Couple with Boyle link fundraising for IMNDA
A couple with strong links to Boyle are currently raising funds for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). Joe and Carmel Mahon lived in Carrickmore in Boyle for many years when Joe was Manager in AIB on the Crescent and the family are remembered with fondness by many in the town. Carmel was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and last week her husband Joe commenced the first of a series of fundraising walks in March, totaling 100k, on Knocknarea Mountain in Sligo where they both now live. According to Carmel “Since my MND diagnosis over a year ago I have been supported by the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). It is the only organisation of its kind in the country providing specialised services to families affected by this terminal condition. The MND nursing posts are funded entirely through fundraising and donations. My husband Joe has organised the ‘100k on Knocknarea’ fundraiser with all funds raised going to the IMNDA. Your support is greatly appreciated”.
The walks will take place each Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday with the exception of Sunday 10th. Start time is 11am on each day and the walk commences at Knocknarea Glen Road car park. All are welcome to join and support. You can donate here with all funds raised going directly to IMNDA.
Connecting Boyle to other towns via Greenways
There was some good news recently in relation to Greenway links for this area. The first was the allocation of €300,000 towards the progression of the Lough Key Greenway to Carrick-on-Shannon. An initial consultation on this proposed Greenway was held in Lough Key Forest Park last September when members of the public were requested to provide feedback on the project. If it goes ahead, the Greenway will link Lough Key with Carrick on Shannon.
Further north on the N4, Public Consultation Number 2 for the N4 Active Travel Collooney to Castlebaldwin Scheme is ongoing, with an in-person Public Consultation event held last Tuesday in Taylors Art Gallery, Castlebaldwin. The objective of this project, which is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, is to provide continuous Active Travel facilities from Collooney to Castlebaldwin utilising an existing Active Travel facility from Toberbride Business Park to Doorly Td. (Constructed as part of the N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin Road Project).
Here in Boyle we need to consider extending the Lough Key to Boyle cycleway to connected up with the N4 Castlebaldwin to Collooney Greenway. There are many off road options available to do this. If it became a reality, in theory one could cycle from Carrick, via Lough Key and Boyle to Collooney and then onto Charlestown (and Ireland West Airport) using the proposed Sligo Greenway from Collooney to Charlestown.
Keeping parkrun dog free
Our social media channels got a lot of interaction last week in relation to the request from the organisers of junior parkrun for members of the public to not have dogs wandering around the start/finish line of the event on Sunday mornings. Some viewers took exception at being asked to keep their dogs away while others confirmed that people were not being asked to make the Park dog free – only in the areas used on Sundays by junior parkrun.
Most week’s here on Boyletoday.com, we get viewer comments in relation to dogs being left to run off lead in the Park while not under effective control. It really is not too much to ask those bringing their dog for a walk on a Sunday, and indeed Saturday morning, when parkruns takes place, to please try and avoid the parkrun start/finish and the course itself.
Discussions on Modular Homes for the county
There has been a lot of discussion in rent days in relation to the proposal received by Roscommon Co Co that a number of modular homes might be constructed in Boyle and other parts of the county. As regular viewers will know, Boyletoday.com does not report on speculation or on other peoples news, and in this instance we contacted Roscommon Co Co to ascertain the facts before publishing any information in relation to the proposal. In fairness, the Council quickly came back to this website with a statement where they confirmed that “following an Expressions of Interest received from private service providers for modular offers in the county, including Boyle, the local authority has been asked for their input in the context of planning, building control and local support through the Community Forum”.
And that is exactly where the situation lies at present – Roscommon Co Co now has to advise the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on whither the sites as outlined are suitable for the proposed modular homes. Any comments people have in relation to the proposal should be addressed to the local authority.
News snippets from around Boyle
Hot on the heels from last Saturday evening’s Tidy Towns Awards and celebration in King House, comes the first spring clean up of the year which will be held tomorrow Saturday March 9th meeting on the Crescent at 11am. All help appreciated to get the town looking good for St Patrick’s Day………… Congratulations to Boyle man Kyle McLoughlin and his company Posude Limited who were named the overall winner of the 2024 Roscommon Enterprise Awards yesterday (Thursday).You can read more about this progressive company here …………As part of National Tree Week the good people in Lough Key Forest Park have planted some beautiful new trees down by the cleared Fishing Temple. They will also be sowing some wildflowers to further compliment this beautiful area of the Park……..Our news story on Tuesday last that the N61 entrance to the town at the Shilling Hill will be closed Monday – Friday from March 25th received a lot of comment. After twice being postponed, the road works will now go ahead from March 25th – this time during day light hours which is sure to cause gridlock, especially with the public realm work ongoing on Bridge Street, but it will be worth it when finished……………Thankfully Irish Rail has listened to public comments and passengers can attend next Saturday’s Ireland v Scotland game in the Aviva and use the train to get home, with the 19:15 Connolly to Sligo deferred until 20:10……….The brilliant facility that is Celtic Park was in full use on Tuesday last when nearly 120 students took part in the Roscommon Primary Schools 5 a side large schools soccer competition. The previous week there was a similar number in attendance in the smaller schools category and the week commencing 19th February the facility hosted the Spar 5 a side tournament. Years of hard work and fundraising by a loyal committee in Boyle Celtic is proving worthwhile with the new pitch and facilities being praised all over the country while also bringing an economic boost to Boyle…………The Irish Heart Foundation mobile unit will be in attendance today (Friday) at Boyle Family Resource Centre offering free health checks from 9.30am until 3pm……..Boyle GAA club’s U8 Boys ‘Return to Play’ commences on Friday 8th March in The Complex, Boyle from 5-5:45 pm. All welcome! Players must be registered for U8 Football 2024 on Foireann. https://www.foireann.ie Contact Mark O’Connor 086 1597628 for more information and to be added to team communications…………At long last Electric Skyline had a crew in Boyle on Wednesday replacing broken street lights – some that have been out of order since November 2021! It is understood some of the broken lights may need more than bulb replacement while the location of others will necessitate traffic management to be put in place so all is not fixed yet.
And finally…..
A newlywed couple spend their honeymoon at Niagara Falls.
While his new bride is unpacking in their honeymoon suite, the young groom goes out of the Hotel to find a suitable restaurant for their evening meal.
He finds a place and across the street he sees an unusual shop sign: “Chief Bald Eagle, Memory Man – He Knows Everything”.
Intrigued, he pays his dollar, goes in and asks Chief Bald Eagle “Who won the first English FA Cup Final football match?”.
The Chief draws thoughtfully on his pipe and says “Wanderers v Royal Engineers, 1872 – Wanderers win one-nil”.
Stunned, the groom returns to his new bride and bores her all evening with how amazing this Chief Bald Eagle is.
Twenty-five years later, they go back to celebrate their anniversary and to the groom’s astonishment, amid radical changes to the rest of the area, Chief Bald Eagle is still there in the same shop.
He pays his ten dollars, goes in and respectfully greets the old Chief with a raised hand and the word “How”.
The old Chief squints at him through a wreath of pipe smoke and says “From a corner”.
