Togher's Financial Sector - 02 - Bank of Ireland

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.

Bank of Ireland , Hazel Road , Togher 1976

 
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

The Bank of Ireland opened for business in 1970 and was , beside 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.

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

Ancient Togher - Part 02 - Knocknamallavoge Castle

It is not generally known by historians but Togher once had a Castle! The following article shines the spotlight on the mysterious structure which has completely and utterly disappeared! However in order to uncover the mystery , it is necessary to look at another castle in the vicinity first as shown in the following article.

Knocknamallavoge Castle - Probable Illustration

Atypical depiction of Medieval stone tower with bawn

Cross section showing various stories

Schematic detailing various parts of castle

Rochfordstown Castle

Because the castle itself is no more , it is necessary to look across the Laune Valley at its sister , Rochfordstown , whose remnants as a castle are miraculously preserved as part of an outbuilding complete with Armorial Shield dating to 1630 still extant! But , in common with its Knocknamallavoge neighbour , the original castle dated back to the Late Medieval Period. Likewise , before the Norman Invasion , this townland was part of the lands of the Ui Mc Ceir and went under the original name of Ballinmollinhill or Settlement of the Mill , so anciently it would have tied to Togher and as such it is pertinent to include it here as a standing example. The Rochford family had a lineage with the townland going back almost 400 years at that point in time , meaning they were in situ since the 1200s! In 1630 , Sir Robert Travers purchased the castle and its lands from the Rochfords and incorporated his own Amorial Shield into the castle. Their tenure was however extremely brief as in 1659 , it was in the hands of Cromwellian adventurer William Hodder. By the 1770s , the White family were the new owners who quickly cleared away the old ruins to build their Georgian Castle White estate. Thankfully , they incorporated some of the old castle ruins into a stable and mounted the old Amorial Shield of the Travers family on its walls. The house itself was recently sold again on 18th October 2023.

Old castle walls converted into stables

Close up view of Old castle walls & Amorial Shield

Castlewhite House

** It must be mentioned that the Travers acquisition of Rochfordstown Castle was cursed by bad fortune!, They had not been long as owners when the Irish Rebellion swept over the estate as McCarthy and his rebel troops commandeered the location as part of their efforts to lay siege to Cork City. Enter one Murrough O'Brien a.k.a. Lord Inchiquin , an Irish Protestant , who under cover of darkness on 1st April 1641 left Cork City , with 200 Cavalry and 300 men on foot , and managed to navigate his way down Maher's Lane and completely take the rebel garrison by surprise , which then fled towards Ballincollig. Travers ( who was the nephew of the Elizabethan Poet Edmund Spenser! ) would later fight on the side of his rescuer , Lord Inchiquin at the Battle of Knocknanuss where he unfortunately died. His Estate and Castle , without a male heir to oversee its maintenance , fell into disrepair. Even though he had fought on the side of the Parliamentary Forces , his entire estate was deemed forfeit in the later Cromwellian Confiscations and proving bad luck follows bad luck , a doomed petition by his descendants to King Charles II in the 1660s , following the restoration of the Monarchy proved fruitless and the estate was , as mentioned previously , granted to William Hodder , who would later become Mayor of Cork City!

Murrough O'Brien , Lord Inchiquin
who led the attack on Rochfordstown Castle 1641

Knocknamallavoge Castle

When looking at Knocknamallavoge , it is also nesseasary to look at the original occupiers. Once part of the lands of the Ui Mc Ceir sept , following the Norman Invasion of 1177 , it among many other townlands fell under the direct control of De Cogan. Their stranglehold on the townland including many others was considerably lessened when the old De Cogan feudal ties were forever broken in a massive buy out by the Ronaynes in 1539. In regards to Togher , not only did they aggressively purchase Doughcloyne but also added Knocknmallavoge ( aka Knocknamullagh ) to their portfolio. This new ownership endured for almost 2 Centuries. However , following a strategic marriage by Dominick Sarsfield to one Catherine Ronayne ( the niece of Anthony Ronayne who then owned Doughcloyne ) in 1727 , ownership would once more change hands. When Anthony passed away , the property legally transferred to Dominick Sarsfield. Their son Thomas Sarsfield , many years later would secure a 999 year lease on Knocknamallavoge directly from his Brother-in-law Thomas Ronayne. This particular tenure lasted right up to 1947 when the Sarsfields liquidated their entire property portfolio to the S.M.A. and departed for the U.K. Generational tenant farmers such as the Coveney's continued to reside in the townland after their departure.

