Community Notes Nov 12th

The Late Gerry Collins

The death of Gerry Collins of Gurranes marked the passing of one of the most esteemed elders of the Timoleague district. Gerry was an only child, born in the Summer of 1933 into a farming background. In his youth he played football and hurling at Ahawadda Cross with all the locals but as he grew into teenage years, athletics became his sport of choice specialising in the 100 yards and the triple jump. After a number of years, he turned to cycling and that gave the young, talented sports man the challenge that he craved. He trained hard and developed the technique needed for success. He won two county medals for track cycling in 1955 and ’57. There was no competition in 1956 due to the polio epidemic in Cork and shrewd observers of the sport maintained that he would have completed a hattrick of titles if the championships had taken place that year.

He took over the family farm on the tragic death of his father. He was a progressive farmer and grew maze in the 70’s. He also diversified into poultry farming, specialising in the rearing and processing of turkeys for the Christmas market. Such was the success of this venture that he expanded it and supplied hotels throughout the county with turkeys for weddings and dinners all year round. The Collins farm was a hive of activity during those years as all the work in the poultry department was done by hand. Gerry was always a great believer in modern practices and mechanisation was introduced which made the laborious work more streamlined and efficient.

Gerry always maintained a great balance in life with work and enjoyment intermingled. He married Catherine Crowley of Coolcraheen and a new Collins family came to be in Gurranes with the arrival of Annette, Mary, Kay, Kevin and Eithne. Gerry had a life- long passion for bee-keeping and served as the first chairperson of the Cork Southwest Beekeepers Association.  Kevin took over the farm in 1993 and that afforded Gerry more time to develop Molaga Honey into the national brand that it is today, stocked in all the leading food outlets in the country.

He served as president of Argideen Rangers GAA club in the early 1980’s when his son Kevin was a key member of the ground breaking underage teams of that era. Gerry was always a great community man and gave of his time willingly for the advancement of Timoleague. He was a founding member of the Timoleague Harvest Festival. This was the fundraising vehicle which advanced the development of The Community Hall and The Community Sports Complex at Our Lady’s Well. He was the man in charge of the Fancy Dress Parades over many years which were the highlight of the annual festival. He served as vice chairman of Timoleague Community Association for many years under Jackie Deasy. He succeeded Jackie and served as chairman for ten years. He wasan innovative man with great foresight and a keen interest in his own locality.

His enthusiasm and energy were part and parcel of his personality. Many marvelled as he hopped in and out of his van, even in later years - he never seemed to have a pain or an ache. He always had a spring in his step, no doubt a legacy from the cycling days of his youth. After a long day of travel delivering honey, possibly up the West of Ireland, his last port of call would be Timoleague where he would enjoy a chat and the crack over a well- deserved drink after the work of the day was complete.

Gerry was predeceased by his wife Catherine and is survived by Annette, Mary, Kay, Kevin and Eithne and their extended families. Ar dheis lamh De go raibh se.

Tidy Towns Report 2022

The following is the first extract of the adjudicator’s report on Timoleague.

“Timoleague Tigh Molaga, a mid-sized village with a population of 375 people – has entered the competition for approx. 60 years and has a committee of 10 members with support of another 30 volunteers. It is noted that during the last year there has been an exceptional level of voluntary commitment in Timoleague. Your monthly meetings held outdoors during the Pandemic have been reinstated to twice monthly meetings indoors. Your Meitheal clean ups take place weekly during the summer months with very wide community involvement.  Support is received from a wide range of national and local agencies and businesses, including Cork County Council.  Since Covid you use several different methods to communicate with your members and the general public including What’s App, Facebook, Zoom, email, outdoor meetings etc. Your Facebook page is regularly updated with information on current and future projects/activities with photos of projects before during and after completion and notices of upcoming events.  There is strong engagement with the local school and some pupils are involved in the weekly clean ups. The school has set up an outdoor garden and in conjunction with Tidy Towns, pupils are involved with nature and biodiversity and sustainability programmes.  It is good to note that the Timoleague community has benefited greatly from being involved in the Tidy Towns competition over the years, as it has provided a sense of purpose for improving the village and keeping it looking clean and beautiful. The work of Molaga Tidy Towns significantly improves the engagement and sense of togetherness of the entire community.”