Ballinasloe, Co. Galway
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An initiative of Ballinasloe Area Community Development Ltd. To get in touch with Ballinasloe Life online, visit us here: www.ballinasloeenterprisecentre.ie www.facebook.com/BallinasloeLife AN INSIGHT INTO THE AREA WE LIVE IN Vol. 5 Issue 3: Aug ‘15 - Sep ‘15 Photo by Robert Riddell NEW SENSORY GARDEN FOR FR. PJ MADDEN CLUB SEAN NOS DAMHSA CANCER CENTRE RETURNING TO U.S. Ballinasloe - Gateway To The West www.ballinasloe.ie Gullane Family Business Past & Present Continuing To Serve the People of Ballinasloe Main Street, Ballinasloe, Co Galway Gullane’s Hotel & CONFERENCE CENTRE Tel: 090 96 42220 Fax: 090 96 44395 Email: [email protected] AN INSIGHT INTO THE AREA WE LIVE IN Vol. 5 Issue 3: Aug-Sep 2015 WHAt’s InsIDE REAMHRÁ LOCAL NEWS Well what started off as a 38 page journey has become 04 MICHAEL FINNERTY - PROFILE a 56 page cavalcade! Welcome to our new look 56 page BUSINESS mag – our thanks to the business community of the town 06 CIVIL DEFENCE CALL OUT FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS and its hinterland and indeed the Directors of BACD 08 BALLINASLOE ACCESS PROGRAMME TO UNIVERSITY for helping to underpin the continued expansion – it 09 HOSPITAL WATCH will hopefully allow us to grow the space allocated to 10 PROPERTY MARKET BACK TO HEALTHY LEVELS photos which we encourage more and more of you in 11 HEALY’S PHARMACY the readership to submit! Follow us on Twitter 12 GEORGE M. COYLE ACCOUNTANTS CELEBRATE 30 YEARS @BallinasloeLife As some of you may know I was involved as an outreach COMMUNITY officer for the community rollout of the EIRCODEs for 13 NATIONAL TO BIG SCHOOL MEMORIES East Galway over the past few months which involved 14 NEW HEALING GARDEN OPEN FOR CANCER SUPPORT serious traversing of the East County Galway territories . 17 KILTORMER ANNUAL HURLING FESTIVAL 18 CLONTUSKERT SCHOOL - FIRST IN IRELAND To say that rural Ireland has taken a hammering is to hugely underestimate the real 19 NEW SUPERINTENDENT - GERARD MURPHY damage that can only be witnessed by driving through towns and villages, once 20 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? VINCENT LYONS vibrant hubs of community and commercial centres. 22 COMMUNITY AWARDS The devastation of a place that has neither shop, tavern or temple open in the 24 FR. P.J. RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS AS PP middle of the day is a cruel sight – but obviously one that politicians and policy 26 OUT AND ABOUT IN BALLINASLOE makers are content to witness as long as the magical national computation of the 28 EVENTS GUIDE figures that is the new way of totting GDP and GNP suggests we are on the UP ! The Gullane Family Business 30 CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS Cities of the island and the 1.3 million of the M50 Greater Liffey Metro Area may be 31 SUMMER IN BALLINASLOE technically out of recession, with demands on house prices and wages back in vogue 32 STREETSCAPE MAKEOVER again but the rest of the island is still deeply gouged of people, capital and services. Past & Present 33 ENCOURAGING EVERYONE TO SUPPORT GALWAY 2020 The places however that have the wind in their limited sails in East Galway are the 33 GELS THIRD ANNUAL CYCLE ones who are animated by people who do care, selfless, tireless volunteers and Continuing To Serve the People of Ballinasloe 34 COMMUNITY SCREENING OF ‘BALLINASLOE OUR TOWN’ community activists who do the meals on wheels, look after our elderly, our young, 35 NEW LIBRARY BUILDING CLOSER TO OFFICIAL UNVEILING our environment , our faiths , our places. 35 ALL IRELAND GLORY FOR TAUGHMACONNELL SISTERS CULTURE Too often we criticise , carp , slag , complain or question the motives of those who 36 CU FACTOR NATIONAL FINAL SET FOR BALLINASLOE give. A good community needs its activists and also needs to teach next generations 37 TOWN HALL THEATRE EVENTS PREVIEW that legacy of facilities, services and sense of place was never orchestrated by a State 38 LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT EAMONN O’DONOGHUE on behalf of its people, but by people sometimes with the help but more often the indifference of the State. 39 LARRY REYNOLDS - A WEEKEND OF TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC 40 AIMS SUCCESS FOR MUSICAL SOCIETY Happy to see that our development company is reviving the idea of People of the Year 41 LARGE CROWDS EXPECTED TO ATTEND HORSE FAIR Awards this Autumn – we need to pause , look around and acknowledge that without 42 PASSING ON A LIVING TRADITION TO ANOTHER GENERATION the volunteers who make things happen – we would never really have a community. SPORT 43 LOCAL SPORTS CLUB DOING THEIR BIT FOR LOCAL ECONOMY Le Gach De Ghuí 44 COMMUNITY GAMES FINALISTS Colm Croffy, Editor 45 TENNIS CLUB UPDATE The Town Team is up and running and are launching a few 49 NATIONAL DRAUGHT HORSESHOW FOR SHOWGROUNDS initiatives over the coming months, details