Long's Farm - A Famous Photograph

Not many communities can boast of an iconic photograph which is widely known and associated with a particular region. Togher has just such a photograph. Published by the Evening Echo circa 1951 , the photographer ( unknown ) captured a harvest scene in Togher Farm , owned and operated by the Long Family. The head of the household - Patrick Long , first purchased the farm back in the early 1920s and for the next 4 decades together with his wife , Hannah and their children worked the land right up until a compulsory purchase order was placed on their farm circa 1961 and they had to sell.

Long's Farm , Togher circa early 1950s

Eddie Long ( 2nd from left ) , 

Claire Long ( holding teapot ) 

& Denis O'Leary ( 2nd from right )

They say a picture paints a thousand words , but a photograph reveals a million facts. The famous harvest scene shows Togher as it was almost 70 years ago. Back then , as can be seen in the shot , the main Togher Road was a very narrow affair , walled and hedged for much of its length right down to Togher Cross. Togher then was composed primarily of small farms and market gardens ; Togher Farm a.k.a. Long's Farm was both! As can be seen , the house on the brow of the hill is one part of a semi-detached house belonging to the O'Driscolls. Their neighbor , Kerrs , ran a small dairy farm. Both houses are still there today. The Long's house was out of shot and was sited a little further south and was near Ardmanning Cottages ( now also gone ) Ironically , the Long's new abode would be sited directly across the road from the Kerrs/Russell homesteads in the early 1960s.

Ardmanning Cottages which were just below 

Long's House on Togher Road circa 1961

The photograph shows 2 members of the Long Family : Eddie Long ( 2nd from left ) whose Niece - Therese Murphy - remembers as a gentle giant of a man who was reserved and mild mannered. The girl holding the Teapot was his sister - Claire Long. The man ( 2nd from right ) has since been identified as Denis O'Leary ( see below ) . Many farmers back then would have hired casual laborers during harvest time. The photo displayed here shows the old scene in a modern setting. Many thanks to Eamonn Pearse for his research into the positioning and overlaying of the photo and to Kathleen O'Keeffe for providing the photo of Denis O'Leary.

Old photograph overlaid on modern setting

Denis O'Leary ( seen in old photo 2nd from right )

The Long's story is peppered with sadness , not least the tragedy of losing their Farm and Home , which broke the heart of Patrick Long. Eddie moved into the new house on Earlwood Estate , next to the Ardmanning House along with his siblings. Born in the 1920s , he never married and died relatively young in the 1970s. His sister , Claire , married but had no children , and now lives in the house. Sadly she suffers from dementia. She is currently 86 years old.

Kerrs/O'Driscoll Houses ( 2 story semi-detached building )
Only remaining artifact from old photograph 

The Kerrs/O'Driscolls house ( shown above in its modern setting ) as featured in the famous photograph is still standing and remains the only relic of the 1950s harvest scene still intact. The other row of adjacent bungalows are thought to have been erected in the late 1950s on privately bought plots of small land. The famous photograph is on display in several locations , most notably the Lough Credit Union , Togher Branch , but what is less well known , is it's display in West Gate nursing home in Ballincollig , which Billy O'Brien discovered completely by accident ( see below ).

West Gate nursing home , Ballincollig , Co. Cork

Long's Farm , Togher Road - An Introduction

 On Saturday 8th April 2017 at 12.30 ,  Billy O'Brien met up with Therese Murphy for an interview regarding her Grandfather Patrick Long of Togher. The encounter was an excellent opportunity to gain exclusive information and pour over rare never before seen photographs. The Togher Historical Assoc. & Blog would like to thank Therese for her time and for the history she has passed on to the people of Togher about a time sadly forgotten but now hopefully remembered and added to the historical record for posterity.

Therese Long ( aged 9 ) 1960

Therese Murphy ( nee Long ) 2017

It may be difficult even impossible for modern day residents of a certain part of Togher to imagine quite what the area looked like in the past before any development took place. The region in question is a plot of land which stretched in a line North to South just below Ardmanning Avenue and culminated ( lands of O'Riordans ) approximately where Rose Lawn is today and bordered on Togher Road on its Western axis right across to stop just short of Pouladuff Road on its Eastern axis. This land was Long's Farm but known more colloquially as Togher Farm. Primarily a Dairy Farm , it also served as a Market Garden. Adjoining houses in the nearby vicinity were known as Ardmanning Cottages. All are now gone. To understand the full story it is necessary to go back to the 1920s.

