IrelandNet.ie

Personalities Make 2012 New Year’s Resolutions

Thursday, 5 January 2012

Cllr Denis Sheils. TT0116

CLLR DENIS SHIELS.
Cllr Denis Sheils from Birr Town Council said he doesn't make any resolutions and then he is never disappointed! The councillor pointed out that he hopes all the people who were hit by unemployment during the last couple of years will find employment once again. He added that we are living in very uncertain times.
'I dearly hope in 2012 that Ireland will return to a more positive condition, that we will return to a more confident outlook. I would like to see people working again and the country enjoying a more prosperous period.
'We shouldn't be in the economic mess that we now find ourselves in. This mess was caused by people who were affected by greed, and we are now paying for their sins.
'In 2012 I would like to see banks reinvesting again in small businesses thus enabling them to survive. Small businesses need loans from the banks in order to cope. If they don't receive those loans then it is very hard for them to survive.'
Cllr Sheils added that in 2012 he would like to see Birr Town Council's budget expanding. 'Like everyone else the Town Council is going through straitened times at present because our central government budget has been reduced.'
He wished all the people of Birr a prosperous and healthy new year.

CLLR JOHN CARROLL
Cllr John Carroll said his hopes for 2012 include the country returning to growth and that unemployment will recede.
'Unemployment,' he commented, 'is the biggest blight facing us in this country. The sad blight of emigration has affected a lot of families over the
last couple of years.' He said there are very
few families in the country who have not been affected by the recession. 'Security of employment has deteriorated and many people are worried about their jobs - many are concerned that they will lose their jobs. They are also worried about their children's future and a lack of employment opportunity for their children.'
The councillor said he hoped the government will show strong political leadership when it comes to the EU and the current crisis afflicting the European economy. He commented that he hoped the government won't be bullied by French and German politicians into making erroneous decisions, and that our government will show some backbone.
Cllr Carroll commented that he hopes the Euro will survive, but at the same time it would be incorrect for the government to act slavishly - 'As with any walk of life if you don't stand up for yourself then no one else will.'
The councillor remarked that a new industry is badly needed in Birr but the last major industry to open in the town was in the mid-'80s. He added that there are rumours that a couple of shops in the town are going to shut down in the near future.
The councillor said he was against centralising services to Tullamore because it is destroying the fabric of community in the Birr region.
He remarked that he hoped his family and friends will enjoy good health during 2012. 'We often take our health for granted, but when it is taken away from us we realise how precious it is.'

SUPT DAVID KAVANAGH
Superintendent David Kavanagh in Birr Garda Station said his New Year resolutions were very brief. 'My resolution is to be healthier using Billy Connolly's diet regime which is to eat less and move more!'
The well-known botanist and geologist John Feehan, who lives in Birr, commented that this being his first full year of retirement, 'my resolutions for 2012 echo my determination not to let time begin to slip away too easily. So, I am resolved to spend 3-4 hours at my desk on weekdays, and to regain the discipline of running 3-4 times a week (however slowly or briefly!). I don't know whether my determination to continue to sharpen my neo-Luddism counts as a resolution (i.e. to depend on no facet of digital technology to such an extent that I would feel totally lost without it) but it's in there somewhere.
'Hopes for 2012 are of course a very different matter, in the sense that there is often so little one can do in one's own life to bring them to fruition. But as far as that goes, my hopes for Birr, for Offaly, for Ireland, for the world, centre on growth in environmental awareness: not just awareness of the ways our affluence is charting an inevitable course towards disaster, but a realization that the natural world contains at its heart the kernel out of which we can nurture the new sense of ethics and spirituality without which we are lost'.
CLLR DENIS TIERNEY
Cllr Denis Tierney from Birr Town Council said his resolution is to lose some weight this year, which he hopes to achieve by swimming and jogging. He encouraged more people to take up an exercise regime during 2012, whether it is playing golf, joining the gym or joining one of the local sporting teams.
He added that he is very concerned as well by the high rate of unemployment in the Birr region. He envied Westport which is a similar town to Birr and yet has a major employer in its midst, Allergan. Allergan is a medical company which manufactures botox and its Westport plant employs 1,000 people. Cllr Tierney pointed out that medical companies like Allergan were sometimes better than other companies because they stayed longer in a location before downsizing or closing the factory. 'Generally, when medical companies open a new factory they will keep that factory going for more years than other companies.' He said the last major industry to open in Birr was LD Intercon which opened in the mid-'80s. LD Intercon closed down several years ago. It used to employ over 400 people.
GERRY CAHIR
The well-known Roscrea artist Gerry Cahir said his resolution for the New Year is cut back on eating and drinking and to exercise more. He said he plans to get into an exercise routine.
Regarding the people of Roscrea and further afield he hoped that in 2012 they would be prone to less anger and more understanding. He hoped they will stay positive and think positive during the coming 12 months. He advised people to remain hopeful 'because if you don't have hope then you have nothing else.'
He commented that a mantra which he sometimes says to himself is 'I am at peace with myself, the world and everyone else.'
He advised people to read good philosophical or religious literature on a regular basis. 'An idea might be to frame something wise and put it up on your wall. For example I've framed the Desiderata and put it up in my bathroom, so I read it often when I am doing my ablutions.'
In 2012, he said, he wishes to persevere with meditation, pray more and to continue to believe in himself. Prayer he described as 'talking to God or the supreme being.'
He advised people to visit a church and to get the best out of religion and work whether that religion is Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, etc. He also advised them to enjoy as much as possible the company of their family, the cosiness of homelife and the presence of friends. He said that if people searched through the great religions they will always find pearls of wisdom which will make them feel good.
He hoped people would find more balance in their life during 2012 and they won't be too slothful or get over-excited.
Gerry said he plans to remind himself of the Seven Deadly Sins on a regular basis. He said he will do this not because he is a strict moralist or a narrowminded religious practitioner but because focussing on the Seven Deadly Sins could help us avoid potential pitfalls in life. Gerry commented that he believes we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Subscribe to read full newspaper »

Send this page to a friend »