MASTERCHEF: Sligo's very own Masterchef contestant Shauna Kelly.
SLIGO’S very own Shauna Kelly is one of the 12 remaining contestants still standing on Masterchef UK, and will be back on our TV screens this evening, Thursday, April 27.
The Sligo native, who has lived in Hampstead in London for the past number of years, already knows her fate on the show as it was recorded already, but she spoke about the amazing experience.
“The program was recorded before Christmas but you are still on tender hooks each night because of the comments [about your dishes].
“You have not heard them because a lot of them are said off screen. In general though I am excited like everyone else. I have had a lot of support from friends and family,” Shauna said.
A full interview with Shauna is available in this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops and online now.
BALLYMOTE: Cllr Keith Henry has spoken out about the closure of Ulster Bank in Ballymote. Picture by Conor McCabe Photography
Widespread criticism of decision to close bank
The announcement by Ulster Bank that it is to close its branch in Ballymote has drawn widespread criticism and has been described as “another devastating blow” and a “sad day” for the town.
The Financial Services Union expressed its shock at the announcement and also criticised a reduction in staffing at its Sligo branch.
The union, which represents bank staff, said the announcement is part of a 20% cull of branches across the Republic of Ireland, and the union estimates that 220 jobs nationwide are at risk.
Gareth Murphy, Senior Industrial Relations Officer with union, said Sligo will be hard hit by the scale of the Ulster Bank closures and job losses.
“This makes no sense whatsoever and will impact on customers across Sligo. Is the bank expecting the customer base in Ballymote to transfer to Sligo where they intend to have even less staff? Customers will be badly affected by these cutbacks.”
He said the union will work tirelessly to protect as many jobs as possible. “We hope we are joined in this by local communities who want to send a message to Ulster Bank that this is no way to treat loyal staff and customers in Sligo.”
Fianna Fáil TD for Sligo-Leitrim Eamon Scanlon says the closure is “another devastating blow for the town” and he also expressed concern about the future of banking services generally, particularly in rural areas.
Deputy Scanlon said: “The decision to close the branch in Ballymote will leave many personal and business customers in the lurch, scrambling to make alternative banking arrangements.
“Many customers, in particular older people, prefer to use in-branch banking facilities rather than use phone or internet banking.”
The Ballymote-based TD said: “With more and more banks moving to close their branches, customers are facing reduced choice in who they can bank with, leaving certain banks in certain parts of the country with a near monopoly.”
Local Municipal District cathaoirleach Councillor Dara Mulvey said he was “bitterly disappointed”.
“Ulster Bank has a social responsibility to the to the people of south Sligo”, he said.
He expressed concern that business would now be more vulnerable because they will have to hold onto more cash.
The councillor also feared that people in the area will have access to only one ATM machine.
Local Fianna Fail county councillor Keith Henry said: “This is a sad day for Ballymote and the other 17 rural towns that will lose another vital service in the community. The Ballymote branch has served customers and businesses in the town and surrounding areas for decades,
“Certainly to the naked eye the bank always seemed to be busy with a constant flow of people going through the doors and I’m sure their customers are at a loss to know why their branch had to close.”
Cllr Henry believes that the closure will have wide reaching consequences on Ballymote.
“I can only hope that the customers of Ulster Bank rally behind staff in the branch to resist this change. Some of this staff may be facing redundancy as over 220 employees are to be laid off as part of the process. If this closure goes ahead it poses a number of problems in that businesses and customers cannot do simple transactions such as lodgements and withdrawals locally. These people are then going to have to go to the likes of Sligo and local shops may lose out as a result,” he said.
SLIGO’s Civil Defence along with Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon and Longford came together last weekend to take part in a training exercise.
The exercise took into account different functions which the Civil Defence carry out and to test teams efficiency in carrying out the tasks set for each team as part of the event.
Four sites were organised for four different areas in which teams would be assessed in.
On one of the sites, there was a lecture area set up which dealt with specific medical issues people in the Civil Defence would come across while being on call at sporting and festival events such as trauma.
The lectures in this area were led by Michael McDonagh who is an expert on head trauma and concussion.
Another site was set up in which members of the Civil Defence were tasked with dealing with displaced people.
A mock site to shelter and house those who may be displaced for different reasons was set up and members had to deal with issues specific to that.
Hazlewood House’s grounds were very much to the forefront for another exercise area which focused on the search and recovery of two missing persons.
A full two page spread on the Civil Defence can be found on page 8 + 9 of this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops and online now.
TRIBUTES: The late Tommy Lavin, a former Sligo County Councillor. Photo by Noel Kennedy.
WARM tributes were paid by members of Sligo County Council on Monday to the late Tommy Lavin who had served as a councillor for 36 years.
The monthly meeting was then adjourned for a week as a mark of respect. The late Mr Lavin’s daughter Anne, a member of the council staff, was present at the meeting as her father was remembered fondly.
Councillor Dara Mulvey proposed they suspend standing orders and adjourn the meeting as a mark of respect.
He recalled that Tommy Lavin served as a member of the council for 36 years and was a well known and highly respected businessman and member of the Ballymote community.
