The Semi-Detached Houses - Lehenaghmore , Togher

In the 3rd and final part of our series on some of the original houses on Lehenaghmore Hill in which the blog highlights the original occupants who moved in during the 1920s/1950s ; the spotlight is shone on the only two sets of 2-storey semi-detached houses up to modern times. All land on the west side of the hill between the old railway bridge and the modern day Chestnut Drive was owned by the Callaghan family in turn historically leased from Rev. Edward Newenham.

Original Semi-detached houses on Lehenaghmore Hill

 

The photo below shows the first set of semi-detached houses which were most probably built late 1930s. The first house was originally the home of the Ford family. The father was a milk vendor. The house was bought in 1982 by Michael Buckley and his wife Valerie nee Sisk ( who originally lived in The Cuttings ). The house on the right is the home of the O'Leary's. Their son John now lives there with his wife.

Original homes of Fords & O'Leary's

 

Irene Forde , Ambrose Walsh , Kathleen Crowley ,

Gobnait Crowley ,Bernice Healy , Breeda Healy & Teddy Roche
Jimmy Crowley ( front )

The photo below shows the original homes of the Crowley and Healy families. Eileen Flaherty nee Crowley now lives there in her family home. The house on the right is also the family home of the Healy's  where Mary Healy continues to live.

 

Original homes of Crowleys & Healys

 

 

L-R: Richie Crowley , Bernie Healy , 

Kathleen Crowley and Denis O'Leary (R.I.P )

 

 

L - R: Kathleen Crowley , Mary Crowley, 

Mary Healy & Gobnait Walsh (Crowley )

Back L-R: Mary Crowley , Breeda Healy ( m. Mitchell ) , Ann O'Brien ,
Richie Crowley & Gobnait Crowley
Front L-R: Kathleen Roche , June Crowley ( pram ) & Eileen Crowley

Kay O'Donovan ( Ashgrove ) , Noreen Healy R.I.P. ,
Bernie Healy & Margaret Noonan

 1960s

Back L-R: Mary Healy , Noreen Brolly nee Healy ( R.I.P. ) ,
Donie Healy , Breeda Mitchell nee Healy
Front L-R: Breedas children -
Wedding at Togher Church 1972

The Roche Family - Lehenaghmore , Togher

In the 2nd of a 4 part series on some of the original houses beyond Route 19 restaurant up Lehenaghmore , the blog briefly looks at Glenanaar , the home of the Roches.

Glenanaar , Lehenaghmore , Togher

Jimmy Roche ( b.1919 ) married Margaret O'Donovan ( b.1926 ) in 1947. They initially resided in the old Muintir na Tire house on Togher Road before moving out of Togher before returning in the mid 1950s. Jimmy was a farm labourer but later switched to builders labourer when Deanrock Estate was being built in 1967. He also doubled as a night watchman there.

Roche family circa early 1960s
L-R: Marie , Margaret , Jimmy , Seamus & Kathleen

During the 1950s , the County Council , providing you owned some land and subject to a mortgage or cash payment , would build a house to your design. Jimmy Roche was a nephew of the Ryan's who owned Lehenaghmore House and much of the land thereabouts and gifted a whole acre to him. They named the house Glenanaar and moved in circa 1956. Their story is told more fully here.

Kathleen O'Keeffe nee Roche
poses outside old home 2014

All the Roche children , Seamus , Marie and Kathleen attended Togher National School. Kathleen married in 1975 and moved to Westside Estate ; her sister Marie married in 1970 and is the mother of Fianna Fail T.D Michael McGrath. Their brother Seamus sadly passed away at the age of 16 in 1965. In 1984 , Jimmy Roche sold the property to the Burke family who still reside there and retired to a house on Sandown Crest. A privately owned bungalow is in situ to the rear of the old family home.

Kathleen Roche in front garden
with niece Brenda McGrath
1973/74

Click here for Part 3

The Noonan Family - Lehenaghmore , Togher

A stretch of roadway above Route 19 restaurant up Lehenaghmore is home to 14 original homes nestled in amongst newer more recent builds and industrial estate units. This is the first in a series of 4 short articles which takes a look at each one and its place in Togher local history.

