Winter wind down

A short roundup of what’s been going on in the Dottysphere lately.

Northwest Connects took place on Saturday November 28th last. A tremendous success following a tremendous amount of work by the Open Coffee Sligo group.Over 120 attendees throughout the day, two panel discussions and an impressive line up of speakers and contributors made the day the success it was.  On the day, and since then we have had great positive response by everyone involved. Talks are already happening for 2010 so watch this space.

Last week I attended the Simply Zesty Winter Camp in Dublin. Quite an impressive day with a panel of speakers including Gail Power of Facebook, Pat Phelan of Maxroam, John Kennedy of Silicon Republic, Don O’Leary of Google, James Whately and Damian Ryan. Needless to say a lot of notes were taken, lot’s of homework for Dotty for the next month

Aoife got word last week that the seating has been installed at the Model’s new performance space! This is veeeeery exciting news. We’re hoping to get in next week to take some shots.

Other Notes of random importance

• Sligo Events had a recent autumnal makeover thanks to the creative eye of Mr. John Lambert.
• A google wave for the Arts in Ireland has started on Google Wave. To find it search ‘with : public arts Ireland’
• Climate Change- 56 Papers 45 Countries, 20 Languages, the same article they will lead with tomorrow- Climate Change- including the Irish Times

You’ve probably heard this already on the news or from the papers, but a man named Damian O’Brien has gone missing. He works with Failte Ireland as Tourism Development Officer. In the past month I attended two conferences which he spoke at. I don’t know him at all, but the festival family in Ireland are helping to spread the word about his disappearance. His colleages have set up a page on facebook, please take a look at his pic incase you have seen him or something…. Find Damian

Plenty of pickin’ on a rainy Saturday afternoon

Just over a very quiet and relaxing weekend in the wild west. Didn’t think quiet weekends existed in Sligo quite recently the way things have been happening. Lyons Cafe are doing a run of afternoon gigs on Saturdays up to Christmas.  So this weekend we got to catch Slim Pickin’s perform. The trio, Anthony Mannion, Luke Mercer and Lucy Crichlow, covered a mixture of wild blue grass, folk and some of their own stuff. Perfectly matched with a pot of tea and a slice of winter bramble cake! Next week Jackk & Jones are performing ( Leon Mooney & Leslie Jones).

Lyons cafe is actually perfect for this band, and this type of ‘cafe culture’. Big bright space, lots of windows and nice seating. The band had plenty of room to perform in. Hat tip to the proprietors for setting it up.

Drink & Draw Club arrives in Sligo

Quite excited about this event below-

Tuesday the 17th of November sees a special night for those of you with an artistic side.

Taking place in Furey’s Pub, Sligo, the Drink and Draw club will offer people a chance to socialize and sketch at the same time. The evening will be informal, with artists and non-artists of all levels invited to participate. Simply bring sketchbooks, pencils and a willingness to sketch or doodle as you chat and drink. This event has been organised by Wayne O’ Connor and supported by SLAM!

“In the same way that musicians jam, Readers form book clubs and writers have creative writing workshops, this evening invites anyone to draw and share ideas or inspiration” says Wayne “while at the same time soaking up the atmosphere and having a few drinks in a pub environment”. All are welcome*

See SLAM facebook page/Blog for more details on Drink and Draw sessions.

Volvo Ocean Race Photography Competition On Tour

Last Spring, while working at the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, I got to meet some great people by working as the festival’s front of house person. I also had a massive crush on new media, and so expressed an interest in working on the Pix.ie photo-sharing competition, and the festival’s social media accounts.

When I moved back to Sligo in late March, I approached the organiser of the Volvo Ocean Race festival in Galway, the talented Maria Moynihan, about the Pix.ie photo sharing competition idea for their festival later that summer. Roll on 7 months later, the competition broke the Irish record for photo uploads, over 17,000 pics, and then became an exhibition and now it’s on tour to sailing clubs around Ireland. Each day during the festival the top photos were uploaded to the festival screen by yours truely, and then the judged after the festival by Marine Sports Photographer David Brannigan.

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The Western Development Commission (WDC) and Let’s Do It Galway have announced that the exhibition of photographs from the LookWest.ie & Pix.ie Volvo Ocean Race Festival photo competition will go on a tour of sailing clubs and shopping centres throughout Ireland from October 15 to December 12.

