Elizabeth's Mother , Margaret , originally lived in the Kerry Yard with her Family - the O' Donovans - after being born on the day Michael Collins was killed on the 22nd August 1922. This was a small collection of stone houses sequestered behind the high wall on land belonging to the owner of Clashduff House. She also recollects a relative of the Family lived in Ardmanning Cottages on the opposite side of the road. Elizabeth recalls how many years later her Mother would take her to visit the family and she would play in a duck pond located south of the enclosure. Today this area is occupied by the houses facing onto the main Togher Road between Sycamore Place and Togher Square. Margaret then moved with her family to Manning's Lane in the 1930s ( No. 5 Deanrock Cottages ) being one of 8 girls and 1 boy where a new scheme of Cottages had been built. Mr. O' Donovan was a General Labourer who worked for local farmers in the region. Elizabeth fondly remembers her Grandfather as being a great storyteller and somewhat of a prankster. She recalls how she would climb into bed and be regaled with his tales until the wee hours before falling asleep. His party trick was an old stone egg , which he used to keep hidden down the back of his chair. After making many exotic noises during his impersonation of a duck , he would produce the stone egg much to the astonishment of the children present!
Elizabeth's Mother - Margaret - would later go on to marry a neighbour of hers - Gus Murphy - from No. 6 Deanrock Cottages - in 1949. The newly married couple then lived in a flat in Turners Cross until 1952 , when they emigrated to Montreal in Canada , before returning in 1955 , to take up residence in No. 6 Deanrock Cottages. Elizabeth's Father became a well known personality in the area and used to buy milk from C.M.P. ( Cork Milk Producers ) and sell it on to the locals . He also ran an impromptu Market Garden to supplement the Family income , growing all sorts of vegetables in their long back yard. Margaret herself had a love for flowers and kept a beautiful garden at the front of the house.
The lane where they lived was named after Mr. Manning , a prominent figure in Togher at the time. His house was on the right as you entered and it featured a glass conservatory. Elizabeth then grew up in Manning's Lane and fondly remembers her father keeping ducks for eggs and going down to the local Hand Pump to collect water which was located at the corner by the Cutting and the Railway Bridge. She remembers many of the locals who lived on this ancient byway , in particular , the Marshalls ( present day Abbeyville Vets ) who kept greyhounds for racing. Mention was also made of the O'Donnell Farm which went onto become Togher Caravan Park in the late 1960s which was run by Peter O'Sullivan. Amusingly , Elizabeth pointed out that some older tourists still ask directions to the now long gone Caravan Park!
Another important part of rural life in Togher back in the 1940s was the Post Office which was run by Lilly O'Sullivan for many's a year. This olde worlde building had a high wooden counter as you entered. Alas , the structure is no more , the premises now being relocated on Tramore Road.
Elizabeth started school on 19th April 1961 in the old National School under the tutelage of Mrs. Nancy McCarthy , the then Principal in the shared Boys & Girls building before moving to the newly erected Girls National School across the road in 1963 where Mrs. Agnes McSwiney became the Head Teacher and also attained that title when the new Girls School opened up in 1971 on the opposite side of the road before retiring in 1977.
Elizabeth gave many examples of life in Primary School for girls at the time , citing the almost apartheid like mentality to boys in general. She also stated how she often looked out across the road from her classroom in the 1960s at the row of chestnut trees which stood on the bank of the Liberty Stream and how she often went fishing for torneens in its waters. The school was quite distinct from the older Boys School in that they had a water tower which provided for flush toilets and water fountains for drinking. The new school was also quite modern in that it was supplied with electrical radiators. An interesting fact presented itself in relation to the stone wall which originally guarded the stream along the then narrow Togher Road in that it was completely joined to the old National School having no break for access to the field which during the Second World War was used as a turf depot.
Many of her childhood memories revolve around playing in the boggy ground adjacent to the old School and being able to view the Tramore River through the arch of the Liberty Bridge which was partially infilled with earth to protect minors from straying into the water. Another game peculiar to girls of all ages was the Wedding Game , where they would traipse up and down the Togher railway Bridge pretending to be married in wellington boots that chafed and an imaginary Brides train flowing behind them. Two areas which were deemed off limits to children of the era were the Cutting and Coffey's Field. She related how a dishevelled man in a greatcoat took up residence in the field with a big spoon supposedly " digging for hell "! Other games included a rather complex skipping exercise with the ingenious use of copious yards of knicker elastic tied together.
Elizabeth : " We used to go to Mass in African Missions sometimes over the Ramparts. One time a crowd of my cousins: Irish ,Welsh , English , Nigerian , my Brother and myself decided to walk in the stream for a good length looking for torneens. We were aged between 8 and 14. Problem was we neglected to inform the parents : major search was eventually underway! Only time that we were totally in trouble...we spoke about it at Sean's funeral recently ( 2015 ) . The river had oil and other stuff in it : we were destroyed. The families all had Murphy parents : my Dad Gus , his sister Betty's brood were home from Wales on holiday , his sister Joan's girls from London and his sister Teresa's children whose Dad was a Nigerian Surgeon."
Elizabeth also stated that at the time in 1969 , the footbridge still had its original stone walls and that the Glasheen River was fully open and accessible. It is now known ( source - John Dennehy ) that following a tragic accident of a local youth in 1972/3 that the Corporation railed the entire length of the river in the process removing the walls of the bridge to facilitate the safe enclosure of the river. Much confusion arises over the date of installation of the famous pipes near the Bridge or indeed their exact purpose , but it is now thought they were installed during construction of Deanrock Estate and are water pipes , either fresh or waste ( this is still unknown ).
Elizabeth finished Primary School in 1969 returning to Togher again in 1978 as a fully fledged Teacher before becoming Principal herself in 1997. Elizabeth mentioned that an old School Club House stood on the grounds of the now L'Arche Society throughout the 1970s. She also related how one unfortunate boy who had " hopped " the wall into the Girls playground at this time came under her watchful gaze never to repeat the deed. Apparently the promise was given that if he ever returned , he would be forced to wear a dress and pinafore. Needless to say , he never performed this feat a second time!
She took early retirement in 2012 to pursue a Masters in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Studies.
1 comment:
Thanks Billy.,,it looks good.Will get those photos to you at some stage!
Elizabeth.
Post a Comment