Lets Hope 2010 makes For A Better Year
As 2009 draws to a close and we prepare to enter 2010, lets hope for a better year for everyone. 2009 will long be remembered for a lot of wrong reasons. With the recession affecting nearly everyone it has been a very difficult year, with some more affected then others. Dell's closure in Limerick had a knock on effect here in Kerry with many Dell employees coming from this County. This was a year of near record unemployment and job losses across most business sectors, the construction sector being the biggest loser.
2009 will also be remembered as the year NAMA was formed to tackle the bad debts of the banks, wheather it works remains to be seen. Some seem to blame the property developers for all our woes, but remember these people provided tens of thousands of jobs and alot more indirectly and it was the banks who were throwing money at people like it was going out of fashion. I remember severel years ago recieving a letter from my bank saying I was pre-approved for a loan of several thousand euros and all I had to do was sign the dotted line and a cheque would be sent in the post. This type of lending was wide spread and totally irresponsible, its now the taxpayers who have to bail them out.
We had some good memories also of 2009, especially in sport. On a national level we had the Irish rugby team winning our first Grand Slam in 61 years and finishing off the season by beating World champoins South Africa. Our soccer team were very very unlucky not to qualify for the World Cup finals.
On a local level, Jack O Connor led Kerry to a 36th All-Ireland title when we beat neighbours Cork after a rocky campaign. Keeping with football my local club Churchill won the County Novice final ending a 37 year famine, Castlegregory won the Junior final, Spa won the Intermediate Final and South Kerry the Senior Final. Kilmoyley comfortably won the County Senior Hurling Final yet again. Castlegregory and Spa both won their respective Munster Finals and now hope to go on and win All-Ireland titles.
November will be remembered for some of the worst flooding in memory, luckily here in Kerry we escaped the worst of the flooding, unfortunately some parts of the Country are still recovering from flooded homes and businesses. It must also be remembered that we also had a wash out of a Summer, here in Kerry our tourist industry is very important to the economy and 3 months of rain keeps the tourist away, so lets hope for a good Summer next year to help boost the hard hit tourist industry.
So here is hoping for a better 2010 all round and for an improvment in the economy, and a great Summer and maybe Sam Maguire to stay in Kerry!!!