OVER MY DEAD BODY WILL PLAY YARD BE TAKEN FROM BISHOP MURPHY SCHOOL
Tempers were heated at Tuesday’s Fermoy Town Council meeting, as councillors clashed over a suggestion by Cllr Michael Hanley to use a portion of the children’s play yard at Bishop Murphy Memorial School for car parking.
Cllr Olive Corcoran told The Avondhu: “Over my dead body will they take a portion of the children’s play yard for car parking. Wherever Cllr Hanley wants to put his spaces, he has an awful cheek to try and take the ground off the children. Let him use his own space outside his own shop here in the town. Parking is badly needed in this town, but please, please don’t take it from the children’s playground.”
The Avondhu spoke with Cllr Hanley for his response to Cllr Corcoran’s comments: “It was a suggestion for the potential use of the school yard as a weekend car parking facility for the church in the main.
"If the board of management at Bishop Murphy Memorial School wanted to go along with the idea, to facilitate extra parking in the town, the school could receive money towards the maintenance of the school as a result.
"I am surprised at the vindictiveness of Cllr Corcoran’s comments in the past few days towards me personally. Are we not allowed to think and propose new ideas? She is entitled to her opinion, as is everyone else.”
Principal of the school James O’Donoghue told The Avondhu “The board of management nor I haven’t been approached by the town council about this. In my opinion it would be a non-runner from the point of view of taking space away from the kids and erecting a car park.
"Numerous schools around the country are doing their best to extend the school yards, so we are blessed here at the Bishop Murphy school that we have the space we have, and we certainly do not want to lose it.”
Published:
Thursday 22nd July 6:18pm
