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07 January 2022

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A prominent local INTO spokesperson says the Irish National Teachers Organisation does not share the HSE’s view that schools are safe and controlled environments. Ballygar native, Tommy Greally, who is a member of the INTO’s Central Executive Committee, gave a measured response to today’s reopening of schools, while making it clear that there is widespread concern this morning among staff, parents, and management as primary school students return to classrooms across the county. Mr. Greally says concerns remain around such issues as the procurement of medical grade masks, HEPA filters, and the removal of contact tracing from primary schools. Mr. Greally, a teacher at Lavally National School near Tuam, believes more funding is required from central Government to ensure the necessary measures are taken in the classroom. “At this moment, the Board of Management in schools can use capitation funding to purchase medical grade masks for teachers. This funding is meant to be used for lighting, heating and

other running costs. The hope has to be that the Government will provide extra funding in the very near future,” he said. He added: “Another issue of concern is that contact tracing still hasn’t been restored at primary school level,” he added. “The HSE stands by its opinion that schools are safe and controlled environments, but we are not in agreement with that as things stand. We are not medical experts but it would certainly provide reassurance to staff, parents and students if contact tracing was reintroduced”. INTO has also raised concerns regarding staffing shortages as teachers and staff members return to work. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane has said the Government must act now to ensure schools can remain open. “Teachers and principals have sought very basic mitigation measures which have not been delivered. At every step, the Government have been slow to act and even now after worrying increases in Covid following the emergence of Omicron in early November, they still have not put these measures in place”. Full story on page 13.

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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Pictured at the switching-on of the Ballaghaderreen Christmas lights. Pics: Mick McCormack

e l p o e WATCHING P With WithPAUL PAULHEALY HEALY

Roving Brussels sprouts, elusive antigen tests...and a Happy New Year to all! What a Christmas! Huh? Eh…what a Christmas! Elaborate…PLEASE! Well…it was STRANGE! That, my friend, I can agree with! For starters, I was in a long queue for ages…on Christmas Eve! For drinks? Food? Presents? Crackers? Don’t tell me you didn’t get crackers! NO! For antigen test kits! It was a nightmare! Go on… I was in this local shop, minding my own business… Yeah… I’d been up and down the aisles three or four times… Yeah… Next thing, I saw them…THE LAST TWO ANTIGEN TEST KITS! Right beside the checkout! Brilliant! So you got them? Well… Huh? There was a guy behind me in the queue…I’m four feet from the checkout, my eyes are trained on the antigen test kits, then all of a sudden, two brussels sprouts roll past me. Huh? They had ‘fallen’ from his basket…and just happened to roll in front of me, in the direction of the checkout. You sound sceptical? Yeah, ‘cos I’m pretty sure that he released the sprouts on purpose! Huh? So, then…he skips past me, mutters an apology, stoops to recover the sprouts… and casually takes the two antigen test kits! The cheek! Did you challenge him? Yeah, I said ‘They’re mine!’

Endangered Species The barstool boyos

What did he say? He said ‘No, they’re my sprouts!’ (They pause to compare the prices being charged for antigen test kits) I just love it! The drama! The theatre! The combat! Huh? You know, when those men strut their stuff, in full public view, pouting, smiling, sneering…nerveless, clinical, calculating figures with astonishing speed, thinking on their feet, then ruthlessly taking out the opposition! Yes! And it’s not all guys, there’s a female superstar now too! Yeah, she’s pretty lethal too! But the Ice Man is my favourite! Oh, Leo? Well, three cheers for Micheál, Leo and…er Eamon…and Mary Lou!

Pictured at the switching-on of the Ballaghaderreen Christmas lights. Pics: Mick McCormack

Those ‘performances’ in the Dáil, on the plinth, in the TV studios, they’re great entertainment! The politicians? Nah! I’m talking about the World Darts! (They pause to, yet again, double-check what day of the week it is) What’s the plan for 2022? I want a stress-free year! We ALL want a stress-free year! I want to see an end to Covid-19! So say all of us! I can’t cope with the new language of our times…contact tracing, self-isolation, remote working, antigen tests, the R number, new normal, asymptomatic… I know, I know…but I think 2022 will be so much better than the past two years. Agreed! I think this will end soon! Hopefully! By the way... Yeah? You forgot ‘Covidiot!’ Excuse me! (They pause to check if the 2 Johnnies and Mrs Brown’s Boys are NOT on telly tonight) So…any big hopes for 2022? Oh sure! The usual main one! Which is? My hope is to convince a shop assistant to sell me an item of flat back furniture which is on display in the store! IS THAT IT? Well, that and good health and happiness for everyone, world peace, action on climate change...and a great championship for Roscommon! SAME HERE! I MEAN...SAM HERE! Both: And maybe a pint AT THE COUNTER in our local! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

What we liked…

The ushering in of a new year…2021 was very tough for a lot of people, for society as a whole…here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

What we didn’t like… The widespread chaos caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, with pressure on hospital services, and upheaval for households and businesses alike…

What PEOPLE are talking about…

Pictured at the switching-on of the Ballaghaderreen Christmas lights. Pics: Mick McCormack

PIC OF THE WEEK: Adam Hunter celebrates following Sligo Grammar College’s 25-13 Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ League Final win over Garbally College in Creggs. Pic: Bernie O’Farrell

Record-breaking Covid-19 numbers; Shortage of antigen test kits; Absenteeism in the workplace due to people being close contacts; Road tragedies; A subdued Christmas; The New Year; State papers; Connacht defeat Munster; World Darts…

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople - - - - - - - - - - Advertorial - - - - - - - - - -

A ‘New You’ for 2022 – seven top tips for successful weight loss with Slimming World If you’re ready to make 2022 the year that you take control, lose weight, and get fitter…Trish Keegan (Slimming World Roscommon town, Castlerea, and Ballygar) Sheila McLoughlin (Slimming World Strokestown), and Dr. Jacquie Lavin (Slimming World’s Head of Research) have just the tips for you!

Slimming World has seven top tips for you! 1. Don’t go hungry! Research shows that by basing your diet on foods relatively low in calories, like fruit and vegetables, and foods that are most filling or satiating – like lean meat, fish, eggs, pasta and potatoes – you can actually eat a larger amount of food while feeling more satisfied. Some quick and easy changes include using less fat when you cook, swapping full fat dairy products for low fat or fat free, ditching sugary drinks in favour of low-calorie drinks/water and adding more fruit and veg to your daily meals. Slimming World’s Food Optimising plan is based on an understanding of the science of energy density. Evidence shows that eating more low energy dense naturally limits energy intake, reduces hunger and results in

better weight losses.

2. Walk before you run! If it’s your goal to get fitter, remember you don’t have to become a professional athlete to get active! Trish Keegan, who runs the Roscommon, Castlerea and Ballygar groups, says: “Slimming World groups are packed with motivation and ideas on how to get more active, and there’s now a brand-new library of more than fifty on-demand activity videos to do at home. Our members love that there’s everything from a gentle introduction to getting started with moving more to cardio workouts and dance routines”.

3. Be kind to yourself! A Slimming World survey of 1,700 slimmers showed that when they did have a slip up, being self-critical was more likely to lead to comfort eating and giving up completely, whereas when they were kinder to be kind to themselves, they more quickly got back to healthy eating, lost weight and they kept it off. So, cut yourself some slack!

4. Set a goal! Sheila McLoughlin, who runs groups every Tuesday in Strokestown, says:

“Slimming World research found that slimmers who set ambitious targets lose twice as much weight as those who try to be ‘realistic’. At Slimming World groups, as well as setting an overall weight loss target, members set weekly mini-goals, whether it’s to lose weight, get more active, or plan ahead, because setting goals is more likely to lead to success”.

5. Don’t opt for a quick fix! To avoid becoming trapped in a yo-yo diet cycle, it’s important to approach weight loss as a permanent change to your lifestyle. Dr. Jacquie Lavin (Slimming World’s Head of Research) says: “Research shows that the more groups Slimming World members attend, the more successful they are. Based on their weight-loss over a year, the top 10,000 slimmers who attended their weekly weight-loss group regularly lost 30 per cent of their body weight”.

6. Strike a balance! Restricting yourself when it comes to food and drink might work in the short-term, but pretty soon you’ll be fed up, hungry and giving up completely. A little bit of what you fancy is key! That might be a Saturday night glass of wine, or a bit of chocolate in the evenings. Whatever it is for you,

7. Don’t go it alone!

are supported to lose weight in a group increase their mental toughness, develop control, commitment, and are more readily able to take on challenges and grow in confidence.

Studies show that embarking on your weight loss journey alongside other slimmers brings more success than going it alone, sharing tips and advice, as well as the ups and downs, and celebrating success together. Recent research also found that people who

To find out more about Slimming World and how to join, visit slimmingworld.ie, or contact your local Slimming World Consultant to book your place for January (see details in the Slimming World advertisement in this paper).

having a flexible approach and a balanced mindset is much more likely to deliver long-term success.

Tr is h

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Snow and ice warning for Roscommon Invites applications for the following positions in Lanesborough / Ballyleague:

FULLTIME – Digital Marketing/Social Media Co-Ordinator/Reception Assistant (Ref: LRAFA1E2022)

FULLTIME – Receptionist/Marketing Assistant, Disability Vessel Centre (Ref: LRAFA1F2022)

FULLTIME – Boat Crew Trainee/Maintenance Caretaker (Ref: LRAFA1H2022)

All positions will be based at the new Lough Ree Access For All Boat Centre and associated sites at Ballyleague, Lanesborough, County Roscommon. The project is supported by the Department of Rural & Community Development & Pobail through the Community Services Programme. The project is also supported by the Just Transition Fund from the Department of Environment, Climate Change & Communications. Send your CV and application - quoting the reference number for the job you are applying for as stated above - by email to:

accessforalljobs@gmail.com

County Roscommon has been issued with a moderate weather warning for snow and ice by Met Éireann which comes into effect from 4 pm today (Thursday) to 11 am on Friday morning. The warning comes as scattered showers of hail, sleet and snow, and icy stretches

have been forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning and are expected to lead to hazardous conditions in some parts. Showers will be most widespread in the west and north of the country tonight where some accumulations of snow and ice as well as isolated thunderstorms are likely.

Rare Egyptian vulture spotted in Roscommon < DAN DOONER

A rare Egyptian vulture was spotted in south Roscommon on Friday last for what is believed to be a first sighting in the county and only

or by post to the following address: FAO The Company Secretary, Lough Ree Access For All CLG, Ballyleague, Lanesborough, County Roscommon. Eircode: N39 E297 Closing date for receipt of applications is 6pm, Monday, 17th January, 2022 Lough Ree Access For All CLG is an Equal Opportunities Employer

the second ever recorded in Ireland. The vulture first came to the attention of an official from the National Parks and Wildlife Services on New Year’s Eve before being

captured on camera by a local student. A recent Facebook post from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage confirmed the sighting on New Year’s Eve by Warden for Lough Ree and mid-Shannon Callows for the North Midlands Region of the NPWS, Owen Murphy. Regional Manager, Cathryn Hannon subsequently confirmed it as a first for Roscommon and just a second ever sighting in the Republic of Ireland. Local student, Conor Henry from Athlone, who is currently studying Wildlife Biology in Tralee IT spotted the bird again on New Year’s Day (Saturday) and event managed to capture some spectacular images. The National Parks and Wildlife Service were keen to stress that the Egyptian vulture does not pose a threat to the public or to local livestock.

Conservation group slams Mote Park graffiti < DAN DOONER

Mote Park Conservation Group has expressed its anger following recent vandalism to a number of trees at the popular Roscommon park. In a social media post this week, the group said recently discovered graffiti was unacceptable and called on visitors to respect the area. The post on the group’s Facebook page read: “We note that over the last few days a number of trees along the Derrydonnell trails have been defaced with black markers. This is not acceptable, damages the trees and the natural beauty of the year, and is vandalism. “The writing is high enough up on the trees to indicate that it was not applied by a child. Please be respectful of this important amenity which is there for everyone to enjoy”.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Dismay over latest IBAL results Roscommon falls to 29th place in latest litter ratings < DAN DOONER

Local councillor and chairperson of Roscommon Tidy Towns, Kathleen Shanagher, has expressed her disappointment following the publication of the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) antilitter league ratings, which saw ‘Littered’ Roscommon town fall to 29th place overall. Cllr. Shanagher said that while volunteers and the local authority would take the An Taisce report on board, there remained questions around the remit and methods used to carry out the survey. “The latest rankings are disappointing of course,” she told the Roscommon People this week. “There were a few areas highlighted in the survey, most of which are privately owned, so we will contact the owners and inform them of the results. “But Roscommon is a Gold Medal winner in

The IBAL report states that PPE litter was on the increase. Inset is local councillor and chairperson of Roscommon Tidy Towns, Kathleen Shanagher

the national Tidy Towns Awards and we’re beginning to question what it is we’re actually getting from these IBAL surveys. Our volunteers take great

pride in the town and work hard to keep it clean and tidy. We will use this as constructive criticism and take the results of the survey into the Tidy

Towns competition in June, but I feel the negative publicity it generates is unhelpful”. Cllr. Shanagher said that while specific categories

were under consideration during Tidy Towns judging, An Taisce’s remit for IBAL rankings is less clear. She also highlighted that some of the areas surveyed were outside the control of local volunteers and Roscommon County Council staff. The An Taisce report for Roscommon town stated: ‘There has been an overall drop in Roscommon’s performance compared to a number of years ago when it was a strong performer. The only two top-ranking sites were approach roads into the town, with none in the town centre. ‘If some of the moderately littered sites improved somewhat it could make a big difference (such as) Lidl, Main Street, Church Street and the laneway beside Roscommon Fire Station. ‘The sites which need attention include the laneway off Main Street (leading to Matrix Gym), carpark at corner of Henry Street and Church Street, and the carpark/truck parking adjacent to Casey’s’. The report added that PPE litter was on the increase in the town, and IBAL has frequently

criticised local authorities for their failure in cleaning up areas identified as litter blackspots. It claims that of 89 such sites highlighted in summer last year, only 33 per cent had been addressed by the time of this most

recent survey. The overall result saw Naas finish ahead of Portlaoise and Ennis to record its first win in the annual rankings while there was a slight fall in the number of clean towns nationwide, down to 22.

New ZUMBA class

starting Thursday January 20th at 8.30pm in Vita House Family Centre, Roscommon town Classes will run in a blended format allowing some participants to take part in person at our centre and others to follow along online in the comfort of their own home. Zumba is a total body workout, combining all elements of fitness. 6 weeks course €45 Please call 09066 25898 to book your place

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

PAUL HEALY’S WEEK A column by Roscommon People editor

paul@roscommonpeople.ie The front page headline includes a quote from the murder suspect: ‘I don’t need to know who murdered Sophie’. Well I don’t need another Ian Bailey interview. I’ve had enough. Time to move on to one of the Sindo’s other front page teasers: ‘Of course I’ve been in love’ – Archbishop Eamon Martin. Honestly, these newspapers just will not refuse ink!

Friday 24 December The nightmare is avoided. A sense of almost immeasurable relief descends. We didn’t forget. We did it. We put the bins out last night. This week, of all weeks… thank God.

Friday 24 December I wasn’t in the shops until now, but, having decided it’s time to begin my Christmas shopping, I’m suddenly on tour. Roscommon Town is very busy. The usual Christmas Eve madness, with masks thrown in. I like the atmosphere on Christmas Eve, even if our frantic scrambling from store to store is all a bit silly. People are obsessed with getting so much stuff in ahead of Christmas Day, this despite the fact that many shops reopen on St Stephen’s Day or the day after. In the supermarket-type stores, the people anxiously shimmy up the aisles, stress merging with Covid-adjusted seasonal smiles. In a desperate effort to avoid calamity at Christmas, these previously perfectly sane people reach for the must-have items, from brussels sprouts to batteries to Baileys to bulbs. (All year, we are indifferent to whether or not we have enough bulbs at home. Yet, on Christmas Eve, we are liable to ‘double back’ into town, merge into a line of cars, and then queue to purchase a few bulbs). Of course antigen test kits are this year’s golden ticket (so to speak). Oddly, some shops are selling them for around three euro, while they are priced at over six euro in other stores. So…either some stores are being greedy, or some are underpricing them to lure in customers, in the knowledge that they will almost certainly buy other products. Ah, the spirit of Christmas!

Saturday 25 December A quiet Christmas Day. After a delicious dinner... Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and ET. One of them intentionally left home (and school) and romped around town, the other unintentionally left fellow aliens and romped around earth. Both had entered folklore/legend by the time they eventually got home.

Sunday 26 December Whatever about changing bulbs (see

Sunday 26 December

Jools Holland

Friday)…how many Sunday Independent writers does it take to interview selfconfessed murder suspect Ian Bailey? Over the years, various journalists have massaged Bailey’s insufferably large ego by keeping him at the centre of all coverage of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder investigation. A few months back, Sinead O’Connor – by now the artist formerly known as a weekly columnist – travelled to Cork to interview Bailey in a pub. In her subsequent column (one of only a few that have appeared in print since the ‘Sindo’ very excitedly announced

her arrival) O’Connor depicted Bailey as a nasty enough bit of work (not exactly a revelation). Her regular references to him drinking too much during the interview didn’t sit that well with me; I’m not sure it’s a very professional approach by an interviewer, and it’s not okay ‘just’ because it was the undoubtedly deeply unappealing Bailey. Now, a mere five months on from that rather messy meeting, the Sunday Independent is back on the Bailey trail. This is bizarre. This time it’s reporter Ali Bracken who has been dispatched to Cork (“a local tavern in Glengarriff…”).

I’ve always enjoyed the English soccer blitz over Christmas, whereas my late father (like so many other people) relished the St Stephen’s Day horse racing. Of course it’s ‘Boxing Day’ across the water, where the goals are flying in. Arsenal take Norwich apart (5-0), Southampton surprise West Ham (3-2), and Manchester City prevail in a bizarre goal-fest with Leicester (6-3). As a Leeds fan, I will admit to being quite pleased – given our recent poor form – that our games have been cancelled due to Covid complications. Meanwhile, it’s four years to the day since my late father’s last experience of St Stephen’s Day racing. Then aged 87, he asked to be dropped off in Murray’s Bar in Roscommon, where the locals were lovely to the old man with the walking stick…by then physically frail, but still unshakably young at heart. A couple of hours later, after he’d enjoyed the racing and a couple of pints, we called to collect him, and I had a pint before we made our exit. I was very touched by how accommodating and caring other customers were with a character known to a few (but by no means all) of them. You remember such acts of kindness. When the horses assembled at the starting line the following St Stephen’s Day, he was no longer with us. That afternoon in Murray’s – racing pages unfurled, elbows brushing on tight barstools, atmospheric TV racing blaring, snatched cigarette breaks, friendly banter, life’s woes paused – is a very fond memory.

