Plans for new Ganly"s service station in Kinnegad

Well known hardware suppliers Ganly"s of Athlone are advancing plans to build a new store at the edge of Kinnegad, applying to Westmeath County Council for permission to proceed with the project.On December 23, Ganly"s Hardware and Heating (Kinnegad) Ltd. applied for permission to construct a new service station with an associated retail unit, along with a forecourt canopy and restaurant unit. The planned development would be facilitated by the construction of a new access roadway off the existing relief road roundabout at Kinnegad.The planned service station area will also include 37 car parking spaces, seven truck stop spaces and eight coach stop spaces.The proposed development also makes provision for the construction of associated stores, a substation and a car wash/servicing area, as well as the erection of a totem sign adjacent to the site entrance, along with an associated site entrance and restaurant signage on the building.McLoughlin lauds local GAA clubCoralstown"s Cllr. Pat McLoughlin (Fine Gael), chairman of Westmeath County Council"s Mullingar Area Committee, has praised Coralstown/Kinnegad GAA Club in light of it winning a place on the shortlist for the 2009 Zurich LAMA (Local Authority Members" Association) Awards.Assessed by a panel of judges, Cllr. McLoughlin said that Coralstown/Kinnegad GAA is now rated as 'one of the top three GAA clubs in the country', earning it the chance to win the top award for Best Sporting Facility on January 24.The awards night will take place in the CityWest Hotel, Dublin, and will be presented by top RTÉ personality, Miriam O"Callaghan.'Coralstown Kinnegad GAA are looking forward to a very promising year at all age groups on the football field, but their first trophy may be off the GAA pitch,' said Cllr. McLoughlin, who originally nominated the club for the prestigious award.'I"m delighted but not surprised that they have been shortlisted. Not only are the present GAA grounds in Kinnegad a monument to the fantastic work carried out by the club"s members, but the original grounds, where the Heathfield housing development now stands, were a huge development for the club in the 1970s.'A number of very committed people like Denis Coyne and others put their names down as trustees for the original grounds, which was a huge and very responsible undertaking at the time.'I wish Coralstown/Kinnegad GAA every success at the LAMA Awards, and I hope to be there to present them with the top trophy as Ireland"s most progressive GAA club,' Cllr. McLoughlin concluded.Coralstown/Kinnegad"s GAA Pavilion has been subject to some substantial development over the past few years, and recently, the club was granted permission by Westmeath County Council to install a spectator"s stand at the venue.Another Kinnegad institution, Hamilton Sheahan & Co. Solicitors, have also been nominated for a LAMA Award in the Best Professional Consultancy Practice category.Kinnegad set for election showdownKinnegad looks poised to have at least three candidates battling it out for a Westmeath County Council seat in the forthcoming local elections in June 2009, and while this will be a repeat of 2004, the competition is likely to be much hotter this time around.Cllr. Pat McLoughlin (Fine Gael), the Kinnegad area"s incumbent councillor, hasn"t been nominated yet, but looks set to bid to retain his seat in Mullingar East. Kinnegad Community Council secretary Denis Leonard, a third Labour candidate in 2004, will now run as Labour"s second and final candidate in 2009, and is set to benefit from a tidal wave of transfers from consistent poll topper, Cllr. Mick Dollard.Last week, Fianna Fáil announced that Kinnegad native Georgina Bagnall would run as the party"s third candidate in Mullingar East. Georgina, whose father Robert ran in the 2004 elections, ran the post office in Kinnegad for a number of years, and is now in charge of the Centra store in Rochfortbridge.No winner of GAA jackpotThere was no winner of last week"s New Year €9,600 Coralstown/Kinnegad GAA Lucky Numbers Draw. The numbers drawn were 7, 21, 24 and 25, and the Match 3 winners - each of whom scoop €70 - were Pauline Giles, Maria Mullen and Rory Cole.