Sonny marks his first day of work with trip to Cahalane’s

AT the age of 92, Jeremiah Hayes recently took a walk down memory lane.

He went walkabout on June 21st to remember the day he started his apprenticeship as a stonemason in 1948 and his subsequent work on many of West Cork’s landmark buildings.

Jeremiah, better known as Sonny, recalls visiting a solicitor’s office on his first day to sign his City and Guilds contract.

More vivid than that was Sonny’s recollection of seeing the town crier, Danny Sheehy, shouting out his messages on the very same day, and, in the background, in the field behind what is now Circle K was Duffy’s Circus in full swing.

In that era, the trains were still running to Dunmanway, but Sonny said there was no economy to speak of because people were very poor.

Jeremiah’s son, also named Jeremiah, but better known as Derry, told The Southern Star that his dad thoroughly enjoyed his 30-year career with Cahalane Builders.

‘One of his first jobs was to work on the houses at Doheny Terrace, so we took a photograph of him outside them,’ said Derry.

Sonny, who is in excellent health, also marked the occasion by visiting the firm of Cahalane Builders and had his photograph taken on site.

‘Dad came from between Dunmanway and Drimoleague, a place called Kilnahera, but moved to a house called Green Acres on the Bantry Road in Dunmanway,’ said Derry.

Among the projects he is particularly proud of is the repair job that was done to the Church of All Saints.

It was another company which built the church, but it was rapidly renamed the Church of All Leaks until Sonny and his contemporaries did a huge amount of work to properly seal the building.

‘In 1956, my father worked extensively on that job to ensure it was dry,’ said Derry. ‘He put in a copper lining at ground level, and he had to chisel all around the bottom to put in a damp course. It was a very difficult job but he was proud of the team that set it to rights and made it a usable building.’

Sonny, who will be 93 in November, is also proud of having been involved in the building of a lot of schools throughout West Cork.