Northwest Connects – the launch

Northwest Connects Launch Sponsors Photo Colin Gillen/framelight.ie

On Tuesday October 27^th Northwest Connects was officially launched at the Innovation Centre, IT Sligo. The launch was attended by conference organisers, Open Coffee Sligo members and key sponsors; the Western Development Commission, Sligo County Enterprise Board, Infacta, AIB and the Innovation Centre.

The conference will take place on Saturday November 28^th in the Innovation Centre and aims to connect local creativity and regional networks. Entrepreneurs, innovators and people with business ideas are invited to attend the free day-long conference. Throughout the day, the event will showcase the expertise in the region through panel discussions and seminars. Attendees will be asked to choose seminars and speakers depending on interests or stage of business.

Organisers and Sponsors of Northwest Connects Photo Colin Gillen/framelight.ie

The event is free to attend, however registration is essential as there are limited spaces available. Registration is now open from our website www.northwestconnects.ie

Key speakers confirmed so far include Drury Communications MD, Padraig McKeon; Robert Martin, CEO of local award-winning emarketing solutions company Infacta; Innovation and Social Media Consultant, Johnny Beirne; Surf Seeds MD, Tim Rooney; and Justin Knecht of the Centre of Design Innovation.

Northwest Connects is being organised by members of Open Coffee Sligo, a casual networking group who are eager to highlight the creative and innovative work of companies and individuals in the North West Region.

Check out who has registered so far, a great dynamic mix of people. Register Now

My Feet My Street

To My Councillors

I would like to address what happened tonight at your council meeting, and to share with the public how we were treated.

I guess I will start with a blow-by-blow on how our night evolved.

We started off on Castle Street where a group of us gathered to make our posters and banners. Over the past six months a growing number of Sligo people have been gathering together and questioning our councillors decision to re-open the street to traffic.In August of this year the first O’Connell Street Festival was held, and a petition was started, to be presented to the council before Sept 15th during their public consultation review. Poet Dermot Healy and O’Connell Street Trader Paddy Dooney handed this petition to the Mayor in October 2009 with 2,600 signatures.

Tonight, about twenty of us turned up before seven, and then headed down O’Connell Street to City Hall. It was quite exciting to see a group had already gathered there. Tony Wehrly of Wehrly Jewelleres, Dale of the Bistro Bianconi, Gerry Conway of Easons  represented the O’Connell Street Traders Association, Hilary McPartland and members of the Sligo Chamber of Commerce were also present, as were the many faces of every-day pedestrians who use O’Connell Street. Lots of familiar faces, and lot’s of new ones. The support was really tremendous.

Members from the ‘disenfranchised groups’, as the councillors had called them, were also present, however it must be noted the O’Connell Street Campaign group far-out weighed this group in numbers. I am not denying that they had a right to be present there too.

Samboeire provided musical beats which raised the tension already mounting. We watched from outside as the Sligo Borough Councillors held a reception for the Canadian Ambassador in the Mayors office which looks out on to the space where we were standing. We made an effort to stand up on the seats outside the windows, high enough to make sure they could see us through the window. We caught their attention a plenty. People were still arriving to join us.

A few moments later, the door to the City Hall was finally opened, and the Mayor came out. He said he understood there were five groups present (hmmm I do wonder where he made that up from?) and proceeded to break the entire group into five. He said each group could have six members attend the council meeting, and that this was due to health and safety reasons which the Health and Safety officer advised the Mayor on.

So, we all headed up to the doors of City Hall. All the representatives from the East Ward groups went in. The Chamber of Commerce then took their seats, then all of a sudden, only one member of our second group(what the mayor described as ‘The O’Connell Street Campaign) managed to get into the Chmaber for the meeting. The rest of our group (over 100 including those standing outside who stood with Sambaeire) made their way into the foyer of the City Hall. Here we were advised that we could not bring our banners, and had to leave them out in the hallway. An outspoken James Hanrahan, lecturer in Eco Tourism in IT Sligo, and expert in public consultation, questioned the democratic process, and asked why were being left outside of the council meeting. Protest calls continued to come from the group, SambaEire continued to drum to the beat of adrenaline that at this stage was running through all of us. The official who was responsible for manning the Council offices would not let us upstairs and closed the front door of the City Hall, we weren’t allowed to leave it open (more people were arriving), and so became stuck. Warnings of the police arriving were threatened, but nothing happened. Nobody was abusive or aggressive, we just called for democracy, and questioned why the public opinion had not been acknowledged.

