Togher Castle

Togher Castle, County Cork
Photo © Mike Searle, 23 August 2007

This was a MacCarthy castle or tower house, built in about 1590; the MacCarthy family crest is still visible in the entrance hall. Various alterations and additions during its occupation in the 19th century resulted in enlarged window openings, diamond shaped chimney pots, and more recently a corrugated iron roof - all nevertheless have helped to preserve the structure.

Togher

Togher is a large parish in County Louth, Ireland. It is the largest parish in the Armagh diocese. It is a rural coastal parish of 19,500 acres (79 km²) approximately. It is situated about half way between Drogheda and Dundalk on the East Coast of Louth and has approximately 5 miles (8 km) of beautiful coastline stretching from its border with Clogherhead Parish at the Skinore River in the south to Annagassan bridge in the north, where it adjoins the Parish of Darver. It's inland boundaries are the Parishes of Kilsaran, Dunleer and Clogherhead. Togher, is an amalgamation of six medieval parishes (Clonmore, Port, Dysart, Dunany, Salterstown and Drumcar and to the present day the ruins of these six parish Churches stand within the confines of the six well-kept graveyards.

Togher is also a parish in Cork city. Derived from the gaelic word "tochar" meaning a causeway.

-- The McCarthy's of Glounacreme were a sept of the royal house of McCarthy, and had the affix of Downy to distinguish them from other branches of this illustrious family,- as the McCarthys of Banduffe, the McCarthys-Crimen, the McCarthys of Ballea, the McCarthys-Reaghs, the McCarthy-Soinochs, &c.

Teige had a large estate, and upon it were two castles, - Dunmanway and the Togher. The latter of these was his favourite residence; and it was as Teige O'Downy, of the Togher, old chroniclers love to speak of him.

Togher is a large imposing-looking edifice, about eighty feet in height and sixty in breadth. It is built on the northern bank of the river Bandon, and on a piece of ground gently shelving to its waters. It was evidently inhabited long after Teige ceased to be its owner;* and the diamond-shaped chimney-tops, and some of the windows-intended, no doubt, as improvements-do not harmonize with the solid, massive style of the rest of the building. We visited it not long since. Pushing open a rough timber door, we stood in the banquetting-hall of the O'Downys. The roof was gone, and the masonry, that towered high above us on all sides, looked gloomy and dark. Nevertheless, we could not but gaze with a deep interest on those old walls-walls that have again rang with the rude revelry of Celtic chiefs, and often echoed the sad and sweet tones of the pipe and the harp.

As we entered, a sow and her bonnives rushed at us from their stye, in this very apartment, where O'Downy or some ancestor of his may have haughtily received the herald of the Lord-Deputy, and told him that he refused to hold any intercourse with 'the stranger.' We groped our way into the shomera bud-dough-a dark prison, embedded in dense masonry, and not more than eight feet high and as many broad.

Within living memory Togher had a roof and a tenant. The roof was of slate, and the rafters, as well the joists which supported the various floors, were of native oak. These were very strong, and they contained many iron hooks, said to have been used in Teige's hospital days as meat holders.

Reference

The History of Bandon by George Bennett, 1869