Kilmohonock - The Town That Vanished!

Ui Mc Ceir 12th Century

Norman Knight 12th Century

It may be difficult to comprehend but father time and mother nature can completely eradicate a former settlement bringing its very existence into doubt. Vague and ancient records however can betray a past which has almost been utterly erazed from history. One such town or village was thought to have been located in Lehenaghmore , Togher circa the 13th Century or perhaps even earlier. Its name is given as Kilmohonoc. It is the Town that vanished!

 

Illustration of typical Norman chapel 13th Century

Kilmohonoc , Togher ( Lehenaghmore )

 

 

Historians argue over the name and the location of the town in question. Some say it was named after a Saint Monoge but the various anglicisations of its title down through the centuries has only served to confuse. However the " Kil " lends credence to a church of some sort. So it would seem that the town and the chapel and its accompanying graveyard were closely allied to each other ; one not existing without the other. It can also be argued that the town owed its very existence to both the Ui Mc Ceir and the Normans!

Example of typical Norman village late 12th Century

It is thought that a trading post was in situ pre 10th Century built by the ruling Ui Mc Ceir near the border of the neighboring Ciarraigh Chuirche tribe. Following on from the initial invasion of Cork City by the Cambro-Normans ( who hailed from Wales ) in the 1170s , De Cogan and his entourage of Norman Knights soon laid plans for a manor or Fayd which would encompass the newly conquered lands. At the manors southern extremities , plans were put in force to construct a market town to enforce its new values on the people. An existing site Kilmohonock was picked to enhance its potential , being built at a crossroads and with a source of water. The houses and shops would be constructed of wood while a new chapel was to be made of cut limestone blocks with an adjoining cemetery. The chapel itself was the Teampellean ( which may have been a corruption of Olde Irish/English and simply implied " small temple " ) . However over time the name became forever associated with the adjoining graveyard. It would seem highly likely that this was the location of the old town , being geographically sited between two streams , the Liberty on its western flank and the Glenmore on its right , besides having a local spring in its grounds. De Cogan himself was killed in 1182 by the Irish when attempting to march on Waterford. He apparently suffered death by axe! His name survives in Cork to this day as Goggin.

 

Likely former location of Kilmohnock
19th Century map showing Lehenagh House

The town in question post Norman influence would have seen the Normans simply take ownership of the existing Tuath , in this case , the lands of the Ui Mc Ceir and establish a manor system there , the Manor of the Fayd or Plain of the Synod. Over time this would have morphed into the Civil Parish of St.Finbarrs. Of course another layer would have been grafted onto the area when in 1608 the County of the City of Cork was created which took in surrounding lands within a 3 mile radius of the City. This was abolished in 1840. However following the 2018 Boundary Extension the area under study was returned to the City. So it can be seen that the geographical ebb and flow of territory was quite frequent down through the centuries.

Location of Castle in neighbouring Townland
Knocknamallavoge ( * Note ring fort to north )

On establishing a market town on an already existing site , the Normans would have exerted their influence to the very borders of the enemy Irish. This provocative stance would have been backed up by military strength. A stone castle was erected in nearby Knocknamallvoge to impress upon the native Irish tribes that they were approaching Norman controlled terrritory. Over time though , undoubtedly the local Irish would have begun trading as a matter of preservation. And like the way of all things , the Normans would have settled down to a peaceful co-existence. The town , like any other Norman medieval settlement would have had exotic goods , such as spices , leatherwork and sweetmeats which were unavailable elsewhere. It should be stated that it was the Normans who introduced rabbits to Ireland for purposes of hunting. The town would have been home to bakers , blacksmiths, minstrels , jugglers , pickpockets and vagabonds.

Actual interior of a 12th Century Norman chapel

 

** It should be noted that as mentioned above a trading town had already been in situ since the pre-Norman days of the Ui Mc Ceir tribe who would have purposely built it on the border between the neighboring Ciarraighe Cuirche tribe. The Normans would have simply appropriated the existing settlement and upgraded it to their own design. This would have included constructing a chapel nearby , which possibly superseded an earlier wooden effort. Chapels were never built in isolation and this lends credence to the assumption that the town of Kilmohonac was originally situated at or about this area in Lehenaghmore. Whilst the Normans brazenly built in an open plan fashion with easily accessible routes in and and out of the town , the native Irish still preferred to live in a proliferation of " Ring Forts " dotted all over the nearby landscape , more for security from bandits and wolves. However , they would most certainly have traded with the Normans for cattle , food and other goods.

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Historical events/figures associated with Kilmohonock

1474 - The town of " Kilmahalok " was one of many in Cork and elsewhere which took to minting its own currency when the English money became so devalued in the late 15th Century as to become almost worthless. The practice was banned two years later by a statute of King Edward IV of England ( see below ) who sought that those responsible should be arrested and duly punished.

King Edward IV
National Portrait Gallery , London

1609 - The new County of the City of Cork was created by bringing in the townlands within a 3 mile radius of the City. This would have brought the market town , now part of the South Liberties , under the direct influence of the city merchants. It involved contributing to the maintenance of the City but also allowed them to send produce free of tolls into the City. This arrangement lasted until 1841 when the South Liberties were abolished and all townlands returned to the country.

Parish of St. Finbarris
L. Brown Collection

1615 - King James I ( see below ) sent an entourage to Killmohallok with instructions to name Richard Allen as curate of the Chapel and graveyard. It is believed that nearby Coolallen was named from him.

King James I

1649–1653 - The re-conquest of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell set in motion a terrible devastation upon the country at large ; there can be no doubt that Kilmohonok was no exception with its chapel reduced to rubble with the subsequent introduction of the Anglican faith. There can also be no doubt that the attached village would have been raised to the ground and its inhabitants slaughtered.

Oliver Cromwell 1653
by Dutch painter Peter Lely

Thus the death knell had been sounded and the trading town was no more , slowly left to rot and eventually disappear from local knowledge , save for its little graveyard and its former chapel now a mound of rubble overgrown with vegetation. Slowly these too would forever disappear. Vanished , just like the town which once existed nearby!

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Cros na Gol a.k.a.Green Patch
Lehenaghmore , Togher

To this day , the crossroads of Mathew Hill and Lehenaghmore Hill are known as the " Green Patch " , a term used by local bowling clubs for many decades past. However its original name is Cros na Gol or Place of Skulls and it was here where wailers would meet local funeral processions and escort them to the Teampellean for burial. Over time , this unconsecrated ground became the last resting place of unbaptised babies and waifs and strays. The early 1980s saw the building of private residences on the once hallowed ground and many ghostly stories are mentioned in connection with the site.

Fomer site of Teampellean ( left ) & Chapel/Kilmohonock ( right )