Town to be Left Without Full-Time Tourist Office
Complaints about the lack of an all-year-round tourist office were met with an unsatisfying response that Ireland West Tourism has no plans for the provision of a new tourist office in Castlebar. The tourist office is currently in the Linenhall and is only open during the so-called tourist season. The location of the tourist office on a business premises is also being disputed as other business interests in the town feel that it gives an unfair advantage to the Linenhall.

Castlebar Convent Building now “Highly Dangerous”
On Sunday night another fire was reported in the abandoned Convent of Mercy in Castle Street. The fire fighters brought the blaze under control, checked to see if anyone was in the building, and found nobody. The Gardaí have warned the owners of the building, who are not resident in Castlebar, that the building will have to be properly secured before someone is injured or killed. The convent was already damaged from a previous fire and it is reported that several beer and cider parties have been held in the abandoned building.

Ahern’s Vote of Confidence
During the Taoiseach’s visit to Mayo this week he showed that he was fully behind Deputy Beverly Cooper-Flynn and that he was looking forward to her being restored to the Parliamentary Party after the general election. There had been talk that the T.D would not be selected to run by the party after she had been accused by Charlie Bird, an RTE news reporter, that during her time working in National Irish Bank she had encouraged people to avoid paying tax. The Supreme Court appeal to this case goes ahead after the election and the Taoiseach wished her the best of luck in it. Speculation that there was conflict between Bertie Ahern and Padraig Flynn, the retired EU Commissioner, was also squashed during the Taoiseach’s visit.