Sunday, January 7, 2024

Garrane Darragh House

Gateway leading onto Garrane Darragh


Garrane Darragh townland has had human habitation
going back well over a thousand years as evidenced by a large enclosure/burial mound ( still extant though heavily overgrown ) and a ring fort ( long gone ) . But this article will focus on the principal residence which bears its name - Garrane Darragh House.
 

 Garrane Darragh house 2015

Garranne Darragh townland has had a big house associated with it since at least the 1750s ( quite possibly even earlier ) and it is shown on the Taylor & Skinner maps of Ireland published in 1777. These were the road maps of their time and the first recorded attempt at making out in a crude form the various notable locations near the roads. Garrane Darragh house ( like most Big Houses of their time simply named after the Townland they were in ) today is boarded up and in a dilapidated condition. Its name in English is quite literally Grove of Oaks , though it is sometimes referred to simply as Garrane.


Griffiths Valuation 1852
1a/1b - entirety of Townland
Landlord - Wm Howe Hennis
 

The map above shows Griffiths Valuation of 1852 dividing the land into two parts , 1a and 1b , the division being taken up by the Cork Bandon railway line whch rented the land it passed through. Wm. Howe Hennis ( father of Francis Hennis ) , resident in England when land was first purchased was noted as the Landlord.


Garrane Darragh farmland 1987
( later Eagle Valley estate )
coutesy of Eamonn Pearse



Garrane Darragh house & outbuildings


 Garrane Darragh house 2015

It was for many centuries the one and only main residence of the Townland having three entrances off the main roads which bound it. The primary main entrance sported a gate lodge located south of the Glasheen River ( present day Woodhaven ) which was reached by the aptly named Garrane Lane which connected back to Bishopstown Road.

 

Red line showing Garrane Lane
which lead to old Lodge and onto house
 
 
Site of old lodge at bridge in Woodhaven
 


The second entrance was reached by traveling off Doughcloyne Hill through the lands of the Sarsfields. Photograph below shows modern day remnant of entrance located between Industrial Estate left of Sarsfield Road junction.


Entrance off Doughcloyne Hill
( between Industrial Unit & Houses )
to Garrane Darragh house

The third entrance was located near an old mill race off the turnpike on Bandon Road with a gatehouse which may also have doubled as a lodge of sorts see more here which is still in situ today though much run down and derelict. Evidence of an old bridge over the Glasheen River can still be seen though heavily overgrown. Today the entrance is to the left of the Garage off the Bandon Road.


Entrance off Bandon Road to old gatehouse


Gatehouse off Bandon Road
to Garrane Darragh house



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Garrane Darragh house - A virtual tour


Entrance off South Ring Road

 Bog to right of Entrance
 
 
Billy O'Brien pointing to front of House

 
Interior showing living room
 
 
Interior showing kitchen
 
 
Downstairs room


Staircase


Upstairs landing

 
Landing window
 
 
Bedroom with fireplace
 
 
Second bedroom with fireplace


Rear of house

 
Gate leading to Cork Bandon railway line
 
 
Original railway sleepers adapted as fences
 

More railway sleepers adapted as fences

 
Video around grounds of Garrane Darragh house
 
 
Between 1847 and 1864 Griffiths Valuations listed for the first time the actual value of properties in a given townland. It also listed the landowners , many of whom held the land in fee for many decades. It is also interesting to note that the Cork Bandon railway company rented the land their line ran through on an annual basis. In time the land would see another railway line cut though it , the Cork Macroom Direct Railway Company. Perhaps as a consequence of this encumbrance , the land changed hands several times.

Principal Owners

Mr. Carey Esq.

It has been the seat of many different families down through the years. The Taylor & Skinner 1777 map informs us that a Mr. Carey lived there. Little to nothing is known of him or his family.

Taylor & Skinner Road Map 1777

Peter Lee

In 1823 , the Tithe Applotment Books show a Peter Lee as owner/occupier of Garrane Darragh. So it would seem in the absence of any other documentation that he purchased the land from Mr. Carey Esq. or his descendants thereof.


Tithe Applotment book 1823 Page 01


Tithe Applotment book 1823 Page 02


Francis Hennis

It is quite likely that the Hennis' bought the land from the previous Lee owners shortly after 1823. This is proven by his inclusion in a newspaper of a prize awarded for breeding heifers ( see below ) in the 1830s. Francis Hennis married Jane Lloyd from Waterfall circa 1842. Sadly in 1843 the birth of their first child , a daughter , ended in tragedy , with the girl dying at birth. The following year , 1844 , saw the birth of a boy , who survived. Francis' father , William Howe Hennis had been killed in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Francis himself would go on to be appointed High Constable of the Barony of Cork in 1849. The couple would sell up in 1857 , possibly due to the Cork Bandon railway line running through their property since 1849 and the impending Cork Macroom railway line which was due to commence construction a few short years later circa 1863. Both lines would have bisected his lands and was most probably seen as a hindrance to the effective running of a farm.


