Boom industrial times! runs the main story in The Connaught Telegraph this week.
The site of the former Castlebar Airport is to be transformed into a £25m. retail and industrial park. Kelem Properties, a company headed by leading west of Ireland businessmen Alan Crean and Martin Gilroy, have lodged a major planning application with the local Urban Council for the development of the extensive site, spanning 23 acres, at Breaffy Road. Mr. Crean, a director of Charlestown based tile suppliers, Crean Mosaics, purchased the land earlier this year for a sum of £3.05m. Now Mr. Crean has formed a partnership with Sligo businessman Martin Gilroy with a view to developing the site as a business and retail park, the second proposal of its type earmarked for the county town.
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New ultra-modern unit opens at Mayo General Hospital The Connaught Telegraph this week.
The first patient related facility of the phase two development at Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, a new ultra-modern maternity unit was opened during the last week. Described as the best in the country, mums-to-be moved into the 30 bed unit last Wednesday. Attached to it is a special baby care unit which is equipped with the latest and most sophisticated technology in infant healthcare. The high-tech ventilators and monitors for the unit cost in excess of £0.5m. Last year there were 1,147 babies delivered in the old maternity section at the hospital. This is expected to increase dramatically following the opening of the unit. The new department consists of wards of six, four and one bed units each with shower and toilet facilities.
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Gas find could boost new city The Connaught Telegraph this week.
A Catholic Bishop claimed on Tuesday that one of the merits of a new purpose built city which is proposed for the west of Ireland would be that it could be connected to the Corrib Gas Field which is being developed off the Mayo coastline. Bishop Thomas Flynn of Achonry warned "There is a danger that the gas will not be made available to the west, that it will be piped directly to Dublin". More detailed plans for the proposed new Metropolis will be revealed at a public information meeting in the Town Hall, Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon this weekend.
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Race fever grips Castlebar is one of the articles in The Mayo News this week.
The second "Races of Castlebar", organised by Castlebar Tennis Supporters' Club, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 16th and excitement is reaching fever pitch for one of the biggest occasions on the social calendar. Last year's 'Race Day' was such a success that the organisers had no option but to accede to requests for a repeat day out - and this they have done to coincide with the prestigious Jefferson Smurfit Irish St. Leger Classic at the Curragh. Unlike last year's event, this year's "Races of Castlebar" will have a cross-border connection in that it will be a joint venture with Irvinestown Tennis Club. Said Club Chairman, Tom Murphy, " Over the years, we in Castlebar Tennis Club have developed strong links with the Irvinestown Club, and it is good that our cross-border co-operation is put to practical use". The "Races of Castlebar" is a major funding-raising initiative for the tennis club to help defray the cost of the proposed new clubhouse due to be constructed next year.
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Former B.I.M. apprentice brings home £50m ship The Mayo News.
An Achill fishing skipper, who started off with a small inshore fishing boat in the Sixties, is now the proud owner of the world's largest fishing ship. Over the weekend, Kevin McHugh brought his £50m. fishing ship back from Norway to his base at Killybegs where it was blessed and officially christened m.f.v. Atlantic Dawn. The Atlantic Dawn, which will fish mainly in international waters and third world country waters, is over 144 metres long and has a larger surface area than Croke Park. The bridge alone, where skipper McHugh will operate, is more than 4,000 square feet in area. The gross tonnage of the ship is 14,000 and at full capacity it will have enough fish to feed 14 million people for a day.
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350 Mayo pubs part of national I.D. campaign The Mayo News this week.
Over 350 pubs in Mayo will be participating in a new Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) campaign stressing to young people the need to carry the new National Age Card proving they are of legal age to be served alcohol. The VFI have produced posters displaying the message "Fancy a pint? Over 18? Prove it", which are being distributed today to all 6,000 VFI member pubs nationwide for display on their premises. The poster campaign, supported by the Gardaí aims to inform young people that they will not be served a drink unless they can satisfy bar staff that they are over 18 years of age.
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First commercial jet lands at Knock The Western People this week.
Smooth as a bird, the big jumbo jet came in to land at Knock Airport on Saturday evening. It was almost 7.30 p.m. when she swooped in over Roscommon and Mayo. A sharp left-hand banking movement and the runway was below her. No one would have been prouder of this historic occasion than Msgr. James Horan who transformed a Mayo blanket bog into an international airport capable of taking the biggest planes on earth. He would have been beaming in all his glory were he there to see such an auspicious occasion. This was the first time that a commercial jumbo flight had touched down at Knock Airport. On board were 423 passengers all members of the Elphin Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes.
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Ráidió na Gaeltachta opens new studio in Castlebar The Western People this Tuesday.
Ráidió na Gaeltachta will start broadcasting regular programmes from a new RTE studio in Castlebar as and from next Monday. The new studio is located at Humbert Place near the Castle Street car park close to the town centre.
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Fertiliser curb boost for Mayo lakes The Western People this week.
The proposed Mayo bye-law on the spreading of chemical fertilisers will represent a major step forward in the protection of waters from excessive phosphorus loadings which have been causing severe problems in several catchment areas including the Lough Conn/Moy catchment, the North Western Regional Fisheries Board says. Mr Vincent Roche, CEO of the board says "The regulations are necessary in order to ensure that excess fertiliser is not spread on lands which do not require it. The draft rule says 'No person shall spread chemical fertiliser containing phosphorus on lands in County Mayo without a permit from Mayo County Council'. The regulations are in line with similar ones being introduced in other counties". Mr. Roche adds that he understands that they will be put before a meeting of Mayo County Council in the coming months. "It is to be hoped that they will obtain the full support of the Councillors given the increased public concern in relation to deterioration in water quality, and in particular, enrichment arising from excessive discharges of nutrients from the land", he adds.
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