The Election aftermath
The by election for Roscommon South Leitrim is now over and Michael Fitzmaurice has taken his seat in the upper house. There are differing views on having a County Galway based man being the TD for this area considering he only got approx. 163 votes in the town. On a local level, there were many who seemed offended last Friday by the presence of party activists around the entrance to the Polling Station in the Convent school. Many years ago, canvassing of voters on polling day was the norm. but in recent times political parties and their supporters are not allowed to seek your vote as you enter the Station. Of course this does not stop the activists from being there – walking up and down – making sure you see them in the hope it might entice you to vote for their party (!). This was the case in Boyle last Friday and it did annoy many members of the public who referred to it as a form of “intimidation”.
How the town voted
While still on the election theme, tally figures for the voting in Boyle last Friday saw Fine Gael’s Maura Hopkins get the highest vote followed by Ivan Connaughton and Martin Kenny. Here is the tally for the five Boyle town voting stations – Hopkins 357/Connaughton 289/ Kenny 169/ Fitzmaurice 163/ McDermott 91/ Corcoran 39/ Kelly 30/Crosby and Guckian 21 each/ O’Boyle 6. And finally…finally…..on the election theme… it was good to read in yesterday’s Roscommon People newspaper that there was an end to the “stand off ” between Dail Deputy Frank Feighan and John Mc Dermott last Saturday when Frank “initiated a handshake and there was a cordial exchange between the two men”.
Well done Boyle Gardai
The Gardaí in general have come in for a lot of criticism both nationally and locally in recent times but their response to Thursday weeks aggravated burglary in Abbeytown has to be congratulated. The culprit was apprehended and reportedly the knife used in the robbery along with the money has been recovered. The man is due to appear this morning at Harristown Court in Castlerea. The importance of having this crime solved as quickly as possible can not be overstated. We live in a relatively crime free town and the message has to, and is gone out, to criminals that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated in Boyle. Well done Gardaí and all involved.
Tell your friends about Boyle
Boyle is certainly the place to be next Halloween weekend with the Moone Boy Fest taking place throughout the town. Details are available on the main pages of this website and information will be updated as the week progresses. At this stage please tell your friends about the great weekend that is on the horizon and get them to come to Boyle to meet Chris O’Dowd and the cast of the popular TV series. There’s even a chance that Crunchy Haystacks aka Johnny Vegas will return to Boyle – a town he loves since since he began filming the show here.
Big day for Boyletoday
The coming week is a big one for this website. The winner of the “Best Daily Online Only Publication” will be announced at the 2014 Web Awards in Dublin and Boyletoday.com is among the 10 finalists. There will be strong competition from established websites like her.ie, broadsheet.ie and waterfordwhispersnews.com, so to get to a final in such distinguished company, after 11 short months in existence, is an award in itself. Locally to date Boyletoday.com has provided sponsorship for the Lough Key Shuttle Bus (and committed to next year), Boyle Celtic soccer club, Boyle GAA club, Curlieu Wheelers cycling club and made donations to the St. Patrick’s Day parade and Mens Shed organisation. We believe in supporting the community that supports us. Let’s hope the success story that is Boyletoday.com continues and that another national award comes to our town next week.
Many years of success at Community Games
The AGM of Boyle Community Games takes place this evening (see events section). It is important that as many parents as possible attend the meeting to ensure the organisation continues to grow and prosper in our town. Boyle has had great success in competition at national level in recent years and that success stretches back to the seventies. High jumping was one of the sports that featured strongly in local community games at that time with Michael Cox from Abbeytown winning national titles in ’71 and ’72. David, Raymond and Brendan Mc Loughlin from Elphin Street all won national titles in Butlins, where the events were held, while their neighbour Michael Finn came 3rd in the 1977 final. Of course these lads would not have mastered the “Fosbury Flop” without the assistance of their coach in St. Mary’s College at that time Padraic Callaghan. Indeed the mats these lads landed on when they cleared the bar were not always used for high jumping….. but that’s another story!
And Finally…..!
The fourteen signs of aging
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can’t smoke any of them.
2. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
3. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
4. Your friends marry and divorce instead of meet up and break up.
5. Jeans and a jumper no longer qualify as “dressed up.”
6. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
7 . You don’t know what time closing time in the pub is anymore.
8. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
9. Eating fish and chips at 3am would severely upset, rather
than settle, your stomach.
10.You go to the Chemists for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and
pregnancy tests.
11. “I just can’t drink the way I used to,” replaces, “I’m never going to
drink that much again.”
12. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
13. You no longer drink at home to save money before going to a pub.
14. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign
that doesn’t apply to you.