Francis Hennis 1830s
Evidence of farm used for breeding heifers


Hennis marriage cert showing
incorrect spelling of Townland circa 1842
 
 
Francis Hennis - Griffiths Valuation 1847


Sale of farm & livestock 1857


Joseph McMullen

It again goes up for sale in 1895 by the McMullen family ( Church of Ireland ) who it can be deduced were the buyers back in 1857. So their tenure would have been 28 years. It would appear that Joseph McMullen's marriage to Maria Emma Pratt of Ballincollig was childless. They kept a servant , Annie Herlihy to run the house. Records show that the McMullens ,  in tandem with the Sarsfields , were instrumental in draining the lands they owned ( in 1890 ) with the help of the Glasheen River. This event marked the erection of the famous Ramparts at Deanrock. However by 1895 , they were set to quit Garrane Darragh and retired to Ovens , outside of Ballincollig.

 

J.W. McMullen
Marriage Cert 1887

Glasheen River drainage scheme 1890 

 

Selling up of business premises in Cork City

Sale of house 1895
* Bishopstown is the District Electoral Division
with Garrane Darragh being part of Togher


Michael Barratt

The 1901 and 1911 Censuses show Michael Barratt , Victualler as owner/occupier with live in Butchers and Apprentices. It would appear that the Barratts bought the land from the McMullens in 1895. Livestock kept on the land would have provided the raw materials for their trade. However , despite a level crossing on the lower Macroom line , it would seem like previous owners that the imposition of two railway lines through the farm made the prospect of once more selling on the land the only viable option.


Michael Barratt & Family
1901 Census


Michael Barratt & Family
1911 Census


T.O'Leary

It looks likely that by the 1950s , the Barratts had sold their interest to T.O'Leary of Munster Meats. T.O'Leary would possibly have farmed it up to the early 1980/90s. A poison notice appears in the local paper by O'Leary alongside one from the S.M.A. in 1960 to protect livestock from dogs etc. It is possible that they sold up circa 1990s/2000s and the grounds were leased out as a garden centre. The house is apparently in the hands of NAMA since circa 2010. It should be noted that all land south of the old Bandon railway line was uninhabited and had for a long time been the farming grounds of the Barrett's. Today , the land south of the old track is in the hands of the Sweetnam's.

 

Poison notice 1960s
* note: B'stown is old D.E.D.

**Since the 1990s the majority of the land has been taken over by Eagle Valley estate and the building now referred to locally as the Haunted House.**

 

Past Residents

** It must be remembered that all residents shown in the following Censuses would have worked for the Barratts and rented either the gatehouse off Bandon Road or the Lodge off Garrane Lane or perhaps lived in one of the outbuildings on site. **

1901

The 1901 Census shows a James Collins , Butcher with his wife Mary and baby Katherine as resident in the townland.

James Collins & Family
1901 Census

Cornelius Ryan , farm laborer also resided there with his wife Norah and baby Mary.

Cornelius Ryan & Family
1901 Census


1911

The 1911 Census differs in that it shows new families on site ; A young couple , John ( listed as a farm servant  ) and Hannah O'Driscoll with baby John J. So it is highly likely they lived in one of the cottages shown on the map.

John O'Driscoll & Family
1911 Census

Thomas Brien and his family are also listed with he being shown as a farm servant. His 3 children in common with others from the area would have attended Togher National School.

Thomas Brien & Family
1911 Census

** Until the 1926 Irish Census is made available , this article contains some speculation as to actual years of occupation by certain owners after the 1930s. **
 
 
Remnants of old dry stone wall
Present day Eagle Valley
Part of original entrance from Doughcloyne Hill

 
The above photo shows the remnants of an old dry stone wall which once sported a benchmark and lined the entire route from Doughcloyne right up to the Big House. Sadly the benchmark is long gone with the almost entire destruction of the wall. However traces of it can be found hidden in ditches and undergrowth along the road. As mentioned previously the Grove of Oaks still holds much of its past hidden in plain sight including a possible burial mound. Sadly an old Ring Fort was erased in the late 19th Century.

Acknowledgements

Eamonn Pearse
P. O'Donovan
W.A. Hill ( Research )

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