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Northwest Express - May 20th 2011
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20 May 2011 Issue 12 - Volume 12
Abrodella Concrete
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Over 26,000 vehiclesseized at roadsidecheckpoints
Photo by Lenny (www.zxcode.com)
Have you been ignoring the faded taxdisc in the windshield? Have you beensaying to yourself every Monday that
you must get the car to the mechanic andapply for that NCT? Have you been relyingon your innate God-given driving skills ratherthan renew the insurance? Well I’d get ye downto the tax o!ce, the insurance company andJimmy the mechanic because the gardai mightjust impound your car.
Drivers of the northwest are being placedunder increased scrutiny by the Garda Tra!cCorps as the number of cars seized due to tax,insurance and NCT violations have sky-rock-eted in recent months.
As the great Irish recession continues car tax,insurance and NCT have joined mortgage pay-ments and utility bills as an unnecessary luxuryfor cash poor citizens trying to put food on thetable after being hit by job losses, wage cuts andtax hikes.
26,044 cars were seized last year at roadsidecheckpoints, twice the figure of the previousyear. Just over a year ago in February 2010, only198 were convicted for not having their NCTcertificate whereas by April 2011, that figurerose to 2,810 and in the first three months of2011, 8,180 vehicles were confiscated by gar-dai at checkpoints. Continues on Page 2
SLIGOWOMAN’S ‘NODEAL’ WINSHER £250,000 PAGE 10
SLIGOWOMAN’S ‘NODEAL’ WINSHER £250,000 PAGE 10
WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT ONTHE REEK
WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT ONTHE REEK
THE 2011CONNACHTCHAMPSIONSHIP PAGES 24-29
THE 2011CONNACHTCHAMPSIONSHIP PAGES 24-29 PAGE 2PAGE 2
Launch of acclaimed Gráinne Mhaol Summer Show in WestportLaunch of acclaimed Gráinne Mhaol Summer Show in Westport
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Minister of state for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring launching the 2011 season of The Grainne Mhaolshow in Westport this week. See Page 8 For Full Story
IBS Publications, Unit 3,Riverview House, Barret Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo. Advertising: 071-9154538 Editorial: 096-77743 Production: 071-9154538 Fax: 096-75641
Email: [email protected] Web: www.theexpress.ieFree Classifieds: [email protected] or visit www.theexpress.ie and click free classifieds.
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Over 26,000 vehicles seized at roadsidecheckpoints continued from front page
World Record attempt on the Reek
A Mayo painter has won anaward at the Royal Society ofPortrait Painters Annual Exhibi-tion 2011 in London. BenitaStoney won the Changing FacesAward for the portrait that ismost powerful, on the way thatthe subject communicates withthe viewer beyond the canvas.Benita’s award-winning portraitis entitled Nicola 2009.
!e subject, Nicola Kennedywho is a friend of the artist, hadher eye surgically removed dur-
ing treatment for cancer. !e Royal Society of Portrait
Painters Annual Exhibition2011 shows work by some ofBritain’s leading portrait artists,as well as work by non-mem-bers, selected through open sub-mission. !is year there weresome 1,100 entries, with onlyone in ten works making itthrough to the exhibition.
Changing Faces is the leadingUK charity that supports andrepresents people who have dis-
figurements to the face, hand orbody from any cause. !eChanging Faces Prize is awardedto the artist whose portrait bestconveys the energy of their sub-ject, the directness of their gazeand an attitude that exudesopenness and confidence. !is isthe tenth year of the award, andthe first time it has been given toa female artist.
Newport based Benita paintsportraits to commission and byher own selection. She began
painting portraits six years ago,while working for her degree inFine Art from GMIT. Sincegraduating in 2006 she has beenselected for the prestigious BPPortrait Award exhibition, froma worldwide entry, and for theDavy Portrait Award exhibition,open to Irish artists.
For the last seven years herportraits have been exhibited atthe RHA, where she has beenthe recipient of the JorgensenFine Art Award.
Mayo Artist wins prestigious UK award
SOME hardy souls hoping to break aGuiness World record will take toCroagh Patrick on Friday July 1 in thehope that their months of training won’t
have been in vain. They will have to en-dure sore feet and limbs and plenty ofother physical pain in their attempt tobreak the record of climbing up and
down the mountain twelve times. Aswell as breaking the Guiness WorldRecord, they also hope to break the na-tional record of nine climbs on the HolyMountain in one day and to climb moremetres than Everest.
Matt Loughrey, known locally as Matt365 who, is himself nearing the end ofhis own record of 365 consecutive climbsin 365 days, will launch the bid at Camp-bell’s bar Murrisk and cycling enthusiastPadraig Marrey believes he can train thisgroup to achieve all of this in one bid.
The current World record stands at17,011.5 vertical ascent/descent meters.Each lap is 764m and down, 1530m totalmeters climbed and descended.
After 12 climbs those taking part willhave climbed 18,360m.
The 12 ascents in 24 hours attempttakes place July 1st at 8pm finishes Sat-urday July 2 at 8pm.
!e dramatic increase is of course par-tially explained by the constant grinding ofthe recession forcing otherwise law-abidingpeople to forgo insurance, tax and NCTcosts. However far stricter enforcement hashad an e"ect.
!e chief executive of the Road SafetyAuthority, Noel Brett, pointed tothe safety issues in-volved, particularly
those without any NCT certificate, whichmeans that many of those 26,044 cars wereactually unroadworthy and therefore adanger to those drivers and other roadusers.
Beyond safety concerns are financialones. Uninsured drivers are estimated tocost insured drivers #40 per year due to in-creased premiums. !is perversely makesit more di$cult for people struggling to
make ends meet to insure their car, creatingmore uninsured driver.
Once confiscated, car-owners have sixweeks to produce evidence that they havepurchased insurance, paid tax or passed theNCT, otherwise the vehicle is crushed andrecycled. Also to get the car back the ownermust pay #125 for the first day and #35each after that it remains in garda custody.
Watch out! - your car could end up here if you forgo your insurance, tax and NCT
GARDA in Inishowen havediscovered drugs with an es-timated value of at least 190thousand euro in recentdays.
Gardai stopped andsearched a vehicle nearBurnfoot yesterday after-noon and arrested a man, afollow up search of a housenear Buncrana resulted inthe discovery of a majorcannabis cultivation factory.Three Chinese nationalshave been arrested and de-tained at Buncrana Garda
Station. The investigation is being
lead by Superintendent KevinEnglish, who says that thediscovery may represent thebiggest ever drugs bust in In-ishowen.
The house is currentlysealed off and forensic offi-cers are examining thescene.
Supt English said nobodywas in the property at thetime of the swoop. The threemen can be questioned forup to seven days.
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SPECSAVERS branches around theNorth West are searching for Ire-land’s Sexiest Specs wearer with ac-tress and Strictly Come DancingWinner Kara Tointon launching Ire-land’s nationwide search. The former‘Eastenders’ star is helping Spec-savers find ordinary people wholook extraordinary in their glasses.
Tointon said: "I love wearing myglasses so I am very excited to belaunching this year's competition. It'samazing how a pair of glasses cancompletely change your look. Theycan transform you from dowdy tofabulous in a flash!
"In my own case, glasses are myfriend because not only have theyhelped me see, they have also helpedme counter my dyslexia through theuse of coloured lenses which aid me
in learning my lines for acting outscenes."
As well as fronting the campaign,Kara is supporting anti-bullying char-ity Kidscape. Specsavers will donate1 for every eligible competitionentry to the charity, as well as allproceeds from a high profile auctionled by Specsavers ambassador GokWan, which will take place at thecompetition final in London in No-vember.
The competition is open to menand women aged 16 and over. Toenter, call in to any Specsavers storeand pick up an entry form or log onto www.specsavers.ie/competition
The winner will be represented byAssets Model Agency and will alsobe entered into the internationalgrand final in London.
Calling all Sexy Specs wearers
In the last edition of NorthwestExpress we gave one of you a chance
to win tickets to Temple HouseFestival....
Today we can announce the luckywinner is Maria McAteer from Sligo.Congratulations! We hope you enjoy
your prize!
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Gardaí in Buncrana uncover cannabis factory
Actress kara tointon who launched the competition in ireland
THE National Jobseekers Roadshow, an initiative to assist thethousands of unemployed individuals, will come to the ClarionHotel, Sligo, on Monday next, May 23.
So far, there has been an unprecedented numbers of atten-dees pre-registering and spaces fill up fast. In some cases, a newvenue had to be found to meet the demand.
If you are interested in attending the Sligo event then log onto the website www.cpljobs.ie/roadshow to pre-register.
The roadshow, which was launched last week by rugby starRob Kearney, is a series of free talks where jobseekers can learnhow to prepare a great CV, brush up on interview skills, learnhow to stay positive when unemployed and have all their ques-tions answered by leading career specialists. Anne Heraty, CEOof CPL Resources plc who are the sponsors of the roadshowsaid: “Jobseekers have changed the way they look for a job. Theamount of resources and information that companies makeavailable through social media and make public through theirown websites means the jobseeker can be fully informed beforethey ever even apply for a job. However, this means that thejobseeker needs to hone up on a new set of skills in order tosuccessfully compete for and win the job.”
Jobseekers Roadshow comes to Sligo
Right to left, Rob Kearney, Rugby Player, Anne Heraty, CEO of CPLResources plc and Omar Hassanein, Chief Executive, IRUPA
Tel: 071-9146060 or 087-2405714visit us online at sligoindoorairsoft.com
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LADIES all over Mayo and theNorth West are being asked todonate their once-loved dressesto Down Syndrome Ireland’s an-nual Buy My Dress campaign,which takes place on SaturdayMay 28 from 10am – 6pm, at TheRoyal Theatre, Castlebar.
Supported by Special K, thefashion forward initiative haswomen from all over the countrydigging out unwanted dresses todonate to this fun and stylishcampaign.
