The lead story 21 years ago this week, March 1999, was the scandal created by a critical report about the performance of Kildorrery GAA Club’s junior B football team. The club PRO had launched a scathing attack on the club’s players after a ‘heartless, hangover display’. Locals reacted with anger to the report with relatives of the players slamming the author and declaring his report as ‘over the top’. However, relatives admitted that a number of the players were at ‘an important social occasion’ the night before the game. Despite this fact, a mother of one of the players said calling her son ‘hungover’ was a ‘disgrace’.
Glanworth farmers travelled to counties Roscommon and Galway to help their colleagues in the area, due to a serious fodder crisis. They delivered a ‘care package’ to land owners, which consisted of three heavily packed lorry loads of cattle feed.
In Fermoy, gardai were again leading a massive crackdown on drug dealing as detectives stopped and searched a local drug dealer. The man was found in possession of a large haul of ecstasy tablets – it was the latest in a number of high profile seizures by gardai.
The twinning of Mitchelstown Credit Union and Wales based Robert Owen Credit Union, was signed and sealed at an event at The Firgrove Hotel. A charter was signed by the respective presidents of each credit union, David Kent and Rina Clarke.
The dumping of pesticides in the Shanowen river shocked people locally, but a probe by investigators failed to find the culprits. It followed the discovery of a number of toxic containers dumped in the water way that links with the river Bride. Fionn O’Connell spoke of the huge amount of rubbish in the rivers, with the banks and bed strewn with plastic rubbish bags. The Regional Fisheries Board were carrying out investigations, but as the containers were not registered they were drawing a blank in their hunt for the perpetrator.
Dick Stritch, who turned 80 in 1999, had a huge birthday party to mark the occasion. The then president of Fermoy Rowing Club was declared a ‘sprightly birthday boy’ despite his advanced years. A well known local photographer, a special exhibition was held to show off the years of pictures taken by the sporting stalwart.
A world renowned Bluegrass band was centre stage as they were set to visit Kilworth – JD Crowe and his band The New South were set to play at a music festival in the area.
Gardai were investigating a large sheep kill by dogs on the Ranges in which 20 carcases were found after the hounds savaged the animals. Gardai in Kilworth had appealed to dog owners to keep their canine pets locked up to prevent future incidents. There were reports of a pack of domesticated dogs roaming the area killing livestock.
St Patrick’s Hospital in Fermoy was set to get additional funding as development work at the facility was under way. It was hoped that the new funding, secured by then TD Ned O’Keeffe, who was also a Minister in the Fianna Fail Government, would help construct the final phase of works at the site.
In political news, five candidates were in a battle for the Fine Gael nominations for the Fermoy/Mitchelstown electoral area. They included Aileen Pyne, James O’Connell, PJ Walsh, Liam Doherty and Pat Brennan. The convention would select two people to stand in the elections. Cllr Aileen Pyne was fighting to retain the nomination as she faced a stiff battle for selection.
A giant 13 unit Beehive Industrial development was set to be opened near Mitchelstown and the sites would be sold on for building works by companies. The development on Cahir Hill, on the Dublin to Cork road, was declared as a great opportunity for businesses and the town to grow.
Conna Community Council had announced a plan to build twelve houses and a day care centre for the elderly in their village. The group had a site in mind and work was expected to begin following approval of their planning application.
In sport, Glanworth beat Kilworth 2-7 to 1-9 in a junior A football league match. Hill Celtic scored two goals to Leeside’s one, moving them into third place in the league table in an “extremely tough, physical derby”.
