THE 20 ACRE SITE THAT LIES IDLE

The IDA Park in Fermoy is still empty, and with no sign of a change in its status in the near future, the RTE programme, Pobal, sought to investigate the problem. They were in Fermoy exploring some of the issues that could be factored into the current situation, but it’s clear that there is a problem.

The IDA describes the 20-acre park as a ‘fully serviced site suitable for greenfield projects and with advanced planning permissions for office type accommodation’. Yet, there has been no development whatsoever on the site.

Meanwhile the park continues to be maintained, with landscapers keeping it in good condition on an ongoing basis. Pobal spoke to local Gaelscoil principal Sean MacGearailt, and other locals in an attempt to understand the reasons behind the vacant site.

An additional 49-acre greenfield site is also awaiting commercial development across the road, and it is as yet, unsold. The site, which has the same strategic location and open space, should also offer potential developers. Yet other locations are proving more fruitful.

The old service station at Carrignagroghera is currently at the initial phase of development. A planning application has been lodged by a Cork city based company to develop four commercial units of 1,000sq.m. each, two retail units of 1,010sq.m, 82 car park spaces and associated site works.

Meanwhile the old Blackwater Motors site is also in the process of redevelopment, and the old filling station and showroom have almost been completely demolished.

NEW DRIVING SCHOOL OPENS IN LISMORE

A new driving school, aptly named The Lismore School of Motoring, has just opened in Lismore town thanks to local resident, Maureen Tyndall who trained at the Irish School of Motoring in Dublin.

New rules introduced by the Government last November, mean that anyone applying for their first provisional licence (now called a learner’s permit), must be accompanied on the road at all times by a full licence holder who has been qualified for at least two years in the same licence category as the learner. First time learner drivers, must now also have held their learner’s permit for at least six months before they can sit the test.

From June 8 new rules and restrictions, as yet not confirmed by the Government, will also apply during the first two years after passing the test, before a complete and full driving licence will be granted.

These new changes in the law will not just apply to learner drivers, but from December of this year, all professional driving instructors in Ireland will have to sit a very strict ADI test, in which their own driving, as well as their instructional ability will be tested, as is already normal in most other European countries.

“Since I started my own driving school in Lismore about five weeks ago, business has been steadily building up and I also find it an advantage being a lady instructor, as some pupils seem to prefer this,” remarked Maureen, whose parents are from near Tralee, in Co Kerry.

“Last year, with my two children now at school, I wanted to start a new career and having always loved driving, so I decided to train as a driving instructor with the Irish School of Motoring in Dublin.

“I really enjoy the teaching aspect of it, and with the recent changes in the road safety laws, I seem to have picked a very good time to start up my own driving school,” Maureen explained.

“With the increase in traffic and the amount of tragedies happening on our roads every day, I feel it is no longer acceptable to let young untrained learner drivers on a provisional licence drive around unaccompanied.

“Safe driving is not just about being able to operate the controls of the vehicle correctly, it also has a lot to do with accessing and anticipating the road ahead for hazards etc; not tail-gating and driving at the correct speed for the conditions, so that you know in advance what action to take to avoid danger. Having consideration for other road users is also very important too,” commented Maureen.

“This is why I believe professional driving tuition is so important. It’s not just a case of passing the test and tearing up the ‘L’ plates and then thinking, now I’m a driver. Passing the test is only the start, but what will keep you safe in the early stages and in the future, will be the attitudes that you learned about driving right at the beginning of your driving experience that will matter”.

As an opening offer, Maureen, is giving anyone booking and paying for 10 driving lessons in advance, their eleventh lesson free. You can contact her on 086-3938619.

LISA SWAPS FRESH FRUIT FOR FROCKS!

Lisa Cotter represented Mitchelstown with distinction at the recent Miss Cork beauty pageant. Navigating her way through the semi final heats that eliminated half of the fifty entrants, Lisa, who is fresh fruit manager in Reidy’s SuperValu, made the final last Sunday, when Clonakilty girl Jean Kenny walked away with the title.

She will now represent Cork in the Miss Ireland 2008 finals. Despite not winning Lisa is far from disheartened.

“It was a great experience,” she told The Avondhu, “I’d definitely do it again. It is why I did it, for the experience. It was a lot of fun and really rewarding.”

Lisa revealed that she models part time, and it was her agency, Knockdown Modelling, that encouraged her to go for the contest. She was enthusiastically supported by Reidy’s SuperValu, who sponsored her.

“I’d really like to thank my sponsors for all the help I received,” Lisa concluded, “and I wish Jean the very best of luck in the final”.

