What it Says in the Castlebar and Mayo Papers

13th. of December 2000

Connaught Telegraph

The Mayo News

The Western People

Council's £1.5m. loan to ensure airport's future a front page story in The Connaught Telegraph this week.

A significant step has been taken by Mayo County Council to ensure the future viability of Knock International Airport. Members have agreed to raise a loan of £1.5m towards the provision of infrastructural water and sewerage facilities at the centre. There was cross-party support for separate motions on the matter submitted by Senator Frank Chambers (F.F.) and Councillor John Flannery (F.G.). Senator Chambers said that a good quality water and sewerage system was badly needed to ensure that the location could develop as a major commercial site. "We have a duty to facilitate industrial development at Knock. This is the way we can do it. I am happy we can meet the repayment on the loan. It is vital that this council takes a key interest in the future development of the airport." Mr. John Flannery said that the council had an opportunity of buying into the management of Knock Airport and they should take it. "This is a logical step forward. Two members of this council should sit on the airport board. It annoyed me in the past that we did not take the airport as seriously as we should." Mr. Des Mahon, county manager, said that progress was being made in providing the infrastructure that was badly needed at the airport.

Catholics will flock to Protestant chapelThe Connaught Telegraph this week.

A Catholic community of over 1,100 people on the Mayo/Galway border is set to make history next year by attending religious ceremonies in a local Church of Ireland chapel. All Catholic Masses in the Parish of Cong will be celebrated in St. Mary's Church of Ireland which was built by Sir Benjamin Guinness in 1855. It is expected that the Catholic community in the area will hold their religious ceremonies there for up to seven months in 2001. Catholic marriages will be performed, children will be baptised and funeral ceremonies conducted in the historic, stonecut Protestant Church which is set in ancient woodland on the perimeter of the Ashford Castle estate. Use of St. Mary's has been offered by the Church of Ireland community to their Catholic neighbours while restoration work is being carried out on the Church of St. Mary of the Rosary. The restoration programme is expected to cost in the region of £600,000. The arrangement is certainly an unusual one but nobody is making a fuss about it. A sign, perhaps, of the cordial, ecumenical relations which have long existed between the two main religious communities.

Odds lengthen on new bookie officeThe Connaught Telegraph this week.

The odds have lengthened against a new bookie's office opening in Castlebar. An objection has been lodged to An Bord Pleanala against the decision of the local Urban Council to grant planning permission to Michael Moran for a bookmaker's premises at Tucker Street. The Irish Independent Betting Association is opposed to the project proceeding. Mr. Brain A. O'Garrell, the association's spokesman, said that they wanted the Urban Council's decision reversed because, he believed, the development would not be in the interest of good planning management being located in an area already designated for retail use. "The change of use may lead to traffic congestion in a narrow street. The proposal is not in keeping with good planning practices as a sufficient number of bookmakers offices already meet the demands of the urban area."

Enormous need for adult literacy provision in MayoThe Mayo News this week.

Despite having one of the most sophisticated adult literacy provision schemes in the country, Mayo still has an enormous need for further literacy tuition. This has been confirmed following the reaction in Mayo to a TV series on literacy entitled "Read Write Now", conceived by the National Adult Literacy Association (NALA). More than 300 Mayo people rang up the programme's support line looking for help for their literacy/numeracy problems. The Adult Education Board of Mayo Vocational Education Committee, which has four full-time literacy organisers in the county and an extensive panel of tutors, has now asked the Department of Education and Science to sanction the appointment of two further organisers to provide an even more comprehensive service throughout Mayo. Castlebar-based Literacy campaigner, Ernie Sweeney, who took part in the TV series, said that it had been a marvellous initiative and if it succeeded in causing more people to look for help then it would have been well worthwhile.

Jobs increase in Mayo welcomed The Mayo News.

