Community Festival of Fun this evening
Thankfully the weather gods are on side for this evening’s Community Festival of Fun in the grounds of King House. Organised by Boyle Family Resource Centre and running from 4pm-7pm, this is a free event and all the community are welcome to attend. On the evening there will be food stalls, face painting, ice cream van, balloon making, music, community group information and much more. Last year’s event was a great success despite the inclement weather and with sun promised this evening, it should be an ideal way to kick start to the Bank Holiday weekend.
16 candidates seek 6 seats in Boyle MD
This day next week, voters in Boyle will head to the polls to elect six public representatives to fill positions in the Boyle Municipal District. There are 16 candidates seeking election for the 6 Boyle seats: Aidan Sampey (Fianna Fail), Angela Beirne (Sinn Fein), Caoimhin O’Miadh (Independent), Dympna Daly Finn (Fine Gael), Edmund Shanahan (The Irish People), Fayiz Alsani (Aontú), Leah Cull (Sinn Fein), Liam Callaghan (Fine Gael), Majid Ali (Independent), Micheal Frain (Independent), Paul Forde (Independent Ireland), Rory Williams Doyle (Sinn Fein), Sajjad Hussain (Independent), Sean Moylan (Fianna Fail), Tom Crosby (Independent) and Valerie Byrne (Independent).
Irish Rails response to no Boyle train for Dublin game
Last week in this blog, we queried why Irish Rail had put on an additional train for the Roscommon match on the rail line that serves Roscommon and Castlerea and not the line that serves Boyle. We updated the piece on Friday morning when Irish Rail announced that they were in fact putting a train on the Dublin Sligo line but it would originate in Carrick-on-Shannon – in County Leitrim!!. We contacted Irish Rail to see why the train was not commencing in Boyle, considering it was Roscommon that were playing in Croke Park and the following was their reply: “The special did not start from Boyle for operational reasons. It is a single line track, so we are quite curtailed operationally and we did not want to impact on the regular 13:05 Sligo Connolly service. Just on a matter of clarity, Carrick-on-Shannon station is located in Co. Roscommon”.
We responded that there are in fact two tracks in Boyle station and that while we accepted the train station in Carrick is in Co. Roscommon, it was the opinion of many supporters that Boyle should have been the originating station.
Holding back plans for more accommodation in Boyle
A viewer has contacted us to say they are very much aware of the lack of overnight accommodation in Boyle town and went on to outlined the problems they are having in relation to addressing the deficit. In an email to Boyletoday.com, the viewer said: “In relation to your recent story on the need for more accommodation in Boyle, I’m looking at a run down empty town property that would be ideal for B&B. The building needs a lot of work to make it habitable, but unfortunately even though it would be my prime residence, running a B&B does not fall under the criteria for the vacant property grant. I was depending on some financial aid for same which would be a fraction of renovation costs. It is such a shame a grant is not available for this. I think additional B&B’s would be such a great asset to the town – they are getting extremely short on ground around Boyle! And another semi-derelict property would be given another chance. Finally, it’s great to see the town looking better and better as time goes by”.
On receipt of the email we brought the situation to the attention of Roscommon Co Co who are now in contact with the person to see if they can assist.
Councillor John Cummins bows our of politics
The final meeting of Roscommon County Council ahead of next week’s local authority elections took place on Monday last in Aras an Chontae, Roscommon. Six of the current members including Boyle Councillor John Cummins will not be standing for election. To mark the occasion, each of the departing Councillors – John Cummins, Donal Kilduff, Orla Leyden, Michael Mulligan, Joe Murphy and Kathleen Shanagher, serving a combined total of 88 years on the local authority, were presented with a special commemorative painting/photograph by Cathaoirleach Cllr. John Keogh and Chief Executive Shane Tiernan. Councillor Cummins has been a member of Roscommon County Council since 1999 and has served his town and area with distinction during that time. He will be missed as a strong and logical voice for Boyle on the local authority over the years and is wished well in his deserved political retirement.
News snippets from around Boyle
Have you ever wanted to learn how to crochet? A 4 week Beginners Crochet Course will commence on Thursday 13th June from 2pm – 4pm in Boyle Library. All materials are supplied. Places are limited, so if you are interested, ring 071 9662800 or email [email protected]…………We are very lucky to have Tidy Town volunteers weeding all around Boyle, but surely shop/business owners and those occupying the buildings have a civic duty to pick the weeds growing right outside their premises………….Úna Bhán Tourism will host a new Lunchtime Series – ‘Culture Friday’ commencing June 7th in Boyle Craft Shop with poetry by Bernadette McCarrick who will chat about her most recent publication ‘To Walk in My Native Place’. This will be followed on June 14th with Artist Margaret Rattigan and on June 21st – ‘Memory Meet Up’, when members of the public are encouraged to bring along a cherished photograph or a treasured object and share the story behind it……..Donal and Christopher O’Connor were out bright and early on Wednesday morning erecting the Tidy Town planted hanging baskets on the poles in the town centre which will really look great when they come into full bloom during the summer………All roads lead to Hyde Park on Saturday evening when Roscommon take on Mayo. Good luck to the team that includes a number of Boyle players. If you can’t get to the Hyde, have €12 ready to fork out to GAAGO……….You can now book Victoria Walker Dance workshops in preparation for the opening of Boyle Arts Festival here…….There may be additional air traffic over Boyle this weekend as the annual Tibohine ‘Fly-In’ takes place on Saturday and Sunday. The charity fly in will be open to the public with a minimum donation of €5 which goes to Childhood Cancer Ireland. Tibohine Airfield is located just off the N5 not far from Frenchpark and has held many successful fly-ins over the last number of years……….Drop into Boyle Library on Wednesday next June 5th from 11am-12 noon for practical advice along with hints and tips on how easy it is to recycle food and other household waste. You can also pick up your free food waste recycling pack at the event.
And finally………!
A man sees a sign outside a house – ‘Talking Dog For Sale.’ He rings the bell, the owner appears and tells him the dog can be viewed in the back garden.
The man sees a very nice looking Labrador Retriever sitting there.
“Do you really talk?” he asks the dog.
“Yes,” the Labrador replies.
After recovering from the shock of hearing the dog talk, the man asks, “So, tell me your story.”
The Labrador looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help my country, so I joined the Army Rangers.
“In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one imagined that a dog would be eavesdropping.
“I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years.
But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at Dublin Airport to do some undercover security work, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded several medals. I got married, had a few puppies, and now I’ve just retired.”
The man is amazed. He goes back into the house and asks the owner how much he wants for the dog.
“Ten euro,” the owner says.
“€10!!? But this dog is absolutely amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheaply?”
“Because he’s a total bloody liar. He’s never been out of the garden”.
