Major upgrade at Boyle Train station is welcomed
The upgrade works at Boyle Train Station have now concluded with the official opening of the improved facility taking place during the week. The development consisted of the addition of a mobility impaired access structure (MIAS). The structure is a hybrid assembly of different concrete and steel elements including a pair of staircases (two flights each), free standing lift shafts and lifts, support portals and a walkway. Associated works that took place included car park improvements, compliant seating, standing rest bars and shelters on both platforms, upgrades to display and announcement systems, installation of induction loops, installation of tactile paving at the end of each platform, replacement of compliant directional/informational signage as well as tactile signage including braille information on wall and/or handrails and installation of help points. Access is now possible for passengers from the car park on the western end of the station, where there is also a ticket machine located. Minister Frank Feighan, who was present at the opening, says he took the opportunity to “raise the need for early morning commuter service to Sligo, catering services on all Sligo- Dublin line trains and other issues” with Irish Rail management.
An indication of the crowds expected for Ballooning Championship
An indication of the crowds that are expected to attend the Hot Air Ballooning Championships in a few weeks was evident on Tuesday last when the booking system for car parking in Lough Key Forest Park crashed soon after opening such was the level of demand for parking reservations (The problem was soon remedied and booking was open again). Later on Tuesday morning, Park management also announced an evening Shuttle Bus service from Boyle for the Championships. This is great news as the stress of the large volume of cars, even with a parking ticket may be more than some people would like to deal with. The shuttle will operate between Boyle and the Forest Park Saturday – Thursday, making it easier for visitors to get to and from the evening flights. Pick-up point is the Abbeytown side of St. Joseph’s Church with first departure at 3.30pm. Shuttle buses will run approximately every 20 minutes, depending on demand with last return from Lough Key at 6.50pm. This is a limited, first-come, first-served service and places cannot be guaranteed. There is also the Local Link service operating between Boyle and Lough Key, which provides an additional public transport option.
A real Donegal catch!
Boyle’s link with the Donegal catch brand continues and eagle eyed viewers of TV and other media platforms will have seen well known local man Conor Hamill star in the brands latest advertising commercial. It’s a bit different from the other roles Conor has starred in!! Conor and his son Conor Junior also played roles in local film maker, Conor Lambert’s latest short film ‘R-Eject’. It screened last Saturday at Strandhill film festival and will have other outings at Adaptation film festival in Manorhamilton and Roscommon International Film Festival before heading fully into the film circuit. It was selected for development by creative heartlands and SLR’s bursary award.
An after match accident waiting to happen
A popular trend over the years when underage teams win football matches, is the celebratory convoy through town with children hanging out car windows. Going around ‘beeping’ as younger footballers referred to it, is part and parcel of a match win, but a stop needs to be put to this act before someone suffers a serious injury. On occasion, cars come down the Crescent, swing around Creighton’s Corner at speed with young children sitting on the door frames with their upper body hanging out the window. It is an accident waiting to happen. Parental or guardian common sense should prevail in this situation.
Pause, check the evidence and only consider reliable sources
To run a professional and responsible website like Boyletoday.com, and it’s associated social media platforms, one has to constantly monitor content and comments. In recent times, when we publish a death notice that includes certain words or phrases, a growing trend is the triggering of automated bots and coordinated anti-vaccine conspiracy networks to flood the comment sections with nonsense relating to the COVID-19 vaccine. As administrators, we then have to check these comments and delete where appropriate. One such notice that we published recently saw us having to delete 78 overnight comments that wrongly attributed a person’s passing to the COVID-19 vaccine.
At this stage you would think the bots and the annoying conspiracy theorists would have seen that any right thinking person does not believe their rubbish in relation to the vaccine or indeed their other conspiracy theories, including their misinformed comments that aircraft produce ‘Chemtrails’, when in fact there is a straightforward scientific explanation for this theory. Those trails are contrails, short for condensation trails. Jet engines produce water vapour as part of combustion. At the very cold temperatures found at cruising altitude, that water can freeze into tiny ice crystals. When the upper atmosphere is sufficiently cold and humid, the crystals can remain for a long time, spread out and eventually form thin cloud-like layers. The fact that some trails disappear quickly while others can simply reflect differences in temperature, humidity, wind and altitude.
So when you see posts online or hear people talking (locally here in Boyle or elsewhere) on issues such as the “dangers of vaccines” or so-called “chemtrails,” you should look for evidence that can be independently checked, reproduced and challenged—not anecdotes, dramatic videos, social-media posts or ridiculous claims that rely on the idea of a hidden group controlling everything. And remember, Pause, check the evidence and only consider reliable sources.
News snippets from around Boyle
Traditional Music Session in Cleen Hall on Sunday September 6th 4pm-6pm and all welcome………..The dates have been announced for next years’ Boyle Arts Festival – July 15th – 24th……..Dwyer School of Speech & Drama will commence classes on Thursday September 24th in Abbey NS. All ages welcome – Primary and Secondary. Drama, Public Speaking etc Contact 087 2219911 before September 10th to register……….Great to see Boyle lady Cara McHugh join the RTE news2day team. A number of years ago the programme had another local connection when Moygara’s Cillian Sherlock was one of the presenters………..Roscommon SPCA annual street collection takes place in Boyle today Friday September 4th from 10am-4pm. Volunteers will be out collecting throughout the day……..Boyle Music Hub lessons will resume on Tuesday, the 29th of September, and Thursday, the 1st of October, at the FET Centre, Boyle F52 X580……….Chilli Themed Market Day this Saturday at the Courtyard Market in Boyle. Show off your skills, try different chilli sauces and dishes and enjoy fun surprises……….Mass in Killeenan Graveyard on Saturday at 3pm while Mass will be held in Ardcarne Graveyard on Sunday at 12 noon……….Coffee Morning in Killaraght Community Centre this Sunday at 10.15am with all welcome………On Saturday September 12th, Boyle Ladies GAA Club will host a programme of events to celebrate their 20th Anniversary. The day will commence with the Daly Cup tournament in Abbey Park for u13 teams from surrounding clubs. This will be followed at 5.30pm by the Adrian Brogan Memorial Walk with donations going to Mayo Roscommon Hospice. Registration from 4.45pm at Abbey Park. Following the walk all are invited to join up for refreshments and memories in the Clubhouse.
And finally….!
A young monk arrives at the monastery.
He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old laws of the church by hand.
He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head monk to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.
The head monk, says, “You make a good point, my son.”
He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held in a locked vault. Hours go by and nobody sees the head monk. The young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.
“We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the R!”
“Father!” cries the young monk. “What’s wrong?”
The head monk with tears in his eyes replies, “The word is celebrate!”
