Kilkenny Observer 15th April 2022

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Friday 15 April 2022

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RELAX. REFRESH. RECHARGE.

Top spots to savour Kilkenny café culture at its best…

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Prices up: oil’s not well

IF you and your family heat your home with oil you will miss out on moves to address the cost of living crisis by cutting energy Vat rates.

The Government has announced plans to cut Vat on electricity and gas to ensure homeowners are not impacted by environmental tax increase.

However, they were unable to secure a deal with the EU to allow them also reduce Vat on home heating oil.

This means the proposed carbon tax increase will mean a 900 litre tank of kerosene will go up by €19.40 next month.

Government leaders agreed that Vat on electricity and gas will reduce from 13.5% to 9%.

Families are still facing an almost €20 increase in their energy bill next month despite Government commitments to offset carbon tax increases.

But the move could save bill payers €49 a year on electricity and €61 a year on gas and will cost around €75m before the end of the year.

Legislation will have to be passed by the Dáil to clear the way for the Vat cut but it is hoped that it will be signed off by the end of May People on the fuel allowance are also in line for a €100 once-off payment or three weeks of the benefit as part of the latest measures

aimed at reducing energy costs.

A long-promised reduction in public service obligation (PSO) levy on electricity bills, which will save people just under €60 a year, is also expected to come into place in October.

The European Commission agreed last week to allow member states to reduce Vat on electricity and gas.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has written to European

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe wrote to Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni seeking approval to also reduce Vat on home heating oil.

However, they have not received formal responses and the Government believes the proposal will be rejected due to climate action commitments undertaken by the EU.

No rooms for our Ukraine refugees MORE than €7,000 has been raised by a weekend of concerts in Kilkenny City.

April Sounds saw a number of well-known names perform at St Canice’s Cathedral and the Medieval Mile Museum.

Lisa O’ Neill, Rónán Ó Snodaigh & Myles O’Reilly, Arrivalists and Bríd Lyons kicked it all off on the first night.

A world premiere of ‘All The Tired Horses’ performed by Lisa O’ Neill, Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Myles O’Reilly left the audience speechless.

Meanwhile, up to 23,000 people who offered accommodation for Ukrainians are to be contacted within

EVERY FRIDAY

next week by the Irish Red Cross, as the aid agency announced that more more than €30 million has to date been donated to them in their appeal for Ukraine. .Nearly 23,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland since the Russian invasion began and Cabinet was told that number would rise to between 26,000 and 32,000 in the next seven days.

Around 500 people are arriving every day on average – with more than 80% in need of accommodation.

But, now there are concerns some hotels will not renew their agreements to house Ukrainian refugees as the busy summer season approaches.

Efforts are ongoing to re-

The Kilkenny

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Art imitates life: street art in Rivne, Ukraine

Inistioge talk of the towns!

Inistioge has been nominated in the 2022 Ireland’s Best Kept Towns competition.

The popular and picture-pretty riverside village had previously been nominated in 2020 but the competition was cancelled that year due to Covid restrictions.

This is an all island competition with entries from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Well done, people of Inistioge!

Warning over Easter eggs This Easter weekend the Department of Public Health HSE South East is urging the public not to consume certain recalled Kinder products which have been linked to a large salmonella outbreak.

Be extra cautious with your kiddies’ eggs.

Full story, Page 6

The poor Jesus In the Catholic upbringing of my youth, there was no more an austere day than Good Friday. My brother and I would stare intently at the picture on the box and I, feeling so sorry for the poor man Jesus, would promise to give up me ‘auld sins’ and be good.

Paul Hopkins, Page 8

INSIDE new the agreements; however, there is no guarantee the talks will be successful.

Ministers were told that 90% to 95% of the refugees that arrive in the coming

weeks and months will be housed in emergency accommodation – including in community halls, convents, army barracks and other public buildings.

The heads of all Government departments asking them to look for available property.

Analysis, Page 15

Paul Hopkins....................P8 Marianne Heron............P12 John Ellis ........................P16 Health & Science...........P18 Travel & Leisure............P19 Gerry Cody .............P34 - 35 Picture Special .......P48 - 49 Food & Drink .................P52 TV & Streaming ............P53 Sport ............................56 - 57

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GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THE TEAM

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News STATHAM’S at Pembroke Kilkenny is excited to announce its new Market Menu.

The Market Menu is a threecourse ever-changing menu that uses locally sourced fresh seasonal produce for a unique evening.

The menu is unique to Statham’s and Kilkenny as it focuses on using the best seasonal ingredients and preparing them while at their peak. Dishes change often, depending on the produce delivered from grower’s on the day, allowing diners to enjoy a fresh new dining experience with each visit to Statham’s.

The Market Menu will tantalise taste buds with delicious dishes bursting with flavour and colour. Diners have the option to have drink pairing to complement and complete the experience.

An impressive selection of non-alcoholic cocktails, fizz and beer is also available.

Statham’s ethos has always been to seek out quality producers from Kilkenny and Ireland, with whom they enjoy a trusted relationship and are proud to support. The Market Menu includes the freshest seasonal produce, grown, picked and delivered by suppliers such as Riversfield Farm, Dizzy Goat Farm, Ballykeefe Distillery & Ging Family Farm amongst many more. Each dish on the menu includes a high proportion of locally sourced ingredients.

Head Chef Ken Harker told The Kilkenny Observer:

Food for thought in unique dining

“Incorporating local ingredients into the menu at Statham’s allows us to simply but elegantly show off the high standard of products available in Ireland by Irish suppliers.

“In the kitchen, we try to use the best Kilkenny and Irish produce we can source, and ensure we cook with the best available ingredients when at their prime. This

allows us to treat the ingredients with respect and let them be the stars of the show on the Market Menu. The menu is something the whole team here in the kitchen our proud of and we love having the chance to mix it up as the seasons change.”

An example of the variety of dishes available on the first course of Statham’s include a mouth-watering Dizzy

Farm goat’s cheese, Riversfield Farm beetroot, hazelnut, micro herbs; Smoked salmon and Riversfield Farm artichoke fish cake, lime hollandaise; or Confit chicken leg and foie gras terrine, golden raisin purée, apple, croutons.

A scrumptious selection of dishes served for the second course includes Andarl Farm pork fillet, braised pig cheek, Riversfield Farm

braised cabbage; Grilled sea bream, Riversfield Farm roast leek, mussel vinaigrette; and Riversfield Farm artichoke purée, barley, Cashel blue, artichoke crisps.

To finish, the third course includes Durrus cheese, toasted brioche, Highbank apple gel; Ballykeefe Irish

coffee tiramisu; or Caramelised puff pastry crème, candied peanuts, poached pears, oatmeal biscuit. * For more information seewww.pembrokekilkenny.com

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Here’s what anti-vaxers think THE main reasons cited for vaccine-hesitant patients turning down a Covid-19 jab has been revealed in a study by one of the country’s most prominent hospitals Among the main reasons given for declining a Covid vaccine were safety concerns and a belief they could rely on their own immune sys-

tems.

The study at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, found others who refused a jab said they were recovering from intercurrent illness, had a lack of trust in vaccine advocates and wanted more research.

The research — presented to the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiol-

ogy and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon, Portugal and led

by Dr Jeff Harte -— said over the course of eight months, unvaccinated patients were approached by its specialist vaccination team to offer them a vaccine.

He said in January and February this year, some 24 out of 126 who were offered boost-

ers accepted the shot but this contrasted with only one out of 119 unvaccinated patients who were offered “primary doses”.

Age was frequently associated with lower uptake and some of the comments in a questionnaire included “fed up with hospital”, “I had enough with my other two”

and “don’t care anymore”.

He said the audit showed the benefit of a hospital having an active vaccination approach, a greater prevalence of fully vaccinated inpatients and how vaccine-hesitant people are willing to engage in discussion as well as common concerns.

It comes as the number

Only one in three like remote work ONLY one in three employers is happy with the Government’s new Right to Request Remote Working Bill, with 35% saying they don’t think it balances the rights and requirements fairly between them and employees.

The sentiments are from the latest ‘Director Sentiment Monitor’ survey, for the first quarter of 2022, from the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland.

The proposed new law would give employees the right to request remote working once they were six months into their jobs.

While remote or ‘hybrid’ working arrangements are still in place for thousands of companies and public sector organisations in Ireland, online recruitment services such as Indeed. com show a small minority of new jobs being advertised as remote.

“While some form of hybrid working has been adopted by many organisations since the pandemic, it is too soon to tell how successful the model will be,” said Maura Quinn, chief executive of the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland.

“While almost half of business leaders (personally) note that it has been a success, the finding that 37% of business leaders say they ‘don’t know enough’ about the Right to Request Remote

Working Bill 2022 indicates that we have some way to go on this issue.”

The IoD’s survey was completed by 314 business bosses, 72% of whom are directors and 41% of whom are CEOs. Of the 35% who said they don’t believe that the “rights and requirements of both employees and employers” are balanced, a large majority (93%) says the Government should “go back to the drawing board” with the Bill.

Reaction among other employers’ groups and employee unions has often been similarly negative, for contrasting reasons.