Last year's event saw 4,000dresses being sold in the one dayin Dublin, Cork and Galway, rais-ing 60,000.
This year, with eight one-daypop up sales taking place aroundthe country, the charity hopes todouble the number of dresses,and the money raised.
All money raised through BuyMy Dress go to fund the charity’sDown Syndrome Liaison NursingService, which provides advice,support and information to par-ents of children born with Downsyndrome.
This vital service really needsyour dresses in order to con-tinue and allow the charity tofund more nurses countrywide.
There are lots of dress dona-tion drop off points in Mayo for
ladies to leave dresses includingBee Green Drycleaners in West-port, Castlebar and Belmullet,Castlebar Credit Union and TheRoyal Theatre.
A full list of drop off points canalso be found at www.buymy-dress.ie
The organisers are also lookingfor volunteers to help out on theday, so if you think you might beinterested in giving a few hoursto the event please contact us.
See www.buymydress.ie for fullevent details.
For more information contact:Jenny Brennan 087 7979511.
Women asked to donate dressesfor Down Syndrome Ireland
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Jenny Barton Brennan and Sile Seoige at the launch of Buy My Dress for Down Syndrome
Morrison Teach Ceoil officiallyopened
AFTER years of hard work and effort,The James Morrison Teach Cheoil orthe Morrison Cottage was officiallyopened on Friday May 13 by the Min-ister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs,Donnchadh Mac Fhionnlaoioch.
The James Morrison Teach Cheoilwas built to commemorate fiddleplayer James Morrison, his contempo-raries and the musicians of the River-stown area. Morrison was born in
1893 in Drumfin near Riverstown inCo. Sligo. He emigrated to New Yorkat 17 and went on to become one ofthe leading Irish music teachers therein the 1930s and '40s.
The cottage style building is locatedoff the entrance road to RiverstownCommunity Park and will be a valuableresource for the community of River-stown and surrounding areas. Already,it is a hive of activity with traditionalmusic and dancing and singing classes.
Archive material relating to JamesMorrison’s legacy of traditional musicwill be housed at the Teach Cheoil. TheRiverstown Branch also possesses aphotographic record relating to all ofthe Morrison Festivals. Also there willbe interactive displays which will relatethe life and times of James Morrison
The Morrison Teach Ceoil is one of16 Comhaltas cultural centresthroughout the country.
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Do You Have any news or photos for us?Email them into us at
email: [email protected]
Spanish Armada Fest to takeplace in Grange
A flying start - World champion dancer Roisin Timoney from Ballina at the launch of the GrainneMhaol show in Westport this week
Minister of State for Tourism andSport Michael Ring TD was on handthis week to officially launch the thirdseason of the hugely popular Mayotraditional music summer show TheLegend of Gráinne Mhaol. Speaking atthe launch Minister Ring said he wasdelighted to support this importanttourism venture in his native town andhe wished it every success for the sea-son ahead at Hotel Westport.
“I am delighted to support the castand crew of the Gráinne Mhaol showahead of their third season in West-port this summer. This is a superbshow and a must see for all visitors tothe west this summer. The GráinneMhaol Show is full of energy and en-thusiasm and it captures the imagina-tion of audiences of all ages andcultures,” commented Minister Ring atthe launch.
The Gráinne Mhaol Show, everyWednesday night at Hotel Westportfrom June 15th is based on the real-life story of the legendary Irish PirateQueen Grace O’ Malley or GráinneMhaol.
“The Gráinne Mhaol Show at HotelWestport is a very important tourisminitiative for Westport and Mayo andapart from attracting thousands of
people to the county each summer italso creates twenty additional jobs forthe local economy from June to Sep-tember,” commented Minister Ring.
The Gráinne Mhaol spectacularsummer show at Hotel Westport con-tains a wealth of talented musiciansand dancers from all over the west ofIreland. Lord of the Dance fiddleplayer Cora Smyth headlines the showwith renowned balladeers James Kil-bane and Jenny Mulvey, World Cham-pion Irish dancer Roisin Timoney,Latino sensation Pollyanna Guedes,All-Ireland champion box player Dar-ragh Healy and Ireland’s most giftedSean Nós dancer Liam Scanlon fromNewport all on board again for thismagical and mythical voyage into Mayo.
“The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol is anincredible, unique, entertainmentshow with a powerful and passionatestory based around one of the mostimportant and iconic historical figuresin Irish history, Gráinne Mhaol. I wishthe entire team well for their thirdsummer season in Westport and asMinister for Tourism and Sport I willcontinue to support and promote alltourism ventures that showcase Mayoto the world,” concluded MinisterRing.
Launch of acclaimed Gráinne Mhaol SummerShow in Westport
GRANGE, Co. Sligo, will go back in time to thesound of Latin music at the all-new CelticFringe Festival, which takes place from June 22-26. The festival will retell the fascinating storyof the Spanish Armada of 1588 in Sligo throughmusic, song, dance, drama, gourmet and mar-itime events.
The festival will receive its public launch thisFriday, May 20 at Source Wine Bar, John StreetSligo, where more details will be revealed.
The 2011 festival will feature the Galicianregion of North West Spain and musicians anddancers from that region will join forces withCeol na nOg Sligeach and a 50 piece orches-
tra for a world premiere performance ofmusic based on the Armada story.
All events will take place around Grange andNorth Sligo and will feature Galacian and Fla-menco musicians and dancers, Strawboys anddrummers as well as gourmet Spanish food.The Sunday of the festival will see a street fi-esta with Strawboys, Galacian pipers anddrummers and Samba rhythms.
Festival co-ordinators Charlie Kelly andPeter Farrell are confident that this will be thefirst of what will become an annual festival.
For more information log on tohttp://www.celticfringefest.com/programme/
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FRIDAY the 13th is known as unlucky day,but the luck of one gutsy Sligo womanshould dispel this myth forever. Suzanna
Mulholland from the Sea Road, Sligo, won aquarter of a million pounds on ChannelFour’s ‘Deal or no Deal’ last Friday, the
luckiest day of her life.Suzanne is one of only three contestantsin the history, all women, who walked awaywith the top prize of £250,000, she alsowon a trip to Florida for two.
Suzanne, a beautician, had been living inBristol for a number of years with her fi-ancé, Simon Lloyd, but the two have nowreturned to Suzanne’s home town of Sligoand plan to marry in the next couple ofyears. On the show the sure-minded con-testant turned down offers of £30,000 and£110,000 and eventually with two boxesleft, £100,000 and the dream box £250,000,she refused £165,000, the highest offerever turned down on the show.
Suzanne said of her decision to rejectthe £165,000 in a post show interview “I’mreally decisive and know what I want. Iwouldn’t say that i’m a gambler; if I didn’thave such a strong board there was no wayI would have went on.”
Suzanne made a controversial decisionat the end of the show by swapping herbox, decisively insisting that the one on herdesk did not contain the £250,000. “It wasgut that told me, ‘do it’.”
Suzanne didn’t tell her friends or familyabout her win, they all watched the showtogether in her family home last Friday andgot the surprise of their lives.
Do You Have any news or photos for us?Email them into us at
email: [email protected]
TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMEN & STONE CARVERS IN MAYO SINCE 1909
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Deal or no deal presenter Noel Edmunds, winner Suzanne Mulholland and herfiancé, Simon Lloyd. Dressed up in honour of the bankers birthday.
A group of artistic individuals in Ballina, Co.Mayo are looking to gather some likeminded souls for a new co-operative forwriters, artists and craft makers in the west-ern region.
The organisers hope to help writers to-wards being published and being able to selltheir books, to help artists and print makersto achieve exhibitions and sales of theirwork and to help craft manufacturers tofind long-term outlets for their products.
The new co-operative will have its ownwebsite, offering members sales and pro-motion for their products, be they books,paintings, fine arts or creative crafts.
If you are just beginning the creativeprocess, trying to break into the market ofyour chosen art, and could use new ideasto turn your particular talents into a suc-
cessful commercial operation, then why notjoin us for a Start-Up meeting and get inon the ground floor.
David and Sonia Booth are the drivingforce behind The Atlantic Writers andArtists Co-operative. Sonia spent manyyears working in the UK publishing indus-try at Harper Collins and Bodley Head,working on both adult and children’s books.David was an advertising photographer anddesigner working in London and is nowproducing photographic fine art prints andwriting business books here in Ireland.
If membership of such a group appeals toyou, please come along to our first meeting;there is no charge whatsoever: Thursday2nd June - 12.00am – 1.00pm - The BallinaLibray (Upstairs room), Pearse Street, Bal-lina, Co. Mayo.
New Co-operative for writers, artists andcraft members
Sligo Woman’s ‘No Deal’ winsher £250,000
ANIMAL and nature lovers from the Northwest arebeing encouraged to be part of Bioblitz 2011, which istaking place over 24 hours in Ballycroy National Park inMayo on May 20 and 21.
The event is organised by the National BiodiversityData Centre and is a scientific race against time. Theaim of the event is to find as many species as possiblewithin a park over a 24-hour period. This is a uniqueevent where scientists, students and the general publiccan come together and learn how scientists andrecorders use their skills to study wildlife in an area.The event introduces non-specialists to the wonderfulwealth of diversity that exists in our local areas.
Over 130 scientists were involved in last year’s eventand thousands of species were recorded. From birds ofprey to the smallest little centipede, the teams of sci-entists and volunteers will scour the Ballycroy NationalPark recording everything they find.
If you would like to take part, log on to www.biodi-versityireland.ie
Bioblitz 2011 at Ballycroy National Park, Co. Mayo
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Lisa Hannigan will be performing at the Linenhall ArtsCentre in Castlebar on Sunday 22nd May at 8.00pm,with the wonderful John Smith supporting, in a slightlymore grown up version of her summer holidays.
