Súil Siar: Window on the Past. Leo Murphy 89th Anniversary June 27th 2010.

Walter Leo Murphy was

born in the West Village

Ballincollig on 15th Aug 1901. His father Walter who was a mason was also the owner of the Pub now known as the White Horse Inn and his mother Kate was a school teacher in Ballincollig National School. After attending the local National School Leo went on to secondary school at the North Monastery in Cork City. He left school in 1914, his father having died, and became an apprentice draper to Michael Nolan at 56 North Main St. There he met another apprentice Florrie O Donoghue a nephew of Nolan. After the 1916 Rising both lads became interest in joining the Republican movement and they joined the Volunteers at HQ in Sheare’s St., in early 1917. Leo was assigned to Fianna Éireann the Republican Youth Movement because of his age while O Donoghue went on to become Chief Intelligence Officer of the 1st Cork Brigade IRA. Leo Murphy immediately began to organise a Section of

Volunteers in Ballincollig and he helped to set up companies in Srelane, Killumney and Ballinora with further companies being developed in Aherla, Farran and Farnanes. There being only seven Volunteers in the village the Ballincollig Section was assigned to the Ballinora Company and Leo became Captain of this company in 1919. These six companies made up the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Cork Brigade on its formation and Leo Murphy became 3rd Battalion Commandant in December 1920. He took part in many engagements against British Forces and their agents in this area while he was on active service from 1919 to 1921. These included the Viaduct Ambush in Oct 1920, the elimination of three British undercover Intelligence Officers, taken from the train at Waterfall Station in Nov 1920 and the ambush on the Ballincollig based British Army Intelligence Officer Captain Thompson on the Model Farm Rd in the same month. He also took part in the ambush of RIC Sergeant Bloxham in Jan 1921 and in the elimination of several British spies during this period. Commandant Leo Murphy was shot dead on the night of June 27th 1921 when a meeting of the Ballinora Company being held in the pub in Waterfall was surrounded by two carloads of plainclothes British undercover officers. Leo made a bold attempt to escape and fought his way out of the pub and across the road. He was shot dead however as he attempted to get to safety over the ditch on the far side of the road. Commandant Leo Murphy

was buried two days later in

the Republican Plot in St

Finbarr’s Cemetery. A

Limestone Monument to his

memory now marks the spot

where he died. He was only

nineteen years old when he

gave his life for Irish

Freedom on 27th June 1921.

Ballincollig Sinn Féin Protest at Business Breakfast

Ballincollig Sinn Féin members and supporters took to the street at 7.30am on Friday 21st May protesting at the proposed privatisation of the new Community Hospital in Ballincollig. A function to honour local dignitaries, including Enterprise Minister Batt O Keeffe, organised by Ballincollig Business Association was picketed as it was the Minister who first announced the handover of the hospital last February. The breakfast function was timed for 7.45am in the Oriel House Hotel and those attending were greeted by a picket line of protestors in front of the entrance. Some slight inconvenience was caused through delays but there was no unfavourable reaction to the protesters from those entering the hotel. Reactions varied from greetings to nods of recognition with a small few stony stares, just to keep things interesting, being thrown in for good measure.

The Colonised Mind

A recent report in the

B a l l i n c o l l i g T o d a y

magazine about a visit

made by Ballincollig

Heritage Association to

England contained a

strange and somewhat

enlightening sentence.

In a report of a visit this

g r o u p ma d e t o a

gunpowder mil ls in

Waltham Abbey in Essex

the following appeared;

“In the nineteenth century

Waltham Abbey had the

distinction of being the

largest gunpowder mills in

Britain with Ballincollig the

second largest.”

6ow maybe there are

people in Ballincollig

Heritage Association who

think that Ballincollig was

located somewhere in

Britain in the past.

Indeed maybe there are

some members who still

think it is part of Britain

today. They are mistaken

both Historically and

Geographically. British

history is one thing - Irish

History is quite another.

The British Empire is long

gone except in the minds of

some raving imperialists

and poor fools who still

hanker after it.

Obviously what James

Connolly said in the Irish

Worker in September 1914

still rings true in

Ballincollig today;

‘Yes, ruling by fooling, is a

great British art – with great

Irish fools to practice on.’

