BRAVING THE WEATHER Snugboro National School turn onto Ellison Street during the Castlebar St Patrick’s Day Parade. Pic: Ken Wright Photography 2007 Raining on their parade John Healy IF the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Castlebar turned out to be a weather washout, it’s hard to blame the organisers for the fact that the clouds opened.
But there has been plenty of criticism of the fact that the young schoolboy musicians of St Patrick’s National School got drenched to the skin while assembling for the parade, while the Sportlann premises (the assembly point) remained securely locked.
Unable to get shelter from the elements, the youngsters were finally sent home, wet and disappointed, before the parade ever got under way. Photographer Ken Wright, covering the event for the local papers, was among those who was highly critical of the failure of Sportlann to open its doors and offer some small measure of weather protection for the youngsters huddled outside.
But the story is not as simple as that, according to contributors to the Castlebar community website. Several of them make the point that insurance concerns make it next to impossible for the Sportlann to open its premises to the general public, even in a case of emergency. Because of the way in which clubs now find themselves on the receiving end of claims for compensation, the Castlebar Sportlann could not take the risk of admitting members of the general public to the premises.
Just how valid is the explanation is open to argument and certainly the expression of annoyance directed at the non-opening of the Sportlann showed little sympathy for the dilemma (if such was the case) in which the management of the complex found itself in.
Whether some arrangement could not have been put in place as a contingency against inclement weather will be a matter of some debate in Castlebar for a long time to come.
COSTELLO COMES TO CASTLEBAR WHAT should prove to be a winning vocal combination will be unveiled in Castlebar next month when the Mayo Male Voice Choir joins forces with the much acclaimed Ballinrobe tenor, Seán Costello, in a ‘Salute to Spring’.
The talented Costello has a string of accolades to his credit, among them a four times winning nomination as Best Male Voice in the view of the Association of Irish Musical Societies.
He was also a finalist in the RTÉ ‘Search for a Star’ and has, of course (keeping up a long family tradition) been a mainstay of the hit musicals staged by St Mary’s Choral Society in his home town.
The Mayo Male Voice Choir meanwhile has gone from strength to strength over the years, with Deirdre Lee scaling new heights of excellence with a choir which has reached the ideal numerical and four-part balance. After eight years, and with membership drawn from all over the county, the choir has made a great impact on the musical life of the county.
‘Salute to Spring’ will have everything from Verdi to Wagner, the Beatles to Neil Simon, and patrons are again in for a treat at the Linenhall on April 18 and 19.
REBUILDING THE BROWN HOME FINDING the silver lining in the dark cloud comes easy to JJ O’Hara of the Admiral Brown Society in Foxford, so the demolition of the admiral’s old home a week ago is no big deal.
The reconstruction of the Brown family home in the new town park, being developed in honour of the Admiral, will provide the ideal opportunity for some more symbolic bonding between Ireland and Argentina.
According to JJ O’Hara, who admits to some initial disappointment at the demolition of the house, visiting officers and sailors of the Argentine Navy will be invited to lay the stones which will eventually become a replica of the old homestead.
Given the huge upsurge of interest generated by the Mayo invasion of Argentina over the past month, the rebuilding of the Brown home is certain to attract high media coverage for Foxford in South America.
The town park itself will have a fitting monument to match the splendour of the reconstructed Brown flagship, The Libertad, which will be constructed on the banks of the Moy.
WHEN IS A MAYO MAN NOT A MAYO MAN? FIANNA Fáil’s sole TD in Mayo, John Carty – and the one government candidate most expected to retain his seat comfortably – has been scoring heavily on the publicity front of late.
His series of adverts in the local media, in which he repeatedly lists the projects and monies allocated to the county, has helped focus attention on those goodies which, once delivered, are often forgotten.
But the Knock man has not been so sure-footed in his verbal jousts with his election rival, John O’Mahoney of Fine Gael. Newcomer he might be, but O’Mahoney is showing that in his own quiet way he is well able to mix it with the best in fighting his corner.
And when John Carty had a potshot at O’Mahoney as not being a Mayoman – he lives in Ballaghaderreen – the Fine Gael man more than rose to the challenge. Most astutely, he recalled that the late Seán Flanagan, Fianna Fáil and Mayo football icon, had also hailed from Ballaghaderreen without ever having his provenance questioned, not least by Carty, who professed such admiration for the former Minister.
It was a neat turning of the tables by O’Mahoney and perhaps a lesson for John Carty that, in the current Mayo team manager, he has a worthy rival.
MAKING UP IN PUBLIC PEOPLE who have fallen out with each other are to be given the chance of settling their differences in front of the entire nation, and presumably getting paid for their efforts at the same time.
A new RTÉ series to be called ‘Bury the Hatchet’ is currently looking for people who have had a row to try to resolve their differences, live, courtesy of national TV.
Midas Productions, which is producing the show, is looking for you to resolve your rows with a friend, neighbour or family member, by taking part in ‘Bury the Hatchet’.
So if you have fallen out with your neighbours over their unruly kids, or their blaring late night music, their barking dogs, unkempt garden or their infuriating habit of parking across your driveway, you can now make up in public.
Now is the chance to clean the slate, start afresh, and bury the hatchet (but not in your neighbour’s back!).
