A house once existed in Togher whose families between them have supplied 33 City Mayors , overseen a fee paying ice skating park , owned a quarry where the last casualties of the War of Independence were killed and has a rugby pitch in Ballincollig named after the husband of one of its descendants! This is the story of the various Landlords down though the Centuries...
( Lodge fronting onto Togher Road )
**As with all townlands in Togher , it can be impossible to uncover the original inhabitants of Clashduff prior to written historical records. Suffice it to say , it was in the hands of the Ui Mhic Ceir for many centuries and through alliances and gifting of territory to the Vikings/Ostmen and eventually the Normans would ultimately make its way into the hands of the Goulds , the Frenchs , the Ellis' , the Hosfords and Cork Corporation.**
Showing " Clashduffe "
The townland of Clashduff ( Clais Dubh - Black Hollow - so named from the bog ) was originally in the ownership of James Fitzstephen Gould and James Fitzdavid Gould as noted in the Acts for the Settlement of Ireland in 1652 . Originally of Norman stock , their lineage would most certainly date back to the Norman Invasion of Cork in 1177 or thereabouts. It also anciently contained the sub-townland of Glasheen which over the course of the last few centuries has become a separate suburb with its own national schools.
The name Gould as was the case with many others of Norman origin would have been shortened or spelt differently. The list below shows members of the family or branches thereof who supplied a staggering 30 Mayors of Cork City between 1443 and 1690. It is impossible to tie all members to Clashduff but it cannot be proven otherwise. If the case is true , then the Gould's settled in Togher in the early to mid 15th Century only leaving through the forceful taking of their land in the mid 17th Century , giving them an association with Clashduff of 200 years! Obviously they would have had a primary residence on their land but it is doubtful if it survived for over 500 years into the modern era. Any future landlord would very likely have demolished the original abode and constructed their own " big house ".
1444 - Wm. Goold
1446 - John Goold
1448 - John Goold
1452 - John Goold
1463 - Wm. Goold
1464 - John Goold
1493 - Wm. Goold
1501 - Wm. Goold
1503 - Edmd. Goold
1510 - Ed. Goold
1522 - Richd. Goold
1524 - Ed. Goold
1531 - Richd. Goold
1534 - Jas. Goold
1544 - Jas. Goold
1545 - Richd. Goold
1546 - Wm. Goold
1547 - Wm. Goold
1559 - Ed. Goold
1567 - Ed. Goold
1577 - John Goold
1584 - Geo. Goold
1597 - Geo. Goold
1611 - Geo.Goold
1615 - Wm. Gold ( Name changes to Gold )
1618 - Wm. Gold
1625 - Henry Gold fitz Adam
1687 - Ignatius Gold ( Lost lands due to support of James II - Last Catholic to hold post until 1848 with election of William Lyons who was re-elected 1849 & knighted by Queen Victoria! )
1690 - Ignatius Gold ( appointed by James II - Contentious )
The family and branches thereof supplied no less than 3 members as Mayor of Cork City ; firstly in 1696 - James French ( a wine merchant who also had a quay in Cork City named after him! ) , followed by his two sons in 1715 - Philip French ( Previously served as a sheriff in 1712 ) and in 1717 - Abraham French ( who had also previously served as a sheriff ).
** It
should be noted that Sean French who later became Lord Mayor a
staggering 12 times ( 1925 - 1930 as a Sinn Fein member and again from
1933 until his death in office in 1937 as a Fianna Fail member ) was not
related!
Clashduff House & The Bog
Clashduff House was built circa late 17th Century. A two story eight windowed building , sporting many bedrooms and a pantry and a dining room , it was for centuries the main residence of the French family who gave their name to the local bog. An Osiery lined the banks of the Glasheen River producing the raw materials for making basketware and other containers ( the plastic of its time ) back in the 19th Century. This was not the only source of income for the French Family. It is on on record that they dammed off the local Glasheen River in the mid 19th Century to flood the bog during winter to create an outdoor skating rink for the Ladies and Gentry who paid for the pleasure. Tar barrels were placed at strategic points around the frozen bog to light up the area during nightfall and torchlights were provided to aid the skaters as they carefully meandered their way around the ice. Entertainment was provided by musicians and hot food served from burning braziers with seating arranged for ladies to don their skating boots. The local people who could not afford the shilling would often congregate along the Heighty Lane to cajole on the participants until Mr. French had the whole area fenced off. At this point Mr. Edward Ellis was co-owner of the townland and was in cahoots with Mr. French viz a viz the sharing in profits from the ice skating scam! The Lough was the only source of skating for the poor of the time. It is noted that the French family severed links circa 1890 and Mr. Edward Ellis had complete control of Clashduff and the Bog . leaving many hundreds of Pounds in his will , money undoubtedly accrued from his icy venture! On their land was a small enclave of stone cottages arranged in a square compound known as the Kerry Yard with a duck pond outside its walls near the future Hosfords house. This housed seasonal farmhands and more permanent residents up to 1967!
