The lovely old Irish seanfhocal / proverb ‘Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal’ came back to remind us again of its forever lurking relevance in our lives last week.
That nothing lasts forever is the nub of the issue here as the old Board of Works / River Maine Drainage Scheme office in Tonbwee bit the dust.
A while after it had ceased to be the Board of Works office in the 1960’s it became the Castleisland Pitch and Putt Club headquarters and club-house and bar – and the surrounding grounds were creatively moulded into the spectacular course which has evolved to what we see here today.
Officially Opened in May ’66
That status became as permanent as anything in this world can be from the time the club was officially opened in1966. The building continued in that role until it was sold a couple of years ago and eventually demolished last week.
The design of the course was the work of Pitch and Putt Ireland President William Somers and he was invited back to perform the official opening on Sunday, May 8th 1966.
In its heyday the club-house, along with playing host to the business and ceremonial side of the club activities, housed a fine bar with a trophy cabinet, a two table snooker room and meeting rooms.
Church Street Tops-of-the-Town
It was home to the Church Street Tops-of-the-Town groups for many hilarious nights of rehearsals and celebrations over the amazing years of that important community initiative which built the nearby community centre.
The building came into being out of the necessity of the planners and contractors’ need of office space close to the operations attached to the controversial drainage scheme of the River Maine which began in the late 1950s and continued well into the 60s.
Work on the two acre site, which had been acquired by the contractors in 1959 began in early January 1960.
Storage Space for Explosives
Along with the required office space on the site, stores and workshops were also built there as was the vital storage space for the explosives needed for the work on a limestone bedded river such as the Maine.
A reminder of that chapter in Castleisland’s history remains. The night-watchman’s hut at the entrance to the beautifully landscaped pitch and putt course is still intact.
And because of the security needed around the aforementioned explosives that hut was manned on a round the clock basis for the duration of the drainage scheme.
Great Source of Curiosity
The site itself was a great source of curiosity for the young lads of the town at the time as the monstrous machines began to appear on the site and on the banks of the Maine and its tributaries around the area.
The Castleisland Pitch and Putt Club is now operating efficiently and well out of a Portacabin beside the course.
The site of the old club-house will now return to a reflection of its industrial past as a base for a busy and locally owned company Southwest Radon Ltd.
Ní bhíonn in Aon Rud Ach Seal !
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