Senator Frank Chambers has welcomed the further increase in job creation in Mayo as shown in the latest statistics issued by the Central Statistics Office. He said that the latest figures for people on the live register in Mayo were the lowest in living memory and reflected the achievements of many unemployed people in Mayo "who because of the favourable conditions created by the Government and their own self-will and determination, provided job opportunities for themselves". He added "As spokesman for Rural and Western Development I am pleased to see an increase in employment in County Mayo". "Also there is a growing trend for young people to return from the cities to work at home. The quality of life in the West and in Co. Mayo in particular is an incentive for many people to return home and find employment locally. Housing prices are lower, quality childcare and a sense of community spirit are drawing people back to Mayo. Easy access to work without traffic jams or congestion, excellent educational facilities and recreational amenities are also an incentive for people to return."

Car parking charges and fines amount to £90,000 The Mayo News this week.

Senator Paddy Burke has been informed by Town Clerk, John Condon, that car parking charges and parking fines contributed £90,000 to the income of the urban council in the past year. About £35,000 of the total income earned came by way of fines. At an Estimates meeting in Marsh House, Cllr Frank Durcan asked that the traffic wardens keep a 'special eye' on the bus stop outside Flannelly's in the run up to Christmas especially at lunch time. He pointed out that parking restrictions at the bus stop were not being observed with the result that buses were double parking. "This is causing serious traffic delays and parents bringing their children to lunch are late returning to school," he added. Cllr Eoin Garavan said that the parking wardens would also have to keep an eye on New Antrim Street, Tucker Street and practically every street in town. There was traffic chaos all over the place at present.

Claremorris-born priest euphoric at reconciliation The Western People this week.

Fr. Michael Keane, the Claremorris priest and founder and Director of the Knock Marriage Bureau who was stripped of his priestly duties following a dispute with his Bishop 23 years ago, has been reinstated by Archbishop Desmond Connell at a special mass on Sunday last. The mass was celebrated by Bishop Eamon Walsh on behalf of Archbishop Connell in the parish of Willington in Dublin where Fr. Keane has been based since his suspension. A statement issued from the Archdiocese of Dublin said "In this jubilee year of reconciliation, the Archbishop was anxious that the rift that had occurred between Fr. Keane and the diocese be healed. We are delighted that agreement has been reached between Fr. Keane and the diocese. We are happy to be able to put the past behind in a spirit of Christian charity and to look ahead to the future. Fr. Keane, who is now 76 years old, told the Western People the mass of reconciliation was great success and an occasion of great euphoria in the community.

Plan for new city ready by September The Western People this Tuesday.

The promoter of a new city for the West, Mr. William A. Thomas, told a seminar in Knock on Monday that the 'City of the Sacred Heart' is set to play a key role in the whole process of stabilising the West. He predicted that the venture would become the communications capital of the world and make Ireland a crossroads between America and Europe. Mr. Thomas told the gathering that the new city had the potential for a National Stadium for the West, a National Museum for the region and a National Conference Centre. He warned about the urgency of the project and said that the inclusion of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in the European Union in 2002 would see a move by the multinationals to Eastern Europe. "The infrastructure in these countries include motorways that are new and underused, high speed rail links to all parts of Western Europe and beyond and brand new airports. In addition to low wages, their infrastructure is excellent and I can see the multinationals taking advantage and moving eastward," he said.

Oil spills pose serious danger to Mayo motorists an article in The Western People this week.

With all the emphasis on safe driving on the roads, speeding and driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, the authorities appear to be blind to one of the greatest dangers of all - the spilling of oil on the thoroughfares. On an almost daily basis signs are appearing on roads warning of spills and fire brigades are out washing down roads, but there are no indications that any of the oil spilling culprits are being taken to court for their actions. How many accidents, loss of life and limbs, occur as a result of oil spills that are not notified by warning signs or are not cleaned up by the fire authorities or by local authority workmen? I would hazard a guess that there are very many indeed and that many of the unexplained road accidents are a result of oil spillages. But why is it that no one has every been prosecuted for the offence? Why is there no campaign to rid our roads of this lethal danger? How much does this country lose in lost lives, injuries and other costs- even the clean up costs? And why, as well, have the authorities not clamped down on the hauliers who overload their sand, gravel and cement on lorries and then spew debris all over our roads and streets. Loose stones on a road are liable to be thrown up by the wheels of vehicles and are deadly dangerous. There are more dangers on the roads than speeding drivers. Any campaign to reduce deaths and injuries in road accidents must embrace all the dangers if it has any chance of being effective.

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