The scores are out!!!

​And ... Strokestown has been named as the Most Improved Town since last year’s Tidy Towns Awards. As a result Strokestown has been conferred with the Endeavour Award for 2017!!

​Congratulations to our Tidy Towns team - this is well deserved recognition for a great deal of effort and time.

​​The adjudication report, detailing judges' views and suggestions, is attached below:

www.tidytowns.ie/u_reports/2017/2017%20County%20Roscommon%20Strokestown%20715.pdf

This shows where EVERYONE can take individual responsibility for supporting our Tidy Towns committee in making even more progress. 

***UPDATE***
URGENT MEETING -- this THURSDAY 28/09/17 -- 9pm -- The Percy French Hotel
STROKESTOWN - 'Enterprising Town' 2017??
"... In it to Win it!! ..."
Strokestown Town Team has submitted our community for the Bank of Ireland 'Enterprising Town' award for 2017.
The Bank of Ireland Enterprising Town initiative seeks to work with local businesses, the wider community and schools to plan and deliver a range of activities that will support and generate business in the area and encourage everyone to get involved and be part of the positive experience that is an Enterprise Town.

Bank of Ireland’s National Enterprising Town Awards aims to assist in the promotion of enterprise across the country by bringing business and community groups together to showcase to a panel of judges, the spirit of enterprise in their local area. With over 30 monetary awards in total plus trophies (total prize fund €110,000) the overall winning town (or city village/area) is awarded €23,000 (plus a trophy!!) and the significant title of Ireland’s Most Enterprising Town.

Businesses & Communities
The Enterprising Town event will take place on Friday 6 October 2017, with a Business & Community event allowing local businesses to showcase what they do. It is also a chance to network – meet potential customers & suppliers, share ideas, and show the level of enterprise that is right on our doorstep. There will also be a great focus with all the local sports clubs, community clubs and societies gathering together to show what they do, to sign up new members and to recruit new supporters. The Community event will be a fun day, with something for all the family.

Schools
Organising the Enterprising Town events presents a wonderful opportunity for first and second-level students – in particular those in Transition Year – to gain valuable ‘real world’ experience. These students are a vital part of any community, and it is important to introduce them to enterprise in action and to open their young eyes to exciting opportunities.
​
In preparation for this a Town meeting is being held this Thursday 28/09/17 at 9pm (for approximately 30 minutes) in The Percy French Hotel.

 Your involvement is key to success – PLEASE ATTEND 😊

Roscommon County Council's Environment Section completed a clean up of illegal dumping at Culliagh, Scramoge, Strokestown yesterday and used a drone to do a fly over of the area. The clean-up and the drone were funded under the Anti Dumping Initiative 2017. Almost 14 tonnes of waste was removed from Culliagh. Going forward the drone will be used to take footage of litter blackspots as part of a crackdown on illegal dumping.

Help keep Roscommon clean – report illegal dumping to our Environment Section Litter Line 1850 LITTER (548 837) or email: environment@roscommoncoco.ie

A 'super' Angus cow has been awarded the 50th anniversary accolade for the breed after being judged All Ireland Supreme Breed and RDS Show Champion at Strokestown Agricultural Show for the golden jubilee year of the Irish Angus Cattle Society.
​
The award for Ashtown Katie at the show coincided with the fourth anniversary of the cow's birth into the herd of Michael and Niamh Barron from Grange, The Rower, Co Kilkenny. There was also a rosette for her bull calf in the calf class on the same day.

The cow, bred out of Ashtown Dorris by the sire, Goulding Jumbo King, also collected the award for All Ireland Senior Female Champion of Show.

Aidan Moloney from Clare, who judged the Angus classes which had a prize fund of €11,000, described it as "a pleasure and an honour" to award the rosettes to "a wonderful display of cattle". Commenting on the Supreme Champion, he said: "She is a cow that we would all like to take home."

He had been immensely impressed by her from the moment she first entered the judging ring in the morning, and added that she was accompanied by "a smashing bull calf" which had also been a prize-winner.

Competition was very keen throughout the classes, with the exceptional standard of entries reflecting the strength which Angus has achieved as a beef breed in recent years.
​
This has been supported by the growing international market which has been developed for Angus beef over the past decade in particular.

