O'Donovan Rossa is perhaps Reenascreena's most famous son (although residents of Rosscarbery invariably lay claim to him as their own, his mother was from Reenascreena, and many locals claim he was born here). Here Con O'Callaghan relays the story of O'Donovan Rossa.... (CJ)

O'Donovan Rossa

Rossa was the son of Denis O’Donovan Rossa of Carrigangrenane and Nellie O’Driscoll of Reenascreena. He was baptised in Rosscarbery on the 10th September 1831. At the age of three he went to his grandfathers house at Reenascreena, and he stayed there until he was seven, then he returned to Rosscarbery. The years spent in Reenascreena gave him a good picture of Irish life at that time. He learned the Irish language, as that was the language of the house and the language of the farm.

The following article appeared in the County Supplement of the Irish Examiner, who kindly gave us permission to reproduce it here:

“BEING hard to find is a status symbol for us,” says Ted Coakley. “Reenascreena’s in the middle of nowhere but near everything.” It’s true -- the tiny village is roughly 10 miles from Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Dunmanway, and four miles from the coast at Rosscarbery.

It’s right by Carraigfada Hill. From here you can see four lighthouses, and on a clear Monday morning you could once, according to local historian Paddy O’Driscoll, “see the women of the Red City (Cork’s north side) hanging out their line of clothes.”