21 years ago, in the continuing fight against Foot and Mouth Disease, the feeding of swill (including carcasses, offal and waste from animal slaughter) to other animals was banned until December 2001. At the time, 120 farms in Louth were affected, with 37 families having all their animals culled. The other 83 had just their sheep culled.
To remedy the ‘chronic’ traffic situation in Lismore, proposals were put forward for a one-way system in the town. The ball alley in the town was also a cause for concern, as a large portion of the stone wall had been dislodged in recent storms, and the risk of injury to children playing in the area was brought to attention.
In Mitchelstown, the litter warden George King had voiced the opinion that the town had ‘the biggest litter problem in North Cork’, with New Square highlighted as being particularly problematic. He said that midday was the worst time of the day for offending, as workers sat in their car in the square and threw their lunch rubbish out of their car windows.
Mindless hooligans descended on Clogheen and caused £500 of damage to the door of the community centre trying to break it down. The group of three teenagers then, ‘for unknown reasons’, tied a rope from an ESB pole to the door of an elderly woman who lived alone, leaving her trapped in the house.
21 years ago this week a concerned resident took to the letters page of The Avondhu to wonder about the consequences if Kent Bridge in Fermoy ever had to be fully closed. The scribe wondered if there was not a ‘Bailey bridge’ lying idle with the Irish Army that could be called into use if the worst happened, and the bridge needed to be closed for repairs altogether.
In the days before drone cameras, a rarely seen overhead image of Kilworth was pictured in The Avondhu, taken from the steeple atop the Village Arts Centre while maintenance works were being undertaken. Meanwhile, in Rathcormac, Joe Barry cut the cake in The Rathcormac Inn at a function to celebrate his retirement from Cadena in Tallow.
In a time before text scams, fraud of a different nature was highlighted in 2001 as Gardaí warned of bogus letters offering cash prizes. The ‘winner’ had only to send a cheque of £24.95 to handle ‘administration costs’. Speaking of post, Cllr Joe Sherlock called for the government to defend the Irish postal service against the ‘liberalisation’ of the service across Europe, which was predicted to come into play from January 2003.
Fermoy’s Gerard Donegan was one to watch, as the plumber took the Gold Award for his efforts at the National Plumbing Championships in Dublin, making him a strong contender to compete in Seoul, South Korea at the World Trade Championships. Donal Caples, a former student of Coláiste an Chraoibhín, was also celebrating having won the final of the National Apprentice of the Year in Industrial Electrical Wiring.
Tallow was ready to welcome the relics of St Therese, the Little Flower, to the Carmelite Monastery in the town. Thousands were expected to visit to view the holy relics of the French nun.
Meanwhile, the Christian Solidarity Party took to the pages of The Avondhu to protest at the upcoming Nice Treaty in 2001, saying amongst other things, that the Treaty had ‘sinister overtones’, as well as the fear that signing up would threaten Ireland’s ‘honourable anti-nuclear stance and her neutrality.”
In Ballyporeen, Mrs Mary Noonan, teacher at the local national school, was bade farewell from the grateful parents and wider community.
Micheál Martin, then Minister for Health and Children, was pictured presenting Katherine Cahill of Tod’s Bar, Mitchelstown, with her certificate for participating in an RSA programme.
In entertainment, Johnny McEvoy was scheduled for the Village Arts Centre in Kilworth, and the Man Ezeke for Mac’s Bar in Fermoy. The Ballyduff Drama Group staged ‘The Madness of George III’, while in Fermoy Cinema one could see ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’.
A special Wedding pullout, covering the manners of the day, advised that it was becoming more common for the bride to speak at the wedding. Imagine! To pay for it all, the new government saving scheme, the SSIA was in the news with AIB advertising its range of options for customers.
Finally, an article featured striving to dispel the notion that Napoleon’s grey Arab Marengo was ever bought at Bartlemy Horse Fair. The writer of the piece said that this ‘myth’ was mostly ‘fiction’ – but didn’t disprove the claim entirely, either! Buttevant too claim the honour, alleging the horse was traded at Cahirmee Fair.
