Lord Lucan Returns to Claim Ground Rent from Property Owners in Castlebar
While most people are amazed at the fact that Lord Lucan has finally returned to Castlebar, local property owners are more than a little annoyed. The first statement issued by the returned Lord's press agent on his return was simply to the effect that he has come to collect. "The long overdue ground rent for my lands in Castlebar has to be paid forthwith", Lucan is quoted as saying. A meeting has been set up later today between Lucan and Castlebar property owners who owe ground rent.
Those who have already met with him say the Lord has aged considerably following long years in the African sun. Mary O'Malley a main street property owner was visibly distressed when interviewed yesterday. "We thought he was dead." She is reputed to owe some £20,000 to Lucan. I can't afford to pay any arrears" she said, I'd have to sell everything I own". "He should have stayed in Africa" said another main street property owner who didn't want to be identified.
Castlebar Chamber of Commerce Vice President, Regina McGarrigle said yesterday: "This could be a serious blow to the economy of the town". "We are not quite sure what the full extent of Lord Lucan's demands are. However, we believe there are good legal grounds for refusing payment. We will know more when we meet him later today" she said.
Keep Castlebar Clean Tidy Towns Committee
C/o Mary Fahey Tighe
Main St., Castlebar
Chamber of Commerce
New Antrim St.
Castlebar
Tel: 094-24845
The spring clean aims to get people involved in improving their local environment and to raise awareness of the litter problem. The campaign will run for the entire month of April.
Who will be cleaning up?
All sections of the community will be participating in the campaign, Schools, Clubs, Businesses, Local Authorities, Residence Associations and Individuals. Everyone is asked to get friends, neighbours or work colleagues involved.
What Can you do and where?
You can pick a litter BLACK SPOT in town, the area where you work or live or you can come out on an organised clean up by the Tidy Towns Committee. The first clean up will be organised for Tuesday night 6th April. Meeting point is Duffy's Garage at 7:00pm.
Disposal point of bags & gloves
Castlebar U.D.C. is providing a skip for the disposal of litter in the car parks. Bags and gloves are being made available by Castlebar U.D.C. through the Tidy Towns Committee. These can be collected from: Fahey's Hardware, Main St.,
Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, New Antrim St., or bycontacting a member of the Tidy Towns Committee.
See advertisement in local press for further details.
Photos and prizes
Be sure to take a photograph of any litter black spot before you clean up and a photo after you clean up. A special prize will be awarded by the Tidy Towns Committee for the best or the most inventive clean up. Be sure to have a bit of fun during your clean up.
Keep Children Safe
During the course of your clean up all groups should take care with young children. Children should be supervised at all times and kept away from waterways and roadways. They should not lift heavy objects and should avoid possible hazards.
Remember litter is everybody's concern and we all have a role and a responsibility. If you are the owner or the person responsible for a place to which the public have access, you are obliged to keep it litter free, regardless of how the litter got there.
For further information contact:
Joe Butler 094 23120
Carla Ward (An Taisce) 01 4541802
Chamber of Commerce: Maria Quinn 094 24845
Castlebar U.D.C. 094 23350
Or any member of Castlebar Tidy Towns Committee
- Moneen Roundabout to N5 Tyres
- Moneen Roundabout to Newtown Light (Ring Road & Shrubbery)
- Bank of Ireland to Traveller's Friend Hotel
- Dunnes Stores to McDonald's Fast Food (Connecting Road)
- St. Gerald's College to Newtown
- Barrack Bridge to N.C.F.
- Castle St. Car Park (Chainlink fence from old Dunnes Stores to Barrack Bridge by Riverside)
- The Mall
- Shrubbery Opposite Cathal Duffy's Garage
- Children's Playgrounds & Public Areas
- Residential Areas
- Rear of Business Premises
Get the Young People Involved
BUSINESSES \ RESIDENCE ASSOCIATIONS \ CLUBS \SPORTING BODIES \ SCHOOLS \ VOLUNTARY GROUPS
Please help us to support National Spring clean Month
1st to 30th April
You can clean up around your area or pick a litter black spot and clean it up with a group.
Let's oust the litter louts
Get the young people involved in your area
Tidy Towns Clean Up Begins at 7:00pm on Tuesday 6th April '99 Meet at Duffy's Garage
(See local press for further Monday night clean ups)
E-Commerce Initiative backed by Castlebar Chamber of Commerce
Maria Quinn, Director of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce attended the launch of the Prism project in Dublin by Mary Harney, Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The main aim of the project is to increase awareness of e-commerce in small businesses around the country. The project is sponsored by Telecom and run by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland. The emphasis of the project will be on training of managers of businesses in order to increase their awareness of information technology, e-commerce, and to establish an Internet presence. As an Information Age Town, Castlebar will be right at the heart of the project trying to encourage businesses to see what is coming in terms of opportunities in the field of e-commerce and indeed the perils of ignoring this coming revolution.Roads to Success
The National Roads Authority Road proposal
to locate a new Roads Design Office in Castlebar, creating 25 jobs in the
process, is a major boost to Castlebar. These will be highly skilled jobs in a
state-of-the-art facility for road design. The announcement has been greeted
with some enthusiasm by Al O'Donnell, Chairman of Mayo County Council. The
office will design many of the proposed new western national routes - Castlebar
to Westport, Swinford to Charlestown, Castlebar to Brize, etc. When completed
these will smooth our journeys to and from Castlebar reducing travel time while
making the roads safer to drive on.
Station of the Nation
From road to rail - we were delighted to see that Castlebar
Railway Station was recently named Ireland's best railway station in the
Inter-City Halts category. This award is based on cleanliness, floral displays,
information and poster display, facilities at the station and friendly and
efficient service. Noel Hoban, station manager accepted the award on behalf of
his staff at a ceremony in Dublin. Next year the award will be named in memory
of the late Louis Mongan former Station Master at Castlebar.