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TheCorkAdvertiser l 29th January 2021

WELCOME

BUY LOCAL or BYE BYE LOCAL

Welcome to the first edition for 2021. The “new” year is set before us like an unwritten volume — all its pages

blank. Let us write on each day’s page things that at the end of the year we will look upon with rejoicing

rather than regret. Look to the future with faith. 2020 has flown by, right? I remember when I was a boy

my mother always told me time would speed up when you get older. As was proven many, many times

over the years mother was correct.

I like “new!”It feels fresh and clean. “New” has no baggage no memories to beat me around. It’s

untainted by yesterday’s failures and life’s regrets. We are given a “ new” start not only at the beginning

of the year, but every morning when we wake up. We have the chance to start “anew”and make things

right. I like “New!” Given the astonishing opportunities afforded by “New” Why is it we often use it so

feebly ?Have you noticed how quickly the “New” wears off? Within weeks we’re right back where we started,

to a life that leaves us feeling down all over again. Energy is the baking powder of life, without it you’re flat, with

it, you rise.

Live for the future it’s alive and full of potential, be wise and prioritise. It’s time we start using “New”in ways that truly work for us.

Start by living a day at a time. Do not let little things divert you. Do not be overcome by the small trials and vexations of each day.

If, when climbing a mountain, you keep your eyes on each stony and difficult place, how weary is the climb. But if you think of each

step as leading to the summit of achievement from which a glorious landscape will open out before you, then your climb will be

endurable and you will achieve your goal. Each day a “New”life has been given to us. Two things can spoil this, gossip and criticism.

You should wear the world like a loose garment.

We have all witnessed an incredibly turbulent year. As we prepare for a “New “ year it’s important we continue to support each other,

and to support local businesses where you can. Small businesses are important to the economic and social fabric of our society, and

all play a part in their survival. BUY LOCAL or BYE BYE LOCAL. We often complaint that our main streets, towns, and villages are

becoming like “ghost towns” with fewer shops, pubs, and local businesses and a plethora of empty properties. There is plenty of

research that tells us it’s because we continue to buy less locally. So before you buy from a multi-national company or online,check

first whether small businesses can provide what you need. It may not always be as convenient,but you will be helping to keep the spirit

of your town going and helping your own community in many different ways. Action is the MAGIC word.

We continue to support and pray for the front line workers, and wish them well in the coming year. Give yourself a gift this “new” year.

Forget those things that are behind you, those things you can’t change. You can’t start enjoying a “new year” if you keep looking back.

Choose to press on! Always put worry in its proper place— out of your mind. To our valued advertisers, thank you for investing your

marketing euros with us and trusting us to market your business. The support you give us is of inestimable worth.

And to our readers,thank you for picking up the Cork Advertisers since 1999 and we look forward to being part of your

2021! All that’s left for me to say is enjoy this issue and once again a happy “New” year to you.

Stay safe.

Pat O’Callaghan

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MEDICAL REVIEW



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TOMÁS’ RECIPE



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LOCAL HISTORY BOOK




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IRISH HISTORY

Our History Matters, Cherish It

Centenary of the Tureengarriv Ambush

On January 28th 1921 Sean Moylan’s IRA Flying Column ambushed the

divisional commissioner of the RIC and his men at Tureengarriv Glen, some

two miles west of Ballydesmond Co. Cork.

The Flying Column consisted of volunteers from the Newmarket battalion

and a few from east Kerry. With 5 rifles, a couple of pistols and a Hotchkiss

light machine gun, the IRA party set up an ambush in Tureengarriv Glen

after Moylan had received information that two touring cars of RIC men had

travelled through the glen early in the day and would be making a return

journey through there on the same evening.

Under Moylan’s direction a trench was dug across the road while men were

posted on rocky outcrops overlooking the windy road. The Hotchkiss machine

gun was placed on a position within the mountainous terrain that held full

view of the road below. It proved to have a devastating effect on the enemy.

When the sound of motorcars filled the glen the ambushers took up their

position, aimed their guns and waited for the enemy to come into view.

