An Ráithín

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An Ráithín or Raheen is a townland of 117 hectares or 290 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 122 individual fields were mapped in this townland.

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

An Ráithín is bordered by Bán na gColpaí (Bawnnagollopy) and An Ré (Rea) to the west, An Currach Beag (Currabeg) and Muine Uí Mhothlacháin (Moneyvollahane) to the north, Cill Achaidh Aingle (Killangal) to the east and Faiche Úrach (Fahouragh) 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

An Ráithín was interpreted by Bruno O'Donoghue as the place of the little rath or fort.

History

Crossroads: This townland is close to the centre of the parish and the crossroads at the creamery was a hive of activity. Often called the Creamery Cross or Raheen Cross ,it witnessed a monster meeting in October 1885. The agenda was land and the large crowd accompanied by marching bands laid out their grievances. One of these was “ that the land act of 1881 has proved no protection to the farmers from rack-renting (extracting the last penny from tenants) and evictions.” In 1926 it was chosen as the location of the newly founded Drinagh Coop. For seven decades this served as a location for commerce ,barter and even the chance of a dance at the pattern. The creamery closed in 2000? but the memories remain.

Sport: When football got started, the field behind the mill (across the road from the creamery) was a great location for games. At times, it was necessary to scoop away the ‘burthógs’ before lining the venue with lime. Sometimes the goalposts arrived, dragged unceremoniously by a Ferguson 165 and then hastily erected . The creamery and its working is well documented. Less so are the replays of Gaelic games from the previous Sunday within the shop, complete with score by score commentary. Often players went from hero to zero only to return at a later date with promises of beatification. The better land of Raheen supported sports events including coarsing, field sports and even a circus.. Trotting horses cantered from the creamery to Rea Cross and after turning the round bale marker, raced back again followed by excited punters and the odd canine.

The lios as Castlehaven Cemetary

Features: Bounded on the west by a stream that eventually finds its way to Baltimore the other boundaries are not so well defined. A large house complete with gate lodge known as Smithfield still stands. The ancient road to Skibbereen passed in front of the mansion. The land is productive and has varied uses outside of farming. One is the present new cemetery which opened in 1946. The ground was purchased from a local farmer for the sum of £50. Close by were the remains of a stone built church, sometimes called Raheen Church. This fell out of use in the 1830s and the present church opened its doors around 1840. There are two well defined and preserved liosanna. The one by the reilig forms part of the boundary, while the other is lovingly engrossed in five field boundaries.

There was also a well across from Lill Daly’s house with lovely cool water. A jam jar was left there so anyone could take a drink. A wide part of the road was known as the Depot. Farmers drawing sand or coal would deposit half a load here before returning with another half load from the beach or from Castletownshend. In former times, steamers like the Kathleen and May would bring coal from Wales. Two benchmarks are listed in the townland: numbers 113 and 114. The rent payable according to Griffiths Valuation was £141/6/0.

Sibín: No townland would be complete without a sibín (pub) and traces existed until recently at Derry O Donovan’s farm.

Celebration time at The Creamery Cross

Famine: The Irish Reproductive Loans, also known as Irish Sustainability Loans, were established as a means of assisting individuals to relieve poverty. A snippet from James K Collins’ article in Castlehaven and Myross journal number 2 gives an interesting occupation. “Daniel O Donovan, Raheen, a weaver, in poor circumstances. He received £1 on December 8th 1846. Guarantors were Dan McCarthy and Robert Barry, both of Raheen. Died in the Workhouse".

Housing

As part of Griffiths Valuation in 1853, a survey of house quality was carried out to calculate what rates were due by each household. These were issued in 1850 in the form of house books (Pg 1, Pg 2) and a guide on how to interpret these can be seen here. These show that 17 of the 25 houses in the townland at the time were class 3. This means that they were thatched houses with stone walls with mud or puddle mortar. Within class 3 there are different categories. Fifteen houses are described as being old (more than 25 years) with ten of these being in repair, four out of repair and the other one is described as dilapidated and scarcely habitable. The other two thatched houses are described as medium (not old) with one being slightly decayed, but in good repair while the other is deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. There are also eight class 1 houses in this townland meaning that they are slated dwelling houses built with stone or brick and lime mortar. Three are old but in good repair, one is medium (not new), but in sound order and good repair while the other four are described as medium, deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. All are between 4 foot 6 inches (!) and 16 foot tall meaning that there was probably a mix of songle and two storey houses in the townland at this time.

By the 1901 census, there are just 8 houses in this townland and six have walls of stone, brick or concrete while the other two have walls made from mud, wood or some other perishable material. Seven have roofs of slate, iron or tiles while the other one is still thatched. Five of the eight houses at this time have two, three or four rooms with just two windows in front so they were probably single storey. Of the others, one also has two, three or four rooms but has five windows in front, one has five or six rooms with five windows while the other has seven, eight or nine rooms and six windows in front so is probably two storey

When we advance to the 1911 census, there is an increase to ten occupied houses in this townland and all now have roofs of slate, iron or tiles with walls of stone, brick or concrete. There are still five houses that have two, three or four rooms with just two windows in front (single storey probably). Two now have two, three or four rooms with five windows in front, one still has five or six rooms with five windows while the other now has has ten, eleven or twelve rooms and sixteen windows in front so is probably two storey

Places of Interest

Graveyard: The New Cemetery for Castlehaven is located in this townland.

