Serving Cork for 120 years EE - V1 EDITION NO. 34,870 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013 RRP: e1.50 Recommended retail price €1.50 Blackpool traders take fight to Dublin Midleton mourns as river drowning victim is buried MIDLETON united in mourning today to say their final farewell to seven-year-old James Casey Butler, right. Little James lost his fight for life at Our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin, on Sunday night, 24 hours after he fell into the Owenacurra River. James had been playing with a friend near his home in Tír Cluain when he fell into the river, which runs alongside the housing estate and the Mill Road. James and his friends had managed to get through a hole in the fence and he was at the river bank when he lost his footing and fell in. The youngster was swept almost 300 metres down the river, which was flooded due to severe rainfall over the past week that had seen it swell to a depth of almost two metres. Large crowds sympathised with parents Edel and Paul last night with the Bishop of Cloyne William Crean offering his sympathy to the family. BLACKPOOL traders and res- idents took their fight for flood protection to Dublin today de- manding immediate action to safeguard their village. A delegation was to meet with Brian Hayes, junior minister with responsib- ility for the Office of Public Works in Leinster House this morning. A separate delegation was meeting with the City Manager Tim Lucey in City Hall where answers and solutions were also demanded after last Thursday’s flooding of the area. Bill Dunlea, of the Blackpool Action Group, said their aim was to secure both short and long term solutions to the flooding that had repeatedly devast- ated businesses and homes. “We will be making a presentation to Brian Hayes and asking him what is By ALAN HEALY Blackpool residents and traders: Mick Moriarty, Noel O’Halloran, Joe Brown, Tim O’Brien, Rose McGinn, Stephanie Loftus, Carmel O’Shea, Therese Coade, Michael Gale, Tadhg O’Leary and Bill Dunlea, who travelled to Dublin today to meet with Minister Brian Hayes in their fight for flood protection for Blackpool. Picture: Jim Coughlan happening with the report on flooding and how far we are down the road in getting something done,” he said. “We have been through this before. Eight years ago there was €3 or €4m spent on the current system but that obviously hasn’t worked. “We should be at the top of the list for any new work that must be carried out to avoid a repeat of this,” he said. Cork TD Dara Murphy said Minister Hayes visited Blackpool after the flood- ing last June and was aware of the problems the village faces. “This is a densely populated part of Cork just a few hundred metres from Patrick Street so something has to be done to prevent these incidents.” ● See tomorrow’s Evening Echo for more. ������ ������ �� ����������� ���� �� ������ �� ���� �� ����������� �� ������������������� ! " ! + *''-$*) ) '$/+2 /$'' +/$$)" *! '' (&, ) (*', + ,- 2+, - '' -+ !*+ '' +2 *+ $-# -* **& 2*.+ +/$ '' !+*( %.,- 3 $)' 3 /*.#+ !*+ 2*.+ )1- /$,$- 0$-# /+2 ,+/$