From Castlebar - County Mayo -

Local Papers Commentary
From the Mayo News - 5 May 2004
By The Jaundiced Eye
8, May 2004 - 10:07

Pint proven

A LARGE crowd was on at hand at Blouser’s Bar on James Street in Westport on Friday night last for the premiere of the new Guinness advert, entitled "Pat’s Bar." The sixty second commercial was given its first showing on Saturday last on RTE Televison but the locals who were extras on the project, which was filmed on location in Westport last month, were given a sneak preview in Blouser’s on Friday. The well known Westport drinking emporium was the hub of the filming and proprietor Eamon Canning is sure to see an influx of tourists to the bar in the coming months. Westport was chosen as the film location because it had all the necessary components said Damian Devaney, Marketing Manager, Guinness. "Westport was perfect and the people of the town were very open at all stages to the idea of a Guinness ad being filmed there," stated Mr. Devaney. Westport Town Manager Mr. Peter Hynes was in favour of the project from the word go, stating it was an opportunity the town couldn’t afford to pass up. "The ad depicts Westport at its best and the Guinness campaign is sure to feature on national television for several months," added Mr. Hynes.


I saw the ad last night for the first time and it does indeed show Westport in a good light. So what was merely a casting outline on the Castlebar Bulletin Board back on 18 March is now presented in all its widescreen glory. The premise of the ad is that people go into pubs to talk to each other rather than to watch TV or read a newspaper in a bit of peace with that black pint in front of you. Everyone knows this is a load of rubbish - we go to pubs to drink - and even more so now that you can’t smoke and drink. First the fags now the TV? The last thing we need is people talking while drinking and especially talking politics and talking religion while drinking and worst of all mixing sport talk with alcohol! A recipe for disaster surely? But anyway the ad wants us all to start talking and stop watching TV in pubs - and they make a good entertaining shot at making the case. The wonders of celluloid. The cast list included:

Labourer: 30ish, Rugged, well built. Butcher: 35+, portly, looks like a butcher 3 guys in barber shop, 2 between 25 and 30, one 30+. Interesting looking. Woman and Man in house: Both 30ish, should look like a pair. Rival Publican: 45+ Should have a bit of a mean spirited look about him. Woman on Bus: Older - On their way to Bingo TV Man ­ 35ish, looks real. Curtain twitching: 25 TO 30, baeutiful young woman. Wrecking Yardman: 35 plus, rugged well built. Girderman: 30+ Looks like the guy in the old Gilroy poster, no harm in trying Remote control guy: Has dialogue, should be able to speak. 25 to 30 years of age, should look like a nice guy. Guy looking at "TV space": 35+ , a traditional looking punter. Various people for bar: let's get some extras who are younger, male and female, 25 to 30, who are a bit on the trendier side.

A new game – how many of these can you spot in the ad?


Mayo tot tops in Texaco

CLAIRE McDonagh, age 6, a student at St John’s National School, Breaffy, has won a top award in this year’s 50th Texaco Children’s Art Competition. Her painting entitled ‘Thinking About Butterflies’ has been awarded third prize in category F of the competition. Claire’s success in the competition was announced at a luncheon held at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin recently attended by a number of distinguished past winners of the competition. Amongst them was former Minister for Finance and Labour Party leader, Ruairi Quinn TD, himself a four-times winner of the competition, artist Robert Ballagh, broadcasters Thelma Mansfield and Terry Prone and author Clare Boylan. The talented young Castlebar artist will be presented with her award at a gala prize giving ceremony, which takes place in Dublin next month. Close on 50,000 students took part in the competition, which has been held annually since 1955.


Did you ever enter the Texaco art competition? I can still remember my wonderful pen and ink and water colour creation that I sent off in the dim and distant past way back in the last century. Sunflowers weren’t in it. Of course I didn’t win - much to my surprise at the time - and I still wonder sometimes if it is hanging on someone’s wall in that secret collection of the real winners that never saw the light of day? Or more depressingly perhaps it’s still waiting to be discovered when the archaeologist who is digging carefully down through the layers of an ancient landfill with a trowel and a fine paintbrush suddenly unearths the true glory of my masterpiece from the mid twentieth century.

By the way there’s a great exhibition on in the Linenhall at the moment running until 4 June aimed at kids. Each of 37 Mayo Artists was given an 18x18inch piece of fibre board to paint on or otherwise use to produce a work of art on the theme of ‘Food for Thought’ and asked to bear in mind that May is kids’ month at the Linenhall. They produced some amazing stuff and it’s a lot more fun than some exhibitions, which can take themselves very seriously or be seriously depressing in nature.


Dumping on Derrynumera

OVER 30,000 tonnes of waste were deposited in Derrynumera Landfill outside Newport in 2003. The waste is made up mainly of domestic waste (over 22,000 tonnes) but also includes commercial, industrial, civic amenity, street cleanings and hospital waste. Most of the waste entering Derrynumera is landfilled. Last year, about 325 tonnes of waste was recycled. Including all of last year’s waste means that the total amount of waste deposited in Derrynumera is over 320,000 tonnes. With compaction, 0.75 tonne has a volume of 1m3, the total remaining waste void at the start of 2004 was just over 289,000m3 - about 217,000 tonnes, if my maths are correct. Derrynumera is expected to last until early 2010. The landfill has a ‘fully engineered’ cell for waste and is preparing another cell. It incorporates a civic amenity centre for recycling and reclamation of various materials. This section is one of the most successful aspects of the landfill and is proving to be a useful educational aid, especially for children on school tours. The civic amenity centre is also a feature of the county’s other landfill in Rathroeen, Ballina. These centres are worth a visit and provide a useful service to consumers. Most items can be recycled at the centres and it is usually free. There is a nominal charge per bag to dispose of domestic refuse. Papers, magazines, plastics (various types), tins, cans, batteries, fluorescent lights, fridges, bicycles, building materials and timber are among the many items that can be easily disposed in the amenity centres. Mayo County Council also holds various ‘promotions’ to encourage people to dispose of particular items. This week, it is free to dispose of domestic white goods (fridges, toasters, etc) at the Rathroeen Landfill in Ballina. Derrynumera Landfill also has a gas management system with a ‘flaring facility.’ Leachate is also collected at the site and transported to the Castlebar Waste Water Treatment Plant.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

THE EPA monitors the site landfill sites and issues licences to Mayo County Council to operate them. The 1993 annual report from the EPA on Derrynumera is now available. It is neither a ‘top of the class’ nor a ‘dunce’s corner’ report. It is probably best described as a ‘doing well, could do better’ type of report. Mayo County Council is tackling the problem of waste, there is no doubt about that. That requires hard work from many people. There is no magic wand to ensure that all problems are resolved easily. Life is not a fairy tale.


A big chunk from this one because I am constantly amazed at the sudden awakening of interest in landfills and recyling and waste reduction. For years and years everything went into the bin without a thought. Nobody gave a thought to the water pollution, groundwater contamination and we even put up with the smells passing by as long as we didn’t have to live too close. What has changed? Is it that we are wealthier and can concentrate on something other than finding enough food to eat and clothes to wear and a roof over the head? Is it that modern consumerism has escalated the volume of waste to such an extraordinary extent that it can’t be ignored? Is it that we have used up all the good spots for dumping waste? Is it that the people who live in the vicinity of likely new waste dumps simply won’t stand for it any more? The EPA are certainly putting the pressure on the local authorities naming and shaming and reporting on the progress or otherwise in how we handle our waste. The details of the EPA repor on Derrinumera make very interesting reading so get hold of the report and read it – I’m sure it’s in the EPA website in full.




© Copyright 2004 by Castlebar - County Mayo -