Travelling in two cars were Major General Philip Armstrong Holmes, the

divisional commissioner of the RIC in Cork and Kerry, and an RIC sergeant

with five constables. The trench claimed the first car while the car behind

slammed into it’s rear. All of those inside the vehicles jumped out and tried to

find cover as bullets reigned down upon them.

The Hotchkiss machine gun was manned with perfect expertise by Bill Moylan

of Newmarket and Kilcorney native Sean Healy. Other volunteers involved in the

ambush at Tureengarriv Glen were Danny Guiney of Knocknanaugh , Denis Galvin

from Clonbanin and Ballydesmond man Dan Vaughan among many others.

After many minutes of fierce gunfighting Sean Moylan called on the

outnumbered RIC men to surrender but Major General Holmes ordered his

men to keep fighting. There was thirty minutes of more shooting before Moylan

again called on the enemy to surrender but the call was ignored again. More

bullets peppered through the glen before the RIC were called on to surrender

for a third time but Major General Holmes again refused Moylan’s request.

It was only after Holmes was badly wounded did a white flag of surrender

appear from the RIC. Holmes had been hit in the leg, arm and head while

other constables suffered less serious wounds. There was one death in

Tureengarriv Glen that day which came in the form of Constable Myles who

had been shot dead during the first volley of fire.

When asked by Moylan why they didn’t surrender earlier, the constables

informed him that Holmes had ordered them to keep fighting until they were

out of bullets!

The IRA men administered first aid to the wounded constables while scouts

were busy flagging down a car a few miles down the road and ordered it’s

driver to pick up the seriously wounded Holmes and others at Tureengarriv

Glen. The car with Holmes and some of the other wounded RIC men then sped

in the direction of Tralee.

When they were finished giving first aid to the injured constables, Moylan’s

men took their guns and belts and headed for the hills. The remaining

constables and the body of constable Myles were picked up later that day by

a lorry of British soldiers.

The Tureengarriv Glen ambush would claim a second victim when Holmes

succumbed to his wounds days later. The 45 year old was transferred from

Tralee to Cork military hospital and died on arrival there.

While the ambush at Tureengarriv Glen proved to be a success for the IRA,

the nearby villages of Ballydesmond and Knocknagree suffered a brutal

retaliation from the crown forces. They burned several homes and businesses

but, the most despicable of their action occurred in Knocknagree when a

group of children playing in a field outside the village were machine gunned

by them.

The crown forces stated they saw a group of “suspicious armed civilians in

a field” and called on them to halt. When they refused, the troops opened fire

on them. The official line from the authorities was that one young man was

killed and two others injured. The young man was in fact a 14 year old boy

called Michael Kelleher while the wounded were his 9 and 11 year old friends.

The only arms they carried were hurleys and the suspicious activity they were

engaged in was a game of hurling.

Within a few short years after the ambush at Tureengarriv Glen a ballad about

it emerged in the repitoire of balladeers around the famed Slaibh luchra area.

It’s author is unknown but it is sung to the same air as The Wearing of the

Green.

Today the ambush site, on the R577 road from Ballydesmond to Castleisland,

is marked by a small monument where on a cold January day 100 years ago

local IRA men ‘’took up their positions ‘mongst the heather furze and stone....’’

