Cora helps Buncrana bloom as only female on council’s road team

For 18 years, she worked four part-time jobs for Donegal County Council - taking care of the courthouse, emptying the pay and display machines, looking after the public toilets on the Shore Front and acting as school warden (lollipop lady) on St Mary’s Road.

Last year, Cora began working full-time as the only woman in the council’s road department - joining the parks team and council gardener George McDermott. The parks team has worked continuously during lockdown - planting flowers, cutting grass and hedges, ensuring the upkeep of local amenities, roads and estates, in a bid to lift people’s spirits during a really difficult time.

Speaking to the Journal, Cora told how she ‘really loves’ her job and how it is so diverse.

“When my kids were wee, the four part-time jobs were grand, but when they got bigger I wanted something more permanent and that would give me more time for myself. I love what I do now and it’s something I’ve always had an interest in. You’re doing something different all the time and George McDermott is just brilliant to work with. He teaches you so much and I’ve learned a lot.”

In any given day, the team could be planting seeds, caring for trees, flowers, hedges, numerous flower baskets, ‘dead-heading’ flowers, maintaining local areas such as the shore front, local housing estates, the library and Amazing Grace Park, to name just a few. They are also responsible for maintaining Bridgend and Buncrana roundabouts, which regularly win praise from locals and tourists alike for their stunning floral arrangements and originality.

Cora told how the job has a lot of satisfaction. “You plant something and can see them growing, even over a weekend. It’s lovely to see something coming together. And people tell you they appreciate it. We were deemed essential during the pandemic, as grass still needs cut and hedges still need trimmed. All that just gives people a boost.”

Cora said she ‘loves’ outdoors work and ‘could not sit in a building all day’. She added that while some women might believe there are barriers to obtaining a job outdoors, particularly in areas traditionally deemed more ‘male’ such as the roads department, she is proof that it can and should be done.

“There are lots of women who love outdoor work, but don’t feel like the opportunities are there, or maybe don’t have the nerve to try it if jobs come up. But, why not? The opportunities are there and the council is great to work for. No woman should be put off by thinking that she couldn’t or wouldn’t get the job, as that’s not the case at all.”

Cora said she is ‘very much part of the team’ and ‘whatever needs done, I’ll do it’.

“I’m no different from anyone else. Some people might be of the view that a woman shouldn’t be out driving a tractor or working with a shovel, but why not? A woman has the same rights and capabilities and the jobs are there.”

While outdoor work means changeable weather, Cora doesn’t let that faze her either. “I’m well used to it. You put on your waterproof coat and go on ahead.”

The team is looking ahead to winter and this involves a lot of work. Each seed and flower is carefully planned for each season and colours and themes are co-ordinated and 99% of the flowers chosen are ‘pollinators’ to aid the bees. Buncrana won the National Tidy Towns Pollinator Award in 2019 after winning regional awards in previous years. Cora is full of praise for the local Tidy Towns team, who give them ‘a huge amount’ of help and support.

This year was a particularly challenging one, as lockdown meant a lot of flowers and shrubs were unavailable and those that were had to be grown from seeds and the seedlings then picked out one by one. The team grow and care for seedlings in tunnels situated in behind the tourism office in Buncrana.

Cora and the rest of the team, which also includes Barry Doherty, are also looking forward to the re-opening of Swan Park, which was closed after being damaged by floods in 2017. Cora said while her job is a lot of work - at one point they planted 10,000 crocuses at the roundabout in Buncrana - it is a joy to do and she wouldn’t change it for the world. She encouraged anyone who wants to work outdoors to go for it. It’s a lovely job. You get to see everything grow and look beautiful and know you helped do that.”