Bán Chlocháin

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Badhún Leathan (Bán Chlocháin) or Bawnlahan is a townland of 167 hectares or 412 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 148 individual fields were mapped in this townland.

It is in the Electoral Division of Myross, in Civil Parish of Myross and the Roman Catholic Parish of Castlehaven and Myross.

Badhún Leathan (Bán Chlocháin) is bordered by Ardach (Ardagh) and Lios Torcáin (Listarkin) to the east, An Bhráid (Brade) to the north, Fornocht (Forenaght) to the west and An Chúil Dorcha (Cooldurragha) to the south

OpenStreetmap contributors, with input from the Castlehaven & Myross History Society, have created a detailed townland map including all its minor placenames. Zoom in for further detail.

Etymology

Bádhún Leathan is the historical name for this townland and was interpreted by Bruno O'Donoghue as the wide/broad cattle enclosure. In recent times Bán Chlocháin has come into use as the official name and may be interpreted as the field of the stone hut. However this name was never really used by locals in past generations. In his article in Volume 7 of the Skibbereen and District Historical Society Journal, Eugene Daly agrees with the interpretation of a broad enclosure or field. At the time of the Down Survey (1656-1658), the townland was known as Baneclohan but all later references seen to be derivations of the name Bawnlahan. At the time of the Down Survey, there was also a sub-townland which was given as Culebla which might be interpreted as Cúl Blath - which seems to be linked to a flower. Indeed Ceapach, Cúl an Gabha (blacksmith's nook), Stuacín and Cúl Ruadh have been listed as sub-townlands of Bawnlahan at various times. Stuacín is also shared with Cooldurragha and Cúl Ruadh is shared with Brade.

History

This townland was said to be walled at one stage and traces of the walls can still be seen.

Castle Jane: Domnall IV O'Donovan, of the Clan Cahill of Raheen and Castledonovan, built Bawnlahan House circa 1700. His grandson, Daniel, following the death of his first wife, Anne Kearney of Garretstown, in 1762, is said to have turned Protestant and married the fifteen year old Jane Beecher of Hollybrook House, near Skibbereen when he was 60. He renamed Bawnlahan House in honour of his new wife (Castle Jane). Anne Kearney is buried in an altar tomb in Myross and Daniel, who it is said returned to the faith of his forefathers on his death-bed, nearby in the Pyramid. John O'Donovan, the great Irish language scholar of the 19th century, is himself believed to be one of the Clan Cahill O'Donovans of Castledonovan and Raheen. Donal's son, Richard, who was married to Jane Powell, inherited the house and lands but since they were childless when Richard died the estate passed on to his wife and then her nephew Edward Powell. In later years the estate was owned by the O'Callaghan family who passed it on to the Newman/Cahalane families.

According to the diaries of General Richard O'Donovan in 1615, Donald O'Donovan of Castledonovan was granted a licence to hold a fair each year on the Feast of the Assumption. The diaries also tell us that 44,170 trees were planted by the aristocratic tenants of Myross between 1820 and 1834. The O'Donovans purchased sand from Scarty O' Donovan at 7s 7d a boatload, which they considered dear, so they instructed Mathews the boatbuilder, who lived in Ardra, to build them a boat of their own using the timber from their own forests and this provided the General with his own supply of sand at a greatly reduced price.

Myross Cottage: This is situated on the brow of the hill overlooking the broad Atlantic and was the house of the Rev. Mr. Oliver a controversial proselytising (converting) Protestant clergyman in Myross during the famine. He opened a soup kitchen behind the present school in Union Hall and, as the people were leaving the church after mass he stood on the road beckoning them to taste his food. Rev. James Mulcahy P.P. in a letter to the papers says of him "I think right before I conclude these hurried lines to mention the tampering with the religious principles of the poor people, through the Apostolic agency of bribes in the shape of money, bread and soup, that is going on here for some time past. We have got precious Kerry importation here in person of a Protestant Curate, a Mr. Oliver, who, like more of that genus, wax wanton as soon as they begin to bask in the sunshine of the relief committee, and give us his co-operation, though in verity his wisdom did not contribute to enlighten our deliberations much, until money, in the shape of charity to relieve the poor, began to pour into his coffers. He, like a true Kerryman, not wishing to divide the whole with his neighbours, has got up a soup kitchen in a bohreen convenient to his house. I am told the language of this gentleman, when talking of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, and of the Holy Mysteries of the Eucharist, before the poor starving creatures whose sad condition compels them to be bearers of his blasphemies, is shocking, but quite characteristic of the man.

