Newcastle West roots for George as he lights up Christmas tree
THE sky was scraggy and dark over Newcastle West as they waited for him to show. The rain came in short bursts, hustling the town square, forcing the people with the free balloons and the free sweets to cover the ground between A to B a little quicker.
Suddenly, sirens squealed and a fire engine swung around from Bridge Street with Santa Claus hanging out of the window.
But even he was just a distraction. The main event arrived on later, all handshakes and smiles under a giant black umbrella. George Lee was here, and he was on foot too. Far more becoming for a man of the people.
The Lees have roots in these parts, from Broadford to Granagh to Lee's Cross, and it was in this vein that the former RTE economics editor was asked to come home and light up the place, and light it up he did.
The wheels had been turning for hours beforehand. Choirs from Rathfredagh and Scoil Mhuire Agus Ide sung while West Limerick 102FM broadcast, all tucked in under a white marquee sponsored by the local Party Time store.
Parents sipped on mulled wine stewed up by Richard Condon while children scampered here and there, digging around in bags of free chocolates and clutching at free red balloons from Dooley's Supervalu, which were disappearing by the second.
"We were supposed to let them all off when the lights turn on," said the lady frantically handing them out. "But we won't have any left at this rate."
By half four Santa is dismounted and mingling, but people are still waiting. They expect a ministerial Mercedes, maybe even a royal cavalcade, to ferry himself into Newcastle West, of all places.
George was, after all, the one public figure who had the gall to curse the stars of our booming sky. When it all collapsed, our affection for him stood up no end. But there was no grand entrance. George snuck into the square, a two-person entourage at his side, and cut a quick path up into the market yard and back again.
Pat O'Donovan, the head of the Newcastle West Business Association, handed out the welcomes. "I have admired George Lee for a number of years. He always had his facts right, giving free advice to a government that wouldn't listen and didn't heed any of it."
George himself took hold of the microphone to ripples of applause, and spoke eloquently about a town that stood as "a beacon, a shining light" for the rest of a country looking to rebuild after horrible flooding.
"As I was driven down past the river here, you could see they were still completing the wall, that the river has been dug out deeper; the flow of the water through it is much better, and there's a new alarm system put in which will ensure that when the river comes up to a certain level in future, people will be prepared. That is forward thinking and a determination to ensure that something that shouldn't have happened is put right," he said afterward.
“The damage (flooding) does to every aspect of a town takes a long, long time to recover from.
“The message from Newcastle West to the rest of the country, for me, is it can be done. Don’t rest on your laurels; fight for what you need.
“There is life after a flood, that’s what this town shows.”
George being George, the chatter quickly turns to numbers. What can Newcastle West, and the communities across Limerick city and county, expect next year? Will 2010 break the morbid chains of recession?
“Next year is going to be a difficult year, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to continue to get worse,” he said.
“The Budget will impact an awful lot on people, particularly in smaller areas where people have less opportunities and are maybe more reliant on social welfare.
“They can hold their own in a town this size, because they offer something that bigger towns mightn’t offer. They offer community; a sense of roots.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
