Billy O'Brien ~ Togher Historical Association
The Laurels , Pouladuff Road ~ 2016
There is a house on Pouladuff Road known as The Laurels. Home to the Gunn family since 1977 , it was however home to a very different family for well over 2 Centuries before that. And the House and the land and the people who came and went there has been up until now a hidden forgotten history. Now with thanks to Jim Hegarty the blog can present the full story of the Hegarty family and The Laurels for the first time and herald more unsung Togher heroes and heroines in the process. This article will trace out the exploits of 3 members of the Hegarty family and their untold bravery , courage and sacrifice in the War of Independence and the Civil War up to 1932.
* Last Will & Testament 1885 of Patrick Hegarty snr.
to his son Patrick Hegarty ( pictured below )
The Blog begins the story of The Laurels and the Hegarty family in
1885 when
Mr. Patrick Hegarty bequeathed in his will
the ownership of The Laurels to his son
Patrick Hegarty. Most of Patrick's siblings would eventually emigrate to America. The land like all
others in Togher was originally rented from a British Absentee Landlord in this case Mr.
Piggott. However as time wore on , successive Land Acts saw it transfer to the Hegarty family with the Freehold lease only being handed over ( giving complete ownership to
Patrick Hegarty ) as recently as
1917 forever severing the link between Landlord and Tenant. Over 3 acres in total , it was used primarily as a Market Garden with a piggery and its own forge for shoeing the horses who would work the land and cart fruit and vegetables to markets and shops. The house itself was a two storey building with slated roof with the gravel for its construction being drawn from the nearby Tramore River along with a granite boulder which was cut to form the doorsteps. The holding also had two cottages , the homes of the Carroll's and the Ellis' up to the 1960s.
It is believed that these were the original mud and stone cabins erected in pre-famine times. Patrick and his wife
Elizabeth Walsh would go on to have four children ;
Patrick , John Joe , Mary Francis and Joanna , all of whom attended Togher National School.
* Patrick Hegarty & Wife Elizabeth ( nee Walsh )
The family were all committed to Ireland's increasing demand for independence and the children were actively supported and encouraged by their parents. The
1916 Easter Rising was the spark that lit the fire in The Laurels. Previous to that and because of the families Nationalist leanings , the R.I.C. from nearby Togher Barracks would regularly raid the house ; this would increase substantially once the War Of Independence started. Soon the 3 youngest children would join the cause ;
John Joe who would enlist in " H " Company , 2nd Battallion , 1st Brigade , Old I.R.A. with
Mary Francis a.k.a. Mamie and
Joanna a.k.a. Nan , joining Cumann na mBan. All three would go on to become Intelligence Officers with
John Joe becoming a Section Commander and later Lieutenant in " H " Company with 60 men under his command made up mostly of local Togher men , including the famous hunger striker
Joe Murphy.
Nan would be promoted to Captain and Treasurer of her Cumann na mBan and
Mamie became President of her Cumann na mBan ( and founded the Lehenagh branch in Togher ) and both frequently carried guns and ammunition around the City in parcels kept on their person.
* Family photograph outside The Laurels ~ 1910
L-R: John Joe , Patrick ( Father ) , Mary ( Grandmother ) ,
Elizabeth ( Mother ) & Sisters Mamie and Nan
John Joe had a great interest in local sport and supported the Barrs. His other passions were hunting and road bowling. The family were founding members of the Cork National Hunt Club in 1880 where beagles would hunt by scent for rabbits and hares. Later on in life he would develope an interest in breeding greyhounds ( who hunted by sight ) and joined the committee of the Pouladuff & Bishopstown Coursing Club in the 1930s. In the 1940s his passion for greyhounds extended to the racing track where he bred two winners , " Urhan Bridge " and " Hi Maeve ". He later helped to found the Cork County Open Coursing club which brought all the clubs together.
* Cork National Hunt group photo 1917
John Joe seated 3rd from left
Before the War of Independence ( 21 January 1919 ~ 11 July 1921 ) broke out in earnest Mamie and Nan had become proficient in Weapons training , drilling , attending meetings , organising military parades and first aid. They also actively campaigned for the various Sinn Fein candidates during the 1918 General Election. John Joe along with the other members of " H " Company would resist conscription into the British Army during the First World War. This campaign proved to be successful and the threat of being drafted was never enacted. During World War 1 ( 1914 ~ 1918 ) the British Army were endeavoring to raid cattle for export to England to help their war effort. John Joe as Section Commander led an armed party ( which included Joe Murphy ) to successfully fend off these attempts by protecting many local Market Gardeners ( including their neighbours the Husseys ) and small farms and the British soon decided to cease their raids thereafter.
