Snippets
03 March 1999
Mayo's roads design
coup
CASTLEBAR SELECTED BY NATIONAL
ROADS AUTHORITY AS REGIONAL OFFICE. . .
By Tom Kelly
THE National Roads Authority has selected Castlebar
as the location for a Regional Design Office.
The facility, which will be one of only three centres
based at provincial locations in the country, will involve
the creation of up to 25 jobs.
Officials of the NRA were in the town at the weekend to
finalise details of the proposal with high ranking officials
of Mayo
County Council.
It is understood that some members of the council's road
design team will be enlisted to run the office which will be
involved in drawing up major roads designs for the entire
western region.
The move is being viewed as a major coup by the council
which had been campaigning vigorously behind the scenes for
the centre to be located in Mayo.
According to reports, the high standard of work produced
by the council's roads design department over the past
number of years was a key factor in the NRB's final
deliberations.
The chairman of Mayo County Council, Mr. Al McDonnell,
described the board's decision as a tremendous compliment to
the roads engineer staff of the authority.
"What the announcement means, in effect, is that the NRA
is being regionalised with greater powers in the development
of our roads structure being vested in Mayo County
Council.
"I believe the council will have a greater input into
what roads are prioritised insofar as they will have their
finger on the pulse."
Mr. McDonnell said it was unclear whether a new building
would be provided in Castlebar to house the permanent
centre.
"A lot of the finer details have yet to be figured out.
There will not be a problem with accommodation for the
start-up later this year. It can be accommodated within the
existing council facilities."
Mr. McDonnell said the office would be involved in very
specialist work, and it was his hope the development of the
N5 between Swinford
and Longford would win priority status.
"At the moment the timescale for that project is between
ten to fifteen years. I am pushing for that timescale to be
significantly reduced," he added.
The late Kay O'Grady, Clare Island
and Westport
THE death has occurred of Mrs. Kay O'Grady (nee Kenny) of
the Bay View Hotel, Clare Island, and late of St. Mary's
Crescent, Westport.
A very respected figure, Kay was well known all along the
western seaboard and was very popular with locals and
visitors alike. With her husband, Chris, she ran the highly
successful Bay View Hotel on Clare Island and was often one
of the first welcoming faces that visitors to the island met
on their travels.
She also took a keen interest in the family's other
activities, including the operating of the 'Pirate Queen'
ferry service from Roonagh.
A respected business woman, Kay and her husband Chris
built up the Bay View Hotel into a thriving business and it
is the only hotel on Clare Island. The O'Grady family were
also responsible for the main ferry service operating from
the island and their boat 'The Pirate Queen' is licenced to
carry almost one hundred people and is the largest ferry
operating along the west coast.
The launch of the ferry by Chris and Kay greatly opened
up access and the infrastructure of the island and together
they worked tirelessly for a better deal for the islands,
particularly in securing funds for non-Gaeltacht
islands.
Always a hard worker, Kay devoted much of her time to the
running of the hotel and took care in promoting local
produce, particularly seafood.
Kay was very well known in the Westport area and worked
for some time in 'The Mayo News'.
A huge crowd of friends and relatives attended the
removal from Navin's Funeral Home, Westport, to Mary's
Church, Westport, on Monday evening. Following Mass on
yesterday (Tuesday) she was removed to the Church of the
Sacred Heart, Clare Island, and will be laid to rest in the
adjoining cemetery on this morning (Wednesday) following
Mass for the repose of her soul.
She is survived by her husband, Chris; children, Clare,
Patricia, Alan, Brian and Carl; mother, May; father, Joe;
brothers, John and Joseph; sister, Moira; uncle, aunt,
brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, cousins,
relatives and many friends to whom sympathy is extended.
May she rest in peace.
The late Mr. Tom Baynes, Main
Street, Castlebar
THE death has taken place suddenly at his residence of
Mr. Thomas (Tom) Baynes of the Tweed Centre, Main Street.
Castlebar,
one of the most progressive and well known business men in
the county town.
Aged 85-years, Mr. Baynes took over the family business
from his father in 1933, at the tender age of twenty
years.
Over the years he developed it into a niche business and
he was proud of his roots on main Street where he was born
and lived all his life.
In his younger days Tom was deeply involved with the
organising of the Western Fair which brought Carnivals to
the town and he was also associated with Castlebar Celtic
and as a younger man was a keen angler and shooter.
He worked for a period with the Office of Public Works
but his first love was the family business which he returned
to after his stint with the OPW.
Tom Baynes, was a first class gentleman, a devoted father
and husband. He always put his customers first and he
expected the best out of everyone.
A true Castlebar man Tom Baynes was proud of his root s
and he delighted in the steady progress of the town.
His remains were removed from Coady's Funeral Home on
Friday evening to the Church of the Holy Rosary, Castlebar
and interment took place in the Old cemetery following
Requiem Mass on Saturday.
Mr. Baynes is survived by his wife Nancy, and by his
children Marian, Pat, Seamus, Colette and Michael, by his
grandchildren, sons-in-law brother-in-law, daughters-in-law,
sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and a large
circle of friends to whom deepest sympathy is extended on
their great and sudden loss.
Raw materials boost for proposed
cement factory
THE promoter of the controversial Tooreen Cement Factory
project has made a strategic move by purchasing some 4O
acres of land in the Aughamore area. The property is rich in
limestone which would be used to supply the £3O million
plant should it get the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanala later
this year.
One of the main arguments against the project has been
the lack of local raw material but the acquisition by the
Harrington company, at a cost believed to be in the region
of £4,5OO per acre, remedies this shortcoming.
A spokesman for Tooreen Action Group yesterday (Tuesday)
admitted that the latest move by by the Harringtons is a
blow to their campaign. "It overcomes one of the main
problems, the lack of raw materials", the spokesman
stated.
Lightning storm caused
blackout
THE vicious and sudden lightning storm on Saturday night
caused an electricity and phone blackout in the Curradrish
area on the Turlough Road outside Castlebar.
One young local man, Kevin Malone, son of well known
butcher Peter Malone, was holding a telephone when lightning
struck flinging the receiver from his hand.
Phone wiring in the Malone house was blackened by the
lightning bolt. The thunderstorm, which was accompanied by
torrential rain and hail, was brief but dramatic and was
experienced over a wide area of Mayo.
Decaying Balla courthouse - Judge
wonders if it has a future
DAMP and cold conditions at a courthouse in Mayo, which
has been in use since the last century, have been severely
criticised by a District Court Judge.
At the monthly sitting of Balla
Court last week, Judge Daniel Shields complained about the
cold and dilapidation. The building has no heating and paint
is peeling from the walls.
The Judge wondered whether those who would be seeking
votes in the local elections might want to have something
done about the problems.
Dampness was seeping from the walls, the Judge stated,
and it was no wonder so much coughing could be heard during
court sessions.
Judge Shields also commented on the fact that there was
no place in the building where he, as Judge, could have
discussions in private.
It would be a pity if the Courthouse was to close, the
Judge continued, but if the present situation continued he
could see no future for it.
Mr. Tom Walsh, solicitor, on behalf of the Mayo Bar
Association, said he had to echo the Judge's sentiments on
the courthouse conditions.
Connaught Telegraph - News &
Sport - March 1999
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