In a submission to an Oireachtas committee on the topic, Ibec said that the “burden” of costs associated with remote working would fall disproportionately on employers. It also argued that introducing a law on remote working is fundamentally “premature” and could smother the emergence of “creative and flexible” remote working practices.

However, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Patricia King said that the draft legislation is “stacked in favour of the employer at every turn” and did not adequately allow workers to appeal an employer’s decision to refuse their request.

of patients with Covid-19 in hospital yesterday fell to 1,004, down 77 on the previous day. Of these, 53 were in intensive care.

Another 4,761 new cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday, including 1,749 from a positive PCR test and another 3,012 that were confirmed by a home antigen test.

Pedal power: Minister Malcolm Noonan with Donal Gallagher of Asylum Productions.

Photo: John Fitzgerald

Callan is full of energy...

RECYCLING took on a new meaning in Callan when Green Minister Malcolm Noonan used the pedal power to generate alternative energy.

He was launching the Callan Energy Store, an initiative that aims to promote awareness of alternative means of lighting up our lives, whether via electricity or the many ways we can live comfortably without damaging the planetary ecosystem or depleting our precious limited resources.

The Energy Store is housed in Callan ’s old bacon factory building, located opposite the town car park and in full view of the scenic abbey meadow. The project is sup-

ported by the Creative Climate Action Fund.

The inside of the factory was unrecogniSable to people who had not seen it since it closed more than three decades ago. Gone are all traces of its previous incarnation as a killing and processing plant.

Ironically, among the numerous slogans that festoon the walls are ones urging us to eat less meat and go vegetarian. Other messages inscribed in block letter or calligraphy warned of the dangers we face if climate change isn t tackled.

A range of stalls highlighted alternative energy ideas and gadgets. One device could de-rust even the most dilapidated old tools.

The restored metals looked as spanking new as if they d come off the shelves of a first-class hardware shop.

Other stalls had experts on hand to outline the benefits of solar power, retrofitting, wind power, and electric transport.

Over the next weeks a series of lectures, slide shows, movies, and chat forms will be hosted at the centre to delve further into how each of us can make a difference to the planet s future. Participants will be encouraged to make their own suggestions and share ideas about reducing greenhouse gasses, conserving our flora and fauna, and generally reducing our carbon footprint.

One of the most ambitious aims of the centre is to encourage the creation of Callan s own electricity generation that would make it independent of national providers and hopefully offer cheaper power to the town and district. This idea has a special resonance in Callan because the town had an electricity supply board back in 1907, long before the ESB s arrival.

The Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, said he was deeply impressed with the project. He inspected all the displays, expressing support for the aspirations behind what he called a wonderful undertaking.

Pandemic sees us eye our finances more closely A NEW Bank of Ireland survey has revealed that 77% of people are more interested in their finances since the onset of the pandemic, with women (80%) scoring higher in this area than men (73%) for the first time. However people’s financial concerns continue to be a pressing issue, with 91% of respondents worried about their financial health due to the rising cost of living and inflationary pressures

eroding the value of their savings. The survey also revealed that concern levels are higher amongst women (63%) than men (50%).

A total of 82% of people said they had savings put aside, but only 16% of those had an investment account with the potential to grow their money in the current low interest rate environment. 57% of people held their money in a savings account, 47% in a current ac-

count and 12% in cash, but all these options are earning no interest and are losing value with the rising cost of living.

And 18% of those surveyed had no savings at all, while 78% of people claimed to be concerned about earning little or no interest on their savings. Bank of Ireland is now launching the ‘Invested Webinar Series,’ designed to help people learn more about investing and show them how

to achieve growth on the portion of their savings they can afford to put away for the longer term.

The recent survey indicates people want to make their money ‘work harder’, with tried and tested savings methods proving ineffective as the cost of living rises ever higher and interest rates remain low. A fear of losing money (66%) is still the biggest investment barrier, with

other obstacles including; • Lack of investment knowledge (38%) • Feelings of not having enough money to invest (38%) • Afraid of having money tied up for a long time (35%) • Not knowing where to get investment advice (19%) The latest research shows a spike this year (47% up from 42% in 2021) amongst people who are keen on invest-

ing their savings. Men (56%) are more comfortable than women (37%) in the investment area, with people in the 30 – 39 year old age cohort (58%) more eager to invest than any other age group.

The vast majority of those already comfortable with investing (81%), say they’re planning to invest more of their savings.

See John Ellis, Page 16

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The Fact Of The Matter PAUL HOPKINS

When I’d ball my eyes out for poor Jesus In the Catholic upbringing of my youth, there was no more an austere day than Good Friday. Curtains were drawn – as respect for the death of Christ – we kids were not allowed play football out on the road – indeed, play at all – and the fledging Radio Telefis Eireann did not broadcast any programmes, though my mother left the TV switched on, the screen permanently showing a painting of the Crucifixion, a Caravaggio or a Diego Velazquez.

My brother and I would stare intently at the picture on the box and I, feeling so sorry for the poor man Jesus, would promise to give up me ‘auld sins’ and be good. My mother, meantime, resigned herself to her ‘sacrifice’, that there would be no episode of The Fugitive that night and Richard Kimble’s pursuit of the one-armed man would have to wait for another week.

There were the obligatory

Stations of the Cross – not online as with Covid the last two years – my mother taking us to the church at 3pm, the time of day Christ drew his last breath, and we would go from one depiction of His agony to another, trying hard to ball our eyes out for Christ’s pitiful plight.

Back then there was never ever any doubt that God did exist, that Jesus did die on the Cross to give us eternal life, and that we would be damned to Hell if we did not believe.

Since then Ireland has grown up. We can laugh at the exploits of Father Ted and Mrs Brown’s Boys. The Catholic Church and its religious orders have been outed, not least in recent time with the horrific stories of Mother & Baby homes and correctional institutions. Married priests or those silenced by the Vatican because they dared speak the truth are

now no bother to us, and we Catholics no longer breed like rabbits because Rome dictates contraception is wrong.

Even if there were no pandemic, churches would still be half empty, some demolished or sold off, and 700,000 people, north and south, say they have “no religion at all”.

Where do we now stand on Jesus might be a good question to ponder this Holy Week. Do we still believe He was the Son of God? Died and rose again? Do we believe that He even existed?

Such contentions have been argued for centuries by philosophers and theologians from Francis of Assisi to Martin Luther, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to Richard Dawkins.

There is more evidence that Jesus of Nazareth certainly lived than for most famous figures of the ancient past.

This evidence is of two kinds, according to the noted his-

torian Paul L Maier: internal and external, or, if you will, sacred and secular. “In both cases, the total evidence is so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of intellects would dare to deny Jesus’ existence,” says Maier.

On the sacred front, the most detailed record of Jesus’ life and ministry is recorded in the (known) Gospels. In addition, a number of early non-Christian sources name Him. That a few simple men, the four, arguably five, Gospel writers, should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in those Gospels.

Irish historian John Dominic Crossan, however, would argue with the ministry and divinity of Jesus.

Crossan, who studied for the

priesthood in America and was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity by Maynooth, is a notable advocate for a ‘noneschatological view’ of Jesus, a view that Christ was just an apocalyptic preacher.

Co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, now a global organisation of revisionist Biblical

‘Feeling so sorry for the poor man ...

”

scholars, Crossan says Jesus was an “exploited peasant with an attitude” who didn’t perform many miracles, physically rise from the dead or die as punishment for humanity’s sins.

Jesus was extraordinary because of how he lived, not died, says Crossan, a native of Tipperary. “I cannot imagine a more miraculous life than nonviolent resistance to violence,” Crossan says. “I cannot imagine a bigger miracle than a man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square.”

But let’s leave the last word to Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist who asserted: “I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.

No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word.

No myth is filled with such life.”

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'Urgent action is needed' on pig sector crisis THE severe crisis facing the pig sector needs urgent action by the Government, according to a submission by Meat Industry Ireland (MII) to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food & the Marine in advance of its hearing on the challenges facing the pig industry.

While acknowledging that the Government has sought to support the sector, the

package brought recently to Cabinet falls well short of current losses being incurred. The Government will need to be open to reviewing supports as circumstances evolve.

Rapidly rising feed, fuel, and transport costs, exacerbated by Russia’s war on the Ukraine, are crippling a sector that was already struggling with the challenges

presented by Brexit and Covid disruption. The sector has also been contending with volatility in the Chinese market and the impact of African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks in several European markets.

Processors have done everything possible to support their producer suppliers, with Irish pig prices 10% above the EU average price

since September, but this is not sufficient to bridge the losses being incurred due to the dramatic external input price shock.

Independent Teagasc analysis shows the sector has already incurring losses exceeding €60m. The Irish pig meat sector supports over 8,000 jobs in rural Ireland and is the third largest agricultural sector after beef and

New 'living wage ' to be set before summer THE Tanaiste has said that plan for a mandatory national 'living wage' will be brought to Government before the Dáil summer recess.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar indicated that a future living wage rate may be set five years in advance, as had been done in the UK. He said this would give companies "the time to plan, prepare and adjust”.

The living wage is the minimum income necessary for a single adult worker in full-time employment to meet their basic needs and afford an acceptable standard of living.