We waited and waited, we chatted and told each other stories of what had gone on in Sligo over the past few months since the campaign began to keep the street closed to traffic. I think it really united a lot of people around the town.

Finally, word arrived down. Gerry Conway was the first shopkeeper out of the meeting and put his thumb down. I don’t know how to describe the feeling, but basically if you had a weight on your shoulder, well it got a little heavier. Tears sprung to my eyes as I waited to hear what had happened. O’Connell Street had been brought to the top of the agenda of the meeting.

Might I add here that Councillor Declan Bree stated in emails to people on Friday just last that this vote had taken place already. Might I also write the term OBFUSCATION here in capital letters.

Seamus Kealy came down the stairs, a member of the public called out for Seamus to describe what had happened. He said the motion was passed and the final vote would take place at the end of meeting. He told us that Councillor Jude Devins had suggested compiling a traffic report to see if an alternative could be created without opening the street. Hat tip to this councillor for suggesting alternatives. No other councillor seconded the idea so it didn’t get a chance.

In July Seamus wrote publicly wrote the Councillors regarding the issue providing research and thoughtful insight into the issue. He spearheaded a lot of this campaign and united citizens in Sligo to become mobalized and vocal on the issue.

In the end, it turned out that what the councillors, our elected representatives, did tonight was to delete two items from the Sligo and Environs Plan. They removed the pedestrianisation of O’Connell Street, and they removed the proposed bridge. In fact it looks like there is hardly much of a plan left to consider. Well done Councillors. I am also aware that you broke the codes of conduct which you are supposed to adhere to when constructing a plan of such enormity.

Quote from Jude Devins, the only councillor who opposed the motion to bring traffic back to O’Connell Street Sligo – ‘They took everything positive that was in the development plan and got rid of it’.

Quote from Declan Bree ‘The Election is over, the street will be open’

Some other articles you should read -

Declan Bree on Pedestrianisation of O’Connell Street Sligo (Heather’s blog following phone call with DB)

‘70 % of the public favour O’Connell Street remaining pedestrianised’ (Sligo Champion)

Petition bids to keep Sligo street free of traffic (The Irish Times)

‘O’Connell Street Festival well beyond Organisers expectations’ (well that’s us)

Just to let you know Mister and Missus Councillor, Elected Representative, tonight you ignited a spark in all of us whom you ignored over the past six months. The Sligo Democracy group was created this evening, and will be bringing this item to the national agenda and beyond.

I am very proud of the place I am from,  and do my utmost to promote it. Tonight Councillors you tampered with that. How dare you. How dare you take our street from us, and how dare you do this on our behalf.. I will not be voting for you in the next elections, and I will urge my generation, and my children and so on not to vote for such narrowmindness that is holding Sligo back from being the extraordinary place we know it is. How god damn dare you.

Kindest Regards,

Denise Rushe
O’Connell Street Daily Pedestrian

 

Google Adwords

I just discovered a voucher for Google Adwords that I picked up in the paper sometime ago. So,  I’ve just set up my first Google Adword campaign. This video was quite handy, lots of tips.

The Trades Club Revival

This evening I sat in on the second of the Trades Club Revival meetings on Castle Street. For more than 100 years the Trades Club was a traditional social and community centre in Sligo town.  The club operated successfully due to generations of voluntary management and was based on the principle of providing a social service rather than creating profit. I remember the last few hazy years of the club, a place of epic dancing, late night debauchery and fun. In its heydays it had nights of trad sessions, gigs and much more.

Seamus Nolan
Irish artist Seamus Nolan has instigated this project, alongside support from The Model, and the owner of the building. The name of Seamus Nolan might ring a bell for some. He seems to have a major interst in social projects involving communities and neighbourhoods. He was the artist behind Hotel Ballymun, a project that reflected the changing surburb of Ballymun in Dublin City. In March 07, Hotel Ballymun opened its doors to the public in the form of a unique short-stay hotel. Seamus has also recently exhibited at Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar Dublin, with a project called ‘Corrib Gas Project’.  I made an effort to catch the show just after it opened. The exhibition looked at the 10 year struggle between two cultures in the West of Ireland involved in the dispute over the Corrib Gas fireld, off the coast of Mayo. For more on Seamus read on>

Yes this stairs is straight!

