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 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.

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.

Brothers Shane and Calum Murray from Balla, knew what they were doing when they designed a device that can remove and refit a 500 kilo tyre, thus eliminating a lot of manual labour and potential back problems for those using heavy agricultural machinery. Both third year Mechanical Engineering students at the IT Sligo, they knew that their Rim Lift Wheel Changer would be very beneficial when working with their father, Fintan Murray, an agricultural contractor.

‘May on Our Doorstep’ celebrates local May Day Customs in Ireland and is inspired by the use of flowers to celebrate the month of May. The exhibition, which runs in both The Museum of Country Life and the Linenahll Arts centre during May, features about 1,000 handcrafted flowers created by artists, school children and community groups throughout Co. Mayo.

The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life has launched a new secondary school level photography competition, ‘Power & Privilege Today.’ The museum challenges secondary students to capture the image that they think best conveys the idea of ‘Power &  Privilege Today’ in 2012. Is it a big house, a new car, or the latest pair of trainers - or is it something more subtle?

All roads lead to Ballinrobe Racecourse on the May 19th and 20th for the inaugural Connacht Spring Show which promises to be one of the best shows to be held in the West of Ireland in recent years.  Incorporating the Connacht International Sheep Shearing Championships, the Spring Show will boast a comprehensive and diverse range of exhibitions and displays.  Foremost among them will be the large farm machinery show.

The uncertain future facing many small rural schools in Ireland has been highlighted by both His Lordship Most Reverend John Fleming, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Killala - and The Very Revd Patrick Rooke, Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.  Bishop Fleming has said that any decisions regarding the review of small schools need to be made, first and foremost, with the child’s best interest at heart.