MEMORIES ARCHIVES
21 years ago, four suspects in possession of handguns were apprehended in Mitchelstown, thought to have had links with a ‘ subversive group’, though it was not ‘clear’ which group. In the same week, an office safe was recovered in Glenanaar Wood, smashed open. The safe had been stolen from Dooley’s Garage in Knocklong and contained sets of valuable keys.
In Mitchelstown, bulldozers moved in to demolish what was left of Cinema Oisín, but new owners Core Computers paid homage to the history of the site by promising to call the new building ‘Oisín House’. Also in the town, works began in Kingston College to restore the historic site ‘back to its former glory’. The project, at £1.6 million, was predicted to take two years.
In Fermoy, improvement works had begun on the Queen of Peace Church (the former Fitzgerald Camp). Built in the 1940s, it was now visible for the first time from the road as trees surrounding it were felled.
Bad news came, as the announcement was made that TV series ‘Glenroe’ was to come to an end in 2001, wrapping up the sagas of Miley, Biddy and co. after 18 years on screen.
Fermoy and Mallow were furnished with a flood report, following two years of study. The report, at a cost of £50,000, recommended works on the Blackwater that would be led by the OPW.
Loreto Fermoy students were on their way to Cavan for the final of the PTAA Readoirí song contest. The sixth year students, under the direction of Sr Nuala, clinched the Munster title with ‘ Walking in the Air’ and ‘Dilín Ó Damhnsa’.
In Lismore, members of the fire brigade presented St Carthage’s Residential Home with a cheque for over £2,000. They had raised the money by climbing to the top of a ladder, in rotation, for eight hours while collecting money from passers-by. Fire officers Des O’Brien, Michael Russell, Martin Landers, Mary McNamara, Stephen Kennefick, Eric Flynn and Seán Sheehan presented the cheque to Mary Fenton-Morrissey.
Icy roads caused problems in and out of Galbally, and in Mitchelstown a pedestrian was hit by a car near The Firgrove Hotel, when a car went out of control after hitting ice. A second man was taken to hospital after his car went out of control by Molly Barry’s Cross, also after hitting ice.
In Tallow Credit Union, new manager Mr Finbarr Barry was appointed.
Over in Castletownroche 13 tillage farmers made a substantial cash donation of £7,000 to Bóthar. The project, coordinated by John Murphy, involved the members putting cash, machinery and labour towards the planting and harvesting of spring seed barley.
St Fanahan’s College in Mitchelstown were gifted with a set of chisels from Indonesian master wood-carver Mustofa. The craftsman was resident in Fermoy, a guest of Batavia owners Noel and Majella O’Regan.
St Colman’s students Robert Reynolds and Barry Ryan, both from Glanworth, and TJ Begley, Galbally, were All-Ireland Tráth na gCeist team winners, while in Limerick, Ballyorgan National School students were winners of the Mitchelstown Credit Union Quiz Night, all receiving portable CD players for their hard work (and beaming about it too!).
The Kilworth Caring Fund, a fundraising committee set up to assist injured construction worker Donal Kenneally, took to The Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown for a ‘ Welcome Home’ party for Mr Kenneally.
The community in Ballyduff Upper were poised for the official
opening of their new sports hall. An effort of volunteerism and local donations, the project was touted as showing Ballyduff to be ‘one of the most progressive and far-seeing villages in Ireland’. Meanwhile, in Anglesboro, the village came together to celebrate 21 years since the opening of the community hall with a special Mass and a social evening in the hall, as well as a look towards the future and the anticipated cable car to Temple Hill.
The Hazel Tree in Mallow played host to Louise Morrissey’s farewell performance before her career break. In the same period, The Fureys were playing The Village Arts Centre in Kil
worth, while ‘Bring It On’ showed in Fermoy cinema.
Industry was expanding across the region, as Glenkerr Promotions in Fermoy sought 20 telemarketers, and Glanworth Tyres looked for two telesales
people. A Valentine’s Day offer featured to get your heart beating - a Nokia 3210 AND a Nokia 3310, £79 for the two (one wonders who got the newer model?).
Finally, the Fermoy Snooker team travelled to Killarney to take part
in the Munster Snooker Club Championships. Drawn in the ‘group of death’, Ryan Conway, Tom Aherne, John Murphy, Daithi Whelan, Derek Murphy, Bobbie Donovan and John Dorgan were unsuccessful in their bid.