Throwback Thursday: Musical memories of Togher’s buzzing bar

A couple of interesting queries were received this week, and we are hoping Throwback Thursday readers will be able to help answer them.

Reader Jacqui Daly revived memories of a great old music venue familiar to many of you, the Ardmanning out in Togher.

“I don’t know if you can help with my query on Throwback Thursday, but here’s hoping,” she said.

“My late uncle, Michael Daly, and his cousin Dommie Murphy were singers in a band called The Golden Memories back in the day

“They used to play in the Ardmanning Pub monthly, as far as I can remember, and they would pack the place out.

“I was wondering if you could throw it out on your pages to see if anyone would have any footage or photos from when they went there?”

Jacqui says: “The pub is well gone now and I don’t have a contact for the previous owners. It’s just a thought I got after reading some of your stories from Throwback Thursday.”

Well, it is certainly well remembered by those who knew and loved it, Jacqui, and I cannot do better than reprint here a delightful tribute to the venue, by the Togher Historical Association, a group that truly values our past.

‘Ardmanning House - Last Call! - July 13, 2013’

“On Saturday, July 13, at 1 o’clock, the Blog made a truly historic visit to one of Togher’s most famous taverns.

“Billy O’Brien and James A O’Brien undertook a trip to the site of Ardmanning House and paid tribute to this old building.

“Alerted to its imminent demise by the Togher Facebook group, it was deemed necessary to document the former watering hole before it was consigned to the history books forever.

“As the duo wandered the grounds around the cordoned off site , it was sad to think that this structure which had been in situ for so long was soon to be no more.

“From Private Residence to Priest’s Abode to Public House, this particular building has been a feature of Togher since the 19th century, and with its passing goes a lot of its history, which now lives on only in the memories of the countless thousands who frequented its rooms.”

Taking a series of sentimental photographs, Billy and James then raised imaginary glasses and bade a fond farewell before departing, thankful that at least some small part of it had now been safely archived for posterity.

You can see all the pictures they took on https://togherhistoricalassociation.blogspot.com/2013/11/inaugural-meeting-and-naming-ceremony.html.

There are more memories on the Facebook group, ‘Pubs and Bars of Cork City and Suburbs, Past and Present’, where a comment last September accompanied an excellent picture of Ardmanning House in its heyday, taken by Arthur G. Walker.

“The Ardmanning Bar in Togher was a wonderful venue for many decades until it was permanently closed and demolished a few years ago. It holds countless memories for so many people of Cork. There is now a Supervalu store where this great venue once stood.”

Brendan Stevenson was one of many to reply to this topic, recalling his own happy days working there from 1966 to 1969. “Had great times listening to Jack Brierley, and a myriad of other stars including Butch Moore, Joe Lynch and Tom Dunphy.”

Hey, Brendan, I think this writer might have sung at the Ardmanning back in those folk club days, with Peter Sanquest. Maybe we saw you there?

Meanwhile, Stephen Fogarty remembered seeing the Wolfe Tones there, and Pearse Allen recalled the Fureys taking to the stage at what was his grandad’s preferred local.

Edward Power was proud to reveal that he once impersonated Elvis on that same stage!

And there were so many more memories sparked off by that one picture of the Ardmanning. Wedding receptions, appearances by stars like Dickie Rock and Sonny Knowles, darts competitions – even one very special occasion when one young man (anonymous) introduced his girlfriend to his parents there one night. “All went well,” he reports with relief. “We have been married 44 years now!”

And an insight into the cost of just going out for a drink was revealed when the same lad admitted that they slipped out to the shop next door and bought a bottle of cheap wine to celebrate the event, as they couldn’t afford bar drinks!

Lorraine Lyons also remembered the Ardmanning as where she and her husband-to-be went to tell her mother and father the night they got engaged.

“Donie and Nell Gleeson, it was their local, and I remember many family occasions held there. Great spot!” said Lorraine.

Another tribute came from boards.ie, where the Cork Darts group posted a sad message on May 31, 2010:

“Ardmanning House in Togher, Cork, closed its doors on Thursday, May 27, 2010, and brought an end to a ‘Golden Era’ of Cork Darts.

“The Ardmanning was known as the ‘Home of Cork Darts’ and had been hosting darts events for almost 30 years.

“On behalf of the CDPA (Cork Darts Players’ Association), best wishes are extended to John Delaney and his wife Patsy on their retirement, and we wish to thank the management and staff for their support and generous sponsorship throughout those ‘Golden Years’.”

And so say all those who walked, biked, or drove to the great old Ardmanning over its lifetime, and enjoyed a great evening there.

Isn’t it sad when these places disappear, as if they and their history had never been?

Now, back to Jacqui’s original query.

