Macnas has been having a jab at it throughout Galway's Arts Festival fortnight, with its hilarious stage production of The Lost Days of Ollie Deasy, but for many western commuters the continued rail strike has gone beyond a joke.
Reek Sunday numbers for the annual Croagh Patrick pilgrimage were almost certainly affected by the absence of services to Westport, and Knock shrine in Co Mayo has also been feeling the pinch.
Iarnrod Eireann confirmed yesterday that there have been no trains past Athlone on the Westport/Ballina link for four to five weeks, and Mayo commuters are being bussed beyond the Shannon.
However, Galway has enjoyed a "100 per cent rail service and is expected to do so throughout race week.
The chairman of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) - West Region, Mr Peter Shanley, claimed yesterday that some 12,000 passengers had been lost to Mayo to date, as the seventh week of the unofficial industrial action begins.
Mr Shanley said that he accepted that the Government's hands were tied in a "very delicate" situation, but if the strike was on a larger scale it would have to be dealt with.
"The victim here is the passenger, not Iarnrod Eireann," said Mr Shanley.
He described the social effects as "dreadful", with disruption adding to the stress of out-patients travelling to Dublin for treatment.
"It now appears that this is going to drift on throughout the summer," he said, adding that there was going to be "mayhem" when the students returned to college.