According to Lisa, "I’ve spent the last year travellingabout and writing songs for my second record. Duringthat time I met Joe Henry and from that moment Iknew he was the man to help me make the record thatwas in my head. I found a wonderful converted farm-house studio in the middle of Snowdonia national parkin Wales and we all headed over for a week. GavinGlass played piano and banjo, Ross Turner was ondrums, Shane Fitzsimons, double and electric bass,Donagh Molloy, harmonium and trumpet and an eightand a half months pregnant Lucy Wilkins played violinand arranged a couple of songs for cello and violin. JohnSmith joined for some guitar and general tomfoolery.The album will be out in the autumn and I can’t wait toget out and play the songs from it." A great night inprospect.
Lisa Hannigan performs at the Linenhall Arts Cen-tre on Sunday 22nd May at 8.00pm. Booking advised.Tel: 094 9023733 For full tour info and tickets checkout www.lisahannigan.ie
The Linenhall Arts Centre acknowledges the financialsupport of the Arts Council in making this perform-ance possible.
Who?Where?
Who?Where?
LISA HANNIGAN AT THELINENHALL
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LITTLE GEM AT THE TF ROYAL
This remarkable play has sold out theatres in New York, London,Dublin and Paris, The Edinburgh Festival and is just back from a majortour of Australia, winning the hearts of audiences and the admirationof critics.Kay’s got an itch that Gem can’t scratch (but maybe Kermit can)…Lorraine attacks a customer at work and her boss wants her to seea psychiatrist … Amber has fierce bad indigestion and the sambucasaren’t getting rid of it. Then there’s Paul, who’s just using Amber untilhe can get to Australia … and there's the hairy man who fancies Lor-raine but fails to rise to the occasion… and of course Gem , whodoesn’t like the neighbours coming in to ‘mind’ him. And if all thatwasn’t bad enough, Little Gem makes his presence felt and well....lifeis never the same again.“Take no chances – beg, borrow or steal a ticket while you still can”- British Theatre Guide"...this show, which made me laugh and cry with pleasure, is like a re-ally marvellous wake: it brings three generations together in an emo-tive booze-up of sorrow, precarious joy and inappropriate laughter. .." ***** TIME OUT, LONDON“HILARIOUS” - The Sunday Times**** The Guardian, Time Out, The Financial Times, The Evening Stan-dard, The Scottish Herald WINNER BEST OF EDINBURGH AWARD2009Starring Neili Conroy, Genevieve Hulme-Beaman and Anne Kent Di-rected by Paul Meade | Lights by Mark GalioneTickets are available on www.ticketmaster.ie as well as from the RoyalTheatre Box Office on 0818 300 000. Tickets are 25.00 incl. book-ing fee, other service charges may apply. For further informationplease check the Royal Theatre website on: www.royaltheatre.ie orwww.ticketmaster.ie Little Gem. 26th and 27th May 2011Tickets 25.00 on Sale 7th April
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“The Incidence of Light”, an exhi-bition of recent paintings and sculp-tures by Westport-based visualartist Niall McCormack, continuesat the Linenhall Arts Centre inCastlebar for the month of May.
Niall’s artistic vision encompasses aform of architectural surrealism inwhich the visual currency of build-ings - walls, windows, passages andspaces - is used as a vehicle to ex-plore the emotional effects of light,colour and composition. Originally from Castlebar, Niall hasbeen exhibiting since the early
1980s in shows in England, Italy,Sweden, Washington and aroundIreland. Recent group shows include theRoyal Ulster Academy Annual Exhi-bition, Boyle Arts Festival (invited2009-10), and the RHA Annual Ex-hibition (2007-2011 inclusive), andis included in the Dictionary of Liv-ing Irish Artists. Further information about Niallmay be found on his website:www.niallmccormack.ieThis is Niall’s 7th solo exhibition. Itcontinues until Saturday 28th May.
London Classic Theatre makesa highly anticipated return visitto the Linenhall Arts Centre inCastlebar with a stunning re-working of Ibsen’s classic play“Ghosts” on Thursday 19thMay at 8.00pm.
Helene Alving is preparingfor the opening of an orphan-age, built in memory of her latehusband. Her beloved artistson, Oswald, has returned fromParis to honour the occasion,but his long-awaited home-coming rapidly descends intotragedy as his presence triggersthe exposure of a dark story ofhypocrisy and betrayed love.Written in 1881 by one of thefathers of modern drama, Hen-rik Ibsen’s study of hidden pas-sions, family secrets and moralhypocrisy remains as dramati-cally alive as ever in award-win-ning Irish playwright and poet
Frank McGuinness’ vital newversion. “Ghosts” is the secondproduction in London ClassicTheatre’s Modern Takes season,presenting European classicplays with a contemporarytwist, as seen recently in LCT’sdazzling production of “AfterMiss Julie”.
London Classic Theatrepresents “Ghosts” at the Linen-hall Arts Centre on Thursday19th May at 8.00pm. Bookingadvised. Tel: 094 9023733
The Linenhall Arts Centreacknowledges the financial sup-port of the Arts Council inmaking this performance possi-ble.
“London Classic Theatreshines with quality.” - MunsterExpress
“A stunning reworking ofIbsen’s masterpiece.” - TheStage
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“Spellbinding” and “superbly original”, Moth Pro-ductions’ “The Pitch” offers a night of top Irishtheatre starring Shane Connaughton at theLinenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Thursday2nd June at 8.00pm.
Philly lived and played for his team, the jersey,the parish, his friends, and the very GAA pitchhis enemies are now trying to take from him toturn into a housing estate. Tormented by painfulmemories and the unjust fate that holds himprisoner, he replays the events of that day whenhis club won the County Championship for theone and only time, but he wasn’t allowed to play.Accused of fathering an illegitimate child, andnow threatened with retirement to a nursinghome, he holds tight to the Herculean feats ofhis youth - and to the land on which these dra-mas unfolded. The old pitch is sacred ground, andit is here that he will make his last stand. Writtenby and starring Shane Connaughton (whose act-ing credits include “Coronation Street”, MikeLeigh’s film “Four Days in July” and Neil Jordan’s“The Miracle”, and was also screenwriter of thefilm “My Left Foot”), directed by veteran writer,director and producer Kerry Crabbe. A night ofgreat theatre on the cards.
“The Pitch” takes place at the Linenhall ArtsCentre on Thursday 2nd June at 8.00pm. Book-ing advised. Tel: 094 9023733.
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IBSEN’S “GHOSTS”: LONDON CLASSICTHEATRE AT THE LINENHALL
Rising unemployment, increasing mortgage rates, widespread depression and
dreaded job cuts typically dominate today’s news bulletins yet as an eight-
een year old one of the most profound effects of this severe economic re-
cession is the dramatic rate of emigration.
Irelands most qualified and able young people are left with no choice but to
leave their beloved home in search of employment.
Certainly, many youths would regardless of the country’s economic state
choose to broaden their horizons by travelling elsewhere having obtained their
degrees but undoubtedly less than the thousands who fled the country last
month alone.Emigration is by no means ideal or what most graduates would have looked for-
ward to during those long years of seemingly endless study and challenging the-
ses but is it really so negative as the media portray?
The main victim of emigration is the State. Here is typically, a person who has
most likely benefitted from eight year and five or six years of secondary education at little per-
sonal financial cost. Yet our Government invest huge sums of money annually to maintain our dili-
gent education system, in the hope that such education will reap dividends in the future allowing
Ireland to boast a highly skilled and qualified labour force.
But emigration has meant that other more economically stable countries are set to benefit from
Irelands investment in our future.Similarly, Ireland is one of the elite few EU members who ensures all it’s residents are afforded
the opportunity to attend 3rd Level Education. Scholarships, student maintenance grants and col-
lege subsidies cost the Department of Education millions of euro every year.
Previously Irelands 3rd Level graduates would have gained almost immediate employment at
home and therefore, began paying back the Governments investment in them indirectly through
PAYE and PRSI.Now, however Australia and Canada, amongst others, gain highly qualified ready-to-work individ-
uals to develop their own economy at Irelands’ expense.
Families have been forced to bid farewell, although temporarily to their children, grandchildren,
nieces and nephews. Parents are unsurprisingly left heartbroken, isolated their once bustling
home seeming empty and silent, grandparents worried, aunts and uncles angry at the weak state
of our economy’s collapse.
GAA community clubs have revealed they struggle to field a 15-a-side minor team eachweekend as many of their promising, fluent players have departed for new beginnings, raisingspeculation as to how long the historic association can survive, in such challenging circum-stances.Yet as an 18-year-old I know that regardless of whether Ireland has regained its affluentCeltic Tiger economy or is still struggling to recover from the recession when I graduate infour years’ time, I will choose to emigrate.Definitely I will miss my family and friends, the wide open countryside, my local clubs andthe village I am so lucky to call home but we live in such a big world hosting so many uniquecultures and traditions that after almost 18years in Ireland I will be ready to experience.There are so, so many benefits of emigration that are overlooked. The year-stained faces,empty rooms and struggling Gaelic teams make it so easy to focus on the negative yet for ayoung, willing person emigration can be extremely positive experience.Ireland is a tiny, idyllic island so rich in culture and traditions yet after twenty years livinghere most people will have become accustomed to the Irish way of living, tradition we willnever forget.
