Update 14th January

Blog Jan. 13^th 2016.

HELP SAVE ROSCOMMON COUNTY FROM THE LOSS OF A SWATHE OF SOUTH ROSCOMMON

A formal Public Notice was published 1st December 2015, inviting submissions with regard to the review. Submissions are to be received by 5pm Wednesday 27th of January 2016 and can be made:

•By hard copy to:  Áras An Chontae, Mount Street, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath N91 FH4N

•By e-mail to:  submissions@westmeathcoco.ie

**It is curious that submissions are to be submitted to Westmeath County Council which one would have thought as being a ‘vested interest’ in the process. 

The huge issue of the moment in County Roscommon is the review of the boundary in South Roscommon between Athlone, County Westmeath and County Roscommon. There is a proposal and fear that a large swathe of an area adjacent to Athlone but historically part of Roscommon County will be shorn from Roscommon and added to Athlone and County Westmeath. This will involve a population shift of around 7,000 people (10% of the county’s population), 30 square kilometres and huge financial issues for Roscommon County Council because of the rates and incomes from the urban and developed area of Monksland and surrounding zones. This area provides more than one third of all the commercial rates in this county. In natural geographic and historic circumstances it might have been felt that the natural border would be the bridge of Athlone but this has not been the case since the late 1800s’. Now it is proposed to extend the boundary of Athlone and Westmeath in a major way at the expense of Roscommon County and its people.

This is not just a huge issue for the people of those areas it a huge issue for all of us who see ourselves as steadfastly Roscommon people. So while we in North Roscommon may feel it is a kind of semi-distant debate it will affect us and the generations who follow us. It is also a case that we must show our solidarity with our friends and fellow county people in South Roscommon. Not alone is it being imposed on them against their wishes it is being imposed on all of us Roscommon people home and abroad. It will do irreparable damage to the dynamic of the county on many levels. One of those areas is in GAA where the catchment area of the two great clubs Clann na Gael and St. Brigid’s will be sliced in two with potential erosion of players  to Westmeath over time.

One of the organisers of the ‘SAVE ROSCOMMON’ campaign is Ger Ahern of St. Brigid’s Club. He said on Monday night that “Minister Kelly is trying to force through this separation of the county without any regard for the wishes of the people”. Saying that; “There would be no such thing as a referendum of the wishes of the people as the Government  Minister was vesting the total decision- making powers in himself which is not in accordance to the principles of natural justice” . Indeed the proposal will do the chances of present Government candidates major damage if there is not a credible u turn. This would not be the first time this has happened.

 I wonder who are the vested interests and what motivates this proposed carve up?        

The whole issue is covered in great detail in this week’s Roscommon Herald with its editorial on page 46 and on pages 49 to 51 inclusive. And I imagine the Roscommon People will follow in the same vein this evening.  It behoves all of us to familiarise ourselves with what is happening, with great haste I might add. There was a major meeting outlining opposition to the proposal on Monday night last in Athlone which I had hoped to attend but was flu bound. I was in the area on Friday last at the burial of a Roscommon hero  Gerry O’Malley and I can imagine how he would have felt if he was aware of how his beloved county was being treated.

Indeed in this historic year of 2016 in which the nation remembers those who struck to enable our country to be ruled and administered fairly by their own people, for their own people, how cruelly ironic it is that the wishes of the people of that area, and might I insist the people of all Roscommon county as a whole, are being so contemptuously disregarded. The proposal “Beggars belief that it is being imposed” declared the Roscommon CEO Eugene Cummins at the meeting on Monday night.

Will Roscommon County as whole rise to the challenge with which it is being presented invoking the spirit of a previous age and save the integrity of our county?

Let your opinion be heard by submission-as above- and wherever you feel it can be an influence.  

And remember this is not an issue to put on the long finger as submissions must be in by Wednesday Jan 27^th.   

My Personal Memories of Gerry O’Malley

I was boy of around ten years old as I accompanied my father amongst the crowd out of St. Coman’s Park, up the town hill, after a Connacht championship game in the fifties. Just a few yards from us were two Roscommon players still in their playing gear as they made their way up to McCrann’s in The Square to ‘tog in’. I heard their whispered names circulating in the crowd. They were Eamon Donoghue and Gerry O’Malley. To think that I had seen them and Roscommon play was good enough but to be so close to two of my heroes made it a special day irrespective of the result which I cannot remember. Later I was to learn that O’Malley and the elegant, laconic O’Donoghue were marvellous friends.

At school the next day I had a present of a story to tell my classmates. I had been within touching distance of Gerry O’Malley. How little I could have known that I would have the honour later of being one of his friends.

Young people today have a universal landscape in which to identify and associate with their ‘heroes’. In the fifties it was a narrower spectrum. Gaelic football was the seam from which we mined our heroes and at the pinnacle was O’Malley. Through the fifties of growing from a boy to a teenager in the sixties Gerry was the heartbeat of our football lives. We followed Roscommon and Gerry in down times and then in some good times which were heightened by the contrast with the poorer times. Galway broke our hearts but we always had O’Malley. And each March we would set aside our Galway despair and as a united Connacht travel to Croke Park for the Railway Cup and applaud Purcell, Stockwell and ‘Pook’ Dillon as if they were our own. Of course we would have our Leitrim allies Packie McGarty and Cathal Flynn with Naas O’Dowd from Sligo and Mayo's Willie Casey, John Nallen and Padraig Carney. But at the heart of it all was our hero O’Malley. We walked taller because of his presence and were validated by it. Then came a very good Roscommon team in ’61 and a prized Connacht victory over Galway which was surpassed by a thrilling comeback in ’62 when O’Malley played a hero’s role. Being there was an emotional joy. It led to an All-Ireland defeat however and the ecstasy of the ‘Broken Crossbar’ victory turned to grave disappointment as the county and most of the country wished O’Malley that prized medal. But it was not to be. “It was the greatest disappointment of my sporting career” he said later. At a re-union of that ‘61/’62 team in Croke Park only  a few years ago, he said in an understated way; “ We mightn’t have been a great team but we were a GOOD team”. 

He was to get an All-Ireland Junior hurling medal in October ’65 when Roscommon defeated Warwickshire in St. Coman’s Park and we were happy to be there to witness it.

He told me recently that his last game for Roscommon was a hurling game, in ’68 if I remember correctly. He just loved hurling and that shone through when he reflected on his teenage years and his introduction to the game by Johnny Mee and Four Roads.

