What it Says in the Castlebar and Mayo Papers

31th of January 2001

Connaught Telegraph

The Mayo News

The Western People

Route for £40m. motorway selected a front page story in The Connaught Telegraph this week.

The route of the proposed £40m. Motorway between Castlebar and Westport has been selected. The decision was made by the Regional Design Office, based in Mayo County Council, following nine months of public consultation on the matter. The line chosen is known as 'option one', which is the cheapest of the four options originally unveiled by the design team last April. A number of adjustments were made to the plan, with the approval of council members, in order to ensure the least amount of disruption to householders and landowners. The new motorway, which will be two lane with provision for a dual carriageway in the future, will pass north of the existing road at Ballynaboll South close to Cosgrave's Garage on the outskirts of Castlebar converging at the townland of Drumindoo, Westport, near the Tip Top Filling Station. It is understood that one house, and possibly two, will be demolished to make way for the road measuring 14.6 kilometers. A major bridge will be constructed over Lough Lannagh between the townlands of Pheasanthill and Annagh. A total of 37 houses are located within 100 meters of the carriageway and the number of landowners affected is over 60. Work on the project is envisaged to start towards the end of 2002 following a public enquiry on the matter, by which stage the costs could escalate to over £46m. Landowners opposed to their property being acquired by C.P.O. can object and give their objections to the enquiry.

Plans in place for former Bolger's Store The Connaught Telegraph this week.

The property manager of Dunnes Stores Limited has indicated that their property at Main Street, Castlebar, will re-open as a retail unit within a short time. Mr. Irwin Druker, property consultant to the supermarket chain, has informed the local Concerned Traders Group that a decision in relation to the former Bolger's Stores will be made in February. Mr. Druker informed Mr. Alan Hynes, secretary of the group, that he has been in negotiations with three parties interested in taking over. "I am optimistic that agreement will be reached within four weeks and the premises will re-open soon." The Castlebar Concerned Traders wrote to Margaret Heffernan, managing director of Dunnes Stores, expressing concern that the shop was being left vacant on an ongoing basis. The reopening of the shop would represent a boost to the lower end of the town centre at a time when there are growing concerns about its future.

Decision to introduce parking levies postponed The Connaught Telegraph this week.

Carparking charges will not be introduced to Castlebar until existing parking facilities around the old town centre are improved, a meeting of the Local Urban Council heard. Mr. John Condon, Town Clerk, revealed that the council stood to gain a potential £250,000 income a year from carparking charges, should it be agreed to introduce them in car parks and on the streets. Parking has become a serious issue in the town with increasing numbers of vehicles entering Castlebar each day and it is important that a proper flow of traffic, particularly with on-street spaces, be maintained. Councillors contributing to the discussion resolved that existing carparking facilities, specifically at Castle Street Car Park, which was said to be in a terrible state, and at the lower end of the town, must be improved. It also highlighted that the number of carparking spaces around the lower end of the town between Linenhall Street, New Antrim Street, Tucker Street and Bridge Street had all been drastically reduced, despite the fact that betterment levies had been paid to the council by developers availing of tax designation in the area. There are approximately 114 legal spaces currently available in the town centre. Councillors insisted that investment must be directed into this traditional town centre to ensure its continued prosperity.

John Grant is Mayo Person of the Year The Mayo News this week.

The founder of the Western Alzheimer's Foundation, Mr. John Grant, has been selected by the Mayo Association in Dublin as their Mayo Person of the Year 2001. Mr. Grant, who spearheaded the drive to establish a Respite Home for Alzheimer's sufferers in Ballindine, was chosen by the three-person adjudicating committee for his 'lifetime of selfless work' to his community. In addition to his work with Alzheimer's sufferers, John Grant has also worked with the St. Vincent de Paul and Claremorris Social Services. The Mayo Ladies football team have been selected for the Meitheal Award for their fantastic achievement in claiming back-to-back All-Ireland senior titles in 1999 and 2000. The awards will be presented at a Gala Ceremony in Dublin in February.

£23 million for roads in Mayo The Mayo News.