The past weekend as seen the 151st Annual Strokestown Agricultural & Industrial Show come and go and, despite showery patches, all in all the weekend was a fantastic success. We hope to bring you all a full report on the results and happenings of the weekend over the next few days but for now here are a few photographs of guest judge Katherine Lynch, who oversaw the Best Dressed Lady contest. 

​Winner of the Best Dressed Lady was - Ciara Ní Dhufaigh congrats! Here is the lucky winner with the judges.

Big thank you to Katherine and Co. for coming and sharing the day with the people of Strokestown at the 151st Show.

The weekend was a massive success and could not happen without the ongoing and tireless months of work put in by the entire show committee. The show always leaves a positive lasting impression on the people who travel from all over the country to visit our heritage town. 

Well done and congratulations to all involved in organising this brilliant annual event.

A Press Release From Luna accessories
​
We are launching our new "Luna" boutique in Strokestown in County Roscommon this Friday 8th September at 4pm. We are delighted to invite all of our friends and loyal customers to join us for a drink and an opportunity to browse our brand new Autumn/Winter 2017 collection. As a special incentive everything in store will be reduced by 20% to celebrate our launch. The opening will be officiated by Cllr Orla Leyden Mayor of Roscommon and Ms Lorraine Higgins Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland.

​‘There was a time when I never thought we would see it’ - First day at school arrives for Isobel after surviving cancer twice. 

Cancer survivor Isobel Cullinan gets ready for school with her mother Laura, in Strokestown, Co Roscommon. Photograph: Brian Farrell
 
When five-year-old Isobel Cullinan starts school this Friday, her mother Laura will linger in the car park at St Mary’s primary school in Strokestown, Co Roscommon, longer than most parents as she conquers her anxiety – and joy.
 
“I have to say, there was definitely a time when I never thought we would see it. I’m terrified of letting her go but it’s fantastic. To have survived and to be here is fantastic,” Isobel is cancer-free. That’s a miracle as far as Laura O’Rourke Cullinan and her husband John Cullinan are concerned.
 
They will watch with relief and anxiety as their second-born trots in the school door alongside her older sister Charlie (9). Isobel is a survivor of not one but two bouts of cancer, and the proud owner of a pet rabbit called Freddie, named after the long-removed central line which gave easy access to her veins during treatment.
 
Izzy, as her family calls her, was 21-months-old when she was diagnosed with a cancer of the kidneys knows as Wilms tumour. Because it was caught at stage one, Laura said she and John, a former Meath county footballer, were absolutely blessed. “Winning the Lotto would not be as good as the news that she was stage one.”
 
The little girl had eight weeks of chemotherapy and had her kidney removed. Four months on from the diagnosis the family was told that she was cancer-free. “You are always worried that it will come back again,” said Laura.
 
Sadly, it did come back, and two weeks after her third birthday two tumors were diagnosed on Isobel’s lungs. Doctors said her chances of surviving were 50:50. 
 
“I can honestly say I wondered if we would ever get to this day,” said Laura as Isobel proudly models the school uniform, the school bag ready and waiting in the hall for weeks now. The treatment regime was more harsh second time round, and after seven months of chemotherapy and 16 doses of radiation the news was not good. 
 
“When she was scanned, and we were hoping that everything was done and dusted, she still had the tumours.”
 
A week before Christmas, on December 18th, 2015, Isobel had part of her left lung removed during surgery which lasted 7½ hours. St John’s ward at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, has, according to Laura, become like a second home for herself and Isobel.
 
But that year they were very happy to be discharged at 5.30pm on Christmas Eve, and to be back in Bumlin, Strokestown, with John and sisters Charlie and Alexia before Santa found his way there.
 
The biggest gift was that doctors had told Laura they were confident that they had got all the cancer, and in April 2016 Isobel was deemed cancer-free. Scans are now being scheduled every four months, rather than two months, another big milestone for Isobel, but each one is a worry.
 
“For a few days before a scan you just don’t want to talk to anyone,” says Laura. 
 
But talking is something she is willing to do, and she hopes her daughter’s story will be a solace for other families enduring the terror of a childhood illness.
 
“Unfortunately, a number of kids who relapse do not get to the other side, but we have got there and I hope that gives parents the solace to believe that they can get there. When Izzy was first diagnosed childhood cancer was one of those topics people did not talk about. There are a lot of after-effects, and families need a lot of support.”

*Story via The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/there-was-a-time-when-i-never-thought-we-would-see-it-1.3205279 

Strokestown gets its own Website – Be part of your community

Strokestown Town Team will be launching a new website to promote the Town - www.Strokestown.ie - on Friday the 8th of September at 5pm.