My adult relationship with Gerry emerged in the lead up to the county finals of Centenary Year 1984 which involved Four Roads v Padraig Pearse's in hurling and St. Brigid’s v Clan na Gael in football. The two major clubs in his life were to the fore. I was involved in the programme for those finals and had Gerry pen a piece for it. It was wonderful article reflecting on his happy memories in hurling with Four Roads and his pride in the development of his home club St. Brigid’s. We communicated pretty regularly afterwards and he attended some GAA functions in Boyle down the years. When he said once that he had not explored North Roscommon at all and had only ‘passed through Boyle going to matches with the Dublin load’, I invited him to come down and promised him the ‘grand tour’. This he and his wife Mary did in 2003 and we did the tour and visited some football colleagues from the area who were delighted to see him in their homes, Dr. Hugh Gibbons, Micheal Shivnan, Ned Moriarty and of course John Joe Nerney or just Nerney as he regularly referred to him; ‘How’s Nerney?’ He always asked smiling at some remembered devilment from the same man. He reminisced on that visit many times. He was to take me on a tour of his own area afterwards but we never got around to that just a meeting in July 2013 at the Brideswell Pattern for the dedication of O’Malley’s field beside his home. Someone else will have to show me ‘his long style field’ but it will not be the same.

He came with Mary to Boyle again in May 2010 for the opening of our new dressing rooms. He was an inspirational speaker as the old passion and optimism had never waned. As his health declined I visited Gerry in hospital and had a memorable visit with Liam Gilmartin to his home in Swords in March of ’14. Then it was to the care home in North County Dublin with Frances Kinlough daughter of his great friend Frank Kinlough of Shannonbridge and he waxed lyrical of happy times spent in Frank’s company in an area and among people who brightened his life. My last visit was on the Tuesday of Christmas week past. Though he had declined physically, his mind and memory were as keen as ever and I promised to visit him again on St. Bridget’s Day when the daffodils would be in bloom and the days lengthening. He smiled.

Gerry O’Malley had all the noble qualities a man could have, apart from his sporting prowess. He was a caring husband, father and grandfather. He was the most conscientious of workers. He was a humble man, a man of honour, a man of faith. He was a friend who had many good friends and he enriched their lives. Like all fine people his is a generous legacy especially for us in his beloved Roscommon. I cannot doubt but that, having run the race, he has now got his final due reward and is resting in peace.

Gerry O'Malley, Photographs I took at his funeral ...

photo © Tony Conboy

photo © Tony Conboy

Tomás Beades and current county player Senan Kilbride with their St. Brigid’s Club colleagues carry the remains of Gerry O’Malley to his final resting place in Cam cemetery, Bridewell on Friday January 8th. Alongside are members of the Four Roads Hurling Club for which Gerry played his hurling who were also pall bearers earlier.
photo © Tony Conboy

Tomás Beades and current county player Senan Kilbride
photo © Tony Conboy

photo © Tony Conboy

photo © Tony Conboy

Former playing colleague and life-time friend Frank Kenny, reads his final tribute to Gerry at his graveside. In the background are Noel Murray, P.J.Martin and Sean Kilbride
photo © Tony Conboy

                                 

Gerry O'Malley R.I.P.

Roscommon’s Lion-Hearted Gerry O’Malley.

For a period of eighteen years, from 1947 to 1965, the heartbeat of Roscommon football was Gerry O’Malley. It was he who gave it hope in the latter years of the fifties and the early years of the sixties. While Roscommon had many fine players in that time the one name that echoed across the length and breathe of the Gaelic football world was that of O’Malley.

Not only did he represent his native County with distinction in both football and hurling but he was a central figure in a great Connacht team when the Railway Cup competition was a highlight of the GAA calendar. In the fifties, the five Connacht counties probably had their greatest ever individual Gaelic footballers.  Galway had Sean Purcell, Leitrim had Packie McGarty, in Sligo it was Naas O’Dowd, Mayo was spoiled for choice with Paraic Carney and Tom Langan and in Roscommon it was Gerry O’Malley. O ‘Malley played for thirteen years with Connacht winning three medals ‘51, ‘57 and ‘58 in the Golden Age of The Railway Cup.

The hope always was that O’Malley would achieve his just reward and win an All-Ireland Senior Football medal. Though he came close, being in the Final of 1962 and the Semi-finals of ’52 and ’53 and ’61 he did not achieve the ultimate accolade. He was later feted in 1984 in The Sunday Independent/Irish Nationwide Centenary team representing ‘the greatest players never to have won an All-Ireland Senior medal’. Naturally he was also selected on both the Roscommon and Connacht teams of the Century. He did win an All-Ireland medal, of which he is very proud, in 1965 when Roscommon Junior hurlers defeated Warwickshire in the Junior hurling final in St. Coman’s Park.

All-Star:

Gerry came from Brideswell near Athlone in South Roscommon and went to school in The Marist College, Athlone. He later progressed to UCG and UCD for his Agricultural Science studies. In University he participated in The Sigerson Cup which he regards as ‘the toughest competition I was ever involved in’. His native area is now represented by one of the county’s top GAA Clubs St. Brigid's whose emergence in the early fifties is in part due to the prowess and inspiration of O’Malley. He just missed out on the great period of Roscommon football in the forties coming on the scene in late forty seven. That ‘Polo Grounds’ year Roscommon had been beaten by Cavan in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. Perhaps the inclusion of a young O’Malley might have tipped the scales otherwise. O’Malley quickly rose to stardom and was selected on The Ireland Team of 1949 who played The Combined Universities in a popular representative game of that period. These were The All-Stars of the time. In 1961 he won the Gaelic sports writers award of Footballer of the Year.

O’Malley’s Greatest Hours:

When one defines greatness in a player it is not just the occasional great performance but a consistency over a long period laced with those exceptional performances. A large number of these performances had the sports writers reaching for the superlatives such as the Connacht Finals of ’53, ’61 and ’62. Perhaps the one most etched in the folk memory is the Connacht Final of 1962. This is aided by its linkage to a particular incident which resulted in this final becoming known as ‘The Broken Crossbar final’.

The Mayo dominance of the late forties and early fifties was broken by an O’Malley inspired Roscommon in the Connacht Final of 1952. There was a newspaper strike at the time and legend has it that such was the scepticism with the result submitted that the Radio Eireann Sports Department held back until it could be confirmed. The score read; Roscommon 3.5, Mayo 0.6.In a very good team performance the hero of the hour was O’Malley. He gave one of the greatest displays seen in a Connacht Final similar to Purcell in ’54. ‘The Western People’ of Mayo was generous in its praise of O’Malley as its report went, ‘He gave a display so outstanding that no praise of mine would give him due merit”. Four great Mayo players, Carney, Mongey, Langan and Irwin all tried their luck on him but to no avail. Roscommon were unlucky to be beaten by Meath in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. Gerry regards this as the best Roscommon team he played in with a mix of fine new players such as O’Donogue, Kelly and Batt Lynch and some great players from Roscommon’s Golden era such as Boland, Nerney and Jackson. There was similar disappointment against Armagh in ’53. The accounts of Roscommon Championship games through the remainder of the disappointing fifties are dominated by the performances of O’Malley and he is regularly referred to as ‘the great hearted’ and ‘the lion hearted’ warrior of the primrose and blue.