Back to Sligo
So, another project, another county. And this time, it’s our hometown. So far, a certain amount of refurbishment has taken place in the Trades. The wibbly wobbly stairs of the past  has been replaced by much needed and sturdy concrete steps up to the main floor. Plans are on the table to develop the women’s toilets, which were notorious for flooding in its previous years, and an electrician is already working away throughout the building. I ventured in a few weeks ago with Model staff Emer McGarry and Lara Byrne, have a look at the pics here, so you can see the current state of the place. There is current work ongoing, however for the next stage of the project, a major input will be needed. A call is being put out for help and support by anyone interested that can offer. Help is needed with furnishings, painting(both paint and painters!), some carpentry, anyone with design skills etc etc. The next meeting of the Trades Club Revival will be next Tuesday 27th October at 8pm, and all are most welcome.

Someone mentioned at tonight’s meeting that once when Christy Moore was asked to play a gig in Sligo, he asked ‘Any chance of the Trades Club?’

Read the Sligo Champion Article ‘Glory Days of the Trades Club to be revived’.

This feeds my soul

Today was all about the food! This evening I was invited to attend the first meeting of Só Sligo. It looks set to be Sligo’s first culinary-foodie-culture fest to be held in March 2010. Forty-odd people turned up, all with diverse backgrounds in restauranting, food production, the tourist industry and even the guys from Grow It Yourself Ireland! It was a great show of support for something like this, and I will keep my blog updated with news from the meetings. I am going to lend my support to the digital media campaign and help with the marketing team.

It is most definitely without a doubt a very exciting time for Sligo. A lot is changing, developing and moving forward. There is an excitement in the air that I have heard many people mention over the past couple of months.

This weekend, Sligo Live is blowing all expectations by hosting phenomenal lineup of Irish and international acts. The programme for this years festival is incredible. I am particularly in awe of the World Fiddle Championship and Cafe Culture. There has been a massive level of support from people and organisations around Sligo and beyond.  Hat tip to the festival organisers for their dedication and vision.

In a few months time we shall moving to the new building of The Model up on the Mall. The building is part of a plan for a cultural quarter for Sligo that will hopefully in the next decade  provide the cultural hive that is Sligo, and the Northwest with a space to nurture the creativity so prominent here and explore new realms of culture as we head into the next decade of the 21st century.

Finally in late November, as I have already blogged about, Northwest Connects will take place here in Sligo. The event will connect local creativity and regional networks. Entrepreneurs, innovators and people with business ideas are invited to attend the free day-long conference.

I am 24 years old. I graduated from college in 2008. I should be one of those statistics that left the country or should be on the dole, but I armored myself with a passion for culture and new media. Since returning to live in Sligo I have been  inspired and motivated by the people I work with, those I encounter at meetings, and old and new friends I am making. I am young, and have a lot of ambition, and I have to say despite the recession and the consistent level of doom and gloom that is pushed upon us daily, the future looks bright, brighter than ever before.

This feeds my mouth

Over the weekend I discovered that one of my favourite foodie blogs, The Good Mood Food Blog written and most beautifully presented by Donal Skehan has made it to hardback life, and is available in all good book stores. I picked up mine in Easons on O’Connell Street Sligo this afternoon on lunch.I can’t even remember how I first came across the blog, but it must have been about eight months ago at this stage as I made a little hand crafted valentines book for my boyfriend with some recipes from it. He didn’t have huge cooking knowledge so the simple recipes set him right up. He’s particularly fond of the salmon dish. (Hi Simon!).

Anyway, the book is gorgeous, within the first three pages it has a ton of amazing tips, ones that I’ve never even heard of, like freezing left over red wine to be used again for sauces, great tips on growing and harvesting your own herbs(something which I tried this year!), and tons more. The tagline for the book is ‘Simple Healthy Homecooking’ and it shows you exactly how to do that. Delicious dishes with great images to entice you into cooking. I’ve already made a handful of these recipes from the blog, including the mojito chicken dish ( a party favourite!) and the gooey chocolate pudding from his site. A few people are definitely getting this book for xmas!