Sinn Féin is a radical,

campaigning, activist party

dedicated to achieving a

society free from prejudice

and discrimination.

We aim to provide justice

and equality for everybody

in a 32-County democratic,

socialist, United Ireland.

Text Join followed by your

name and address to

51500.

Or Apply online

At: www.sinnfein.ie

Or Phone 0862409049.

Join Sinn Féin

The Original Cross erected in 1924 at the spot where

Leo Murphy died.

T he revelation that a

secret advisory board of

rich people exists to advise

the HSE in the Cork area,

exposes once again the

golden circle that runs the

show in this dismal and corrupt little state. The future of our health service is now being discussed behind closed doors by a collection of property developers, medical millionaires, horse trainers and university presidents. It would be foolish in the extreme to believe that some of them wouldn’t see it as their right to benefit in some way from their input. Chairing this group is Ballincollig based property developer Michael O Flynn who has Dr Paddy Crowley to keep him company among the wealthy elite. More disconcerting however is the revelation that Pat Healy, regional director of operations HSE South, is also a member of this secret group. Public Announcement It was Mr Healy who made the public announcement lately that Ballincollig Community Hospital, built with taxpayers money was being put out to tender for a private operator. This announcement came on the completion of the hospital at an event attended by Minister for Enterprise Batt O Keeffe, who himself first announced the privatisation plan on a Fianna Fáil website in February. This in itself is a little bit strange for a Minister who usually has a small army of publicists working round the clock on his behalf and who is not known for making low key

announcements. Did the idea of privatising Ballincollig Community Hospital emanate from this secret group of advisors by any chance and was Mr O Keeffe, a former Chair of the SHB, made privy to the decision back in February? Community 0ursing

Units Ballincollig Community Hospital is one of 12 such units being built across the state at a cost of €112 million of taxpayer’s money. Health Minister Mary Harney says she has no general policy to privatise these hospitals. Who then decided to privatise the Ballincollig one? It is clear from documents in our possession that the decision was taken within HSE South. Since when can Regional HSE

Officers decide to privatise hospitals and what role did the ‘secret advisory committee play in this? Three Dáil questions were put to Health Minister Mary Harney about Ballincollig Community Hospital by Caoimhghín O Caoiléan, Sinn Féin spokesperson for health, at the request of Ballincollig activist Des O Grady. Harney used the recent industrial dispute in the HSE to avoid answering the questions beyond stating that she had no general policy of privatisation. Sinn Féin is now in the process of submitting these questions again as the HSE industrial dispute is over.

Ballincollig Sinn Féin’s Des O Grady also wrote to Pat Healy, Director of Operations HSE South, seeking answers to the same questions on 30th May. This request has, so far, been passed on for reply to two different locations within the HSE but we still haven’t received a satisfactory answer. Mary Harney is not the only Government Minister who seems to have been disingenuous on this issue. Enterprise Minister Batt O Keeffe has issued several statements over the years on

the community hospital and in a newsletter issued before Christmas he announced that the hospital would go ahead as planned. Up to that point he had never mentioned privatisation. However last February he announced that it would be privatised, having waited until the Hospital was built before letting the cat out of the bag. How long was this move to privatisation being planned and who made the final decision within HSE South? Both Mary Harney and Batt O Keeffe still have questions to answer as do the HSE. Sinn Féin will continue looking for them.

Community Hospital Shock Did Secret HSE Group Privatise Community 0ursing Unit?

July 2010 Contact us at 0862409049 Volume 1, Issue 7

The Voice of Ballincollig Sinn Féin

‘Both Mary Harney and Batt O Keeffe

have Questions to Answer as do the HSE’

Above : The New Ballincollig CNU.

Ballincollig 0ews Website: www.ballincolligsinnfein.com e-Mail: balsf@hotmail.com

Des O Grady

Even More

Traffic Lights for

Ballincollig.