Tureengarriv Glen

On the 28th of January the wind blew cold and shrill

Those volunteers assembled in a place called Daly’s glen

They took up their positions ‘mongst the heather furze and stone

And captured six staff officers and Major General Holmes

The evening sun was beaming as those lorries came in sight

The hearts of all those rebel boys were beating with delight

They little dreamt of cowardice as those crossley cars sped in

“Hands up me boys” Sean Moylans cries went echoing thru the glen

Those hirelings showed resistance and opened heavy fire

Without effect they feared their doom to escape was their desire

The steady aim and gun exchange proved death was near them then

And many a wound each hireling found in Tureengarriv Glen

After 20 minutes fighting fierce those hirelings showed despair

They’d been through France and Flanders they had wished to show no fear

They had gained distinguished medals they were shrewd and daring men

But could not compare with those rebel boys in Tureengarriv Glen

At last they should surrender which grieved them much to do

And gave up their full equipment and their ammunition too

They had to part their crossley cars soon manned by gallant men

Who with rifles guns and hand grenades left Tureengarriv Glen

Holmes’s poor condition it was a ghastly sight

This one of cruel Britannia’s sons would scarcely last till night

First aid was quickly rendered to him and all his men

And for medical aid they were conveyed from Tureengarriv Glen

Here’s to the second battalion and it’s fearless fighting squad

True and noble hearted men old Ireland ever had

Along Blackwater’s valley those proud and daring men

Ne’er proved their power and valour as in Tureengarriv Glen.

By Pauline Murphy, Cork



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THERAPY & LAW

You can’t take it with you! Part I

Who Needs a Will?

Not one of us can expect to live forever. However for many of us, the prospect of facing

our own mortality and providing for the treatment of our affairs upon our death can be

very daunting. In sharp contrast to the amount of time, energy and creative planning

that we undertake when managing our own affairs while alive, each year approximately

one-third of the applications before the Probate Offices of the Courts Service are for

intestate administrations id est where the deceased person has not made a valid Will.

Even for those of modest means a Will is an important necessity. For enterprising people

with a wide variety of financial interests a Will is absolutely crucial. Regardless of their

means it is also vital that parents of young children (under eighteen years of age) have

a Will in place which makes provision for the care of their children in the unfortunate

event of their untimely death.

Without a Will to express how your assets should be distributed, the law of intestacy

intervenes to dispose of your assets amongst your relatives in crude set proportions,

with the potential to benefit people in a manner that you might not have envisaged.

Benefits of Having a Will

Intestacies tend to be more expensive to administer, but more significantly, are not

amenable to ante or post death tax planning and will not deal with any of the panoply

of other issues that you may wish to provide for in your Will. By making a Will you can

express your wishes and intentions rather than having these supplanted by succession

law in many important areas including: -

The appointment of executors to process your Will, thereby alleviating the administrative

burden from distressed and bereaved relatives.

The appointment of testamentary guardians to take care of young children.

The appointment of trustees to manage the inheritance of any beneficiary of a trust

(normally children or people who would have difficulty in managing their own affairs).

The provision of a benefit to an unmarried partner who would otherwise be ignored under

the rules of intestacy taking account of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and

Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.

The distribution of assets generally to those of your family and friends whom you wish to

benefit, where possible in a manner that reduces the amount of your estate lost to the

Revenue Commissioners in taxes.

The allocation of particular items from your estate that are of tangible or sentimental

benefit to specific beneficiaries.

The provision of gifts to worthy causes which you support or providing for particular

individual circumstances exempli gratia the protection of monies in trust for someone

close to you who would have difficulty in managing their own financial affairs.

The empowerment of executors and trustees beyond the very limited and narrow powers

granted to them under law, to allow them the flexibility to process your estate smoothly

exempli gratia post-death tax planning, resolving disputes between beneficiaries,

maintaining the operation and value of your business until it is transferred as you have

instructed. This piece will be continued in the next edition.

This information is for guidance purposes

only. It does not constitute legal or professional

advice. Professional or legal

advice should be obtained before taking

or refraining from any action as a result

of the contents of this publication. No

liability is accepted by Hammond Good,

Solicitors for any action taken in reliance

on the information contained therein. Any

and all information is subject to change.

For further information on the subject,

please contact the author, Richard Hammond,

at richard@hgs.ie



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MUSICAL ABILITY



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SHERGAR

MYSTERY OF THE CHAMPION

RACEHORSE SHERGAR

kidnapped in Ireland; never found

Thirty two years ago, at the height of the Troubles, Ireland faced a truly

mysterious crime that remains virtually unsolved. Shergar, a beloved

thoroughbred racehorse worth over 15 million dollars, was kidnapped

from his stable in Co. Kildare by a gang of machine-gun wielding men in

balaclavas. After failed attempts to demand money for the stallion, gentle

Shergar was brutally killed and his body was never found.