It is unclear if the new living wage would replace the statutory minimum wage, which is €10.50 an hour.

Government sources said this decision would be taken

by Cabinet.

Mr Varadkar said a new Low Pay Commission report showed the concept of a living wage could be traced back to Ancient Greece but is understood differently around the world.

"In this respect, the Irish Government will be among the early movers in adopting a national, mandatory living wage,” he said, when recently delivering the Edward Phelan lecture at the Royal College of Physicians.

"I intend to honour the Programme for Government commitment that we should do so.”

The Tánaiste and Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister appeared to favour a living wage based on a percentage of the median wage.

He described this as

simpler than basing it on a basket of goods.

Mr Varadkar said opinion was divided on how to calculate the living wage.

He said he saw merit in the basket of goods and services approach, although it would be "subjective”. He said there would be inconclusive debates about what should be in the basket and how much should be in it.

"An alternative approach is setting the living wage as a percentage of the median wage,” he said. "This approach is simpler and provides certainty.”

The median wage is the salary in the middle of the full range of all workers' salaries across the economy.

Mr Varadkar said for the first time in many years, real living standards could fall this year and a comprehensive anti-inflation strategy was needed.

"I do believe there should be pay rises and indeed further increases in pensions and welfare,” he said.

However, he believes it is a mistake to think pay rises will solve the problem of inflation. "Pay rises won't bring down the price of anything,” he said.

"And pay rises could actually contribute to inflation and make the situation worse.”

Mr Varadkar said the tax burden on middle income earners in particular should be reduced. He said this was "so they can keep their pay rise if they get one and at least get something back in their pockets if they don't”.

"I can't understand why the opposition parties continue to oppose the indexation of tax bands,” he said.

dairy, contributing almost €1bn in export earnings.

Cormac Healy, Senior Director at MII said: “Rocketing feed input costs have created an unbridgeable gap between production costs and pig prices, and whilst this may narrow in coming months the scale of current losses means external support from Government is urgently required.

“Producers have already incurred over €60m in losses and are being forced to exit the sector because of the unprecedent hike in feed costs.

Irreparable damage will be done to a sector that is a key contributor to rural employment and export earnings,” he said.

MII is the trade association within Ibec representing primary pigmeat processors.

Modubuild appoints new Chief Financial Officer THE Kilkenny headquartered engineering and construction company Modubuild, announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointment of Michael Kilcommons (pictured) to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Mr Kilcommons comes to Modubuild with more than 25 years of financial and leadership experience.

Kevin Brennan, Co-Founder & CEO of Modubuild said: “I am very pleased to welcome Michael as our new CFO. This key appointment will further strengthen our senior leadership team as we embark on the next phase of our ambitious growth strategy. Michael brings with him a wealth of leadership, commercial and international financial expe-

rience in a variety of businesses including those with similar growth trajectories to Modubuild.”

Mr Kilcommons, prior to joining Modubuild, served as CFO of Merlyn Industries, Digicel Haiti, Innovu Group and Giftsdirect. He brings with him an exemplary record of finance and operations management success and a proven talent for aligning business strategy with established finance and operations management models.

Modubuild, which was named as one of Deloitte's Best Managed Companies 2021, has experienced very strong organic growth over recent years, tripling their turnover in the last three years, along with achieving an average of over 50% year on year growth over the last six years.

The company has delivered projects for global biopharma & technology companies across 11 countries to date and has a network of regional offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Sweden, Finland & Spain.

Modubuild have been leading the way in high tech volumetric modular construction for a number of years, having made a multi million euro investment in their 140,000 square foot state of the art manufacturing facility in Castlecomer.

They specialise in rapid delivery of on and off site modular construction solutions for large and complex projects within the life sciences and data centre industries.

Modubuild hasa network of regional offices in Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Sweden and Finland.

€2.8m Arts partnership for Decade of Centenaries THE Arts Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media announced today that they will jointly invest €2.8 million in a major programme of events to mark the final phase of the Decade Of Centenaries programme.

The programme, Art: 2023, is a call to artists and arts organisations with an opportunity to create new and exciting work of ambition and scale while reflecting on the themes of the Decade oO Centenaries programme 2012-2023.

The Chair of the Arts

Council, Prof. Kevin Rafter, said: “With this scheme the Arts Council is looking to artists and arts organisations to create new work of ambition and scale to mark key moments in the foundation of the Irish State. The arts can help us better understand our contested histories and challenge how we learn from this past.”

Catherine Martin, TD the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said: “Artists have had, and continue to have, an important role in encouraging reflection, exploration and debate during the Decade of

Centenaries, allowing people of all traditions to question and consider issues that may be challenging. This is a vital aspect of the Decade of Centenaries Programme. “ The Art: 2023 partnership with the Arts Council is a timely one, in this final phase of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023, as we navigate complex themes and commemoration of significant historical events. The Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations has placed great value on the vital role that artists play as ‘cultural brokers’ – facilitating

conversations and engaging communities in a meaningful way through creative expression.,” she said. “ I am delighted to be supporting the Art: 2023 partnership with the Arts Council and I look forward to seeing the finished work and indeed the processes involved in making the work over the coming months as we add to the positive and rich cultural legacy of the Decade of Centenaries Programme.” *Further information on the Decade of Centenaries Programme is available at www. decadeofcentenaries.com.

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Opinion AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON

The thing about working as a journalist is that you spend lots of time trying to have bright ideas about things to write about. Some of the ideas may not be so bright and are likely to be shot down by critical editors with remarks like: “People don’t want to read about stuff like that over their cornflakes/ muesli.”

Sometimes the past ideas were about things that I would really like to do: being a millionaire for a day was a good one, it involved persuading a company to lend me a helicopter, complete with pilot so that I could fly around Ireland popping in to the best hotels and restaurants with some exciting contour flying on the way.

The article about emu farming – this was in South Africa – was memorable too, maybe because emus lay dark green eggs, have incredibly bad hair days and are more friendly than ostriches which are liable to kick you if they are males in the mating season. My take home from this is that it’s a good idea to aim do things that you really enjoy doing.

Ideas for articles can turn into potential books, like the one I had titled The Gentle Art of Self- Management.

Be creative... find your everyday nugget It didn’t get written but it could have turned into one of those How To books which have lots of catchy acronyms which are meant to remind you of the ingredients you need for a happy-ever- afterlife. The problem is that you – well certainly I – have trouble

remembering what the letter in the acronyms stand for.

Nuggets, I decided were a better idea. A nugget is a handy piece tip or advice which might be worth its weight in gold as you prospect life’s hills and valleys.

You can mine a whole How

Saving friendships from the aftermath of Covid ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

Two years of limited socialising, or none at all, left scars.

We’re out of practice in the art of being around others.

Navigating inevitable bumps in the roads of friendships isn’t secondary nature anymore.

Psychologists say that two years apart from our friends created new tensions. We’re quicker to overreact to slights, even unintentional ones.

Being left out of social events, even accidentally, makes us feel insecure.

People are lonelier because of lockdown. This increases our vulnerability. Things which only bothered us slightly, or perhaps not at all, in the past, seem worse now.

Psychological studies show less in-person interaction leads to insecurity and overanalysis. A missed text message or an invite which never arrives can explode into a full-blown confrontation.

The fact that social occasions are now less frequent

doesn’t help. Before lockdown, a missed coffee date was no big deal, shrugged off with ‘we’ll meet up in another couple of days’. Now, the next event might be much further away and missing out feels much bigger.

Pressure also plays a part.

During lockdown, for many, going to work meant simply getting up and turning the laptop on. With re-opening, we are faced with commuting again, and all the frustrations involved.

We are also being hit with mass news coverage. Covid was perhaps the first major event for many decades which absolutely dominated life. Not since World War Two has a news story been so constant and in our faces.

Most of us weren’t even alive then.

However, as soon as coronavirus diminished, two new mass events have taken over. First, it was inflation, which still continues, and for the last couple of months, the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.

For many people, this is too much. It has weighed them down with unbearable stress.

This tension then creates

relationship problems.

So how do we overcome this? Before deciding whether to address something, question what the friendship really means to you. Is it a relationship worth fighting over? If not, the best course of action might be to walk away.

If your difficulty is with a friend you truly care for, ask yourself whether this is a problem which can be resolved at a later date. Tackling an issue immediately means the pain is at its rawest. Emotions take over, and something which was fairly minor can become a massive deal very quickly. Giving yourself, and your friend, time to calm down could help.

The flip side is also true.

Allowing something to niggle away at you but saying nothing is liable to lead to an explosion at a later date. Trust your instincts on when it feels right to resolve a problem.

Perhaps above all, remember to be kind. Just as you are feeling overstressed, so too may be your friends. Showing understanding is a powerful weapon in relieving tension.

Good friends support each other and this works both ways.

To book and, perhaps, find just one nugget worth treasuring. The nugget approach evolved when I was training as a life coach on an assignment to coach young IT entrepreneurs. I know minus nothing about IT but the idea was to facilitate

the clients to define and reach their business goals.

As well as homework after each session, they each got a nugget, and I like to think these tips were useful.

