EDITOR - Christopher O’Sullivan, I remember the day in Turkhead when you said, ‘If I can be of help to you anytime’. Well, I am calling on that help now. I have lived here all my life and have never seen the road so dangerous.
On one side, we have strong blackthorns and woody trees protruding on the other side. They have not been trimmed for years. Children of a local family have had a few narrow escapes while walking home from school recently.
We have got the grant application from the council but no good. It is €200 or so, and we have to supply the contractors, etc. etc. We are paying car tax, property tax, and when Ireland was a much poorer country our verges were always cut. We are not looking for a fraction of the money that was spent on The Bike Shed.
I also do not understand why the main roads are trimmed on a regular basis; are we lesser citizens?
Meeting one of my neighbours yesterday with his new tractor, his words were, ‘The politicians don’t give a damn about us’. Will it be a plague upon all your houses at the next election? Michael Healy Rae is spot-on: ‘the birds are not that foolish to build on the side of the road’.
The wildlife are very safe here with the EU Birds Directive, but are the locals, Christopher? I appeal to you, come and drive on our roads.
Ted Cadogan,
Turkhead, Skibbereen.
Meta’s ban presents a danger to democracy
EDITOR – Meta’s decision to ban all political ads on Facebook and Instagram is a real blow to local democracy. The move will make it even harder for candidates in rural areas like West Cork to reach voters, especially those without deep pockets or national media platforms.
We already have one of the lowest levels of political representation in Europe. Decisions like this make it even harder for new, rural, or marginalised voices to break through.
Meta may be responding to EU rules, but a blanket ban like this just hands more power to the big parties and well-funded candidates. People in West Cork deserve to hear directly from everyone who wants to represent them, not just those who can afford expensive campaigns.
I, like many others, am trying to move away from election posters due to their environmental impact. But without access to digital tools, options for visibility are quickly narrowing. If we want cleaner, more community-focused campaigns, we need access to digital advertising, especially in places like West Cork where voters are spread across towns, villages and rural areas. This ban will make it much harder for the public to hear from the full range of candidates.
In addition to impacting political campaigns, Meta’s definition of ‘political’ is alarmingly broad and will potentially affect local businesses. For example, Meta’s rules don’t officially map wellness ads to political or social issue content, but the platform’s automated systems are already lumping ordinary wellness businesses into that bucket. That’s how yoga class ads end up flagged as political speech.
I’m also deeply concerned about what this means for campaigners, disabled folk, carers, patients, LGBTQ+ people, and working-class communities.‘Those of us without big budgets or PR companies rely on small, targeted social media ads to raise awareness, build support, and get our messages out. That’s what makes this ban so dangerous to democracy.
I am calling on the government and the electoral commission to urgently engage with Meta and find a solution that balances transparency with access. People already feel shut out of decision-making. Moves like this just widen the gap.
Evie Nevin
Labour local area representative
Cork South West
A pity to cancel the hurlers’ homecoming
EDITOR – I felt it was a shame of the Cork County Board to cancel the homecoming planned for last Monday night, 21st July. City and county should have been out on the main streets of Cork to show our appreciation of our gallant hurlers who failed at the last hurdle in their quest for All-Ireland glory. It was as a bad day at the office for all our players. The best of people have an off day, and they were no different.
I would have to agree with Tommy Lyons’ article in last week’s Star, that Tipperary out-hurled them on the day and it will be difficult to get back again after a defeat like that.
I felt the referee was harsh on the Cork players regarding the yellow cards for fouling, and the sending off of Eoin Downey.
The Tipperary forwards were charging in on the Downey’s with the ball and what could any defender do? Also Damien Cahalane gave a fair shoulder to an Tipperary player going for a 50-50 ball and the referee deemed it a foul and resulted in another score for Tipperary. All of these happened at a vital stage of the game. These rules should be looked at by the GAA authorities and the effects they have on the outcome of a game.
We should all remember that Cork are the National League Champions, the Munster Champions, having beaten Limerick, one of the greatest hurling teams of all time, in a thrilling Munster final. I felt it was the greatest hurling game for many years and they did not do themselves justice in the All-Ireland final.
Our Cork hurlers did us all proud over the last six months, and maybe with a few changes going forward, they will bring the Liam McCarthy Cup back home to Leeside.
Jeremiah McCarthy,
Clonakilty.