Eating and drinking aplenty in the season of goodwill

Fri, Dec 27, 2013

Irish people will munch their way through an astonishing five million boxes of chocolate and guzzle 48 million bottles of beer in the festive season.

That is according to Repak, which promotes the recycling of used packaging.

Clare Island named Best Outdoor Escape

Fri, Dec 27, 2013

A trio of businesses which came together to promote adventuring on Clare Island has won a national award.

Christmas Jumper Run

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

This Saturday December 21 at 12 noon at Lough Lannagh, Castlebar, get into the Christmas spirit this year by joining runners of all shapes and sizes for the fun and festive 5km Christmas Jumper Run.

Local support urged for St Vincent de Paul

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

As donations to its annual appeal are down on average between 20 and 25 per cent compared with last year, the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has made a renewed plea to the Irish public for support in the last week before Christmas. Donations to the SVP can be made locally or online at www.svp.ie.

Christmas can be a difficult time of the year

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

Winter blues is often associated with this time of year. But with Christmas lights up and Christmas music playing it is easy to forget that for many people this time of year can be particularly difficult. Christmas can be a reminder of a loved one who has passed away. Or the financial pressure of Christmas is stressful. Or maybe all of the social occasions and family gatherings are raising anxiety levels.

Faheys is launching its new Communion wear collection

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

Faheys on Main Street, Castlebar, has announced the launch of the 2014 Communion dress collection on Friday December 27.

A Christmas headache

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

Christmas time can be migraine time for the half a million migraine sufferers in Ireland according to the Migraine Association of Ireland (MAI). This means up to three days of symptoms including nausea, sometimes vomiting, extreme sensitivity to light, noise, and smells, and an intense throbbing headache.

Mayo people help bring hope to needy children

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

Schools, families, communities, and businesses across Mayo have helped bring great hope at Christmas to 6,580 needy children in disadvantaged areas overseas.

Beauty by Joan celebrating twenty three years in business

Fri, Dec 13, 2013

Beauty by Joan, on Linenhall Street in Castlebar, is celebrating 23 years in business and is one of the longest established beauty and hair removal salons in the west of Ireland.

St Gerald’s positive mental health week

Fri, Dec 13, 2013

St Gerald’s College Student Council in collaboration with Mayo Mental Health Association is holding the first positive mental health week at the college. The St Gerald’s Student Council was formed in September of this year and highlighted mental health as an important issue for young people in the school.

The Student Council states that: “In recent years there seems to have been a stigma placed around mental health. Starting on December 9, St Gerald’s College are running our first ever mental health week. We hope to provide clarity on what mental health actually is while promoting good practice in looking after it. We do not expect a major reform in people's attitudes by the end of the week. However we would hope that we may encourage the notion of talking it out. Let's talk is the slogan we have adopted for the week. Simply discussing problems of anxiety and stress with someone you trust regularly is a crucial concept. We have displayed posters of useful numbers for anyone who is looking for advice or just to talk. If after this short week we have started people thinking more proactively about their mental health, then we feel the week would be a worthwhile project.”

Surviving the Christmas season

Fri, Dec 13, 2013

‘Tis the season to be jolly’, so goes the line from that wonderful old Christmas carol, however for many families struggling to pay the bills, this time of the year can be anything but. MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, has produced a short publication for families in the run-up to Christmas providing lots of practical advice and tips on how to survive the Christmas season.