Getting ahead when it comes to telephony in Millstreet has always been a struggle, but it hasn’t always been because of our location. In 1924, when twenty subscribers were needed to get the first phones to Millstreet, we couldn’t get enough subscribers. Now we have more mobile phones than people! Below are some extracts of some Dáil debates on how we were faring:
Friday, 7th March 1924, in Dáil Éireann Debate, our local Labour TD Thomas Nagle was asking when phone services would arrive in Millstreet:
TOMAS DE NOGLA: asked the Postmaster-General if he has considered the application of residents of the town and district of Millstreet, Co. Cork, for telephone installations, and if he intends to meet the wishes of these people.
POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. J.J. Walsh): In response to an application for a telephone service from a resident of the town of Millstreet a canvass for telephone subscribers was recently undertaken, but the amount of support forthcoming was so small as not to warrant the heavy expense which would be incurred in extending the system to Millstreet and opening an Exchange at that place.
I hope, however, that the modified charges which have now been authorised by the Ministry of Finance may be instrumental in securing the necessary support.
Mr. NAGLE: Would the Postmaster-General inform me how many subscribers would be needed to warrant the installation of the telephones?
Mr. WALSH: Under the new arrangement I should say the number for Millstreet would be about twenty.
(When did the first phone services eventually come to Millstreet?)
Wednesday, 7 December 1960: Fleeting thoughts of automatic telephone services:
Mr. McAuliffe: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the automatic telephone system will be [880] extended to the towns of Kanturk, Newmarket and Millstreet, County Cork.
Mr. K. Boland (for the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs): No plans have been made for the provision of automatic telephone service at Kanturk, Newmarket and Millstreet at an early date and it would not be possible at this stage to say when automatic working will be introduced at these towns.
Tuesday, 23 May 1967 – another new phone kiosk planned for Millstreet:
Mr. Crowley: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will give details of new telephone kiosks to be erected in the mid-Cork area; the locations of the kiosks; and the districts to be served by them.
Mr. Lalor: Five new kiosks for this area were included in the installation programme for the current year. They were to be located in Aherla, Ballinhassig, Millstreet, Crookstown and Timoleague, to serve the village and surrounding district in each case. The first-mentioned three were recently erected and the other two will be provided as soon as possible.
Thursday, 27 November 1969: automatic exchanges within five years? (fobbed you off again, it would be another 13 years)
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the telephone exchange at Millstreet, County Cork, will become automatic.
Mr. Lalor: It is planned to convert Millstreet exchange to automatic working within five years.
178 Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the urgent need for providing extra trunk circuits from Millstreet telephone exchange, County Cork to Mallow and Killarney; and, if so, if he will indicate his Department’s proposals in the matter.
179 Mr. Thomas Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he is aware of the urgent need to provide extra switchboards at Millstreet telephone exchange, County Cork; and if his Department will sanction the provision of a new telephone exchange on a site adjacent to the town.
Mr. G. Collins: With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 179 together. I am aware that there has been an urgent need for some time past to provide extra trunk circuits from Millstreet telephone exchange and am pleased to say that six extra circuits to Mallow were provided last week. The total number of trunk circuits from Millstreet to Mallow and Killarney is now regarded as adequate.
There are two switchboards at Millstreet exchange and these are adequate for present needs. A third switchboard will be required there in the near future. There are some accommodation problems to be resolved before it can be installed and this aspect is being pursued. A new telephone exchange will be provided at Millstreet in due course to cater for the introduction of automatic working.
Thursday, 7 November 1974: asking again about the telephone exchange…
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will arrange for urgent improvement to the telephone service in the Millstreet/ Kanturk/Newmarket area, County Cork.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Dr. Cruise-O’Brien): The service at Kanturk has been improved following the provision of a new suite of switchboards and extra trunk circuits to Cork. Additional trunk circuits which are due to be brought into operation between Newmarket and Cork within the next two months will improve the service at Newmarket. An extra switchboard is needed at Millstreet exchange. It will be installed as soon as additional accomodation can be provided there.
Tuesday, 16 November 1976: The automatic exchanges still hadn’t been installed in 1976 … only to be told not for another three years.
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs when the telephone exchanges at Newmarket, Kanturk and Millstreet, County Cork will be made automatic.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Dr. Cruise-O’Brien): It is hoped to convert the telephone exchanges at Newmarket, Kanturk and Millstreet to automatic working in about three years’ time.
