LABOUR ANNOUNCE TOWN COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Fermoy businessman Noel McCarthy will contest the upcoming Fermoy Town Council elections having been formally added to the Labour ticket at a selection convention in the town last week. Mr McCarthy, a former publican and co-owner of the successful Carry Out off-licence franchise in the town, is one of two candidates seeking a Labour seat, joining current Mayor of Fermoy Tadhg O’Donovan on the party ticket. The newcomer plans to get his campaign underway shortly and is looking forward to hitting doorsteps and talking to residents.

“I plan to get out and about and talk to as many people as possible. I think the town council is crying out for new blood and more than anything else a new perspective on what is needed in Fermoy,” said Noel.

Speaking to The Avondhu, Mayor O’Donovan, who was first elected to the local authority in 1979 and is a member of the County Cork VEC, said that while elections were ‘synonymous with promises,’ he would, in contrast, not be making any pledges.

Instead the mayor said that he would seek re-election on his track record on the various statutory bodies he has served on through the years and his role as a community activist working with various voluntary community organisations throughout a career that has spanned 4 decades. He added that he was confident that he would convince an electorate who always give preference to actions over promises.

The recent decision to turn down planning permission for the construction of a new shopping centre complete with multi-screen cinema is one of the many issues Mr McCarthy said he wants to see placed top of the town council’s agenda.

“This development would not only create jobs locally but encourage people to stay in Fermoy instead of hopping in their car to Mahon. The construction of a hotel is another major issue and one in need of a fresh perspective,” said Noel.

The need for traffic calming measures across a number of estates will be another priority for Mr McCarthy if he is elected.

“Fermoy is now home to a number of new housing estates which are predominantly occupied by young families with children. Therefore, traffic-calming measures are vital to ensure the safety of these children. I want to get stuck in and through positive negotiation deliver for Fermoy in the future,” he added.

COMMUNITY WATCH PATROL LAUNCHED FOR STAG PARK

Stag Park residents have officially launched their new community watch patrol this week.

At a meeting with representatives from An Garda Siochana this week residents set up the community watch scheme in an attempt to combat the increase in anti social behaviour in the Stag Park area.

Chairman of the residents association Timmy White told The Avondhu: “We set up the community watch to try and prevent more damage to the empty houses that are boarded up in our area.”

Residents have seen a rise in anti-social behaviour and vandalism to a number of houses that are boarded up. Locals are also calling on Cork County Council to take these houses in charge as part of the social housing scheme.

“I think that all the local TDs should have gone to Minister Gormley a long time ago and insisted that these houses be taken over by the council. We have lots of people from the Mitchelstown area looking for housing and waiting for over a year on the housing list. A scheme like the ‘Rent to Buy’ scheme would be perfect for Stag Park,” Timmy White said.

Also present at the meeting was Sean Sherlock TD (Lab).

“It was a very positive meeting. The residents now have a point of contact with the local gardai. However, it is now very important that issues relating to the upkeep of the houses is taken in hand by the council and I have made representations to this end.”

CAR DRIVES DOWN FERMOY BYPASS – IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!

A car driving the wrong way on the M8 Fermoy-Rathcormac bypass travelled almost 6km against the flow of traffic before being intercepted by gardai.

The incident occurred at approximately 1.30pm last Tuesday week, January 27 when the vehicle got on the northbound lane of the dual carriageway at Moorepark and proceeded to head south. Gardai intercepted the vehicle at the Corrin intersection of the by-pass.

A spokesperson for Fermoy gardai explained that for safety reasons those travelling against the flow of traffic cannot be followed by gardai and that interception, as what happened in this latest case, is the appropriate course of action for such traffic violations. The matter is under investigation by Fermoy Gardai Traffic Corps.

The Garda spokesperson added that the violation was not an isolated incident, with such infringements on the motorway ‘common’. A spokesperson for Direct Route, the bypass management company, denied these claims however.

“It isn’t a regular occurrence,” the spokesperson told The Avondhu, adding that such incidents happen on most dual carriageways, pointing to a recent example on the M50 in Dublin.

“As far as we are aware it has happened two or three times at the very most in the last two and a half years,” the spokesman added.

