Togher Churches 01 - Way Of The Cross

 Togher Church 2014

It's now been over 40 years since Togher Church or The Church Of The Way Of The Cross was built in 1972 as the 7th in a series of " Rosary " Churches by the late Bishop Lucey. This effectively made smaller parishes out of the existing older St Finbarr's and other Parishes which had originally been Civil Parishes before Emancipation in 1829. The land in Lehenaghmore which was owned by the S.M.A. was donated free of charge to the Developers Messrs O'Sheas Ltd whilst the Architect was Mr. J.R. Boyd Barrett. Work initially began in 1970 and was finalised in July 1972 at a cost of £147,000. It must be stated that the land was signed over as early as 1963 for just such a purpose. Great praise must also go to the people of Togher who contributed so much towards the project through door collections , raffles and various money raising schemes. Prior to the new Church , many locals used their native Church by the Lough or the Church Of Ease at Wilton via the footbridge over the Glasheen River depending on length of journey to be undertaken. But this was not Togher's first Church! see below

 Evening Echo 1971 Report 01

 Evening Echo 1971 Report 02

Evening Echo circa 1972

Building in progress

Local man Marshall C. Hutton

 Blessing of Cross inside partially completed 

building circa 1971

Official opening of Church in 1972

Crane tracks still in situ during blessing 1972

First ever Mass in the new Togher Church 1972!

Togher Choir outside Church in 1973

Eucharistic Procession 1973

Entrance into Togher Church circa 1972 near the

 Liberty Stream at Togher Cross before it was 

piped and arched over in 1986

Repairing the Church roof in 2013

While there is no historical evidence of a Mass Rock in the general Togher area , it can not be dismissed out of hand. Such gatherings at the time were often held in wooded regions for concealment purposes so may have been undertaken , the term " Mass Rock " being a catchall phrase to indicate any meetings of the kind. However , the Church of the Way of the Cross is not the first Church in Togher , the region having a long history of Churches to which it can lay claim. Sadly , they are now confined to the History books , being long obliterated by Man and Time. At least two are known to have existed ; one at Killeenreendowney and the other on Matthews Hill , Lehenaghmore. The blog will feature extensive articles on these older Churches in the near future. To conclude , Togher is also home to many other faiths , including Mormons , Jews and Muslims , many of whom have their own places of worship in Togher. This will also be expanded on in future posts. An interesting footnote is that the Protestant community of Togher have their own Parish of Frankfield ( established 1838 ) which includes Lehenagh Beg and Lehenagh More.

Fr. Laurence Carr SMA & 

Fr. Joseph Donnelly SMA 

handing over the Doughcloyne site 

in 1963

Togher originally lay in the parish of St. Finbarr’s South until 1890, when it formed part of the newly created parish of St. Finbarr’s West, better known as The Lough Parish. In 1963, Dean Murphy, P.P. of the Lough Parish , began looking for a site for a new church in the Togher area due to the ever expanding population and the prospect of future housing schemes. Fr. Craven, the Provincial of the SMA , offered the Dean a five acre site on the Togher road.  This site, forming part of the SMA site in the Doughcloyne area was transferred to the Parish, free of charge, for the future church in 1966.

 Denis O'Connor R.I.P.

Below is a full list of Parish Priests who served in Togher from its inception up to the present. However , special mention must be made of Fr. O'Connor , who lived at 112 Togher Square ( He recalled that there were 124 Children in the little square! ) for a while during the early 1970s , moving in on 20th January 1970 until 1973 whilst the Priests Houses were being built. Although he was never Parish Priest , he acted as its Caretaker during its formative years and had a special place in the hearts of children in the locality , not least because of his act of visiting households in the nearby area with a suitcase full of chocolate bars free gratis. He was appointed to Togher ( not then an independant Parish of the Lough ) in 1970 as Curate and began celebrating Mass in St. Finbarrs Hurling & Football Club whilst also setting up meetings in the Old National School ( now Community Centre ) to organise fund raising activities. People were also asked to donate part of their wages to help finance the project which was paid in full before opening in 1972. Fr. Denis O'Connor finally left Togher in 1977.

Parish Priests

Michael Daly 1977 - 1980

Seán Mac Cárthaigh 1980 - 1981
Vincent Hodnett 1981 - 1982 ( Acting P.P. for 9 Months )

John Shorten 1982 - 1992

Michael Riordan 1992 - 2011

 Robert Brophy 2011 - to date

Local man T. Lucey by wall of Liberty Stream 

circa 1920s where Church would be built