Irish Pride Plate Collection 1999 - Togher Iconic Buildings

The Blog would like to thank Helen Jones and Padraig Mac Seoin for bringing to light a rare plate collection depicting several iconic buildings from both Togher's past and present. The limited edition plate series which depicts Togher was one of many locations around Ireland which Irish Pride Bakeries est 1989 made available for general sale to the public. Working from photographs , an unknown artist drew spectacular copies of iconic structures present and long gone.

Plate Collection

Each plate featured one location around Togher with the name of the building shown underneath the sketch whilst the district name adorned the top. All plates were decorated with a border motif and 18 karat gold brim.

Rear of plate

At the rear of each plate is the name of Irish Pride Bakeries who commissioned the pieces and the year of manufacture - 1999. Included is the name of the distributors Deco Art Creations Ltd and the series number ; in this case showing the particular collection to be the first in a hundred.

Certificate

The collection comes complete with a certificate of authenticity and an invoice detailing the full cost of purchase. As it is the first in the Togher series , it is undoubtedly a very rare and valuable possession.

Invoice

The first plate of six shows Togher National School , the present day Community Centre as it looked before major refurbishments which saw its entrance and original stone walls radically altered and shifted out to the main road.

Community Centre

The second plate shows Deanrock Public House near the new flyover. The former Deanrock Villa was sold to Murphy Breweries in the late 1960s as a tied house ; in that it sold primarily stout products.

Deanrock Public House

The third plate shows O'Sullivan's Coal Store and Poppy Shop , now sadly demolished with private dwellings on the site.

O'Sullivan's Coal Store & Poppy Shop

The fourth plate shows the old Post Office first opened in 1946 and long since demolished to make way for the present day Dental Clinic.

Old Post Office

The fifth plate shows Togher's Church ; The Way of The Cross which opened in 1972.

Togher Church

The final plate shows the Museum & Heritage Centre a.k.a. Scout Hall which was formally the home of Birdie O'Sullivan ( nee Buckley ).

Scout Hall

This collection is a unique souvenir of Togher's past , particularly given that two of the structures on display are now gone. A fantastic addition to the social history and folklore of Togher.