Long Winter Evenings.

At home bored?So you start a little bit of googling.In the middle of my surfing I came across this great site from Fas!

Well they have a lot of licking up to do in order to "get our respect back" but this is a good start.The courses will be run in Ballina Library in mid November and registration will take place on Wednesday 4th November 2009 at 6pm - 8pm . All the courses are free so get down and enjoy!

Out of the ashes.

Well there had been a lot of excitement a few weeks ago.Will they leave wont they?Can they afford to hang on or can they afford not to?Well this is what I am talking about.

A lot of discussion has gone on about it all week but there is one little item that I came across that this town, with a little bit of imagination could benefit from.If chosen we would get loads of publicity and a thousand households would get some benefit from it.In the discussion document there is this.

We will select a “Smart Town” test site of at least 1,000 homes for energy
companies to test new smart grid and other energy efficient applications.

The full document can be found here and go to page 13.
I am sure with a little work our local town councillors, could get together putting all differences aside, and sell this town for this scheme.I don't know whats involved but I am sure some of our government councillors would.It looks promising so councillors do ye think its a runner?


If you feel its a runner then get in touch with your councillor now.Or do they want to be contacted ?.Emailed every single last one last week about putting their details on here.How many replies did I get? Not one!Hmmm do they care? Is it a case of "little knowledge of this Internet thing ?" Or maybe its just pure ignorance.Anyway they know the answer.

Links round up Friday October 9th 2009.

Well this week learned a bit about the towns history which I took from The Ballina Town Development Plan which is stored here on The Mayo County Council Website.



Also had an opportunity this week to learn more about our ancestors from the 1911 census which is stored on The National Archives Website.



So stay tuned and don't forget to Follow Me.

A little story.

I guess its important to find out where we are going, but to begin with we need to see where we came from.As a blow in to this town I hit the net to get a history of the town and where it all began.A brilliant article and I have to admit it came from the most unlikely of sources. Read it first and I will tell you where it came from.

Brief History of the Development of Ballina
While there is evidence of prehistoric and early Christian settlement around the area, it is generally acknowledged that the first significant development near Ballina occurred in 1427 with the establishment of the Augustinian Abbey on the eastern banks of the River Moy. It may be presumed that the Abbey formed the nucleus of a small urban settlement typical of that found throughout the rest of Ireland during the Middle Ages outside of the walled towns.

The ‘modern’ plan of Ballina began to emerge after 1723 thanks to the efforts of Lord Tyrawley who brought flax and linen workers into the area from the northeastern counties to work at new mills at Bunree. The mill and the dwellings constructed to house the workers constitute the first major development in Ballina since the foundation of the Abbey; it also provided a spur for the construction later in the 18th century of two new bridges across the River Moy as well as a military barracks in Ballina.

The early to mid 19th century was a period of economic success in Ballina. In 1817 William Malley brought large trading vessels to Crocketstown for the first time, essentially establishing Ballina as a seaport. The building boom was extended by the commencement in 1827 of St. Muredach’s Cathedral and went on to include the construction of Belleek Manor, Ballina House, and two new modern, stone bridges across the Moy to replace the earlier structures. Thoroughfares were built along the Moy’s new banks and a road was built connecting Ballina to Swinford.

Before 1870, Ballina had acquired a courthouse, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, a workhouse (the fifth largest in the country), an icehouse and a large convent (to house the Sisters of Mercy who had arrived from Sligo in 1862). At around this time, however, Ballina fell into a long period of decline which the Tyrawley Herald attributed to the demise of the local linen trade: while formerly the Trades Union Societies of Ballina had 600 members and 101 apprentices, by 1864 membership was reduced to fifty.

Housing schemes developed throughout the early to mid 20th century created for Ballina a suburban ring, however, the urban core of the town still centres on the 18th and 19th century development along Pearse and the adjoining streets. While few new buildings of note were added to the building stock, one 20th century structure left a lasting impression on the Ballina townscape: the Creteboom.

This was taken from The Ballina Development Plan 2009 - 2015. It is a large document and may take sometime to load.Now that you know the story behind OUR town whats your story?

Anything Goes.

Well here is my first posting.What I would like to do with this is to bring a different perspective to local news.News is made by US , so lets not keep it between US but share it with others.If you have something happy to share or pissed off over something then get in touch.I want this to be a one stop shop for local links and stories. I will be concentrating on local politics and sports but everything will be up for grabs.

So email me with any interesting pictures or things to discuss.From time to time I may contact local organisations for any news or happenings that they might like to share and inform people with.I would really appreciate your help in getting of the ground. I need them links in order to help US.

This service costs US nothing but OUR time.

Looking at the title of this post, those of a certain vintage should remember this....