LAST Saturday night, these three Cork city women did something they have done every January 6 for 40 years.
Catherine Scannell, Josephine Reidy, and Rose Kelleher met up to celebrate that most Cork of festive traditions - Women’s Little Christmas.
The ladies, who all met while working at Dunlop in Cork city in the 1960s, laughed, chatted, and celebrated their enduring friendship at the Briar Rose in Ballinlough.
Their night out is an annual tradition that began way back in 1984 - and the trio are proud to have kept their bond alive for so long, and to be retaining one of the great Yuletide customs on Leeside.
Women’s Little Christmas, or Nollaig na mBan, takes place on the Feast of the Epiphany - religiously, it is the day when the Three Kings brought their gifts to the baby Jesus.
In some cultures on the continent, it is the day when gifts are exchanged between family and friends, rather than on December 24 and 25 here in Ireland - which makes sense, when you think about it.
How and when Women’s Little Christmas started out has been lost in the mists of time, but it is still popular in pockets of the country.
As its name suggests, it is an annual chance for the females of the species to get together with their fellow women, and enjoy their own day of celebration, while the menfolk stay at home and handle all the chores (for once).
The tradition is particularly strong in Cork, as I can attest. Last Saturday night, I was the designated driver for my wife’s night out for Nollaig na mBan, and when I arrived in the pub just before midnight to collect her, I was met by catcalls and demands for me to get out of the premises!
I resisted the temptation to ask them when Men’s Little Christmas was taking place - partly because I value my life, and partly because it would inevitably be met with the rejoinder “That’s every day!”
The only male around in the pub was the landlord - who had a a smile as wide as his over-worked cash register.
As an added bonus, the gents loos’ in pubs across Cork must have been mercifully clean last Sunday morning, while I imagine it was a quiet enough shift for An Garda Siochána too!
But back to the three ladies - Catherine Scannell, who lives in Ballinlough, and Josephine Reidy and Rose Kelleher, who live in Douglas.
Rose says their annual Christmas outing has its roots in the distant past.
“The strong tradition in Cork has been passed on from each generation. My own mother used to brave the elements and have a glass of sherry for the occasion,” she said.
“I have a WhatsApp group of five of my school friends, and first thing last Saturday morning, messages were flying wishing everyone a happy Nollaig na mBan.
“There were also several groups of women enjoying the night out in the Briar Rose when we were out.”
Rose met Catherine more than 60 years ago, in 1963, and says: “We met Josephine in 1968 when we started working in Dunlop.”
Catherine and Josephine worked in the Wages Department and Rose in the Technical Department.
“We three became good friends and started going out together every Women’s Little Christmas 40 years ago, in 1984,” said Rose.
“For many years, we used to have a meal in Clouds restaurant on that night. During the early years, most restaurants would be packed with women all celebrating Women’s Little Christmas.
“Other restaurants to which we went include the Elm Tree, Blackrock Castle, The Silver Quay, Strasbourg Goose and Johno’s in Douglas. This year, the Briar Rose was the lucky one.”
Rose gives an insight into why the day is so special, and retains its appeal among women.
“The three of us were very busy when we were young and didn’t meet over the Christmas period, so we treated Women’s Little Christmas as a platform to grumble about our problems and how overworked we were during Christmas!”
Dunlop employed 1,800 at the Marina at its peak, and the closure of the factory on September 30, 1983, was a massive economic blow. However, by then, Rose and her two close friends had left the factory.
“In the 1970s, most women left the workforce when they got married,” said Rose. “Isn’t that crazy? But it’s true, so we were out of the workforce then, rearing the children.
“But we were very sad when we heard the news of Dunlop’s closure, we thought of all the good times and the Christmas dos and all the wonderful characters with whom we had worked.”
Last September, as revealed on this page, the 40th anniversary of the closure of Dunlop was marked by a mass for former staff at St Michael’s Church in Blackrock.
“Catherine, Josephine and I were present of course,” said Rose. “The event was a great success and we had lots of laughs and stories when we met outside the church later.”
The arrival of Covid-19 four years ago briefly put an end to Rose and her friends’ annual Christmas get-togethers, but they kept in touch.
“We could not meet physically, so every Wednesday we took turns at ringing the group in WhatsApp. We found it a very difficult time,” said Rose.
“When we were allowed to mix again post-Covid, we started to meet every Monday at 10.30am for tea and home-made scones.”
Naturally, these three busy women have lots to discuss over their meals in the first week of January each year.
“We started meeting all those years ago when we were newly- married girls. We have had children and grandchildren and many interesting events. We still get excited about meeting and telling each other our latest news,” said Rose.
The fact Women’s Little Christmas fell on a Saturday this year helped boost the numbers who celebrated it, and the event appears to be in safe hands going into the future. The next generation after Rose, Catherine, and Josephine are embracing it.
Rose said: “I asked my two daughters what is their memory of my celebrating Women’s Little Christmas, and they said their abiding memory is me dressing up and rushing out to meet Catherine and Josephine!
“Will the tradition continue? Yes, I believe it will.
“One of my daughters was working on Saturday night, but only for that she would have gone out with her sister and friends to celebrate the night.
“Both Catherine’s and Josephine’s daughters were out celebrating the important date too.”
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