Rosetta Stone To Gig At Museum's 30th Celebrations
LOCAL band ‘Rosetta Stone’ will be rocking in the old jailhouse in Downpatrick as the well known group are coming together for a special xa0occasion. They have confirmed that they will perform at Down County Museum on Saturday 14th May to join in the celebrations of the Museum’s 30th birthday.
C District Police Report Says Crime Is Down
THE xa02010/11 xa0PSNI xa0C District annual statistical report (in South Down) just released has said that crime is down but police chiefs maintain there is still much work to be done.
The official crime statistics show a continuing downward trend in the overall number of recorded crimes and a continuing rise in detection rates.
Commander for the district, Chief Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw, said the decrease does not mean his officers will be complacent. He added, xa0“In the financial year 2009/10 we had 12,749 recorded crimes. In the last financial year we had 12,279. That is a difference of 3.7%. Our detection rate is up from 25.6% to
The Down District Council Election 2011
The Downpatrick Electoral Area
THERE was no change in the Downpatrick area as all five sitting Councillors were returned to serve for another four years. The SDLP held on to their four seats with McGrath, Curran and Craig all winning through strongly on the first count with Doris going to the eighth count.
Sinn Féin were delighted too to keep their two seats with Johnston and Mac Con Midhe returned. Martin Rice from Killough also ran as the third but Sinn Féin did not poll the 800 votes each they needed to transfer enough to their first time candidate. Rice had 376 votes, a bedrock for xa0future campaign in the area.
The Newcastle Electoral Area
Carmel O’Boyle: “I would like to thank everyone who has voted for me, helping renew my term xa0on Down District Council. And I pledge to serve them as well as I can in the next four years. However, I deeply regret the loss of Peter Fitzpatrick as a Councillor. He has been with the SDLP for 22 years and has served our community faithfully. I am so sorry that this has happened to Peter who has been a dedicated and excellent Councillor.”
Peter Fitzpatrick: “I have not been selected for Councillor this time round. That is the democratic process. I think this time some of the responsibility for this goes to the entry of the Alliance candidate into the election. I lost some votes in that direction from around the Dundrum area. I’ve been a Councillor for 22 years and would like to thank all who helped me over the years and this election for their support. Now is not the time to comment on the loss of my seat. I will need a time for reflection on this.”
Willie Clarke MLA (Sinn Féin): “I delighted to have been returned to the Council once again. and would like t0 thank all of our loyal voters for their support. I am happy too that Stephen Burns has been elected in his first election. He will make an excellent Councillor. It’s just business as usual, and we will be addressing key issues such as Newcastle sewage works and well as fighting for everyone on the breadxa0and butter issues that matter.”
Dessie Patterson UUP: “It is important now for us all to work together for the people of the Down District area. The new Council will develop its own priorities. There is much to be done to support rural tourism and get our economy moving again. We have to do what we can.”
John Hardy (Green Party): “I was not selected but I am proud to have achieved 300 votes which proved that Green Party has a grass roots support across the area. It is a good place to build on for the future. We will work harder for the next election. This has been an excellent foundation. We have to strive for a more sustainable way of living and looking after the environment. We are delighted that Cadogan Enright was returned in Downpatrick, and we managed to get a Green Party Councillor on Castlereaghxa0Council, a DUP stronghold, and Stephen Agnew was elected xa0as North Down MLA. There has been some progress in these elections for our party.
The Rowallene Electoral Area
TERRY Andrews standing for the first time as an Indelendent candidate shocked the local political establishment at the Rowallene electoral count when he stormed in with 704 first preference votes and picked up strong transfers from other candidates who were eleiminated.
Terry has been a former SDLP activist and decided to run on his own. As a result of his debut into council politics, a casualty of the process was Graham Furey of the UUP. That now leaves just one UUP Councillor in the Rowallene, Robert Burgess, carrying the party’s standard into the new Council chamber.
DUP Councillors William Dick – who topped the Rowallene poll – and Billy Walker, were both returned predictably to Council.
The SDLP’sxa0Maria McCarthy who had been co-opted when Margaretxa0Ritchie stood down from Council was standing for the first time and was elected second after Dick with 809 first preference votes.
Other fallers in the process were Catriona Mackel (Sinn Féin) going out on the second count who polled 286 first preference votes. There was a srong feeling in the Sinn Féin camp that there was a quota for a seat in this electoral area. Also, the Alliance’s Patrick Brown went slightly better with 474 votes but he too was eliminated at the third stage.