The Broken Crossbar Final:

The decade of the fifties is dominated by Galway. It is not until 1961 that Roscommon turned the tables on Galway in “A Gripping Affair” as The Irish Independent reported. Disappointment followed with defeat by the great Offaly team of the time. If the ’61 Connacht Final was regarded as a high point for Roscommon at the time few could have predicted that it would be surpassed by the even more dramatic ‘Broken Crossbar Final of ’62.

The Roscommon goalie, Aidan Brady swung on the bar and it broke. Galway were leading comfortably. After the necessary repairs O’Malley, from midfield, took the game by the scruff of the neck and inspired all around him. Roscommon drew level and it looked as if a remarkable draw had been salvaged but in a last surge O’Malley powered his way up-field through the heart of the Galway defence past bewildered rivals and team-mates alike, the crowd in a frenzy. An amazed Roscommon support willed him on and a shocked Galway support feared the worst. This was a painter’s picture of a sporting battlefield in slow motion. Finally the release as he passes to Don Feely who calmly makes an angle and drops the ball neatly between the uprights. The kick out and the game is over. Roscommon have come back from the death. A pandemonium of Roscommon euphoria mirrored by stunned disbelief from the Galway supporters. There is no rush to the exits as people try to absorb it all. The sports doyens did their best but realised that even their superlatives fell short. Donal Carroll (Irish Independent), “The unsurpassable Gerry O’Malley has done it again. His was a masterly exhibition” Jack Mahon in the Gaelic Weekly introduces the term “the lion-hearted O’Malley” while in The Roscommon Herald it was “the incomparable O’Malley”.

All-Ireland Final of 1962

Having overcome Cavan in the Semi-final this All-Ireland was to have been ‘O’Malley’s Final’ with the hopes of so many wishing he would finally get his just reward. Overall there was too much pressure resting on one person’s shoulders. Alas an early injury, necessitating hospitalisation, meant he was not the necessary influence and was eventually forced to retire as another great, Mick O’Connell, dominated for the victorious Kerry side. Gerry looked back on this as, “the greatest disappointment of my life”  

O’Malley was to continue until 1965 but the great new Galway side emerged as Roscommon declined.

Club Loyalty;

Gerry O’Malley served many units of the GAA with love, loyalty and commitment. His first major Club was the famed St. Patrick’s Club of Knockcroghery with Jimmy Murray and many members of the great Roscommon team of the forties. They lost the ’47 County Final to their great rivals of the time, Tarmon from outside Castlerea run by GAA President of the time, Dan O’Rourke. This was followed by victories in ’48 and ’49 over another power-house of the time, Elphin. While these victories were sweet they were submerged when his own parish of Brideswell and Kiltoom as St. Brigid’s, emerged to defeat Elphin in ’53. After losing to the same opposition in ’57 St. Brigid’s put two titles back-to-back in ’58 and ’59. A feature of these wins was that the same line-out obtained for the team in both years. His last County Final victory was in ’63. He continued to follow the fortunes of St. Brigid’s and regularly attended their games and functions. There was no one prouder than he when St. Brigid’s finally achieved the Holy Grail when winning the All-Ireland Club Championship in 2013. He was a great believer of the position of the Club as the bedrock of the GAA and was a very willing and visible inspiration to Clubs who called on him. He has lived for a long number of years in Swords in Dublin and was a regular at games in Croke Park. His retained until the end a clear memory of the detail of his long career.  

       

A love of Hurling:

O’Malley was an excellent hurler having been introduced to the game by his National School teacher Master O’Sullivan. He played with the Four Roads Club where his mentor was Johnny Mee. He helped them win their first title in many years at Easter 1946 for 1945. He was only a youngster then. He was a member of five further County Championship winning teams with Four Roads. He was the major figure in a good County hurling side in this period and if he was denied his All-Ireland football medal it was hurling which provided that final accolade when Roscommon defeated Warwickshire in the All-Ireland Junior Final of 1965. He was one of a few Roscommon hurlers to play Railway Cup with the Galway dominated Connacht side. In conversation his love of hurling shone through. 

It is somewhat unsatisfactory just recording the mere statistics of Gerry O’Malley’s long and illustrious career as many of his displays are intertwined with an emotive response nurtured by such games as the two Connacht Finals of ’52 and ’62 when his unquenchable spirit shone through and will never be forgotten by those privileged to have seen the lion-hearted Gerry O’Malley in full flight.  

Update 31st December

Correction

First I want to correct a reference I made last week where I said that Eugene Murphy had lost out in the last County Council election. I was told by a friend of mine that such was not true and that he had topped the pole then. I had Eugene mixed up with another high profile councillor.

While one makes mistakes from time to time it annoys me that I do so and I am only too happy to correct same. Don’t hesitate, if you see a mistake, especially of fact, in what I have written to let me know. Spell check can only do so much and while mistakes can hide in the submitted draft they jump out in the published article.

So Mea Culpa to Eugene and best wishes in the testing campaign ahead.
  

Eddie Wynne R.I.P. 

I attended the burial of Eddie Wynne in Boyle on a cold wet afternoon on Thursday. I had met him down the years here and there. I was surprised when it was suggested that he was around ninety years of age. He was a great supporter of Roscommon and Boyle football in his day. I met him in recent times in Drumderrig Nursing Home where he was in care in recent times and we would have a few words about football, the weather and the minutae of life. He was predeceased by most of his family connections. I remember being at a funeral in Assylinn a good few years ago now and Micheal O Callaghan and I were walking away and how ever I put it to him I seem to have asked if he had any connection to the deceased. He replied that he had no family connection but that he knew it was going to be a small funeral and that the deceased was an old time Boyle person and he felt he should be there. It is alright to be at the funerals of the mighty but to pay respects to the lesser known decent souls as they pass to their reward is a good thing to do.
  

Garda Clampdown on Defective Car Lights

I see from the Home Page of realboyle that the Gardai are to clamp down on defective lighting on cars. As some of you might remember this is an issue with me. I focus particularly on that front right light which if blown gives the impression that an oncoming vehicle has but a single light near the opposite ditch and so could be a motorcycle.  While the annual number of people killed on the roads is down this year 2015 there were a lot of fatalities over the Christmas period for whatever reasons.  

The Celtic Tiger Re-Appears

I am told by a Boyle friend living in Dublin that a taxi driver, in an anecdote, measured the  return of the arrogance of the early 2000s’. The example relayed was of a customer ‘throwing’ a €20 note at him for around half the fare. The taxi driver did not like the process and told the customer that the fare was what it was and throwing money at him was not the way to go. The customer enquired ‘What’s your problem?’ or words to that effect as such customers would.

The National Issues Facing into a New Year; As I see them.

Being the time of year when one reflects on such things I nominate my list of the huge issues facing the country currently with little optimism for solution or even alleviation;

A.  Homelessness…. with its attendant strands (1) Families on the streets; in hotels and so on. (2) The cost of houses for first time buyers especially in Dublin/Cork/Galway and (3) Those with mortgage arrears and negative equity.

