The constant theme throughout the archive news pages is that repeat unchecked issues haunt the news cycle.
Housing looked to be as much an issue in 2000 as it is today, with the front page of The Avondhu dominated by news that there were 1,000 families on the housing list for North Cork. Of that number, 522 were in urgent need of getting a roof over their heads. In Fermoy alone, there were 219 on the housing list.
Cllr Aileen Pyne spoke at a Cork County Council meeting about the housing crisis in Fermoy, during which she raised the issue of vacant houses in several locations that could be used to house families. “I have people coming to my clinics crying out for housing,” she said.
There was much debate around the presence of a number of Traveller families staying on land at the industrial site at Coolnanave near Mitchelstown. The issue was raised at the Northern Committee meeting of the council, at which it was claimed that prospective businesses who wished to locate to the location could not access the site. Councillors, including Frank O’Flynn and Joe Sherlock, said that many businesses had contacted them to say that they wished to build at the location, but would not until the site was cleared.
The safety and maintenance of the rural environment was the subject of a course which saw 27 farmers undergo training on how to make their profession more sustainable for nature. Certificates were presented to the agricultural sector workers, following a 20 hour lecture on Rural Environmental Protection at the Teagasc Training Centre outside Fermoy. By the end of one series of classes, 150 people had been trained in the area, with 25% of participants women.
The mystery surrounding Lismore’s faulty street lighting had been solved and a fix identified. A special meeting of the town commissioners was called to discuss the issue. Andy Kerwick, ESB public lighting supervisor, was told by commissioners that there were repeated problems with clusters of lights going out and not being fixed.
Mr Kerwick identified the problem as the short circuiting of electric wires in the North Mall area of the town. “In stormy weather the wires are lodging between the trees in the Mall, resulting in failure of street lighting in different areas around town,” he said.
The ESB responded to the problem by isolating the three troublesome lights in the North Mall, resulting in fully functional street lighting throughout the rest of the town.
There was a fundraising drive in Kilworth to raise money to provide sheltered housing for the area’s elderly, with a golf classic being undertaken by the Kilworth Sheltered Housing group.
One of the regions most popular nightclubs, Caeser’s in Fermoy, was set for a major revamp. The plan was to move all the revellers to the ballroom in The Grand Hotel for three months as work commenced. Anthony Kavanagh, club manager, said the nightclub had been in operation for ten years and the owners believed the refurbishment work would help the popular venue attract new interest.
Also earmarked for refurbishment was Winnie Murphy’s Bar, which was to be extended and was set to introduce a cocktail menu, as well as stocking a new list of premium beers. The plan was to train bar staff in the so-called ‘flair-bar’ while mixing the cocktails. “It has been said that Fermoy is a very dead town when it comes to nightlife, we feel with the re-styling of Caeser’s, that could all change,” Anthony added.
The blight of illegal dumping was causing serious concern for Cllr PJ Walsh, who proposed that a solution could be to collect the illegally dumped rubbish on the roadsides. At a Cork County Council meeting, the Mitchelstown councillor said the local authority should explore the feasibility of cleaning up the sites and to erect warning signs. The assistant county manager said that the sites had been already identified and signs were erected and that officials were set to carry out a study on the worst hit areas.
In sport, a late goal secured the match for Kildorrery GAA’s minor A footballers against Mitchelstown, a match which finished 2-7 to 1-9. The match report said that Kildorrery were delighted with the win, with tributes to Brian Lee, Eamonn O’Connor, Willie Lillis and Tom Monaghan for their efforts during the encounter.
Elsewhere, Grange/Fermoy AC’s Shane Thornton received plaudits for his victory at the Munster Indoor Championships, where he won the gold medal in the long jump.
