Local schools shine on TV
THANKFULLY council officials do listen and have responded to the constant views of local public representatives, the Gardai and many others that a one-way traffic system is needed in St. Patrick’s cemetery.
For decades this publication has advocated through our editorial page and in news stories that the cemetery lends itself to the introduction of a one-way system and have always maintained that it wouldn’t take a fortune to implement it.
Unfortunately it is only because of a number of incidents that happened in and around the annual Blessing of Graves ceremony in July that those responsible for the upkeep and management of the cemetery accepted that something has to be done.
The problem, as most townspeople know, that without proper traffic controls within the cemetery itself it becomes complete chaos not just during the annual Blessing of Graves, but at peak periods, such as Christmas.
Naturally there are many suggestions as to how a traffic flow system could operate, and one of the many groups with suggestions is the working group within the council established some time ago to look into the problem.
Their views will be important, but so too should be the views of the Gardai and emergency services who have had to respond to situations during recent years when it was virtually impossible to do so in a rapid and professional manner.
The public too should not be excluded from an input into any consultation process, for caring for the graves of their loved ones is a major priority for most Irish people, and whereas some have abandoned religious practice, they still place great emphasis on maintaining the graves of their family members, taking great pride ensuring that the graves are well cared for.
Of course there is the view that cemeteries will become, like other aspects of society, redundant as more and more people opt for cremation, but even at that, provision is being made in most cemeteries for areas where ashes can be stored in a vault.
For that reason the likelihood is that the annual Patrun will still draw large numbers, necessitating that proper traffic controls are put in place if only for the obvious need under health and safety provisions.
THE TV companies in Britain were quick out of the blocks for within hours of the Taoiseach announcing from the steps of a building in Washington that all schools and colleges in the Republic of Ireland would be closing because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
While all of us were trying to absorb this momentous time in the history of our nation, a time that will be talked about for decades, the bosses of the main TV stations in the UK were directing their Irish correspondents to hot tail it across the border and file a piece for their main news programmes.
A number of those TV crews travelled no further than Dundalk, and locals were surprised when they turned on the popular Channel 4 news on Thursday night to see that the presenter was broadcasting live from a classroom in St. Malachy’s Girls
WITHOUT PROPER TRAFFIC CONTROLS WITHIN THE CEMETERY ITSELF IT BECOMES COMPLETE CHAOS
school.
The feature also included an interview with the principal, Brid Galligan who spoke very well and was very supportive of the action taken by our Government.
Later in the night on the ITV News at 10, another school in the area was also featured, and here again the parents interviewed outside of the school were also very supportive of the steps taken by our Government, even though a number admitted that having their children off school would cause child minding problems for them because of work commitments.
The two reports from the Dundalk area also featured empty shelves in a number of stores - not the main supermarkets - as the issue of panic buying was highlighted.
However, most stores, as we all know emphasised that there was no need for rushing to the shops as the supply chain was in place by all major outlets.
That point was also underlined in a very assured performance by the Minister from the north-east area, Heather Humphreys during a very well handled press conference by a number of Ministers on Thursday in which they all showed great leadership, calmness, and authority in the manner in which they carried out their tasks.
Incidentally the two schools in Dundalk were not the only schools from the area to feature on TV in the last week for on the ‘ Today with Maura and Daithi’ popular afternoon programme the initiative started by teachers and parents in Dromiskin NS of getting pupils to walk instead of being driven to school was given great prominence.
And rightly so for it is an initiative, led by Principal, Aoibheann Lynch that could be followed by more schools, and all involved in Dromiskin should be congratulated.