SAUSAGEMAKING

On her visit to Mitchelstown last week, Minister Heather Humphreys made a special mention of local volunteers. Those of us in rural Ireland know the real work in keeping this country happy and healthy is done by the unpaid; the fêtes, boot sales, vintage runs, horse fairs.

The hundreds of thousands of sandwiches and cups of tea, buns and scones. With n’er a cinema or theatre to entertain us yokels, it falls on community groups to entertain us weekend after weekend.

It’s a queer sort of role. To be an effective community council member one must be power-hungry, but have a streak of selflessness. They must crave the limelight, but need to want to throw it back on the community too. They must be self-righteous and driven, but pleasant. If they do a good job, no one notices. If they do nothing, everyone knows about it.

Who would want it? Glanworth is facing its own crisis of democracy now, as the former committee begs to hand over the reins and the mantle. Who will take it on? Who wants to see how the sausage is made?