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Beach Cleared Of Litter As Foróige Takes Control
5 comments | 
It desperately needed doing. The County Council apparently didn’t have the resources but the people from Foróige just donned their red shirts and did it. About 20 members of the Nagle House based youth club, plus a dozen or so parents and volunteers, cleaned Youghal beach on a sponsor card initiative last Saturday. They cleaned the Claycastle car park too. Thank God. Report: Christy Parker | Photos: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com and Emer Power (Foróige)
Patricia Delaney with Youghal Foróige leaders and helpers, Emer Power, Chloe McDermott, Tom Egan, Brian O’Connell, Rian McSweeney and Patsy O’Mahony who spend the day helping to keep Youghal’s famous beaches clean. This is a big boost to keep our sand, our town and our environment clean while also spreading a powerful message by their actions. Way to go Youghal Foróige! Great job!
Problems
There had been problems leading up to the event. One county council employee had objected to them doing it at all, on the grounds of taking someone’s overtime or something. Then the county council wanted to manage the project, as previous experience had seemingly taught them that household waste and heavens-know-what could be unscrupulously added to the mix if there was a lapse in responsibility. That authority was reluctant to issue a waiver and instead had suggested that the waste be ‘coralled’ over the weekend at Claycastle, to be collected by its employees in due course. The gardai weren’t too keen on that scenario, given the potential for fire, scattering and a lure towards lawlessness that a mountain of rubbish-laden plastic bags provided. Neither were the Foróige people and so a sort of ominous impasse was reached.
Patsy O’Mahony and Patricia Delaney from Youghal Foróige, picking up the rubbish with Tom Egan and Brian O’Connell and helping keep Youghal Beach clean.
Sorted…
So it looked for a while on Friday that the venture might be cancelled. Then County and Town Councillor Barbara Murray sought the ear of Town Manager Patricia Power, explaining he Community Garda Peter Queally and youth worker Emer Power were, to say the least, responsible and capable co-ordinators. Ms. Power in turn consulted higher office in County Hall. It was agreed the landfill would allow a waiver after all, with the waste delivered by trailer on the day.
Youghal Foróige - Job Done!
Cold
It was a cold day for the beach, with a strong, cold wind whipping in relentlessly from Capel Island. Armed with gloves, black bags and pickers provided by the county council, the crew tackled their task in two shifts from 10 am to 2pm and from 2pm to the finish, about two hours later. Out in desolate Redbarn at about 3pm, a rosy-cheeked Rian McSweeney from Bunscoil was both resolute and rueful. He was filling his second bag and, no, he wasn’t particularly enjoying cleaning the beach, he declared with uncompromising honestly! (That boy is sure to get a job with the county council –probably in the higher echelons!)
Nearby, Foróige café volunteer Patricia Delaney was less disillusioned. Patricia hails from Laois where beaches are scarce, so she was happy to be on any bit of sand, no matter how grotty. Not that the scenery had lured her here, in the first place. She was in Youghal, “because of a man,” she informed, as she merrily dumped another beer can into a bag.
Rian McSweeney and Patsy O' Mahoney (Volunteer), with an interesting find...a barbie doll!
Bottles, boxes and Barbie!
Youghal beach delivered over 100 bin bags across two trailer loads of rubbish. Of prime presence were a huge number of butter boxes from a load lost overboard at sea late last year. “We picked an awful lot of beer cans and bottles too,” says Emer, “along various items including an old camera tripod.”
L/R: Ronan O'Mahoney, Niamh Kelly, Sophie Monaghan, Aoife McCarthy, Emer Power and Shane Buckley (All youth club members)
Ultimately, the day’s work was notable on several fronts; it produced a cleaner beach, demonstrated the worth of community self-help and served a reminder that Youghal’s younger generations are more enterprising than headlines about underage drinking, vandalism and graveyard desecration might suggest.
By no means least, it enabled Foroige, in a time of cruel cutbacks to raise money for their Nagle House home. “All the sponsorship money raised will go towards the our youth services,” says Emer, in reference to the youth club, café and the various projects that quietly and efficiently help nurture the youth and the future of Youghal. Further community-enhancing initiatives are likely.
Congratulations are merited all round.
5 comments |
Community initiatives such as Foróige’s example should be applauded.
The troubling aspect is that sheer effort in arranging the project and the hurdles that Foróige had to jump through will be an impediment to any other community group attempting to do similar in future. To be honest it is an absolute disgrace.
It’s our town, it’s our beach and it is something we have every right to be proud of. And at the moment it is probably our biggest asset. We are all proud of our town but by the same token there is a lot that we can all provide to make it better, cleaner and more attractive. Why should the entire town and it’s reputation be held to ransom by Cork County Council who only seem to be interested cutting costs and protecting their jobs? The County Council employee who complained was evidently not doing his/her job given the amount of rubbish collected!
Given the sheer levels of bureaucracy that Foróige had to contend with it makes one wonder exactly why they didn’t give up.
The important thing is that they didn’t give up. They collected 100 bin bags and two trailer loads of rubbish which just highlights how bad a condition the beach actually was. And to have to fight to be allowed to do so is absolutely pathetic.
One would wonder why they should even bother to do so again given that those that make the decisions only seem to care 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.
Well done to Foróige and their leaders. You are certainly setting a good example despite the adversity from the minority. Christy really hit the nail on the head in the article with the following:
“the worth of community self-help and served a reminder that Youghal’s younger generations are more enterprising than headlines about underage drinking, vandalism and graveyard desecration might suggest.”
Long may this community spirit continue.
Well done to all who took part on Saturday, you should be very proud of your achievement. I noticed it straight away when I went on my walk Monday morning. Keep up the good work Foroige, this is the kind of example we need to be giving our youth. We need you!
Well done – all round. Not least well done Youghal Online for highlighting the obstacles put in the way when one is attempting a good deed where everyone benefits!
| would like to thank you on behalf of Nagle House Foróige club and indeed all the youth services that will benefit from your encouraging comments. They have not gone unnoticed and I will bring them to the attention of Foróige leaders and club members at our next meeting on April 29th with great delight.
Nagle House Foróige aims to highlight those basic conditions in society necessary for the youth of Youghal to flourish as individuals and as members of their own communities. We have started our journey as we mean to go on and it is of great consolation to know our own town of Youghal is behind us,
Thank you for sticking by us,
Emer Power- Nagle House Foróige Club
I am so glad to see such an amaizing initiative. I so love the Youghal, and hated seeing it destroyed by thoughless people. Yaaay.