Snippets
13 January 1999
Cosgrove rejects Fianna Fail
'olive branch'
By Tom Kelly
CONTROVERSIAL councillor Paraic Cosgrove has rejected an
olive branch from the Fianna Fail party.
The Bangor
-based independent received a letter from the secretary
of the party's Comhairle Dailcheantair informing him of a
meeting of the organisation in the Welcome
Inn Hotel, Castlebar,
on Monday night last.
The authentic letter, with his name and address at the
top, came into the possession of the Connaught
Telegraph.
On the agenda were the dates of electoral conventions for
Mayo
County Council candidates.
Mr. Cosgrove was 'shafted' by the Fianna Fail party
before the last local elections in 1991 when members refused
to accept his nomination. He subsequently stood as an
independent and was elected.
Said Mr. Cosgrove: "I have been receiving these letters
over the last numbers of years, and I want to put it on
record I have no intention of returning to Fianna Fail.
There is no idealism in the party at Mayo County Council
level anymore.
"Members don't maintain Government policy and Fine Gael
members don't oppose Government policy. It's a cosy
arrangement which is not healthy, and now they both propose
fighting a local election on the basis of that
arrangement."
Missing Oireachtas Cup is
returned
THE missing solid silver Oireachtas Presidents Golfing
Cup has been located - thanks to the Connaught
Telegraph.
The priceless trophy, which dates back to 1929, was
collected by a prankster from Oliver Kelleher's Showrooms in
Castlebar, where it had been left in for engraving and
polishing.
It had been won some months ago by Castlebar based
Senator Paddy Burke. But a person purporting to represent
Senator Burke collected the cup in mid December.
Following a plea from Mr. Kelleher for the safe return of
the cup the trophy was handed in at our offices by an
anonymous person. It had been placed in a box and was in
mint condition.
Mr. Kelleher said: "It is a great relief to get the cup
back. I was really worried that it might not turn up.
"Thanks to the publicity in the Connaught Telegraph, the
trickster who collected the cup from my premises, knew the
game was up and decided to give it back. I am very
relieved."
He added: "With the names of 26 prominent politicians
inscribed on the cup it would have been very difficult to
dispose of it."
The Oireachtas Cup is now in the safe keeping of Senator
Burke.
Mr. Kelleher added: "I would like to express my thanks to
the Connaught Telegraph for its safe return."
Viewers will have to pay more if
'deflectors' are licensed
SOME TV deflector systems in Mayo may be licensed before
long by the Government but the cost to viewers will
inevitably be higher because of the increased cost of
meeting rigorous standards and guidelines.
Mr. Joe Gibbons of the Mayo Community T.V. Group says an
indication has been received from Etaine Doyle, Director of
Telecommunications Regulations, that some deflector groups
will be licensed.
However, the successful applicants will have to upgrade
their system to the highest possible standards and have
sufficient funding to cover start-up and running costs which
will be considerable.
Mr. Gibbons said yesterday that the higher costs would
have to be passed on by successful applicants for licences
to the viewer. "We are providing five channels in Westport
at the moment at an extremely low cost and even if we had to
increase our charges it would still represent very good
value", Mr. Gibbons stated.
£133,000 in Information Age
Town pay out
By TOM GILLESPIE
THE FIRST installment of the £1m payout by Telecom
Eireann to Castlebar in the Information Age Town project has
been received.
A cheque for £133,000 arrived on Monday and has
already been allocated for distribution, including a sum of
£50,000 towards job creation and the start up of a
Digital Park in the town for which 300 jobs have been
earmarked.
And this week some £48,000 will be distributed under
the heading of IT Integration by way of subsidy to
individuals and clubs who purchased computers in
November
A further £35,000, under IT education is being spent
on the purchase of European Computer Driving Licences CD-Rom
discs. These will be available for hire from the Chamber of
Commerce office for a very nominal sum.
The President of Castlebar
Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Pat Jennings said this was the
first draw-down of Telecom Eireann funds and they were being
used as promised under the headings - job creation, IT
integration and IT education.
Mr. Jennings stated: "£50,000 is being allocated to
the digital park project for the establishment of advanced
facilities to enable 300 new jobs to come to Castlebar.
These will be located on stand alone units as well as
incubation units.
"This is the first draw down on those funds for those
particular purposes. We are not ready to announce jobs yet
but this is the first step in establishing the Digital
Park"
He continued: "This is the culmination of two years hard
work by the Castlebar Information Age Committee chaired by
Richard Wynne.
"All of the monies are being channelled through Castlebar
Information Age Town Ltd, a company which has charitable
status.
"The rest of the monies will be coming through the
company shortly. We have commitments for the entire
£1m."
Shock news as Westport £20m.
plant is placed in doubt
By Tom Kelly
THE PROVISION of a £20m. sewerage treatment plant in
Westport
hangs in the balance, according to a shock revelation.
A member of Mayo
County Council, Mr. Seamus Hughes, said he was informed
by a highly reliable authority that the project was 'under
threat.'
He said: "I can tell you for a fact it won't go ahead
unless there is a dramatic change of attitude in the
Department of the Environment. It appears the promise of
money is not materialising, and this is a very sorry state
of affairs for Westport."
Mr. Hughes said strong political forces needed to be
exercised to change the worrying situation.
"There needs to be an awful push on this by our national
representatives or we are going to lose out. I know there is
genuine concern among high-ranking officials of Mayo County
Council.
"A campaign of protest must be waged to bring about a
change in the situation. Westport will suffer badly if we
lose this scheme after many years of negotiating and
planning. The town is stagnant in some respects and
declining in others."
A site had been earmarked for the treatment plant at
lands owned by Lord Altamount at the Quay, Westport. The
issue had been subject of a long-running planning crux
before getting the g-ahead.
Launch of TSB Bank Mayo Super
League
The TSB Bank Mayo Super League will be launched at a
reception in the TSB Bank, Ellison Street, Castlebar, on
Wednesday next, January 20th, at 8.30p.m.
The ten teams selected for the league will be officially
announced on the occasion.
A specially appointed committee of the Mayo Association
Football League has been working over the past number of
months interviewing clubs for the Super League.
Great interest will focus on the selection of the ten
teams, as well as the three clubs on the reserve panel.
The move to establish a Super League was taken in a bid
to upgrade facilities and help to further improve the
standard of the game.
The winning club in next season's Super League will
receive a cheque of £1,500 linked to ground
improvements. The runners up will receive £500.
Clubs are currently carrying out improvements at their
grounds to meet the Super League criteria. Changing
facilities and showers will be provided at all grounds
selected, as well as improved playing surfaces.
Connaught Telegraph - News &
Sport - January 1999
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