YoughalOnline.com updated their cover photo.

1 day ago

The golden sandy 5 km long Youghal Beaches on a sunny June Bank Holiday Weekend 2020. The white jet trails in the sky indicate that planes are airborne again and getting back to some semblance of normality from the coronavirus pandemic. The natural beach length is excellently designed for doing your 10k walk to and back and what a panoramic view of the blue sea on the way. The sunlight is a great source for your Vitamin D – and all for free. … See MoreSee Less

YoughalOnline.com

2 days ago

The beautiful Youghal Front Strand and Claycastle Beach during the glorious weather on the June bank holiday weekend 2020.

The beach lifeguard service is back in operation at the Front Strand and Claycastle areas. Swimmers should follow the advice of Water Safety Ireland and stay safe.

Visitors and locals were responsibly keeping to the social distancing guidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic as the Youghal Beaches slowly return to the old normal. … See MoreSee Less

YoughalOnline.com

5 days ago

Youghal Maritime News: €60,000 secured for Upgrading of Youghal Harbour. (19th May 2020)

Cork East Fine Gael TD and Minister of State at the Department of Justice & Equality, David Stanton, has learned that funding totalling €96,000 will be allocated between Ballycotton Pier, Knockadoon Pier and Youghal Harbour under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Local Authority Harbour Programme.

The Local Authority Programme forms part of the 2020 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, through which the Department co-funds up to 75% of the total cost of these approved projects, with Cork County Council providing the balance. The package provides funding for maintenance and repair works as well as supporting the enhancement of harbour facilities and marine leisure developments.

Three projects in East Cork will be awarded funding under the programme:

Location – Project Description – Funding Allocation

Ballycotton Pier – Provide additional berthage at the deepest section of the pier, fit new navigation light at harbour entrance and install new fenders at head of main pier – €22,500.

Knockadoon Pier and Slip – New concrete deck on upper section of slipway and section of vertical toe-rails on both sides of slipway. Install new section of handrail on raised concrete section at beach and breakwater and replace two ladders at head of breakwater. Provide new surface water drain with gulley adjacent to gabions and associated safety signage – €13,500.

Youghal Harbour (Nealson Quay, Market Dock and Green Dock) – Installation of new handrails, toe-rails, replace ladders, mooring rings, mooring bollards and storm weather gate. Upgrade of existing steps, remedial works to pier wall and re-deck slipway – €60,000.

Total allocation – €96,000 … See MoreSee Less

YoughalOnline.com

5 days ago

Known to the local people as ‘The Waterford Factory’ – – officially Youghal Carpets – – This is a light-hearted version from a Deise viewpoint. I hope you enjoy – Mike Hackett

Photo 1 – The Inter-Firm Youghal Carpets Hurling team (see names attached)
Photo 2 – Tom Cashman makes a presentation at the local fishing contest weigh-in.
Photo 3 – Design Dept. – – Roy Wynn standing at back left and Con Scuffins standing on the right

– The Waterford Factory – – known as Youghal Carpets.
So many people from the ‘County’ (Waterford) worked at Youghal Carpets that the local townies referred to it as the Waterford Factory.

We go firstly back to 1947 when Willie O’Dwyer built Seafield Fabrics on the Cork side of town near Summerfield. That firm went on to employ hundreds of locals – – who had not gone on the ‘Innisfallen’ to rebuild the English cities after the war. Then in 1953, Willie started Blackwater Cottons and it also took on board a lot of the unemployed who were not at the lucrative salmon fishing. Move on then to 1954 – – when John C Murray foresaw that carpets were going to be in every house – – sooner or later. He was right!

John was already owner and manager of Youghal Cabinets in Store Street and had a good sense of business and of how to progress. For instance – – when Pye radio manufacturers had a severe fire in their factory in England – – John went across to meet the directors and offered to make cabinets for them pending the rebuilding of their plant. An agreement was reached whereby Youghal Cabinets went on to make cabinets for radios and radiograms for Pye for many years. Later that Youghal firm moved to new premises at Mill Road and became Murray Kitchens – – supplying all Ireland.

But back to 1954 when a small carpet manufacturing plant was set up by John Murray at the bottom of O’Neill-Crowley Street (Browne St.) near the anchor bar. At first it was a simple operation with just six employees – – but not for long – – as more and more employees were taken on. The plant expanded into neighbouring buildings and corn-stores to accommodate extra looms. Now the machinery was getting a lot bigger and required even more floor-space. The narrow looms making stair carpet were now outnumbered by the broad looms to make room-wide carpets.

John Murray, while being astute and shrewd himself, realised that he needed the best available staff. So he recruited experienced professional people to head-up the important sections of the firm. Eddie Coree was the main Accountant, Tom Cashman was in charge of Human Resources, Ned Donovan was the Time-and-Motion (now called Work-Study) head, assisted by John Coleman who hailed from Dungarvan, and Jack Walsh was the Paymaster. Incidentally Tom Cashman and John were married to two sisters (McCarthy) and Tom had left a top job as a Police Officer in Hong Kong to come back to Ireland and join the firm.

