II
I live in the townsland of Toor, parish of Drumraney and barony of Clonlonan. There are five families in the townsland. The land throughout is good. All the houses are slated. There are old houses in ruins. Some of them were in existence at the time of the famine. A woman named Mrs Kenney owned one of the houses and she lived at the time of the famine. There is a wood in the townsland and nearly all the trees are deal. The biggest river in the townsland is the Dongolman. Its length is about eighteen miles.

There are quite a number of under-ground hiding places in this district which are usually called forts.
Very little is known about the greater part of these, but there are a few which have been explored by the older people of the district.
One fort is situated right above the sea overlooking Toor Dock in Mr Wilkinson's field about 12 miles west of Altar School, Mr Wilkinson's father was supposed at one time to have removed a large stone which covered the entrance to this Fort, intending to explore it, when he fell sick.
When his people found out he had interfered with the stone they pulled "herbs" and gave them to him as a cure, believing that his interference with the fort was the cause of his sickness.
The herbs cured him, however and taught him a lesson also, that he should not interfere with any of those mysterious old ruins which are

to the cabins, in one door and out the back door. I ran around to see where it would stop and when I was around it was soaring back the bogs towards Knockadereen. The last time it was seen was last January by your brother Jack. (Siobhán's brother - 20 years). We were in bed for about two hours. Our bed is turned towards the front window. He was awakened suddenly by a light shining on his face. He woke me and asked who was coming up the field with the lantern. I said it might be some of the people above as on the hill coming from the road. He got up to the window to see who it was out so late. It came up to the stall and doubled back again - on North thro' the bogs towards Knockadereen. My brother William saw it about 50 years ago (I mean your grandfather) coming the very same route and it disappeared in a gallet under where he was standing. I never came as close to it as I did that night in the Toor Mountain. I do wonder greatly at it sometimes and why it is that it comes the very same route.
Of another time 50 or 55 years ago we used to play cards at Kelly's cottage of Knockadereen. Jack Kelliher that lives there today. Another man named Kelly who lived in the farm at Knockadereen a nephew of the man in the cottage used to be playing with as often until two or three o'clock in the morning. They had a nickname on me "Norrigan". However the man in the farm John Kelly did not live long. He died in the month of October so the following

The centre of the place appears to be the townland of Ardpatrick, which takes in the famous hill and which is bounded on south and west by the glens which cut down from the mountain. The boundaries on the east and north are the present Kildorrery, Kilmallock and the 'old' road which ran 'back' west from the 'upper' cross of Ardpatrick.Directly north of this townland is Bawnmore (townland). Likely, the people who lived in the bailes all round used this fine, large & fertile plain as a grazing ground.To the west of Ardpatrick and on the slope of the mountain is Bawnatlea. (Bán an tSléibhe) Likely the summer grazing ground for the clan.Right south on a level part of the mountain just touching Ardpatrick and Bawnatlea is a townland called 'Toor'. I take this to be called after a 'Tuar', or guarded enclosures where most probably the cattle were guarded at night. There is a prominent raised platform in the centre of this place which would make an ideal

The old parish of Kilnerath lay due north of Kilvellane. Both were about the same in extent but Kilvellane had a large population. The most eastern section of Kilnerath that now served by Toor Church was not inhabited until about the 16th century. Therefore, most of the parishioners of Kilnerath lived nearer to Rosaguile, Kilmaguague, Cully, Freagh and Gurtshane.
The centre of worship was the site of the present cemetery at Kilnerath. O'Donovan explains the name as the "Church of the fort" from an old fort lying 20 perches N. E. of the place. this fort has now completely disappeared tho' it must have been there when O'Donovan visited in 1840. He does not say what type of fort it was nor does he give any description. He is careful to mention however that this is not the Kilratha mentioned in the Tripartite as the place where St. Patrick founded a Church. O'Donovan is very probably correct in this, tho there is a strong tradition that Saint Patrick passed this way on his route back to Tara.
The parish of Kilnerath is mentioned in the Papal Tax lists of 1291 and 1302. It was also visited by Archbishop O'Hedian in 1437 as this visit was in connection with the restoration of Church

