Our columnist Frank Brandon discusses the quick-thinking that averted a total tragedy at a UK zoo recently, upcoming events from local concerts to national matches, the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games, and more!
I hate to admit it, but it’s been a long time since I have been to Dublin Zoo. The last time was almost certainly when my own children were young – and that is not today or yesterday!
And yet I can still remember the excitement of children and adults alike as we explored the whole area, seeing exotic animals like the rhino, the lions and tigers, the monkeys and the giraffes. We always made a big day out of our visits by eating in the restaurants and treating the kids to fancy sweets and ice creams.
On at least one occasion we made it to the FOTA Wildlife park way down south in Cork, and there is no doubt that visits to the zoo were among the big highlights of the year for us all.
Over in Cambridgeshire in England, there is a family-owned facility named Johnson’s Zoo, which has over a hundred animals, varying from donkeys to rabbits to all of the animals that I mentioned from our visits to Dublin Zoo.
They also have a crocodile pool that holds up to ten of those dangerous animals. On last Thursday around dinner time, the area around the crocodile enclosure was busy. Everything was calm and quiet, until, in the words of one witness, there was a “piercing wail that no one who heard it will ever forget”.
It transpired that a visitor to the zoo had picked up a toddler and thrown him over a four-foot barrier onto a concrete pavement, from which the young lad fell into the crocodile pit.
Now, apparently crocodiles are desperately dangerous and have lightning-fast reflexes, and they seize prey with “jaw-dropping” speed. So straight away, the animals made their way to the young boy, and he was attacked by at least one of the huge crocodiles and seriously injured.
However, he would almost certainly have been killed if 55-year-old grandmother Tracey Johnson, who runs the zoo with her husband Andrew, hadn’t shown total disregard for her own safety and jumped into the pool to save the child. She managed to get him out of the pit, and while he suffered pretty severe injuries, he is now in a stable condition.
People in the know say the child’s rescue was bordering on the miraculous, and all agree that Tracey is a real-life hero.
Obviously, there will be an investigation as to how this was allowed to happen. I suppose the truth is that it’s almost impossible to keep an eye on everything, but let’s hope the young toddler recovers fully.
In any case, the actions of the 55-year-old grandmother prove that you can always come across an unlikely hero. Well done, Tracey Johnson.
Making memories
Calling all poets! On Friday, July 10th, the Kilbegnet Historical Society is launching the 2026 Bard of Connacht poetry competition at 8 pm in the Parnell Heritage Centre in Creggs. An evening of poetry and singing will follow the launch, and everyone is welcome to attend.
The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Memories’. All entries must be original and can’t be longer than forty lines. There is no entry fee, and entries will be accepted between August 31st and September 11th.
You can find all details regarding entry and other stuff on poetryireland.ie, or by email from kilbegneths@gmail.com.
The final will be held on Monday, October 26th, during the Creggs Harvest Festival, and the composers of the ten best entries will be invited along to read their poems, after which the results will be announced and the prize-giving will take place.
This is year five of the competition and it is going from strength to strength. The winner will receive the Vincent Keaveney Memorial Trophy and a cheque for €500, while the second, third, and fourth placed poets will get €250, €150, and €100 respectively.
So get out your pens and paper and write your poem, get it into the competition, and who knows – you could be this year’s Bard of Connacht winner!
Best of luck!
A bumper weekend – from Creggs to Croker!
It’s Monday afternoon as I write, and all morning I have been hoping that the Galway/Dublin football game would not be on Saturday evening, when it would clash with the big Sharon Shannon concert taking place in our local National School Hall.
There is no doubt that had it been fixed for Saturday, it would have impacted on the attendance at the concert, as it would be almost impossible to get to both events. But thankfully the Gods smiled on us, and I’ve just heard that the football is fixed for 4 pm on Sunday!
Back to the concert: hopefully everything is in place to make it one of the greatest social experiences that Creggs has ever seen!
As I told you before, Bridie Gallagher played here way back in the 1950s, and almost seventy years later we again have an international superstar coming to entertain us. There is no doubt that Sharon is one of our most talented musicians ever, and along with Gerry O’Connor and Alan Connor she puts on a fantastic show.
Tickets are now very limited, but you might still get sorted either through eventbrite.com, or the school on 090 66213032 or by email at creggsns@gmail.com.
And if you still haven’t got your ticket, you can still get in by paying at the door! The show starts at 8 pm, with doors opening at 7 pm.
So, whatever you do, come to Creggs on Saturday evening and support a fundraiser for the wonderful local national school! You will not be disappointed!
And then you can hit for Croker on Sunday and hopefully see a Galway win over the Dubs!
Talking of Galway, some weeks ago I put up my Galway flags, and one of them took off during a very windy night and hasn’t been seen since.
Another one out the back remained standing, as did the one on the front gate. However, on Saturday night, while having a few pints in Mikeen’s, a few of my neighbours brought it to my attention that I had the front gate one upside down!
After some discussion, we decided to leave it as it is – so hopefully I will be flying my upside down flag all the way to the All-Ireland final!
Come on, Galway!
And finally…
Last week, as you know, the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games took place up in Dublin, and out here in Creggs we are very proud of the athletes who took part that have connections with our area, as well as with the local national school.
So, it’s heartiest congratulations to Joe Keegan-Grant, Matthew Quinn, Frank Whyte, Dara Condron and Aoife Hegarty, all of whom took part and did themselves, their families, and their communities proud!
I have been told that there is a big welcome home party for all the Roscommon and Connaught Special Olympic athletes kicking off from 8 pm this Thursday evening in Roscommon Golf Club. Everyone is invited to come along and celebrate with the team, have a chat, and maybe even see a few medals. All are welcome!
The Special Olympics movement has grown to be such a huge and important part of so many families’ lives, and more than 1200 athletes competed last week at the Summer Games. Well done to each and everyone involved, and once more, congratulations to all!
‘Till next week,
bye for now!
