New premises since 1980 opp. Penney's
Sarsfield Road , Wilton Shopping Centre

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

 

Lisa , Katie , Declan & Mick O'Farrell
Bank of Ireland Group

The Bog - A Geological History

The Bog as of 2026

Geographically nestled in between an elongated solitary limestone outcrop to its north-east ( The Mountain ) and a cluster of same to its south ( Quarry/The Heighties ) , the Bog sat silently for thousands of years. But human interference since the 19th Century has seen to its eventual transformation and ultimately its complete erasure. This article will detail its geological history up to present times.

 1830

The Bog - 1830s Map

 

The Bog - 1830s Ai reconstruction

 The Bog - 1830s Ground Level showing spring overflowing

 and willow in full bloom

The OS maps above ( 1830s ) and below ( 1880s - 1915 ) are the earliest examples of modern day mapping of The Bog. The article will treat each map with Ai to give a photo realistic view of the area from their aerial perspectives and even their ground levels. Of particular note is the changes in just a few decades! The Bog actually traverses 2 Townlands ; Clashduff and Deanrock. It was not in the classical sense of the word a true Bog but more a waterlogged wetland which acted as the Glasheen River's natural flood plain. It was fed by several underground streamlets which emanated from the high ground of Clashduff though limestone fissures. It contained a natural spring which flowed alongside an Osiery and into the nearby Glasheen River. The land itself sat 30 feet above sea level with a gently sloping gradient to its north west. In the 19th Century , the landowner in lieu of draining the Bog , had a drainage channel cut out at a downward angle to meet up with the flow of the spring and widened its natural channel to aid significantly in carrying away moisture and rainfall to free up a greater part of the Bog for grazing purposes. The spring was capped in the late 1970s and the entire Bog was leveled and covered in topsoil in the 1990s and is in use as a recreational park to date ( see below ).

1880s - 1915

The Bog - 1880 to 1915 map

The Bog - 1915 Ai reconstruction



The Bog - 1915 ground level from Summerstown Lane

Using the 1830s map ( earliest reference which will be used as a template ) as shown above , the article will now travel back Millions of years to highlight the creation of the area from its very beginnings through several important stages to bring the story up to more recent times.

 

 Stage 1 - Ordovician Period

 

 Stage 2 - Carboniferous Period

 

 
Stage 3 - Glacial Period ( Ice Age )

 
Stage 4 - Post Glacial Period

Stage 5 - Mature Prehistoric

Stage 6 - 10th Century 

Stage 5 & 6 Comparison Chart

Stage 7 - 1951

The Bog - Aerial photograph 1951

The Bog - Ai reconstruction of above

The stage was set in 1967 when Cork Corporation bought up huge swathes of land in the Togher region for social housing schemes. As part of the estate of Harry Hosford , the Bog fell into this category. Deemed to be unsuitable for the construction of houses due to its waterlogged condition , it became a de facto dumping ground for builders debris. Even the once proud Clashduff House was unceremoniously bulldozed into hollows. Of course local children would use it as an adventure playground where the land alternated from swampy bog to dry mounds of earth to trees and even an open drainage channel which flowed into the nearby Glasheen River. Circa 1976 and the Corporation began the job of capping the spring and flattening the entire area and coating it with hundreds of tons of topsoil to completely change it from a local wetland to a sparse tract of open barren land. But that too would undergo a miraculous transformation in  the 1980s. In the 1990s the Corporation finally began the process of turning the former historical wetland into a functioning recreational park by railing the entire perimeter and installing a football pitch , tennis court , children's playground and more recently a community garden and historical tribute peace park. It should be noted that the City Council yard is located in the corner of the former Bog next to the Glasheen River. *This will feature in a future article on this blog.

The Bog - 1967

The Bog - Aerial photograph 1967


The Bog - 1969

The Bog - Aerial photograph 1969


The Bog - 1971

The Bog - North view 1971

The Bog - South view 1971

The Bog - North West view 1971

The Bog - 1976

View from Deanrock Estate looking towards
Southside Shopping Centre & Five Star

 
The Bog - 2026

View from Deanrock Estate in modern times