Walking enthusiasts will have a unique opportunity to explore the countryside off the Great Western Greenway this June bank holiday weekend at Burrishoole Walking Festival. For the past 25 years Burrishoole Walking Festival has been revealing a piece of hidden Ireland to local and international walkers. Established in 1987, the festival is organised by an enthusiastic bunch of local volunteers, with farmers swapping their wellies for walking boots to act as guides through lands that they know best.

The lower Moy fisheries did not produce many fish over the past week; Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water yielded seven while the Moy Fishery reported no catch for the week. The mid Moy fisheries produced a few fish, and at Coolcronan, Sandra Fleming, N.Ireland, was the first angler to catch a salmon off that fishery, winning her the Coolcronan Cup. Sandra caught a fine 7lbs salmon on a spinner. This was shortly followed by Tommy Whiteside, who took the second of the season, a fish of 8lbs on worm.

The apparent poisoning  of White tailed Eagle found on the shores of Lough Beltra in County Mayo has been condemned by Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.  The young Mayo eagle, which had been released in Killarney National Park in 2010, was carrying a satellite tag to track its movements, and when the tag showed the bird was not moving about, a search was carried out by National Parks and Wildlife Service staff and the Golden Eagle Trust.

The Carers Association's Connaught/Ulster Carer of the Year Award 2012 was presented at a special ceremony on Friday evening to Mayo carer, Bridie McLoughlin, at the Westport Plaza Hotel. Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, Cllr Christy Hyland, presented Bridie with both her Mayo Carer of the Year and Connaught/Ulster Carer of the Year 2012 Awards.

Reigning Mayo Autocross champion Peter McCullagh carried on from where he finished 2012, with victory on Mayo & District Motorsport Club’s Loose Surface Autocross on Sunday. The Maynooth driver was the class of the field in his Mitsubishi Evo 9, recording a comfortable winning margin of over two seconds over his rivals after a fine final run over the challenging 4.6 kilometre circuit at Harrington’s Quarry, The Valley, Swinford.

Patricia Barrett-O’Boyle, a Public Health Nurse in Castlebar, received the prestigious Gobnait O’Connell Award at the Annual Delegate Conference of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. Patricia was nominated for this award, which commemorates the late Gobnait O’Connell, by her nursing colleagues in the Castlebar Branch.

Westport’s hugely popular traditional music summer show ‘The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol’ at Hotel Westport received a timely boost this week with the news that a number of international tour operators are scheduling the show into their summer itineraries this summer. Promoters from The Legend of Gráinne Mhaol show were in Dublin at the Meitheal Irish Travel and TradeFair Show at the RDS and met several key tour operators from around the world to discuss the possibility of tour groups travelling to Westport in the coming months.

There was a good turnout for the Gorta commemorative walk in Belleek Wood, Ballina, on May Bank Holiday Monday. The walk was part of the National Famine Commemoration events, which remembers all those who died during An Gorta Mór. Among the attendance were Mayor Peter Clarke of Ballina, Dara Calleary TD,  Ballina Town Clerk, Carmel Murphy, and Cyril Collins of the Belleek Wood Enhancement Committee.