field which marks the place where ti was burnt. There are still lime kilns around the place but hey are not used.
There are few people around Kilcash still able to make sugán chairs and they are also to be seen in few houses around here at the present time.
Coady the drafter, used always make harness long ago. He used lodge in whatever house he would be working in and in that way he earned his living. He was called Coady the drafter because when he would be mending the harness he would always sit inside the door where the draft would be coming in. Cahill the weaver who lived in Toor was also a weaver.
People sent in the wool to the Carrick mills to be manufactured. There was a man named Butler living in Brenormore who was able to print wallpaper.

The only poor scholar of whom there is any account was a man named James Murtagh. He was a stranger here and taught in the farmer's houses, at Maurice Coughlans in Ballycurrane, Coughlans in Ballyheeney, Anglims in Toor and Rich Fitzgeralds in Cladagh. An outhouse with a chimney in it is still shown where he taught at Fitzgeralds.
He received no fee but was kept in the houses and if they could afford to give him a little they did so. Each family seems to have been taught in turn and reading, writing and arithmetic seem to have been the subjects taught. He knew Irish though he taught in English.
Suddenly he left the district and thirty years after Maurice Coughlan of Ballyheeney on his way to Youghal one day met a man driving out in a carriage and pair. He paid no heed to the man but he on his part looked at him sharply and ordered his driver to stop. He came over to Maurice and asked him did he remember him. He was Murtagh the former poor scholar and now as inspector. He gave him a pound to drink his health when he got to town.
This account is from Mrs. Dower (nee Coughlan) of Augh where he once stayed.

There were several small shops in this district long ago. Very few of them survive now.
Kate Ronayne had a shop at Cross, they used to call her 'Cáit na Bó'. She used to sell fish, bread, tobacco and buns and buy eggs.
John Troy had a public house next door. He used sell nothing only drink. Nancy White used to buy eggs and sell apples, tobacco and bread and if a neighbour went in and she had not any tobacco she would break up a chalk pipe and give it to him to smoke it. Johannah Kirby lived at Kirby's Cross. She went to America. Mrs. Foley used to sell bread and she used to bag it at Flemings in Youghal. Mrs. Healy used to sell bread. This is how she started. She went to Youghal and bought a bag of bread and sold it. Then she got a second bag and in this way they started a shop. Mike Green used to sell baskets after Mass. Maire Condon used to sell apples after Mass in Toor and then sell them at second Mass in Clashmore. They would exchange eggs for goods. When shopkeepers would

pints and clothes and collect jam - pots.
Then there was Jim Condon or "Jim the Drover" as everyone called him. He was a ballad singer and sang his songs at every door. The the woman of the house or somebody else bought the ballad for 1d. He came a couple of times a year and lodged in Tor. The children loved to see Jim come and listen to his ballad singing.
A number of women came selling delph. Then the gypsies came much more often than now-a-days selling wicker chairs, tables arm-chairs and pieces of lace. They also told our fortunes and had artificial flowers.
We had also the tinkers. The principal family of these int hese parts was the Sohoes and there was another family came fairly often called the Delaneys. They camped near the old Castle or up in Toor in an empty house. The men of these tribes mended pots and pans, gallons + pints with solder and often did a day's work at the farm houses round mending such utensils. They usually had flat pints and quarts, gallons for sale.
There were two other shops in the village besides hte one is there at present. These were

butter from the oak. He used make them with an instrument called a coopers adze.
Spinning and weaving:
Spinning and weaving were done around here long ago by the old people. They spun all their own clothes long ago, from the sheep's wool. The material used for the making of the men's coats was called frieze. There is an old spinning wheel to be seen in Lyon's of Bawndonnell still, and in my house there is a farm which was used for the spinning wheel.
Flax was also grown around here and from it they weaved their own sheets. The woman of the house always had the sheets made from the flax in the house. That is probably how Toor got its name, for the flax used to be bleached before it was used and "Tuair" means a bleaching green.
Chairs.:
Chairs were made of wooden frames and sugán bottoms to them.

