COUNCIL ROUND-UP: BOROUGH DISTRICT OF SLIGO
High praise for Christmas lights switch on event
Sligo BID and Sligo County Council were singled out this week for praise following Saturday’s successful switch on of Sligo town’s hugely impressive Christmas illuminations. Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady, speaking at Monday’s Borough District of Sligo Municipal meeting, said she felt she must mention the “tremendous” effort which had been made to ensure Saturday’s Christmas lights switch on was “truly spectacular”. She said that while the lights were really impressive, she felt the work that went into the event on Saturday also deserves mention. All those responsible deserved great credit for their work.
Cllr O’Grady acknowledged the work of Sligo County Council’s Engineering Department for the work they did in preparation for the switch on and she thanked the members of Sligo BID who, in association with the Council, had made a massive effort to give the town a spectacular start to the Christmas season. “It is a very long time since I saw such a wealth of activity on O’Connell Street, there was a wonderful positive feeling engendered and we owe great thanks to Sligo BID and Sligo County Council for a job well done,” she said.
New street lighting at Mitchell Curley Park
Funding made available to Sligo County Council (SCC) will have a major impact for one of the town’s popular parks, Mitchell Curley Park, members of the Borough of Sligo Municipal District have learned.
The news came as additional information from the council in response to a motion from Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady who said there had been issues in the park at Halloween time which led her to believe the park should be closed, possibly at 9pm each night.
Brian Flynn for SCC said most
SCC town parks never close, including Mitchell Curly Park. This is due to a lack of funding and no overtime facility, which means SCC stopped closing town parks at night-time. “Although we receive infrequent reports regarding night-time anti-social behaviour for a minority of our parks, we haven’t received any recent reports for Mitchell Curley Park. Our maintenance staff can also confirm that they haven’t come across any significant visible evidence that would suggest otherwise for Mitchell Curley Park.”
He went on to reveal the good news about plans to install streetlights along 1km of the park: “There is 1 kilometre of walking/running trails in Mitchell Curley Park and due to lack of lighting, activity on these trails is limited to daytime hours. “However, Sligo County Council has been awarded funding to install streetlights along this 1km trail with the initial (civil) phase of this project to be completed in 2023.
Accordingly, to facilitate public demand for physical activity along these floodlit trails, it will be required that the park remains open during the evening and early morning hours.”
Footpath review for Treacy Avenue welcomed
Confirmation that Sligo County Council will do a full review on the footpaths in Treacy Avenue was welcomed by Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady this week.
She asked for a review of the state of the alley way and footpaths in the estate which she described as one of the oldest in the town.
She was told the Council’s Area Engineer will carry out an inspection of footpaths in Treacy Avenue during Quarter 1 of 2023.
“Should it be determined that upgrading works are required on sections of footpaths within the estate, such works may be included for consideration by the Roads Department when finalising the 2023 schedule of footpath enhancement works within the Borough District of Sligo.”
Derelict cemetery gate lodge to be restored
Funding has been secured for the conservation of Sligo Cemetery gate lodge, a protected structure which has been described as a building of national importance.
At present derelict and roofless, Cllr Gino O’Boyle, who sought a detailed report on funding for the cemetery gate lodge and an update on current works, was told by Sligo County Council that works to take place will arrest the significant dereliction of the structure and will ensure its retention as a much-loved feature within Sligo Cemetery.
The total cost of the works to be undertaken is €162,349.
The conservation works to the gate lodge are led by the Heritage Office, Sligo County Council. Following procurement, Dedalus Architecture (Grade 1 Conservation Architect) were appointed by Sligo County Council to provide project oversight. Following procurement, Oliver Hearty & Sons were appointed as main contractor for Phase 1 with a project duration of 10 weeks.
The works will arrest the significant dereliction of the structure and will ensure its retention as a muchloved feature within Sligo Cemetery. Phase 1 works include: ivy removal, structural and masonry repairs along with reinstatement of roof coverings. Window and door openings will be unblocked, and screens inserted to allow the building to dry out. The proposed works will make a significant contribution to securing this nationally important gate lodge, preventing water ingress/erosion and future deterioration, to ensure its future and to bring the building from dereliction back into a viable and appropriate use.
In Phase 1, a building reuse study is also being undertaken by the conservation architect to advise Sligo County Council on potential and appropriate reuse options for the historic building.
The gate lodge is a detached single-storey classically styled limestone gate lodge. It is impeccably detailed and constructed and retains its original form and massing together with some important salient features and materials.
Located in the wonderful setting of Sligo cemetery, together with the boundary walls and entrance screen, it forms an attractive feature in the streetscape. The gate lodge is of architectural and social interest, is a building of national importance and is a protected structure (RPS 133SE) in the ownership of Sligo County Council.
The total cost of works and professional fees for Phase 1 is €162,349. Funding to date has been secured as follows: Historic Structures Fund 2021, €50,000; Historic Strcutures Fund (Additional allocation in 2022), €69,164; Sligo County Council Match Funding, €43,185.
The total funding is €162,349. Future phases of conservation work will be subject to funding.
Pedestrian crossing at Markievicz Line
Options for the provision of a pedestrian crossing at Markievicz Line in Sligo will be examined following a request to do so from Cllr Gino O’Boyle.
Cllr O’Boyle made the request this week at a meeting of the Borough of Sligo Municipal District meeting. He was told the Area Engineer will examine options for the provision of a pedestrian crossing at this location. This will be done in collaboration with the Council’s Active Travel Team.
Should it be determined that a pedestrian crossing is merited at this location, a source of funding will have to be identified to enable this project to progress through design and implementation phases.
