In Reply to: re: Commemerative Plaque To Micky Guthrie At THe Lake posted by Old Man River on May 28, 2012 at 10:12:43:

I'm not casting aspersions, I personally believe the man gave generously of his time and his abilities to the betterment of the community in which he lived.

The question is will we ever see his likes again?

Even if someone was capable and willing, with all the scandals that has gone on, in today's modern politically correct world, would parents trust their little darlings to a stranger with no qualifications in the field of aquatics training or certifications from the various safety bodies, methinks not . . .

As a child who did not enjoy Mr Guthrie's methods with regards to learning to swim (in fact I would say they scared me from going into the water) I would not deny that his methods worked for a great many others, I was lucky enough to learn to swim in Claremorris pool before Castlebar opened and I owe my debt of gratitude to the staff in those venues for my ability to swim today - I think both those institutions should have plaques on the walls too, who knows how many lives have been saved by the knowledge they imparted.

And as for this by now hoary old argument about 'selective editing of the board' by the moderators , I think Old Man River should be ashamed to cast a slur on the moderators of the board with his comment and should apologise - they are volunteers too and are just as committed to the people of Castlebar and the Castlebar diaspora with the maintenance of this board and site.

They are as committed as Micky Gutherie was in his field and should be applauded for the work they do too!