NAGLE RICE A POPULAR CHOICE

Education has always been important to the people of Doneraile and while not the biggest of towns it still boasts two excellent national schools and an equally impressive second level facility – Nagle Rice Secondary School. Its current principal, Brid Lysaght took over from the long serving Willie Hallihan and under Brid’s stewardship there has been no let up in the school’s traditionally high standards.

Open nights are important dates in the school calendar and Nagle Rice Secondary School held theirs on Wednesday, January 28. Well advertised throughout the school’s extensive catchment a fine crowd attended. Those visiting for the first time would have been impressed by what they saw, however, the most remarked upon aspect was the level of activities available to students.

People are genuinely amazed at how much a school such as Nagle Rice can pack in to a calendar year. When they see at first hand what their children are involved in it helps greatly in exploding the myth that teachers have cushy numbers and are home early every evening.

Sporting activities, music lessons, exposure to languages, tours, educational excursions, field trips, foreign travel, charity work, school exchanges, undertaking a variety of projects and interacting with local businesses are just some of the activities students engage in.

Like many other schools, Nagle Rice Secondary School have fiercely committed staff who go to elaborate lengths facilitating the young people they teach. With regard to career guidance students are afforded every assistance in matching skills and talents with appropriate, third level courses, vocational apprenticeships or work placement.

As with any place of learning a tiny minority of students won’t avail of opportunities that are presented to them and opt to do their own thing.

While principals never make reference to it when addressing the public their workload is considerable. Proposed departmental cuts won’t help matters, however, in the main they seem determined to ensure students won’t lose out as a result of cutbacks.

Conveniently branded as a big spending department, policy makers have their minds set on undermining a system that despite what some government press releases will tell, is in fact under resourced – hence the need for fashion shows, cookery demonstrations, race nights etc.

Those who visited Nagle Rice Secondary School last week got plenty of accurate information from a team of professional educators who take their duties and responsibilities to the young people in their care extremely seriously.

ICY CONDITIONS CAUSE HAVOC ON ROADS

The recent cold spell and icy conditions were blamed for a collision at O’Leary’s Cross on the Rathcormac-Conna road near Castlelyons last Monday, February 2.

A spokesperson for Fermoy gardai said that there were no injuries as a result of the two-vehicle accident to which members of gardai and the fire brigade attended. A local man at O’Leary’s Cross told The Avondhu that the scene was cleared shortly after the collision.

Meanwhile Labour TD Sean Sherlock has accused those responsible for the upkeep of local roads of being ‘pennywise and pound foolish’ for allowing road conditions to gradually deteriorate as a result of the recent heavy rain.

“There was a time when roads in rural areas were maintained on an ongoing basis by small crews that would go from one area to the next, making sure that drains were not clogged, removing the water from the surface and ensuring that roads were passable,” Deputy Sherlock said.

“Unfortunately the ‘man with a shovel’ is now a thing of the past, and as a result the quality of local tertiary roads in rural areas is declining dramatically.

“This is a classic case of the various authorities being penny wise and pound foolish. While the council may save a few euro by not employing these crews, the end result is that the road surfaces gradually degenerate, becoming potholed, uneven and bumpy, requiring expensive repair or replacement,” he added.

Deputy Sherlock said that such remedial works could safeguard the quality of local roads, allowing people to get about their business without undue difficulty or inconvenience.

THE HEADMASTER - BEIDH ME ARAIS LE CUNAMH DE

Anglesborough is unique for a small community, it consists of a church, a hall, a school, a shop, a pub and its own pipe band, not your typical rural community.

But perhaps most of all, it boasts a young generation who possess a love and knowledge of the wildlife to be found on the local mountain ranges and an appreciation for the many geographical gems that are so much part of the Galtee Mountains.

It must surely have been one of the wettest mornings so far this winter when I paid a visit to Anglesborough National School; as they say ‘sure you’d hardly put a dog out on a day like that’.

When I arrived, the parents were still dropping off their children at the school gates amid a rush through the heavy showers while the children battled with what seemed to be very large and heavy school bags.

As we can all well recall, a morning school visitor is indeed very welcome as it brings with it the added bonus of a distraction from those early morning lessons.

I was greeted at the school gate by some young and curious minds, one of whom quipped: “I know why you are here, ‘cos today is the master’s last day at school and you are going to take our photo”.

