By Christy Parker | Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Tickets are now on sale -and selling fast- for a fundraising dance featuring legendary Irish country star Louise Morrissey at the Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal. The concert, on Friday November 7th hopes to raise money towards the missionary work Fr. John Keane, a Youghal priest working amongst the extreme poor people in Ecuador.

Fr. Keane arrived in Ecuador in 2006 and works with the St. James the Apostle Society in the largely urban setting of the Good Shepherd Parish, La Libertad. “It’s a vast area, where thousand of people live side by side in cane shacks,” he explains. “There is no work, no money, health facilities and worse of all, nowhere to grow crops for self-sufficiency ”

Against this grinding poverty, the priest has organized several relief programs. A fortnightly ration distribution scheme attempts to feed 2,000 people for two weeks at a cost of €2,000. He also runs medicine purchasing program for malnourished babies and small children, a daily breakfast program for children who arrive hungry at school, clothing supplies and assist with cane house construction.
“Every cent raised goes direct to people in dire poverty. There are no Read more

Party On! is a new Youghal business that will cater for children’s birthday parties for ages 3-10 years of age. The launch party was held in the Methodist Hall on Friar Street and ran from 4pm to 6pm. The place was buzzing with kiddies laughing and playing and making clay bits and bobs.

This idea came about from two very experienced mothers, Amanda Hogan and Fiona Murphy, who have been working with children for years. Fiona who has two children, is a trained community nurse and was the founder in 2002 of Youghal’s very own mother and toddler group, The Tweenies, which is held twice weekly in this same hall, which allows mothers of young children to meet up and chat thus leaving the Read more

The Polish community in Youghal have asked for our help at Youghal Library, in promoting a campaign to encourage Polish children and young people to read in their own language. To this end, we are hosting Polish story time at the library at 12.00PM every Saturday (Except Saturdays of Bank Holiday weekends, when we are closed). I would be very grateful if you could publish the following translation of the above information.
Translation
W ramach kampanii ,,Czytam po polsku” Biblioteka Miejska w Youghal (Rivergate Mall, North Main Street – pasaz) zaprasza wszystkie maluchy wraz z rodzicami na wspòlne czytanie polskich bajek oraz mini konkurs plastyczny!!!

Impreza odbedzie sie w bibliotece (pasaz obok Vodafone’a) w najblizsza sobote,

18.X.08 o godzinie 12.00. Prosimy o Read more

By Christy Parker
Youghal Town Council has been told it is “pointless” raising issues that require funding throughout 2009 as there will not be enough money to implement them. Town Clerk Liam Ryan made the grim warning at the October Town Council meeting as he advised that only items included in next December’s 2009 budget can be delivered. Mr. Ryan was breaking with usual procedure in reading his monthly report aloud. It was that serious.
Elaborating on severe budgetary cutbacks and knock-on repercussions, Mr. Ryan said a payroll reduction of 3%, as requested by the government, meant curtailing or suspending staff recruitment. Response and maintenance programmes will be affected as three seasonal workers will be lost next summer along with the non-replacement of other staff, “for whatever reason.”

He said Public Lighting (15% increase to €135,000) and other energy related areas, like Council Insurance (estimated €262,000), are also threatened. Income prospects are also in depressing decline, including rental income and Planning Application fees. Development Contributions for the 2009 Budget stand Read more

By Christy Parker
Aluminium levels in Youghal’s drinking water have been persistently above safety limits for over seven years. Youghal Town Councillor Liam Burke described the situation as “depressing and appalling” when he informed the October Town Council meeting of the finding.

The Green Party representative said the town’s water had surpassed the permitted levels in three out of six samples taken in 2008, with one sample twice the legal limit. “But the situation has been ongoing since 2001, when 12 out of 17 samples, or 71%, failed,” he said.

The councillor said that despite interim efforts to address the problem the water had failed aluminium tests every subsequent year, with failure rates varying from 37% to 89%. “There is obviously a health hazard here,” persisted Cllr. Burke. “Why has it been allowed to continue for over seven years?”

Town Engineer Paul Murray said the County Council is about to implement the recommendations of a report arising from a “comprehensive review” at the town water plant at Bula.

Aluminium compounds help to remove impurities in water, as well as reducing its colour, cloudiness and bacteria. Studies into possible links to degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s remain inconclusive and largely dependent on mitigating factors.

Mr. Murray said the water is presently “safe” to drink, prompting FF Cllr Dave Savage to suggest issuing a letter to reassure the Read more

Photo: Michael Hussey (Youghalonline.com)
Members from Amnesty Cork will join millions of people worldwide to take a stand against poverty on Friday 17th October, the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Amnesty Cork are organising a street action this Saturday 18th October, beside the Peace Park on Grand Parade. We will be asking members of the public to support the movement by standing up and reading a pledge. Photos will be taken and the number of participants will be counted. Stand Up events will run simultaneously across the globe and Read more

YoughalOnline.com will broadcast a live gig from Claycastle Recording Studio, Youghal. This will be the first time a live gig will be streamed live from the studio.

An interview and live music performance with James McGrath & Band will start @ 9:00pm for 45 minutes (approx). This will be the first of many live web casts planned for artists & musicians that will feature on www.YoughalOnline.com

Filming & Web Streaming by Youghal Online Productions, Audio & Recording by Read more

On the 14th of October at the Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, the Youghal Flower & Garden Club organised a demonstration of flower composition provided by Margaret O’Keefe entitled “The Glory of Autumn”. The demonstrator did five beautiful compositions talking with the audience and explaining what she was doing. The reaction from the audience was Read more

John Schmid from Ohio was on a two week tour of Cork and Waterford and included a couple of days in Youghal at the invitation of the local Baptist community.He did a full length concert in the Mall Arts Centre on Saturday October 4th.

In co-operation with Anne Fitzgerald from the Music department in the Pobalscoil, he spoke and sang to around 60 students on Monday afternoon, October 6th. In the first 20 minutes he treated the students as if they were inmates in a prison in Ohio and his mixture of real life stories and Johnny Cash songs went down really well. Throughout the rest of the time he sang from a wide repertoire of songs including Read more

By Oona Colin
On Monday last, October 6th there was a lot of hustle and bustle going on on the Breton Road coming into Youghal. The young students of the Transition year at Pobalscoil na Trionoide, Youghal’s Community School, have come together with Youghal Tidy Towns to enhance and beautify the town.

Transition Year students have great opportunities to try out lots of different things that they wouldn’t normally do in an academic year and among those is community service. This year the students will be collaborating with Youghal Tidy Towns by planting spring flowering bulbs in tubs all around the town right up to the top of the Lighthouse Hill. “This is a great way to get the youth involved in respecting the environment and becoming more aware of the negative impact of rubbish” comments Pat McLoughlin, the TY co-ordinator at Pobalscoil “it not only teaches them a little bit of horticulture but at the same time they are contributing to the local community”.

This bright idea came from Ned Brennan, Chairman of Tidy Towns, in the hope of eventually setting up a Junior Tidy Towns Section “we need to get the youth more involved, they are the future and they have lots of great ideas” says Ned who has been involved in Read more