Two Kilkenny companies have been awarded Ire land’s Best Managed Com panies accolade at the 14th annual awards programme, led by Deloitte in associa tion with Bank of Ireland.
This year, Deloitte recog nised 136 indigenous com panies at the awards repre senting 25 of the 32 counties
across Ireland. This is the first year where the awards programme returned as an in-person event following the pandemic and culmi nated with a gala awards ceremony at The Conven tion Centre Dublin.
Among the winning com panies were Kilkenny’s CluneTech and Modubuild.
South East Technological University (SETU) has wel comed the launch of the second nationwide #Unmut eConsent campaign to drive a positive conversation on consent and to end sexual violence and harassment.
The campaign seeks to mo bilise the student commu nity to make a difference, by speaking out, by enhancing their own knowledge about consent, and ultimately, by challenging and changing behaviours.
The campaign was in formed by findings from the National Survey of Stu dent Experiences of Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish HEIs (2021), and the Active Consent Sexual Expe riences Survey (2020), as well as the experience of HEIs in researching and implement ing action plans to educate and raise awareness about consent, and to combat sex ual violence and harassment.
SETU’s Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Dr Allison Ken neally said: “At SETU, we are committed to embedding a safe, respectful, positive, and supportive culture across our campuses which takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, violence and bullying in all its forms, and promotes a positive cul ture of respect.
“All of our incoming stu dents for the past three years have been provided with ac tive consent training, and this year I am delighted to announce that we will be rolling out bystander inter vention training for all SETU students and staff.
“We are also one of the first HEIs to roll out training designed to tackle sexual harassment and violence to all staff, and we are work ing with various local and regional stakeholders on a range of other initiatives.”
CluneTech requalified for the awards for the 13th year in a row while Modubuild was recognised for the sec ond consecutive year.
The network of companies has a combined turnover of €13.9 billion providing over 51,000 jobs across Ireland across a range of sectors –from retail and hospitality
to manufacturing and con struction.
The companies received recognition following a de tailed judging process that evaluates the entire man agement team and business strategy in some of Ireland’s top privately owned busi nesses.
Established in 1996 by
entrepreneur Terry Clune, CluneTech is a suite of soft ware technology compa nies, comprising Immedis, Taxback International, Tax back.com, Sprintax, Visa First, Benamic, Gradguide, and Ireland’s most recent tech unicorn, TransferMate.
The group has offices in 21 countries and employs more
than 1,500 people globally. “This award is testament to the passion and commit ment of our strong leader ship team and fantastic people across our business, with their continuous focus on innovation and deliv ering excellence,” said Mr Clune, commenting on the coveted award.
The Cabinet has officially approved a plan to pay every household in the country three separate electricity credits worth €600.
The payments will be made in three €200 instalments over the next six months: the first in the November billing cycle, second in January and third in March.
The Government has also put a plan in place for how the payments will be made to Travellers who pay their local authority for electricity.
Further to an agreement between the GAA and Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI), Community Radio Kilkenny City has been informed by KCLR that they (KCLR) have exclusive rights to the broadcasting of GAA club games at all levels in Kilkenny, according to a statement seen by The Kilkenny Observer.
Full story Page 10
The new Birth Information and Tracing legislation, which came into effect on October 3, will give greater access to vital personal information for people who were adopted, boarded out, subject to an illegal birth registration or born in a Mother & Baby Home Institution, and who are seeking to learn about their origins and early history.
It will also provide access to important tracing and counsel ling services for parents who placed a child for adoption.
The journey and decision to trace a child placed for adop tion can be an emotional and difficult one.
One woman who knows all-too-well the fallout from adoption is successful busi nesswoman and mother-of -four Eithne Ring. She has has written a no-holds-barred memoir of how the pressures of society in 1980s’ Ireland led to a then unmarried Eithne placing her baby for adoption.
It was a decision that led to loss, pain and isolation –and one which took years to come to terms with, not only for Eithne but for her now husband, Joe, who says he had to face up to his guilt for not being there to support Eithne when she needed him most.
Does My Son Take Sugar? is their story of dealing with de cisions of the past and trying to build a relationship for the future with the son they relin quished all those years ago.
It’s experiences like theirs that will be played out across the country now that the Birth
Information and Tracing Act has commenced, and people affected by adoption and related matters attempt to pull together the threads of their past.
With this Act, Tusla will be providing comprehensive tracing and counselling ser vices to parents to help them
locate and contact children from whom they were sepa rated through adoption.
Joe and Eithne are happy to tell their story in the context of the new legislation coming into effect.
“I know there are guys out there who the guilt is eating them…they are now mature
and have other children and thinking about the time with that woman and the baby. Those men would like to apologise to the woman and/ or meet the child.
“They will need people they can talk to. People like me who have been through it…we know their pain, we feel their
pain,” says Joe.
Eithne says: “I looked for my file years back but didn’t get any help. Some mothers’ and adoptees’ experience was awful and we need to remem ber that.
“It’s really important that everyone tries as much as possible to walk in the shoes
of the other people involved. Read what mothers, adopted people, adoptive parents say and feel, It is important to know, really important to read yourself into the shoes of another.”
Marguerite’s story: Special Report, Page 14
The HSE/South East Com munity Healthcare has appointed a new SelfManagement Support Coordinator for Long-term Conditions.
Rosaleen Mac Uistin recently joined the Health and Wellbeing division of South East Community Healthcare and her main role as Self-Management Support (SMS) Coordina tor for Long-term Condi tions will be to support the awareness and develop ment of Self-Management support services across the South East and which increase the ability and confidence of people with long-term conditions to manage their health and to live well.
Rosaleen’s work includes implementing the SMS Framework, identifying op portunities for funding and
collaboration to address gaps in service provision, promote awareness and uptake of Self-Management support programmes and develop cross-sectoral links between health, communi ty, voluntary and statutory agencies.
Rosaleen Mac Uistin be gan working in the HSE in 2001 as a Registered Gen eral Nurse. Over the past 21 years, Rosaleen has worked and studied in both Ireland and the UK. Rosaleen found out early in her ca reer that she had a passion and drive for working in the different areas of chronic disease, specialising in the Respiratory field. Rosaleen has worked in various roles in the HSE and NHS, including as a Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialist, Respiratory Clinical Nurse Manager and Clinical Lead
– Covid-19 Vaccination Centre.
Rosaleen set up the Chronic Obstructive Pul monary Disease (COPD) Outreach Service in Wex ford in 2012 and then the Respiratory Integrated Care Service in Kilkenny/Carlow in 2016 – working closely with the Asthma Society of Ireland (providing phone/ digital supports) and COPD Support Ireland (setting up COPD Support groups in Carlow/Kilkenny and being an active member of the SECH Peer support regional steering grouprespiratory conditions).
While setting up, deliver ing and improving chronic disease services have been a career goal for Rosaleen, ongoing learning and further education have also featured heavily. Rosaleen has studied across numer
ous different aspects of chronic disease and in various institutions – UCD, RCSI, SETU and the Uni versities of Lancaster and Hertfordshire (BSc in Nurs ing Studies, PG Diploma in Respiratory Disease Man agement, MSc modules in Referring for Radiological Procedures, Optimising Asthma Management, Ad vanced Health Assessment and Spirometry).
Rosaleen’s new role as SMS Coordinator allows her to use her previous skills and experiences in coordinating Self-Man agement supports for the people with long-term con ditions (such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, heart conditions and stroke). She will be working with the dedicated Health and Well being team in South East Community Healthcare.
A Carlow builder who en gaged in share transac tions with his son’s rm that were designed to avoid a tax liability and had no “bona de commercial reasons”, has lost an appeal against a €348,000 tax demand from the Revenue Commissioners.
Revenue made the assess ment against omas Foley,
who had claimed tax relief on almost €1.4m of share trans actions undertaken by him and his wife with their son’s then newly-formed rm, Martello Builders (Carlow), in 2011, and Martello Develop ments. He had appealed the assessments raised against him.
e businessman was not
named in the appeals ruling just made public, but was identi able from company records.
Contacted by the Irish Inde pendent, omas Foley (84) said he was “disappointed” at the outcome of his appeal.
e Tax Appeals Commis sion heard that Mr Foley had failed to disclose the share
e Arts Council has an nounced today that of fers have been made to 186 schools and centres across Ireland who applied to be part of the Creative Schools initiative. e initia tive includes for schools in Kilkenny.
e very high level of ap plications to be part of this two-year process re ects the importance that schools and youth reach centres put on creativity and their ambition to celebrate and put creative thinking at the very heart of
what they do.
Among those schools invited are 4 in Kilken ny – Bunscoil McAuley Rice, Scoil Mhichíl Naofa (Crosspatrick NS), Moth er of Fair Love Spe cial School and SN Mhuire gan Smál Graigna managh .
Participation empowers children and young people to develop, implement and evaluate arts and creative activity throughout their schools/centres and stimu late additional ways of work
ing which reinforce the im pact of creativity on children and young people’s learning, development and well-be ing.
Director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly said: “We warmly welcome our new cohort of 186 schools to Creative Schools. We are delighted that demand for the programme is so strong across the country and we are thrilled to say that by this stage of the programme, 20% of schools in Ireland have connected with us.”
transactions in his income tax return for 2011. However, in his income tax return for 2013, he claimed retirement relief on €700,000 from the sale of shares in one of the transactions. He also claimed tax relief on share transac tions worth €583,000.
In 2018, Revenue issued a notice of assessment to
omas Foley in respect of capital gains tax, for just over €348,000.
e Commission heard that in 2007, omas Foley’s health was declining. He was not able to work at the same pace he had in the past.
e Commission was told that Mr Foley was trying to get his son to “run the show”, so
he could retire from business. Mr Foley insisted that he had retired in 2011, and from that point only continued to act as a mentor to his son in his running of the building business.
However, the Commission heard that despite being os tensibly retired, Mr Foley con tinued to perform duties.
European Commis sioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira visited Ireland last week
to launch the Cohesion Funds Partnership Agree ment with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, laying down a €3.5 billion investment strategy in co hesion policy funding for Ireland for 2021-27. Under the Partnership Agreement, Ireland will receive €1.4 billion for Cohesion Policy invest ments for 2021-27 from the EU which will be matched with national funding from the Irish Government, bringing the full value of the support
for Ireland to almost €3.5 billion.
e Partnership Agree ment covers three co hesion policy funds, including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which sup ports balanced regional development across the EU through a variety of investment initiatives that strengthen economic, social and territorial cohe sion.
e Southern Regional Assembly manages the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland (SEM) Re gional Programme which will see approximately €663 million being invest ed in both the Southern
Region and the Eastern and Midland Region in the 2021-27 period. Fund ing will focus on three key areas, building research, development and innova tion capacity in public research institutions in the two regions, scaling up investment in actions to improve energy e ciency of residential homes and targeting homeowners in/ at risk of energy poverty, and supporting sustain able urban development in the two regions.
Residents, visiting fam ily members and HSE/South East Community Healthcare sta recently enjoyed an au tumn garden party on the grounds of New Haughton Hospital in New Ross.
e event, which took place in a marquee hired
for the occasion, marked the resumption of one of the annual highlights in the Co Wexford residential care centre that had been cur tailed in recent years due to Covid-19 pandemic restric tions.
It was eagerly awaited by
the residents, their family and friends and sta mem bers.
Entertainment on the day came from Phil and Conor, with dancing by Lorraine and Seán. ere was lots of singing, games, food and a great day was had by all.
When I was but knee-high to a grasshopper and suc cumbed to bouts of child hood ailments, my mother would summon the local GP.
After he had pressed the cold stethoscope to my chest and back and had me cough and cough, my mother, fearing the worst, would say: “Well, Dr Dolan, what is it?”
He would say: “Germs, Mrs Hopkins, germs. Just keep him in bed a day or two and give him plenty of ice cream. Germs.”
Ice cream, plenty of ice cream? Boy, was it great back then to feel poorly, as my grandaunt was wont to say of any illness.
Before antibiotics revolu tionised medicine, germs covered a multitude of ail ments and all manner of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Today, antibiotics, though perhaps controversial the more we learn, can be argued to be a panacea.
But they cannot cure the common cold, that annual bug that besets many of us as winter approaches. You can get a jab at your local GP to ward o in uenza or pneumonia but a cure for the common cold still eludes medical science.
e common cold has the twin distinction of being both the world’s most wide spread infectious disease and one of the most elusive.
e name is a problem, for starters. In almost every In do-European language, one of the words for the disease relates to low temperature, yet experiments have shown that low temperature neither increases the likelihood of catching a cold, nor the se verity of symptoms.
en there is the common part, which seems to imply that there is a single, in discriminate pathogen or microorganism at large. My local GP tells me that more
than 200 viruses provoke cold-like illness, each one deploying its own peculiar strategy to evade the body’s defences.
It is hard to think of another disease that inspires the same level of collective resignation. e common cold slinks through homes and schools, towns, and cities, making people miser able for a few days without warranting much after thought. Adults, reportedly, su er an average of between two and four colds each year, and children up to 10, and we have come to accept this as part and parcel of life.
Our common-or-garden understanding remains a jumble of mumbo-jumbo, folklore, and false assump tion. e most common beliefs about how to treat the disease have turned out to be false. Dubious e cacy has done little to deter human kind from formulating rem
edies. e Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from ancient Egypt dated to 1550BC, advises a cold suf ferer to recite an incanta tion, in association with the administration of milk of one who has borne a male child, and fragrant gum.
Today, winter remedy sales here reach about 2.5m each
year, though most overthe-counter products have not actually been proven to work. Some contain paracetamol, an e ective analgesic, but the dosage is often miniscule. Taking Vitamin C in regular doses does little to ward o the bug. Hot toddies, medicated tissues and immune system
Extracted from A airs of the Heart (And Other Writings) by Paul Hopkins, out now, priced €14.99, and available in selective outlets. The collection, culled from writings of the past 20 years, has been described as a selection of stories that will “warm your emotions and light your soul... bringing together the very essence of what it means to be human”. The bookcan now also be ordered online at www.monumentmediapress.com, with worldwide shipping.
boosts of ginger, or the like, are equally ine ective. It would seem the only failsafe means of avoiding a cold is to live in complete isolation from the rest of hu manity.
Although modern science has changed the way medi cine is practised in almost every eld, it has so far failed to produce any radically new treatments for colds. e di culty is that, while all colds feel much the same, from a biological perspective the only common feature of the various viruses that cause such is that they have adapted to enter and damage the cells that line our respiratory tract. is makes a catch-all treatment extremely tricky to formu late.
As Dr Dolan told my mother all those years ago, you just must let it take its course.
Grin and bear it.
More than 1,200 Tran sition Year students in Kilkenny will receive a free copy of a best selling money advice book from Ireland’s top financial expert to make them more financially savvy.
As the cost-of-liv ing crisis deepens,
John Lowe insists it is more crucial than ever that school leavers are equipped with the tools to help them to manage money.
A pilot scheme which last year saw 3,000 hard copies
Further to an agreement between the GAA and Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI), Community Radio Kilkenny City has been informed by KCLR that they (KCLR) have exclusive rights to the broadcasting of GAA club games at all levels in Kilkenny.
In a statement seen by The Kilkenny Observer, Community Radio Kilkenny City said it "must therefore seriously curtail its own coverage with immediate effect".
It said Community Radio Kilkenny City would now no longer be commentating on any Kilkenny GAA club games (adult or underage), nor would
they be reporting live from any games.
"On behalf of itself and its listenership, Community Radio Kilkenny City is extremely disappointed by the position it is placed in by the GAA/IBI agreement," the statement said.
The station said it would, however, continue to provide extensive reports of Kilkenny GAA games on Sunday and Monday evenings.
"Since Community Radio Kilkenny City commenced full time broadcasting five years ago, the station has given unrivalled coverage to club games at all levels in Kilkenny," it said.
of Lowe’s bestselling book, Money Doctors 2021, deliv ered to 30 schools, is now being replicated this month with Money Doctors 2022 ebook being rolled out to over 1,276 Transition Year students in 16 schools across the county for free.
Lowe’s “gift to tomorrow’s leaders” was prompted after
his 19-year-old son asked him while in UCD: “What’s an overdraft Dad?”
“After this question, I knew something needed to be done to arm young people with practical money advice that’s useful in their day-today lives,” said the father-ofthree and qualified financial adviser.
“Many young people talk enthusiastically about cryp tocurrencies and NFTs, but how well do they understand basic financial terms like an overdraft?
“The 2022 edition of Money Doctors covers everything you would want to know about personal finance in Ireland and contains a
chapter aimed specifically at TY students and their money. "
Money Doctors 2023, pub lished by Providence Press, which goes on sale in midDecember (€12.99)
The book has been a best seller in Ireland three times since the first edition was published in 2006.
Peter Mark, which two salons in Kilkenny, has announced the 2022 Pe termarkathon, an annual fundraising event which will take place in Peter Mark salons nationwide from October 24 to 31.
This year the team will be raising vital funds for the Irish Heart Founda tion, as part of its ‘Her Heart Matters’ campaign.
The Irish Heart Foun dation is the national charity for the preven tion of heart disease and stroke in Ireland. More than 4,000 women in Ire land die from heart dis
ease and stroke each year.
In fact, cardiovascular disease kills six times as many women in Ireland as breast cancer. From about the age of 40, a woman’s risk of heart dis ease and stroke increases as she moves into meno pause. The ‘Her Heart Matters’ campaign aims to encourage women in their 40s, 50s and beyond to review their lifestyles and make vital, sustain able changes to improve their heart health.
To raise as much mon ey as possible, each Peter Mark salon in Kilkenny
has been tasked with cre ating its own individual and unique way to raise money this year, so visi tors to their local salon can expect raffles, spon sored walks, and many other fun-filled events over the course of the weekend.
* Pictured above: Monique Jordan with Dr Angie Brown, Con sultant Cardiologist and Medical Director, Irish Heart Foundation; Peter Mark CEO Peter O’Rourke; and Emily Jordan.
Plans for a new Windfarm in Kilkenny are to be submitted next year
EDF Renewables want to put 10 turbines at Freneystown
Recently An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead for 21 tur
bines to be erected in Cas tlebanny in South Kilkenny.
Now the planning authori ty will have another decision to make next year on a pro posal by EDF Renewables for one at Freneystown – just northeast of the city.They
intend to seek permission for 10 turbines that would power up to 35,000 homes with plans to be submitted in 2023.