Who remembers The Golden Memories performing at the Ardmanning? Jacqui doesn’t give dates, but we know that some of you out there will suddenly perk up on reading this and say, ‘I remember them!’

If so, then please do contact us (details at the bottom of these pages). Don’t keep it to yourself. Memories are meant to be shared, you know they are. If you leave them gathering dust at the back of your mind, they are being wasted, and they deserve a lot better than that.

Make it your New Year resolution to gather those memories off those dark shelves and bring them out into the daylight. Throwback Thursday is always eager to hear them!

We did run a quick check ourselves for the band, and found a link on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/goldenmemoriesband) but little more detail. Do those faces look familiar to you, Jacqui?

Which reminds me – I heard recently that the Cotton Ball in Mayfield had closed.

Now, who can remember that lively venue back in the folk singing days of the 1960s? Already a venerable establishment then, it must be at least 150 years old. What stories its walls could tell! And so could you if you knew it in your younger days, when a night at the pub was the only real way to get together with friends. Tell us your tales of those carefree times!

Now, here is another query, from Conor O’Keeffe in Kilworth, who has been doing some digging into family history and wonders if we can help.

“I have been researching the Kelly family in Cork on and off for the last few months,” said Conor. “I came across your article in The Echo from March, 2021. I would be very grateful if you could take the time to read this mail and give me any possible pointers please.”

Hang on, March, 2021? Gosh! Better go back and check the files! Wait there...

Yes, we talked about the great old Pavilion cinema on both March 4 and 11 back in 2021, when we featured contributions from readers who remembered it well.

So what’s your query, Conor?

“My interest stems from a friend in the U.S tracing her Irish heritage. Her ancestors (paternal and maternal) emigrated to New York in the late 19th/early 20th century from Rathmore in Kerry and Knocknagree, just over the border in Cork.

“It would seem that only one ancestor ever returned to live in Ireland, and indeed very few of them ever set foot on Irish soil again. The lady who returned to live in Ireland was Margaret O Halloran and she did so in 1924. She had only been in New York for three years at that stage.

“Her sailing passage lists her name as O Halloran so I have to presume that she was unmarried at this stage.

“An obituary of one of her brothers in the 1930s says that he was survived by his sister Mrs Timothy Kelly of Cork. This Mrs Kelly can only have been his sister Margaret.

“The only Timothy and Margaret Kelly that I can find in Cork from the years 1924 to the mid- 1950s are the couple whom I now know were involved in the Pavilion Cinema.

“When Margaret Kelly died in 1955, her death notice in the Cork Examiner tallies with her age as per the 1911 census, but does not mention her maiden name, nor does her headstone in Douglas Cemetery.”

Conor continues: “There were four children born to Timothy and Margaret. Two of them, mentioned in your article, Peggy and Donal, are both buried with their parents in Douglas.

“I have, thus far, been unable to trace the other two, Cyril and Damien? I have been unable to locate a marriage record for the couple.

“Is there any help, advice or direction you could give me to ascertain if the Margaret O Halloran that I am researching was indeed the same Margaret, wife of Timothy Kelly of the Pavilion Cinema in Cork?

“I would be most grateful for any help you could give me.”

Well, we were told of a Kelly family at the Pavilion by readers back in 2021, when Liam Cashell sent us this: “We were looking through The Echo today and your excellent coverage of ‘The Pav’ as my mother always referred to it. We encouraged her to write down a small bit about it which she eventually did reluctantly, so please see below a small note from Pearl Cashell (Kennedy at the time)...”

Pearl stated: “I had the pleasure of working in The Pavilion cinema back in its heyday of the late ’50s and early ’60s. We had great days there and Leo Ward was an excellent boss who always stayed in touch up to his passing in 2013. The Kelly family were also a pleasure to work with.”

Here at Throwback Thursday, we also heard from Sandie Brown (nee Sheehan) back in 2021, who worked as an usherette at the Pav in the 1970s, and recalled Donal Kelly.

“The elegant building itself was of course always noticed by tourists,” recalled Sandie. “I remember them asking about the history of the building, and the legendary Donal Kelly, God rest him, who was front of house, would revel in telling them.

“Cinema was in his blood, as anyone who knew him would tell you.”

Now that’s all we can find for you from our files, Conor, but we are certain that there are regular readers of Throwback Thursday out there who can help you with tracking down Kelly and indeed O’Halloran family details. Let’s hear from those of you who know!

You might also check that great book, The Golden Age Of Cork Cinemas, by John McSweeney (Rose Arch Publications, 2003). If we can unearth our copy from the piles of books on all sides, we will see what we can find for you by next week!

In the meantime, anyone with information, email jokerrigan1@gmail.com or leave a comment on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/echolivecork.