Then and Now! History of Limerick's Rathgonan-Cahermoyle recalled in new book - Tom Aherne
RATHGONAN - CAHERMOYLE A Brief History is the title of the latest book by Dan Madigan from Kilcolman who, over the years, has recalled local history in book form.
His books include The Madigan's of Ballyegna, Let's Not Forget and Rathgonan A Dream Come True about Newcastle West Golf Club's move to the Ardagh-Coolcappa locality.
His major publication was A Lifetime of Memories which was published in 2010. His latest book has 48 pages and costs €5 and is available to buy at Newcastle West Golf Clubhouse.
It has text and 16 photographs, in black and white, of people and race horses associated with the famous house and farm.
The Madigan family lived near Rathgonan, the now well-established golf course and Dan's father worked for the Cripps family in the early 1940s.
His brother Patsy, for thirty years, and himself for three years back in the 1960s, so he is well aware of its history and importance to the locality.
Situated over six townlands in the Coolcappa-Kilcolman parish, he traces its history and the many different owners it had over the years. If plans for a dump had gone ahead , it may never have become a leisure area for people to enjoy.
In the opening page he describes how he got involved in golf over fifty years ago and the part he played in Newcastle West Golf Club purchasing the lands.
The book includes interesting nuggets of information about the location of different holes, quarry, unusual mound and the, supposedly, ghost funerals that was seen there.
The book is a lovely recall from times past growing up in the Rathgonan and Cahermoyle locality to Dan’s present close association with Newcastle West Golf Club. Congratulations to Dan on his latest publication.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the golf club I wrote the following in 2013.
Newcastle West Golf Club is celebrating their 75th Anniversary this year 2023. The Club was formed on April 14, 1938 at Egan’s Central Hotel in Newcastle West.
They played the game on a 9-hole course on land rented for 77 pounds a year from Mick Mc Coy at Killeline, which was known as ‘The Tillery.’
It was a short distance from the town up the Cork road and the course contained about 40 acres of land. This land was purchased in 1943 with the club house plot for 1,100 pounds.
The club provided the people of the town and beyond with a sporting and social outlet over the years. A drawback was that it was wet and often unplayable in the Winter months.
The club was on the lookout for a suitable parcel of land for a while to overcome this difficulty and they were rewarded when the present site came on the market.
A brief history of the site, which was owned by the O’Brien family from nearby Cahermoyle up to 1922, reads as follows.
Rathgoonan was once part of the 2,775 acre Cahermoyle estate which belonged in the 18th century to the family of William Smith O’Brien, the patriot who led the Young Ireland rebellion in Ballingarry in Tipperary in 1848 and who was exiled to Tasmania as a result. Charles Murrough O’Brien built Rathgoonan house in 1873 with stone imported from Wales.
This part of the estate which contained approximately 100 acres of land and the fine limestone house was bought by Tom Lynch from Croagh, for a reported fee of eight thousand pounds, from the O’Brien family.
It changed hands again during the war years (1945) when Mrs Betty Cripps (nee Goodbody) from Annacotty bought the estate for 3,600 pounds.
Her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Cripps, was in the British Army at the time and in active duty with the Irish Hussars in North Africa. He was missing on duty for a period during the War and when it ended he came to live in Rathgoonan and to enjoy a peaceful lifestyle.
He ran a dairy farm plus dry stock and a stud farm. He had a number of famous horses in his stables, which won many races.
The most famous was Shot Silk who won the Queen Mary Race at Ascot in the sixties. Rose of Tralee, a daughter of Shot Silk, won many valuable races and prizes as well.
Colonel Cripps died in the Cheshire Home in the late seventies, aged 79 years, and his wife Betty a year previous.
Martin O’Connor from Ballylongford in Kerry was the next owner of the estate in the early eighties. He bought Patie Connors farm next door (in Coolcappa parish) which contained a sandpit and about 44 acres of land. This was intended for a council dump but the plans were shelved after local opposition and the dump eventually opened in Gortnadroma.
The club purchased this land in Rathgoonan in late 1991 for a reported fee of 323, 000 pounds.
It was an ideal site for the proposed 18-hole golf course and about six miles from the Town.
Jim Hickey was the contractor and Arthur Spring designed and built the course.
A Community Employment Scheme was secured and the workers played a big part in the ongoing development. The new parkland course, with a par 70, was officially opened by Tánaiste Dick Spring on July 31, 1994.
The club has grown and gone from strength to strength in the intervening years.
The house was renovated and extended and the old stables turned into a bar and restaurant.
The course is now considered one of the best parkland courses around the Mid-West and it attracts lots of groups and societies.
The function room and bar in the clubhouse has also been an asset for the surrounding areas, offering clubs and individuals a comfortable venue for recreational purposes.
Newcastle West Golf Club is now part of the local landscape, and it also provides much-needed employment. It is set in a quiet part of the countryside and in 2013 was presented with the Munster Hidden Gem Award.
The club logo features the Ardagh Chalice, continuing the parish link with Newcastle West Golf Club being based within the Ardagh postal address.
On Sunday July 7, 2013, the club launched its 75th Anniversary Book.
The launch was performed by Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, and a sportsman, and author in his own right.
He praised the publication highly and the work of Chairman Pat McLoughlin and the members of the historical group.
Pat Neville Club President was the MC for the very enjoyable event.
A number of other speakers were also full of praise for the Club and its achievements over the 75-year history.
I made a visit recently to Newcastle West Golf clubhouse to buy the book from the very friendly lady in reception.
Several golfers were out on the course enjoying themselves and others waiting for their turn to tee off. It was so peaceful there with only birdsong to break the tranquillity. Rathgoonan House and golf course is a treasure in our midst, and the clubhouse bar and restaurant a fine facility to have.
May they keep on swinging into the distance - 85 years old on April 14, next.