This is a draft chapter from my upcoming book – ‘The Ballymacoda History Project – Volume II’
Note: An earlier version of this draft made the case that the station attacked in 1867 was the station at Ring – this version doesn’t draw a conclusion based on the available evidence.
Early References
There was a coastguard presence in the Ballymacoda area for almost 100 years. The First Edition Ordnance Survey of Ireland (OSI) maps, show a reference to a ‘Coast Guard Watch’ near the location of where the coastguard station and cottages were later built in the townland of Ring. These maps were surveyed between 1829 and 1841, so it would suggest that this was the location of a coastguard presence even before the station and coastguard cottages as they exist today were built.
The later edition OSI map series (25-inch) show the coastguard station and cottages in the present location in Ring. This series of maps was surveyed between 1897 and 1913.
On both editions of the maps, a ‘Coast Guard Dock’ is noted. Today this would be near the slip down to Ring Strand.
In the first edition OSI maps, a ‘Coast Guard Flag Staff’ is also present in the townland of Knockadoon (Warren), but there is no mention of an actual coastguard station in that location on either these first edition maps, or later versions. However, there is evidence of this location being thought of locally as the location of an actual coastguard station, such as a report carried in the Evening Echo in May 1979 as we shall see later.
As we shall see, there is some confusion over the location of the coastguard station which was attacked by the Fenian’s during the 1867 rising – was it the station in Ring, or the station in Knockadoon (Warren)?
The first reference we find to the coastguard station and cottages being built in the townland of Ring is in August 1865, when the tender to construct them was published in newspapers of the time by the Office of Public Works. The tender covered the construction of a coastguard watch house, a boat house, a residence for the Chief Boatman, and a set of cottages for four men and their families. Interestingly and perhaps leading to some confusion, the coastguard station is referred to as being ‘Knockadoon coastguard station’, even though technically we know it is in the townland of Ring.
As we saw earlier, there is corroboration of a coastguard presence in Ballymacoda even before this in the OSI maps. Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published in 1837, is another source which lists a coastguard station as being present in the parish of Kilmacdonagh, but doesn’t list a specific location. There is evidence of a Preventative Water Guard being based in Ballymacoda as early as the year 1823. This force, established in 1809, was essentially a British customs agency, and was tasked with combating the widespread smuggling that plagued coastal regions during this period. This force played a crucial role in safeguarding trade revenues by patrolling shorelines and intercepting contraband, particularly in areas like Ballymacoda and its surrounds, where the rugged coastline and proximity to key trade routes made it a hotspot for illicit activities. As a precursor to the coastguard, this force laid the groundwork for more organized and structured maritime law enforcement in the decades to come.
We can gain some insight into the day-to-day life and duties of the coastguard in Ballymacoda by delving into the numerous newspaper accounts from the late nineteenth century. These reports document everything from routine patrols and rescues to less common incidents where the coastguards were pressed into service as mediators or peacemakers. One particularly noteworthy callout occurred in 1883, when a group of coastguards found themselves summoned to a Knockadoon fishing boat to break up a lively brawl. The crew, it seems, had enjoyed an exceptionally successful day catching salmon but, in their enthusiasm, celebrated a bit too freely and became rowdy after one drink too many. This story highlights the multifaceted role of the coastguard: not only were they responsible for maintaining maritime safety and carrying out rescues, but they were also sometimes called upon to keep the peace. Another function of the coastguard was to salvage any valuable cargo from ships that had been wrecked, before the locals got to it!
The 1867 Fenian Raid
A coastguard station in Ballymacoda, is of course most famously referenced as being raided for arms by Peter O’Neill Crowley and the Fenians during the 1867 uprising. As we have seen when I have written previously of O’Neill Crowley and the Fenian’s, the coastguard station was raided on the night of Shrove Tuesday, March 5th, 1867, as part of the general Fenian uprising. Some newspaper reports of the time even refer to this raid in Ballymacoda as being the first action of the rising in Cork. The objective of the raid by the Fenians was to secure arms, which they did. They also took the coastguards on duty as their prisoners, before releasing them sometime later unharmed. Later, the coastguards on duty that night were called to the trial of the men involved in the raid, including John McClure and Thomas Bowler Cullinane, to identify them and give evidence.