Monday 27 December Tonight, I watched the magnificent ‘Finding Jack Charlton’ documentary for a third time – on this occasion, because I wanted my family to see the programme, and me to see their reaction to it. Our children – all of them born after Jack’s unforgettable reign as Republic of

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

PAUL HEALY’S WEEK A column by Roscommon People editor

paul@roscommonpeople.ie

Ireland manager – were suitably moved by this magnificent piece of television. While the documentary is superb throughout (including in its coverage of Charlton the football man), it is the deeply touching and beautifully handled portrayal of his battle with dementia which elevates this to ‘masterpiece’ status. And Jack’s wife, Pat, is a quietly dignified heroic presence throughout.

Anderson looks like the friendly middleaged man next door who is a self-styled expert on DIY; Michael Smith may look imposing, but he has the demeanour of a friendly and sensitive pastor; Gerwyn Price has the physique of a bodybuilder and an arrogance and aura that are compelling. At an elevator, I would tend to stand back and let him in/out first. All four had real prospects of claiming the big prize. Smith, the new gunslinger in town, was hitting 180s for fun all week, and I thought his name might be on the trophy. In the end, the Mohican Maestro produced a sensational purple patch to win Monday’s final, coming from 4-5 down to defeat Smith by 7 sets to 5. The Wright man in the right place, it’s his second world title in three years. If Sky are reading this, I’d suggest that puts him into the same company as Lowe, Bristow and good old Jocky Wilson, but then I’m just a sentimental sports fan with a mere passing knowledge of the history of darts. Speaking of the late Eric Bristow, I recall he gave an exhibition in County Longford back in the 1980s. In one game, he took on three local players (their combined scores). He beat them, hitting the winning double while kneeling on the ground. You won’t hear about that on Sky Sports!

Tuesday 28 December I suppose I’m feeling nostalgic these days (either that, or lazy). Despite the growing allure of Netflix, I’ve been content to catch up on one or two old movies on TV. Today, I watched The Magnificent Seven (Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen) for the first time ever. I was pleasantly surprised that it hadn’t dated much. It was nice, all these years on, to watch a rollicking western. Brynner stole the show. I wasn’t entirely surprised to read online today that this did not go down too well with Steve McQueen during shooting of the movie!

Wednesday 29 December

The pandemic appears to be out of control, Omicron rampaging across the country. Another Christmas has been turned upside down. We batten down the hatches, like most or all of the country, and hope for better times soon.

Tuesday 4 January

Thursday 30 December Watching the headlines on the RTE News, we switch to a recording of Eastenders, where the mayhem at least is imaginary. It’s in sharp contrast to the wearisome, shocking reality of Covid. This is life just now: Eastenders is actually less depressing than real life.

Friday 31 December 2 pm: There’s a queue of about fifteen people beside the ATM at the Ulster Bank. Six hours to pub closing, ten hours to a new year. I’m assuming the long line of mostly young cash-pursuers is a prelude to some afternoon/ early evening pandemic-defying socialising. Or maybe they’re all stocking up on cash for more antigen test kits…

Saturday 1 January We stayed up very late last night…in the company of Jools Holland and his guests. As usual, RTE served up a very tame New Year’s countdown, so we made a last-minute switch to Jools. He didn’t disappoint. We bid farewell to 2021 and weren’t particularly sorry to see the back of it. Blessed to be all together as a family, we welcomed in 2022. Personally, I was happy to trade the prospect of soon being a year older for the promise and hope that a new year offers.

Sunday 2 January It was another Christmas lost in translation, or maybe I should say lost in transmission. People are just completely fed up. Some are worried and fearful – the virus is still a threat to health – but just now the dominant feeling is pandemic fatigue. That, and loneliness too. And concern about the economic and mental health fallout from the turmoil of the past 22 months. Christmas/New Year period has been overshadowed again. Instead of asking people if they had a night out/Christmas party, the conversation turns to what once would have been considered absurd queries: Were you

PDC World Darts Champion mohican-haired Peter Wright.

able to get any antigen test kits? Are you in lockdown? Are you a close contact? Do you think the schools will reopen? While all this is going on, this relentless storm, we are losing contact with people, becoming distant, like we’re partly trapped in some sort of societal straitjacket. We don’t meet people as before, we don’t socialise as before, we’re not out and about, and there are hardly any large communal gatherings. We live in pockets and bubbles and confusion, increasingly communicating through technology, with all its brilliance and ugliness. Delivery vans pull up outside our houses to deliver segments of assumed happiness.

Monday 3 January You know you’re getting old(er) when you discover that Trisha Goddard – former Queen of morning TV in the UK – is 64 years of age. I read today that Trisha has announced her engagement (to her partner of four years). But I can’t believe she’s actually 64 (and now ‘eligible’ to test her mindset ‘against’ the lyrics of the Beatles’ ‘When I’m Sixty Four’).

Monday 3 January Thank God (and Sky Sports) for the darts. Mind you, it’s a pity our friends in Sky insist – as per their arrogant approach on the soccer – on pretending that ‘world darts’ didn’t exist prior to their undoubtedly brilliant involvement. At one stage during Monday night’s PDC World Final, the commentator listed players who have won two world titles…needless to say there was no mention of oldies like John Lowe, Eric Bristow, etc., who were multiple world champions before the major split in darts which occurred in the early 1990s. Sky’s ‘short memory’ may be understandable, but it’s still frustrating; even

more annoying is Sky’s tendency to snub the soccer greats who through no fault of their own preceded the arrival of the Premiership/ Premier League. That quibble aside, the PDC World Darts Championship provided wonderful entertainment in recent weeks. Having missed the earlier rounds, I was gripped by the final stages this week. In a sport that thrives on its soap operalike status, the four semi-finalists didn’t disappoint. Mohican-haired Peter Wright, let’s face it, looks like the guy you do not want your daughter bringing home; Gary

Back in the office for a few hours, with the first Roscommon People of 2022 in production. We’re delighted to have navigated the stormy seas of the past 22 months, and we’re ready for the challenge ahead. On behalf of Fiona and myself and everyone here at your locally owned community newspaper, thank you to our thousands of readers and advertisers for your loyal support. In traditional newspaper format, and via our everdeveloping (and expanding) online presence, we will continue to bring you news, views, sport, a bit of humour, and that so important local connection that we know is appreciated by our readers. Up Roscommon – and Happy New Year to all.

One mother, a lifetime of memories...

Our family always associated ‘Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff’ – written by Roscommon’s Percy French – with our mother, a native of the Co. Cavan town. The song featured a lot in our youth, especially on trips to visit our relations in Cavan. My mother sang it, of course, but it was by no means her only party piece. You can add in Rich Man’s Garden and Noreen Bawn, The Galway Shawl and Muirsheen Durkin. And many more. Many’s a smoky bar room she captivated with her voice in that golden era when sing-songs routinely elevated long evenings. We were in the bar business ourselves, our parents generally making a success of such ventures from the early 1970s on. My late father, Rutledge, was innovative and fearless – a businessman with a gambler’s instinct – and my mother (May Healy, nee Monahan) was happy to play her part, while also running a relatively large household. They worked hard, faced adversity with courage and faith, enjoyed life and lived it to the full. After all the din of building a family and a livelihood, they shared a great retirement. As recently as early December – in her 89th

year – my mother was listening to her favourite programmes on Shannonside, RTE 1 and Newstalk, her knowledge of current affairs and sport remarkable, her thirst for information and conversation undimmed. She just loved life. As a wife, mother, grandmother and friend, she was very special. When she slipped away on Wednesday morning, 15th of December last, we felt the heartbreak of all who are bereaved by the passing of a parent. ‘You only have one mother’ is a powerful phrase. We felt pride too, and gratitude, then and now, as we celebrate a long life lived with dignity, good humour, courage and generosity of spirit. My thanks to our great neighbours and friends for their support during that period, and my thanks also to everyone who has been in touch to express their sympathies. As we carried our mother’s coffin from the picturesque church in Bornacoola, it was to a hauntingly beautiful instrumental version of ‘Come Back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff’. Then we laid her to rest, reunited with Rutledge, her partner of 60-odd years. The clock keeps ticking. A remarkable, loyal, caring and much-loved mother and grandmother, she will live on in our hearts and memories.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Roscommon County Council | Tel. 090 6637100 | Email: info@roscommoncoco.ie | www.roscommoncoco.ie All offices of Roscommon County Council are now open to the public by prior appointment 9.30am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

NOTICE OF DEPOSIT OF RATE BOOKS FOR INSPECTION AND OF INTENTION TO MAKE RATES COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT OF ROSCOMMON Notice is hereby given that Roscommon County Council is about to make County Rates on the property rateable thereto in the County Health District of Roscommon. The Rateable Valuation Multiplier for the ordinary expenditure of the County Council for the service of the financial year ending December 31st 2022 is 225 cent. The Rate Books are deposited for the inspection of any Rate Payer in the offices of the Rates Department, Roscommon County Council, Áras an Chontae, Roscommon and will be available for inspection between the hours 10.00am and 1.00pm (By appointment only), during the next fourteen days following the date hereof, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays. Dated this 4th day of January, 2022 Sean Mullarkey A/Head of Finance & ICT (Incl. Digital Transformation).

Would you go to a lot more plays, films, shows, concerts, exhibitions or other events if you had someone to go with? There’s a thriving social and arts scene in County Roscommon to be enjoyed but maybe you need someone with a shared interest to get you going. That’s where Cultural Companions comes in. Cultural Companions is a new programme in County Roscommon which will create local networks of people aged 50+ interested in the arts and culture who accompany each other to plays, films, shows, concerts, exhibitions and other events. These like-minded people meet up regularly to go out together either with one other person or as part of a small group. The programme provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in a variety of events and cultural activities throughout the county while making new acquaintances along the way. The aim of Cultural Companions is to provide increased opportunities for older people to engage with Roscommon’s vibrant arts and cultural scene. It also addresses the issue of social isolation amongst older people by facilitating their engagement in arts and cultural opportunities, and by also providing volunteer companions for encouragement and support. Cultural Companions is an Age & Opportunity Arts Initiative supported by Roscommon County Council’s Arts Office, Roscommon Volunteer Centre and Roscommon Arts Centre and will begin in Spring 2022. If you would like to take part in or get involved with Cultural Companions, you can register your interest now with Shannette at 089-219-9930 or manager@volunteerroscommon.ie

Community Activities Fund

Community Enhancement Activities Fund Programme under the Community under the Community Enhancement Programme

The Community Activities Fund (CAF) was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphries T.D. on the 11th November 2021.

The Community Activities Fund (CAF) was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphries T.D. on the 11th November 2021.by the Department of Rural and Community The Community Activities Fund is funded

Please seeisthe following link for a press on the launch of thePlease CAF at TheDevelopment. Community Activities Fund funded by the Department of Ruralrelease and Community Development. see the national by the Minister Ruralofand Community Heather Humphreys TD, following linklevel for a press release on thefor launch the CAF at national Development, level by the Minister for Rural and Community and the Minister State with Community Development and Charities, Joe Development, Heatherof Humphreys TD,responsibility and the Ministerfor of State with responsibility for Community Development O’Brien TD: and Charities, Joehttps://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/c53a9-ministers-humphreys-and-obrienO’Brien TD: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/c53a9-ministers-humphreys-and-obrienannounce-9-million-community-activities-fund/ announce-9-million-community-activities-fund/ This €9m€9m fundfund is being provided by the Government to support community and community voluntary groups impacted by CovidThis is being provided by the Government to support and voluntary 19,groups with €266,602 beingby allocated to Roscommon Countybeing Council.allocated This once-off fund will be allocated under the impacted Covid-19, with €266,602 to Roscommon County Council. Department’s Community Enhancement Programme order to ensureCommunity there is sufficient flexibility to allow This once-off fund will be allocated under and the inDepartment’s Enhancement funding to be targeted to order where it needed there in eachisLocal Authority area it willtobeallow administered the Local Programme and in toisensure sufficient flexibility fundinglocally to bebytargeted Community Committees (LCDCs). to whereDevelopment it is needed in each Local Authority area it will be administered locally by the Local

Development (LCDCs). TheCommunity Community Activities Fund willCommittees support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas:

The Community Activities Fund will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas:

•

With their non-pay running costs, for example, utility bills (electricity costs, refuse charges, heating charges) or

non-pay for example costs, insurance •other With theiroperating non-paycosts running costs, rental/lease for example, utility bills bills. (electricity costs, refuse charges, • Groups will also be ableor to other use thenon-pay funding tooperating carry out necessary repairs and improvements their facilities, heating charges) costs for example rental/leasetocosts, purchase equipment insurance bills. for example tables and chairs, tools and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment etc. • Groups will also be able to use the funding to carry out necessary repairs and improvements to their facilities, purchase equipment for example tables and chairs, tools Community Groups are invited to submit applications for the CAF through Roscommon County Council “My Online and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment etc. Services” system via Roscommon County Council website.

areby invited towith submit applications for the CAFresults through AllCommunity applications willGroups be assessed the LCDC the applicants being notified of the in lateRoscommon March 2022. County Council “My Online Services” system via Roscommon County Council website. Full procurement must be submitted with the online application form.

All applications will be assessed by the LCDC with the applicants being notified of the results in Please2022. note that previous funding will be taken into account when assessing applications late March Full procurement must be submitted with the online application form. Full details of the scheme are available on www.roscommoncoco.ie

Applications must bewill submitted via Myinto Online Serviceswhen at: Please note that previous funding be taken account assessing applications https://roscommon-self.achieveservice.com

Fullapplication details ofform thewill scheme are available onFriday www.roscommoncoco.ie The be available online from 7th of January, 2022 Applications must be submitted via My Online Services at: Late submissions will not be considered https://roscommon-self.achieveservice.com

Closing date for receipt of completed online applications is 1pm on Friday 11th of February, 2022. TheAny application form will be available online from Friday 7th of January, 2022 queries relating to the application process or eligibility for the scheme can be emailed to: cep@roscommoncoco.ie Late submissions will not be considered

Closing date for receipt of completed online applications is Signed: Majella Hunt, Director Services 1pm onofFriday 11th of February, 2022. Any queries relating to the application process or eligibility for the scheme can be emailed to: cep@roscommoncoco.ie Signed: Majella Hunt, Director of Services

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople Advertorial

REGARI Recovery College returns to Roscommon with free courses on mental health and wellbeing REGARI Recovery College have recently launched their upcoming Spring/Summer Semester 2022 prospectus, detailing their range of free educational courses and workshops, which are all designed to promote mental health, wellbeing, and recovery in these unprecedented times. REGARI (Roscommon and East Galway Advancing Recovery in Ireland) Recovery College is a community-based initiative that aims to understand mental health through education, collaboration, and conversation. A defining feature of REGARI is the approach it takes when developing and delivering modules. Each module is co-produced and delivered by people with lived experience of mental health challenges, family members, carers, people working in mental health, and others.

REGARI Recovery College

Spring/Summer Semester 2022 Roscommon Town (Vita House) NB*** NB*** Registration Date: Tuesday 11/01/2022 In Regari Recovery College 2 - 4 PM ***

The college continues to expand their curriculum, and this term, new courses include ‘Gut and Brain Health’, ‘Dancing for Wellbeing’, ‘Trauma and Recovery’, and ‘Emotional Regulation’ to name but a few. Courses are open to all – those who use services, staff, family members, and any member of the general public with an interest in mental health. There is a registration fee of just €5, and then all courses are free to attend. Registration for the courses is essential and anyone who would like to register or find out more information can contact Amanda Hunt on 086-1304869 or email regarirecoverycollege@gmail.com. The registration date is January 11th, from 2 to 4 pm in Regari Recovery College, Athlone Road, Roscommon town. Please see timetable for further information on courses available.

*Registration fee of €5. Modules are then free to attend.

For more information please contact: Amanda Hunt on: 086 1304869 or Email: regarirecoverycollege@gmail.com

Pictured is Dermot Flatley Pictured is Amanda Hunt of REGARI Recovery of REGARI Recovery College. College.

Pictured is Julie Fraser of REGARI Recovery College.

Pictured is Maria Ward of REGARI Recovery College.

Anger at Rathcroghan damage during winter solstice gathering < DAN DOONER

Enquiries are ongoing following a gathering to mark the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, at Rathcroghan Mound on Tuesday, December 21st.

Enquiries are ongoing following a gathering to mark the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, at Rathcroghan Mound on Tuesday, December 21st. Gardaí were alerted to the gathering and confirmed that the crowd had dispersed on arrival. No offences were disclosed. The National Monuments Service says it is also investigating “possible damage” at the site. Rathcroghan Visitor Centre took to social media to express its disappointment following the incident and claimed local residents were perturbed by the gathering. In a post on Facebook, the visitor centre said: “Unfortunately, we have to echo the experience of other sites, including our friends at Beltany, Co. Donegal, in the aftermath of the winter solstice this year. A range of irre-

sponsible behaviour was engaged in, at and around Rathcroghan Mound (on) December 21st. “The local residential and farming community were discommoded and concerned by this gathering, the extremely busy N5 road was brought to a standstill, and a small area of illegal burning was undertaken on the summit of Rathcroghan Mound by a crowd of people with no affiliation or interest in liaising with the visitor centre, and despite the visitor centre staff and local farmers repeatedly informing members of the cohort that burning activity is illegal on an archaeological monument. “This incident and damage has been reported to our local Gardaí, National Monuments Service and Roscommon County Council, in the hope that this incident is not repeated, disrupting our community and damaging our heritage in the process”.

Graffiti was recently discovered on the walls of the stand at Castlerea Celtic Football Club grounds.

Vandalism at Castlerea Celtic grounds Castlerea Celtic Football Club has taken to social media to highlight recent acts of vandalism at their club grounds in Castlerea. Graffiti was discovered on walls within a stand which runs adjacent to the club’s home pitch. Posting on Facebook, the club said the matter had been reported to the Gardaí and those responsible were urged to come forward: “Castlerea Celtic would like to highlight that several individuals saw fit to vandalise the club stand with graffiti. “This matter had been reported to the Gardaí, and we have recorded the culprits on camera.

