LOVE OF IRISH
Sheila Farrell (nee Reidy) was born on August 1st, 1926 and grew up in Macroney, Kilworth with her parents Julia and James Reidy and siblings John, Billy, Nancy, Mary, Kitty, Phil, Nell and Imelda.
Before I proceed with this story, let’s conjure up an image of life in rural Kilworth nearly one hundred years ago.
There was no running water, sanitation was poor and conveniences were very basic. The Electricity Supply Board only came into being the year after Sheila was born, but it was well after the mid ‘40’s before any of the rural areas got connected. Hence, Sheila grew up in a time of no radios, TV’s and any home entertainment was provided by the family themselves. To this end, the open fire in their Macroney home was the heart of the family (despite the fact that most of the heat was going up the chimney!), where all the family sat on sugán chairs and warmed themselves with the cipiní, gathered by the youngsters, earlier in the day.
Julia was a strong devotee of the nightly family Rosary and brought the household to its knees for the prayers and the extra ‘prayer for…’ or the ‘trimmings/add-ons’. Their father played the fiddle at night and this no doubt fostered in Sheila a great love of music.
Sheila started every conversation or story with the word ….. ‘Listen….’ (said with determination) and the use of her two hands too, as a gesture to amplify the impact of her speech…… so here goes!
SIMPLE TIMES
Sheila and her siblings were born in post war austerity years and like all parents of this time, they struggled to put bread on the table. There was no surplus money for toys but what they never had they never missed. Children of this era by their nature were very resourceful and they found other ways of entertaining themselves. Often the farm animals became their toys and if baby lambs needed special attention, then, those youngsters were on standby to become Florence Nightingales. Weak lambs were reared in butter boxes by the fire, where they thrived well on a bottle, but they soon outgrew their limited accommodation when they got bold and pulled off the nipple, spraying warm milk all over the place. Chickens and ducklings brightened up the spring and in summer they raced the baby calves down through the fields. It was also their job to feed the cats at milking time in a rusty cover of an old churn. But all small animals grow and so too do children.
And so, it was time for school. Sheila attended national school in Kilworth, while still attending to her daily chores. Her older siblings did the dreaded daily milk churn run to Kilworth creamery on the horse and cart (sometimes with a horse that was very feisty and hyper). One particular equine was a vindictive creature and would kick or bite, given half a chance, but he never succeeded because survival was the first rule on the farm and you always expected the unexpected.
In the year Sheila was born, the School Attendance Act made attending school compulsory on all school days for children aged between the ages of six and fourteen years. Parents were legally obliged to send their children to school or face the wrath of the authorities. This, no doubt, was the turning point for a lot of eager students, especially the ones with ability. While only a very small percentage of children entered secondary school education, it is worth mentioning that in 1957, only ten thousand students sat the Leaving Certificate.
Sheila was one of those eager students and having completed her Primary education in Kilworth, she then cycled to ‘The Tech’ in Fermoy to complete her secondary schooling, reaching the then Leaving Cert equivalent. She was particularly good at Irish going to school and won two scholarships to the Gaeltacht in Ballingeary. It was there that she developed a great love of the language, learned most of her Irish songs, the ones she remembered and sang all her life. Among her favourites were ‘Ar Éirinn ní Neosfainn cé hí’ and ‘Caít Ní Dhuibhir’.
Sheila loved the ceilis at the Gaeltacht and often said those summers in Ballingeary were a break from the work on the farm. Finally, she received her Fáinne óir. The Fáinne is worn to show that you are able to and are willing to speak Irish. Sheila wore it with pride and she was heartbroken when years later, she lost it at a dance in Fermoy. She had left it on her coat and always talked with sadness about losing it.
Several years later, Ber her daughter managed to replace it for her - she was overjoyed. She never again wore it however, as she was terrified of losing it. She kept it safe and penned a beautiful note to put with it, explaining the story of the Fáinne while gifting it back to her eldest child, Ber.
