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A screenshot of the Fermoy Newz facebook page.

News is not always exciting or hot off the press, sometimes it is just a tidbit of information about something small that is important to a particular group of people, but all too often we take life too seriously and fail to see the funny side of things - this is something, which the new Facebook page Fermoy Newz is aiming to remedy.

Fermoy Newz was set up on May 6 and so far, it has soared in popularity, already gaining more than 1,349 Likes, so who is behind this page and why did they set it up?

Journalist Sandra Quinn, interviewed the person who set it up and while they were rather cloak and dagger-ish about their identity, preferring to remain anonymous, they did speak quite candidly about what prompted them to set up the site and what the reaction to it has been like so far.

The site takes on either real news snippets and inserts fictitious elements or it takes a light topic, such as the awful weather or election candidates canvassing and puts a hilarious twist on them, thereby turning a non-news topic and something quite droll into a witty quip in the form of observational humour.

It can be compared to Waterford Whispers News, another Facebook page that focuses on spoof news and satire. Waterford Whispers News was started in August 2009 and so far, it has more than 130,000 Likes, so that proves that there is a demand for these kind of sites. In an age where newspapers are consumed with mainly depressing stories about austerity, the recession, cuts and job losses, people are craving the comic relief that the spoof stories give them.

"I'm a fan of Waterford Whispers News, and the many other spoof news sites that came before it like The Onion, but I wouldn't say I've based it on it, but am flattered that you'd draw a comparison.

"I do think that Fermoy Newz might re-instate a sense of fun that seems to have been drained from the town and its surrounds. There's so much doom and gloom and mundane crap being filtered through the media 24/7 that a bit of silliness, whether it be satirical, sarcastic, or downright ridiculous is badly needed," the mystery writer told The Avondhu.

While the writer does not have a background in journalism, they said that they have always fancied the idea of writing 'light-hearted or humorous stuff'.

"I suppose I've always had a sense of humour, and often find myself falling about laughing at some of the 'serious' news in publications like The Avondhu, the characters attached, and some of the stuff that's deemed newsworthy in the first place. I've been writing in one form or another for a while, but had never written satire, so decided I'd float a few 'articles' and see how they'd be received," the writer said, speaking about what prompted them to set up the Fermoy Newz page.

They added that they are 'chuffed to bits' with the reaction so far and the compliments that have been flooding in, but added that the 'news' items are not meant to be taken seriously.  

"What I write is observational, my take on things. It's not meant to offend or upset, if it gets a bit close to the bone at times, that adds to its value in my opinion," the writer told The Avondhu.

For more information, Like and Share the Fermoy Newz page on Facebook.

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