21st century society parents are renowned for their over-protecting manner yet emigrationenables young people to develop their independence, entirely on their own. With no parentsoverlooking every move or grandparents ready advice young emigrants are forced to maketheir own decisions, determine their own future.While Ireland may boast one of the world’s highest minimum wages other countries offersuch a diverse range of employment within so many sectors that graduates gain invaluableexperience within their area if work. The larger population of these countries allows for afar greater variety of professions and careers while due to our geographical location Irelandwill never be able to provide. Although the State may not benefit from PAYE or PRSI pay-ments at least they do not have to fork out for additional unemployment benefits.Emigration enables lifelong friendships to form and develop, meaning that subconsciouslyour minds adapt and integrate to their cultures, invaluable in removingthe ethnic barrier that still exists today.Growing up almost every Irish child plays gaelic or hurling. By steppingonto the plane or boat to depart Ireland these young adults do not for-get their passion, a game that has been so intricate in their childhood.While at home, minor teams may be temporarily limited, through emi-gration gaelic and hurling is fast becoming a recognised sport, world-wide.Transport advances since the last recession have meant that unlike pre-vious generations no matter what part of the world we choose to visitwe can always be back in our Irish home by the following morning. Fam-ily and friends can visit regularly and Skype and Facebook enable dailycommunication.Today for many young people Ireland can only offer unemployment bene-fit dull, rainy days and no need to get up in the mornings. Other coun-tries can provide a job relevant to their degree the invaluable experienceof travelling and the chance to meet life-long friends.Emigration seems the obvious solution and as so many do when Irelandhas recovered and our need to travel relented the thousands of youngpeople who today leave will return. After all regardless of the true friends,satisfying job prospects and amazing weather“Nil aon tintean na do thintean fein”!!!
Nil aon thintean na do
thintean fein!! by Rachael Kelly
THE first ever U.S./Ireland LegalSymposium was a hugely suc-cessful and prestigious eventwhich took place at Knock-ranny House Hotel, Westport,Co Mayo last week. The West-ern Development Commissionand Mayo County Council werekey instigators in bringing thisbiennial event to the West ofIreland.
An Taoiseach Enda Kennyheaded the list of high profilespeakers from both sides of theAtlantic. The Symposium waschaired by Deirdre Somers,Chief Executive of the IrishStock Exchange (ISE). Speakersincluded Mr. Justice Peter Kellyof the Commercial Court, ChiefJustice Maureen O’Connor ofthe Ohio Supreme Court, Ger-ard Kilcommins Chairman ofthe American Chamber ofCommerce Ireland, Regina Bre-heny CEO of the Irish VentureCapital Association, BarryO’Leary CEO IDA and FrankRyan CEO Enterprise Ireland.
This international Symposiumwas hosted by the Brehon LawSociety of Philadelphia and sup-ported by the Western Devel-opment Commission (WDC),Mayo County Council, the Na-tional University of Ireland Gal-way (NUIG) and TempleUniversity Beasley School ofLaw in Philadelphia.
Next year’s Symposium willtake place in the U.S.A. and itwill return to Ireland in 2013.
Pictured at the inaugural U.S./Ireland Legal Symposium in Knockranny HouseHotel Westport, Co. Mayo were(from left): Peter Hynes (Manager, Mayo CountyCouncil), Alan Kelly TD (Minister of State, Department of Transport, Tourism &Sport), Helen Rochford Brennan (Chairperson Western DevelopmentCommission), Joseph T. Kelley Jr. (President Brehon Law Society) and GillianBuckley (CEO Western Development Commission).
Inaugural U.S./Ireland Legal Symposiuma resounding success
Ava Quinn and some of her friends enjoying her recentBirthday Party at Hopes and Dreams Montessori Schoo,Catron Heights, Sligo
Excitement builds for the InaugruralGaelforce North on June 4th 2011
If you fancy getting involved in the event on the day, theorganisers are looking for locals to get involved and helpout. If interested contact them on 095 42006 or [email protected]
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A new type of intelligence, surveillance and re-connaissance aircraft that can be flown either ro-botically or with a pilot aboard has beenunveiled.Defence contractor Northrop Grumman saidthe Firebird aircraft would allow the military tosimultaneously gather real-time high-definitionvideo, view infra-red imagery, use radar andeavesdrop on communications.
Shown in flight test photographs and video re-leased by Northrop Grumman, the Firebird wasdesigned and built by Mojave, California-basedScaled Composites, the builder of other cutting-edge airplanes and spacecraft.!e company promoted the aircraft with the
certainty of cuts in US defence spending inmind. "Firebird addresses future budgetary con-straints by combining the best of our piloted andunmanned" systems, Paul Meyer, vice presidentof Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, saidin a statement. Rick Crooks, Firebird programmemanager, described it as an adaptable system thatis highly a"ordable because of the number of dif-ferent missions that can be accomplished in a sin-gle flight.!e company did not say how much it cost to
develop the aircraft.!e twin-tailed aircraft has a slender wing span-
ning 65 feet and a pusher-propeller at the rear ofits fuselage. Measuring 34 feet long and 9.7 feethigh, the aircraft is listed as being capable ofreaching a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet anda maximum endurance of 24 to 40 hours, de-
pending on configuration.!e Firebird will be demonstrated from May
23 to June 3, during a US joint forces commandexercise dubbed Empire Challenge 2011. !e ex-ercise will be hosted at Fort Huachuca, Arizona,and include locations across the nation and in sev-eral other countries.
Google warns of Swissswitch-off
GOOGLE'S street view service for Switzer-land could be switched o" unless the coun-try's supreme court overturns a rulingrequiring a guarantee of anonymity for any-one pictured, the company said.!e internet giant wants the Swiss Federal
Tribunal to throw out a lower court decisionin April which forced Google to ensure allfaces and vehicle number plates are blurredbefore uploading pictures to the service thatprovides panoramic tours of the world'sstreets. !e ruling by the Federal Adminis-trative Court in Bern, following a complaintfrom the country's privacy watchdog, also or-dered the company to obscure other identi-fying features, such as skin colour andclothing, from people photographed in thevicinity of "sensitive establishments," such aswomen's shelters, retirement homes, prisons,schools, courts and hospitals.
If Google fails at the higher court, it wouldbe the first time that the company has per-manently switched o" the street view any-where, although it has faced privacy concernsin many of the 27 countries where the serviceis available.
Switzerland's data protection commis-sioner, Hanspeter !uer, had filed the com-plaint against Google after deciding that thecompany's automatic face blurring softwarewas not 100% accurate.
During a court hearing in February, Mr!uer used a live version of to demonstrateexamples where the software failed to obscurefaces of adults and children in public - in-cluding outside the court - and even insideprivate homes.
Google has one of its biggest o#ces outsidethe United States in Zurich, where hundredsof engineers develop new services for thecompany. As part of a publicity drive earlierthis year, it took its Street View cameras intothe Alps to photograph the country's spec-tacular ski slopes.
Space shuttle launchdelayed again!e next-to-last space shuttle flight has beendelayed again.
Endeavour will now blast o" no earlierthan May 16, shuttle managers have an-nounced. Nasa's youngest space shuttleshould have flown to the International SpaceStation last Friday but a heater malfunctionhalted the countdown.!e problem was traced to a switch box -
engineers discovered a blown circuit inside. Anew box has been installed, but more testingis needed. !e two-week mission will be ledby commander Mark Kelly, the husband ofCongresswoman Gabrielle Gi"ords, who wasseriously injured in a shooting as she met con-stituents near Tucson, Arizona, in January. Sixpeople were killed and 13 others injured inthe incident.
science news
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HALF of workers havebeen banned by their em-ployers from using Face-book and other socialnetwork sites in their of-fices, according to a re-port.
A survey of more than2,000 employees for com-puter services providerHCL Technologies foundthat many bosses fearedtheir business reputationwas at stake by sta" usingsocial networking sites.
Chief executive VineetNayar said: "It is quite re-
markable that in this dayand age, many employersare still putting their em-ployees' interests as a lowpriority by not allowingthem to use sites like Face-book."
He continued: "Whilewe always advocate re-sponsible use of social net-works in the o#ce,banning them outrightwill impact employees'approach to work in anegative way, having adetrimental e"ect on thebusiness as a whole."
50% of staff 'banned fromFacebook'
Northrop Grumman unveils new plane
CHENGYUAN Wei is the author of a veryoriginal cell cardboard phone that boasts anappealing, sleek, minimalistic design.
Dubbed the Origami Phone, the devicefeatures all the same characteristics as a con-ventional handset.
However, its main advantage is that it un-folds from flat into a three-dimensional de-vice.!e main components of the Origami
phone are: hardboard, chip, telecture, di-aphragm microphone, electrical wire andmetal stitch.
It can be easily disposed of at the end of itslifecycle with almost no impact to the envi-ronment.
Origami Phone - Cardboard Phone that Unfolds from Flat into a 3D Handset
Driver with 39 points onlicence not banned
A Freedom of Information request to theDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)revealed that, as of 24 March 2011, 638 driv-ers have 12 or more penalty points on their li-cence, yet they are still on the road.
According to the BBC, the worst o!ender isa driver registered in Swindon, who hasamassed an incredible 39 points, yet has notbeen banned from driving. No information re-garding the type of o!ences committed wasavailable.
Elliot Gri"ths, from the Magistrates' Asso-ciation, said: "I accept that something appearsto be wrong with [the figures in the Swindoncase] and they need to be looked at.
"I can't even conceive how somebody canhave 20, 30, 40 points and not be disqualified.
"I can't work it out. I'd be very interested tosee how it happened." Unless a motorist canprove that it would cause exceptional hardshipfor them, a total of 12 penalty points means atemporary ban from driving. #e decision ismade by a court. However, if a driver escapes aban due to these exceptional circumstances,and they then accrue more penalty pointswithin three years, they are not entitled to ap-peal using the same reasons.#e data obtained by BBC West showed a
total of 638 drivers in Bristol, Dorset, Glouces-tershire, Somerset and Wiltshire with morethan 12 points on their licences.
Stowaway travels 620miles the wrong wayA 10-year-old boy who ran away from hishome in Bolivia to find his mother travelled620 miles in the wrong direction.
Franklin Villca Huanaco was trying to reachCochabamba where his mother had recentlyserved a prison sentence for drugs o!ences.
He stowed away in a truck which he thoughtwas heading to the Bolivian city 70 miles away,reports the BBC.
