Morrison's Ravine

Morrrison's Ravine , Knockalisheen , Togher

 

Morrison's Ravine 1900
Note track-way delineated by double dotted line

 

An ancient forest which hugs the Glasheen River as it descends through Knockalisheen has for many years been known as Morrison's Ravine. It forms part of the natural north eastern boundary of the Townland and was named after a local farmer , Alexander Morrison whose family owned the nearby farm and Knockalisheen House up to 1952. As the watercourse flows under the stone arched bridge at Spur Hill , it emerges into a thick canopy of vegetation and trees and falls rapidly towards Waterfall where it is joined by another streamlet flowing in from Kilmurriheen. 

 

Glasheen River as it approaches bridge

Spur Hill

Turnstile Entrance off Spur Hill

Walkway looking back at Spur Hill

Glasheen River as it enters Morrison's Ravine

Glasheen River inside Morrison's Ravine

Both watercourses then make their way northward with the Bandon Road as its companion before detouring around the present day South Ring Road and meandering its way around Deanrock to turn sharply left at Clashduv Bridge leaving Togher behind before eventually merging as a culvert with the Curraheen River which empties into the River Lee.

 

Gateway entrance off Bandon Road

 

A well worn trackway leads from a turnstile ( see above ) at Spur Hill all the way down to the Bandon Road and a gate. Access is fraught with danger being located off a main thoroughfare. The gate is a handy marker which acts as a separation point between 2 Townlands , with Knockalisheen on its left and Kilmurriheen on its right. The stream itself is located some meters in behind the ditchline.However , the entrance top side has recently been fitted with CCTV and a " Keep Out " warning sign , both nailed to a tree located just inside the turnstile.

Alternate aerial view of Morrison' Ravine
showing possible large ring fort to its south in Kilmurriheen

The wooded enclosure , believed now to be designated as a game reserve , is a remnant of a much older covering and is a prime example of how much of the region looked going back several centuries before the trees were cleared to make way for agricultural and grazing lands. It should be noted that the Glasheen River , which emanates from a spring near the Airport was once a dis-tributary , with its southern cousin flowing slightly south of its northern brethren. It too up to the 19th Century displayed woodland along its banks until it was dammed off in the early 20th Century. However the old course of the now extinct branch of the Glasheen River can still be deduced from aerial maps with some of its old woodland still in place.

Between - Doughcloyne , Togher

Phillipine House 1970s later Between

Criostoir De Baroid R.I.P.

Northern Children's Holidays was an organisation set up in the early 1970s by  Criostóir De Baróid which enticed people in Togher and Ballyphehane to open their doors and take children from Belfast for short periods during the initial stages of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Eventually the old S.M.A. house on Sarsfield Road became a central venue in the late 1970s before switching for a short while to the S.M.A. Centre in Wilton from 1981 before the S.M.A. Society offered Between the Philippine House in Doughcloyne , Togher circa 1982/83 for a 30 year lease with an annual rent of just £1. The House at the time was a derelict farm house with outhouses to the rear. It was at this time that the organization changed its name to Between to highlight its efforts in reconciling the different communities in Northern Ireland. Criostóir was instrumental too in connecting the Irish Governments Foreign Affairs department with Loyalist paramilitaries at the very early stages of the peace talks. He is extremely respected by the Republicans also.

S.M.A. house , Doughcloyne , Togher
now Cork ARC Cancer Support Centre

S.M.A. Centre , Wilton

View of old Philippine House with extension
Between 1982 - 2001

Between signage on roof of canteen/recreation room

View of gardens

Togher Historical Association made contact with some of the staff and volunteers from Between who recalled their time with the organization as shown below.

Ernest Curtis - Volunteer bus driver

Ernest Curtis Staff : " I was a volunteer bus driver but my entire family was involved in all aspects of Between. We famously buried two cars in the old playground which resulted in a couple of mounds becoming small hills for the kids to climb up on! "

Tanya Dineen ( Ernest's daughter ) - Volunteer babysitter

Tanya Dineen Volunteer : " I was going to between since I was about 9/10 so since 90' 91' till close. As I got a bit older I helped with the babysitting on the adult nights out and did anything that was needed regarding cleaning , getting things set up for the day or simply playing and entertaining the kids that were there for the week. "

Staff photo and visiting U.S. support group
Kindly supplied by Tanya Dineen

Paddy O'Reilly Staff : " I was employed as the gardener. The old orchard was completely cleared out and we installed a basketball court , swings and a pond. We put a large plastic owl on the top of the old stone wall to scare off birds from the pond. I relayed the grounds in front of the house and put in walkways , seating and raised flower beds. "

Paddy O'Reilly gardener

Owl on orchard wall/playground

Local Togher children playing in Between

Billy O'Brien Togher Historical Association
Old Orchard/Playround
16th April 2015

Between put huge investment into the renovating of the house and outbuildings to house, feed and entertain Republican and Loyalist prisoners families who would visit on a rotational schedule , ( with one week given over to Nationalists and the following week given over to the Loyalists and so on ) , teenage groups , travelers groups and old age pensioners from across the six counties during the height of the conflict and the early part of the peace process. The house and surrounds and gardens were developed and maintained by Paddy O’ Reilly and others employed under the first Community Employment Scheme. Over the lifetime of the Between organization they operated the house as a respite centre during the summer months for the families through the hard work of many volunteers across those years right up to 1997/8. Many great friendships were made and maintained. Between was also instrumental in building bridges between Loyalist and Republican communities at a time when the peace process hadn’t even started. The operation was wound down circa 2001/2 following the implementation of the peace process. A great many thanks are due to all the volunteers and staff who contributed so enormously to this fantastic project which operated in Togher for well over 25 years!

