Skibbereen & District Historical Society

On 11 August 1979, 303 yachts began the 600-mile Fastnet Race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Fastnet Rock. Weather conditions were good when the race began but that changed very quickly when a Force 10 storm swept across the Atlantic and wreaked havoc on participants, spectators, and the rescue services.

The race became a terrifying ordeal and for almost twenty-four hours the fleet was pounded by huge waves whipped up by 60-knot winds.

Fifteen participants lost their lives in what was the worst disaster in the one hundred-year history of ocean yacht racing.

Gerald Butler served as a Lighthouse Keeper for twenty-one years. He was on duty on the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse in August 1979 when disaster struck the Admiral’s Cup Yacht Race. In the Skibbereen & District Historical Society Journal 2020, Gerald tells the story of that extraordinary night from his unique perspective.

The Journal is available in bookshops throughout West Cork. We ask you, where possible, to shop local and to support your local bookshop. The 2020 Journal, and back issues, are also on sale online. To celebrate the 2020 launch, for the months of July and August only, we are reducing postage for online purchases to €2 for sales to Ireland and the UK and €4 for sales to anywhere else in the world. To visit our online store, click here.

Unfortunately we cannot post Journals to Australia or New Zealand at the moment. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, there are no flights into those two countries.

The 2020 Journal has arrived. This year’s journal contains 15 articles and, as always, a wide variety of topics are covered.

These includes an article by Michael MacCarthy-Morrogh about his aunt, Kay Summersby, entitled “Kay Summersby – ‘helping Ike win the war’”; an article by Terri Kearney of the Skibbereen Heritage Centre on the Stories of the Revolution project and a first-hand account of the tragic 1979 Fastnet Race by then Lighthouse Keeper, Gerald Butler. Ringforts, the rivalry between two Skibbereen newspaper editors, events from the 1600s and reminiscences from the 1950s are some of the other topics covered. A full list of articles can be seen in our Journal page.

Normally we would hold a launch event for the Journal, but this year due to Covid-19 that is not possible. Instead to mark to publication of the 2020 Journal we are releasing a series of short videos of contributors and well-wishers. Please keep an eye out for these on this site and on our Facebook page.

If you wish to purchase the Journal it will be available in bookshops throughout West Cork. We ask you, where possible, to shop local and to support your local bookshop. The 2020 Journal, and back issues, are also on sale online. To celebrate the 2020 launch, for the months of July and August only, we are reducing postage for online purchases to €2 for sales to Ireland and the UK and €4 for sales to anywhere else in the world. To visit our online store, click here.

Unfortunately, we cannot post Journals to Australia or New Zealand at the moment. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, there are no flights in to either country.

Thank you to all the contributors, without them there would be no Journal. If you would like to contribute an article to a future Journal then please contact us at skibbereenjournal@gmail.com. Thanks also to the Editorial Committee for their work to produce the Journal.

LONG ROAD, MANY TURNINGS.
“Every journey has to start somewhere. For now, this one starts here…”

Long Road, Many Turnings is a family saga spanning four generations. It is the book for anyone who ever wanted to trace their ancestry and discover how their family really lived throughout the first half of the 20th Century.

Although a work of fiction, Celtic author Mary has retold her own family story, achieving a mixture of drama, humour and historical events. Exploring scandal, heartbreak and danger through interrelated characters-including Roisin and Deirdre in 1907- to Ellen and Agnes in 1951.

Starting with two chapters focussed on the Drimoleague area of West Cork the reader experiences life across Ireland, both north and south, London and Wales. Chapters include the second world war, with storylines focussing on two different aspects – childhood evacuation to Wales and lorry driving for the Americans in Northern Ireland. These illustrate war’s unexpected impact on everyday life.

There are also chapters depicting the post and the inter-war years, times which had their own challenges. Each character’s story intriguingly slips into the background of the next thus readers are constantly provided with fresh themes and new characters. The writing is entertaining, touching on gender and cultural misunderstandings alongside a fast-moving storyline. It is accessible, friendly and down-to-earth.

Having published extensively during her nursing career and being a regular contributor to a range of professional journals, MARY MCCLAREY is now turning her hand to fiction. Long Road, Many Turnings is influenced by her experiences, both professionally as a nurse and midwife and personally as part of an Irish-Welsh family.

