An opportunity to have your say on county tourism plan
With tourism playing such an important part of the economic life of Boyle and an even bigger economic benefit on the way when the Lough Key Masterplan becomes a reality, members of the public now have an opportunity to have their say on the future of tourism in the county.
As one would expect, Boyle and it’s hinterland features strongly in the Strategy and in relation to the Lough Key Masterplan it says: “The key strategic objectives of the Masterplan are as follows: 1.Widen the range of activities at Lough Key to provide more variety for guests to enjoy over a multi-day stay 2.Expand the accommodation on site and broaden the variety to encourage many more people to spend more than one day at the park. 3. Grow the economic benefits of the park both directly on site and in the wider area of North Roscommon”.
The “limited accommodation options” is also noted as a weakness in the county as is the “limited public transport options” that are available.
The Tourism Strategy will be an important document for guiding the future of tourism in the county and also in Boyle, so it is vitally important that anyone with an interest in this area, completes the feedback by 5pm on Sunday September 14th.
The draft Tourism Strategy 2025–2030 for County Roscommon is available to view here with short form feedback here.
Good news and bad news for motorists travelling to/from Boyle
Hopefully, from next Monday, the N61 Boyle to Roscommon road will fully reopen after being closed for a period of 16 weeks to facilitate the N5 road project. This was the diversion that was causing a lot of problems for people travelling south from Boyle, but if you are going west, the N5 road project will soon see another closure, this time on the Frenchpark to Castlerea road for a period of seven weeks with diversions in place.
The N5 road project is a massive undertaking. It comprises of 33.4km Type 1 Single Carriageway cross section, consisting of two 3.65m wide lanes and associated hard shoulders, road verges, earthworks and drainage ditches. The alignment commences east of Ballaghaderreen at a tie-in with the N5 Ballaghaderreen Bypass and continues eastwards, bypassing Frenchpark to the south. The alignment crosses to the north of the existing N5 at Cashel and continues in an easterly direction largely parallel to the R369 through the townlands of Kilvoy and Corry East towards the N61 approximately 3km south of Elphin. The alignment continues eastwards from the N61, passing to the north of Clooncullaan Lough before turning in a south-easterly direction bypassing Strokestown to the east before re-joining the existing N5 in Scramoge. It also comprises 3 road under bridges,1 road over bridge, 4 river bridges and 14 culverts, 290m of retaining walls at 3 locations, provision of 9 farm underpasses, access roads and accesses and five new roundabouts.
You can see a video of the works here.
Countdown begins to Hot Air Ballooning Championships
With a little over two weeks until the 53rd Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships once again visits Boyle’s Lough Key Forest Park, the organisers have published information on the type of weather that is required before the Balloons take to the air.
1 – NO FLY: Both the wind and gust speeds are double digits, this is a no for Ballooning (12 knots would be an absolute max but preferably max 10), the dark rain type clouds are also an issue, we cannot fly in the rain (or if there is a possibility of rain) or in cloud.
2 – POSSIBLE FLY: We would need to make sure that the gusts that are forecast either don’t materialise or, are not as strong (again, 10 knots or below). It may be that heading out to the launch field and experiencing the wind/ gusts first hand is the best option for the Pilots. We wouldn’t be able to fly though if it had rained/ was still raining.
3 – FLY: Both wind and gust speeds are single digits and, no cloud/ rain forecast.
HOWEVER! Those forecasts are for what is happening down on the ground, as we fly up to a few thousand feet we also need a forecast that shows wind speed up at those heights and the cloud height etc. It can look great down on the ground but, for example, the winds at 1,000ft could be way too fast (always a good idea to look up and see how fast the clouds are moving) or, the cloud base is at around 1,000ft and therefore too low for us to fly safely – yep, there are a LOT of factors to take into consideration!
We obtain a specialist aviation forecast at each Pilots briefing so the meet Director (and Pilots) can make the necessary FLY/ NO FLY decision. However, if you have a weather app and keep an eye on the forecast for Lough Key, you should be able to get a rough idea of whether we might be able to get airborne or not. We will of course confirm this as soon as each Pilots briefing is completed – and not before, even if you message us asking, we will not reply to individual messages (we get too many!), all information you need will be posted on the championship’s page as soon as we have it!