Volunteers from Cork at unveiling of Wall Mural

20th September 2014

Over the 25 years period more than 12,000 plus people were hosted by Between and the group was honored in West Belfast when the people of the area from the Republican/Nationalist/Catholic community invited many of the volunteers up to unveil a massive gable end wall mural dedicated purely to the people of Cork with the Between House/Philippine House and Bus painted in the mural. A Facebook page " Memories of Between " was actually set up by people from the Unionist/Loyalist/Protestant Community in recent years.

Gable end of house showing Mural

Criostóir and Isobel

**The bus driver shown in the mural above is Sean Canny R.I.P. and his family was invited up to the unveiling as were all volunteers and they were taken aback. It was a fantastic event. There was an exhibition of old photos at the local GAA club. People from the loyalist areas were invited and came over as well. Criostóir and Isobel two founding members alongside two community workers from the area are also in the lower part of the mural ( see above ).

Criostóir de Baróid ( behind woman in scarf ) 1970s
Visitors from Northern Ireland
Man on left was known as " Elvis "

Early 2002 the House and lands were handed over to the Fellowship , a group dedicated to helping people dealing with addiction. It continues to do this work to date. Sadly as part of their ongoing renovations , the old Phillipine House and Orchard/Playground were demolished in 2017 to make way for new builds. The blog was on site to record the event here.

Eamonn Pearse R.I.P.
Kathleen O'Keeffe 2017
Togher Historical association
Demolition of house

Complete interior old playground cleared
in addition to front orchard wall 2017

 

 Acknowledgements:

Paddy O'Reilly
Ernest Curtis
Tanya Dineen
Kieran O'Connell
Several images/wording used are copyright of respective owners

Knockalisheen House

 

Knockalisheen House and farmhouses

Located directly across Spur Hill from the iconic Togher Holstein sign and not far from the Glasheen River it fronts onto the road with 153 acres of farmland. It is known as Knockalisheen House.

 

Knockalisheen House , Spur Hill , Togher

John Harrigan house
near Liberty Bridge
entrance to old " Fort Field "

Considered one of the original " Big Houses " in Togher , Knockalisheen House , which comprised 9 rooms and 9 front windows , in the townland of the same name was built circa early 1840s by Joseph D. Jackson ( Owner and Landlord of Knockalisheen ( which was situated between the western and eastern routes of Spur Hill) on the western side of Spur Hill , sandwiched in between the two original tributaries of the Glasheen River ( It is thought the southern fork was dammed off in the early 20th Century ) and initially leased out in 1850 to Benjamin Deeble who owned a flour mill in Cork City adjacent to St. Francis' church. The mill was demolished in 1877. * It should be noted that Benjamin Deeble and subsequent owners leased all of the land south of the northern fork of the Glasheen River. He sublet an additional property on his land to a John Harrigan ( * see house above ). The area north of the Glasheen River was rented out to Francis Harris who also sublet to Robert Neill and Daniel Ahern. The house being studied in this article was associated with two features in Togher by virtue of its occupiers which will be explained below.

 

Knockalisheen House on left
Togher Holstein on right

Benjamin Deeble sadly had a life full of extreme misfortune. His flour mill business wasn't a success even though he had plenty of the raw materials on his large tract of arable land , his 153 acres taking up a sizable chunk of the townlands overall capacity of 225 acres! In 1852 he was declared bankrupt and in 1867 he died of bronchitis. However his name lived on in the back road between Doughcloyne and Lehenaghmore becoming known to locals as Ben Deeble's Lane. In more modern times it is known as Wilson's Lane.

Photo shows Ben Deebles Lane ( Wilson's Lane ) 

on right with Knockalisheen on left with ditch line
in centre showing end of Doughcloyne

 

It was some time after his demise that the house and land passed into the ownership of the Morrisons. The 1901 Census shows Alexander Morrison and his two sisters Jesse and Margaret Jane ( all of the Presbyterian faith ) as occupiers. Also shown in the same Census are the names of 3 other residents on Morrison land ( see further below ) -  William O'Keeffe , John Brien and Thomas Buckley. The 1911 Census shows several newer occupants on the land , indicating the temporary nature of farm laborers - . The family name lives on in the local natural feature which is Morrison's Ravine , through which the Glasheen River flows on its way to Waterfall and thence on to Deanrock. 

 

1901 Census - Morrisons

1911 Census - Morrisons -  Jesse not present

1901 Census - showing residents on Morrison land

1901 Enumerators Extract
Shows number of people in each residence
* Note Togher is shown as " Toher "

 

1911 Census shows different occupiers on Morrison land

Morrison's Ravine on left
with Glasheen River flowing from right

The 1901 Census ( see above ) shows Alexander and his two sisters resident on the land. Compare the following 1911 Census which shows the absence of Jesse who may have married at that point in time. Alexander possibly married after 1911 as It was Alex's wife Annie who in 1952 sold at auction the house and lands to the Kingstons who were resident until recently. * It is unclear who the current occupiers are.

Iconic Togher Holstein sign next to Knockalisheen House

Historically , it is an unusual " Big House " in that it fronts virtually onto the road , whereas tradition dictated that a Gentleman's residence was sited further inland with a main drive and a lodge fronting onto the road. This lends credence to the fact that it was a purpose built house erected for sale to a farmer as evidenced by the 153 acres which came with the sale. Frontage was not as important or practical as was a tract of arable land behind the domicile.

Knockalisheen House 1900
* Note - Harrigan's house at bottom left
& extant Ring Fort bottom centre
( possibly destroyed 1940s )

Today , the whitewashed walls of its outbuildings stands in contrast to the main residence with its bright yellow door. The original 9 roomed abode has been enhanced with an additional build running at right angles to the rear.

North facing view of Knockalisheen House