'Joe Dolan Road' decision affirmed by councillors

No longer will there be a need to refer to the road from Mount Street to Blackhall as ‘the road from Mount Street to Blackhall’, or ‘the Apache Pizza Road: it is now, officially, the Joe Dolan Road.

Approval for the official naming of the Joe Dolan Road was given at the January meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad. Public consultation took place in the autumn.

Cllr Mick Dollard welcomed the move, reminding members that it was he who originally made the proposal during the term of the last council and recalling that his proposal had at the time, received unanimous support.

He said that while there are at the moment no other roads that don’t have names, it was his view if new roads were opened that they should be named after people who had played an important role nationally or internationally.

Cllr Denis Leonard was of a similar mind, saying he liked the idea of naming roads after people synonymous with the town, and Joe Dolan was to the midlands as Elvis Presley was to Tennessee.

Cllr David Jones also welcomed the naming of the road, adding that the singer’s statue was a great asset for Mullingar.

Cllr Dollard concluded by stating that the council should establish a ‘Joe Dolan Trail’ in Mullingar, saying the singer’s association with the town is probably one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions: "I know many people who otherwise would never have come to Mullingar," he said.

On such a trail could be locations such as the graveyard in Walshestown where Joe Dolan is buried; the Joe Dolan Statue, the Joe Dolan Bridge, or the original Dolan family home at Grange Cottages.

In response to a query from Cllr Dollard on when the name signs would be erected, council officials said the intention is to have them in place within two weeks.