Lios: There are two ringforts (liosanna) in this townland. Both are well preserved today. A ringfort is a circular fortified settlement that were mainly built during the Bronze age up to about the year 1000. One of these is located on the boundary of the New Cemetery. The other is situated just north of the creamery and was bounded by five fields (just two today).

Creamery: The Castlehaven branch of the Drinagh Co-Op Creamery was located in this townland at Raheen Cross. A diesel powered mill for grinding corn was located opposite the creamery.

Smithfield: This was a large Townsend mansion, was located between Raheen Cross and the River's Cross.

Postbox: There is a post-box in this townland

The Historic Environment Viewer lists the two ringforts mentioned above

Interesting Placenames

Besides those mentioned above, there is a road called the Bumpy Road in this townland. Other roads are called the Castletownshend Road, Herbo's Gully and The Bán Road (after local family). There are crossroads known as River's Cross, Brien's Cross and Raheen Crossroads.

.We have also mapped the following field names in this townland: Meadow Field, Cnocán Buí (yellow hillock - perhaps it was covered in furze), Gravel Field, Whooley's Garden, Priest's 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 placenames in this townland (or if you need to correct any or give further background information), please contact us at [email protected]

Folklore

Lost Locations: The Schools Folklore Collection of 1938 mentions a few long lost items of interest. Tobarín Handsome below the River’s Cross was used to wash freshly made butter. A stone near Raheen Cross was called Barry’s Stone . This man Barry lifted it as a show of strength. However with road improvements the location was lost. The lios near the cemetery was called Raheen Fort. A headless horseman and a pack of hounds traversed this road and anyone who saw them was sure to pass away shortly after.

War Of Independence and the Civil War: It is said that the I.R.A. stationed men in Raheen during both the War Of Independence and the Civil War. One night the man on duty called on two individuals to halt and when they refused he shouted "if I knew how to use this gun, I would shout ye".

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1825 list the following family names: Donovan, Sullivan, Crowley, Collins, Swanton, Townsend.

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: Donohoe, Mountain, Donovan, Sullivan (caretaker's house), Sullivan, Sullivan, Donovan, McCarthy, Townsend, Donovan, Regan, Collins, Collins, Collins. In addition, the following families leased land only: Swanton

The Census of Ireland of 1901 lists the following family names: Collins, Sullivan (with Mannion (boarder), Driscoll , Hilen and Hayes (all servants)), Brien, Brien, Sullivan (with Connell - servant), Donovan, Scully, Donovan (with Hegarty (daughter)). Note: all occupants are Roman Catholic with the exception of Philip Mannion (a boarder).

The Census of Ireland of 1911 lists the following family names: Collins, Donovan (with Brady (son-in-law, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter)), Norris (with Burke (boarder)), Brien, O'Sullivan (with O'Connell (cousin)), Donovan, Scully (with Cornell (sister)), O'Sullivan (with Tobin (servant) and O'Brien (servant)), O'Brien (with Horan (uncle)). All Catholic.

Cornelius O'Sullivan, the father of a world-renowned baritone who went by the name of 'Singing Sullivan' (Denis O'Sullivan 1868-1908), came from Raheen. Cornelius emigrated to the US at the time of the famine and became wealthy during the California Gold Rush. Denis returned to Ireland and performed in Skibbereen on several occasions. A medal continues to be presented in his memory at the Feis Ceoil each year.

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
1825	Tithe Applotment	6	30 (est)		1825
1841	Census of Ireland	37	204
1851	Census of Ireland	17 (inc. 2 unoccupied)	100
1853	Griffith's Valuation	17 (Incl. 3 unoccupied)	85 (est)		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	10	57
1871	Census of Ireland	11	76
1881	Census of Ireland	9	60
1891	Census of Ireland	8	47
1901	Census of Ireland	8	37		1901
1911	Census of Ireland	10 (inc. 1 unoccupied)	49		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 Charles McCarthy Reagh who was described as an Irish papist. This townland was part of Rathnapoole, Monymohalahan & Lisranckan at that time.

The proprietor of this townland in 1841 was Colonel John Townsend of Castletownshend and his agent was Charles Clarke of Skibbereen. It was all held by tenants - some under lease.

In 1841, the soil was described as middling, producing middling crops of oats, potatoes and poor wheat .

Local Business & Services

Name

C & C Joinery

Description

This business opened at the site of the old creamery in the early part of this century. They specialise in the manufacture and installation of stairs, doors, windows, shop-fronts and entrance gates.

Contact

C & C Joinery website

Tel: +353 (0)28 36960