Former councillor Charlie Cullen celebrates his 80th birthday

A special and highly respected member of the Glenfarne and North Leitrim community, namely, Charlie Cullen, was honoured on Tuesday, October 4 when the Glenboy and Glenfarne Group Water Scheme organised a surprise party to celebrate Charlie's 80th birthday in the Rainbow Ballroom.

Charlie probably was not expecting what was in store for him on the occasion after he arrived to attend a meeting of the Glenboy and Glenfarne Group Water Scheme. His pleasant surprise began when a birthday cake was unveiled for him and then his special birthday party got underway.

During his lifetime in his home parish of Glenfarne, as well as in the wider North Leitrim community, Charlie has been an outstanding advocate and worker for the improvement of local matters that affect the everyday lives of all.

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Praising this popular local man on the occasion of his 80th birthday Secretary of the Glenboy and Glenfarne Group Water Scheme, Jimmy McMorrow remarked “Charlie is an active promoter of community development.”

As a local representative Charlie was first elected a Leitrim County Councillor in 1967. He was returned to Leitrim County Council at every subsequent local authority election until he retired from the Council in 1999.

Charlie topped the poll for Leitrim Councillors in 1974. He also served as the Chairman of Leitrim County Council in 1996/97. The popular Glenfarne man has played a key role in many local community organisations as well as also being a leading local member of national organisations.

On Tuesday, October 4, Glenboy/Glenfarne GWS Committee marked Charlie Cullen's 80th birthday in the Rainbow Centre with a surprise birthday cake. Front, from left - Edmund Cullen, Charlie Cullen and Sean McDermott. Back, from left - Jack Cullen, John Mulvihill, Joe O'Hagan, Jimmy McMorrow and Frank Somers. Absent from the birthday party and committee meeting were Anna-Marie Brosi and Dorothee Kolle. Thanks to Sheila O'Keeffe for taking the picture

Charlie is and has been a proud member of the Irish Farmers Association. He remembers clearly being on an IFA picket line with Francy McLoughlin outside Mountjoy Jail in 1968 – some Leitrim IFA members were locked up there at the time when they protested for farmers to get fair play in their attempts to earn a livelihood from the land for themselves, as well as their families.

Also Charlie was centrally involved in the on-going development of the Rainbow Centre, Glenfarne since the ballroom was taken into community ownership in 1977. He also took to the stage as an active member of the successful Cloonclare Drama Group for a number of years.

Charlie was a founding member of Glenfarne Group Water Scheme (GWS) in 1968. Together with wife, Mona and Caretaker, Hughie Maguire, Cornamon, they kept the scheme operational (100+ households) and financially viable for almost 40 years.

Charlie himself paid tribute to the role played in getting the scheme up and by Terry McHugh. Terry was a Health Inspector in the area at the time.

Charlie also acted as a voluntary adviser to many local community organisations who wished to set up their own group water scheme in their areas in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also facilitated the smooth transition of the Glenfarne Scheme into the Glenboy/Glenfarne GWS.

It was officially opened in 2006 after the amalgamation of the 5 local schemes: Glenfarne, Glenboy, Ardmoneen/ Loughross, Lissinagroagh, and Ardvarney/Corracloona. Today, over 390 households are connected to Glenboy/ Glenfarne GWS.

The quality and reliability of locally sourced water provided by local group schemes was always problematic. In Charlie’s opinion, it was a giant step forward to have Glenboy/ Glenfarne GWS water supply sourced in Lough Gill through the publicly funded North Leitrim Regional Water Supply Scheme.

The water is safe, reliable and must meet the highest local authority water standards under the direction of Irish Water, which was established in 2013.

Charlie is and has been an active, enthusiastic and valued member of the Glenboy/Glenfarne GWS Management Committee since it was established.

It is widely believed that country folk were left to fend for themselves when it came to the provision of water supply infrastructure in rural communities. This is not the full picture.

Charlie explains: “In the 1960’s, the Department of Local Government was putting pressure on county councils to set up regional water schemes to provide tapped water in rural areas.

“Local authority plans for regional schemes were supported by the ICA (Irish Country Women's Association) but opposed by the IFA (Irish Farmers Association). Farmers objected because once their farm was connected to a regional scheme, the rateable valuation of their land and dwelling would increase, so more rates (a significant property tax) would have to be paid annually to the county council.

“Group water schemes were the compromise. The message from the County Councils to rural communities was, in Charlie's words, do it yourselves, we’ll give you a bit of a grant and you will not pay anything on the rates.”