As I alluded to earlier, there is some apparent confusion as to which coastguard station was actually raided by the Fenian’s – in some references (which we will discuss accordingly), the coastguard station is referred to as being located in ‘Knockadoon (Warren)’, and in some ‘Knockadoon’. Confusion arises here, as anyone with local knowledge will be aware that these are two completely different townlands.
The Evidence for Knockadoon (Warren)
The book ‘Heritage Centenary Sites of Rebel County Cork’, published by the Heritage Unit of Cork County Council is one of the sources that refers to the station raided by the Fenian’s as being in the townland of Knockadoon (Warren). This book even contains a picture that purports to show ‘probable location of the coastguard cottages in the townland of Knockadoon Warren’. Another reference to the coastguard station being in the townland of Knockadoon (Warren), as opposed to Knockadoon/Ring is found in two articles of the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, one from 1969, and one from 1988, both by the same author, Walter McGrath. In both articles, it is mentioned when referring to David Joyce and Thomas Bowler Cullinane that the men “had raided Knockadoon-Warren coastguard houses under Peter O’Neill Crowley…”. However, the author gives no reference for this point. Yet another reference for the station being in Warren is contained in an article in the Evening Echo in May 1979. In this article, the same author mentioned above, Walter McGrath, travelled to Ballymacoda and met with local men Dave Ahern, Luke Beausang, and Martin Cunningham who brought him to the location in Warren where they believe the station existed. Martin Cunningham also shared a sketch that he had created earlier showing the coastguard station as he had remembered it as a boy in 1912:
The Evidence for Ring
Meanwhile, the National Built Heritage Service of Ireland is one of the sources that mentions Ring as the site of the Fenian raid. It records the coastguard station at Ring in its records, and mentions it as being the ‘site of a Fenian ambush in 1867’. There is further evidence that the station attacked was the station at Ring in this excerpt from an article in the Morning Post, published in London, a few weeks after the rising:
“Meantime the Ballymacoda column, consisting of some 60 or 70 farmers, farmers’ sons, and farm labourers, with here and there a small tradesman or an artisan from Youghal, had turned out and marched on the Knockadoon coastguard station. Knockadoon is a wretched little collection of hovels down the hill side at Knockadoon point, one of the headlands entering Youghal bay. A large new handsome coastguard station has been built on the side of the hill, and, it is worth noting at this moment, in such a situation that the whole range of the building is entirely commanded by the upper part of the hill at its back; but this building is not yet inhabited. The old station was a little thatched cottage, lying below the level and close to the road, and in which the chief boatman and his wife lived.”
The Morning Post Saturday, March 23rd, 1867, Page 6
If we consider the above in the context of the coastguard station in Ring – the description of the location, the mention of the station being ‘entirely commanded by the upper part of the hill at its back’, and also the mention of the station being new and not yet occupied – then this description fits with it being the coastguard station at Ring. As we have seen earlier, the tender to build the station at Ring was published in 1865 – and it was built where there was already a coastguard presence. The ‘old station’ referred to in the newspaper excerpt above could be what existed as the coastguard presence in Ring, before and even still during the time when the new coastguard watch house and cottages were being constructed. Having trawled other contemporaneous newspaper reports on the attack on the station, there is zero mention of Knockadoon (Warren) or anything that might suggest that the attack happened on a station in that townland.
Conclusion
I am on the fence as regards which coastguard station was attacked, and have not been able to reach a solid conclusion based on the available evidence. There is evidence for both. If we go with the historical record – the contemporaneous newspaper reports, the OSI maps, then it suggests that the station attacked was in Ring, and was the predecessor to what existed there as a coastguard presence before and during the time when the new coastguard station and cottages were built. The OSI maps clearly and irrefutably show a coastguard presence in Ring from their earliest versions. The newspaper reports of the time fit with the location being Ring.
