Photos from Cork show trad craic of a mighty weekend in memory of a musical legend
Raymond O'Sullivan who was MC at the Saturday night concert welcomed the full house audience and said: 'This is a celebration that is very fitting for a legend. All of our lives were touched by Timmy. At his funeral last year, we decided to have a bash for his 90th birthday which would have been this week. I'm sure there will be fierce craic in heaven for the birthday but I know he would love to be here with us as well. When we think of Timmy, we will always be smiling,' Raymond said.
This reporter was lucky enough to be a lifelong friend of Timmy, through our mutual love of music, and a few years ago we sat down and spoke about his lifelong passion for playing the accordion. 'When I was very young, we used to visit my aunts in Kanturk and Rockchapel, there was a Gramophone in the two houses and I loved listening to the records, we had no radio at home at the time,' Timmy said.
Around his home in Tureendarby, Newmarket, he said there was plenty of music when he was young.
'Someone was playing a melodeon one night and I brought out a few tunes on it. I saw a melodeon for sale in Tim Ryan's shop window, the bother was it cost £7.10 and I didn't have the money. A couple up the road from me bought it for their son and I was dying lonesome. Then another one came in and my sister Joan bought it for me. I was around 15 at the time. We had to hide it from my father, he thought it was a fierce waste of time but he found it one day inside in a press and said 'Oh great God, we're going to have an awful winter of playing'.
'I used to play every night with my two brothers and a neighbour,' Timmy explained.
Timmy, as a fledgling musician, was taught by his neighbour Johnny Micky Barry who himself learned from the great Tom Billy Murphy of Ballydesmond.
When he reached his 20s, Timmy began playing at house parties and at socials with his sister Sheila and brother in law Jim Barry. 'We were the Tureendarby Céilí Band, one night we were booked to play at a Pioneer Social by the local priest, we were late because we were all night looking for a drum, the Priest was going mad,' Timmy reminisced with a smile.
A musician by night, Timmy worked on his farm during the day and was also employed at the sugar factory in Mallow. He recalls playing at the Listowel Wren Boys Festival, at Dan O'Connell's in Knocknagree and the Rambling House in Boherbue. For over 40 years, he was a key member of the traditional group that played at Scully's in Newmarket at the renowned Monday night sessions. He was also part of the group that performed throughout the country in the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Irish Tour. Timmy was featured on 'The Long Note Programme' on RTE 1 and was a member of the Monks of the Screw Traditional Group.
He described music as the best therapy of all: 'Dr. Verling told me one time that it's probably better than all the tablets, and I said, one would maybe want to take the tablets as well. I went to Dr. Daly a while ago with a sore ear, I said I suppose it will kill me, I'll have to give up the late nights and Dr. Daly replied 'giving up the late nights would most likely kill you away quicker!'
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On a final note, I remember asking Timmy what advice he would give to young musicians. 'You have to like it, to have the grá for it, to like it is everything. If the pupil does not like music, it is impossible to teach them,' he said.
Across the Tribute Weekend, it was wonderful to see both musicians and audience members pay tribute to Timmy, who was as renowned for his warm personality as for his music.
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