There is also this info about the song ...........


CASTLETOWNROCHE, Co. Cork

It derives its name from the de Roche family (who were
once Anglo-Norman lords of Fermoy).

Located in North Cork, between Mallow and Fermoy,
40kms (25 miles) from Cork City and 67kms (42
miles) from Limerick City, pleasantly situated on the
River Awbeg. Its castle and church make it attractive to
visitors in addition to its grotto and refurbished mill. Its
bridge has been immortalised in the song "The Old
Rustic Bridge by the Mill".


PLACES TO VISIT

The Protestant church
Dating from 1825. In its graveyard is buried T.P.
Keenan the author of the once popular ballad "The Old
Rustic Bridge by the Mill" referring to the bridge
crossing the Awbeg at the mill. Accessible.

Annes Grove Gardens
Situated approx. 2 km from Castletownroche, this has
one of the most important collections of
rhododendrons in Ireland, some of which are found no
where else in the world.

Bridgetown Abbey
Situated 2 km from Castletownroche are the
extraordinary ruins of Bridgetown Abbey, founded in
the 13th century by Augustinian monks, is the biggest
national monument in Ireland not owned by the State.
The abbey is attractively set beside the confluence of
the Awbeg and Blackwater rivers. The railway viaduct,
which once gave passage to trains on the Waterford to
Mallow line can also be viewed from here.

The Mill
Built as a flourmill in the 1700's, the building was
originally the mainstay of
economic life of the local community and the focal
point of the village during this time. The mill traded as
R. Webb & Co. throughout the famine years. Webb
died in 1882 and in the following years the Mill
changed hands a number of times. In May 1995,
ownership of the mil transferred to Castletownroche
community. Used as a storage unit for a number of
years, this antique of a building was transformed into
an eye-catching place of enterprise with 5,000 sq. feet
of office space. It is hoped that in the near future the
mill will generate its own electricity.