Mayo man convicted of mother's murder

Wed, Feb 05, 2014

A 22-year-old Mayo man has been jailed for life for the murder of his mother in their home nearly three-years-ago at the Central Criminal Court today. Celyn Eadon admitted to killing his mother, Noreen Kelly, at their home in Derrycarieve, Islandeady in March 2011 but denied her murder. Eadon claimed that he had a mental disorder brought on by drug abuse when he stabbed his mother 19 times. A jury unanimously found him guilty of her murder following almost two and a half hours of deliberation. Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence on Eadon following the jury's verdict. More to follow in Friday's Mayo Advertiser

Tributes for Mayo mother's brave campaign

Tue, Feb 04, 2014

The county's road safety officer Noel Gibbons has paid tribute to a Mayo mother who became a public voice for families bereaved by road deaths.

Candle light walk for positive mental health

Tue, Feb 04, 2014

A 'Walk of Light' to promote positive mental health and suicide prevention is taking place in Ballina on Friday evening.

Shell assurance on tunnel alarm

Mon, Feb 03, 2014

Shell E&P Ireland has said today that it is investigating the circumstances around the activation of a safety alarm in the Corrib tunnel at Aughoose in north Mayo last Monday.

Festival celebrating rural life returns to Turlough

Mon, Feb 03, 2014

Féile na Tuaithe, the Turlough family festival celebrating rural life, is returning this summer after a gap of three years.

Pylon panel meeting “as early as possible”

Mon, Feb 03, 2014

Former Supreme Court Justice Catherine McGuinness, chair of the expert panel which will report on underground route options for Grid West, says she will be convening a meeting of the panel as early as possible.

No turning back for Weir despite the announcement of Grid West commission

Fri, Jan 31, 2014

Councillor Seamus Weir will not be reversing his decision not to run for Fine Gael in this May’s Local Elections, even with the announcement this week by the Minister for Environment, Pat Rabbitte, of a commission headed up by retired judge Catherine McGuinness to investigate the potential of undergrounding the Grid West Project.

Mellet loses out in Ballina area convention

Fri, Jan 31, 2014

Last weekend the Ballina Municipal District selection convention for Fine Gael ahead of May’s upcoming Local Elections, saw a number of shocks. Firstly the announcement by sitting Fine Gael councillor Seamus Weir that he would not be seeking the party’s nomination, but would be running as an independent following the fall out from the anti-pylon movement in his Knockmore base. A decision he will not be reversing even after the decision by the Government to convene an independent commission to look at the issue, which he confirmed to the Mayo Advertiser this week (more on page one). As a result of this decision, Fine Gael headquarters mandated that there would only be four slots selected at the convention not the five as was planned. When the counting was done, two sitting councillors, Mayo County Councillor Joe Mellett and Ballina Town Councillor Mark Winters, failed to get a nomination for the party. Cllr Mellet’s failure to get a nomination will have caused quite a surprise, he had put his name forward for selection only a few weeks previously having just held on to his seat by the skin of his teeth at the previous local elections. Mellet who is the current Fine Gael whip in the council chamber is also a former cathaoirleach of the council. The failure of Cllr Winters to secure a nomination sees Fine Gael currently without a candidate in the Ballina Town Council area, a major voting block, with Bonnicolon’s John O’Hara bei their current sole nominee in that region. O’Hara was joined on the ticket by sitting councillor Jarlath Munnelly from Killala, alongside newcomer Niall Cruise from Foxford, whose groundswell of support from grassroots members in the Foxford area saw him over the line at the expense of the Swinford based Mellett. The final nominee to be selected at the convention was Crossmolina’s Padraig Staunton. While only four candidates have been selected so far, it is believed that Fine Gael party headquarters may add a fifth person to the ticket, with Cllr Winters being favourite to be selected to run from his Ballina town base. In the last local elections Deputy Michelle Mulherin won a seat in the Ballina area from the town, Cllr O’Hara was co-opted on to the council to replace her when she won her Dáil seat.

Undertaker and car crash survivor to deliver hard-hitting road safety message

Fri, Jan 31, 2014

An undertaker and a car crash survivor are among those who will deliver a hard-hitting road safety message to Mayo teens next week.

Hundreds of tug-of-war champs and fans from around the world for Mayo event

Fri, Jan 31, 2014

Some 800 tug-of-war champions and their supporters from 16 countries around the world are descending on Breaffy in February, bringing a unique event and an economic boost to the locality.

Gavin and Barrett clash over Castlebar jobs issue

Fri, Jan 31, 2014

This week has seen two Castlebar town councillors exchanging verbal punches over the issue of bringing jobs to the county town. Fianna Fáil councillor Blackie Gavin threw down the challenge to Labour Party councillor Harry Barrett to “get real on who is responsible for solving the jobs crisis in Castlebar”. Cllr Gavin said Cllr Barrett seemed to forget that his own party was part of the Government and could do a lot to solve the problem if it wanted to.

Cllr Gavin said: " What I would like to know is how often has Cllr Barrett lobbied Mr Gilmore or Minister Rabbitte and demanded that they deliver to Castlebar. How many times has he met the Tánaiste and put to him the crisis which he keeps highlighting here locally. How many times has he looked for access to his own party ministers, the people with the power to get results.”