B.  The Health Service….patients waiting to be called for appointments , patients on trolleys, cost of Health Insurance, hospitals like UCH Galway being like war zones, understaffing and over-demanding work-loads leading to staff emigrating to better working environments  

C.  Child Care costs for working parents and the lack of state provision of creches and such

D.  Taxation; direct and indirect (disguised).

E. Traffic management in the cities like Dublin and Galway which are decades behind other European equivalents. 

F.  The number of young Irish who are abroad and would like to return but cannot trust the negative side of Irish culture on numerous levels.

G.  The continued development of the East centred on Dublin and the decline of rural and small- even medium- sized towns in Ireland. The Pale still dictates.

H. Crime and concern for crime possibility. A swathe of border country which seems to be a law unto itself, due to legacy issues. A legal system which is cost- prohibitive to the majority of people. The structure and power of the vested interests in the legal system.

I.  Social inequality…..the wealth of the country still owned by a small percentage of the population. This is of course an international template. 

J.  Gombeenism as represented by the recent RTE Investigates involving some county councillors and processes exemplified in the question; ‘What’s in it for me?’

K The Banking system’s contempt for its customers, especially senior customers. as the system marches towards automation.

Maybe some other time I will reflect on the positives for this little idyl.

Have a Happy New Year. It promises to be an interesting year on many levels,
locally county wide and nationally. as they all are 

   

Update 24th December

A Happy Christmas to all, especially to those abroad in Oz/Canada/ the United States/ England/ Middle East and other parts.

A representation of those is as follows: Damien Keenehan/ Seamus Gallagher and Lukie Brennan in Oz/ Tadgh Egan in Canada /  In New York; Austin Beisty, Frankie Flaherty, Damien Dooley and the Beirne boys Kenneth & Hillary/ Paddy Conlon/ Megan Morris in the mid-east/ Darren Dockery mid.-east and the London group, John Harrington, a former Christmas quiz winner and that most durable player a.n.other. (Apologies for not being able to mention a representative number of ladies due to lack of knowledge regarding same.)

Items I might have referred to on a different week

• It was nice to see John Joe Nerney featured in the section reflecting on Irish sports people who passed away in 2015, in the RTE Sports Review of the Year. Otherwise it was much too long as was the BBC equivalent.

• ‘Mrs. Browne is taking over Christmas’ says the RTE Promo. Not with me Mrs. Browne. I can’t get it and in the season that is in it, I will not say what I think of it.

• I suggest that we take an interest in the proposal that a large swathe of townlands adjacent to Athlone will be incorporated in Athlone and Westmeath and thus be lost to Roscommon. Father Liam Devine in the Roscommon Herald is really engaged with that dilemma. The resistance is being led by Ger Ahern of St. Brigid’s Club. It would not be the first campaign that this high-powered ex -army man has been involved in.

• I see that Fianna Fail have nominated Eugene Murphy to contest the upcoming election. Eugene lost, if I remember correctly, in the County Council elections last time out. Eugene is an affable, popular individual but ... I must admit that I do not seem to know who the other candidate Sean Og Higgins is. Perhaps I should get out more! But then again I am reasonably in touch with things relating to Roscommon. It must be pretty demoralising for the Soldiers of Destiny to see that they have made so little impact in their own rehabilitation since their deserved demolition in the last election. I doubt if Eugene is going to engender a lot of confidence locally, in that regard.

• I read an interesting contra piece on Mother Theresa on last Sunday’s Independent back page - 40, by Carol Hunt. Apparently Pope Francis has ‘signed off’ on the miracle required to elevate Mother Theresa to sainthood. Carol Hunt wasn’t asked for her reference obviously.

• Talking of saints, Bertie Ahern continued with some of his old guff on BBC recently referring to Mister and Missus Joe Soap losing the run of themselves and causing the boom which of course later resulted in the bust. They did this, according to Bertie, by buying one house, then ‘LEVERAGING’ the buying of the second on the first and so on to three maybe even four et al. There used to a scheme which embraced this called a ‘pyramid scheme’. Anyway Bertie we did not ALL do this even if a few Joe Soaps allegedly did. So go back in cupboard Bertie with that guff. Losing the run of themselves seems to be a thing with Taoisigh as when Enda talked about troops having to be stand guard around ATMs’. I wondered that they wouldn’t have thought of just not providing the money for the ATMs’ to avoid the necessity of such dramatic manpower.

• I hope to see some of you at the Boyle GAA Quiz and Social Night on Sunday night starting early at 7.45 ending 10.16. 16 is going to be the buzz number soon. Along with the quiz there is the various club presentations for 2015… Players of the Year-, Male and Female/ Club Person of the Year/ Hall of Fame. A quiz anagram or whatever might be, ‘Translate, BYO?

Safe, considered and considerate driving

Enjoy the Christmas

Slan t.c.   

Update 17th December

Click on photo to view a larger version

Picture Names

The 1975 Boyle U16 County finalists with Seamus Sweeney current Chairman of Roscommon County Board GAA.

Back Row: A. Morris/T. Regan/ SEAMUS SWEENEY/ P. Connaughton/ C. McMurrough/ D. Harrington/ J. Cox/R. McLoughlin/ J. Gallagher/ P. Butler/ M. Candon/ A. O’Dowd/ K. Lavin/ F. Harrington/ M. Quinn/ T. Conboy Coach with James Dodd, missing from pic.

Front: G. Murray/ G. Hannon/ J. McDermott/ D. O’Connor/ D. Dodd/ P. Daly/ S. Brennan/ B. Shannon/ B. Gaffney/ M.Martin/ G.Wynne/ S. Daly/ Players missing from this pic. Joe Warde/ Ml. Jordan/ R. Mullarkey.     

Pleasure Ground The Play

A fine crowd attended the Fregoli production of Jarlath Tivnan’s play ‘Pleasure Grounds’ directed by Jarlath’s cousin Maria Tivnan on Saturday night last in St. Joseph’s Hall. The play dealt with the hugely serious issue of suicide. The reaction has been very positive. Understandably Jarlath and Maria were a little wary of how the play would be received in their home town. But the people came and saw an excellent production and performances and left with a good deal to reflect on. It is a huge achievement for Jarlath to write such an accomplished work at first asking. The nuanced script, swaying as it does from light humour to deep despair has been much commented on and the play’s quality is attracting broad attention in a variety of areas.

‘Pleasure Ground’ will tour again in May next year to Letterkenny, Tralee, Longford and return for further performances in Galway Town Hall where it was first staged some months ago. From the reaction it has been getting in Dublin and elsewhere the possibilities for the play should not end there. This cast has been together for a number of years now graduating from NUIG Drama Soc. so there is a great bond between them and this is evident in their empathy on stage. So many congratulations to Jarlath, Maria and to the other cast members and we will watch with interest to see the future course of this fine work.

