Improving access for those with disabilities
Friday September 30th has been designated ‘Make Way Day’. The initiative, led by the Disability Federation of Ireland brings the disability and wider community together to consider the needs of people with a disability.
The aim of ‘Make Way Day’ is to educate and raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities using public spaces shared by everyone, showcasing a coordinated and decisive day of action to improve the access of our towns and cities for everyone.
With Roscommon Co Co ‘proud to support and be associated with this initiative’, hopefully we will see some form of action taken here in Boyle against the indiscriminate parking of vehicles on footpaths in and around the town. Those in wheelchairs (and people pushing buggies) will tell of the problems they face daily around our town trying to negotiate vehicles parked on footpaths. In one instance a short while back, a person in a wheelchair in Boyle was observed waiting for a civic minded person to come and wheel them down off the path, out onto the busy road and around a vehicle parked on the footpath in Boyle town centre. The person with the disability said it was a regular occurrence and very demoralizing having to wait for help.
Hopefully Friday September 30th will help raise awareness around Boyle of the people with disabilities using our public spaces.
Memorial in Forest Park raising concern among some
Many years ago when the sculpture of the mother and baby was erected in the middle of Lough Key Forest Park, there was plenty of debate. At the time, some felt the Park was not a suitable location for such a sculpture, while others felt it was a lovely location for the ‘Madonna and Child’ as it was called. In recent times, a headstone in memory of a priest from a neighbouring parish has been erected near the sculpture which has resulted in some members of the public contacting Boyletoday.com questioning why the headstone was allowed to be erected in the Park, should it have been the subject of planning permission and does it give precedence for other memorials to be erected there. The sculpture and memorial are located left of the hill as one goes into the Park on the one way system.
Eir customers irate at ongoing ‘line fault’ problem
Customers of eir who have a house or business alarm in this area have complained of a number of ‘line faults’ in recent weeks. The faults seem to happen early in the morning – just after 6am and can last for a few seconds but result in the alarm logging a fault, which in most instances is the first a person knows of the problem. Some home owners have contacted eir who have sent personnel to premises and who can not detect a fault while alarm installers have said the problem rests with eir. Going by the number of people who have told us of this problem and the diverse geographical location in which they live around Boyle, the recurring fault does not seem to be in one particular area of the town.
Study to take place on river cruising on the Shannon
Building on the recent interest shown by domestic visitors in hiring cruisers on the River Shannon, Fáilte Ireland has initiated a study to examine how the sector can be developed and grown within Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands region over the next ten years. The study will examine the sustainable development of the cruise hire sector in Ireland to 2032 and it’s aim is to support the sector and to rejuvenate and develop the cruise hire fleet to provide visitors with a “diversified, environmentally friendly, world-class experience along the Shannon Navigation and Shannon-Erne Waterway.” The study will be good news for Boyle where cruise traffic from the Marina and Lough Key form an important part of the tourism trade in the town every year.
The study will also provide recommendations on new cruise hire base locations and berthing along the Shannon Navigation and Shannon Erne Waterway to enable the sector grow over the next ten years.
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 2pm. It would be great to see a big local support for the athletes on Sunday as there will be many from Boyle taking part.
Caravan Park staff receive great praise
Going by all reports, the summer season in Lough Key Forest Park seemed to be one of the busier ones. The caravan and camping facility looked at capacity most weekends and also mid week, especially in July and August. As a result, it was announced recently that the facility would remain open until November 1st which was welcomed by all who have frequented the caravan park. Some took to social media to praise the facility and staff with comments like: “Had a great weekend with you earlier in the summer and staff were fantastic really friendly”; “Thank you for making our stay a joy we had a great time staying there this year, the staff were awesome. Will definitely be back next year” and “Well done everyone, really helpful and friendly staff, can’t wait to come back next summer”.
And finally…!
On their honeymoon, the newly married bride slipped into her marital bed, with great anticipation of what their first night together would bring, only to find her new Catholic husband had settled down on the couch.
When she asked him why he was apparently not going to consummate their marriage, he replied, ‘I can’t. It’s Lent.’
In tears, she sobbed, ‘Well, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!
‘Tell me – who did you lend it to, and for how long?’
