First time buyers get loans

TRIBUTES have been paid to veteran entertainer Bill ‘Billa’ O’Connell, who has died at the age of 91.

The Corkman — who received the Freedom of Cork in 2013 for his services to the city — started his career in local pantomimes in the 1940s and went on to form an integral part of the Summer Revels series at Cork Opera House.

Mr O’Connell appeared on the Late Late Show on RTE many times to perform comedy routines, and in pantomime he was best known for his role as the Dame or as one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella.

Magic

He was awarded an honorary degree by UCC in 1996.

The stalwart of pantomimes was best known for his role as the Dame or as one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella.

Taoiseach and Cork native Micheal Martin led tributes, saying: “Billa O’Connell was quintessential Cork and we will miss him. My deepest sympathies to his wife Nell and all the family.”

Meanwhile, chairman of the Everyman Theatre, Denis McSweeney, said: “His name, just Billa, is sufficient to bring a smiling, maybe tearful memory to mind. He was, for many Corkonians, our first experience of the magic of theatre.”

NEW homeowners make up more than half of all mortgages approved last month, according to the latest figures.

Mortgage approvals for August totalled 4,572, with first-time buyers ( FTBs) accounting for 2,462 of these — meaning 53.8 per cent of the total volume.

But the figures represent another overall drop in mortgages month- onmonth, according to Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.

The figures also show that mover purchasers accounted for 25.8 per cent of last month’s mortgage approvals, with almost €1.2 billion worth of mortgages approved in August.