Beyond The Cutting III - Togher Road & Summerstown Lane

The " Beyond The Cutting " series continues with Mary Walsh's memoirs of Togher Road up to and including Summerstown Lane. A bygone age of hilarious characters and unforgettable experiences. When acknowledging past occupancy of any given area , it is all too often forgotten that many have called a place home going back not just decades but centuries!

1951 aerial view of Togher Road and Summerstown Road

** The photo above shows a different Togher in 1951 which would change vastly over the coming 2 decades. Togher Road is the main road which moves off at an angle from the bottom of the photo ; the sharp turn back to the left at the top takes you down Summerstown Lane , so named because it lead to the Glasheen River bridge and onto the Summerstown House. Also shown is the old Deanrock House ( often mistakenly labelled as Summerstown House on old OSi maps ) with its tree lined avenue leading in from Togher Road. This article will deal with the houses on both sides of this section of Togher Road up to the turn off down Summerstown Lane , the study area covering parts of 2 townlands ; Deanrock and Killeenreendowney. **

1964 graphic map of study area

Books of Survey & Distribution 1641 - 1703
as per Down Survey

The extract as shown the photo above is from the Books of Survey & Distribution ( which detailed the original owners and the people to whom they had to surrender their land in lieu of the Cromwell Confiscations ) in the 17th Century. Killeenreendowney occupies the lower right side of Togher Road up as far as modern day Willow Place ; thereafter both sides are Deanrock. As shown , Killeenreendowney was owned by George Gould and was forfeited to Alex. Piggott with Deanrock ( Carrigdigganig ) originally in the hands of the " Deanes of St. Finbarries " but would come into the ownership of Hanc Hamilton. Through sub leasing both before and after the confiscations of Cromwell , many other notable names would become attached to Deanrock , including the Goulds in the 1640s , Wm. Field in 1654 , the Barters and the Bretons in the 18th Century which seems to have survived to some degree into modern times. * However through the various land acts of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century , much of the land would fall into the hands of the tenants. The Religious Census of 1766 for the civil parish of St. Finbarrs lists the following : " St Finbar's, 176 Protestant and 745 Catholic households, and 919 Protestant and 3,452 Catholic people. No priest or friar. "

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The article will first deal with the houses on the left side of Togher Road from the corner of Barrs Lane and terminate at the turn off to Summerstown Lane.

1 : The first house on the corner of Togher Road ( junction of Barrs Lane ) was an oddity in that it was angled to the road in a diamond formation. This was the home of the Kearneys. Winnie Sullivan had married the head of the household ( first name unknown ) and they had 3 children ; Patricia , Eileen and Michael.

 

 

Kearneys as seen in 1971

Modern day Harleywood
 

 

2 : The next house belonged to Pete Sullivan , brother of  Winnie and he owned the Caravan Park. The caravan park is now long gone , with Harleywood being built there in the 2000s.

Sullivans house & Caravan Park 1971

 

 

Now Carrigdean medical centre

Deanrock Tce

Deanrock Tce. as shown on left side of Togher Road 1829

The 7 workmens houses which were attached to the large farm of Deanrock House were built circa 1840s by the Barter family. Thereafter their land was walled off up to and back down Summerstown Lane ( save for the lodge and entrance some yards previous to that to allow access to the big house. ) The occupants as of 1850 were as follows :

Margaret Carroll
Edward Joyce
Honoria Murphy
Mary Cottor
Michael Crowley
Margaret Downey
Thomas Healy

1841 map of *Deanrock House & Deanrock Tce.
( * Note : mistakenly named as Summerstown Hse. )
Also shown near Glasheen Bridge , several smaller holdings

1898 map of Deanrock House
showing lodge and smaller holdings ( in bold )

Judging by the topography of the maps above , it would seem that by the 1940s , 2 additional builds ( see map below ) had been grafted onto this side of Togher Road , with Kearneys on the corner of Barrs Lane but fronting onto Togher Road and Sullivans and their later caravan park ( the park being set up in the 1960s )

1949 map of Deanrock House and Tce
Also showing Kearney , Sullivan and additional
holding down Summerstown Lane

Deanrock Tce ( 7 houses ) 1971

1986 photo shows Deanrock Tce and O'Sullivan's coal shop
* Note : Caravan Park sign on opposite side of Togher Road
& entrance to Kelly's Lane near bus stop

Modern day aerial view of Deanrock Tce.
Showing 2 lots of 3 No. Townhouses
reducing the terrace to 4 houses
* Note : Harleywood in place of Kearneys
with Sullivan house ( now medical centre ) still in situ

View of last 4 remaining original houses
on Deanrock Tce

However the intervening century or so since then would have seen many families leaving and many arriving to set up home , some for short periods of time and others for much longer stays. The following list though by no means exhaustive is documented by Mary Walsh ( of The Cutting ) , Siobhan McCarthy ( of McCarthy market garden ) & Tom Ellis ( of No.2 Ardmanning Cottages ) and recalls family names from the 1950s and 1960s who dwelt in Deanrock Tce.