We ask the people responsible to contact a member of the club to undo the damage caused, or the Gardaí will prosecute”.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

The

Ballyleague New Year’s Day Swim 2022 For the second year running, the Lough Ree Orca swimming group held their Annual New Year’s Day swim, including families and friends of the group. The Orcas, now heading into their fourth year, are a group of like-minded swimmers. Most of them swim all year round in the Shannon and elsewhere, and are a familiar sight in Ballyleague/ Lanesboro and the surrounding areas where safe swimming can be enjoyed. Combined with their Christmas

Day swim last week and the January first swim this year, swimmers and supporters generously donated to Gerry Trimble and Noel Moran of the Ballyleague Christmas Lights Committee, which was selected as the chosen cause this year. Despite the current difficulties and adhering to all safety guidelines, a wonderful swimming experience was enjoyed by all. Anyone who wishes to swim with the Orcas can make contact with Colm Daly or any other members of the group, and will be very welcome.

D News page

Participants pictured in Ballyleague for Lough Ree Orca swimming group’s Annual New Year’s Day swim. Pic: Lee Williamson

Roscommon EuroMillions player scoops €500,000 top prize!

Top prize for Maggie!

Congratulations to Maggie Keane from Glinsk, who won this year’s Citylink Christmas Colouring Competition in Galway. Talented Maggie took home a hamper of toys and a €200 voucher for Smyths Toy Superstore.

Grace wins ‘Ireland’s biggest 50-50 draw’!

St. Dominic’s GAA Club announced the winner of its hugely successful ‘Ireland’s biggest 50-50 draw’ fundraiser on Thursday last (December 30th). Grace Carney from Roscommon was the lucky winner of a whopping €90,460 following the online draw last Thursday. The Knockcroghery club thanked all those who assisted in the draw, and said the fundraiser was “an incredible journey” for all involved. All proceeds from the draw will go towards the development of club facilities.

A EuroMillions player in the Castlerea area of Roscommon scooped the top prize €500,000 in the EuroMillions Plus draw on Tuesday, December 21st. The winning ‘Quick Pick’ ticket was purchased on Sunday, December 19th, at the Corrib Oil Service Station on St. Patrick’s Street in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. The winning numbers were 18, 22, 29, 34, and 50. Keith Gallagher (Manager of the Corrib Oil Service Station on St. Patrick’s Street) was thrilled with the news: “A win like this really couldn’t come at a better time. One of our customers certainly had the ultimate early Christmas present. With all the talk of restrictions and uncertainty, it’s just lovely to get a good news story like this. All of our staff are delighted with the win and excited that one of our customers has come into such good luck. The whole team wishes them all the very best with their win!” The Roscommon winner, who now has a ticket worth €500,000, was advised to sign the back of their ticket and contact the Na- Staff members Teresa Brehony, Sarah Lavin and Breege Casey were pictured celebrating at the Corrib Oil tional Lottery prize claims team on 1800- Service Station on St. Patrick’s Street in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, after it was announced that one of 666222 or email claims@lottery.ie. their customers won the top prize of €500,000 the EuroMillions Plus draw on Tuesday, December 21st.

NASC at Roscommon Arts Centre

Banish the January blues on Saturday, 15th with an exciting new show which blends dance, theatre, and jaw-dropping circus at Roscommon Arts Centre. Presented by Infinite Pants, NASC explores the invisible connections between us all and what happens when we find ourselves isolated. Using a beautiful blend of dance and aerial circus the performers Aisling Ní Cheallaigh, Jenny Tufts, Oran Leong, and Jennifer de Brún take us on a journey through connection and what it means to be human. Set to an original score by Aoife Kavanagh. NASC is directed by Raymond Keane with lighting design by Sara Jane Sheils. Show on Saturday, January 15th at 6 pm and tickets are priced at €15/€12.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

5 tips on how to keep those New Year’s resolutions! forgetfulness. Additionally, there may be an app out there that is tailored to your specific resolution – for example, if you’re trying to get fitter, practice more mindfulness, learn an instrument etc. – there are loads of apps available to help you.

< ALANNAH ITA HEALY

For many, keeping New Year’s resolutions for much longer than the month of January is wishful thinking. The initial push to live healthier following that period of indulgence over Christmas is quick to fade away when reality sets back in, but this doesn’t always have to be the case! Here are our top five tips to help you make sure you stick to the healthy habits for longer this year.

Set goals Whenever you set out to accomplish something, you should always make sure to set out goals/milestones to complete along the way. By setting and achieving these goals, you will be able to have a clear view of your progress and will benefit from the positive reinforcement you get when you reach each target.

Start small No matter what the resolution is, one of the easiest mistakes to make is pushing yourself too hard in the first couple weeks of January, leaving you ‘burnt out’ or daunted by the prospect of continuing at the same rate. Making habits is the key to keeping up with your resolutions, so make sure to build up your routines at a manageable pace so that

Share your resolution you don’t lose motivation straight out the gate.

Make use of apps As mentioned earlier, one of

the most important aspects when it comes to keeping your resolutions is forming habits. One way to help you do this is by making use of

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

FRANK

FRANK BRANDON’S

BRANDON

unique take on life ...

Back in my ‘Sunday best’ for the New Year! Our man Frank on keeping the Sabbath special, lessons in construction from the Three Little Pigs, and working up the confidence to meet GAA legend Joe Brolly…

It’s Sunday morning, January 2nd, and we’ve just had the sort of shower that would strip the paint off the house (that’s if there was any paint on the house). Thankfully, I am indoors sitting at the kitchen table, glad that I have escaped the worst of the absolutely horrible weather. I am dressed in what I would charitably call my old duds, and for some reason my mind takes me back to the days of my childhood, all the way down to County Tipperary to my uncle

Michael’s place. His was a place I was lucky enough to spend most of my school holidays in, a place I still have very fond memories of. Uncle Michael was a fairly substantial farmer. He sowed lots of wheat and barley, and always had a field or two of sugar beet, as well as loads of hay fields. For six days a week he was the typical farmer. He worked hard at his business, and dressed accordingly, in what he used call his working clothes. However, on Sunday everything changed. He would dress up in his Sunday best, his shoes polished so well that you could shave yourself in the shine. He’d put on his best shirt and tie, and while he wasn’t really a suit man, he would look resplendent in his tweed jacket and perfectly creased flannel trousers. 10 o’clock Mass in Barna Church was always on the agenda, and after getting the papers in Sonny Deane’s shop in Barna (the shop and the church was all that was in Barna), Michael would head for home, where he would park

himself in his favourite armchair and sit in total peace, reading the Sunday papers, but especially the Sunday Press. His sister Ettie would be getting the dinner ready, which was always a roast of some sort, and on most Sunday afternoons the parish priest (Fr. Kenny) would arrive down for the spuds. For a couple of hours afterwards, they would chat about all the things Michael had read about earlier in the papers. However, being a farmer, work still had to be done, and later in the afternoon when Fr. Kenny would take his leave, Michael would change into his working clothes, and (unless there was a funeral or some other occasion coming up) his Sunday clothes would be put carefully away, not to be disturbed until the following week. As I thought back to those days, I wondered why I no longer dress up on a Sunday. I felt a certain pang of regret when I realised that somewhere along the line, I lost the feeling of Sunday being a special day. The Lord himself said we

should rest on the Sabbath day, but being retired, I suppose I now rest every day (except the day I write this). Anyway, as people look for New Year resolutions, I have decided that for 2022, I am going to put on my Sunday best every Sunday, go to Mass as often as Covid allows, and go back to regarding the Sabbath as a special day. If Uncle Michael could do it all those years ago, surely I too can do it. My New Year resolutions usually only last a week or two, so this new enthusiasm might not last very long, but I am now off to the wardrobe to dig out a suit (if I have one!). If you meet me next Sunday, I will be looking like a million dollars (well, maybe fifty) with my suit and polished shoes. The good news is that after a couple of years of Covid deprivation, I no longer need to give anything else up, as I have long since given up any minor vices. So, for this year at least, it’s back to my Sunday best.

Finally for this week…

Environmentalist James Drinkwater recently stated that the Three Little Pigs belittles using natural materials and mocks eco-friendly materials ...

Constructive lessons from the Three Little Pigs As we start off this New Year, I find myself going back through the years gone by. I think back to the well-known bedtime story about the Three Little Pigs, who, having lived with their poor mother, eventually have to leave their modest home and fend for themselves. The first piglet was notoriously lazy and built himself a house of straw. The second was a bit more industrious but still inclined to be lazy, so he built himself a house of sticks. Meanwhile, the third piglet worked hard and built himself a house of bricks, complete with a fine fireplace and chimney. The first two spent their time playing and lazing around and all was well until the

Big Bad Wolf came calling. To make a long story short, he huffed and he puffed and blew the two houses down. However, he failed in his attempt to have pig for dinner as they both escaped and ran down the road to their brother’s brick house. The wolf now had three little pigs in his sights for dinner, but no matter how much he huffed and puffed, he couldn’t blow the brick house down. Frustrated, he climbed up on the roof and decided to get into the house through the chimney. However, the third little piggy put on a blazing fire, and boiled up a big pot of water, into which the big bad wolf fell. When he was boiled up, in a reversal of fortunes, the little piggies ate him for supper.

Now, I would never have told you about this bedtime story if it wasn’t for a climate change guru, named James Drinkwater, who took issue with the story for ‘belittling eco-friendly building materials’. He claimed that building houses with straw and sticks is perfectly okay, and said there is a need to change perceptions. Maybe he’s right, but for me, I prefer to go along with the original tale. Nothing he says will convince me that the big bad wolf didn’t blow down the first two houses and fail to blow down the brick one, before falling down the chimney to a red hot reception and ending up as a roast (boiled) supper for our three little heroes.

For me, one of the most interesting (if not, the absolute most interesting) of all the GAA personalities that I have seen and heard down through the years, is Derry’s Joe Brolly. Like Eamon Dunphy, Pat Spillane and George Hook, Brolly always courts controversy and divides the Irish public into those who hate him and those who love him. A few years ago at an event in Co. Roscommon, I found myself standing about a yard from the genial Joe, and watched as person after person (before Covid) came over to him, shook his hand, and engaged him in animated conversation. He was friendly and courteous and happily shook every hand that came his way. I wanted to join with all the others as they talked to the great man, but shyness took over, and I didn’t make the effort. I will always regret that I didn’t have the nerve to reach out, shake his hand, and even have a few words with him. Anyway, that was a few years ago, and, in the meantime, Joe has moved on to have a controversial but very entertaining stint on The Sunday Game, and continues to write a superb article for the Sunday Independent. He also made international headlines when he donated a kidney to a clubmate, Shane Finnegan, and he has continued to promote organ donation on a large scale. So, when I saw that he was featuring in an hour-long interview on TV3 over Christmas, it was definitely on my mustwatch schedule. I can only say it reinforced my opinion that Brolly is a true GAA legend – he has very different views on a lot of subjects compared to most GAA followers and is not afraid to express his opinions, but his love of the game supersedes everything else. All I can say is, if you get a chance to see the interview, don’t miss it. As for me, if I ever find myself within a yard or two of him again, the chances are that I will once again freeze, and miss out on an opportunity to have a word with one of my unlikely heroes…I must take a few self-confidence classes in 2022!

‘Till next week, bye for now

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Concerns remain as school reopening goes ahead < DAN DOONER

There remains widespread concern this morning among staff, parents, and management as primary school students return to classrooms across the county following the Christmas break, according to the Irish National Teachers Organisation representative for Roscommon-Galway. Ballygar native, Tommy Greally, who is a member of the organisation’s Central Executive Committee, says concerns remain around such issues as the procurement of medical grade masks, HEPA filters, and the removal of contact tracing from primary schools. Mr. Greally, a teacher at Lavally National School near Tuam, believes more funding is required from central Government to ensure the necessary measures are taken in the classroom. “At this moment, the Board of Management in schools can use capitation funding to purchase medical grade masks for teachers. This funding is meant to be used for lighting, heating and other running costs. The hope has to be that the Government will provide extra funding in the very near future,” he said. “With regards HEPA filters, there was a 30 per cent increase of the Minor Works Grant to enable schools to purchase filters, but that is nowhere near enough. Filters can cost up to €1,800 plus VAT.

“Also, schools don’t have the expertise when it comes to purchasing this equipment. They would be going in blind”. Mr. Greally added that without HEPA filters, classroom windows would have to remain open throughout the coldest months of the year. “Another issue of concern is that contact tracing still hasn’t been restored at primary school level,” he added. “The HSE stands by its opinion that schools are safe and controlled environments, but we are not in agreement with that as things stand. We are not medical experts but it would certainly provide reassurance to staff, parents and students if contact tracing was reintroduced”. INTO has also raised concerns regarding staffing shortages as teachers and staff members return to work. “The HSE has assured us that there will be a helpline should there be a high number of cases in a school. The HSE will make any final decision or whether or not to close schools and but we certainly hope that we receive more support and the HSE helpline works far more effectively this time around,” Mr. Greally added. The bottom line from the INTO is that staff members remain extremely concerned as the current wave of Covid-19 cases have yet to peak. “There is a lot of worry

and it is felt that the Government has dragged its feet on measures,” Mr. Greally said. “This could and should have been done a lot earlier. The (Education) Minister and Government are determined to keep schools open and schools are taking every measure to ensure classrooms are as safe as possible. “Teachers are glad to be going back to school too because online learning isn’t as effective, but they also know they are going into the largest classrooms in Europe with unvaccinated children”. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane has said the Government must act now to ensure schools can remain open. “It is deeply disappointing that the Government has thus far failed to prioritise making schools as safe as possible so that they can remain open,” she said. “Teachers and principals have sought very basic mitigation measures which have not been delivered. At every step, the Government have been slow to act and even now after worrying increases in Covid following the emergence of Omicron in early November, they still have not put these measures in place”. Deputy Kerrane called for an introduction of a number of immediate measures this week. “That means HEPA air filtration systems in all classrooms, with adequate guidance for principals.

Pictured at a Christmas Market in Strokestown. Pics: Mick McCormack

That means the HSE being responsible for contact tracing, not principals. That means adequate invest-

ment in schools to ensure they have enough budget for heating and other vital resources,” she said.

“The Government’s dithering and lax attitude only fails to protect children’s education and teachers. It’s

time to make education the priority it deserves to be so schools can remain open”.

Vintners Chair calls for extra support for publicans < DAN DOONER

The Chairperson of the Roscommon Town and District branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland has called for an extension of supports for the sector to stave off inevitable closures. Larry Brennan said it is hoped no further restrictions will be introduced but admitted that publicans feared the worst as Covid cases continue to rise across the country. “Unfortunately, the worst predictions of this Omicron variant seem to be coming through and regarding

recent closing time restrictions, the Government didn’t to have much of an option,” he said. “With just under 1,000 people in hospital with the disease, we understand that Government can’t allow a situation to occur where people are deprived of adequate hospital care. I would, however, hope that there aren’t any further restrictions as this would be counterproductive”. Mr. Brennan said it was now “more important than ever” that enhanced supports are provided following “an extremely tough two years”.

“Publicans by their very nature are resilient and I would urge them to hold firm. They are doing the best they can but there remains a lot of concern. I know we’ve heard this before, but hopefully this is the final wave of Covid-19 and we may still be able to salvage some sort of normality by the spring,” he said. “Supports including an extended rates waiver, enhanced rates of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme and the reintroduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment at the top rate are now vital”.

Adam Hunter being presented with the trophy by Adrian Leddy, Creggs RFC and Chairman of IRFU Youth and Mini Rugby Committee, following Sligo Grammar College’s Connacht Schools Senior ‘A’ League Final win over Garbally College in Creggs recently. Pic: Bernie O’Farrell

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Miriam’s

MUSINGS

Words of wit and wisdom with MIRIAM KERINS

Education and zero tolerance are our greatest tools to combat domestic violence During Christmas, our Government relaunched the ‘Still Here’ series of advertisements in an effort to ‘reassure’ those who are trapped in abusive relationships or in fear for their safety that support is available to them. They also made clear their intentions to introduce paid domestic violence leave early in 2022 – i.e. this year. I believe this is not only a wonderful initiative, it’s also something that’s way overdue. However, despite Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman describing this process as being a ‘personal priority’ for him, I don’t hold out much hope that we’ll see anything being done any time soon. By the time the Government’s finished engaging in ‘targeted consultations’ with, well, everybody in a bid to examine strategies etc., it’s my fear that heels may get dragged and cans may get kicked so far down the road, people could potentially lose their lives before anything concrete is implemented. It’s all very well recognising the existence of domestic violence and

offering support mechanisms for those affected by it when it’s after the fact, but isn’t prevention better than cure? 2021 saw a ten per cent increase in domestic violence incidents being reported to Gardaí. It’s now 2022, and right across this State, vicious bouts of abuse, cruelty, violence and control are going to continue to happen to people of all ages and all backgrounds. Based on certain observations I’ve made, and conversations I’ve had, I can sadly tell you there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence around to suggest that domestic violence is an extremely worrying issue right here in Roscommon. If I was worried about a particular situation, I’d have no hesitancy whatsoever in calling the Gardaí. Would I feel like a busybody? Yes! But if I genuinely felt someone was at risk, I’d have to make that call. Why? Because domestic violence and abuse is not just the ‘victim’s’ concern, it’s everybody’s concern. We all have a personal responsibility to put an end to domes-

tic and gender-based violence, and must never stand idly by when someone is suffering. Nor should we hesitate if we suspect someone is being harmed. What we must do is act on our concerns and call the Gardaí, who are trained to follow up and follow through, should they feel there’s a need to do so. While I believe a paid-leave scheme for those brave souls who both need and deserve it is welcomed, there’s still a

significant body of work to be done by our Government. A major part of this should be a concerted effort by Education Minister Norma Foley to bring about attitudinal change in our schools. She could do this by immediately introducing and implementing training programmes specifically targeted at raising awareness of domestic violence into the national curriculum. These programmes must encompass

a multi-layered approach, including placing a firm focus on gender equality. It’s only by increasing awareness and knowledge around this epidemic of abuse at a young age, that we as a nation can place ourselves in the unique position of being able to prevent (as opposed to cure) the destruction and desolation these cowardly thugs are causing to families. If I were Minister for Justice, in a genuine effort to show these bullies this country means business, I’d begin 2022 by implementing a zero tolerance approach towards them. This would do two things – A, put a stop to their gallop, and B, serve as a deterrent to any future ‘would-be’ abusers. Domestic violence and control leaves a horrific and lasting impact on every aspect of family life, very often for generations to come. Indeed, I’m convinced it’s possibly the main reason why some mothers and their children fall into homelessness, sadly becoming dependent on crisis

Comhghairdeas agus lá breithe shona do An Garda Síochána

I’d like to congratulate An Garda Síochána, which next month (February 22nd) marks the centenary of its foundation. A little history lesson: When the organisation we now know as An Garda Síochána was formed, the force was originally known as the Civic Guard, and they took over policing duties from the then controversial Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Proud Irish citizens like me will remember the RIC as being a group of heavily-armed thugs (in my opinion) who terrorised – sorry, policed – Ireland (mainly outside of Dublin), allegedly participating in many atrocities against rural communities, including assisting evictions and suppressing rebellions. For the sake of balance, I must stress that many will view members of the RIC as being ordinary people who were just ‘doing a job’. Indeed, it could be said (by some) that perhaps these enforcers,

along with their notorious special reserve, the Black and Tans, may have been ‘unjustly and unfairly’ treated by history. It depends on your individual opinion. Personally, due to their violent acts on ordinary civilians, mine is one of contempt. But I digress…back to our present-day Gardaí. I’d like to specifically mention those ‘rank and file’ members who have a very difficult job, often placing their own safety at risk in a bid to keep us, the public, safe. These brave men and women deserve to be commemorated and celebrated. I for one hope this centennial is given as much (if not greater) consideration, importance and significance by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee than that which was given by her predecessor Charlie Flanagan, when he shamefully and inappropriately (in my opinion) tried to get us to memorialise and honour the RIC.

accommodation while the lousy thug who abused them lives it large in the family home. Where’s the justice in that? While statistics tell us that the majority of domestic abuse is perpetrated by men against women, men too can also be affected, with Men’s Aid reporting that ‘at least one in seven’ will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. I believe if we’re ever going to shift the archaic and ignorant attitudes historically held around gender-based violence and inequality that span right across this land of saints and scholars, we must act now to introduce both an educational and a zero tolerance approach. If we don’t, not only may more women tragically lose their lives, but the physical, sexual, emotional and financial harm perpetrated against our grandmothers, mothers, sisters and daughters etc., will become so entrenched into our national identity, Ireland could shamefully become labelled as being the domestic violence capital of Europe.