What They Said In The Rowalene Area
Terry Andrews (Independent): “I’m entirely overwhelmed. It’s like a dream. I would just like to thank the people who all came out and voted for me. I took on Goliath and won. It is a victory for the people of the area. I vowed to put people first in my work and that’s what they voted for.
“I made no false election promises. I just said I would do my best and serve the community. I’d just like to thank everyone for their tremendous support and I look forward to my workl in Down District Council. I’ll be representing people on the ground and serving the whole community.”
William Dick (DUP): “I’m absolutely delighted to be returned again to Council. I’d like to welcome DUP Councillor Gareth Craig in the Ballynahinch area into Council and believe he will make a valuable contribution to our work over the next four years. I would just like to thak all who supported us on election day, our workers, helpers and the voters.
“Our vote had increased at the poll and our MLA’s also performed strongly in the Assembly election which was a great achievement and all down to the commitment of everyone who worked on our team and helped. Our aim is to make Down District Council area a better place for all our citizens.
“We will continue to work to for issues such as securing a leisure centre in Saintfield and getting proper play facilities into the town which are totally inadequate.”
Maria McCarthy (SDLP): I was co-opted to Council two years ago and this is the first election I have stood in. I am delighted to have got past the quota on my first count. I was initially endorsed by thexa0SDLP but now have the full support of the electorate. I’ve done it off my own bat and as a younger face on Council feel that I have a lot to offer.
“It is important to deliver for the people. Over the past two years I have learned so much and I thank my colleagues for this. I will be working withxa0the whole community and dealing largely with bread and butter issues.”
Robert Burgess (UUP): “The vote for the DUP went well for us but a number of votes did go to the Independent candidate which normally would go to the UUP especially in the second and third preference votes. I suppose our party could have done better. I’d just like to thank all who helped us out particularly Susan Welch and election agent David Hazlett.
“There will now be a pressure to cover the whole Rowallene area, but I am delighted that Walter Lyons has been elected for the Ballynahinch area for the UUP. I’m disappointed that Annette Holden did not get as much support from the voters in the Downpatrick area. It seems that voters tended to stay at home and just not vote.
“We will have to re-build the party from where it is and prepare for the next election. The UUP will be back. We have a lot of ground to make up but should be able to do it.
The Ballynahinch Electoral Area
With the withdrawal of Jim Wells MLA from taking part in the Down District Council election as he is focusing on his Stormont activities as MLA and avoiding double jobing, the DUP’s candidate Garth Craig who topped the poll to put in the only DUP Councillor for this area. The SDLP crown had slid after they topped in the last election six years ago.
Another new face to Council emerged when Walter Lyons (UUP) who took the place of previous Councillor Peter Bowles who had opted not to stand again.
Sinn Féin’s Mickey Coogan was returned also with a strong vote of 1206 and is now set for his second term at Down District Council.
Signifying the change in voting patterns, it was both the SDLP’s Patsy Toman and Anne McAleenan who were poll toppers in the 2001 election who had to go through the slow selection process before they were elected. It was when DUP candidate Yvonne Moore was finally deselected that her transfers pushed Toman and MacAleenan over the quota to places on the Council.
At the tail end of the pack, Mark McCormick who had a good canvass was disappointed at his votes (176), and Ballynahinch Independent, publican Mark Murnin, also collected 369 first preference votes. The Alliance’s Andy Corkhill had a meagre 203 votes, contrasting with the support the Alliance elected candidate Patrick Clarke received in the Newcastle area.
What They Said In The Ballynahinch xa0Electoral Area
Garth Craig (DUP): I’m honoured to have been elected. I’d like to thank everyone in the election team, our helpers, and te hvoters for this great success. I will be working fro all the people of the Ballynahinch area and there will be some major challenges ahead. South Down has been hit in a bog way with the downturn in thexa0construction industry and we need a two pronged strategy to deal with this. We need to lobby the Assembly hard for what we can get to kick-start our local economy and also we need to support small local businesses and give them all the help they need.
“We have to do what we can as a new Council to attract jobs and investment into the area and get the economy moving. There are other key issues too such as our hospital services, rural communities and Ballynahinch regeneration that have to be addressed. There is much to be done.”
Walter Lyons (UUP): “Our aim this term in Council is to ensue that the regeneration of Ballynahinch moves forward. I served on Council before from 1989-97, but stood down due to other work commitments, but now we need to work to attract as much public funds as possible for Ballynahinch and area.