Noonan home , Lehenaghmore , Togher

Denis Noonan was born in 1906 and would go on to become a member of the Dripsey Volunteers during the War Of Independence. Hannah Lane was born in Togher in 1912 and attended Togher National School. Her family home on the hillside of Lehenaghmore Hill  would go on to become her own marital home when the two married in 1939.  Denis worked in St. Finbarrs hospital while his wife ran a small grocery store at their home. The couple would go on to have five children ; Dominick / Domie , Daniel / Donie , Margaret , Jim and Marty.

Denis Noonan & Hannah

Denis Noonan d. 1972

1958 Lehenaghmore Hill with unknown SMA Priest
Back L-R:  Donie Crowley , Seamie Crowley r.i.p. ,
Henry O'Keeffe r.i.p. , Kevin Crowley ,
Michael O'Keeffe , Marty Noonan
Front: Marian Crowley

Jim Noonan and sister Margaret 1960s

Parents outside gate going to water pump

Modern location of above photo
across from modern day Chestnut Drive

Marty would go on to serve on oil rigs with Kinsale Gas and his older brother Dommie would go on to join Irish Shipping ltd. , serving aboard maritime vessels. Marty and his sister Margaret are the only surviving members of the family. Marty currently resides in the family home on Lehenaghmore Hill.

Irish Oak ship which Dommie worked on

Dommie's ships papers 1960s

Shipping log book 1960s

Marty Noonan - Kinsale oil rig 1977

Marty & friends being lowered
onto ship from oil rig 1978

Crew change Kinsale Gas 1978

Click here for Part 2!

Lehenaghmore Hill - Introduction

This is a preliminary study of the structures and residences of Lehenaghmore Hill just beyond Togher Cross ( excluding any structures right of the Liberty stream which are in the Townland of Doughcloyne ) and just below the old Bandon Railway bridge. This article will concern itself with 3 residences ( Lehenaghmore House has been covered here ). The remaining selection of properties beyond the site of the old Bandon railway bridge are dealt with in further articles. ( links given below ).

Good farm 1951
( bottom right above Bandon Railway line )
Callaghan house
( Top on right before Togher Cross )

O'Callaghan Census 1901

The land to the right of Lehenaghmore Hill in our study area (  see below ) was originally a small farm and was owned by the Good family ( see Census above ). Later owners would include the Shortens and finally the McSweeneys , who sold off their land in the late 1960s when the Lehenaghmore Industrial Estate was built at the beginning of the 1970s. The industrial estate is split between two pockets of land either side of Togher Road and has grown larger over the years with new units filling the landscape. The original derelict farmhouse was finally demolished along with the Bandon Railway bridge circa 1977 to facilitate widening of the road. The road itself was shortened but at a cost of higher elevation.

Former home of Good/Shorten/McSweeney
Early 1970s - Southern Fruit in Background

Bandon Railway bridge prior to demolition 1977

 

Lehenaghmore Hill 1989

Residents walking down hill towards original

location of Bandon Railway bridge

 

The present day site of Lehengh Mhuire housing scheme was originally the Lodge leading to Lehenaghmore House. Today , all that remains are the original gates and the row of Sycamore trees planted in the 1940s. The lodge was originally the home of the O'Callaghan family who owned a large tract of land leading up the left hand side of Lehenaghmore Hill. They built a nearby cottage for their daughter in the 1950s ; however their daughter moved to Dublin in the 1970s. Both properties fell into ruin and the site was let out and eventually sold on some decades later. ** The Ryans of Lehenaghmore House moved to Westside estate in 1973 , where the father died. The mother then moved to Doughcloyne and thereafter to Bishopstown.

Present day site of old McSweeney Farmhouse
( see above )

 

O'Callaghan's daughters home 2009
Lodge nearby had long been demolished

New Estate of Lehenagh Mhuire
Under construction July 2019

Lehenagh Mhuire roadsign
 

The blog continues on up beyond the site of the old Bandon Railway bridge and highlights a selection of original builds on the hill. Links are below.