The most famous and valuable racehorse in the world, Shergar had

won the 1981 Epsom Derby by ten lengths, which is the longest winning

margin in the race’s 202-year history. Following

this triumph he had four more major derby wins

and was named European Horse of the Year.

When he retired after that first season, racehorse

owners paid up to $120,000 for shares in his

services impregnating mares, eager to have

young horses from his bloodline to train for races.

The stallion had a white blaze mark on his face,

four white “socks” and a distinctive racing style

of running with his tongue hanging out - he was

gentle, calm and kind.

On the cold, muggy evening of February 8, 1983,

Shergar was kidnapped by a gang of men in

balaclavas, thought to be part of the IRA.

The bay colt was owned by the Aga Khan, the

billionaire spiritual leader to 15 million Ismaili

Muslims. When he was returned to Ireland after

her first winning season, he was syndicated for

$15 million between 34 people - each share was

worth around $382,000, six of which were kept by the Aga Khan.

Shergar was just five years old when he was snatched in the middle of the

night from the Ballymany Stud in Co. Kildare. He had been preparing for

his second season as a breeding stallion, the BBC said.

It was shortly after 8 pm when the son of Jim Fitzgerald, Shergar’s head

groom that lived at the stud, heard a knock at the door. He opened it to

find two men wearing balaclavas wielding guns - one of them said, “We

have come for Shergar. We want $3 million for him.”

Jim Fitzgerald, a father of six, was forced at gunpoint to Shergar’s stable

where they were joined by six more masked gunmen. He loaded Shergar

into the horsebox the men had brought with them. Fitzgerald was then

forced into their car at gunpoint.

Among others, one reason the investigation was so difficult for authorities

was because the kidnappers had chosen the day before Ireland’s big

Goff’s racehorse sale to abduct Shergar, when many horseboxes were

being driven across all of Ireland’s roads, thereby making it hard to

differentiate him.

“I can still remember that night in that car with them lads. All sorts of

thoughts were racing through my head about what they might do to me.

One of them, with the revolver, was very aggressive,” Mr. Fitzgerald told

the Telegraph about his ride in the kidnappers’ car.

After driving him around for three hours, the kidnappers dumped

Fitzgerald out of the car. He found his way to a telephone and rang his

brother - this phone call led to a series of phone calls between Shergars’

shareholders, his vet, racing associates and several Irish Ministers. This

process is referred to as “a caricature of police bungling,” as the actual

police weren’t notified until 8 hours after Shergar was taken and the men

were long gone from the area.

Using coded phrases, the kidnappers soon began negotiations with a

representative of the Aga Khan over the telephone, but made sure to

hang up before 90 seconds passed so that authorities couldn’t track their

location.

Collectively it had been decided not to pay the ransom, because they

figured if they had, every racehorse in the world would be in danger, as

many of them were worth over a million pounds

(1.5 million dollars) and Ireland had lacked

adequate security.

The hunt for Shergar created a huge media storm

- everyone in the UK and Ireland were hell-bent

on getting him back, and the Dublin police had

offered an over $150,000 reward for his return.

The kidnappers had agreed to negotiate with a

man named Derek Thompson who had worked for

ITV’s racing team. He flew to Belfast to negotiate

at the Europa Hotel.

He said the scene that greeted him at Belfast

airport was unreal: “It was like being a film star.

There were cameras all around.” About 100

cameramen and journalists were in or outside

the Europa Hotel as Thompson and his conegotiators

arrived.

The men never reached an agreement.

Thompson received a phone call the next day

from the kidnappers - they said, “The horse has had an accident. He’s

dead.” He then hung up.

There are several ideas pertaining to what happened to Shergar. One

idea is that the horse did have some sort of accident while in a frenzy,

and the men killed him because they couldn’t handle his crazed manner.

Senior IRA leader Kevin Mallon is thought to be the man who devised

the plot. A convicted killer from Co. Tyrone, he eventually became part of

IRA folklore after shooting his way out of one prison and being lifted by

helicopter from another.

What has been discovered almost definitively, according to a close

course, was that two handlers, one clutching a machine gun, went into

the remote stable where the horse was being held and opened fire.

