WHAT I LIKE ABOUT DOUGLAS
2nd March, 2000

A few weeks ago, we in the ‘Douglas Weekly, came up with an idea which we thought would be good because it would involve our young people in St. Columba’s girls and boys school. We rang school principal Michelle Cashman and asked her if her students would write a composition on “Why I like living in Douglas”. Michelle liked the idea and today we continue to publish another four entries. At the end of the competition we will get a judge to pick three winners, who will receive a prize from Douglas Books. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did ...


What I like About Douglas
By Stephanie O'Sullivan

Douglas is a beautiful suburb! I love this village. It has everything you want and I feel very lucky to live here.
Even though Douglas is a village, it has something for everyone. There are shops, playgrounds and a cinema for children of all ages. There is a wide range of bars, restaurants and hotels for adults. Children can join the G.A.A. Club which has now got a new hall for playing indoor activities. There is a variety of sports clubs such as a tennis club, a pool and a golf club
There are also a number of schools in Douglas. The new school I go to is St. Columbas G.N.S. When you arrive at my school, you will notice that we have planted quite a few trees and flowers around us. We have only just planted 3,000 bulbs which will be showing around spring time, and no doubt it will look stunning! I am quite proud of my school, we have a computer room with about 30 computers. The activities we do include football, camoige, and basketball. Our school football team just recently played in the final, I was on the team and felt very proud to wear the black and green Douglas jersey. Our school building is bright and large. There are two football fields just on our doorstep. We also have a beautiful bog garden with a pond and during the summer it looks particularly pretty with all the wild colourful flowers.
It only takes 5-10 minutes to drive into Cork City. We are very lucky to have the Link Road too which link us to the Dublin and West Cork routes. If I was asked where I live I would be very proud to tell the person I'm from Douglas. I love living here, it is a great village and everybody is very friendly. When I am older and have children, I am going to live here with them. I am going to send them to this school. I love it here.


What I Like About Douglas
By Grace Hughes


I moved to Douglas when I was nine years old, and I am glad to say that I have never regretted it. Douglas is one of the best places I have ever been in, because you're never short of something to do for One Second! Douglas is exciting, there is just so much to do here. I mean when you come to Douglas you don't think, I'm bored "you think" So much to do in only one lifetime.
Douglas started off a long long time ago as a small village. Since then it has grown to be the fast moving fun-packed place I call home. There's Douglas cinema where you can check out all the latest releases, or bring them home from our Chartbusters or X-tra Vision. You can even try Hex, Chartbuster's new stand up tanning facility. You can go for a delicious meal in Bully's or Eco's or a quiet drink in O'Sullivan's or the South County, our traditional Irish Bars. Don't forget our two magnificent hotels, Maryborough Hill and Rochestown Park. You can pop out to the shops, our conveniently located Tesco, Dunnes or Centra. There are bookshops, pet stores shops for toys, swimwear and fashion, jewellery stores newsagents and banks, sweetshops and petrol stations. There's even a travel agent. We have our own library, there's St. Columbas Catholic Church, which has just been beautifully renovated, but we also have a lovely Protestant Church and St. Columbas and St. Patricks Church Rochestown run a newsletter named The Fingerpost, which has been going since 1886. We also have the Gus Healy Pool, a popular social and fitness area.
St. Columbas girl school, my school has a large population of 652 girls, but it does not feel like it. We have spacious, unpolluted grounds an extremely efficient and friendly principle Mrs Michelle Cashman, who ensures that our memories of St. Columbas are happy ones. Last 3,000 daffodils up on the hill. We also make full use of our two large hurling and football pitches, and two G.A.A. halls. The Douglas girls and boys are very into sport and we the girls are trained and encouraged by our excellent sports teacher Billy Cotter, or just "Billy" to us. Of course we aren't just taught our sports- gaelic football, camogie, and basketball, but also Irish dancing, creative dancing, computers and swimming. We have a comfortable colourful school with encouraging, interesting subjects and kind patient teachers.
Douglas is technically a village but we still have easy transportation to town and we can easily just drive out to the Jack Lynch tunnel, so we also have easy access to West Cork and Dublin routes. Whatever anyone else may say, I'm proud to say that I live in Douglas.


What I like About Douglas
By Deirdre Murphy (Deeds)

Douglas is a great place to live or even visit. There are so many things to do and places to go. Although Douglas started out small it has grown and grown. I have many friends who live in Douglas and they love it too. Douglas village is one of best things in Douglas because it is the centre and heart of everything. There are loads of shops and restaurants to choose from and two great supermarkets.
They are hundreds of people living in Douglas young and old and whatever age you are there are activities
and facilities to enjoy. One of the main facilities in Douglas is the G.A.A. hall which is used often by all ages. Every Monday and Saturday I play indoor camoige in the hall and sometimes my St.Columbas, uses it for P.E.
There are many other sports played in Douglas such as tennis, swimming, golf, gaelic football. For people who don't enjoy sports as much, there is the library or cinema or park.
St.Columbas is a great school for both boys and girls. The buildings are bright and modern and nicely spaced. We planted 3,000 bulbs just before the Christmas break to celebrate the millennium so our grounds will look even more stunning. One of the best advantages about it is that we are right next door to the G.A.A. pitches and we use them a lot. It's a brilliant school and I'm looking forward to leaving it for secondary school.
Douglas is situated in a perfect location, not only is it close to the Link Road but it is really close to the City too. Even though all you need is already in Douglas like the cinema, shops and churches, bars and hotels, going into town is easy also.
I am really proud of Douglas and everything in it. It is an excellent place and I couldn't imagine it being any better.


What I Like About Douglas
By Aisling Maloney

Originally I am from Romania but when I was adopted at the age of three I was brought to Douglas and I have to admit that I would hate to live anywhere else.
I love Douglas so much because even though it is a village it still has lots of amenities and facilities for everyone.
From where I live it only takes 10-15 minutes to walk around to Tesco and Dunnes. The cinema isn't that far away either and there are always good films to see there. St.Columbas church has just been done up and its always nice to go in and say a prayer. I also think it is important to have a library near you, if you go down to Tesco you'll find one.
Sport is very important in Douglas I think. With the new G.A.A. hall for camoige gaelic football and many other sports. At Douglas Golf Club you can not only playgolf, but there is also a bar and a lovely restaurant. We also have a pool close by, if you ever wanted to go for a swim. If that's not enough there is also a leisure centre near-by.
Now I must talk about my school . StColumbas school is about the best school in Douglas, it's quiet and peaceful. The grounds are very good and all you have to do is look around and you'll find a tree. This year we planted some oak trees and about 3,000 daffodils and hope that they'll come up in the spring.
Douglas is a really beautiful place and it has grown so much in the last few years. It is so easy to get in and out of the city because Douglas is so near to it. To say that I live in Douglas makea me proud.