August

Adored Fr Con dies in accident

Beloved priest Fr Con Cronin is tragically killed when he is struck by a bus as he crossed Strand Road in Monkstown with a friend.

Local councillor Marcia D’Alton, a close friend of Fr Con, describes to the Cork Independent how a silence fell over Passage West minutes before word of his death reached the town.

Describing Fr Con as a man who could turn a black day into a bright day, Cllr D’Alton says she had seen grown men cry as the news spread across the town.

It is reported that the driver of the bus, Ballincollig native Mark Wills, had suffered a suspected heart attack while at the wheel, causing the bus to collide with some parked cars before striking Fr Con. His requiem mass is held at St Joseph’s Church, Coomhola where Fr Cronin was baptised, received his first holy communion and celebrated his first mass after being ordained.

Rent crisis on Leeside

Cork faces a severe rise in homelessness as Ireland hits an all-time low in rental availability.

Records show just 169 apartments available to rent in Munster at the start of August with rent prices across the province climbing by a staggering 13.7 per cent on the year before.

The stark figures come to light in a rental report carried out by Daft.ie which reveals that the average rent in Cork city is €1,524 per month, having risen by 9.1 per cent in the last year.

Divisive smart trees installed

Cork City Council is criticised after installing five high-tech CityTrees as part of a suite of actions to tackle air pollution and support public health across the city.

The council insists the machines are not a replacement for the real thing but will act as a complement to trees.

The decision is subject to much backlash with many members of the public taking to social media to ask why real trees couldn’t have been planted instead.

The four metre tall units are installed at St Patrick’s Street near French Church Street and on Grand Parade near Cork City Library.

They are each covered in a mixture of moss cultures that filter harmful pollutants out of the air.

Tokyo-ver

Tokyo 2020 comes to a close with Cork athletes playing a major role in Ireland’s well-deserved haul of two gold and two bronze medals.

The first medal secured for Cork is a surprise bronze won by rowing quartet Emily Hegarty, Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe and Fiona Murtagh in the women’s four.

Our next medal is an all-Cork affair with the unstoppable pairing of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy taking a stylish gold in the men’s double rowing final.

Boxer Aidan Walsh settles for bronze after fracturing a bone in his foot while celebrating his quarter final win.

Our second gold comes in dramatic fashion on the very last day of the games with rock-solid boxer Kellie Harrington showing her unparalleled technical ability in the women’s lightweight final.

Bravery medals awarded to two gardaí in Cork

Two members of An Garda Síochána are awarded for their involvement in arrests made during an armed robbery and abduction incident in Cork in 2005.

Sergeant John McDonagh and Sergeant Joseph Young receive their bronze Scott Medals for bravery in Dublin at a ceremony hosted by the Garda Commissioner.

They receive their medals for the arrest of armed robbery and abduction suspects on 2 May 2005 when two masked males entered a house in Mount Oval.

A garda document said the men took a pregnant woman and her four children hostage whilst waiting for the return of her husband. When the husband returned, he was assaulted and instructed to give them money. However, he managed to escape and contact the gardaí.

Cork loses All-Ireland final

Cork face a rampant Limerick in the All-Ireland Final losing on a scoreline of 3-32 to 1-22. A superb Limerick win the All-Ireland title back-to-back for the first time in their history. Kieran Kingston’s Cork enjoy a fine summer after they lost to Limerick in the Munster Championship in their first game of the championship on a score of 2-22 to 1-17. Cork then beat Clare in their Round 2 qualifier before taking care of Dublin in the quarter-finals. They face old foes Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Semi-Final, winning by 1-37 to 1-32 after an extra time thriller.

In the final, they face a brilliant Limerick side who go on to win an unprecedented 12 All Stars in December. Limerick blow Cork out of the water and lead the game by 3-18 to 1-11 at half-time.