Another milestone passed in Ballinrobe Town Hall fundraising

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

The drive to rebuild Ballinrobe Town Hall has passed a number of milestones, including €130,000 collected locally. A target of €400,000 has been set for local donations and the next wave of the campaign will see a number of fund-raising events taking place.

The committee, local elected representatives, and other supporters are working on a number of fronts to advance the campaign, including interacting with various Government agencies and departments to secure funding.

A Day for the Cat in the Hat with St Joseph’s, Castlebar

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

"Oh the thinks you can think"! St Joseph’s transition year students, Castlebar, have been doing more than thinking ‘thinks’ these past few weeks. They have been busy rehearsing and bringing to life all of the favourite Dr Seuss characters including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and JoJo and many more wonderful characters in their performance of Seussical The Musical. This show, this magical musical extravaganza, will take you from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus and to the invisible world of the Whos.

Dublin in twelve hours, and that is a promise

Fri, Nov 11, 2016

Through the years of kingdom, empire, dominion, republic and continental union, County Mayo has retained the rarely advantageous honour of being among the most westerly outposts of each political entity. The county's distance from the heart of government and its demanding terrain seriously hampered any mode of movement, in and out of Mayo. At the passing of the Acts of Union in 1800, the Crown accepted that responding to sporadic violent opposition to the legislation would be difficult considering a regiment on foot would take six days to travel from Dublin to the west. Correspondence between the British authorities in Dublin and their surrogates in Mayo would therefore be all the more urgent. However, at this time, it took the swift mail coach, running through the night, more than 30 hours to reach the county capital. Logistical challenges existed too for the movement of produce and for travelling men of business. Any coach journey covering 60 miles a day was considered efficient. To reach even Mayo's eastern border by coach from Dublin would have taken two days with good conditions. Land transport, at the turn of the 19th century, was undependable and slow. As a result, long distance travel on the part of most people was simply not undertaken due the many obstacles it raised. 

That all changed with the arrival in Ireland of Carlo Bianconi. The Italian had landed in Ireland in 1802 and had set up a small two car service in Clonmel in 1815. Charles Bianconi (as he was by then known) began offering cheap and expeditious travelling across extended distances throughout Ireland. Despite the cars being uncovered and open to the harsh Irish elements, the services proved hugely successful as they were scheduled, fast, and many stages on each route had a Bianconi owned inn in which food and lodgings were supplied before the traveller progressed. Bianconi’s horse drawn transport operated in Castlebar from 1836. His Mayo network was extended to include a daily service from Longford to Ballina that ran through Foxford. Bianconi revolutionised movement for the people of Mayo when in August 1851 he announced an ambitious new route that would take a patron from Ballina to Dublin in one day. The two horse car would leave Ballina every morning at 5.45am (except Sunday) and would progress first to Castlebar, then Westport, Leenane, Letterfrack, and on to Clifden in time for the mail coach from Galway to Dublin and in time for the Westport and Castlebar day coach to Galway railway station. Bianconi's new route announcement was well timed to coincide with the opening of the Galway railway station that same month. In addition to the two horse car, the entrepreneur timetabled a well-equipped four horse coach to leave Westport for Castlebar every morning.  After Castlebar, the coach would pass through Ballinrobe and Shrule on its journey to Galway. The capacity for the four horse coach was 15 passengers, four inside and 11 outside. Bianconi boasted that by availing of his routes, the Mayo traveller could be in Dublin that same evening enjoying an early dinner. 

Community shocked by death of couple

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

The tight-knit community of Irishtown was stunned and saddened this week by the discovery of the bodies of a well known local couple Kitty Fitzgerald and her husband Tom at their home in Knockadoon, about 1km from Irishtown village close to the Galway border. Their bodies were found on Tuesday afternoon shortly after 3pm, with Kitty's body found inside the house and Tom's body outside the home. Their son, who was also at the scene, was brought to University College Hospital Galway before being transferred to the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin for treatment to serious injuries.

Arts Committee to investigate state funding of Mary Robinson Library

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is to invite Minister Heath Humphreys, Mayo County Council, and NUIG to come before the committee to discuss the proposed multi-million euro Mary Robinson Library in Ballina.

Volunteers required to assist Syrian families in Castlebar

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

South West Mayo Development Co is seeking volunteers to assist a small number of Syrian families resettling in Castlebar. You will be required to assist families with getting to know their new hometown.

Northgate to close three years after it announced 150 jobs for Castlebar

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

In November 2013 it was announced that medical screening company Northgate would be setting up operations in Castlebar and creating 150 jobs in the county town. The opening of that facility dragged on over the next two years with only six jobs ever being created. Yesterday (Thursday November 3) it was revealed that Northgate would be closing their business in Castlebar with those six jobs going.