01 - Marty Noonan cottage

02 - The Roche family

03 - The Semi-Detached houses

Minnie's Orchard

It may be hard to believe , but the site which now houses the Lough Shopping Centre ( formerly the Togher Shopping Centre ) was once home to an old house and grounds known as Minnie's Orchard. In 1968 the land was leveled and all traces of its former use completely erased from view. But look carefully ( as shown  below ) and you will see a tantalizing remnant of its past.

Minnie's Orchard circa 1967
House located in heavily overgrown plot

The 1911 Census shows Cornelius and Mary Curtin as married owners of the orchard and employing a farm servant Mathew Smith who had come from England looking for work. Previous occupiers of the plot were Denis Callaghan in 1850 and Dan Dennehy in 1901.

1911 Census - Curtin Family

Curtin residence 1949
To left and rear of Garda Station

The Curtins they had no children at the time but would go on to have 3 daughters Minnie , Nellie and one unknown. The land consisted of a 2 story dwelling with four windows to its front. It also had in addition to its use as an orchard , a piggery , fowl house , potato house and a boiler house , its outbuildings numbering 6 in total. Cornelius also found work as a van driver for Phair's bakery. *It is thought that after the death of Con Curtin and his wife that the property eventually passed to the O'Leary family.

Aerial view of modern day site

Yellow line indicates surviving walls

Minnie Curtin was a " lovely , quite woman " ( ref: Anne Hegarty ) who lived in a cottage on the site of the now Lough Shopping Centre. Her house and orchard was bounded by a high stone wall to the rear of the old Garda Station and also fronted the main Togher Road. She had an unimpeded view of the Lough due to the high elevation of her land. It is known that she also kept a donkey which brayed morning , noon and night! She ran a fruit and vegetable shop on Barracks Street with her two sisters ( Nellie and other unknown ) , all three of whom lived together and never married. When all had passed including Minnie in 1956 the house and land was sold off. Minnie is mentioned in Richard Henchion's book , The Land Of The Finest Drop as attending to a neighbour called Mary O'Leary who had died of heart failure in 1926. Today it is home to the aforementioned shopping centre and Hanley's Garage. It should be noted that Caughlin's , her next door neighbours lived in Ardmanning house and had Orchards extending all the way back to what is now Earlwood Estate. Some remnants of these orchard walls can still be seen today.

Site as seen in modern times

Seamus Caughlin:
We lived in Earlwood and played in Minnie's during the sixties as kids until the trees were cleared for the supermarket.

 

Aerial view : Note stone walls to rear
of Ryan's Supervalu ( right side car park )

 

 

Michael Nolan:

I remember going up to that orchard with my mother in the early 60's to buy apples. I always thought it belonged to Ardmanning. I believe a woman called Dollie Davis bought the house.

Original orchard wall
between block wall and retaining wall
 

The car park to the side of the shopping centre shows a strange assortment of three walls , each one behind the other! This can be explained very simply. The stone wall ( or middle wall ) is the original orchard wall ; the block wall behind it was constructed between 1958 and 1963 and acts as the rear wall of the back yards on Earlwood Estate while the smaller wall in front of the stone wall was erected soon after the site was cleared in 1968 and acted as a retaining wall to shore up the old stone wall from a possible collapse. The actual foundation of the stone wall is the deeper of the three extending beneath the ground , while the block wall sits on earth located halfway up the height of the stone wall while the retaining wall quite literally sits on the ground.

St. Bartholemew's Well - Doughcloyne

St. Bartholomew's Well - Tobar Phartholain

Partholan
*by Jim FitzPatrick

Togher for many centuries was the site of a renowned Holy Well located in the Townland of Doughcloyne. Ancient myth ascribes it and many others around Ireland bearing the name to Partholan who came to Ireland from Greece after the Great Flood. It was said that he possessed the gift of causing water to burst forth from the ground. However he and his followers all perished in a plague at Tara! Allied to this is the parallel association with the apostle Bartholomew which was a later connection during the transition from Paganism to Christianity.