An advertisement on T.V. for Youghal Carpets that time described it as “The carpet with the soft deep pile”. This description was carried on to Tom Cashman (who always had a smile on his face) and he was called “The man with the soft deep smile”. Tom was very popular and later when he stood for election to the Local Urban Council – – he was easily elected.

Again more workers were sought from far and near. From Tallow, Lismore, Cappoquin, Aglish, Villierstown, Clashmore, Grange, Ardmore – – and even from Dungarvan – – people came to work in the ‘Carpets’. Considering the times that prevailed – – the pay was excellent. One ‘tale’ told of a farm labourer complaining to a pal about the long hours that he worked on the land – – and sometimes it could be seven days a week. The pal reminded him that the ‘Carpets’ were looking for workers and he should apply there. He did – – and was taken on to start the next Monday. He duly attended at 7 am and worked away until it came to 3 pm when he was told by the supervisor that he could now go home. “But I have just a small bit to finish” said he. “Go home” said the boss “Or we’ll have a strike on our hands”.

He couldn’t believe his luck! He had twice as much pay and only a half day’s work to do. That was the era when the farmers started to get a tractor each to replace the labourer.
The late great John Kennedy of ‘Gossip Shop’ fame had come from Dungarvan to run a shop in Youghal for Colm Moloney – – before starting his own at North Main Street. He was selling many things like radios and record players plus Honda 50s. He sold the Honda 50s as fast as they could be supplied to him. Anybody buying a Honda from John knew that he had the backing of Davy Hayes who was an expert on motor-bikes and they were guaranteed good service. Davy was a lovely man – – originally from the Tallow Road – – he was most helpful. He fixed punctures in my Honda many times and would not take any payment.

Every weekday during the mid 1960s, a fleet of motor-bikes, later cars, would cross the ‘new’ bridge from the ‘County’ on their way to work. But now that the workers were earning big wage packets – – they made life easier for themselves and began to stay in town. They became ‘lodgers’ – – landladies like Bridie Begley (North Main St.), Mary Malone (Church St.) Mary Goggin (Emmet Place) and Nell Kelleher (DeValera St.) come to mind. Friendships were then made with the locals and work comrades in the off-duty time. A lot of romantic partnerships were formed and the cinemas and dance halls were doing well. I remember Marie Donovan and her sister Pat from near Knockanore working for Don McDonald in his Travel Agency at that time and foreign holidays were just taking off. They were the busiest people in town. Cork Airport had opened a few years earlier and the ‘Carpets’ employees were jetting off to Spain and Portugal to spend their wealth. The list of employees was now approaching the eight-hundred mark – – in addition to a second plant at Killacloyne near Carrigtwohill – – and a few in England.

Meanwhile in Cork City – – a builder; Eoin O’Callaghan – – saw an opening in Youghal for the building of houses to accommodate those newcomers to town. Those romantic encounters were resulting in marriages and even the flats were all taken. Eoin built estates with twenty to thirty houses in each and Sweetfield Estate and Kilcoran Park were two such places. Looking around now in 2020 – – a good lot of the original occupiers are still happily in possession of those homes. West-Waterford folk were well represented in those schemes.

John Murray had the same honourable and reliable secretary all his life. Mary Russell (whose roots were near the five-cross roads junction at Rath, Piltown) was always respectful to her boss and after forty years she still referred to him always as “Mr. Murray”.

Mary told the following true story to me shortly before she died suddenly. One day her boss asked her to accompany him to Dublin on a special mission. It was in the 1970s during a prolonged bank strike and he needed cash to pay the workforce. The firm was going so well that they had bank accounts in England as well as in Ireland. The special and secret mission was to attend at a British bank in Dublin to get sterling cash for payday. Away to Dublin the two went in his car and they collected fifty thousand pounds in sterling cash – – hidden in two suitcases. It was placed in the booth of the car and they drove off home. Then on arrival – – John stopped outside Mary’s house to let her go in home – – but he also got out himself and removed the two suitcases from the car. He brought them into Mary’s house and asked her where her bed was. On being told, he then put the fifty thousand sterling under her bed. Her mouth was wide open as he went on to explain that if the secret had leaked out – – then he could be raided during the night – – but nobody would think that it would be hidden a few blocks away under Mary’s bed. She told me that she slept as soundly as ever that night.

Another story concerning John mentions how he had an Aston-Martin car at one stage and a big Citreon later. Seemingly he was known to be a fast driver and liked big cars.

One day he called Jack Walsh and asked if Jack would drive him to Dublin – – John had been at a late meeting in Cork the night before and was tired. Jack – – who was a moderate driver – – agreed to do the driving and so in Jack’s car they started for Dublin. Somewhere in County Kilkenny, an animal jumped out in front of the car and Jack had to brake hard to avoid a collision. Jack turned to John and said “There now John, if you had been driving, where would we be”. John replied, “We’d be in Dublin by now having our breakfast”.