THE CASTLE

Chart detailing the probable stone Tower House

The article will now attempt to piece together the story behind the Castle. This phantom structure must have existed as even the 1842 OS maps mark its footprint as " Castle , Site Of ". In common with its neighbour across the Laune Valley , Rochfordstown ( see above ) Knocknamallavoge was once in the hands of the Ui Mc Ceir sept until their demise following the Norman Invasion of 1177. De Cogan , a Norman Knight , was given command of the townland amomngst many other tracts of land. It is thought that initially a Motte and Bailey would have been constructed followed much later by a stone fortification. The footprint which still exists to this day betrays its past. A roughly rectangular template still existed in the 19th Century. Undoubtedly , the oddly shaped ground to its immediate west would have been its bawn , which in 1842 was a tree enclosed space , perhaps still surrounded by the remnants of a wall. What must be clarified though is the terminology. It most probably was not a castle at all , at least not in the truer sense of a castellated structure and was most likely a stone Tower House , perhaps 3 to 4 stories high surrounded by a bawn and gardens enclosed in a low stone wall ( see chart above ) with smaller peasant holdings outside or nearby. These were built in their thousands all over Ireland during the Late Medieval Period ( c.1400s ) and their purpose suited the scenario at the time. In the event of a raid , all people and cattle could be quickly hoarded inside behind a big heavy wooden door which would be barred on the inside. The occupiers were thus safe until help could arrive the following morning. Evidence from the time also suggests that the habit of pouring boiling oil from the top of the tower house down onto its invaders usually resulted in the band of thieves fearing for their lives and rapidly departing! It was only the advent of gunpowder and cannons which rendered their usefulness null and void. And it is perhaps this later invention which saw its death knell? As to the question of who built it , there can be no question but that De Cogan's descendants built it. The previously shown remains of Rochfordstown Castle show the type of stone which would have used in its construction and give a good indication of what it would have looked like.

Access Roads

1840s OS map showing " Castle , Site Of "
* Note : Access route down to Waterfall Road
& extant access route off Spur Hill to west

Access route off Spur Hill

The " Castle " would have had several access roads or routes. One which is still in existence to this day , can be found on Spur Hill not far from Crossnacroha aka Lios Cross which is near to an ancient Ring Fort ( see here ). Another more ancient extinct route lead down from the Castle first heading west and then following a wooded area southwards to the Glasheen River where a timber bridge lead onto the Waterfall Road. Over time this area became subject to frequent flooding and eventually the route was abandoned altogether. It must be mentioned that a later trackway which followed the Glasheen River down through Morrison's Ravine later linked up at the termination point of the old castle route , which today is guarded by a steel gate which is visible from the road. Another secondary route lead directly south from the actual castle but this was most probably a cattle road.

Original termination of old castle route

Later map showing disruption of old castle route 
and Morrison's Ravine trackway linking up 

Gate leading to Morrison's Ravine off Waterfall Road

Close up of gate which also marks the original
 termination of old castle route

The following images show a sandpit located close to the old south facing castle road. This would have been used for tenants for building purposes and today is a deep pit surrounded by heavy vegetation.

Sand pit indicated by circular radiating lines
and interior hachured vertical lines
dug out in 19th Century near old access route

Google Earth 3d image of sand pit

Demise of Castle

The challenge now in the absence of any empirical proof or even local folklore is how to discover what actually became of the Castle in Knocknamallavoge! However its location might just betray the reason for its disappearance. Ireland during the 14th and 15th Centuries amidst the Black Death or Bubonic Plague ( which weakened English control over the region ) was subject to a Gaelic Resurgence and the McCarthy's of Muskerry were in a position to begin reclaiming land which had been lost to the Normans. In this scenario , the stone tower house would have undoubtedly come under attack. Even if it had survived all of that , there was then the Confederate Wars of 1641 , where initially the McCarthy's again may have attacked , but leaving all of that aside , the arrival of Cromwell's forces in 1649 coupled with the advent of gunpowder and cannon , a hypothetical attack would have easily destroyed the stone tower. Another avenue of conjecture rests on the simple act of the owners dismantling the stone tower so as to lessen any interest in their land! Whilst all of the preceding scenarios are historically pure conjecture , at least one may be the truth. One thing is for certain. The castle is no more! Two final lines of inquiry now present themselves : Archaeological excavation or Lidar.  

Land to left of cattle road shows a distinct square shape
with outline of bawn to its north

Lidar image shows faint outline
south of access road as shown above

Acknowledgements:

https://roaringwaterjournal.com