of which are 50 CONTINUED SUCCESS FOR ATHLETICS CLUB included in this current edition. In the main the initiatives 51 NEW BALLINASLOE DRIFT CLUB are aimed at bringing people into the town to increase the TOURISM AND HERITAGE vibrancy of same. 52 BROTHERS OF CHARITY “LET’S GET TO WORK” PROJECT The Retail sub group organised a Mid-Summer BBQ for a 53 THE MILL AT KILBEGLY business get together to share ideas and same was well 54 BALLINASLOE HISTORY WALK attended. However if this sector is to move forward a more coordinated, cohesive approach needs to be taken. This requires a total mind set change /challenge for all similar market towns. Individuals need to look outside their own CREDITS business and treat the Town centre as one large shopping Editor: Colm Croffy. Reporter: Zara Hill. Contributors: Ken Kelly, Sean centre and need to be aware of what is on offer by others Tully, Barry Lally, Ciara Beresford and various other contributors. and be prepared to refer business even if means doing so to a competitor. Towns which are prepared to move along Graphic Design: KPW Ballinasloe. Print: KPW Print, Ballinasloe. this track will give themselves a better chance of a sustainable and profitable future. Photos: Robert Riddell - robertriddell.com, J&S Photos - The report launched in 2014 by the Commission for the Economic Development of jsphotos.ie, Jordans - liamjordanphoto.com, Stronges - stronges.ie, Rural Areas has 34 recommendations one of which is the setting up of Rural Economic Mike Riddell, Evelyn Donnellan. Development Zones (REDZ) and Ballinasloe is the in the centre of these Zones. The Department of the Environment is Piloting this initiative in 18 REDZ and we are actively working on being one of the pilot areas with the support of Galway County Council. For submission of articles, please email [email protected]. Deadline 16th Sept. On a very positive note we are expanding the number of pages in the Magazine to 56 in order to accommodate the volume of material coming through. Keep on sending in your articles to [email protected]. Thank you for you continued feedback and support to this very successful publication. Main Street, Ballinasloe, Co Galway Seamus Duffy, Chairman, Ballinasloe Area Community Development. Gullane’s Hotel Ballinasloe Enterprise Centre, Tel: 090 96 42220 Fax: 090 96 44395 Creagh, Ballinasloe. Co. Galway Disclaimer: The opinions and views in this publication are those of the contributors. & CONFERENCE CENTRE In the compilation of this publication, every care is taken to ensure accuracy. Any T: 090 9646516 F: 090 9646517 errors or omissions should be brought to the attention of the Editor. Ballinasloe Life Email: [email protected] E: [email protected] does not accept any liability to any person for loss or damage arising from anything www.ballinasloeenterprisecentre.ie contained in this publication or for any error or omission in it. All material is copyright. 03 MICHAEL FINNERTY – PROFILE BY ZARA HILL Newly appointed to Cathaoirleach of the Municipal ‘’it’s going to be a slow pace and it’s going to be painful for businesses District, Fine Gael Councillor Michael Finnerty talks and shoppers alike, so it’s important that we get out the message that we remain open for business and we will facilitate our shopkeepers as about his new role and how he intends to make sure the best as we can.’’ town remains open for business. Estimating the best part of a year before completion of the big dig, Cllr Tobergrellan native Michael Finnerty joins five Town Councillors; Dónal Finnerty reveals ‘’work hasn’t been going as quick as we’d hoped but we Burke (FF), Tim Broderick (Ind), Dermot Connolly (SF), Michael Connolly have to steer it through and hopefully at the end we will see the benefits (FF), and Aidan Donoghue (FG), who are responsible for representing the of improved road surfaces, footpaths and services.’’ town and wider area. In relation to paid parking, Michael stated ‘’my colleagues at Council level Councillor Finnerty was proposed by outgoing Chairperson of the and I are looking at paid parking all over the county. This paid parking has Municipal District, Cllr Michael Connolly at the District AGM on June 10 hugely penalised the shopkeepers in town. It’s a hassle, it’s inconvenient.’’ and since has commended Michael Connolly on his work as the first Chairman. The Council successfully abolished paid parking in the town centre for the month of December 2014 and Michael ‘’Michael was the first Chairman of the District and a new believes this made a big difference to business during Chairman will be elected every year for the next five the Christmas period and encouraged people to shop years. Michael Connolly did a very good job. Everyone locally. The proposal to abolish paid parking is currently had their say and that’s the way it will continue.’’ being worked on at Council level, but first needs to be passed through the Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).