NEWS ROUND-UP
New farmers’ market in Dromore West
A farmers’ market will take place for the first time at Spraoi Glas in Dromore West on Saturday, September 1. It will be held on the first of every month. If you are interested in selling your locally produced wares or helping out, call 087 9968865.
Return of the Tour of the Three Counties
Innisfree Wheelers Cycling Club’s Tour of the Three Counties sportive returns on Saturday, September 4.
The event was started 27 years ago by Innisfree founder member John Greene.
It has raised thousands for some very worthy charities, including Chernobyl Children, St John’s Hospital, Sligo Social Services, Sligo General Hospital and Samaritans.
This year’s local charity is the Sligo branch of Focus Ireland, who work with homeless people in the area.
This year’s event takes place on Saturday, September 4, starting from Sligo Tennis Club on the Old Bundoran Road, with sign-on from 9am and a start time of 10am. Registration is only accepted online this year at €25 per person.
The route has changed slightly. Cyclists will head from Sligo and follow a route out to Drumcliffe on the hard shoulder of the N15 for 5km. It then goes on a quiet road via Carney, Lissadell and Breaghy. It crosses the road in Grange and heads for Ballintrillick. Cyclists will turn right again and exit on to the Bundoran to Carrick-on-Shannon road and turn right for Glenade and Manorhamilton. After the food stop in Manorhamilton, the riders take the Kilcoosey road towards Dromahair. At this point the riders will turn for home via Parkes Castle and Lough Gill, returning to Sligo Tennis Club via Ash Lane and Ballytivnan
Visit innisfreewheelers.com to register.
Brunch event with the Spilt Milk Festival
Spilt Milk Festival, Sligo’s annual festival dedicated to experimental live music and art from all across Ireland, is presenting a unique pre-festival community celebration at Nádúr @ Café Fia in Coolaney centering around conversation, food and music.
A live radio show will be recorded in Coolaney on Sunday, August 22, from midday to 2pm and it will be broadcast on Dublin Digital Radio on Sunday, August 29.
‘Sunday Brunch Brunch Brunch’ aims to bring vibrancy and a sense of togetherness and connection back into the community and local arts scene. The event is funded by Sligo County Council . The live radio broadcast will be hosted by musicians and artists Natalia Beylis and Willie Stewart and will feature live DJing and interviews. Sligo’s newest foodie hotspot Nádúr, from chef Ethne Reynolds of Nook in Collooney, will be cooking up colourful plates of seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. Reservations can be made by contacting Nádúr directly by phone. Walk-ups are also welcome.
The 2021 edition of Spilt Milk Festival will take place from November 19 to 21.
€5,623 soccer results win for Sligo punter
A soccer punter in County Sligo landed a big win at the weekend after picking up a four-figure sum from a €5 flutter. The anonymous winner placed the bet in a BoyleSports shop in the county and needed 10 teams in the English Football leagues all to win to see a return for their investment.
There were victories for Barnsley (21/20), Fulham (5/6), Middlesbrough (evens), Bournemouth (9/5), Reading (11/8), West Brom (4/6), Sunderland (5/4), Portsmouth (4/5) and Sheffield Wednesday (4/6), while a late penalty from even money shots Lincoln secured a 2-1 win and made it 10 out of 10.
The winning streak allowed the lucky punter to return to the shop and swap their €5 betslip for a grand total of €5,623.41.
Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “We have to hand it to our County Sligo punter who got the season off to a great start with a well-deserved win of over €5,600. Picking out 10 winning teams is no mean feat, so fair play to them and good luck splashing out!”
New crossing ‘sooner rather than later’
There is a need for a new pedestrian crossing in Ballisodare “sooner rather than later”, a councillor has said. An update on progress on the proposed crossing and a date on when work would start was sought by Councillor Thomas Healy at a recent meeting of Sligo-Drumcliffe Municipal District.
He was told by acting director of services Emer Concannon that preliminary investigation and draft designs for a pedestrian crossing in Ballisodare were proposed in the final quarter of 2019. These were the subject of informal public consultation which did not provide a consensus on a preferred location for a crossing.
She said that any proposal of this nature must be made crossing is needed ‘sooner rather than later’ in accordance with the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) approval procedure for safety schemes on national roads. She said a project of this nature must be approved by the TII in order to receive funding. Cllr Healy said that he was very disapointed that they were still at the stage they were.
He said he had set up meetings with local businesses and others and he said he was disappointed that if there was a need for further public consultation that the council did not come back to them.
“This has been raised before a couple of times to try to get a safe crossing in the village and I want to know what we need to do to push this on,” he said.
Ms Concannon said that the public consultation had been held at the end of 2019 and “with everything that has gone on since” it had not been a priority. She said that they would look at it now again and they needed to look for funding from TII.
Cllr Healy said: “Something needs to be done sooner rather later.” He said that there were two people crossing the street on mobility scooters and “it is a death trap”.
Cllr Healy said that it was not going to be possible to suit everyone as to the location of the crossing.
Cllr Thomas Walsh said that a crossing would not just provide a safe place to cross but would help to slow traffic through the village.
“There is a huge amount of traffic going through the village on a daily basis and it is difficult to cross the street,” he said.
Those Nervous Animals to play Anderson’s
Those Nervous Animals, Sligo-based and making music together since 1981, are about to return to the road with a gig in Anderson’s in Sligo.
The Mission Sessions, their recent album, features songs from early days and every decade since, the most recent material recorded remotely during the first lockdown.
The album, released on digital platforms and limited edition vinyl in spring 2021, was greeted with a warm response from media and public and reached No 2 in the Irish iTunes Pop Download charts. It included fan favourite The Business Enterprise (My Friend John), which was also the first single from the album.
Buoyed by the warmth of the public, Those Nervous
Animals have cooked up a live show consisting of the entire The Mission Sessions set, some newer material and some old favourites too, such as the 1985 single Hyperspace. Several songs feature singer Susan Rowland as well as omnipresent frontman Barry Brennan.
The band look forward to the post-Covid gigging era with a sense of renewed optimism. The first show is in Anderson’s this Sunday, August 22. It will be in an outdoor marquee with tables. Places are limited – get your tickets at www.ticketweb.ie. The Sligo appearance will be followed by their first Cork appearance in decades, at the It Takes A Village festival in Trabolgan, Co. Cork, on September 19, with further countrywide gigs later in the year.
Apply for Aldi’s community grants for 2021
Charities and community groups across County Sligo are being invited to apply for funding through Aldi’s 2021 Community Grants programme.
Aldi will distribute more than 150 €500 bursary grants nationally through the programme to local charities and community organisations that contribute vital work and services and make a real difference in their local communities.
A €500 grant will be awarded to a County Sligo charity and community organisation by Aldi’s Cranmore Lane store in Sligo town. The charity or community organisation will be selected by Aldi’s store staff, enabling staff to help the local good causes they care about.
Charities wishing to put themselves forward for the bursary donation can apply at the Aldi Cranmore Lane store. Aldi’s Community Grants programme has donated almost €450,000 to more than 750 local charities around Ireland since 2016. Receiving charities and organisations have ranged from rescue teams to animal sanctuaries, disability support to mental health support, and everything in between.
John Curtin, Aldi group buying director, said: “The past 18 months has been hugely challenging for charities and community organisations who have seen demand for their services increase. We need to continue providing these funds to support the organisations that make such a difference to the lives of so many in our communities.”