A LADY at the heart and soul of all current affairs in Millstreet celebrated a very important milestone in her career on Tuesday as regional reporter for C103 Radio Station when she visited the studio in Mallow and read report No 1,000 live on air.

Eily Buckley was warmly welcomed by presenters Patricia Messenger and John Paul McNamara, who she speaks to regularly in her weekly link up with the station. Eily's colleagues from LTV2 local television Sean Radley and cameraman William Fitzgerald were also on hand to record this historic occasion.

The regional reports, broadcast weekly from several locations around the county, are a vital link for listeners, and people like Eily are invaluable, said presenter Patricia Messenger.

Patricia praised Eily's relaxed style, her lovely regional accent, and told of the very positive feedback received from Millstreet natives, now living elsewhere, who love to tune in to Eily's weekly report to keep up to date with happenings in their native place.

John Paul commended Eily on her unique take on local events, and spoke about all the positive texts and calls he gets in relation to the weekly report.

Eily's first foray into journalism began when she wrote some articles for the Clara news, a local publication for the Millstreet area, which was first published in the late '70s. In 1992, she took over the local link for the then County Sound station from Sean Radley.

Eily has seen the methods by which local people convey news items for inclusion change hugely over the years. When she began she would mostly meet people on the street, or they would call to her house. Now she gets phone calls, texts and emails, and nowadays she types her articles on her laptop as opposed to the old way of writing everything down by hand.

She is very conscious of the positive effect her weekly broadcast has on the elderly, people living alone, and the housebound, and always maintains a cheerful and uplifting attitude on air, despite having gone through some painful times herself, like when her beloved husband Dan became ill and passed away.

During her many years as a reporter Eily has come across lots of interesting situations and people. The highlight was the Eurovision Song Contest which was staged at Green Glens, but she also fondly recalls meeting Mary Robinson, Gabriel Byrne and the Chieftains during the Famine Event in 1997, and of the occasion when Kenny Rodgers performed at his concert in a black track suit due to the fact that his luggage had gone missing en route to Ireland.

Although normally the broadcast is relayed over the phone from her home in Millstreet, Eily has also delivered her report from exotic locations like the south of France, Brittany, Cork city and Ballybunion.

It is said that if you want something done you should always ask a busy person and Eily certainly proves this to be true. While raising her family she was also employed by CIE, driving a 45 seater school bus. At the moment, as well as providing the vital link with C103, she is an active member of Millstreet Community council, runs a busy B&B, sings in the choir, composes her own songs and is a major player in the extremely successful local television station, LTV2, where she keeps viewers up to date with the news, interviews guests, and does a lot of administrative work behind the scenes.

Recent pursuits of this exceptionally talented lady include being instrumental in setting up a knitting club in Millstreet, and also a local branch of Living Scenes, where the elderly and young get together with the objective of breaking down age barriers, and bridging the generation gap.

Eily told The Corkman that she is very conscious of the fact that she is "selling Millstreet" to a wide audience over the radio, and added that it is "a great honour to continue to bring the regional report to listeners for many years to come".

- SHEILA FITZGERALD