The Mahon Community Mini Bus was officially launched last Saturday, 11 December 2010 outside the Mahon Community Development Project. It is funded under Rapid/ dormant accounts funding. It is a bus for groups and organisations in the Mahon area. The bus is for community activities and will be used by groups to enhance their own project work and the development of their work. More information can be got from the Mahon Community Development Project. Well done to all involved!
Ballinlough Christmas Soiree
Continuing their efforts to engage and present practical ideas in getting the community together and out and about and ultimately trying to cheer people up, Ballinlough Youth Clubs are presenting a Christmas evening of entertainment. The stars include Soprano Mary Hegarty accompanied by Eleanor Malone, soryteller Diarmaid O’ Drisceoil, Ballinlough Youth Club Choir and ol’ time favourite songs played by “Memory Lane”. The venue for this Christmas cheer is Ballinlough Community Centre on 12 December at 7.00pm. Refreshments will be served. Admission €5. Tickets are available from: O’ Driscolls Superstore, Ballinlough Credit Union, Patsy’s Hair Salon, Canon Horgan Youth Centre (Friday nights 6.15-7.15pm). For further information contact Lisa on 085 7178439 or email them at ballinloughyouthclubs@gmail.com. Visit them on facebook @ Ballinlough Youth Club Events.
Ballinlough Christmas Soiree
Continuing their efforts to engage and present practical ideas in getting the community together and out and about and ultimately trying to cheer people up, Ballinlough Youth Clubs are presenting a Christmas evening of entertainment. The stars include Soprano Mary Hegarty accompanied by Eleanor Malone, soryteller Diarmaid O’ Drisceoil, Ballinlough Youth Club Choir and ol’ time favourite songs played by “Memory Lane”. The venue for this Christmas cheer is Ballinlough Community Centre on 12 December at 7.00pm. Refreshments will be served. Admission €5. Tickets are available from: O’ Driscolls Superstore, Ballinlough Credit Union, Patsy’s Hair Salon, Canon Horgan Youth Centre (Friday nights 6.15-7.15pm). For further information contact Lisa on 085 7178439 or email them at ballinloughyouthclubs@gmail.com. Visit them on facebook @ Ballinlough Youth Club Events.
Last Thursday evening (2 December 2010), I had the priviledge of launching the short documentary, “A Brief History of Mahon” in Blackrock Castle. Below is an extract from my speech. Sincere well done to everyone who made this film happen.
Extract from Kieran’s speech:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, many thanks for this opportunity to launch this Dvd this evening. It’s great to be in a building that a one time protected the walled town of Cork from attacks from Pirate ships but is now looking further field to the universe. Can I say at the outset, this is an amazing community based project driven by our retired citizens, many of which put in trojan work to make sure older people are not marginalised and that they is ample opportunity to get stuck in and involved in community based projects, from parties to bowls to art and computer lessons.
The project is also driven by Eddie Noonan and his team at Frameworks Film who also does amazing work in recording the various histories across the city.I know many people in Mahon were interviewed for their perspective on how the area has developed and many of you are here this evening. One of the major aspects I feel that comes across is the strong sense of pride people have in their own place in this part of Cork City, young and old. It’s interesting to see the needs of young people voiced as well as the needs of the older generation. This Dvd is dedicated to the memory of Paddy O’Driscoll, who I met only once in my own travels but whose name goes before him even in death when one talks about the development of community in the Mahon area.
I think Paddy would be proud to see that in the overall sense the sense of pride, the sense of place and identity is very much present but also evolving in the Mahon community. My own experience of Mahon people is one of a strong common sense people which I feel this city and country needs more of in today’s world. This Dvd opens up an interesting box of memories that perhaps have not been open before, certainly not through the medium of film. Mahon has a rich history, an inheritance, physical in its buildings, cultural in terms of the outlook and memories of its residents. The researcher can also talk about community and settlement across 2,500 years in this area, whether it be Bronze Age times or the age of the O’Mahony ringfort, the age of the big house and estate or the age of one of the largest social housing projects in the country.