Sometimes other people give you a valuable nugget. I have a friend who was fond

of remarking: “I have to have my carrot.” She meant that she needed to have a daily treat, something to look forward to and a reward for getting jobs done. It works like a charm, for me anyway, and the carrot doesn’t have to be anything extravagant... a cup of coffee shared, time spent in the garden or a favourite walk.

Do the worst first, was another handy piece of advice, and a sure cure for procrastination. The paradox about avoiding doing things is that apparently people who put things on the long finger are more stressed than those who actually tackle the task they would rather avoid. It also required more energy finding reasons to procrastinate, than to do the thing itself and if you put it off until last you won’t have so much energy left anyhow.

My late mother- in- law – not that you necessarily pay much attention to MIL views – had a good one too: it was always do the creative things first. I really did follow that one, always writing, painting or whatever first thing in the morning, leaving routine stuff like the housework or doing the washing up until later, the kind of things that are definitely thieves of creative time.

To this day I have trained myself not to see dust, generally only getting around to hoovering or dusting by the time it is dark and I really can’t see the grime.

Balance blood sugar naturally CLAIR WHITTY

LET’S talk about balancing blood sugar levels and ways to curb sugar cravings for a healthier you. Long term problems associated with blood sugar imbalance can result in problems like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic inflammation, hormone imbalance, and increased risk of cognitive problems.

Prediabetes is a health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes which can be prevented through diet and lifestyle. I’m not suggesting that you have no sugar in your diet, the brain needs glucose to function as this is its energy source. But you don’t need it from sugary treats, instead choose fruit, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.

If you crave sugar, you could be lacking magnesium, or not have enough protein in your diet. Protein helps you to feel more satisfied from your meal. You might crave sugar when you’re are tired, stressed, hungry, or many

women crave sugar at the time of the month.

Eat regularly and don’t skip your meals. Ditch the sweet treats and high sugar drinks. Add cinnamon to food as it may help lower blood sugar and fight diabetes by imitating the effects of insulin and increasing glucose transport into cells. Take a drink of water when you think you are hungry you might just be thirsty. A table spoon of cider vinegar diluted in water sipped with

your meal can be helpful.

Increase green vegetables as they are a good source of magnesium. Eat food rich in omega 3, an essential good fat, as this can help to turn on fat burner genes!

My favourite supplement to help you control blood sugar balance is New Nordic Apple Cider Vinegar Mega Strength tablets. It contains 1000mg highly concentrated apple cider vinegar per tablet with “the Mother” and chromium which contributes to the maintenance or normal blood glucose levels and therefore help to control appetite and cravings. Of course, excess sugar in your diet may be the cause of weight gain and this is an ideal in this occasion to use this supplement to balance blood sugars. Many of you love this supplement and tell me that it works for you, all the goodness of apple cider without the strong taste.

I believe that balancing blood sugars is one thing you can do ensure a healthier you.

Natural Health Store, Market Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538 Email: info@ naturalhealthstore.ie Shop online www.naturalhealthstore.ie

The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

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Advertorial

Teac Tom: Fundraisers, volunteers

Volunteers are essential to helping us hold these events. We need people to help with everything from distributing marketing material to helping with behind the scenes set up, shaking buckets to painting faces. The key is to generate excitement for participants and a greater awareness of Teac Tom for those attending. We also need volunteers to actively participate in the more active fundraisers! Keep an eye out for our upcoming events: The Round the Clock Cycle and Women’s MiniMarathon will both take place on the June Bank Holiday weekend. In the summer we will host another Golf Classic and the autumn will see the return of the Teac Tom OsKars.

and supporters needed LIKE many communitybased organisations Teac Tom relies heavily on the support of local businesses, individuals and community groups to fundraise throughout the year. The impact of Covid-19 on the charity sector is well-known, with fewer opportunities for fundraising and higher costs associated with putting health and safety measures in place for staff and clients.

Teac Tom was grateful to receive some grant funding from the local authorities to help cover these costs but was unable to hold any large-scale fundraisers for over two years. It is money raised from these fundraisers that provides the vital income required to cover our operational costs and provide our professional counselling services.

As a mental health support charity, we play a vital role in the community when it comes to supporting people struggling with their mental health or those having suicidal thoughts. We also support families who have been bereaved by suicide.

We provide a 24-hour phone

line, counselling services for adolescents and adults and play therapy for children.

We run a Community Engagement programme that reaches young people in schools and clubs throughout the southeast region. We believe that mental health issues need to be spoken about openly and honestly and that there is no shame in seeking help. Teac Tom provides a safe and nurturing space for people to get support for their mental health. Our open-door policy allows us to be accessible to everyone in the community.

A report in 2021 issued by the Charities Regulator states that “a constant challenge for the sector, regardless of an organisation’s size or complexity, is funding and income.” The findings also confirm that the pandemic has had an impact on traditional sources of income for many charities as well services and volunteering.

At Teac Tom we are no different and that is why we are looking for Volunteers and Supporters to help us with our fundraising efforts this year.

VOLUNTEERING WITH TEAC TOM Volunteering is a great way to use and develop your skills, meet new people and help a cause that you are passionate about. For students and young people, volunteering allows you to gain hands-on experience in a variety of areas which is great for building your CV and is appealing to many employers. Over the years our volunteers have come from all walks of life, at different ages and stages.

Volunteering has many benefits for the volunteer but is also crucial to our success; having volunteers

to help at events, assist with administrative tasks and support our fundraising efforts leaves more funding available to provide our frontline counselling services. Right now, we need volunteers in two main areas – Events Team and Community Fundraisers.

EVENTS TEAM We have a range of exciting fundraisers planned for the year ahead. In order to make these events a success we need enthusiastic, community-minded people who can roll up their sleeves and get stuck into whatever needs doing.

FUNDRAISERS WANTED! We rely on the generosity of the public to fundraise for Teac Tom. All money that is donated goes towards covering our counselling costs and operating costs of our centres. People have had to get creative over the last few years as most fundraising was done virtually. Now that we can get back to in-person events it is a chance for people to come together and do something enjoyable for a cause they believe in. Often people fundraise for Teac Tom in memory of a loved one lost to suicide. Over the last few years, we have

had skydives, beard shaves, quilt raffles, a virtual walk to Croagh Patrick and an online gaming day. There have been Fantasy Football Leagues, Kilimanjaro Climbs and rugby tournaments. There are endless possibilities for community fundraisers, all you need is a great idea, a Teac Tom application form and the commitment to holding the event.

Additional Opportunities From time to time we may need additional support in admin, marketing or to join our team of Volunteer Listeners – all details can be found on our website so please get in touch there for more information or to apply.

BREATHE WITH THE BEAT On Monday April 18th, all are welcome to the beautiful setting of Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre to take part in ‘Breathe with the Beat’. Led

by Karla Kelly, this unique mindfulness practice is full of fun, fitness and fantastic music. It’s a fun way to understand our breath and its relationship to our mind and body, heart and spirit.

Check out our event page of Facebook for more details.

If you would like further information on Teac Tom’s counselling services or to book an appointment, please get in touch with our team. www.thethomashayestrust. com / thethomashayestrust@ gmail.com / 056 7796592 / Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @teactom

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

News

Censor radio saga ‘staggering’ A SUGGESTION by Wexford County Council that a radio station agree its presenters would not express personal opinions on air in return for the council taking out advertising on the station, has been described as “staggering’ by the local station’s managing director.

The suggestion is one of a number made by the county secretary, David Minogue, in an email to the managing director of South East Radio, Eamonn Buttle, during

discussions over a proposed €40,000-€50,000 spend this year by the council on advertising with the station.

According to The Irish Times, in January the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) issued a

report in which it criticised Tom Enright, chief executive of Wexford County Council, for putting “unwarranted” pressure on South East Radio during a 2019 row about coverage of the council by the station, and in particular by one of its presenters, local businessman Karl Fitzpatrick.

By threatening to withdraw council advertising from the station during the row, Sipo said, Enright had breached the provisions of the Local

Government Act and failed to maintain proper standards of integrity.

The public ethics body said Enright had wrongly conflated the issue of his dispute with the station over its coverage of the council, and the council’s commercial position as the station’s primary advertiser.

The Sipo report was discussed by a special meeting of the council in January, during which councillors criticised the

public ethics body before voting to take no action on foot of its report. The councillors then gave the county manager a standing ovation.

In February the council’s decision to take no action was raised in the Dáil by Wexford TD Verona Murphy, who said the “message is that we will all do what we like ... There was no impact. [The report] made no difference. He got a standing ovation and a round of applause.”

fatbergs can form. Irish Water clears hundreds of blockages including fatbergs from the wastewater network every week.

Renowned Kilkenny chef Edward Hayden said: “This Easter I am delighted to be working with Clean Coasts

and Irish Water on the Think Before You Pour campaign.

It is so important that we dispose of fats from cooking correctly.

“If they are poured down the sink they can lead to blockages and fatbergs. An easy solution is to simply pour the fats in to a container once they are cooled and throw the contents in the bin. Trays and pans can be wiped with a kitchen towels to get any extra fatty residues before washing.”

