Mayo County Council is facing a hefty clean up bill after a section of the N5 at Turlough, near Castlebar was left heavily littered by a group of travellers who spent a week and a half in the area. Suites of furniture, cardboard and domestic rubbish were discarded along a stretch of the road after the group of up to 40 vans and caravans left the site at the weekend.

I saw Michael Donnelly's photos too of the same littering. Reminds me a bit of the Arlo Guthrie song ‘Alices Restaurant’ where he was arrested for littering and held in the jail alongside the murders and rapists. Go to any beauty spot around the county and you will find exactly the same kind of rubbish dumped by settled people. The Connaught didn’t mention it but there was a strong suggestion that, indirectly at least, the same group of travelling traders was responsible for the major traffic mess-up in the centre of Castlebar last Sunday. It sounded like they came to town to trade at the car boot sale in Hobans car park. Vast hoards of people arrived on the scene of the car boot sale – including the editor of the Connaught Telegraph who was spotted heading for the goodies on sale – or alternatively perhaps doing a bit of undercover investigative reporting!

Mayo Fianna Fail Dail Deputy Beverley Flynn has insisted she has no intention of resigning her seat on Mayo County Council and the Western Health Board before next June’s local elections.

Now that there’s an autumn coolness in the air and the kids are back at school the political scene starts to hot up. While the elected kids are not back to their Dail seats yet there’s definitely something stirring in anticipation of the June elections. Aidan Crowley and Beverley also appeared together in Page Three photos (fully clothed it must be said) and it looks like the current Mayor of Castlebar is being lined up to replace Bev. No doubt he will have a sufficiently high profile over the next nine months such that it is not necessary for Bev to step down and let him take over the reigns and become the co-opted incumbent before the election? In any case Deputy Flynn stated that she didn’t think it would be fair to co-opt Mayor Crowley at this stage as there may be other potential candidates interested in running for the six seat Castlebar spot! Watch this space.

Members of Mayo Conuty Council attended a total of 33 conferences last year at a cost of 121892 to the ratepayers. Based on these figures, the average cost per conference to the council works out at 3696. Individual expenses paid to councillors during this period were

• Al McDonnell (4404);
• Annie May Reape (5030);
• Brian Golden (4253);
• Damian Ryan (5449);
• Eddie Staunton (4784);
• Beverley Flynn (0);
• Ernie Caffrey (4796);
• Frank Chambers (0);
• Frank Leneghan (3825);
• Gerry Murray (3263);
• Gerry Coyle (3119);
• Henry Kenny (3243);
• Jim Mannion (4713);
• Jimmy Maloney (7039);
• Joe Mellet (0);
• John Cribbin (4111);
• John Carty (3443);
• John Flannery (3542);
• Johnny Mee (0);
• Margaret Adams (6147);
• Michael Burke (6214);
• Michael Ring (4404);
• Pat McHugh (4501);
• Paddy Burke (4604);
• Pat Kilbane (4706);
• Peter Sweeney (5400);
• Richard Finn (4943);
• Seamus Weir (5145);
• Sean Bourke (0);
• Stephen Molloy (4705);
• Tim Quinn (5713).

I see Jimmy Maloney has retained his number one position yet again. Jimmy is the top earning councillor in all of Ireland. Interesting that on the Mayo County Council web page he is listed as an employee of Mayo County Council. Seven grand simply for attending a few conferences - so no wonder he lists himself as an employee of Mayo County Council. And here’s me thinking that he runs his own plant hire business?