Marbhna will commemorate all who died in 1916

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

A Requiem Mass with music composed by Odhran O Casaide and featuring the voice of Sibéal Ní Casaide, to commemorate all those who died in 1916, will take place in Knock Basilica this Sunday, November 6 at 12pm. The special Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Brendan Kelly, Bishop of Achonry.

The Mass, entitled Requiem 1916 Marbhna, sets out to explore the beauty of sean nós voice, together with chamber choir and orchestra, classical solo voices, traditional and early music instruments. The blend of Irish and classical music reflects two great musical traditions in Ireland at the time of the Rising. The musical motifs are carried seamlessly from genre to genre. It is the first orchestral setting of a Dies Irae in the Irish language. All are welcome to attend this special Mass.

Westport is ready to roll for Rolling Sun Book Festival

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

The Rolling Sun Book Festival, set in Westport, County Mayo, is a quirky boutique festival that indulges bookworms and connoisseurs of music, song, and poetry. Set in the shadow of the ancient spiritual mountain, Croagh Patrick, it evokes the many layers of Irish culture in the best bardic and poetic traditions. The festival kicked off last night, Thursday November 3, with poet Ger Reidy launching Lady Cassie Peregrina a poetry collection by Terry McDonagh in the Custom House Studio and will continue with a jam packed number of days until it finishes on Sunday November 6.

Mayo co-operative creameries, the original cash cow

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

Irish farmers learned a long time ago that, in certain circumstances, working in co-operation could lead to real progress and maximised profit for each individual. The meitheal system, whereby a farmer would assist a neighbouring farmer, who would in turn reciprocate that help when needed, was a well established tradition in rural Ireland. The spirit of the meitheal was evident in the beginnings of the Irish co-operative movement. Co-operatives were operating since the 1880s and the concept of voluntary association among farmers went through strong periods as well as years of slow development.

Following a decade of war, the young Irish Free State strove to prove it was capable of going it alone and the co-operative movement was again encouraged. A kick-start event in the rejuvenation of co-operative creameries in Mayo was a meeting of the board of management of Mayo Co-operative Creameries held in 1930. At the meeting, contracts were signed for the erection of three creameries in Westport, Castlebar, and a central creamery at Balla. The investment of £6,000 was a major show of confidence in the viability of Mayo dairy farming. The low price of butter on the market did in some respects force farmers to participate but they were equally mindful that butter was a very solid industry with a ready market. The creameries' early years were hampered from outside and also sadly from within. Externally, trade depression continued to keep prices down. Internally, Castlebar and Westport farmers were falling well short of the necessary milk supply levels and their committees were effectively non-existent. Reasons given for the shortfall in milk production were the inaction of local TDs and senators (some were members of the creameries) and the growth of parochial factions and petty spites among farmers. Balla was gathering more than three times the amount of milk as Castlebar and Westport combined. The dire figures aside, membership of the creameries remained at over 900 members and organisers remained confident that the daily requirement of 240 gallons of milk from each district was achievable. It was estimated at the time that 85 good cows could produce that daily requirement.

Age Action needs you to keep the lights on in Mayo

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

Age Action has launched a new fundraising campaign to support its 'Care and Repair' service for older people, which last year carried out more than 1,300 jobs in Mayo. Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications at Age Action, said: “Our Care and Repair service carries out tens of thousands of DIY jobs in the home for older people around Ireland every year. Our volunteers help with the small jobs around the house that, as people get older, they might struggle to do. This can be as simple as changing a light-bulb, installing a lock, clearing a drain or tacking down a loose floorboard, but we urgently need your help to keep this service going.”

Age Action’s Care and Repair service is delivered in partnership with four community groups in Mayo, which are Clar ICH in Claremorris (094) 9371830, Belmullet Men's Community Initiative (097) 81079, Westport Family and Community Resource Centre (098) 24419, and South West Mayo Development Company. (098) 41950. These groups are trained and supported by Age Action and coordinate groups of local volunteers who help older people in their locality.

St Colman's gearing up for major fundraiser

Fri, Nov 04, 2016

On Saturday November 12, St Colman’s College, Claremorris, brings the hugely popular '20K Drop' to Claremorris in the McWilliam Park Hotel. This show has attracted large audiences all over Ireland for the past 11 years and is fast becoming one of the most popular sources of fund-raising for schools and clubs throughout the country. Contestants are drawn from ticket sales and each contestant will have a chance to win up to €2,500 on the night.

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