If it gets the green light, it could be up and running by 2028.
Any close encounters with the taxman reduce me to an apprehensive state akin to skating on thin ice. Not knowing what is lurking underneath the ice increases the fear. Ridicu lous I know, taxation is an instrument of monetary policy that’s meant to be fair, nevertheless I am not alone in finding taxation ….well taxing.
What happens to that nest egg or the accumulated wealth from a lifetime’s work is a particularly emotional issue. A recent report suggesting a hike in inheritance tax stirred up a hornets’ nest of reac tions from political deri sion when Leo Varadkar dubbed the Report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare as something that “was straight out of the Sinn Fein manifesto” to howls of protest from senior citizens who see
their efforts to benefit the next generation under threat.
“I’ve worked hard and struggled to own my home/ business/farm out of taxed income, so why should I pay double tax” is a typical comment.
It doesn’t seem fair put that way. But in fact, it’s not the now deceased who will pay the tax but their ben eficiaries. Inheritance tax is not on the actual estate of the dearly departed but part of the value of the transaction that occurs when money or wealth in some form is transferred to another party.
There hasn’t been an increase yet… and at 33% on taxable elements of in heritance that seems high enough and it doesn’t raise much anyway — about 1% of tax revenue in 2020.
The other point is that there are ways to reduce
inheritance tax AKA Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT).
Once you know the rules, there is wiggle room. Sur prisingly though, a major ity in Ireland don’t even make a will, perhaps to avoid thinking about the Grim Reaper. So I took a look at what is under that revenue ice.
Some of the inheritance tax regulations are straight forward, others merit the advice of a creative ac countant and need to be considered long before the thought of succession planning has entered most people’s heads. Also cases vary, depending on circum stances.
Firstly, there are tax-free thresholds which depend on the relationship to the disponer — that is the person who provided the gift or inheritance — and the beneficiary, anything beyond those thresholds
12.00 Dicksboro v Windgap
13.45pm Piltown v Black & Whites
St Canice’s Credit Union Snr Hurling Semi Final
3.30pm Tullaroan v Shamrock’s Ballyhale.
NOTE: Entry is at the DeGras Stand side only. (Breathnach Stand side entrance will remain closed.)
General Admission €15. These tickets can be purchased online or in Supervalu or Centra Supermarkets
Student & Pensioners discounted tickets for €10 can only be purchased online.
October 2022
2.00pm Danesfort v Rower Inistioge
3.45pm Thomastown v Carrickshock
NOTE: Entry is at the DeGras Stand side only. (Breathnach Stand side entry will remain closed.)
General Admission €15. These tickets can be purchased online or in Centra or Supervalu Supermarkets.
Students & Pensioners discounted ticket for €10 can only be purchased online.
is taxed at 33%. Gifts and inheritances between spouses/civil partners are exempt from CAT.
The first threshold (cur rently €335,000) applies to children (including adopted child, stepchild and certain foster chil dren) The second (cur rently €32,500) applies to a brother, sister, nephew, niece or lineal relation and the third (currently €16,250) applies in all other cases. There is also a taxfree allowance of €13,000 annually per individual gifted as a way of reducing future inheritance tax.
There’s a balancing act in volved here, give too much away and you risk running short of funds for later years and we are all living much longer now.
Planning early is key. “It’s important to sit down and to plan what you want to achieve,” says Adrian
McManus of McManus McCabe accountants. In heritance where businesses and farms are involved are a particular concern when it comes to succession
Tax regulations are de signed so that farms, or part of them, and busi nesses don’t have to be sold off in order to meet inheritance tax but there are strict rules to be met to qualify for business and farming relief of 90%.“In relation to business it’s important to review what has happened each year to reduce tax liability,” says Adrian Mc Manus. “Where a business is growing and where you have built up wealth what is the point in having it all in your name rather than passing owner ship early?”
Farm inheritance can be particularly sensitive and knowing the rules for agri cultural relief can make a
big difference. One of the important ones is that the recipient of an agricultural must have been an active farmer for six years or where the land is leased it must be farmed as a com mercial venture for six years.
There are instances where inheritance tax regulations could be used creatively to help resolve issues like the housing crisis or the need for renewable energy.
If part of a family home is divided to create a granny flat and the part given to a son or daughter that gift would be liable to CAT, this surely merits changing to get people started on the housing ladder. Allowing marginal farms full relief when leasing to a wind farm would promote re newable energy.
There is a simple solution, though: go skiing, spend ing the kids’ inheritance...
CLAIR WHITTYere’s nothing worse than listening to your child coughing and sneezing, it makes you feel so helpless.
ankfully, there are natural remedies that can help relieve their symptoms. It can be that when you collect them from creche or school they are coughing or sneezing, especially at the start of the school year. It’s a good idea to have a couple of things in the cupboard for these times.
ForTuss Otosan is ideal to help relieve coughs and is suitable for a dry or produc tive cough. It tastes good too which is important for kids. I love that it’s suitable from one year of age as there is very little for this age group. It’s suitable for the oldest member of the family too! It contains Manuka Honey, re nowned for its anti-microbial properties.
Elderberries are traditionally used to help with respiratory problems there’s lot of supple ments. Biocare Children’s Elderberry Complex is one option, it’s formulated for children aged three and above. It has a fruity avour and can be taken straight from the spoon, or mixed in food or drinks. Elderberries are a natural source of vitamin C
and zinc.
To help support immunity, top up on vitamin D, as it’s antiviral and supports im munity. BetterYou Vitamin D Oral Spray is a great option for kids as there is no struggle swallowing large tablets or chewing unpleasant tasting pills. It is easy to administer, a simple spray onto the inside of their cheek. Most parents love this product as there is seldom any argument. Choose between the infant or the junior depending on the age. And of course, don’t for get yourself, you need to stay on top of your game. You can choose between the 1,000iu or the 3,000iu BetterYou Vitamin D Oral Spray.
A healthy diet is important, and not always easy to achieve with young kids. However,
keep an eye on the number of dairy products and sugar they eat as they can contribute to excess mucous production and aggravate the problem.
You might like to top up their nutrient level with a multi vitamin, you could consider BetterYou Junior MultiVit Oral Daily Spray, like the vitamin D it’s sprayed onto the inside of the cheek.
Let us help you keep you and your family healthy this winter.
Shop online at www.natur alhealthstore.ie where you’ll be able to take a look at these brands.
Natural Health Store, Market Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538
Email: info@naturalhealth store.ie
“People don’t understand what adopted people go through. You’re always won dering, ‘Will I get a phone call today, or tomorrow.’ You’re always waiting. You need pa tience because it’s very frus trating.”
at’s how Meath woman Marguerite Penrose [pictured] describes her journey from the rst three years of her life in a Mother & Baby Home on Dublin, from where she was adopted by loving parents, to where she is now – a woman who traced her mother and who nally reconnected with the birth siblings she never knew.
Marguerite has had more than her fair share of battles over the years – from facing fundamental questions about her own origin, to battling rac ism due to her skin colour, and as an active woman who lives with a disability.
She has chronicled all this in her memoir, Yeah, But Where Are You Really From? at’s a question which Margue rite, the daughter of an Irish mother and a Zambian father, has often been asked and one which, no doubt, she posed herself when she embarked on the search for her birth par ents.
To nd those answers, she turned to Tusla Child and Family Agency, who assigned social worker Margaret Co maskey as her case worker and gave her the task of taking on the search.
It was an undertaking ham pered by the arrival of the Co vid pandemic and then by the cyber-attack on the HSE web site, which led to a shutdown of the computer network.
“ e cyber-attack was very hard, ere were months of not being able to do anything,” says Marguerite.
Covid added to the di cul ties. “We never got to meet one-on-one, but we had good Zoom calls,” she says. “Mar garet had a good sense of my expectations… but it’s a Pan dora’s Box… something you can’t prepare for.”
What Margaret found was that Marguerite’s father had been a cadet in the Zambian Army Medical Corps and had been based in the Curragh army camp for a period of time before returning to his homeland. It was during this stay that Marguerite was con ceived and subsequently put up for adoption in St Patrick’s.
e introduction of GDPR in 2018 made tracing searches more di cult. Prior to this, Margaret and her colleagues could search medical records, client IDs, contact post o ces and parish registers, and nd people through PPS numbers.
Now, all of that was o the ta ble and only births, deaths and marriage certi cates could be used.
“Case workers are under strict instructions about what they can tell you,” says Mar guerite. “It can be a long, slow process. “I’m 47 – but there are people who are quite old who don’t have five or six years to do this. I hope the system gets easier.”
That wish could well be
granted with the arrival of the Birth Information and Trac ing Act, begun on October 3, and which provides full and clear right of access to birth certificates, birth and early life information for anyone who was adopted, boarded out or the subject of an illegal birth registration.
The law sees the establish ment of a tracing service and
contact a preference register, as well as a making available a broad spectrum of counsel ling and support services.
The birth information and tracing journey can be trau matic. And although Tusla aims to make the search for information as smooth as possible, the agency says it can never guarantee that what you hope to find will be available in its files or in the files of other agencies.
Sometimes people’s experi ences don’t live up to expec tations… mistakes are made, and delays occur.
It was only last year that Marguerite finally got hold of her birth certificate. Prior to that, what scant information she had about her origins was on an ‘adopted birth certifi cate’ and she had no access to her medical history – a vital aspect of her life considering Marguerite was born with the spinal condition scoliosis.
“The whole process could be made a lot quicker,” she says. “How the Bill will work once it properly kicks off
remains to be seen. I’ll be keeping an eye on it as I have friends who are adopted and are going through the pro cess.”
Using information sourced by Tusla, it emerged that her birth mother was now dead, and using the MyHeritage. com genealogy platform, led to Marguerite discovering that she had birth siblingstwo brothers and a sister.
Through Dublin company AlphaBioLabs, she also got a breakdown of her DNA… something that is vital in the search for her African family, and Margaret will be there to support her when that time comes to that journey, too.
Says Marguerite: “She has been 100% there for me. I knew from Day One that we would get on. It’s very im portant to have a connection with the person. She is very understanding and deserves great credit. She always says I can call her anytime, which is great.”
The search has already brought three families togeth
er – those of her birth siblings and Marguerite’s own ad opted family of parents Mick, Noeline, and her sister Ciara.
“I didn’t tell them about the trace until I heard about my [birth] mum, [but] my fam ily always wanted me to find out,” she says.
So, what’s it like having so many new people in her life?
“Sometimes I do feel torn. I’m trying to get to know my new family but I’m also very aware of the time I spend with people; that I make time for everyone. It’s emotionally try ing, dividing yourself up, and soon I’ll be even more so with the African side of my family.”
She adds: “I will do a DNA test, but it’s quite expensive and you have to pay yourself. I think it’s something the State should pay for.”
For Marguerite and others like her, the new legislation will hopefully help in what is a traumatic and emotionally draining detective hunt.
“It’s great to hear the news about Tracing,” she says. ‘We need to educate people…
they need to hear the human side to the [adoption] story. I had a positive experience –it’s important to tell people that it’s not all negative.”
The good news for Margue rite, though, is that thanks to her case worker Margaret’s efforts, she has been reunited with her birth brothers, and it was a reunion that went per fectly.
“I couldn’t ask for a better [one]. We met in December, before Christmas. It was like we were never apart… it was full-on,” she says.
“The similarities are uncan ny.” I feel like I have known them my whole life. It worked out for me, which isn’t always the case.”
Taking on a search for one’s origins is no easy; task, but with Tusla’s help and with the new legislation, things might become a bit easier for all concerned.
For further information on birth, information and tracing services see www. birthinfo.ie
Having recently written about the closure of Ulster Bank and KBC I think another review and re minder is in order. This is because Ulster Bank is putting back its proposed closure deadline to help those on social welfare not lose the higher payments announced in the Budget, like the double children’s allowance payment due soon. And the fact that vul nerable customers forced to move bank accounts need extra help with the complexities of the moving process.
The Ulster bank had planned to freeze the ac counts of thousands of cus tomers from this weekend who have not yet moved.
Customers have had ad equate time to make other arrangements as they were informed in April and May that they had six months to
switch to a new provider. Yet, there are around a third who have yet to close their accounts.
Account holders will now have until Friday, Novem ber 4, to get new banking arrangements in place. This comes on foot of the inter vention of advocacy servic es for personal customers in vulnerable situations and older customers
The bank confirms it is continuously reaching out to the remaining one third of these customers and most report that they have opened a new account and are in the process of moving their payments to their new account. The bank said 75% of Ulster Bank personal current account customers in receipt of social protec tion payments have already acted.
The Citizens Informa tion website, as always, has
helped with information to aid you decide how and to which provider you should move. They say before you move, think about how you use your current account and the features you use. Review your banking habits. Check back over your records and count how many times you make each of the following transac tions: cash withdrawals, bill payments, debit card purchases, contactless pay ments, money transfers, inbranch cashier transactions and non-EU transactions.
Know, too, how you make your transactions. Check whether you make most banking transactions using ATMs, online or in-branch. Then decide how you want to deal with your bank. You might like dealing with a person in a branch, so choosing a bank you can easily get too will be an im
portant factor. If you prefer the convenience of internet and mobile banking, you should make sure you are happy with the online and mobile services of your chosen bank.
The five retail banks have also put in place helplines
for vulnerable customers forced to move bank ac counts.
Head of sustainable banking at the Banking and Payments Federation Louise O’Mahony said the group’s member banks were acutely aware that moving bank can be a daunting experience, particularly for customers who may be in vulnerable circumstances.
She said: “Banks under stand the importance of facilitating independent decision making for all customers, and while some cases are quite complex and may take more time, our member banks under stand that each case is dif ferent and will work with you to find a solution.”
For example, there is help if you cannot attend a branch due to mobility issues, or you may have an accessibility issue due to
hearing loss or you need additional support due to diminished cognitive ability.
You may be a trusted family member, a carer, or the legal representa tive acting on behalf of the customer who needs help during the process.
You are encouraged to contact the new provider on their dedicated phoneline to discuss your individual situation.
The dedicated vulner able customer phonelines for those who need ad ditional support moving accounts are: AIB at 0818 227 056, Bank of Ireland at 1800 946 146, KBC Bank at 1800 804 472, Perma nent TSB at 0818 818 721, and Ulster Bank at 1800 656 001.
john@ellisfinancial 086 8362622
Sinn Féin TD for Carlow Kilkenny, Kathleen Funchion, has hit out at the government for failing to include any provi sion for student accommoda tion for a third consecutive budget. is lack of foresight will particularly impact students attending South East Technological Univer sity (SETU), based in Carlow Town.
Teachta Funchion said: “Student and parents will look at this budget and see that, once again, no funding has been allocated for student accommodation. is in ability or reluctance to tackle the severe lack of student ac commodation is impacting students migrating into the region to attend university; and at the same time a ecting young people from Carlow and Kilkenny who attend colleges and universities in other parts of the country.
“It shows a complete lack of
sincerity from the government in how they address the crisis that students and families are facing trying to secure and a ord housing.
“ e student accommoda tion crisis is more severe than it has ever been. Yet, this is the third consecutive budget from this government with no allocation for student accom modation.
“Shovel ready projects that could deliver 3,000 student college-owned beds are sitting on the shelf as a result of government inaction.
“Families are being crippled by rents. Others are being forced to commute crazy distances or defer their courses.
“Colleges have issued a warning on deferrals with early indication that they could be up 20%.
“Stu dents from
smaller towns and rural areas are particularly disadvantaged by the housing crisis.
“Sinn Fein have called on Minister Harris to go back to his government colleagues and urge them to make funding available that will get student accommodation projects onsite and under con struction.
“ e fact that students and their families won’t bene t from the tax rebate on rent is also unfair and must be
looked at.
“PhD researchers are also excluded because they are denied worker status and instead paid sti pends far below the minimum wage.
“More needs to be done urgently for student renters here in Carlow Kilkenny and further a eld to address the supply of student ac commoda tion.”
New research shows that a smartphone game that gath ers video and audio data could help earlier diagnosis of autism and improve treat ment.
In the game Guess What? an adult caregiver holds a smartphone to his or her forehead and asks a child to mimic an image displayed on the screen. It might be a monkey, a soccer player, or perhaps a happy or sad face.
e adult then guesses what the child is acting out and registers correct answers by tilting the phone forward; incorrect by tilting it back.
For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the game provides a quick dose of therapeutic learning in the home setting — help ing them make eye contact with their caregivers as well as helping them associate speci c emotions with vari ous facial expressions.
But the value of Guess What? goes much deeper. Each 90-second game ses sion is video recorded and can be submitted (with appropriate consents and privacy protections) to re searchers at the renowned Stanford University in Cali fornia.
“If we switch the camera on, and we can give useful prompts to the child, we can challenge them, help them, and capture information as we go,” says Dennis Wall, Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine.
For a few years now, Prof. Wall and his colleagues have been gathering Guess What? home video recordings and using them to develop new ways to diagnose ASD remotely, improve emotionrecognition datasets, track children’s progress recognis ing emotions, and ultimately improve ASD treatments.
e work, which uses com puter vision as well as other forms of AI, has potential applications for other types of behavioural analysis as well. “ e methods that the Wall Lab has developed for autism can enable new general purpose models of human behaviour which can be applied to all sorts of conditions, including other developmental delays, men tal health conditions, and a ective disorders such as schizophrenia,” says Peter Washington, an assistant
Professor of Information and Computer Science at the University of Hawaii.
Children with ASD typi cally struggle with making eye contact and engaging in what’s called social- emo tional reciprocity — the back and forth of social interaction that requires an understanding of nonverbal cues including, among other things, the recognition of emotion in others’ faces.
Social reciprocity is best learned when children are quite young, and various strategies for teaching it to children with ASD — using, for example, handheld ash cards — have proven e ec tive, Prof. Wall says.
To address that prob lem, Prof. Wall and his colleagues developed an autism treatment program that uses augmented reality wearables — speci cally Google Glass —to provide
children with cues about the emotions of people with whom they are interacting.
Although the Google Glass approach received attention in the media and has proven e ective in a randomisde controlled trial, augmented reality tools have not yet been widely adopted, Prof. Wall says.
To overcome that limita tion, he and his team devel oped Guess What? which relies on a more ubiquitous tool: the smartphone. “Most people across all sectors of socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity have a smart phone,” he says. “ is makes it a potent vehicle for help ing to manage health and deliver treatments.”
e smartphone is also more natural for families to use because it creates an ex cuse for social exchange in the home.
