Joan Walsh who hails from Woulfe Lane ( located off Mathews Hill ) was met by the Togher Historical Association in 2017 for a discussion on her family history and Togher involvement in the War of Independence. By request , no photographs or personally identifiable information will be used in this article.
Entrance to Woulfe Lane off Ardcahon Drive in 2009
Joans Mother , Sally Hourigan lived with her siblings and Parents in the old lodge which was on the lands of Lehenagh House ( present day North and South Avenue ) and was attached to the wall on the inside left of the current entrance , Hill Lane ( see photo below ). It is thought that the Family came from Coppeen and moved to Togher around the late 19th Century. They rented the Lodge as a home and worked the land. Joan mentions that the Cottrells and Woulfes owned most of the land in the region. Sally worked for the Porters as a housemaid from 1910 until the mid 1920s. The Family finally moved out of the Lodge in 1945 ( the lodge being demolished in 1950 ) into one of the newly built council cottages on Woulfe Lane. Sally Hourigan later married Paddy Walsh of Ashgrove and settled nearby giving birth to Joan Walsh in 1954.
Preserved Entrance to new Estate 2018
Joan recounted some of her Mother's memories of the old Lodge and their lifestyle. Their diet consisted of potatoes three times a day! They helped out on the landowners land which mainly bred chickens and sold eggs and sowed some crops. There was also a coach house fronting onto Woulfe Lane with the remaining structures rented out as workmen's cottages. These are still present though in a ruinous state.
The family would plant their own potato crop to feed themselves. Any excess was deposited in hessian sacks which were then stored in a pebble filled hole in the ground which preserved them for six months. Local children would find amusement for themselves by climbing onto the roof of the lodge and covering the chimney with a wet sack which prevented any smoke from escaping. This naturally brought the entire angry household out rather quickly in search of the perpetrators! Joan recalls stories told to her by her Mother Sally about the families involvement in the War of Independence. Two of the Hourigan boys joined the I.R.A. in light of the situation in the area at the time. The Black and Tans regularly patrolled the country roads instilling fear in anybody they found wandering. Local Volunteers would be posted in hiding keeping a lookout for any patrols and would signal with two red flags whenever they were spotted approaching. Each household was required to have a list of occupants posted on the inside of their front doors. The Black and Tans would then check to make sure all were present. Little did they know but that the Volunteers were active and training under their very noses! Not far down from the Green Patch was an ornate iron gate which lead into a cellar which contained guns and ammunition ( now long since demolished ). In a field nearby were subterranean tunnels which were used as firing ranges! The fact that this information is only now coming to light almost a century later is testament to the secrecy which surrounded the operations. Many locals were of the opinion that the War could erupt again at some future date and so locations of dumps or ranges were never openly discussed but handed down from generation to generation entering into local folklore. Because of the Hourigan Family's tenure at the Lodge until 1945 , they were involved in and witness to many historical events. During the Emergency 1939 to 1945 , Free State soldiers would often camp on the lands of Lehenagh House. They would also shoot a cow from time to time and spit roast it ; the cow being stolen from the landowner. In neighbouring Rathmacullig East across from Farmer's Cross , they would place barrels on the flat ground to prevent German planes from landing.
