Minister Phelan congratulated and commended all involved in the different projects and groups in the area and enthused that Ballinasloe should be showcased throughout the country, to highlight how rural towns can ensure their vibrancy and economic viability. She outlined the current government strategies for Rural Ireland including the €250m rural funding programme and the forthcoming Rural Economic Zone pilot schemes.

During the course of the meeting, the existing directors were re-elected and a clarion call was made to all business and community members with an interest in the prosperity of Ballinasloe & its hinterland to become members of the company(at the new reduced rate of €30 per annum).

There was also a call for more businesses in the area to support Ballinasloe Life Magazine and to actively engage in the benchmarking process, with the report available for review and comment on www.ballinalsoe.ie.

Teresa Clay (Lowland Development Company), Seamus Dufy (Chairman BACD Ltd) Paddy Keane, Johnny Walsh, Ann Phelan TD (Minister for Rural Affairs & Transport), Paul Hardagon (Director BACD Ltd), Marion Ruane, Tomas Gullane, Senator Micheal Mullins

For further details about the AGM and the development companies plans contact Lyn Donnelly in Ballinasloe Enterprise Centre 0909646516.

BACD Ltd recently held a very successful AGM in Ballinasloe Enterprise Centre, with special guest, Minister Ann Phelan in attendance along with local council & oireachtas members, business and community activists along with guests from the Burren Lowlands Development Company, Loughrea Chamber of Commerce and Galway Rural Development.

The successful previous 12 months of the development company were reviewed including full details of the Enterprise Centre, Ballinasloe Life Magazine, the launch of www.ballinasloe.ie and the Ballinasloe Town Benchmarking report along with the various and numerous other community projects the company is involved with.

How does one even begin to describe what happened in Ballinasloe on the weekend of the 21st/22nd of March..!!

St Michael’s Square was awash with colour, while the sun shone and a cool gentle breeze blew across the horse and his handler on what has to have been the most beautiful day of the year. Hundreds of People gathered to take part in not just a Walk but a momentous occasion. A Special Journey for Special Needs “Miles for Emma” was the event and those taking part were about to embark on the non-stop Journey from Ballinalsoe to Dublin to Stop the continued Discrimination of Children with Special Needs, Promote Equality and awareness and Highlight the failures with regards to services for Children with Special Needs.

With nearly 400 walkers stretching as far as the Suck Bridge to Creagh Church in a sea of Pink, the chosen colour of the Miles for Emma Bibs, we marched on.

The majority of the crowd were walking the 13 miles to Athlone with a group of nearly 45 continuing on and walking through the streets of Athlone bound for Moate.

Arriving in Moate, we enjoyed a meal in Supermac’s and I have to say even after 25 miles, spirits were high and everyone was in good shape. Over 30 walkers left Moate fed and watered flanked by the Civil Defence with a determination to reach Kilbeggan before night fall, a feat which was achieved in style.

Numbers dropped again to around 20 at this stage with the main group still in great form and still not daunted by the task that faced us. After a short respite we moved off with torches a glow, our next Target was Kinnegad. We knew this would be the toughest stretch of the journey and without question was the longest leg – the night was pitch and temperatures dropped to minus one, which contradict any belief that hell is warm. Never the less the toll started to show as we lost 5 more between Tyreellspass and Kinnegad leaving the final core group of 15. For those remaining it wasn’t just about physical strength anymore but mental strength – something they showed in abundance motivating each other and motivating me.

We walked through the night with small villages coming and going – places I hadn’t seen nor visited since the opening of the motorway and apart from one sign welcoming me to Enfield which just happened to be about 3 miles out side the town everything was going well as we passed through each Village without anyone even knowing we were there apart from the odd noisy dog who decided to welcome us and cheer us on as we past their gates.

At this stage Nothing was going to stop us, we had the civil defence looking after us making sure we wanted for nothing and as we left Maynooth the plan was simple get to the Ashling… we negotiated our way through Leixlip and Lucan with the help of the Civil Defence who I can safely say went above and beyond the call of Duty and I’m not alone when I say if it wasn’t for those Guys I don’t believe we would have made it.. they are a credit to their uniforms their officers and Ballinasloe and for that I will be forever great full as will everyone who walked on both days.

We entered Dublin city where we were greeted by family, friends and supporters and that’s not to mention those who had walked on Saturday and travelled up and rejoined us for the last few miles…

For me there was the added bonus of reaching the Ashling Hotel in Dublin because my Wife Michelle and my Daughters Claire and Emma where there waiting for me… To say it was emotional would be an understatement… we celebrated our achievement but couldn’t rest on our laurels as we still had the last 2 miles up O’Connell Street to go… on arrival at the Hospital we were greeted by the Staff who were delighted to see us and appreciated everything we had done… to date the total money raised for the Metabolic unit is €13,000 and counting. People can still donate online at www.idonate.ie/milesforemma

I’d like to take this Opportunity to Thank everyone who walked with me especially those who completed the full journey… we’ve shared something very special and I believe we have made a difference even if this is only the first step on our journey.

Special recognition needs to go to the Civil Defence for their continued support and Kenny Cabs of Ballinasloe who donated 2 buses for both days and insured everyone got home safely and My Mum Helen Campbell who made sure everyone had something to eat.”

By Ken Campbell.

According to Pa Raggs who uploaded them:  "These are a selection of Video Hi8 and Video 8 tapes that Minnie gave me many years ago (in or around the 90's). I recently found them and I decided to upload them here with the help of Aoife, before they are lost. I enjoyed many a night (and day!) in Minnie's Pub in the company of Minnie and Dermot Sullivan. It was like home for me, and many like me. There was always 'craic agus ceol' in Minnie's! 
I hope you enjoy watching them and hopefully they bring back many memories. If you recognize anyone in the videos please feel free to pass them on."