But Prof. Wall also had
another goal in mind: Col lecting home videos of both ASD and neurotypi cal children. By creating a game that makes it easy for families to safely share videos with researchers, they hoped to gather a large enough data base to move the eld of ASD diagnosis and treatment forward. And those e orts are beginning to bear fruit.
Researchers know that ear ly intervention is bene cial to children with autism, yet in some countries, diagnosis typically takes about two years and the average age of diagnosis is aged four ve, Prof. Wall says.
In addition, autism servic es are not uniformly distrib uted around such countries, Ireland included.
Going forward, the team hopes their models will gradually become smart enough to diagnose a child
with ASD without human assistance. To make that leap, however, the team needs a sizeable stock of home videos to use for model training. at’s where Guess What? comes in.
In a recent paper in JMIR Paediatrics and Parenting, the team tested the idea of using just the audio portion of Guess What? video re cordings to directly predict ASD without relying on any humans to label relevant features. Audio is relevant to ASD diagnosis because many children with autism are known to vocalise dif ferently than neurotypical children.
n next steps, the team will start combining the audio signal with other types of behavioural information in the videos such as emotion recognition, hand move ments, etc. “I’m interested in developing multimodal
models that integrate mul tiple sources of data into one explainable diagnostic system,” Washington says.
“It will be useful to know how much of an automated diagnosis was attributed to, for example, emotion recog nition or eye contact versus another behaviour such as speech.”
Not only do the scholars hope their game will help diagnose ASD early, they also hope it will assist chil dren in learning and rec ognising others’ emotions. When children look at an other person’s face using the Google Glass autism system developed by Wall and his team, the glass will tell them what emotion the other per son is expressing.
For the system to do this accurately and reliably re quires a model trained on data base of labeled facial expressions.
Leading international pharmaceutical firms have spent decades and bil lions of euro in pursuit of a breakthrough drug for Alzheimer’s.
None has succeeded in the twin aim of slowing cognitive decline and tack ling what is believed to be the underlying cause.
The drug Lecanemab has heralded excitement be cause it is the first to prove in clinical trials that it can do both, that is slow cogni
tive decline and tackle the underlying cause.
It works by flushing out harmful amyloid toxins, which form into plaques in the brain where they kill cells and impair an individ ual’s ability to function.
Results show those given the drug experienced a less rapid decline in memory and problem solving skills and their ability to perform day-to-day tasks than those given a mere placebo.
Trial participants had
tested positive for amy loid before enrolment but only had mild cognitive impairment or early stage Alzheimer’s.
They also had a reduced build-up of amyloid in their brain. Experts say lec anemab succeeded because it was designed to target amyloid before it became too clogged up.
The drug has significantly slowed cognitive and func tional decline by 27 % in this large patient trial.
The fact the patients only had early-stage disease may also be significant as it may be necessary to clear the amyloid before it has a chance to cause too much damage.
Patients diagnosed with dementia are currently given drugs that help boost the levels of chemical mes sengers in the brain.
These do not work for everyone and only tempo rarily mask the effect of the disease.
Art in the broad sense can be a huge draw when it comes to choosing locations for city breaks, together with history and culture.
1. London, England
Even though it seems obvious (a bit like including Florence in this list, which I was tempted to, but resisted), London needs a mention, if only for the large amount of free art you can enjoy here. Whereas street art is free everywhere, and Brick Lane and Leake Tunnel are must-sees, it’s the excellent museums and galleries, such as Tate Britain and Tate Modern — which can easily be connected by a lovely walk — that stand out. ese simply superb galleries have free entry, as does the British Museum, where you can catch some ancient art, and that is pretty special in a city like London.
For something out of the ordinary, head to e Bower, a former public toilet block turned gallery and café. Tiny, but impressive.
2. Paris, France
Paris is one of those destinations that seems to have it all; it is a beautiful, historic city with artful architecture — old and new — evident everywhere.
And, of course, it has the world’s largest art museum, the Louvre, which covers the best examples of ancient and simply old art, from the Mona Lisa to the Venus de Milo. en there are museums of speci c artists, such as the sculptures by Rodin, Monet’s waterlilies, or indeed Dali’s works.
Some museums/galleries are destinations in their own right, such as the Musee d’ Orsay, Fondation Louis Vuitton, or the Centre Pompidou. ere is superb street art, from gigantic murals along Boulevard 13 to the tiny mosaics on street corners by Parisian artist ‘Invader’. In Paris, you
“Roman markets epitomise what we strive to achieve when building our experiences: connecting curious travellers to local food and people in a way that helps local culture thrive,” says Lauren Aloise, co-founder of Devour Tours, part of City Experiences. e company o ers tours led by locals that mesh food and drink with history and storytelling, and, according to Aloise, include “a mix of unique mom-and-pop places that are o the beaten path and give you a true taste of life in Rome.”
Located in the heart of the relatively quiet, unpretentious neighbourhood, Aloise calls Mercato Testaccio “the goto-market when you’re in the mood for tasting.” (It’s also the epicenter of Devour’s Testaccio Food & Market tour.)
ere’s predictably excellent fruits, vegetables, meat, and sh among the market’s roughly 100 stalls, but the prepared foods are the real draw. “From some of the city’s
stumble across art everywhere, making it a perfect art lover’s destination.
e Pinault Collection has only recently opened, adding another great gallery in a superb setting.
3. Doha, Qatar
e small desert country of Qatar has over the last decade or so turned itself into a veritable art hub, with not
only striking architecture by heavyweights such as I.M. Pei, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid Architects, but also world-class museums, galleries, and art installations in and around the capital Doha.
Add superb galleries, street art (but without the gra ti), and public sculptures throughout the city as well as in the international airport, and you have a place that is a
must-see for art lovers.
Wandering through the Katara Cultural Village, you can scratch the art itch, full of sculptures, murals, and galleries and with great architecture and cafes and restaurants, right by the beach.
4. Cape Town, South Africa
Sometimes a destination needs just one thing, one place they have done so well, that
it puts the entire city on the map. For me, that is the Zeitz Mocaa, the Zeitz Museum for Contemporary Art Africa. e entire place just blew me away and was one of the main reasons for wanting to visit Cape Town, although, of course, the city and its surroundings o er so much more than just one museum. But the Zeitz Mocaa is no ordinary museum. is is
Trionfale is exclusively devoted to fresh food and produce, with selections ranging from fruits and vegetables to eggs, cheese, and homemade pasta,” says Aloise. “Some stands in the market have been open since 1924, spanning three generations.” She suggests visiting before or after a trip to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, especially if you’re staying in an Airbnb and plan to cook.
Check out: Da Peppino for honey, eggs, and jams, Da Gustavino for truly local bulk wine, and Box 102 where Arsenio and Ivo sell some of the best porchetta.
a former grain silo, an ugly concrete building, which with enormous vision and engineering skill has been transformed into one of the most amazing buildings ever. Defying logic and against all common sense, the rooms that were created now hold the best of African modern art, and the result is worth ying out to Cape Town for.
Luckily, part of the building is a superb luxury hotel, aptly called e Silo, and from its rooftop bar, you get stunning views across gorgeous Cape Town and beyond.
5. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi is included because apart from people who have lived there or visited, most travellers do not appreciate quite how special this capital of the United Arab Emirates is when it comes to art. ere is, of course, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the second Louvre Museum outside of Paris (the other is in Lens near Lille in France).
e Abu Dhabi one wows not only with its art, but also with its setting on its own island, and its Jean Nouvel architecture. en there is the Yas Bay Waterfront, the walkway of which is studded with superb larger-than-life sculptures and art installations, with artists ranging from Takashi Murakami, KAWS, and many others.
ere is even a gigantic astronaut who seems to be waiting for his space rocket. Add the combination of traditional and modern architecture ranging from the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to the Zaha Hadiddesigned Sheikh Zayed bridge, and you have something for everybody.
e Abu Dhabi Guggenheim by Frank Gehry is still a work in progress and should be open by 2026.
local farmers and producers are happy to tell you all about them,” says Aloise.
Check out: ey change depending on the season, but bring your shopping bags to take home treats like organic honey, fresh mozzarella, local wine, and fragrant olive oil.
best pizza al taglio, to Rome’s most famous sandwiches -- this is a place to come on an empty stomach,” she says. For rst-timers to Rome, it’s a wonderful place to sample the city’s culinary range, all in one place!” After wandering the stalls, nd a table near Max Ca è Piazzetta (box 102) and
order a €5 Aperol spritz to pair with your feast.
Check out: Casa Manco for innovative and delicious pizza, Enzo and Lina for cured meats and cheeses, Mordi e Vai (box 15) for famous Roman sandwiches (such as the stewed tripe)
Mercato Trionfale
Rome’s Prati neighbourhood, which borders Vatican City just west of the Tiber River, is home to Mercato Trionfale — the city’s largest food market with over 270 stalls.
“Unlike more touristy Roman markets, Mercado
Amica al Circo Massimo
e outdoor, weekend-only Mercato di Campagna Amica al Circo Massimo is a “0 KM” farmers market, meaning all its vendors are selling items grown or made within 100 kilometres. “ e products come from Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, and the
Not far from Trastevere in the leafy Monteverde Nuevo neighborhood, “this buzzing market is the perfect place to go to people-watch,” says Aloise. “ e market has just about everything on o er, including quintessential Italian housewares, and there’s often not a tourist in sight.” It’s also a short walk to Villa Doria Pamphili, a 17th-century villa situated in Rome’s largest landscaped public park.
Must-try vendors: At Albero delle Spezie you’ll nd dried fruits, nuts, and quality spices.
Sunday, October 9 is Kilkenny Day – a day when we celebrate who we are, and what we are. I love Kilkenny. Love this city of ours and feel privileged to live here. And so, this week I am presenting a few tidbits about the town I love so well.
Tidy Town
Kilkenny has won its fair share of honours when it comes to the Tidy Towns Competition thanks to the Keep Kilkenny Beautiful folk who do such Trojan work in keeping our city tidy. Following is how the authorities kept Kilkenny tidy 700 years ago. This is taken from the Liber Primus (Latin for First Book) the oldest record of events and happenings in Kilkenny:
“On Friday next after the feast of St Michael the
Archangel (October 6, 1335) it was ordained and provided by Gilbert Fort, sovereign of the town of Kilkenny, and the com munity of that town, that everyone should cleanse the pavement against his house, and this twice a week, that is on Wednes day and on Saturday, and unless he do so he shall be charged 6d (six pennies), 3d. on Wednesday and 3d. on Saturday.
“It was also ordained and provided by John Cros, sov ereign of Kilkenny and the community of that town, that if anyone be found washing clothing or the in testines of animals or any thing else in the fountains of the said town they shall be forfeited and if anyone be found committing any other enormity in the said fountains they shall be put in the tumbrel (in this case
a cart-load of dung for the dump).”
Daylight robbery !
Paying tax has never been pleasant for people throughout all ages. In Alice Kyteler’s time (early 1300s) there was a tax on windows that let in day light, hence the phrase “daylight robbery”. The blocked up windows in Kyteler’s Inn, which can still be seen today were a medieval means of avoid ing tax. Staying with Alice Kyteler — Kilkenny was very much a Norman French town and French was very much the lan guage of its citizens. During the Alice Kyteler witchcraft trial in 1324, Bishop de Ledrede, who brought the charge of witchcraft against Alice, found it necessary to defend his actions in French.
In the old days, travellers, rich and poor, were fed and sheltered, free of charge, in the abbeys and monaster ies. When numbers became too great to cater for, inns were established close to the monasteries where the travellers were entertained without payment. These inns often had the sign “Bull” outside. The word Bull in this case comes from the Latin “Bulla” meaning seal, indicating that the inn was licensed under the seal of the abbey or monastery. The Bull Inn, very close to St Francis Abbey, was such a house of hospitality attached to the abbey. It gave its name to the street where it stood, known as Bull Alley up to 1883 when it was widened and its name was changed to St Canice’s Place. Prior
to its widening, Bull Alley was so narrow that people could almost shake hands across it.
The Lighthouse Bar
I often wondered how the Lighthouse Bar (which was in Walkin St and where I had the occasional pint) got its name especially as Kilkenny is an inland city with not a seashore in sight!
Well let me throw some light on it – the pub was one of the old landmarks in Kilkenny, its history dating back 300 years.
In the old coach days, this particular part of Upper Walkin St was used as a signal station for the mail coaches. There was always a light kept outside; when the mail coach reached a certain point on the Dublin Road, the light could be seen and so it came to be known as “The Lighthouse”.
Byrne’s Coach Factory
Where in Kilkenny will you find Byrne’s Coach Factory? I’m ashamed to say that I only spotted it last year during one of my Covid walks around town even though I’ve been driving past it for years (and years and years!). I t was quite a busy place if the following add is any thing to go by: ‘John Byrne’s Coach Factory, vehicles of every description, includ ing Carriages, Waggonettes, Stanhopes and Jaunting Cars are manufactured in the newest styles, the best material only being used.
Repairs executed at moder ate charges.’ And you’ll find Byrne’s Coach Factory in Upper Patrick Street just across from Chapel Avenue.
In the meantime – happy Kilkenny Day. Celebrate and enjoy
Kilkenny Day is a celebration of all things Kilkenny, bringing the communities of Kilkenny City & County together to have fun, laugh, dance, connect and re member everything that makes Kilkenny a very special place to be!
Kilkenny Day takes place this year on October 9th with much of the city-based entertain ment focusing on Canal area in the heart of the city. Kicking o at 1pm and continuing until 6pm, this will be a jampacked free family fun day, with entertainment for everyone. Crowds will be greeted with a live performance by Maracatu Ilha Brilhante, a Brazilian per cussion band. Starting at the historic bandstand along the Canal Walk, people can interact with the animals from Nore Val ley’s Pet Farm, watch Monsieur Gusto’s family performance, marvel at stilt-walkers & jugglers entertainment and enjoy inter active plate spinning, traditional family games such as hook-aduck and take a spin on some amusements, while snacking on popcorn and candy oss as they stroll around.
A few minutes’ walk away, there will be a live performance from the incredible Code of
Behaviour, an Irish brass band, at 2pm on Canal Square. With a mix of pop, jazz and other genres, Code of Behaviour are known for getting their audienc es up and dancing. We can’t wait for people to experience this exceptional group, along with many others at the bandstand on Canal Square. e other groups, including will perform on the day with the support of the Live Local Public Perfor mance Scheme, funded by Min ister Catherine Martin’s Depart ment of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Kilkenny Day was created to celebrate the memory of St Canice, a 6th century monk who founded Kilkenny city. His memory is celebrated in the beautiful St Canice’s Cathedral & Round Tower. e medieval city is lled with astounding beauty; in its historic gardens, tradi tional and contemporary design,
fantastic restaurants, bars and boutiques, all within walking distance of each other.
is year will feature a memo rable moment for Kilkenny as a very special sculpture, featuring Adam King’s legendary, ‘Virtual Hug’ will be unveiled by Adam and special guest, Paralympian Mary Fitzgerald. e public will be led along the Canal Walk by Adam’s dance group for the un veiling at 3pm on the day. is permanent feature will serve as a reminder of how the people of the city and county stayed strong and connected during di cult times and will provide a place to re ect and contemplate. To celebrate the county on Kilkenny Day 2022, many historical sites and fun experi ences will open their doors free-of-charge for all to explore and enjoy on the day. In people’s busy lives they can miss some of the wonderful sites and experiences on their doorstep. Kilkenny Day o ers the chance to explore their own county and take a tour around Kilkenny Castle, visit the Coal Mining Museum in Castle comer’s Discovery Park or walk in nature with the scenic views at Woodstock in Inistioge. For Information and a list of the free sites on the day can be found on visitkilkenny.ie
People are asked to dress up in their black and amber, to get out and enjoy the day and make some lasting memories in their local city and county towns!
Arán Bakery and Bistro won Supreme Cham pion of the Blas na hÉireann 2022 awards after winning Gold for their Spelt Sour dough bread, which won Gold for the second year in a row. Sweep ing the Sourdough category, Arán also won the Bronze with their Heritage Sourdough and Silver with their Multi-Seed Sourdough. Arán won Gold in the PastriesTart category with their Citrus Tart, and Best in County for Kilkenny. Hailed as being the Irish seal of approval, Blas na hÉireann celebrates the very best in Irish food and drink, shining a spotlight on the talented producers dotted around the island.
Bart Pawlukojc said: “We have a huge amount of grati tude to the customers. We try, from the heart, to bring the best quality to them. To be recognised like this is wonder
ful. We are grateful to our team and our suppliers in Kilkenny and further a eld who
made this possible. It is an honour to be recognised along with all the candidates.”
Nicole Server-Pawlukojc said: “ at loaf of bread epito mises our entire approach
at Arán — start with the very best and then add a little love and skill.
We couldn’t be more de lighted for the whole team — it’s a real boost for everyone.”
Arán Bakery and Bistro, Barrack Street, Kilkenny, was founded in 2019 by Bart Pawlukojc and Nicole Server-Pawlukojc who met while working in the world famous Noma in Copenhagen. ey fell in love and became happily married. Arán is Nicole and Bart’s cre ative outlet that allows them to make top-quality food acces sible to everyone. Focusing on local, seasonal food, they work with producers from Kilkenny and Carlow to bring a deli cious menu that can change from day to day. For the past 3 years, Arán has adapted to challenges with creativity and attention to their consumer needs. is led them to open a second location just last year which houses their bakery and deli, and o ers take away
sweet and savoury baked goods.
Now in their 15th year, Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards is the biggest competition for quality Irish produce on the island of Ireland. is year, over 3,000 products from every county on Ireland were entered into the competition to win Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in a broad range of food and drink categories as well as key awards such as Supreme Champion and Best Artisan Producer.
Arán Bakery and Bistro continues to o er their award winning bread and pastries, and brunch 5 days a week. From ursday 6th October, Arán will be opening in the evening for ‘à la carte’ dining. Every ursday in October there will be live Jazz with Indigo Mood. e menu is available for sit in dining, take away and delivery. Book a table by contacting (056) 775 6297.
