Fornocht

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Fornocht / Forenaght is a townland of 278 hectares or 686 acres and in the early part of the 20th century, 322 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.

Fornocht is bordered by An Achaill (Aghills) to the north, Bán Chlocháin (Bawnlahan) and An Bhráid (Brade) to the east, Carraig Tí Seáin (Carrigtishane) and Coill Achaidh Aingle (Killangal) to the south and An Currach Beag (Currabeg) to the west.

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

Fornocht is believed to come from Fuar Nocht which can be interpreted as cold bare land. Bruno O'Donoghue interprets it as the bare, exposed place.

Many attempts were made by English settlers to anglicise Fornocht including Fornaght, Fiernogh, Fernogh, Fyernogh, Fernagh, and Faranagh while the Ordinance Survey standardised these attempts c. 1841 with Forenaught,

History

Churches: JM Burke mentions in his 1913 Southern Star article that the ruins of Béal a Chinn Mara church are located in this townland. This can be interpreted as the place at the head of the sea.

In this townland and at Béal an Chinn Mara may be seen some raised mounds, once the site of a Catholic church. Fortunately tradition fixes a date, for it is said that Donagh O'Driscoll of Castlehaven Castle marching at the head of his clan to the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 passed this chapel on a Sunday morning in such a haste that he wouldn't wait to hear mass. By ignoring the scriptural advice of first seeking the Kingdom of god, he helped to bring on himself and his adherents the severe overthrow that followed.

Mass Rock: In the penal days when mass was proscribed and banned there was a Mass Rock, or as it was called "The Altars" in the near neighbourhood of the Church.

** picture of mass rock?

War of Independence: During the War of Independence all bridges connecting the townlands of Bawnlahan and Fornaght were dismantled by the local volunteer forces in order to slow down the advances of the English forces and their enablers. There is a tale recounted in Stories of the Revolution about a local man who jumped off Béal a Chinn Mara bridge during an ambush by Free State troops. He had been captured earlier and was loaded onto a army lorry but escaped from the lorry and jumped off the bridge, breaking his leg in the process. He crawled underneath one of the arches and was taken to a safe house in Gortacrossig that night

Local historians map

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, Pg 3, Pg 4 - note that the first page seems to be missing) and a guide on how to interpret these can be seen here. These show that 33 of the 40 houses in the townland at the time were class 3. This means that they were all thatched houses with stone walls with mud or puddle mortar (as opposed to houses built with stone or brick and lime mortar). Within class 3 there are a number of different categories. 7 of these houses are old (more than 25 years old) but in repair. Another 24 are described as being old (more than 25 years) but out of repair while two are described as old and dilapidated, scarcely habitable. Seven houses in this townland at this time are class 1 which means that they were slated and built with stone or brick and lime mortar - two are described as old (more than 25 years) but in repair while another is old but out of repair. the other four class 1 houses are medium (not new) with two being slightly decayed but in good repair while the remaining two are deteriorated by age and not in perfect repair. All 33 of the Class 3 houses in the townland at this time are between 4 foot 6 inches (!) and 7 foot 6 inches tall which indicates that they are single storey at this time. The class 1 houses range between 7 foot 6 inches and 12 foot 6 inches tall so some may be two storey.

By the 1901 census (Pg 1, Pg 2, Pg 3), there are just 33 occupied houses in this townland at this time and all have walls of stone, brick or concrete. Four still have thatched roofs while the other 29 have roofs of slate, iron or tiles. One house has just one room and one window in front. 29 houses have two, three or four rooms with one having no window in front, two having just one window, 17 having two windows in front (probably still single storey at this time), three having three windows and another having four windows in front. The remaining two houses have either five or six rooms with one having four windows in front while the other has five.