Another said: “My mammy said today is the master’s last day at school. He won’t be here any more. She said he is stopping going to school”. Through the eyes of a child, mammy’s know everything.

Well on this occasion, mammy was correct in what she said as Michael Lewis, the headmaster who taught in Anglesborough for over 38 years, was about to start his last day at the helm.

By the time I eventually made my way past the interview board at the front gate and I set about finding the master’s room, the school was already a hive of activity. The hallway that runs along the front of the school captures and re-echoes much of the sounds coming from the adjoining classrooms.

The nearest door to me was slightly ajar and while I could distinctly hear the first lesson for the morning, it made little sense to me. I listened again and still it made no sense.

It went something like this: “The first one out the window, the next one up to the ceiling, then down to the floor”.

Then the master asked ‘where does the fourth one go’ which was greeted with a chorus of ‘out the door sir’.

“Ana mhaith” was the master’s reply!

I ventured into the classroom and yes, I was in the right place. This was the master’s room and they were of course in the midst of making St Brigid’s crosses.

With a full class peering through the quadrants of the St Brigid’s cross, the instruction ‘out the door, up to the ceiling and then out the window’ was now much clearer. Some neat turs of rushes sat on top of the little desks as the master continued in his efforts to make simple the art of constructing the intricate symbols.

The classroom had a very homely feel to it, the school bags all neatly stored under the desks and the old blackboard on the wall. But there was much more. At the back of the classroom were some old farm implements that would have been all too familiar to the pupils’ grandparents. Included was the old crosscut saw that took two men to work many years before the chain saw came into vogue.

On the master’s desk was an old copper electric kettle, the first of its kind and a woodcock, perched on the window ledge. Michael Lewis did not confine the education of his pupils solely to official department textbooks. He went much further.

His love of history, nature, heritage and the adjoining Galtee Mountains was very evident from the little things that were to be seen throughout the school. The happy and interested expressions on the children’s faces proved beyond any doubt that all these little things have helped to instill in them, some great memories of their schooldays.

My visit seemed to pass so quickly. It was now coming up to mid morning. Break time for today would be taken within the school as the heavy rain continued to lash against the windows.

I would leave Anglesborough for a few hours, only to return later that evening to join with all the local neighbours and parents at a special Mass, celebrated by Fr Kelly, to mark Michael Lewis’s retirement.

Following Mass, the Anglesborough Liam Lynch Pipe Band played some excellent selections but once again the heavy rain put a damper on this side of the event. The hall was full to capacity.

On occasions like this it’s sad to see someone leave their place of work but the night was more a meeting of friends and a celebration of the many good times that they all had together through their involvement with Michael Lewis and the school. Members of Mitchelstown Comhaltas played some fine music as the past pupils and parents recalled their school time memories.

I would have to admit I am no stranger to Anglesborough, having some strong family ties on the other side of the Galtees.

Over the years I often heard some of the happenings when the children came home from school, like the collecting of the eggs from the school’s small hen house or their tending to the vegetable garden. Though small in scale, the hen house and potato plot provided the children with a great insight into family life of yesteryear. This is as good as it gets.

I knew from early morning when I first met the children at the school gates and when I overheard the master’s instruction echoing out into the hall that this would be a visit to look back on with pleasant memories.

Watching the children making the St Brigid’s cross, it was fascinating to watch and listen to, the relationship between the headmaster and his scholars. Mr Lewis asked one of the girls in the class where she had got the rushes.

“I got them below in the inch sir, that’s where I got them”.

How many children of today would know what an inch is, other than a measure on a school ruler. In this particular case, the ‘inch’ is better known as low-lying land near a river or stream. For me this completed the picture.

It is clearly obvious that the children, under the stewardship of the teachers at Anglesborough National School, will leave ‘their alma mater with a love for the place where they were born and reared, as throughout their school years they were taught to love and appreciate the rugged but beautiful landscape that surrounds their school, their place, their home.

Despite the rain it was a great day. While our wish is that Michael Lewis will enjoy his retirement, our hope would be that he will continue the fantastic work he has been doing all his life by sharing his love for his native place with an even much wider audience.

Go raibh mile maith agat, a Mhichil!