Glowing tributes were paid to those who risked life and limb to save an elderly woman and her Down Syndrome son from a blazing house in Fermoy in early 1995. Two students from Loreto Secondary School raised the alarm having noticed smoke billowing from an upstairs window in a house at Clancy Street.
Mrs Francs Fox and her son John were in the house, apparently unaware of the fire. Several locals intervened in the rescue, including Billy Murphy (co-owner of the Mart Bar), third level student Gavin Howard and Loreto teacher Mr Sexton. While Mrs Fox was brought to safety first, her son remained trapped in the house, upstairs, being brought to safety by Gavin Howard who ‘crawled up the stairs’ as ‘smoke choked his lungs’.
Although a unit of Fermoy Fire Brigade was promptly on the scene, fire officer, John Langford confirmed to The Avondhu that the speedy and heroic actions of locals undoubtedly saved Mr Fox, who received treatment in CUH for smoke inhalation and ‘scorching’ to his face and legs.
A major fundraising development draw was launch by Araglin GAA Club. In front of a sizeable audience, including a strong representation from the North Cork GAA Board, club chairman Michael Fitzgerald outlined the draw details. Recognised as having one of the driest pitches in the county, the club committee were mindful ‘of its responsibility to look after the needs of the younger players’ and the draw was a necessary step to help finance major works at the pitch. These would include a new water supply, replacement toilet facilities, new showers and chain link fencing around the pitch. Top prize was an Opel Corsa, with tickets priced at £20.
A ‘massive clearance of surplus and bankrupt stock’ for sale at Kilcoran Lodge Hotel, saw some interesting items at rock bottom price. Among the items listed were: top quality sheep nappa leather trousers from £5; £20,000 worth of deep fat fryers to be disposed of; Ferguson FST square tube colour televisions, with full infra red remote control, £189; 24 piece canteen of cutlery with rack – only £4.99; Fruit of the Loom T-shirts £1.99 – almost too good to be true really.
The quality of life for both Rathcormac and Kilbehenny village residents was set to improve dramatically, with the announcement of ‘major environmental/traffic calming projects’. The Rathcormac project would cost over half a million pounds, with an estimate of £1.7m given for the Kilbehenny improvements. The Rathcormac scheme would run along the same lines as the one completed in Watergrasshill. A model of the proposed work here, constructed by Cork County Council employee, Timmy Lehane from Casteltownroche, was set for public display, being 99 per cent complete. The Kilbehenny project, as well as facilitating village improvements, would involve a larger resurfacing project, with a two mile section to be tarmacadamed.
Fermoy Hockey Club, in their first season as a club, recorded a magnificent double in April 1995, when the Munster Junior B Women’s Cup was secured, following an impressive 4-0 victory over Harlequins at the Mardyke, Cork. Red hot favourites on the day, following a successful and near flawless Munster league campaign which saw them score 49 goals and concede only 1, their ace in the pack was centre forward Angela O’Keeffe, who held the distinction of being the leading goalscorer in Munster.
Leading 1-0 at half-time, courtesy of a strike from Angela from a short cormer, she would go on to complete her hat-trick, with midfielder Rosemarie O’Brien also getting on the scoresheet. Team: Aileen Ahern, Angela Foley, Orla Mellerick, Brid Carr, Mary Ryan, Aileen Walsh, Fiona Barry, Rosemarie O’Brien, Mary Hannon, Catherine Dorgan, Eleanor Walsh, Mary Kelly. Coach was Jane O’Riordan, Glanworth. The girls ‘lived it up’ at the Forge Bar afterwards.
In brief: A 33 acre farm in Ballyhooly, fronting onto both the Fermoy and Glanworth roads, fetched a ‘great price’ at public auction in The Grand Hotel, Fermoy, being sold for £110,000, or £3,333 per acre.
Community Alert was gaining pace, with Doneraile introducing the scheme to help combat crime locally; both Glanworth and Kilbehenny were also set to follow suit. Bingo enthusiasts were sharpening their pencils for a monster event in The Dome, Tralee where a prize fund of £40,000 had to be won – legs eleven!
