Connaught Telegraph - Editorial
11 June 1997
A NEW POLITICAL ERA
Congratulations to Michael Ring, Jim Higgins, Beverley Cooper-Flynn, Enda Kenny and Tom Moffatt who now go forward as members of the 28th Dail where they will represent the interests of Mayo.
They fought a long and tough battle to be elected/re-elected. But in the result there had to be loosers and this time PJ Morley and Seamus Hughes were among the vanquished.
Both men have served the country and the county well. They have nothing to be ashamed of as they resume their lives outside of the Oireachtas. Such are the vagaries of our complex and unique PR system.
Bertie Ahern is set to become the new Taoiseach with the help of the depleted PD's and a handful of independents.
He will be a popular and competent leader and hopefully he will not forget the West of Ireland. The achievement of Beverley Cooper-Flynn in taking the Castlebar seat, we trust will be recognised. She is a very capable young woman and will represent this corner of the country very well.
Indeed, if she is given a ministerial portfolio, and we hope she is, she will do justice to such an appointment.
Being the first woman ever to be elected in Mayo it would be a fitting tribute to her achievement if she were to arrive home with a car once the wheeling and dealing is over and a government is formed. Surely the surprise of all in Mayo was the poll topper Michael Ring. It just goes to show that hard work does pay off.
Since June 1994 he has been slogging away and the 10,066 first preference votes he received proved he had delivered to his electorate.
It was astonishing really how he pulled votes out of nearly every box. Indeed in places where you would not expect him to feature at all.
But the Ring enigma is now a powerful force in Mayo politics and one which will have to be reckoned with in the years ahead.
Really he played a blinder and was the factor in Fine Gael taking three of the five seats. Ministers Jim Higgins and Enda Kenny both polled well but Ring was ahead by 3,121 of Higgins and 1,498 of Kenny.
It was a remarkable achievement by Ring seeing that his total expenditure on the campaign came to less that £5,000.
It will be interesting to see how Fine Gael will act in opposition. One thing for sure is that Michael Ring will be a thorn in the side the Government.
We wish all of the new TD's well in the new Dail and we hope that those defeated will have a happy and healthy retirement.
FLYING THE BLUE FLAG
This magnificent county has the cleanest beaches in Europe. A staggering thirteen, in all, have been awarded Blue Flag status, the highest ever.
It shows that we do have a clean, unspoiled and pollution free environment of which we can be justly proud.
All of the areas, including three new additions -- Dooega (Achill), Elly Bay (Belmullet) and Clare Island -- add to the amenity value of our coastal areas.
Mayo County Council who have the responsibility of maintaining the beaches have done a tremendous job.
The lucky thirteen Blue Flags show just how concerned the authority officials are of meeting the strict criteria demanded for the accolades.
The achievement is all the greater by the fact that Clare Island has been included for the first time. This is the first off-shore community in the country, excluding Achill which is bridged to the mainland, to achieve this standard.
The others are at Louisburgh (Carramore, Old Head); Murrisk (Bertra); Mulranny; Achill: (Keel, Keem, Dugort, Golden Strand); Belmullet (Mullaghroe) and Killala (Ross).
In order to achieve the standard all of the beaches have to meet the strict guidelines. These include water quality, coastal quality, litter, beach management, toilet facilities, lifesaving as well as public information.
Under the scheme Local Authorities in Europe are obliged to make the results of fortnightly water-quality rests available to the public and notices must be posted..
The task presented to Mayo County Council, with such a vast coastline and now thirteen beaches - with one of them on Clare island - to monitor, is enormous.
But the effort has been put in and we can now boast of the cleanest beaches in Ireland, if not in Europe. But we all have a part to play in this regard. Parents and their children must be responsible when they avail of the beach amenities.
The simple task of taking home your own litter helps in a major way to keep these amenities clean.
On a recent visit to one of the Blue Flag beaches at Carramore just outside Louisburgh we were appalled to see an adult blow up a large motor car tube type flotation aid and give it to children to go into the sea with.
Fortunately the alert lifeguard was on the scene within minutes and had the tube removed from the water, while at the same time giving an earful to the careless man.
Certainly, if this is the standard and efficiency of the lifeguards then all our beaches are all the safer for their great efforts.
As we said earlier, there has to be a responsible approach to beach safety. It cannot and must not be left to the lifeguard to implement. All beach users have a role to play and if they approach this is a sensible way, accidents or tragedies can be avoided.