Jim Fitzgerald, Regional Operational Manager, South East Region, said: “Irish Water is delighted to be teaming up with Clean Coasts and chefs from all around Ireland for the ‘Rethink the Sink’ Easter campaign. Last year we responded to approximately 10,000 customer notified blockages along the wastewater network, which were leading to sewer overflows. Removing fatbergs and blockages from our public sewers and cleaning up sewer overflows is a dirty job with nasty consequences but so easy to prevent. “ “We are reminding the public to ‘Think Before You Pour’ this Easter, not to use the kitchen sink as a bin and to help us safeguard the wastewater network and local environment by collecting cooled fats, oils and greases and disposing of them in their bin.”

Speaking about the campaign, Sinead McCoy, Coastal Communities Manager, Clean Coasts said: “The prevention of blockages in our wastewater systems by fats, oils and greases is something everybody can engage in. Simply by being more conscious of our behaviour at the sink, and by making small changes, we can all have a positive impact on our natural environment. I would encourage and remind everyone to ‘Think Before You Pour’ this Easter.”

Think before you pour this Easter!

SPRING has sprung, bringing with it beautiful pastel colours, chocolate eggs, adorable chicks and long awaited reunions with family and friends over celebratory Easter dinners.

This Easter, Clean Coasts in partnership with Irish Water is partnering with Edward Hayden to ask the people of Kilkenny to ‘Rethink the Sink’ and never pour fats, oils and greases (FOGs) from the Easter roast down the sink.

Instead, collect FOGs into a heat proof container (egg cartons, tins and jars are eggcellent choices!), allow them to cool and empty into the bin.

Edward Hayden along with other celebrity chefs and well known personalities from around Ireland are participating in this years Easter ‘Think Before You Pour’ campaign including Kevin Dundon, Gina Daly, Lilly Higgins, JP McMahon, Guy Sinnott and Mark Murphy as well as wellknown food blogger, Niamh

O’Sullivan. All pictured here.

‘Think Before You Pour’ is operated by Clean Coasts in partnership with Irish Water and appeals to the public not to pour FOGs down the kitchen sink, as a B&A survey reveals that approximately 4 out of 10 people admit to

doing so.

FOGs may seem like liquid when poured, but they cool and harden as they travel along the pipes and can cause blockages in our homes, businesses, the public sewer network and wastewater treatment plants and can even

lead to overflows of sewage in our communities and pollution in rivers, on beaches and in the ocean.

When FOGs combine with wipes and other sewage related litter such as hair and dental floss that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet,

Drug breakthrough offers fresh cancer hope A NEW treatment that redirects the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells may ffer hope to patients who have run out of options.

UK researchers have been trialling the drug, AFM24, and

say it shows signs of effectiveness in a third of patients with advanced cancers that had stopped responding to treatment, including bowel, lung and pancreatic cancers.

The team from the Institute

of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust hope it will be safer than existing cell-based treatments.

The drug redirects the body’s natural immune system to kill

tumour cells without having to go through the complex process of re-engineering a patient’s own cells, known as CAR-T cell therapy.

Initial results from the ongoing phase I trial in 24

patients will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in New Orleans.

Dr Juanita Lopez, the trial’s UK lead and consultant medical oncologist at the

Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), said: “Natural killer cells are an essential part of the immune system and are able to recognise cancer cells.”

See also, Page 22

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kilkennyobserver.ie

Ukraine Invasion

The roles of women in defending Ukraine Ukraine offers a unique insight into the roles that women can play in defending the nation and as leaders in their own right.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have taken up arms during the war sparked by Russia’s invasion.

According to media reports, women constitute as much as 15% to 17% of the Ukrainian fighting force.

In the first two weeks of the conflict, social media was replete with images of Ukrainian women training for combat. On March 15, CNN reported that after dropping off their parents and children in the border town of Przemysl, Poland, some Ukrainian women are turning around to go back to the fight.

“They view returning home to a war zone as an act of symbolic resistance to Russian aggressors,” CNN reporters Ed Lavandera and Cristiana Moisescu wrote.

Ukrainian women have historically enjoyed independence not common in other parts of the world.

One reason for this is Ukraine’s geography. A temperate climate and fertile land combined to enable independence for hardworking people. Fathers didn’t need to trade their daughters for dowry to till the land, nor were they indebted like serfs to wealthy landowners. A widow could remain unmarried if she chose to and thrive by cultivating her garden and tending to her animals. In Ukrainian folklore, there is a recurrent character of a single woman, often a widow, who can survive and thrive without a man.

The Ukrainian Government is highlighting during the

war the country’s tradition of women’s empowerment, as seen in this tweet from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.

Twitter account, The Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine No doubt, the real life of Ukrainian women was no fairy tale, and their experiences might not universally fit into this narrative.

However, from a diversity of human experience, a culture retains those stories that resonate with most of its members as an ideal upon which they can agree. In Ukraine, this ideal includes fiercely independent women.

Ukraine’s geographic circumstances also gave rise to a feminist culture in which women had a say in marriage, rather than being ‘given away’ by their fathers or male relatives.

In the fall, when marriage proposals were traditionally delivered via ‘svaty’ – a delegation from the groom’s family – the bride could refuse the offer by giving the family a pumpkin as a consolation prize.

The Ukrainian phrase “to catch a pumpkin” means to be rejected by a woman. A Ukrainian girl’s beauty was sometimes gauged as having “a closetful of pumpkins,” implying she could expect to have many suitors.

Such narratives have shaped Ukrainian cultural psychology and, as a result, attitudes toward women.

Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion, the internet amplified several remarkable videos depicting Ukrainian women opposing

armed Russian soldiers. One woman was famously shown offering sunflower seeds to the troops, instructing them to “at least put these seeds in your pockets, so sunflowers will grow when you all die here.”

Another video showed a woman yelling at a heavily armed Russian soldier atop

his tank in Konotop, “Don’t you know where you are?

You’re in Konotop. Every other woman here is a witch. You’ll never get an erection, starting tomorrow.”

Ukrainian women who are not already in the armed forces or confronting Russian soldiers with sharp tongues

or tomatoes have been volunteering on the front lines.

This volunteering practice traces its roots to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, when volunteers created a de facto second state while the official state failed, crippled by Russian-led corruption and cronyism.

In 2014, female volunteers delivered meals, clothes and fuel to the men who defended Maidan – Kyiv’s Independence Square, which became the stage for months long protests against riot police and pro-Russian mercenaries employed by the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych. Volunteers supplied hospitals and ambulances with medicines; they assembled rapidresponse defence teams to shield locations where attacks were imminent; women wove camouflage nets and hid the wounded from persecution.

In 2022, some of the same Ukrainian women stepped into what are now familiar roles, working day and night to address the needs of the army and of the volunteer Territorial Defense Forces, stranded civilians, the disabled and elderly, medical practitioners and even abandoned pets.

Grandmothers are using their sewing machines to make flak jackets and military uniforms. A joke on Ukrainian social media is: “If you tell Ukrainian volunteers that a nuclear warhead is needed, it will take them about two hours to put one together and deliver it to the specified address. Along with tea and cookies.” While not every volunteer in Ukraine is a woman, for the tasks of supplying food, clothes,

medicines, protective gear, identifying and helping vulnerable individuals, women reportedly form the majority of the volunteer force.

On a more serious note, the official Facebook account of the Ukrainian military’s head of defence posted a note of gratitude to the volunteers, which reads in part: “Thank you, our Volunteers.

Yes, today the Army is much better equipped than in 2014.

But First Aid kits, bulletproof vests, helmets, medicines, hygiene products are always needed. But most important for us is to know that you exist. 24/7. You call, write, offer help, bring something, create, support us, joke with us. You make us feel our unity and invincibility. To feel that there is a nation, that you are among yours and for them you hold this country on your shoulders. ... Together to victory!”

As with the Kurdish women known as the ‘Daughters of Kobani’ who fought in Syria and Iraq, there are powerful psychological effects when women take up arms.

Soldiers who perceive they could lose against women might feel emasculated, which was the effect of YPJ, the Women’s Protection Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, on Islamic State group fighters 2014-2016. Like Ukrainian women now, those women rose to the occasion. They were courageous and deadly effective.

The famous saying goes, behind every successful man is a woman. The Ukrainian war reveals that, perhaps, behind the success of the Ukrainian army is an army of Ukrainian women.

How the Russians miscalculated their invasion strategy As Russia refocuses its energies on capturing Ukraine’s eastern region, the crucial question will be whether its military can redress the mistakes of the early assault.

The biggest mistake of all was to underestimate both the will and the capacity of the Ukrainians to resist. Russia had planned for a swift and easy victory, expecting its troops to be greeted as liberators. Instead, the Ukrainians fought back ferociously, aided by weaponry from the West.

And it wasn’t just the army that fought back. Ordinary civilians also seized the initiative to thwart Russian advances, such as those in the

farming town of Voznesensk who picked up hunting rifles and hurled bricks to help halt Russian soldiers along the southern coast.

Many of the setbacks Russia encountered sprung from this

initial miscalculation — but not all.

Testimonies of captured Russian soldiers suggest many troops had not been told they would be invading Ukraine.

Some said they were told they were participating in a military exercise, others that they were being sent just to the eastern Donbas region. That meant they were psychologically unprepared to be shot at and blown up, as happened almost instantly, which took an immediate toll on troops’ morale, noted Jack Watling of the London-based Royal United Services Institute.

