SELL OUT PERFORMANCE IN LISMORE

“The fundraising ‘Romantic Evening’ classical concert in Lismore Castle was a complete sell out and the extra performance we provided this year on Saturday night was also very well attended,” remarked Eilis Casey (acting school principal of the Mochuda primary school in Lismore) who had taken on the role of MC on both nights.

“The funds raised, from the concerts will be spent on necessary school building repairs, updating software for the whiteboards and in the provision of more opportunities for our children,” continued a delighted Ms Casey.

The performers included flautist, Patricia Pearce from Mitchelstown who gave a faultless performance and Frank Ryan, a local tenor, who was born and raised in the village of Curraglass. Pianist, Sandy McPherson, also gave a spirited performance.

Soprano, Sarah Barry, from Castlelyons, whose aunt Mrs Sheehan teaches in the school, gave an excellent rendition of all the material she attempted and it is no surprise she was asked to sing at Michael Flatley’s wedding a couple of year ago.

“Harpist Una Whyte’s performance added a dreamy atmosphere to the evening and if listened to with closed eyes, felt almost esoteric,” remarked one patron who attended on both nights.

Ellis Casey (acting school principal) ended the evening with thanks to the PTA committee members, Sandra Willoughby, Debbie Hobson, Betty Daunt, Zoe Railton who had worked so hard to make a evenings a great success and to Lord and Lady Burlington, who granted permission for the event to be hosted in the castle for the second year.

“Both nights proved to be very successful and we would like to thank all those who attended for their support,” concluded Ms Casey.

FERMOY MAYOR NOMINATED FOR DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Mayor of Fermoy Tadhg O’Donovan has been nominated to serve on the newly formed Avondhu Blackwater Partnership leader group. Mayor O’Donovan was nominated by Cork County Vocational Education Group.

The Labour town councillor confirmed that, having been in the unique position of serving for ten years on both The Avondhu Development Group and the board of Blackwater Resource Development, he saw it as a natural progression to serve with the new company that came about as a result of the merger of the two groups whose joint role is to promote social integration and enhance rural development within the local catchment area.

Mayor O’Donovan said the immediate challenge facing the new company is to raise the necessary awareness throughout the various communities, be they towns, villages or townlands, of the substantial funding available to enable and empower communities to realise their respective potential in the area of social integration and rural development.

GALBALLY GIRL PLANS CAPE TOWN RETURN AFTER ‘WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE’

It’s a long way from Galbally to Cape Town to work for a week in temperatures of over 35 degrees but Sinead Barrett is planning to do it all over again, writes Brian Moore.

Sinead has just returned from South Africa where she worked with the Niall Mellon Foundation building homes for the people living in the townships.

Speaking to The Avondhu this week, she said, “One day I was brick laying, the next plastering and painting. They were long days and you certainly won’t get bored but at the end of the week was all worthwhile. It’s very hard to describe the feeling when we stood there and looked at the completed house that we had built. It was wonderful.”

The Niall Mellon Township Trust was established in 2002 with the aim of providing quality social housing for the impoverished communities in the townships of South Africa. In the first year the trust completed 150 homes, over the next six years 11,000 homes were completed in total. 5,000 houses were built in 2008.

“I think the best part of the trip was knowing that we were helping someone have a home. On the last day we presented the keys of the house that I helped build to an 85 year old woman.

"It was a joy to see the look on her face when she walked into her new home. I am going to go out to South Africa again hopefully next year and would like to thank all those who sponsored and supported me in so many ways. I would especially like to thank my father, John, for all his help and encouragement,” Sinead said.

This week the Galbally girl was back to reality, at work in the accounts department at Breeo Foods, Mitchelstown.

LABOUR CANDIDATE SIGNALS DOUBLE AMBITION

Noel McCarthy, Labour Party candidate for Fermoy Town Council has announced that he will also seek his party’s nomination to contest the upcoming local elections at county council level, writes Joe Leogue.

