NEWS ROUND-UP

Woman is given a two-year ban

A Sligo woman has been fined and banned for a road traffic offence at the district court.

Jessica Brennan, 35, from Caltragh Crescent pleaded guilty to driving with no insurance and with no licence at Crozon Park on April 5 last year.

Defence solicitor Tom MacSharry said the defendant had a sick child and borrowed a friend’s vehicle and she was not driving at present and had no car.

The court was told the defendant was banned from driving from a previous incident for 11 months and it began in November.

Judge Kevin Kilrane fined the defendant €300 and banned her from driving for two years on the no insurance charge.

Knock Airport flights resume

Commercial flights from Ireland West Airport Knock have resumed for the first time in six months.

Services to London Gatwick, Luton and Liverpool resumed for essential travel on Friday. Only essential travel is permitted until July 19 when non-essential travel can resume.

The return of flights from Knock have been welcomed by North West and Midlands MEP Chris MacManus. He said: “Knock is one of the State’s four main airports and a critical driver of economic development and tourism in the Border, Midlands and Western regions, supporting thousands of jobs and contributing over €180 million to the regional economy annually. “It will be crucial in addressing regional imbalance and reinvigorating the economy in the west of Ireland in the coming years.” “However, it is a very challenging time for our regional airports. Passenger numbers are a fraction of what they once were, and it may be some time before airports become profitable again.

“Therefore, it is key that Knock Airport is supported by government. Tangible investments are needed.”

Stole a phone in Garavogue bar

A young woman has been placed on a Probation Bond for a year after admitting a theft offence at the district court.

Kandalis Shepherd, 20, who formerly resided in Sligo and is currently living in Galway, pleaded guilty to stealing a Huawei mobile phone valued at €400 an €200 cash belonging to Aoife O’Hara in the Garavogue Bar, Stephen Street, on July 6, 2018.

Defence solicitor John Anderson said there were some favourable parts in her probation report.

The defendant had been in care for a number of years and was assessed at being at a high risk of re-offending.

She was living with her mother in Galway.

The Probation Service recommended a supervision bond for a year.

Sergeant Derek Butler told the court that the defendant had charges of robbery, unauthorised taking of a vehicle and assault causing harm last year, pending before a court in Galway.

Mr Anderson said the defendant was in a bad place at the time of these alleged matters.

The assault matter was in a home where she had spilled tea over a lady.

The defendant had no previous convictions, although there were pending matters. Judge Kevin Kilrane he was reluctantly going to go along with the recommendations of the probation officer.

The defendant was put on a probation bond for a year with conditions as per the probation report.

Funds for Jack Yeats exhibition

Funding has been announced for regional museums. A fund of €310,225 is being made available under the Regional Museum Exhibitions Scheme 2021 with €27,650 being allocated for projects

Happy ninth birthday to Evie Gilroy from Enniscrone. Love from Mummy, Daddy, Jake and Sam.

in the North West region. €10,500 has been granted to the Model Theatre for a Jack B Yeats exhibition. The artist is a central theme of this year’s programme at the Model as they celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth. Sligo-Leitrim TD Frank Feighan welcomed the funding. He said: “Our local and regional museums are an extremely important resource for culture and heritage in towns and villages across the country. They are vital within the community and it is imperative that we support their role in our cultural heritage.”

“As they re-open and recover, our cultural bodies can again offer their exhibitions and presentations along with the interesting new features for which support is being provided.”

Happy third birthday to triplets Johanna, Luke and Kate from Carney. MORE HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHOTOS ON PAGES 20 & 21!

Tumble Circus touring county

The circus is coming to a village near you.

Tumble Circus is running community circus workshops in a number of areas across the county as part of the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival.

The workshops will be held in Ballisodare, Ballymote, Enniscrone, Grange, Skreen and Sligo town.

The workshops are for beginners aged between eight and 15 years old and each workshop – all of which are funded by Sligo Leader Partnership – is free of charge. Festival director Tara McGowan said: “Tumble Circus has been creating and touring award winning shows across Ireland, the UK, Europe and Australia since 1998. We are delighted to have them in residency for the arts festival where a host of young people across the county will have the opportunity to learn the basics in circus skills – including juggling, hula hoop, slack rope skills and basic acrobatics – from the very best.”

The festival will also be creating a short film of the work in progress where young people can get to share what they have learned.

Pre-booking for all workshops is essential. Bookings can be made on www.cairdefestival.com. The workshops will run from Monday, June 28, until Friday, July 2.

Upskilling courses at IT

Twenty courses designed for those actively seeking employment or those already in employment who are wishing to upskill are being offered by IT Sligo.

In the areas of Science, Technology and Engineering, Business and Social Sciences funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under the Springboard+21 Programme, the courses are delivered part-time online and are completed within one year.

They are free for unemployed participants and for all participants on level 6 programmes, with 90% funding for those in employment on programmes from level 7 to level 9. These Springboard courses are tailored to meet

key growth areas such as Biopharmaceutical Science, Information Technology, Lean Sigma and Quality. Applications on the Springboard website opened last week.

Vote for Tubber in RIAI awards

Tubbercurry is in the final of a public vote for a national architecture award.

The ‘Well Area’, also known as ‘Tobar Place’ has been shortlisted for the public space award in this year’s Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) awards. The project is a re-imagining of a public space in the center of Tubbercurry, the design uses triangular planters to frame terraced public spaces to act as meeting places and performance spaces.

The design was completed by NOJI architects – who are based in Sligo – and was commissioned by the enterprise development unit at Slig County Council.

Voting is now open at www. riai.ie/public-choice-awardpoll until Friday, July 2.

Pyrite issue raised in Dáil

Dáil Eireann accepted an amendment last week which proposed that Sligo was specifically named as being included in the pyrite/mica redress scheme.

The amendment was proposed by Sligo-Leitrim Independent TD Marian Harkin following the acceptance of a Sinn Féin motion on 100 per cent redress for homeowners whose homes have been damaged by defective blocks containing mica or pyrite.

“I want to thank Sinn Féin for their motion which gave me the opportunity to propose the inclusion of Sligo alongside Donegal, Mayo and Clare as we are aware of at least 140 homes in West Sligo, and some in North Sligo, that are damaged due to defective blocks containing pyrite,” Ms Harkin said. “I had already raised this issue of Sligo’s inclusion in a redress scheme with both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and had received a positive response from both.”

She said she had also written to Minister Daire O’Brien seeking a meeting and was awaiting a response.