A Mitchelstown father of seven was appealing for help to the council to fix his ‘falling down house’. 21 years ago the property at Captain Keane’s Grove was at the centre of a major concern for the safety of its residents.
Council officials said that there were ‘settlement’ cracks in walls and James Connolly, a widower, said he feared for his family’s life.
An independent engineer would not guarantee that the house was fully secure and Mr Connolly turned to The Avondhu to raise awareness of his plight.
The engineer found that the gable end of the house was moving away from the rest of the property and needed urgent work to save the structure.
Litter management plan in Fermoy
After a previous telling off by the Department of the Environment, Fermoy Urban District Council released their Litter Management plan to much fanfare. Then Minister for State, Dan Wallace, had listed the town amongst those who had not carried out work on a plan to tackle rubbish on the streets. A sub-committee, Fermoy Image Improvement Group, was appointed to lead the fight against litter. The eight point plan was then produced by the Town Clerk for distribution to the public and the Government.
Mitchelstown Credit Union were congratulated for their hard work to raise funds for cancer charity, Daffodil Day. Their tireless work raised £7,000 across their branches, located in the town, as well as in Ballylanders and Knocklong. More was expected to be raised with Loreto Secondary School teacher, Sister Nuala leading the charge.
Gardai and Fermoy Fire Brigade were busy this week in 1999 as they were called to Glenseskin Wood, near Kilworth, to deal with two burning abandoned cars. The incidents happened in broad daylight and fears were that it could have started a massive forest fire.
Also, a local garda station suffered an attack by a released prisoner after a shoplifting spree resulted in a Cork city woman being placed under arrest. After she left Fermoy Garda Station, she smashed a window in the building and ended up back in custody. The shoplifting spree was brought to an end the day before when she and her accomplice were arrested in Mitchelstown after a report that they were stealing mobile phones from a shop in Fermoy. Gardai issued a warning to shopkeepers about professional thieves targeting businesses.
Then, there was the strange case of nine dead deer inside an articulated lorry travelling through Mitchelstown. Gardai had stopped the vehicle and made the grisly find. The dead animals were part of a 36 strong consignment of, supposedly, live animals being transported to an abattoir for slaughter. Gardai believed the driver had overloaded his trailer.
St Colman’s College Fermoy students, Jason Culloty and Mort Kelleher, were winners of the prestigious Gridlock quiz programme on RTE. They took on more than 180 schools to get to the final. The strategy based game saw Jason as the strategic mind with Mort being the general knowledge brain. The win saw the school receive a new suite of computers and some members a trip to Strasbourg.
In last week’s edition we recalled the incident involving the Fermoy Environmental Group at the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in 1999. They were initially stopped from taking part in the event, but then were given a garda escort through the town to the cheers of locals. Well, the group followed up their escapade and said they would not be intimidated from their actions as they protested against a proposed dump in the Avondhu area. In fighting talk, they declared: ‘The message to the bully boys is that we won’t be intimidated’.
There were complaints about speeding motorists on the Mulberry Road near Mitchelstown, made all the more dangerous because there was no footpath.
Corrin Hill residents were upset at a plan to erect lighting on the way to the nearby hilltop cross. They told The Avondhu that there were fears that the lights would attract groups of youths who were committing vandalism in the area. On a recent visit by the Bishop of Cloyne to the area, there had been vandalism just hours before his arrival.
Young hearts were racing as Cork boyband 2XTreme were set to play at the Website niteclub in the Clongibbon, Mitchelstown. The Denis Desmond managed group were so extreme and rock and roll, that the event was a teenage disco with a mineral bar only!
In sport, Accrington Celtic and Forge Celtic were crowned North Cork Soccer League champions for the 1998-99 season. While Castle Celtic bowed out of their cup campaign with a 6-0 massacre at the hands of Fairview Rangers.