A former IRA member told the Sunday Telegraph: “Shergar was machine

gunned to death. There was blood everywhere and the horse even slipped

on his own blood. There was lots of cussing and swearing because the

horse wouldn’t die. It was a very bloody death.” It was several minutes

before Shergar bled to death.

It is also widely believed his kidnappers buried him in a bog in Co. Leitrim,

though some think they dumped him into the sea of Ireland’s south coast.

Shergar’s former jockey Walter Swinburn, who rode Shergar at his famous

race, was distressed by the findings. “No horse deserves an ending like

that - let alone one as special as Shergar.”

Shergar’s body was never found, and the case remains a mystery. The

IRA have never officially claimed responsibility for stealing the beloved

horse. The incident has inspired several books, documentaries, and a film

starring Mickey Rourke.



WHY IS IT !

A man wakes up after sleeping under an Advertised blanket

On an Advertised mattress

Pulls off an Advertised pajamas.

Bathes in an Advertised shower

Shaves with an Advertised blade

Brushes his teeth with an Advertised tooth paste

Washes with Advertised soap

Puts on Advertised clothes

Drinks a cup of Advertised tea

Drives in an Advertised car

and refuses to Advertise

Believing it doesn’t pay

Later when business is poor

He Advertises his business for sale

In good times business Advertise

In bad times business must Advertise




IN THE GARDEN



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Greencore forced to defend

Coveney’s ‘salary of €3.6m’ at AGM




MUNICH 1958






VALENTINES DAY







IRISH VOLUNTEERS

Remember, Remember...

O’Brien, Paddy (1896 – 1984) Born Liscarroll, Co. Cork. He

joined the Irish Volunteers in 1917 and led a ‘Flying Column’

which was formed in 1920. However, he was wounded in

the attack on Milford police barracks in November of that

year. In the following year, on the arrest of Sean Moylan,

he took command of the Cork 4th Brigade of the IRA and

afterwards became second-in-command to Liam Lynch in

the 1st Southern Division. He took the republican side in the

civil war. During the ‘Emergency’, he was area commander

of the LDF in North Cork. In later life, he became prominent

in the ICMSA and was acting president prior to the election

of James O’Keeffe. He died at Mallow General Hospital on

6 September 1984 and was buried in Buttevant cemetery.

McAuliffe, Patrick (1914 – 1989) Born Boherbue,

Newmarket, Co. Cork, the son of Edmund McAuliffe. He

was elected to Cork County Council for the Kanturk electoral

area in 1942 and retained his seat at every local election

up to 1979. He resigned in March 1985 on health grounds.

He was unsuccessful as a Labour Dail candidate in Cork

North in 1943. However, he became a TD for that seat in

the following year. He retained this seat at every election

until his defeat in 1969 in the newly created North East Cork

constituency. He was chairman of the now defunct Joint

Cork Sanitoria Board for twenty years and also chairman of

Cork Health Authority for nine years. He died on 13 October

1989 at St Colman’s Hospital, Mallow and was buried at

Boherbue Cemetery.

Dowdall, Jenny (1899 – 1974) Born Dublin as Jane Doggett,

the daughter of an employee of a Smithfield ostling

company. A nurse by occupation, she married Senator

James C. Dowdall (as his second wife) in 1929 and moved

to Cork. She entered local politics in the mid 1940s as a

Fianna Fail representative and was nominated to Seanad

Eireann in 1951 where she served until her defeat in the

1961 election. She also served as Cork’s first woman Lord

Mayor (1959/60). In 1964, she became one of the first two

women to be appointed to the Council of State. She died in

the Mercy Hospital, Cork, on 10 December 1974 and was

buried in St. Finbarr’s Cemetery.