1. Name: My home district is Toor. It is the Barony of Clanwilliam.
2. Number of families: There are eleven families in the district.
3. Names commonest: The commonest name is Ryan.
4. Houses slated or thatched: There are four thatched and nine slated houses in it.
5. Old people: Mrs Power is the oldest woman in this district.
6. Houses in ruins and what happened to the people that lived in them long ago: They all went to America.

Móna Rud.
There is an old road in the parish of Rathgormack called Móna Rud. It is a shortcut from Rathgormack to Kilrossanty and it is about one mile long. It is an old bye-road and is (about) very rough.Sean-Ceardhcha.
There is an old road at the back of Scartlea called the Sean Ceardhcha. It is so called because there was a forge there long ago. It is an Irish mile long and it is a short cut from Scartlea to Toor. It goes through the wood and is very rough and hilly.Boithrín an Uisge.
There is a road in Churchtown called Boithrín and Uisge. It is a short cut from Churchtown to Ballindysart. The reason it is so called is that water is running out of the end of it. It is a very bad road.
It is said that Mick Kelly saw the dead people hurling there. The teams were Churchtown against Rathgormack and when they scored they shouted in

RATHGORMACK SHOOTINGOne Sunday evening in June 1921 three lorry loads of Black and Tans drove into Rathgormack. There happened to be a crowd in the village at the time and some of them ran. An old man named Peadar Walsh was coming out Murphy's door and he also ran.The Tans fired on them and two were wounded and Peadar Walsh was shot dead. His body could not be touched until a dog which he had with (him) had to be shot for it refused to leave anybody near him.His body was thrown into a lorry and brought to Clonmel and his wife had to go next day to bring it back.The two wounded were John Tobin of Boule and Patrick Hogan of Toor. John Tobin is now dead and the other is in Mount Melleray.
DUGOUTOnt Mr. Greene's farm in Shankill there is a big hole in one of fields and people say it was used as a dugout during the I.R.A.

Cooleycat near Clonard.The Toor in Moyvalley.Crocnakeen, near Clonard. It is said that a big battle was fought there and when it was over all the women were crying for the men that were killed. Hence the name.Comfy Field. in Moyvalley. A plant called comfy grows in it.The moat Field, in Clonard. In this moat it is said that the Druids used to burn the bodies of the dead. There is supposed to be a big stone table under the moat and an underground passage.The Bruckawn near Clonard. The man that owned this field once thought that there was a lot of sand in a little hill in this field. He got a lot of men to dig it up and turn into a sandpit. When they had dug for sometime they found a lot of bones. They

that while Cromwell was in Ireland he marched through these old roads.14. Gort na Hoon (Gort na h-uain) This is a six acre field in which sheep were kept when they had young lambs. This field was near a house and the lambs were kept there so that the people could come out a night and look at them.15. Gort Solagh (Gort Salach) This is the name of a field owned by Mr Tynan. It is pronounced Sál-ach. This is a very soft boggy field and in winter or wet weather it is always very muddy and for this reason it is called Gort Salach.16. Groun Óis (Gardha an Oir). This is a field in Knockroe owned by Mrs O'Shea. It is near a lake in which there is supposed to be a treasure of gold hidden.17. Carraig Vása (Probably Carraig Máire). This is a field on Mr Tynan's farm. It is a rough hilly field and in the centre there is a high piece of Rock.18. The Toor (Túr) Long a go there was an old tower in this field but there is no trace of its ruins now. This field is in Mr Campions land in Conahy Rocks.

to be found, here and there, through the country.
There is another in Mr Allen's field in Toor which nothing is known about.
There is an under-ground connection between this fort and Mr Wilkinsons.
On the side of a hill in Mr Roycraft's ground is another one of these hiding-places.
It is covered with furze, so nothing is known about it.
At the foot of Cahar Hill right across the plain there is another Fort in Mr Regan's field which is said to have been explored by men some time ago.
This Fort is said to contain several large rooms, one about fifteen ft.
long and about 12 broad, and about 6ft high, two more are round and flagged overhead.
The largest room was a lake owing to the passage being foul.
There is a road over this leading to Cahar Houses, which also are built over this Fort.
A few years ago this road broke down,

