WE MUST FAVOUR IRISH PRODUCTS OF EQUAL QUALITY AND VALUE OVER IMPORTS

Dear Editor,

Local leadership in provincial Ireland has been important over the last two hundred years and we owe much to the Christian Churches for the parish structures they put in place which is the base unit most of the major organisations on this island country use as a key part of their organisational structure.

The pride we all have in our native parish, especially in sport and local affairs, is only challenged by our interest in the history of our native place.

Most of all we in County Tipperary owe a great debt of gratitude to the revered patriot Charles J Kickham for his immortal phrase (“For the sake of the little village”) in his novel Knocknagow, which has inspired Tipperary people to achieve so much that earned us the label Premier County.

Each parish in County Tipperary be it Lattin, Cullen, Emly, Bansha, Aherlow, Solohead, Tipperary, Donohill or elsewhere, all has their own distinctive claims to fame, most have their own parish anthems in local ballads, their famous historic locations and famous sons and daughters of the past and present. We have so much of immense value to boost local tourism that we tend to overlook.

It is time we demanded greater promotion and marketing of County Tipperary and other regions as a major tourist centre, instead of the low grade promotion levels we currently receive.

It is also time to re visit the benefits of the co-operative system at parish level to promote enterprises and create local employment.

We have the scenic Glen of Aherlow that over a century ago was a prime centre for tourism in a national context that has been kept almost as a secret place over the last fifty years.

Why not use parish co-ops that may qualify for EU and State supports to market tourism and the products of local enterprises including tourist accommodation.

As we face new challenges in an economic context everyone has a role to play in protecting employment and creating new jobs by favouring home produced products over imports.

We must request retail outlets to expand their range of Irish products and all of us select such retail outlets that do so, to shop in.

If we are to play our part in maintaining and providing jobs for our people in the current climate, we must favour Irish products of equal quality and value over imports.

Yours faithfully ,
Michael Magure MCC ,
Lattin,
Tipperary,
Co. Tipperary.

SORTING THE PROBLEMS OF FERMOY?

I am dipping into the inkwell again to clarify a few things about my last contribution to your esteemed excellent read. It would appear that some people were confused especially my Barrack Hill old boy mentor who squawked into my earhole the following!

Wat kind offa holla ground eejit are you atall? Doncha no dat Dr Tom has had a branch on da road for years next ta Johnnie Macs. Shur I no dat sez I, but I was tawken bout da bleddy trees he donated ya clown ya.

I no dat sez he, but William and the scribe professor Tadhg will for now on fill the letters page with progress on the trees growth and of course da thirty beds that day brung ta da ospital.

You have to hand it to dat great brain Tadhg after all, see the way dat he bypassed Pearse Square but unfortunately stuck the new viaduct right next to Michael Barry’s Sunnybank front door.

It should be very interesting to see how the town can expand eastwards with this development? Anyway im sure that we should have plenty of press releases and photos from Tadhg for the duration of the contract. Here is what could be a typical example.

“On behalf of Fermoy hospital such and such committee I wish to thank the inmates for remaining patient during the construction period”.

Dats awrite sez me old boy mentor but wat about your remarks bout da flooden ting?

Well you could be right me lad after all St Joseph’s is up on the top of the hill and weren’t we all assured down at the palace hall (Resource Centre) by Flan the town/county/senior/area/nra etc engineer (he has got more caps than Tony O’Reilly had for rugby) that we were lucky to get this flood relief system for Fermoy because, if I heard him properly, it had been successfully carried out in other countries such as Holland which resembles Ireland with all of the mountains etc.

How stupid of Nick Nolan and myself to doubt the wisdom of experts who know better, but before the contractor goes on making mountains out of molehills (literally speaking) is it possible to carry out tests on a scale model?

Would all concerned including the following members of F.U.C. (Fermoy Urban Council) Rip Van Winkle and udders accept the result and act accordingly? Awrite, but wat bout da pore ould ware an da rowen club sez me mentor? Well what about it?

Here’s my contention (new). A couple of centuries ago before this Anderson guy hit town, the river at Fermoy was wild untamed with fish swimming to their heart’s content.

In my estimation Anderson, who was a businessman, saw the potential and decided to make a town out of a basic crude river crossing. The main feature architecturally was the Protestant church which was called the 'Established Church’ at that time.

It is obvious that in order to run his mill Anderson had to tame the river by building a dam (weir) and mill stream. How did his engineers carry out this work on the untamed river?

My guess is that he left the river alone and dug the canal that we now know as Barnane walk on a virtually straight line stockpiling his material on the north side and when this work was complete the river was diverted into the new canal and the old natural river course backfilled with the excavated material.

That means of course according to my crazy reckoning that the ould river lies somewhere under Pat Ryan’s, Powers orchard and Bowenzez field (town park). Old boy me ould mentor I know what’s going through your head?

What are all the buildings in Brian Boru and Francis Street built on? Well I was going to suggest that Jack O’Sullivan, Fermoy man out and out, be contacted to procure the services of his son, Kevin (a barrack hill old boy as well) to take some core samples around the areas described and see if my theories hold any water (no puns intended), but having said that it should be obvious that the hotel developers are in possession of the same information and should pass it on to the relevant authorities i.e. F.U.C.

If I am wrong I will pour the contents of the inkwell down my gob, but if I am right what are the Brussels sprouts going to do?

Reinstate the old river to accommodate the fishes traditional way of life or still knock down the weir just for the hell of it. I wonder if these people who want to desecrate our town come from places like Fermoy? I doubt it very, very much. Jealousy is an awful thing!

In conclusion I would like to comment on my fellow scribe from Mondaniel and his attitude to people of the cloth! Fair dues Richard you have the courage of your convictions, but all I can say is that you are lucky that Father Ahern has gone over to the other side otherwise without a doubt there would be not one but two figures on Corrin cross!

All the best,
Pat Power,
Avondhu and Zambezi

CHECK THAT YOU’RE COMPLIANT WITH FIRE REGULATIONS

Dear Editor,

Due to the recent spate of fires and would be fires in the Fermoy/Mitchelstown area, I would like to inform all business people, whether they own, manage or are the chairperson of clubs, pubs, shops and supermarkets, nursing homes hotels etc. of their duty to the health and safety of the public.

Fire Detection is laid down in legislation under the Code of Practice IS-3218, which says that every public premise must have a working fire detection system in place and this in turn must be tested every 3 months to verify its compliance.

This compliance certificate must then be added to the Fire Register in which every owner/manager must provide if ever requested by a Fire Officer.

It is also the responsibility of insurance companies to verify Fire Detection compliance for these premises before any insurances are renewed.

Technology these days is exceptional and inexpensive and it is simply easy to monitor your premises using a digi-dialler, and when there is a fire alarm activitation an external source is contacted immediately.

So before you waste thousands on rebuilding premises and more importantly the saving of lives, get compliant and remember ‘it’s the law’. More information can be found at www.ipat.ie

Yours Sincerely,
Willie Cody,
Grange,
Fermoy.