Brooklyn the Movie

A number of people will have seen the film Brooklyn by now and have been mesmerised by the performance of Saoirse Ronan in the lead role. However there is a strong Boyle/Ballinameen  (being fair!) connection to the film which some Boyle viewers might miss. That connection is musician John Carty who provides much of the traditional musical background to the film. John has a huge national and international reputation as one the top Irish traditional musicians of today. He was delighted to get the call to be part of the film of Colm Tóibín’s novel. Saoirse Ronan has been nominated in the best actress category at the London Film Awards and the possibility is that she will be nominated for an Oscar as ‘Leading Actress’. That would elevate the film and all associated with it, including John, to another level.

So Boyle can add another person to the growing list of people who have been involved in movies from Maureen O’Sullivan, Chris O’Dowd, Paul Young. There are others too such as Paraic Callaghan who, if I remember correctly, featured in a film called Vikings starring Kirk Douglas in the late sixties. ‘Vikings’ was shot in South Galway and along the Shannon river. Many UCG students of the time took part and were bused out from the city to the filming locations. It was a pretty hectic and memorable summer in the City of the Tribes. I may be clutching at straws here but there was at least one local person who participated in the excellent film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ with Tom Hanks in the lead. I seem to remember Ian Cooney arriving in the Abbey Park a little late for a St. Michael’s game. He was part of the FCA units who took part in the film. If I am missing out on anyone please let me know. Of course a lot of Boyle people can put their participation in the Moone Boy series on their cvs’ now.       

Mentioning films one has to feel to feel for the owners and all associated with the Cineplex in Carrick –on-Shannon which has had to close for nearly two weeks now at the height of their busy season due to the floodwaters. It is said that the resultant costs will be in the region of €50,000 to the company. The cinema in Carrick is a state of the art one and within twenty minutes of us in Boyle. It provides a fine choice of the best of the current movies on show as well as beaming high class musical events from live shows in New York to the cinema screen. An example of this was when Chris O‘Dowd and James Franco stared in the play adaption of John Steinbeck’s  ‘Of Mice and Men’ on New York’s Broadway and it was beamed to Carrick Cinema which a lot of Boyle people attended.

The most recent film I saw there was ‘Black Mass’ about the notorious Boston Irish-American criminal Whitey Bolger. And this week they were to screen a real blockbuster in ‘Star Wars’. I really hope that the Cineplex gets back to business again and that it gets the support it deserves.

Congratulations to Seamus Sweeney

I wish to heartily congratulate Seamus Sweeney from Brislagh now resident in Croghan on his elevation to the position of Chairman of Roscommon County Board of the GAA. Seamus was student in St. Mary’s College in the seventies and was on a fine Boyle U 16 team which lost in the County Final of 1976 to Western Gaels. The star player then for Western Gaels then was Michael Finneran from Balinagare. Michael was probably the most gifted natural footballer, as a teenager, that I have seen. He played minor and senior Connacht Championship games on the same day.

Anyway Seamus has done great work with the county development squads and the fruits of this work is evident in the number of fine young players in the county at this time. Seamus has been Vice-Chairman of the County Board for the last five years with Micheal Fahey as Chairman. Seamus showed that he reflected the majority view of the supporters when he, as incoming Chairman, suggested to the then county senior coach, John Evans, that it was time for a change.

The last Chairman from the Boyle Club was Micheal O’Callaghan. Previous Chairmen have been: Micheal Fahey/ Michael McGuire/ Tommy Kenoy/ Stephen Banahan/ Phonsie Tully/ Michael O’Callaghan/ Dr. Donal Keenan/ Dan O’Rourke/ Dr. Hugh Gibbons/ Dan O’Rourke. Taken all in all Seamus joins a pretty formidable and distinguished grouping which includes two GAA Presidents in O’Rourke and  Keenan and a possible third in Micheal O’Callaghan but for his early demise.

So congratulations to Seamus and we wish him the very best in his endeavours. I know he will give it his best shot.  

The Writer William Trevor

I mentioned recently the deaths of a number of Ireland’s great writers McGahern, Heaney and Friel suggesting that while their loss would be incalculable there were still many highly regarded living and active Irish writers. Amongst them is William Trevor and the reason I refer to him here is to mention his connections to this region. William Trevor’s father, grandfather and great-grandfathers were all natives of Croghan. William Trevor is the ‘nom de plume’ for William Trevor Cox, who was born in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork in 1928. His great grandfather was Mark Cox and he lived at Knockroe later moving to the adjacent townland of Killappoge and a house called ‘Millbrook’.  The landlord family in the area then were the Lloyds. The fortunes of this family in the C19 and C20th century are recalled in many of Trevor’s ‘big house’ stories such as ‘The News from Ireland’. In early days many of the Cox family went to school in Bishop Hodson Grammar School in Elphin. Bill, Trevor’s father went to a business school in Dublin and started work with The Bank of Ireland in 1913. The job meant numerous relocations and William Trevor Cox was born in Mitchelstown in 1928. He attended boarding school in Dublin and graduat4ed from Trinity College in 1950. He emigrated to England in 1954 and settled in Devon. He made a reputation as a novelist, playwright and particularly as a short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary writers of short stories in the English language.

He has won the Whitbread Prize three times and has been nominated five times for the Booker Prize, most recently for his novel ‘Love and Summer’ (2009), which was also shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2011. His name has also been mentioned in relation to the Nobel Prize in Literature.

One of his early stories was ‘The Ballroom of Romance’ which became a well- known Irish film starring Brenda Fricker, Mick Lally and John Kavanagh. I became aware of William Trevor Cox’s link to the area around six years ago and wrote to him and sent him a collections of items publicising the area and he kindly responded with thanks. He was a friend of Kenneth Stewart of Carrick Road, Boyle from his early days and maintained contact with Kenneth and his wife Ingrid down the years.

   

Errata

Wren Boys Day Came Early

I felt it was a bit a time warp when I heard some singing at the door a few nights ago. When I opened the door, there were three boys singing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. They were certainly getting off the mark early. Maybe they are set to extend the St. Stephen’s Day franchise or perhaps it was just a rehearsal!

‘Documentary on One’ at 2 on Saturdays

I meant to mention this last week. I tuned into the ‘Documentary on One’  on Saturday December 5^th and listened to an intriguing story with the title ‘The Case That never Was’. It involved the story of a Polish labourer Bogdan who was supposedly the litigant in a European Court case against the Cypriot Government by an international recruitment company headed by an Irishman. It was dealing with levels of social insurance payment or some such. It was pretty complicated but intriguing stuff. Referred to the European Court of Justice, the outcome could change EU labour law for millions of people. The only problem? The worker 'taking' the case knew nothing about it.

Connacht Rugby Woes

The game of rugby continues in the spotlight regarding its physicality and rate of attrition. Last week-end 18 Connacht players were reported as being unavailable because of injury. Also I saw a reference to the number of Kerry GAA players who were injured requiring serious medical intervention. It is a long way from John Joe Nerney’s time. He said to me once ”All we ever got was a sore knee. We didn’t know anything about all those hamstrings and things.”

