County Mayor's column: Dump the Christmas tree and pick up a book in local library

WE are well into the New Year now but there may be some of you still holding onto the Christmas tree out the back. Cork County Council are providing a free Christmas tree drop off service at our civic amenity sites up to Tuesday — January 31.

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

Explore Cork

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.

Community Fund scheme

I would like to encourage groups to make an application to the €1.8m Community Fund Scheme, announced on January 11, for Community and Voluntary Groups.

This is the ninth 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 eight municipal districts [and] is a vital means of support to our community and voluntary sector and encourages growth and development in towns and villages across the county.

Guidelines for the scheme and details for online applications are available at www.corkcoco.ie until Tuesday, February 14, 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.

Page Turners

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.

Museum of Birds and Beasts

I’m looking forward to visiting Cork County Council’s first exhibition of 2023 ‘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, 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 opened at 6pm on Thursday and continues until February 23 in the LHQ Gallery at Cork County Hall. LHQ is open from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.

Dromtarriffe works

I am very impressed by the conservation work carried out on the remains of a medieval church and graveyard in the north Cork village of Dromtarriffe which has been uncovered and restored with the support of Cork County Council’s Community Monument Fund.

The ruins of this important medieval church stand in the centre of an ancient graveyard that was in very poor repair; the walls of the building were concealed under layers of undergrowth. Following two years of careful conservation works overseen by Cork County Council’s Kanturk Mallow Municipal District, the remaining structures have been uncovered and restored, safeguarding this important historic structure for future generations.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Community Monuments Fund (CMF) has been in operation for three years and during this time has funded many conservation and maintenance projects to protect and promote archaeological monuments across the county.

I would encourage communities who wish to carry out works to conserve, maintain, and safeguard local monuments and historic sites such as Dromtarriffe to consider an application to this year’s fund.

Details of the 2023 Community Monuments Fund are available on Cork County Council’s website at www.corkcoco.ie. The closing date for submissions to this year’s fund is Tuesday, January 31.

Just like the joy provided from uncovering hidden monuments, I’ve uncovered the first green shoots of daffodils which means spring is on the way.