Would Boyle now welcome Lidl or Aldi?
German discount store Aldi has said they will open seven new stores in Ireland in 2019 resulting in the creation of 500 additional jobs. A number of years back, any mention of having Lidl or Aldi locate in Boyle was met with disapproval by certain quarters for various reasons. One would hope that in the era we now live in, the reception either store would presently get in Boyle would be quite different than that of the past. The short sightedness of what did or didn’t happen in Boyle with many developments many years ago is hopefully now resigned to history. Having either store or any other multinational retailer in Boyle would in fact help the town. The reality is that people from Boyle travel weekly to Lidl and Aldi in Carrick on Shannon. If the stores were in Boyle, then those same people would not travel out of town and in fact the stores would bring people into the town.
The importance of talking up our town
Former Minister Denis Naughten once suggested to the people of Boyle that they ‘needed to talk positively about their town’. That was at a meeting in St Joseph’s Hall in June 2016 and those who took on board what Deputy Naughten said at the time would agree that being positive has been one of the reasons we are now seeing unprecedented funding coming to Boyle. Unfortunately not everyone speaks positively about the town and going by a post on Tripadvisor, it would seem some visitors have noticed this. While reviewing one Boyle restaurant a customer posted “Boyle doesn’t have much going for it, as the locals kept telling us….”. Like Tripadvisor or not, the website has over 300 million users and is one of the first places many people go to see where to stay, eat or visit. It is imperative that we look at all the positives we have in Boyle, and there are many, and sell our town to others based on these facts, not the negativity that a handful live on.
Driving without tax
Last week Sligo Leitrim Garda Siochana posted details on Facebook of a car stop they conducted in the town recently. The driver was ‘heavily intoxicated’ (four times the legal limit), was not wearing his seat belt, had no VRT and no tax on his vehicle! According to the Gardai , “Court proceedings will follow, where the driver will face a hefty fine and lengthy driving disqualification. This is in addition to a number of Fixed Charge Penalty Notices”. One does not have to travel to Carrick to see drivers going about their daily business without tax on their car or no NCT. These same drivers, who think they are above the law, also park illegally here in Boyle, abandoning their cars outside whatever shop they want to visit . All this can be very annoying to the law abiding motorists who pay their tax, insurance and go through the rigours of the NCT as required. A Garda on the beat in Boyle town centre, checking tax discs on parked cars and issuing on the spot fines may be one way to deal with these illegal motorists.
Lighting on Military Road
The bus stop on Military Road has become a busy place with Bus Eireann and other coaches pulling in here on a daily basis. Unfortunately in recent week’s the overhead public light over the stop is out of order and it needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. The bus stop is used by many in the late evening and indeed the late night departure to Dublin is popular with a number of people travelling to Dublin Airport. Sitting at the bus stop in the dark of night with no adjacent street lighting can make one feel unsafe. Hopefully the light will soon get replaced.
Boyle 2040 now available online
Many people have asked can they get a copy of the Boyle 2040 plan. Unfortunately there are not that many hard copies available of the 122 page publication but the plan is available to read and download on Roscommon County Council website here. Give yourself plenty of time to read it and make sure it’s not at bed time!
Monies available for festivals and events
Roscommon Co Co are currently taking applications for the ‘Festivals and Events Grant Scheme’. With so many events taking place annually in Boyle, now is the time for various committees to make an application to the fund for the 2019 season. Applications for festivals and events scheduled to be held in the months of January to December 2019 (inclusive) should be submitted by Friday 8th February 2019. Completed Applications may be submitted by email to: [email protected] or by post to: Festival and Event Grant Scheme 2019, Local Enterprise Section, Roscommon County Council, Aras an Chontae, Roscommon, F42 VR98.
Funding is also available for events and festivals in this area through Failte Ireland and more information is available here.
A good week for Boyle
It hasn’t been a bad week at all for Boyle. First up on Monday evening came the news that local off licence Dalys Drinks had won the prestigious Connaught/ Ulster Off licence of the year award – a great achievement for the family run business and another first for our town of Boyle. One could not but think how proud the late Sean Daly would have been if he was still here, to see his daughter pick up the award and bring it back to his beloved town.
The good news continued on Tuesday when local man Paul Young’s company – Cartoon Saloon – received another Oscar nomination, this time for their short film ‘Late Afternoon’.
For a small town we pack a fair punch on the national and international scene!
And finally….!
A man goes to a Psychologist and says “Doc, I got a real problem, I just can`t stop thinking about sex”.
“Well lets see what we can find out” says the Doc, as he pulls out his box of ink blots, “What does this picture tell you” asks the Doc. The man examines the picture, turns it upside down and sideways, and finally says “Thats a man and woman on a bed having sex”.
“Interesting “says the Doc, “and what do you make of this second picture”.
Again the man examines the blot very carefully, and states once again “its a picture of a man and woman on a bed making love”.
The Psychologist turns to the man and says “Well it does appear that you are obsessed with sex”.
“Me” replied the man, “You`re the one who keeps showing me the dirty pictures”.