The Fermoy businessman has put his name in the ring for one of the four seats in the Fermoy local election area, currently held by Fianna Fail councillors Frank O’Flynn and Kevin O’Keeffe and Fine Gael councillors Aileen Pyne and Liam O’Doherty.

Mr McCarthy believes that he is the candidate to break the hold the country’s two biggest parties have on the Fermoy area’s seats.

“Constituents across Mitchelstown, Fermoy and surrounding areas are crying out for an alternative candidate. I believe I offer them that choice,” he said.

The father of three and former publican, who now runs an off-licence in Fermoy, said an improved network of rural roads, investment in jobs locally and the better delivery of vital services in the Fermoy electoral area are among his top priorities.

“I will make only one pledge and that is to represent the people of the area to the best of my ability. I hope to secure the nomination from my Labour Party colleagues and offer people a chance to vote for change in June,” he added.

‘EASY TO GET HASH IN TOWN ANY NIGHT’

– Mitchelstown teenager speaks out -

According to one Mitchelstown teenager it’s a lot easier than you might think. The teenager who wishes to remain anonymous told The Avondhu, “It’s easy to get hash in town any night and as for alcohol, we just get someone to buy it for us at the off-licence.”

The 15 year old said that at the weekends he and his friends would regularly drink until they were sick or they would pass out.

“It’s a good laugh and there isn’t much else to do,” he said.

But how widespread is the problem in North Cork? Chris Black of the South Region Task Force told The Avondhu, “It used to be just a city problem but now even small villages in rural Ireland are affected. We have seen an increase in the numbers of people, especially young people, coming to us over the past year. In the North Cork area the use of alcohol is a major problem but we have also seen a rise in hash users over recent years. There are teenagers as young as 14 with serious addiction problems.

"However, we have to make sure that people know that there are other alternatives out there, there are supports in place for anyone who is in trouble with alcohol and drugs.”

The supports are there so how do we stop young people from getting involved in drugs in the first place?

A spokesman for Alcoholics Anonymous said, “We have to begin by changing our culture. We have this idea that it’s ok to get blind drunk. Young people are exposed to drinking to excess every weekend, there is the idea that you haven’t had a good night unless you can’t remember it. There needs to be more education about alcohol and its effects. We have to show that you can drink and enjoy alcohol without needing to get drunk and this education needs to start at home.”

What would you do if you saw someone selling drugs in your town? The National Drugs Strategy Team along with funding from the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs have set up an anonymous service to report incidents of drug dealing in the community. The Cork Dial To Stop Drug Dealing is an anonymous and safe line to help stop drugs taking hold of a community.

One father who lives in Dublin said, “Drug Dealing is destroying our kids’ lives and it is bringing down the area and the community we live in. My kids have seen the dealing first hand. Now I can call someone. They don’t want my name and they’ll make sure they pass on my information to the gardai. Finally I can do something.” For more information you can contact Cork Dial To Stop Drug Dealing on 1800 220 220 or log on to www.dialtostop.ie

NO INCREASE IN RATES FOR BUSINESS

Cork county manager Martin Riordan confirmed that there would be no increase in rates for businesses in North Cork in 2009 in an address to the Mitchelstown Forum conference last week.

The conference, which was entitled ‘Rural Development: optimizing resources in a pessimistic climate’, saw representatives from many of the country’s community development agencies attending and was also addressed by the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan T.D.

Mitchelstown Business development manager Paul Swift told The Avondhu, “The conference was a great success, I know that all those who attended have learned a lot, not only about the need to continue developing their areas and regions but also how to go about accessing the resources that are available.”

Another speaker who brought a wealth of experience and success to the conference was Carmel Fox of Ballyhoura Development, “It’s vital that we continue to support rural development especially now in these economically uncertain times. Supporting employment opportunities in the local community is without doubt one of the best ways to ensure people living in rural areas will keep their villages and towns alive,” the Ballyhoura CEO said.

The guest of honour at the conference dinner was Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan.

The minister expressed her admiration for the work of the rural development agencies and said, “By working together we will weather the current economic storm. We will then be in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, when the clouds of economic gloom begin to lift. We have come through tough times in the past and we will do so again.”