Bolster Evelyn (Sr. M. Angela) (1925 – 2005) Born Mallow,

Co. Cork, the daughter of Michael Bolster. She joined the

Mercy Community at St. Maries of the Isle, Cork, where she

took the religious name of Angela. She studied history at

UCC where she graduated PhD in 1963. Her thesis was

published in 1965 as The Sisters of Mercy in the Crimean

War. In 1972, she commenced her major undertaking, A

History of the Diocese of Cork (4 vols, 1972 – 93) – thus

bringing the history of the diocese up to the episcopate of

William Delany. In 1984, she became diocesan archivist of

the diocese of Cork and Ross. She was also vice-postulator

for the cause of beatification and canonisation of the Mercy

foundress, Catherine McAuley (1778 – 1841), on whose

life and work she published five books, including, The

Correspondence of Catherine McAuley, 1827 – 1841 (1989).

She was also author of The Knights of Columbanus (1979)

and of A History of Mallow (1971). She died on 2 February

2005 and was buried in the community cemetery at St

Maries of the Isle.

Bermingham, John (1921 – 2000) Born Spring Lane, Blackpool,

Cork. At the age of fourteen, he went to work at D and A O’Leary,

printers, of Washington Street. He was elected as a Fine Gael

member to both Cork Country Council and Cork Corporation in

1955, and in the following year, he became a member of the

National Organisation for Rehabilitation (later the National

Rehabilitation Board). He was a founder member of the Cork

Polio and General Aftercare Association (late Cope Foundation)

and became its chief executive and chairman. He retired in

1989 after 35 years of service. He served as Lord Mayor of Cork

(1969/70) and was also made a freeman of Cork. He stood

as a Fine Gael Dail candidate for Cork Borough in 1954 but

was unsuccessful. He died at Cork University Hospital on 1

November 2000 and was buried in St Finbarr’s Cemetery.

Breen, Dermot (1924 – 1978) Born Waterford the sixth child

of James Breen. When he was five years old, the family moved

to Cork. He was educated at Farranferris College and at

PBC, Cork. He was appointed as organiser of the first Tóstal

Chorcaí in 1953 and as director of Cork International Choral

Festival in 1954 (to 1959). He established and directed the

Cork International Film Festival from its inception in 1956.

In 1965, he established his own consultancy firm in Cork.

He was appointed as Irish Film Censor in June 1972. He

died unexpectedly in Dublin on 5 October 1978.




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A MAN OF SUBSTANCE

PÁDRAIG O’CUANACHÁIN, who has died at the age of 76,

was a passionate crusader for the Irish language, a tireless

promoter of the Gaelscoileanna (all-Irish primary schools)

concept, and a committed republican who was interned in

the Curragh in the l9S0s.

He was born in Cork in 1932, his father Tommy Cooney

a veteran of the Great War, where in l9l7, as a I7-yearold

piper with the Munster Fusiliers, he was wounded at

Malines. Pádraig attended North Monastery primary school

and, having gained his Leaving Certificate at Coláiste

Chríost Rí secondary school, secured a position with the

local county council.

It was perhaps inevitable that his love affair with Irish saw

him drawn to the republican movement where he became

active with Sinn Féin. Ultimately, his political convictions

were to lead to his internment in the Curragh in 1956.

In the early 1970s, he was sentenced to six months in

jail relating to the possession of a secret State file of

registration numbers of the cars of activists in the civil

rights movement in Northern Ireland. Ironically, while his

sojourn in Mountjoy was to cost him his job with Cork

County Council, it proved a turning point.

After losing his local government job, he became marketing

manager with Fastnet Co-op before joining Udarás na

Gaeltachta as cultural and language development officer

for Munster. This brought him into contact with native

Irish-speakers ranging from Ring, Co Waterford, to Cuil

Aodha, Co Cork, and the gaeltachts of West Kerry.

For the past 20 years the focus of his work hadbeen on

marketing lrish as a living entity on the basic philosophy

that the language must be seen to have economic

relevance in a rapidly developing Ireland, soon gaining him

a reputation as one of its most persuasive and effective

promoters. Viewing the more traditional Irish language

revival organisations as too narrow and conservative, he

felt they lad failed to sell Irish to people at grassroots level.

As marketing director with Gael-Taca, which he co-founded

in I987, he sought to bring Irish into greater play in everyday

life, lobbying groups like the banks, Iarnrod Eireann, Bus

Eireann, shops and developers. To a remarkable degree,

he succeeded in getting Irish used in signage, names of

housing developments, bilingual announcements on the

Cork-Dublin trains, plus advertisements “as Gaeilge” on

Cork city buses.