So, Russian President Vladi mir Putin has now said he is willing to negotiate with Ukraine. at might sound good, but it is imperative to pay attention to the details. He made the statement right after he announced the il legal annexation of regions of Ukraine that are (at least partly) occupied by Russian troops. So in e ect he was saying: “I’ve invaded your country. I’ve killed tens of thousands of your people, created millions of refugees, caused many billions of dol lars’ worth of damage, and now I am trying to steal your land. So let’s negotiate.”
Ukrainian President Volody myr Zelensky also made a statement about negotia tions with Russia. Ukraine, he said, was ready “to agree on coexistence on equal, hon est, digni ed, and fair terms”. He also made it clear that no talks about peace were possi ble with Putin: “We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia.”
In case that wasn’t clear enough, he announced an other decision: Ukraine is speeding up its plans to join NATO.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak is often described as one of the most powerful people in Ukraine, not far behind the president himself.
As Podolyak has repeatedly pointed out it’s a myth — of ten asserted by the Russians — that Ukraine isn’t ready for talks. In fact, Podolyak already has experience of sitting at a table opposite a delegation from Moscow. In February, he was part of the Ukrainian negotiation team that met with Russian repre sentatives at the border with Belarus just as the war was getting underway.
e Russian negotiators, ful ly believing their own propa ganda, issued ultimatums to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine.
“It shows you how degraded Russian diplomacy and con sequently the political pro cess is.” Even some of the members of the Russian del egation Podolyak has known for years referred to him with this label.
Kyiv. e Kremlin demanded that Ukrainians lay down their arms and surrender.
bul communique but also our understanding of what Russia is.”
I asked what he meant by this: “We saw that the Rus sian army wasn’t just ghting, it was destroying,” Podolyak told me. “And they were do ing it on the principle of genocide — not on the basis of ethnicity but of a liation with the Ukrainian state. As if it didn’t matter who you were ethnically, what language you spoke, they would kill because you were a citizen of Ukraine.”
Even after visiting the site of the massacres on April 4, Zel ensky still con rmed his read iness to negotiate: “We strive for peace, we deserve it. And these people showed it, and the Armed Forces showed it. Peace is impossible without victory.” And yet, he added: “We do not want to lose mil lions of people. at is why there should be dialogue.”
Now Putin declares his will ingness to discuss peace even as he declares mobilisation, annexes Ukrainian territory and threatens the use of nu clear weapons against those who would resist his sei zure of Ukrainian land. And Ukrainians are still prepared to negotiate. If the Kremlin wants talks, it should start by withdrawing its troops. Nothing is preventing it from doing that.
“
ey kept calling us ‘Nazis,’ ” says Mykhailo Podolyak.
e Ukrainian delegation came with a mandate to do everything it could to start a dialogue. At the time, Russia was killing countless Ukrai nian citizens and destroying Ukrainian cities; Ukraine had prevented the Russian troops from taking the capital but had not yet fully driven them out of the area to the north of
“ ey were completely un prepared,” Podolyak recalls. “ e Russians knew nothing about the state of our army. ey described some of our bases, which are exclusively under Ukrainian jurisdiction, as NATO bases. ... e only thing they had to o er was war and blackmail.”
e last round of talks, held in Turkey at the end of March, ended with the Ukrainians handing over a communi que with a proposal to end the war. e Ukrainian del
egation presented a proposal for a new system of security guarantees that would de ne Ukraine’s status as a neutral nonaligned nonnuclear state. Ukraine o ered to negotiate the status of Crimea sepa rately within 15 years, with out the use of military means. Separately, the presidents of Ukraine and Russia would discuss the status of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
e Russians responded by saying that they would give Ukraine a gift “that would please them very much.” at meant, Podolyak said, “that they would withdraw their
troops from Kyiv region.” (By then, of course, Ukrainian ghters had already defeated the Russian forces marching on Kyiv.)
But what the Ukrainians dis covered after the withdrawal lled them with horror. In Bu cha, investigators discovered the bodies of more than 400 civilians — their hands often tied behind their backs — who were shot by the Russian invaders. ere is evidence of torture and rape. Hundreds remain missing. What the Ukrainians saw was shock ing in its brutality, this “not only canceled out the Istan
Meanwhile, the Biden Ad ministration has announced a new round of sanctions on Russia, in response to the annexations, targeting gov ernment o cials and fam ily members, Russian and Belarusian military o cials and defence procurement networks.
Finally, Putin recently de clared a military mobilisation to call up as many as 300,000 reservists in a dramatic bid to reverse setbacks in his war on Ukraine. e announce ment led to an exodus of more than 180,000 people, mostly men who were sub ject to service, and has led to renewed protests and acts of de ance against the war.
October means Nobel Prize season. As you read this, six prizes will have been an nounced from around the globe, leading to some new faces being added to the world’s most elite roster of scientists, writers, econo mists and human rights leaders. e prizes are for medicine, physics, chem istry, literature, economics and the much coveted No bel Peace Prize.
e prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace were established by the will of Alfred Nobel, a wealthy Swedish industrial ist and inventor of dynamite.
e rst awards were hand ed out in 1901, ve years
after Nobel’s death.
Each prize is worth 10 million kro nor (nearly €900,000) and will be handed out with a diploma and gold medal on December 10 – the date of Nobel’s death in 1896.
e economics award – of cially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Al fred Nobel – was not created by Nobel, but by Sweden’s Central Bank in 1968.
Between 1901 and 2021, the Nobel prizes and the
prize in eco nomic sciences have been awarded 609 times.
Who knows who will win and why?
e Nobel statutes pro hibit the judges from discussing their deliberations for 50 years. So it is probably go ing to be a while before we know for sure how judges made their picks for 2022 and who was on their short lists.
e judges try hard to avoid dropping hints about the winners before the an
nouncements, but some times word gets out. Bookies in Europe sometimes o er odds on possible peace prize and literature Nobel win ners.
ousands of people around the world are eligible to submit nominations for the Nobel prizes.
ey include university professors, lawmakers, pre vious Nobel laureates and the committee members themselves.
Although the nominations are kept secret for 50 years, those who submit them sometimes announce their suggestions publicly, par ticularly for the Nobel Peace Prize.
e Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Norway while the other awards are handed out in Sweden. at is how Alfred Nobel wanted it.
His exact reasons are un clear but during his lifetime Sweden and Norway were joined in a union, which was dissolved in 1905. Some times relations have been tense between the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, which manages the prize money, and the ercely in dependent peace prize com mittee in Oslo.
What does it take to win a Nobel?
Patience, for one. Scien tists often have to wait for decades to have their work
recognised by the Nobel judges, who want to make sure that any breakthrough withstands the test of time. at is a departure from Nobel’s will, which states that the awards should en dow “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest ben e t to mankind”. e peace prize committee is the only one that regularly rewards achievements made in the previous year.
According to Nobel’s wish es, that prize should go to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
It was springtime, back in the far days when you noticed such things. When every dawn gave the hope that the savage frost of the night before might be the last one of a hard pitiless winter. And maybe this day would see the snow start its long slow retreat back up Slievenamon, which loomed, white and clear and Arctic, in our back-window, in the blue light of a late January evening.
In those 1940s days, cold was the blueprint – the template – of our dirt-poor lives, and every winters grasp was bitter and iron hard. e bed at night now had the maximum amount of beet sacks on it: {blankets were something we’d read about in schoolbooks.} Any more sacks and the weight would break our bones; what brainiacs might now call ‘critical mass.’ e small bedroom window glass was cloudy-yellow with ice; just a milky spot left in the middle, which hadn’t quite yet been covered. Yet, I said. And I’m talking about the inside. Our
house was a barn with a greenstick feeble re in one corner. Later on in the evening, I’d be o on my usual mission. An obsession I’d only noticed when my voice deepened a bit, and body foliage was discovered sprouting in unlikely and hitherto barren spaces. I was a bit more than twelve, can’t be sure how much, maybe a year or two.. e ancient biological scene had crept up on me, somehow, without attracting much of my attention. No one to tell me anything of the body, of course. Same as the girls, who had their own particular problems and misfortunes {which I knew naught of, at the time.} Aye, ‘our land of saints and scholars.’
It was all a bit of a mystery for me. Worse for them. Probably a sin, too. No, de nitely a sin. Every event south of the old belly-button {the ‘nable’ as we knew the ‘navel’} was tainted with the feral stink of Hell re. at, amongst other even less attractive personal aromas… But the old terrorizing sinny angle didn’t bother me one little bit: I stopped believing in that craic when I was old enough to realise that if anyone who was any good at all lived beyond the clouds, they would sort out this old world a lot better. But they wouldn’t bother their arses
coming down this way; ever. What for – for the luvva Jaysus?
Getting on for thirteen or so might have been early or late to set out on the march to manliness – not that I knew what that meant - with all its pitfalls and odd pleasures. I found out, long after, that having a good time in this world had been far easier as a dirty hungry wandering loner of a child, than it was when I became very rich. Maybe that’s why I ‘ ewered’ it all away on several occasions. In the years I had it, I wasn’t happy. And whenever without it again, I certainly wasn’t much sadder.
Anyway, back to where I rambled away from – this obsession. Nearly all obsessions worthy of the name involve a female. And mine was no exception. e divine object was the daughter of a local business man, in the ‘drinks retail trade.’
Well, a pub – a ‘grocery pub’. …
Each evening I would walk down to the village - resisting the urge to run, run! I would love to race – gallop – tear –storm - into the small street - like a wild Don Cossack, or one of Genghis Khan’s raiders, all hairy, my horse a-snorting, turban and beard ying, lance glittering and blood-stained with gore! is, might attract favourable glances from the fair object of my {innocent} desire!!
A bit extreme, I suppose; slightly over the top... But I read books, maybe believed the Cossack bits more than others might...
Anyway, on foot, in badly holed, over-sized and smelly Welly boots, I arrive when dark has fallen, giving me a good four or ve hours to hang about outside the shuttered pub windows, where-within shimmered and soft-shoe’d my rapturous one – my very own secret love – my unknowing love – my darling Dunna Mona Lisa.
e closed shutters didn’t t ush, and there were many wide gaps at the centre divisions. rough these, I could see half of the lamp-lit bar - and my ‘intended.’ e special relationship was all in my mind, of course – but where else would it be? Ne’er a Parker fountain pen had I - the only instrument sophisticated enough to give appropriate dignity to any script addressed to my love. How could I pen a proper poem, or love words, to my casually indi erent dear, without such a necessary gadget? At the back of my mind, I knew the age di erence might be a prob. And not the only one, either. Her riches, beauty, ne clothes, and acceptance as the sweetest ‘belle’ of the area, were also hurdles in my path. But not insurmountable
ones!! ‘ e course of love never runs smooth!’ So Clark Gable. a lad with a ne ‘tache - had assured us all, in a lm at Bill Egan’s Gaeity Cinema, for the princely sum of fourpence.. And who was I to naysay a lm star? Who’d know more than that girlcharming fella?
Oh, long wavy auburn { lm word} hair my love had, with the most winsome way of tossing it this way and that, and the sweetest little shy smile. An adorable and genuine smile –{not ‘put on’ like those of the other, lesser, local wans!} To my great anger, she bestowed her sweetness on everyone, old or young, rich or poor, even the omadhuns and lutherauns drinking at the bar! Cripes!
Aaahh, but her voice was pure golden honey….
e grocery shop tied into the pub was a handy yoke. I’d sometimes scratch and scrape up a coupla pennies, enough to buy a few squares of Cleeres to ee, just to hear the loved voice intone, sweetly: “ anks, Nedda”…
She had this charming way of cutting words short, of putting a di erent intonation on them. Nobody else, in all of my derelict, strange, and often dangerous life, ever called me ‘Nedda’ with that same unique in ection. I’m glad they didn’t
… I’d be running after them, too, maybe!
Faced with a few of the {aleady-mentioned} snags, I gured that if I made regular money, snaring and lamping rabbits, I’d have enough to make a move in her direction in about seven years’ time, when I’d be twenty or so. At the age I was, everyone from twenty to thirty was ‘grown up,’ and anyone over that was just old. Not nished – just old; and therefore completely out of the market for ‘my Helena’!! Not her real name, but, like all other lovers, I had a ‘pet’ name for my sweetest; so I conferred that on her. us, I could dream my dreams, uninterrupted by any lousy ignorant Culchie butting in and using that exalted name! If he didn’t know her secret name – he was stumped, right o ! I alone would have that part of her, all to myself! Or so I reckoned, in all my greenery…………. To be continued
e opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily re ect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of e Kilkenny Observer.
Louise Kennedy, Ruth Larkin & Suzie McAdam some of the names lined up for this year’s event in Kilkenny.
Research has shown that Irish women’s belief in their ability to run a successful business is continuing to grow as this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) was launched in Kilkenny today. e initiative of the Local Enterprise O ces, now in its 16th year, will take place on the 13th October with the aim of encouraging female entre preneurship and supporting women in business across the country.
e research, part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for 2021, showed that 49% of women surveyed believed they had the necessary skills and knowl edge to start a business. is was up from 39% in 2018. e report also highlighted that Ireland has the third highest rate for early-stage women en trepreneurs across European countries, with over 1,400 women starting a new busi ness in Ireland every month. Early-stage women entre preneurs in Ireland are mainly focused on the customer ser vices sector with 64% of those surveyed working in that area.
e report showed a signi cant growth in export custom ers for these businesses, with 26% of customers of these ear ly-stage startups based abroad, up from 15% in 2019 highlight ing how they have diversi ed their markets during Covid. e theme of this year’s National Women’s Enterprise Day is “Our Future, Our Way”
which will be re ected in the 16 physical events taking place across the country, sup ported by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities. e Kilkenny event, run by Local Enterprise O ce Kilkenny will take place at Mountain View, Ballyhale, Co. Kilkenny, from 9.30am – 2.30pm. is will be a facilitated networking
and exhibition event to allow attendees meet with other female businesses and to pitch for business.
Ruth Larkin, Lark Bridal Ltd will MC the event and host a masterclass entitled “Elevate Your Pitch in 30 Seconds” fol lowed by a panel discussion with Suzie McAdam, Suzie McAdam Design and former
judge on RTE’s Home of the Year along with our Leading Light Louise Kennedy. e event will conclude with a networking lunch. Tickets are €10 or €15 to display and pitch your business.
Pat Fitzpatrick, Cathao irleach of Kilkenny County Council said “I am delighted to support National Women’s
Enterprise Day, particularly as we are seeing in person events return this year. Events like NWED are important in sup porting women entrepreneurs and those considering start ing a business with insights from leading business women and introducing them to a network of entrepreneurs who are blazing a trail in the Irish market and overseas.”
Aileen McGrath, Head of Enterprise (Acting), said; “Na tional Women’s Enterprise Day has become a agship event for women entrepreneurs and businesswomen every year. While the past two years saw successful online celebrations, it really is special to be back in person supporting the in spirational businesswomen of Kilkenny. If you have that itch to start a business, or maybe you are already running a business, then this is the event for you. It can help you grow your network, nd out what supports are available and learn from those who have gone before.”
Let us come together to cel ebrate our achievements to date and support one another in the opportunities to come –Our Future, Our Way.
New car registrations for Sep tember were up 42.5% (6,340) when compared to Septem ber 2021 (4,449). Registra tions year to date are up 0.7% (101,492) on the same period last year (100,745) and are 10.9% behind (113,945) that of pre-Covid levels, according to the Society of the Irish Motor
Industry (SIMI).
Light Commercial vehicles (LCV) are up 6.5% (1,756) compared to September last year (1,649) and year to date are down 20.5% (20,974). HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) regis trations are down 12.4% (197) in comparison to September 2021 (225). Year to date HGV’s
Ifac, Ireland’s farming, food and agribusiness specialist professional services rm, is reminding Kilkenny farm ers of the tax implications of providing free or subsidised accommodation for their farm employees.
In the rst quarter of 2022, the national average month ly rents in Ireland were more than €1,500. Across the country, high rents along with a shortage of rental properties are making it in creasingly di cult for em ployees to nd accommoda tion.
Concerning live-in roles, Declan McEvoy, Head of Tax at ifac, said: “High rents and a housing shortage mean that farmers who can provide free or subsidised accommodation enjoy an advantage in the current market when it comes to at tracting and retaining agri cultural employees.”
Bene t-in-kind
As with any employee ben e t, when considering of fering free or subsidised accommodation, it is impor tant to understand the ben e t-in-kind implications. Under Revenue rules, BIK on employee accommoda tion is calculated based on the annual market value of the rent plus any related ex penses paid by the employer (such as light and heat).
While the employee is li able for PAYE, PRSI and USC on the bene t received, ac cess to accommodation is very attractive in the current market and can compensate for lower wages in certain roles.
It is also important to be aware that for certain roles, accommodation provided by an employer may be ex empt from BIK.
Where an employee is re quired to live in accommo dation on their employer’s premises to perform their duties, the provision of free accommodation may be exempt from BIK. Revenue guidance states that this requirement is usually met where:
• e employee is required to be on call outside normal hours
• e employee is actually frequently called out
• e employer provided the accommodation so that the employee could access work quickly.
Other bene ts
You can provide various other tax-free bene ts to your employees. ese in clude:
• Bicycles and safety equip ment
• Certain course and exam fees
• Employer pension con tributions to Revenue ap proved schemes
• Small bene ts worth €500 or less that are not in cash form and are given to the employee once a year.
Remember, when hir ing employees, it is impor tant to agree on wages on a ‘gross’ rather than a ‘net’ basis, to avoid unforeseen costs if the employee’s tax status changes.
Good employees are di cult to nd and expensive to replace so it is worth taking steps to ensure that you pro vide a good work environ ment. With the cost of living soaring and rental proper ties in short supply, free or subsidised accommodation is an attractive and valuable bene t.
are down 6.3% (2,120).
Used car imports for Sep tember (4,344) have seen a decrease of 12.4% on Sep tember 2021 (4,952). Year to date imports are down 26.8% (37,418) on 2021 (51,138).
For the month of September 1,858 new electric vehicles were registered compared to
770 in September 2021. So far this year 14,513 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 7,819 on the same period 2021 an increase of 85.6%.
Electric Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids con tinue to increase their mar ket share, with a combined
market share now of 40.76%.
Petrol continues to remain dominant with 30.09%, Die sel accounts for 26.99%, Hy brid 19.67%, Electric 14.30% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 6.79%.
