The Laurels - Memorial Placue Unveiling

Billy O'Brien at The Laurels
June 2016

In June 2016 , Togher Historical Association paid a brief visit to The Laurels on Pouladuff Road. A decade later and what transpired in the interim was the stuff of dreams! Interviews with several family members , articles on the blog , plays , songs , book , movie , memorial park and worldwide media attention followed. To have played a small part in the fantastic events which unfolded was so rewarding for the Association and the blog. This article rounds things off nicely 10 years later with the official unveiling of a placue on The Laurels to honour the members of the Hegarty family who fought so gallantly for Irish freedom over a hundred years ago.

Billy O'Brien at The Laurels
June 2026

Previous to arriving at The Laurels to take part in the unveiling , it was decided to pay a visit to Frenche's Quay and highlight the Togher connection. Fennell's garage ( Nan Hegarty ) and Forde's funeral home ( Mamie Hegarty ) had their genesis in 1920s Pouladuff Road. Members of Nan's family and Mamie's family run both establishments and Keyser's Hill leads up to Mamies old home off Barracks Street. The region is wrapped around ancient history in the form of Elizabeth Fort. Notice was taken along the way of road signs pointing the way to Togher right out to The Laurels ( John Joe Hegarty ) to complete the pilgrimage. 

Fennell's garage , Frenches Quay

Forde's funeral home , Frenche's Quay

1926 Census showing John Forde , Mamie and family

Keyser's Hill which leads up to Mamie's old home

Togher road sign on Bishop's Street
opposite St. Finbarre's cathedral

On Sunday 14th June 2026 at 1.00 p.m. , the official unveiling of a placue at The Laurels on Pouladuff Road in honour of the Hegarty family took place. Following speeches by Jim Hegarty and Lord Mayor , Fergal Dennehy , the placue was revealed for all to see. Thanks were given to the current owners of the property , the O'Sullivans for permission to erect the oval shaped stone placue ( see below ) commemorating all of Cork No.1 Brigade and Cumann na mBan ; specifically H Company and Lehenagh Branch of Cumann na mBan. 

Placue above doorway of The Laurels

In attendance were all branches of the family , including Hegarty's , Forde's and Fennells. Also present were many friends and people from various local interest groups , including Billy O'Brien representing the Togher Historical Association , Fergal O'Connor of Togher Tidy Towns and Kieran O'Connell of the Ballyphehane 1916 Committee. Also present were Shirley Kelleher , grandniece of Joe Murphy and John Murphy , composer of " The Boy From Pouladuff " ( Joe Murphy ) and " The Hegartys of The Laurels " ( Hegarty family ).

Flag drape previous to unveiling

Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy
unveiling the placue

Billy O'Brien T.H.A.
Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy
Author Jim Hegarty

Jim Hegarty , L.M. Fergal Dennehy 
& Paul O'Neill ( Ann Sisk's husband )

Members of the Hegarty , Forde & Fennel families

Togher Historical Association touched base with Ann O'Driscoll ( nee Hegarty ) who pointed out the extent of the old market garden which was bounded by the second lightpole on the left and the end of the semi detached houses on the right. It was revealed that family members seldom used the front door instead entering and exiting by the side yard door. Also present was Paul O'Neill , husband of the late Ann Sisk , cousin of the Hegarty family. The entire project has proven to be very fruitful over the last decade and it is felt that the placue will stand as a lasting legacy to one of Togher's finest families who quite rightly have been so honoured. Billy O'Brien also provided the lyrics to a new song " The Pride of Togher " with vocals and music by Mureka Ai to honour the occasion which name-checks John Joe Hegarty and Joe Murphy and indeed all of H Company and Lehenagh Cumann na mBan.

Second pole in distance marking southern extent
 of Market Garden

End of row of semi-detached houses marking 
northern extent of Market Garden

Replica movie poster
on boarded wall placue

Song : " The Pride of Togher "
Lyrics : Billy O'Brien ' Music/Vocals ; Mureka Ai

Feirm Bawn - Chapter 1 - Ald. William Phair

A 9 acre site left off Spur Hill just up from Togher Cross has a history going back to the 17th Century. One family of a Nationalist leaning had ownership from the late 19th Century up to its sale in 1920. They were the Phairs of Gillabbey House near The Lough.

*Feirm Bawn in its glory days


INTRODUCTION

The land on which Feirm Bawn was situated ( in the Townland of Doughcloyne ) was once in the ownership of the Ronaynes in the 17th Century which then passed onto the Sarsfields in the 18th Century following a marriage as was the custom back then. The 9 acres of farmland comprised 3 fields which fronted onto Spur Hill and terminated to the rear at the Liberty Stream. Sandwiched in between Coventry House and Phillipine House , it was a desirable property. In the mid 19th Century  the Sarsfields had let it out to Philip Mulcahy who occupied 2 small cottages. He in turn sublet the 3 conjoined workmens cottages fronting the main road to John Riordan , Michael Murphy and John McCarthy. The combined value of the 2 cottages and 3 apartments at that time ( see below ) was £15.