Sport’s Withdrawal Symptoms

It is rarely ever mentioned but it many sports people, especially those who have played at a high level, have issues when the time comes for them to quit. I have been told of a Leitrim legend, in his senior years, having tears in his eyes as he left the field of play after his last club game. As I said I do not hear much if any discussion about this. Recently I was in the company of the famous Galway hurling captain from their All-Ireland win in 1980 when the topic did actually come up. He said that they have formed an Association in Galway for former county players from all grades and codes to act as a resource of camaraderie for such players. I thought it an interesting topic and an interesting initiative.

tconboy1@eircom.net                   

        

        

Update 11th December

Blog 9^th December

tconboy1@eircom.net 

‘Pleasure Ground’ Saturday Night.

Just to remind viewers that Jarlath Tivnan’s play ‘Pleasure Ground’ will take place on Saturday night next in St. Joseph’s Hall at 8. The title may be somewhat confusing as it is just the ‘venue/location’ where the play is set. Over sixteens only.

The Flooding Crisis

Last week I was writing a note on a lovely television programme ‘Lesser spotted Journeys’ and how it dealt with Athleague and the tranquil River Suck that runs through it.

This week Athleague is again making the TV news but this time the tranquillity has been transformed into a battle ground as the forces of nature bare their teeth and residents struggle to contain the tempest.

This is a repeat of a similar scenario in 2009 when the village was engulfed by floodwater. When that passed the feeling was that such an event would not happen again for decades into the future which acted as a consolation and an expectation. Why people might drift into that idea is, perhaps, strange. The respite has proved to be very short term.

Anyway I was in touch with my cousin who lives in Athleague and he relayed the detail of the battle that was on their hands as the whole community rallied. The result of their efforts is still very problematic with the rainfall continuing.

In nearby Carrick-on-Shannon we see a variation on the theme as the water rises and threatens homes and businesses. It is now a crisis of national proportions and certainly a large number of peoples’ lives will be in upheaval as a consequence.

Another debate will surely emerge regarding a host of causative issues such as planning, global warming and lack of protective measures. That is for the future.

What an agony it must be to watch the waters rising and having to just anticipate the inevitable consequences for homes and livelihoods.   

Boyle ‘Men’s Shed’- A Haven of Possibility

One of the winners of the Rehab/RTE ‘People of the Year Awards’ , which was televised  last week-end, was John Evoy who introduced the ‘Men’s Shed’ concept to Ireland a number of years ago. John had first experienced this in Australia where it was founded in the ‘90s’. The Boyle ‘Shed’ began in 2012 with initial encouragement from Louise Carty of the Family Life Centre.

There are ‘Sheds’ in Ballyleague, Castlerea, Roscommon Town and Strokestown. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association was set up in January 2011 with the purpose of supporting the development and sustainability of Men’s Sheds on the Island of Ireland.

It is suggested that, “Men don’t talk face to face; they talk shoulder to shoulder”

The three principles of the organisation are as follows:

1)      Honesty and Openness. Everything we do is transparent and accountable to the Shedders and to the public.

2) Equality and Inclusion: Our work creates places of belonging, participatory democracy, mutual respect, companionship and community for all Shedders.

3) Leadership: We demonstrate and promote leadership in everything we do.

The concept is not an age thing and so is fully inclusive. All men are welcome and encouraged to call into the Boyle Shed, which is located behind Visionary Photography formerly Emmett Electric on The Crescent, Boyle. Neither is it for Boyle town as its current members come from the local region.

The first project with which the ‘Shed’ was involved in Boyle was the Model Railway which was constructed on the Trojan premises and it is hoped will become a centre-piece display when the Courthouse is renovated. The Model Railway featured on a Joe Duffy television show some time ago.

There are 45 members in Boyle with a core of active participants. The participants ‘must want to come themselves’. The problem is awareness of its existence and understanding of its role. I talked at length to Martin Connolly regarding the role of the Shed in Boyle and he was comfortable with its progress. Martin is in Boyle eight years and sees the Shed as a social and recreational environment while at the same time developing and accommodating interests with, and learning from, the many talents of the other members. He also sees it as contributing to the local community as the fine achievement of the Railway hopefully will do. Recently they have been involved with the lighting of the Town Clock and by associating with Boyle Tidy Towns they will be able to help with town enhancement schemes. They have developed a visible and attractive Boyle GAA Lotto presentation which the club is currently distributing to business premises.

A lot of work has been done on their current premises and it has a very well equipped woodwork room and a music centre with a small recording studio, which people are welcome to use. Indeed the ‘welcome’ motif is core to the activity or just social atmosphere that obtains. It is a therapeutic tool in men’s wellbeing and positivity in being active and contributing to the community in a relaxed and inviting environment. 

“To you it may only be a shed

But to me it is a sanctuary”  

The members are in the process of developing a computer room which would be a fine facility to help members with modern technology and communication skills.

Personally I also see the ‘Men’s Shed’ as a much better recreational and economic option than others to which some men, with time on their hands, are drawn.

Anyway I was very impressed by a number of elements with Boyle Men’s Shed’ such as the welcome and, dare I say it, ‘laid back’ non-judgemental atmosphere that obtained. It has great potential and I hope it prospers. It deserves our support. I encourage anyone who reads this to think about or refer it to someone they think might benefit from it or be a benefit to it.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boyle-Mens-Shed/543487702377039

Rehab/RTE People of the Year Awards

I’ll just add the list of the remaining winners of ‘People of the Year’ as follows:

Padraic Mangan and Aoibhean Godwin, Young People of the Year for founding FarmSafety4Kids

Philip Grant, Irish Consul, California, and Fr. Brendan McBride, International People of the Year, for their efforts following the Berkeley balcony collapse

Fadhili Haji, of Sports Against Racism Ireland and Football Against Racism in Europe for her work in encouraging Muslim girls to play football

Ade Stack and Marty Curley, for assisting parents and families of sick children, through the founding of Hugh's House, which provides accommodation near the Rotunda and Temple Street Children's Hospitals

Yes Equality (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Marriage Equality Ireland) for their campaign to amend the Constitution

Paul O'Connell, former Munster and Irish rugby captain, Sports person of the Year

 Emergency nurse practitioner Ken Maleady received the Everyday Hero award for saving the life of fellow marathon runner Mary Leech, when she collapsed during the Dublin City Marathon

Irish Defence Forces- Navy- for their work in rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean.

 

Boyle GAA Club Happenings From Here!

Two finals this coming week-end

(Weather permitting of course).

Garda Cup. Boyle v Tulsk Sat. 11am Abbey Park

One would have thought that the club’s GAA activities would have tapered off by this stage but success extends seasons. The weather has been a factor also in postponing games so hopefully all will be concluded successfully this coming week-end.

On Saturday morning Boyle takes on Tulsk in the Garda Cup Final, at Boyle, at 11 am. Boyle has already won the Keenan Cup so it would indicate a good pool of under-age players if they could add the Garda Cup which they also won last year.

