Many businesses and private houses were left without a phone service in Mitchelstown, when work on the town’s sewerage scheme caused damage to telephone cables.
Telecom staff managed to restore service to the majority of those effected on Lower Cork Street by 8pm on the night of the outage, however some subscribers were still experiencing difficulties up to mid morning the following day. And this in a time remember when mobile phones were in their infancy, so reliance on landlines was paramount. The sewerage works themselves were progressing well, with engineer John Madden informing The Avondhu that the scheme should be completed ‘well before Christmas’. However, it would be necessary to keep the detour in operation on Upper Cork Street, in place until the works were complete.
It was reported in September 1995, that proprietor of The Grand Hotel in Fermoy, Sean Kavanagh, had purchased the adjoining Royal Hotel, which was likely to give Fermoy ‘an additional boost to the visitor and tourist market’. The anticipated ‘joining up’ of the two hotels would result in a total of 60 bedrooms and would also include a leisure centre. The acquisition ‘cost in the region of £500,000’, meaning a total investment of over £2m.
A tourism survey carried out by The Avondhu in September 1995, to gauge if the summer of that year showed any improvement on previous years, received mixed reaction. A spokesperson for Mitchelstown Caves explained that there was no great change in volume of trade from 1994. However, one striking difference noted was a sizeable increase in the number of British tourists, with a sharp decrease in American tours. While proprietor of The Sportsmans Inn, Clondulane, Jim O’Doherty, noted a big increase in fishermen in the area, citing this as being a direct result of the peace process. Maureen Regan of Danmar B&B described the summer of 1995 as being ‘one of the most disappointing’ she had experienced, a view which she said, was shared by other guesthouse owners in the area. Hotelier, Bill Byrne felt the number of tourists frequenting The Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown was ‘slightly down’ on 1994, while Jeremy Greene of Ballyvolane House, Castlelyons noticed a vast improvement on the previous year, being busy right throughout the summer.
Chairman of Fermoy UDC, Cllr Michael Hanley, said he was ‘not impressed’ with the marking procedure adopted by the Tidy Towns adjudicators, saying he felt it did not show appreciation for the efforts made, regarding them as simply ‘a placatory gesture’. In a shot across the bows of Cork County Council, he seriously questioned their interest in Fermoy regarding the local environment, stating that as they had a joint responsibility in managing the town along with the UDC, it was the UDC ‘who got unfairly blamed for many of the ills’. Expressing his admiration for the local image improvement group and the various residents’ associations who were doing Trojan work in improving the town’s image, he did however criticise the general public for the disrespect show to the town’s public park and streets. Littering, he stated, was probably the single biggest problem facing the UDC.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD, signed the contract with Ballyhoura Development Ltd for the implementation of the group’s LEADER II business plan. Worth £2.04m, it was the first formal contract to be signed under LEADER II. John Reen, chairman of the Community Consultative Committee in his address at the launch, stated that the success of LEADER I in the area was best illustrated in the way the local community and voluntary groups identified with Ballyhoura.
A goal by Padraig Burke clinched victory for Ballyhooly U16 hurlers v Milford, in the B hurling final in 1995. A soft early goal was conceded to Milford after a mix-up in Ballyhooly’s defence, however a Brian Weldon green flag had Ballyhooly on level terms at half-time, 1-1 apiece. A competitive second half saw Burke’s effort 2 minutes from time seal the contest for Ballyhooly, on a scoreline of 2-6 to 1-4. Team: T Roche, R McCarthy, D Beecher, M McCarthy, A Barry, P Burke, P O’Keeffe, P Duggan (capt), B Weldon, K McCarthy, R Duggan, J Shinnick, L O’Connell, A Condon.