 

Mary Walsh ( The Cutting ) recalls some of the personalities of Deanrock Tce :

Goulds

Kellys - young daughter Marie

" Tommy Murphy lived in one of the houses on Deanrock Terrace. One day he ran out to save a child from an oncoming car and lost his leg in the accident. He would often ask Mary and her friends to go to the shop for a loaf of bread. His wife was known as Mrs. Bullog. "

" There was another character from Deanrock Terrace known as the " Runaway Duck! "

McCarthys

O'Sullivan's coal shop

O'Sullivan's coal & poppy shop 1980s

Soccer Pitch ( see below )

Early 1950s photo showing International Schoolboy Trials
in soccer pitch located below Deanrock House

Early 1950s photo shows soccer pitch
with wall lined boundary onto Togher Road

 

1953 match in soccer pitch
Present day Shournagh Lawn

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The following 3 families resided in small cottages at the entrance to Deanrock House

Plaice ( read more here! )

Walsh

Feeney

Deanrock House

O'Donnell - ran a dairy farm with a wide tree lined lane leading into it from Togher Road. Mary would often bring a tinny jug up there to collect buttermilk. A lodge would have originally been at the entrance when it was the " big house " of the Barters or Bretons. The road leading up to the house became known as O'Donnell's lane. In the late 1960s the house would be demolished to make way for the N.B.A. housing scheme , in this instance Owenacurra Court which was demolished in 2005 , with Shournagh Grove now in its place.. The present day Credit Union building is situated where the lodge would have been.

Deanrock House 1951
* Note : tree lined avenue

Lough credit Union , Togher Road
Site of old lodge

Prendergast - shared house with O'Donnell's.

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Togher Road

This section details some of the families remembered by Mary Walsh and Tom Ellis from the corner of Togher Road/Hangdog Road as far up as Carmelville. 

 

Post Office - Opened in 1966 and operated by lilly Sullivan , who lived with her brothers family on Hangdog Road. 

Togher Post Office 1970s
Postmistress Lily O'Sullivan

 

Now Dental practice and Pharmacy
 

Mulcahy - milkman.

McCarthy

Mulcahy & McCarthy 1971

Houses in modern times
Thought to be in private ownership

Jim McEvoy

Kavanaugh - coffin maker - He was always fighting with Pete Sullivan saying one day he'd make him his coffin! 

Jim McEvoy & Kavanaugh 1971

Modern day apartments

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Kellys Lane ( now Willow Place )

Kelly's Lane 1971
* Note 3 original cottages and market gardens

Willow Place ( aka Kelly's Lane )

* Now contains 7 cottages

Prendervilles - 1st on right , their garden bounced onto Tramore Road.The family consisted of Garry , Vincent , Patricia , Rose and Anna.

Kellys 1st on left ; the daughter was Norah , a good friend of Mary.

Hourigans

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Morans - Bernie Moran , English family who ran a school of motoring.

Morans 1971

Morans in modern times

Ronaynes - famous home in Togher known as Leaca ban.

Ronaynes 1971

Leaca Ban in modern times

Mr. Ronayne 1960s

Seanie O'Brien - market gardener , he used an old cottage for storing hay in which the Fitzgerald family once lived. Tom Ellis ( Ardmanning Cottages ) recalls : " Fitzgeralds later moved to Roger Casement Park , Glasheen. Nobody lived in the house afterwards. "

Seanie O'Briens 1971

Market Gardens housing estate

McCarthys - market garden ( still in use! ). Originally in 1852 the landlord was John Kelleher and the tenant was James Lavallen.

McCarthys 1971

McCarthys in modern times

Murphys - market garden ( read more here! )

Murphys 1971

Present day Deanvale housing estate

Sullivan - Jim & Julia and their 3 children ; Jim , Donie and Jer ( ambulance driver ). They later moved to Pouladuff Road. Deanwood Ave. was built on their land in 1962.

Jim & Julia Sullivan's land 1951

Present day Deanwood Avenue

O'Riordan - Carmelville - Mrs O'Riordan was a dressmaker , she made a coat for Mary when she was 11.

Rear of Carmelville 1971

Carmelville in modern times
One of Togher's few listed buildings

Pata Cronin and sister Bunny - moved to Pouladuff Road to make way for Vicars Road.

