Road safety issues highlighted at AGM of Offaly community alert group

A number of issues including speeding and road safety were highlighted at the AGM of Cappincur Community Alert recently.

The group held its first AGM since November 2019 on Tuesday, March 21 in the Oratory.

The meeting was well attended with 30 attendees including Community Liaison Garda, Sgt Willie Kirwan.

In opening the meeting Chairperson, Fin Cunniffe thanked the outgoing committee for maintaining their activity levels during Covid including the circulation of text alerts and maintaining the group’s Facebook page.

He also acknowledged the contribution of committee member Cllr Tony McCormack in bringing some agenda items to the attention of the Executive of Offaly County Council on behalf of the group.

A broad range of agenda items were discussed including the significant presence of litter in the environs of the Cappincur roundabout and the use of the road on the north bank of the Grand Canal between Digby Bridge and the Rowing Club by walkers and cyclists.

The request to Offaly County Council Road Engineers to reduce the speed limit on the road between the Cappincur roundabout and the Oratory was raised with residents expressing concerns over road traffic speed and the presence of a large number of articulated vehicles on the route.

Garda Sgt Willie Kirwan briefed the meeting on the new Property Marking Equipment that was purchased by Offaly County Council and local volunteers will be trained in the use of this equipment so as to assist with the protection of property of local residents from theft.

He also expressed the appreciation of An Garda Siochana to the community of Cappincur for assisting its officers with their investigation in the immediate aftermath of the death of Aishling Murphy on the Grand Canal.

He also indicated that efforts were being made by his fellow officers during the aftermath of Covid to re-engage with the text alert system for bringing incidents of crime and suspicious activity to the attention of the community.

The meeting agreed to conduct CPR training by community members for the operation of the defibrillator located the GAA field. The provision of security cameras was also discussed. A bus transport service between Rhode and Tullamore via Cappincur was established by Transport For Ireland Local link recently and anyone looking to use this service can obtain further details from (057) 8692168.

The committee elected for the forthcoming year is as follows: Chairman – Fin Cunniffe, Secretary – Stephen Malone, Treasurer - Maree Mc Cabe, Committee - Aidan Carroll, Deirdre Cassidy, Jimmy Colgan, Charlie Finlay, Niall Garry, Tony Mc Cormack, Liam Mulhall, Marty Tracey and Michael Tormey.

The meeting closed with a raffle run for the lucky attendees. The next activity planned by the group will be the annual litter pick which is scheduled to take place between April 15 and 22. The community are encouraged to get out during that week and assist in making the locality looking cleaner and tidier and texts will be circulated in due course.