Celebrations were in full swing throughout the North East Cork area, following the double success of 6-year-old Stroll Home, trained by Conna’s Jimmy Mangan, at the Galway Racing Festival in August 1996. The horse was jointly owned by Mike and Siobhan Reynolds of Castletownroche along with Jimmy and Mary Mangan. Winning the Albatros Chase over 2m6f ‘in great fashion’ at odds of 12/1, saddled by jockey Paul Carberry, the double was completed by the same jockey 2 days later in the Guinness Chase at a price of 3/1. A ‘coming together’ in Reynold’s Lounge Bar, Castletownroche saw punters from near and far gather to toast Stroll Home’s successes.
It was reported that approximately 60 jobs would be created at the Blue Dragon Inn, located on the busy Cork Dublin Road, which had been purchased for a reported £224,000. New owners, brother and sister Declan and Anna Corbett, operated the highly successful Meadow Court Restaurant in Loughrea, Co Galway. It was expected that £400,000 would be spent to accommodate a two-hundred seater restaurant and theme bar. The opening date envisaged by Mr Corbett was ‘somewhere around St Patrick’s Day 1997’.
“We succeeded in all our primary objectives” – so said PRO of Mitchelstown Music Festival, Conor O’Callaghan, following the successful staging of the free event held over the August bank holiday in 1996. Describing the event as having ran “relatively smoothly” over the course of the four day festival, the only negative, which was outside the organising committee’s control, was the inclement weather on the final day, Monday, which somewhat “scuppered” plans and limited the crowds. From a financial viewpoint, the festival would likely ‘break even’ or maybe even record ‘a small profit’. In addition to the 6 publicans who had generously contributed £1,000 towards the event, Auntie Mae’s had also ‘come up trumps’ contributing a similar sum, with Mr O’Callaghan referring to them as ‘The Magnificent Seven’. The busking festival over the weekend also proved a success, with over 20 acts participating.
A new lease of life for an unoccupied building in the centre of Kilworth, with the opening of Fuschia House Hostel imminent. Licensed to accommodate 20 people in four spacious rooms, the amenity was likely to be a big attraction for those walkers travelling on the Munster Way.
Chairperson of Araglin Residents Committee, Bill Carey, asked Cork County council to ‘Stand up and be counted and enforce the law,’ at a well attended public meeting in the community hall in August 1996, discussing concerns over the ‘contamination of water supplies in the area’. ‘Colossal’ levels of slurry and sludge disposal was being blamed for the pollution of water supplies in the area, with several of those effected linking in to another scheme, following warnings by Cork County Council not to drink the contaminated water ‘under any circumstances’. However, many in the hall were shocked to hear that they may have to pay ‘anything up to £320 in connection fees’ if the new service they were receiving, was ‘made more permanent’. Legal advice by the residents’ association was being sought as to how to proceed.
Fermoy-based songwriter, Frank O’Halloran and Mitchelstown performer, Aidan Ahern were preparing to make the journey to County Roscommon to compete in the 4th annual Keadue Song Writers’ Contest. The event, compered by former Eurovision winner, Charlie McGettigan, attracted the cream of Irish songwriting talent with a shortlist of only 12 songs making the final – Frank’s song was titled ‘Here Without You’.
Continuing in a musical vein, Ballyduff husband and wife, Anne Marie and John O’Keeffe, launched their 12-track Country & Western album ‘Chasing Our Dream’ on tape and CD, in August 1996. Two of the songs on the album were composed by John – a private in the Army based at Lynch Camp, Kilworth – namely, ‘Blackwater Valley’ and ‘Does She Still Think Of Me’. The couple had received offers to play support for several big names in the Country and Western music scene.
Ballyhooly U14 footballers completed the double in 1996, securing the championship title with a comprehensive win over Mitchelstown, to add to their league title. Played in atrocious conditions in Kilworth, the game was all over at half-time, with a physically stronger Ballyhooly leading by an impressive 3-11 to 1-0, the goals coming from Aidan Fitzgerald, Robert Hegarty and Brian Shinnick. The Ballyhooly PRO ‘gave up counting half way through’ the second half, such was the one-sided nature of the contest, with the score last recorded at 9-12 to 2-1. The reward? – burger and chips in Mick Dundees!