Why I’ll be tuning into DWTS An impossible-to-place ‘singer’, an aspiring ‘model/influencer’, a ‘chic-lit’ author and a would-be jeweller etc., all trying to replenish their social standing by competing on our screens to become king or queen of the dancefloor! Meet the so-called ‘truly stellar line-up’ for RTÉ’s next series of Dancing with the Stars! Or as I call them, members of the celebrity underclass, who, just as they were about to fade into permanent obscurity, miraculously managed to secure themselves a lucrative gig! I hate celebrity cringe – sorry talent shows – however, I will tune into DWTS. It’s not because I’ve lost all sense of where the bottom of the barrel lies, oh no. I once worked in TV production, so I am familiar with that scraping sound! I’ll be glued to my telly because I get a deliciously devilish kick out of watching a group of fragile has-beens and the barely-famous driving themselves to the brink of distraction…all in a bid to take home a gaudy glitter ball!

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

It’s been a BAD week for…

TAKE A BREAK

Many families across the country, with Christmas and New Year plans upended for many due to the high transmission of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the follow-on impact on everyday life of self-isolation/ restricting of movement for so-called close contacts Daniel O’Donnell

It’s been a GOOD week for…

Daniel O’Donnell, with the superstar crooner feted in a special TV documentary which was produced to mark his 60th birthday (during which the Donegal man ‘revealed’ “I have never in my life dyed my hair”)

Quite a number of employers, with large numbers of staff not turning up for work due to Covid-19 cases and isolation rules for close contacts Marisa Fotieo, an American woman who self-isolated for five hours in the toilet of a plane after testing positive for Covid-19 during a flight from Chicago to Iceland, her decision taken in order to protect other passengers. Actually, this is to her great credit, but it must have been difficult. Befitting the times we live in, Marisa posted the ‘evidence’ on TikTok!

€1,000 TEN €100 VOUCHERS*

The Connacht rugby team, with Andy Friend’s side defeating Munster in the United Rugby Championship in a tense encounter in Galway, Connacht victors on a 10-8 scoreline The flamboyant Peter Wright, who won the PDC World Darts Championship title (his second) on Monday night, collecting the Sid Waddell trophy and a very handsome £500,000, in what was a thrilling finale to a wonderful tournament

Courtesy of the Roscommon People and Roscommon Chamber of Commerce

€1000 Christmas Giveaway!

Marisa Fotieo

We had a huge response to our recent ‘€1000 Christmas Giveaway’ competition. Thanks to everyone who entered the competition, jointly sponsored by Roscommon Chamber of Commerce and the Roscommon People newspaper. Ten people will each receive a €100 voucher – results in our next issue!

The things people say… “What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year” -Vern McLellan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Famous birthdays ... this week

Kate McKinnon (American actress and comedian, turns 38 on Thursday)

Eddie Redmayne (English actor, will be 40 on Thursday)

Rowan Atkinson (English actor and comedian, turns 67 on Thursday)

Nina Dobrev (Canadian actress, will be 33 on Sunday)

“

Edel McDermott, Paula Keane and Mary Seymour pictured in Roscommon prior to Christmas. Pic: Mick McCormack

Participants pictured in Ballyleague for Lough Ree Orca swimming group’s Annual New Year’s Day swim. Pic: Lee Williamson

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

CIARAN MULLOOLY On The Back Benches

The business people that thrived despite the ill winds of Covid-19 It’s been a tough year to be in business in this country, and those in the small and medium business sector in County Roscommon were no different to the hundreds and thousands of others around Ireland who were left exposed and hanging out to dry given the vagaries of an economy that was battered and beaten during the pandemic. Therefore, at the start of a new year, it seems the appropriate time to look back on some of the people who survived the storm and made a difference in the last 12 months before pushing themselves forward for the betterment of the economy and the people who work for them in County Roscommon and neighbouring counties. I know they won’t want to be described as ‘heroes’ – but in my eyes that’s what they are – because they not only survived the biggest industrial crisis the world has seen in decades, they have thrived all the way through it and gone on to even better things. I went to school with Vincent Collins, the boss at Service Matters on the Golf Links Road in Roscommon town. It seems as good a place as anywhere to start this column because this Strokestown man proved himself to be one of the major success stories of the county in the last 12 months after the German firm CWS took a majority stake in his company in what’s estimated to have been a multi-million euro deal. Vincent was actually ahead of me in ‘the tech’ in Lanesborough where he did the Leaving Cert in the 1980s. I think it’s fair to say he and his wife Margie were also miles ahead of most of the country when they moved in and spotted the potential for growth in the whole service cleaning and hygiene sector at the end of 1996, going on to employ over 80 people, supplying floor care and work care rental, washroom services and bespoke protective clothing across many industries. It’s hard to believe Vincent only had a handful of customers with the mats and the towels in those early days yet last year publicly available accounts for Service Matters indicated it generated revenue of €6.7m and posted an operating profit of €1.3m. With three more depots now in Limerick, the Fonthill Road in Dublin and in Coalisland, County Tyrone – along with the Roscommon central site – it is no wonder that CWS moved in to invest. The Germanowned operation have over 11,000 employees in 15 countries and had their own turnover last year of €1.2bn, so the potential for further expansion of a really high value product on the island of Ireland is huge for them. I have listened to Vincent talking about the new investment that CWS will bring to the operation and I know he is staying on to keep the show on the road so it’s a time of great hope and optimism for even more jobs in this firm. It’s ironic that the ‘ill wind’ that Covid-19 brought actually led to greater opportunities for Service Matters in some sectors as we all moved to try and improve our focus on keeping the workplace clean and more disease-free than ever. I really think that this is a good news story for Roscommon too. Vincent

Vincent Collins pictured at Service Matters...one of the major success stories of the county in the last 12 months after German firm CWS took a majority stake in the company in what’s estimated to have been a multi-million euro deal.

has come a long way since the days when he was asking the late Bart Clancy for advice and career tips at the Vocational School in Lanesborough. He and Margie have worked hard for their success and I know nobody will begrudge it to them. The year began with another locally-based firm also gaining on the back of the said ‘ill wind’ of the pandemic. This time it was the medical products manufacturer Harmac announcing plans to expand its Castlerea facility, creating 60 roles as the company went into overdrive in their production to meet unprecedented global demand for surgical masks. The New York-headquartered company, which also makes non-invasive ventilation products, said the new jobs were part of a major investment at the facility in Castlerea where they already employ more than 300 people. I was never actually in the plant until this year just past and I have to say I was stunned by the scale of the operation put together by Mick McEnroe and his team. McEnroe is an Athlone man and was an accomplished gaelic footballer in his day – playing in goals for the Athlone club before the great Matt Scally came along – but it’s in the area of business that the former polymers student at AIT has most excelled, leading this Harmac operation to huge expansion. It’s only when you drive into the car park down there in The Demesne that you fully appreciate how much expansion has taken place in 2021.

The Harmac facility in County Roscommon was only established in 1998, and is a significant supplier to the Irish and European operations of numerous medical technology companies. Its key customers include Abbott Laboratories, J&J, Bausch & Lomb, Boston Scientific, Smith Medical and Holliste. These are huge growth areas on the world stage at the moment. I don’t need to tell anyone how big the surgical mask market is after the events of the last two years and McEnroe and his team are going from strength to strength. The real winners here are the people of Roscommon, Galway, Westmeath and Sligo who are seeing dozens of local families finding really good and well-paid jobs in their own part of the country instead of having to move away or commute for hundreds of miles on a daily basis – so we owe Mick McEnroe and his colleagues a great deal of thanks. In December, Deirdre Doyle, head of operations at a Louth-based homecare company, announced it was expanding its services in County Roscommon with the creation of a number of new jobs as part of a national recruitment drive. Established in Dundalk in 2006, ‘Myhomecare’ currently employs just over 220 people around the country – including homecare workers and administrative staff – and will be taking on a percentage of the new staff here in Roscommon and in the midlands and the west with job opportunities coming up for carers, including homecare nurses and assistants.

In association with: LOUGH REE ACCESS FOR ALL

This is not the only company in this area that has expanded in the last 12 months. With our aging population, homecare continues to be a growing (and lucrative) sector and I know at least two more local groups who have taken on more workers since Covid-19 hit. Our last good news story of 2021 is based in one the most unlikely of locations. I will never forget the first time I went down to Rooskey to the VistaMed factory just across the bridge on the Leitrim side of the River Shannon. It was October 2013 and 34 members of the staff at the medical device plant there had won a lotto bonus prize of about 2 million – taking home about 55k apiece. These were the days when the Lotto jackpot was actually won on a regular basis! The truth is I never even knew VistaMed existed in this part of the world in those days. Apart from a small signpost along the edge of the road past the derelict Shannon Key West Hotel, there’s little or no evidence of the plant – yet it was from here that one of the big success stories of the year gone by began its days. Nowadays, VistaMed is owned by German group Freudenberg Medical, with Managing Director Patrick Mulholland, who founded the business in 1999, retaining a 10 per cent shareholding. It makes tubes and catheters for diagnostic and minimally invasive surgical procedures in the areas of cardiology, urology, endoscopy, neurology and pain management for major medtech companies and, from very humble beginnings here in that remote part of Rooskey, it currently employs 525 people at two manufacturing plants (Carrick-on-Shannon being the other location), as well as an R&D innovation centre in the County Leitrim town. Just last October VistaMed confirmed plans to create 100 additional jobs at its facility in Carrick-on-Shannon. Those new jobs in 2022 will include positions created in management, engineering, technicians, operators, automation, quality control and validation and administration so there are plenty of opportunities for graduates and skilled workers who are from this part of the world to come back here and live in the county again. VistaMed is a member of a strong MedTech cluster of companies in the North West and again there’s a strong Covid-19 dividend for most of these firms and their sales. No more than Service Matters, Harmac and Myhomecare, I know that nobody would ever wish that it would take such a horrific sequence of events and a global virus to lead to such industrial growth and success in business, but the reality is that our world will never be the same again after the pandemic and it is likely we will see further growth and even more jobs in all of these specialised firms in the coming year. It is an ill wind that is certainly doing some good after all. What do you think? Email People columnist Ciaran on ciaranmullooly@gmail.com

Eveni gBar&BistroMenu 3 -9

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Who’s saying what on Tweet Street ... Paul Healy’s take on top tweets!

…but Dr Sarah returns serve quickly

Maxime Bernier @MaximeBernier

Michael O’Regan @Michael_O_Regan

such wonderful things. So many people (including me) depend on reading to survive the rest of life

Vic Reeves’ singing on Jools Holland’s otherwise entertaining New Year’s Eve show

-The acclaimed author’s not wrong here…

John Cleese @JohnCleese

Dom @dommodernist

I see the British Press have ignored the fact that Maxwell might have been attracted to Epstein, a very powerful, rich, evil man, because her father was a very powerful, rich and evil man. Is this because Robert Maxwell, the long-time owner of British newspapers was a colleague?

Roscommon Herald Both the vaccinated and unvaccinated can spread the virus.

-Maxime’s maxim of the day…

First breakfast of the New Year. I have warned 2022 it had better behave itself. Enough is enough! -A less stressful year is on Michael’s dream menu…

Vic Reeves doing Dizzy on #Hootenanny is a very worrying sign for 2022. Year is off to an awful start already

Customer Correction Proof Dr. Sarah Parcak @indyfromspace

Both Serena Williams and I can play tennis

John Cleese

Customer Name:

newsbriefs S DOYLE & SONS New Archbishop to be installedCustomer on Sunday No:

Most Reverend Francis Duffy will be installed as Archbishop 2060848 of Tuam in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Tuam, on Sunday next, 9th of January 2022, during the celebration of Mass at 2.30 pm. He succeeds Archbishop Michael Neary who was appointed Archbishop of Tuam on the 17th of January 1995. 26/10/2021

Start Date: Date: 30/11/2021 Final callEnd for entries from Roscommon for No. of Inserts: 6 ActionTalks Competition The 17th of January 2022 is the final date for entries to ActionTalks, a national speech writing competition run by ActionAid. ActionAid focuses on the human rights of the poorest and most marginalised women and children, so they can overcome the obstacles holding them back. Its’ Women’s Rights Programme, funded by Irish Aid, works Roscommon to eliminate violence against women and girlsHerald through innovative community-led approaches. This year entrants will get an additional opportunity to showcase their speeches, and to win a prize, with the introduction of regional finals. Five entrants from each region (Leinster, Munster, and Ulster/Connacht), 15 in total, will be selected for the regional finals. Two winners from each region (six in total) will be selected to go forward to the national final in March and will receive a €50 One4All voucher each. The national winner will win a €500 One4All voucher for themselves and a €100 One4All voucher for their teacher. The competition, now in its eighth year, aims to engage young people aged 14-17 with global issues, gender equality and sustainable development, and challenges them to use their voice to create positive change. To enter, students can ask their teacher for details or visit https:// actionaid.ie/speech-writing-competition/ for more information.

Edition:

NUI Galway virtual information event for mature students NUI Galway’s Access Centre will hold its annual information evening on Wednesday, January 12th, from 7-9 pm. The event will focus on the needs of mature students and adult learners who may be considering full-time or part-time studies for the 2022-23 academic year. The online information evening is designed for those aged 23 or over wishing to find out more about study options at NUI Galway. Course experts and current students in the university will be on hand to provide support, information, and to answer questions from prospective students to help them decide which options best suit their personal circumstances and professional development needs. Registration for this event is essential. Please register at nuigalway.ie/caoevents or contact maturestudents@ nuigalway.ie. Further information is available at nuigalway. ie/mature.

MarianKeyes @MarianKeyes

Honest to God, libraries are

-Some viewers were less than impressed with comedian

Rep Contact Details: Alan beirne

090- 6627377

alan.beirne@roscommonherald.com

Marian Keyes

-Long freed of the stress of running a hotel (into the ground), the man who was (and always will be) Basil Fawlty continues to cast a critical eye on world affairs…

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Business

Roscommon business wins at ActionCOACH Awards

Roscommon-based business, Mark Lohan Fitted Furniture, recently won ‘Best Retail Business’ in the large business category at the ActionCOACH Business Excellence Awards, which took place on Friday, December 17th. Running for the past decade, the Business Excellence Awards showcase the ‘best of the best’ in the business world across small, medium and large businesses. This year’s virtual awards honoured the achievements and accomplishments of business owners and professionals from across the island of Ireland. Reacting to the win, Mark Lohan said: “Receiving this award means an awful lot to myself and the team as an acknowledgement for all our hard work since the formation of MLK and especially over the last number of years. “It has been very difficult to do business during the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated problems but they have also been our best years to date for growth”. ActionCOACH Derek O’Dwyer

New car registrations up 19% in 2021

Total new car registrations for 2021 were up 19 per cent, according to recently released figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). New registrations for last year finished at 104,932, higher than 2020 (88,325) but down 10.4 per cent on 2019 figures. New light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2021 saw an increase of 32.3 per cent (28,741) compared to 2020 (21,732) and 13.4% compared to 2019 (25,336), while new heavy commercial vehicle registrations (HGV) saw an increase of 31.5 per cent (2,716) in comparison to 2020 (2,066) and 2.1 per cent on 2019 (2,659). Imported used cars saw 63,617 registrations – a decrease of 20.4 per cent on 2020 (79,969) and 44.2 per cent on 2019 (113,926). A total of 8,646 new electric cars were registered in 2021, an increase on the 4,013 registrations seen in 2020 and 3,444 in 2019. Diesel accounted for 33.44 per cent of new registrations while petrol 32.16 per cent, hybrid 16.22 per cent, electric 8.24 per cent, and plugin hybrid 7.26 per cent made up the remainder. Diesel remains the most popular engine type despite a decline in its market share last year of 9.85 per cent, while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid continued to gain market share in 2021. Meanwhile, automatic transmissions continue to rise in popularity with 48.93 per cent of the market share last year.

had high praise for Mark Lohan Fitted Furniture: “Mark is a student of business. He is committed to

building a business that will work without him. He has grown the business nearly ten-fold in under

seven years. He has established the best kitchen showroom in the west in the past few years and plans

to replicate this with showroom number two in 2022. He has an excellent team including sales, customer service, manufacturing and fitting. A huge amount of business comes from word of mouth and referral. Mark is a big believer in systems and processes and this has allowed the business to grow over the past few years”. Paul Fagan, Managing Director, ActionCOACH Ireland, said of the winners: “The SME Business Community are the real unsung superheroes in Ireland today. During the past 18 months, they have kept their business open in the face of pandemic with multiple restrictions and lockdowns. They have overcome immense challenges to survive and thrive and today we recognise and celebrate their success”. Winners were judged on the performance of their business in terms of growth in sales and profits and new jobs created. The full list of winners is available at: https://actioncoach.ie/businessexcellence-awards-2021/.