When we advance to the 1911 census (Pg 1, Pg 2) there are now 29 occupied houses in this townland and, not surprisingly, all still have walls of stone, brick or concrete. Four still have thatched roofs while the other 25 have roofs of slate, iron or tiles. 19 houses have two, three or four rooms with one having just one window in front, 10 having two windows in front (probably still single storey at this time), one having three windows, another having four windows and the remaining six have five windows in front. Eight houses have either five or six rooms with one having two windows in front while five have five windows and the other two have six and seven windows in front respectively. Most of these are probably two storey at this point. Of the balance, one has seven, eight or nine rooms with seven windows in front and the other has ten, eleven or twelve rooms and five windows.

Places of Interest

Lios: There is a ringfort (lios) in this townland. A ringfort is a circular fortified settlement that were mainly built during the Bronze age up to about the year 1000.

Cill: There is a disused children’s burial ground in this townland. These were used for children who died before they were baptised (as they could not be buried in consecrated ground).

Stone Quarry: O’Regan’s Stone Quarry is in this townland

Oileán Craobhach: This can be interpreted as bushy island or island of the branches. This is an islet frequented by wading birds and is an important site for shelducks. You can normally see a flag flying herein the week of a county final. The anglicised spelling is Illauncreavagh.

Stream: There is a stream called Caol a Dá Ghníomh (the stream of two gneeves) which runs down the western border of this townland. Caol a Dá Ghníomh divides the three townlands of Currabeg, Forenaght and Killangal.

Waterfall: This can be seen on the side of the road between Droichead Uí Cnuasaigh and Bleaches Cross. This is known as Poll Radairí. Radhairí may refer to the name Rogers.or alternatively a person who rants and raves a lot.

Loch Staley is the name of the lake in this townland it is also partially in Bradeand Ag hills. There is also a crossroads in Forenaght (very close to the Brade boundary) that is called Staley's Crossroads

Besides the burial ground mentioned above, the Historic Environment Viewer also maps a souterrain in this townland

Waterfall - Poll Radairí

Interesting Placenames

Besides the places named above, we find a field known as Páirc na Marbh (field of the dead) and also as The Graveyard Field. The story behind this is recounted in the Folklore section. Another field is known as Bán 'a Rince which presumably can be interpreted as the field of dancing and may have been one of the dancing locations in the parish. There was another field called Páirc na Feola (the meat field) because the bottom of Forenaught was littered with houses in olden times and, because the people were starving, they hunted a few bullocks from Townshend's fields down to a cuas in Rineen which is now known as Cuasín a' Tarbh (cove of the bull). They cut up the animals while they were still alive and ate the raw meat. They buried the remains in a field in Forenaught and it got its name from this.

Other old field names in this townland have been captured as follows: Páirc an Eacra (the acre field), The Clais (field), The Meadow, Cremeen's Hill (Cremeens were a sept of the McCarthy family), Eoinín's Field, The Brake Field, The Mountain, Burchill's Field, The Hill In Front Of The House, Páirce Chríste (unknown meaning), Clásheirleithe (unknown meaning - clais is a trench or channel or gully), Upper Caológ (caológ is a riverside field or meadow), Lower Ciallóg, The Sheepfields, Burke's Garden, The Field By The Bales, Joe's Corner, Grafadh Of The Barley (Grafadh means to scrub or brush off the surface), France's, Simon's Gort na Scáirte (interpretation unknown - gort is a field - scairte (without a fada) means shouting), Upper Caulagahop (interpretation unknown ), Lower Caulagahop, Gort na Leancháin (interpretation unknown - gort is a field)

According to Lankford, there was a mass rock known as The Altar in a field called Páirc an Aifrinn (the Mass field). The location of this field is not known. Can you help?

Páirc na Feola

There is a wood in this townland called Chadhlaigh Wood. According to JM Burke, a man called Ó Cadhla (Kiely) lived there and gave his name to the wood. Other interpretations are Cúm a' Chailligh (hollow of the hermit/hag/witch) or Cúm a' Chaolaigh (hollow of the twigs)

There is a point known as The Lookout and a place known as Nancy's Hill

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

Famine: It was said that a man called Barry died in Rineen during the famine and, as people were afraid to go into his house, his mother carried him as far as Forenaght and buried him in a field there without a coffin or a sheet. The grave was marked by a mound of stones but these were removed by a previous farmer.