Site of Pata & Bunny Cronin's house in 1971
Vicar's Road now occupies their land

Sonas housing scheme now occupies
part of Pata & Bunny's land

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These are Siobhan Spillane's ( nee McCarthy ) original hand drawn maps showing residents of Togher Road which can be reconciled with Mary Cooney's ( nee Walsh ) recollections.

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Summerstown Lane

Summerstown Lane aka Heighties Lane 1968
* Note : construction of Clashduv Road to right

Summerstown Lane ( Walled section in background )
as seen from Togher Road in 1968

" Sh*t in the gallon " was a local character who lived off Summerstown Lane and kept an orchard. Of course many youths of the time felt the urge to keep up the old tradition of " slogging " apples , not so much for the illicit catch , but the thrill of the chase from the enraged owner! So vexed did he become as a result of one too many raids on his precious crop , that he took to literally throwing buckets of manure at those brave enough to encroach on his lands. And if he really lost the plot , he was also known for throwing it with his hand!

1951 aerial view of Sh*t in the Gallon house & orchard

Tom Ellis : " As you went down Summerstown Lane there were two gates to your left  ( about 600ft back from the Glasheen bridge ) which lead up to Coleman's and Donovan's. A tee junction also went up to two huge Houses. There were 3 families there :  Murphy’s , Reilly's and one unknown. The front of the house faced onto 2 soccer pitches and that lane took you out to Coakley's shop. Half way down that lane there was a rugby pitch. I think transport was the name of the team. "

 

EoinMcCreevy : " I remember going through there to the devils rock when we were young.the amount of families that used to go there in the summer with picnics , simple times mid late sixties. My memory was going for a walk on some Sundays during the summertime going through that lane and passing along side the ESB hut and ending up in this field with a big rock. A few families there and the children playing on the rock. Remember the cottage at summers town lane had the biggest sunflowers I ever saw ; still remember them. "

 

ESB hit or Gas Pump?
Halfway down Summerstown Lane on the right
 

Eoin Mohally : " The cottage was down the lane it was just after the entrance gate to the Heighties on the left hand side ; you could also get to the soccer pitch in the back from there ; i think it was the only cottage there. Bog on the right hand side , there was also a gas station ( It was concrete building and if my memory serves me well i think it had Cork Gas Consumers written on it ) , could have been for pumping. We used to cover our noses in case we get poisoned passing it right hand side. Had some fields when you went up the lane , great place to go in the summer when we were kids. "

Beyond The Cutting II - Hangdog Road

In the second of the Beyond The Cutting articles , the blog now turns its attention to the old Hangdog Road. Information contained here is based on the research of Togher Historical Association and the memoirs of Mary Walsh.

Tramore Road 1971

Hangdog Road ( renamed Tramore Road in 1960 by Cork Corporation following general consensus of the then residents ) is approximately 2000ft in length topped and tailed by Togher Road and Casey's Cross. It boasts a Post Office and a Garda Station. During the 1980s , it was also home to Fitzgerald's Bakery. In recent decades it has seen 2 new estates constructed - Woodlawn/Woodlawn Mews and Sheridan Park.

View from Togher Road 1971

Hangdog Road was created towards the tail end of the Great Famine 1845 - 1852 , quite possibly 1848 , as it is not shown in Griffith's Valuations of 1847. It was commissioned by Capt. Sarsfield of Doughcloyne , Togher as a shortcut ( see Legend of Hangdog Road below ) to Pouladuff Road to enable him to save time when attending meetings in the City where he served on the Board of Guardians. *Note: Cork Macroom Direct Railway was not set down until 1866 and would run parallel with the road. The road itself would traverse 2 Townlands ; Killeenreendowney and Freagh & Vicar's Acre in a straight line from Togher Road using existing field boundaries save for a bend towards Pouladuff Road to avoid a property there. Maps below show the transition from non existent to it's creation and the inevitable building of properties along its axis thereafter which has continued to this day.

1840s showing field boundary route for new road

 

Griffith's Valuations in the 1840s shows the absentee Landlord Geo. Piggott as owner with Plot 61 & 62 in Killeenreendowney rented by Maurice Murphy and Margaret Murphy respectively with Plot 4 in Freagh & Vicar's Acre rented by Maurice Murphy.

