Timoleague Tigh Molaige | |
|---|---|
Village | |
.jpg) TheR600 road passes through Timoleague | |
  Timoleague Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:51°38′33″N8°46′1″W / 51.64250°N 8.76694°W /51.64250; -8.76694 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Cork |
| Barony | Carbery East (East) |
| District | Clonakilty |
| Established | 1240 A.D |
| Elevation | 28 m (92 ft) |
| Population | 387 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish grid reference | W469437 |
Timoleague (Irish:Tigh Molaige, meaning 'house of Molaga') is a village in the eastern division ofCarbery East inCounty Cork, Ireland. It is located along Ireland's southern coast betweenKinsale andClonakilty, on the estuary of theArgideen River. Nearby is the village ofCourtmacsherry. It is about 17 km (11 mi) south ofBandon and 48 km (30 mi) fromCork on theR600 coastal road. The village is in atownland andcivil parish of the same name.[2]
Timoleague gets its name from its original Irish nameTigh Molaga, meaning the 'home (or house) of Molaga'.[3] St. Molaga was reputed to have brought beekeeping/honey to Ireland. Honey production is still evident in the area. The village was formerly spelt Tagumlag, Tymulagy, Tymoleague. The town of Timoleague and much of the adjacent country belonged to the Hodnetts, an English family who settled in the area fromShropshire. Prior to this, it belonged to the O'Cowigs. In the reign ofHenry III, a great battle was fought at Timoleague, between the Hodnetts, under Lord Phillip Hodnett, and the Barrys, under Lord Barrymore. The Hodnetts were routed, and their leader was killed. The Barrymores then became the owners of Timoleague, and they and their descendants retained possession until the 1800s, when it was purchased by the Travers family.[4]
In 1832, the Timoleague parish priest, Reverend Mr. Charles Ferguson, was murdered when trying to collecttithes by force.[5]
Timoleague Friary was founded by theFranciscan order in 1240. The abbey was built on the site of a monastic settlement founded by Saint Molaga in the sixth century. The Four Masters state that the Monastery of Timoleague was founded byMacCarthy Reagh, who lived nearKinsale, in 1240. The McCarthys were over-lords ofCorca Laidhe, at least since the 13th century, and received tribute from the chiefs of the district. The abbey was extended by Donal Glas McCarthy in 1312, and by Irish and Norman patrons in the 16th century. The monks were dispersed by the Reformation, but returned in 1604. In 1612, the abbey was sacked by English soldiers who also smashed all of the stained glass windows, but much of the significant architecture remains. The friars remained in the abbey until 1642 when the friary and town were burnt by English soldiers under Lord Forbes.
In Abbeymahon, on the road toCourtmacsherry is the ruins of aCistercian Abbey –Abbeymahon Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1172 by Dermot MacCormac MacCarthy, King of Desmond. The site was originally at Aghamanister and was colonized with a group of monks from Baltinglass. Almost a century lapsed before the monks decided to move to a new site. The monks moved to Abbeymahon in 1278 when Diarmuit MacCarthaig, son of Domnall Cairbreach, was buried in the new monastery.
TheChurch of Ireland church, theChurch of the Ascension, is also decorated internally in mosaic work carried out and paid for by the Travers family and the final wall completed by the then Maharajah of Gwalior (Madho Rao Scindia) of India in 1925 in memory of his doctor, Dr Crofts, who came from Timoleague. The church itself dates from 1811.[6]
Some of the local industries are based around tourism, agriculture and craft. One of the main employers in the local area is Stauntons Food a local producer of Pork/Bacon products. There are many other small and medium-sized businesses in the area including a small local maker of bespoke kitchens/furniture.[citation needed]
Timoleague Brown Pudding, a type ofblood sausage, has been grantedProtected Geographical Status underEuropean Union law.[7]
As of the2011 census, Timoleague had the highest proportion of Polish people of any settlement in Ireland at 25% of the population of the village.[8]
The Timoleague Harvest Festival is held every year in August.[9] In 2006 it attracted acts like Mundy and The Walls, and also hosts events in the village.
The local GAA club,Argideen Rangers, have won the 2005Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship as well as a number of Junior Football and Hurling County Championships.[citation needed]
Timoleague railway station once connected the village to theWest Cork Railway, by a branch onto the Clonakilty railway line, opened by the Ballinascarthy & Timoleague Junction Light Railway in 1890. TheTimoleague & Courtmacsherry Extension Light Railway later extended this toCourtmacsherry in 1891 and its pier in 1892.It had three locomotives,Slaney,St. Molaga andArgadeen. Regular passenger traffic ceased in 1947 with post-war fuel shortages, and the line was closed completely byCIÉ in 1961. Timoleague railway station opened on 20 December 1890, closed for passenger traffic on 24 February 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 April 1961.[10]
Phós sí Donncha Ó Laoghaire [..] ó Bheanntraí i dTigh Molaige 17 Meitheamh 1915 agus ba é a seoladh ag an am Ard Mór, Tigh Molaige [..] D'aistrigh siad ar ball go dtí feirm in aice le Cúirt Mhic Shéafraidh.
