THIS WEEK 21 YEARS AGO
On the front page of
TheAvondhu 21 years
ago was the news that the Presentation Convent in Mitchelstown
was to close its doors
after almost 150 years
in the community. In
a letter to the parish, Provincial leader Mary
Dineen said the closure
was ‘with a sense of
harvest time and com
pletion’. and tie While Ahern Fianna the was Fáil's Taoiseach pictured Berin Fermoy drumming up ‘yes’ votes for the upcoming Nice Treaty,
TheAvondhu reported on ‘Dirty tricks within local FF’. A caller to the newspaper had given a false name and was making spurious and false claims against a Fermoy councillor that The Avondhu were expected to report on. Fortunately, the truth of the matter was discovered before anything went to print: “TheAvondhu strongly objects to being used in this despicable manner”, was the statement made. The front page also carried an apology from TheAvondhu for being late getting to the shops that week, due to a technicality ‘completely outside our control’. The paper itself was a bit ‘ chaotic’, with page numbers out of order; a rogue sports page even made it to the front half of the newspaper!
Victorious Mitchelstown captain Anthony O’Brien was pictured celebrating the North Cork final victory with teammate and brother Joe O’Brien and his children, after their win over Glanworth.
The toilets in Lismore were judged to be one of Ireland’s best, and the town was awarded a ‘top toilet’ plaque; it was one of just four in the country to be awarded such an accolade. Meanwhile, Mitchelstown’s Tidy Towns report commended the plans for a wildlife area in Kingston College, and described the town as ‘a fine town with quite an unusual setting’.
In the weekly garda report, a Norwegian elkhound had been found, a McLaren buggy was stolen outside of Shaws in Fermoy and fraudsters erected gutters, unasked, at an elderly man’s home then demanded payment.
Stephen Lordan from Fermoy was heading to Dublin to make history, as one of a group of young people to sit in the Dáil, while elsewhere, in Lismore, councillors called for a new fire station.
Fermoy’s Carrig Park was to host the U17 Euro qualifier between France and Slovenia and additional seating and a portable stand were organised for fans.
Kilworth’s Yvonne Moore came second runner-up in the annual Miss Ireland beauty pageant contest, while the Rathcormac Irish Countrywomen’s Association were looking forward to their 50th anniversary event in the new-look Rathcormac Inn.
In Shanballymore, Fr Michael Corkery was honoured as he made the move to a new parish, Newmarket, while a civic reception was held in Fermoy for 86-year
old Fr Denis Slattery, who was honoured for a whole host of reasons - his time as an SMA missionary priest, his service to Nigeria, commitment to education and love of soccer.
Elsewhere, Galbally school principal Thomas O’Doherty was pictured at his retirement function after 33 years service.
Castletownroche’s Boot Sale was ‘threatened by Cork County Council’, who took down their signs as part of litter regulations. Meanwhile, Donal Cotter from the village was pictured at his
60th birthday in Batterberry’s, also celebrating 40 years in showbusiness.
An article heralded that ‘Mitchelstown looks to the future’ after a workshop funded by Ballyhoura Development; the outcomes were to seek a town development plan, ‘greatly improve the image of the town’, a long-term carpark and facilities for the travelling community.
In entertainment, Crystal Swing were to play in the Glocca Maura Inn, while the ‘ Voice of the Bride’ song contest was to begin shortly in
The Winners Enclosure in Conna. The Big Tree in Aghern was to host ‘Double X, Live Country Rock for all ages’.
Elsewhere, pictures showed how the Champagne flowed in The Winners Enclosure in Conna as locals toasted the success of Jimmy and Mary Mangan and Monty’s Pass' victory at the Kerry National in Listowel. While in Galbally, Brendan Quish and his (unnamed) wife would be taking the reins of The Abbey Bar from the Meade family.
Over in Araglin, the
GAA dressing rooms were officially opened and in Ballylanders the ladies, under captain Siobhan O’Donnell, won the U16 county shield final with a win over Athea. For Grange/Fermoy AC, Glanworth’s Mary Sheehan won the Limerick Evening Echo Ladies Mini Marathon in a time of 27mins and 55 seconds and in other athletics news, Clogheen’s Pat Mulcahy was the U16 All-Ireland high-jump champion with a record of 1.9 metres, a position he had held for three years.