I imagine most of the players from the successful Feile team will be playing here.  Tulsk is another club working hard at under-age development. They won the initial competition in ’84 and again in ’87 and possibly in ’03.

Boyle won their first Garda Cup in ’91 with Donal Kelly as captain and in ’92 and ’94.  In ’98 Roch Hanmore was a winning captain. Boyle were of course winners a good number of times subsequently.

The Keenan and Garda Cups have been very popular with many clubs and are seen as building blocks for the full county championships. 

The Garda Cup has always been well thought of by the Gardaí and I can think of stalwarts such as Tom Commins, Sgt. John Kelly, and Fergal O’Donnell giving it their support.  So if you can, make your way to the Abbey Park on Saturday morning. 

[Referencing Tulsk.  In a picture of a dressing room opening at Tulsk grounds recently the Roscommon Herald has a picture of the event on page 66. In the picture of 9 people there is 1 Tulsk GAA officer, 1 County Board GAA officer and 7 politicians!]  

U 21 County ‘A’ Final Boyle v Clann na nGael Sunday, Enfield (St. Croan’s grounds, Ballintubber)

This is huge game for Boyle against top opposition in Clann na Gael. Clann would be favourites outside Boyle but this Boyle side has a very good balanced team and have had two excellent wins against Padraig Pearse’s and St. Brigid’s to get to this stage. The second half performance against St. Brigid’s was very encouraging. Their management of Aidan Lavin assisted by Ml. Hanmore, Shane Spellman, Mark Goldrick and Donal Kelly have also played their part in organising the side.

There are many fine players on this team. The half-back line of team Capt. Tadgh McKenna, Evan McGrath and Conor Tivnan played a key role in the win against St. Brigid’s while another line –the full forward line- with young guns Cian McKeon and Conor Deery and the very impressive Dylan East- caused major problems for the opposition up front.

Boyle’s star player Enda Smith will be the focus of a lot of opposition attention but that will be nothing new to him.

 Clann have up to a dozen players who participated in their county senior championship win with a large number of players who have represented the county at minor, U 21 and senior. Their star player is Ultan Harney.

I know that there is a fine spirit and resolve in the Boyle team and management and they are determined to give it their best shot. A victory here would be a major one, next to a senior win, so we wish them all well. It would be a nice Christmas present for the club.

Your support would certainly be appreciated.

Boyle Club Lotto now stands at €10,000 plus for Saturday night’s draw.

Boyle GAA Club AGM

There was a very positive atmosphere at this year’s AGM. There were excellent reports of the club’s activities for 2015 and a real sense of optimism for 2016. Personally I feel that the club is in a very good place and was never as strong as it is at the moment. Nothing of course is perfect so if everybody contributes those gaps can be reduced. As Gerry Cregg commented there is great work being done at many clubs, especially at the top clubs who have the population numbers.  I have occasionally referred to St. Brigid’s, for example, in US terms; it is not just a club it is an Organisation. So smaller clubs now have to maximise their resources and work hard to stay in the game at a decent level. Boyle club has an excellent corps of officials and each year seems to bring in someone special. One of the deficits at the AGM was the fact that the age profile was pretty senior and that few if any of the adult footballers were present. As is often written and said the local GAA club is at the heart of the community. I don’t know if that can be said about Boyle just now but it certainly plays a significant role in the community as it does nationally.

Details of the AGM officers can be gleaned by logging into Boyle GAA on the realboyle home page. The only ones I will refer to here are the incoming dual Presidents, Barry Feely and Sean Young.

They are a yardstick for commitment, loyalty and longevity to the Boyle cause.

They succeed our esteemed former President John Joe Nerney who passed to his eternal reward last summer. Might I also remember Paddy McDermott who passed away just a year ago.

While it was at the funeral of their brother P.J. it was nice to meet two very good Boyle footballers from back the years, Freddie Daly now resident in Donegal and Frankie residing in Enniskillen.

   

I’ll leave it at that for this week!

tconboy1@eircom.net         

  

  

Update 4th December

The 1960s -The Decade of the Beatles .Top Ten

A UTV Television programme of a couple of weeks ago encapsulated the results of a survey on how their British audience voted regarding the most popular songs of the Beatles. Last week I listed their choices from 27 down to and including number 11.Naturally this is not in any chronological time order. This week I am nominating the final ten and for one musical group what a top ten it is.

The first of the listeners’ top ten returns to the earliest years of the Beatles with the driving anthem ‘She Loves You’ followed by the other film title ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Number 8 ‘A Long and Winding Road’ gave the group its 20th U.S. number one.

The performance of ‘I Want to hold your Hand’ gave the Ed. Sullivan Show its largest audience in February ’63 and propelled the Beatles in the U.S.  6/5 is regarded as one of the greatest Double ‘A’ side records ever with ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘All You Need is Love’ in ’67.

Of course for anyone who is a Beatle disciple the order could be much different and I myself would not say have ‘Nothing You Can do’ at number five.

The Revolver Album provides number 4, the poetic lyric ‘Eleanor Rigby’.                

"Eleanor Rigby"

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been

Lives in a dream

Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door

Who is it for?   

Number 3 is supposedly based on a Paul dream of his mother saying whatever issue of the time would work itself out. ‘Let it Be’ is just a brilliantly constructed therapeutic song and it is understandable why a person continues to ‘sing’ it after being reminded of it.

‘When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me’ 

Number 2, ‘Yesterday’ is said to be the most recorded song in popular music history. It is a song of reflection, loss and despair.

And so to the UTV poll of the most popular Beatles song with the British public, ‘Hey Jude’. It was written by Paul in ’68 for John’s son Julian in the context of John’s break-up with Julian’s mother as Yoko Ono became the woman in his life. Of course like all writing the real meaning may be hidden so interpretation is subjective.

Perhaps my own favourite, which is Beatle song but post Beatles, is not even in the above list. Imagine. 

‘The Suck Valley Walk’ a ‘Lesser Spotted Journey’

Earlier this week on UTV there was a lovely programme, for me especially, dealing with the village of Athleague and its hinterland five miles south-west of Roscommon town. It is neighbouring and familiar territory for me from my youth and I have plenty of good memories of that nice village and its friendly people. ‘Lesser Spotted Journeys’ presented by Joe Mahon dealt in an unhurried way with a core area around the village. While many programmes film a lot of material much of this does not emerge in the final showing.  This programme, being an hour in length, had the luxury of dealing with a range of topics at a pace that gave it a tone and tenure which truly reflected its core spirit. The contributors too adopted a voice representative of the subject matter of a small rural community, leading unhurried lives in their home place, for which, naturally, they had a loving regard.

