Phillipine House - The End - 1639 ~ 2017

There is nothing quite so sad as watching history quite literally disappearing in front of your own eyes. Unfortunately though structurally sound , the former seat of the Ronaynes and Sarsfields was uninhabitable by modern standards and no choice remained but to consign it to the wrecking ball. Whatever the factors involved in deciding its fate , it was still a numbing experience to witness almost 4 Centuries of local history being eradicated for evermore.

Eamonn Pearse & Kathleen O'Keeffe

Eamonn Pearse and Kathleen O'Keeffe of the Togher Historical Association were specially invited on Thursday May 18th 2017 onto the site after intensive negotiations between local community stalwart Keiran O'Connell and the site manager in charge of the works. Eamonn quickly lost no time in setting up several cameras to capture the whole process of leveling the ancient abode.

Kathleen witnessing the passing of history

Kathleen remarked on the sheer width of the walls which were approximately 4 feet in thickness! Obviously built to last and last it did from 1639 which was a whole decade before Cromwell landed in Ireland right up to the close of the second decade of the 21st Century! That is almost 380 years old!

Original door defiantly standing amongst the ruins 

of its former home

The team were even invited to tea during the proceedings by the friendly workforce who were very obliging and sympathetic to the reasons for the visitation. Togher has lost its oldest house forever. However out of the ashes of the old will rise a similar building which will be a close replica of its former self. The video below has been rendered up x6 times original speed as the shoot captured over 2 hours of continuous footage. At the end is a short history of the now gone house and its many names and uses.

Full video of demolition of Phillipine House

May 18th  2017

UPDATE 4TH NOVEMBER 2017 : The Team made a brief visit to the site of the Fellowship House building project to check on the progress to date. While they were denied access by the Site Manager due to safety regulations , they were able to take a photograph from a safe distance at the gate. The Site Manager hinted that access may be granted in the near future when building is completed. It can be seen that the replacement build for Philippine House is an almost exact replica as can be seem by the twin pitched roofs.

New Fellowship House under construction

UPDATE 11TH NOVEMBER 2017 : The Team made a return visit the following week to document the progress of the new build. The photos below show side and front views of the development. The short video shot from the lower field shows the near completion of the replica build.

 Front View of new build from lower field

 Side View from main gate of Fellowship site

 Video of near completion of new Fellowship House