Men brandished knife and hoe in Ballina estate

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Two men appeared before Ballina District Court this week after they were in possession of a knife and a hoe in the early hours of the morning in the vicinity of a residential estate. Another man, who is related to the men, also faced charges after he tried to prevent their arrest.

Bonniconlon farmer convicted of drink driving

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

A 55-year-old farmer who was observed driving on both sides of the road was convicted of drink driving at Ballina District Court on Tuesday.

Council’s gritting programme under threat due to lack of salt

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Mayo County Council is running out of salt for gritting the county’s roads so a reprieve from the current cold snap will be welcome. At present there is only enough salt left to grit the roads until the end of this week and after that resources will be very limited.

Public service staff vent their anger at

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Irate public service workers aired their views to Mayo’s five TDs at an Impact arranged meeting on Monday afternoon, where the general consensus among the public workers was the injustice that the public sector are bearing the brunt in providing significant contributions in solving the countries economic recovery, through the recently announced pension levy.

St Vincent de Paul donations up from last year

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

January 2009, the country is in the depth of a recession but here in Castlebar there is a small light of hope for those struggling in these times of troubles. The St Vincent de Paul offices on Pavilion Road Castlebar have announced that donations are up 50% on last year.

Illegal nets seized on

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Staff of the Western Regional Fisheries Board have seized 120 metres of illegal eel fyke nets on Lough Corrib. The nets were recovered following a routine patrol on the lake. The nets contained in addition to eels, five other species of fish; trout, pike, bream, perch, and roach, some of which were dead, but 10 trout from two pounds to four pounds were released alive. In addition one of the nets contained a dead otter and another one contained a deal cormorant.

Star Taxis - for unbeatable discounts

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

For the month of February Star Taxis are going all out and offering an unbelievable book one get one free offer. If you book a taxi during the month of February between the hours of 6am and 6pm from a location in Castlebar to the town centre you will be given, upon request, a return for free discount card which can be used between 6am and 6pm on the same day only. Star Taxis advises all customers to ask the driver for their card. They will be continuing with amazing special offers throughout the year which will also include specials for night time customers. Star Taxis reminds customers that all local runs are €5 regardless of passenger numbers during the day. They say they won’t be beaten on price.

Big Jack opens Aghagower hotel

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

A big crowd turned up at Aghagower last weekend to witness Jack Charlton open the Westport Country Lodge Hotel. This was a historic moment for Aghagower as one of the greatest Irish legends officially opened the new hotel. As always Jack was very friendly to all the guests and especially to a couple of pupils from Knockrooskey National School who were there for the Mayo Advertiser to get an exclusive with the man himself.

Lisbon No campaign successfully sold

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

I detect one tiny slice of silver lining on our dark clouds. A recent Red C opinion poll found that 58 per cent of respondents would vote Yes if there was a second Lisbon Treaty held this year.

Barrett wants action on Mayo figures

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

“The latest live register figures for Mayo show shocking rises across the county with very little political debate happening in relation to stemming the flow,” according to Labour’s local election candidate, Harry Barrett.

Barrett stated: “The numbers signing on has now doubled in Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris and Ballinrobe. While some of this is down to seasonal factors, it shows the awful extent of the economic downturn on our towns.

Court sittings must be restored to Ballinrobe - Beverley

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

Mayo TD Beverley Flynn has called for the immediate restoration of District Court sittings to Ballinrobe. And she has demanded a full and credible explanation from the Court Service for the sudden decision to terminate court hearings in Ballinrobe and transfer them to Castlebar.

Westport’s ‘can do’ spirit rubbing off on Ballina

Fri, Feb 13, 2009

The Grassroots in Westport aren’t happy if last week’s article is anything to go by. Nothing happening apparently, all the Government’s fault, etc, etc. But they’re forgetting that Westport has had it good for a long time in comparison to the rest of the county. And the reason they’ve had it so good is because there’s a ‘can do’ attitude in Westport that up until recently wasn’t really replicated in Ballina or Castlebar. Westport is the tourism Mecca it is today because the Covies stood up in the 70s and decided to make it that way. They put their money where their mouths were and invested considerable sums of their own money in to getting it there. That investment alongside some incredibly biased treatment from Board Fáilte and then Fáilte Ireland (memo to Fáilte Ireland - there’s more to Mayo then Westport) has made Westport the beauty it is today. Governments don’t win Tidy Towns — communities do and the ‘can do’ spirit fostered by the business community is now part of the overall Covie spirit. And in these times, that spirit, not whinging, is needed more then ever, that spirit, not whinging, will sustain Westport through these incredible times.

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