He was first co-opted to the council in 1963 and retained his seat until 1999. He was Cathaoirleach in 1984 and in 1992.
Cllr Mulvey referred to him playing a big part in rural water schemes and bringing the supply of the Lough Talt scheme to Ballymote.
“Prior to this people outside the towns had no piped water supply and would have had to travel miles to collect water in barrels and bring them home daily.”
He said Tommy Lavin also was a very successful businessman in Ballymote from the late 1950s when he opened a draper shop with his late wife Carmel. His son John now along with his sisters still carry on this successful business today in Ballymote.
“Tommy Lavin gave great service to this Council. His key attributes were his great understanding, his concern and respect for everyone”, he said.
Fellow Fine Gael councillor Sinead Maguire seconded the adjournment proposal.
Cllr Seamus Kilgannon said that his first year on the council co-incided with Tommy Lavin’s last one.
“He will be fondly remembered as a most experienced and hard-working councillor, one who was respected and admired”, he said.
He also described him as a “master practitioner in the art of politics”.
Cllr Margaret Gormley pointed out that she and Cllr Kilgannon and Cllr Declan Bree were the only councillors left who had served with the late Tommy Lavin.
She described him as a true gentleman who had served the people of the Ballymote area with “honesty and sincerity” and always had the interests of people at heart.
She said that Cllr Bree, who was unable to attend the meeting, had asked to be associated with the tributes to Mr Lavin.
The other councillors present, cathaoirleach Hubert Keaney, Michael Clarke, Chris MacManus, Marie Casserly, Keith Henry, Roslaeen O’Grady, Jerry Lundy and Gino O’Boyle, as well as CEO Ciaran Hayes, also joined the tributes.
(l-r) Co-founders of SL Controls Shane Loughlin, CTO, and Keith Moran, Managing Director, in the company’s Sligo office at the announcement of SL Controls’ expansion and creation of 40 new full-time jobs.
Photo: James Connolly
SL Controls, the specialist software integration firm in Sligo, has announced today that it is to create 40 new full-time jobs over the next 12 -18 months.
The highly-skilled jobs are in the engineering field and will bring the total workforce at SL Controls to 104. Last year, the company expanded its staff by 30 per cent.
Recruitment has already started for the specific engineering roles, which include: validation, control systems, quality, computer science, vision and field engineers.
Established in 2002, the company is headquartered in Sligo with offices in Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Birmingham, and clients in Ireland, across mainland Europe and the US.
A number of factors are driving the expansion including the clampdown on counterfeit drugs which has led to an increased demand for SL Control’s specialist expertise in the integration of software to track medicines and medical devices. Other factors include the securing of major global clients and last year’s launch of the company’s suite of software products called TOTALline.
Keith Moran, SL Controls Managing Director and co-founder said: “Our business has doubled in size over the last few years so these new full-time jobs will allow us to expand our regional offices with more specialist software engineers based directly in these areas. This significant boost to our work force will allow us to grow further into Europe, the US and other markets as well as continue to support our existing clients. It is important to us to hire only full-time engineers as this creates clear career paths for our employees as well as stability for our customers.”
SL Controls is a leader in the integration of software systems into manufacturing equipment and processes – such as automation equipment and control systems — in highly-regulated environments.
SL Controls work with world-leading brands in the Pharma, Medical Device, Healthcare and Food & Beverage sectors that require high-level expertise in industrial IT integration and regulatory compliance.
The 40 new jobs will be based at the company’s Irish offices but many of the roles will be to expand the company’s Serialisation, Automation, Validation and Equipment Data business across Ireland the UK and mainland Europe.
Pharmaceutical serialisation is the track and trace of prescription drugs and healthcare products from production to the consumer. Providing each product with a unique identification code ensures traceability and counteracts counterfeit products reaching the consumer.
Increased regulations to clamp down on counterfeit products means that serialisation will be a global requirement in all major trading blocs by 2019, driving the pharmaceutical industry to implement serialisation solutions to comply with these regulations.
“The serialisation side of our business is one of our business units that is rapidly expanding due to the regulation deadlines that are looming across Europe and the US. It is boosting our business outside of Ireland, which is, in part, why we require the new staff,” said Mr. Moran.
Talented Sligo chef Ethna Reynolds was the big winner from Sligo at the Connaught heats of the Irish Restaurant Awards.
Held on Tuesday evening in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sligo, the awards named the best restaurants, gastro pubs and chefs in the province.
Ethna Reynolds, who set up her own cafe, Nook, in Collooney last year, was named Best Chef in Sligo at the awards, and her cafe picked up the Best Sligo Newcomer in Sligo.
It is the second Newcomer award for Ethna, who started writing a monthly column in the Sligo Weekender in February of this year. She also won the prestigious Georgina Campbell Newcomer award.
Other winners at the Irish Restaurant Awards included Connolly’s Pub (Best Sligo Pub), Hargadon’s (Best Sligo Wine Experience), Lang’s Bar & Restaurant (Best Sligo Casual Dining), Lyons Cafe (Best Sligo Customer Service), The Draft House (Best Sligo Gastro Pub), Diamond Coast Hotel (Best Sligo Hotel Restaurant) and Eala Bhan (Best Sligo Restaurant).