Brian Cooke, Director Gen eral SIMI, said: “ e early Budget, with no
VRT increases and the exten sion of the EV grants for the rst half of next year, provides some stability in what is high ly volatile retail environment, and will hopefully encourage car buyers into dealerships for the vital selling period be tween now and the end of the year.”
Foróige volunteers from all over Ireland came together in the Tullamore Court Hotel in Co. O aly recently for Foróige’s annual volun teer conference. Minister Roderic O’Gorman was in attendance and spoke to volunteers, praising their continued e orts through out the pandemic.
“Foróige volunteers have helped create communities that are vital to our society. e value of the contributions that are made by these volunteers cannot
be overstated,” he said.
“Not only does volun teerism positively impact our communities but it can provide people with a sense of purpose, improv ing their own wellbeing, enhancing their empathy and allowing them to connect with young people in their communities.
Foróige has to be commended for the innovative approach in involving young people in the decisions that impact their lives.”
is was the 50th annual Forage Volunteers Confer ence, with 120 delegates from 16 counties enjoying a wide variety of guest speakers, group discus sions and social events aimed at exchanging ideas to continue Foróige volunteers’ impactful work throughout Ireland.
Dr David Coleman, clinical psychologist, broadcaster and author was the keynote speaker at the conference and gave his insights into how to
communicate with and help teenagers tackle the problems they’re facing in their lives.
Foróige celebrated its 70th year anniversary with the rst Club meeting in Mooncoin on 14th March 1952. Foróige now has over 5,500 volunteers work ing in its 550 clubs, 150 projects and programmes, including Leadership for Life; Be Healthy Be Happy, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), and Big Brother Big Sister.
Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, is encourag ing Kilkenny people to get in volved in ‘Sober October’ and to quit drinking for the month.
e charity said it’s a great time to re ect on your alcohol consumption and your rela tionship with alcohol.
e charity stated that al cohol can make anxiety and depression worse, it can re duce sleep quality, and it can heighten stress levels.
“Reducing or cutting out al cohol can improve our mental health,” Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Turn2Me, said. “Alcohol is a depressant. Our moods can signi cantly improve when we reduce or stop drinking entirely. Setting yourself a challenge of giving up alco hol for a month can help you adapt a healthier lifestyle. It can make us re ect on how many alcohol units we con sume, on average, every week
and month, and it can also make us analyse our rela tionship with alcohol. Many people use alcohol as a social crutch, and they can start to rely on it in stressful or awk ward situations.
“Nowadays, so many people decide to not drink at all, or not as much, on a night out thanks to so many alcoholfree alternatives. A monthlong challenge like Sober Oc tober can make us consider
how reliant we are on alcohol, why we consume alcohol, and how much happier we feel when we don’t drink as much or at all.”
Turn2Me is encouraging anyone who is feeling anxious, depressed, or going through a period of grief to sign up to their free one-to-one coun selling sessions or their free support groups, available on the Turn2Me website, Turn2Me.ie
For more than a century, the men and women of St. Pat rick’s Brass Band promoted all that was best in Kilken ny’s musical traditions. From the day it was founded in May 1882, it won its way into the hearts of young and old in Cat County. e band’s motto, inscribed on a promotional banner, was “To God and Ireland True.”
It honoured this commit ment in style. It entertained at hurling and football matches, led religious pro cessions, and made a point of commemorating emo tionally charged political anniversaries, even when the authorities o cially banned these.
e band played rous ing military marches that stirred up patriotic fervour in Kilkenny in the heady days of political turmoil that marked the rst two decades of the 20th century. After independence, it performed in a di erent atmosphere and more relaxed political climate.
Its much loved formation of bandsmen and stunning majorettes, marching in step with impeccable precision and choreography, brought joy to countless thousands of people in the county and other parts of Ireland.
No major outdoor-festive occasion would have been the same without it. At the beer festival in the sixties and seventies, it proved every bit as competent as the Bavarian band that roused the spirits of drinkers.
St. Patrick’s Band comple mented the Germanic airs with good old Kilkenny band music as locals and visitors sang along with their two pint glasses of ale that the smiling maidens lovingly handed down to them in the beer tents.
At a funeral, it could be re lied on to strike appropriate notes of devotion, honour and respect to give the dearly departed a memorable sendo . e sound of St. Patrick’s band was special music to the ears of Kilkenny hurl ers setting o to do battle in Croke Park and other sport ing venues. Hearts uttered proudly when it played the Rose of Mooncoin before a match or to welcome the team back home to Kilkenny.
The band was born in “The Village”, the name given by Kilkenny folk to St. Patrick’s Parish. Among the first subscribers to the band was Martin Coyne of Upper Patrick Street. His gesture of placing a few shillings on a blacksmith’s anvil in The Village was fondly remembered for decades afterwards. It was the day the band members knew their musical venture had a future.
“Sure it’ll keep ye going for a while”, Martin predicted reassuringly.
The band’s first high profile engagement was the funeral in August 1882 of writer and Fenian, Charles Kickham. It led the cortege across the city as far as the Callan road, and a few days later travelled to Kickham’s native Mullinahone for the burial. As the coffin was lowered into the earth, the band played God Save Ireland and a Nation Once Again.
A few months after its formation, the band became embroiled in the political turmoil of pre-indepen dence Ireland. Its president, Pat Hartigan, was the son of prominent Fenian leader,
A new online facility to book appointments for the registration of births and deaths is now in place.
e HSE Civil Registration Service registers all births, deaths and marriages in Ireland (and carries out civil marriage registrations). ere are 11 full and part time Civil Registration Service o ces across the South East.
e new system (similar to booking online for vacciantion appointments) is available per https:// www2.hse.ie/services/ births-deaths-and-marriages/ nd-a-civil-registration-service/
Online booking will enable members of the public across counties Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford to book a birth or death registration appointments online for a date and time that they choose at Civil Registration o ces in Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel,
For information on the registration of births, see https://www2.hse.ie/services/births-deaths-andmarriages/register/birth/ e new online appointment system will enable parents to book a birth registration appointment online for a date and time that they choose.
Whereas Civil Registration O ces will continue to operate as normal (including for registration of marriages and as regards availability by phone for enquiry), the online appointment process will make it quicker and easier for parents to organise their registration appointment at a time and date that works for them. Appointments can also be easily cancelled with the click of a button.
For information on the registration of deaths, see https://www2.hse.ie/services/births-deaths-andmarriages/register/death/ e new online appointment system will enable anyone who needs to register a death to arrange an appointment online for a date and time that they choose.
Civil Registration Of ces continue to operate normal opening times (for further information and contact details, see https://www2.hse.ie/ services/births-deathsand-marriages/ nd-acivil-registration-service/) but the online appoint ment process will make it quicker and easier to organise death registration appointments at a time and date that works for the person requiring the service. Appointments can also be easily cancelled with the click of a button.
John Hartigan.
On November 23rd, 1882, it led a big proces sion through Kilkenny to honour the anniversary of the Manchester Martyrs, three Irishmen who had been hanged in 1867 for an alleged murder.
This event passed off with out incident, but the fol lowing year a police notice banned a similar parade. Constables were instructed to be especially on guard against any attempt by St. Patrick’s band to play rebel music.
In defiance of the ban,
thousands of people thronged the streets of Kilkenny as darkness ap proached. Crowds of cheer ing citizens shuffled down Rose Inn Street and along John’s Quay.
Police rushed to the banks of the River Nore with batons drawn as flares lit up the water to reveal a line of boats tied together. These craft contained all the mem bers of the illusive band and their instruments.
The constables roared at the men in the boats to sur render, to no avail. The band struck up a tune that had
people cheering, whistling and singing, drowning out the police commands to call off the unlawful assembly...
(Picture shows: the band in about 1900. Standing: John Walsh, Tommy Dunne, Tommy Nolan, Pat Corco ran, Jack Carroll, Tom Egan, Brian Fogerty, Mick Walsh, Tommy Meighan. Seated: Pat Devlan, Jack Fahy, Tommy Haide, Jack Holland (coductor), Paddy Cahill, and Joe Cahill.
-John Fitzgerald
To be continued…
Every year there are days to mark special world wide events. Days celebat ing Seniors, Our Mother Tongue day, Teacher’s day and of course the one everyone celebrates is Mother’s Day. September 21st every year is ‘World Peace Day’.
To mark this day the Twi light CEO Murty Brennan spoke to the gathering at the annual Peace Convention event held in Tipperary. Our Twilight Youth Inclu
sion group, which has mem bers from Kilkenny’s diverse communities went one step further. is progressive and expanding youth group is becoming a very popular youth club which now has a waiting list for membership. TYI o er excellent services for ages 13 to 17-year olds which includes European travel through the Erasmus + Programme. TYI group is currently researching a trip to Hungary in 2023. In recent weeks the club has travelled to the Dun more East adventure centre and Splash word and took
part in personal develop ment days back at the current base in the Twi light International Cultural House.
To Mark International Day of Peace 2022 and as the theme of Peace is “End rac ism. Build peace.” Our Twi light Youth Inclusion Group made Origami Peace Cranes in honour of this day.
e Team leaders, Leah Mc’Donnell and Liam Mun govan, must be compliment ed for the progressive ideas and have plans set out till the end of 2022 and working on their 2023 activities
By Fred Tuite
is week, e Kilkenny Observer Newspaper
caught up with Kilkenny resident Fred Tuite as he reminisced about the late writer and actor Dermot Morgan.
In October 1972, I returned for my second year to UCD to nd the Bel eld Arts Block lled with new rst year students trying to nd their way about. Making my way through this excited crowd, I met a friend coming the other way. “Come with me” she said. And so, I followed her into eatre L, that huge amphitheatre lecture hall crowded with expectant rst year students for their rst lecture in English.
e lecturer, a lanky gure with a shock of black hair, in priestly garb, came and took his place on the podium. A hush descended on the packed hall.
“Good morning students, I’m Father Michael Paul Gallagher and these lectures will be on Practical Criti cism”.
“But that’s not Michael Paul Gallagher!” I whispered to my companion.
She put her nger to her lips and motioned for me to listen on.
“Ah yes,” he continued, “Practical Criticism. I recall a student who went to Professor Donohue saying, ‘I have Practically Criticised this poem’. ‘Yes’, he replied, ‘practically, but not quite’. But at the end of this course, you will gain new insights into poetry, new visions and understanding.
You will look at a poem like “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the Kings Horses and All the King’s Men, couldn’t put Humpty together again”, and you will see this not as a nursery rhyme but as an existential ist exploration of the situa tion of modern man fallen from grace and searching for meaning in an absurd world…”
Will the real Fr. Michael please stand up.
“Who are you?” said a bearded clerical figure who’d now arrived at the podium.
“I’m Father Michael Paul Gallagher” the lecturer replied.
“No, I’m Father Michael Paul Gallagher!”
“Right, sorry!” the impos ter cried, and off he ran to the cheers and groans of the first-year students.
We caught up with him outside. He was flushed and excited from his act and keen to know how we thought it had gone. This was my first encounter with Dermot Morgan, second year student and all-round
funny guy. We became good friends, and as we were both doing English, we saw a lot of each other. I was thoroughly entertained by him on every meeting, for he never stopped perform ing whether on stage or with company. His energy was manic and his comments hilarious and apt. He was liable to turn up anywhere and everywhere, in the guise of his latest character. He even showed up at the Tramps’ Ball in the Res taurant Building fronting a band called Big Gom and the Imbeciles. But he had to give up that act, he told me, as people were taking it too seriously and miss ing the satire, wanting to book the group for dances, while all he wanted to do was poke fun at the country music scene with songs like “Castleblaney Blues”, “I walk Blacklion” or “Be nobody’s darling but wine”
After college we drifted apart, but I followed his comedy career through his letters to the early morn ing Mike Murphy radio show, and on to “The Live Mike” on television –where Father Brian Trendy, his next priestly incarnation, appeared.
This was an altogether smoother priestly character, well-groomed in his leather jacket smiling at the camera as he gave us his little bit of religion. He advised us to be like the Irish soccer team and “Pick Devine”, or act
as a fishing rod for God to catch a sole and fillet with love.
But again, there was the danger that his bite-sized pieces of religion were taken for real and my mother, for one, loved his little sermons.
A bit of a Charlie His next incarnation was as the growling, irritated voice of Charley Haughey in his own radio show
Scrap Saturday, with Gerry Stembridge. This was full of cutting impersonation and biting political satire that to me represents the height of his career. Maybe it was too close to the bone as after a few seasons Scrap Saturday was scrapped.
He went on to play his third and most famous priestly role, Father Ted, and gain international fame. Father Ted Crilly dreams of bigger things then the deadend wilderness of Craggy Island, a parish to match his abilities, recognition, fame and fortune. But everywhere his projects crumble under the reality of the people he is surrounded with. It was a wonderful farce, extremely well written and well-acted by a fantastic cast. But I kept thinking that for all its qual ity Dermot Morgan has so much comic ability under used in the series.
The last time I met him was in Kilkenny when he was on a solo tour called Black Magic. He’d been in the news recently having
appeared in court and been fined for speeding through Mountrath in County Laois. His comment to the audi ence on this was as acerbic as ever.
“Did you ever see Moun trath?” he thundered, “Fifty miles is too bloody slow to go through the place!”
We met and talked after the show, but he had to return to Dublin early and promised a real UCD re union at a future time.
That reunion never hap pened, and he died at the height of his fame playing the vainglorious Fr. Ted. He never lost the manic energy and enthusiasm he showed in Belfield, where he con stantly had us all in fits of laughter with his antics.
While the world got to know and love him as the farci cal Fr. Ted, it was in UCD in front of those bemused and bewildered first years that he played the first of those oddball priests that were to bring him so much fame.
Fred Tuite is a retired Guidance Counsellor living in Kilkenny. Along with some private work he edits the Guidance Counsellors’ journal Guideline and is very involved in the Alli ance Française in Kilken ny. This text was broadcast on RTE Sunday Miscellany
To celebrate our county on Kilkenny Day 2022 many of Kilkenny’s historical sites and visitor experiences will open their doors free-of-charge for all to explore and enjoy on the day.
Kilkenny’s foundation began with an early 6th-century ecclesi astical settlement, with a church built in honour of Kilkenny Day’s patron Saint, St. Canice, now St Canice’s Cathedral.
Director of Services of Kilkenny County Council Tim Butler com mented “Kilkenny Day is a great opportunity for people to get out into the city and county to see somewhere they have never experienced before and re-visit a venue they love.”
Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Pat Fitz patrick said “Kilkenny County Council wish to extend a warm invite to Kilkenny people to get out and celebrate our place on Sunday 9th October for Kilkenny Day. We are incredibly lucky to have such historic and beauti ful places in Kilkenny city and county, and many people from Kilkenny have never visited these places. Now is their chance to put that right.”
People can learn about Castle comer’s Coal Mining history in the Discovery Park, roam
monastic ruins at omastown’s Jerpoint Abbey, and pick up some mouth-blown glass pieces at Jerpoint Glass Studio. ey can step back in time by visiting Duiske Abbey in Graiguenaman agh and experience the restored Victorian Gardens at Woodstock, Inistioge. ey can also visit Ionad Lachtaín, Freshford which hosts a local heritage museum and an exhibition of work by local artists.
A number of Kilkenny Fire and Rescue Service re stations will be open to the public on Kilkenny Day for everyone to see and experience. Fire stations in Kilkenny City, Freshford, Urling ford, omastown, Callan and Graiguenamanagh will be open from 1pm to 5pm, and the re station in Castlecomer will be open 2pm to 5pm.
Mayor of Kilkenny, Cllr. David Fitzgerald said that the city will be an open house when it comes to visitor attractions next Sunday.
“Kilkenny is steeped in history and its memorable landmarks and heritage sites draw visitors from all over the world. In the heart of our compact city centre there are many must see land marks & experiences. People can take a tour in Kilkenny Castle, experience the incredible archi
tecture at St Canice’s Cathedral and visit the secret garden at Rothe House, all within a milelong stroll of each other. We are hugely proud of that heritage and urge local citizens to grab this op portunity to get to know the city better, while celebrating all the best of being from Kilkenny.
General Manager of Rothe House, Valerie O’ Sullivan said “We are delighted to support Kilkenny Day again this year. As one of the key attractions on Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile, Rothe House is a place steeped in heritage and history. Admission to the house and gardens is free from 1pm – 4pm on Kilkenny Day and we look forward to welcoming lots of local families, some of whom might not have visited us before.”
People can explore 800 years of History at the Medieval Mile Museum followed by a short stroll to MacDonagh Junction for the Famine Experience or pop into the newly renovated Smithwick’s Experience and try Ireland’s most popular ale.
With free entry on Kilkenny Day to must-see sites and ex periences, there’s something for everyone. For full details of locations, terms and conditions check out www.visitkilkenny.ie.
Kilkenny Day 2022 will o er a unique opportunity to local residents to visit their local re station and to interact with members of this crucial critical service. Children and adults will get an opportunity to see re service personnel at work and to see the sophis ticated equipment the service uses up close in a relaxed environment, while provid ing valuable feedback to the service also.
A number of Kilkenny Fire and Rescue Service re stations will be open to the public on Kilkenny Day for everyone to see and experi ence. Fire stations in Kilkenny City, Freshford, Urlingford, omastown, Callan and Graiguenamanagh will be open from 1pm to 5pm, and the re station in Castlecomer will be open 2pm to 5pm.
Chief Fire O cer John Col lins said “Kilkenny Fire and Rescue Service will be open
ing their doors to everyone in the community to come along to visit the Fire Stations as part of Kilkenny Day. Kilkenny Fire and Rescue Service re stations are part of their local community and we want people to come along and get to know their local re ghters, see their life-saving equip ment in action and learn about re safety. Kilkenny Day is a great opportunity to learn more about how the re service serves the public and for the public in turn to give us some vital feedback about what more we can do to
help them. We hope that local residents will come along and enjoy the Open Day in their local re station.
Our full-time and reserve re ghters have very strong links with their local com munity but the public rarely get to see them outside of the emergency situations in which they respond to emer gency calls, day and night.
In the ,more relaxed atmo sphere of this Open Day, they will be able to explain their work and seek to deepen the connection with their neigh bours. ”
Photos show residents, their visitors and sta en joying the recently held an nual Summer Garden Party event at the New Haughton Hospital, New Ross, Co. Wexford.