Plots 62 , 61 Killeenreendowney
and Plot 4 Freagh & Vicar's Acre
showing future Macroom railway line


The Legend of Hangdog Road

The modern day Tramore Road is Togher's tie to a dark past ( 1847 ) in that it is a famine road solely built on the whims and desires of a local landowner , Capt. Sarsfield. He was a member of the Board of Guardians who would meet every week at the Workhouse located off Douglas Road. His journey by horseback took him from his home in Doughcloyne all the way to the Lough and by means of a convoluted series of routes over to the Workhouse. Knowing the topography of the land , he knew he could shorten his trek considerably by having a connecting road to Ballyphehane Road which would bring him to the Curragh Road and down the Douglas Road to his destination saving valuable time. To that end and using his influence , he saw to it that a gang of impoverished men could be employed to build his new shortcut from Togher Road to Pouladuff Road , their measly payment being Indian Corn. So it was that construction began. However one day while arriving to inspect the progress of the men he was angered at the sight of dogs accompanying the men. He called for the foreman and informed him that if the men could afford to feed dogs then they were not as poor as they appeared and ordered that no more food was to be given to the canines. Later that week , he again returned to inspect the new road and was coldly surprised by the scene which met his eyes. From every branch of every tree , a dog was found to be hanging by a rope , all killed. When he asked what prompted such a bizarre act , the foreman informed him that the men , so ordered not to feed the dogs , could not bear to see them starve to death and quickly hung them all to spare them their fate. Nonplussed , the Captain departed , safe in the knowledge that his new road was almost complete. Thereafter and up to the change of name in 1960 , the road was known as Hangdog Road!

 

1860s showing Hangdog Road and new Railway line

Circa 1940s showing grouping of cottages

Boundary showing Killeenreendowney
* Note tightly grouped collection of cottages
close to Togher Road - 1951

 

Boundary showing Freagh & Vicar's Acre
* Note McCarthy's cottage north of road
and O'Sullivans farm south of road 1951

 

During the mid 1950s Tommy Marshall ( Marshall House , The Cutting ) in his trade as a builder constructed a slew of houses on Hangdog Road. Mary and Eileen Walsh would clean the interiors and windows before occupation. The list below highlights the original cottages as they were up to the late 1960s. However given modern development , selling on of plots in days gone by and demolition of original builds in some cases , it is impossible save for a select few to completely identify each of the original homes and tie them to the original occupants as per the list shown below.

S.W. side of road

This lists the original cottages on the right side of Tramore Road starting from the Togher Road side and ending at Casey's Cross.

1 - Birdie Buckley

Originally the Home of Birdie Buckley ( see here ) , it is now the Scout Centre.

Birdie Buckley's old house
in front of Scout Hall

2 - Long / Walsh / Donoghue

The Longs lived in this house originally but were evicted due to non payment of rent. Mary's cousin Tom Walsh next rented the house where he specialized in  growing tomatoes in a hothouse. He moved out in 1958/9 and died recently in his 90s. The next tenant to spend there was the O'Donoghue family who moved out in the late 1960s.

3 - Gallivan - The head of the household was a guard. Mary Walsh went to school with some of his daughters - one of whom Nuala won the Miss Cork show in the 1950s. Her proud mother went to every house to inform the locals of the win. One incident which entered into the local folklore at the time centred around Garda Gallivan. He  used to get his cigarettes on tick from a shop on Barracks St. but incensed the owner due to lack of payment. One summer evening the shop owner was drunk and came out to his house demanding his debt be settled. This of course drew a large crowd as he roared at the top of his voice for all and sundry to hear.

4 - Callaghan

5- Murray 

6 - Hipwell

7 - Morgan - home to Mrs. Morgan who is over a hundred  years old being born in 1922! It is now Togher Post Office , being one of two based in Togher. Morgan's shop 59/60. Now run ironically by Lilly's nephew John O'Callaghan.

8 - McLennon / Daunt

9 - Cronin

10 - O'Neill 

11 - Callaghan

12 - O'Leary - Builder - siblings - Kathleen , Michael and Sean

13 - Georgie Roche - Ann Sisks ( from The Cutting ) first cousin.

beyond the hedging

14 - Murphy

15 - Winning

16 - Sullivan - Farmer - now site of Togher Garda station.

Old Sullivan house
now Togher Garda station

 N.W. side of road

This lists the original houses on the left side of the road starting from the corner of Togher Road and ending at Casey's Cross

1 - Roche

2 - Kelly - she kept a collection of spider monkeys in a glasshouse , miniature trees for them to swing on the kids finished school to view them.

3 - Ross - of Greek nationality who worked down the quays. His first wife died and he then married an English woman. He would often ask Mary Walsh's mother to " knit me a couple of jumpers ". He once gave her a radio in the 1950s for 8 pounds after cheekily assuming the jumpers were free of charge! He and his new wife  adopted a son Tony who would go on to be a messenger boy for a butchers in town , whom Mary Walsh would tease mercilessly about his basket full of meat. His mom knocked at their door to complain and demanded that Mary get on her hands and knees to scrub the floor possibly to insult her with her mother retorting , the floor is clean enough!

