2002 MEMORIES FROM THE ARCHIVES
THIS WEEK 21 YEARS AGO
One front page of TheAvondhu in April 2002 carried coverage of then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s visit to Ballylanders, as well as the news that gardaí had recovered €6,000 worth of stolen goods at a house in Fermoy. Garda Shane Igoe was was pictured holding a hoover from the haul, one of the many and varied items recovered. In Mitchelstown, a jewellery theft from one shop had business owners throughout the town on the alert.
The closure of 23 rural branches of Dairygold was deferred after the decision had been met with widespread protests. However, the decision was greeted cynically, being described by Liam O’Flynn (on behalf of farmers) as ‘nothing more than a ploy to keep them quiet’. Pickets would continue at Glanworth, at least, until a definitive answer was given.
Kilworth’s Clíona O’Connor returned from Australia after winning the Channel 4 reality programme ‘Eden’, scooping £10,000 in the process. During the very early days of the internet, Ms O’Connor had already met with false news and fake pictures about her since her win, but vowed not to let it ruin her experience.
One picture in The Avondhu in April 2002 showed a careful mother duck leading her six ducklings across the bridge in Fermoy, holding up traffic in the process.
Elsewhere, a bird sanctuary at Shanrahan in Clogheen was completely destroyed by a gorse fire, thought to be started deliberately. Meanwhile, a second night-time gorse fire in Liss, Araglin was also being investigated.
Local anglers were irate at the Mayor of Fermoy, John Hussey, after the Spring Coarse Angling Festival was put in jeopardy. They were involved in a dispute over fishing rights, and the mayor had deferred discussing the matter until that May, citing legal issues.
In Lismore, seven months after the proposition was made, the GAA had failed to confirm whether they would be taking over the ball alley or not. Meanwhile in Conna, there were tentative plans for a gym in the community centre after it proved a popular choice in a survey - a funding application would follow.
In David Gaffney’s then-weekly column, he mentioned Niall Quinn and the upcoming testimonial match between Ireland and Sunderland just before the Irish team were due to travel to Japan. ‘Saipan’ had not entered the popular lexicon… yet.
Speaking of picking sides, the election coverage was gathering momentum. After Fermoy became the first town in Ireland to demand a poster-free zone for the elections, Sinn Féin vowed to respect these wishes, and hoped other parties would follow suit; June Murphy was the Cork East candidate. Within the paper, an advert for Fine Gael described David Stanton TD as ‘One of Ireland’s brightest TDs’. Elsewhere, Labour’s Cllr Joe Sherlock officially launched his campaign for the 2002 General Election.
In Ballylanders, Bertie Ahern visited the War of Independence memorial and opened the renovated and expanded ‘ Natural Sleep Company’ factory. Meanwhile in Midleton, the Dow Corning Corporation were to create 60 jobs in the town with an R&D centre.
The Palace Players in Fermoy were the first of 12 groups drawn in the 2002 All-Ireland Drama Finals, and would be performing ‘The Lonesome West’ for the competition.
There was public outcry to a €1,000% increase in the annual fee for fingerpost signage and the government backed down on the matter; the fee
would be set at €50, and not €630.
21 years ago in Lidl, a three-pack of cassette tapes would set you back €2.79, and a DVD player €139.
In Watergrasshill a meeting was planned to discuss a book about the village, while in Britway a meeting was held to tackle the falling population and the effect on the school: the aim was about ‘ Putting Britway back on the map’.
With a 1-0 win over Burncourt Celtic, the Mitchelstown Celtic were crowned the Griffin Cup champions for the third time. Over the road, Glanworth Celtic took the Blackthorn Cup with a decisive 5-0 win over Knockadea FC; Joe Thornton was the Man of the Match.
The Loreto camogie team were destined for Cashel for the All-Ireland B final against Ballinasloe; the team had 10 St Catherine’s reps, and another eight hailed from Watergrasshill.
A Kerryman won the Mary G’s Pool Tournament in Kildorrery, with the runner-up local man Adrian McEniry. In Glanworth, the U12 boys were crowned the B league football champions, defeating Doneraile 3-6 to 2-7.
Finally, in the ‘ Lost and Found’ section of TheAvondhu, a chair was advertised. It had been found at the side of the road in Fermoy and the finder was eager to reunite it with its rightful owner.