“Our goal is to make the website the one stop shop for information about the town. Whether you want to visit Strokestown or surrounding areas to relax, invest in a new business or learn about the area’s rich history, Strokestown.ie will be a portal to all the resources you need to come and experience real Ireland,” explained Emmett Corcoran, the Secretary of the Town Team and a member of the website working group.

The Town Team initiative will enable the Town to attract more tourists, extra businesses and hopefully even new residents to the town. Strokestown.ie has been a work in progress for the last number of months and will include a news and updates section, business & community directory as well as features and profiles of people who have recently moved to the town and new businesses who have started up in the area.

“I moved here from the UK in March and found it hard to get information on what was happening in the area. When I saw that there was a website being developed I decided I’d like to get involved. It’s been a great experience working with the Town Team on this project. Strokestown has so much to offer and this new website will really help package what’s on offer,” said Mark Chilvers, a member of the town website working group and new resident of the Strokestown area.

Strokestown has seen an influx of new businesses in the past year and the Town Team intend to work to see this trend continue with some new initiatives. Initiatives such as the town retail incubator, town trails and new website will all aid in attracting businesses who are expanding, starting or relocating, to the town. As part of the launch of the new website for the town efforts are being made by the Town Team to get the town's existing traders as well as new traders coming to the town to trade both on the high street and online.

“We recently opened Luna, a fashion accessories boutique, in the Strokestown. We recognised the need to develop our online business and Strokestown offered us enormous scope to grow that side of our business without significantly increasing our overhead” commented Phelim O’Neill, who recently opened Luna accessories in Strokestown with his wife Magdalena “We operate two other stores, one in Carrick-on-Shannon and one in Galway city, however the lower cost base in Strokestown has opened our eyes to the opportunity that now exists to develop business in rural Ireland.”

The development of Strokestown.ie has been sponsored by a local web design firm and a working group from the Town Team have been developing content for the site. All local businesses will be listed on the site for free in the sites directory. Community groups too will have a listing and an opportunity to share news and updates.

“When I was looking to relocate from Dublin with work, I found Strokestown and fell in love with it. The town has so much to offer. The high quality of life and low cost of living really means the world. The community have been so welcoming and getting involved in the town team and website project has really been a great experience,” Paula Fitzpatrick, a member of Strokestown Town Team and the town website working group.

The website will be used to market the town and hinterland, with a focus on Strokestown being a place to come to have an authentic experience. With a wealth of history and heritage to offer, Strokestown is quickly becoming a real destination. Strokestown Park House already hosts over 50,000 visitors every year, and with the recently opened Sliabh Ban Recreational facilities Strokestown is becoming a destination for a real experience. Angling, walking, cycling, golfing, learning or relaxing, it can all be done in Strokestown.

“Strokestown is doing really well. There are great people doing great things very often in a voluntary capacity. The launch of a website for the town represents real progress for Strokestown and will be a valuable tool for the businesses and groups in the town,” explained Town Team chairman Eugene Murphy TD.

Any businesses or groups who wish to be listed on the new website, or anyone who has interesting facts, stories or history about the town are asked to forward the information to emmett@corcoranwebdesign.com for inclusion onto the developing site.

​Over 300 members of the Strokestown community gathered at Sliabh Bawn on Saturday 2nd of September for the official opening of the new wind farm recreational facilities.  

The new amenities include a trim trail for fitness, an equestrian trail, six looped walks, a raised viewing platform and a new picnic area. The amenities were developed as part of the Sliabh Bawn wind farm and represent a 500K investment by Sliabh Bawn Power, a joint venture between Coillte and Bord na Mona, with power being generated for over 37,500 homes.

To celebrate the opening of the amenities Sliabh Bawn Power hosted a free family day for the local community. Activities kicked off with a 5k and 10K fun run along the new trails, with over 130 people participating in the run, as Jacqueline Holmes and Caoillthionn Thompson finished first respectively among the female 5K and 10K participates, with Ken Kennedy and Fergal Towey the first men to cross the finishing lines over the same distances. 

Other activities included a Teddy Bears Picnic, story time and face painting which took place at the picturesque summit of Sliabh Bawn and throughout the day groups had an opportunity to walk along one of the six looped walks or travel along the newly upgraded ancient Monastery path.