Residents, their visiting fam ily members and HSE/South East Community Healthcare sta recently enjoyed an autumn garden party on the grounds of New Haughton Hospital, New Ross. e event, which took place in a Marquee hired for the occasion, marked the resumption of one of the annual highlights in the Co. Wexford residential care centre that had been curtailed in recent years due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
It was eagerly awaited by the residents, their fam ily and friends and sta members alike. Musical entertainment gured on the day from Phil and Conor, with dancing by Lorraine and Seán. ere was lots of singing, games, food and fun had by all.
A treat (especially for residents and sta of com munities such as Tullogher/ Rosbercon, Glenmore and e Rower/Inistioge that are in New Ross and the New Haughton’s hinterland) arrived in the form of Denis “Rackard” Cody with tro phies currently held by the Kilkenny hurlers – particu larly the Bob O’ Kee e Cup as reigning Leinster senior hurling champions.
It was also an opportunity to re ect on recent develop ments at New Haughton,
including the recently com pleted resurfacing of its car park and environs, external and internal repainting and the wonderful work with residents done by the Activi ties team – including pieces created by resident artist Bosco Greene, including on his motorcycle replica and COVID-19 memorial lectern tree.
Speaking at the Garden Party, Margaret Nowlan O’ Neill (Director of Nursing New Haughton Hospital, New Ross) said: “ ere have been tough times for everyone over the last two and a half years and we look forward to better days ahead. We are very appreciative of the great support we get at the New Haughton from the commu nity in New Ross and its en virons in counties Wexford,
South Kilkenny and some of Carlow. e annual Garden Party is an important xture in the life of a residential
care centre and we were delighted to resume with this year’s most enjoyable event.”
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 1 hr and 40 mins
Serves: 2
A delicious alternative to roast chicken that’s just the right size for two. Use any seasonal root veg you like.
Ingredients
• 1 onion , cut into wedges, through the root
• 2 carrots , quartered lengthways
• 1 large potato , cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small guinea fowl (around 1kg/2lb 4oz)
• 1 tbsp butter at room temperature, plus 2 tsp for the gravy
• 4 smoked streaky bacon rashers
• 6 garlic cloves , unpeeled
• few thyme sprigs
• 300ml chicken stock
• 100ml white wine
• 2 tsp plain our
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Method
STEP 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Toss the vegetables with the oil and some seasoning in a large ameproof roasting tin. Place the bird on top of the veg, smear with 1 tbsp butter and lay the rashers in a row over the breast. Season generously, then roast for 40 mins.
STEP 2
Remove from the oven and give the veg a stir while adding the garl ic and thyme. Pour 200ml stock and the wine over the veg and return to oven to roast for another 40 mins until the bird is cooked through and the juices run clear.
STEP 3
Remove the bird, place on a serving plate, cover with foil to keep warm and leave to rest. Turn the oven up to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and roast the veg for a further 15 mins until tender.
STEP 4
Remove the veg with a slotted spoon and transfer to the serving plate with the bird. Mix 2 tsp butter and flour in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Place the roasting tin with all the cooking juices, plus any resting juices, on the hob. Whisk the paste and redcurrant jelly into the juices until dissolved, then add the remaining stock and extra seasoning, if you like. Bubble for a few mins until the sauce thickens. Slice and serve the guinea fowl, crisp bacon and the veg with the sauce on the side.
Cook a delicious gluten-free dinner in 20 minutes. Our Scandi-style salmon is served with beetroot, lentils, pumpkin seeds, capers, mustard and dill.
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• ½ tsp honey
• 2 salmon llets
• 250g pouch ready-cooked puy lentils
250g pack ready-cooked beetroot , cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 small pack dill , roughly chopped
• 1-2 tbsp capers
• ½ lemon , zested and cut into 2 wedges to serve
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds , toasted
• rocket , to serve (optional)
STEP 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix together 1 tbsp oil, the mustard,
STEP 2
A great French meal starts with a pre-dinner drink.
Apéro hour is sacred. It’s simply unthinkable to jump from a busy work day’s work straight into dinner without for a little pause and a little glass of something to whet your appetite. It’s a moment to slow down, enjoy conversation, and appreciate good company.
Certain traditions are always respected. An aperitif is a pre-dinner drink, which means it should be enjoyed somewhere between 6 pm. and 7.30 p.m. One drink is standard. Knock back more than two in quick succession and you might get some disapproving glances.
Light snacks are essential.
e options of what to serve for a tasty apéro are endless. As well as regional specialties such as pastis, wine, beer, and champagne are fail-safe pours. Add in a roster of bar-loved brands and you’re all set to start a soirée the French way. Santé !
A kir is the most classic French aperitif to order in a café, a sweet two-ingredient cocktail that takes seconds to make and is always served in a small wine glass. Sticklers for tradition will tell you that a kir is truly Burgundian, a slug of the blackcurrant liqueur cassis topped o with the local white wine, Aligoté. Some say it was invented to hide the wine’s poor taste.
ese days, many Aligotés are seriously good, and the French are generally exible about the recipe.
You could swap out the cassis for crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur) or even crème de pêche (peach liqueur). In Brittany, the wine is often replaced with cider to make a lighter and longer kir Breton.
Picon is to half a pint of blonde ale what cassis is to a glass of somewhat unspecial white wine: an old-fashioned addition to pump up the avor. Generally the balance is around 1 ounce of the bittersweet orange Picon to 4 ounces of beer. Blonde is the typical choice, but pilsners and lagers also work well.
e ingredients in Picon, now owned by Campari group, remain a closely guarded secret but the recipe for this amer (bitter) is known to contain orange zest, gentian (a medicinal herb) and cinchona (the quinine-containing bark of the cinchona tree). Although the rst Picon distillery was in Marseille, it’s most popular in Alsace and northeast France.
Hear us out. e gin and tonic, better known as le ginto, might not be French. But with distilleries across France now creating some of Europe’s most exciting spirits, it’s becoming a staple apéro order from Paris to Provence.
e best-known French brand is the elegant Citadelle, created by Maison Ferrand to make use of its cognac stills out of season. Smaller names to search out include Camargue-based Bigourdan, which distills in the sleepy town of Arles, making a gin heady with the avors of wild Mediterranean herbs, including thyme, lavender, and fennel seed.
Long before Pinocchio remakes were cool, Steven Spielberg dove into uncharted stylistic territory on a leap of faith bestowed by Stanley Kubrick with A.I. Arti cial Intelligence, a futuristic spin on Pinocchio that was equal parts disturbing and lovey-dovey.
Cinematic legend has it that Kubrick began adapting the short story ‘Supertoys Last All Summer Long’ by sci- author Brian Aldiss sometime in the late 1970s, but the movie languished in purgatory. Kubrick didn’t believe special e ects technology was advanced enough to make his dreams for the dystopian Pinocchio tale come true, at least until Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park debuted.
en, at long last, A.I. Arti cial Intelligence wasnally leaping from the page onto the big screen.
But legend also has it that not even the pull of an iconic Spielberg and Kubrick pairing, or the child superstardom of Haley Joel Osment fresh of M. Night Shyamalan’s e Sixth Sense, or even Jude Law’s enduring sex symbol status, could save the movie from being woefully underrated and misconstrued by critics and audiences alike.
On its surface, A.I. Articial Intelligence doesn’t shy away from its inspiration. A boy carved out of a tree by a lonely craftsman is traded in for a shinier model: David (Osment), a robo-boy prototype gifted to couple Monica and Henry Swinton (Frances O’Connor, Sam Robards), who are mourning their comatose son, Martin, amid a rapidly declining human population in a world ravaged by climate change. David is de-
signed to not only imprint on his human parents, but programmed to ercely love Monica and Henry above all others, e ectively replacing their emotional need for Martin.
But arti cial love embedded in code is a shadow of love authentically experienced, given, or received. David discovers this when Martin (Jake omas) miraculously awakens from his coma, and David is tossed on the side of the road like a worn-out toy.
Cursed with an everlasting desire to obtain love from Monica and Henry, David becomes obsessed with becoming a “real boy” so he can be as wanted as Martin.
If an edgy recounting of Pinocchio isn’t a draw, or if the eco-horror genre doesn’t appeal to you, then perhaps watching a lm that’s wholly unique be-
cause of its production is enough to get you running to Amazon Prime Video. A.I. successfully blended the seemingly disparate storytelling sensibilities of Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick into a cohesive piece that was neither too stereotypically morose for a Kubrick movie, nor too stereotypically mawkish for a Spielberg movie.
When Kubrick died, Spielberg went against his own directorial impulses to create a movie that honoured Kubrick’s original vision. Spielberg may have been the one behind the camera, handling casting and supervising the nal cuts, but all the storyboards he referenced in A.I.’s creation had been supervised by Kubrick in the early ’90s. Spielberg and Kubrick combine to make a strange and unsettling future.
Netflix users are outraged by a “horrifying” scene in new Marilyn Monroe film Blonde.
The controversial new movie from director An drew Dominik was adapted from Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional book about Mon roe, which was released in 2001.
For some time now, the project, which stars Knives Out actor Ana de Armas, has been hyped up as be ing a shocking watch, with the film being handed an
NC-17 age certificate in the US.
Many may believe Blonde to be a standard biopic about Monroe, but the op posite is true: due to the source material, the film features several imagined scenes from the Hollywood star’s life, one of which is being accused of going too far.
It concerns John F Ken nedy, the US president whom Monroe is believed to have had an affair with in the 1960s. Rumours of
this affair remains un verified to this day – but Blonde goes one further.
In a scene near the end of the film, Monroe is shown to be drugged and taken to a character named ‘the President’ who bears a striking resemblance to JFK (the actor, Caspar Phil lipson, previously played him in Jackie).
Here, while he is on the phone refuting claims of sexual assault, he forces Monroe into performing a sex act on him, while
a voiceover by de Armas shows Marilyn attempting to disassociate from the situation.
Some viewers who are not aware of the source material appear to believe this actually happened, de spite there being no record of any such incident.
This is one of the rea sons why the scene’s place ment is being questioned, with many calling it “char acter assassination”. Others are calling it “exploitation” of Monroe’s story.
With an emphasis on family, relationships and love, this abso lutely wonderful show deals with a 30-year-old mother named Lorelai and the challenges she faces while raising her intelligent teen daugh ter Rory. living in a small town, their lives are in constant motion with various romantic pursuits, crazy friends and wild neighbours.
With umpteen references to pop culture, the show has a witty set of dialogues that will resonate with all. Romance, friendships and melodramatic moments form the crux of the series that will appeal to Emily in Paris fans.
Based on David Levithan and Ra chel Cohn’s book, this rom-com series focuses on the budding love between a Christmas-hating, cynical Dash and a merry and optimistic, Christmas-loving Lily, who hides a red notebook across various locations in New York City. e notebook contains messages and dares.
Although the show was axed after just one season, it was a refreshing break from the usual melodramatic sitcoms. e sappy romance, star ring Austin Abrams and Midori Francis in the leads, is reminiscent of the complex romantic angles in Emily in Paris besides the varied visual delights it provides.
3. Never Have I Ever is young-adult coming-of-age comedy focuses on a young In dian American girl, Devi, and her journey through high school. We follow Devi as she navigates herself through grades, friendships, jeal ousy, aspirations, young love and subsequent love triangles while grappling with the tragic demise of her father and the constant bicker ing with her mother.
Led by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who plays the role of Devi with unimaginable spunk and ease, the show has gained a vast fan follow ing due to its relatable content.
Based on Kristin Hannah’s novel, young girls Tully and Kate become extremely attached to each and the upheavals in the friendships are documented for over thirty years during their life in Fire y Lane. A depiction of a beautiful and pla tonic relationship between two females is what makes the series so enjoyable.
With Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke in the lead, the duo has heartwarming chemistry on screen as they support and uplift each other through various problems.
Based on Sophia Amoruso’s book, the series follows the meteoric rise of Amoruso’s fashion empire, Nasty Gal. Starring Britt Robertson in the lead as a rebellious businesswom an who starts her own fashion em pire online, the protagonist is faced with several obstacles and hurdles that she gradually overcomes to take control of her own life and be come the titular girlboss.
Lotto Results. Numbers drawn. 8, 20, 25. No jackpot winner. Next week’s jackpot €5,450.
Winners of €30. Peter Nolan. Eddie Phelan. James Tobin. Statia O Carroll. John Meany (Higginstown)
A er a pulsating Roinn C county semi final in Dunmore on Saturday morning, the Clara U13s rode their luck to edge out a gallant Blacks and Whites outfit by a single point. Blacks and Whites got four of the game’s final six scores, but crucially the two Clara scores were both goals and were ultimately responsible for this victory.
Aidan O Connell got the game’s opening point for Clara but Blacks and Whites soon looked the livelier team and scored the next three points, two from frees by sharpshooter Ross Whelan. Ned Og Kelly was also dangerous for the Skeoughvosteen lads in the early going. Padraic Meany was having a huge battle with Blacks and Whites captain Noah Langrell but Padraic chipped in with two points, one from a free and one from a 65, to tie the game. Two more Clara points from Aidan O Connell and Aaron Carrigan cancelled out two Skeough points and le the match tied at five each at the break.
Blacks and Whites moved two points clear early in the second half before Padraic Meany replied with a pointed free from distance. The Skeough lads regained the two point lead with a Ross Phelan free and then came the first big moment of the game. For once the ball broke kindly for Padraic Meany in the middle of the field. Padraic latched onto it, took o on a trademark run and fired an unstoppable shot low just inside Pauric Orpen’s right hand post.
In fairness to Blacks and Whites, they responded with two frees to edge ahead again. But now playing like a man possessed, Padraic Meany took o again shortly a erwards and crashed a superb shot against the crossbar with the goalie beaten. Clara were now pressing hard and when Aidan O Connell’s shot for goal was parried by the goalkeeper young substitute James McDonald was on hand to de ly dispatch the rebound to the net.
Another Padraic Meany e ort went wide o a post and when Ross Phelan reduced the deficit to the minimum it was nail biting stu .
A late free by the same player looked to o er a great chance of an equaliser but for some reason he didn’t hit it with the same con viction as he had all day and it dropped short. One last Skeough chance was ably dealt with by the Clara defence and soon a er wards excellent referee Vivienne Holmes blew the final whistle.
On a day when all in the maroon and white had to hurl really well to win goalkeeper Ruairí Bowden Mullen was soundness personified. Liam Treacy and Sam Corr formed a great spine in defence where Robert Coogan and Sam Lawlor excelled. Dara Leahy and Padraic Meany really complemented one another well in midfield and Aidan O Connell gave a very good Blacks and Whites rearguard most to think about. James McDonald took his goal really well.
The Blacks and Whites had real heroes in Bill Barron, Noah Langrell, Ross Phelan and Ned Óg Kelly and can consider them selves very unlucky not to have taken the spoils here. The Clara management team of Stephen Lawlor, John Carrigan and Joe Treacy must be delighted with the way their side responded to the huge challenge presented by the opposition.
Team - Ruairi Bowden Mullen, Matthew Cooke, Liam Treacy, Ollie Butler. Robert Coogan, Sam Corr, Sam Lawlor. Dara Leamy, Pádraic Meany 1-3, 0-2f, 0-1 x 65. Jack Byrne, Aidan O Connell 0-2, Rory Treacy. Ciarán Gibbons, Mícheál Meany, Aaron Carrigan 0-1. Sub used James McDonald 1-0. Also Jim Carrigan, Michael O Kee e, Liam O Callaghan.
For the third year running the Clara senior girls exited the champi onship at the semi final stage when going under to Thomastown in sunny Tullaroan on Saturday. The previous two had been lost by a point on each occasion and while this one was lost by four, they will probably have most regrets about it because of the nightmare start that they made. Scarcely eight minutes had elapsed when Clara found themselves 1-4 to 0-0 in arrears. To their credit they not only erased the deficit but they led by three points eight minutes into the second half. However the huge energy that they had expended to get to this position began to take its toll and from there to the end of the game two Mary O Connell frees was all that they could muster.
Thomastown shot out of the blocks and, with the aid of the breeze, they ran a shellshocked Clara ragged in those early exchanges. The two Donnellys, the two Farrells and Sarah Walsh all had scores to their names, with Therese Donnelly bagging the goal. A er that however the Clara backs recovered to get on top, with Rachel Whelan, Katie Ryan and Laoise Nolan particularly prominent. Aisling Curtis and Rebecca Nolan got on top around the midfield and Siobhan Curtis, the returned from exile Aisling Nolan and Keara Ryan began producing up front. County star Mary O Connell chipped in with three frees, Keara Ryan added another and a Siobhan Curtis goal, a er a good advantage was played by referee Peter Burke, had the Clara girls right back in this contest. Keara Ryan nailed a point just on the stroke of half time and Clara headed to the dressing room with a bounce in their step only 1-7 to 1-5 behind.
That bounce was still apparent early in the second half when two Mary O Connell frees added to three by Niamh Byrne, Keara Ryan and Aisling Curtis moved the girls three points clear playing with the breeze. It could have even been more had a Niamh Byrne snapshot for goal not flown narrowly wide during this purple patch. But suddenly and understandably a er the huge e ort put in to get back in the game, the energy levels just dipped in the Clara performance and Thomastown sensed this and upped their own game to out score their opponents 1-6 to 0-2 down the
stretch. The crucial goal came from substitute Michelle Donnelly from a ball that should have been cleared but the mistakes become more plentiful when tiredness sets in. Clara battled to the very end but Thomastown deservedly earned the right to face Dicksboro in the final.
Clara consolidated their position as a top flight team again this year and the management team of Peter “Chap” Cleere, Jennifer Dillon and Shane Prendergast will rue the absence of stars like Claire Nolan and Emma Shortall. But with some good younger players coming through the ranks that final goal is still attainable if the e ort is maintained. Huge credit is due here to Aisling Nolan, who returned from Dubai to assist her teammates for this tie.
Team - Aoife Glynn, Gráinne Glynn, Rachel Whelan, Katie Ryan.
Tamsin English, Laoise Nolan, Margaret Kehoe. Rebecca Nolan, Aisling Curtis. Aisling Nolan 0-1, Siobhan Curtis 1-0, Mary O Connell 0-7f. Keara Ryan 0-3, 0-1f, Margaret O Connell, Niamh Byrne 0-1. Sub used Grace Barcoe.
