Community Notes Feb 8th
February 05, 2020
Timoleague’s 85th. Ploughing Fixture
The annual ploughing match will take place on Sunday next, February 9th. This year the fixture will be held on the lands of Colin Bateman by kind permission. The site on the Barryroe road at Ahamonister offers easy access to competitors and patrons alike. This is the 85th ploughing match organised by Timoleague Farmers Association. The first fixture took place at Kilmalooda on the lands of James Hennessy near the Church on 23rd. of January 1936. Fr. Dan Hourihane was curate at Clogagh at the time and received an invitation from the committee to attend. That morning at his breakfast he heard on the radio that the king of England had died. His immediate thought was that the ploughing match would be called off. None the less he decided to cycle to the venue and to his surprise he found the field full of ploughmen and people.
Fr. Dan served in a number of other parishes including a time as bursar at Maynooth before being appointed parish priest of Timoleague in January 1970. He received the usual invitation to attend the ploughing match that year and remarked that “they were ploughing when I left the parish and they are still ploughing when I returned thirty- four years later”. That gives one a taste of what Timoleague ploughing match is all about.
Long serving officer of Timoleague Ploughing Association, John Sexton who is the present secretary and PRO is unwell as we write and all associated with local and national ploughing wish him well at this time. No doubt his name will come in for honourable mention during the day at an event that he has been synonymous with for decades.
World Day of the Sick:
World Day of the Sick will be celebrated on Tuesday next, Feb. 11th. Fr. Hickey PP will have an anointing of the sick ceremony after the 11.30am mass on Sunday week next, Feb. 16th.
100 Years Ago
February was a busy month in Timoleague in 1920. The RIC barracks at Main Street was attacked on the 25th. of February. Many young men in the Timoleague area joined the Irish Volunteers from 1916 onwards. The Timoleague Company was formed in 1917. The strength of the company was about 20 in the early days. The Timoleague Company whose members came mainly from Timoleague and Courtmacsherry was a unit of the Bandon Battalion, 3rd. Cork Brigade. Other companies in the battalion were Bandon, Ballinadee, Kilbrittain, Barryroe and Clogagh.
The only type of training carried out was ordinary close foot drill. Parades were held on Sunday afternoons and on two nights each week. The Timoleague company slowly gained in strength and by the end of 1917 or early 1918 it had reached about 50.
There was a further increase when the British threatened to enforce conscription in the spring of 1918. Arms were scarce and several raids for arms were carried out in the area with all members of the company engaged at one time or another. One such raid was carried out on the stables attached to the Parochial House, Timoleague. The parish priest was regarded as hostile to the volunteers and explosives for blasting rocks were stored in his stables which were located behind his house. Orders were issued for their removal and gelignite, fuses and detonators were secured and conveyed to a company dump. The company now had about two dozen shotguns, 2 revolvers, 800 cartridges, 50 rounds of revolver ammunition, one .22 rifle and a 100 rounds. Those who joined during the conscription scare never left and continued to serve.
The general election in December 1918 passed off peacefully with no activity in the area. It helped that the Sinn Fein candidate, Michael Collins was returned unopposed. He was appointed Minister of Finance in that first Dail. There was little activity during 1919. Normal training continued but was now a little more advanced. All members were now engaged in target practice with .22 rifles. Select members were now being trained in scouting and signalling.