Category Archives: Co. Cork

Spike Island National School, Spike Island, Co. Cork

July 3, 2019 Enda O Flaherty Leave a comment

Spike Island National School, Spike Island, Co. Cork

(Dated c.1940s)

ING: 180362, 064819

Spike Island is a rounded, low-lying island centrally located within Cork Harbour. It covers an area of about 103 acres, and it’s highest point is just about 100 ft above sea level. The landing stage on the island’s northern shore is almost exactly 1 mile from the jetty at Cobh, though shallow waters and sandbanks to the east of neighbouring Haulbowline Island mean that a direct crossing route from Cobh to Spike is only safe on a high tide. Cork Harbour has been a working port and a strategic defensive hub for centuries; the mouth of the harbour was overlooked by Fort Meagher (Camden) and Fort Davis (Carlisle) from the 18th century onward, although these fortifications were in fact later incarnations of earlier 16th and 17th -century defensive structures.

Image Credit: Spike Island, Cork Harbour. School of Military Engineering, Chatham 1879 with later additions until 1899 (Public Records Office, Kew)

The islands central position within the well-sheltered harbour ensured it was to be considered of strategic importance. Several changes of ownership of the island occurred between 1490 and the 1770s. The first artillery fortification on the island was built in 1779. Its construction was prompted by the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775 and in particular by the entry of France (1778) and Spain (1779) into the war on the American side. Cork Harbour was used as an assembly point for convoys to the Americas and at one point more than 400 vessels were assembled in the harbour. Initial phases of a permanent fortification of the island began in 1789/90, and building and landscaping works associated with the military fortification continued through the early 19th century. In 1847 the military complex was converted to a prison and convict depot, and the island was used to house “convicts” prior to penal transportation. By 1850 over 2,000 convicts were detained on Spike Island. Layers of complex and tender history are intertwined with the landscape of Spike Island at this time, and the island has been the subject of recent work by Cal McCarthy and Barra Ó Donnabháin.

Following the establishment of the Irish Free State, three deep water Treaty Ports (of which Spike Island was one) were retained by the United Kingdom in accordance with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. As such the handover of Spike Island to the Irish Free State did not occur until 1938. The island remained the site of a prison and military base (for the Irish Army, the FCÁ and later the Navy) through the 20th century, until the prison facility closed in 2004.

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Milleen National School, Milleenduff Townland, Séipéal na Carraige (Rockchapel), Co. Cork

September 26, 2017 Enda O Flaherty 8 Comments

Milleen National School, Milleenduff Townland, Séipéal na Carraige (Rockchapel), Co. Cork

(Dated 1914)
NGR: 122001, 119413

The village of Roundwood in Co. Wicklow claim that at 238 m OD, their’s is the highest village in Ireland. However in recent years, the village of Meelin in Co. Cork has erected a braggadocious signpost at the edge of their humble home stating ‘Welcome to Meelin – Ireland’s Highest Village’. The brazen folk of this tiny north-Cork hamlet claim that their little settlement, located just south of the Mullaghareirk Mountains, is 15 m higher than their Wicklow rivals. If you investigate the issue online, you might find various reasons why one village believes the other’s claim to the title of the most elevated settlement is illegitimate. In all honesty, the argument could probably be settled in minutes by pulling out an Ordnance Survey Map… but what’s the fun in that?

The plucky village of Meelin is located in northwest Cork. It is one of a handful of small villages located north of Newmarket near the Cork-Kerry-Limerick border. It is unlikely that your travels would ever take you through this area; much of the land close to the village is planted with coniferous trees, mainly of lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce. The area is sparsely populated though the woodlands are filled with ruined cottages and farmsteads which remind you that there was a time when the lands here were farmed rather than planted with commercial forests.

Old Milleen National School - 1914 (Cassini Map Extract c.1940) — Old Milleen National School – 1914 (Cassini Map extract c.1940)

It is here amongst the plantations just north of the village of Rockchapel that you will find the now disused Old Milleen National School in the townland of Milleenduff. The building is hidden from view by mature evergreens, with the Caher River flowing just to the south. On a bright day, sunlight flashes through moving branches of the surrounding woodlands onto the south-facing gabled entrance with it’s centrally placed name and date plaque. The planted woodlands have largely consumed the surrounding vernacular farming landscape that existed to the east here when the school was in use.