In the last number of years, I have been beavering away at researching different parts of this part of the City and in the last year have outed two walking trails of the wider area – one on the old Cork Blackrock and Passage Rail Line and the other on Ballinlough. Inspired by this film, there is much need to not only gather historical information about areas such as Mahon and Blackrock but also explore their sense of place. Both I feel are suffering from a case of amnesia – where much of its past is not that talked about in the present – or perhaps it is -but through the role of personal and childhood memories which feature alot in this short film. Apart from the historical, the role of personal memory is enormous in gauging the sense of place of an area.
This dvd at its heart is a celebration of the different parts of the Mahon’s identity. The dvd that we are launching tonight seems to have a great thread running through it as if old friends/ former topics, written about before are being revisited but this time -time has been taken to mull over the memories more. This dvd at its core seems to be about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage- our landmarks, our oral histories, our scenery in our modern world for upcoming citizens.”
Bere Island off west Cork celebrated its first official presidential visit recently when President Mary McAleese opened a heritage centre which was built last year after years of campaigning for funding by locals. President McAleese congratulated the 200-strong community at Bere Island for its determination in obtaining funding for the project, saying the building was a monument to their initiative. Since the centre opened last year it has become an important reference, meeting and information point for islanders and visitors to the island. The centre has a craft shop and cafe with internet access, as well as an exhibition space, meeting room and conference facilities.
Cllr Kieran McCarthy is calling for suggestions from the general public for a similar initiative to be carried out in Cork City’s south east. He notes: “The Bere Island Heritage Centre is a blueprint for celebrating and and preserving the rich stories that are inherent in our communities. There is an opportunity for a team of people to research the rich heritage and identity of the area and present it to the general public. The south east ward has enormous potential with a myriad of fascinating histories such as the industrial heritage of the docklands, to the former market gardens of Ballinlough to the rich architectural heritage of Ballintemple to the story of the fishing village in Blackrock, to the story of the big estates that once existed in Mahon to the story of Douglas, its woollen mills and community – and all the various community stories inbetween and much more. Our heritage is an aspect that is not only important to the aesthetics of our community but also to our sense of identity. We need to mind it”.
Cork FM Community Radio is one of the best community projects to appear in Cork in the last two years. Spearheaded by Ballinlough resident, Donal Quinlan, he has done trojan work with his loyal team to get the project off the ground.
They are fundraising this Friday evening and really need people’s support. Please come and support their pub quiz in aid of community radio 19 November at 8.00pm at the Silver Key Bar, Ballinlough, check them out at www.corkfm.ie and be part of ‘bring back Cork FM community radio’ a non for profit community organisation table of 4 is 40euro lots of fun see you there.
I get to MC the event. The questions won’t be that hard except the local history round!
Motions:
In light of the partial collapse of one of the city’s historic houses, i.e. George Boole’s on Bachelor’s Quay, to ask the City Council’s Conservation Officer to give a SWOT analysis on his role in protecting other historic structures from collapse (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
To ask the City Council about what measures are in place to monitor the water quality in the Atlantic Pond (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Question to the Manager:
To ask the City Manager for a timeline of events regarding the fixing of Bachelor’s Quay Wall since the flooding of late November 2009 to the present day? (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Letter to the Editor of Douglas Post, 4 November 2010
Dear Editor,
I write this letter with total anger over the mindless damage to the children’s playground in Ballinlough by what is alleged to be teenagers “hanging out in the area”. It is appalling that a child’s playground was so spoiled last week by people who seem to want to ruin its innocent nature to make sure that young kids don’t have anywhere to play in the vicinity.
I wish to send a message out to those who could be described as mindless thugs who destroyed a child’s playground. The people of Ballinlough do care about its people, do care about its amenities and how the area looks. The people of Ballinlough have worked solidly over several decades to build a confident community whose patience is now been seriously tested by some people who seem to want to destroy and blasé through their youth and destroying the positive roots of community life in Ballinlough. The community is now been pushed to the limit by some young people who could be described as mindless vandals who wish to mess around with cans of paint.
