What a storm! - 27 Dec 1998
We've had all sorts of weather here in Castlebar this Christmas. Christmas day was nice in the early morning but followed by some very heavy rain - quite normal for time of year. But Stephen's Day - wow! - that was something else. For those of us who stayed in bed late perhaps the first sign of something wrong was the sound of roof tiles bouncing down the roof. They were ripped off by winds which hit storm force 11 during mid afternoon. Of course the electricity went, as power lines were chopped through by falling trees and telegraph poles all over County Mayo. Wind speeds of 107 mph were recorded at Belmullet - hurricane force and apparently this was the worst storm to hit this part of the country since 1961 when Hurricane Debbie came ashore.Mid West Radio, running on a generator, had a ball. They suspended their normal programming and warned people to stay put and provided very useful lists of roads that were blocked by falling trees, towns that should be avoided due to falling roof slates, regular warnings to avoid fallen powerlines and be careful with JCBs and chain saws when clearing up the mess not to come in contact with live wires, what to do if you needed to use a nebuliser or other emergency medical equipment, etc. etc.
The Christmas decorations across Castlebar's main streets looked a tangled mess by Sunday morning. A forty foot container at the hospital was flipped over completely by the wind, signs everywhere were ripped off - even the town's 30 mile speed limit sign was punched through by the wind on one of the approach roads. Casey's garage had their main door mangled. The sign on the front of the TF was ripped off. Trees everywhere received an unexpected pruning.
Last year we escaped the ravages that hit the southern counties - the Christmas Eve storm of 1997 cut off electricity for two or three days in some parts of Cork, Limerick and Kerry - but not this year. Unfortunately, one Mayo man was killed near Maam by a falling tree while travelling from Mayo to Galway.
The wind died down by evening and power was restored in the town centre so that all the usual post Christmas events Denim+Lace, PJs, Cosmos, late pubs etc., etc., were able to proceed almost as if nothing had happened. By midnight it was dead calm and a crystal clear night showed up the stars to good effect especially in the more rural areas where power had not yet been restored.
To cap it all it snowed quite heavily early on Sunday morning with about an inch of snow dumped on Castlebar overnight. So Castlebar nearly had a white Christmas, and it sure experienced a bit of a breeze.
$50 million Grainne Uaile film to be made
The Grainne Uaile book, written by Ann Chambers, is a biography of Grace O'Malley and her story is set to become Hollywood's hottest property. Grainne Uaile, the Pirate Queen who sailed from Mayo to England and up the River Thames to confront her rival Queen Elizabeth I, is an almost mythical Mayo figure. But her life story is well-documented by contemporary manuscripts and she truly was a most amazing, large-than-life character. The film should be a huge hit and undoubtedly will attract many new tourists to Mayo and Clew Bay wishing to see just where the action took place. Ann Chambers is really on a roll recently and, almost unbelievably, she has sold three film scripts in the past two weeks. Congrats to Ann.
New Cinema is a Wow!
Mayo Movie World, which opened its doors on Thursday night last, is a real asset to Castlebar. We can now view the latest first-run films here in Castlebar as and when they are released in luxury surroundings with four brand new screens seating up to 665 at a time.
At a preview of "Enemy of the State" (America's second biggest film of 1998 apart from Titanic) starring Will Smith, John Voigt, Gene Hackman and Lisa Bonet, some 300 invited guests experienced a state of the art cinematic experience at the new Moneen cinema. Digital sound, crystal clear screen and a pristine copy of the film shown on a brand new projector made for a quite unforgettable cinematic experience. It is perhaps a bit ironic that Enemy of the State deals with the down-side of the Information Age and that Castlebar got to see it well in advance of most other Irish people. This is a great conspiracy theory film dealing with electronic surveillance by state agencies and it is very topical in view of the present controversy regarding encryption and electronic privacy. A great yarn with a wrong-way chase up a freeway which is a bit reminiscent of one of the great car chases in that other current film, Ronin. Will Smith is excellent as the poor sap caught up in the middle of something much bigger than he suspects. Don't miss it when it opens on Stephen's Day and don't miss Mayo Movie World. Go néirí an táth leis na Mulroys.
European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Training CD-ROMS
The Castlebar Information Age Town Project has purchased a large number of ECDL training CD-ROMs which will be made available to people in Castlebar from Wednesday 16 December 1998 from Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, New Antrim Street. An initial charge of £45 will be made of which £40 will be refunded when the disk is returned. Remember that these computer-based-training disks normally cost well in excess of £100. To read more about the ECDL course follow this link.
Cricket on the Mall!
It's a long time since cricket was played on Lord Lucan's cricket crease......
- but recently a match was played on The Mall in Castlebar. When were these photos taken?
Club Computer Training
Free training sessions will continue for the 50 clubs and organisation who received computers under the Computers for Clubs Information Age Town Project after Christmas at the Information Centre. Small groups will be accommodated at a time in order to gain hands-on experience using the computers in the centre. Booking is necessary so that everyone will have access to a computer for hands on experience. Preference will be given to clubs or organisations who have not yet produced a web page. It is not necessary to bring a computer. The idea is to discuss and solve any hardware, software or other problems that people have encountered since receiving their computers. Those attending should bring samples of web pages in preparation - put some info about your club on disk or even bring it on paper. The results of your efforts will be then be uploaded to the Castlebar domain. Send us an e-mail and we will arrange a time that suits you - sessions will be held in the evenings or Saturday mornings.
We thank a number of people who have forwarded information for web sites on this domain - we will be putting them up over the next few days. Remember that we are committed to providing a free web site for every business and organisation in Castlebar in order to provide a comprehensive source of information about Castlebar.
Please note that Clubs organisations or businesses in Castlebar can generate their own web pages to be placed here on the Castlebar Domain. Enter your details using our web page generator and then save the web page file and e-mail to info@castlebar.ie. This is a FREE service.
