ELECTION COVERAGE

Dear Sir,

In The Avondhu dated 30/4/2009 your paper gave Councillor Michael Hanley an unprecedented amount of election coverage. Even the editorial column was a ringing endorsement for Mr Hanley’s campaign.

As a supposedly unbiased paper that supports democracy I presume you will be giving the same opportunity and coverage to all the other candidates running for election to Fermoy Town Council.

As for Councillor Hanley’s complains about the running of the council for the last 5 years I would like to put the following questions to his new campaign manager as Councillor Hanley will not be calling in person to our doorsteps this time round.

1. Has Mr Hanley ever entered a pact with any other Fermoy town councillors in the past 20 years?

2. Has Mr Hanley ever put it in writing that he was willing to enter a pact with other councillors in the past 20 years?

3. Does every town and county council in the country not have pacts between certain parties and councillors?

4. Why did Mr Hanley oppose the Shipton development while the majority of people and town councillors supported it?

5. Who elects the members of Fermoy Enterprise Board and who is it answerable to?

6. Exactly where are the jobs that Mr Hanley and Fermoy Enterprise Board are supposed to have secured for the town.

7. Why will he not face the people of Fermoy on their doorsteps to explain his actions over the last 5 years? I look forward to Mr Hanley’s response to these questions in your newspaper as that is the way he appears to be conducting his campaign.

Yours sincerely,
Pascal Quinn,
Barry’s Boreen,
Fermoy

Editor’s note
The Avondhu at all times endeavours to provide fair and balanced coverage on local issues.

However, the problem lies in the fact that what appears as fair and balanced to one person can be construed in a completely different manner by another, especially when it comes to matters of a political nature.

The coverage in relation to Mr Hanley on the issue in question could hardly be described as ‘unprecedented’ while the editorial, although fair comment in itself, also referred to the fact that Hanley’s statement could be described as ‘pre poll posturing, perhaps an attempt to attain the high moral ground’ in advance of the election.

A DOER NOT A TALKER

Dear Editor,

They say that “all politicians are the same and that it makes no difference who you vote for”, but is that true?

Take Kathy Sinnott for instance. She has shown leadership where others have towed party lines. She volunteered to take a significant pay cut and asked the other Irish MEPs to do the same in order to reduce the taxpayers bill. This was at the time when the Government had to urgently raise two billion euro and the public purse had a gaping hole.

Kathy Sinnott reduced her salary by 20% in solidarity with all those people who had lost their jobs and were having to ‘make do’ with less. The other two sitting Munster MEPs refused to take any reduction.

Then there’s the issue of the political posters for the election. Here again, Kathy has shown leadership and prudence. She has recycled many of her former posters thereby reducing costs and helping the environment. The excessive number of posters used by the political parties during this time of financial stress for so many families is vulgar.

All of the political parties are singing the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ mantra, at every opportunity but how many of them have actually put any of it into action? Clearly, Kathy has.

As a voter who is tired of the Tweedledum or Tweedledee nature of Irish politics, I am now looking for leadership. Kathy Sinnott is a doer not a talker. I will be delighted to ‘reuse’ her as my public representative.

She deserves an overwhelming number one.

Yours sincerely,
Mrs Kathleen Thornhill,
Strawhall,
Fermoy,
Co. Cork.

THE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART

Dear Editor,

I am a truthful man from not so innocent Fermoy. This story is for the young and the young at heart.

This writer remembers when John Duffy & Son brought their circus to town in c 1957. I was only about 11. They set up a tent in the Town Park. ‘The strangest man in the world’ (from continental Europe) received star billing. He would lift two men from the ground.

Anyway, the circus began with the usual acts: X the clowns, the circus ponies, the chimpanzees, the acrobats, the lions and the lion tamer. There was a live band on a balcony.

At last, Mr Duffy introduced to the roll of the drums, ‘the strongest man in the world.’ All that I can remember about ‘the strongman’ is that he called for two men from the audience to enter the ring to assist him.

The Flahavans (Kent Street), twin brothers (16 stone each), obliged. ‘The strongman promised he would lift them from the ground. The children gasped. The strongman tied a leather belt around the first twin and a leather belt around the second twin. He connected the two belts with another belt. He stood between both men.

Bending down, he got his shoulders under the leather belt between the twins. He applied pressure and lifted the two Flahavans from the ground, albeit, one inch. The amazing thing about this was that ‘the strongest man in the world’ was a middleweight (111/2 stone), if I remember rightly.

Yours sincerely,
Tom McAuliffe,
One Cool Cat,
13 Cluain Dara,
Fermoy.