County Mayor's Diary

Cllr Danny Collins

We are well into the new year now, however for those of you still holding onto the Christmas tree out the back, Cork County Council is providing a free Christmas tree drop off service at our civic amenity sites up to 31 January.

Please note that normal charges will apply to other materials brought for recycling or disposal.

New year’s resolutions and RTÉ’s ‘Operation Transformation’ go hand in hand this time of the year. I can’t recommend the Explore Cork app developed by the council enough, use it to plan trips with family and friends. Wrap up and get fit safely using the walking trails on the app, then round it off with a warming lunch or coffee in any of our wonderful towns and villages.

I would like to encourage groups to make an application to the €1.8 million Community Fund Scheme announced on Wednesday 11 January for community and voluntary groups. This is the 9th year of the scheme which provides financial assistance to a range of projects and initiatives, including the work of Tidy Towns groups and community associations, infrastructural works, and sports and leisure facilities.

The scheme is administered locally by the 8 municipal districts, it is a vital means of support to our community and voluntary sector and encourages growth and development in towns and villages across Cork county.

Guidelines for the scheme and details for online applications are available at Corkcoco.ie until Tuesday 14 February when it will close at 4pm. Further information, including contact details for your local municipal district office are also available on the council’s website.

Have you been watching ‘Page Turners’ on RTÉ One? Why not pop into your local library to order any of the books featured in the series, as they are all available and most importantly are free with your library membership? Last of the 4 part series airs Thursday 26 January at 10.15pm.

I’m looking forward to visiting Cork County Council’s 1st exhibition of 2023 called The Museum of Birds and Beasts.

The exhibition has been co-created by artists Tess Leak and Sharon Whooley with the residents of Castletownbere, Dunmanway, Schull and Skibbereen Community Hospitals and St Joseph’s Unit in Bantry General Hospital. The exhibition will include objects from the Museum of County Life in Mayo and the National Folklore Collection in Dublin collections along with exquisite handmade nests by master basket maker Joe Hogan.

The exhibition opens at 6pm today, 26 January and continues until 23 February in the LHQ Gallery at Cork County Hall. LHQ is open from 9am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

Speaking of the natural world, I’ve spotted the first green shoots of daffodils peeping through which heralds the start of spring 2023.