The enormity of the casualties Russia subsequently suf-

fered has only exacerbated the low morale, he said. NATO put the number of Russian dead at 15,000 more than two weeks ago, more than in the Soviet Union’s decade-long war in Afghanistan. Ukrainian officials say they have collected 7,000 Russian corpses from the battlefield, though Russia maintains it has lost only 1,351 soldiers.

Russian units seemed wholly unprepared for the conditions and circumstances they encountered. Units expecting to roll unopposed into Kyiv and other cities brought just two weeks of supplies, and those quickly ran out. Videos quickly emerged showing Russian sol-

diers stranded on roadsides next to their vehicles because they had no fuel and hungry soldiers looting stores and stealing chickens.

Surprisingly, those troops also lacked some of the key tools of modern warfare, such as night-vision equipment, said John Spencer, who chairs the Urban Warfare Studies program at America’s Madison Policy Forum. Ukrainians have such equipment and were able to control the night, launching attacks and ambushes under cover of darkness against an enemy unable to see them.

Russia might not even have enough regular weapons to

equip all the forces it is sending into battle. Some newly drafted soldiers on the eastern front have been issued rifles first developed in the 19th century and out of production for decades, according to witnesses quoted in a Reuters report.

Military experts describe a massive logistical failure as when troops ran out of food and other supplies after the initial plan went wrong, their superiors had no plans for resupply. Tanks stalled, and the poorly maintained trucks that were then sent lost tires or broke down, contributing to the infamous 40-mile convoyturned-traffic jam.

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Your Money

BY JOHN ELLIS FINANCIAL ADVISOR

ACCORDING to the March Pension Fund Statistics (Q4 -2021) report published by the Central Bank total assets in the sector grew by 4% over Q4-2021 to stand at €135.5 billion. This is due to increases in pension fund reserves (€2.8 billion) and investment fund shares (€1.9 billion).

Irish pension funds hold €12.2 billion in Government bonds. The majority are held in bonds with France (€4.2 billion), Germany (€2.0 billion), Ireland (€1.6 billion) and Spain (€1.3 billion). While direct holdings of investment funds stood at €50.9 billion at end-Q4 2021. The two main investment fund types are Equity funds (32.4%) and Bond funds (31.9%). Other funds (17.6%) saw the largest growth over the quarter, increasing by €1.9 billion.

These figures show that many of us “have skin in the game” with most of us using personal pensions, company pension PRSA’s and buy out bonds as our investment vehicles.

But we rarely look under the bonnet of these plans with many using what’s called the default investment strategy, ie. leaving asset allocation to the investment managers and allowing them to de-risk

Pensions: understanding what drives markets

our funds as we near retirement. A very valuable tool in investing but can lead to panic when things take a turn for the worse.

It’s crucial to have some understanding of what drives markets, how our money is invested and how we should act when markets take a dive especially at times like this with volatility in the financial

markets unnerving some investors. This is due to the fact that we experience the pain of loss more acutely than the upside gains, and we forget we are in for “the long haul” leading to some very erratic decisions.

We have forgotten our financial history! In the last 25 years we have weathered the dot-com crash, 9/11, the

global war on terror, the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 1980 there have been nine Bear markets with a decline of 20% or more lasting for at least two months. While many of the Bear markets have been severe, the Bull market surges have been even more dramatic, with returns of up to 99% being the average total

return.

So, what are we to do in this time of crises?

Stay invested! Remember investing in the stock market is a good choice for those who are looking for long-term results.

Review your attitude to risk.

All investing is subject to risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future returns. If the downturn is causing you

to lose sleep maybe its time to re-look at your risk appetite and tolerance.

Stay or become more diversified – have exposure to the different asset classes – while one area is down another can be up.

Rebalance your portfolio at least once a year even when the constituent parts are declining in value.

Trying to time the market is ineffectual. Since 1980 the best and worse trading days often happen close together and occur irrespective of the over all market performance for the year. Of the best 20 trading days nine occurred in years with negative total returns and of the 20 worse trading days eleven occurred in years with positive total returns.

Predicting which segment of the market – the asset classes – will do well is also an unknowable.

But what is known is that overall, investors who have held their nerve, keeping their investments during periods of high volatility and decline in investment value have seen their portfolio not only recover but their overall value increase.

Being in control matters.

Being financially educated make a difference. Financial advice is paramount. Having a well-diversified portfolio leads to peace of mind and usually better returns on your investment over the long term.

John@ellisfinancial.ie 086 8362633

April Sounds - a heartwarming success APRIL Sounds raised over €7,000 for UNICEF, Irish Red Cross Ukraine appeals and Kilkenny Civil Defence Ukraine emergency appeal Kilkenny’s stunning St. Canice’s Cathedral hosted April Sounds opening concert on Friday night. Coined as “one of the greatest nights of music” to take place in the venue. Stellar performances on the night from Lisa O’ Neill, Rónán Ó Snodaigh & Myles O’Reilly, Arrivalists and Bríd Lyons.

A world premiere of ‘All The Tired Horses’ performed by Lisa O’ Neill, Rónán Ó Snodaigh & Myles O’Reilly left the audience speechless. O’ Neill closed the final season of the last ever Peaky Blinders with her version of the song by Bob Dylan.

Special guests in the audience from Ukraine who had just arrived in Kilkenny in the early hours of Thursday morning attended the concerts over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful and uplifting music.

Commenting on the concert series, Mayor of Kilkenny Municipal District, Cllr. Andrew McGuinness said “The music community in Kilkenny is just incredible. We are blessed to have so many great people that are each important cogs in the wheel that makes our vibrant music scene so special.

“The April Sounds gigs over the weekend are evidence of that and a credit to Andrea

Keogh and her passion for creating fantastic events, our brilliant Arts Officer Mary Butler, Gary and Dave from Rollercoaster Records, our talented sound and lighting technicians and of course the incredible lineup of performers who have all given us a lift after being starved from concerts like this for so long.

It was particularly special to see the heartwarming welcome for the Ukrainian people in attendance who have found safety in Kilkenny. As Mayor, I’m immensely proud of our music community. They are simply great people.”

On Sunday morning, April Sounds moved to the beautiful Medieval Mile Museum for a jam packed day of traditional and folk music. Caoimhe and Séamus Uí Flatharta opened the day with a stunning version of Scarborough Fair to a packed venue. At 3pm, Kilkenny’s Gary O’ Neill aired beautiful tracks from his new EP. Audiences enjoyed Galway native Niamh Regan’s pre-gig chat with Irish Times journalist and Culture Vultures co-curator Tony Clayton-Lea. The fantastic Code Of Behaviour kept audiences entertained outside the museum during concert changeovers and Happy Valley Coffee served delicious home-made treats and great coffee throughout the day.

As the day came to a close, Kilkenny’s Elise opened for Ailbhe Reddy and wowed

everyone in attendance. Ailbhe Reddy took to the stage with a pre-gig chat with Tony ClaytonLea about the creative process of creating her debut album followed by a live set airing new tracks from her second album due out later this year.

Limerick born, Kilkenny based singer John Hegarty closed April Sounds on Sunday evening to a packed house at the launch of his new record ‘Twilight’ released on Rollercoaster Records.

“It is fantastic to have the financial support of the LLPS funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to enable us to deliver this wonderful music series. The breadth of performers and our beautiful Kilkenny venues enabled so many to experience the magic of live musical events once more. A huge thank you to all who made this happen.” Mary Butler Arts Officer.

An incredible total of €5,682 was raised for UNICEF and the Irish Red Cross Ukraine appeals.

A further €1,500 was generously donated by April Sounds artists and audiences over the weekend for Kilkenny Civil Defence Urgent Appeal for the Ukrainian community who arrived in Kilkenny last week.

April Sounds was funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Gaeltacht. Delivered locally by Kilkenny County Council Arts Office.

The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Science & Wellbeing Parrot live exceptionally long lives partly due to their relatively large brains, an international team of researchers has discovered.

Many parrot species have average lifespans of three decades, outliving other similarly sized birds and mammals. The new study has found a correlation between parrots’ relative brain size and their average lifespan. The larger their brains, the longer they lived.

Bigger brains make parrots more adaptable to their environment, allowing them to stay healthy and live longer. Simeon Smeele, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, led the study, the results of which were published in March in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. When it comes to lifespan, birds truly stand out.

Lifespan tends to increase with an animal’s body size, roughly speaking, as size tends to correlate with a slower metabolism. Thus, the bigger the animal, the longer they live. But a bird tends to live much longer than a comparably-sized mammal, despite having a speedy metabolism.

One theory is that birds’ ability to fly means they are less at risk from predators, which reduces their risk of being eaten, alleviates stress, and frees up bodily resources for healing and growth.

And among birds, parrots are the ageing champions.

The confirmed longestliving bird was Cookie, a Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, who lived at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois for all but one of his 83 years. Though cockatoos (a species of par-

‘Parrots are to other birds what humans are to other primates...

Here’s why parrots live so long rot) often weigh around a pound, they usually live for four decades. Most of the other 398 parrot species also outlive other birds of similar size.

So what sets parrots apart?