* Complete List
" H " Company members
Section 1 - 2
During the War of Independence ,
John Joe along with the rest of
" H " Company were hugely active in the general Cork region. Along with many other local Companies they would use the various hollows and dense woodland of Togher to carry out their maneuvers. However training was also done under the very noses of the Authorities including the infamous Black and Tans. For this purpose
The Laurels was used as a safe house for men on the run but more importantly it was a Brigade House and a meeting place for Brigade Commanders ( which had
" H " Company providing the armed guard ) with the land itself providing for ammunition dumps and weapon hides. The house was effectively a bomb making factory and the Piggery served as the dump with rifles and other " stuff " hidden in a dugout under a trap door which dissuaded anybody from searching it. A bunker was also built underground with a secret trapdoor hidden beneath a potato pit which allowed men to hide quickly. Part of the Market Garden was set aside for the growing of celery along the tops of runnels which provided a good hiding place for volunteers in the event of a surprise raid. In addition to this ditches were dug on the inside of roadside hedgerows to provide fast cover in the event of any surprise patrols by the Authorities.
* Complete List
" H " Company members
Section 3 - 4
To coincide with the 4th Anniversary of the Easter Rising and acting under orders issued by Michael Collins in Dublin , " H " Company lead by
John Joe and
Joe Murphy burned the by then abandoned
Togher R.I.C. Barracks to the ground on the night of April 3rd
1920. This barracks was only a few fields away from The Laurels.
Nan
was in charge of all the “ stuff ” used in the raid and she had the responsibility to return them to
their home dump on completion. The burning of the Barracks prevented the R.I.C. or the Black
and Tans from reoccupying them in areas that were now controlled by the I.R.A.
" H " Company were also involved in raids on the nearby Cork Macroom railway which saw them procure mail , clothes and more importantly bicycles as motor cars were limited at the time. These hauls would be delivered to the local Flying Columns of which
John Joe was also a member. The train often held cattle for delivery to Ballincollig Military Barracks and disruption to their journey was instigated to starve out the troops billeted there. Any confiscated supplies which were not of use were burned on the spot. One particular battle on Farran R.I.C. Barracks which included
Joe Murphy lasted for 3 hours. This was accomplished using bombs , rifles and revolvers with the roads being cut off through felling trees thus preventing the arrival of any possible reinforcements. John Joe's exploits included a bold robbery of guns and ammunition from T.W. Murray Gunsmiths on Patrick's Street which were bundled in to a waiting car despite 4 R.I.C. Officers patrolling the area.
Lehenagh Branch , Togher Cumann na mBan
Captain Fennell ( Nan ) & Mrs. Forde ( Mamie )
John Joe put his trade as a Market Gardener ( which gave him freedom of movement ) to good use as he delivered fruit and vegetables to Elizabeth Fort on Barracks Street and elsewhere where he would gather intelligence on troops activities and movements.
Mamie and
Nan in their capacity as Intelligence Officers for Cumann na mBan kept watch on agents and informers who would later be eliminated. Togher itself was a hotbed of I.R.A. activity which saw frequent incursions by the hated Black and Tans. To hinder their intrusion , telephone lines were cut and roads continually blocked by fallen trees.
* Back L-R: Nan Hegarty & Paddy Forde
Front L-R: John Forde & Mamie Hegarty
On June 26th 1920 , the wedding of
John Forde from Barracks Street ( a Volunteer in " H " Company ) and
Mamie (
Mary Francis Hegarty - President of the Cumann na mBan ) took place at the Church of the
Immaculate Conception at the Lough. All wore republican dress ( the
first ever Republican Wedding! ) with " H " Company providing an armed
guard around the church which was locked for the ceremony. This also saw
Joe Murphy complete one of his last acts as a member of " H " Company before his arrest and eventual death from hunger strike.
Mamie along with her husband continued their activities in the War of Independence which included the procurement of arms in Cobh from sympathetic American sailors.
John Forde was employed by Undertakers in Cobh and they had a contract for the e
mbalming of deceased U.S. servicemen ; this gave them the perfect cover under the very noses of the British Navy. The arms and ammunition invariably found their way back to The Laurels.
* Leaflet detailing the Wedding
Nan would make continuous journeys by train to Tipperary and Limerick carrying parcels of ammunition and had personal contact with the famous
Dan Breen. She was often accompanied by members of the
Sarsfield family who expressed sympathy for their cause. Their upper class English accents acted as the perfect deterrent to any suspicion of wrongdoing if questioned by officials. For this reason , they gained the trust of the Old I.R.A. and their house was never attacked. It should be noted that the
Sarsfields also allowed
Nan the use of outbuildings on their land for additional storage of arms and ammunition.
* John Joe's passport to U.S. 1927
Nan would go on to participate in the parade for the deceased Lord Mayor
Tomas McCurtain in full Cumann na mBan uniform. She and
Mamie would also tend to
Joe Murphy and the other hunger strikers in Cork Gaol. Following
Joe Murphy's death ,
John Joe went to Cork Gaol and guarded his body overnight and arranged for the collection of his remains which were draped in the Triclour with the coffin lid screwed down so as to prevent its removal by the British Army. Immediately after the funeral in St. Finbarrs cemetery , he returned with fellow members of " H " Company to fire a volley of shots over the grave as a military salute to their former comrade.
