Castlecor Creamery

Towards the end of the 19th century the creameries were founded in Ireland. The first creamery in Ireland was founded in Hospital, Co.Limerick by Canon Baggot. The first co-op creamery in Ireland was founded in Dromcollogher, Co.Limerick. The growth of creameries was brought about by two things, first the invention of mechanical separator and second, organising abilities of Horace Plunkett..

At this time the farmers in Castlecor district organised themselves and formed the Castlecor Dairy Factory in 1892. The first Manager was Thomas Hurley. The Castlecor Butter won third prize at London Dairy Show of 1895.

In the early parts of this century the dairy had an association with Cleeves, who, became more famous later as sweet manufacturers. During the time the milk had to be delivered twice daily. Among the people who worked there at this time were Mrs.Buckley, Ballyhest, Jerh.Heffernan, Ballybane and James O’Reilly, Greenhall. Other people who were employed were Maurice Horan from Templeglantine, Co.Limerick and Sarah Canny from Donegal.

In the creamery during the 1920’s cheese was manufactured. The cheese was taken directly to the boat in Cork for export to England. The lorry driver was Bill Aherne.

The next milestone in the development of the society was the formation of North Cork Co-Op in 1927. This, however, resulted in manufacturing operations being moved to Kanturk. Separation continued, but the creamery was taken to Kanturk and skimmed milk continued to be taken home by farmers for feeding to pigs and calves, as it was a valuable by-product. The surplus milk was taken to Kanturk also, and manufactured into casein and casein plastics. This was the first time that casein was made in Ireland and remained so until Kerry Co-Op entered the field in 1972.

A trading store was opened in 1955, to cater for the expanding needs of farmers. This was also complimented by a mill, which continued the practice which began in 1920’s.

Over the years many people were Managers. These were:

1892 Thos.Hurley

1896 T.Donovan

1907 Cornelius Kiely

1916 Cornelius Kiely

1925 John Looney

1935-46 Con O’Keeffe

1946-56 Tom Cusack

1956-60 Tom Griffin

1960-64 Paddy Normoyle

1964-69 Tom Griffin

1969-74 Sean McAuliffe

1974-78 Marion Breen R.I.P

With the advent of the E.E.C., dairying began to expand. This resulted in nationwide changes. Among these were refrigerated bulk milk tanks and mobile milk tanks. Paddy Crowley, Knocknanuss, introduced the first mobile bulk milk tank. The first refrigeration on farm bulk milk was installed in Ted Dennehy’s in 1973. This development heralded the end of the branch creameries. Numbers continued to decline and by the mid eighties, the milk intake was replaced by direct suction. The store was closed in 1988. The number of suppliers continued to dwindle until 1992, when the remaining four changed to ex farm collections.

Over the years the Castlecor area has been represented on the board of North Cork Co—Op, by five members. These include the present Chairman, James Crowley, Michael Dennehy, Patrick Crowley, Tim O’Connell and James Neenan.

The following statistics gives an idea of activities over the years.

After one hundred years of activity, the empty buildings still stand as a mute reminder of past ages and vanished generations. People have increased prosperity and well-being but there is still sadness at the passing of a colourful era.

Author:

Jimmy Neenan

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