Why was Boyle not included in new pilot midwifery service?
A new pilot service, which will further enhance midwifery care, was recently launched by the Maternity Department at Sligo University Hospital. The establishment of a community midwifery service, as an outreach service from the hospital, will provide women and babies with integrated care as close to home as possible. Women will be invited to attend a clinic in Primary Care Centres in Ballyshannon, Carrick on Shannon, Sligo town and also Ballymote depending on where they live, but unfortunately Boyle – with a beautiful Primary Care Centre, right in the middle of the town, was not included.
At the time of discharge from the Maternity ward, all women will be provided with an appointment to attend a postnatal hub nearest their home. Each appointment will consist of a consultation with a midwife who will carry out a full mother and baby check. Referrals and follow-up care will be provided as clinically required. As many women from Boyle attend Sligo Hospital to give birth, the inclusion of the town in the outreach scheme would seem to have been a logical progression and hopefully as the service is a pilot one, Boyle may be added at a later stage.
Monies allocated for Boyle road improvement measures
Last week Roscommon Co Co were awared €21.2m for improving and maintaining roads in the county. Part of the award includes €30,000 for safety improvement works at the junction of the R294 and R295 at Mocmoyne in Boyle. There is also an allocation of €20,000 for Breandrum new drainage systems and €30,000 for the raising of the road at Behy while €100,000 goes towards bridge rehabilitation works at the R-285 at Knockvicar.
Remembering the ‘Big Snow of ’47’
Tomorrow (Saturday February 24th) marks the 77th anniversary of what was termed the “Big Snow of ’47”. On that day in 1947 Ireland was hit with one of the biggest snowfalls ever seen in the country. An artic cold wind blew for many weeks before the faithful night leading many to believe something strange was about to happen. The snow started falling on the Monday evening and came down heavy all day and all night resulting in Boyle town being cut off for many days from the rest of the world. In fact it was over 40 days before the snow cleared. There are still many stories told of heroism, bravery and dedication around Boyle during the ’47 blizzard and none more so than that of Postman John Gormley who left Boyle Post Office on the Tuesday morning by bike with his delivery for the Curlew Mountains. Half way up Brislagh Hill, John abandoned his bike such was the depth of snow and got on with his job by foot. Tuesday evening came and there was still no sign of John. A search party departed to locate him but to no avail. Thursday then Friday passed and John’s family feared the worst but on Saturday morning an apparition appeared on the Crescent and a shaken John emerged from the drifts. It transpired he collapsed in the line of duty around Cloonloo and was taken in by a farmer until he was strong enough to walk back to Boyle.
Lough Key also froze over and a game of ice hockey took place on Kearn’s Bay in Erris. This was the first time the lake froze since 1939.
There was concern also for a passenger bus travelling from Sligo but it finally arrived in Boyle with all passengers safe and well.
Funding urgently needed to support Boyle’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
With a little over three weeks to go, the Boyle St. Patrick’s Day, the GoFundMe page set up by the organising committee has of this morning only €600 pledged to the parade. This is well short of the required €4,000 that it will take to run the event. Granted, we have a diminished number of commercial businesses in town in recent years but there are certain businesses that are the main financial beneficiaries of the parade so lets hope they, along with all other business in Boyle, dig deep and show their support. Let’s also hope that the many large businesses in Boyle make a special effort to enter a float this year. If there was no parade then there would be a lot of criticism so it’s in everyone’s interest to make this year’s event another successful and enjoyable one. You can donate to the parade here
Garda drugs raid praised
Well done to An Garda Siochana, both local and national, who seized cocaine, cars, cash and ammunition in a planned search of a property in the Ballinlough area of County Roscommon on Tuesday last. According to Gardai, the search was aimed at targeting an organised crime group operating in the Roscommon area.
Drugs, which are linked to crime gangs like those mentioned above, are now available in every town and village in the country including Boyle. Many times this blog has highlighted to open dealing of drugs around Boyle, especially on Friday evenings, as people ‘prepare’ for the weekend. Of most concern is the number of young people who are being used to deliver these drugs in Boyle and other areas. People need to remember, that by buying, using and delivering drugs, you are supporting these crime gangs and all they represent.
Hopefully last Tuesday mornings raid will disrupt the activities of this gang, but unfortunately there are many others ready to fill the void.
News snippets from around Boyle
Join flautist Kieran Moynihan and pianist Fionnuala Moynihan in King House this Sunday at 1pm for a concert of celebrated classical works alongside beautiful Irish melodies, featuring music for flute and piano duo, solo piccolo and solo piano. The concert programme will include music by Schubert, Rossini, Clementi, Debussy and others.
This concert is the perfect way to melodically leap into Spring! Ticket prices €12 / €10 available by calling 087 144 4739, booking online at https://roscommonartscentre.ie and available at the door………Congratulations and the best of luck to Abbey Community College 5th year student Caoimhe Reilly who has made it through to regional finals of Junk Kouture in March in the Helix in Dublin……….Boyle GAA club’s nursery coaching demonstration workshop will take place in Abbey Primary School Hall (Abbeytown/Boy’s campus) tonight Friday 23rd from 7pm-9pm for anyone interested in finding out more about nursery coaching. Everyone is welcome and no prior booking is required to attend…………..A viewer has contacted us with photographic evidence of household rubbish dumped in the bins in the Pleasure Grounds, which were also overflowing. The same viewer asked us to mention ‘the dog that is everywhere around town’. Boyletoday.com regularly gets sent photographs of two dogs who freely roam the streets of Boyle and perhaps it is one of these that the viewer is referring to………… Registration for Lough Key Open Water Season 2024 take place on Tuesday 27th February in the Resource Centre Boyle from 7pm to 8pm. Coaching will commence on Tuesday 7th May 2024. Swim start time is 6.15pm for 6.30 in the water…………..What a pity Irish Rail did not put an a later train, or at least hold back the last train from Connolly on Saturday evening for the large number of supporters from North Roscommon who travelled to see the county team play in Croke Park. The train that serves Castlerea and Roscommon was held back for match goers………Amy Abdullah Barry will read from her debut poetry collection “Flirting with Tigers”, which travels from the rain forests of Malaysia to the banks of the River Suck, in Boyle Library on Saturday 24th at 11.30am. This is an adult event and booking is essential on (071) 9662800 or [email protected]…………While everyone agrees the traffic lights in Boyle during the current public realm work are an inconvenience, if motorists continue to ignore them and drive through when the lights have just turned red, then traffic backs up and people get more annoyed. Red means stop.
And finally…!
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest.
After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, “I’m sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”
The distressed woman wailed, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead,” replied the vet..
“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever.
As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.
The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.
The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”
The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..
The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “€500!” she cried, “€500 just to tell me my duck is dead!”
The vet shrugged, “I’m sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been €50, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now €500.”
