Pages Past: forest fires; rural housing; and rising costs

Westmeath Examiner, August 8, 2015

Water mess!

The anti water charges campaign was at its height, and an item in the Westmeath Examiner revealed that a protest was to be staged in the Market Square in an attempt to encourage people not to pay their latest bill from Irish Water – the second bill issued by the company.

The item stated that members of the Mullingar, Rochfortbridge and Killucan ‘Say No’ groups as well as the Westmeath Land League were to be at the square, providing information “and telling the truth” about how many had paid the first bill.

Dermot Murphy, one of the organisers of the event, stated that while Irish Water was claiming that 47 per cent of people had paid their bills, the event organisers believed the true figure was about 30 per cent.

“Now we are being hit by a media campaign that if the Irish people don’t pay, they will be fined by Europe. We are already paying for our water – 5 per cent of our motor tax goes towards it,” he stated.

Westmeath Examiner, August 13, 2005

Motoring costs skyrocketing

“Motorists in Westmeath are seeing their average weekly motorist costs skyrocket, as fuel prices around the county continue to escalate,” stated the opening paragraph of an item by journalists Sharon Newman and Deirdre Flynn in the Westmeath Examiner of August 13, 2005.

The two revealed that motorists were now paying almost 20 per cent more for petrol than at the start of the year.

In actual terms, that was a hike of 17 cents per litre.

Those using diesel were paying an extra 12 cents per litre.

A surprising feature of the survey of prices conducted by the two writers was the fact that it uncovered considerable variations in prices in Westmeath. In Castlepollard, motorists were being charged as much as 117.9c for petrol and 114.9c for diesel, while in Ballinagore, a litre of petrol cost 102.9c, and a litre of diesel cost 104.9 per cent.

Westmeath Examiner, August 12, 1995

Knockaville forest fire

The army had to be called out to help quell a forest fire which had destroyed more than 70,000 pine trees at Knockaville, Mullingar, readers learned in the Westmeath Examiner of August 12, 1995.

“Helicopters, four fire brigades, Coillte workers and the army have all been battling for almost a week to quench the fierce inferno and hopes were that it had finally been brought under control when it erupted again on Tuesday,” the report stated.

Two families had to be evacuated from their homes as the fire raged, destroying most of a Coillte-owned forest at Knockaville.

The report went on to reveal that some 34 firefighters from the Mullingar, Castlepollard, Moate and Kilbeggan fire brigades were working on a 12-hour rotation shift, assisted by Coillte workers and members of the defence forces.

“As the job of containing the advancing fire intensified on Thursday, Irish Helicopters Limited were called in to drop water on the densely-populated wood. They drew water from the nearby Royal Canal,” stated the item.

Westmeath Independent, August 9, 1985

Nude lady on whiskey urns

A somewhat scandalous incident in the history of the Locke’s whiskey distillery was recounted by historian Cecil English, vice-president of the Old Athlone Society, at the opening of the recently-refurbished museum at Athlone Castle.

Mr English revealed that in a bid to promote their product in America, Locke’s Distillery had sent out urns featuring a nude lady on the front.

“A churchman later brought this to the notice of his gathering, and John Locke and CO had to immediately withdraw the container,” said Mr English.

One of the urns was on display in the museum at Athlone Castle, and the journalist stated that the nude lady looked like “an epitome of the charming Irish beauty”.

Continued the writer: “The lady in question is a dark-haired beauty and the present-day Women’s Committee on Equality would not be too pleased as her bare breasts were thought to be a selling point by the legendary John Locke in his selling of the ‘Water of Life’, which he appropriately called his Irish whiskey.”

Westmeath Examiner, August 9, 1975

'Times of economic crisis'

The writer of the editorial comment column in the edition of August 9, 1975, was somewhat disappointed over the failure of the Irish to respond appropriately to the country’s financial problems.

“Who says these are times of economic crisis? True there are well over 100,000 out of work and there are people trying to make ends meet, but to read the annual report of Bord na gCon on the gambling at greyhound meetings or to take a look at the gambling and drinking returns from Galway Race week, one could hardly think that we are living in anything but a time of full and plenty,” the writer commented.

They continued: “The philosophy seems to be — ‘let the last hour be the hardest’. There is now no incentive to save. The big spending spree is on. What do the statisticians tell us? Well £14.45 millions were gambled by patrons of greyhound racing meetings in the Republic of Ireland during 1974, an increase of over £2 millions on the previous year. Even allowing for inflation this is a pretty steep figure. It was the amount spent by almost one million people who attended the meetings.

“In Galway last week, it is reckoned, 50,000 people gambled £2 millions (in five days) and the same 50,000 spent well over half a million on food and drink. It sounds, and it is, lunacy. The psychologists tell us it is a sign of the times and that because of the economic difficulties people are looking for escapism. Could it not be that all sections, from the millionaire down to the youngest wage earners, are in a mad whirl of socialising? They are in a world where entertainment, recreational and leisure facilities have to be way-out.”

Westmeath Examiner, August 7, 1965

Building houses in rural areas

“The problems facing Westmeath County Council for some years past, of not being able to get houses built in rural areas and having a housing shortage in Mullingar and other towns, was again discussed at length at the monthly meeting of the council on Monday,” the intro to an item in the Westmeath Examiner of August 7, 1965 stated.