Joan Walsh attended Togher National School in the late 1950s before transferring over to the new Girls School built in 1961 on land donated by the Ryans of Lehenaghmore. Her childhood was full of wonder and innocent mischief up and down the country roads of Lehenaghmore. She fondly recounts tales of picking blackberries accompanied by her friends with the red juice running down their faces and collecting hazelnuts from roadside trees on their way to school to eat later while watercress skimmed from the tops of wells would be used to make sandwiches whilst wandering the highways and byways of Togher. During summertime , old shoes would have their toes cut off to serve as sandals. Joan recalls the remains of an old hedge school up from the junction of Matthew's Hill and Lehenaghmore Hill known as Cros na Scoil. The local children would often use Sonny Barrett's land as a shortcut from Matthew's Hill over to Woulfe Lane. He cut a fearful figure with his big mop of curly hair and britches brandishing a pitchfork as he lay in wait for anybody who tried to trespass! Joan told a local folklore myth of a hobo who lived near the stream in the Glenmore gully. Of course as with any other childhood memories , there was the usual spot which bred terror into young children. This was an old disused house near the location of the old Teampaleen known as the Dead House. It was perhaps for this reason why so many children braved the chase from Sonny Barrett as they sought to avoid passing the ghoulish laneway up to Woulfe's Lane! At the corner of Woulfe Lane was a stone walled orchard and because of the Togher pastime of plucking the sour apples without being caught in the act , this location was a prime target. At every turn there were hidden dangers and excitement to be experienced. Past the coach house and workmen's cottages was a field and the bull who dwelt within would follow children as they made their way to school rubbing his horns along the top of the ditch to warn them off! Joan remarked how fit children were in the 1960s , where she would walk from Woulfe Lane then back up Matthews Hill and then down Lehenaghmore Hill to the Girls School , firstly the old National School ( now Community Centre ) and then the " New " Girls School , built in 1961 ( now Foroige ) and back again every day! She recalled how she would stop by an old Chestnut tree before starting off for school and filling her pockets for sustenance during her long walk.
Joan also mentioned how the Geary's who were landowners near the bottom of Matthew's Hill gave ownership of the two cottages to the O'Neill family who had rented them for a long time. Another forgotten period in Irish history was the infamous roof tax imposed on cottages in the 1950s which was met with opposition by some locals who went to the extreme length of removing their roofs. This action resulted in their eviction by local authorities. One such legacy of this time still exists on Woulfe Lane ( see photo below ). One incredible piece of information and perhaps of its time was when the Council were laying down water pipes on the main road to provide water to the houses which previously relied on wells or hand pumps. They insisted that the women of the houses had to dig a trench from the roadside to the property to be connected. This was 1972! Kathleen O'Keeffe recalls her own Mother having to do likewise. However a local man intervened to complete the task resulting in a lifelong friendship.
The Togher Historical Association would like to thank Joan Walsh for sharing her life story and opening a window to a fantastic past for future generations to enjoy. Many changes have occurred in the area since the interview which highlights the urgency of archiving peoples memories from a very different Togher. One which is rapidly dwindling!
Entrance to Lehenagh House mid 1980s
One interesting and perhaps overlooked feature of the new Estate on the former Lehenagh House land is
the fact that the developers preserved the original walls and entrance
pillars although they added caps and pebble dash. The photos above and below show
a compare and contrast with a difference of nearly 40 years.
Joan recounted some of her Mother's memories of the old Lodge and their lifestyle. Their diet consisted of potatoes three times a day! They helped out on the landowners land which mainly bred chickens and sold eggs and sowed some crops. There was also a coach house fronting onto Woulfe Lane with the remaining structures rented out as workmen's cottages. These are still present though in a ruinous state.
Woulfe Lane looking back towards Ardcahon Drive
Coach house and stables on left
The family would plant their own potato crop to feed themselves. Any excess was deposited in hessian sacks which were then stored in a pebble filled hole in the ground which preserved them for six months. Local children would find amusement for themselves by climbing onto the roof of the lodge and covering the chimney with a wet sack which prevented any smoke from escaping. This naturally brought the entire angry household out rather quickly in search of the perpetrators! Joan recalls stories told to her by her Mother Sally about the families involvement in the War of Independence. Two of the Hourigan boys joined the I.R.A. in light of the situation in the area at the time. The Black and Tans regularly patrolled the country roads instilling fear in anybody they found wandering. Local Volunteers would be posted in hiding keeping a lookout for any patrols and would signal with two red flags whenever they were spotted approaching. Each household was required to have a list of occupants posted on the inside of their front doors. The Black and Tans would then check to make sure all were present. Little did they know but that the Volunteers were active and training under their very noses! Not far down from the Green Patch was an ornate iron gate which lead into a cellar which contained guns and ammunition ( now long since demolished ). In a field nearby were subterranean tunnels which were used as firing ranges! The fact that this information is only now coming to light almost a century later is testament to the secrecy which surrounded the operations. Many locals were of the opinion that the War could erupt again at some future date and so locations of dumps or ranges were never openly discussed but handed down from generation to generation entering into local folklore. Because of the Hourigan Family's tenure at the Lodge until 1945 , they were involved in and witness to many historical events. During the Emergency 1939 to 1945 , Free State soldiers would often camp on the lands of Lehenagh House. They would also shoot a cow from time to time and spit roast it ; the cow being stolen from the landowner. In neighbouring Rathmacullig East across from Farmer's Cross , they would place barrels on the flat ground to prevent German planes from landing.
