After a fraught and ill-tempered local election campaign the first job of the new Fermoy Urban District Council cathaoirleach was to call for harmony and co-operation from her colleagues.
That was the message from Aileen Pyne who was elected 21 years ago in a surprise vote by her fellow councillors in the new Fermoy UDC.
The local representatives formed a pact for the voting process between a group of five which involved Fine Gael, Labour, an independent and a renegade Fianna Fáil councillor.
Cllr Pyne had made a special plea for harmony and co-operation during her acceptance speech and explained that there was much work ahead for the council to realise Fermoy’s potential. She pleaded with her colleagues to ‘all work and strive together for the good of the town and its people’.
There was a similar message in Lismore as the town commissioners met for the first time as Bernard Leddy was elected to the role of chairman. There was a deal struck where by the representatives would all get a ‘fair crack of the whip’ and the various positions would be on a rotation basis.
There was tragedy in the Mitchelstown area as two fatal road crashes claimed the lives of two people. The first crash was in the Cloughleafin area in which a pedestrian was killed. There was also a tragedy involving a car in collision with a large articulated truck.
There were celebrations in Mitchelstown as the New Market Square was officially opened after a major refurbishment. The project saw the square transformed into a focal point for the town with major redesign. The opening was carried out by Cllr Kevin Murphy, at that time chairman of Cork County Council, who praised those who had worked tirelessly on the project.
“The refurbishment of the New Market Square means that the square can once again serve as an amenity area in the centre of Mitchelstown. It is an area in which townspeople and visitors alike can congregate, in which out door markets can be held and the square also acts as a target area for visitors to the town,” he said.
In Fermoy there was a call for ‘real commitment’ to realise the town’s Millennium celebrations. A local committee called on locals to get behind the plan to celebration the turn of the century. The group, which was a sub committee of the local enterprise board said that the earlier interest from the locals was not matched by public involvement in the various proposed projects. There had been a public meeting and a number of ideas were nominated for in the celebrations – these were then worked on by the committee.
The projects included the Lark by the Quay, a recording of all local history and a special calendar which had historic photographs.
The research centre in Moorepark was scene to a large fire when an adjoining building was engulfed in flames. A member of staff spotted smoke coming from the structure and called the emergency services. Fire brigade units from Fermoy and Mitchelstown used breathing apparatus to enter the building and tackle the blaze. Firefighters believed that it was caused by an electrical problem.
Construction work on a new extension got under way at Fermoy Adair School to build permanent structure for their second class students. The historical school was founded by William Adair, the first rector of Christ Church.
He was licensed as a schoolmaster in 1804 and he found his school in a three-storey building – it subsequently moved to Barrack Hill or Oliver Plunkett Hill in 1836. The school further moved in 1977 commonly known as Mrs Baylor’s School moved to more spacious quarters on a site at Greenhill, Fermoy.
Old time set dancing events were back at Knockadea as nostalgia for the times past gripped the area two decades ago. It was not only for the older residents but also young people had expressed interest in the tradition.
Mary Flynn, a Fermoy resident, had complained that she was living in ‘slum-like’ conditions on Devlin Street. She said that she had experienced no heating or hot water and feared for the health of her 11-year-old son, Kenneth, due to a significant dampness issue. Mary was calling on the council to help her.
In sport there was a campaign to get a civic reception for Fermoy Pitch and Putt Club officers, proposed by then Cllr Tadhg O’Donovan. The club had held the National Stroke Play Championships.
Castletownroche recorded a 2-15 to 1-7 victory against rivals Shanballymore in their North Cork JAHC game. Castletownroche scorers: Jonathan O’ Callaghan (1-6); David Relihan (0-5): Russell O’ Brien (0-1): Jack Finnegan (0-1); Mike Browne (0-1); Tony O’ Sullivan (0-1). Shanballymore: Donie Curtin (1-2); Alan Barry (0-2); Paul Burke (0-2); Ned Finn (0-1).
