Brief Notes  From Our Past

Formation of the Inchigeela Volunteers   
Those who were masters of Inchigeela  in the 18th Century developed a class of patriotism  of their own and the Inchigeela Volunteers were formed on June 1st 1779
Their uniform was a blue jacket edged with buff, waistcoat and breeches.  Jasper Masters, of Carrignacurra Castle was their commandant, Boyle of Boylesgrove and Barry of Carrignageela or Kilbarry were subordinate officers.  Their purpose was to maintain law and order and incidentally to maintain themselves in possession of their  estates.  When the Volunteer system ceased they became Yeomanry officers and kept the local  people in terror of their lives through those periods of insurrectionary movements in 1798 and 1803.
         
A description of the three castles written early in the
last Century describes Carricknacurra as built on an elevated rock
on the south side of the Lee, a mile east of Inchigeela.  Carrignageela was destroyed in 1822 and its materials used in the erection of a new residence.  It stood on the north slope of Kilbarry and looked down on the valley of the Toon River. The third castle was eastward and looked down on the Lee where it makes a bend to the north for two or  three miles at right angles to its ordinary course.

1822 Events in Muskerry

I need not here describe the conflicts which took place in this parish during the Whiteboy Insurrection of 1822.  They have been well described by Maire Bui Ni Laoghaire. The gentlemen of the district, aided by troops from Cork and Bantry, rounded up all likely suspects and they were tried  by a special Commission of Judges who sat at  Cork in the Spring of 1822.  Fourteen men were charged with having fired at Robert Hedges,Syre of Macroom Castle and Richard Ashe. Evidence went to show that on January 24th the mail coach was  stopped at Tuatha na Dromann Pike,(near Kilnamartyra) about five miles west   of Macroom by  Whiteboys who smashed the coach to atoms.  Robert Hedges Syre and the  Rifle brigade from Macroom rounded up the district and brought in
two dead Whiteboys and 21 prisoners.  Ten were found guilty.
Another conflict took place at Deshure.  One man was killed and 29 prisoners brought to Cork. All but three were found guilty. Some sentences were reduced to transportation for life.

On February 28th 1822, Daniel Murphy,  Patrick Lehane, Thomas Goggin and Cors. Murphy were hanged. The gallows were set up on the side of a steep hill at Carriganimmy. At Deshure, on March 1st Daniel Cronin, Denis Murphy, Timothy Hallahane, Richard Drummy and Edward Ring were executed. The latter had taken part in the Battle of Keimaneigh. (He is mistakenly called Edward Brien on the plaque at Deshure) The gallows were set up at Deshure Cross. Drummy spoke from the platform before his execution. Fr. McSweeney of Bandon spoke in Irish to the people.  Father Thomas R. England in English.  After all the executions the bodies were conveyed back to the Cork County Gaol and interred in a huge pit inside the gate, called the Croppy

Hole, where they molder forgotten.

Some Landowners in 1852

We'll pass on another thirty years, and find out from Griffith's
Poor Law Valuation List in 1852 who held Inchigeela.  At Cappanaclar
Rev. Jeremiah Holland, PP  held 180 acres from Jasper Pyne,
and at Carrignacurra 18 acres.
At Dooneens (Robert Emmet's farm) John and Cornelius Lucey held 757
acres from Robert Adams who was their landlord.  At Garrnapeaka
Patrick Healy, James Moynihan and Jerh Mahoney were tenants to James
Browne.  At Coornarahilly Williarn Sannell, John Kelleher, Tim Kearney ~
and Edmund Ring held their lands from John Orpen.  At Garryantornora, 
Patrick OLeary held  248 acre  from Jasper Pyne.  At Tureenduff, James
Walsh held 437  acres from James Minhear.  At Terranassig, Sylvester   
Cotter and Robert Wiseman held from Louis Gollock.  At Tureenalour,   
John Cronin from Jasper Pyne.  At Agheris, Denis Lucey and C. Cronin 
from Wmn. S Hoare.  The Rev. Jeremiah Holland held from Thomas Barters the
chapleyard and national school. Carrignaneelagh was held by Nicholas Barry.
The head landlords were Henry Hatchell and Thomas Leader. Derryvane
was held by James O Leary from Thomas Barters.
At Glasheen, Richard O'Leary held lands in fee and had a tenant, Michael
Goggin.  Rev. James White was Protestant Rector and held church,
graveyard and demesne lands in free.  Dromcarra was in the Court of Chancery.
Devonshire Hawkes resided in the mansion house which replaced the
old castle.  Con, John and Denis Cronin held Gurteenakilla with   Richard
Townsend  as landlord.  At Terrgay, where old Keadach O'Leary lived (he
who  had fought in the KingJames wars) now lived Edward Woods and the land-
lord was Thomas Clarke.
These are only  few samples from the original Poor Law
Valuation Lists.  The later history of the district is similar to the
rest of Ireland.  Agitation against the land lord system forced Mr..
Gladstone and the Liberal Party in the British Parliament to take
away the power of fixing rent from the  landlord of tenure so 1ong
as the tenant paid his  rent. The Wyndham Act of 1903 gave the tenant his land
on payment of a terminal  annuity. Thus ownership of the land passed back to the decendants of those who had stayed at home in 1690 instead of going to France and Spain

Extracted from an article by John T Collins from       
SOUTHERN STAR, SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 2, 1961

 

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