Prior research has delved into the birds’ genomes. In 2013, scientists from Texas A&M found that scarlet macaws possess a lot of genes

associated with longevity, brain development, heart thickness, and cardiovascular fitness. Five years later, researchers at Oregon Health and Science University turned up other salubrious genes in the genome of blue-fronted Amazon parrots, supporting DNA damage repair, slowing down cell death from stress,

and limiting cancerous cell growth.

Study co-author Claudio Mello, a Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, remarked that parrots were to other birds what humans are to other primates.

“Humans ended up with bigger brains and more brain cells and more cog-

nitive traits — including language — than primates.

Parrots have bigger brains than other birds and more communication skills, and they have similar conserved elements that set them apart,” he said.

In the new research, Smeele and his colleagues gathered data on over 130,000 individual parrots

held in more than 1,000 zoos, representing 217 species. Through this data, they created reliable estimates of average lifespan for each species. They next searched for a link between each species’ lifespan and its relative brain size and found a clear, positive correlation. Parrot species with larger brains relative to their body size lived longer than species with smaller brains.

“This supports the idea that in general larger brains make species more flexible and allow them to live longer,” Smeele said in a statement. “For example, if they run out of their favourite food, they could learn to find something new and thus survive,” he said. “All parrots have relatively large brain sizes compared to most other birds.”

Researchers have previously demonstrated that, when trained, some parrots can identify and understand objects, colours, quantities, and shapes, and even speak with an impressive vocabulary, at least for a bird. They can even match human five-year-olds on rudimentary tests of intelligence.

Birdbrain is no longer an insult.

Breakthrough could make you look 30 years younger!

A METHOD that can turn back the biological clock on skin cells by up to 30 years, has been developed by scientists, creating stem cells from mature ones, which could be used to treat skin conditions in the future.

According to a report in the journals New Scientist, back in 2007 Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University in Japan developed a technique that could transform adult skins cells into stem cells by inserting four specialist molecules, dubbed ‘Yamanaka factors’, that reverse cell development. It takes around 50 days of exposure to these molecules for normal cells to be reprogrammed into what are known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

“When you turn to a cell into an iPSC, you lose the original cell type and its functionality,” Diljeet Gill at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, told New Scientist.

Gill and his colleagues have now devised a technique that

uses Yamanaka factors to rejuvenate skin cells without losing their previous func-

tionality. The researchers collected skin cell samples from three human donors

that had an average age of around 50, then exposed these to the Yamanaka fac-

tors for just 13 days to partially anti-age the cells. They then removed the Yamanaka factors and left the cells to grow.

As we age, our DNA gets tagged with chemicals, so tracking these markers can help us determine how old our bodies are. This is known as our epigenetic clock. Over time, some of our genes will either turn on or off, the collection of which is known as the transcriptome.

Gill and his team found that the epigenetic clock and transcriptome profiles of the partially reprogrammed cells matched the profiles of skin cells that belonged to people who were 30 years younger.

The rejuvenated cells also functioned like younger ones, too, creating more collagen than those that didn’t undergo reprogramming.

And when placed onto an artificial wound, the reprogrammed cells moved to close the gap much quicker than the older ones did.

“In young people, if you

cut yourself, it’ll take quicker to heal the wound, while it would take me longer to heal,” says team member Wolf Reik, also at the Babraham Institute. “It’s very exciting – not only the molecular read-outs that are younger, but the cell also functions more like young cells.”

The key advance in this study is that we are now able to substantially rejuvenate cells without changing their identity or functionality, says Reik. “In previous studies, you would end up with a stem cell, which is not what you’d want for therapy.”

The technique may one day be useful in treating skin conditions, such as burns and ulcers. There is also the added bonus that the cells wouldn’t be rejected by an individual’s body, because they would be their own cells, says Gill.

“So far, we’ve only tested this technique in skin cells.

We’re excited to see if we can translate it across other cell types,” says Gill.

The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

1. Harry Potter Studio Tour This is something that’s worth visiting a hundred times over for anyone who loves Harry Potter...which is a lot of us!

As many people grew up with these stories, taking the Harry Potter Studio Tour is a truly magical opportunity.

Located on sound stages J and K at the Warner Brothers Studio Leavesden, this permanent exhibition is a chance to see costumes, props, and set pieces from the film series up close!

2. Check Out the Food Markets There is a lot of shopping you can do in London but one that you might not think to include in your itinerary are the various food markets you can find throughout the city.

Borough Market is open every day apart from Sunday and has a long history of providing fresh food to Londoners: the first records of the market date back to the early days of the 13th century!

You can start your mornings off here and buy whatever draws you in for your breakfast.

3. Have Afternoon Tea One of the many quintessentially British culinary traditions is the concept of afternoon tea.

It was started in the mid1800s by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, who would often get hungry between lunch and dinner as the latter meal was served as late as 8pm.

She started ordering an afternoon tea service around 4pm that included scones, pastries, clotted cream, jams, and light finger sandwiches.

You can take part in this tradition by partaking in an afternoon tea service in London of your choice and enjoying the light fare for yourself.

You’ve just finished lunch at a charming French café and received the bill. Your hand hovers over your wallet. Should you leave a tip in France? Yes—if you had good service. Tips are not expected across the board in French restaurants, taxis, and hotels because service is included in the country’s hospitality sector. Unlike some other countries, all employees, from waiters to washer-uppers, earn a decent monthly wage and have paid holidays and other benefits.

That said, customers can choose to show their appreciation for good service with a gratuity, the amount of which varies on the type of establishment and service. Use these helpful guidelines on tipping in France when you travel there.

Whether you’re at a local café or a Michelinstarred restaurant, 15% is automatically included for service in French restaurants by law. This is indicated on

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Travel & Leisure

Seven things

the historic Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

It first opened in 1663 and although significant portions of the theatre had to be rebuilt multiple times over the years, it is actually the oldest consistently used theatre in London and you can see a show there to this day.

6. Natural History Museum London’s Natural History Museum has a massive collection of over 80 million artefacts and specimens, some of which are on display for visitors to see.

One example is the Ostro Stone, a magnificent blue topaz that comes in at a whopping 9,381 carats, making it the largest of its kind. You can also see Sophie—the most intact Stegosaurus fossil skeleton ever found.

The museum is a great place to spend a day wandering and seeing some incredible artefacts in person.

to see in London besides Big Ben

4. Kew Gardens The beautiful Kew Gardens is where you can find the largest collection of plants and fungi in the entire world — how impressive is that?

You can spend time wandering the expansive

gardens and stepping into the various houses to see things like bonsai trees, South African succulent plants, and tropical ferns.

There are even some ornamental buildings you can check out like the Great

Pagoda which was built in the 1700s.

5. Covent Garden If you’re in the mood for some luxury shopping, world-class food, or live theatre, Covent Garden has got you covered.

Be sure to check out the colourful Neal’s Yard, a small alleyway that leads to a courtyard. The alleyway is lined with businesses where you can also shop or grab a bite to eat.

It’s also where you can find

The good guide to tipping in France the menu or the bill with the phrase ‘service compris’.

Nevertheless, if you have a friendly or efficient waiter, you can leave a small gratuity (un pourboire), but this is by no means required.

In more touristy restaurants, you might come

across audacious waiters who try to tell you that a gratuity isn’t included.

Technically they’re right; service is included, a gratuity is not. Regardless, you are not obliged to leave them anything.

For a simple beverage,

you can round up to the nearest euro, or leave 20 to 50 cent a drink. For a meal at a casual café or restaurant, you could leave one to two euro per person. For a fine dining establishment, where the service is much more attentive, you may want to

leave 5 to 10% It’s best to have some change or small bills for tipping because there isn’t the option of leaving a tip on French credit card slips (service is included in the price). You can ask the waiter to add a tip before he

7. Grab a Pint at an English Pub Even if you’re not typically a big beer drinker, make sure you take the time to visit a classic English pub and order a pint. There are nearly 3,500 pubs throughout London so you’ll have plenty of incredible options, each with its own character and charm.

If you need help narrowing down the list, consider Nag’s Head. It’s been serving the people of London for hundreds of years and hasn’t changed all that much.

The Churchill Arms is another popular one! Built in 1750, it’s iconic for its exterior decked in florals. And yes, it’s filled with Churchill memorabilia.

At one point in its history, it opened at 5am to accommodate the schedules of market traders! They stock a selection of beer, wine, and spirits from various distributors so you’ll be sure to find something you enjoy. punches in the total amount on the credit card terminal; however, you can’t be sure that this actually gets paid to staff.

Tipping taxi drivers isn’t required; however, locals often round up to the nearest euro or leave up to 5%. If the driver helps you with your bags (particularly if they’re large), it’s customary to tip one or two euro a bag.

Depending on your hotel, there are a range of services for which you might want to leave a gratuity.

Luggage handlers: one or two euro a bag A couple of euro is a small price to pay for help with your bags through lobbies, into lifts, and along corridors.

Pass on a few notes to those hailing cabs or providing a valet service.

It is courteous to give a couple of notes or coins to the staff who bring your meals. Ask at reception for change or details to the nearest ATM when you check in.