Showing plots of Clashduff townland
and parts of Deanrock in their ownership
Lodge at right hand corner of Togher Square
Kerry Yard fronting off Togher Square
Note: Longs Farm on right hand side ( North )
& Bannon's House on left below entrance to Sycamore Place
Lodge & entrance to Clashduff further down
Long's Farm on left
Right hand side entrance
Original site of Lodge and driveway to Clashduff House
Remainder of terrace original location of Kerry Yard
Tree in foreground would survive until mid 1970s
Southernmost point of Hosfords farm
Clashduv Road today
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ELLIS
It is not recorded when the Ellis family exactly took ownership of Clashduff House and lands from the French family but it would most certainly have been towards the closing years of the 19th Century following the departure of Edward French in the 1890s. Edward Ellis was to die himself a few short years later in 1898. He was succeeded by his son of the same name who became head of the house despite his mother still being alive.
* Note: Sarah Ellis who was the last occupant of Clashduff House
The Ellis family were staunch Protestants and their loyalties were to the old country ( England ) as evidenced by the will of Sarah Ellis in 1959. All siblings having moved away , she became the sole occupant ( see below ). Dying unmarried and childless , she left an estate valued at £13,050 granting probate to her niece Martha Trinder and her husband Henry W. Hosford. She bequeathed £500 to the St. Finbarrs Sustentation Fund , £200 to the Home for Protestant Incurables , £200 to the Protestant Orphan Fund and £200 to the Buckingham House School.
The Ellis Quarry / Killings
The Ellis' bought the formerquarry north of Clashduff known as Egan's Quarry which had lain dormant for nearly 50 years in 1900. In 1904 , a quarryman by the name of William Coughlan lost his right eye and suffered bad injuries to both hands when a charge of dynamite exploded unexpectedly. Stone was quarried to help steamroll the Togher and Pouladuff Roads in the early 1920s.
This quarry was infamous for 4 British soldiers being executed there and their bodies dumped where they fell for the Authorities to find them. It was in retaliation for the murder of Denis Spriggs on Blarney Road by crown forces. This was the last action of the War of Independence in 1921! Today Earlwood Estate occupies a portion of the old quarry site.
Henry W "Harry" Hosford ( known locally for his fondness of brown tweed ) through his wife Nancy Trinder inherited Clashduff House and lands when her aunt , Mary Sarah Ellis passed away in 1959 at the age of 87 leaving everything in her will to her niece. As was the custom at the time , her husband was the legal beneficiary. Nancy was a qualified Chemist and the couple had two children , Henry and Meryl. They continued to operate the farm as a a dairy concern and chose to live in a bungalow near the Kerry Yard leaving Clashduff House unoccupied. They also cultivated cash crops such as potatoes and cabbage. Many local girls found employment there where they would be paid a tanner a drill ( one long raised ridge the length of a ploughed field! ) for tilling potatoes. Some locals would venture onto the land through a gap in the wall near Bannons house to secure a head of cabbage. The entrance to Clashduff House & lands was secured by two large 6ft high steel gates. ( located to the right of Togher Square - see photo above ).
At some point in the 1960s , Harry Hosford had ownership of the Heighties . a disused quarry in Deanrock which saw service as a turf depot during the Emergency ( World War II ). He had it back-filled with soil in preparation for selling on to the Corporation for a planned housing estate. However . the Corporation also had designs on all of the Hosford land and in 1967 , that is just what happened! Following the issue of the compulsory Purchase Order by Cork Corporation , the Hosfords had purchased a dairy farm in Ovens and had their cattle transported some weeks later. However one morning without warning they were surprised to find the builders outside on the Togher Road ready to move onto the land. They were given moments to pack their belongings and remove themselves to the main Togher Road. The builders lost no time in tearing down the old stone wall which had fronted onto Togher Road for many centuries! Over the course of the next few days , Clashduff House was demolished and bulldozed over to the nearby Bog. Soon any remaining buildings were also torn down and work commenced on the new Ardmanning Beg scheme.
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Aftermath
The Hosfords relocated to Athnowen , Lisheens , Ovens and bought a small dairy farm. The son Henry soon took over the running of the farm. Meryl later married a local wealthy farmer by the name of Tanner. After his death , she inherited the farm. However , the shadow of compulsory purchase followed her even here. Most of the land went to housing development schemes and the creation of a rugby grounds called appropriately enough Tanner Park in honour of the lands former owner. Sadly , she passed away some years ago.
Lisheens , Athnowen , Ovens
Named in honour of Meryl's husband
Acknowledgements:
Mrs. A. Hosford ( nee Odlum )
Richard Henchion
Tom O'Keeffe
