THIS WEEK 21 YEARS AGO
The front page of TheAvondhu 21 years ago reminded constituents to get out and vote in the upcoming General Election. A list of the candidates appeared within; in East Cork, there was one woman nominated and eight men, of 14 candidates in Waterford they were all men, the eight in Tipperary South were all men, and the seven in Limerick West were all men. In Cork North Central there were 13 candidates - 12 being men.
In Lismore, the Millennium Park officially opened with the planting of a commemorative tree and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
A front page photo showed athlete Sonia O’Sullivan at BUPA Ireland in Fermoy, where the company was celebrating the signing of their 250,000th customer.
In Ballynoe National School, visiting politicians were reminded of their responsibilities to the school; the school had been using a secondhand prefab as a classroom for 25 years. Staff meetings were held in the corridor, and the resource and learning support teacher was using the cloakroom as a classroom.
Meanwhile in Kilmurry National School, affectionately known as ‘ The High School’ for its position over the Blackwater Valley, a school reunion was in the planning. The school had closed in 1967, having opened in 1861, and plans were afoot to restore the building.
The world-famous Ronald Reagan Bar in Ballyporeen was up for sale by proprietors John and Mary O’Farrell. The pub had hosted the very first visit of an American President to an Irish bar on 3rd June, 1984; he had a pint of Smithwicks, while First Lady Nancy Reagan had a glass of Carolan’s liqueur.
Horgan’s Mitchelstown won the prestigious Kerrygold Cup for the ‘Best Irish Mature Cheddar’ cheese. It beat about 50 other entrants for the honour. Elsewhere in news, the Glocca Maura Inn was ‘ packed’ for its official reopening,
Anglesborough were to host a monster furniture auction with a donation to COPE due from the proceeds, while St Patrick’s Hospital in Fermoy launched their ‘Buy a Slate’ fundraiser; the hospital had already raised €230,000 and were hoping to reach their target of €380,000.
Residents of Kiltrislane and Dromleigh ‘lashed out’ at Cork County Council and local reps for failing to provide safety measures at the turnoff to their homes. There had been four fatalities on the stretch of road leading up to the junction.
Meanwhile in Kilworth, there was no funding to improve the footpath from Brennan’s Place to the crossroads, from either the local authority or from the local community council. The work was estimated at almost €40,000.
Elsewhere, in Mitchelstown, road markings were laid out at the Cross of the Groves so the council could assess whether a button roundabout would improve the traffic situation at the dangerous junction.
Anglesborough Hall welcomed a €4,000 grant, which would alleviate some of the costs associated with the installation of central heating in the hall; until then, they had been reliant on income from their Monday night card games.
Bishop John Magee opened an art exhibition at Cluain Dara in Fermoy, the result of a partnership between Youthreach and day visitors of the facility.
Sinn Féin candidate June Murphy from Mitchelstown gave the keynote speech at a commemoration for Thomas Kent in Castlelyons, and a wreath was placed by Billy Buckley, the son of Old IRA Flying Column leader William ‘Bronco’ Buckley.
The search was on for the ‘ Ballyhooly Bible’. A visiting Kiwi had brought it to Ireland with her in the hopes of learning something about the couple whose names were on the inside, Hannah Davy and Richard Talbot, who were married in Ballyhooly’s Protestant Church in 1869. Visiting the area, Carolyn Blackler brought the Bible with her, but it went missing. A clairvoyant said it was somewhere in a box, in a basement, and an appeal was made to the public to search for it!
Sunnyside Fruit Farm in Rathcormac had jobs advertised for fruit pickers, minimum age 14. In nearby Bartlemy, the annual point-to-points were scheduled under new chair, John Barry. The previous chair, Jack Ryall, was stepping down after over 40 years at the helm.
In Fermoy, a new Karate National Training Centre was planned with an official launch of the five-year training programme. Subject to securing the site and necessary funding of about €76,000, it was hoped to be open by 2007. The town also mourned the passing of ex-bowling chairman, Tom ‘Powery’ Power
In camogie, St Catherine’s were the U18 county champions under captain Annette Fitzgerald following a win over Clonakilty, 5-7 to 1-11. Finally, Bride Rovers were crowned the U21 East Cork football champions with a 1-12 to 1-9 win over Lisgoold.