Clara were competitive against Shamrocks for about 20 minutes on Sunday in Nowlan Park but the game was over by hal ime, when the southerners led 1-16 to 0-9. Shamrocks opened the scoring but two points from David Langton and John Murphy put Clara ahead for the only time all day. Shamrocks regained the lead with two points before a major mistake in defence gi ed Adrian Mullen a goal. The same player added a point before John Murphy notched his second from a smart Dara Glynn pass. Glynn then pressured Richie Reid into over carrying and Jason Byrne pointed the resultant free. Two more Jason Byrne frees kept the deficit at four but then Ballyhale rattled o 6 points in a row to put daylight between the teams. Clara briefly rallied with points from Matt Kenny and Liam Ryan but the Shamrocks response was four more before hal ime, all from play.
The second half was plain sailing for the county champions as they toyed with their opponents. Clara only added six points as Adrian Mullen and Eoin Cody scored more between them than the Clara total. These Shamrocks lads seem to be coming into form at exactly the right time and will once again take some stopping. Clara’s tactics of playing a two man full forward line against them simply did not work. The two Langtons, Jack and David, John Murphy and Liam Ryan did most to try and stem the tide here. Thanks to the management team of Kevin Ryan, Neil White, Tom English and Brian Kennedy for their e orts through out the year, when at least a Shield title was won.
Team- Kevin Nolan, Bill Carrigan, Jack Langton, Sean O Shea.
Shane Staunton, Matt Kenny 0-1, John Murphy 0-3. Conor O Shea 0-1, David Langton 0-1. Paul Cody, Martin O Connell, Liam Ryan 0-4. Dara Glynn, Jason Byrne 0-4f, Chris Bolger 0-1. Subs used Conor Cody, Lester Ryan, Tom Ryan, Evan Whearty.
Thanks for supporting the local lotto.
Very special birthday wishes go out to Ms..Maura Dowling of Balleen Freshford who celebrated a very special birthday recently. Maura celebrated her 100th birthday with her family of seven children. Born in Ballylarkin in 1922 she has lived at Balleen since her childhood days. She received her medal from the President. She is hale and hearty and is wished many more years of good health.
The showpiece event of Féile Lachtain takes place on Saturday next, October 8, when the Ra er Family perform in concert at St. Lachtain’s R.C. Church at 8.00 p.m., a Kilkenny family and very talented and musical family. Tickets (unreserved seats) cost €25 and are on sale at O’Shea’s Newsagent and online at Eventbrite at “Ra er Family Concert”. You are asked to please support the event.
Freshford day care centre recommenced recently and continues each Wednesday in the GAA Centre at 2pm. New members are most welcome
St Lachtain intermediates hurlers went down to The Fenians of Johnstown in the relegation final game in Ballyragget on Saturday last. This was a massive game for the club and the Johnstown side proved too strong and experienced for the local lads who will now play at Junior level next season. Meanwhile St Lachtains minors had a great win over Dicksboro
Sympathy is extended to Ms.Lizzie Walsh, Wooview Freshford and all the Downey family on the death last week of Tom Downey late of Jenkinstown. The deceased and his family were widely known and respected in the area and especially in the haulage business and GAA circle. Funeral mass took place in Jenkinstown Church followed by burial in Conahy cemetery.
The soccer season began recently and also the schoolboys section. Freshford Town Junior side were beaten in the first round of the Maher Shield and drew away to St.Johns recently on a 3-3 scoreline.
The weekly lucky winner of last weeks split the pot draw was Teresa Murphy who won herself €96. The draw takes place each Wednesday. Tickets are just €2 and the winner gets half of the takings. The draw is held each Wednesday and boxes and envelopes can be found in Kavanaghs Bar, Mace, O’Shea’s corner shop, Girls & Guys Hairdressers, Oasis Creche, Freshford Creamery, Freshford Butchers and Prague House. Please support this fund raising draw and big thanks to all for their continued support.
PARISH NEWS
Mass is held in the Parish Church each Wednesday morning at 9.30am and on Sunday morning at 11am.wiith Mass in Tulla church on Saturday evenings at 7.30pm. Notices
The parish newsletter is available on their website every week and also on the website you are free to pay your dues and make donations or any other contributions and you can find out more about it on the website or feel free to contact in the Parish O ice. Please note community notices for the parish newsletter should be le in or emailed to the Parish O ice by 11am on Thursdays. Parish o ice hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 1pm. Mass Cards
Special printed parish cards are available at the Parish O ice or from Annette at Tulla Church signed by Monsignor Kennedy. You can contact the Parish o ice on 056 8832843 or by email – fresh fordd@ossory.ie.
The underage camogie had a great season with teams at u6, u8 and u10 all now finished up and have shown much improve ment. Great credit and thanks to all the trainers and manage ment for their time. Some great work and patience.
LOOP
Big Work is continuing on the Community Cafe at Buncrussia Street and it is hoped to be open next month. Huge credit is due to the volunteers who have worked so hard to get all the work
done. The Committee thank all those who supported their fund raiser and all who have donated in any way over the past months. They are looking for certain equipment such as fridges etc. at present and would be obliged if people had some they could donate.
Are you struggling with anxiety or depression or finding life di icult or feeling isolated at this time GROW is there to help you. Their Mental Health support Groups are free and confi dential and open to all no referral or booking is needed. For more information on same you can contact Mary on 087 284342 If you can’t cope and need support text HELLO to 50808.
SAMARITAN - Whatever you’re going through a Samaritan will face it with you – available 24 hours a day 365 days a year – Freephone 1161Alone is available for older people who need support and you can call them on 0818 222024 (8am to 8pm)
AMBER KILKENNY WOMENS REFUGE – is available for confidential support relating to domestic violence - call them on 1850 424244 (24/7) or on 056 7771404 or email into@amberwomensrefuge.ie.
Dunnamaggin GAA’s Dinner Dance (Mark the calendar). The GAA club will host a Dinner Dance on Sat 26th November in Hotel Kilkenny. Something to look forward to as the nights draw in.
LOTTO
Local Lotto - Winning Numbers for September 26th: 8, 14, 31. No Winner.
Winners of the Draw for 5 x € 30. Carmel Savage ( C J Delane ), Robbie Byrne ( Malachy Hogan ), Dan Breen Snr (Dan Breen ),DMd ( Dan Breen ),Mary O Shea ( Pete’s ) Jackpot week October 3rd €2650.
Bridge results for 21/09/2022: 1st Josie O’Gorman and; Philip Brennan. 2nd Mary Delaney and Jackie Kenneally. 3rd Mary Lonergan and Kathleen O’Shea.
The bridge results for 14/09/2022: Joint 1st Mary Delaney and Tina Ronan, Rita Houlihan and Mary Comerford. 3rd Josie O’Gorman and Philip Brennan
Bridge is every Wednesday night at 7.30pm in St. Eoghans Centre, Kilmoganny. All welcome.
MONDAY YOGA with Sharon at 10.30am in the Old School Dun namaggin.
Contact Sharon 086 8159441 to book a place.
The fourth Community Spirit Award will be awarded in November. This year, as last, we have a nomination process in place for people to nominate someone they feel should be acknowledged for their voluntary work and contribution to the parish of Dunnamaggin which encompasses the three villages of Kells, Dunnamaggin and Kilmoganny. Nominations can be
sent via private message to our facebook page (Dunnamaggin Community News) saying why your nominee should receive the award. Nomination forms will also be available in local shops soon.
October 30th 11.30am to 4pm - Halloween Fun - Pumpkin Carving Competition - Children’s Halloween Games - Eamo’s Beef Stew to keep you all warm - Facepainting - and lots more to be unveiled. Saturday December 3rd in Madge’s Garden.
Turning on the Christmas Lights with Mince Pies and Hot Chocolate - Sunday December 4th our annual Christmas Market with Santa and Mrs Claus 11.30am to 4pm.
A new Whats App Group has been set up Parish News and Events to inform the whole community of forthcoming events across the three villages of Kells, Kilmoganny and Dunnamaggin. If you wish to be added please text 087 9665020 or 087 7565376 to be added to the group. It is an information only group so admins are the only ones that can post but there are admins from the three villages so if you have some event to highlight or news to impart you contact one of the admins and they will post for you.
Dunnamaggin Development Group are looking for more volun teers to join the DDG. We hold two meetings a month to organise our markets. We have our markets at Easter - June - AugustSeptember Harvest Market - October Halloween and Christmas and you don’t have to be involved in every one . We work as a team but we all understand that family and work comes first. If you are interested in lending a hand a couple of hours a month please let Cyndi know. It’s also a lovely way to make friends and keep up to date with everything going on in the community and also helping to make our community a better place.
NO CONTRACT ! NO COMMITMENT ! JUST FUN ! Contact Cyndi on 0899473002
Kilkenny Pumpkin Picking at Hughes Farm in Kells (R95K82) - from the 14th of October to the 31st from 10am to 6pm. Admission tickets now available on Eventbrite! Make sure to get your ticket via this link, https://bit.ly/3LW3zUI before your date sells out! Great fun and you can carve and enter into the pumpkin carving competition at the Halloween Funday in Dunnamaggin on October 30th.
The U10s had a fabulous end of season session at the weekend of September 25th. Thanks so much to all their wonderful mentors who brought them on so well this year, namely Mick Lyons, Tom McCormack, Yvonne Lyons, Owen Harrisson and Regina Moran. Thanks also to Denise Gaule by adding to the occasion by presenting the girls their certificates and bringing along some silverware.
The U12 girls played the Roinn C final against Muckalee. Well done to the girls on getting to the final and playing so well all season. Hard luck on not coming away with a win but we are all very proud of the girls fantastic efforts. Thank you to mentors Séan Ryan, Mary Brennan, James Moylan and Barbara Rossiter for their time and commitment. A big thanks also to Doyle Concrete for standing the girls their McDonalds after the match. Your generosity to the club is very much appreciated.
Some new volunteer roles at The Volunteer Centre in Kilkenny. Barnstorm Youth Theatre - would love to hear from anyone inter ested in supporting their Youth Theatre Programme. Full supervi sion and support is given. It is a great opportunity to gain some experience with young people and the theatre.
Lets Team Up to Clean Up - Kilkenny Volunteer Centre are sup porting this County Council Initiative on Sunday 9th of October. Any groups or individuals who would like to get involved can get in touch with us here to Keep Kilkenny looking its best!
A Dogs Life are looking for Volunteer Dog Foster Carers who are in a position to take a dog into their home to support the agency in the rehoming process.
L’Arche Community in Kilkenny are looking for a number of volun teers to help support the organisation with a Culinary Life Project, Gardening Support and General Volunteer for their Day Services. It is a great opportunity for anyone who has a passion for not just food and gardening but also arts and crafts and supporting adults with an intellectual disability.
Community Radio would love to hear from anyone who is inter ested in joining their board. Particularly anyone who might have a background in governance, general administration etc.
If you are interested in finding out more please get in touch .
Email : info@volunteerkilkenny.ie or Call 0892584946 .
Knit/ Crochet and Natter, every Friday in Droichead Family Resource Centre from 10-11.30am starting on the 16th September. Open to all beginners/ improvers/advanced, a tutor will be on hand to show new skills and all materials are provided. €2 per class to cover the cost of teas and coffees. To book your place contact Carmel on (083) 2098069 or familysupport@droi cheadfrc.ie.
Molly’s are requesting good quality used clothes, bags, scarfs and other saleable items for Molly’s Goodwill Trift Shop. No bed clothes, underwear, cosmetics, books or toys please. The profits of this venture are to help Dalton House to offset the cost of continuing to operate in the present climate, any help and donations would be gratefully accepted. Items can be left into Dalton House or to Nellie Brett Main St. Receipts will be given. Molly’s Goodwill Shop will open in November on Saturday only, as it will be voluntary staffed. Please consider helping.
GOWRAN
House available for rent in St Mary’s Court Homes for the Elderly complex. Apply to Fr Dalton on 086 8283478.
Have you ever wanted to join the cast of Gowran Pantomime?
The society are looking to take on new adult cast members for upcoming 2023 performance. No experience necessary - full training will be provided. If you’re over 18 and want a bit of craic with a mad but friendly bunch, then come along to our kick-off read through on October 11th at 8pm in the hall in Gowran.
A Special Day will take place in Young Irelands GAA Grounds on Saturday 15th October from 10am - 1.30pm as 4 of the success ful All-Ireland Senior Camogie winning Squad will host an Elite Camogie Training Day ran by the Kilkenny Camogie Champions in Aid of The Kilkenny Camogie Holiday Fund.
It’s open to Camogie Players aged 8-14 and it will be hosted by the Young Irelands Trio of Tiffanie and Steffi Fitzgerald and Ciara O’Keeffe along with Claire Phelan(Lisdowney).
The O’Duffy Cup will be in attendance and prices are €10 for 1 child, €15 for 2 children (Family) and €25 for 3 children (Family).
Young Players from all Clubs are welcome and for any further details check out The Young Irelands Camogie Club Page on Facebook
The Young Irelands Minor A Team impressively won The Shield Final last week when they defeated Piltown 2-18 to 0-9 in The MW Hire Centre in Dunmore to finish the season on a high. The opening quarter was tight as Piltown led 0-4 to 0-3, but once The Young Irelands Boys got a goal in the 18th minute to take the lead(1-3 to 0-4), they took control and never looked back.A strong finish to the First-Half saw them go in 1-8 to 0-5 at half-time and they continued that momentum into the Second-Half.
A strong Third Quarter saw them outscore Piltown 0-6 to 0-2 to build a 1-14 to 0-7 lead, before a 47th minute goal confirmed their superior dominance(2-14 to 0-7). It was plain sailing right the way to the end as they ran out very convincing winners to finish the season on a high.
Congratulations to the Players and Management on winning The Shield Final and for all their efforts throughout the year.
Following a very busy 6 months with 23 Coaching Sessions featuring The Young Irelands youngters up to U-10, The Monday Night Coaching has finished up until next Spring.
So much work as always done by The Coaches with organising games, setting up pitches and planning drills. There was a great end to the season with games, a disco, races and of course treats to thank all the players for their hard work and commitment.
The National Hunt Season returned to Gowran Park with a Two-Day Meeting on Friday and Saturday and Local rider Danny Mullins had three winners across the Two-Days.
On Friday, he had a double with Saylavee - Trained by Willie Mullins - the most impressive winner of the meeting running out a 15 length winner on her hurdling debut in The Gowran Park Racing Club Maiden Hurdle, before the double was complete when Sea of Sands was a 12/1 winner of The Division Two of The Golf at Gowran Park Handicap Hurdle.
Danny was at his brilliant and tenacious best on Saturday when getting Wellington Hill - Trained by his Mum Mags - right up on the finish line to oblige in a photo finish and land The Golf Member ships at Gowran Park Maiden Hurdle.
Elsewhere on Friday, there was an upset in the featured Pat Walsh Mares Hurdle when The Norman Lee trained She Is Electric at 16/1 made all to defeat The Willie Mullins favorite Champagne Problem, while the Sam Curling trained Troubled Times with Derek O’Connor onboard landed the other feature The Mucklemeg Mares Bumper.
It was a great day also for Callan Native Jack Foley who rode a double for Trainer Philip Rothwell with Berliet Express winning The Division One of The Golf at Gowran Park Handicap Hurdle, before doubling up with Don’t Doubt Me in The Thomastown Handicap Hurdle.
On Saturday, Easy Game with Brian Hayes onboard led home a Willie Mullins 1-2 to win the featured Grade 2 PWC Champion Steeplechase ahead of the Danny Mullins ridden Kemboy, while Mark Walsh enjoyed a double in the JP McManus courtesy of Cougar in The opening 3-year-old Maiden Hurdle and Pairc Na Ngael in The Hospitality at Gowran Park Handicap Steeplechase. Joseph O’Brien was in The winners enclosure when Banbridge was a very impressive winner of The Join Gowran Park Racing Club Beginners Steeplechase, while Jimmy Barcoe’s Influential Lady ran a superb race to finish a close Third in the concluding Captain Christy Novice Steeplechase and could easily have had another placed effort when Ventnor fell at the last in The Paulstown Handicap Hurdle.
Overall, a Superb Two-Days Racing and there are just TwoMeetings left in Gowran Park in 2022, a Flat Meeting on Tuesday 18th October, before The Kilkenny GAA Raceday on Saturday 26th November.
CLUB LOTTO
Dicksboro GAA Club LOTTO Results 29th September. Nos: 3 19 25 32. Jackpot: €4,700 Not Won Draw Prizes – €50: Deirdre O’Reilly c/o online. €25 each Siobhan O’Gorman c/o online. €25 each Ivan Doherty c/o online. €25 each Ted Carroll c/o online Co op draw ticket Ciara Lawlor c/o online. Promotors prize
Tommy Hackett
New weeks draw €4850. Thank you for your continued support
SENIOR HURLERS
Hard luck to our Senior Hurlers who lost out in a very entertaining
County Semi Final. Well done to James Stephens on their win and best of luck in the County Final. We thank all our players and Management Team for all their efforts this year.
JUNIOR B SECTION
Congratulations to our Junior Hurlers in the JJ Kavanagh Hurling Section B Final who defeated James Stephens 2-18 to 3-11. Well done lads.
MINOR A COUNTY FINAL
We saw one of the most dramatic Kilkenny Minor A Finals in recent memory. Up against a very strong Village side our young Hurlers dug deep and came out on the winning side thanks to a late Billy Fitzpatrick point. Huge Congratulations to all the players and Management team and we retain the Title for another year.
Well done.
SENIOR CAMOGIE
Our Senior Girls played their Semi Final on Saturday morning in a windy Tullaroan. Up against a tough Piltown side the girls put on a great display of hurling and defeated Piltown 0-21 to 0-10. The girls will now look forward to a Co Final scheduled for 15th October.
U14 CAMOGIE
Another successful win for our u14 girls who defeated Mooncoin and will now progress to the County Final. Well done girls.
HANDBALL
Congratulations to 3 of our 15 Hurlers who had huge success in Cashel Sunday afternoon. Dan Carroll and Rian Dowling won the u14 Doubles All Ireland Final while Anthony Clifford won the u15’s single title. Well done boys and congratulations to Ciaran and Jim Neary in TalbotsInch HBC.
PALMERSTOWN CLUB Dicksboro Clubhouse Bar is opened every Thursday from 8.30pm. Thursday nights is Lotto Draw and Cards Night. All are welcome out for a social drink, a chat and if there is interest, a beginners card table. We would be delighted to see you out to the club for a chat. We have a selection of non-alcoholic beers, barista coffee also available so come along and enjoy.
