Armed with nothing more than a third of a pound of butter and butter pats, fifteen finalists vied for the coveted title of Butterballs World Champion at the Castle Tavern, Ballyhooly in January 1997. With RTE’s Nationwide present and having ‘exclusive world rights to the event’, competition was described as ‘over-keen’. One organizer described the finalists as ‘among the fittest, finest and bravest men from Ballyhooly and surrounding areas ever assembled in one place’ – somewhat of an exaggeration no doubt! However, Colum McCarthy carried on a fine family tradition in taking the title, succeeding his brother Brendan, champion from 1996. Organised by Ballyhooly Parents Association, representative Bridget Maher quipped “real men make real butter balls from real butter in Ballyhooly”. For the record, Kevin Lynch was runner-up, while Mark Condren (pre-competition favourite) and John O’Keeffe ‘excelled themselves in the heat of competition’.
Following a meeting of Fermoy Urban District Council, a decision was taken to collect all rubbish from the town ‘which had remained uncollected from the previous week, because of the display of incorrect tags on rubbish bags’. Some councillors spoke of the damage that had been done to the UDC’s reputation as a result of the incident.
Gardai confirmed to The Avondhu that no locals were involved in a ‘drugs bust’, at a secluded restored farmhouse, located approximately 2 miles outside Killavullen village in January 1997. A ‘substantial amount of illegal substances’ were confiscated by ‘a 20-strong force of local Gardai’ when in excess of 70 people, ranging in age from 18 to 30, arrived at the farmhouse ‘by bus and several cars’. The intended ‘rave party’ never materialized, with Gardai securing a search warrant for the house, under the Misuse of Drugs Act, where ‘quantities of ecstasy, cannabis and speed were found’, with a street value estimated at £2,500. All involved hailed from Cork city – a file was to be sent to the DPP.
A simple invention which turned a bucket into a tool box, shot Castletownroche publican, Noel Finnegan to national prominence, thanks to an appearance on the Late Late Show’s annual innovation and enterprise show. ‘The Finnegan Handy-Pack’, according to its inventor, was ‘ideal for farmers and others who are not very organized with their tools’. The idea originated when Noel was helping a friend repair a broken down dumper, however with all his friend’s tools thrown into a five gallon bucket, he noted that he couldn’t easily put his hand on the tools needed for the job. Noel’s toolkit was made from heavy-duty polyester, which fitted over the rim of a five gallon bucket and which included over 40 separate pockets of various sizes, allowing convenient storage of a whole variety of tools, as well as full use of the inside of the bucket for loose tools or parts. It was reported orders were ‘coming thick and fast’ for the product.
Success in the Cork final of the 1996/97 Mental Health Public Speaking Project for three fifth year students from Presentation Secondary School in Mitchelstown, namely Emma Ronayne, Emer O’Connor and Caroline Casey. The topic for the Cork final was ‘Humanity, Reason, Justice – a prescription for Universal Mental Health’, with the ‘Town team opposing St Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow and McEgan College, Macroom. Team tutor was Ms Carmel Sheedy. Emma was also awarded the cup for best individual speaker.
The cost of purchasing and developing an additional off-street car park in Fermoy town was estimated to be in the region of £500,000. The high cost of the project, meant there was ‘little option open to the council but to begin discussing the introduction of pay parking to the town’, according to town manager, Paddy Deasy. The particular site identified by the council would provide an extra 140 car parking spaces – annual running costs were expected to be ‘somewhere in the region of £100,000’.
Grange Fermoy AC athlete Mary Sheehan, was named among ten Cork athletes selected by the Cork County BLE Board to be honoured for their achievements in international selection over the previous 12 months. Mary had captained the Irish ladies veteran road race team to gold in the world road racing championships in the 10Km and 25Km races in Belgium in 1996, as well as medalling individually in both races, receiving 2 bronze medals.