First published 28th September 2016
ISBN 9781785893339
BIC subject category: FT – Sagas
Paperback 216×138 mm 272pp Portrait
Second edition now available in paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Road-Many-Turnings-McClarey/dp/1651828318/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=mary+mcclarey&qid=1589193719&s=books&sr=1-2

Mary has published a second novel along the theme of family saga. ‘Time for a change’, set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, is also available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback version. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Change-Nursing-Northern-conflict-ebook/dp/B07DNF8BVR

The Author with West Cork roots: –
Mary’s earliest memories are of her grandmother, Kitty Cahalane, who grew up on a farm at Drinagh, just outside Drimoleague. Many times, she listened to her granny’s stories about running home from school barefoot, to a lighted candle in her mother’s window. The words Dunmanway, Bantry and Skibbereen peppered her grandmother’s reminiscences and to Mary they evoked a sense of heritage and mystery. When she visited Drimoleague with her parents and siblings as a teenager she immediately felt a strong connection with the area and as an adult she brought her mother back to visit. Mary now returns annually and delights in exploring the local area and meeting up with her cousins who live in Drimoleague.

The Fish Publishing Company which runs the Bantry Literary Festival awarded Mary Second Prize in their Flash Fiction category in 2020. She is currently writing her third fictional novel, set in 1900, whose central character is loosely based on another Drimoleague member of her grandmother’s family.

The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land;
you may almost hear the beating of his wings.

These words from John Bright came to mind this week when we heard of the death of Margaret Ryan, née Hegarty, of North Street, Skibbereen.

Having been taken ill only a week earlier, Margaret’s death on 4 April came as a great shock to her realtives and to her many friends in Skibbereen. In particular, those who worked closely with Margaret in the Skibbereen Geriatric Society, the Legion of Mary and the Children of Mary will mourn the loss of a dear friend whose work in these organisations was quite extraordinary.

A daily Mass-goer, Margaret was a very religious woman. For many years she and a small group of people helped to dress the altar and ready St Patrick’s Cathedral for ceremonies, big and small.

A native of Caheragh, it was a good day for Skibbereen when in the late 1940s Margaret moved to the town to live with her aunt while attending the Technical School for her secondary education. She was a good pupil and in 1951 Margaret won first prize in Ireland in the domestic economy group certificate examination which was conducted through Irish.

When she finished her secondary education, Margaret took up employment in the front office at the Southern Star and worked there until she married Seamus Ryan on 4 April 1964.

Margaret was an accomplished actor and took part in many productions staged by the Cathedral Players, Skibbereen, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. When not on stage, Margaret was involved back-stage doing make-up, organising sets and doing the other countless things that go into making a successful production. For many years Margaret and her dear friend Anna McCarthy did make-up and organised back-stage for the Cathedral Players and the De La Salle PPU pantomimes.

In the Cathedral Players’ 1958 production of ‘Still Running’ by M.J. McKeown, Margaret played the character of Ellen Anne. At the West Cork Drama Festival in Rossmore the production won several awards, including Rev. Fr Tim O’Donovan, best producer, and Florence Lynch was best actor.

In February 1959 the Cathedral Players staged Lennox Robinson’s ‘Drama at Inish’ at the Cork Drama Festival, with Margaret Hegarty again among the cast. Interestingly, the Skibbereen performances were held in the Emmet Hall in those years because the Town Hall had been destroyed by fire on 15 August 1955 and the new Town Hall didn’t open until 1960.

In 1962 Margaret was again a member of the cast in the Players’ production of Charlotte Hasting’s play ‘Bonaventure’.

Margaret and Seamus Ryan were very involved in the productions of the De La Salle PPU pantomimes which were staged in the Town Hall from 1963 to 1985, Seamus even wrote the scripts for many of those shows. While Margaret and Anna McCarthy did make-up and other tasks back-stage, Margaret also made some notable performances on stage in those pantomimes. The political intermezzo was always a great favourite in pantomimes in Skibbereen and we remember one in particular when Margaret’s parody of Margaret Thatcher was quite brilliant.

Skibbereen Geriatric Society was founded in 1970, with the objective of providing a Meals on Wheels Service for the older residents in the town and district. Margaret was one of the founder members and right up to the time of her death she was intimately involved in the many outstanding project and ongoing work of the society.

