DUNDALK’S FREE NEWSPAPER De La Salle host trade fair Pages 6, 8 & 10
Dundalk to host Louth Fleadh
Scifest event at DkIT Page 11
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Wednesday, 10th May, 2017. Vol. 10, Issue 19 • 63 Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth
Rebecca creates sporting history
Tel: 042 9320888. Fax: 042 9329676. Email: editorial@dundalkleader.com; advertising@dundalkleader.com
By Eunan Whyte
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A local secondary school student has made history by becoming the first female to represent the Ireland U-18 team at fly-fishing. Rebecca Moffitt McGinn, from Ravensdale, will compete in an international tournament in Wales at the beginning of August after coming through two qualifiers to earn her place on the team. It is not only a proud achievement for Rebecca, but also for her club, the Dundalk & District Brown Trout and Salmon Anglers Association, who will also be represented by two other competitors on the team. Both Rory Govan and Almha McDonnell, who are from Dublin, but compete for the Dundalk club,
have also been selected to travel to the competition. Naturally, Rebecca, a Transition Year student at Dundalk Grammar School, was delighted at being selected on her first attempt at trying out for an Irish team. “We had two qualifiers, the first back in September in Lough Bane, Westmeath, and the second in April in Lough Lene, also Westmeath. The first qualifier was on a rough day and I only caught one fish, but the second day I caught five. It wasn’t going that well for me as I had only two fish but in the last half hour I caught three more to secure my place”, stated the 16-year-old. “I thought I had missed my chance but it was great to come through and a real Rebecca Moffitt McGinn (right) with Rory Govan and Almha McDonnell who will represent Ireland Continued on Page 2
Gardai clamp down on drink driving Garda efforts to tackle drink driving are continuing with a total of 56 checkpoints being set up at various locations around town in just over a week. The mandatory alcohol and drug testing checkpoints have resulted in six arrests since Friday April 28 as the Gardai continue to clamp down on those driving under the influence. The force may have come in for criticism in recent times over inflated checkpoint figures, but officers were visible in the Dundalk District in recent weeks. The latest six arrests underline the message from Gardai that Continued on Page 2