Tomo's Bar Doneraile
This is what the pub looked like when we left in 2003. This is how it looks now.
The pub had been in our family since 1885 and my father, Tom O'Donnell acquired it in 1918 and it has been called " Tomo's " ever since. I was the "guvner" from 1962 until we sold the pub and retired in Nov. 2003. Maura, our daughter, has spent some years working in the theatre, but has returned to further education and has gained a B.A. degree in Sociology and Psychology. She now works with the Ritz Carlton / Marriot Hotel Group. Cathal qualified as a doctor in 1995 and completed a fellowship in General Surgery in 1998. He is currently a consultant in Emergency Medicine at The Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick. Cathal was married in Oct. 2000 to Roisin Thompson from Midleton, who is a nurse/midwife, and they live in Co. Limerick, quite near the hospital. They now have children, Charlie, Kate, Sally and recent addition George (April '08).
The rest of the page will be devoted to Doneraile and some of its finer features.
Main St. in the course of a major refurbishment. All the old wooden telephone and ESB poles have been removed and the cables gone underground. New street lighting is installed. Broadband is promised for anyone who wants it. Trees are being planted on both sides. More detailed pics will be added when the refurbishment is complete.
Some of the houses on the Main St. are being refurbished as well as the town itself. Here is one nice example.
A view from Mallow Rd. corner.
The Back entrance to Doneraile Court but it will always be the "Lord's Gate" to locals.
The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Main St.
This is the gate lodge above the pub.
This is the Main Entrance on the Turnpike road.
This is Doneraile Court formerly home to the St. Legers.
A Ha-Ha or drop fence, used extensively in Doneraile Park.
A Luckham or Cork Oak, one of many specimen trees in the Park.
One of the three herds of deer in the Park.
Footbridge over the river near the House.
A swan being fed in one of the fishponds or "canal" as they are known locally
The Gate Lodge inside the main entrance to the Park, now used as an office.
Looking across the river towards the North Park from the front of the House during a rare snowfall. (Photo. Wm. Lucey)
Doneraile's Church of Ireland.