Well folks the so-called Green Route has begun it’s final phase with the removal of the West Village roundabout. All that is left now is the closure of the access road into Innishmore and the erection of more traffic lights. Sinn Féin is opposed to these changes and the introduction of even more Traffic Lights in Ballincollig. However there is little that can be done as people weren’t prepared to get out and protest at these changes. Sinn Féin members carried out a survey in Innismore to guage people’s reaction to the closure of the access road. 87% of those who responded said they were against this measure. Some residents assured us they would call a public meeting to oppose this proposal but, for whatever, reason it never took place. Face Book

A face book group called ‘Take down Ballincollig Traffic Lights’ has been campaigning on the internet against the sudden surfeit of traffic lights. They currently have almost 1000 members but despite their best efforts it will take more than talk to bring about change. The work on the removal of the West End Roundabout will continue until September. Their aim is to have the traffic lights fully operational by September before schools return from their summer holiday period. The ’Green Route Traffic Light Company’ obviously want to get off to a good start by annoying as many people as they possibly can right away. If it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable. If you want to help with or

support this campaign please

text or call 0862409049 or

e-mail balsf@hotmail.com.

Sinn Féin representative Des O Grady has described Green Party Minister John Gormley’s decision to introduce domestic water charges by 2012, as yet another crushing blow to ordinary families who are struggling to make ends meet. “The Greens are putting a favourable spin on this new tax by saying that each household will be allowed a certain amount of free water and only charged for water used above this limit. However every householder who has water supplied by a Local Authority at present will have a water meter installed at

the householders expense.

This will be paid for by a standing charge — just like your electricity bill, and is expected to come to €400 a year. It won’t matter if you don’t use any water you will still have to pay for the rent of the meter.

Conservation

Sinn Féin supports water conservation but we believe there is a better way to do it. Current surveys have shown that up to 58% of treated, clean water is wasted due to leaking pipes and similar loss before it even reaches the consumer. Therefore the cost of producing over half of all usable domestic water is being wasted. The answer is not to place another charge on already over-burdened households, but to replace our antiquated water system. Savings made in sorting out this loss would negate the need

to impose domestic water charges and could also be used to create badly needed jobs by replacing crumbling infrastructure. It is also a matter of huge concern that Minister Gormley intends to apply the German model of water charges here as German citizens pay among the highest charges for water in the world. Water charges and water metering are the thin end of the wedge and will lead to privatisation and ever increasing costs for the consumer. Sinn Féin is opposed to domestic water charges and will be actively campaigning against their introduction. Minister Gormley and the Green Party should stick to tinkering around with electric cars and stop driving up the cost of living for over-burdened families that are struggling to make ends meet.”

Present Garda

Barracks to be

Demolished. The present Garda Barracks in Ballincollig is set to be demolished as soon as the new station is opened. The site where it stands will be levelled and it will be turned into a car park. All the original buildings on the barracks site have national monument status. However the Office of Public Works (OPW) which is in charge of the development of the new Garda Station has powers to override all such regulations. They have decided the building must go. Old Ballincollig is fast disappearing and we can ill afford to loose another part of our history. Even though it has a link with the British occupation forces this is a historic building and on that basis alone it should be preserved. If you wish to lend your voice please go to http://www.ipetitions.com/

petition/

save_old_ballincollig_garda_station/ and sign the petition before it is too late.

Call for a Ballincollig

Social Welfare Office Ballincollig Sinn Féin Representative Des O Grady has called on the new Minister for Social Protection Eamon O Cuiv to open a full time Social Welfare Office in Ballincollig. There are thousands of people from the area signing on for unemployment payments at the Cork City Office and that there are many more locals dealing with the Minister’s Department on other Social Welfare issues. Talks are taking place at present between management and Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the HSE about the Government proposal to transfer the Community Welfare Service from the HSE to the Dept of Social Protection (the new name for Social Welfare). When these talks conclude it is expected that the lcal CWOs will come under the remit of the Dept of Social Protection. We are therefore calling on the Government to take this opportunity to open a fully comprehensive Social Welfare Office in Ballincollig. Garda

Response Criticised

Garda response times in Ballincollig and the actual poor response of certain Gardaí have been criticised by a group of citizens of Ballincollig who contacted us recently. Citing incidences of poor policing which occurred in their areas over the past few months these citizens have been left feeling disillusioned with the lack of response from the local Gardaí and have asked us to raise the issue with them. We are doing so on a continuous basis. If you have a problem with local policing please contact us on 0862409049. We guarantee we will raise the issue with the local policing authorities. We also guarantee confidentiality.

