Sunday, March 25, 2007
Slane does St Pat’s Day Proud
Despite the weather being cold and damp the St Patrick’s Day parade through Slane village was both enjoyable and successful.
Kick off was for 3pm, so I headed out there at about ten to three and managed to get parking just outside Ledwidge Hall. I wandered down to the junction and found a spot right in the middle of the road. It wasn’t long before the local Sergeant , Mick Kelly, came into view. His hands were full with organising the traffic diversions through the village. Slane is on the N2 Dublin to Derry road (awaiting a bypass!) and there was quite a bit of traffic to direct. Although he was busy we managed to grab a few words. He used to work with my dad in Drogheda Garda Station so I know Mick for a while.
The parade kicked off on time and the floats were representative of the businesses and organisation in the area, including accordion bands, crèches and local hostelries. The weather didn’t seem to affect people’s humour. All in all, I’d say it was a lovely way to spend a few hours. The attendance seemed to be unaffected by the rugby match in Rome: people just related the scores to each other as they came in.
This week I went calling to the Northlands estate on the Eastham Road to see how residents were getting along. The estate was built by two separate builders. One part has more or less been finished, with roadways complete and top course of tarmac down. However, the other part is still waiting for work to be completed. In addition, a stream runs through the estate. I’ve been asked to find out if the boundary fencing is adequate in terms of safety.
This stream runs through Northlands Estate, Bettystown
I’ll be getting on to the Enforcement section of the council to see if everything has been built in accordance with the Conditions of Planning.
My last meeting of the week was in Brabazon Estate. A planning application has been lodged for another 146 units beside this estate and residents are worried about the impact this will have on their lives.
I met with about 40 residents in the open air at 6pm on Saturday evening. We spent an hour going through the issues and agreed on a way forward. When we broke up at seven it was still light. With the clocks about to change back it gave me a real feeling that summer is just around the corner.
Kick off was for 3pm, so I headed out there at about ten to three and managed to get parking just outside Ledwidge Hall. I wandered down to the junction and found a spot right in the middle of the road. It wasn’t long before the local Sergeant , Mick Kelly, came into view. His hands were full with organising the traffic diversions through the village. Slane is on the N2 Dublin to Derry road (awaiting a bypass!) and there was quite a bit of traffic to direct. Although he was busy we managed to grab a few words. He used to work with my dad in Drogheda Garda Station so I know Mick for a while.
The parade kicked off on time and the floats were representative of the businesses and organisation in the area, including accordion bands, crèches and local hostelries. The weather didn’t seem to affect people’s humour. All in all, I’d say it was a lovely way to spend a few hours. The attendance seemed to be unaffected by the rugby match in Rome: people just related the scores to each other as they came in.
This week I went calling to the Northlands estate on the Eastham Road to see how residents were getting along. The estate was built by two separate builders. One part has more or less been finished, with roadways complete and top course of tarmac down. However, the other part is still waiting for work to be completed. In addition, a stream runs through the estate. I’ve been asked to find out if the boundary fencing is adequate in terms of safety.
This stream runs through Northlands Estate, Bettystown
I’ll be getting on to the Enforcement section of the council to see if everything has been built in accordance with the Conditions of Planning.
My last meeting of the week was in Brabazon Estate. A planning application has been lodged for another 146 units beside this estate and residents are worried about the impact this will have on their lives.
I met with about 40 residents in the open air at 6pm on Saturday evening. We spent an hour going through the issues and agreed on a way forward. When we broke up at seven it was still light. With the clocks about to change back it gave me a real feeling that summer is just around the corner.
# posted by Senator Dominic Hannigan @ 10:41 AM 
