Castlebar Chamber of Commerce

To Bookmark: Ctrl-D

Castlebar Electronic Commerce Centre

---

Mindy O'Sullivan and Ernie Sweeney
are to be named as Mayo people of the year. Rose of Tralee Luzveminda O'Sullivan and literacy campaigner Ernie Sweeney will be among those to receive Mayo people of the year awards at a glittering awards dinner to be held in Westport later this year.
Theatre Group on Tour in Korea
Eamon Smith from Castlebar is heading up the cast of a Mayo theatre group currently playing in South Korea. They will give a number of performances over the next two weeks at a Theatre Festival in a city called Masan which sits on the delta of the Nak Dong River in South Korea. This highly unusual venture came about almost by accident, but over the next week Castlebar resident Eamon Smith and colleagues will be treading the boards bringing Brian Friel's Faith Healer to South Korea. We will bring you further details of the progress of our strolling players as the week goes on. We have a link to Masan here and you can even have a look at the hotel they are staying in! Silly we know - but you can't do this type of thing with a newspaper or on radio.
Enda looks into security cameras!
Enda Kenny TD has requested the Minister for Justice to provide Garda time for monitoring of new street security cameras in Castlebar. Some £13,000 has been raised by local businesses to be invested in a security camera system for the main streets of Castlebar. To date it has not been possible to install the system due to lack of finance for Garda staff time to monitor the cameras. It is believed that the Department of Justice is unwilling to fork out because of the low crime rate in Castlebar.
If you have any views on the desirability or otherwise of this idea - let us know. Of course we could turn them into webcams, link them to the Internet and let the world have a look at Castlebar - in true Truman Show style?

---

Computers at Home Project!
The Castlebar Information Age Initiative is to be widened to the whole of County Mayo. Households and businesses throughout Mayo will be eligible for a special price on new Gateway computers. The Information Age Committee announced full details of the scheme on 14 October. Castlebar Information Age Town Committee together with Gateway have come up with a keenly discounted prices for a range of Gateway computers from £715+VAT. In addition there is a special subsidy of £150 for those living within the Castlebar area.. A further training voucher (~£50) is also available for Castlebar residents. Hardware details can be obtained from Gateway on 1800 200 099. To obtain the subsidy computer purchasers must obtain an e-mail address with a recognised Internet Service provider (ISP). Finance is available from various institutions including the Castlebar Credit Union.
Having won £1Million last year in the Telecom Information Age Town competition, the committee is anxious to spread the benefits as far as possible in order to generate employment opportunities and increase the level of computer skills in the town. This scheme will account for a major portion of the prize fund.
Earlier schemes included:

• Information Age Centre (Ellison Street),
• Schools computers,
• Computers for Castlebar clubs and organisations,
• Castlebar ECDL project.

Other related projects include the running of the www.castlebar.ie web domain which has been done on a voluntary basis to date with ISP costs borne by the Chamber of Commerce and Castlebar UDC. The Microsoft Libraries Online! Project at Castlebar Public Library has been a wonderful success over the past year with online terminals fully booked during opening hours. The Dept. of Education / Telecom Eireann £10+£10 million schools IT project has also boosted schools' IT infrastructure in Castlebar as elsewhere. Castlebar is also the base for IT training of teachers in Mayo.

---

Castlebar e-Commerce Centre
Check out the special electronic commerce section on the Castlebar Internet domain. e-Commerce is certainly the buzzword of late 1998. Find out a bit more by checking out the Castlebar e-Commerce Centre
We take e-Commerce to include a wide range of activities such as:

Simple listings and advertising on web pages such as the Castlebar directories
More expansive web sites with detailed product information and customer services
Interactive services for customers and feedback of valuable marketing information
Electronic trading where payment is made by credit card over the web on a secure server such as the Castlebar Domain's secure server.

This is a new and expanding area and it is difficult for many companies to appreciate both the opportunities and the competitive threats posed by the growth of e-commerce. The Castlebar Internet Domain will attempt to give Castlebar traders a first hand idea of what is possible today by offering some free services and demonstrations of electronic commerce in action. At present the Centre's activities include:

The Castlebar e-Commerce Centre offers free upgrades to the listings of Castlebar businesses and organisations already listed in our business directories.

We are setting up a register of Affiliate Companies for Castlebar-based companies and individuals who can provide Internet services such as web page design.

We want to stimulate Castlebar people to start thinking about the commercial possibilities of selling goods and services on the Internet from Castlebar.

We offer a consultancy service to Castlebar businesses and individuals who would like to go into a bit more detail.

Examples and Castlebar case histories are also included from time to time

Shortly we will include a demonstration web shop selling goods and services.

Read more about e-Commerce in Castlebar.

