News review of 2022 - July

The population of Westmeath on Census night recorded 95,840, an increase of 7,070 (+8%) since 2016, making it the highest figure in more than 160 years. Longford recorded the biggest population increase in the country, from 40,873 in 2016 to 46,634 (+14.1%).

The residents of Mullingar’s Ashfield estate called on Westmeath County Council to refuse permission to plan that would see their quiet cul-de-sac opened up to allow access to a new 22-unit social housing development. The residents said that while they were not opposed to the development, which bordered Abbeylands, Green Road and St Brigid’s Terrace, they feared for the safety of their children if the road was opened up, as well as the prospect of anti-social behaviour.

Ballymore got its first piece of public art, ‘The Drover’, by artist Richie Clarke, a wooden sculpture eight feet tall and in a prominent position on the large green area, a nod to fair day tradition in the village.

“Hard work, dedication and determination” was what Education Minister Norma Foley said it took to get long awaited Holy Family Primary School “to where it is”, as she performed the official opening alongside Bishop Tom Deenihan. School principal, Michael Molloy, and chair of the board of management, Joe O’Meara, thanked all those involved in the campaign for the school, which had seen “many challenges” in its construction over a number of years.

Halfway through the year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures that showed Westmeath had become home to almost 700 Ukrainian refugees. The figures were based on the number of Personal Public Service numbers issued. The figures revealed that the majority of the refugees were living in hotels, but a group of 60-plus were being accommodated in a former nursing home in Castlepollard, a further group at The Courtyard in Castlepollard, and 16 were living in Mearescourt House.

The arrival of 75 male refugees from Africa and the Middle East, being accommodated in the Kinnegad landmark, Harry’s, caused consternation among local residents and a flurry of comments appearing on social media alleging that the new arrivals, who were seeking International Protection in Ireland, were acting inappropriately.

The matter was raised with Minister Roderic O’Gorman, as well as Minister Peter Burke and TD Robert Troy. A small number of incidents were also reported to and investigated by gardaí.

There were “angry exchanges” at a public meeting in Kinnegad the following week – not about the 75 (and soon to be 150) asylum seekers put up in Harry’s, but the presence of members of the National Party at the meeting.

One person at the meeting was asked to leave as they were not authorised to film there.

Towards the end of July, however, it emerged that the International Protection Asylum Seekers were to be transferred to alternative accommodation in order to enable the state to provide accommodation for Ukrainian nationals at Harry’s.

The Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev Dermot Farrell, was among the clerical hierarchy in attendance at the funeral of Monsignor Thomas Woods, DCL, a native of Mullingar. The Papal Nuncio, His Excellency, Most Rev Jude Thaddeus Okolo, was unable to attend, but sent his sympathies.

Educated at St Mary’s CBS and St Finian’s College, where his father taught English, and at the Irish College in Rome, Monsignor Woods was ordained in 1958, and completed his Licentiate in Canon Law at the Lateran University in Rome. In 1950, he was appointed to the staff of St Finian’s College but a few months later entered the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See. He served in many countries having completed a doctorate in Canon Law, including Pakistan, Ethiopia, Canada, the US and Portugal, and spent many years working in the Secretariat of the State in the Vatican, before he retired due to ill health in 2002 and returned to Ireland.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin was among many to pay tributes to the late Judge Seamus Hughes, the Mayo man who served District No 9, including Mullingar, Athlone and Longford. The 69-year-old, who did his apprenticeship as a solicitor in Mullingar with Nooney and Dowdall Solicitors between 1975 and 1978, during which time he met his wife, Delvin native Maria, was appointed judge in 2009.

The local community expressed their delight in Mullingar Pride’s debut festival, Werk! which ran for five days in July. Mullingar Pride chairperson, Daniel Boyne, expressed his delight that the Pride Flag was finally raised high in Mullingar, and called historian Ruth Illingworth, the first LGBTQ+ mayor of Mullingar an “icon” for the community.

“We are here, we are not going away. This is our country and we will be ourselves,” said Ms Illingworth, who added that there was still a lot of work to do in terms of making the LGBTQ+ community feel safe and accepted.

The largest film studio in Ireland, Hammerlake, got the green light from Westmeath County Council planners in principle, subject to a material contravention of the County Development Plan, with a final decision due in September.

Dog owners were delighted when three acres in Mullingar, between the Royal Canal and the old Mullingar Athlone rail line, opened as a dog park. It was divided into two sections to separate large and medium sized dogs from smaller dogs.

Con and Joan Gilsenan called time as they sold Con’s Pub on Dominick Street. They said: “It’s been an amazing 39 years – we remember with fondness the parties, the gatherings, the rugby, and our regular lunch clientele.”

Liam Gilleran, chairman of the Vintners Association and Mullingar publican, was pleading with bar staff ahead of the fleadh: “We are asking all the bar staff to ask their brother, sister, father, grandfather, mother, anyone who can give us a dig out.” Nationwide, the sector was undergoing a post-Covid labour shortage as 40,000 workers had left the trade during the pandemic.

Taxi drivers, business owners and residents were all “in the dark” about the fleadh according to Cllr Ken Glynn, who claimed none of the above had been consulted, while Cllr Sorca Clarke complained about the lack of accommodation for volunteers and spoke on the matter in Dáil on behalf of the Order of Malta.

In the remaining days leading up to the fleadh, committee chairman Joe Connaire appealed to all business owners to “row in” behind what was going to be the biggest Irish music, song and dance festival in the world.