Despite being effectively closed for about four months, the Society charged with the running on the community’s behalf - the Town Hall Theatre - reported on a very successful 12 months with over 25 live performance nights and some 19,000 attendees to different events. With an approximate cost of €160,000 in total for renovations to date, the management committee are continuing to investigate the sourcing of the financial aid required to create a modern vibrant performance arts and cultural space in the heart of the town. 

As well as the very welcome allocation by the then Mayor Michael Kelly and his Town Council colleagues in November of 2013 of €87,000 for the complete renovation and refurbishment of the roof, in March 2014, the Town Hall committee made a successful application to IPB Insurances for funding to assist with the refurbishment of rehearsal spaces throughout the building. ‘’We received €11,250 for this project and work was completed by Lockwood Construction. We also received a grant of €2,490 towards the repair of windows, from Galway County Council” added Chairperson Mary at their well attended AGM in Gullanes Hotel lately. 

The Town Hall Theatre team put on record their thanks to Lyn Donnelly of BACD who was Project Manager and was a big part of the success of the refurbishment project which came in on time and on budget. Treasurer Gerry Sweeney also put on record thanks to the Ballinasloe Jobs Club for the employment scheme operatives throughout the year who help with maintenance and to the TUS Galway Rural Development team for their allocation of crew to assist with elements of skilled specialist refurbishment and production support. Chair Mary O’Connell remarked how lucky we were to have as a community the goodwill and continued co–operation of all the agency schemes who can prioritise the needs of the not for profit voluntary led organisations. Among other projects discussed were the painting of the auditorium and the foyer by the volunteer crew, the purchase of cinema equipment thanks to a Credit Union Social Fund of €3,000 and the new rate card for local user groups. 

The Audited accounts for the trading years previous were discussed as was the budget for 2015 which showed a venue merely washing its face with live performances, some licencees to the building providing 85% of income with the balance having to be fundraised. ‘’The business model that we are building is to try and support a €200,000 development that will allow us to create the interior of a fully functional arts space that will live up to modern arts and culture needs, without losing the charm of the historic venue’’, remarked Gerry Sweeney. 

The committee are constantly in search of new initiatives and ways to encourage a wider use of the theatre and to build a more extensive performance based calendar, the arrangement of new Music rehearsal rooms for the Town Band from spring onwards is evidence of this focus. 

At the moment the theatre is being put to use, with the recordings of promotional videos by local artists and drama schools as well as a weekly cinema programme, following the successful cinema launch led by Sunday Business Post representative, John McGuire on November 21. Elected to serve on the Management Committee of the Society were Mary O’Connell, Gerry Sweeny, Colm Croffy, Brendan Tully, Joe Duane, Frances Leahy, Eoin Croffy, Davey Rafter and Pat McGovern. Rev. John Garvey who stood down after some 8 years of being involved with the project was warmly thanked by the Society’s members for his sterling efforts in securing a suitable mechanism for handover of the venue to community management.

Have you got the Cu factor? If yes you could be on your way to winning the top prize of €1000 courtesy of Galway Credit Unions. Local Twelve to nineteen year olds in the area are being invited to share their talents as part of a new talent competition in the area organised by Ballinasloe Credit Union. 

The talent show is open to all-comers, dancers, singers, bands, jugglers, lion tamers. The local final will take place in the Town Hall Theatre, on Saturday the 9th May. The top two acts will go forward to represent Ballinasloe Credit Union in the regional final on Sunday the 17th May in the Town Hall Theatre Galway with a top prize of €1000. The winners and runner up in the regional final will take part in the All-Ireland which will take place later in the year. 

Speaking at the launch William Duthie Chairman Of Ballinasloe Credit Union said how everyone that took part, remembers the schools quiz and art competition that the Credit Union ran, and continues to run, when they were in primary school.” Now we have an event geared towards primary & secondary school pupils. The competition is designed to showcase the Talents of the youth in Ballinasloe and its hinterland. We have some very talented musicians singer and dancers in Ballinasloe and CU factor gives those individuals the opportunity to showcase their talent on the local Stage. I would encourage the youth of Ballinasloe to get involved this year” said William.

Anyone interested in taking part in Cu factor should log onto the Credit Union website where they can download an application form. The application form is also available at the counter in Ballinasloe Credit Union. The closing date of applications is Friday the 10th April. Auditions are scheduled to take place on the 17th April with the final scheduled to take place on 9th May. 

Creagh National School hopes to introduce CoderDojo classes that will educate students on computer programming and coding. A pleaser for technical whiz-kids as well as those of a curious nature, CoderDojo is an exciting new initiative for the community that has something for everyone, including parents.

CoderDojo is a global volunteer-led community of free programming clubs for young people between 7 and 17. There are over 550 verified Dojos in 55 countries at present. These classes aim to develop creativity, a sense of community, peer learning skills, mentoring and self-led learning with an emphasis on how coding can be a force for positive change. Creagh N.S. hopes to start a Dojo class as part of an incentive to introduce students to programming from a young age and illustrate the enjoyable factors of working with computers and codes. 

Children will be introduced to Open Source software such as Scratch, HTML, mine craft and Python as well as programmes that will enable students to develop exciting games and interesting simulations. Other programmes that might interest pupils are APP development programmes and Web Design. Dojo aims to inform children about what the computer is capable of doing, how our wishes and needs can be translated into instructions that the computer can understand and how our errors are diagnosed and corrected. For start dates and information on how to book a place, visit the Creagh CoderDojo Website or keep on eye on their Facebook page.