But the driver, who was unaware of his stow-away, was actually heading for Iquique innorthern Chile. #e boy hid in a metal con-tainer roughly the length of his body, attachedto the underside of the truck, reports say. "Iwanted to see my mother," the boy toldChilean state television. Authorities said theboy was lucky to survive the two-day journeywithout food or water while crossing Bolivia'sAndean altiplano, where temperatures at nightcan fall below freezing. He was only wearingpants, a shirt and ragged shoes. A woman laterfound him wandering the impoverished streetsof Alto Hospicio township, which neighboursIquique, and took him to her home.#e boy is currently staying with the
woman's family. He is to be returned to hismother by a Bolivian o"cial.
His mother, Zenobia Huanaco, was releasedfrom prison a month ago and had been work-ing in the countryside outside Cochabamba.
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A drunk driver has come thebutt of a world-wide joke -after he was filmed by policetrying to make phone callsfrom a packet of cigarettes.#e film - shot by tra"c
cops in the Russian capital,Moscow - has become abizarre world-wide hit withmore than 170,000 hits onYouTube.#e unidentified driver -
pulled over for driving errat-ically - first tries to speakinto his hand to make a call.
But when he realises thatisn't working he pulls out acigarette packet and in frontof the bemused cops appar-ently believes he's having de-tailed phone conversations -first with his father, and thena friend.
"Just deal with the situa-tion," he says before hangingup and passing out with hishead slumped on a police-man's shoulder.
When asked what he'sdoing the clearly drunkdriver says: "Well, we weredriving and we were almostthere and now here we are."
Drink driver mistakes cigarettes for phone
ITALIAN supercar maker Lamborghini is al-most certain to put the sensational Sesto Ele-mento concept car into production - with awhopping $2 million (£1.77 million) price tag.#at will make it more expensive than any
version of the Bugatti Veyron, including the£1.6 million Super Sport - o"cially the fastestproduction car in the world.
Reports suggest that Lamborghini will build
just 20 Sesto Elementos, and company sourcessay it is already well into development.#e carbon fibre body and chassis will make
it one of the lightest and most track-focussedsupercars ever made. In fact, it's so extreme thatit won't be road legal anywhere in the world.
Using the 5.2-litre V10 engine from the Gal-lardo, the Sesto Elemento will hit 62mph inunder 2.5 seconds, making it quicker than the
Veyron. However, its circa-200mph top speedwill be nowhere near the Bugatti's.
Speaking to 'Autocar', Lamborghini engi-neering boss Maurizio Reggianiln said the SestoElemento "represents a revolutionary way ofbuilding a car. #is method is a true break-through, and we are extremely excited aboutwhat it means for our future."#e car might be the most extreme and ex-
pensive model ever made by Lamborghini, butit will serve as a reference point for all of thecompany's future models - including the nextGallardo. #e tailpipes are made of a glass-ce-ramic composite material called Pyrosic, whichcan withstand much higher temperatures thantraditional metal exhausts.
Despite the outrageous price, Lamborghiniwill not be short of takers for the Sesto Ele-mento. #e Lamborghini Reventon, for exam-ple, was basically a re-skinned Murcielago atthree times the price. Yet the company had noproblem selling 35 at $1 million each.
Lamborghini to build world'smost expensive car
What's to blame?Could it be something you ate? Notenough sleep? Want to know whatcould be causing your headache?Our comprehensive list just mighthelp you out.
Your weightIn a recent study, researchers foundthat women with mild obesity (abody mass index of 30) had a 35%greater risk of headaches thanthose with a lower BMI. Severeobesity (BMI of 40) upped thechances to 80%.
Your personalityCertain traits, including rigidity, re-serve, and obsessivity may makeyou headache-prone. If that soundslike you, it could be time to sign upfor relaxation training.
The big OIn one survey, 46% of headache suf-ferers said sex had triggered aheadache. Usually, this is an overex-ertion headache (like joggers andweight¬lifters sometimes get); youmay feel a dull pain that builds dur-ing foreplay or get a suddenheadache around orgasm (morelikely in men). In rare cases, such anintense headache could be causedby a tumor or aneurysm. For mostfolks, though, sex headaches areharmless.
That three-day vacayWeekend or "let-down" headachescan happenwhen youtake a breakfrom yourroutine, says
Alexander Mauskop, MD, founderand director of the New YorkHeadache Center and co-author ofWhat Your Doctor May Not Tell YouAbout Migraines. Ease into thechange by keeping your sleep timeas normal as possible—you’ll endup feeling more rested than if youstay in bed until noon.
Your bathroom paint jobIt’s not just arguing over paint col-ors that can give you a headache;fumes from traditional paints cantrigger pain. Many companies nowmake nearly odorless, low-VOC(volatile organic compound) formu-
las, like Benjamin Moore’s Naturaline or Devoe’s Wonder Pure.
DehydrationYou don’t have to drink gallons ofwater to stay hydrated, says John LaPuma, MD, author ofChefMD’s BigBook of Culinary Medicine. "I’d loveit if people got more water fromeating fruits and vegetables becausethen they’d get all the other goodthings that come with them," hesays.
Skipping mealsWe know you’re busy, but hunger isa common headache trigger.Too much caffeine A little can helpheadaches but too much can triggerthem, New York City neurologistAudrey Halpern, MD, says. If caffeineis causing your pain, gradually cutback until you have caffeine nomore than two days a week.
InactivityA recent Swedish study showedthat those who were inactive weremore likely to get headaches thanthose who worked out. Aim for 20to 30 minutes of cardio a day, fivedays a week, to relieve stress, sendblood to the brain, and get feel-good endorphins flowing. Exercisemay be a trigger for some people,so consult your doc first.
Sleep deprivationOne large study says those whoslept an average of six hours a nighttended to have significantly moresevere and more frequentheadaches than those who gotmore z’s.
Don’t feed your headacheEveryone reacts differently, butsome foods are known to triggerheadaches for many people—andothers (especially those rich in mag-nesium) seem to help preventthem.
1. Eat: Spinach, tofu, oat bran, barley,fish oil, olive oil, white beans, sun-flower and pumpkin seeds
2. Avoid: Red wine, beer, MSG,chocolate, aged cheese, saurkraut,processed meats like pepperoni,ham, and salami.
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11 Surprising Headache Triggers By Megan Fennell
naturalhealth The information provided to you on this page is for educational purposesonly. It is not a substitute for medical advice and it is important thatyou do not make medical decisions without first consulting your doctoror other healthcare professional.
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blastpastfrom the
Famous Counties
THE most famous hurling countiesare Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary.Cork has 28 All-Ireland titles butKilkenny are catching up fast with27. Tipperary is not far behind with25. You might not know this butDublin have 6 hurling titles.
KilkennyKilkenny won the title in 2000 and2002. !ey have some great playerssuch as DJ Carey, Charlie Carterand Henry She"in.
Golden Years
!e 40's and the 50's were a goldenera for hurling with many of thesports all-time-greats testing theirskills against each other. !ey in-cluded John Doyle of Tipperary,Mick Mackey of Limerick andBobby and Nicky Rackard of Wex-ford.
The 90’s
!e 90's was a also a great periodfor hurling with O#aly, Clare andWexford all winning the Liam Mc-Carthy Cup. Clare, who are knownas the “banner” county were a bril-liant side and their fans broughtgreat colour to the world of hurling.
Prehistoric and early historic IrelandIrish Hurling
Hurling is older than the recorded history ofIreland. It is thought to predate Christianity,having come to Ireland with the Celts. It has
been a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years.
by Megan Fennell
The First All-Ireland
The first All-Ireland hurling final was played in Birr, Co O!aly in 1887 betweenTipperary and Galway with Tipp coming out on top by a score of 1-1 to 0-0.
Re-Known Team !ere have been many great teams down through the ages and one of the most re-known was theCork team of the 1940's. !ey won a four-in-a-row between 1941 and 1944 and included manygreat players such as the legendry Christy Ring, who people say is the greatest hurling player ever.
PUZZLE TIME
DOWN
1. Or claw about in walled Leinster town on the Barrowknown for sugar production. (6)2. Rage on about one of the colours in the Irish tri-colour. (6)3. Foal comes over for the bread. (4)5. Stale turnover is smallest. (5)6. Lamp an alternative hot weapon of war. (6)7. Make a mistake in the skies in Co. Dublin sandy sea-side resort noted for its safe bathing. (8)8. Sow in here in marvelous Tynan. (3)11. Lace mirrors unravelled in Mayo town close to theholy shrine of Knock. (11)15. Builds a home in finest Sligo position. (5)16. Close to tea apparently, but it's later than that. (5)17. Sign seen in Croom environment. (4)18. Brought up to sound like 3 down. (4)
19. I pack fur to go to annual Killorglin festival where the goat is king. (4,4)22. "..and only our ------ run free" Irish Ballad (6)24. Same R.C. is disposed to cry in terror. (6)25. No lace about in popular West Waterford sandy re-sort close to Dungarvan. (6)26. Take up residence and do leg damage. (5)28. Six grand will get a lot of energy. (3)29. A singer appearing in Spiddal tonight. (4)
LAST ISSUE’SANSWERS
Name: Address:Telephone number:
To be in with a chance of winning, fill out the crossword and your your name, telephone number and address and post to Puzzle TimeCompetition, Northwest Express, Unit 3, Riverview House, Barret Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo. - Good Luck!!
WIN! 25
SAMPLE PUZZLEHere are some words that can be found in this sample matrix:any chant panel path trench
Here are some words that are not valid in this puzzle:chance - uses the 'c' twicechaps - 's' is not adjacent
Word Puzzle!Here is a game that you can play to test your skill. This game will present you with a matrixfilled with letters. The objective is to form words by concatenating adjacent letters. Lettersthat are to the left, right, on top, bottom, or on a diagonal to each other are all acceptable.