News and Views

Water Charges Another Green Party Tax

The Government is planning to spend €392 Million on leasing houses from developers and landlords for up to 20 years before handing them back again to the present owners. This disgraceful plan is certain to be another bailout goldmine for cronies of the Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government. Under a new body called the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency a Rental/Leasing scheme is being introduced which will see developers and landlords given taxpayers money for up to 20 years and then handed back the keys at the end of the term. The local authority will act as the landlord for the rental term and will undertake repairs to the houses when necessary and will pay the agreed rent even when the house is empty. The rent of course will be paid a month in advance. Housing Minister Michael Finneran is seemingly hell-bent on pushing through this leasing scheme which favours developers and landlords rather than ensuring long-term security for local authority tenants. After 20 years of living in a house a family will have no rights to what would have become by then the family home and will be in effect evicted when the term expires. Local authorities are being ordered to use their housing funds for leasing these houses and up to 9,000 houses will be rented in this manner. First announced in February 2009,

the Gov set aside €20 million from the then social housing budget for leasing unfurnished private sector properties for terms of 10-20 years. Now they are investing a further €392 million into the scheme.

Meanwhile Sinn Féin is

campaigning for major

changes in the way Local

Authorities treat applicants

on waiting lists for Social

Housing.

(a) We believe that a charter should be drawn up for both existing tenants and those on the housing list setting out their basic rights and entitlements in terms of response times and treatment by council officials. (b) We also want a transparent points system established so that people are told exactly where they stand in regards to their entitlement to a house, their immediate prospects and the time scale involved on the waiting list. Thousands Waiting

There are currently 56,000 families on Local Authority housing lists across the state. Some of them have been waiting for years for a house.

As well as this thousands of existing Local Authority tenants are waiting months and even years for necessary repairs to be carried out to their houses. At the same time there are almost 300,000 vacant houses in the state while thousands of unemployed construction workers draw the dole. There are 96 ghost estates in County Cork alone with more than 50% of their dwellings unoccupied. This is a ludicrous situation. The Government needs to appropriate vacant houses in the developments being transferred to NAMA and either let them or sell them to tenants through a ‘rent to buy’ scheme where tenants would not have to secure a mortgage. In areas where suitable local authority housing does not exist unemployed construction workers should be employed to

build them. The Government should also employ these workers to carry out necessary maintenance on the existing housing stock. There should be a guarantee made to tenants that all repairs would be dealt with within six weeks. These policies would not only provide decent housing for the thousands of families who urgently need it but would stimulate the economy by creating jobs and reducing the number of surplus houses on the market.

John Kelleher

1st Anniversary

Housing Crisis

Government Plans to Bail Out

Developers Again.

“The local authority would be responsible

for insurance, maintenance and repair of

the property, and would return it to the

landlord at the end of the leasing period.”

Do you have a

problem or an

issue you need help

with?

For an immediate

response and full

support call

Des O Grady

At 0862409049

Sinn Féin - on the

people’s side.

A year ago Ballincollig Sinn Féin lost one of it’s greatest friends with the passing of John Kelleher of Castlepark. Originally from Rylane John emigrated at a young age to work on the buildings in London. He returned with his wife and family and settled in Ballincollig in the 1970s and became one of it ’s best loved and recognisable citizens until his death last year. John was a true Republican, who believed in equality, fairness and justice for all. He wore the Easter Lily with pride and loved travelling to the Kilmichael commemoration each year. John assisted Ballincollig Sinn Féin on many occasions and is pictured above handing out leaflets on Main Street as part of our campaign against unemployment. He wa s a g e n i a l a nd entertaining companion but with John his family always came first. To his wife and family we again offer our deepest sympathy. We will not see his likes again. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.

Saturday 17th July

At the Darby Arms

Ballincollig

Spirit of Freedom

9 pm.

Great night assured

Sinn Féin Policy

One of the 96 Ghost Estates in Co Cork.