Community notes Feb 1st

Storm Eowyn

On Thursday night and Friday morning last most of the country was on a a red alert warning. Timoleague experienced some severe winds but compared to other parts of the country got away lightly. There were some power outages with a number of trees being knocked and minor damage to outhouses and sheds being reported. The roads were quiet as the general public took heed of the warnings.

Tidy Towns

Timoleague Tidy Towns Association are presently making plans for 2025. Last year was a most successful one and the mark achieved in the competition was reflective of the great work done by the dedicated tidy towns group and the wider Timoleague community. As Timoleague are only a few marks off the overall winner, it may be beneficial to delve into the adjudicator’s report on Timoleague in last year’s event. Over the next few weeks, extracts of the report will be carried in these notes and areas that need attention no doubt, can be addressed over the coming months.

Community- Your Planning and Involvement: “You are an active TidyTowns group with a high level of volunteerism. We are delighted to learn that last year's level of voluntary commitment increased. We commend your efforts in organising the weekly cleanups from the beginning of April throughout the summer. This is a great opportunity for people to socialise and for young people to get involved. It is ideal to see that foreign nationals have also become involved with your group. You are supported by a wide range of agencies and organisations such as Cork County Council, KWD County clean up and Pobal. We are delighted to see that Transfer for Ireland has supported you with the introduction of the local bus route from Kinsale to Clonakilty. Congratulations to the National School on receiving grants to fund a water dispensing machine in the school. Well done to 5th and 6th class students for undertaking a project on the townland of Tigh Molaga. We see that you use various formats to link in with the community such as social media, the newspapers and Church announcements. This is a good strategy as you are reaching a wide target audience. We are pleased to learn that you have such a strong relationship with the national school. This is an active school and we wish them well with their educational garden in collaboration with the Tidy Towns group and Grow It Yourself. Congratulations on receiving the Gold Medal award in 2023.”

Streetscape and Public Places: “The streetscape was excellently presented on the day of our visit. The Franciscan Friary is a key landmark and tourist attraction. We commend you efforts here in digitalising the tour booklet. We understand that you are planning on planting some trees in the Abbey car park as suggested by last year's adjudicator. We enjoyed our visit to the Catholic Church. It provides a clear elevated view of the village. The Church is maintained to a high standard and we are delighted to see that there is wheelchair access also available. The Anglican church is also impressive. We noted that you have built new toilets in the Church grounds providing wheelchair access. We wish you well with the continued conservation and works on the Church of the Ascension. The courthouse is also another impressive heritage building. We saw that it was recently upgraded. We are pleased to learn that they have opened a workshop space on the ground floor of this building. The plaque on the wall is clear and presented to a quality standard. We noted the photo plaques of the old railway line and station added to the Railway Park. The railway park is a credit to you and we also commend your efforts on making it wheelchair accessible. The streetscape is presented to a high standard with many vibrant and freshly painted shopfronts and premises, e g An Dochtúir on Abbey Street. We appreciate that you are making continued efforts to address the derelict buildings in the village. We are gladthat you have been contacted by the Town Regeneration office of Cork County Council with regard to vacant properties. We see that you are in the process of securing funding to build a new community hall. We wish you well with this project. The village has undergone new road surfacing on the remaining streets. We see that this has included traffic calming measures providing safety for pedestrians. We are delighted to see bilingual signage throughout the village.”

Spring Sing-a-Long

There will be a Spring Sing- a-Long on St. Brigid’s Weekend at the Church of The Ascension, Timoleague. Why not come along and choose your favourite hymn. The organist will be Padraig O’Donovan and it begins at 2.30pm. All are welcome.