ACROSS
1. Worm way into cell with unwelcome and ruthlessmid-seventeenth century English tourist in Ireland! (8)4. Makes an exact biological replica in Monaghan bor-der town where boxer Barry McGuigan was born. (6)9. "Such is the patriot's boast where'er we ----, His first,best country ever is, at home." Goldsmith (4)10. Intuitive perception in Clontibret action. (4)12. Chop up maple to give more than enough. (5)13. Briefly lose the cheese and take to the air. (3)14. Groan about the vital bit back in Portumna growthplan. (5)15. Ran in disorder in peaceful Donegal village adjoin-ing Portnoo on the shore of Gweebarra Bay. (5)17. Everywhere prefix seen in Macroom nightly. (4)20. Long screams break up in Armagh border townwith ancient ring forts in the neighbourhood. (11)21. "The king and his faithful subjects, the lords andcommons of this realm, the triple ----, which no mancan break." Burke. (4)23. Parts put together to catch a mackerel? (5)27. Pub in the neighbourhood. (5)28. Small bottle loses fifty by way of route. (3)30. Claim to be the last, but will change. (5)31. Offshore land in Ballyhaunis legacy. (4)32. Intend to have short arms and long pockets! (4)33. So berg melts in quiet Donegal seaside resort nearto 15 across. (6)34. Rap mount over in Galway boating centre onLough Derg where 1 across was garrisoned in 1640.(8)
1. aerugo (4)2. regear (4)3. eager (3)4. eagre (3)5. egret (3)6. erugo (3)
7. hirer (3)8. roger (3)9. rogue (3)10. rugae (3)11. terga (3)12. trier (3)
13. urger (3)14. ager (2)15. ague (2)16. eger (2)17. ergo (2)18. gear (2)
19. goer (2)20. grue (2)21. heir (2)22. here (2)23. hire (2)24. hoar (2)
25. hoer (2)26. hora (2)27. ogre (2)28. rage (2)29. rear (2)30. ruga (2)
31. urea (2)32. urge (2)33. age (1)34. ago (1)35. ear (1)36. ego (1)
37. ere (1)38. erg (1)39. gae (1)40. gar (1)41. get (1)42. ghi (1)
43. goa (1)44. goo (1)45. gor (1)46. her (1)47. het (1)48. hie (1)
49. hoe (1)50. hog (1)51. ire (1)52. jet (1)53. oar (1)54. oho (1)
55. ooh (1)56. ora (1)57. rag (1)58. reg (1)59. rei (1)60. ret (1)
61. rho (1)62. roe (1)63. rue (1)64. rug (1)65. teg (1)66. ugh (1)
They’ll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run
In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, “They’ll puta man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20, 1969,a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Perryhit his first home run of his career (while playing for the SanFrancisco Giants).Perry actually achieved his first home run within minutes afterApollo 11 touched down on the moon but Neil Armstrongwould step onto – with his left foot first – the lunar surfaceonly 6 hours and 16 minutes later.
First female doctorIn the period known as the “Old Kingdom” in Ancient Egypt,from 2600-2100 BC, all professions were open to men andwomen, including the clergy, business, and medicine. In fact,records show that there were more than 100 prominent femalephysicians in Ancient Egypt, with Peseshet as their director. Shewas known as “lady overseer of the female physicians” – al-though it is not established that Lady Peseshet was a doctorherself and even if she was she was not the first known femalephysician. That title goes to someone who practiced medicine al-most 100 years earlier: the world’s first known female doctorwas Merit-Ptah (2700 BC).
Television firstsThe first public television pictures were transmitted in 1926.The first TV interview was made with Irish actress Peggy O’Neilin April 1930. The first televised sporting event was a Japaneseelementary school baseball game, broadcast in September 1931.The first daily broadcast was started by the BBC in November1936.
Record for most passengers on an airplaneIt is not clear who was the first to fly an airplane: Richard Pearse,Gustave Whitehead or Orville Wright. Whoever it may havebeen, the distances of their flights were only about the length ofthe wingspan of a Boeing 747. They probably never imagined theamount of people an aircraft will be able to carry one day. Themost passengers ever carried on one flight was in 1991 duringthe Operation Solomon evacuation of Ethiopian Jews duringOperation Solomon. 1086 people boarded a 747 in Addis Ababa.When they landed in Jerusalem, there were 1089 passengers.Three babies were born during the flight.
Unlucky number 13It is believed that the fear for the number 13 stems from prim-itive man being unable to count past 12.Numbers beyond 12 do now have anindividual and independent namebut are a combination of the first12 numbers. With 12 being theend of the line, 13 was movinginto unknown territory.In Norse mythology the 13thnumber led to the death ofBaldur, the beloved of thegods. When the 12 godsgathered for a banquet inValhalla, Loki gatecrashed theparty, increasing the numberto 13, which led to the deathof Baldur. It also happens that inTarot cards, 13 is called “Death.”
Did youknow?
by Megan Fennell
BY John McTigue
Aspate of new reports on thestate of the Irish housingmarket have been released
recently that throw new light onthe housing market in the north-west.
Recently The Northwest Expressreported that the previous govern-ment, in a desperate bid to get togrips with the problem of ‘ghost es-tates’, had approached foreignhousing agencies in the hope theywould purchase and maintain theempty houses and provide socialhousing at the same time.
The ratings agency Standard andPoors recently published a reporton the European housing marketwhich, in its summary, argued thatIreland’s property market had fin-ished falling and would remain staticfor a number of years.
The property agency Daft re-leased their report on propertyprices for the first quarter of 2011.This showed that property prices inthe northwest have fallen by be-tween 33 per cent (Mayo) and 44per cent (Leitrim).
The same report put the averagehouse price in Mayo at 178,494, inSligo at 177,106, in Donegal at170,400, in Leitrim at 144,609,in Roscommon at 153,017, in
Galway at 178,997 and in GalwayCity at 227,930.
The news is good in Donegal andGalway where the decline in houseprices has slowed to 0.6 per centand 1.3 per cent respectively in thefirst quarter of the year. In Roscom-mon the house prices have actuallyincreased in the same period by 2.7per cent. However in Leitrim, whichhas experienced one the largestprice collapses in the country, fellby a further 4.6 per cent in the firstthree months of the year whileSligo and Mayo also experienceddeclines of 4.1 per cent and 5.2 percent.
The survey carried out by theDepartment of the Environment(DOE) on ‘unfinished housing de-velopments’ identified 179, 273houses nationwide, in ghost estates,of which there are 2, 846.
Of those 179, 273 empty houses,23, 631 are located in Donegal,Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Mayoand Galway City and County. Ofthe 2, 846 estates surveyed by theDepartment of the Environment679 are located in these counties inthe northwest. That’s nearly 25 percent of the ghost estates nation-wide and only 15 per cent of thepopulation. A massive disparity andit gets worse depending on whereyou go.
“Ballisodare has overten times the number
ghost estate housesthan it should relativeto its population and
it is not alone”Pictured:
Ballisodare’s MillApartments
Photo by Lenny (www.zxcode.com)
The final report on from the DOE on ghost estatesis going to be published in the coming weeks...
Both an eye sore and an accident waiting to happen...
Leitrim has 3.3 per cent of theghost estates nationwide yet only0.7 per cent of the population.That’s nearly five times what itought to be. Donegal has 4.8 percent of the ghost estates with only3.5 per cent of the population.Roscommon has 4 per cent of theghost estates nationwide with only1.4 per cent of the population. Sligohas three times the number ofghost estates relative to its popula-tion.
The DOE interim report on thissurvey highlighted the intractabilityof the problem in rural areas likemuch of the northwest wherehousing construction outstrippeddemand by up to 300 per cent inplaces.
The recent Standard and Poorsreport says that the overall pricefor a house in Ireland has stabilisedat one third below boom prices,
however this disguises local, and re-gional declines. For example, theDaft report shows a fall of closerto 40 per cent in the housing mar-ket in the northwest.
Then when you get down to in-dividual towns and villages theproblem becomes truly awesome.
The village of Ballisodare has apopulation of 971 according to the2006 Census. The DOE survey ofvacant housing identified five ‘ghostestates’ in Ballisodare; the AvenaMill Apartments, Oakbridge Devel-opment, Carraig Abhainn, AvenaMixed Use Development and theFairgreen-River Oaks Develop-ment. These five developments to-talled 416 apartments and houses.Of these only 55 are occupied, or amere 13 per cent have someoneliving in them. Construction neverstarted on 36 units and 69 are onlyhalf finished. That leaves 255 empty
homes or more than half of thetotal 416 and this is in a village of971 people. Two of the develop-ments are completely deserted andanother two have only one occu-pant.
Ballisodare has over ten timesthe number ghost estate housesthan it should relative to its popu-lation and it is not alone. Collooneydown the road suffers from thesame difficulties.
The village of Dromod in Co.Leitrim has 50 times the number ofghost estates it should have relativeto its population and 44 times thenumber of empty houses.
The village of Ballaghadereen inCo. Roscommon has nearly 8 times
the number of ghost estates andnearly 13 times the number ofempty houses relative to its popu-lation.
The DOE have drawn up recom-mendations in its interim report on‘Unfinished Housing Developments’which include emergency funds toprotect public safety, a reform oflocal planning laws and potentiallylocal authorities taking control ofdevelopments to finish or demolish.
Sligo County Council was singledout for praise for its proposedmoratorium on further planningpermission for towns and villageswith a large oversupply of houses.
The fact is that no matter whathappens in the national housing
market, on a local and regional levelmatters will be much different. Inplaces like Ballisodare, Dromod andBallaghadereen house prices willremain artificially depressed, localeconomies will suffer and commu-nities will remain damaged becauseof the sometimes-stratosphericoverhang of housing.
The final report on from theDOE on ghost estates is going tobe published in the coming days orweeks. Hopefully it will be the basisto radical steps from Minister ofState Willie Penrose because onlyradical measures can hope to helpthe towns, villages and communitiesacross the northwest suffering fromthe Celtic Tiger housing boom.
ONLY RADICALMEASURES CANHOPE TO HELPTHE TOWNS,VILLAGES ANDCOMMUNITIESACROSS THENORTHWESTSUFFERING FROMTHE CELTIC TIGERHOUSING BOOM
Mill Apartments, Ballisodare as featured in our last edition (see it online atwww.theexpress.ie) Photo by Lenny (www.zxcode.com)
One of the many Ghost Estates that can be foundthroughout the Northwest
Mill Apartments, Ballisodare, see the last edition online for the full story(www.theexpress.ie) Photo by Lenny (www.zxcode.com)
Connacht
By DECLAN ROONEY
The summer of 2008 was bliss for EmlynMulligan. Ten-point hauls against min-nows New York and big shots Galway
rocketed him to the attention of the nationalmedia.
A further 1-34 in his six division four leaguematches the following spring triggered mur-murings that Leitrim might be able to repeattheir 1994 provincial victory on the back ofMulligan’s hauls.
However, as fate would have it, he wasstruck down with the dreaded cruciate liga-ment injury after an accidental clash during aleague match for his club Melvin Gaels inApril 2009.
They say lightening never strikes the samespot twice, but after months of rehab in justhis second match back, Mulligan suffered a re-occurrence of the injury playing for his club.
But with a handful of national league gamesunder his belt since he returned to theLeitrim shirt, his sharpness is returning andMulligan is ready to take out two years worthof frustration on the Sligo defence.
“To be honest it is just good to be involved
at this stage of the year having missed allof the last two championship campaigns,”admitted Mulligan.
“The last championship game I playedwas against Galway in 2008 so hopefully Ican do myself justice on Sunday. We beatNew York in the first game that year, but itwas all new to me at that stage. I was only20 at that stage and I think I have a lotmore to offer now.”
And after tasting two narrow defeats toLongford and Roscommon that deniedthem promotion, the diminutive dangerman is happy with Leitrim’s progress sincethen and he thinks they are ready to graceMarkievicz Park at the weekend.
“Preparations have gone very well forus and we are really looking forward toSunday now. We are quietly confident tobe honest.
“The last two games of the league wedisappointing results wise but I think weperformed well both days. And with somany young lads coming in there is no fearof Sligo; there is no history of them beat-
ing us so we will be ready for Sunday. “Local derbies always have that extra bit of
a bite and a small bit of bitterness aboutthem, but hopefully we can stand up to thechallenge.”
Having spent so long out of the game, Mul-ligan would be forgiven for easing himselfback into the fold, but half measures werenever his bag.
“Mickey put me on for five minutes againstWicklow and the following week I startedagainst Kilkenny. It was probably a good gameto come back in and I got the chances to kicka nine points.
“The sharpness has slowly come back tome in the subsequent games, but this year mymain aim is to get through every game un-scathed and put in a base for next year. It is agreat feeling to get through every trainingsession without breaking down, just walkingoff the pitch is great.
“But the injuries have really made me re-alise that there is more to life than football,even though it still means so much to me. Ithink I appreciate it all so much more nowand a win on Sunday would cap the lot.”
Mulligan has Sligo in his crosshairs
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Championships
By DECLAN ROONEY
MICKEY Moran is confident that his newlook Leitrim can give Sligo a tough testin Markievicz Park on Sunday.
After losing five of his starting for-wards from the championship last year,Moran was forced to give youth a flingduring the national league.
And despite losing out on promotiondue to a one-point defeat to Longfordand a two-point loss to Roscommon, theformer Derry, Sligo and Mayo boss isbacking his youthful side to perform onthe big stage.
“It we manage to leave it all on thepitch and don’t freeze on the big day,then I’m confident that we’ll give Sligo areal good go in Markievicz Park,” saidMoran. “We have really had to rebuildthe team since last year, but I could not
be more pleased with the work andprogress the lads have made during theleague.
“It annoys me to hear things like ‘onlyLondon and Kilkenny finished belowLeitrim’, but we had to concede twopoints to London, which would have putus above Clare.
Sometime the table doesn’t show thebig picture. We were in with a shout ofpromotion down to the end and we justmissed out on that killer punch.”
The challenge circuit “can be hit andmiss” according to Moran, but he has hisfingers crossed for a clean bill of healthfor the trip to the Yeats county.
“Preparations have gone fairly well forus, but we have picked up a few niggly in-juries like everyone else. It is always hardto have everyone fit, but hopefully I’llhave a full hand to chose from.”
Moran backing his side to perform on Sunday
Sligo championship record2010: Sligo 0-10 Down 3-20 Qualifiers2010: Roscommon 0-14 Sligo 0-13 Connacht final2010: Sligo 1-14 Galway 0-16 Connacht semi-final replay2010: Galway 1-10 Sligo 1-10 Connacht semi-final2010: Sligo 0-15 Mayo 1-8 Connacht quarter-final2009: Kerry 0-14 Sligo 1-10 Qualifiers2009: Sligo 1-13 Tipperary 1-12 Qualifiers2009: Sligo 0-12 Galway 1-13 Connacht semi-final2008: Mayo 3-11 Sligo 0-7 Connacht semi-final2008: Sligo 2-17 London 0-7 Connacht quarter-final2007: Sligo 1-10 Galway 0-12 Connacht final2007: Sligo 0-13 Roscommon 2-5 Connacht semi-final2007: Sligo 2-18 New York 1-3 Connacht quarter-final2006: Westmeath 1-12 Sligo 0-14 Qualifiers2006: Sligo 1-7 Leitrim 0-9 Qualifiers2006: Sligo 1-7 Down 0-4 Qualifiers2006: Galway 0-19 Sligo 1-12 Connacht quarter-final2005: Cork 3-13 Sligo 0-11 Qualifiers2005: Sligo 1-13 Clare 0-11 Qualifiers2005: Sligo 1-11 Kildare 1-10 Qualifiers2005: Leitrim 1-11 Sligo 0-9 Connacht quarter-final
Leitrim championship record2010: Leitrim 0-6 Kildare 1-12 Qualifiers2010: Roscommon 1-13 Leitrim 0-11 Connacht semi-final2009: Leitrim 0-10 Longford 0-13 Qualifiers2009: Leitrim 2-9 Roscommon 2-13 Connacht semi-final2008: Galway 2-14 Leitrim 1-13 Connacht semi-final 2008: New York 0-6 Leitrim 0-17 Connacht quarter-final2007: Donegal 1-16 Leitrim 1-14 Qualifiers2007: Galway 0-17 Leitrim 1-10 Connacht semi-final 2007: London 2-5 Leitrim 1-12 Connacht quarter-final 2006: Sligo 1-7 Leitrim 0-9 Qualifiers 2006: Leitrim 1-9 Mayo 1-10 Connacht semi-final2005: Meath 1-12 Leitrim 1-8 Qualifiers2005: Galway 1-11 Leitrim 1-8 Connacht semi-final 2005: Leitrim 1-11 Sligo 0-9 Connacht quarter-final
Last five championship head-to-heads2006: Sligo 1-7 Leitrim 0-9, Carrick-on-Shannon, Qualifier2005: Leitrim 1-11 Sligo 0-9, Carrick-on-Shannon, Connacht quarter-final2002: Sligo 2-13 Leitrim 2-4, Markievicz Park, Connacht semi-final1991: Leitrim 1-16 Sligo 0-5, Carrick-on-Shannon, Connacht quarter-final1989: Sligo 1-11 Leitrim 1-6, Ballymote, Connacht quarter-final
Micky Quinn, one of the stars onthe Leitrim team that last lifted theNestor Cup back in 1994
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Connacht
JOHN FALLON looks into his crystal balland has a look at how the Connachtchampionship 2011 might pan out.Michael Finneran had the honour ofscoring the first point of the 2011 cham-pionship.
His effort after just 20 seconds set thetone for Roscommon to overcome a po-tential banana skin in New York as FergalO’Donnell’s men powered their way to a3-21 to 1-11 win.
Roscommon, the surprise Connachtchampions last year, will now meet thewinners of the clash between Sligo andLeitrim in the semi-finals.
Sligo’s remarkable progress underKevin Walsh, which included successivepromotions in the league, has stalledsince their disappointing Connacht finalperformance last year.
The superb David Kelly may miss the
championship opener through injury butSligo should still have enough up front tosee them over the line, especially as thegame is in Markievicz Park.
There have been four different winnersof the Connacht championship in thepast four years — the first time that hasever happened — and if the quintet is tobe completed then Leitrim will have toproduce something special.
Mickey Moran’s side is one of the mosthonest sides in the championship butthey just don’t have the forward powerrequired for a sustained championshiprun.Sligo would welcome the chance forrevenge against Roscommon and whilerelegation back to division three will havedented their confidence, they have thecapability to reach the provincial decider.Remarkably, if they manage that it will bethe first time in history they have
reached successive Connacht finals.You suspect, though, that the Connacht
champions will come from the other sideof the draw — in other words, whoeverwins between Mayo and Galway.
Between them they have won 86 of the111 Connacht titles. Mayo have somehousekeeping to take care of in Londonbut James Horan’s men should encounterfew problems against the exiles.
Mayo have uncovered a seriousgoalscorer in Jason Doherty — the seventhe Burrishoole man scored in the leaguewas two more than was scored in the en-tire Connacht championship last year —and all logic would suggest that Mayo, es-pecially with home advantage, should seeoff their greatest rivals.
But logic and derby games are rarelycomfortable bedfellows. Galway were inturmoil, getting relegated after losingtheir opening five league games.
The return of Padraic Joyce saw a goodfinish to the league and a third All-IrelandU-21 title in a decade has given theTribesmen renewed hope.
Tomas O Flatharta has drafted twelveof that U-21 side into the senior squad.Suddenly, there is wind in the Galway sailand while Michael Meehan might not befit for the Mayo game, they will fancytheir chances of rattling a Mayo side whomay struggle to deal with their red-hotfavourites tag.
Mayo dished out an eights points de-feat to Galway in Tuam in February, butthey only won one other league game —albeit against All-Ireland champions Cork.The concession of eleven goals duringthe league — only Kilkenny concededmore — suggests there is work to bedone in the Mayo defence.
A Galway win could set up a Connachtfinal meeting with the Sligo side managedby their double All-Ireland winner KevinWalsh, and by then Michael Meehan —and perhaps a few of the U-21s — shouldbe in the fold and Tomas O Flatharta,under severe pressure just a couple ofmonths ago, could be celebrating an un-likely Galway success.
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Donie Shine being lifted high after last years memorable win in theConnacht final.
Writes Liam Horan
Dermot Earley dashed ourevery childhood dream, andyet we can never recall feelingany resentment towards him.
Our memories now are ofall those Mayo-Roscommonclashes of the late 1970s fol-
lowing a wearyingly familiar pattern: Mayo startingoff all guns blazing, maybe a Joe McGrath goal toinspire hope we knew we shouldn’t really enter-tain, and then the inevitable, inexorable Roscom-mon rally in the final ten minutes, leading to yetanother forlorn journey home.
And, each time, Dermot Earley, bestridingMcHale Park or Dr Hyde Park like a Boy’s Ownhero, so elegant he shouldn’t be durable, sodurable he shouldn’t be elegant, a man as close toperfection as a man can be.
You watched intently his every move becauseeverything he did transmitted a message: forRoscommon people, he was the very embodi-ment of their county.
Dermot Earley didn’t just play for Roscommon:in an era when Roscommon had an outstandingteam, Dermot Earley transcended all to achievean iconic status that followed his name since hisfinal day in 1985, and one which death will not di-minish either.
Dermot Earley didn’t just play for Roscommon.Dermot Earley was Roscommon.He was their timeless symbol of daring and de-
fiance. Say the name out loud. Der-mot Ear-ley!Those four syllables are simply magical, still.
For the rest of us, he was an inconquerablepeak, a chilling reminder that though you hopedagainst hope, they still had Dermot Earley and youbest be prepared for disappointment yet again.
Jet black hair, he stood tall and erect, an impos-sibly handsome Hollywood film star transportedinto our two-channel world.
In the parade, he marched properly. Old-style,proud, affording the occasion the respect he knewit deserved.
Going up for the toss, he shook firm hands withthe opposing captain and the referee. There wasnever anything mediocre about Dermot Earley: hedid everything the way it should be done.
Dermot Earley was conscious of the heritage of
which he was a part, and he could never besmirchthat tradition.
He treated opponents with courtesy and re-spect. Trash talk and silly mind games were anath-ema to Dermot Earley: he was manly and fair.
His entire life, in fact, could be characterised asincontrovertible proof that the concepts of man-liness and fairness need not be mutually exclusive.
Leaping high, powering through the middle, rac-ing back to avert a crisis: Dermot Earley did what-ever had to be done, because, for all the glorioustalents he possessed, he was the ultimate teamplayer.
Meet any Roscommonperson this week, and ex-pect to find a tear in theeye. This death shakes thecounty to its core.
It wasn’t just that hewas their greatest playerfor half a century ormore: it was that DermotEarley was a rare type ofhero.
He was utterly at onewith his own people. Hehad a meaningful wordfor everyone. He gen-uinely believed in helpingothers.
There was never anydiscrimination in how heinter-acted with people:you were delighted to geta minute with him, but,yet, he was delighted toget a minute with you.Into every gathering, heinjected a sense of nobil-ity. We will never knowhow many people heconsoled with a thought-ful visit or a kindly word.
Former colleagueshave been utterly devas-tated by his sudden de-cline. Some I met not solong ago almost didn’t
want to talk about it. Dermot Earley is wrappedup in the memories of so many great days in theirlives that the notion of him passing on so young isalmost too much to bear.
They turned out in their thousands to lay him torest. There will be nothing false about the out-pouring.
When the time came just over three years agoto bury Jimmy Murray, Roscommon’s All-Irelandcaptain of 1943 and ’44, they turned to DermotEarley to deliver the graveside oration: DermotEarley was the most appropriate man to send anoble hero on his way.
“It was a privilege to have known him. Peoplefrom all over Ireland asked about Jamesy whenthey knew you were from Roscommon,” Earley
told the gathering in Knockroghery’s hillside grave-yard that sunny January afternoon. He might havebeen penning his own epitaph.
In 1985 Dermot Earley played his final game forRoscommon, on a losing Connacht final day. Thesignificance of the occasion was not lost on theMayo players, many of whom were almost 20 yearshis junior.
They set aside their own celebrations to carryhim off the field on their shoulders in a powerfulrecognition of a wonderful man.
All who came into contact with Dermot Earleywere enhanced by the experience. He was thehero you were glad you met.
May he rest gently, one who led and inspired somany.
‘as close to perfection as a man can be’
Celebrating Roscommon’s victory in All-Ireland football semi-final with son David in August 1980
Lieut Gen Earley with his son Dermot who received a GAA awardin 2009 Dermot Earley at Training Camp in the Curragh Baracks, last year.
Dermot Earley didn’t just play for RoscommonDermot Earley was Roscommon.
This article appeared in last July’s edition of this newspaper, and coming up to his first anniversary it is a fitting reminder of the hero to many the man was.
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ChampionshipsConnachtBy DECLAN ROONEY
Sligo manager Kevin Walsh is hopingthat the recent disappointments ofrelegation from division two and last
summer’s Connacht final defeat toRoscommon will drive his side to victoryover Leitrim on Sunday.An injury-timelong-distance point from EamonnCallaghan saw Sligo lose by a point awayto Kildare, but without the draw to pushthem up the table, relegation to divisionthree was their fate.
However, the former Galway midfielderthinks that his squad will have recoveredsufficiently from their league heartache todefeat Leitrim on Sunday and secure aspot in the Connacht semi-final againstRoscommon.
“We have coped grand to be honest.There was a little bit of disappointmenton the day and the following days but thatis the way things happened for us,” saidWalsh.
“We feel there were days that we leftpoints behind us and lost games weshould have won. Not just the first dayagainst Donegal, but against Derry and Ty-rone. We ended up getting beaten by sixpoints in the end by Tyrone but we hadthem completely on the racks, but it wasjust horror stuff in the end. “Even the Kil-dare match where they kicked the winningpoint in injury time from more than 50yards to relegate us was diffi-cult.
Stuff likethat just didn’t go
our way. But we feltwe learned a lot from the
campaign.”Injuries to key players no doubt hin-
dered Sligo’s progress through the league,but with every likelihood that they willhave to plan without the same men forSunday, Walsh knows what hand he has toplay with.
“Having the likes of Johnny Davey, Eu-gene Mullen, David Kelly and Noel
Maguire all out hurt during the league did-n’t help us,” said the three-time All-Starrecipient.
“Noel Maguire is back training with thepanel now, but the rest of the lads are def-initely out of our first game of the cham-pionship.
Those lads arestill a good few
weeks away from returning tothe team.
“Leitrim is going to be a real toughgame for us. Looking at their league formthey pushed Roscommon and Longfordvery close so they will be a right challengefor us in Markievicz Park.
“Hopefully we come out the right sideof it. They always have great heart andgreat desire and they are going to push usall the way. We are well aware of that andwe are not going to be standing up look-ing at them. It is going to be a tough gamealright and hopefully we manage to comethrough it.”
Walsh hoping that recent pain will prove Sligo’s motivationALONG with teammate Eamonn O’Hara,Sligo captain Charlie Harrison is one ofonly four men from the Yeats County tohold an All-Star award.
His rampaging runs from deep andwater-tight defensive performances sethim apart from his peers in 2010 in thenumber four shirt.
And starting with Leitrim on SundayHarrison is hopeful of leading his side toSligo’s fourth Connacht title.
Harrison’s seven years on the Sligopanel have been among the most fruitful in
the county’s history – he holds a Connachtwinner’s and runner-up medal as well as a di-
vision three and four winners medals – butthe tenacious defender is keen to add to
the haul.However, long term injuries have
plagued Sligo since they lost last
year’s Connacht final to Roscommon and Harrisonreckons that missing the likes on Johnny Davey andDavid Kelly has not helped them in 2011.
“We struggled during the league with injuries andwe don’t have the type of squad that can afford tomiss these kind of players. Still, there are a lot ofyoung players who’ve got game time in the nationalleague and you would hope they can make the stepup”
And according to the St John’s defender there is agreat determination in the squad that they can goone step further than last year and claim the Con-nacht title.
Harrison said that the team are hopeful of “doingitself justice”, but that Leitrim will pose a difficult testin “fortress” Markievicz Park. And while they will behot favourites to win on Sunday, Harrison reckonsthat the thought of losing “doesn’t even come intoit” and that he and his teammates will be “incon-solable if that happens”.
Playing a captain’s role
Eamon O’Hara stillgoing strongEVER since his debut against Mayo in the 1994championship defeat to Mayo, Eamonn O’Hara hascarried the expectations of the county on hisshoulders.
For many years he was the great white hope inthe then white shirt, but since entering the twilightof his career, O’Hara has continued to hit the highs.
An All-Star award in 2002 was regarded as theminimum his talents deserved, but the man whoonce said he’d prefer to win a Connacht title withSligo than an All-Ireland title with any other county,got his provincial medal in 2007, ending a 32-yearwait for Sligo’s third.
But it was his driving goal in the final against Gal-way, which was voted goal of the year 2007, thatsummed up O’Hara’s special talent.
A career that was ravaged by injuries looked tohave reached its natural conclusion after that suc-cessful Connacht campaign four years ago, but theTourlestrane man has switched seamlessly to wing-forward and full-forward berths to extend his play-ing career.And if he make an appearance on Sundayhe will become the longest serving championshipplayer in the country at the moment – unless Kil-dare’s Anthony Rainbow decides to make anothercomeback.
David Kelly, who will miss the Sligo v Leitrim game due to injury
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