(5) KILCASH Cill ChaisTownland: Toor
Parish: Kilcash and Kilsheelan
Barony: Iffa and Offa East
Kilcash gets its name from St Caise who was its founder. He was martyred in Donegal. Kilcash is also associated with St. Colman Ua h-Eirc, whose death the Four Masters write about. Later on the church came into the hands of the Knights Hospitallers, who changed the dedication to St. John the Baptist.The remains of the following six churches may be seen Kilsheelan, Kilcash, Killurney, Templetney, Killaloan and Burntchurch. Scant remains are but to be seen in Templetney and Killurney but the remains of Kilcash and Kilsheelan are important especially because of the Celtic Romanesque doorways.There are also early church sites at Ballypatrick and Kilheffernan. On the Ballypatrick site was found an object of stone supposed to be a chalice. It was used for curing cattle disease and is now to be seen in Cork museum. Here there is also an old stone altar, and an old stone with a hollow worn away in the centre. Some say it was used by the priest at Mass in the Penal days, others say it was an old holy water font.The modern village of Kilcash is small compared

to the richer people for 1 cwt. of meal, and in many cases the starving poor were helped by the kind richer people. The Government gave help in this part to the younger people to emigrate. Many left Toor, Kilcash and other town lands of this parish and went to America and Australia with the money given them by the Government. The Government also helped by giving supplies of yellow meal which were wholly insufficient.
There was a notice put up in the turnips gardens."Take one, Take two
But if you take three, I'll take you"meaning that the people could take two turnips from the garden but not more. This notice was put by people who had turnips to spare or were willing to help those who were starving.Flour, or at least a kind of flour, used to be made from beans. My grandmother remembered seeing it made. My grandfather remembered seeing bowls of yellow meal stirabout being put out to cool on the ditch opposite the school. It was on the ditch opposite the school. It was so watery they had to put it out in the air to cool.
The village of Kilcash was thickly populated in the days before the famine and there were many

raths in the northern parts of the townsland but there is very little of interest about them. There are very few Irish place names of interest.Kilmacar Chapel
The oldest Chapel of which there is any tradition stood in Kilmacar one field north of Kilmacar Churchyard on the left hand side of the road leading to Toor Hill It was called "Sean Teampall". Its wall were taken away previous to the year 1800. Its successor was the old Conahy Chapel built on the foundation of the Colimans Church which continued down to 1839.Freshford
Acad Úr. It was not Tresh-ford but Fresh-field. St Lochlain born in Co. Cork in the middle of the 6th century was the patron saint. The Church of St Lochlain was burned by the Danes. Domnal King of Ossory was defeated after 3 days battle at the pass of Achedur, now in the neighbourhood of Freshford
Oliver Cantwell, Bishop of Ossory, built a castle at Aghore & another at Freenstone
John Bale, an apostate, English Carmelite Friar became first prodestant Bishop of Ossary He lived amond the Freshford people in a place at Uppercourt. It is very probable that this man was of unbalanced mind. The following story is told of him in the locality: On

Streams and Fields, Hills etc in the Townland
The best known hills are "Carraig a Lúigh" or Carrigaloe and also "Carraig mo Chliar"(?), which is a little further away from us.
The names of the Streams are Poll Buidhe, Clódach, Lineán,
Bun a' t-Seabhach and Tobhair.
The names of the fields are:-Croc Creabhair; or the hill of the woodcocksMoinfheir; it is the bog field and turf is got there every yearRound D, it is a round field and shaped like a D.Garraidhe Caol; it is a long narrow fieldGarraidhe glas; it is so called because good grass grow there and it is grazed for the whole year round.
Baintín = is a field that would not be ploughed
Garraidhe bog is a very wet field and ferns and rushes grow there.
(C. Murphy, Toor)