Reduction in Garda Station opening hours raised again
Last week’s piece on the lack of 24 hour opening at Boyle Garda Station and the large geographical area Boyle Gardai have to cover generated a lot of comment and emails to this website. Many viewers said they get seriously frustrated with Boyle Garda Station being closed during the afternoon until 7pm. One viewer told us of phoning in a crime to Boyle Garda station in the mid afternoon, being put through to Castlerea and having trouble trying to explain the exact geographical location to the call taker in Castlerea Station as it took place in a rural location outside Boyle town, in a townland that is hard to pronounce even at the best of times! Another viewer told us they went to Boyle station to report a crime one afternoon just as the crime was taking place, but it was closed and by the time they got through to Castlerea and by the time a Garda car arrived, the perpetrators had left the area.
When Boyle Garda station lost it’s 24 hour status and became a sub station of Castlerea, the silence from the town was deafening. Everyone gave out about the situation at the time but very few did anything – except one or two – but to no avail. With no CCTV, vandalism on the increase and less Gardai in the town than ever before, it is vitally important that efforts are made to have the opening hours extended at Boyle Garda Station and more Gardai assigned to the station as a matter of urgency.
Boyle area will hopefully benefit from JTF funding
Tuesday’s announcement of €68 million under the Just Transition Fund for the midlands including County Roscommon is set to become a game changer for this area. The fund is ideally suited towards Boyle and it’s hinterland as according to Failte Ireland “The purpose of the scheme is to deliver grant-aid to private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs to help them improve the quality of the visitor experience with the ambition of attracting more visitors, increasing their dwell time, and securing overnight stays in the region because the visitor has confidence that there’s lots to see and do. This will create new jobs in the sector and grow the visitor economy. Through this scheme, Fáilte Ireland will also provide funding to develop the digital capabilities of businesses to make the most of opportunities offered by digitalisation and ensure an increase in the levels of inclusivity in tourism in the Territory”.
The ‘EU Just Transition Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme for Ireland’s Midlands’ is a scheme we will hopefully be very familiar with in this area by the end of 2026, when all projects must be completed.
Supporting the Lough Key Triathlon
One of the great late season sporting events takes place in Boyle’s Lough Key Forest Park on Sunday when the annual Lough Key Triathlon takes to the road and water. The Triathlon is always a great spectacle and brings a large number of competitors and their families to the area. The Triathlon gets underway at 10.30am with prize giving scheduled for 1.15pm. It would be great to see a big local support for the athletes on Sunday as there will be many from Boyle taking part.
Rubbish dumping hits a new low
The dumping of household waste in the clothes recycling bank at Boyle Family Resource Centre last week made the news all around the county and further afield, once it was posted by the organisiation on their social media channels. We are familiar with people illegally dumping their household rubbish in the town litter bins and recently a local person was observed stuffing a bag of rubbish in a hedge in the town late at night, but putting household waste in the clothes bin is a new low.
Let’s hope Boyle FRC can identify those responsible when they review their external camera system.
Changes for Boyle in the new electoral constituency
The Electoral Commission report published on Wednesday will see Boyle ED, along with a number of other ED’s in North Roscommon, transfer out of Sligo-Leitrim and into the Roscommon-Galway constituency. By transferring the 18 EDs, the entire population of Co. Roscommon would be in the Roscommon Galway constituency. As Co. Roscommon does not have sufficient population (70,259) for a standalone 3 seat constituency, the Commission said it is necessary to retain some of the population in east Galway in the constituency.
There are mixed views to Boyle now being in Roscommon Galway. Some are of the view that we have a lot more in common with Sligo than mid and South Roscommon, while others are delighted that the county is once more reunited.
On Wednesday, sitting Deputy Frank Feighan announced that he would contest the next election in Sligo Leitrim. Some thought Frank might move back to his hometown and contest Roscommon Galway but the Deputy’s statement put paid to that.
Boyle could well find itself without a local Councillor from the town this summer as John Cummins has indicated he is not standing in the local elections and now when a general election is called we may also find ourselves with no TD from the town – that’s unless someone new pops up very quickly to fill the void.
News snippets from around Boyle
Rehearsals for Boyle Musical Society’s forthcoming production of the spellbinding musical, ‘The
Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ will begin on this Monday, September 4th in St. Joseph’s Hall at 8pm…………The vandalism of the flower pots on the bridge in Boyle has really annoyed all right minded members of the public. It has also transpired that the wooden bench that was recently sanded, painted and reinstated outside the Royal car park, was also wrenched off in another act of vandalism. This was not a simple job to do – and neither was ripping off the planters that were screwed into the bridge……….It was sad to hear of the sudden passing, at a relatively young age, of Aldo Morelli recently. Aldo and the Morelli family had a fast food take away in Boyle many years ago and he is remembered with fondness in the town…….The Boyle v Western Gaels game on Sunday at 1pm in Croghan is live on Rosgaa TV……….Seamus O’Rourke will perform The Ballad of Mossy Flood in King House, Boyle on Wednesday September 6th at 2pm. Ticket price €5. To book call into King House or call 087 144 4739. This is part of the King House Cultural Companions Programme……….If you are travelling on the Boyle to Cloonloo R294, expect delays from today Friday until next Thursday as part of the road is closed for roadworks with diversions in place………Let’s hope Roscommon Co Co don’t do with An Rioga what they did with the cycle path and leave it without a maintenance plan. Currently the Courtyard of the yet to open building is full of weeds, the saplings are dying and the decorative stone is scattered all over the path ways……….Consultation number 1 on the proposed Lough Key to Carrick Greenway will take place next Wednesday in Lough Key Forest and Activity Centre. This consultation is open to the public from 3-8pm and if you have a view on the proposal, please attend………Boyle is a bottleneck the last few mornings around 9am as work nears completion on a closed Marian Road and parents drop off their children in Abbey College resulting in everyone having to travel up the Crescent………..St. Joseph’s Church, Boyle folk group are recruiting singers and musicians. To join contact Joe at 0868305335……….Unfortunately, “due to personal circumstances” Tonni’s Takeaway on Elphin Street has announced it’s closure on September 10th. A favourite with so many, the popular food outlet will be sorely missed in Boyle. We wish all involved well in the future and we will keep you in our thoughts as requested.
And finally…..!
A young man named Tom bought a horse from a farmer for €250.
The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day.
The farmer drove up to Tom’s house and said: “Sorry son, but I have some bad news – the horse died”.
Tom replied: “Well then, just give me my money back”
The farmer said: “Can’t do that… I spent it already”
Tom said: “Ok then, just bring me the dead horse”
The farmer asked: “And what are you going to do with him”
Tom said: “I am going to raffle him off”
“You can’t raffle off a dead horse” said the farmer
“Sure I can, just watch me” said Tom “I just won’t tell anyone he’s dead”
A month later the farmer met Tom and asked: “What ever happened to that dead horse”
Tom said: “I raffled him off like I told you I would. I sold 500 tickets at €5 each and made a profit of €2245
The farmer asked: “And did anyone complain?”
Tom replied: “No – just the guy who won, so I gave him his €5 back!”