St. Bartholomew
*by Rembrandt

St. Bartholomew's Well in Doughcloyne was located off the main road and was a natural spring which flowed out of slaty rock and more than likely flowed on to merge with the nearby Liberty stream. Holy Wells usually inherited their healing abilities due to the presence of certain minerals ( calcium , sulphates , magnesium and potassium ) in the water which could aid in curing ailments such as poor eyesight or tired limbs. The Well was in regular use as far back as the Middle Ages but fell out of use during the time of the Penal Laws. However in 1745 , a Dr. Barry had it restored to its former glory and thereafter scores of Catholics would flock to it on the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew on 24th of August. There they would indulge in a Patron or Pattern , which included praying and or bathing in the water before retiring to a nearby field for feasting and drinking after believing they had been cured of whatever troubled them.

Original book containing mention
of visit to St. Bartholomew's Well
in 1748

In 1748 two Englishmen paid a visit to the site and described it as follows: " We went this morning to that of St Bartholomew , which being the saint’s day , was surrounded by a vast crowd of Roman Catholics , some upon their knees at their devotions, and others walking with beads in their hands. The ceremony here is called a ‘Patron’. The well is enclosed with trees close to the side of the road and even the sight of it looks refreshing. When their devotions are done, they retire to several sutlers’ tents erected for that purpose , some to eat and drink , others to wrestling and yelling , dancing , noise and merriment , which bought on several boxing bouts whilst we staid there. " 

*A Tour Through Ireland by Two Englishman, 1748

In 1750 , a Frenchman known as Mr. Gallant was cured of blindness by bathing his eyes with the water. As a gesture of his gratitude , he had an avenue of Sycamore trees planted nearby and erected an arched wall over the well. It is said that around the same time , a Mr. David Fox had the use of his limbs restored after immersing his body in the water. The area soon became known as Bartlemy Well. Legend also has it that 20 years later a regiment of soldiers afflicted with scurvy after returning from foreign service who were camped nearby were cured after drinking from the well.

Charles Smith
1774

In 1774 Charles Smith wrote a detailed account:

" About two miles SSW from Cork, is a celebrated holy well, dedicated to St Bartholomew. The water gushes out from a slaty rock , through a round hole cut into it , about two feet in diameter , and one and a half feet deep ; it is walled and covered by an arch of stone ; there is an avenue of sycamore trees leading to the well. They relate stories of miraculous cures having been performed by this water , particularly on the person who planted the avenue , and whose name was Gallant, and who they say received his sight by the use of the water. There is a flag stone set up on which there is a cross with an inscription importing that David Fox got the use of his limbs by bathing in it. It is still much frequented on St Bartholomew’s Day , and the evening before , by an infinite number of Romish devotees , who flock to it out of devotion , and for the cure of sore eyes , pains in the limbs etc. It is a pleasant , sweet , soft water , lather immediately with soap , but I could not discover any other appearance , from whence it might receive its healing virtue. "

* Charles Smith , The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork, 1774

St. Bartholomew's Well in 1842
*Note trench dug between Sycamore trees
to enable patrons to bathe

St. Bartholomew's Well in 1899
*Note railway embankment and absence of Well

The Catholic Church reacting to exaggerated claims of debauchery and merriment surrounding the Well moved to suppress its use but all to no avail. However in 1848 the building of the Cork Bandon Railway saw to its demise. The erection of a railway bridge ( still extant ) and the laying down of the permanent way saw the Well capped. Local myth says that a giant oak tree rose from the location of the Well in protest ( such a tree is in fact nearby! ). Even this did not detract the locals who still journeyed to the location every August up to the late 1950s.

Dirt track which leads off Railway bridge

Today St. Bartolomew's Well is no more and on the ground research shows no signs of its former glory. A tiny streamlet is found nearby which flows alongside the remains of the Railway embankment to join up with the Liberty stream ; ghostly traces of a former important aspect of local life and heritage which endured for so many centuries.

 

Railway bridge in Doughcloyne
*Well was originally situated to left of bridge

Tree which marks the spot of
St. Bartholomew's Well

Billy O'Brien Togher Historical Association
Doughcloyne railway bridge

*Streamlet ( R )  from St. Bartholomew's Well
merging with Liberty stream