Old Milleen National School - 1914 — Old Milleen National School – 1914

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Carrigagulla National School, Carrigagulla townland, Co. Cork/Scoil Carraig an Ghiolla, Co. Chorcaí

March 21, 2017 Enda O Flaherty 3 Comments

Carrigagulla National School, Carrigagulla townland, Co. Cork/Scoil Carraig an Ghiolla, Co. Chorcaí

(dated 1934)

NGR: 138313, 084161

The parish of Macroom in Co. Cork is situated about halfway between Cork city and Killarney on the modern N22 roadway. Each day, significant volumes of traffic pass through the town of Macroom, with drivers unaware perhaps, of the locality’s rich and diverse cultural landscape. Crossing the River Sullane, the charred and imposing ruins of Macroom Castle overlook the the river below. Within the town, Macroom Market House (built c.1820) is a focus for remembrance, with many memorials and commemorative plaques including one to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the granting of market rights to the town of Macroom by Queen Anne on 30th September 1713.

There are few counties to rival Cork for the scale of its post-medieval and industrial heritage. But exploring the area around the parish in search of a disused school house in the townland of Carrigagulla, it was an obscure and understated industrial project from the mid-18th century that attracted my attention.

The townland of Carrigagulla is surrounded by the amphitheatre of the Boggeragh Mountain foothills. Here in the townland, adjacent to the Millstreet-Rylane roadside, are the ruins of Carrigagulla National School. But the Millstreet-Rylane roadway has its own story to tell about life in this rural area through the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Cork-Tralee turnpike road, better known as the ‘Butter Road’ was completed in 1748.Its construction was undertaken by John Murphy of Castleisland, who constructed the 56 miles of road including nine large bridges, 15 small bridges, toll house and turnpike gates. It was a requirement of the construction that the road be 30ft (9.14m) in width with drainage ditches and a 15ft wide (4.57m) gravelled surface. It became the main route by which farmers from Kerry and western Cork took their butter to the Cork Butter Exchange in the city (Rynne 2006, 317).

The turnpike system had been introduced into Ireland in 1729. Intended to provide good inter-county roads, turnpike roads were built and maintained by turnpike trusts which were generally run by local landowners. The turnpike act empowered named trustees to erect gates and toll houses on the roads and provided a loan for their construction. The toll monies, collected from all but pedestrians and local farmers who used the roads daily, were intended to maintain the road and repay the loan (ibid., 315).

The Cork-Tralee turnpike road is today but a back-road, with the majority of traffic passing along the N22 between Cork and Kerry. The area is quite, the hills are largely forested, or bare and boggy, and the once bustling highway is often empty of traffic. However, at Aghalode Bridge, and adjacent to the Aghalode River, there is an old school house that is perhaps a reminder of a more thriving time in this rural spot. On the west side of the Butter Road you’ll find the remains of Carrigagulla National School/Scoil Carraig an Ghiolla.

Carrigagulla National School Co Corkk 1930 VI — Carrigagulla National School, Co. Cork – 1934

Constructed in 1934 it is a simple, detached, two-bay, single-storey national school on a T-shaped plan, having a gabled projection to the centre of the east elevation.Though still roofed, it is in a poor state of repair. From the outside the building is certainly institutional in appearance; the rough grey rendering is not inviting, the surrounding schoolyard is overgrown, and the foreboding hum of a wasp’s nest deters visitors. The dull-green, pealing paint on the window frames and rainwater goods only seem to emphasise the buildings predicament. A squadron of wasps emerge from the brickwork chimney stacks and air vents as I get a little closer.

Carrigagulla National School Co Corkk 1930 I — Carrigagulla National School, Co. Cork – 1934

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

The Disused School Houses on Dunmanus Bay, Co. Cork

December 14, 2016 Enda O Flaherty 1 Comment

Dunmanus Bay is located on the western shore of County Cork. The bay lies between Mizen Head to the south, and the Sheepshead Peninsula to the north. The landscape of both peninsulas is wild and rugged, not dissimilar to the rough, low-lying lands of southwest Connemara on the northern shore of Galway Bay.

The Sheep’s Head looped walking routes extend across the peninsula and through the villages of Kilcrohane, Ahakista and Durrus, attracting plenty of visitors throughout the year. But perhaps the most ideal singular place to take in the landscape of Mizen, Dunmanus Bay and the Sheepshead Peninsula is Mount Gabriel; the highest eminence in the area, located just north of the village of Schull. From the peak of Mount Gabriel, there are spectacular views of Roaring Water Bay and Carbery’s Hundred Isles; a Bronze Age Copper mine is noted on the slopes of the low mountain, and at the summit there are two radar domes which make the mountain easy to distinguish in the landscape.