Paddy & Hannah Long

Paddy Long with horse and cart delivering milk 
in Cork City - Holly Bough 2009

The story of Long's Farm begins in the trenches of France during World War I between 1916 and 1918. Young Patrick " Paddy " Long was a young Irishman who found himself caught up in the Great War in France along with thousands of his fellow countrymen. Enduring two horrifying years in No Man's Land , he finally succumbed to a gas attack and was blinded. Repatriation back to Ireland was his ultimate reward. However the story does not end there. With each ending , there is a new beginning. Remarkably two years later Paddy Long regained his sight! As the 1920s dawned , he went on to purchase a small farming interest in the then agricultural hinterland of Togher and worked and raised a family and lived contentedly for the next 40 years. During that time , the couple raised a family of 3 boys and 4 girls : Daniel ( a.k.a. " Donal " - Therese' Father ) , Edward & Patrick ; Vaunie , Therese ( a.k.a. " Terry " ) , Margaret & Claire ( girl in famous photograph ).

Edward Long ( 2nd from left )

 & sister Claire Long ( holding teapot ) 

with labourers during harvest time in early 1950s.

  Kerr's Farmhouse on brow of hill

Throughout the intervening decades , he tilled the land ; milked his cows , the produce of which he sold to the bigger Dairies in the locality and with his wife Hannah , ran a market garden growing vegetables including carrots , cabbages and onions. It was during the early 1950s that Therese' Uncle Eddie and Aunt Claire featured in an iconic photograph ( see above ) depicting a harvest scene in September. Therese remembers that the Long house was situated on the flat at the bottom of Ardmanning Hill where the present day entrance to Edward Walsh Road is now. The only landmark from those halcyon days still standing today is the house of the Kerr's'O'Driscolls which formed the backdrop to the famous photograph ;  everything else being leveled and erased from memory.

Old lady with paper bag collecting shamrock

on Long's Farm ( name and date unknown )

During the 1950s his Granddaughter , Therese would regularly be brought by her Mother from Cait O'Sheas Lane where they lived to visit and play on the land which included jaunts on a pony called Royal Tan , reputedly a former Grand National winner and helping her Grandmother , Hannah , picking blackberries in the garden. Sadly her Father , Daniel " Donal " Long ( born 1918 & married 28th June 1949 ) had succumbed to throat cancer when Therese was very young. As she grew older , she would accompany her Grandfather Paddy in his van delivering milk to the producers which may have included Hosfords Dairy Farm across the road.

Therese Murphy ( nee Long ) with Aunt Terry

 at Long's Farm 1952 ( house in background )

As time wore on in the Long farmstead , the dawn of the 1960s heralded tremendous change for many local farmers and market gardeners in Togher when the Corporation encroached with Compulsory Purchase Orders for the sale of the lands to construct much needed housing schemes for the increasing population of Cork City. Paddy Long was paid the princely sum of £64,000 for Togher Farm in 1962. His neighbours also lost much or all of their former lands ; Murphy's ( Joe Murphy house ) to the east and O'Riordans to the south ( Vicars Road area , Deanwood Ave ). Therese also recollects playing with the children of Bannon's house which was situated across from her Grandfather's farm. It may have at one time served as a lodge , as she recalls a green wooden door/gate opening on to a path with gardens on both sides leading onto a 2 storied big house - which can be inferred as being Clashduff House!

 View from Ardmanning Hill 15th October 1961

Longs farm on left ; O'Bannon's House on right

Paddy bought one of the new houses which would become Earlwood Estate as a replacement for the family home which was situated next to  the Ardmanning House. Later he would build a confectionery bakery for his daughter Vaunie ( who never married ) adjacent to the house. Here Vaunie baked cakes and other confectionery for the locals of Togher up until her sad demise in the 1980s from bowel cancer. She was a wonderful baker and lived for her work. Therese remembers : " I have happy memories of all the time I spent helping. I started when I was about 5 years old until my late teens. Magical ; loved every minute and she was spotless. " Vaunie , who was also known as " Bawnie " is still to this day remembered fondly by the people of Togher.

 

Long House at top of Ardmanning Hill

with " Bawnie's " bakery to rear

Claire Long who famously featured in the harvest photograph holding the teapot ( married in her 40s but regrettably had no children )  now resides in the family home. Brigette Byrne remembers : " My Uncle , Jack Linehan married Claire Long at the Lough Church in 1974. She wore a beautiful lilac dress. We thought he would never marry as he was a confirmed batchelor. " Therese Murphy remembers : " Jack brought great happiness to her life as she thought she would never meet her soul mate. His death was such a terrible loss. "

 Long's new house under construction 15th October 1961

Therese remembers as a child being brought by her Grandfather Paddy to view the construction of their new house ( shown above ) and distinctly recalls the sadness in his eyes at the loss of his beloved farm which proved too much and he passed away at age 63 a few short years later. Below are some photos from the Family album showing cousins and friends.

Abina Lucey R.I.P. 2005, Glasheen ; 

Claire Long - fathers sister ;  

Nora O'Brien ( married - Newman ) mothers sister 

still alive at 85. Abina and Nora- first cousins

Uncle Steven O'Brien - mothers brother; 

Gerry Lucey - Albinas brother ; 

Margaret Long ( check skirt front of pic ) ; 

others unknown

Cousins group photo - Long's ; O'Brien's & Lucey's