This band picture from the 1950s/’60s surfaced during the year, courtesy of Mick Treacy, showing the maestro James (Jimmy) Fitzgerald and his band. The picture shows Jimmy Fitz as he was affectionately known, on tenor sax, TJ Hartigan on clarinet and Charlie Sweeney on drums, Joe Farrell on accordion (left), the surname of the other accordionist is thought to have been ??? Coffey.
Jimmy Fitzgerald would have guided the fortunes of many aspiring musicians in the North Cork, South Limerick and South Tipperary areas from the 1940s through to the early ’70s, including this writer for a brief spell. He was proficient in numerous instruments, but specialised in brass, particularly the saxaphone and trumpet. Jimmy had the honour of having the local brass band named in his honour and rightly so, as he would have tutored many of the band members in his time.
T J Hartigan was a newspaper columnist up until his death in 1964, a position subsequently taken up by his sister ‘Nellie Q’ who was married to Tom Quinlan. They lived on Thomas Street up until Tom’s death in 1989 and, shortly afterwards in what was somewhat of a shock move, Nellie took up residence in Corpus Christi Nursing Home in the town where she resided for all of eighteen years. Their father Tom ran a jeweller’s shop in the town for a good number of years in the early 1900s.
TJ, as well as being a good musician, was also a photographer, recording many and varied events around the greater Mitchelstown area. Both his and his sister’s contributions would have appeared on the Cork Examiner, The Kerryman (later The Corkman) and The Nationalist. Nellie became a great source of news to The Avondhu once she began to trust and embrace our publication from about 1980 onwards.
Nellie was terrible precise in what she wanted published, was usually pushing the deadline when she handed in her copy and appreciating that she might be she might be late on occasion, would stress that we ‘get in the salient points’. On the envelope that included her contributions, Nellie always had her trademark ‘Nellie Q’ with a little bird drawn on the top left hand corner.
Charlie Sweeney went on to have his own band. Again an all-round musician, Charlie played drums, accordion and trumpet and was a freat favourite for socials, dances and parties, playing over a very wide area. Charlie was also involved in the FCA and, despite having lost an eye in an accident as a young man, was a good marksman and had the honour of winning a Munster individual Munster championship competition. (See more on Charlie’s life elsewhere this issue).
 Fitzgerald and his band. The picture shows Jimmy Fitz as he was affectionately known, on tenor sax, TJ Hartigan on clarinet and Charlie Sweeney on drums, Joe Farrell on accordion (left)){kind=link}