 

 

 
Griffiths Valuations 1847 - 1864
Occupiers of Cottages and Apartments

Plot No.6 ( Feirm Bawn ) showing 3 fields
* Note : 2 Cottages and Apartments fronting onto road

___________________________________________________________


Ald. William Phair

Wm. Phair , owner of Feirm Bawn

At the turn of the 20th Century Ald. William Phair was listed as the owner of Feirm Bawn featuring in both the 1901 and 1911 Censuses. The properties in 1901 , small holdings built of stone and thatched were leased out to several families who mostly would have worked the farm for him. They were as follows : 

1901 Census showing Wm. Phair as Landlord
and current occupiers as shown below

Julia Long a 56 year old Widow who although could speak both Irish and English tellingly for the time could not read or write. Her daughter Ellie , 23 , was a domestic servant whilst her son Willie was an agricultural labourer ( which meant he worked on the farm ). 

Michael Connor , 50 , worked for the Railway , while his sons John , 18 and Patrick , 14 both worked as shop assistants. His daughter Maggie worked on the farm whilst the rest of his children attended school.

Daniel Donovan , 60 and his wife Norah , 48 both spoke Irish and English but could not read. Daniel's son Patrick , 20 ,  worked with him on the farm. 

Daniel Connor , 58 and his wife Margaret , 58 , both could read and write and both spoke Irish and English. His son Daniel , 17 , worked on the farm with him whilst his youngest son , John , 17 , went to school. 

Michael Kennedy , 72 and his wife , Norah , 70 could both speak Irish and English. Their son Patrick , 23 , worked on the farm. Interestingly , the family could not read or write. 

*By the time of the next Census in 1911 , given the transient nature of the working classes at the time , most save for Michael Connor had moved on.

William Phair himself lived at Gillabbey House on Connaught Avenue and had a bakery , provisions and mercantile store at 129 Bandon Road. This was located at the junction of Bandon Road , Lough Road and St. Finbarr's Road which is known as Phair's Cross. A point of reference is the famous Mok's pub directly across from it. The holding off Spur Hill would have provided him with milk , beef and pork for his business. Incidentally , he was also co-founder of the Cork Pipers Club in 1898 ( *World's oldest piper band ) which gave birth shortly after to the Brian Boru Pipe Band which held the distinction of being the first pipe band in Ireland to march in kilts!

Feirm Bawn 1880s
3 fields showing cottages in field next to Coventry House

Phairs - 1911 Census

Gillabbey House , Connaught Ave. off Bandon Road

Interestingly he and his wife Hannah spoke both English and Irish. Their nephew , Edmond Corcoran , a telephonist at the Cork G.P.O. lived with them. He was also a fluent Irish speaker. William died on 3rd March 1912. after his death , the bakery became the HQ of the 2nd Battalion of the First Cork Brigade during the War of Independence where arms and even wanted men were hidden.  In 1920 , Hannah his widow ( she would pass away on 1st August 1933 and is buried with her husband in Kilmurry Graveyard ) decided to off load the holding in Togher in 1920 and advertised it for sale.  The property came with a cattle shed , hay barn , piggery and stalls for 4 horses. It also had a boiler house and a 60 gallon tank. This caught the eye of a certain English woman and this is where Lady Harris ( article coming soon! ) comes in. 

Phairs gravestone , Kilmurry Graveyard

*1926 Census 
Hannah Phair's first and only appearance ( d.1933 )

** Following Hannah's death in 1933 , the business remained in family hands up to the 1960s. It was at the start of that decade that former members of G Company unveiled a placue in honour of their colleagues who had used the bakery as a H.Q. during the War of Independence.  To this day , whenever the Barrs win a County Final they parade from Togher up to the old bakery**

129 Bandon Road - former Phairs bakery
Phairs Cross

Unveiling of placue in 1960

Placue on Phairs house
129 Bandon Road

___________________________________________________________ 


*ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 

Anne O'Regan Hernandes
rebelstreetscork1919-1923.blogspot.com
billhaneman.ie

“This work includes content from records of the 1926 Census of Ireland, made available by the National Archives of Ireland under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Please see further: [ https://nationalarchives.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Reuse-of-Records-1926-Census.jpg ].”

Ancient Togher - Part 01 - Ring Forts

When discussing ancient settlements in Togher , Ring Forts spring to mind , such as the one off Lios Cross ( see more here ) , which remains Togher's only extant and visible example. The article closes with a look at the location of another former Ring Fort. However , during excavations for a gas pipeline being laid down some years ago , an exciting discovery was made which turned history on its head which will be looked at first.

Souterrain 

Excavation site of Souterrain
Photo : Pauline Murphy

During works being carried out in 2009 as part of the Ballinora - Lehenaghmore Gas Pipeline , something unusual was discovered in a field near the old Cork Bandon railway bridge which was brought to the attention of the relevant authorities. Something that had lain hidden for a very long time!

