Should Carrick-on-Suir's Fair Green be Saved? Co. Tipperary, Ireland 1967

What should be done with the fair green in Carrick-on-Suir? The fair green in Carrick-on-Suir has been used for playing games, circus performances, carnivals, and selling cattle. The green is an open space that is as much a part of the Tipperary town as any landmark and means a lot to local people. The fair green has been a recreational area for the people of Carrick-on-Suir for generations. The fair green consists of five acres located between houses and schools. The land was given to the people of the town as a gift from Lord Ormond a few hundred years ago. Under a new open spaces act which came into operation this year, the land is now owned by the Urban Council. The Urban Council has put a price of £5,000 an acre on the land and recently offered two acres of the green to the nuns of the Presentation Order on which to build a school. Most local people do not want anything to be built on the land. Many believe that any plans the nuns have for a school building should be within the context of land they already own. I was born and bred here on the outskirts of the green and the green was always here for circuses, carnivals, and all kinds of sports that came to the town. The secretary of the local Swimming Pool Committee says that it has acquired a site of about half an acre on the north east corner of the green on which to build a swimming pool. A public meeting in the town hall was held to address issues raised by local people over the sale of part of the green. Only four out of nine councillors were present at the meeting. Almost one thousand signatures have been gathered in a Save Our Green campaign and a Green Preservation Society has been formed. The society rejects the idea of letting any of the green go and want the green retained as it is. Jim Drohan is the secretary of the Green Preservation Society and says that the council has promised part of the land against public opinion. People don't want any buildings on the green. Councillor David Drohan, father of Jim Drohan, defends the council's decision saying that the area needs a school. He acknowledges that the green belongs to the people but says it has not been fully utilised. This episode of 'Newsbeat' was broadcast on 8 November 1967. The reporter is Bill O'Herlihy.