“Certainly the jobs issue is at the top of the agenda, but also matters such as education are also of prime importance. State schools in Ballynahinch seem to need more support. And we need to build up our local services for the area for all irrespective of colour, creed or class.
“We are sorry to have seen the failure of Graham Furey in the Rowallene area to take a seat. He would have made an excellent councillor. But we have to move on now and address the many key issues such as the roads and traffic problems and to to attract inward investment to the area.xa0For the UUP it is about getting the job done.”
Mickey Coogan (Sinn Féin): “I am extremely happy to have increased my personal vote. This is very positive. I am personally satisfied in going to be able to follow up and complete on the work I started last term. There was a lot of work started in different programmes. For example, I am working with Ballynahinch Olympic to improve play facilities. This proves that we can set up partnerships and don’t have to wait until the Review of Public Administration kicks in. We can pursue important goals in small rural areas.
“Overall, I am disappointed that we missed out on capitalising on more seats in the Newcastle and Downpatrick areas. We were unlucky in Newcastle, and there is much work to be done to address this for the next election.
“It was also pleasing to see Stephen Burns elected in Newcastle after his co-option when Frank McDowell stood down a few months ago. There is much work yet xa0to be done in the Rowallene area. I believe there are two quotas available for a nationalist vote in this area.”
Anne McAleenan (SDLP): “I have been a Councillor for 20 years and I’m quitexa0happy with the SDLP vote in the Ballynahinch area. I’m excited about starting a new term at Council along with my party colleague Patsy Toman.
“For Ballynahinch for the next four years we need to address the state of Ballynahinch town with a Streetscape, and we need to continue to lobby for better roads and services. In rural areas thre are many issues such as childcare provision for parents. People need to get to work and many families need two wages coming in. xa0Also, in Drumaness, there is a need for a proper playground. And in Drumaness, the river is silted up in the pond in the village and this may be a cause of some of the flooding we have experienced. Addressing these issues matters to the quality of people’s lives.”
Patsy Toman (SDLP): “I am delighted again to be returning to Down District Council and contribute to making our area of Down a better place to live in. We are certainly faced with many issues and the SDLP will be at the forefront of fighting for a better deal for everyone across the district, in towns, villages and rural areas.”
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| Downpatrick Area | ||||
| First Preference Votes | ||||
| Stage elected | ||||
| Colin McGrath | SDLP | 1144 | 1 | |
| Dermot Curran | SDLP | 999 | 1 | |
| Peter Craig | SDLP | 876 | 1 | |
| Eamonn Mac Con Midhe | Sinn Féin | 832 | 5 | |
| Liam Johnston | Sinn Féin | 674 | 6 | |
| John Doris | SDLP | 606 | 8 | |
| Cadogan Enright | Green Party | 549 | 8 | |
| Not Elected | ||||
| Martin Rice | Sinn Féin | 376 | ||
| Annette Holden | UUP | 330 | ||
| Gareth Sharvin | SDLP | 320 | ||
| Andrew Steenson | DUP | 168 | ||
| Turnout | 51.59% | |||
| Total Poll | 7037 | |||
| Invalid Votes | 163 | |||
| Valid Votes | 6874 | |||
| Quota | 860 |
| First Preference Votes | |||
| stage elected | |||
| Willie Clarke | Sinn Féin | 1171 | 1 |
| Eamonn O’Neill | SDLP | 1058 | 1 |
| Carmel O’Boyle | SDLP | 768 | 5 |
| Stephen Burns | Sinn Féin | 796 | 5 |
| Dessie Patterson | UUP | 636 | 6 |
| Patrick Clarke | Alliance | 565 | 8 |
| Turnout | 55.88% | ||
| Total Poll | 6826 | ||
| Invalid Votes | 132 | ||
| Valid Poll | 6694 | ||
| Quota | 957 |
| Rowallene Area | |||
| Firsty Preference Votes | |||
| Stage Elected | |||
| William Dick | DUP | 1007 | 1 |
| William Walker | DUP | 920 | 4 |
| Robert Burgess | UUP | 837 | 4 |
| Maria McCarthy | SDLP | 809 | 2 |
| Terry Andrews | Independent | 704 | 4 |
| Not Elecected | |||
| Graham Furey | UUP | 700 | |
| Patrick Brown | Alliance | 474 | |
| Catriona Mackel | Sinn Féin | 286 | |
| Patricia McKay | SDLP | 115 | |
| Turnout | 53.52% | ||
| Total poll | 5935 | ||
| Invalid votes | 83 | ||
| Valid votes | 5852 | ||
| Quota | 976 |
| Ballynahinch Area | |||
| First Preference Votes | |||
| Stage Elected | |||
| Garth Craig | DUP | 1260 | 1 |
| Mickey Coogan | Sinn Féin | 1206 | 1 |
| Walter Lyons | UUP | 843 | 5 |
| Anne McAleenan | SDLP | 740 | 6 |
| Patsy Toman | SDLP | 828 | 6 |
| Not Elected | |||
| Mark Murnin | Independent | 369 | |
| Mark McCormick | Green Party | 176 | |
| Yvonne Moore | DUP | 275 | |
| Andy Corkhill | Alliance | 213 | |
| Turnout | 56.42% | ||
| Total Poll | 6026 | ||
| Invalid votes | 116 | ||
| Total Polled | 5910 | ||
| Quota | 986 |
Call To Celebrate Strangford Lough
WHETHER you are a salty seadog or likely landlubber, you have been called to celebrate Strangford Lough festival coming soon.