Sean Hegarty and
Tom Croft who would replace the two deceased Lord Mayors as Brigade Commanders also used the Laurels as a base ( and would return to Pouladuff Road 40 years later to honour
Joe Murphy ) ; as indeed did many high profile Tipperary Commanders , which was a solid indictment of its importance in the grand scheme of things.
* John Joe & Jerry O'Brien
en route to New York
Nan continued her Intelligence work and also provided assistance to
General Tom Barry for his famous Crossbarry Ambush. Meanwhile
John Joe was involved in holding up trains and ambushing R.I.C. and British Army members most notably at Parnell Bridge in which two of the enemy later died of their wounds. One of the last acts before the War of Independence was declared over , was the killing and dumping of four British soldiers in Ellis' quarry near Togher.
Conn Neenan ( after which Neenan's Park in St. Finbarr's G.A.A. Club is named ) called a meeting in the old Barrs club to demand the names of the Volunteers who were involved.
John Joe calmly replied : “
Conn if you are responsible for reporting back to Dublin who shot the
soldiers , who do you think will be responsible for reporting back to Dublin your
shooting ”. The matter was closed there and then. It must be stated that
Conn Neenan was a lifelong friend of
John Joe.
* John Joe with relatives in U.S.A.
On March 1921 ,
Mamie found herself involved in the first and only Naval Conflict between Ireland and Britain! A daring plan was hatched by Sean O'Hegarty based on excellent intelligence to secure arms and ammunition not on land but off the coast! The British had ordered a vessel , the " Upnor " to transfer weapons and bombs from Haulbowline back to the U.K. Volunteers led by Mick Murphy and Tom Croft traveled to Cobh and commandeered a tugboat , the " Warrior " to intercept the ship and forced the Captain to alter course to Ballycotton. What made this act more courageous was that there were two British escort battleships 3 miles in front who had no idea of what was taking place! So it was that the ship berthed off Ballycotton and a massive haul was confiscated by the I.R.A. ( which would be used later in the ensuing
Civil War ). Heading up the operation on land were members of the Cork Brigade and
Mamie leading the local Cumann na mBan ( which she had founded ). Lorries had been secured from across the City for the operation and
Mamie's expert local knowledge of the Ballycotton district played no small part in the success of the mission. The majority of the catch made its way to the Brigade with a portion finding its way back to
Mamies home in Greenmount with the remainder ending up at the Laurels. The statistics for the haul were as follows :1500 Rifles , 61 Machine Guns , 2000 Revolvers and Pistols , 3000 Grenades and 500,000 Rounds of Ammunition!
S.S. Upnor which was taken over by I.R.A. in 1921
Following the signing of the Treaty and ceasefire the Hegarty family chose the Anti - Treaty side and fought in the
Civil War which spanned
28th June 1922 ~ 24th May 1923. Former friends and neighbours now saw themselves on opposite sides. The Laurels continued to be raided for arms and ammunition , only now it was the turn of the
Free State Army. Their motor cycle was soon impounded as it was well known to have been used for dispatches during the War of Independence.
John Joe also found himself under fire by Free State troops near the Viaduct. His luck finally ran out when he was arrested in Cork City while on Intelligence work and charged with being an
Intelligence Officer for the
I.R.A. and he was also questioned about Sean Mitchell his
Commanding Officer , who at that time was staying at the Laurels and continued to stay there
over the Christmas period. He was threatened to be shot if he did not surrender Mitchell.
John Joe was also questioned about the whereabouts of any bomb dumps under his control.
His life was saved when a Free State Officer recognised him and arranged for his
release.
* John Joe's I.D. card in New York 1932
When the
Civil War ended
John Joe returned to the Laurels to help his father to run the market garden. This was labour intensive and required many hired hands to plant , weed and harvest the crop.
Jim Hegarty recalls that in later years a former member of " H " Company
Davey Leary who took the Treaty side told him that
John Joe had asked him after the War : " Davey , your job is still there in the gardens , if you want it ".
Davey Leary would also state that John Joe and himself had actually fired at each other while on opposing sides but had much mutual respect for each other. John Joe like many other " Irregulars " left for the U.S. with his friend Jerry O'Brien in 1927 and settled in New York. It was here that he worked as a Drillman but also enjoyed the social life and meeting with relatives. It was his intention to settle down permanently in the United States as he felt safe and happy there. However in 1932 he was asked by his father to come back and run the gardens. John Joe being honour bound to his Parents who so ably helped him during the War in Ireland immediately complied and so he found himself back at the Laurels where he would stay for the rest of his life....
© Provenance - Jim Hegarty Collection
