€435,000 for Kilkenny training board

Kilkenny & Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) is to receive funding of up to €435,000, Fine Gael TD John Paul Phelan has confirmed.

The funding was announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD and Minister of State for

Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins TD.

This funding for Kilkenny & Carlow Education and Training Board is part of €8 million funding in further education capital grants for the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

The devolved capital grant will give ETBs the discretion to make decisions around small-scale Further Education and Training investment priorities at a local level.

“The funding for Kilkenny and Carlow and Kilkenny can be used for small scale works including necessary infrastructure and improvement works, and for the purchase of equipment,” Deputy Phelan said.

Funding is provided under Project 2040 and forms part of the ongoing investment in the further education and training (FET) sector.

Using this grant, ETBs will be able to carry out work such as upgrades to computer labs and science labs, replacement of apprenticeship equipment, roof works and planned improvement

Our US trip and the Comer bus

“Any craic?” he inquires.

“None whatsoever,” I tell him.

works of FET buildings. Making the announcement, Minister Harris said: “I am delighted to announce the continuation of this vital funding stream to the ETBs. Crucially, the fund is at the discretion of the ETB meaning it can address its priorities at a local level for delivery. The funding will be distributed through SOLAS.”

“I heard you were away,” he says.”Who was telling you?”

I ask. “Never mind who was telling me but I heard you were in the Big Apple,” he says. “I was.”

“So, any craic in the US of A?”

“At €12 for a glass of beer it was damn hard to have the craic.”

Gerry Moran Page 20

With a recital at omastown Concert Hall, omastown, Kilkenny penciled in for Saturday, April 22, and led by one of Ireland’s most spectacular sopranos, April sees another brand new ensemble showcasing the talents of a trio of much sought-after Irish artists.

Claudia Boyle has secured a stellar international pro le in recent seasons through highly-acclaimed performances in Zurich, Rome, London, Berlin and New York, and recently returned from making her house debut for Opéra National de Paris singing the role of Dede in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place to much acclaim.

Joining Claudia will be trumpet player extraordinaire Niall O’ Sullivan and exceptional pianist Conor Linehan. Presenting a varied and eclectic programme, the trio will share dazzling interpretations of Handel’s ‘Let e Bright Seraphim’, Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb and Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate,operatic favorites by Donizetti and Verdi, music by the ever popular Piazzolla and a new Music Network commission by Irish composer Solfa Carlile.

A former member of the Salzburger Festspiele’s prestigious Young Singers Project, Claudia Boyle has won both 1st Prize and the Critics Award at e Maria Callas Competition in Verona where the Callas Estate presented her with