If your eyesight was strong enough, then facing in a general northerly direction from this vantage point, you would also be able to pick out four abandoned school houses in the landscape below; Dunbeacon, Derreenalomane, Glaun and Kilthomane National Schools.

sheepshead-schools-location-v — The location of Dunbeacon, Derreenalomane, Kilthomane and Glaun National Schools

Glaun National School

The first of these school houses is located at Glaun. The little one-roomed school house at Glaun is but a grey, empty, shell, and stands overlooking a small local road which crosses the crest of a low rise on the western side of Mount Gabriel, just a bit north of little Knocknageeha (the windy hill). The school no longer retains it’s date plaque although the building is marked on the First Edition 25 inch sheet for the area indicating that it predates the revision of the map during the late 19th century.

It’s architectural form does not have a directly comparable local relation, but it is broadly similar to the example at Kilthomane (below); at Glaun, the doorway is at the gable end and the building includes a gable porch, while at Kilthomane it is located to the side of the building. The example at Kilthomane dates to 1909, and one identical example from Mullaghmore East in Co. Monaghan dates to 1903, further suggesting this building dates to the turn of the century.

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Cloghboola National School, Drishane, Co. Cork/Scoil An Clochbhuaile, Driseán, Co. Chorcaí.

February 9, 2016 Enda O Flaherty 11 Comments

Cloghboola National School, Drishane, Co. Cork/Scoil An Clochbhuaile, Driseán, Co. Chorcaí.

(dated 1868)

NGR: 126725, 086631

Driving south from the village of Millstreet to the town of Macroom in West Cork, and just past Kilmeedy Bridge, you pass the rural village of Cloghboola. Nestled in the low hills of West Cork, today the village comprises just a few scattered houses and the modern local national School. However, to the east side of the road lies a curious 19th-century derelict building with two defunct 1950s petrol pumps outside.

Dating to 1868, this neglected structure is in fact a two-roomed school house. With a detached cruciform plan, this school is not of conventional design like many school houses of standard plan from a little later in the 19th century. It is a single-storey school, having four bays to projecting long faces and three bays to projecting short faces.

The building has a slate roof, hipped to the front long face and double-hipped to rear. It retains it’s original cast-iron rainwater goods and clay ridge tiles. The walls are rendered with a render plaque to the centre of the front elevation. It includes square-headed window openings having some tooled limestone sills. These window opes are blocked to front and south elevation, though to the rear nine-pane fixed timber windows are evident (text adapted from the NIAH).

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Whiddy Island National School, Trawnahaha townland, Whiddy Island, Co. Cork

February 3, 2016 Enda O Flaherty 7 Comments

Whiddy Island National School, Trawnahaha townland, Whiddy Island, Co. Cork

(dated 1887)

NGR: 096974, 049791

Whiddy Island is a small, near-shore island located at the head of Bantry Bay in Co. Cork. Not far from the modern quayside and in the townland of Trawnahaha is a small late 19^th-century one-roomed school house overlooking Bantry Bay below. Painted bright blue with a white lime-wash, in recent years the building had been used as a local museum though it has now fallen into a state of disrepair.

Like so many offshore islands in Ireland, the permanent population has dwindled through the 20^th century and can no longer support a local national school. John Chambers’ “Islands – Change in Population 1841 – 2011” clearly shows the island’s decline from a peak population of 729 in 1841:

Year	Pop	±%
1841	729	–
1851	561	−23.0%
1901	259	−53.8%
1951	104	−59.8%
1996	34	−67.3%
2002	29	−14.7%
2006	22	−24.1%
2011	20	−9.1%

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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Slievereagh/St.Michael’s National School, Slievereagh townland, Ballyvourney, Co. Cork

October 23, 2015 Enda O Flaherty 7 Comments

Slievereagh/St.Michael’s National School, Slievereagh townland, Ballyvourney, Co. Cork

(dated: Late 19th Century)

ING: 118123, 078939

The ruins of Slieveragh/St. Michael’s National School can be spotted when driving from Killarney to Cork on the N22 – situated about 2.5 km before the village of Ballyvourney in Co. Cork. The school house is located just north of a re-aligned stretch of roadway, away from the modern carriageway. From the roadside, this detached, four-bay, two-roomed school building stands in open rough grazing, grey and weather-beaten, with boarded up windows and a collapsing roof.

