Council calls time on auction of Youghal’s historic clock over ownership rights 

There are believed to be issues surrounding the Mangan Turret clock’s acquisition in 1968, after it was removed from the tower 

The clock gate tower was built in 1777 and its original clock was transferred from its predecessor on the site, Trinity Castle. Picture: Denis Minihane

A 19th-century clock that operated in Youghal’s Clock Gate tower for more than a century has been withdrawn from auction following an intervention by Cork County Council relating to its rightful ownership.

The Mangan Turret clock was listed for online auction on November 27 by Lynes auctioneers of Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork, with an asking price of €2,000 -€3,000. However, Cork County Council has contacted both Denis Lynes and the east Cork vendor, who subsequently asked that the lot be withdrawn.

The council’s intervention is understood to relate to issues surrounding the clock’s acquisition in 1968, after it was removed from the tower. It was brought to a collector’s private residence in east Cork and stored in a shed, where it remained since.

The weights, which were sourced separately, were added later. The collector has since died and his family, who wish to remain anonymous, have declined to comment.

The Mangan Turret clock was listed for online auction on November 27 by Lynes auctioneers, Carrigtwohill, with an asking price of €2,000 -€3,000.

The family is believed to have contacted the council about the clock prior to the tower’s refurbishment and re-opening as a museum in 2016, but received limited response.

The clock gate tower was built in 1777 and its original clock was transferred from its predecessor on the site, Trinity Castle. The Mangan clock was installed in 1852 and “possibly replaced the original clock, due to wear and tear”, suggests Youghal chartered engineer and historian David Kelly.

John McGrath who lived in the Clock Gate prior to 1959 as a council tenant would wind the clock twice weekly as part of his tenancy agreement.

“I often wondered where it ended up”, he says. “ I knew it was out there somewhere”.

The Mangan clock was installed in 1852.

The clock was replaced by the present electric system in the late 1960s, but the original face dials remain in operation. Dismantled but restorable, the clock’s cast iron components are extremely heavy, while the wheel cogs are brass made.

The encasing frame, complete with fluted tapering columns and finials, is also cast iron.

“We had to spread the components evenly on the van floor to prevent imbalance when transporting it”, says Mr Lynes.

With turret clocks relatively rare nowadays, the auctioneer says there was “huge interest from across the country” in the clock. A spokesperson for Cork County Council says “the matter is under investigation”.