Castlebar gets the Blues this weekend
Castlebar's 10th annual Blues Festival sponsored by Guinness will be taking place this weekend. Starting on Friday 31st, pubs all over town will be filled with Blues events for the entire weekend. The popular festival attracts crowds of over 10,000 to Castlebar each year and is the longest running Blues Festival in Ireland. The festival finishes on Sunday night with the Blues Ball to be held in the TF Royal Hotel Theatre.

Four rescued from Kayaks off Achill
The Achill lifeboat and Coast Guard Unit and also a helicopter from Finner Camp in Donegal were all called to the rescue of four canoeists who were blown away by strong winds last week off the coast of Achill Island. The rescuers managed to bring the canoeists to safety and avoid what could have been a tragic outcome. Weather conditions were poor on that day with winds blowing at 80 m.p.h and the seas were rough.

Castlebar industries join in World Cup Fever
Castlebar companies APC and Volex have arranged that none of their employees will miss Ireland playing in the World Cup. In APC a giant screen will be set up in the company's canteen on the days of the World Cup Ireland matches and production lines will be stopped for the duration of the matches. Volex have re-arranged shifts for their workers so that they will get off half an hour before each match giving them time to go somewhere to watch the action. However, Volex staff will have to make up half of the time missed at a later date.