(Find out more about the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championship here)
Calls for more traffic calming measures in Boyle
Great to see the new traffic calming measures in place on the R294 road at Mockmoyne, west of Boyle. We have highlighted the dangerously fast speed cars travel at on this road on numerous occasions. Let’s hope the two ramps will now slow motorists down enough that they will not have time to build up speed again as they move down St. Patrick Street which is also a speed zone, with a dangerous bend and residential parking on both sides of the road. Word of the traffic calming on our social media brought calls for similar work to take place on Termon Road, Plunkett Avenue, the Frenchpark Road as one leave Boyle, Green Street Lower, Curlew View and Felton Road. What ever has changed in the last few years, everyone seems to be driving faster and especially in built up areas as mentioned. Reducing speed restrictions in towns is not worth a damn if the law is not enforced and an example made of those who treat our town centre streets and housing estates like race tracks.
Killaraght Community Centre – ‘A shared achievement’
Well done to all associated with the opening of Killaraght Community Centre last Sunday. In a statement, the committee paid thanks to a number of people who made the Centre a reality: “Pat, Sinéad and Marcus Meehan donated the site for the new Community Centre beside our local church (a big thank you for such a generous donation). A committee was formed in the locality led by Chairman and project manger Denis Flanagan. Denis poured his heart into the project and left no stone unturned! We are very grateful for the effort and time he put into this project. Denis and the committee would like to sincerely thank all those who gave their time, skills and energy and the professionals who worked at reduced costs or donated services for the project. The sod turning on the project took place on June 7th 2024 with the Centre officially opened on Sunday August 31st with Dolly Sharkey cutting the tape. It was a great celebration with a wonderful turn out of people from the community and surrounding areas. The hall is a shared achievement- built not just with materials, but with care, pride and a deep sense of community. May it serve as a gathering place and a symbol of what we can accomplish together”. (Photographic coverage of the event was published yesterday on our Facebook page)
News snippets from around Boyle
Not that the hedge cutting season is open again, work has recommenced on the landscaping and removal of overgrown hedges/trees in The Lawn area. Tarmac is due to be poured around the entrance path tomorrow Saturday and shrub planting will commence next week along with new seating being installed, facing onto the river. The Lawn upgrade is a Boyle Town Team/Roscommon Co Co project that will see a total regeneration of this scenic riverside area………A date for your diary Sunday 5th of October. The Terry Fox Run in aid of Cancer Research will take place in Boyle again this year, returning to its original name from Run Walk n Roll to celebrate the 30th year of raising funds for Cancer Research in Ireland. If you have any novel ideas, Damian Regan 0863942388 would love to hear from you so he can to make it a special year. Keep watching Facebook and Instagram pages (Terry Fox Run Boyle) for updates and links to the Terry Fox story………Boyle Ukulele group ‘Keynotes’ will play in the Old Schoolhouse Community Cafe in Ballinafad on Saturday at 11am…………Little Puckers Gaelic Games themed children’s playgroup hold classes in Boyle Sports Complex every Saturday afternoon for 1.5-5 year olds. The classes focus on fun, developing fundamental movement skills and an introduction to hurling & football skills. More information available here……..Last Tuesday’s National Slow Down Day saw two publicised offences in this general area. A motorist was detected travelling at 69kph in a 60kph zone at Drishogue on the N4 outside Carrick-on-Shannon while another was detected travelling at 78kph in a 60kph zone on the L3700 at Riverstown, Co. Sligo (old N4 outside Castlebaldwin)………Opera singer Victoria Massey will perform in King House on Saturday September 6th at 7.30pm. Bookings via 871444739………Delays once again on the Dublin Sligo rail line earlier this week when a signaling issue in Boyle resulted in delays of up to an hour for some services……..Boyle Ladies Gaelic Football Association Church Gate Collection takes place this weekend. Your support would be appreciated ……..While the Tidy Towns members do a great job weekly keeping the town as weed free as possible, special credit must go to Eoin Rawson who keeps the area around Better Buys and Quarry Lane looking spec and span. Well done and thank you Eoin!……..Boyle Celtic men’s first team begin their RDFL Premier Division campaign at home this Sunday at 2pm against Skyvalley Rovers with all support welcome……..Traditional music session in Cleen Hall on Sunday September 7th from 4-6pm………..An interesting statistic – Boyletoday Facebook page had 1.6 million views in August!
And finally….!
A man had two of the best tickets for the All Ireland final.
As he sits down, another man comes along and asks if anyone is sitting in the seat next to him.
“No”, he says, “the seat is empty.”
“This is incredible!” said the man, “who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the All Ireland final, one the biggest sporting event of the year and not use it?”
He says, “Well, actually, the seat does belong to me”.
“My wife was supposed to come with me, but she passed away”.
“This is the first All Ireland we haven’t been to together since we got married.”
“Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s terrible. Could you not find someone else, a friend or relative or even a neighbour to take the seat?”
The man shakes his head…
….”Afraid not. They’re all at the funeral.”