The ‘Suck’ river is the fluid spine of the area and some twenty or so years ago the communities along its banks came together and established the ‘The Suck Valley Walk’ which stretches from Castlerea to Ballinasloe. The river, like so many rivers, played a pivotal role in the development of villages along its course, Athleague being one. The rivers name has its origins, like the Boyle River, in a mythical princess. The area is often low-lying and the river has on a few memorable occasions not been the benign creature it looked in this record.  I knew most of the contributors or their lineage. The river area near Athleague Bridge has been a swimming pool for generations of locals including myself.  Walter Young had a neat phrase to introduce their Kayaking as ‘Splash and Dash’. Rebecca Dobson who once worked in Ballinafad Wildlife Centre  introduced us to the ‘vole’ a river bank mouse- like creature which it is said to arrived in this country in the 1920s’ from Germany at the time the Germans were involved in the first hydro- electric scheme at Ardnacrusha near Limerick.

Helga Mullens had an intriguing story to tell of coming to Athleague, as a refugee aged four from Germany in 1946. Her story was worthy of a programme for itself.

When James Moran talked of the ‘Turlough’ or disappearing lake it reminded me of the story of the Dublin person who bought some twenty acres of land beside the river in the summer time only to discover it reduced to half that come the rainy season!

Maybe it is my lack of technical ability that denied me recording the programme from UTV but it seems to be case with just that particular channel.

Roscommon Farmers Speak Out Clearly

On Tuesday night the IFA turmoil continued to be aired on ‘Ear to the Ground’ on RTE TV a lively and varied farming programme. John Hanley from Glinsk, Chairman of Roscommon IFA along with Kitty Dwyer, Donamon -wife of former Roscommon GAA activist the late Paddy Francis-and Jim O’Connor from Grange, Boyle, were clear and excellent speakers on the issues and challenges facing the national organisation that is the IFA. I was most impressed, but not surprised, by the contribution of Brian Costello of Lough Gara Farms, grandson of Major General M.J. Costello who was involved in the original NFA at its founding in 1955 and also in the establishment of the Irish Sugar Company. 

He referred to his grandfather as ‘a great champion of the small farmer’ and suggested ‘he would be spinning in his grave at the present revelations’ Interestingly he suggested that this upheaval ‘is now an opportunity for a reformed IFA to truly represent the farmers of all of rural Ireland’ and that it was a ‘watershed moment’ for the organisation to return to its roots and original mission.

Often when people are confronted by the high powered technology of National TV or Radio, they have not done themselves justice or seized the day. But on the evidence as stated above this has changed and it is great to see and hear.

         

Ministerial Portfolios

Recently I came across a Junior Minister, Dara Murphy, on a television programme and I truthfully could not remember having seen him before. In a past life, in quizzes, being asked the name of the Minister for this and that was a regular thing. If the quiz was a bit sterner it was over to the Junior Ministers. Often in those times, say the early eighties, there were elections with great frequency so the Ministers had little time to acquaint themselves in the minds of the serious quiz participant and the poor Junior Ministers were nearly a question of Mensa proportions.

The personnel of this government have the advantage of being in situ for nearly five years so the top brass of the front bench residents should not be too difficult. So I will nominate say the top 7 names and ask you to test yourself as to what ministerial post they occupy.

They are Tánaiste, Joan Burton; Michael Noonan, Brendan Howlin, Richard Burton, Simon Coveney, Frances Fitzgerald and James Reilly.

Now to the higher maths course. What is the area of responsibility for the following four Junior Ministers; Paul Kehoe, Gerald Nash, Jimmy Deenihan and Michael Ring?  

I’ll continue this exercise next week

Dara Murphy after some research turned out to have some responsibility for European Affairs and Data Protection!

Referencing politics it is really amazing that Fianna Fail has not been able to nominate a candidate in the Roscommon East Galway constituency. How times have changed. They are really gift-wrapping the third T.D. ship to Miss Hopkins.

The ‘Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards for 2015’.

As I love books and bookshops I am always drawn to these awards. This country has such a reputation for literary output of the highest quality that it is probably our foremost achievement as a society. While some of the giants of Irish literature have died in recent times such as Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel and John McGahern there are still a good number of current Irish writers with an international reputation. There is an ongoing -online- public vote for the ‘Irish Book of the Year’ if you wish to engage in that.

Eason Book Club Novel of the Year

The Green Road by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape). Miss Enright is a consistently fine writer.

TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book of the Year

The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers edited by Sinéad Gleeson (New Island Books). While it is said that you cannot judge the book by the cover, the cover of this book is also as beautiful as the content.

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Junior)

Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books).  Eoin Colfer is another regular contributor of the highest standard aided here by Oliver Jeffers with his illustrations.

Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)

Asking For It by Louise O’ Neill (Quercus Books)

Avonmore Cookbook of the Year

The Virtuous Tart by Susan Jane White (Gill & Macmillan).

Ireland AM Crime Book of the Year

After the Fire by Jane Casey (Ebury Press)

Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year

The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty (Penguin Ireland)

National Book Tokens Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Children of the Rising by Joe Duffy (Hachette Books Ireland). This is a fine achievement by a busy man.

Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the Year

Until Victory Always: A Memoir by Jim McGuinness (Gill & Macmillan). While I have had some reservations about Jim McGuinness this is a book I will study in the coming weeks.

Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year

Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume (Tramp Press)

Books Are My Bag Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Me and My Mate Jeffrey by Niall Breslin (Hachette Books Ireland).

While one is inclined to dismiss many of the butterfly celebrities Niall Breslin or Bressie as he is known has emerged as a person of real substance from that genre. The Jeffrey in the title here is I believe the name he gives to his shadow of depression.

RTÉ Radio 1’s The Ryan Tubridy Show Listeners’ Choice Award
Irelandopedia  by Fatti and John Burke (Gill & Macmillan). This is a curious colourful book compiled by a father and daughter combination. I have not seen it but perhaps it is a possibility for a school or home library.

Writing.ie Short Story of the Year

A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan.

Renowned Irish American novelist J.P. Donleavy was presented with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award. Adding his congratulations to his friend “Mike” Donleavy by video-link, was Hollywood megastar Johnny Depp, who is producing and reportedly starring in, a film version of Donleavy’s 1955 novel, The Ginger Man. I read this book many years ago, loaned it and lost it a number of times but will have to return to it. It tells of the adventures of a Trinity College student in the 50s’ which Donleavy was. It is a timeless classic.

The advice I have given very occasionally to a person struggling to read a book is to just leave it and move on to another. There are so many marvellous books out there that there is no need to struggle. The good book should transport you with comfort.  I am sure there are a number in the above list.

GAA-Garda Cup Final & AGM

Boyle plays Tulsk in the Garda Cup final at Boyle on Saturday at 1.Perhaps they can add to the Keenan and Feile Cups won by Boyle teams recently. 

Boyle GAA AGM takes place on Sunday at 5. With 2016 looking like it is going to be a busy and eventful year for the Club and County the structures and personnel need to be broad and earnest. One particular challenge will be the participation of the club in the Feile competition in Kerry with all the expense and logistics that entails. 

Pleasure Ground

Jarlath Tivnan’s play ‘Pleasure Ground' will be in Smock Alley Theatre Dublin from Monday the 7^th to Thursday the 10^th incl. So the Boyle constituency in Dublin might spread the word there.  

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