Months of planning sees money allocated to ‘The Lawn’
Months, if not years of planning was rewarded on Tuesday last when funding of €200,000 was announced for the regeneration of The Lawn area of Boyle. Conscious of the need for an upgrade of this area, the local Town Team had been busily working on an application for financial aid and waiting on the right funding stream to become available before making an application. During that period, there were many who were calling for this, that and the other in relation to The Lawn but a process had to be adhered to and the Town Team along with Roscommon Co Co stuck to that process that will now see close on €225,000 (including matched funding) earmarked for the job. As the Whiskey Distillery develops at the former Stewarts Mills, the Lawn will be a key link between the town and the Distillery and it is forward thinking like this that has seen Boyle Town Team and Roscommon County Council get millions of euro allocated to our town. Well done to all involved in this application and hopefully the good news will continue coming this summer for beautiful Boyle.
Frenchpark traffic lights are a welcome addition
Motorists travelling from Boyle to Castlerea/Ballaghaderreen or vice versa will be delighted to know that traffic lights have recently been installed at the junction in the village. Interestingly, this is the first signal controlled junction in County Roscommon. Frenchpark village was identified by Transport Infrastructure Ireland as being a high collision location due to the frequency of traffic accidents at this busy intersection between the R361 and the N5. Although Frenchpark is to be bypassed by the new N5 once constructed in approximately 3 years’ time, TII and Roscommon County Council felt that interim safety measures were required to reduce the collision rate. In August 2022, Roscommon County Council appointed Tobin Consulting Engineers to design a safety scheme for the village and in August 2023 the elected members of Boyle Municipal District approved a Part 8 Planning application for the safety scheme. The scheme as designed involved signalising the main junction on the N5 and junction improvements on the Boyle road to create a safer crossing point for pedestrians and reduce vehicle speeds on approach. Funding for the project was confirmed by TII in January 2024 and Tower Construction were appointed as the main contractor. Works have been ongoing in the village since April. Roscommon County Council urges all road users to exercise care while traveling through the village in the next few weeks until people become familiar with the new arrangement.
Festival of Fun was Fabulous
Last Friday evening’s Community Festival of Fun in the grounds of King House was a great success and enjoyed by over 800 people on a glorious sunny Friday evening. Organised by Boyle Family Resource Centre with assistance from Tusla and private donors, everything on the evening was free of charge which was greatly appreciated by the attendees, including the parents of young children. As one person posted on the Centre’s social media: “It’s wonderful to see a day for the community that removes the cost barrier for all. There was a beautiful supportive and inclusive atmosphere. So proud of you all and all the community for making this such a success”. Well done Boyle Family Resource Centre on hosting yet another great event in our community.
Lecture on excavation of Castle Island
The June meeting of the County Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society (CRHAS) will take place in the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, Tulsk on Tuesday, June 11th at 8pm following which there will be a lecture on the Lough Key Archaeological Project by Professor Thomas Finan from St. Louis University, Missouri. For two decades, Professor Finan has been leading archaeological research projects in Ireland, mostly focussing on the medieval rural settlement of North Roscommon. More recently, Professor Finan has focused his attention on Rockingham Demesne and Castle Island at Lough Key, with a number of years of excavation with Irish and US colleagues and students yielding exciting results and adding significantly to the understanding of Medieval Gaelic Ireland. All are invited to attend.
Why increase in Boyle’s crime figures is good news
Recently released figures suggest that there has been an increase in the levels of crimes reported at Boyle Garda Station. The figures are based on official crime figures published by the Central Statistics Office and sourced from the Garda Pulse system. They exclude homicide and sexual offences as well as most road traffic offences. The figures say that in 2019 there were 124 crimes reported to Boyle Station while in 2023 there were 156 – a slight increase, but believe it or not – any increase can in fact be seen as a benefit. With metrics now playing such a large part in the running of An Garda Siochana, a station or area that is showing a decrease in crime has no chance of getting additional resources – and in Boyle’s case – no chance of getting increased opening hours or additional Gardai. It is therefore vitally important that you report crime to Boyle Garda Station, even if you get through to Castlerea, as the more logged reports that are in the system – the better chance we have of getting additional Gardai and longer opening hours at Boyle Garda Station.
News snippets from around Boyle
Don’t forget ‘Culture Friday’ today June 7th from 1pm to 1.30pm in Boyle Craft Shop when poet Bernadette McCarrick will read from her recent publication ‘To Walk in My Native Place’………..If you are living with or caring for someone with Multiple Sclerosis, please come along to Ardcarne Garden Centre on Thursday 13th June from 10am until 12 noon for a coffee and a chat………A local person, now living overseas and who has not been in Boyle for many years quite rightly suggested last weekend that some form of tax should be imposed on people who buy or ‘sit on’ properties in a small towns like Boyle and who do not develop them. The person was shocked to see the same properties lying idle for many years – some bought up for investment and others owned by people who are not bothered to do anything with them…………Thankfully the doors of An Rioga are now open with the ground floor housing an Art Gallery, but when will the remainder of the building open as the Civic Space it was intended for?……….There were a lot of irate motorists on the N4 into Carrick on Shannon last weekend with 90 minute tailbacks being reported on the Boyle side of the town. Smart locals heading east went via Cootehall or Croghan………….Have you a tourism idea that will fit with the EU Just Transition Funding ethos, do you have an idea that will transform regenerative tourism in County Roscommon? Expressions of interest close 12 noon 30th June. Please contact gmcgarry@roscommoncoco………….Make sure to cast your vote today Friday in the local and European elections. The people you elect today will represent you for the next number of years so choose wisely. A freephone service is also available to assist visually impaired citizens voting in today’s local authority elections. The service will assist voters to familiarise themselves with the candidates they will be voting for by calling 1800 637 100 and choosing the option associated with your local electoral area to hear a list of candidates. The phoneline can be used as often as users wish, including on the day of polling to help voters with their choices……….Boyle Arts Festival would like to remind the public that there will only be a limited amount of tickets available for events, when the BAF Office opens in July. Tickets for all events will soon be available to purchase online, through www.boylearts.com and the organisers encourage people to use this facility…………Good luck to Boyle Celtic player Blathnaid Kilroy and her Sligo Leitrim colleagues at they take on Limerick in the Gaynor Cup Final at 3pm today………..Not sure who is standing for election in the Boyle Municipal District? Check out all 16 candidates here
And finally…..!
The telephone company needed to hire four more telephone pole installers and the choice came down to two from Poland and two Irishmen.
So the boss met both teams and said “Here’s what we’ll do.
Each team will be installing poles out on the new road for a day.
The team that installs the most poles gets the job.”
Both teams headed right out.
At end of the shift, when the two Polish guys reported back, the boss asked them how many they had installed.
They said it was tough going but they’d put in twelve.
Forty-five minutes later, Paddy and Mick came back in, totally exhausted.
“Well, how many poles did you guys install?” said the boss
Mick wiped his brow and sighed, “Paddy and me, we got three in. ”
The boss gasped, “Three? Those two Polish blokes put in twelve!”
“Yeah,” said Mick, “but did ya see how much they left sticking out of the ground