Nature is creeping in through every available opening, with nesting birds now being the main occupants of the collapsing structure. Most notable in the hallway, are the heavily corroded numbered cast-iron coat hooks and fine tiled floor. From the hall, two small classrooms can be accessed with matching fireplaces in each. Inside the few remaining school desks have collapsed through the remnants of the suspended timber floor.

If you or someone you know attended this national school, please do get in touch and share any stories, anecdotes, photographs, or any other memories you may have.

Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Ballykinealy/Kilmacdonogh National School, Ballykinealy townland, Co. Cork

January 4, 2015 Enda O Flaherty Leave a comment

Ballykinealy/Kilmacdonogh National School, Ballykinealy townland, Co. Cork

(dated 1930)

NGR: 205929, 070231

Ballykinealy/Kilmacdonogh national school is situated in the rural East Cork townland of Ballykinealy. The surrounding landscape comprises rolling rich farmland with deep soils, and the area has a strong tradition of both tillage farming and animal husbandry.

The school building itself comprises a detached five-bay single-storey former national school, built c.1930, having single-bay gabled porch to front (south) elevation and single-bay flat-roofed extension to rear (north) elevation. It has a pitched slate roof with rendered chimneystacks to gables. There are roughcast rendered walls with smooth render plinth, and a cut stone name plaque to east gable. Also included are square-headed window openings throughout, with timber sliding sash windows, six-over-six pane to front and rear elevations and gables, two-over-two pane to porch and extension. There are square-headed openings to porch and extension with timber battened doors (probably original). Surrounding the building is a rubble stone boundary wall to the north, and a rendered boundary wall with stile to east. Continue reading Ballykinealy/Kilmacdonogh National School, Ballykinealy townland, Co. Cork →

Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Coolmountain National School, Coolmountain townland, Co. Cork

December 22, 2014 Enda O Flaherty 9 Comments

Coolmountain National School, Coolmountain townland, Co. Cork

(dated 1945)

NGR: 118544, 60287

A few miles north of Dunmanway in west Cork is the rural hamlet of Coolmountain. In summer, this is a particularly lush and green place, wooded and mountainous, isolated and peaceful. The land is rough but resourceful. The landscape of Coolmountain seems to have retained an authentic rural feel: the roads are poor, the houses sparse and there is a sense of timelessness about the place.

Here, just off a small local road and partially hidden by trees, is the disused Coolmountain National School; a diminutive one-room corrugated asbestos structure that is among the more unusual schoolhouses in the country

The ruins of Coolmountain National School comprise a detached gable-fronted three-bay single-storey school, built c.1945. It has a pitched asphalt roof with cast-iron ‘rainwater goods’ (i.e. gutters and drainpipes). The windows comprise square-headed openings with metal casement mullions and timber sills. It also has a square-headed door opening with a timber battened door, overlight and concrete steps. Rendered walls to the front and sides of the plot enclose a small schoolyard which can be accessed through a wrought-iron gate. The building ceased being used as a school in 1969 but was lived in until 2005. It is near collapse and unlikely to survive much longer.

Though constructed in the 1940s, there has been a school at this site since the 1830s. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of 1837 records that:
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Co. Cork, Disused School Houses

Mountpleasant National School, Curravordy townland, Co. Cork

December 21, 2014 Enda O Flaherty 1 Comment

Mountpleasant National School, Curravordy townland, Co. Cork

(dated 1876)

NGR:144835, 60346

The Second Edition 25-inch map for the area around the Mount Pleasant Estate in Co. Cork marks the location of Mount Pleasant National School. The school was built in 1876 to the east of Mount Pleasant Cottage near Tanyard Bridge and the local R.I.C. Barracks. It was constructed on the lands donated by the Baldwin family – local land-holders in the area at the time. Much of the original structure remains today, though with some modification and later additions to the site including an indoor toilet-block which replaced the now collapsed outdoor one to the rear of the main building. Inside, the building itself is stable and in a fair condition.

The structure comprises a detached six-bay single-storey national school, dated 1876 on the carved limestone plaque to front, with flat-roofed extension to the rear (west). It has a pitched slate roof with rendered chimney-stacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. The windows comprise square-headed window openings with rendered sills and two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows with horizontal glazing bars. Plastered walls and ceiling to interior with stone framed fireplace with cast-iron fittings. Square-profile dressed sandstone gate piers with cut limestone caps and remains of rubble stone boundary wall.

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