Ballymore announces DCU GAA sponsorship Ballymore has this week announced its sponsorship of Dublin City University’s Gaelic football teams for the 2021-22 season. The property development company, which is owned by Roscommon native Sean Mulryan and acknowledged as a pioneer of some of Europe’s largest regeneration projects, also sponsors Roscommon GAA. Speaking at the announcement of the new sponsorship deal, Sean Mulryan, Ballymore Chairman and group Chief Executive, said: “I am a sponsor of a few GAA teams including my county team Roscommon but I am particularly pleased to sponsor Gaelic football at university level for the first time. I am an admirer of the set up at DCU and the standards achieved. It is a university going places”. Professor Daire Keogh, President of Dublin City

University, said: “I warmly welcome Ballymore’s sponsorship of DCU Dóchas Éireann. This agreement represents a significant investment in the future development of our talented student athletes. It will ensure that our men’s and women’s teams will have the support they need to maximise their sporting performance, while also excelling academically”. DCU Dóchas Éireann is the largest third level Gaelic Games club in the country with 33 teams fielded across all codes and over 1,400 members. They have ten men’s teams and seven ladies’ teams. The men’s team are the current holders of the Sigerson Cup, landing the title in 2020 with the competition hosted on DCU campuses. This is their fifth success in the competition over the last fifteen years. This success is mirrored on the ladies side, which recently won the Division One League

title and look forward to hosting the O’Connor Cup in March spread over three days, including International Women’s Day. DCU Dóchas Éireann GAA club provides a proven development pathway for young players from across the country. The successes of Dublin, Donegal and Mayo teams in recent years have featured a number of players who have been successful in DCU on a playing and academic front. While on the ladies’ front the successes of Dublin and recently Meath have been backboned by a strong DCU contingent. The sponsorship deal will enable DCU Dóchas Éireann to invest in nurturing talented young players, providing the university’s elite student athletes with cutting-edge supports that enable them to combine the highest standards of sporting performance and academic achievement.

Sean Mulryan of Ballymore Group with DCU footballers Luke Towey (Sligo), Niamh Hetherton (Dublin), Abby Shiels (Dublin), Eoin Colleran (Roscommon) and Red Óg Murphy (Sligo), Sigerson Manager Paddy Christie, James Galvin Head of Sport, DCU President Daire Keogh and DCU Deputy President Anne Sinnott. Pic: Kyran O’Brien

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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THIS WEEK...On The Political Beat Saolta University Health Care Group in 2022. “Investing in more neurology nurses is a cost-efficient way of improving the efficiency of outpatient clinics, reducing waiting times and ensuring that patients have access to the specialist support they need to manage their conditions,” Senator Murphy said. “Patients with access to neurology nurses have reported improved psychological well-being and improved sense of involvement in their care, being more prepared for tests and investigations. “More neurology nurses will also ensure that patients get quicker access to outpatient appointments, thereby reducing waiting lists and ensuring that any deterioration in the patient’s health status can be mitigated. This will also ensure that additional hospital resources can be focused on those that need it,” he concluded.

This week, local public representatives call for Leaving Cert clarity, confirm additional neurology nursing posts, and welcome a vote in favour of Government proposals from CE Supervisors…

Naughten calls for Leaving Cert clarity Independent TD Denis Naughten has called for clarity in relation to accredited grades for Leaving Certificate 2022. Deputy Naughten had raised the issue in the Dáil last November but says students remain anxious ahead of the State examinations this year. “Even though I raised this specific issue in the Dáil last May and received reassurances from the Minister for Education, students are very anxious about the forthcoming exams. This has now been compounded by the impact that the Omicron variant is having on exam students, who will have to isolate as a result of the present surge of infection,” he said. “I also raised these concerns directly with the Minister for Education who stated that ‘the State Examinations Commission will issue further details regarding the 2022 examinations, guided by prevailing public health advice. There will be further engagement with stakeholders, through the Advisory Group on Planning for the State Examinations, and with other stakeholders as appropriate, in advance of any detailed announcement’. “It is imperative that there is now a swift decision on the use of accredited grades for this

Protection. “The Community Employment model has delivered great work by local CE schemes across the country, particularly in counties like Sligo and Leitrim,” he said. “I also welcome a range of long-awaited reforms to CE, announced by Minister Heather Humphreys, which many scheme employers and supervisors were pressing for. Reaching this agreement on an issue that dates to 2008 further demonstrates Minister Humphreys’ absolute commitment to supporting CE schemes and the important services they provide to local communities and to long-term unemployed people throughout the country”.

Feighan welcomes CE Supervisor vote Independent TD Denis Naughten

year’s Leaving Certificate exams. “Students have enough to contend with without having to worry about the format of the exam itself,” concluded Denis Naughten.

Three neurology nursing posts confirmed Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy says that after raising fears over the neurology nursing shortage at University Hospital Galway in the Seanad, he has now received confirmation that a further three appointments will be made by the

Local TD and Minister of State Frank Feighan has welcomed the decision by Community Employment (CE) supervisors and assistant supervisors to vote in favour of proposals by Government to resolve a long-running issue arising from a Labour Court recommendation on pension provision. The settlement, agreed with unions SIPTU and Fórsa, will benefit over 2,200 people employed by CE schemes going back to 2008. Under the terms of this settlement, on reaching retirement age, CE supervisors and assistant supervisors will receive a once-off ex-gratia payment in respect of time employed by CE schemes since 2008. People who retired since 2008 will be able to apply for payments immediately when the scheme is in place next year. These payments will be administered by the Department of Social

Local TD and Minister of State Frank Feighan

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION Sunday January 9th

Pictured at a Christmas Market in Strokestown. Pics: Mick McCormack

An ‘epiphany’ is an appearance. In today’s readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights, and mysteries revealed, the face of the child born on Christmas day appears. Herod, in today’s Gospel, asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. The answer Matthew puts on their lips says much more, combining two strands of Old Testament promise – one revealing the Messiah to be from the line of David (see 2 Samuel 2:5), the other predicting “a ruler of Israel” who will “shepherd his flock” and whose “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth” (see Micah 5:1–3). Those promises of Israel’s king ruling the nations resound also in today’s Psalm. The psalm celebrates David’s son, Solomon. His kingdom, we sing, will stretch “to the ends of the earth,” and the world’s kings will pay him homage. That’s the scene too in today’s First Reading, as nations stream from the East, bearing “gold and frankincense” for Israel’s king.

The Magi’s pilgrimage in today’s Gospel marks the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Magi, probably Persian astrologers, are following the star that Balaam predicted would rise along with the ruler’s staff over the house of Jacob (see Numbers 24:17). Laden with gold and spices, their journey evokes those made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and the “kings of the earth” (see 1 Kings 10:2, 25; 2 Chronicles 9:24). Interestingly, the only other places where frankincense and myrrh are mentioned together are in songs about Solomon (see Song of Songs 3:6; 4:6, 14). One greater than Solomon is here (see Luke 11:31). He has come to reveal that all peoples are “coheirs” of the royal family of Israel, as today’s Epistle teaches. His manifestation forces us to choose: will we follow the signs that lead to Him as the wise Magi did? Or will we be like those priests and scribes who let God’s words of promise become dead letters on an ancient page? -Scott Hahn PhD, salvationhistory. com (courtesy of Sacred Heart Church)

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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Abbey students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor pictured with Liam McGroarty from Croghan NS who was a winner with the name ‘Larry’ as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently.

Abbey Community College students hold competition to name Angus calves

In September, students from Abbey Community College, Boyle were the lucky winners of five Irish Angus Bull calves as part of the Certified Irish Angus Schools competition. Recently, the winning Abbey Community College students hosted a colouring competition where five local national schools were invited to take part in naming each of the calves. The competition received a high number of entries with plenty of name suggestions and winners were chosen from Grange National School, Croghan National School, Scoil na nAingeal Naofa, St. Joseph’s Boys National School and Kilmactranny National School.

Students and staff at Abbey Community College would like to sincerely thank generous sponsors for prizes, which they gratefully appreciated. Sponsors included Cooney’s Centra, Boyle who supplied selection boxes for winning entries, the Irish Angus Society in Carrickon-Shannon, which supplied hats and pens, and Killoran’s Gala, Ballyforan, who sponsored goodies for each of the schools. The Abbey students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor also wish to thank their teachers for allowing them to hold the competition and also a very big well done to all local national school children for their hard work!

Abbey Community College, Boyle students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor pictured with Oisín Nangle from Grange NS, who came up with the name ‘Lightning’ as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently.

Marvin from 1st Class in St. Joseph’s Boys NS was a winner with the name ‘Paul’ as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently. (Unfortunately Marvin wasn’t in attendance but his class and teachers represented him).

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Abbey students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor pictured with Caoimhe Battles from Scoil na nAingeal Naofa who was a winner with the name ‘Aaron’ as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently. (Also pictured is Aine O’Donnell, teacher)

KEEP YOUR FARM SAFE

Abbey students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor pictured with Cormac Ward from Kilmactranny NS who received a selection box for his excellent colouring as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently.

Abbey students, Colin McGrath, David Duggan, Liam Killoran and Gavin O’Connor pictured with Leah Harte from Kilmactranny NS who suggested the name ‘Big Bertha’ as part of the Abbey Community College competition to name one of five Angus bull calves recently.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople

Should we separate artists from their work? Can we? Let’s talk about ... Separating the art and the artist (A student’s perspective)

Alannah Ita Healy HBO kicked off the new year on January 1st with the release of the Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion special, which saw the return of much of the films’ main cast. Given the huge fanbase that the franchise built during the peak of its popularity, the amount of discussion generated online around the special was to be expected. However, there is one talking point in particular that continues to divide opinion and spark debate, and it all comes back to author JK Rowling’s absence from the special. Despite being the books’ author and appearing in archival footage in parts of the special, Rowing does not appear in interviews alongside the franchise’s cast. Many speculated that the reason behind this had to do with her comments about the trans community, particularly trans women. In a series of 2020 tweets and a blog post written in response

to the tweets’ backlash, Rowling dismissed the lived experiences of trans women, spouted an extensive amount of harmful misinformation, and painted trans women’s existence as an obstacle to dealing with women’s issues. As more and more evidence of her transphobia came to light, Rowling immediately lost the respect and following of many who had been fans of hers and her work for years, and in my opinion understandably so. So, when the reunion special was released, many speculated that Rowling’s absence could be attributed to the transphobic comments she had made in the years prior, and the fact that many of the cast involved in the reunion were among those who spoke out against the statements she’d made. While this remained the prevailing view for a while, representatives from Rowling’s team denied that this was the case, citing that there was just simply no need to include Rowling in the reunion – outside of archival footage. Nevertheless, Rowling’s notable absence in the special had already reignited the same online debate that happened in the wake of her original transphobic tweet, a debate which is brought up almost every time a creator finds themselves in deep water: What happens when you love the art but don’t support the artist? The problematic and sometimes extremely harmful sides of high profile figures and how such revelations come to light are intertwined with cancel culture, the pitfalls of which of clear to see. In theory, cancel culture aims to hold people accountable for their transgressions, but usually it just squashes any opportunity for nuanced conversation or education on the issues it claims to be defending. Much less does it actually result in any meaningful change or consequences to the lives or careers of those being ‘cancelled’. However, regardless of where cancel culture falls short, recent years have indeed revealed the ugly truths about many once-loved celebrities and creators. It is not uncommon to have it revealed to you now that a creator you enjoy fails to uphold your moral beliefs. So, what happens if someone’s work carries immense value to you, but you consider their personal actions/ views to be unacceptable? At what point does your support of their work infer support of them as a person? The solution usually given to those who ask this question is to ‘separate the art from the artist’. The philosophy behind this idea is quite simple and at first glance makes sense. You can’t convince yourself you don’t like something, so surely the only

“ Pictured at a Christmas Market in Strokestown. Pics: Mick McCormack

What happens if someone’s work carries immense value to you, but you consider their personal actions/ views to be unacceptable? At what point does your support of their work infer support of them as a person?

way to reconcile your connection to a piece of work and your disapproval towards the person who created it is to treat them as separate things? But then, of course, the argument becomes about whether that can be done in the first place, citing that all art is an expression of the artist that made it. So where does that leave us? At the core of this conversation around whether people should support work made by problematic artists or whether art and artist can ever be separated, is the role of the consumer. You can preach separation of art and artist, but not if the artist directly benefits from your support of their work. As such, the solution settled on by a lot of people has been to still enjoy an artist’s work, but not to support them monetarily. However, for many people, there’s a moral grey area that is going to persist when you support a creator whose actions you are fundamentally opposed to, and if this is something you can’t live with, you simply no longer interact with their work. It feels clear that in the end, navigating how to enjoy an artist’s work while not supporting their views/actions is not a process that is ever going to end with a completely satisfying conclusion. As with cancel culture, the conversation around the separation of art and artist too often becomes about deciding which binary viewpoint you subscribe to – is X person 100% bad or 100% good, is it harmless or harmful to support a problematic artist etc? When a problem is approached like this, there is no way to arrive at an answer that satisfies both sides. In truth, both problems would be most effectively tackled by addressing the realities that lead to problematic behaviour, and to have the nuanced conversations that these issues deserve. In some ways we are moving more towards this type of nuanced conversation, but there remains a very long way to go. In the meantime, feel free to exercise your best judgement about what to do when an artist you like does something you disagree with, but be mindful of what you’re deeming as acceptable when you do.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

NewsPeople PropertyPeople Pictured at the switching-on of the Ballaghaderreen Christmas lights

Pics: Mick McCormack

Roscommon housing prices rise 14% According to the latest Daft.ie Sales Report (released by Ireland’s largest property website, Daft.ie), Roscommon housing prices were 14 per cent higher in the final three months of 2021 than a year previously, compared to a rise of 11 per cent seen a year ago. The average price of a home is now €172,000, 87 per cent above its lowest point. National housing prices rose by 7.7 per cent on average during 2021. The average price nationwide in the final quarter of 2021 was €290,998, up 0.6 per cent on the third quarter of 2021 and just 21 per cent below the Celtic Tiger peak. While 2020 saw similar rates of inflation across the Irish housing market, significant regional differences emerged during 2021. The smallest increases were in urban areas. In Galway city, prices rose by 1.6 per cent during the year, while in Dublin, prices rose by 3.4 per cent. In Cork city, prices rose by 5.5 per cent, and in Limerick and Waterford cities, the increases

were 6.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively. Outside of the five main cities, prices rose by an average of 11.5 per cent during 2021. The increase in Munster (outside the cities) was 9.2 per cent, while in Leinster (excluding Dublin), prices rose by 11.9 per cent. The largest increase in prices in the country was seen in Connacht-Ulster, where prices rose by 14.6 per cent during 2021. Fewer than 11,500 homes were listed for sale on December 1st, the lowest total recorded since July 2006, when online advertising was still emerging. This represents a fall of one quarter, year-on-year. The total number of ads of properties for sale in the year up until December 1st was just over 54,000, the highest twelvemonth total since early 2020. While supply has improved, it remains well below pre-pandemic levels – with almost 70,000 homes listed for sale during 2019. Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons (economist at

Trinity College Dublin) said: “Inflation in listed prices continues to cool from its mid-year peak. Nonetheless, at nearly 8 per cent for the year, it remains stubbornly high. This reflects a combination of unusually strong demand and on-going weak supply. Demand for homes to buy, which had been strong anyway from the mid-2010s, has received an unexpected boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, with prospective buyers able to tap into ‘accidental’ savings as expenditure fell during the lockdowns. “Meanwhile, both new and secondhand supply remain weaker than expected before the pandemic. While the pandemic has changed some particulars, the general health of the housing market is largely unchanged – it is one characterised by weak supply in the face of strong demand. For that reason, additional supply – not just of homes for sale but also of market and social rental housing – remains key to solving Ireland’s chronic housing shortage”.

Carrowroe beside Roscommon town

Five-bedroomed property near Roscommon town Due to cancellation, this week, Cormac Sheehy of RE/ MAX Team Earley is offering to the market a four-bedroomed, detached residence with a one-bedroomed apartment, located at Carrowroe beside Roscommon town (F42 XK58). Situated on a large site of approximately 1.6 acres, this property offers further development opportunity (subject to planning). The property is presented in good condition and is being sold as is. The property benefits from a one-bedroomed, one-bathroom granny flat, located to the side. Carrowroe is situated just two minutes from Roscommon town, and the property is within easy access of ample amenities, including schools, preschools, shops,

supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, parks, playgrounds, church, hospital, medical centre, various sporting facilities and public transport links. The property is heated via oil fired central heating and a solid fuel stove with back boiler. Externally, the property sits on an approximately 1.65 acre site with two storage sheds and a tarmac driveway. The total area is approximately 1,600 square feet. The AMV for this property is €220,000, and the BER rating is D2. For more, contact RE/MAX Team Earley, Stonecourt Centre, The Square, on 090-6626579 or email teamearley@remax.ie. Contact Cormac directly on 0863519492/086-2551380.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

PropertyPeople Stone Court Centre, The Square, Roscommon Tel: (090) 6626579 / 6626796 Mobile: Cormac 086 3519492 Email: teamearley@remax.ie Licence No. Web: www.teamearley.ie PSRA004420 DUE TO CANCELLATION A PRIMELY LOCATED RESIDENTIAL 7 DAY LICENSED PREMISES OF APPROX 2,800 SQ. FT. LOCATED AT

MAIN STREET, CASTLEREA, CO. ROSCOMMON F45 R6V3 AMV: OFFERS AFTER €125,000

A primely located public house located in the heart of Castlerea Town adjacent to the Mart and all town amenities. Offering spacious commercial and residential accommodation throughout, the property lends itself to various alternative uses due its size and location. The said property and 7 day license can be sold independently should market interest dictate and the auctioneers now invite immediate viewings and all offers after €125,000 to sell. The Auctioneer now invites viewings – by appointment only.

NEW TO THE MARKET 4 BEDROOMED SEMI DETACHED RESIDENCE LOCATED AT

7 CHESTNUT GROVE, TULSK, CO. ROSCOMMON F45 YT62

NEW TO THE MARKET A 4 BEDROOMED BUNGALOW RESIDENCE LOCATED AT

MOUNT PLEASANT, STROKESTOWN, CO. ROSCOMMON F42 WR63 AMV: €240,000

A beautiful 4 bed Bungalow on the outskirts of Strokestown. Set on a mature site area of 0.86 of an acre, this home is in turnkey condition. The accommodation comprises briefly of four large double bedrooms, a lovely modern kitchen/diner, sitting room and an ample utility. Located 15km from Roscommon and 4km from Strokestown on the Four Mile House Road This home is both private and quiet as well as being within touching distance of both towns. The Auctioneer now invites viewings – by appointment only.