Today, more than 230 developers around the country

currently use Irish language names on new homing

developments. The concept of marketing Irish from a

business and economic viewpoint struck a chord with

Minister Eamon O Cuív who oflicially opened the new

Gael-Taca office in Cork, significantly increasing his

department’s subvention of its work.

Prior to his time with Gael-Taca, Padraig was instrumental

in setting up Gaelscoileanna throughout Munster, ranging

from disadvantaged areas like Southill in Limerick to the

sprawling dormitory town of Ballincollig near Cork city

where the local Gaelscoil is named after Seán Ó’Ríordáin,

one of Ireland’s greatest poets, who lived nearby.

Despite his relentless campaign to promote Irish, Padraig

was never one to force it on others. Both English and Irish

were spoken in the family home in Cork. To reach the man

and woman in the street, he organised Gael-Taca free, inhouse

information service, a highly pragmatic development

aimed at helping people with translations and general

language queries. For more than four decades, he also

taught Leaving Cert students at weekends in accountancy,

business organisation and economics.

A keen student of local and rational history, he was a regular

contributor to magazines and newspapers, including

the letters columns of The Irish Times, an occasional

Irishman’s Diary, plus articles for both the Holly Bough

and Ireland’s Own.

He also contributed to a controversial work entitled

Kilmichael: The False Surrender. A discmsion on why

the ballot was followed by

the bullet, published by the

Aubane Historical Society.

An intense love of Irish was

the motivating issue in his

life and doubtlms his vision

of marketing the language as

a living entity will be his

enduring legacy.




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BYGONE DAY’S


SITTING IN THE HOB

‘Long ago, in houses throughout rural Ireland sitting in the hob was a position to be coveted. And as a child growing up in

Ireland there was nothing I loved more than sitting in the hob in my grandmother’s house listening to stories. The hob was

the little stone seat, part of the fireplace itself, way in out of the cold and tucked so far back that, if you looked up, you could

see the night sky through the chimney opening. If you were sitting in the hob when it rained you might even catch the odd

drop on the head, if there was no wind and the rain was coming straight down.’ (Author Unknown)


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WHEN YOU ARE OLD AND GREY

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book.

And slowly read; and dream of the soft look,

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true;

And loved the sorrows of your changing face

W. B. YEATS.

We who stand outside may never read the love

poems in other people’s hearts, never see just what

it is that makes a certain face fit into another mind

and stay there, but once we understand our own

blindness, we have learned a valuable lesson.

Never make snap judgments about other people,

never base likes and dislikes on superficial

impressions, never interfere with the making or

breaking of other people’s relationships.

Remember we must look long and deep to see the

private face, so often reserved for a special few.




Wise words spoken by Former Taoiseach Seán Lemass

On May 18th 1963 former Taoiseach Seán Lemass said:

“Governments have the duty to intervene to protect the common

good of all citizens, without preference for any group although

giving more attention to the less fortunate citizens who are less

able to defend their rights and assert their legitimate claims.”

The arrival of the Covid-19 virus to our shores and the panic

buying of household items including rolls of toilet paper and

the newspaper stories and videos showing women jostling for

the last roll in supermarkets, reminds me of the time during and

after the Second World War, when in many parts of Ireland toilet

rolls were an unheard of commodity, especially in the rural areas

of the country. The vast majority of rural homes had no flushed

toilet. Cottiers and the farming community had an outside

toilet situated in a small outhouse with a large covered bucket.

Old newspapers, cut into long thin strips were used for sanitary

purposes. The outside toilet was utilised by the family dwelling

in the homestead. If the stations were held in a farmhouse, the

bedrooms were fitted out with a suitable covered bucket for

the priests and the women attending the station mass, was the

order of the day. The farm owner and his nearby farmer friends

provided company for the priests in the parlour, while they

consumed a lavish breakfast with bottles of spirits on the table.