In grant allocations for 2001, announced by the National Roads Authority, Mayo County Council has been given a sum of £22,967,000 for the improvement and maintenance of roads throughout the county. It is the biggest ever allocation to the county and considerably more than the grants allocated to the other Connacht counties of Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim and Sligo. The NRA has also indicated that the Claremorris by-pass will be completed in the current year. In the recent TG4/MRBI poll in Mayo, which showed a surge in support for Fine Gael, roads were identified as the principal concern of the 400 voters polled. The allocations of the NRA would not have been a response to those findings, but the likelihood is that further major announcements on Mayo roadworks will be made before the next General Election takes place.

Knock will be main airport for western region The Mayo News this week.

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr. Frank Fahey, T.D. speaking at the annual dinner of Claremorris Chamber of Commerce, stated that Knock Airport would be the main international airport for the western region. He said that he would meet with the board of Knock Airport shortly to see if there was potential for development at the airport. "I feel myself that there is potential for development and I will pursue the issue vigorously" stated Mr. Fahey. His comments are sweet music to the members of the board who felt a certain uneasiness recently because of conflicting rumours concerning other airports in the West of Ireland. The news, coupled with the recent launch of Aer Arann's daily flights to Dublin, augurs well for the future of Knock Airport.

£30m gas-fired electricity station for Bellacorick The Western People this week.

Proposals for the construction of a gas fired electricity generating station close to the ESB power station in Bellacorick are well under way and a planning application is expected to be filed with Mayo County Council within weeks. The £30 million-pound project is understood to involve some Irish interests but the main promoter is a Texas based development company. A two-year option has been taken on a site adjacent to the existing power station which is scheduled to close by 2005. The promoters have given themselves a two-year time frame in which to design and build the station. It is proposed, when the station is commissioned, to sell or lease it to a distribution company who would sell the electricity to the national grid. The project is shrouded in secrecy at present but it is known that a Mayo based engineering firm has been working on the planning application for the past number of months. Some local people have visited the US to view similar type generating stations there and examine the impact such a development would have on the locality. A further trip to Derby in the UK is planned to examine a site there. The ESB and Bord na Mona will cut back on operations in Bellacorick over the next number of years with the loss of 280 jobs. The existing operation is seen as an inefficient means of energy generation and if electricity is to be continued to be generated it will be gas fired. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O'Rourke have been briefed on the consequences of the impending closure for the Erris region and are anxious that some replacement jobs be found. While the number of jobs created by the gas fired station would be small compared to that of the existing operation, the building of a new station would be seen as a vote of confidence in the area.

Nurses, teachers and farmers figure high in marriage quest The Western People this Tuesday.

The Knock Marriage Introduction Bureau, set up 33 years ago by Mayo-born priest Fr. Michael Keane, continues to pay dividends for those seeking a partner in marriage. Latest figures released on Monday show that 23 marriages took place in 2000, bringing the total since 1968 to 763. Nearly 30,000 enquires have been made, with 8,747 men and 6,504 women completing applications. Over 13,000 couples have been introduced. Currently 200 introductions are in progress and ten engagements have been announced recently. Last year 188 men and 168 women applied to the Bureau, and only 9 of the men and one of the women were 60+. The vast majority in both categories were aged between 26 and 55. 89 of the women had attended Third Level education as had 59 of the men. Of those who applied in 2000, 18 men were from Galway, 10 from Mayo, 9 from Roscommon, 5 from Sligo and 2 from Leitrim, while 17 women were from Galway, 7 from Sligo, 5 from Roscommon 4 from Mayo and 2 from Leitrim. Almost one third of the 168 women who applied gave their occupations as teachers (27) or nurses (28), while of the 188 male applicants, 40 are farmers and 34 describe themselves as technicians.

Claremorris firm announces further expansion The Western People this week.

The Claremorris-based company, C.B.E., is set to take on a further sixteen employees over the next eighteen months. Managing Director Gerry Concannon, confirmed at the weekend that the company will expand its current workforce to 80 in the next 18 months. The jobs will be in the high tech software department. Galway T.D. and Minister, Frank Fahey, joined in welcoming the good news when he addressed the Claremorris Chamber of Commerce on Saturday night. He said that CBE was giving excellent employment in the area and that the creation of these new jobs in high technology was to be welcomed by all. He said that an investment of £180 million would be spent across a number of Departments on various ventures throughout the West, Midlands and Border region over the next year.

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