4 - Hourigan

5 - Murray - twin boys

6 - Tim Crowley 

7 - O'Sullivan - Home of Joe O'Sullivan and his wife Sheila and daughter Eileen; Joe's sister , Lilly , postmistress of Togher Post Office on Togher Road lived with them ( she never married ). Sadly Joe and his 12 year old daughter Eileen drowned tragically in 1960/2 while out on a fishing boat with a postman from West Cork who was a good friend of the family. Lilly took the fateful call on the P.O. phone!

8 - Roche - market gardeners

big gap right up to near the cross
( now Woodlawn / Mews housing estate )

9 - McCarthy - aka Nana Macs , married to Denis aka Dinny who was a National Hunt Stalwart and drove an Austin A40 car. ** Elizabeth Murphy Sheehan recalls : " Patty Mac from that house was married to Mr. Daly , a great man in the Lough Credit Union whose first name I can't recall. They had a number of children including Denis , Patricia , Marion and Ann. " **

Nana Mac's old house
now Sheridan Park

 

Modern location of Nana Mac's
 

** Old Fitzgeralds bread factory was next to them and opened there in the mid 1970s. Ginelles clothing factory and Youngline shoe company also backed onto Tramore Road.

Aerial view from 1973 showing Tramore Road
* Note : Field to right future Woodlawn/Mews
Nana Mac's to left of field
& site to right future Fitzgerald's Bread
** Note also at bend in road original O'Sullivan house ( Garda Stn )

Old derelict site of Fitzgerald's bakery
now Sheridan Park

Sheridan Park
former site of Nana Mac's and Fitzgerald's bakery

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Three old sites have an historic tie to Hangdog Road ; first is the Wella in Freagh & Vicars Acre which flows into the Tramore River ; second is the Sitecast Industrial Park in Lehenagh Beg which was the former home of a tenant farmer in the 1840s who is remembered in Casey's Cross and third is the Pouladuff Bridge now Overpass!

John Pa Murphy's farm

A plot of land to the south of the Tramore River in Lehenagh Beg has a strong historical link with the Hangdog Road of old. Griffith's Valuations marks John C. Kearney down as the Landlord of Plots 1a/b. However it is his tenant farmer who speaks to us from the past - one Edward Casey - who no doubt had the cross above his land named after him. 

Plots 1a & 1b - Edward Casey 1840s
after whom Casey's Cross is named

 

 

John Pa's land below Tramore River 1951
( bottom left of Pouladuff Road )
 

 

 

Sitecast Industrial Park
Former land of John Pa Murphy

*Note : Casey's Cross further north
named after a tenant in the 1840s
 

In the 1950s however , the land is in the possession of John Pa Murphy snr. He had a huge farmhouse which fronted onto the main Pouladuff Road. He also had stables on his land for his horses and grew cabbages , carrots , onions and potatoes for the English Market. His son sold off the land circa 1977/8 and it is now home to Sitecast Industrial Park.

The Wella

Water from original well piped into Tramore River

The Wella was a shallow spring with stones around it left of the railway embankment known as Buckley's Field located between the railway track and the Tramore River into which it flowed ; watercress used to grow around it because of its purity. Mary recalls how even in summer the water was ice cold. She also commented on how steep the climb up the Pouladuff Railway bridge was. A small culvert enabled access over the Tramore River with the railway bridge starting on the opposite side of the river. A perilous dirt track came off the embankment about halfway up which locals utilized to get water from the well and collect the watercress which grew around it. Up to recently and following the creation of the South Ring Road in 1994 , the well was capped and piped into the nearby stream. Sadly reports have come in that the well is now completely covered in concrete and therefore not visible any longer.

John Pa's farmhouse and land 1950s
Left of Pouladuff Road and south of Tramore River
*Note well in Buckley's Field north of the river

Pouladuff Bridge

Pouladuff Overpass bridge was opened in 1995 and completely traverses the Tramore River and the South Ring Road right up to Casey's Cross from Pouladuff Road.

Old Pouladuff bridge

New Pouladuff overpass
showing location of Well right of Tramore River
and John Pa's farm left of Tramore River
now Sitecast Industrial Park

The late Eamonn Pearse - Togher Historical Association
Pouladuff Overpass 2016

* This article is dedicated to Eamonn Pearse R.I.P.
who trod up and down the old Hangdog Road with me
countless times. His energy and enthusiasm are sorely missed.