Mass Times in Aghaviller Parish:October 2022.
Hugginstown Church: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9.30a.m.
Vigil, Saturday 8th. at 8.00p.m. Sunday 9th. at 10.00a.m. Stoneyford Church, Wednesday and Friday at 7.00p.m. VigilSaturday 8th. at 6.30p.m. Friday 7th. Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. First Friday Visitation with Holy Communion will take place as usual on Friday. Please let us know if you would like to receive Holy Communion in your home for the First Fridays or at any other time.
Pray For: Gerard Cantwell, Carricketna. Nuala Moore, Kimoganny: both who died during the week.
Anniversary Mass: Kit Doran, Stoneyford: Mass in Stoneyford Church on Saturday 8th. October at 6.30p.m. Larry and Sheila Murphy, Gowlawn.Mass in Hugginstown Church on Saturday 8th. October at 8.00p.m.
Remembrance Masses for the Faithful Departed: Remembrance Masses for the Faithful Departed will be celebrated on Saturday 5th. November: In Stoneyford Church at 6.30p.m., and in Hugginstown Church at 8.00p.m. We will remember all who have lost a family member during the past twelve months. Families will be invited to bring a candle to the altar in remem brance of their loved ones during Mass. Rota for week-end: 8th and 9th October 2022 (Twenty-Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time).
Readers: Stoneyford: Saturday 6.30p.m. Rita O’Farrell. Huggin stown: Saturday 8.00p.m. Tommy Murphy. Sunday 10.00a.m. Mary Foran.
Eucharistic Ministers: Stoneyford: Saturday 6.30p.m. Natalia Smolen. Hugginstown: Saturday 8.00p.m. Mary Cahill. Sunday 10.00a.m. Ruth Crowley.
On Sunday October 9th the Annual Coastal Rosary will take place at 2.30pm. Join thousands of people from around Ireland to pray the Rosary for Life and Faith at our Coasts, Grottos, Rivers, Churches, and other suitable places. Simply sign up a Rosary location at www. coastalrosaryireland.ie or text your location to 087 278 6552.
OCTOBER STATION
October Station Envelopes 2022 are available at the Church Porch. Your contributions are for the support of the priests of the
Parish and the Diocese. Your contribution can be left into the Collection Boxes at the Churches or you may donate directly - Use IBAN: IE19 AIBK 9330 9000 0561 20 (BIC: AIBKIE2D).
LOTTO Aghaviller Parish and Carrickshock G. A. A. Draw: Monday 26th. September 2022 Numbers: 20; 02; 22; 27. No Winner
First 3 Numbers Drawn. No Jackpot Winner: 5 x €30.00. Winners: Angela and Paul Barron, Romansvalley. Pat Duggan, Boolyglass; Liam Barron, Sheepstown. Killian Kane, c/o Fred Malzard.Harry Butler, Rathduff.
3 x €15.00 (Sellers). Pat Dwyer; Willie Walshe; Teresa Fitzgerald. Next week: Match 3: €500.00; (First 3 Numbers Drawn) Jackpot: €5,500.00. (4 Numbers in any order)
WESTPORT HOLIDAY
5 days/4 nights. From the 31st. October to 4th. November 2022. Coach from Stoneyford; Outings every day. A great hotel. €395.00 p.p. sharing.€475.00 single room. More details on www.stoney ford.ie or Telephone: 087 641 4038
The Adult Faith Development Group are holding a pilgrimage to Rome this coming March (9th. to 14th.) 2023. Rome has a remarkable array of religious art - frescos, paintings, sculptures, mosaics and stuccos. Over the centuries these treasures have inspired, educated and uplifted countless people. This pilgrimage will explore the religious and catechetical meaning of some of these masterpieces. For further information or for booking please contact Kieran or Laura Troy at info@myriam.ie or by calling 057 935 5050.
First Holy Communion will be celebrated in Stoneyford Church on Sunday 14th. May for Stoneyford School.
First Holy Communion will be celebrated in Hugginstown Church on Sunday 21st. May for Monroe/Newmarket Schools.
Knitting and Crochet Christmas Fair and Coffee Morning on Friday 2nd December in the Centre, Main Street, Urlingford from 11am –1pm. Hope to see you there.
LTI Pathway to Employment course QQI Level 4 LTI is recruiting for the new programme in the Centre. If anyone is interested in com pleting this full-time course, please contact us for an expression of interest form. More details can be found on our website www. millfrcurlingford.com Defibrillator
Please note that there is a defibrillator located in the Mill Family Resource Centre if and when it may be required.
Senior Alert
If you need to apply for a Personal Alarm, please contact Sue or Josephine.
Counselling Services:
Our low cost Counselling Services, includes One-to-One, Family & Teens, aged 12 plus.
General Counselling: Bereavement, Stress, Anxiety & Depres sion. Other Counselling Services available: Drug, Substance & Gambling Addictions. Please contact Sue for more information or to make an appointment.
Appeal for Clothes Donations:
Any clothes donations would be appreciated in aid of our coun selling services. Donations can be left into the Centre, please call before dropping off. Contact number for the Centre 056-8838466
RESULTS
18 Hole S/F Sept. 20th. 1st, Ann Wenyss
Senior Ladies
Caroline
This was surely a busy day for Mary Lanigan with count backs. As ever no bother to Mary.
Winner
Kennedy
Geraldine O Sullivan
Three
Mary Norton
Ellen O
event at
and Lady
Anne
see
the club
the Glen
BY NIALL SHERRY SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITORKILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
e last of the remaining quarternal ties took place last Sunday at UPMC Nowlan Park when holders Shamrocks Ballyhale took on Clara with a semi- nal against Tullaroan the prize for the winners.
Pat Hoban’s men certainly laid down a marker as they continued their bid for 5-in-a-row County titles with an impressive display against the side that had got one over on them in the league earlier this season.
Adrian Mullen was particularly impressive as he notched 1-7 in the dismantling of Clara, some of his scores were worth the admission alone.
Clara to their credit started brightly, and registered the rst couple of scores of the game, thanks to points from John Murphy and David Langton. Clara’s bright start was soon dimmed, when County stars Mullen and TJ Reid began to nd their range.
Shamrocks greater attacking quality was proving troublesome for the Clara defence, and even though they employed a sweeper, the Maroonclad men seemed to be chasing shadows for long periods of the game. A mistake by the normally reliable Kevin Nolan in the Clara goal, allowed Adrian Mullen to raise the only green ag of the day and this score seemed to ignite the Ballyhale charges. Indeed, Mullen’s next score was one of his nest, from way out on the sideline.
e champions were 6 points up with just over ten minutes played, and things were looking ominous for the Shield winners. Clara gave their vocal support something to cheer with points from the dangerous Jason Byrne and another from John Murphy. Paddy Mullen and Darragh Corcoran responded for Shamrocks but the free-taking of Byrne allowed his team to close the gap to ve at the mid-way point of the half.
Ballyhale then went up a gear and reeled o some ne scores from Mullen, Eoin Cody and Colin Fennelly. Clara were simply outgunned. Wing-forward Liam Ryan tagged on a couple of tasty scores, Adrian Mullen hit his fourth of the half before further points from Cody, TJ Reid and Darragh Corcoran sent Pat Hoban’s men into the changing rooms ten points to the good.
e County champions of ‘13 and ‘15 simply had no answer to Shamrocks. e second half followed the pattern of the rst, with Adrian Mullen and Eoin Cody the chief protagonists, striking over points that highlighted their quality and undoubted class.
Liam Ryan and Conor O’Shea battled in vain for Clara, who in truth never looked like mounting a serious challenge to Shamrocks reign as champions. Defenders Darragh Corcoran and Evan She in struck over points while Colin Fennelly added to his tally and nished with 0-3 on the day.
When referee Peter Burke blew for full-time, Ballyhale had taken another step on the road to 5-in-a-row. Final score Shamrocks Ballyhale 1-27, Clara 0-15.
Scorers Shamrocks Ballyhale: A Mullen (1-7), E Cody (0-6), TJ Reid (0-6, 0-4f and 0-1 65), Darragh Corcoran, Colin Fennelly (0-3 each), Evan She in, Paddy Mullen (0-1 each)
Scorers Clara: L Ryan (0-4), J Byrne (0-4, 0-4f), J Murphy, C O’Shea (0-2 each), C Bolger, M Kenny, D Langton (0-1 each)
Shamrocks Ballyhale: D Mason; K Corcoran, J Holden, B Butler; E She in, R Reid, D Corcoran; R Corcoran, P Mullen; A Mullen, TJ Reid, E Cody; E Kenneally, C Fennelly, N Shorthall.
Subs: J Cuddihy for P Mullen, E Reid for Shortall, L Barron for R Corcoran, S Barron for Butler.
Clara: K Nolan; B Carrigan, J Langton, S O’Shea; S Staunton, D Langton, M Kenny; C O’Shea, M O’Connell; P Cody, J Murphy, L Ryan; D Glynn, J Byrne, C Bolger.
Subs: L Ryan for O’Connell, C Cody for Glynn, T Ryan for Byrne, E Whearty for Kenny.
Referee: Peter Burke
James Stephens 2-18 e Village are the rst side to qualify for this seasons St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship Final after an exciting encounter with city rivals Dicksboro at UPMC Nolan Park last Sunday. Goals win games and so it proved in this semi- nal encounter as James Stephens
bagged two majors to ‘Boro’s one as they bid for a rst county title since 2011.
Seamus Dwyer’s men were quick o the mark and hit three early scores via Tadhg O’Dwyer, Matthew Ruth and Willie Spencer. Dicksboro responded with four of their own, the dangerous Andy Ga ney hit a couple as did Liam Moore and one from Eoin Fennelly nudged them ahead.
A wonderful goal followed from Eoin Guilfoyle as those in attendance were being treated to a scoring spectacle! Bill Sheehan led by example and struck over a ne point, before Village netminder Gavin Costigan reacted smartly to deny a well struck Andy Ga ney e ort.
Placed ball specialist Niall Brassil ri ed over a brace of frees to con rm his radar was locked in on the day. e city rivals exchanged scores before Brassil nailed another couple of e orts to leave James Stephens four up at the short whistle.
Dicksboro came out determined to claw back the de cit and struck the rst few scores of the second half through a hat-
trick of placed balls from Andy Ga ney and a lovely score from the roving Liam Moore. e ‘Boro then fashioned a major of their own. Some good play from Moore saw the ball played to Ga ney, and the deadly attacker made no mistake as he nished past a helpless Costigan.
Seamus Dwyer’s team then dug in and pulled a couple back through Niall Brassil and Tadhg O’Dwyer, but Ga ney was in ne form for Michael Walsh’s men and he struck over a challenging free before recently introduced sub, Harry Shine popped over a nice point to leave his side ahead by the minimum as the seminalists entered the home straight.
e turnaround in form of this Village team since the opening rounds of the league has been quite remarkable. Could it be that Brian Cody has made a tangible di erence since joining Seamus Dwyer’s management team?
Niall Brassil then struck the score that brought the sides level again, but matters were about to get a whole lot better for e Village.
With a little over 10 minutes remaining, one of Brian Cody’s trusted lieutenants got the vital score of the game. Conor Browne picked up possession some 40-odd yards away from goal but drove straight to goal and when he reached the ‘21 he unleashed a rm shot past Holohan in the Dicksboro goal. e Village up by three.
Dicksboro were rocked, but to their credit they red over points from that man Ga ney and captain Bill Sheehan. However, James Stephens had wind in their sails following Browne’s goal, and they added a couple of more points from their top scorer Brassil and Eoin Guilfoyle to see them home by three in an exhilarating encounter that in truth could have gone in either sides favour. Final Score, Dicksboro 1-18 James Stephens 2-18.
Scorers James Stephens: N Brassil (0-9, 0-7f), E Guilfoyle (1-1), C Browne (1-0), L Scanlon, T O’Dwyer, A Parsons (0-2 each), W Spencer, M Ruth (0-1 each)
Scorers Dicksboro: A Ga ney (1-8, 0-5f, 0-3 65’s), L Moore, B Sheehan (0-3 each), T Cli ord (0-2), E Fennelly, H Shine (0-1 each)
James Stephens: G Costigan, L Murphy, D Cody, S Donoghue, N Delaney, C Kenny, N Mullins, W Spencer, C Browne, A Parsons, N Brassil, E Guilfoyle, T O’Dwyer, M Ruth, L Scanlon Subs: R Whelan for Parsons
Dicksboro: D Holohan, N Rowe, E Cody, A Phelan, O Walsh, P Moylan, E Carroll, T Kenny, E Fennelly, L Moore, B Sheehan, T Cli ord, A Nolan, M Nolan, A Ga ney Subs: H Shine for Walsh, S Farrell for Cli ord, C Kavanagh for M. Nolan, S Stapleton for A. Nolan
Referee: Raymond Byrne
BY NIALL SHERRY SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITORKILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Preview
Shamrocks Ballyhale vs Tullaroan League champions Tullaroan will take on the absolute might of Shamrocks Ballyhale when the two sides meet at UPMC Nowlan Park tomorrow (throw-in 3:30pm) for a place in the St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship nal, where James Stephens await the winners of this intriguing tie.
I’d imagine most will see this as another run-out for Ballyhale as they seek to position themselves for a much-coveted 5-in-a-row tilt, but that would be a little disrespectful on a Tullaroan side that can mix it with the best of them.
Ken Coogan’s side will relish the opportunity of a crack at last season’s beaten All-Ireland club nalists and will know that his side possess weapons that can damage any opponent on the day.
Central to e Sash’s chances of making it to a senior championship nal will be the form of Shane Walsh. Indeed, it was Walsh’s 12-point haul in their quarter- nal win over Erin’s Own that ultimately proved the winning of that game and gave Tullaroan a semi- nal berth.
Joey Holden and Co. will know that any illdiscipline in the Shamrocks half of the pitch could result in scores for the deadly accurate Walsh who will relish his free-taking battle with the great TJ Reid.
e youngest of the Walsh brothers, Shane has shown a temperament matched with a skill level that many club sides would give their right hand for. When the semi- nalists clashed in the nal round of league games, Tullaroan produced a stunning comeback to shock Pat Hoban’s men and qualify for the league decider that they went onto win comfortably against Bennettsbridge.
While Shane Walsh clearly has a pivotal role to play tomorrow, he will have players beside him that won’t be found wanting in the heat of the battle at UPMC Nowlan Park. Another Walsh, Padraig could have key bearing on the game’s outcome. Padraig is a classy player who can operate in numerous positions across the pitch and his hunger and desire to get his beloved Sash over the line will be clear for all in attendance to see.
e Tullaroan attacking unit will be shackled by a largely experienced defence, and how the likes of Mossy Keoghan, Gearoid Dunne, John Walton and Dylan Simpson deal with this will go a long way to how credible e Sash challenge will be tomorrow. We all know Mossy has an eye for goal, and majors could go a long way to deciding the outcome of this match.
During the sides last meeting, e Sash defence managed to keep Eoin Cody in check for large parts of the game, but the twice crowned Young Hurler of the Year has been going well since that outing, scoring 0-6 in his sides win over Clara last week.
Ken Coogan will no doubt try to restrict the in uence the likes of Eoin Cody, TJ Reid and Adrian Mullen will have tomorrow, but to do that in championship hurling won’t be easy. Against Glenmore and Clara, you could sense that Shamrocks Ballyhale not only demand winning a 5th consecutive county title, but they feel that they have un nished business on the All-Ireland club stage, following last year’s sickening defeat to Ballygunner in Croke Park. Before they look to that, local business needs attended to.
ese days, scores come from all over the park, and the attacking capabilities of both Darragh Corcoran and Evan She in could be extremely useful tools in the Ballyhale locker. Both players can strike from distance and love making their markers chase the other way.
While Shane Walsh may well be the key man for Tullaroan, the hurling of former Kilkenny captain Adrian Mullen has been instrumental in Shamrocks quest for more championship glory. His nonstop work ethic, coupled with the ability
to strike points from the most ridiculous of angles means Mullen is a vital cog in the Ballyhale machine. e way Mullen, Cody and TJ dovetail, normally allows Shamrocks to thrive in the open spaces of UPMC Nowlan Park, while Colin Fennelly has looked hungry following his summer spell in the USA.
Expect a decent crowd to be in attendance tomorrow and one hopes that they will be treated to a fantastic spectacle. Tullaroan dreams.... Ballyhale expects.
James Stephens are there. A narrow victory over Dicksboro last week saw Seamus Dwyer’s charges make their third county final in the last six years. It’s hard to believe that the city side haven’t lifted the Tom Walsh Cup since 2011 when they beat Ballyhale by eight points after a replay. There’s no doubt that the input from a certain Mr. Brian Cody has perhaps got a little bit extra out of this talented side. Certainly, the likes Cian Kenny and Conor Browne have an extra spring in their step in recent games, while the reliable Eoin Guilfoyle and Niall Brassil have fired The Village to the county decider.
So, which team will join The Village in the showpiece later this month? Could we see a repeat of the 2011 final? Or could it be the neutrals final with Tullaroan providing the opposition to Seamus Dwyer’s side?
Should Shane Walsh be able to replicate his influence on tomorrow’s game the way he has done in the season to date, Tullaroan certainly stand a fighting chance. If The Sash can play the game and not the occasion, well, who knows?
One thing is certain, Padraig Walsh and Mossy Keoghan will want to get one over on their many county team mates at UPMC Nowlan Park tomorrow. Mossy will fancy his chances of raising a green flag at a venue that he knows well, and as we alluded to earlier, goals can make a major difference in games like this.
Shamrocks are building nicely – and in Adrian Mullen they have one of the top hurlers in the country at present. He has esteemed company in the Ballyhale attacking unit and this could prove crucial. Should Paddy Mullen miss out with what’s thought to be a hamstring injury, captain Ronan Corcoran will have a new partner in the engine room and will look to give his side the platform to go forth and do the Ballyhale thing!
Reaching a first senior county final since 1994 will be a massive carrot for Ken Coogan’s side, while Pat Hoban’s team will want to give themselves an opportunity to claim a magnificent 5th consecutive title. This game could be good, it certainly has all the ingredients to be a classic.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted. Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. S.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. S.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted. Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer.M.K.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted. Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. B.H.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. M.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. M.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. T.B.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted. Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. S.B.