As a result of Ballinlough’s status as an older and settled area of the city, it is not entitled to funding for large scale youth and community projects and has admittedly been struggling to curb the growing anti-social behaviour in the area. However, that does not mean the people of Ballinlough don’t care. The recent very high attendances and pleading concerns at the area’s policing forum meeting have demanded answers from local councillors, the local community gardaí and questioned the responsibility of local parents.
Physically going down to the Japanese Gardens on a number of occasions during the summer months, I was appalled and maybe more saddened at some of the behaviour I witnessed – especially the underage drinking. I was saddened on one occasion to meet three sixteen year olds drinking at 6.30pm in the evening and saddened on listening and talking to them; that this was their youth culture, that in some way drinking to get drunk and “smashed” was cool, that this was the way forward for young people in the area and the city. I wish to tell these young people that is not – continuous drinking, puking, smashing bottles, drug dealing, threatening passerbys, intimidating the great people of Ballinlough, worrying the entire community, graffitying walls and ruining a child’s playground – all because it is thought to be cool and the statement that “all young people do it” is a deluded attitude. It is not the way forward and any young person who can’t stop themselves going down this road, who is getting addicted, should seek immediate attention and get some kind of help.
If there are any signs of hope, it is the teenagers who I met in the Japanese Gardens who are not drinking and who genuinely wanted something to do, to be challenged in their lives. If there are young people looking to share ideas, looking to get community projects going, have ideas to do something useful with their lives, my door is always open. As a community, we will find funding. We will support anything positive that contributes to life in Ballinlough and/ or the city.
In addition, if there are parents who wish to come with me on walks to move on those teenagers who don’t listen; my door is open. I know there are quite a few parents in the community who realise they can’t sit on top of their teenagers and have to leave them out and trust them. I have also been told by our community gardaí that many incidents of anti-social behaviour are not been reported upon and hence certain teenagers causing trouble are not being met and challenged.
Juxtaposed to that, I firmly believe that in the world we live in, we need young energetic people to step forward with ideas. I would also like to appeal to young people not to condemn youth projects such as youth cafes in the area that are ongoing and to keep an open mind that such projects will ‘save’ young people’s lives and future outlook. I would say get up from the couch, do something, set up something new, get out there because in this world, it’s the person who will fight for himself or herself will, in the long run, succeed. Every person deserves a challenge; picking up a paint can and destroying a child’s playground should not be even considered as a productive way forward to spend one’s youth.
with deep respect,
Cllr Kieran McCarthy
A Halloween Spooks Parade is being organised by the Ballinlough Youth Clubs this Sunday, October 31st.
The Parade starts from the Youth Club at 5.00pm sharp. Registration before that from 4.45pm All children must be registered for insurance purposes and accompanied by an adult.
All the children will be given glow sticks and musical instruments to add the atmosphere in the Community. There is a small charge of €2 per child, (or €5 for a family of three children) to cover the costs.
Cllr Kieran McCarthy is supporting participation in an ideas based forum and/ or a new series of events in Cork – Pecha-Kucha Nights. These free events are part of a worldwide phenomenon and are fun, informal ideas presentations. Pecha Kucha Nights consist of around a dozen presentations, each presenter having 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds. Each presenter has just 6 minutes 40 seconds to explain their ideas before the next presenter takes the stage. It is a chance for people to meet, show their work, exchange ideas, and network.The format keeps presentations concise, fast-paced and entertaining. The first Pecha-Kucha night in Cork was held in the Crane Lane bar which proved an ideal venue.
Organiser Nicki ffrench Davis notes:
“It’s exciting to be getting this forum going in Cork. I think it can be too easy for good ideas and projects to lose momentum or pass unnoticed because the right connections to people are missed somehow. Pecha-Kucha Nights are a really social and entertaining way to help those connections happen and for anyone to discover the variety of activity in the city. I’d love to see people from all walks of life involved – from scientists to artists, planners to entrepreneurs, politicians to provocateurs!”
The next Pecha-Kucha event will be held in November – anyone who is interested in taking part is warmly invited to email Nicki at pkcork@gmail.com. Participation and attendance to the night are both free.