The women attending the station mass dined on tea, toast

and a fry in the kitchen. Local men waited in the yard until they

were called for a breakfast of porridge, brown bread and boiled

eggs with the aroma of the fry still lingering in the kitchen.

Many old-timers will remember the old “Irish Phrase” that

children had to say when putting up their hands in a National

School classroom:

“An bhfuil cead agam ag dul amach go dhí an leithreas.”

The National Schools in urban districts had a flushed toilet

system, but in some rural areas an arrangement similar to that

used by the farming communities existed. Children walked to

school with a bundle of kindling strapped to their sack. The

kindling was used to start the schoolroom fire in winter-time.

The older boys would bring in buckets of coal from a coalhouse.

The teachers taught the class with their backs to the fire and

a Bata in their hand. Most births took place in the home with

the local midwife attending at the birth. Rural districts had a

Dispensary with the local doctor attending twice weekly. These

were the rare old times in Ireland when the neighbours were

always ready and willing to give assistance in times of trouble

and celebration. Neighbouring Farmers always sent a man to

a neighbour’s trashing with a two pronged pike on his shoulder.

They were the kingpins of society in a world unknown to todays

generation. Family wedding celebrations were held in the

grooms or brides home. The newly-weds travelled by bus or

train to spend their honeymoon in a city or a seaside resort.

The hauling home after the honeymoon was another night of

celebration for family friends and neighbours. When the newlyweds

arrived into the yard, they entered the matrimonial home

through the open back door, an ancient tradition to bring luck

and happiness to the married pair. The family celebrated their

homecoming with entertainment and a night of storytelling, setdancing

and song. Perhaps, the panic shoppers of today may

soon have to be as inventive as their forefathers were during

the World War II period in Ireland. They weathered the storm

and reared large families sometimes with little or no income.

However, most were self-sufficient with home grown potatoes

safely stored in a pit and a rooster in the yard with a flock of

hens laying eggs to provide nourishment for a growing family.

Most small holders grew a seasonable range of vegetables.

Apple trees and fruit bushes provided fruit for cooking and

jam making. In summertime white field mushrooms were

picked from the fields and autumn blackberries made delicious

blackberry jam.

Small farmers with a few milking cows provided milk to the

neighbours and made butter with the use of a milk separator

and butter churn. The churn with the cream was revolved by

hand until the butter was separated from the buttermilk. The

buttermilk was used by the women in the kitchen to make

bread and cakes. Buckets of water were drawn from a nearby

well for cooking food in the kitchen. Barrels situated under

the household downpipes provided sustainable rainwater

harvesting for general use. Petrol and tea rationing along

with the scarcity of most commodities, is highlighted by the

following lines from a well-known song of the time: “Bless de

Valera and Seán Mac Entee they gave us brown bread and a half

once of tea.”

The women baked round loaves of brown bread and roosted

chickens in a Stanley Range heated with firewood. It was some

months after the war ended that flour millers were allowed to

produce white flour to make the first white loaves of bread

to appear in the market. An abundance of rabbits in the

countryside was a source of income for young men nationwide.

They snared rabbits and went out dazzling at night with a

whippet hound during the winter nights. At the week-ends they

went into the fields and glens ferreting. The ferret was used to

bolt the rabbits from their burrows into nets. Rabbits were in

high demand and fetched about one shilling and sixpence for

export. Social activities for the young, was a dance in the local

hall to the music provided by a melodeon player. The older folk

played a game of cards known as forty-five in a neighbouring

house. Most smallholders and farmers had a pony and trap

for general transport purposes within the community. Young

people to-day may be shocked at the hardship endured

by past generations in Ireland. The Covid-19 Virus has once

again awakened society to the value of neighbourly support

in time of trouble and stress as the nation battles Covid-19.

The wise words spoken by former Taoiseach Seán Lemass on

May 18th 1963 are now been activated in full by the present

Government to protect the common good of all our citizens.

Donal A Buckley is a published Award Winning Irish Short Story

Writer.

Author of a book of short stories entitled “The Last Dance at

the Galtymore.”

Records available in the National Library of Ireland and in the

British Library.




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