NEW TO THE MARKET INDUSTRIAL UNIT ROXBORO, ROSCOMMON F42 XF54 AMV: €250,000

AMV: €150,000 A quality 4 bedroomed semi-detached residence located in the attractive Chestnut Grove development and within walking distance of Tulsk village. This property is in turnkey condition. Comprising briefly of reception, kitchen, sittingroom, four well apportiond bedrooms with master ensuite, family bathroom and wc. Located on a mature site. The Auctioneer now invites viewings – by appointment only.

A primely located commercial property of approx. 9,700 sq.ft standing on a large site area with extensive hard top forecourt area. The said property is located approx. 4km from Roscommon town and would suit various commercial pursuits due size and location. Servicing the said property are 3 number electric roller doors with 2 number loading bays on the front elevation. There is also an ample supply of good quality water available from an on site source. The auctioneers now invite immediate viewings for immediate sale.

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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FENCING/GATES

GARDENING SERVICES

Des Kelly Fencing Over 20 years in business All types of fencing supplied and erected Including: • Cresoted Posts • Agricultural Fencing • Site Fencing • Security Fencing • Post & Rail Fencing • Concrete Fencing • Grant Approved Fencing No job too big or too small Just give us a call on

087 2346364

Including: • Hedge Cutting • Hedge Planting • Grass Cutting • Spraying • Strimming • Weeding • Garden Tidy-ups • Planting • Gutter Cleaning, etc. Chainsaw work also available

Phone John on

087 2860428

GARDENING

• Certified Arborists • Tree Surgery • Dangerous Tree Removal • Wood Chipping • Leylandii hedges reduced and shaped Comprehensive Insurance Cover. I.S.A. member.

Tel: 086 6077307 or 086 8125165

www.parklawntreeservices.

GATELY GARDENING

Four Roads, Co. Roscommon • Landscaping • Timber Decking • Patios • General Maintenance Contact Liam on 086 8749550 or 090 66 27496

MOBILE HAIRDRESSER MOBILE HAIRDRESSER: Kathleen’s Ladies and Gents Hairdressing Services. Also Mobile service available. Evening appointments available for enquiries. Tel: 085 8514270 or 094 9643286

PHYSICAL THERAPY

Roscommon Physical Therapy Clinic Movement Matters 20 years experience treating babies to adults. Everyday aches & pains to sports injuries. Physical Therapy CranioSacral Therapy Medical Dry Needling Prescription Orthotics Pilates – Small Classes

Can we help you? Call us today to enquire 090 663 0009 Like us on Facebook www.rosptc.com 1 Castleview, Roscommon F42 C902

PLANNINGS

Design Consultation Planning Applications New Build, Extend, Renovate Bespoke Design Domestic, Commercial & Agricultural

086 3482387 info@moleskinarchitecture.com

facebook.com/moleskinarch ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL We, David and Helena Naughton intend to apply to Roscommon County Council for planning permission, the development shall consist of the demolition of an existing ruinous dwellinghouse, the construction of a new two storey dwelling house, domestic garage, boundary walls and fences, relocation of site entrance with new driveway, installation of a new waste water treatment system with percolation area and all associated site works at Runnabackan Townland, Oran, Co. Roscommon. Signed: JN Design, Athleague, Co. Roscommon Phone: 087 403 7803 The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Classifieds PLANNINGS ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL Keadew West, Keadew, Boyle, Co. Roscommon. I, Enda Burke intend to apply to Roscommon County Council for planning permission for development consisting of the demolition of an existing derelict two storey dwelling/garage and the construction of 2 No. two storey detached dwelling houses, 2 No. detached domestic garages, car parking spaces, connection to existing foul/surface water drainage together with all ancillary site works and services at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application, and such submission or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant the application. Signed: Enda Burke

ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL We, Conlon Consulting Engineering Ltd., on behalf of our Clients, Trevor and Gemma Fahy of Cloonfad, Tibohine, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, hereby give notice of our intention to apply for permission for retention of two developments, at the aforementioned address, to the offices of the local authority. The developments comprise: A: A standalone cabin, circa 60m² in size, located to the rear of our property, developed for use as a home office, and multi-purpose hobby shed. Built for use strictly ancillary to the household. And B: A 9m² single-storey detached timber-shed, developed for use as an exterior laundry room at the same location; built for use strictly ancillary to the household. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission Signed: Edward Conlon BE(Hons) CEng MIEI Chartered Engineer

Tel: 0906 665341 Email: info@conlonconsulting.ie Web: www.conlonconsulting.ie

To advertise, telephone 090 66 34633 or email advertising@roscommonpeople.ie

PLANNINGS ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL I Padraig Corbett intend to apply to Roscommon County Council for planning permission to erect a dwelling house, domestic garage/garden shed, install a secondary waste water treatment unit with soil polishing filter and to construct all ancillary site works to facilitate same at Glennanea, Taughmaconnell, Ballinasloe, Co. Roscommon. The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20 within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submission or observation will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission. Signed: Padraig Corbett. ROSCOMMON COUNTY COUNCIL Strokestown Golf Club is seeking planning permission to construct a covered coaching facility and ancillary site works, at Bumlin Td., Strokestown, Co Roscommon. The proposed coaching facility will be a 4-Bay cladded steel structure. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority, in writing on payment of the prescribed fee €20, within the period of 5 weeks, beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submission or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission. Signed: Martin Crinigan Junior Convenor Strokestown Golf Club

PLUMBING

Plumbing & Maintenance • Bathroom planning and design to suit you • All aspects of plumbing and maintenance • Boiler Servicing • Heating Installation • Call for FREE QUOTATION

Contact Luke on

085 7359120 Working throughout current restrictions with full PPE equipment.

PODIATRIST Podiatrist/Chiropodist

Sarah Fleming

CB.Sc (Hons) Podiatry MScPI at

Tullys

PODIATRIST FOOT CLINIC ROSCOMMON – MOLLOYS PHARMACY (Monday to Saturday) Also available in Boyle & Athlone -------Chiropody treatment and all aspects of Foot Pain. Orthotics prescribed

By Appointment Only –

087 2982214

HSE Trained and Approved l Home visits available

Tel: Catriona Byrne DIP CHFP

For any of your foot issues call:

094 9620009

PODIATRIST

For all foot ailments

Corns, calluses, ingrown toenails, verruca, orthotics, diabetic assessments and treatment.

Siobhan Murray BSc (Hons) Podiatry M.Ch.S.I.

Department of Health Approved Kearney’s Chemist Main Street, Castlerea For appointment: (094) 96 21647 / (089) 4142233 • Home visits SIOBHAN ALSO RUNS A CLINIC FROM KNOCK

• 20 years experience

The Galway Podiatrist FOOT AND ANKLE CLINIC

Aoife Reilly BSc Pod, MChSI, SCPI (registered with VHI, AVIVA, LAYA & GloHealth)

TUITION

PROPERTIES TO LET/RENT/WANTED CHAZEY PROPERTIES: We require properties for waiting tenants, we advertise, conduct viewings, arrange references, read meters, set up tenancy agreements and arrange direct debit payments straight into your bank. We charge a one off fee only if we are successful in renting your property. If not no fees are payable. Tel: 086 8212732

REFLEXOLOGY Registered Reflexologist

TERESA BURKE

BNS (Hons). M.Sc (Hons) (MNRRI) Give your mind and body a relaxing experience with a reflexology treatment. Through massage of the feet reflexology can: • Rebuild energy levels in the body • Assist in relieving stress • Encourage relaxation • Improve general wellbeing Reflexology is based on the principle that the foot has “reflex” points that correspond to the various structures and organs throughout the body.

Maths Grinds

Experienced Higher Level Teacher l Excellent results record l Limited places available l

l Roscommon Town Venue

Contact by phone/text:

Lorraine 086 3688302

EMAIL: roscommonmathsgrinds @gmail.com

TURF/FUEL/ FIREWOOD

TURF AVAILABLE Tel: Donal

086 2721812 (All areas)

Also loads of Peat bedding for livestock (delivered) < W O O D / F I R E W O O D : High quality seasoned split hardwood timber, suitable for stoves and open-fire. Available in 500kg bulk bag and 25kg bag. Very competitively priced and delivery can be discussed. Call 086 3312411 after 6pm.

USEFUL SERVICES

Quality Small Job Services For Home or Business

OIL BOILER SERVICE

ONLY €80 Includes new nozzle, Efficiency report, Printout, etc .... 094 9373445 087 9100477

< ELECTRICIAN AVAILABLE: Rewires, first and second fix new houses, fuse board upgrade. All farm buildings and sheds, security lighting and garden lights. Tel: Tom on 086 0815802.

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE REPAIRS: WASHING MACHINE, REPAIRS, DISHWASHER REPAIRS, OVEN AND TUMBLE DRYER REPAIRS Contact Paul on 086 0538977 087 4046478 071 9664207 www.appliance-repairs.ie

For Bookings Contact:

College Road, For Bookings Contact: Mountbellew,

(087) 707 5803

(087) 707 5803 (Saturday & evening appointments available)

Co Galway H53 D7W8

(Saturday & evening appointments available) Treanrevagh, Mountbellew, Co. Galway H53 D7W8 Open under Goverment + HSE Guidelines

PODIATRIST/ CHIROPODIST Mark Kilgallon B.Sc Podiatry (Hons) M.Ch.S.I. Department of Health Approved

EVERY FRIDAY St. Joseph’s Resource Centre, Boyle For appointment

085 1503353 086 8538404

Email: m.kilgallon23@gmail.com

• House Visits • Insoles and Orthotics Prescribed • Chiropody Services

Clinics also in Ballaghaderreen and Castlebar

REFLEXOLOGY MARINA FUREY (MNRRI)

Reflexology may bring relief from conditions such as: • Allergies • Colic • Eczema • Constipation • Migraine • Back Problems • Stress • Infertility • Insomnia • Respiratory Disorders • Blood Pressure • Pain • Bowel Disorders • Joint/Muscle Problems • Thyroid Imbalance • Emotional Disorders - Fertility Reflexology - Ante Natal Reflexology - Baby Reflexology - Cancer Care Reflexology - Special Needs Reflexology Mobile Service Available Marina Furey B. Sc. (Hons)

Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon

Tel: 087 2264951 Find us on facebook

10x6 Loads of Turf, saved in good weather and stored in dry shed, will deliver. Phone:

083 0684011

< TURF: Top quality well seasoned black hopper turf, delivered in large trailer loads also bales of hay for sale. Tel: 086 3903120 or 086 2544294 < THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL OFFERS: • Net bags of seasoned firewood only €3 per bag, buy 20 bags get 1 free • Tonne bags firewood/turf only €35 per bag. Half tone bags of Ash/Beech only €35 per bag. All includes free delivery. Contact Tom: 086 2628439 or Tony 087 7055800

DRAINS/SEWERS CLEANED PERMIT NO: WCP - MO - 09 - 0267 - 01

TELEPHONE MICHAEL HAVERTY: 086 8381227 or 086 1997815

Electrician Available Safe Electric Registered. Domestic and Industrial, All work considered. No Job too small. Phone Paul 086 2553153 or 090 666 3053 or Email p0862553153@ gmail.com.

Do you have a house or shed that you want cleaned out and all unwanted items removed? If so ring:

087 9657933

or 090 6626752

WANTED: Fallen trees for firewood. Ash, Beech, Birch and Whitethorn. We are safety certified and insured. Phone:

Alan O’Toole

TOP QUALITY TURF

SEPTIC TANKS EMPTIED

086 2437376

Contact TERESA for appointment

at 087 9001212 Gift vouchers available. Brideswell, Co. Roscommon N37 EW20

USEFUL SERVICES

WINDOW CLEANING

Window Protection Ireland Commercial/Domestic Registered and Insured All areas covered Also protecting windows during construction see windowprotection.ie Telephone

PAINTER & DECORATOR Private & Commercial Power washing 25 years experience Free Estimates Given

Phone Alan on:

090 6661635 or Mobile:

087 9795226

087 2683079

To have your advert seen by over 80,000 people every week advertise with us!

PROFESSIONAL PAINTING & DECORATING CONTRACTOR

The most read newspaper in Co. Roscommon! The local paper!

For all your decorating needs CONTACT JOHN

086 4679798

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

AtYourService BLINDS

To advertise, telephone 090 66 34633 or email advertising@roscommonpeople.ie

CARS

FARMING

QUARRY

Dead & Worn-Out Animals Contact JOHN GREENE BALLINASLOE BRENDAN DOOLIN

TEL: (090) 96 88606

Also Wooden Venetians, Velux Window Blinds.

(090) 96 88830 or (090) 96 87651 Lowest price guaranteed

We buy any CARS, VANS, TRUCKS, JEEPS all types wanted. End of life certs can be provided. Also scrap metal

Tel: 090 66 30521 Mobile: 086 8115928

CHIMNEY REPAIRS

- CCTV Camera Inspection For Professional For Professional Advice Contact Advice Contact: John Hibbitt: Tel: 090

9673336 2678350

Mob: 086 Email:

INSURANCE CLAIMS

Chris’s Window Service

INSURANCE INSURANCE INSURANCE INSURANCE INSURANCE CLAIMS REPAIR LTD. CLAIMS CLAIMS REPAIR REPAIR LTD. LTD. INSURANCE CLAIMS LTD. CLAIMSREPAIR REPAIR LTD. CLAIMS REPAIR LTD.

PROPERTY CLAIMS CONSULTANTS PROPERTY PROPERTY CLAIMS CLAIMS CONSULTANTS CONSULTANTS Property Claims Consultants PROPERTY CLAIMS CONSULTANTS PROPERTY CLAIMSSERVICES CONSULTANTS LOSS ASSESSORS SERVICES LOSS LOSS ASSESSORS ASSESSORS SERVICES PROPERTY CLAIMS CONSULTANTS and Loss Assessors Services LOSS ASSESSORS SERVICES LOSS ASSESSORS SERVICES LOSS ASSESSORS SERVICES

Cathal Dooley 087 6579064

20 Years Experience Free Insurance Quotes Nationwide Service Stoves and Ranges Fitted All Work Guaranteed

INSULATION

086 2538169 086 8044030

Tel: 085 2191234

email: chrislocksmith.162@gmail.com 086 8229606

DOORS/ WINDOWS SHOWROOM:

We SUPPLY & FIT Double & Treble Glazed Windows & Doors, Patio Doors, French Doors, Porches and Conservatories uPVC Window and Door Locksmith We are the only Licensed Window and Door Locksmith in Roscommon

Telephone: 090 66 33026 www.roscommonwindows.ie

DOOR & WINDOW SERVICE

Supply and fit uPVC Doors and Windows ONLY TOP QUALITY PRODUCTS USED Composite Doors, French Doors, Patio Doors in a wide range of styles and colours Also various styles and colours of uPVC Windows

086 6002721

to discuss your requirements

Email: pjmhanley@gmail.com

Ballybane Industrial Estate, Unit 2, Ballybrit Industrial H91 P5k5 BlockEstate, 12, Galway Galway

THE MOST READ NEWSPAPER IN COUNTY ROSCOMMON!

www.ecowise.ie

OR email your enquiry to cburkecoaching@gmail.com (FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS OR ON-LINE/TEAMS)

RO S l

ROS Property Services

6621220

VETERINARY

Lisagallon, Cloverhill, Roscommon Eircode: F42 K243 Tel: 0906665555 Fax: 0906627653 • Digital X-Ray Facility • In house Blood Analysis • Small Animal Ultra-Sound • Gas Anaesthetic • Veterinary Kennel’s facility •24hrs Emergency Vet on call Clinic Hours: 2pm – 7pm Mon – Friday • Saturday Clinic 10am - 3pm Office Hours: 9am – 7pm Mon - Friday PLEASE CALL TO ARRANGE AN APPOINTMENT

Extensions l Renovations l Property Maintenance

P: 090 66 70996 M: 085 2162555 E:rospropertyservices@gmail.com RECYCLING

Castlerea Vehicle Recycling All NCT Failures Destruction Certs Issued l Sale of Second Hand Parts l Contracted to all Major Car Companies l Farm Machinery, Old Gates l Metals, Iron Baths l Old Cooking Ranges l Weighbridge on Site l

To have your advert seen by over 80,000 people every week advertise with us!

info@ecowise.ie

For appointment call me on 086 8229606

PROPERTY

Call in or contact us for free advice and quotes

091 768 768

PERSONAL COACHING: * BECOME MORE ASSERTIVE & BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE! * HELP TO COPE WITH AND EMBRACE CHANGE (E.G. RETIREMENT, NEW JOB, SEPARATION, ETC)

WIDE RANGE OF COMPOSITE DOORS

Contact Pat Hanley on

New Buildings & Retrofit

Tel: 090

CAREER COACHING: * CV ADVICE AND TAILORING TO JOB SPECS * COMPETENCY BASED APPLICATION FORMS (INCLUDING PUBLIC SECTOR) * INTERVIEW MASTERING (INCLUDING COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS) CHANGING JOB / GET THAT PROMOTION!

Racecourse Road, Roscommon

REPAIRS & SERVICING ALSO CARRIED OUT

Bonded Bead Cavity Wall Insulation

CAROLINE BURKE Career & Life Coaching

GUIDING & COACHING TOWARDS SUCCESS

Full replacement service provided and all work carried out to a high quality finish

Cellulose, Sheepswool, Fibreglass, SIGA Airtightness

APA-PL, LA APA-PL,CIP, CIP, CDIP CDIP LA 091 380900 091 380900 091 091 380900 380900 E: wardbrosltd@gmail.com 091 091380900 380900 087 7371280 087 7371280 087 087 7371280 7371280 0877371280 7371280 087 info@icr.ie info@icr.ie info@icr.ie info@icr.ieSEPTIC TANKS EMPTIED info@icr.ie info@icr.ie www.icr.ie www.icr.ie www.icr.ie www.icr.iewww.icr.ie www.icr.ie SEPTIC TANKS EMPTIED

Springfield, Williamstown, Co. Galway Unit 12 Oranmore Business Park, Oranmore, Galway | Mountbellew, Co. Galway UnitUnit 12 12 Oranmore Oranmore Business Business Park, Oranmore, Galway | |Mountbellew, | Mountbellew, Co. Co. Galway Unit 12 Oranmore BusinessPark, Park,Oranmore, Oranmore,Galway Galway Mountbellew, Co.Galway Galway 12 Oranmore Business Park, Oranmore, Galway | Co. Mountbellew, Co.ALSO Galway DRAIN JETTING SERVICE 12 Oranmore Business Park, Oranmore, Galway | Mountbellew, Galway Window restrictors l Burglary repairs l Window locks UnitUnit Loss • Approved Product Advisor • Member the PSAB-GI • Certified • • Certified DipDipinDip inLoss Loss • •Approved Approved Product Product Advisor Advisor • • Member •Member Member ofofthe theofPSAB-GI l Cylinder and lock supplied l Hinge replacement • Certified Certified Dip ininLoss Approved Product Advisor theofPSAB-GI PSAB-GI Adjusting Adjusting • Certified Dip in Loss • Approved Product Advisor • • •Member ofbyby thethe PSAB-GI Adjusting Adjusting • Approved Member the Insurance • Regulated byCentral the Central Insurance Central • •Member Member ofofofthe theof Insurance Insurance Regulated •Regulated Regulated Central the l Glass replacement •Adjusting Certified Dip in Loss •Member Product Advisor • thebyMember of theContact PSAB-GI Maurice on • Loss Loss Assessor Services Institute Ireland Bank Ireland Assessor Services Institute of Ireland • Regulated Bank of Ireland • Member of the Insurance the Central • Loss • • Loss Assessor Assessor Services Services Institute Institute ofofofIreland Ireland Bank Bank ofofIreland ofbyIreland Adjusting l Window and door seals • ofMember • Regulated by the Central • Loss Assessor Services Institute Ireland of the Insurance Bank of Ireland or Kenneth on • LossLIFE AssessorCOACH Services Institute of Ireland Bank of Ireland l Window and door handles supplied and fitted l Aluminium and uPVC doors and windows repaired. Gannon Environmental Services Ltd.

