The farmstead at Gooladoo

I've always loved this old farm. It sits snugly on a little plateau facing east into Bantry Bay. It's surrounded by a mixture of stone barns and other outbuildings. Once painted a fresh white with blue paintwork, it has all its original windows and doors and quite a few interesting things inside (yes, I peeped) but is now just used for storage and is slowly disintegrating. A substantial property at one time - I wonder if it was originally one storey and was extended as the family prospered. Who lived there I hear you ask?? Well it's reputed to be the ancestral home of a our local senator, an O Donovan and going back to the Griffith Valuation of the 1850s an O Donovan is leasing out the house and land to Timothy Lynch, along with 180 acres, mostly mountain. Next heading to the censuses (only 1901 and 1911 are intact) I discovered Catherine Lynch, a widow and farmer, was living there in 1901 along with her five children - Henry, Maggie, Norah , Michael and Mary. They ranged from 24 to 16 years old and were all literate. By 1911 Catherine's son Henry was in charge of the farm. He was married to Bridget and had two small children Dennis and Catherine. His mother was living with them. I don't know the name of the farmer who owns it now, he lives down the road a way and has a mad dog - I wonder if he's a Lynch. I shall have to find out!
Gooladoo by the way means black forks in the valley. All so educational!