Not many communities can boast of an iconic photograph which is widely known and associated with a particular region. Togher has just such a photograph. Published by the Evening Echo circa 1951 , the photographer ( unknown ) captured a harvest scene in Togher Farm , owned and operated by the Long Family. The head of the household - Patrick Long , first purchased the farm back in the early 1920s and for the next 4 decades together with his wife , Hannah and their children worked the land right up until a compulsory purchase order was placed on their farm circa 1961 and they had to sell.
Long's Farm , Togher circa early 1950s
Eddie Long ( 2nd from left ) ,
Claire Long ( holding teapot )
& Denis O'Leary ( 2nd from right )
They say a picture paints a thousand words , but a photograph reveals a million facts. The famous harvest scene shows Togher as it was almost 70 years ago. Back then , as can be seen in the shot , the main Togher Road was a very narrow affair , walled and hedged for much of its length right down to Togher Cross. Togher then was composed primarily of small farms and market gardens ; Togher Farm a.k.a. Long's Farm was both! As can be seen , the house on the brow of the hill is one part of a semi-detached house belonging to the O'Driscolls. Their neighbor , Kerrs , ran a small dairy farm. Both houses are still there today. The Long's house was out of shot and was sited a little further south and was near Ardmanning Cottages ( now also gone ) Ironically , the Long's new abode would be sited directly across the road from the Kerrs/Russell homesteads in the early 1960s.
Ardmanning Cottages which were just below
Long's House on Togher Road circa 1961
The photograph shows 2 members of the Long Family :
Eddie Long (
2nd from left ) whose Niece - Therese Murphy - remembers as a gentle giant of a man who was reserved and mild mannered. The girl holding the Teapot was his sister -
Claire Long. The man (
2nd from right ) has since been identified as
Denis O'Leary (
see below )
. Many farmers back then would have hired casual laborers during harvest time. The photo displayed here shows the old scene in a modern setting. Many thanks to Eamonn Pearse for his research into the positioning and overlaying of the photo and to Kathleen O'Keeffe for providing the photo of Denis O'Leary.
Old photograph overlaid on modern setting
Denis O'Leary ( seen in old photo 2nd from right )
The Long's story is peppered with sadness , not least the tragedy of losing their Farm and Home , which broke the heart of Patrick Long. Eddie moved into the new house on Earlwood Estate , next to the Ardmanning House along with his siblings. Born in the 1920s , he never married and died relatively young in the 1970s. His sister , Claire , married but had no children , and now lives in the house. Sadly she suffers from dementia. She is currently 86 years old.
Kerrs/O'Driscoll Houses ( 2 story semi-detached building )
Only remaining artifact from old photograph
The Kerrs/O'Driscolls house ( shown above in its modern setting ) as featured in the famous photograph is still standing and remains the only relic of the 1950s harvest scene still intact. The other row of adjacent bungalows are thought to have been erected in the late 1950s on privately bought plots of small land. The famous photograph is on display in several locations , most notably the Lough Credit Union , Togher Branch , but what is less well known , is it's display in West Gate nursing home in Ballincollig , which Billy O'Brien discovered completely by accident ( see below ).
West Gate nursing home , Ballincollig , Co. Cork
