The Village Pubs of Cork: Pandemic forced us to serve food..it was a game-changer

Charlie Madden’s pub sits on the main street in Timoleague, the West Cork village that neighbours Courtmacsherry and Ring.

While the village doesn’t hug the coast in the same way as Ring or Courtmac’, it’s close enough to the sea to be part of the Wild Atlantic Way, rendering Charlie Madden’s a viable stop along the world-famous trail.

Charlie Madden was a well-known road bowler and popular character from West Cork. He gave the place its name in 1974, after he and his wife Tessie bought the pub from Maureen O’Driscoll, and the name has remained over the door ever since. The building itself is much older, stretching back well over a century,

Today, the pub is run and owned by Charlie’s daughter Sheila Walton and her husband Simon. They have been running the pub for over two decades.

“We bought it in 2005. We rented it first, from Sheila’s parents, and then we bought it from them. We put everything into it ourselves,” Simon explains.

He is originally from Ballydehob and worked for Heineken, delivering to pubs throughout the region. Prior to that, he spent time pulling pints in some of the bars of West Cork and says he always had an interest in pub work.

Simon met Sheila while working behind the counter in Skibbereen during a festival weekend. At the time, neither realised the other came from a pub background. Sheila was working as an accountant.

They married in 1995 and in the year 2000, when Sheila’s parents were considering stepping back from the pub, the option to take over was offered to their children, and Sheila decided to take it on.

“She put her hand up and said she’d like to rent it and give it a go, I helped out, and five years later we decided we’d buy it,” explains Simon.

When Sheila’s parents bought the pub in November, 1974, it was already well established and later, in 1979, Tessie became the local post mistress and brought the Post Office to the adjoining building and ran it for two decades until 1999.

The post office remained in the building until 2023, operated independently by a local post mistress after the Waltons took over the pub.

Changes to An Post operations and reduced financial viability eventually led to its closure, leaving another gap in village services.

When Simon and Sheila took over Charlie Madden’s in 2000, Timoleague had five pubs. Today, there are two pubs and a restaurant. Pad Joes is the other pub, and Monk Lane is the restaurant, which also used to be a pub.

Charlie Madden’s has survived by adapting, without losing its core.

They brought in Sky Sports, showing rugby and GAA, and introduced live music more regularly. A Thursday night trad music session began nearly 18 years ago and continues to this day.

“It’s more singing than trad,” says Sheila. “It’s open to people who are learning, or who just want to play a bit in a pub environment. Tourists love it in the summer. Live music is a big part of the weekend trade.”

One of the biggest shifts came during covid, when regulations forced pubs to serve food if they wanted to remain open. It was something Sheila had long considered, and Simon had resisted.

“I wasn’t gone on the idea of food at the start,” he admits. “It was a game changer for us.”

Food is now central to the business, particularly during the tourist season, when the kitchen operates seven days a week. Outside of peak months, food is served at weekends. Sheila runs the kitchen herself.

The menu is deliberately unpretentious and well-priced: burgers, lasagna, and pub classics done well. Word of mouth and online reviews have driven much of the trade.

“We’re nearly five-star on TripAdvisor,” Simon says. “People come in and say they found us there.”

Timoleague’s position on the Wild Atlantic Way helps. While it lacks accommodation, nearby Courtmacsherry, Clonakilty and the surrounding areas help drive visitors to the village. Sexton’s Caravan Park, just outside the village, can host hundreds of campers during the summer months. “That’s huge for us, in the summer especially,” Sheila says.

The pub interior has evolved in stages. Walls have been knocked, ceilings lifted, wood burners installed, and there is a nice-sized outdoor area to the back. A major refurbishment in 2020 transformed the dining area while preserving the intimacy of the bar.

“During the week, you could have only six people in here and it still feels lively. It always feels like it’s ticking over,” Simon says.

Weekends bring a mix of locals, families, and visitors. The pub also functions as a social hub, staging 21sts, 40ths, and christenings.

“We take the pressure off people,” Simon says. “If you’re having a birthday or a gathering, we’re the venue. We do the food, the cleaning, the organising. We’ve been doing it years.”

Simon and Sheila’s children are now adults. Their interest in taking over the pub has shifted over time, and for now the focus is on letting them experience life elsewhere.

“They need to see the world first,” Simon says. “Then they can decide.”

Looking ahead, he believes there is still a future for village pubs, but only for those willing to adapt and put in the work.

“The business is there,” he says. “But you have to be there. People want to see you behind the counter. That’s what makes the difference.”