Remnants of Cottage on Woulfe Lane whose residents
removed their roof in 1950s in protest against Tax
Joan Walsh attended Togher National School in the late 1950s before transferring over to the new Girls School built in 1961 on land donated by the Ryans of Lehenaghmore. Her childhood was full of wonder and innocent mischief up and down the country roads of Lehenaghmore. She fondly recounts tales of picking blackberries accompanied by her friends with the red juice running down their faces and collecting hazelnuts from roadside trees on their way to school to eat later while watercress skimmed from the tops of wells would be used to make sandwiches whilst wandering the highways and byways of Togher. During summertime , old shoes would have their toes cut off to serve as sandals. Joan recalls the remains of an old hedge school up from the junction of Matthew's Hill and Lehenaghmore Hill known as Cros na Scoil. The local children would often use Sonny Barrett's land as a shortcut from Matthew's Hill over to Woulfe Lane. He cut a fearful figure with his big mop of curly hair and britches brandishing a pitchfork as he lay in wait for anybody who tried to trespass! Joan told a local folklore myth of a hobo who lived near the stream in the Glenmore gully. Of course as with any other childhood memories , there was the usual spot which bred terror into young children. This was an old disused house near the location of the old Teampaleen known as the Dead House. It was perhaps for this reason why so many children braved the chase from Sonny Barrett as they sought to avoid passing the ghoulish laneway up to Woulfe's Lane! At the corner of Woulfe Lane was a stone walled orchard and because of the Togher pastime of plucking the sour apples without being caught in the act , this location was a prime target. At every turn there were hidden dangers and excitement to be experienced. Past the coach house and workmen's cottages was a field and the bull who dwelt within would follow children as they made their way to school rubbing his horns along the top of the ditch to warn them off! Joan remarked how fit children were in the 1960s , where she would walk from Woulfe Lane then back up Matthews Hill and then down Lehenaghmore Hill to the Girls School , firstly the old National School ( now Community Centre ) and then the " New " Girls School , built in 1961 ( now Foroige ) and back again every day! She recalled how she would stop by an old Chestnut tree before starting off for school and filling her pockets for sustenance during her long walk.
Location on left off Matthew Hill
( Site of " Dead House " )
Joan also mentioned how the Geary's who were landowners near the bottom of Matthew's Hill gave ownership of the two cottages to the O'Neill family who had rented them for a long time. Another forgotten period in Irish history was the infamous roof tax imposed on cottages in the 1950s which was met with opposition by some locals who went to the extreme length of removing their roofs. This action resulted in their eviction by local authorities. One such legacy of this time still exists on Woulfe Lane ( see photo below ). One incredible piece of information and perhaps of its time was when the Council were laying down water pipes on the main road to provide water to the houses which previously relied on wells or hand pumps. They insisted that the women of the houses had to dig a trench from the roadside to the property to be connected. This was 1972! Kathleen O'Keeffe recalls her own Mother having to do likewise. However a local man intervened to complete the task resulting in a lifelong friendship.
O'Neill house on Matthew Hill
The Togher Historical Association would like to thank Joan Walsh for sharing her life story and opening a window to a fantastic past for future generations to enjoy. Many changes have occurred in the area since the interview which highlights the urgency of archiving peoples memories from a very different Togher. One which is rapidly dwindling!