Graveyard Field / Páirc na Marbh

Families and Notable Residents

The Tithe Applotment books of 1825 list the following family names: Blackstaff (sept of the Donovans), Keohane, Mahony, Connors, Bawn, Attridge, Regan, Barry, Blackstaff, Connolly, Donovan, Donovan, Donovan, Crowley, Wade, Donovan

Griffiths Valuation of 1853 lists the following family names: Fitzpatrick, Mahony, Mahony, Mahony, Kohane, Atridge, Donovan, Donovan, Donovan, Kelly, Mahony , Hurley, Donovan, Donovan, Neal, Wade (caretaker's house), , Kohane, Barry, Donovan, Donovan, , Donovan, Donovan, Mahony, Hourihan, Kohane, Donovan, Neale, Malowney, Swanton, Coghlan. In addition, the following families had land only: Rev. Townsend.

The Census of Ireland of 1901 lists the following family names: Moloney (with Regan (daughter), Driscoll, McCarthy, Sullivan (with Mahoney (daughter) and 2 x McCarthy (grand-daughters)), Kelly, Driscoll, Norris, Hegarty, Sheehan, Sullivan, Murphy (with Hegarty (daughter, 3 x grandson and 2 x grand-daughter) and McCarthy (4 x visitor)), Tobin, Donovan, O'Regan (with Hayes (servant) and Hayes (visitor)), Fitzpatrick, Mahoney, Mahoney, Mahoney, Donovan, Keohane, McCarthy (with Sullivan (father-in-law and mother-in-law)), Attridge, Attridge, Donovan, Donovan, O'Callaghan (with Harnedy (servant) and Harnedy (visitor)), Regan, Hayes (with O'Sullivan (mother-in-law)), Donovan, Mahony (with McCarthy (grandson)), Neil, Walsh, Hourihan, McCarthy

The Census of Ireland of 1911 lists the following family names: Hourihan, Callaghan (with Donovan and Buckley (both servants)), Donovan (with Barry (servant)), Hayes, Donovan, Donovan, Regan with Walsh (servant), Mahony (with Burchill (visitor)), Mahony, Walsh (with Burke (niece)), Attridge, Mahony, Attridge, Mahony (with Fitzpatrick (mother and step-father), Mahony, Neill, Keohane (with Donovan (daughter and grand-daughter)), McCarthy (with Sullivan (mother-in-law)), Donovan, Hegarty, Kelly, McCarthy, Driscoll, Sullivan (with Mahony (daughter and son-in-law) and McCarthy (grand-daughter)), Mooney (with Regan (daughter)), Neill, Hegarty, McCarthy, Tobin

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	16	96 (est)		1825
1841	Census of Ireland	52	314
1851	Census of Ireland	32	189
1853	Griffith's Valuation	37 (Incl. 7 unoccupied)	210 (est)		1853
1861	Census of Ireland	47	240
1871	Census of Ireland	40 (Incl. 1 unoccupied)	233
1881	Census of Ireland	40	238
1891	Census of Ireland	35	184
1901	Census of Ireland	36 (Incl. 3 unoccupied (one of these is a shop)	149		1901
1911	Census of Ireland	30 (Incl. 1 unoccupied (warehouse))	139		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. At this time the proprietors (titulados) of this townland were Donogh O'Donovan and Edmund Fitzgerald. The townland was part of Fiernogh & Garribegg at this time

This townland was owned in 1841 by Colonel John Townsend of Castletownshend and his agent was Charles Clark of Skibbereen. It was all held by tenants with about half under lease.

In 1841 the soil was described as coarse and (?) mixed with arable, with the latter producing light crops of oats and potatoes with very little wheat and flax.