Monday’s Evening Herald story which slated the Flintstones World Record attempt at the Muckno Mania festival last weekend was obviously written by an ill informed ignoramus who obviously has never spent any time around beautiful Castleblayney.

For Michael O’Doherty to say in a national publication that Castleblayney’s inhabitants were cretins because they dressed up in Flintstones outfits to smash the Guinness Book of Records with 905 participants and in doing so help us all forget about the recession is scandalous. This idiot called Blayney a ‘notorious County Monaghan hole’ which begs the question which ‘hole’ did he crawl out of. Obviously one with little manners, or concern for people’s feelings and one which never heard of the superb Concra Wood golf course, the beauty of the Lough Muckno estate, the various musical legends such as Big Tom and Anna McGoldrick  and lots more local attractions.

Maybe the Herald needs columnists like O’Doherty to boost their ratings to the Dublin 4 area but judging from the local reaction it seems the article has cost them lots of readers around here. To be honest if this is the best O’Doherty can do the Herald are wasting their money. Finally the old adage ‘least said easiest mended’ springs to mind, but to sum up Castleblayney’s reaction one local said “If he’s a journalist, I’m Fred Flintstone!”

Castleblayney Town Council Chairman David Funcheon told monaghanlife.ie that the Council, Castleblayney Enterprise Board (which organised the festival) and Castleblayney Chamber of Commerce had met and are contacting the Editor of the Evening Herald and the Press Ombudsman to complain about the article.

Picture by photographer Mary Byrne shows some locals taking part in the Flintstones World Record attempt.