Margaret was particularly involved in the various stages of development of 31 flatlets for the elderly in four different locations in Skibbereen. In 1993 the Geriatric Society opened Cara House Supported Care Unit in the old Boys’ National School building in Market Street, providing eight bedrooms and in 2002 it was extended to twelve bedrooms. Margaret’s contribution to the provision and management of this wonderful facility cannot be overstated. She dedicated an incredible amount of time and expertise to this enterprise.

Margaret was also a member or the Legion of Mary in Skibbereen for all her adult life. The work she and Seamus did over the years especially in the production of the Legion of Mary Newsletter was immense. Long before the advent of modern technology, the Skibbereen Newsletter was a very important link to home for many people domiciled in various parts of the world.

A poignant observation is that Margaret passed away on 4 April 2020, 56 years to the day of her marriage to Seamus, and six years to the day of Seamus’s death in 2014.

The Skibbereen & District Historical Society would like to offer its sincerest sympathy to Margaret’s family and her many good friends in Skibbereen.

Seamus Ryan was a founder member of the Historical Society and acted as treasurer for a number of years. Margaret was an avid reader of the Society’s annual Journal and always followed the activities of the Society with interest.

P. O’R.

The death took place on 30 March 2020 of Sadie Walsh of 8 High Street, Skibbereen.

Sadie, one of the most senior and highly respected citizens of Skibbereen, died peacefully, surrounded by her family, at Skibbereen Residential Care Centre.

With her family on both sides having a long association with Skibbereen, Sadie had a deep knowledge of the town and its people. She had a great gift of recall and her memories of Skibbereen going back to the early 1930s were clear and vivid.

Sadie’s maternal grandfather, Michael McGrath, was originally from Mitchelstown. Having had a long and distinguished career in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) he retired about 1890 with the rank of Sergeant. Michael settled in Skibbereen after his retirement and took a very active part in municipal affairs in the town.

Sadie’s father, Thomas W. O’Reilly, who was born in Kent in England, was also a sergeant in the RIC and saw service with the Irish Guards in World War I.

Sadie’s parents lived and ran a public house at No. 2 Main Street following her father’s retirement from the RIC.

Sadie (Sarah Patricia) was born in March 1926 at Main Street. She had one brother, Bernard. Her father died suddenly in October 1933 leaving a wife to look after two young children and to run the business.

The public house at No 2 Main Street was affectionately known by locals as ‘Ma Reilly’s’ and was typical of many other small pubs in rural towns at that time. ‘Ma Reilly’s’, right in the heart of the town, always did a good business and Sadie’s mother Mary Ann was a good and convivial hostess.

Sadie attended the Convent of Mercy primary school in Skibbereen and got her secondary education at Murphy’s private school at Ilen Villas, one of a number of private schools in the town. She worked for some years in Young’s Pharmacy in North Street after leaving school but gave up her job when she married James Walsh in June 1951. James’s family also had a long connection with Skibbereen.

Following her mother’s death in 1965, Sadie ran the pub at Main Street for three years but with a young family to raise, she decided to sell the business.

Among her many interests were music and singing. Sadie was a member of the choir at St Patrick’s Cathedral in her younger days. She also took part in many of the musicals staged in the Town Hall by the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society and the Choral Society in the late 1940s and 1950s.

A great family woman and a very good neighbour, Sadie had a friendly and warm personality, was always very pleasant and nice to meet and to talk to. She was a good storyteller and with her knowledge of local happenings her death severs a long link with Skibbereen and its history.

There are very few around now who can recall some of the great characters of Skibbereen like Sadie’s uncle, John Willie McGrath, and how in the early 1930s his infamous Divan appeared overnight on the Bridge. The sudden appearance of the Divan caused some consternation to members of the Urban Council over planning processes and other concerns, but they didn’t worry John Willie one bit. He ran his little shop there, selling sweets, minerals, fruit, cigars and the Sunday newspapers until his untimely death in 1934. John Willie’s Divan might have been controversial, but it lasted a long time and the timber structure was a feature on the bridge until recent years.

Sadie was predeceased by her husband James Walsh, who died in November 1987. She is survived by her loving family, Thomas, Geraldine, James, Rosellen and Tony, son-in-law Adrian Healy, daughters-in-law Bernie, Ann and Mary, her loving grandchildren, relatives, friends and neighbours.

Skibbereen & District Historical Society would like to offer its sincerest sympathy to the family of Sadie Walsh.

P. O’R.