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will make provision to have a public telephone kiosk erected at Gortroe, Lambardstown, Mallow, County Cork.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Dr. Cruise-O’Brien): Kiosks are not provided in rural areas such as Gortroe where there is no post office.
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will [38] arrange to have the telephone number of a person (details supplied) in Cork transferred to the subscriber’s new residence as he was informed by letter from his Department on 24th February, 1976, that the matter was recorded for priority treatment.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Dr. Cruise-O’Brien): The removal of service for the person concerned is expected to be carried out within the next week. It was not practicable to deal with this priority application until cabling to serve the new address became available recently.
Tuesday, 8 December 1981 adding a new telephone kiosk in town:
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the number and location of each telephone kiosk in the constituency of Cork North West to be erected from now until the end of 1981 and in 1982.
Mr. Harte: Eight — at Ballinagree, Ballydaly, Kanturk, Kilbrien, Millstreet, Naad, Taur and Toombridge.
Tuesday, 10 February 1981: Only at the Planning Stage now 🙁
| Macroom | Area Engineering Headquarters | Planning Stage |
| Mallow | Area Engineering Headquarters | In Progress |
| Midleton | Area Engineering Headquarters | In Progress |
| Millstreet | Area Engineering Headquarters | Planning Stage |
| Monaghan | Adaptations | Work Completed |
| Mullingar | Area Engineering Headquarters | Planning Stage |
Tuesday, 20 October 1981: Sure we can order them now lads !
Mr. Briscoe: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the orders, if any, that have been placed by his Department for new telephone exchanges since his appointment as Minister in July 1981; and if he will give details of their location.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Cooney): Orders for new telephone exchanges were placed for the following centres since my appointment:
Location of exchange: Banteer, Co. Cork; Berney’s Cross, Co. Cork; Boherbue, Co. Cork; Clonbanin Cross, Co. Cork; Cullen, Co. Cork; Kanturk, Co. Cork; Meelin, Co. Cork; Millstreet, Co. Cork; Newmarket, Co. Cork; Rockchapel, Co. Cork; Roundwood, Co. Wicklow; Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim; Cloone, Co. Leitrim; Elphin, Co. Roscommon; Kilmore, Co. Roscommon; Mohill, Co. Leitrim; Rooskey, Co. Roscommon; Strokestown, Co. Roscommon; Tulsk, Co. Roscommon; Ballivor, Co. Meath; Broadford, Co. Kildare; Carbury, Co. Kildare; Edenderry, Co. Offaly; Enfield, Co. Meath; Newtown, Co. Meath; Rhode, Co. Offaly; Summerhill, Co. Meath.
Wednesday, 3 November 1982: OMG, still no automatic exchange! (This is about right because can remember having to ring the operator when i big enough to use the phone… so it was probably into the 80s before it happened).
Mr. Meaney: asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the revised date for the automation of Millstreet telephone exchange, County Cork.
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Wilson): It is now expected that Millstreet exchange will be converted to automatic working within the next four months. It was the intention to provide automatic service later this year but this is not now possible due to the heavy engineering works programme on hands in the Cork District.
About 2006: Broadband !
We were a bit luckier with Broadband. again we were being put on the long finger … but PermaNET (from the top of Clara) tried to steal a march and corner the market in Millstreet. Eircom caught wind of this, prioratised us, and all of a sudden we had broadband 🙂
Looking back: There was some controversary when the PermaNET installation on top of Clara led to people not being happy with the series of ESB poles going to the top of the mountain.
5th March 2009: It was “unacceptable” that phone boxes be removed from rural areas, Kanturk Area meeting:
Cllr Buckley said he has seen young people in Millstreet use the public phone boxes. However, engineer Mort Ahern also pointed out that phone boxes are subjected to vandalism.
“Older people will not use a mobile phone and to me this is just like the train tracks — everything is being cut back,” added Cllr Marie ‘The Shamrock’ Murphy.
Nov 18th 2015: The last public phone box in town is removed
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The Present: Does anyone have fast broadband in town?
Apparently there are two live servers in town, but i’m not aware of people using them
Read: The history of telecoms in Ireland
… only to be confronted with this headline in the Irish Independent today (28th April 2016):
Broadband delay ‘will undermine the rural recovery’
…my own view is that it would break your heart to get a straight answer, to when things will get done.
