GOOD CAUSE FOR A HOOLEY
Outgoing county mayor John Paul O’Shea’s arrives at County Hall last Friday for the ‘Hooley in the Hall’ in aid of the Mercy Hospital Foundation Cancer Appeal and Pieta House, met by MC, actress Eilish O’Carroll
THE outgoing Mayor of County Cork, Cllr John Paul O’Shea, made sure his year in office went out with a bang last Friday night as he said ‘ thank you’ to his friends and supporters in his own inimitable fashion.
The ground floor of the County Hall was transformed into slice of the good ole’ Wild West as more than 500 people descended on the venue for good old-fashioned ‘rootin tootin’ hoedown.
The ‘Hooley in the Hall’ more lived up to its billing as one of the social nights of the summer in Cork, with cowboys and cowgals having a swell time as they gulped moonshine, munched burgers and line danced into the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Cllr O’Shea set the tone for the night trotting up outside the County Hall on horseback where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers – much to the obvious bafflement of many passing motorists.
Ironically, Cllr O’Shea was in Georgia ‘ The Empire State of the South’ this week fulfilling one of his final duties as County Mayor when the Corkman caught up with him.
“It was brilliant to see such a great turnout last Friday evening with so many people getting into the spirit by dressing up in fancy dress. I wanted to do something different to mark the end of my tenure and since I am a country boy at heart the theme of the evening was fitting,” said Cllr O’Shea.
Proceeds from the event will be going to two deserving charities the Mercy Hospital Foundation Cancer Appeal and Pieta House,” said Cllr O’Shea.
“Thanks to the goodwill and help of so many people who made the event possible, we managed to raise more than €10,000 on the night,” he added.
As one might have expected Cllr O’Shea was much in demand, spending the evening chatting with friends, posing for photographs and even managing to take the odd turn on the dancefloor.
“It was a brilliant way to put the finishing touch on what has been an amazing year for me and to celebrate the occasion with the people of Cork,” said Cllr O’Shea.