For the first time in 200 years, a ballad commemorating Timothy McCarthy (Tadhg na Samhna), was sung last weekend at a ceremony to honour the United Irishman who was hanged on April 19th, 1798, for his part in a planned raid on Milane House, Dunmanway, then home of landlord John Gilman.
The raid was unsuccessful as informers ensured that crown forces were lying in wait for the insurgents.
The folk memory is that a ballad was written at the time about Tadhg na Samhna, but nobody could find the words. That is until various researches, notably by the folklorist, Peadar O hAnnrachain, and the local Clann na Gael GAA Club, which named its local playing field after him, were undertaken.
This work slowly began to throw light on a life that had been largely forgotten. O hAnnrachain was tireless in his efforts to find the words to the ballad. As he roamed west Cork he collected a verse here and a verse there, until finally, he had the words to Tuireamh Tadhg na Samhna.
At the weekend, Cllr Michael Calnan, deputy chairman of Cork County Council, unveiled a plaque at Drimoleague to the United Irishman and Sean O Se sang the recovered ballad, complete again for the first time in 200 years.