Search Results for 'Michael Finneran'

FLYING COWS, spiralling elves, a boy made of cheese, a singing monkey, spicy feet, and the most spectacular inflatable space imaginable - it’s all at the children’s arts festival, Baboró.

Racing takes place in Roscommon on Tuesday August 6 with most of Ireland’s top national hunt jockeys in action. The day’s racing is once again well supported by local sponsors.

Castlebar Mitchels man Richie Feeney has been handed the number 11 shirt for Sunday’s Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final against Roscommon in McHale Park. The versatile Feeney will replace the injured Cillian O’Connor who dislocated his shoulder in a club championship match for Ballintubber against Claremorris, the week after Mayo’s opening round victory over Galway in Salthill.

Top jockey Ruby Walsh may be among the winners at Roscommon next Tuesday.

I have been chatting to a few of my Roscommon friends over recent days and they appear very confident about their team’s chances this Sunday. I can understand why they might feel that way. Former midfielder and current team manager Fergal O’ Donnell has his team putting in good performances these days. I have heard stories of training camps and twice daily sessions being conducted, so it would appear that no stone is being left unturned as he pushes and strives for success. They are extremely fit and well drilled and are a formidable side. In their two games played in this year’s championship they played superbly. OK, the quality of the opposition i.e. New York and Leitrim wouldn’t be ranked very highly in the current ratings of championship contenders, but other teams have struggled in New York and Leitrim have always proved to be formidable opposition in Carrick on Shannon.

With a sell out crowd of 30,000 expected to head to Hyde Park on Sunday, there will be nowhere to hide for Mayo as they aim to dethrone Fergal O’Donnell’s defending Connacht champions on their home patch. Ten years ago O’Donnell was the man who lifted the Nestor Cup in the same venue on a sweltering Sunday evening when a late, late Gerry Lohan goal had primrose and blue ribbons hanging from the old trophy for the year at the end of one of the games of the ages.

Travelling to Garrymore is a rare adventure for me. In fact it is one of the few grounds in this county that when I travel to it I invariably get lost along the way. Instead of taking the more direct (if you could ever use the word ‘direct’ in association with any passage to Garrymore) route via Claremorris, I thought I remembered the less travelled road up through Mayo Abbey being a little more interesting and so I veered right at the top of Balla village and not for the first time.

The elected members of Ballina Town Council will meet again before approving a new tenant purchase scheme for long standing tenants. The new scheme, which will run hand in hand with the existing scheme, will see tenants who have more than 10 years of tenancy with the local authority get up to a 45 per cent discount on purchasing their home. This new scheme will run alongside the existing scheme from 1995 which saw tenants being able to avail of up to a 30 per cent discount on purchasing their homes.

The incoming Government was urged to repeal the decision of outgoing Minister of State with responsibility for Housing, Michael Finneran TD to concentrate on leasing houses rather than construct them to fill the social housing needs in the country. The issue was flagged a number months ago that the Government wanted to enter into leasing schemes with developers rather have local authorities do their own construction. At a meeting of the Housing SPC of Mayo County Council, Mr Paul Benson from the council told the members: “We received a circular from the department in December which just copper fastens what we were being told for the past few months. The council is going to have no option but to enter into the leasing deals rather than start new construction projects.” He also told the meeting that the housing funding that would be made available to the council could be only 10 per cent of what it once was and that not many projects can be done with that. However, he went on to say that while this was the proposal at present legislation had to be brought in and that any new Government may decide to go a different way.

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