The History of Glounthaune-New Glanmire
New Glanmire Village
The village of New Glanmire was built in 1819. Prior to this the area comprised of a quay described as a “Sand Quay” and a few hovels. The parish priest of Caherlag/Kilquane Father Murtough Keane took the opportunity, or saw the potential and built a church at the Quay in 1803.
Subsequently with the sponsorship of Sir Samuel Falkiner about twenty six dwellings were built, and in 1819 the village was officially called New Glanmire. The population of the village was reputed to be 200 in 1841, in 1851 it was 167.
The Dwelling-Houses
The quality of the houses in the village from the time they were built in 1819 was considered to be superior. The average valuation for most labourers’ houses in 1853 was under £1.
Even the smallest houses in the village averaged about £3.10, because most of them consisted of two stories and were slated. This meant that the quality of these houses were on a par with good farm houses or townhouses, with anything from five to nine rooms, and windows. Several of the larger houses averaged £7, obviously these were superior type houses, and needed the patronage of a benevolent landlord to build them. There was at this time one house described as being “at the rere” with a valuation of 15/-, but in fact unoccupied. This house almost certainly existed from the very beginning of the quay development, and more than likely had a thatched roof.
In 1819 the main road from Cork/Midleton/Youghal ran through the village.
The Church at the Quay (Murtough Keane’s Chapel)
Father Murtough Keane was appointed Parish Priest of Caherlag/Kilquane by Bishop Moylan of Cork in 1791. This Parish Priest was responsible for the building of a church at the quay, circa 1803.The cost was £500/£600. The valuation of this building in 1853 was £12. This church pre-dates the village by sixteen years.
Father Keane died in 23rd February 1823, and was buried in the grounds of the chapel at the quay, as were two of his successors: Father Clancy and Canon Barry. The remains of these three Parish Priests were exhumed and removed to the new church grounds in 1898. The last mass said in this church was on Sunday the 24th April 1898.
The First School in the Village
Samuel Lucey was appointed Parish Priest in 1823.(1823-1862).In 1825 Father Lucey built a school adjoining the church in the village, it cost £150 to build, and was collected by way of subscription from parishioners, and a generous anonymous donation from “a Cork Gent“. By 1837 there were 250 children attending this school. The valuation in 1853 was £3. Which suggests that it was a fairly substantial building. The building of the school in 1825 copper fastened the village potential, and it’s right to be described as a chapel and school village.
Father Lucey died in 1862, and of course was the Parish Priest who served here during the famine years. He is interred in the churchyard of Knockraha, in accordance with his last wishes. Father Lucey resided with his brother in Brooklodge.
The New School (1901)
In 1901 both the site of the old church and school in the village were incorporated into a new parish primary school-Glounthaune National school. As was normal in those days it had separate rooms for boys and girls. This school was eventually replaced in 1982 by a new school built at Ballynaroon (Scoil an Chroi Naofa).The old school house in the village became the present Community Centre. The date stone 1803 from the church at the quay is incorporated into this building near the southern entrance door.
Teachers Houses
In time two- two storey houses were built at the Eastern end of the village by the Church authorities, and used to house the teachers employed in the village school.
Police Barracks
Police Barracks, office, yard and small garden. The sergeant and his family normally resided in the upstairs section of the building. During the troubles around 1922 it was closed as a precaution and not reopened as a police barracks. A building near Cove Junction was subsequently used as a police barracks for a few years during the nineteen thirties.
Dispensary-Board of Guardians
This was the Dispensary for both Little Island and Glounthaune areas for many years. It was part of a dwelling-house in the village in the occupation of Bridget Daly in 1853.
Smithy
The blacksmith in 1853 was Patrick Colbert. A member of the Long family was the blacksmith in 1901. This family had several forges over the years in the Parish, including one at Forge Cross north of the Dry Bridge (Lackenroe), which probably replaced this forge after the railway arrived.
Licensed Premises
In 1853 the house in the occupation of Michael Ahern had a valuation of £9.10. Subsequently in approximately 1885 it became Donnollys licensed premises, now known as The Rising Tide. Originally this was a tied house of Beamish and Crawford, and the first licensee was Michael Aherne. Subsequently members of the Donnelly family were licensees for over a hundred years. It served not alone as a public house, but incorporated a shop for many years as well. For a period during the early part of the twentieth century an upstairs room, with entrance by way of stone steps was used as a courtroom.
Quays
Sir Riggs Falkiner of Annemount died in 1797, and his second eldest son Samuel inherited his property. This man almost certainly was responsible for reclaiming the land in the area of the present village, initially for the purpose of erecting a quay, more than likely to facilitate the transport of sand, limestone, culm, and coal, both for his private use, and for his lands in the locality.
This reclamation was further facilitated by the re-design and improvement of the existing road from Dunkettle to Cobh Junction. The original Cork/Youghal road went through Caherlag village, but once a new drawbridge (Replaced with swivel bridge in 1845) was built over the Glashaboy River at Dunkettle, it was now possible to avoid going through Glanmire to get to Youghal. The redesign of the roadway meant further reclamation, and improvement of the approach walls, and extension of the quay area. This new section of roadway now went through the reclaimed area at the quay, in an east/west direction. This in turn facilitated the building of the church in 1803 and the village in 1819.
Stone Walls
The stone in the immediate area of the village was redstone. The name of the town land itself, Lackenroe, means the red glen or valley. The very well-built quay wall on the southern side of the village is built in limestone, almost certainly transported from Little Island, whilst the reclamation wall of the parochial house and lands towards the east is built in redstone, two good examples of the indigenous stone in the locality. This redstone was almost certainly quarried close by.
The Railway Line
Major changes for the village came about as a result of the final decision circa 1854 to build a railway line to Cork/Youghal/Cove. Prior to 1859 the railway company acquired some land adjoining the village, and commenced the erection of the Cork/Midleton section of the line. As far as New Glanmire was concerned this meant the redesign of their roadway, the end result of which was that the village became a cul-de-sac, with ingress and egress over a new railway bridge. An additional pedestrian way of Stone steps into the village was also constructed. The old road ran through the village and emerged roughly opposite Fitzpatrick’s shop and the Junction Licensed premises, whereas, the new road ran parallel to the railway line north of both line and village. The railway line in effect cut off the old entrance to the village from the West, and the exit at the East, hence the necessity for the new bridge over the railway, to replace the previous system. Prior to the arrival of the railway there was also a roadway from the north ( Under Lackenroe Bridge) going into the village, but of course no railway line at the time, to obstruct the way. This would have been known as the road to Glenmore.
The Parochial House
The additional ground available as a result of the re-alignment of the new roadway at the former exit from the old village (Eastern side) was acquired in 1888 from a member of the Falkiner family to erect a parochial residence. Prior to this the Parish priest lived in different areas of the parish, but never in the village. The first occupant of the Parochial House was a Canon John Barry who set the wheels in motion around 1895 to erect a new church North of the village, and railway line. Unfortunately Canon Barry died before his dream could be fulfilled. However he left a large bequest in his last will, which gave the impetus to his successor to continue the work.
The Priest’s Walk
The railway company granted a small area of land running parallel to the line to the Parish to facilitate a pedestrian walkway from the Parochial House to exit at steps by the new railway bridge, and thus avoid the necessity for the priest to walk through the village, to get to the new church north of the village. This was granted around the time the new church was built i.e. 1898.
Glounthaune Community Association 