With Fermoy seemingly united against them, Donal O’Keeffe talks with Philip and Sal Tivy of Perks, as they look to secure planning permission for an amusement arcade on the south side of town.
I attended a public meeting last week in Coláiste an Chraoibhín in Fermoy. On a miserable, rainy night, approximately 180 people turned out. It was an unusual meeting, as these things go, in that it was well-attended, calm and yet passionate, and the people there seemed entirely of one mind. No angry voices, no mad suggestions and – just about – no showboating from local politicians.
The meeting was chaired by local resident Maureen Condon, assisted by local businessman and Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy, and the educator Dr Judith Butler. Everyone in the room, it seemed, was there to voice their unhappiness at the proposed development of an amusement arcade by the gaming company Perks at the old Corrin Stores in Corrin Court in Fermoy.
Among the concerns raised were fears that property values will be negatively affected, that there is insufficient parking and that the proposed development is ‘wrong for the area’.
If you know Fermoy, Corrin Court is on the south side, at the junction of Cork Road and Duntaheen Road. It’s across from The Cross (formerly Albert’s Bar) and The Forge.
In a letter read out at the meeting, Philip and Sal Tivy of Perks said “there has been a lot of misunderstanding and misleading information about our business model.”
Taking exception to an online petition against the amusement arcade – a petition which at the moment has gathered over 1,000 signatures – they singled out a phrase suggesting that their proposed business intends ‘preying upon’ kids attending the local schools. They described this as an ‘extremely damaging and defamatory statement’.
Corrin Court is a couple of hundred yards from Coláiste an Chraoibhín and just down the road from both St Colman’s College and Loreto Secondary School. Apart from Fermoy’s three secondary schools, it’s also not that far from Presentation Primary School, or from the Bishop Murphy Memorial School or from Gaelscoil de hÍde’s new school.
If you were really cynical, you might be inclined to ask why on earth Perks would even bother setting up shop smack-bang in the middle of what local TD Seán Sherlock called ‘the crosshairs’ of local schools, if they didn’t intend to target such a potentially-lucrative audience.
And yet, in Philip and Sal Tivy’s letter, they say: “our intention is to open an amusement centre whereby entry will be strictly over 18 similar to… (neighbouring) public houses, book makers (and) off-licence…
“Entry can only be made through an electronic system and with valid ID. At no time will a youth with a school uniform be allowed on the premises regardless of age.”
To the reassurance about school uniforms, the Coláiste principal, Mr Christy Healy, retorted that the difference between a uniformed teenager and an un-uniformed teenager is ‘a coat’.
Last Friday, I took a spin to Youghal and visited Perks around four in the afternoon. A couple stood outside the door, smoking. Inside, to the left, was the door to a casino. It seemed to be accessible only by an electronic keypad or an intercom. To the right, the amusement section was dark and almost deserted, bar what Tom Waits called the clack of the pool-balls and the neon buzzin’.
Outside, a sign advertises that the arcade caters for “Kids Birthday Parties”.
The premises there, is on an industrial estate, a mile-and-a-half from Youghal’s town centre.
Driving on to Midleton, the amusement arcade there is downstairs from the cinema. The apparently child-friendly attractions were deserted when I called, but through the over 18s only doors, the casino was packed. Half-four, and there was an adult at every slot machine.
In Midleton, Perks is situated on a commercial estate.
It seems that Perks were thwarted by planning objections to their previously intended arcade or casino on Fermoy’s north side, so now they have set their sights on Corrin Court. Sentiment at last week’s public meeting seemed implacably opposed to such a gambling business setting up anywhere in Fermoy.
On Monday, I had a lengthy telephone conversation with both Philip and Sal Tivy of Perks.
Mr Tivy was courteous and friendly and told me he feels the entire matter has been ‘blown out of all proportion’. He clarified that – unlike their other premises – their plans for Corrin Stores do not include an outer, under-18s area, but instead would consist only an over-18s casino, where admittance would be upon checking ‘driver’s licenses’. I asked if they plan on opening as a casino and then opening an amusement arcade for an under-18s audience.
“The area (in Corrin Stores) isn’t big enough,” he said. I asked if they might in the future expand – perhaps by leasing neighbouring premises. “We’re not planning for one thing and change it down the road. Besides, we’d need to re-apply for planning. No, the plan is a casino and that’s it.”
On the issue of school uniforms, Mr Tivy expressed mystification, saying: “We aren’t even looking at schools. The initial stuff on social media was all wrong. Wild stuff. I have definite proof that several people were misled by the online petition. They were contacted by email and told what to do.
“If they’re that concerned about the schools, why aren’t they kicking up about the bookies, or the pubs or the off-licence (owned by Councillor Noel McCarthy)?”
Expressing dissatisfaction with last week’s front-page story in The Avondhu, he said their interest in opening a casino on the north side of the town was ‘gone’. I put it to Mr Tivy that the overwhelming sentiment at last week’s public meeting was Corrin Stores is the wrong venue for a casino.
“If it’s the wrong place,” he replied, “then where is the right place? I mean, take out the schools, and what’s the problem after that? If you’re over 18, and a responsible adult, what’s the problem after that?”
He pointed out that gaming machines – such as his – account for only 1% of Ireland’s gambling industry. I asked him if he would agree that gambling is an addiction. At this, he told me that his wife, Sal, is an addiction counsellor with 13 years’ experience and she might be better qualified to answer my question.
“Nowadays nearly everything that you touch is considered an addiction,” she told me. “There’s alcohol addiction, sex addiction – I’m talking sexual abuse – drugging, over-eating. Gambling addiction. Nowadays I would say there’s ‘I love chocolate’ addiction.”
I asked again if gambling is addictive and she replied that it probably is, before conceding that gambling is addictive.
I asked if she would intervene, were I a customer who spent all day gambling. She said that some gamblers sign a ‘self-exclusion form’. I apologise to readers for not understanding fully what this means, despite my asking Mrs Tivy three times to explain it. I think it means that a gambling addict would tell casino staff that they are addicts (addicts being famously good at self-regulation), but Mrs Tivy seemed – to me – unclear as to whether that would result in their being asked to leave the casino.
I asked Mrs Tivy if she knew how many people in Ireland are gambling addicts. She said she did not.
“I have explained what I can to you,” she told me. “I spent an hour and a half with Mr (Noel) McCarthy in the Grand Hotel. We put our case to Mr McCarthy.”
I asked if she felt Councillor McCarthy – who strongly opposes the introduction of any casino or arcade in Fermoy – is conspiring against her and her husband. She told me “Mr McCarthy is a gentleman. He was most helpful.
“Look, I am perfectly within the law. A bookie up the road would do way more business than me. I am as entitled as anyone to run a business.”
I asked Mrs Tivy if she saw any contradiction in being an addiction counsellor who owns gambling casinos.
“That is a terrible insult,” she told me. I asked if I had said anything untrue. “You have insulted me,” she said, “and this conversation has gone far enough.”
I spoke then for a few minutes more with Mr Tivy.
“We’re not doing anything underhand,” he said. “All we’re asking for is a fair crack of the whip and they’re not telling the truth. If they just told the truth and put the facts before the people. Take out the misinformation and deal with the facts.”
In the background, I heard Mrs Tivy say loudly, “They just don’t want it.”
If the atmosphere in Coláiste an Chraoibhín last week was anything to go by, the odds are she can bet on that.
For anyone affected by the issues raises in this article, Gamblers Anonymous can be contacted on 01 8721133
