Search Results for 'Mayo County Council'

Some 23 free events have been planned in towns and villages across Mayo to celebrate Culture Night 2014 on September 19.

The issue of grass cutting in estates outside the old town council area in Castlebar in the new municipal district was raised at the Castlebar Municipal District this week. Fianna Fáil councillor Lisa Chambers said that she had been contacted by a number of people in the Kiltimagh area wondering when it would be done. However, she was informed by senior executive engineer for Mayo County Council, Anne Sweeney, that with the changeover in local government areas in the middle of the year the budgets that had been set at the start of the year did not allow for cutting at present and it would have to be allocated by the councillors in their budget for next year. Ms Sweeney also said a number of estates had been taken over in the Castlebar town area late last year after the budget had been agreed by the council, and there was not money budgeted this year to take care of them too.

“This is a clash of ideals, people who want to see rural Ireland closed down and those who want to see it prosper,” was how Fianna Fáil councillor Al McDonnell described the challenge to the recently adopted Mayo County Council Development Plan (2014-2020) by the Department of Environment and Local Government. The Development Plan sets out a number of guidelines for planning and development in the county for the next six years, including the contentious issue of rural housing. It is the second time that the Department of Environment and Local Government has challenged the plan adopted by the members of Mayo County Council. In late 2008 a delegation from Mayo County Council travelled to Dublin and met the Oireachtas Committee on Environment when a similar issue arose, they put their case forward and were ultimately successful in getting the development plan they wanted passed. “We were right the last time and they were wrong,” was how Fine Gael councillor Gerry Coyle responded to a letter received by the councillors telling them to change the adopted plan.

The 10th anniversary of the death of Liam Durkan will be marked this Saturday with a memorial walk around Lough Lannagh. The walk will get under way at 12 noon in the Lough Lannagh car park and there will be refreshments served in Castlebar Tennis Club afterwards. Liam was deeply involved with the Castlebar Tidy Towns Committee from 1997 until his death in 2004. Liam worked tirelessly on behalf of Castlebar on many projects including the redevelopment of Market Square, The Mall, and in particular the Lough Lannagh Enhancement project.

"The strong political clout that we have in this county should be focused on providing the funding to acquire NAMA property in Castlebar for industrial production,” said Labour Party Castlebar town councillor and Mayo County Council candidate Harry Barrett.

Mayo County Council has launched a new community tourism initiative for the Diaspora which seeks to build on the legacy of The Gathering 2013. The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, officially launched the initiative, a joint partnership by Fáilte Ireland, IPB Insurance, and the 34 local authorities, to provide an annual fund of €1m over the next three years to support up to 700 local community-based events each year around the country. Mayo County Council will provide €30,000 over the next three years for this purpose.

Mayo County Council has launched a new community tourism initiative for the Diaspora which seeks to build on the legacy of The Gathering 2013. The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, officially launched the initiative, a joint partnership by Fáilte Ireland, IPB Insurance, and the 34 local authorities, to provide an annual fund of €1m over the next three years to support up to 700 local community-based events each year around the country. Mayo County Council will provide €30,000 over the next three years for this purpose.

An exciting and diverse programme of events for the newly launched Mayo Naturalists’ Field Club has been planned for 2014. At the launch, ecologist Cillian Roden gave a fascinating illustrated talk on the wonderful and diverse natural heritage of Mayo, which is unrivalled in any other county. During 2014, the club has planned outings to some of the most interesting natural habitats to be found in Mayo, including peatlands, sand dunes, lake shores, limestone pavement, and woodland. The first outing for 2014 will take place tomorrow Saturday, April 5, on the southwest shores of Lough Mask. Geologist Ronan Hennessy will introduce the story of how this internationally-recognised south Mayo landscape came into being at a location with wonderful panoramic views of mountainous terrain, limestone lakelands with volcanic lavas, boulder beds, and ice moulded rocks.

Community groups in Westport have one last opportunity to apply for funding under the amenity grants scheme operated by Westport Town Council.

Mayo will feature strongly at a national awards ceremony in Dublin tomorrow (Saturday), which celebrates exceptional community and council projects.