Laois councillor's roundabout way of ‘ask and you shall receive’
Cllr Aisling Moran
ONE of the most discussed motions put to the council came from cllr Aisling Moran: ‘‘That Laois Co Council and the TII start the process of putting a roundabout at the Simmons Mill junction on the N80 and N78. This needs to be done as a matter of urgency, as there have been a number of accidents there."
The junction in question sits at the intersection of two main roads, the N80 and N78, one of which connects Portlaoise to Carlow and the other between Castlecomer and Athy and has been the sight of numerous motoring accidents over the years.
Ms Moran recounted how, during the 2024 local elections, a young man had tried turning at the sharp bend and had instead crashed into a ditch, where he “hit my poster”. This remark was met with a round of light-hearted laughter and general chuckles before the seriousness of the issue was returned to. Thankfully, the young man in question emerged from the incident relatively unscathed.
In response, a council official said that the TII would be progressing these works this year. Ms Moran greeted the news with surprise, saying: ‘‘I don't actually believe it. TII are finally actually going to put a roundabout there.’’ Amidst the general shock, Cllr Paschal McEvoy suggested that Cllr Moran’s long sought after roundabout eventually be christened the ‘Aisling Moran roundabout’, a suggestion which was met with more laughter.
In an official response, a council road design engineer said: "Road design have liaised with TII with regards to Simmons Mill and are subject to an initial funding allocation from them. Kildare NRDO are assisting LCC with this and have begun traffic counts/speed surveys. These works will be progressed in Q1 of this year."