I anointed in one nucleus yesterday, six persons; amongst the rest, a man of the name of Rogers, who had lately given up his patch of ground to his landlord. This wretched creature and his children, above all the others, had neither fire or food, and scarcely a tack of covering. They were however scented out by this charitable person, to feed them personally and spiritually; with meal and prayers. The man told me in the evening, when I called to bring him to account for admitting this mercenary, that he got a half a stone of meal, and a loaf of bread from him, in return for listening to his ribaldry about religion. I know that there are others stimulated by starvation, are obliged to follow his example, and are considered by the minister of religion to swallow the thirty nine articles with a bowl of soup. Enough for his purpose that they should be hearers, and not believers, to enable to touch the cash. This is the course now pursued by some of the modern fanatics, to demoralise our poor people, for convert them they never can. Without money, they are powerless in their efforts, to seduce the poor. They were very quiet until they received the necessary ingredient for coaxing the needy and the indigent and the ignorant to listen to them. No sooner had it arrived, than they throw off the mask, and appeared in their proper colours"

Timothy McCarthy Downing also crossed swords with him, “I must really Mr. Oliver, object to your interference, and I think you may manifest better feelings. The system of proselytism which you and others of the clergy on your side carry on, brings forward the clergy on the other side, the result of which is, that man and man are set against each other; were it not for which, we would, I believe in my conscience, be a happy people.” That I did say: that I do again repeat in public and in private. I have over and over again stated that the uncharitable system by which it has been again and again fruitlessly attempted to wean the starving peasant from his faith, is one of the chief misfortunes that afflict the country, keeping up between man and man a distrust of each other by which they are prevented from uniting for the promotion and furtherance of the many social improvements which their common but unhappy country requires"

The house and land was eventually bought by a Patterson family who farmed there for many years and on their departure it was purchased by a foreign couple who added an extra storey to it. For the past 25 years it is the private residence of Jaqueline and Eddy Weij.

Rock Cottage or the Glebe as it is better known nowadays was the residence of Mr. J. French in the early 1800's. In 1723 the house was occupied by the the local Church of England curate for Myross, the Rev.Thomas Somerville. His friend, Dean Swift, spent six months with him and in June of that year while traveling by boat from Union Hall to Castletownsend wrote his famous poem "Carberiae Rupes" on a rock at the mouth of Carrighilly Harbour. Another resident of the house in the middle of the 19th century was the Rev. James Mulcahy P. P. who fought tooth and nail on behalf of the downtrodden during the Famine years. His two nephews, Ned and John also became priests of the Diocese of Ross although all three were born in or around the city of Cork. An interesting article on Fr. Ned Mulcahy can be found in volume 19 of Rosscarbery Past and Present and there is reference to Fr John. in the book "Father Timothy McCarthy, Parish Priest and Patriot " by Daniel O'Leary.

Famine: The book, "The Famine Story" lists the men from each townland that were working on the Myross Relief Scheme on 28th August 1846 during the Great Famine. These were public works that involved hard labour for a low wage for a workforce that were already weak and starving. Richard Connell was the only name mentioned for this townland. However John White from the sub-townland of Kippagh is also listed as a worker on this scheme.

Housing

As part of Griffiths Valuation in 1852, a survey of house quality was carried out to calculate what rates were due by each household. These were issued in the form of house books (Pg 1, Pg 2, Pg 3) and a guide on how to interpret these can be seen here. These show that 30 of the 32 occupied houses in the townland at this time were class 1. This means that they were slated dwelling houses built with stone or brick and lime mortar. Of these, seventeen were described as medium (not new) with nine of these being slightly decayed, but in good repair while the other eight were deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. Five of the class 1 houses were old (more than 25 years), in sound order and good repair. Seven of the other eight class 1 houses were described as ordinary buildings with an ordinary finish when built 20 or 25 years previously while the other was described as a very substantial building, and finished without cut stone ornament. The other two houses in the townland were class 3 which meant that they were thatched houses with stone walls with mud or puddle mortar. One of these was described as old (more than 25 years) but in repair while the other was old and out of repair. Both of the class 3 houses in the townland were 6 feet tall which indicates that they were single storey at this time. The class 1 houses varied between 6 feet and 22 feet tall.

By the 1901 census there are now just 12 occupied houses and all have walls of stone, brick or concrete. Eleven houses have a roof of slate, iron or tiles while the other is still thatched. Three houses have two, three or four rooms with two windows in front (which indicate that they are probably still single storey at this time) while another has two, three or four rooms with four windows in front. Three houses have five or six rooms with two having five windows in front while the other has six. Four houses have seven, eight or nine rooms and these have five, eight, ten and twelve windows respectively. The other house has thirteen or more rooms with six windows in front.

