Community Notes Jan 25th
January 23, 2020
Timoleague Festival AGM
The annual general meeting of Timoleague Festival will be held at The Community Hall on Tuesday night next, January 28th. at 8.30pm. Timoleague festival is the largest community event that takes place annually in Timoleague – in fact it is probably the largest in West-Cork and far beyond if the truth be told. It takes a large team of committed community volunteers to run this week long festival. If you have ideas for new events to be included, why not come along on Tuesday night – a certain well -known Chinaman did say long ago that many hands make light work. Who are we to disagree?
100 Years Ago
An account was given in the Timoleague and District Notes in The Skibbereen Eagle in January 1920 of a fashionable wedding that was held in Timoleague on New Year’s Day. The wedding was that of Miss Alice Hope Travers, only daughter of Robert A. Travers BL JP of Timoleague House and Dr James Aylmer Beamish, youngest son of the late Rev. George Beamish of Beaumont. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Henry Stewart Travers, uncle of the bride, assisted by the Rev. Lionel Fleming, Rector of Timoleague.
I could scarcely do justice to the magnificent report without quoting directly from it.
“Rarely indeed has an event of the kind evoked such popular rejoicing, such universal manifestations of good will, the humble and exalted alike viewing with each other in expressing their good wishes for the future happiness of the lucky pair. This is only as it should be, for it is no exaggeration to state that a more deservedly popular and esteemed gentleman is not to be found in the county than the bride’s father Robert Travers, beloved of his employees and keenly alive to the local interests of the district.
The Timoleague people flocked to the scene en masse and over a dozen of the elite among the gentlewomen of the village in their desire to pay homage to the Travers family and to the charmingly beautiful young bride, arrayed in her vestal bridal robe, to whom they presented a valuable silver tray, suitably inscribed.”
The ceremony was held in the Church of the Ascension and the reception was in the home of the bride.
Robert Travers was one of the key men responsible for providing a rail link to Timoleague. The Ballinascarthy and Timoleague Light Railway was opened on the 20th of December 1890. The following year The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Extension Light Railway commenced operating.. The arrival of the railway brought with it many changes to the economic and social life of Timoleague and surrounding area. The initial construction of the line, railway station and ancillary buildings was a welcomed employment boost to the area. Once it was up and running skilled and unskilled employees were needed for its smooth operation. The influx of new people into the village was of enormous importance to the growth of Timoleague from the 1890’s onwards.
Robert Travers also gave the site for the building of a new parish church in Timoleague which was opened in 1912.
The Canon Fleming Hall at the entrance to the village is named after Rev. Lionel Fleming who assisted at the wedding and was a long serving rector at Timoleague from 1908 to 1943. His son of the same name wrote a much- acclaimed autobiography “Head or Harp”, published in 1965 which gives an account of his childhood in Timoleague through peaceful and troubled times. It is well worth a look at as we are presently recalling the happenings of that period in our history.