ECDL Comes to Castlebar

The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) is a European standard for competency in computers. Castlebar is the first town in Ireland to vigourously promote ECDL in a whole-town context. The Travellers Friend Hotel was packed out on Wednesday 17 Sep at the launch of the Castlebar ECDL Initiative which was promoted by the Castlebar Information Age Town committee. Interest in the initiative was very keen indeed following a full page publicising the event in the Connaught Telegraph. The presentation was launched by the County Manager Des Mahon and gave full details of what is needed to obtain your ECDL. The ECDL examination may be undertaken by anyone - there are no prequalifications needed. The ECDL covers 7 principal areas of computer usage - it is not too difficult if you have some experience already. There are a number of courses available in Castlebar plus a self-teaching CD-ROM for those who need to brush up or start from scratch Click for more on Castlebar and ECDL

Sean McDonnell runs his 20th Marathon

Sean McDonnell, the well-known building contractor in Castlebar, is running in the New York Marathon on the 1st of Nov 1998, in aid of Cerebral Palsy Ireland. If you wish to sponsor him please forward all donations to Sean Mc Donnnell, Spencer Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland. This will be his 20th Marathon, and all donations will be greatly appreciated.

Help is at Hand for Castlebar Clubs and Societies Currently Setting up on the Web!
A major computer presentation ceremony took place at the Travellers Friend Hotel on Thursday 27 August 1998. Almost 50 clubs and societies received brand new Gateway computers under the Information Age Town Committee computer scheme. They are now setting up these computers and getting on-line in advance of establishing their web pages.
Over the next few weeks we will be providing tips and advice to those setting up web pages. A special web site offering help to clubs has already been set up here. In addition a self-help mailing list set up specifically to deal with getting your computer up and running and creating your web pages. This services are additional to the normal Gateway and Tinet help lines.
So join in the discussion group which allows you to request help from other individuals or to offer help in reply to such requests. It will take a while to pick up steam so give it a chance. Obviously the Information Age Committee will pitch in with advice also. Anyone can join - you don't have to be a club computer recipient. Further details

ANGLING REPORTS
Now that the '98 season is over read over the summers reports from the River Moy, Lough Conn, Lough Beltra, Newport River etc. See who caught what. Definitely something FISHY about this one!

---

Hope you didn't miss these: Celebration of the Senses
The October Bank Holiday Weekend is heightened senses time in Castlebar. Benefit from that extra hour in bed when the clock goes back and stay up late at the Festival of the Senses. From Friday to Monday last weekend in October (23-26 Oct in 1998) Castlebar rocks for the Celebration of the Senses Festival. An event celebrating the five senses of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell through the medium of art, music, drama, dance, food and drink presented and performed by people of different nationalities and cultures. From Salsa Bands to Gypsy Groups to Piano and Flute Trios to Childrens Events, Food Tasting - check it out in Castlebar's autumnal setting - a truly multinational gathering takes place - the perfect pick-me up as we head into the winter months.

the big event - The 4 Days' Walks Festival - July 2 to 5 1998 - a great success this year again with thousands of walkers from all over the World.

If you missed this year's you can come next year which will be the 33rd year of the walking festival at Castlebar. Festival or not you can walk the beautiful Castlebar country side at any time of the year.
For one person's detailed account of her experiences on the 1998 walks.
contact Castlebar Chamber of Commerce for details.

Hope you didn't miss the Castlebar Blues Festival!
Bank Holiday May 29 to June 1 1998

Try this for size - umpteen useless and entertaining bits of info about Castlebar - there are some WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
new bits and pieces coming in to 'populate' this list all the time - get ready for this winters round of table quizzes - gen up on Castlebar trivia!

Use our search engine - this allows you to search through, e.g. all the old Parish Newsletters which are kept on the site.

A Mall by any other name - but this MALL is not a shopping mall - far from it - the heart of Castlebar!

Roots Search List

Visit Moore Hall and Lough Carra - experience the calm that is the West of Ireland

A web-site award!

Need a Place to Stay when in Castlebar?

Let us keep you up to date with a FREE automatic reminder when this page is updated. If you register with the free netminder service you will get an e-mail reminder every time this page is updated. It's a good service and can be used to track other pages on the Castlebar web site - or indeed anywhere on the WWW.

Read our most romantic entry on the guestbook

A quirky account of a flight from Castlebar to Connemara

For one person's detailed account of her experiences on the 1998 four days walks in Castlebar.

Read one person's view of what's worth seeing and doing in and around Castlebar while on holidays

• Let Castlebar help to find your friends and relations

• Castlebar dwellers - Please Help by Reading the Requests for information about Castlebar friends and relations. If you can help please forward information to those requesting it.

• Then read the guest book. (for general greetings, Easter Greetings, Mother's Day and Patrick's Day greetings) to see who else is out there thinking home thoughts from abroad.

• Remember that week by week the Parish Newsletter provides an ongoing record of life and death in Castlebar.

Wanted! e-mail addresses for the Castlebar E-Mail Directory.

Say Hi to
CASTLEBAR

Read the Castlebar Guestbook

Seeking Castlebar Relatives and Friends - can you help?

Let us help you find relatives and friends in Castlebar.

Community Interest

Media

Education and Training

Health Matters

Events

Agriculture

Other Castlebar Sites

Awarded: