Mayo nominee appointed to Údarás na Gaeltachta Interim Board
Pádraic Ó Conaire has been appointed to the interim board of Údarás na Gaeltachta, having been nominated last November by Mayo County Council. The interim board has seven members, including Belmullet native Mr Ó Conaire (Padraic Conroy ) and nominees of Donegal, Galway, Kerry, and Waterford County Councils. The remainder of the board will be appointed when the public competition - administered by PAS (Public Appointments Service ) - has been completed. Under that competition - which is now live until 02/03/23 - the public has the opportunity to be included for the purpose of appointment on the board. Minister for the Gaeltacht Catherine Martin TD said this week: "I understand that the work done by Údarás na Gaeltachta Board and Executive is particularly important. As a result of this approach to the appointment of an interim board there will be no restriction on the organisation continuing to implement its agenda. With the public competition now open, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage women to seek nominations to be appointed on state boards in general, but on the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta in particular."
Crowds say farewell to Paddy Cosgrove
Huge crowds attended the funeral on Monday Feb 13 last of popular Belmullet man, Paddy Cosgrove, a former councillor and Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council and teacher by profession, who has passed away. Tributes were paid to Mr Cosgrove, of Cloontakilla, Bangor Erris, on his readiness to help and support young people throughout his life and of his gentle, affable nature. A former Fianna Fail councillor, Paddy Cosgrave subsequently served as an Independent councillor for Belmullet and is survived by his wife Imelda and children. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h'anam dílis.
Dublin Train issues, refugee numbers and Lee Keegan tribute
Cllr Christy Hyland has called for representatives of Irish rail to attend another meeting of Westport-Belmullet MD, stating at their most recent meeting: "I am awful concerned about people getting on trains and no seats available to them and them standing all the way to Dublin." As Chair of the MD he also called for the head of housing in Mayo County Council, Tom Gilligan, to attend the next meeting of the MD, saying: “I invite Tom Gilligan who is in charge of the refugee situation to give us a briefing regarding the number of refugees now in our MD. How many rooms are taken right along the coast from Louisburgh to Belmullet and how is our accommodation fixed, coming up to the summer." He also said he wished to thank Lee Keegan for all he had done for football for Mayo and wished him well in his retirement, adding: "I propose we afford him a civic reception in Westport Town Hall to acknowledge his contribution to the game of Gaelic football." Cllr Brendan Mulroy seconded the proposal.
Chambers calls for publication of Rail Review
Senator Lisa Chambers has called for the All-Ireland Strategic Rail Review to be published as soon as ready for publication, regardless of the continuing impasse in Northern Ireland, following on from the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan saying he will not publish the Review as a result of the lack of an executive in Northern Ireland - as the document examines railways on the island of Ireland. Senator Chambers said this position results in there being an open-ended delay on the publication of the report as Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton Harris, has said that he will not be calling assembly elections for another year. Senator Chambers said, “We believe that the review will recommend that the Western Rail Corridor will reopen and while this is welcome, we need to have the review published without delay to allow work to begin on making this happen. This rail corridor is crucial to the economy of the west of Ireland, and particularly Mayo. The publication of the strategic rail review will allow this to move forward and I am particularly conscious of the importance of the Athenry to Claremorris section which is badly needed for people living and doing business in those regions.”
Regional Festivals & Participative Events Programme for County Mayo 2023
Mayo County Council has announced an open call for funding under Fáilte Ireland’s Regional Festival & Participative Events Programme 2023. The Festival & Participate Events Programme for County Mayo aims to support festivals and participative events that will drive domestic tourism and help to improve the visitor experience in Mayo. To be considered for funding under this Programme, Festivals must generate a minimum of 200 visitor or tourist bed nights in paid accommodation. A project minimum expenditure of €5,000 must be demonstrated in the case of both festivals and participative events. Applicants are asked to note there is no guarantee of funding and eligible applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis against the criteria set out in the Programme Guidelines. Closing date for receipt of applications is Friday February 24th 2023 at 5pm. Applications received after this date will not be considered. For application forms and programme guidelines see https://www.mayo.ie/news/regional-festivals-2023 or email [email protected]
Mayo Millionaire lottery winners
The National Lottery ‘high tier prizes report’ has revealed that in the last three years, ten separate millionaires were made in Co. Cork while Galway and Mayo have had six new millionaires each. Mayo’s biggest winners include the record-breaking Lotto jackpot win of €19.06 million which was claimed by a Mayo family syndicate in January 2021. The National Lottery added: "Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage, and the Irish Language. In total more than €6 billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 35 years ago. In 2021 alone, €304 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland."
