Phillipine House - The Fireplace

On Tuesday 16th May after plans put in place by the Togher Historical Assoc. and Keiran O'Connell of the Togher Community Assoc. a visit was paid to the Phillipine House to undertake a poignant mission - the removal of a fireplace which had in part been in situ for almost 4 Centuries! The outer casing is a blue marble pillar of Victorian vintage with the inner metal insert of Cromwellian age , possibly earlier. Quite aside from this amazing fact was the historical connection with the Sarsfield Family - who used it as their home in the distant past. Added to this was the news that Phillipine House was slated for demolition the following morning. Time was of the essence and local resident , Keiran McCoy of McCoys Memorials , a qualified stone-cutter from Palmbury Est., graciously offered his services free gratis.

Fireplace before extraction

The photos above and below show the fireplace site pre/post extraction. As the house was awaiting the wrecking ball , the operation was a simple destruction rather than the usual careful piecemeal chizel and hammer approach. It was noted that pre-extraction that the fireplace bore an old crack , which was judged to be a simple repair task. Unfortunately , such was the age of the object , even with careful work , it ultimately came out in 20 pieces. However , a colleague of Keiran McCoy has kindly offered to undertake a restoration job which may take up to a month. It is hoped that the much wished for Togher Museum can now become a reality and the fireplace become literally the hearth of it all. The Blog would like to thank Keiran O'Connell ( Togher Community Assoc. ) and Keiran McCoy ( McCoy Memorials ) for their hard work and dedication in preserving a part of Toghers past history for future Generations to enjoy.

Site after extraction
...to be cont'd ...