If we go with references from author Walter McGrath, and the Cork County Council book referenced earlier, then it would suggest that the station was in Knockadoon (Warren). The evidence referenced by both of these seems to have come from local knowledge which existed but now is unfortunately impossible to verify accurately. The OSI maps for the location in Warren never listed a coastguard station, only a coastguard flagstaff. A coastguard flagstaff was a specific structure – typically a tall mast – used for signaling purposes. By hoisting different flags or signals, the coastguards could communicate with ships at sea or other stations along the coast. It is possible that this signaling mechanism existing in the townland of Knockadoon (Warren) in isolation of any coastguard station. The location makes sense in that it would be visible by ships along much of the coastline.
The Men who Served
The first Census of Ireland that recorded the members of the coastguard in Ballymacoda was the 1901 Census of Ireland. As we have seen before, most all census records before this have been lost. Through analysis of the 1901 Census records, we can get a sense of who the men who served in the coastguard station in Ballymacoda at that time were. None of the men were locals – they were either from elsewhere in Ireland, or from England. There were five coastguard men and their families living in Ring at the time of the census. These men were:
- William Foot, aged 35, born in England
- George Chandler, aged 36, born in England
- Thomas Dunne, aged 31, born in Co. Waterford
- Jeremiah Mehigan, aged 39, Co. Wexford
- Robert Denham, aged 46, born in England
Their service in the coastguard station in Ballymacoda is also confirmed by each of their service records in the Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services. In addition to the household census returns (Form A) for the men, which give us full details on the men and their families, also present for the townland of Ring is the submission of a Form H. This was the specialized form intended for use by military and police barracks. In the case of the Form H submission for the coastguard station, correct procedure was followed in that only the first letter of the men’s first and last names is noted. However, as the initials on Form H match perfectly the five men listed above, there is no mystery to their identity.
One of the most tragic stories relating to the coastguards in Ballymacoda is the death of a young infant at the coastguard station in 1883. This story was carried in the newspapers of the time, and reports that the eighteen-month-old died from drowning whilst sailing a toy boat in a bucket of water. If we step back to consider that this child likely hasn’t been thought about by anyone for over 140 years – let us pause to acknowledge and honor their memory for a moment now.
Closure
The closure of the coastguard station in Ballymacoda in November 1906 marked the end of an era for the local community – according to my research, there had been a coastguard presence in the area for up to 100 years at that point, including the presence of the predecessor to the coastguard, the Preventive Water Guard. Established to combat smuggling and ensure maritime safety, the station had been a fixture in the area for decades. Its closure was part of a broader reduction in coastguard services across Ireland and the United Kingdom during that period. Notably, in 1904, the Admiralty, under First Sea Lord Fisher, had already closed 35 coastguard stations as part of an economy drive, and by 1906, it proposed to close all remaining stations unless required specifically for Admiralty business. The news of the station’s closure was reported in contemporary newspapers, reflecting the significance of such developments to the public. The reduction in coastguard presence had implications for maritime law enforcement and search and rescue operations along the coast. The closure of the Ballymacoda station, along with others, signified a shift in British governmental priorities and resource allocation during the early 20th century. While specific details about the Ballymacoda station’s operations and the exact reasons for its closure may not be extensively documented, the broader context of coastguard reductions during this period provides insight into the challenges faced by coastal communities following the withdrawal of such essential services.
References & Further Information
Tender notice appeared in the Cork Constitution on Saturday August 19th, 1865
Belfast Commercial Chronicle, November 8th, 1823, Page 4
The Morning Post Saturday, March 23rd, 1867, Page 6
1901 Census of Ireland
UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939
The History of the NCI (Pre-1994), Available on the NCI Living History Website
Heritage Centenary Sites of Rebel County Cork, Heritage Unit of Cork County Council, 2016
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1969, Vol. 74, No. 219, page(s) 2031, Convict Ship Newspaper, The Wild Goose, Re-discovered, by Walter McGrath
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 1988, Vol. 93, No 252, The Fenians in Australia, by Walter McGrath
National Built Heritage Service, Record for the Coastguard station at Ring, Ballymacoda – available on https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/
Fight in a Fishing Boat, Dublin Daily Express, Friday June 29th, 1883, Page 7
The Evening Echo, Article by Walter McGrath, May 4th, 1979
Dublin Daily Express, Monday, December 17th, 1883
Portsmouth Evening News, October 27th, 1906