MITCHELSTOWN C.B.S. MAJOR CONCERT TO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

The Christian Brothers School (C.B.S.) is 150 years in existence in Mitchelstown this year. Having arrived at the invitation of the parish priest, they were received with open arms by the people of the town. They set up a primary and secondary school in the same building and in a matter of weeks had over 300 students.

Since then their contribution to the town and surrounding parishes has been enormous. Several thousand students have passed through the school since its foundation. All would have great regard for their old “alma mater”.

Several students have gone on to achieve national and international prominence, among them, the world renowned architect Kevin Roche, who has designed several landmark buildings in many major cities throughout the world. Chief Justice Hamilton and Mark Hennessy Political correspondent of the Irish Times were also former pupils of the CBS. In fact, the list is endless.

The structure of the school has changed considerably over the years. Over €4m was quite recently spent in a major extension and refurbishment. Mitchelstown CBS is now one of the best-equipped schools in Munster and before Christmas came in the top five in the province in relation to exam results and the acquisition of college places. Surely then, there is reason to celebrate.

As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations a special concert will take place in the school hall on Friday, March 7th. A souvenir DVD, professionally made on the night, will be available for sale later. The entire community including all past pupils are cordially invited to this very special evening of music and song to celebrate the fantastic achievements of a great school.

On stage will be talented pupils, past and present, and their friends. It will be a case of rolling back the years as several eras will be represented. The entire event is produced and directed by Tom O’Flynn. Tea and refreshments served free of charge at the interval. The anniversary concert is scheduled to commence at 8pm sharp and admission is just €10.

Tickets can be purchased at Hyland’s Bookshop, from the school or at TO Park.

LABOUR PARTY LEADER VISITS KILFINANE AND LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

It is a cold February night and The Avondhu is waiting in a community hall in Kilfinane with two other journalists to meet Eamon Gilmore. The Labour Party leader is in County Limerick to attend the party’s first convention in the country, where it will be confirmed that James Heffernan will be the Labour candidate in the local elections next year.

The setting is a far cry from the lavish surroundings of Dail Eireann, or the modern design of a television studio from which many tonight will be accustomed with the leader of the third largest party in the Dail. The hall is little more than a large room, with a mismatch of wooden chairs arranged in rows awaiting the convention. The only source of heat is a fire, lit at the head of the room.

Mr Gilmore is slightly late, having come from speaking at Kilfinane National School, the facilities of which, he notes with dismay “doesn’t belong to the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first”.

It’s decided that an impromptu “press conference” will be held ahead of the convention rather than the scheduled individual interviews and all concerned pull up a chair around the fire and spend an hour in discussion, while attendees of the conference slowly but surely file into the hall around us.

Over the next hour the discussion ranges from topics as local as boundary changes and county council elections to issues as wide reaching as the vote on the Lisbon reform. Mr Gilmore’s unhappiness at the change of constituency boundaries is evident, and he firmly pushes Labour’s idea of a two tiered approach to making such changes, the first stage being a draft made available for public consultation before the final decision.

When challenged that the leader of a smaller party would take issue with changes that can lead to smaller constituencies, Mr Gilmore agrees to a point.

"I think that’s true,” he concedes, “There’s no doubt about that, it is harder to get elected in a three seat constituency than in a five seat constituency. But on the other hand the voter also finds it harder to get their person elected in a three seater than a five seater. The point we are making here is that what matters is the voters getting the representation they want and the candidates that they vote for. We will see a drop in the number of 5 seaters with these plans and that gives less of a balance to the voter”.

On the subject of elections Deputy Gilmore is frank about the relative disappointment of the last election, which saw ‘Alliance For Change’ partners Fine Gael gain twenty seats in comparison to Labour’s no gain. Yet he is reluctant to agree with suggestions that the alliance may have only benefited Enda Kenny’s party.

“There’s no doubt that the last election was a disappointment for the Labour Party,” he concedes, “but there’s no point dwelling on the disappointment. What we have to do is build for the future. We have a very good base to build from. At the last general election we had over 200,000 people in this country give Labour their first preference".

"About half a million voters gave Labour their first or second vote so there is a big base of voters that we can build on. That is what we are setting out to do”.

He does however rule out, when questioned by The Avondhu, any similar alliances in future

“No,” he insists, “We won’t be doing any alliances with any party, there will be no new Mullingar Accord. The Labour Party will build itself and put itself forward on the basis of its own policies, what we stand for and the calibre of our candidates.

“We want to restore the Freedom of Information Act which has been gutted”, Deputy Gilmore declares, “people have a right to access to information, a functioning democracy depends on people having access to it. The days of secrecy should be over. If there was less secrecy there would be less need for tribunals later”.

Forty minutes into the discussion, and we have our first reference to a tribunal. On a day when Bertie Ahern gives more suggestible evidence at the Mahon Tribunal, it would be all too easy for Eamon Gilmore to use this opportunity to attack the Taoiseach on his personal finances, yet refreshingly the Labour Party leader is solely focussed on his party, and what he feels they can offer.

The first reference to a tribunal also proves to be the last.

“My objective is to first of all set down a new political purpose for the Labour Party which is about redefining in a modern way and expressing in a modern way the values that the Labour Party has always stood for,” he explains, “I have set out seven or eight areas in which I felt Labour needed to define itself in the years ahead”.

While he is here to endorse the selection of James Heffernan for the local election in 2009, Irish voters will take to the polls before that, for the referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty, a referendum that Labour has backed the Government in urging the public to vote yes. Is there enough being done, The Avondhu asks, to educate people on the vote?

"I don’t think the public knows enough about it”, he admits, “but it is difficult to explain. It is a complicated treaty. But there are three basic reasons why we are asking people to vote yes.

"The first is that it will make the functioning of the European Union more effective, which is much needed in a more globalised world. The second is that it makes it more democratic.

"Thirdly it brings into power a charter of fundamental rights that are of major importance to the Labour Party; for example the rights of workers, the rights of consumers, the right to a good environment, the type of things the Labour Party has looked for throughout its existence.”

The hall is filling well now, and the press’ time with Mr Gilmore comes to a close. The final question put to him is how he would describe the Labour Party today; left wing, central left or centralist?

“The Labour Party is a social democratic party in the mainstream European social democracy. It is a party that is on the side of working people to ensure they get a fair deal, looking for a fair society. We want a strong economy, and open and democratic politics,” he concludes, “and people can put what ever label they want to on that”.

Watching Eamon Gilmore subsequently listen to the concerns of those who have arrived ahead of the convention, it is apparent that while Eamon Gilmore is in Kilfinane to kick off his party’s campaign for the 2009 local elections, it is also apparent that for Labour, the crusade for the 31st Dail has begun.

ARTHUR DOWLING PASSES AWAY

- Reporter John Ahern recalls the life and times of Arthur Dowling -

It is with deep regret that we mark the passing of Arthur Dowling, Church Hill, Fermoy. Arthur, devoted husband to Bridie, father to Leonard and brother of Jack passed away on Monday, February 25 at Cork University Hospital.

His demise brings to an end a full, eventful, vivacious and interesting life. A proud Fermoy man, his time working in the town hospital brought him in to contact with many old characters. Their accounts of Fermoy in the early 1900s made for fascinating listening and as a result, Arthur’s collection of anecdotes, local history, tall tales and yarns was vast. He was an all rounder with a great love of the performing arts, especially musicals.

A singer of some repute and an accomplished musician he had a special affinity with Fermoy Concert Band, being old school he stuck with the band’s original ‘Confraternity’ title. Sport was another passion with the local pitch and putt club benefiting from his considerable coaching skills. Never one to jealously guard what he knew, he believed skills or expertise meant little unless they were imparted.

Uncomfortable to be classed as devout, he possessed a Christian spirit that manifested itself in assisting the less well off, caring for the vulnerable and taking up a variety of causes. The bulk of this work was carried out in an unobtrusive, behind the scenes manner.

An unofficial public representative for a long time he eventually went mainstream by being elected as an independent candidate to Fermoy Town Council (formerly Fermoy UDC). Protocol and procedure associated with the chamber frequently frustrated him and reverting to tried and trusted means he got the real business done outside the confines of the courthouse. There were run ins but never serious falling outs, even those he didn’t see eye to eye with could never question the sincerity of his motives.

Of Republican stock, his worldview would come full circle and he had some interesting discussions with Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams with whom he was acquainted. He was a driving force behind moves to make Remembrance Day more inclusive. He had an enlightened view of what it mean to be Irish and his predictions about how the peace process would evolve in Northern Ireland have proved to be eerily accurate.

It says something of his complex and sophisticated nature that a man reared on stories of Ireland’s patriot dead and who was intimately connected to those who struggled for Irish independence, could march behind the British Legion and lay poppy wreaths at the military graveyard in Fermoy.

Under his direction the Remembrance Day ceremony in Fermoy was extended to honour the memory of the hundreds interred in Fermoy’s famine graveyard. In his prime he was also instrumental in setting up a cricket team in Fermoy.

He confounded many with his ability to overcome illness, above all else he was resilient - where lesser human beings would have succumbed Arthur fought on and on and on. In the case of Arthur Dowling’s life, very little remained undone.

He will be laid to rest in Kilcrumper Old Cemetery after Requiem Mass this Thursday, February 28 at 2.30pm.