Aldi appeal miscellany
- The first party appeal by Aldi representatives against certain conditions attached to the grant of permission for the development on St. Patrick Street (as reported here on Boyletoday.com yesterday) is not an uncommon occurrence and is often done to make a project less onerous and more constructible. The appeal runs to over 30 pages and is quite technical in detail. Boundary lines, items relating to landscaping and where stone clad panels should and should not be located on the building make up the majority of the conditions where amendments are being sought. The company also want alternative wording inserted in the condition that requires them to have the residential element of the development completed before the store is built. The company content that the residential should be built in tandem with the store. They say the requirement to complete the residential element in advance of construction of the food store “will result in an unnecessary and prolonged construction programme with greater disruption”.
- We understand that a public rally to show support for the Aldi development will be held on the Crescent on Saturday at 2pm, but to date, Boyletoday.com has not received any official notification or details of this event from the organisers.
- Any member of the public can lodge a submission (known as an “observation”) to An Coimisiún Pleanála regarding a third-party appeal, provided it is submitted within four weeks of the appeal’s receipt. You do not need to have been a party to the original planning application, but you must pay a €50 fee. If you would like to submit an observation to the Aldi appeal you can find out more here.
- Interesting to see that local media outlets in the Offaly area have taken up the story on Brian O’Sullivan’s appeal as he is from Kilcormac in Co. Offaly. (see here)
- Boyle Town Team outlined in detail the additional effects the Aldi appeal is going to have on the town, which is far reaching, including a hold up of the much needed public realm upgrade of St. Patrick Street along with the undergrounding of electric cables on the street.
- There is a lot of misinformation doing the rounds online (not Boyletoday) in relation to the planning appeal. It is incorrect to “blame the Government” – they had nothing to do with the appeal!!. It is also incorrect to say “everything has been appealed in Boyle over the last 40 years”. That is also not true and while there have been appeals in recent times – similar to other towns, most planning has gone through in Boyle without appeal.
- There was an interesting and timely article in last Sunday’s Business Post in relation to the amount of objections to planning for Aldi and Lidl stores nationwide. The article stated that “A Business Post investigation has revealed that 28 of the 58 appeals to An Coimisiun Pleanala against new stores planned by Lidl and Aldi since 2021 came from direct competitors. They include the likes of SuperValu, Tesco, Centra, Iceland and Eurospar as well as the trades association for family owned food stores in Ireland, RGDATA”.
- The SBP article also stated: “An Aldi spokesman claimed €1.7 million was lost in spending with it’s suppliers for every month a planning decision is delayed”.
Local lads to undertake 160k run for Pieta House
Corrigeenroe man Adam Simon and his friend Barry Potter from Frenchpark are completing a 160km run in aid of Pieta House on Saturday 7th of March. They begin the run at 12pm on Saturday from Lough Key Forest Park and will follow a route around Lough Key twice from Boyle to Ballinafad, Corrigeenroe, Cootehall, Leitrim village, Carrick and back to Boyle with the 2nd loop incorporating a bigger circuit to Carrick, Frenchpark and back to Lough Key Forest Park. The lads are hoping to complete the run in under 24 hours with an estimated finish time of 10am Sunday 8th. They have been doing some serious miles over the last number of months in preparation and any support you can give to this great cause will be very much appreciated here.
Permission granted for short term tourist rental development in Boyle
Boyle could be in line for a boost to the short term tourist accommodation market with news that permission has been granted to Mervyn Boles, subject to 11 conditions, for restoration and renovation works to ‘Boles of Boyle’ rear entrances and upper two storeys. The development includes the complete conservation and reconstruction works required to deliver seven separate short term rental dwellings and maintain one commercial unit at ground level. It includes all the necessary internal conservation/restoration & renovation works to the existing structure and fabric for the provision of the proposed development, external restoration and conservation to the 2nd and 1st floor and improvement works to the existing rear entrances at Boles of Boyle on Bridge Street in Boyle.
Also in Boyle, Jamie Jing is making an application to Roscommon Co Co to removed the existing deteriorated front and side facades and undertake structural modifications and additional stability to front wall of former licenced premises and existing restaurant at Bridge Street, Boyle. The application also includes the installation of a traditional style hardwood shopfront to front and side of premises with associated signage in the form of “fixed on” surface lettering with overhead illumination. The remaining external wall areas above the new shopfronts to be re-plastered similar to existing premises.
In other planning news, the construction of 8 glamping pods, car parking, reception/games room, waste water treatment system and upgrading of existing public road by Noel and Paula Sharkey in Cavetown, was recently refused by Roscommon Co Co.
The rising cost of the printed word
In an age of free news and greater internet connectivity, one wonders why the print media continue to price themselves out of the market. (The price of a local newspaper in this area recently increased from €3.60 to €3.80). Nearly every newspaper – local or national is suffering from falling circulation and to counteract the decline and rising costs, the powers that be in such establishments seem to believe that increasing the cover price of the publications will garner additional revenue! What they do not seem to understand is that an increased cover price will lead to a further decrease in circulation as consumers turn to free news and the downward circulation spiral will continue with the inevitable outcome for the newspaper industry.
A new low in illegal dumping
Illegal dumping of rubbish is a regular occurrence around Boyle. In recent times refuse sacks of rubbish have been left at the Marina and furniture and bags have also been dumped in the Woodenbridge area. At night time, certain residents of the town can be seen packing their household rubbish into the towns litter bins but recently a more blatant form of dumping was observed in town, when a woman was seen crossing the bridge and heading down towards the Lawn area with bags in each hand. She then proceed to empty the bags full of rubbish into the fast flowing Boyle river with no shame whatsoever as it was in broad daylight!
It is hard to understand what mindset these people have. But if we are to put a stop to this behaviour, we need to confront the dumpers if caught in the act and ask them why they are ruining our town with their leftovers.
News snippets from around Boyle
Traditional music session in Cleen Hall on Sunday March 1st from 4pm-6pm. All welcome………Boyle Conference St. Vincent de Paul would like to thank all those who donated to their annual appeal recently. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and will help in a big way to ease the burden for many………. New data from Irish Rail shows that demand on the Sligo/Dublin Intercity route in 2025 surged by 7.3% in 12 months to 1.52 million journeys………Open Water Swimming Registration with Sheila is now open. Term 1 in Lough Key/Doon Shore is from May 5th – June 30th on Tuesdays……..It’s time to forget turning a blind eye on motorists who are getting away with parking on the footpaths in Boyle to ‘Collect a Takeaway’ or to ‘Go to the ATM’. If parking tickets were issued and people fined, then this illegal parking, which is ruining our new footpaths, would stop………Well done to Boyle’s Draoicht House which was recently named one of the “10 Best Harry Potter Airbnbs around the World” by shebudgets.com. The citation read: “If you don’t like the hustle and bustle of the city, then consider staying in the countryside. Draiocht House in County Roscommon offers a serene escape amidst the Irish countryside. It is a tranquil setting surrounded by nature, ideal for relaxation and rejuvenation. All the rooms are inspired by the Hogwarts Houses”……….Boyle native Michael Cawley, a member of DCU’s Executive MBA team, won the most commendable speaker award at the recent MBA Association of Ireland National Strategy competition……..Boyle Film Club Movie Night tonight Friday 27th in Boyle Family Resource Centre at 7.30pm………Great clean up of the cycle way along the Sligo Road by the Wednesday morning Tidy Town crew. They also undertook a litter pick around Bridge Street and Carrick Road and planted daffodils kindly supplied free of charge from Ardcarne Garden Centre and Sloan’s on Main Street. The town would look so much more untidy without this dedicated group who carry out such great work every Wednesday morning………Come along for an evening of Irish conversation in Dodd’s Bar & Lounge, The Crescent, Boyle from 6 to 8pm on Monday, 2nd March 2026 hosted by Ciorcal na Buille. Beidh Failte Roimh Gach!………Good luck to Boyle Community Games U10 Boys indoor soccer team who take to the stage in Strokestown on Saturday for round 1 of the competition. Best of luck to the boys, coaches and all involved…….Interclub Duathlon Training comes to Boyle’s Lough Key Forest Park this Sunday morning with race briefing at 10.15am. More info here.
And finally…..!
A man went to a psychiatrist and told him about a problem he has had since childhood.
“Every time I go to bed I think there’s somebody under it”.
“I’m scared. I think I’m going crazy”.
“Just put yourself in my hands for one year,” said the psychiatrist. “Come talk to me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.”
“How much do you charge?”
“Eighty euros per visit,” replied the psychiatrist.
“I’ll sleep on it and if needed I will come back to you,” he said.
Six months later the psychiatrist met the man on the street.
“Why didn’t you come to see me about those fears you were having?” he asked.
“Well, eighty euros per visit, three times a week, for a year is an awful lot of money and in fact, a barman cured me for €5”.
“I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went out and bought myself a new car.”
“Is that so!” With a bit of an attitude, the psychiatrist said, “and how, may I ask, did a barman cure you?”
“He told me to cut the legs off the bed – and sure there’s no one under it now!”