When we advance to the 1911 census, there is a further drop to 11 occupied houses and, not surprisingly, all still have walls of stone, brick or concrete. All eleven houses now have a roof of slate, iron or tiles. Three houses still have two, three or four rooms with two windows in front (which indicate that they are probably still single storey at this time) while two other houses have two, three or four rooms with three and five windows in front respectively. Three houses have five or six rooms with two having six windows in front while the other has five. One house has seven, eight or nine rooms with five windows in front. The other two houses has thirteen or more rooms and one has five windows in front while the other has ten.

Places of Interest

Lios: There is a ringfort (lios) in this townland known as Lios Cúil Bláith (Fort of the Flowery Corner). A ringfort is a circular fortified settlement that were mainly built during the Bronze age up to about the year 1000.

Lime Kiln: There is a lime kiln in this townland. Limestone was heated in a stone-built circular structure to make a powder. This lime was used to balance the acidity of the farmland.

Rineen Forest: The Rineen Forest recreational area is in this townland

Interesting Placenames

Old field names in this townland have been captured as follows: The Butter Field, Cúl an Ghabha (according to Lankford it can be interpreted as the smith's nook (corner)), Fair Field, The Batsie Field, The Meadow, Cualháigh (meaning unknown), Sean Ghraif Lower (sean means old while graif is a grubbed field), Cnoc an Asail (donkey's hill), North Paddocks, South Paddocks, Pump Field, The Lawn, Plough By Field, Cross Field, Letter Lock, The Fort Field, The Wood Field, The High Field, The Field Up North, The Field Above The House, The Quarter Field, Meadow, Cabhlach (ruin - according to Lankford there was a group of houses here in the past), The Long Field, The Marsh, The Lawn, The Lane Field, The Flax Field, The Moon Field,

If you want to see the actual locations of any of these, go to detailed townland map on Open Street Maps. If you know any other field names or place names in this townland (or if you need to correct any or give further background information), please contact us at [email protected]

Folklore

It was mentioned above that a fair was held annually in this townland on the Feast of the Ascension and we know that this was attended by people far and wide, including many members of the travelling community.

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1829 list the following family names: O'Donovan, Thompson, Glebe, Swanton, Rogers.

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: Connell, Powell, Callaghan, Donovan, Oliver, Mulcahy, Donovan, Woulfe, Harrington, Donovan, Casey, Connell, Casey, Casey, Casey (land only), Somerville.

The Census of Ireland of 1901 lists the following family names: Donovan, Regan (with Daly (servant)), Whitla (with McKibben, Price, Daly, Leary & Mahony (all servants)), Donovan (with Brien (nephew)), Wolfe, Casey, O'Donovan, Casey, Minihane, Somerville (with Goggin and Donovan (both servants)), Crowley, Hayes (with Sullivan (servant)).

The Census of Ireland of 1911 lists the following family names: Somerville (with Townshend and Poole (both visitors), Forbes and O'Neil (both servants)), Powell (with Townsend (mother-in-law), Ogle and Leary (both visitors), Ellis, Leary and Reid (all servants)), Driscoll, Donovan, Callaghan, Wolfe (with Shorten (visitor/sister-in-law)), Crowley, Casey, Casey (with Hourihan (sister)), Donovan , Minihane.

Note: the term 'with' refers to a person or persons of a different family name staying in the house. This may have been an in-law or other relative, a guest, or a farm labourer/housekeeper or domestic servant.

Demographics and Landholding

		*Occupiers	Population	Change	Link to record
1829	Tithe Applotment	5	30 (est)		1829
1841	Census of Ireland	30	171
1851	Census of Ireland	18	112
1853	Griffith's Valuation	15	105 est		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	16	112
1871	Census of Ireland	14 (inc. 1 unoccupied)	86
1881	Census of Ireland	12	75
1891	Census of Ireland	13 (inc. 1 unoccupied)	70
1901	Census of Ireland	12	65		1901
1911	Census of Ireland	12 (inc. 1 unoccupied)	54		1911

*Occupiers generally equate to households having a house and land but may also include households having houses but no land.

Between 1656 and 1658 the Down Survey mapped all areas of the country to track ownership of land after much had been granted to followers of Cromwell after the war of the 1650's. The most prominent proprietor (titulado) of this townland at that time was Daniell Oge Donovan. This townland was spelt as Baneclohan at this time. There was another townland called Culebla at that time which is now part of Bawnlahan and the most prominent proprietor here was Daniell O'Donovane.

The proprietor of this townland in 1841 was Major Powell. He occupied part of the townland and let the remainder to tenants at will.

In 1841 the soil was described as light, producing wheat, oats and potatoes. Fuel was described as scarce and the prevailing names were Donovan and Powell.