From Castlebar - County Mayo -
Connaught Telegraph 14 Jan 2004
By The Jaundiced Eye
17, Jan 2004 - 16:55
Chainsaw man is jailed for breach of bond.
A Ballinrobe man who breached a bon imposed in November 2001 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years has received a six months prison sentence. The bond imposed on Eugene Flynn of Cong and also with an address at Abbey view, Ballinrobe, was in relation to an incident where he entered a hotel in Cong with a chainsaw which was going at full throttle.
Growing dismay over town centre black-spot despite planning ruling
There is growing discontent in Castlebar business and retailing circles over the delay in re-opening the former Bolgers Store at Bridge Street which has been lying vacant for a number of years. Plans had been finalised by the company to set up a new outlet at the location early last year when they applied to the local Town Council for planning permission for a change of use from rental to restaurant and the construction of a first floor extension. The proposal was given the go-ahead by the council but they imposed a substantial levy on the applicants to help cover the cost of the proposed riverside walks. As a result, Dunnes Stores appealed the condition to An Bord Pleanála.
Interesting debate on town’s continued progress
An interesting debate, entitled Castlebar on the Move’, has been taking place on the online forum of the popular local website www.castlebar.ie It was launched by a correspondent names Optimist who posted the following notice on January 3rd last. It read: "Let's have a more positive outlook in 2004. Most politicans, priests, gardai and others are decent, honest people. I am afraid too many wild allegations are made about corruption. Thousands of shoppers have descended on Castlebar over the past few weeks. It's like a city. I live in Westsport and am envious of all you have to offer in Castlebar. Some of your councillors seem to be over critical of the people who have invested money in your town. Investment creates jobs and wealth. So well done, Castlebar. Keep up the good work. You have a lot to be proud of. I wish all this was happening in Westport. Next into the frame was Optimist who wrote: "That's a nice positive start to the year - a new year resolution. It's not all doom and gloom of course. Castlebar is booming for sure. The trick is to take advantage of the wealth pouring into the place and yet hold onto the good life and ensure that we don't do a Dublin on it and make it unbearable in 30 years time. The four day walks are the biggest tourist attraction in Castlebar - it relies on being able to walk form the town centre out into rural countryside within a few minutes. They're not going to pay good money to come and walk along an endless ribbon of dormer bungalows. Reading the front page of the Irish Times today there's an excellent piece about the 30-year papers revealing that Bangor Erris wanted a nuclear power station back in 1971. Saying that all would be lost if they didn't get it. It's now or never they said. Of course now they have gas and wind power and they're objecting to both." A correspondent names ‘Christmas Visitor’ was of the view that Castlebar had come on in leaps and bounds. "I'm very proud of it. I'm now in my 70s and am amazed at the changes for the better in Castlebar. I was impressed during my visit there.
The court cases in the local papers help to sell papers and this accounts in part at least for the incredibly valuable property that local newspaper titles really are. Chainsaw Man Jailed is the kind of heading that brightens up an otherwise dull after Christmas paper. The idea of a man entering a sleepy hotel in Cong with a Chain Saw running at full belt is a pretty graphic image indeed. This is ‘Quiet Man’ territory granted, and I’m sure that bar-room brawls occur on a regular basis as American Tourists attempt to mimic John Wayne – but the Cong Chainsaw Massacre? Unfortunately the paper doesn’t recount the reaction of the other patrons in the hotel when they turned to see Chainsaw Man entering with his chainsaw running full blast.
The Bolgers saga continues. An Bord Pleanala found against the Town Council’s bid to provide the continuous riverside walk between Bolgers and the River. Dunnes have been dragging their heels on this one and it looks like the Council provided them with a further opportunity to delay the reopening of Bolgers even longer. It’s been closed for a long time now.
And now we’re getting into a circular reporting cycle. The Connaught Telegraph regularly picks up items from the Castlebar Online Forum here and reprints them as per the snippet above. So now here’s www.castlebar.ie commenting on the CT commenting on www.castlebar.ie! Perhaps it’s an indication that pe1ople do actually read and pay heed to at least some of the tens of thousands of postings that are posted each year to www.castlebar.ie!
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