Amateur Drama Award recipients announced

Mon, Jan 23, 2017

The Railway Theatre Group has been awarded the Mayo County Council Amateur Drama Award for 2016, which was assessed by an external, independent, panel on the following criteria: innovation; development of excellence; quality and creativity; which improve the amateur drama sector in an area. All amateur drama groups based in the county are eligible to apply for the award of €1,000.

No money to pick up after illegal dumping

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

There is no budget allocation in the Ballina Municipal District for the picking up of rubbish that is dumped illegally in the area, the coucillors in the district was told this week. Independent councillor Seamus Weir raised the issue at the January meeting on Wednesday and listed a number of sites in his area where illegal dumping was happening. He later told the meeting that he raised the issue because he had been informed that there was no budget put aside to clean it up.

What's on in your community?

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Rock Rose House
An informal talk on Limb care and Lymphoedema will be held on Thursday, January 26 at Rock Rose House, Castlebar from 7pm to 9pm. All welcome. Call (094) 9038407 for further details.

Possibility of some of Robinson archive being homed in Ballina still alive

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

The possibility of a 'significant' portion of the Mary Robinson Archive being housed in Ballina is something that is still alive, and if there is support for that it is something Mayo County Council will discuss with NUIG, the chief executive of Mayo County Council said this week.

One hundred and fourteen estates have speed limits reduced to 30km per hour in Mayo

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Mayo County Council this week introduced new bye-laws to reduce the speed limit in 114 estates throughout the county to 30km per hour, this new slew of estates follows a reduction in the speed limit in 99 estates in 2015, and the council will be considering a further list of estates for implementation of a similar speed limit later this year.

McNamara wants to know status of Keem Bay Discovery Point project

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Achill based Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McNamara has asked for a progress report on the proposed Signature Discovery Point that was announced for Keem Bay in Achill almost two years ago. Keem Bay was selected as one of a number of Signature Discovery Points along the Wild Atlantic Way and it was proposed that a glass viewing platform overhanging the Atlantic Ocean near the old Coastguard station would be constructed. 

Muintir Mhaigh Eo Atha Cliath award winners revealed

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Last night at The Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin 4, Muintir Mhaigh Eo Atha Cliath announced the award winners for the Mayo Person of the Year, Meitheal, and Young Mayo Person of the Year for 2017.

Call for Swinford to be included in Action Plan for Rural Development

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Fine Gael Mayo senator, and Seanad spokesperson on agriculture, food and the marine, Michelle Mulherin, has asked that Swinford be included in Action Plan for Rural Development. This week, Senator Mulherin said: “I have asked Minister Humphreys to include Swinford as a pilot project town for the action plan. I think the town would be an ideal case to implement a pilot project and develop a worthwhile scheme for all rural market towns.

Women in sport seminar to take place in Castlebar

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Next month, Mayo Sports Partnership in conjunction with a number of other agencies and bodies, will be hosting a Girls and Women in Sport seminar in GMIT Castlebar on Thursday February 9 from 10am to 3pm. The seminar which is free of charge has a stellar line up of guest speakers on the day with Mayo Ladies' star Cora Staunton, RTE's Jacqui Hurley, Dr Aoife Lane from AIT and WGPA, former Cork Ladies' manager Eamonn Ryan, Paralympic swimmer Ellen Keane, and Marie Walsh, former Rose of Tralee, all speaking at the event.

Raise your voices in aid of St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina

Fri, Jan 20, 2017

Start off 2017 on a high note and Raise your Voices with a musical extravaganza in aid of St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina. Remember the singing priest Fr Ray Kelly who caused an internet sensation with his rendition of "Hallelujah" last year?  Well now is your chance to see Fr Kelly perform live alongside St Muredach’s Cathedral Choir and St Mary’s Secondary School Choir – for one night only.

The rise of a county capital

Thu, Jan 19, 2017

It is three years to the month since the signing into law by President Higgins of the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The act abolished Ireland’s 80 town councils as part of a range of measures designed to reform local administration. Three of those town councils operated in the Mayo towns of Ballina, Westport, and in the county capital, Castlebar. The debate continues as to whether the abolition of an entire tier of local government was largely beneficial or harmful. It may take longer than three years for any lasting effects to register themselves.

When cricket was 'alive ho in the west'

Thu, Jan 19, 2017

The 1880s was a watershed in the history of sport in Ireland. Soccer's All-Ireland governing body was established in Belfast in 1880 and during that decade the sport began to spread out from Ulster and scatter throughout the island. The first set of rules for rugby were drawn up in England in 1845, but the sport did not gain much traction in Ireland until the 1880s, a mere 10 years after the first game was played on Irish soil. The sport’s managing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union, was founded in 1879. The Golfing Union of Ireland was established in 1891, and though the game was being played in Ireland prior to that date, it had not attracted a Mayo following. The first golf club in Connacht was only founded in 1892. In 1884, the Gaelic Athletic Association was formed with a view to promoting Ireland’s native games. All of these sports have grown to become extremely popular in Mayo today but one sport, once arguably the most popular organised sport in the county, has virtually disappeared.

Cricket was introduced into Ireland in the 18th century. The earliest known reference to the sport is of a match held in Dublin in 1792 between the British garrison and an "All-Ireland" team. The oldest cricket club still in existence in Ireland is Phoenix Cricket Club in Dublin, which was founded in 1830 by John Parnell, father of Charles Stewart Parnell. In Mayo, the County Club was already in existence by 1818. All strata of society were allowed play, and were encouraged to play the game. By the 1870s, very active cricket clubs existed across the county. The early games were played very much with a parochial feel to them with social events organised around the games themselves. Hollymount Cricket Club hosted a regular athletic sports day. By incorporating athletes into the day, the club opened up the event, and cricket, to a wider audience. Castlebar Cricket Club held concerts with the dual purpose of raising funds and creating a social mixer for club members, families, and supporters. Friendly rivalries existed between certain clubs. In the east of the county, Swinford and Kilkelly cricket clubs frequently battled for sporting honours. The bigger towns of Castlebar, Ballina, and Westport played each other regularly, and being evenly matched, reports of their matches were of interest to the county’s wider cricket support. At the inaugural meeting of the Ballyhaunis Cricket Club in 1893, the chairman noticed that every town in the west had a cricket club. So strong was cricket in Mayo that "Ranje", a provincial newspaper columnist, cheered "Cricket's alive ho! in the West". Ranje’s popular column gave cricket updates on Mayo teams and tips on how to play the game's more common strokes.

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