YESTERYEARS: Fire at well known Clonmel pub; Grangemockler Garda Station closes

Our front page from the edition of January 24, 2013, is our source for  this week’s Yesteryears feature. Our lead story contained a  report about the closure of Grangemockler Garda Station, a village approximately midway between Clonmel and Kilkenny, which had always proudly had its own garda station since the foundation of the State.

“The doors were locked on the station on Tuesday afternoon of last week by Garda Tony Walsh marking a sad day for the community which has always had a garda station. The closure of the station in Grangemockler will save just €4,000 a year the Dáil was told after the gardaí vacated the premises.

“It was an emotional day for Garda Walsh who had spent the last four years serving Grangemockler and its wide catchment area. The village  will now be covered by patrol from Carrick-on-Suir,” wrote Eamon Lacey.

In another story  that week we informed readers that  gardaí investigating a fire at a well-known Clonmel pub in the early hours of the morning believed that it had been started maliciously. Garda forensic investigators  were examining the scene of the blaze at the Golden Harp Bar on Mitchel Street and the area around the pub was sealed off while they carried out their work. The fire was discovered by a man living in accommodation over the pub. No one was injured in the fire.

Yesteryears: 50 years ago in Tipperary you could build a new 4-bed house for £4,250!

The AGM of the South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association was delayed for hours that week as its members went to the aid of three injured hillwalkers who slipped and fell 30-50 metres in the Comeragh Mountains.

The members were on their way to the AGM in Aherlow House Hotel when they received the emergency call. They immediately turned around and headed for Coumshingaun Lake to aid the four experienced walkers who had got into difficulty, wrote Aileen Hahesy.

We also reported that the village of Clerihan was left devastated that week after the sudden death of John Walsh, principal of St Michael’s National School, and a highly regarded figure in the Clerihan community.

A caring and compassionate man, Mr Walsh will be remembered for the transformation of St Michael’s NS which experienced a huge rise in pupil numbers as the population of the village increased rapidly in the late 1990s from a two-teacher school to one with eight classrooms.