2009 Road Signage displayed during project

The archaeological excavation , off Mahers Lane in Chetwynd , unearthed the footprint of a circular house but for the first time ever , a souterrain nearby! Obviously living quarters would have been interred inside the ring fort for protection , the remains of which were long gone. Thankfully , nature preserved what was left for well over 2000 years as Archeologists have dated the find to the Bronze Age ( c. 2500 - 500 B.C. )

Excavation showing remnants of southerrain

 

What is immediately apparent and obviously exciting is that the find proves human habitation in Togher potentially going back well over 4000 years and perhaps even earlier! The purpose of such a construction underground lends itself to many uses ; food storage , security in the event of an attack or simply a place to store grain as it was dry maintaining a constant temperature of 4 Degrees no matter what the temperature was above ground. The word itself derives from the French - " Sous - Terrain " or " under ground " The images below show the area during its excavation phase in 2009 and how it looks today.

Excavated region on Mahers Lane 2009

Same area as seen today

Excavated region near old railway bridge 2009

Same area as seen today

Marked location in which souterrain was unearthed

Ring Fort

Ring Fort , Knocknamallvoge , Togher

Location of Lios Cross of Ring Fort

As mentioned above Togher is extremely lucky in having the only extant Ring Fort in the immediate vicinity of Cork City being located in Knocknamallavoge. It is sited in a field off Lios Cross on Spur Hill. It is 80ft. in diameter with some of its original embankment still visible. The surrounding embankment would have been much higher and would have had a wooden palisade on top. Inside would have been the living quarters with animals taken in for the night for security against wolves or raiding parties. A ditch would have also surrounded the whole structure.

Reconstruction of a Ring Fort
( Mark E.  Fisher )


Fort Field

Undoubtedly , Togher would have had many more Ring Forts in its past but these have either been completely destroyed by modern development or simply await discovery being worn down by the passage of time. One Townland in particular even owes its name to a Ring Fort - Knockalisheen! This had a Ring Fort up to the 1920s but sadly it must have been destroyed for agricultural use. It was sited in an area known still to this day as the " Fort Field ". The Townland's name itself is a corruption of the original Irish meaning " The Hill of the Little Fort ".

The " Fort Field " ( bottom centre )
Knockalisheen , Togher

Modern overlay showing location of Ring Fort

Entrance off Spur Hill to Fort Field
Neff household and Liberty Bridge to right

The 3 examples shown in this article gives concrete proof of habitation in Togher going back millennia and should instill in the community a sense of pride in a verifiable heritage and history. 

Acknowledgements:

Pauline Murphy
Paul O'Keeffe
Bord Gas Networks
Hegarty Contractors

Memories of Togher - 1940s ~ 1970s - Part 04/04 - Pouladuff Road

The final part of a 4 Part Series of Ann O'Driscoll's virtual tour ( Part 01 here , Part 02 here and Part 03 here. ) of 1940s - 1960s Togher. This article gives a brief lookback at Pouladuff Road from Marieville to Casey's Cross. Items marker RED are either gone or have been radically altered.

 

Marieville house

1 - Marieville

This was a two storied house which is still in situ today though modernised. It was the first house after The Laurels heading along Pouladuff Road and out towards Casey's Cross. It was lived in by Phil Hussey and her family and their land backed onto Long's Farm on Togher Road. On their property were two other cottages lived in by the O'Briens and the Sheehans.

 

Sarahville house

2 - Sarahville

This workmans cottage is still extant today and was originally lived in by Peggy Crowley. Originally a small house was adjoined to the gable end and was known locally as " The Castle ". * Ironically an estate across the road from the house in the modern suburb of Ballyphehane was named Sarahville Place. As was another estate further up Pouladuff Road and bisected by same - Joe Murphy Road.

Lee Metals formally Pouladuff Motors
owned and operated by Delaney family

Delaney house adjacent to Joe Murphy house

3 - Delaney's  

The Delaney family lived in the " Blue House " which was built adjacent and joined to Joe Murphy house. It should be noted that Ann O'Driscoll's father John Joe Hegarty had a placue erected on Joe Murphy house in 1960. In the late 1960s , Harry Delaney opened Pouladuff Motors on land to the right of  Joe Murphy house which is now Lee Metals.

Former site of Mrs. Edwards house
now Industrial Park

4 -Mrs. Edwards

She lived in a small cottage where the Industrial Park is now. All of that land was owned by the Delaney's.

* It should be noted that all of the land between The Laurels and Casey's Cross was for the most part either bought by Compulsory Purchase Order in the early 1960s for Corporation housing schemes or sold on for Industrial Parks.

Former site of old O'Sullivan cottage
Note old stone wall in background

Old O'Sullivan 2 story house
now Garda Station with extention

5 - O'Sullivans

Initially the O'Sullivan family lived in a small cottage behind a wall in what is now the remnants of Youngline shoe factory. Later in the 1960s they would move across the road near Casey's Cross and build a 2 story house which would later become the new Garda Station in 1983. Ann recalls that they were a large family and all very tall. She jokingly remembers who they would all fill up the bus coming up Pouladuff Road at Casey's Cross.