Heat wasted due to defective fixtures
A call to have defective windows and doors in the Caltragh Crescent estate replaced will happen following an inspection of the houses by Sligo County Council.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Borough of Sligo Municpal District, Cllr Arthur Gibbons claimed many Council-owned houses in Sligo town were losing heat because of the defects in doors and windows.
Cllr Gibbons said the residents were being forced to spend more money on heating their homes because of the heat loss.
In reply he was told there was no funding for the remedial work at present, a response he described as “ridiculous”.
With inflation rising, while the price of coal, heating oil and electricity was “doubling” in price, he asked SCC to seek funding to have a full Building Enegy Rating (BER) carried out on all its houses in Caltragh Crescent and make provisions within funding to have all of the defective windows and doors in the estate replaced.
In a reply signed by Jim Molloy, Director of Services, he was told Caltragh Crescent consists of 68 houses. Updated BER ratings are now required for 16 of these houses. The Council will arrange for BER assessments on these houses to be carried out in 2023, if funding allows. The Council will, in due course in 2023, also arrange for an inspection of the windows and doors in the estate to be carried out. That inspection will determine what remedial works are required. There is no budget provision for any remedial works in 2023.
Need for bollards at Martin Savage Terrace
A request to have the SCC Roads Department install several bollards along the lower footpath of Martin Savage Terrace/Doorly Park to deter vehicles from mounting the footpath will be evaluated by an Area Engineer for the Council.
Cllr Arthur Gibbons raised the problem, stating it was an ongoing issue. He was told the Area Engineer will evaluate the need for bollards at this location.
Cartron Heights issue highlighted at meeting
The Area Engineer will engage with ESB Networks to examine options for relocation of the existing poles to the inside edge of the footpath adjacent to the road close to the entrance of Cartron Heights.
The costs of doing the work will also be ascertained.
This was agreed at Monday’s Borough of Sligo Municipal District meeting.
However, Cllr Arthur Gibbons who raised the issue, was told there is currently no source of funding for this work.
The Council also told Cllr Gibbons they think yellow box markings were merited at the junction of the R291 and Cartron Heights and the appropriate markings have been provided in recent weeks.
Cllr Gibbons said there is also a need for a bus shelter at the bus stop on the same stretch of road. He was told councillors will be aware that the Council are collaborating with the National Transport Authority to develop and roll out a programme of bus shelter installations throughout Sligo.
The provision of a shelter at this location can be included for consideration in this programme.
SLIGO Rovers legend Joseph Ndo was the star of Monday morning’s RTÉ coverage of Serbia’s 3-3 draw with his native Cameroon in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Joseph - who was at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups with Cameroon - joined ex-Republic of Ireland international Kenny Cunningham and presenter Tony O’Donoghue for the first action of the day.
Joseph was introduced by reliving some of his best moments at the 1998 tournament in France - including clips of his finest hour against Italy where he came up against a defence which included Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and his marker for the day, Paolo Maldini.
Among Joseph Ndo’s teammates at both tournaments was ex-Liverpool and Galatasaray defender Rigobert Song who now manages the senior Cameroon national football team.
Joseph Ndo was already familiar to League of Ireland audiences for his unique co-commentary of Sligo Rovers match on LOI TV.
His sense of humour, enthusasism for the game and insight on what makes Cameroon a difficult proposition who don’t know when they are beaten were well received by viewers.
Prior to kick-off, the pundits were asked about their opinion of football and politics sharing a platform as LGBT rights, the working conditions of migrants in Qatar and protests by
Iranian fans against their government have all been major talking points around this year’s tournament which had been shrouded in controversy since being awarded to Qatar in 2010.
Joseph Ndo said that footballers should be aware of the power they possess to inspire people and change and that their influence could achieve more than anyone in political power.
“What isn’t fair is for the player not to understand how powerful they are. Football is a beautiful game and players have to understand that what you do on the pitch has an impact on so many people. To see you play gives them some peace in their mind. You prepare for the World Cup to win it.
“If you win it, you get all the highlights you want and footballers have to realise they have more power than any politician, but when you use it and don’t use it well or when it is needed, it is a problem. “There is always going to be an issue somewhere in the world.
“My point is that people look at us differently. Someone comes to you and says ‘you gave me the strength to fight cancer’ and I say ‘I was just playing football’. We don’t know how powerful we are and what football can bring.” The match between Serbia and Cameroon proved to a modern classic and a strong contender for the best match of the tournament so far. Cameroon opened the scoring after 29 minutes through Jean-Charles Castelletto before Serbia responded with two goals in first-half injury time from Strahinja Pavlovic and Serge Milinkovic-Savic.
Serbia appeared to effectively put the game beyond doubt when Fulham sharpshooter Aleksandr Mitrovic made it 3-1, but Cameroon’s never say die attitude paid dividends as Vincent Aboubakar scored with an audacious chip before Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting completed the comeback in the 66th minute. Footage was shared soon after on social media by RTÉ showing Joseph Ndo reacting to Cameroon’s equaliser by doing a lap of honour around the studio.
Cameroon return to action tomorrow, Friday when they face World Cup favourites Brazil in their final group game. Cameroon have to beat Brazil to stand any chance of reaching the next round of the tournament while also relying on Serbia to record a narrow win over Switzerland.
Brazil are already guaranteed to reach the next stage of the competition but will be keen to finish top in order to earn a more favourable draw in the last 16.
Joseph is one of a number of local connections to RTÉ’s coverage of this year’s world cup. Adrian Eames and Cathal Mullaney have acted as lead commentators on a number of matches while Alan Cawley has been a frequent co-commentator.