John Murray had great connections himself with West Waterford in that he had a farm at Ballinamertina, Clashmore for years and he later lived across the road from my house here at Shanacoole.

Taking all the foregoing into consideration – -it’s no wonder that local folk called the firm ‘The Waterford Factory’. God be with the days.
Mike Hackett. … See MoreSee Less

YoughalOnline.com

5 days ago

CHERNOBYL AID GROUNDED BY COVID-19 PANDEMIC
By Christy Parker | Courtesy of the Dungarvan Observer

Chernobyl aid trucks due to travel to Belarus next week have been left unloaded due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The stalled aid effort means tens of tons of items donated by the Irish public over the past year will remain in storage for the foreseeable future.

In further blows to victims affected down the generations by the 1986 nuclear plant disaster, scheduled vacations with host families in Ireland and other countries are postponed. There are also reports that the virus is spreading across orphanages and care centres in Belarus.

It’s not easy to find someone that makes Donald Trump seem wise these days but in a mind-numbing display of ignorance, insensitivity and conceit, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has denied any crisis and prescribed sport, vodka and sauna trips as remedies for any semblance of Covid-19 in his unfortunate country. “The tractor will cure everyone there, the fields cure everyone”, he also helpfully suggests!

Back in the real world, Chernobyl Aid Ireland (CAI) CEO Liam Grant says his organisation was due to dispatch four 90 ft. artic trucks on May 1st. They were to leave from Waterford, Youghal, Limerick and Dublin, with destinations in aid centres in the Belarus capital Minsk and Grozovo 100 km further south. The centres care for children and young adults with mental and/or physical disabilities.

In particular, the agency has fashioned a strong connection with approximately 200 residents at the Grozovo centre. Formerly an army barracks, over the past 23 years voluntary Irish labour, funding, and other donations have transformed what was a bleak, cold and damp complex into a comfortable residential centre double-glazed windows, insulated bedrooms, a kitchen, hot and cold water and a working farm. CAI also helps to provide medical treatment.

Liam, a retired paramedic from County Kilkenny is well known from his ambulance service days across much of Waterford. He established CAI in 1997 and while it operates collection services across Ireland, its head office is in Waterford city.

Varied load
Liam says each truck’s “15 tonnes or so” of aid would comprise medical items such as beds, blankets, wheelchairs, crutches, and other walking aids, along with furniture, clothing, shoes, games and general household items.

Amongst the material now in storage is about 10 tons of salt. It is needed to treat large boilers whose heating elements are susceptible to lime in the water. “It’s a serious problem. We have little treatment plants but without salt, the elements can burn out in about three months”, he explains. Washing powder is also a prime commodity, Liam informs because the equivalent in Belarus is of “very poor quality and the clothing generally needs strong treatment”.

Building materials, including a large quantity of OSB boards, are further included for delivery next time, with the agency building a new toilet block. Again the structure was built by Irish efforts -for which a JCB and chainsaws were transported from Ireland to clear a site- and May was to see out the job, prior to construction of another toilet block. A Cork chef was also recruited to tend to the Irish workforce.

The material sent to Minsk and Grozovo is sorted out and distributed over weeks and months according to need and applications. A recent tragedy has seriously undermined that approach, with Covid-19 claiming the life of one Luid Milla, a Minsk-based administrator with which CAI had worked for over 18 years. “She was simply brilliant at her job”, says Liam. “From distribution of aid to acquiring visas, speeding up customs clearance, everything; it leaves a huge void and I’m not sure how we will fill it or indeed with whom. Our hearts go out to her husband and family”.

Local connection

Liam’s sentiments are echoed by John O’Connor, a retired cross-Europe truck driver from Youghal. “Luid was a wonderful woman and will be dearly missed”, he echoes.

John’s participation in the annual aid convoy dates back five years and he is usually accompanied on his trips by his wife Esther. His ‘patch’ as it were comprises east Cork and west Waterford. The year-long collecting begins immediately after each trip. “People are incredibly generous”, he enthuses “and we now have an absolutely full warehouse awaiting removal at an industrial estate”.

The items are collected through the help Gavin Tivey and his family who own Perk’s entertainment centre, who provide collection vans. The items are eventually collected for transportation to Belarus through the generosity of truck providers O’Leary International Ltd.

Besides material goods, the volunteers also receive monetary donations, which are vital for the enterprise. A return journey takes about six days and “it costs up to €5,000 in visas, fuel expenses and so on”, says John, adding that the drivers pay their own expenses in terms of food, etc. The convoy will travel through Dover, Belgium, Germany and Poland to Belarus.

The aid agency would hope to travel in September but, as Liam surmises. “Spring 2021 might be a more realistic target as things stand”.

Further information, monetary donations,: www.chernobylaidireland.ie. Also, johnoconnor34@gmail.com.

Picture: Retired cross-Europe truck driver John O’Connor
with his wife Esther and Canon Thomas Browne P.E. … See MoreSee Less