In redeveloping the website, and learning more about Leigh-Dale Cottage, the cottage committee came across an account of the cottage history, written by previous warden, Violet Warner. This history is retold below from Violet’s perspective, up until roughly the year 2000.
By 1959, both Mrs Arethusa Leigh-White, of Bantry House and Director of the World Bureau, Western Hemisphere during the war years and Miss Kathlen Dale, Division 1 Commissioner in Cork, had died. Both of them had done so much to promote Guiding in the Cork area during the early years of the movement and especially outdoor activities.
It was decided to look for a suitable cottage and location as a memorial to these people. In the summer of 1959, I went looking for this and tried the Inniscarra area, which was not too far from Cork. The person I called on, said he would think about it and at 11.30 that night, he phoned to tell me about a cottage, disused, and an adjacent roofless cottage. I contacted the owner, Mr Wallace of Gawsworth House and he said if we were not interested, he would use it for pigs. The buildings and land, which was overgrown, were acquired and plans were drawn up to renovate same.
We put the large window in the common room, the other part was roofed and had two bunk rooms for four and six people. Two toilets and wash-hand basins, a small kitchen and Guiders’ room for two were added, with a flat roof at the rear. The Scouts built us a timber fuel shed.
Lady Baden-Powell visited Cork in October 1959 and she was brought to see the building, which was incomplete. The photograph hanging in the cottage, with Lady B-P at the half door was taken on that occasion.
In 1960 the cottage was opened by Dame Leslie Whateley, the Director of the World Bureau. There being no other houses except Gawsworth on the hill, we lined the road with Brownies and Guides for this great occasion.
Over the early years, Rangers and Scouts did much work to clear the grounds, but the polygonum kept coming back. Paddy McAdoo, a Scout who was killed in a road accident and had done much of this work, was remembered when the St. FinBarre’s Cubs planted two cherry trees in his memory.
When Estelle Moore died in the early 60s, we decided to develop the grounds in her memory. She was a great Guider and taught me most of my camping skills. She also played an active part in the early days of Leigh-Dale, when she was registrar. In developing the grounds, we had it cleared by a bulldozer and made it into two levels – before it was one long slope and not suitable for activities.
Ethel McGrath was chairperson of the committee for over twenty-five years and still has a great interest in giving financial help on many occasions.
Noreen Murphy was Warden for that period also. She used to repair the cottage and cut the grass. We put in the fridge/freezer in her memory.
When Mrs Shelwell White died, daughter of Mrs Leigh White, she left us a small sum of money with which purchased two prunus, a rowan and a flowering crab. Her sister, Miss Rachel Leigh-White and granddaughter, Yvette Yarrow, planted these. Sadly, when we were rebuilding the crab trees died as did one of the cherry trees when it had to be moved.
The birch tree was given to us as a baby by Beatrice Dixon, Dublin. This was a descendent of a baby birch tree she was given when she attended the World Conference in Helsinki in 1950.
When I was Regional Commissioner in 1985, it was decided to extend the cottage as it could only accommodate ten children and this meant always splitting a Company or Pack. The upper portion was knocked down and Mr Sean O’Connell, architect, designed this new section, also altering the kitchen and providing a lobby and central heating facilities. In order to get planning permission, we had to have car parking space so we had part of the land removed to provide this facility. The only change to the common room was the hatch to the kitchen. The forty thousand pounds was raised by members, ten and a half thousand being form a “Knit-In”, from which we sent over two hundred blankets to a hospital in Africa. We got a seven thousand pounds “face-lift” grant from the government and two and a half thousand pounds form the Miss Beatty Memorial Fund. She has been Chief Commissioner and President for many years. The official opening was performed by Mr Peter Barry T.D.
When Chris Hanna died, (a Commissioner and much-loved Brownies Guider), her husband donated the garden seats in her memory. Mrs Alice Jackson, Chairperson of the Cork Trefoil Guild for twenty years, left us some money when she died and we purchased the three new tables in the common room.
Each May, the Trefoil Guild run a Bring and Buy in the cottage and they give us the proceeds to buy any equipment needed. In 1999, they planted a scarlet hawthorn tree, which replaces one of the prunus trees which was blown down in a storm.
In 1998, we contacted members around the country who knew Mrs Frances Dwyer, a Chief Commissioner and President of IGG, and with the contributions, we put in the two showers in her memory.
Recently the friends of Kitty Murphy remembered all the work she did in developing Guides in this area and put in a bird bath and two picnic tables in the grounds.
Over the years, we have had Guides and Scouts and youth groups form Northern Ireland, UK, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, USA and New Zealand. They always enjoy their stay and find it is a good centre for sightseeing. Our own Units have enjoyed many happy weekends there.
Sadly, the woods at Rock Lodge, by kind permission of Mrs Haughton, are not available now but several opportunities for activities have arisen. Leigh-Dale had much to tell, especially in the history of all those great Guiders, whose contributions to Guiding in Cork and beyond, we have remembered in the various memorials to them. It gives me great joy when I see the delight in the eyes of the Brownies and Guides when they come to stay at Leigh-Dale and I feel then what has been done was all worthwhile.
Written by Violet Warner, reflecting on the history of Leigh-Dale up to 2000.
Leigh-Dale Cottage 