Lotto speculation was rife in Mitchelstown, following the sale of a winning £310,825 National Lottery ticket at Roche’s Spar, Upper Cork Street. Local ‘gossip’ at the time suggested the lucky winner as potentially either ‘a three man syndicate at Galtee Meats; a young man living at the southern side of the town; a family in George’s Street; a publican as well as a lady with an address in Kilworth’. Speaking to The Avondhu, proprietors Tom and Ann Roche were confident it was a local person who bought the winning ticket - the magic combination being 12, 15, 25, 29, 30 and 32, with 34 as the bonus. The record Lottery win in the locality prior to this was a ticket, valued at over £30,000, sold in Hanley’s Newsagents, Fermoy to a woman from Rathcormac.

‘Ballyhooly far ahead of the Vatican’ read the headline from April 1994. Following the Vatican’s announcement that it no longer had an objection to altar girls serving, Ballyhooly could certainly consider itself ahead of the posse, as the practice had already been in place in the village for 4 years! Introduced initially by Fr Joseph McGuane CC, the idea followed on from a question from girls in the local national school, who enquired as to the reason they were not allowed serve. As Fr McGuane said, he simply “couldn’t think of an answer”! With 23 girls on the church rota, local pupils Tricia Collier and Eleanor O’Connell believed they were now ‘enjoying the Mass more’ as a result of their involvement.

Rural Ireland was again being hit hard, with announcement of the impending closure of Glencairn Post Office. Located halfway between Lismore and Ballyduff, Mrs Aileen Coughlan received notification of closure by letter from postal headquarters in Mallow. The closure date was given as Friday, April 22nd, 1994. Aileen’s family connection with Glencairn Post Office could be traced back to 1906, when her father was postmaster. It was reputed to be the smallest post office in the country, only occupying the bay window area of the front of the house. The family connection with An Post was set to continue in the family however, as Aileen’s daughter, Mary O’Riordan was postmistress at Tallow Post Office.

Well known landmark in Ballyporeen, the Bally Hy pub, which was extensively damaged in January 1993, was close to reopening - proprietor Ann McLoughlan confirmed to The Avondhu that having been forced to take a ‘career break’ for some 18 months, the family were now looking forward to a new start at the refurbished premises, and with the addition of B&B facilities, were aiming for a May 1994 reopening date.

A pensioner had a lucky escape following an early morning fire at his Killavullen cottage, when his neighbour heard his cries for help and aided the man to safety. 82 year old Denis O’Regan from Ballygriffin awoke early morning to find his house filled with smoke and the prompt actions of neighbour, John Kelleher almost certainly saved his life. The cottage, located near Rea’s Cross, was completely destroyed in the blaze.

Plans were afoot to build a 6-8 bedroom home, with adjoining workshop facilities, to cater specially for the handicapped in the South Limerick/South Tipperary area. The brainchild of Ballylanders and District Handicapped Association, chairperson David Noonan confirmed to The Avondhu that ‘contract plans’ were being drawn up and ‘negotiations were at an advanced stage to purchase a suitable plot of ground’ in the village of Ballyporeen. Fundraising was already under way.

In brief – A ‘mountainy ram’ had been found straying onto lands in Mocollop, Ballyduff, reported in the weekly Garda Report – its owner was being sought. Fermoy UDC rescinded their decision to allow Perks amusements into the town park as part of the salmon festival, on a majority of 1 vote. The title of 1993 school bank of the year was awarded to students at Loreto, Fermoy, who received a cheque worth £1,000. Principal Sr Angela expressed her delight with the students’ achievement, while school bank manager Mary Leamy accepted the award on behalf of her colleagues. Garda Tim Sweeney, based at Fermoy Garda Station, was hanging up his uniform following over 31 years in the force.

blog comments powered by Disqus