20th January, 2000
The good news for residents of Douglas
and in general all Cork people is that the Home Design 2000
Exhibition returns to the Rochestown Park Hotel on February 25th
for three days. Last years exhibition was a huge success and
according to organiser Peter Crowley this years show will be
bigger and better. Like last year, the Douglas Weekly will have a
stand, and on the day the exhibition opens we will be celebrating
the Douglas Weekly’s 3rd birthday. Hope to see you all
there.
Is Pat Kenny obsessed with money? A few months ago he interviewed
Michael Flatley and took us on a tour of the Flatley residence,
and then he started on about gold taps, Flatleys millions, he was
in awe of Flatleys millions. Then, on last Fridays ‘Late
Late Show’ he introduced his guest Denis O’Brien,
saying, “This man could buy everyone in the audience three
BMW’s”. God help us if Bill Gates ever comes to
Ireland. Compare Pat Kenny to Gay Byrne, and we all remember one
guest Gay was in awe of, Mother Tereasa. Pat, there are more
important people in the world than people with millions, and
sometimes these people contribute more to society.
Speaking of Denis O’Brien, who made a few bob from the sale
of ESat to BT, Denis was rarely on TV. Then last week he was on
the ‘Late Late Show’ on Friday and TV3’s “Agenda”
on Sunday night. I wonder if Denis will enter the political
arena. A man with £230,000,000 doesn’t spend his days
looking out the window watching the world go by. We’ll wait
and see.
I mentioned last week that the County Council will take £12,000,000
from Douglas over the next four years, and that they will spend
£500,000 on Douglas roads over the same period. What we would
all like to know is what are they doing with the other £11,500,000?
Does anybody know?
On Monday night I went up to Douglas Hall football grounds. The
reason was to take some photo’s of a great bunch of girls,
the under 12’s Soccer team, who as I write are on top of the
League. At 6.30pm on a cold Monday night when most of us are
sitting by the fire watching TV, these girls and their mentors
are doing something a lot more of us should be doing. Well done
to everyone for the time, trouble and dedication they give to the
youth of our area, that must be true job satisfaction, and a job
well done!
Yesterday I called down again to see Siobhan at Little Rascals
Children’s Boutique in Carrigaline. Last week I mentioned
that Siobhan was selling Communion dresses at £60 cheaper that
most other stores. What I forgot to mention was that she is also
selling all her winter stock at half price and some at less than
cost. I saw one beautiful pure wool navy coat that was £39.95,
its now £15. Is this woman mad? To find out, take a trip down.
Tell her I sent you!
Should Mike Tyson have been allowed into Britain? Some people say
well, he served his jail sentence for rape. But there is a law in
the UK which states that anybody who has served a sentence over
12 months for a serious crime will not be allowed into the UK.
Tyson’s manager Don King was in jail in the USA for
manslaughter, yet he’s in and out of the UK like a fiddlers
elbow. Women’s groups say he (Tyson) should not be allowed
in, but Jack Straw (Home Secretary) bowed to pressure, not from
boxing fans, Manchester MP’s, but I think from pressure
applied by Rupert Murdoch, who own Sky TV. The main world
headlines on Sky were; Mike Tysons leaves America; Tyson is on
the way; Tyson has landed; Tyson goes to pray at a Mosque; Tyson
gives a child a T-shirt. It’s a circus, and in a week or two
Rupert will get the audience to pay-per-view £15.99 to Sky.
Every circus needs clowns, I wonder are they in the ring or in
the audience. Keep your ear to the ground !!!
Speaking of Sky, on Sunday night I watched the final of World
Darts Championship. The semi-final between Hankey and Mason was
brilliant, nail biting stuff. But the final was one-sided with
Hankey beating Baxter 6-0. Also on that night was the start of
the five nations snooker competition. The best players in the
world playing as a group, representing their countries. So at
midnight I switched over to Sky News ... No mention of the fact
that an Englishman was the world dart champion, and no mention of
the snooker. The reason? Sky only mention what they either own or
control. The best news programme on television is Newsnight with
Jeremy Paxman on BBC2. Sky is the pits.
The second part of the Upton interview concludes this week (page
3). One person told me that she cried when she read it. Another
elderly man I met in a local shopping centre told me that he
could not get the article out of his mind. On the Saturday when I
finished the interview we walked around the grounds until we came
to the Chapel and my friend said, “We’d be sent down to
collect the chickens eggs for the priests and brothers meals, but
if we were caught walking past the front of the Chapel, we’d
get a beating. We were only allowed to pass the Chapel at the
rear!” I can only assume that these children were looked on
as the result of sins of the flesh, and to atone for the sins of
their mothers they had to be punished. These people took from
these children something that can never be replaced, their
innocence, their dreams, and their childhood. Finally, on this
subject, in 1967 the Minister of Education Donagh O’Malley
appointed a committee, chaired by district justice Eileen
Kennedy, to inquire into childcare, particularly in relation to
children in industrial schools.
The committee’s finding were never implemented and its
detailed files have been subsequently lost. We’re a great
country for losing files. I hope God forgives them, I couldn’t.
Finally, congratulations to Billy McCarthy who was elected
President of Douglas GAA Club. Billy is a fine writer who has
contributed to the Douglas Weekly over the years. Readers loved
his articles on his childhood memories and Billy, you were lucky
to have had such happy ones. Good luck in your new position, I
know that you, like Liam Bennett before you, will be a credit to
a great club.
Bye for now,
Michael O’Hanlon.
PS. Thanks to Frank Downey for pointing out that Bess Carthy’s photograph, which was featured in last weeks Weekly, was taken in 1930 and not 1960.