The Portaferry-based Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership is getting in ship-shape for the much anticipated ‘Celebrate Strangford Lough Festival’, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund,xa0 which takes place 20-22nd May 2011.
Murder And Mystery In Downpatrick
DOWN County Museum and Denvir’s Hotel will be hosting a special ‘Victorian Murder Mystery Night’ for all those budding detectives in the area on Friday 20th May.
[caption id="attachment_23668" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="All dressed up ready for the murder mystery night at Down County Museum."]
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To start the evening’s entertainment, a champagne reception will be held at the museum at 7pm, after which the scene will be set for the foul deed itself! Guests will be able to inspect the crime scene for clues, in the atmospheric period settings of the old gaol, and then question the many suspects involved, with many twists, turns and dead-ends in the winding corridors of the gaol itself.
The plot thickens down English Street at Denvirs, where there will be a chance to refuel the brain cells for the task of solving the mystery, with the help of a buffet meal. With all of the suspects assembled, the judge will ask the audience for their judgement on who is guilty, before he reveals his verdict! The evening promises to be a light-hearted event with great entertainment for individuals, couples or groups.
Tickets can be purchased or reserved in advance by contacting Down County Museum on 028 4461 5218.]]>
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To start the evening’s entertainment, a champagne reception will be held at the museum at 7pm, after which the scene will be set for the foul deed itself! Guests will be able to inspect the crime scene for clues, in the atmospheric period settings of the old gaol, and then question the many suspects involved, with many twists, turns and dead-ends in the winding corridors of the gaol itself.
The plot thickens down English Street at Denvirs, where there will be a chance to refuel the brain cells for the task of solving the mystery, with the help of a buffet meal. With all of the suspects assembled, the judge will ask the audience for their judgement on who is guilty, before he reveals his verdict! The evening promises to be a light-hearted event with great entertainment for individuals, couples or groups.
Tickets can be purchased or reserved in advance by contacting Down County Museum on 028 4461 5218.]]>RGU Notes
Senior men had a great victory on Sunday at PTR when they recorded a 2 point win over Liatroim. In a game of two halves they lead by 2 points at the break. They had it all to do in the second half against a very strong wind, but they dug deep, especially in the last ten minutes, when they were reduced to 14 men and conceded a late goal. Next up is Castlewellan at home on Friday evening. The senior presentation night will take place in the clubrooms immediately afterwards and everyone at the game is welcome to call in. There will be a finger buffet followed by the presentations and music by Red Biddy. xa0There will be no charge for the evening.
Castlewellan GAC Notes
Castlewellan GAC
The sad news broke early on Sunday morning of the passing away of Mary Rooney, wife of our esteemed Life Member, long time Club and County Official Pat Rooney. The Executive Committee and all our Club Members wish to convey our sincere sympathy to Pat and Daughters Moira, Caroline, Sharon and sons Paddy & Philip. We also extend our sympathy to the wide Rooney Family circle at the loss of Mary. Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis.
The Belfast Marathon 2011
BELFAST MARATHON 2011
ON May Day Monday East Down AC surpassed last year’s entry in the Belfast Marathon by sending out a team of 15 to tackle the full 26.2 miles on what proved to be an excellent day for spectating but less comfortable for running.xa0 Bright sun and a strong headwind in places made what was already an arduous