Chimney Problems

• Relining • Rebuilding • CCTV Camera Inspection

• Stone • Sand & Gravel • Topsoil • Readymix • Plant Hire Martin Hibbitt Martin Hibbitt Martin Martin Hibbitt Hibbitt APA-PL, CIP, CDIP LA KEENEST QUOTES CALL FOR Martin Hibbitt APA-PL, CIP, APA-PL, APA-PL, CIP, CIP, CDIP CDIP LA LA Martin HibbittLACDIP

info@athlonechimneyrepairs.ie

Dooley Chimney Repairs • Lining

SUPPLIERS OF ALL TYPES OF:

071 96 33222

Tel: 087 0944027

DOORS/ WINDOWS SERVICE - Chimney Repairs - Soot & Smoke Problems - Demolish, Re Build & Re Flue Line - Chimney Fires - Flexible Stainless Steel Liner - Insurance Claims processed

Daily collection

WARD BROS QUARRY

RECYCLING OF END-OF-LIFE VEHICLES

Lanesboro Street, Roscommon

Tel: 090 662 6898 AFTER HOURS/24 HOUR EMERGENCY

087 2596055 You must call in advance to order repeat prescriptions

RECYCLING ALL TYPES OF METAL

C astlerea ELV R ecycling L td ., Cloonkeen, Castlerea Kevin & Martina Keenan Tel: 094 96 21250 Mob: 086 2522231

Please ring to make an appointment for the small animal clinic.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Classifieds

To advertise, telephone 090 66 34633 or email advertising@roscommonpeople.ie

AtYourService CLEANING

S tephen H oare

FAMILYNOTICES ....ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND ANNIVERSARIES DORAN Denis & Eithne Acres House, Roscommon

REILLY Michael Creevy, Roscommon (18th Anniversary)

Cleaning Services • Roscommon • Carpets & Upholstery Cleaning • WINDOW CLEANING • POWER WASHING Fascias & Soffits • Gutters & Down pipes • Drive ways ‘paths and patios’

(10th Anniversary) In loving memory of Denis (Denny), who died on 15th January 2012

(2nd Anniversary) In loving memory of Eithne who died on 4th January 2020

They lived, and laughed, and loved, and left sad and sudden was the call. Their memories are our keepsake for all.

Always in our thoughts and prayers Pat, Denise, Hillary and Lisa.

M: 086 3912396 Ph: 090 66 62892

No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye you were gone before we knew it God only knows just why.

Fondly remembered Alan, Gráinne, Charlie and Teagan.

or alternatively call 090 66 34633

FAMILY NOTICES • Anniversary Remembrance • Acknowledgements • Birthday Remembrance Phone: (090) 66 34633 Email: advertising@roscommonpeople.ie

In loving memory of Michael who passed away on 3rd January 2004 As each day dawns we think of you as each night falls we pray for you. And throughout our lives no matter where in our hearts you are always there.

Anniversary Mass will be celebrated in the Sacred Heart Church, Roscommon on Monday, 10th January at 11am.

Late of Amstetten, Germany and formerly of Castlecoote, Roscommon (6th Anniversary)

FARRELL Marie Clooncagh, Strokestown. (2nd Anniversary)

Who passed away on 10th January 2016 In our thoughts and prayers

Sweet memories keep you near as time unfolds another year. Out of our lives you may have gone but in our hearts, you still live on.

Loved and sadly missed by his wife Betty and family. Anniversary Mass will be celebrated in St. Patrick’s Church, Knockcroghery at 7pm on Saturday, 8th January 2022.

THANKSGIVINGS THE MIRACULOUS PRAYER Dear Heart of Jesus in the past I have asked you for many favours. This time I ask this special one. (mention it). Take it Dear Heart of Jesus and place it within your own broken heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour, not mine. Amen. Say this prayer three times, for three days, promise publication and favour will be granted. M.C.

In loving memory of Marie who passed away on the 6th January 2020

Memories are precious, they don’t fade away, we think of you always especially today. Theres no tomorrow’s that we can share but yesterdays memories will always be there.

Remembered by his brothers and sisters. Rest In Peace

McDERMOTT John Cloonakilla, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon (4th Anniversary) Who passed away on 6th January 2018 R.I.P.

Loved and remembered by her family, friends and neighbours. Anniversary Mass on Sunday, 9th January 2022 at 11.30am in Strokestown Church. Rest In Peace

To have your advert seen by over 80,000 people every week advertise with us! The most read newspaper in Co. Roscommon! The local paper!

Scrine, Athleague, www.brianmuraystone.com Co. Roscommon E: brianmurraystone@gmail.com

DONNELLY Philomena

Rahara, Roscommon

Who passed away on 24th December 2020 (1st Anniversary)

Lovingly remembered by his wife Eilish and family.

NEILAN Michael

Culleen, Knockcroghery, Roscommon Who passed away on the 11th January 2013 (9th Anniversary)

advertising@ roscommonpeople.ie

087 6758874

You will always and forever be loved and remembered by your daughter Rachel, son-in-law John and grandchildren Gary and Chloe.

FALLON Patrick (Paddy)

Send your Classified advertisement to

• Superior Quality Headstones • Restoration work carried out • New Inscriptions added

CONTACT HAZEL

KEEN and COMPETITIVE PRICES

Submit your Classified online

BRIAN MURRAY MEMORIALS

Many memories keep you near as time unfolds another year Out of our lives, you may have gone, but in our hearts you will always live on.

Remembered always by your sister Martina, brotherin-law John and Mullooly family. Anniversary Mass in the Church of Ss. Eithne & Fidelma, Tulsk on Thursday, 6th January at 11.30am.

As we fondly remember Philomena on her First Anniversary, we, the Donnelly family would like to offer a sincere thanks to all our extended family, neighbours and friends who sympathised with us on her sad passing. A very special word of thanks to her Home Help, Ann Fenton, also the caring staff of Community nurses who called regularly to attend her and all who gave us great support. Our gratitude also to Dr. Claire Keaveney and her staff, Roscommon, Dr. Martin Daly, Ballygar, the undertaker Pat Smyth and staff and the grave digger, Sean Connaughton. To Fr. Ray Milton and the Rahara Church Choir who participated in her funeral mass and prayers. As it is impossible to thank everyone individually, please accept this acknowledgement as a token of our deepest gratitude. Those who love don’t go away, they walk beside us everyday.

Philomena’s First Anniversary Mass will be held in Rahara Church on Sunday, 9th January at 10am.

THANKSGIVINGS PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN O Most Beautiful Flower of Mt. Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days. C.F. PRAYER FOR A SPECIAL REQUEST Pray for 3 days. Publish on the 3rd day. See what will happen on the 4th day. Oh! Dear Mother of God, Our Lady of Conception Aparecida! Oh! Saint Rita of Cassia and Saint Jude worker of miracles and helper of impossible causes pray for me. Saint Expedite, Saint of urgent causes. Saint Edwiges the Saint of the needy, you know how desperate I feel, please ask Jesus to help me. (Here mention your request). May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored and glorified for ever. Pray 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be... Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. L.S.

THE MOST READ NEWSPAPER IN COUNTY ROSCOMMON!

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Classifieds

To advertise, telephone 090 66 34633 or email advertising@roscommonpeople.ie

FAMILYNOTICES ....ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND ANNIVERSARIES HANLEY Teresa Doughill, Curraghroe, Co. Roscommon

GATELY Catherine and Paddy Correal, Four Roads, Co. Roscommon In loving memory of Catherine who passed away on 23rd December 2017 and Paddy who passed away on 9th January 2018

In loving memory of a dear mother, who died 7th January 2005 R.I.P.

Your name is often mentioned our thoughts are with you still you have never been forgotten and by us you never will.

Always remembered by Henry, Julia, Sean and Molly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter how life changes no matter what we do a special place within our hearts is always kept for you.

Always remembered by Vincent, Marie, Philip and Alex. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

We hold you close within our hearts and there you shall remain to walk with us throughout our lives until we meet again.

Gardenfort, Dysart, Ballinasloe, Co. Roscommon  (7th Anniversary)

RUANE Bernadette (nee Patterson)

Lisnagroobe, Granlahan, Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon Who passed away on the 6th January 2021 (Acknowledgement and 1st Anniversary)

We hold you close within our hearts, and there you shall remain, To walk with us throughout our lives, until we meet again. So Rest in Peace dear loved ones, and thanks for all you’ve done, we pray that God has given you, the crowns you’ve truly won.

Catherine and Paddy’s Anniversary Mass will be held in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Four Roads on Sunday, 9th January at 11am.

MITCHELL Seamie Willsbrook, Castlerea (3rd Anniversary)

We thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new. We thought about you yesterday and the days before that too. We think of you in silence, we often speak your name, all we have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your memory is our keepsake with which we will never part, God has you in his keeping we have you in our hearts.

Remembered always your loving wife Pauline, sons Shane, Dean and daughter Mary xxx Anniversary Mass in St. Patrick’s Church, Dysart on Sunday, 9th January at 10am.

GATELY Alan Fearbreagues, Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon (15th Anniversary) Treasured memories of a very special son, brother, uncle and best friend, who died tragically on January 11th 2007

On Bernadette’s 1st Anniversary, we her family, wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported and sympathised with us at our time of loss. Thank you to those who sent mass cards, letters, flowers, messages of condolences, phoned, posted condolences or simply said a quiet prayer. We would especially like to thank neighbours and friends, who lined the road to the church to pay their last respects to Bernadette. Many thanks to the doctors and staff of The Sacred Heart Home in Roscommon for their excellent care of Bernadette for a number of years. Our thanks also to Fr. Joe Feeney for her Funeral Mass and the support he provided to the family. To Donnellan Funeral Directors, we acknowledge your kindness and professionalism during this time. As it is impossible to thank everyone individually, please accept this acknowledgement as an expression of our heartfelt appreciation. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has been offered for your intentions. Bernadette’s 1st Anniversary Mass will be celebrated along with Mass for her husband John (whose 9th Anniversary occurred on 21st December) in St. Patrick’s Church, Granlahan on Sunday, 9th January 2022 at 12 noon. Mass will also be offered for deceased members of the Ruane and Patterson families.

HANLEY Sally Ann (5th Anniversary)

Always remembered by Luke, Teresa, Kenneth, Kellie, Michelle and Luke. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Silent memories keep you near as time unfolds another year out of our lives you may have gone but in our hearts you still live on.

Always remembered by Frank.

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BRENNAN Bernard and Mary Highlake, Balymacurley, Four Mile House (12th and 5th Anniversaries)

In loving memory of our dear parents Bernard and Mary

Many a lovely moment many a silent tear but always treasured memories of a mother we loved so dear.

Always remembered and so sadly missed by her daughter Bridie, Eddie, Emer and James. ~~~~~~~~~~~~

FALLON Patrick Joseph (PJ)

In loving memory of Seamie, who passed away on 5th January 2019. R.I.P Your life touched so many others, and will be remembered forever more, to leave the world a better place than it has been before.

Loved and missed everyday Anne and family.

Sadly missed along life’s way, quietly remembered every day. Out of our lives you may be gone, but in our hearts you still live on, with a sweet remembered smile. Always remembered and loved by his heartbroken parents Jimmy and Chrissie, brother David, sister Tara, sister-in-law Sandy, Ken, nephews, relatives and many friends. Masses offered.

Locally owned ... in the heart of the community

Who passed away on the 13th January 2017

Though your smile is gone forever and your hands we cannot touch still we have so many memories of the one we loved so much. The memories are our keepsakes with which we’ll never part God has you in His keeping and we have you in our hearts.

Always remembered by Seán and Breda and family. xxx Anniversary Mass in Donamon Castle on Wednesday, 19th January at 9.30am.

Deep in our thoughts your memory is kept to love and to cherish and never forget. Deep are the memories, precious they stay no passing of time can take them away. Treasure them Lord in your garden of rest while on earth they were two of the best.

Loved and missed by Miriam, Josephine, Caroline Ann and Bernie, son-in-law Joe, grand-daughters and Marian. Anniversary Mass in Ballinaheglish Church on Sunday, 9th January at 11am.

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

Sports PEOPLE

Rossies return to FBD action at Air Dome

FBD League Semi-Final: Roscommon v Sligo at the NUIG Connacht Air Dome, Bekan on Saturday at 6 pm < SEAMUS DUKE

Roscommon footballers will be able to sample the magnificent indoor dome at the Connacht

GAA Centre of Excellence this Saturday evening when they meet Sligo in their first competitive game of the year, and the fans can look forward to seeing several new names on the Roscommon team sheet for the match. Roscommon manager Anthony Cunningham told the Roscommon People this week that while training has gone very well since they resumed, there

Roscommon manager Anthony Cunningham will have to shuffle the pack this weekend as the Rossies return to competitive action. Pic: Mick McCormack

remain a number of absentees for various reasons. “Training has gone well since we started back and there are several new players on the panel but there are a lot of players missing as well. The Pearses and Faithleach’s lads are absent of course, but we have a number of injuries, and the Covid situation means that we are down four to six players every week at the moment,” he said. Cunningham says that despite the number of players missing, this will be a chance for new panel members to make their mark. “The only way you will see what players are like is in a competitive match situation and we are really looking forward to this game. We are aiming to have a strong team ready to start the league at the end of January and this is a good way to get the season going,” he added. The Roscommon manager says he is looking forward to playing indoors in the new air dome: “We have been down there training a couple of times and it is a great facility. The game is certain to go ahead and it will be a very fast game. Sligo will be serious opposition. They

Pearses on the double Roscommon senior champions Pádraig Pearses completed their first ever league and championship double when they overcame Roscommon Gaels in the O’Rourke Cup Division One final at Woodmount on Thursday, December 23rd. Pat Flanagan’s men came out on top on a scoreline of 2-9 to 1-6 as they warmed up for their AIB Connacht Club final showdown with Mayo champions Knockmore. The historic victory was dedicated to the memory of club stalwart Paddy Seale (RIP), who passed away on Wednesday, December 22nd.

Pádraig Pearses captains David Murray and Emmett Kelly receive the O’Rourke Cup from Roscommon GAA Chairperson Brian Carroll at Woodmount on December 23rd. Pic courtesy of Brian Carroll

Roscommon footballers will be able to sample the magnificent indoor dome at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence this Saturday evening when they meet Sligo in the semi-final of the FBD League. Pic: Mick McCormack

scored 1-21 against Leitrim and it should be a really competitive game. The new season will come around really quickly and this is a great way to get started. “The lads that have been training have worked very hard and they are all mad for football which is great to see, and we will be hoping to win on Sat-

urday night to give us another competitive match prior to the start of the National Football League,” he concluded. Roscommon will be understrength for the match but a number of last year’s U-20 team are expected to be involved. Sligo, who are managed by Tony McEntee, defeated Leitrim in

the quarter-final on Monday night by 1-21 to 1-17 with full forward Niall Murphy scoring 1-10 for the Yeats County. It promises to be a lively start to the year for the Roscommon footballers in unique circumstances. A win would be a bonus but it is by no means a certainty.

Camogie League fixtures confirmed

Roscommon’s Junior camogie team have learned their Littlewoods National League Division Three fate this week as fixtures were confirmed Frank Browne’s charges will take on Armagh, Carlow, Antrim, Dublin and Cavan this season. The Rossies will open their campaign on the weekend of February 19th and 20th with a home fixture against Cavan, a repeat of last year’s Division Four league decider which saw Roscommon defeated. A further home game follows the following week before Roscommon travel to Carlow and Dublin on the weekends of March 12th/13th and 19th/20th respectively. The Rossies finish their league fixtures away to Armagh on March 26th/27th. The top team in the group will

meet the winners of the other group in the final while the bot-

tom side will face a relegation play-off.

Clash of the ash: Roscommon will renew their rivalry with Cavan in Littlewoods National Camogie League Division Three this year. Pic: Inpho Photography

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

SportsPeople

All RDFL fixtures postponed for two weeks < DAN DOONER

The Roscommon & District Football League management committee has confirmed that all fixtures have been postponed for two weeks in the interest of safety due to the current Covid-19 situation. The decision, which affects fixtures scheduled for the weekends

of January 7th to 9th and 14th to 16th, was taken at an online meeting of the committee on Monday, January 3rd. The league secretary had been in contact with all clubs regarding the amount of positive cases and isolating members within clubs. It was also decided that should clubs have back games that had

been postponed for any reason up until now to be played and both clubs involved feel it is safe to do so, these games can be played and will be verified by the league. This also includes any external cups that teams are involved in and is entirely depending on match official availability. In a statement this week, the

league said: “This decision was based entirely on the safety of our players, club, match and league officials along with the safety of our members’ families. “Another meeting of the league management committee will review this decision in time for announcing whether fixtures will be made for the weekend January 21st/24th

in the hope that Covid-19 numbers will have at that stage peaked and it is safe to return again”. The league also confirmed that under RDFL rule 13(c), Cloonfad United B will play in the promotion half of Division Two following the split. Both Rahara Rovers and Boyle Celtic B will now in the shield competition.

