Page 50 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2018

neck of the woods | sister cities

history. Before leaving, I paid my final respects to Lord Bennett,
whose gravesite rests on a bluff overlooking the ocean in Holy
Trinity Catholic Cemetery, where fittingly, he still commands
attention.

As I prepared to leave the country, I received an email from Oregon
historian, Jim Proehl. He had forwarded a letter from Bennett’s great-
great-granddaughter, Meredith Jewett, who conducted extensive
research about her relative. She believed the title “Lord” had been
more of a pet name given to him by the hardscrabble lumberjacks and
fur trappers, who undoubtedly would have viewed the genteel, highly-
educated Bennett in a more noble light.

The second leg of my journey started with a long airplane flight, a far
cry different from an ocean crossing by boat. After landing at Dublin
Airport and renting a car, I set out for County Cork in southwest
Ireland, a place Bennett, as well as scores of other emigrants (includ-
ing ancestors of my own), once called home. I made my way along a
meandering, diagonal route, leisurely slicing through the Emerald Isle
and its ubiquitous green hills and sheep-marked pastures. I marveled at
the scenic wonders on the fabled Ring of Kerry while navigating nar-
row roads during frequent rain showers. Welcome to Ireland.

While Bandon Oregonians tend to look upon gorse with contempt,
the opposite is true in Ireland. Also known as furze, broom, and whin,
a sea of yellow pedals figures prominently throughout the country and
is used for fuel, animal fodder, dyes, fencing, and even as a cure for
scarlet fever. The plant is linked to Ireland’s history and mythology.
The pagan association held that gorse harbored witches within its spiky
domain. On May Day, gorse would be set alight in the hope of flushing
out any witches hiding there, who would then transform themselves
into the shape of hares and thus evade the flames by leaping swiftly to
safety.

In no hurry to end my road trip, I eventually arrived at the ancient,
walled town straddling the River Bandon. Founded in the early 1600s
by English settlers as part of the Munster Plantation, Bandon began as
two distinct settlements on opposite sides of the river. The Irish name Lord Bennett’s f inal resting place
Droichead na Bandan means Bridge of Bandon and is still referred to
as the gateway to West Cork and located ten miles inland from the
Celtic Sea. In 1618, the powerful Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle, helped
finance the development of the region and consolidated the towns by
constructing thick walls stretching a mile wide. A century later, the
lands became the property of the Dukes of Devonshire, who enhanced
Bandon with elegant buildings, markets and a sophisticated system of
wells.

Like many European countries, the area saw its share of bloody feudal
conflicts, conquests and civil wars. By the mid-19th century, Bandon
had emerged as a leading industrial center, especially in the produc-
tion of alcohol. At its peak, the town was home to five breweries, two
distilleries, and included an annual production of over 600,000 gallons
of whiskey by the now-shuttered Allman’s Distillery. The industrial
revolution, as well as the rapid growth of Cork City (Ireland’s second Antique jug o' whiskey At its peak, Allman’s Distillery produced
largest city), would eventually relegate Bandon’s standing and drasti- 600,000 gallons of whiskey annually.
cally affect its growth and economy. (courtesy of West Cork Heritage Centre)

48 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2018