All of the county and regional winners will be nominated for the All Ireland Restaurant Awards, which will be held in Dublin on May 8.
PICKET: Bus Eireann staff on the picket line at Sligo bus depot. Photo: Alan Finn.
Private bus operators serving the Sligo area have reported being inundated with calls from people seeking alternative transport since the Bus Eireann strike began last Friday.
And there were threats yesterday, Wednesday, that the dispute could escalate to involve other CIE companies, such as Iarnrod Eireann and Dublin Bus.
The school transport service could also be affected.
Fureys Coaches in Sligo, which operates a regular service to and from Dublin on Fridays and Sundays, as well as coach and mini-bus hire, have had a lot of calls since last Friday.
“There have been a lot of people on, the phones have been very busy”, a spokesperson told the Sligo Weekender yesterday, Wednesday.
The spokesperson said that if the trains were off as well there would probably be a lot more people calling on them to try and get to Dublin.
The Sligo-Dublin train service resumed after a temporary stoppage on Friday. Although Irish Rail is not involved in the dispute, railway staff in Sligo did not pass pickets at the bus depot on Friday but services resumed on the following days.
Fureys do not operate on the other main Expressway service through Sligo, from Galway to Derry, but a regular service on that route is run by Donegal-based Feda O’Donnell.
They say they have had a lot of extra passengers and have been putting on extra buses to deal with the demand.
But despite the private services a lot of people have been badly affected by the lack of Bus Eireann buses, not just on the Expressway routes, but on local services, such as Strandhill to Rosses Point and other towns in Sligo and Leitrim.
The local service in Sligo town has also inconveniced a lot of people, particularly elderly people.
Bus Eireann staff on the picket line in Sligo have said that it is not a place that they want to be but they feel they have no alternative.
They are hoping for a quick resolution of the dispute but yesterday union leaders nationally were warning of the action escalating.
Dermot O’Leary, the general secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union (NBRU), claimed the Government and CIÉ are running the risk of bringing the entire transport network to a halt.
“Come this weekend if this dispute is on, it will be even more difficult,” he said.
Sligo County Council is keeping its ban on fracking in the county as part of its new county development plan.
Councillors unanimously rejected a recommendation from Council CEO Ciaran Hayes at a meeting today, Monday, that the ban be removed.
Last June members backed a proposal from Independent councillor Declan Bree to include a comprehensive ban on hydraulic fracturing or fracking as it is more commonly known.
However, as part of the public consultation process a submission was received from the Director of the Northern & Western Regional Assembly Mr David Minton, stating that such planning policy bans are ultra vires (beyond the council’s power) and accordingly should not be incorporated in the plan.
There was also a submission from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government suggesting that in view of ongoing research and broader legislative amendments a council policy on fracking “may be premature”.
In his report on submissions received, CEO Mr Hayes recommended that the proposed section banning fracking be removed.
The report referred to the Bill before the Dail (proposed by Deputy Tony McLoughlin) calling for the banning of fracking and an EPA report on the subject.
It also pointed out that in the meantime the 2013 moratorium on the licensing of fracking, pending the outcome of the EPA led research, remained in place.
However, at a meeting considering the CEO’s report, Cllr Bree proposed that the ban on fracking be retained in the development plan and councillors unanimously backed this.
BALLISODARE BOY: Chuck Berry on stage at the Boys of Ballisodare Festival in 1981.
By Majella McTiernan
Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world for US singer and composer, Chuck Berry, who passed away aged 90 last Saturday.
Regarded as one of the biggest influences of pre-Beatles rock and roll, he was most well-known for such songs as ‘Johnny B. Goode’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’.
What is perhaps less well-known is that the renowned musician visited Sligo in August 1981 to perform at a music festival in the village of Ballisodare.
The festival, run by brothers Philip and Kevin Flynn, began in 1977 and drew crowds from 4,000 rising to 20,000 into the Sligo village.
Philip Flynn this week recalled his memories of the famed guitarist and singer as someone who not only electrified the crowd but also one who was quite particular in his demands.
“We had to fly him in directly from Los Angeles where he lived and back out again and naturally of course first class tickets,” he told Ocean FM.
“It was interesting just dealing with him because he was very particular and everything had to be just so, as they say, I mean right down to the car that had to be supplied to him.
It was a Mercedes S280 SE at the time and it specifically had to be that car, and it had to be waiting for him at Dublin airport, and if you didn’t have that precise car there was a risk that he’d get back on the plane and go home again.
“So we had to make sure we found that particular car, mainly because, as the agent told us, that’s the car Chuck owned himself and the trunk, or what we call the boot, was the right size for his cases.”
His appearance in the Sligo festival, The Boys of Ballisodare, in 1981 saw him headline ahead of other such stars as Christy Moore, Richard Thompson and Ralph McTell.
The event was the first Irish all-weekend outdoor music festival and lasted for 6 seasons.