The discussion on housing had arisen in the context of a motion from Cllr John H Keegan asking that the council set up a special committee to assist in the assessment of housing needs in the county.

Cllr Keegan suggested that there be one councillor from each of the four electoral areas on the committee.

Cllr Gerry L’Estrange, TD, said the housing problem in Mullingar was acute, and married couples with three or four children were living in a room. Cllr Jimmy O’Brien knew of one house in his area in which there were 21 inhabitants.

Westmeath Examiner, July 9, 1955

Youngest ploughing champion

There were plenty of interesting snippets in the Ballinagore and Castletown Geoghegan notes in the edition of July 9, 1955.

The first item was a note of congratulations to Patrick Robinson, Balrath, who was the recipient of a special medal at the last meeting of the Westmeath Committee of Agriculture, for being the youngest plough champion in the county.

Stated the item: “Ballinagore always figured conspicuously in ploughing concerns. Away back in 1915, one of the first ploughing championships was held in Ballinagore financed by the late Captain Harry Riche of Hanley Cross, Ballinagore. Mervyn Maxwell, Glenbrosna, is a member of the national executive of the Ploughing Association. The late councillor John Flood, Ballinagore, was an active member of the County Ploughing Committee and was in charge of the horse section in the All-Ireland Ploughing Championships 1953.”

The next item revealed that congratulations by cable had been received from as far away as California by “the lucky and popular candidates who have been returned in the local government election” – Joe Sheridan, Cloonagh, and John Keegan, Killard. According to the item, the cables were sent, “when the news reached the western sea-board through the ‘Westmeath Examiner’”.

Meanwhile, 200 national school children from Ballinagore and Castletown Geoghegan, accompanied by Rev J Carberry, CC, Mr T Heraghty NT, Miss Cooney NT, Miss Keogh NT, Miss A Heduan NT, Miss Casey NT and Miss Hennessy NT, travelled by rail and special bus to Dublin where they visited all places of interest “including the airport where they were inculcated into their first experience of air travel and later to the seaside”.

Westmeath Examiner, July 14, 1945

Swimming pool hopes

At a meeting of the Mullingar Town Commissioners, Mr P Coyne proposed that the town surveyor be asked to prepare plans and specifications for a swimming pool in Mullingar.

“We have plans already,” member JJ Carey pointed out, while commission chairman, Mr PJ Shaw, said it had been pointed out at the last meeting – and it should be pointed out again to the people – that as far as the commissioners’ responsibility rested, they had submitted detailed plans for a swimming pool to the Local Government Department in 1939 and they were turned down.

At the same meeting, it emerged that sites either had been, or were in the process of being acquired for the construction of 140 houses in Mullingar.

The information was given to member Joseph Bennett by the chairman, Mr Shaw.

Westmeath Examiner, July 13, 1935

Religious books tax

It wasn’t the restaurants that were seeking a reduction in tax on their offerings in 1935: it was the sellers of religious books, an item in the July 13, 1935 edition of the Westmeath Examiner revealed.

“Indignation is growing throughout the country at the tax of 30 per cent on prayer books and other books of a religious character,” the item stated, going on to explain that at a debate in the Dáil the previous Thursday week, the subject had been raised, while Vy Rev Monsignor McCaffrey had also commented on the issue in Maynooth.

“At first there was a 30 per cent duty on leather-bound books, irrespective of whether they were prayer books or not,” said the article. “In anticipation of this year’s budget, the tax was put on all prayer-books, no matter how, or with what material, they were bound.

“That meant the adding to the articles taxed of bibles, testaments, alter missals and such volumes which were exempt up to this year; and so a protective tariff becomes a penal one.

“‘What the government hopes to get from the tariff I cannot see,’” one wholesale dealer in such book stated, explaining that the Tariff Commission had reported that if all those books were produced at home, it would mean that few additional persons would be employed.

The Westmeath Examiner report went on to state that the principal excuse that Mr MacEntee was able to offer for the tax when challenged about it, another trader said, was that the books so imported were produced under conditions not worthy of a Christian country.

Westmeath Examiner, July 11, 1925

Ballinafid break-in

Three men appeared before Judge Wakley at Mullingar Circuit Court, charged with breaking into the house of a woman at Ballinafid.

The men were alleged to have stolen from the lady in question cigarettes, handkerchiefs, eight tubes of Dunlop solution, 130 pairs of brown boot laces, a silver watch and chain, a gold chain, boxes of Brilliantine.

They were also charged with assaulting the woman with intent to rob er and with breaking in to her house with intent to steal.

Mr Wallace, the state solicitor, applied to have the venue transferred to the Dublin Criminal Court, and the judge told the defendants that when such application to him, he was required to make this transfer.

The report concluded by remarking that the condition of health of the victim was “still very precarious”.

Westmeath Examiner, July 10, 1915

Human skulls discovered

“A gruesome find” was the heading on an item in the Westmeath Examiner of July 10, 1915, which revealed that during excavations that were taking place at Church Avenue in Mullingar at that time, “several human skulls and human teeth” had been discovered.

“A remarkable thing about the teeth is that they were all well-preserved, being as white as ivory and very regular,” the item stated, adding that it was believed they had been buried hundreds of years earlier.

The writer said that the bodies to which the skulls belonged must have been buried without coffins, “as in no case did the workmen dig up pieces of wood or tin”.