A busy weekend lies ahead in Boyle
Boyle, like the rest of County Roscommon will be a hive of activity this weekend as Culture Night and Roscommon Bound/Global Rossie Day takes place. At last count there were eleven events planned for Boyle on Friday with loads more on Saturday and Sunday. (Details are available on the homepage of Boyletoday.com and on social media). A special thanks to Boyle Town team who were instrumental in organising the events in the town for the weekend. With the weather due to hold out, why not head to Boyle in your Roscommon jersey and participate while also spreading the word why you are proud to be a Rossie!
Global Rossie Day itself is a celebration of everything that makes Roscommon special. It’s a testament to the strong sense of community, the vibrant cultural scene, and the rich historical heritage that defines our county. Whether you’re exploring its natural beauty, connecting with its welcoming people, or immersing yourself in its cultural tapestry, Roscommon offers a fulfilling and enriching experience. Read more about the day and Roscommon Bound here and Culture Night here.
U.K. journalists visit Lough Key Forest Park
A number of journalists from the U.K. visited Boyle’s Lough key Forest park last week on a fact finding mission. The journalists’ publications and online platforms have an audience of 3.9m. they were guests of Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland and also visited other locations in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. It is hoped their visit and the publicity it will generate will inspire their readers to visit the attractions in 2025.
Urgent need for more Gardai in Boyle and rural Ireland
Recent robberies in the county has seen renewed calls for additional Gardai to be assigned to County Roscommon. Here in the Boyle’d Pot, we have been beating this drum for many years and have regularly highlighted the ridiculous geographical region the over stretched and reduced number of Gardai attached to Boyle station have to cover. Calls have also gone out for smaller rural Garda stations in Roscommon to be reopened but before that happens, additional Gardai need to be assigned to Boyle and the station needs to be open, at least, for the hours advertised. Local representatives on the now defunct Joint Policing Committee regularly called, to no avail, for a breakdown of Garda numbers in Boyle pre Covid versus recent years. If the number had been made available it would most likely have shocked the community and highlighted the lack of Gardai currently in this area. Those members who are operating from Boyle are doing a great job in testing circumstances. The problem is most certainly not of their making – it lies well up the chain of command. Hopefully, some good may come out of the recent burglaries in the county and the resultant calls for a review of the county’s policing policy will come to fruition sooner rather than later with more Gardai being assigned to Boyle and Roscommon.
Making better use of our derelict properties
Tuesday’s GeoDirectory report on Commercial Vacancy rates showed a slight increase year on year for Boyle. Even though the increase was only 0.1%, the fact remains we still have the highest commercial vacancy rate in all of Connacht. TNeedless to say, there are those who will question the methodology on how the findings of the report were arrived at and whither they are a true reflection of the situation, but you do not need to be a statistician to see Boyle, along with many similar size towns has a high percentage of vacant properties. Going forward, chances are many of these properties will never again be commercial so now is the time for national and local Government to make it easier for property owners to repurpose the shops and units that are lying idle and perhaps incentivise people to turn them into much needed town centre accommodation.
Further investment needed in our bus and rail services
Irish Rail is coming in for criticism in relation to continual problems on the Sligo Dublin rail line, and like the situation with Bus Eireann, referred to last week in this blog, people are losing confidence in the service. The past week has seen a number of late trains and indeed on one occasion, the train breaking down and taken out of use. This occurred on Sunday last when the 13.05 ex Sligo got as far as Carrick-on-Shannon when due to a technical issue the train broke down and could go no further. With no buses available at such short notice, passengers had no option but to wait two hours at the station to be accommodated on the already full 15.05 service. The problems continued on Monday with the 16.02 Connolly to Sligo departing 35 minutes late due to a ‘technical issue’ and worse still – the 17.05 Connolly to Sligo departing 72 minutes late again due to ‘technical and signaling issues”. On Tuesday all services were running up to 25 minutes late due to ‘operational issues’.
If we are being encouraged to make greater use of public transport, then we need reliable bus and rail services and currently that is not the situation in this part of the country.
News snippets from around Boyle
A sunrise walk in aid of North West STOP will take place from the church car park in Arigna on Saturday morning at 6am. The walk will go up Crosshill and take the Miners Way walk that comes in at the back of the Mining Museum. More info here………..Well done to Boyle man Kieran Supple and his company Reap Interactive on winning the Enterprise Ireland Start Up Innovator of the Year at the Ploughing Championship this week………..‘Concern’ has conveyed its thanks to the people of Boyle who generously contributed €1,157.69 at the recent church gate collection. Thanks also to all who assisted in the After-Mass collections. Concern has stated that this money will enable Concern workers to reach to those communities that are most disadvantaged to tackle poverty, save and transform lives and help build a better tomorrow for them……..The annual Run Walk n Roll in aid of Cancer Research will take place in Boyle on Sunday 13th of October at 2pm . This will be the 29th year of the event that raises funds for the Irish Cancer Society. Mark your diary more details to follow…………..Strokestown is the place to be this weekend if you follow GAA. On Friday evening at 8pm Boyle ‘B’ take on St. Barry’s in the Junior ‘A’ Championship Quarter Final. Then on Sunday Boyle senior team face Roscommon Gaels in the Senior Championship quarter final at 12.30pm. This game will also be live streamed on www.rosgaatv.ie………..After 5 people got into difficulty ‘Deadman’s Bay’ in Rosses Point on Wednesday, swimmers are advised to be alert for high tides in the area in the coming days and of course, you should never ever swim or paddle in Strandhill………The beautiful weather of the last week saw many people out in the warm autumn air, but not many could cycle on the cycleway from the first to second gate of Rockingham and through the forest as fallen debris is leading to people getting punctures. When Councillor Cummins was in office he tried hard to get a maintenance plan put in place for the cycleway but it has not happened. Perhaps some of our new councillors could put pressure on Roscommon Co Co to implement a plan before winter sets in and leaves and branches and overgrowth make the path impassible………
And finally…!
A drunken man who smelled strongly of alcohol sat down on the train next to a priest.
The man’s tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket.
He opened his newspaper and began reading.
After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked politely, “Excuse me, Father, but what causes arthritis?”
The priest replied, “My son, it’s caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around and the lack of a bath.”
The drunk muttered in response, “Well, I’ll be damned,” then returned to his paper.
The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologised.
“I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?”
The drunk answered, “Oh I don’t have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does.”
