The Emergency in Ballincollig - Ballincollig in The 1940s

Ballincollig in The 1940s

Ballincollig was very different in the 1940s. There were very narrow streets and no states. In 1943 population in Ballincollig was about 256; the population is about 50 times bigger today. Ballincollig was only a village. They did no have much transport so they could only go to the pub or a neighbours’ house. The main street in Ballincollig has changed a lot. The post office used to be where Hogan’s is today and the army barracks and Garda Station were on the one side of the street and the houses and the shops were on the other. There were mostly houses at that time but now there are a lot of pubs and shops. The street was very quiet. Most transport had stopped, except for horse drawn traffic. There were also no street lights, although houses in the village did not have electricity. During the war, electricity was available only certain times. People used paraffin lamps for light in their homes. The main pub in Ballincollig was O'Connell's. This was a public house called “The Commercial Hotel”. “It serves breakfast on Fair Days. Proprietress Mrs. O’Connell.”(I.T.A. Topographical and General Survey, 19 July 1943.). The monthly fair day and market was the first Thursday of every month. They bought and sold horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. Ballincollig or cork did not suffer from bombs but people took precautions just the same. Some people built air-raid shelters.