Community notes April 25th

Acts of Kindness Continue

As outlined in these notes previously, the kindness and generosity of the community at present is nothing short of amazing. Meals to over 100 people were again distributed on Saturday last to residents confined to barracks. The catering was again very generously provided by Monk’s Lane and distributed by local volunteers. Included with the delivery was a jar of Molaga Honey for each household, kindly donated by the Collins family, Gurranes.

Voluntary community efforts as outlined above are replicated in all communities throughout the country in this its hour of need. These acts of kindness and generosity brighten the day for many who are cacooning at present and acting responsibly as directed by the powers that be. The delivery of the paper, shopping or medicine to these people is deeply appreciated and this human contact may be the only interaction with the outside world that they are experiencing at present. The friendly word from a distance goes some way to brightening their day and is a lifeline to them in the present circumstances.

Clonakilty Community Hospital

Cairde Clonakilty are presently organising a fundraising challenge for Clonakilty Community Hospital. This Clon Cairde Challenge will be held across the May Bank holiday week-end to support and thank the staff of the local community hospital who are providing exceptional care to patients at these difficult times.

The Cairde challenge is an open invitation to the community to participate in a challenge of their choice and to donate all funds raised to a special GoFundme site which is up on Facebook. The Cairde group aims to distribute over €10,000 worth of vouchers from local outlets among the staff of the hospital.

Among the challenges being organised locally is a 24- hour continuity walk within 2 km. of the town where it is hoped some 48 volunteers will each walk 30 mins. on their own completing the 24 hour challenge.

Volunteers are also being sought for a Facebook Haircut for Healthcare Workers’ challenge which will see local people having their hair cut/shaved or styled online to encourage donations to the Clon Cairde Challenge.

Further details of how to get involved in these challenges or if you wish to create your own personal challenge please contact cairdecch@gmail.com or see the Cairde Facebook page.

They are inviting as many people as possible to undertake or support these challenges by seeking sponsorship from family and friends to show their appreciation to the staff in the hospital for their hard work and dedication to those who most need it during these challenging times.

100% of all monies raised during the week-end will go towards providing the staff with vouchers to shop in Clonakilty. This initiative will not only thank the staff of the local hospital but will also support the many small businesses when they get to reopen after this current lockdown. This is a Cairde Clonakilty Community Hospital initiative. Your participation will be greatly appreciated.

100 Years Ago

Last week I wrote about two ambush attempts on RIC patrols that had to be called off due to the non- appearance of the patrols. This was a common enough occurrence and it may have been caused by incomplete information, a tip off to the RIC or just circumstances outside people’s control. This obviously frustrated members of the local volunteers. They upped their planning and preparation after some of these abortive ambush attempts. The ambush at Ahawadda on the 10^th. of May demonstrated that they had greatly improved their attention to detail. This ambush in which 3 RIC members were killed represented the greatest loss of life suffered by the RIC in a single engagement in West-Cork during this time.

The plan was to entice the RIC constables out of their barracks. Prior to this the barracks was attacked and after many hours the attackers failed to take it and abandoned the attempt. Local volunteers drove cattle off the land of a loyalist supporter at Ardgehane. The farmer made a complaint to the barracks and the police went out to investigate as the local volunteers predicted. This call-out resulted in a four man patrol leaving Timoleague barracks on foot. They headed out the Barryroe road and turned right at Ahawadda Cross heading for Ardgehane. The four on patrol consisted of Sergeant John Flynn, Constables Edward Dunne and William Brick. Also among the party was Arthur Grimsdale, who was a Black and Tan and was serving in the barracks in a temporary capacity. He was the only member of the patrol to survive the ambush. He had seen service as a soldier in World War 1 and received a number of medals for bravery during the war. No doubt that experience of combat was of great benefit to him during the attack. He was wounded but despite that he managed to escape and return to the barracks later.

The ambush made for front page headlines and was the cause of much discussion and debate. Timoleague was now the place on the everyone’s lips whether it liked it or not. (To be continued).