From the Archives

25 years ago

2000

Virginia housing scheme rejected

An Bord Pleanála upheld an appeal by a residents’ group against a major housing development in Virginia. The group had appealed Cavan County Council’s decision to grant permission to Lomor Holdings Ltd, Dunshaughlin, to build 281 houses at Rahardrum, off the Bailieborough Road.

The Board ruled that the development would be of “excessive scale and out of character with the existing town” and would materially contravene the Cavan County Development Plan 1996, which sought to respect the scale and identity of the built environment. Key reasons included inadequate private and public open space, house layouts that would compromise the privacy of existing properties, and the overall scale of the scheme relative to Virginia.

The Board also argued that the development would likely encourage long-distance commuting on the N3, contrary to the National Development Plan and the Department of the Environment’s Sustainable Development – A Strategy for Ireland...

Ballyconnell woman wins culinary award

Spiced Chicken Parcels – Lebanese Style was the winning dish in the Health Promotion Unit’s Healthy Eating Recipes competition, run with the ICA and Bord Glas. ICA member Patricia Drumm of Ballyconnell devised the dish using low-fat ingredients and methods. She attended the finals in Dublin Castle, where national ICA and Department of Health representatives were present...

Council held historic Bailieboro meeting

Cavan County Council held its first-ever monthly meeting in Bailieborough at the instigation of Chairman Turloch Smith, who regarded the town - where he had worked for two decades - as his home place.

The meeting took place in the newly built Library, which Smith described as an example of the Council’s achievements in Bailieborough and the wider county. Local resident Michael Giles welcomed councillors and officials, saying he was honoured to do so...

Honours on show at award ceremony

The growth of Cavan College of Further Studies had supported large-scale industrial development in the county, according to Cavan VEC CEO John McKay. Speaking at the College’s 2000 graduation ceremony - at which over 500 students received national and international qualifications in Computing, Social Care, Business, Nursing, Child Care, Hairdressing, Beauty Care, International Teleservices and Sport & Recreation - he highlighted the recent decision of US computer company Teradyne Inc. to locate in Cavan.

McKay credited college staff for producing a highly skilled, adaptable workforce and said participation in higher and further education in Cavan had previously been among the lowest in the country but had risen dramatically with the College’s establishment.

Cavan VEC Chairman Clifford Kelly praised the College’s national reputation, especially in computing and IT, which he said played a key role in attracting Teradyne. He warned that demand for an educated workforce would keep rising and said plans for a new campus were progressing well.

50 years ago

1975

Monaghan hospital news welcomed

Near-euphoria broke out at a meeting of Monaghan Urban Council when it was announced that the North Eastern Health Board had unanimously passed a resolution calling for the preservation of general hospital facilities at Monaghan County Hospital.

Deputies Jimmy Leonard and Brendan Toal attended, along with Lorcan Ronaghan and Josephine Carroll, who had been part of the UDC/County Council/Health Committee deputation to the Board earlier that day. The deputation said they had prepared extensive documentation—including plans illustrating the potential to extend the existing hospital—but withheld it because they believed the Board already supported their case and that presenting it might have led to an adjournment.

Councillors congratulated the TDs and delegation and warned that the episode demonstrated the dangers of regionalisation. They agreed the NEHB recommendation would carry significant weight with the Minister...

Chairman called for discipline among players and supporters

At the annual County Cavan Camogie Convention in the Lakeland Hotel, Fr Oliver O’Reilly, CC, Crosskeys, emphasised the importance of discipline on and off the field. Camogie, he said, required dedication, patience and sacrifice, and both victory and defeat should be met with dignity. After-match discussions could often be damaging to players and officials who had given their best.

Numerous motions were listed for debate, but the meeting was adjourned before completion and scheduled to reconvene in February 1976.

100 years ago

1925

Armed for defence – Longford force poised to fight labour dispute

An extraordinary situation developed in County Longford after the County Council decided to hand several roads over to contractors, replacing the direct-labour system. Councillors and contractors were threatened by groups of men. Heaps of road stone were smashed and dumped in ditches; in Ballinalee, a bridge was destroyed and a trench dug across a road, damaging a motor car driven by County Councillor Mr Reynolds.

Tensions escalated in Newtowncashel when a crowd of labourers marched to the premises of councillor and former TD, T. Carter. Shots were fired, and two men - Casey and Devanney - were wounded in the legs. Around twenty arrests followed.

At a special meeting of the County Council, Carter proposed a resolution making anyone found intimidating contractors ineligible for Council employment for 12 months. Carter told the meeting he had been forced to take up a gun to defend himself and his property, insisting he would not be intimidated and “would sooner be shot dead” than be prevented from doing his duty. The motion was carried.

A Property Defence Association was subsequently established in Newtowncashel with Carter as chairman. One of its resolutions called for vigorous propaganda and the use of compulsory and voluntary physical force. Carter, a former Army captain, had been prominently involved in operations in Leitrim during the Anglo-Irish struggle.