Shor t putts (News from local golf clubs)

Athlone

Congratulations to Tommy Mulhern on winning a weekend in Westport sponsored by LS Motors Ballygar in the Four Roads Hurling Club ‘Win a Honda 50’ New Years Day bonus draw. Pictured is Kieran Coyle accepting the prize on behalf of Tommy Mulhern from Leon Smith of LS Motors.

Creggs RFC Report

THE GAIN LINE

Creggs RFC’s monthly draws continue!

The first monthly prize for four sought after tickets for Ireland’s Six Nations game against Wales was won by Simon Spellman from Roscommon town. The December Draw will be made this evening (Thursday, January 6th) live on Facebook. There is still time to get a ticket for the fabulous prize - a unique certified €5,000 diamond ring. The exciting new Creggs Rugby fundraiser for the dressingrooms and gym offers really great prizes for each of the next four months as well as a super €50,000 top prize. Buy your €20 ticket today and be in for all the remaining draws including the top prize of €50,000 or a Toyota Hi Lux Invincible or Volkswagen Electric ID.4 SUV. Please go to http://www.Win50000euro.com to purchase tickSpellman and his son Tom from Roscommon accepting his November Monthly ets now and support the Creggs Rugby Club Dressing Rooms Simon Draw prize of four tickets to Ireland’s Six Nations game against Wales from Creggs RFC Development. Wales 6-Nations 2022 Tickets from Creggs RFC Treasurer, Kieran Dowd.

The Christmas Open competitions concluded on Monday last and all outstanding results will feature in next week’s edition of People Sport. The Ladies are back in action after their Christmas break with their weekly 12-hole competition while the 97 Club will resume today (Thursday) and the Wednesday golfers tee off on January 13th. Kevin’s ‘Better-the-Score’ Competition tees off this Saturday (January 8th) and the qualifying stages will run all the way up to March 16th with the grand play-off taking place on St. Patrick’s Day. The conditions of entry are being finalised and will be available later in the week from the Pro Shop. The leading ten teams in the Winter League as of January 1st are as follows: 1st: Frankie Donnelly (469 points); 2nd: Gerard Rowlands (459 points); 3rd: John Barry (450 points); 4th: Eamon Kenny (448 points); 5th: Sean Cleary (435 points); 6th: Derek Kenna (433 points); 7th: Adrian Kelly (427 points); 8th: Colm Cummins (426 points); 9th: Pat Carolan (415 points); 10th: Paul Hunter (406 points). Teams have until January 31st to complete their six rounds so we will see plenty of positions changing.

Roscommon John Cunningham won the men’s competition on December 19th with 37 points. Charlie McDonnell was second with 37, Paul Hoare took the gross prize with 28 points, and Tommy Murphy was third with 35. D. Browne was the winner of the Men’s Senior competition on December 30th with 38 points. Other results: Cat 1: K. Glynn (34); Cat 2: P. Farrell; Cat 3: E Finneran (32); Over 80: Fr. J. Fitzgerald (30 points). The Ladies’ Senior competition was won by N. McDonagh with M. Lalor and H. Earley in second and third place respectively. The four for three green fee offer has now been extended until this Sunday (9th). If you would like to available of this offer, please contact Phil O’Brien on 0872536000.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

SportsPeople

Horses for Courses There is racing in Ireland this week starting at Clonmel today at 12.20 pm. Tomorrow, racing is on the flat on the all-weather at Dundalk away at 1.35 pm. On Saturday, racing action is in Cork, outside Mallow, away at 12.30 pm. Racing returns to Fairyhouse on Sunday and features the Grade A Dan and Joan Moore Handicap Chase starting at 12.50 pm. Racing on TV this Saturday is from Wincanton and Sandown, with four from each meeting including the Grade 1 Tolworth Novice Hurdle from Sandown. WP Mullins has several well fancied runners at Clonmel today, but they are very short in price and no value for money. The only one that catches the eye is Higher Road which looks an e/w bet and in the closing hunter chase, Ask D’Man should win for the stable inform of David Christie and leading point to point rider Barry O’Neill. Shark Hanlon is bringing Skyace over to Sandown on Saturday in a bid to get her back on track in the Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares’ Hurdle. In her last four races, she has fallen, pulled up, finished last of four and last of seven finishers behind Honeysuckle in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace. The Carlow based handler feels the mare can show a return to form in this Listed contest. She cost €600 for the Birdinthehand Syndicate which contains a number of Rossies in the Middle East.

Festival Racing Review The Welsh Grand National at Chepstow last week proved a real testing slog in heavy going over 3m 6½f with only five of the 20 runners who went to post finishing. Welsh trainer Sam Thomas kept the prize at home with the aptly named Iwilldoit ridden by Stan Shepard at 13/2 from the Paul Nicholls trained pair Highland Hunter and Trucker’s Lodge. The two Irish challengers The Big Dog and Discordantly pulled up. Just like last year Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival belonged to Willie Mullins as he had 11 winners across the four days. Starting on St.

Stephen’s Day, he won the 2m Thornton’s Recycling Maiden Hurdle very impressively with hurdle debutant Sir Gerhard in the hands of stable jockey Paul Townend, definitely one for the March notebook if he stays sound. In the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase, Townend completed a double with Ferney Hollow and the bumper completed a treble for Mullins when son Patrick won on the son of Quevega, Facile Vega. The march continued on Monday winning the opening two races, the 3-Y-O hurdle with Icare Allen, the beginners chase with Haute En Couleurs. The first was ridden by Mark Walshe for JP McManus and the second by stable jockey Paul Townend. Mullins completed a treble in the bumper when son Patrick brought Embassy Gardens home at 4/6f. On Tuesday, he won the Grade 1 3m Christmas Hurdle with Klassical Dream under a brilliant front running display by Townend. It would be a brave man that would oppose this one in the Cheltenham Stayers. Gallopin De Champ and Townend won the penultimate beginners chase and once again, son Patrick completed a treble in the bumper with Redemption Day. On Wednesday, the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle went to Sharjah, ridden by his son Patrick, the pair were winning the race for the fourth year in a row. Sharjah joins a short list of Istabraq and Hurricane Fly as four times winner of the race. The pair also won a Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown and the Galway Hurdle. The Mullins family duo brought the festival to a close when combining to win the bumper for the fourth day in succession with The Nice Guy. On Monday, the Grade 1 chase went to Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore with Envoi Allen, and the Future Champions Novice Hurdle to Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy with Mighty Potter who beat stablemate Three Stripe Life. In Tuesday’s Grade 1 Savills Chase, in a driving finish, Galvin under Davy Russell caught the favourite and last year’s winner A Plus Tard under Rachael Blackmore on the line to win by short head. Winner of a Roscommon bumper on his debut in

Galvin in the winner’s enclosure in Roscommon with jockey Lisa O’Neill and Gordon Elliott, right.

2018, Galvin is trained by Elliott and the runner-up by de Bromhead. Down in Limerick on St. Stephen’s Day, Mr. McShee won the Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase for trainer P Corkery and Ian Power. Mullins and Elliott also had a winner each, Dr Churchill in the opener for Elliott and Henn See for Mullins in the second. On Sunday, Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy won the Grade 2 Juvenile Hurdle with Fil Dor, and The Greek completed a double for the partnership in the following novice handicap hurdle. On Monday, the Grade 2 Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle was won by Joseph O’Brien and Bryan Cooper with Eric Bloodaxe. Mullins was on the mark again in the opening maiden hurdle with Glens Of Antrim, ridden by Jody McGarvey. In the bumper, despite only seven runners, the winner, James Conheady’s owned and trained complete outsider An Forgas, won at odds of 125/1. Tuesday’s feature, the Grade B Tim Duggan Memorial Chase, was

won by 12/1 outsider from de Bromhead’s yard, Spyglass Hill, ridden by Hugh Morgan and the Grade 2 Dawn Run Mares Novice’s Chase went to that man again, Willie Mullins with Concertista at 1/2, ridden by Sean O’Keeffe. Wednesday’s card in Limerick passed an early morning inspection and the Grade 2 Sporting Limerick Hurdle went to Teahupoo for Gordon Elliott and Jordan Gainsford. Mullins’ only runner here, Glengouly, unseated rider Jack Foley in the Auction Maiden Hurdle.

Racing News Leopardstown made the decision to limit the crowds attending the festival on Christmas Eve due to a shortage of staff and to ensure Covid restrictions were complied with. This made it impossible to guarantee racegoers safety of crowds and, correctly, admission was limited to owners and members. Not so in Limerick where there was a maximum crowd of 5,000 in attendance on St. Stephen’s Day. Chacun Pour Soi was ruled out of the Grade 1 Chase on Monday and Mullins revealed he has a hamstring injury that could rule him out of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, only time will tell. The 9-Y-O, four times a Grade 1 winner, was found to be lame on Monday morning. Leicester’s meeting on Tuesday was abandoned due to waterlogging after heavy early morning rain left the track unraceable. Dan Skelton’s exciting novice chaser My Drogo will not run again this season following heat in a tendon. The 6-Y-O was second favourite for the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham in March behind Henry de Bromhead’s Bob Olinger.

Cheltenham Festival

Sir Gerhard and Paul Townend at Leopardstown.

by Tom Red

There are 30 entries for the blue riband of chasing, the Gold Cup, including 16 from Ireland. The Irish fill the

first six places in the betting, headed by last year’s runner-up A Plus Tard. WP Mullins has the largest contingent of Irish entries with seven, Gordon Elliott has five, Henry de Bromhead three, and Michael Winters one. Nicky Henderson’s Shiskin heads the betting for the Queen Mother Chase at 10/11 with Willie Mullins’ Energumene 9/4 and 10/1 bar. There are 22 entries with eleven of them Irish trained: Four from de Bromhead, three from Mullins, three from Elliott and one from Pat Fahy.

Aintree Festival Enjoy D’allen, the Ciaran Murphytrained gelding, will be campaigned with the Aintree Grand National his main aim. The 8-Y-0 Mullingar based won two chases last season and finished third in the Irish Grand National and in this season’s Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown. On a mark of 148, now he will get into the race and will probably run in a hurdle race to sharpen him up before.

Point-to-Point Corner The opening fixtures of the new season took place at Dromahane on New Year’s Eve, and they raced at Ballindesk last Sunday, both in Co Cork. This weekend, there is racing at Aghabulloge again in Cork with 82 entries and first race at 12.30 pm. The scheduled meeting at Tinahely in Wicklow has been cancelled. The insurance problem with point to pointing is that hunt insurance, now proving difficult to obtain, traditionally covered point-to-points, so no hunt insurance no point-to-point insurance resulting in no point-to-point. The Munster region (Cork-Waterford association) has cover with a blanket policy for all point-to-points in that area, but not so in the rest of the country. There is a new insurance policy under negotiation and is awaiting finalising paperwork. Hopefully then, the season can proceed as scheduled.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

AIB Connacht Club Championship Final: Knockmore v Pádraig Pearses

NOW FOR CONNACHT? 3p age preview

Pádraig Pearses players, management and supporters celebrate following the club’s Roscommon SFC final win over Clann na nGael last November. Pic: Mick McCormack

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Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

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observers would have been of the opinion that to win the Fahey Cup would have been sufficient for the club that season given their long famine without a senior title, and so it proved. However, looking back on 2019, if Pat Flanagan’s men had played the football they were capable of playing earlier against Corofin in that provincial

club final in Tuam, then they could well have made the breakthrough in Connacht as well. But that ship sailed a long time ago and Pearses are back in the decider this year, and this time around there is no disguising the fact that they badly want to win a Connacht title. On the basis of their form this year, there is no doubt that if they can play

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Pádraig Pearses’ David Murray has enjoyed a tremendous championship campaign so far this year. Pic: Mick McCormack

to their strengths they can emerge victorious. Usually a trip to Mayo to play a Connacht championship final is a daunting task, but while Knockmore will provide a formidable challenge, there is no reason why Pearses cannot get the job done. On form, they certainly have no reason to fear the Mayo men. The circumstances of their semi-final win against MountbellewMoylough have been well documented, but in the cold light of day the facts are that Pearses survived a dogfight to emerge, and that battle will surely stand to them on Sunday. There aren’t expected to be too many changes on the Pearses team for Sunday. Paul Whelan is improving all the time between the posts and is a vital last line of defence. Mark Richardson, Anthony Butler and Gavin Downey have been the full-back line all year and they performed well against a very good Mountbellew-Moylough attack in the semi-final. The Pearses half-back line will be one of the vital areas on Sunday. Davy Murray has had a tremendous championship so

far and his leadership has been magnificent in every game. He will be a key man for Pearses on Sunday alongside Ronan Daly and the talented young Conor Lohan. There will be a fascinating duel at midfield where Pearses duo, Niall and Conor Daly, will clash with the vastly experienced Kevin McLaughlin and Shane McHale. In attack, Pearses will be hoping that the experience of Shane and Niall Carty, and the ability of Lorcan Daly, Conor Payne, and Paul Carey will be key. But the main man in attack will be Hubert Darcy, who is now the primary target man and he will have another crucial part to play on Sunday in terms of distribution and scoring too. The Pearses panel has been vital to their cause this year and with players like Tom Butler, Emmet Kelly, Jack Tumulty and Sean Ryan ready to come on, it looks a very strong group overall. Knockmore have been workmanlike as they defended their Mayo title but that in itself is never an easy thing to do. Managed by club legend Ray Dempsey, they put a stop to the sensational run of

Flanagan hoping to make

< SEAMUS DUKE

Pat Flanagan has been involved in team management at club and county level for almost 30 years and believes his Pádraig Pearses charges are ready to make another bit of history when they take on Mayo champions Knockmore in Sunday’s Connacht Club final in Ballina. This year’s Connacht Club Championship Final has experienced the strangest of build-ups due to the effect of Covid-19 and a break for Christmas, but the Pearses manager is confident his side can deal with the situation. “It has been a very awkward build-up for certain,” he told People Sport this week. “There was all the worry over Covid and the Christmas break too but I think we managed it all okay and we have done enough to prepare for this final. We

trained away and the lads have been great. We had a league final (against Roscommon Gaels) and that was also a help so we have prepared well and have kept things very low-key, to be honest. “Thankfully, we have no injuries to report and that’s always a plus in the build-up to a big game”. Pat knows what to expect from the Mayo champions on Sunday: “Knockmore are a very good side. Any team that is good enough to come out of Mayo two years in a row have to be a serious outfit. They are a slick and well managed side with some great forwards and we know that we will have to be at the very top of our game to compete with them and it is a big challenge for us”. Travelling to Ballina, which is just a few miles from Knockmore, is not ideal either, says Pat. “It’s a very long trek for us, it’s two hours for our supporters –

never mind the team – and we will have to put a lot of planning into the day itself whereas they are only ten minutes away. But we just have to get on with it and make sure we are ready on the day,” he said. The Pearses manager is very happy with the way his side have progressed so far this year. “We have matured well as a team and there is a great determination among the lads to do well. They have shown great resolve in the championship this year and they know that they can make another bit of history on Sunday next,” he said. “They have made history already by winning their first Roscommon championship (in 2019) and I have been so impressed with them this year and they are determined to go a step further. “We have lads there with loads of experience and who have

provincial medals won with Roscommon so they are well used to the big occasion”. The Pearses manager says the battles that his side have been involved in during this year’s championship should stand to them on Sunday. “We all know the huge battle that we had with MountbellewMoylough – and that was a great game to win – but remember that we also had to battle very hard against Clann na nGael and St. Brigid’s too and those tough games have also shown how resilient we are,” he added. “This is a great club and it is an honour for me to be a part of such a great era for this Pearses side. It would be wonderful for the club to win a provincial title, not only for the players but for their families, for the club itself and for Roscommon football too. Hopefully we can make that happen on Sunday,” he concluded.

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022

AIB Connacht Club Championship Final: Knockmore v Pádraig Pearses

Pádraig Pearses are set to take on Mayo champions Knockmore in the AIB Connacht SFC Final in Ballina this Sunday. Pic: Mick McCormack

Belmullet in the county final as they closed out their opponents with guile, experience and championship know-how. They have seasoned performers throughout their side, not least their goalkeeper Colm Reape. Kieran King and David McHale (the captain) are excellent defenders who kept the highly-rated Belmullet attackers at bay in the county final and were impressive again in the Connacht semi-final against Tourlestrane. At midfield, Kevin McLaughlin continues to lead by example and the Mayo star is the heartbeat of this Knockmore team. Meanwhile, up front Peter Naughton is a top class free-taker, while James Ruddy and Connell Dempsey have been playing well for the Mayo men. Knockmore have not been spectacular in any of their major games in the latter stages of this championship. However,

the bottom line is that they can always find a way to win and that’s a fantastic attribute to have in any team. At home in Ballina, the Mayo champions will be confident that they can add to their three provincial titles. However, Pádraig Pearses have improved with every outing so far this year. They have watched over the years as their neighbours and rivals Clann na nGael and St. Brigid’s have tasted provincial glory on several occasions and they now feel that their time has come. If Pat Flanagan’s men ‘play football’ and can get their talented attackers on the ball, they have the ability and the championship experience to win this provincial title. It will not be easy in Ballina, but Pearses have the players to get over the line and start the new year with a bang for Roscommon football. Prediction: Pádraig Pearses

4 to watch this Sunday Davy Murray (Pádraig Pearses)

The experienced Roscommon player has tremendous club championship campaig enjoyed a year and his leadership has proved cruc n so far this ial in every game. He will be a key man for the Rosc ommon champions on Sunday.

Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)

Mayo star Kevin McLoughlin continue club by example. He is the heartbeat of s to lead his more team and will pose a formidable this Knockchallenge for the Pearses midfield.

Hubert Darcy (Pádraig Pearses)

The main man in the Pádraig Pearses attac is now the primary target man and he will k, Darcy other crucial part to play in Sunday’s final have anof his distribution and scoring ability too. in terms

David McHale (Knockmore)

The Knockmore captain forms part of an impressive Knockmore backline which kept the high Belmullet attackers at bay in the Mayo ly-rated The Knockmore defence was also excecounty final. llent as the Mayo champions overcame Tourlestrane to reach this provincial decider.

Action from Pádraig Pearses’ Roscommon SFC final win over Clann na nGael last November. Pic: Mick McCormack

another bit of history

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WEEKEND SPECIALS

From Thursday 6th to Saturday 8th January 10 CHICKEN FILLETS - €12.00 2LB STEAK MINCE - €6.00 6 LOIN PORK CHOPS - €5.00 10KG WASHED ROOSTER - €6.99 Pádraig Pearses manager, Pat Flanagan, has a strong panel to choose from ahead of Sunday’s AIB Connacht SFC Final against Mayo champions Knockmore. Pic: Mick McCormack

Best of luck to Pádraig Pearses in the Final

Roscommon People Friday 07 January 2022