A sign of the changing times was heralded as the price of The Avondhu was 85p (or €1.08). Pay parking was proving to be a contentious plan in Fermoy, with the prospect of a charge of 40p per hour causing concern for local retailers. In other money matters, the chairman of the Mitchelstown Community Leisure Group wrote an open letter to The Avondhu, critical of the coverage it had received, and provided the previous four year’s trading accounts to the paper.
Minister for Health Micheál Martin had initiated a review of bed capacity in the hospital sector, and there was welcome to the announcement of an additional £10 million to tackle waiting lists. In other health news, Cllr Arthur Dowling was defending his proposal to install condom machines in the public bathrooms at Ashe Quay, prompting an unhappy response in the Letters to the Editor.
In late May 2000, local author and historian Bill Power published ‘White Knights, Dark Earls’, charting the life and times of the Kingston family of Mitchelstown. UCC Professor Dermot Keogh was in praise of the ‘balanced and objective’ account; however, the topic of the Kingstons was a hotbed of controversy and comment in the Letters to the Editor in June 2000, with voices from both sides of the divide represented.
It was a big weekend for entertainment, as the Conna Castle Concert featured ‘The 4 of Us’ and ‘Dove’, for the grand sum of £12 entrance fee.
If that didn’t pique your interest, in The Avondhu Classifieds you could buy two Oasis tickets for their July 8th gig in Landsdowne Road, or alternatively a 12 month old peacock for £25 (or 62 hours parking in Fermoy!).
Elsewhere in the news from June 2000, Lismore was looking forward to the Lismore Bach Festival in the Castle.
At the Millennium Festival of the Galtees, Bridget Lewis was crowned Queen of the Galtees, with Joanne and Billy Roche taking the title of ‘Culchies of the Galtees’. Voting didn’t stop there, as the Tipperary South By-Election was due to take place, with 5 candidates in the running following the death of Labour Deputy Michael Ferris.
Twelve year old Darren Duffy was celebrating the one that nearly got away, having landed a thirteen-and-a-half pound salmon that slipped out of his hands twice before he brought it to shore, with three bystanders wading in to help land the beast.
It was a sad day for The Torten in Mitchelstown, who notified that they would cease trading on 10th June, 2000 after 25 years in business. However, the Blackwater Valley Caravan and Camping Park were celebrating their official opening that same week, with a three-star rating from Bord Fáilte on the facility located at Mallow Road, Fermoy.
Calls for traffic calming measures at the approach to Corrin were called for as a designated pilgrimage area in early stages of development, and elsewhere in the area Fermoy Geriatrics Association were celebrating the progress made at Cluain Dara at their annual AGM.
The Lismore U14 camogie team celebrated their win over Ardkeen to become county champions, captained by Niamh Ryan, while Fermoy Soccer Club U13’s had reached the league final beating Bandon 1-0. Ballylanders beat Galbally to win the final of the South Limerick senior football championship, while Ballygiblin NS were pictured celebrating their qualification for the Sciath na Scol final.
Dairygold Sno became the proud sponsors of both the Cork Ladies football team and a Summer Camps initiative to promote the game at grassroots level. At school level, Loreto Fermoy celebrated their recent Cork Junior Colleges Ladies Football win.
Mitchelstown Bowls had a busy week, when Veronica and Jim Caplice along with Bridie Murphy, took third in the St Vincents Competition. In the World Karate Championships in Bali, Indonesia, Eddie O’Donnell and Kevin Sullivan from Mitchelstown were amongst 18 athletes representing Ireland.
For the Kilworth and Glanworth Trout Anglers, Eileen Fitzgibbon’s Bar Glanworth were the overall winners at the annual inter-firm pub competition. A generous raffle prize was on offer from West Waterford Autograss Ltd., in the form of a fully prepared Class 1 Mini for Juniors and Class 1.