There is no doubt that Sheila would have made a great schoolteacher – she had beautiful handwriting, was very organised and did shorthand, which she used in her employments at Barry’s solicitors, as a secretary and then, Hanlon’s butchers doing the books, both in Fermoy.
MARRIAGE & LIFE IN
BALLYDUFF
Soon Cupid was about to strike and she met her beloved husband-to-be at a dance in Fermoy. The funny thing about this meeting was that Sheila thought his name was Harry Kearney and not Larry Farrell. She blamed the loud music!
They were married on January 30th, 1954 and moved in to No 2 Marian Terrace in Ballyduff. She finished working when she got married, as was the custom then. She loved Ballyduff, had great times with her neighbours and of course, Willie and Brede Farrell (Larry’s brother and wife) were at number 6. Larry was involved in Market Gardening, so that meant Sheila would be cooking dinners for all the workmen. She worked very hard between raising her family and making meals for everyone.
One thing for sure there was always plenty of fresh veg, carrots, parsnips, floury potatoes - what more would a working man want? I can still see her walking from the now ‘Storehouse’ in Ballyduff with her crossover apron with her bag of veg for the dinner. She was a bit of an entrepreneur – because when all these workmen were having their meals in No 2 Marian Terrace, she provided paint brushes and buckets of water for the four children to go out the back and ‘paint’ the walls. Sure, they were delighted and by the time they were finished ‘painting’, they would start again as the water had all dried.
Aunt Sheila was also a great neighbour and friend and when the ‘house stations’ were held in Ballyheaphy, Sheila would hop on Willie’s school bus from Ballyduff and travel over the hill on the school run to help her sister Kitty and the household for the stations. Come 3.30pm, she would head back to the village to look after her own crew. Couldn’t imagine Bus Eireann school transport facilitating this arrangement today!
There was always a great warm welcome at Marian Terrace, especially on First Holy Communion and Confirmation Days when the Ballyheaphy cousins arrived for the celebrations. We would spend our special day at Farrells and the lemonade and biscuits was a real treat. The return journeys for the Farrell cousins centred around Araglin Carnival, as this was the holiday highlight for us all. There are a few stories to be told (but not here Ber)!
LOVE OF STAGE
Sheila loved music. She took the family on regular trips to Cork Opera House when we were young and to shows at the Palace, Fermoy, instilling interest in music and theatre in them. She loved the Ballyduff Drama Festival, and each year had her season ticket booked well in advance and couldn’t wait for it to begin. It was one week she never missed. She of course went each night with pen and programme in hand to place her favourites in order of who she felt deserved awards. She eagerly waited to see if the judge gave the awards as she had noted.
She also sang in the church choir every Sunday. She loved taking part in the annual choral concerts in the hall. She and Larry sang many duets in these concerts. ‘My Lily of The Lamplight, My Own Lily Marlene’ was one of their hits along with ‘Moonlight and Roses’. While Sheila had no issue with learning words, Larry did, so he would pin the words on to Sheila’s back and stand slightly behind her and was all set, ready for action. But with time, choreography was added and she used to laugh that Larry would go mad when they would be moved between songs, because she would end up in front of another man with his desperately needed song lyrics pinned to her back. Her love of the stage no doubt came from her involvement with Kilworth Dramatic Society, when herself and her sister Imelda trod the stage boards learning their lines.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
But life moves on and sixteen years ago, Sheila and her husband Larry moved to St Carthage’s Rest Home. They had five months together there before Larry passed away and Sheila, who had made her home there, was very content to stay there. In this next chapter of her life, she flourished and enjoyed every opportunity that came her way. She made friends, led the choir of course, never missed the music activities and loved the company. Brede also moved in there, so they were side by side once more, until Brede’s last year of her life.
Despite being a resident in St. Carthage’s Rest Home, she had plenty day trips. She enjoyed frequent day trips to concerts, cafes, restaurants. She enjoyed nice food, always ending her meal at a restaurant with ‘Well, that was simply delicious’.