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

News

New children’s picture book written to engage children with sensory difficulties but suitable for everyone

LOCAL author, Eleanor Geoghegan debuts her first children’s picture book written for children with sensory difficulties but suitable for all.

‘Popper Monster’s Magical Rainbow Lunch Adventure’ teaches the colours of the Rainbow in a fun and educational way. Eleanor is a local primary school teacher and mother of 2 autistic children. They were the inspiration behind the book so it was important for Eleanor to launch this April to coincide with World Autism Awareness Month. Eleanor wanted to dedicate a moment in time to her children, Ava who is in 1st class and Jack who is in preschool while also providing a magical and engaging way for all children, including children with additional needs to learn first concepts and new ideas. The book is aimed

at preschool/ Junior Infant aged children and all ages for children with additional needs.

The main character, the Popper Monster is a unique and loveable character who uses a magic stick to invent silly and funny monster foods and today, the colours of the Rainbow happen to be for lunch. Popper Monster must fill a grumbling, mumbling, monster belly in this first adventure with some help from friends along the way.

Eleanor’s daughter had the

nickname of Popper from the time she was a tiny baby and the name for the main character grew from that.

Eleanor chose to print the book onto a silk paper stock to enhance the texture of the paper and each of the 36 colour pages are full of vibrant visuals.

It was beautifully illustrated by talented French illustrator Helen Crevel who perfectly brought Eleanor’s vision to life.

When Eleanor wrote the story, she wanted to include some important elements and

Legend Johnny Barry wins awards

Anne Ryan, Mayor Andrew McGuinness and award winner Johnny Barry Anne a lifetime friend of Johnny Barry.

R.J Ryans 70 High Street was opened by Anne’s Father Richard the same year as Johnny was born.

Johnny Barry, Award Winner 2019 and 2022 with Mayor Andrew McGuinness

THE Hot Country 10th Annual Awards took place at the Slieve Russell Hotel on Tuesday 5th April. KCLR’s Johnny Barry was celebrated at the awards for his contribution to Irish Country Music.

The Kilkenny Observer caught up with Johnny to hear what he had to say “I was

absolutely thrilled to get this award, this is the second award, I got one in 2019 which was a big surprise but I was just amazed to get the one for 2022. I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to attend on the night to receive the award in person but I am very grateful to Brendan Hennessey for accepting it on my behalf.”

Johnny will celebrate his 80th Birthday later this year and we are told a major party is looming.

For all Johnny’s fans out there, he is hoping to be back with you all on KCLR next Sunday night from 10.00pm to 12.00pm

these are represented in the educational icons on the back cover of the book. Eleanor used alot of repetition and rhyming patterns as she knew through firsthand experience that this style helped her children to learn. So the book is full of this lyrical phrasing with a sensory flow in the language to enhance engagement and morphemical learning when read aloud. This also feeds into the musical learning ability of children, a learning ability which is often a great strength in children with additional needs helping them to understand the world around them. Eleanor also wrote it to encourage children to connect the noises and sensations that their own tummies make when they are hungry to the Popper Monster’s hungry belly. Eleanor wanted to write a very interactive story and so the reader is able to ask what Rainbow colour will be eaten next and this allows children to engage in the world of imaginative play.

An area universally loved by all children but an area that children on the Autism spectrum can find difficult to tap into. Eleanor’s daughter really enjoyed engaging with Popper Monster and the magic stick and was able to connect to her own pretend play skills

in a comfortable and fun way.

The Time order explored with the First and Next of the Rainbow colours also helps with sequencing, an important skill that all children need to learn. Finally, Eleanor also wanted to write a book that adults would enjoy sharing and retelling over and over again with their children. There have been lots of favourite Monster foods so far from the book from ‘Green apple and suitcase icecream’ to ‘a caterpillar’s stinky sock’. The sillier, the better!

The book is available to buy

off Eleanor’s website www. poppermonster.com and in the past week and a half since launching, Eleanor says that they are overwhelmed by all the positive feedback that they are getting. Eleanor is thrilled to say that Sensational Kids, an award winning and long established Child Development enterprise have also taken the book into their Home/Play/Develop /Learn Online Shop. The book is also available to buy in local bookshops Khans Books and The Book Centre.

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News

Dramatic €7,386 difference in paying milk processors THERE was a €7,386 difference between the highest and lowest paying milk processors last year, according to analysis carried out by the IFA. The figures from 12 co-ops show Drinagh paid the highest price at 41.57c/L, while

North Cork co-op paid the lowest at 40.10c/L. The analysis was based on statements given to the IFA by dairy farmers supplying each of the co-ops and is based on an annual supply of 500,000L, with an average herd of 89 cows producing 5,647L a year.

Average milk price across the board was between 40.c/L and 41.57c/L, according to the analysis, while it showed that each processor paid significantly more for their milk in 2021 than they did in 2020.

IFA calculated the revenue a dairy farmer would receive

each month if they supplied 500,000L of milk per year through a spring-calving system and assumed the farmer produced milk with average solids each month.

Based on that 89-cow herd, farmers supplying Drinagh would have received €207,868

Farmland prices to rise 6% this year AN expected 6% rise in farmland prices on average is forecast in 2022, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland / Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook Report 2022.

In a major survey, chartered surveyors, auctioneers and valuers say sales activity was boosted by the exit from Covid restrictions and they predict prices will continue to rise, underpinned by strong demand and a continuing low supply of land for sale.

The price of good land showed the biggest increase in 2021 — up by an average of 17% nationally from €9,381/ ac to €10,962/ac. The price of all non-residential land, on holdings of less than 50ac, also showed significant increases: up 14% in Munster, 12pc in Leinster and 5% in Connacht/Ulster.

National average nonresidential farmland prices in 2021 range from €5,308/ ac for poor-quality land to €10,962/ac for good land; the most expensive land was in Kildare, where good-quality land fetched an average of €15,350/ac, up from €13,600/ ac last year.

However, the upward arc is not uniform. While the average price of poor-quality

land was up on smaller holdings, nationally, the average price for poor-quality land dropped from €5,900/ac in 2020 to €5,308/ac last year, a fall of 10pc. This decline can be attributed to price developments for larger parcels of poor land in Munster and in some parts of Connacht/Ulster.

The cheapest farmland was in Leitrim, where poor quality land on holdings under 50ac was valued at an average of €2,760/ac.

On the rental market, SCSI agents expect national rental prices to increase by 10pc this year. Last year average land rental prices rose by 1829% in Leinster, depending on land use, and demand remains strong.

James Lee, chair of the SCSI’s Rural Agency Committee, said: “In our survey 53pc of SCSI agents reported an increase in the volume of land sold compared to the previous year, while 24% reported that it remained the same.

“Two-thirds of valuers reported an increase in the percentage of valuation requests for the transfer of land. This is up from 43pc in 2020. These are positive trends and show confidence in the market from sellers and buyers.”

for milk in 2020, while a similar herd supplying North Cork would have been paid €200,482 — a difference of €7,386 or €83/cow.

The difference between the highest and lowest paying coops in 2020 was over double that at €16,896.

IFA dairy chairman Stephen Arthur, said: “Dairy farmers have been working hard to improve their milk constituents over the years. This can give the impression that milk price has improved, when in reality, it’s the milk quality that has improved.”

€204,600 for local community groups €204,600 for local community groups

EIRGRID, the national electricity grid operator, has awarded community groups and not-for-profit organisations near the Laois-Kilkenny Reinforcement Project, €204,600.

This is the first of three phases of funding available in the areas adjacent to the project, of a total fund of €511,500.

The Laois-Kilkenny Community Benefit Fund was established by EirGrid to recognise the important part local communities play in the development of the electricity grid, the impact works can have on communities, and to ensure funds benefit

groups and projects in these areas.

Groups and not-for-profit organisations in communities adjacent (within 3km) to the line were given priority in the allocation of funding by an independent fund administrator, with successful groups from Spink, Ballyroan and Ballinakill in Laois, and Ballyragget and Ballyouskill in Kilkenny.

Speaking about the awarding of the first phase of funding, EirGrid’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, Michael Mahon (pictured) said: “We were delighted with the positive response from communities and would

like to thank each group and organisation who took the time to submit a funding application.

“We would also like to thank the Laois Kilkenny Community Forum members who worked with EirGrid and the independent fund administrator in establishing and opening the fund,” he said.

As works progress to ensure people have a reliable, high-quality standard of electricity supply, the Laois Kilkenny Community Forum will continue to provide an integral role in providing feedback to the project team.

“We will also continue to

liaise with and listen to landowners and stakeholders in the area and look forward to the projects and initiatives that will come from communities as part of the next two phases of our community benefit fund,” said Mr Mahon.

The first phase of funding will help active community groups in continuing to expand efforts, support the development of community spaces and sporting facilities, along with supports for older and younger persons in the areas. * Visit www.eirgrid.ie/LaoisKilkenny

Cancer patients here on long waiting list CANCER patients in Ireland are waiting on average four months longer than people with the disease in other European countries for access to new medicines, new research has revealed.

Ireland is in 27th place out of 35 countries for speed of access to the new medicines, according to the rankings in

the annual patient wait survey from the biopharmaceutical industry.

It took 661 days from cancer medicines getting the green light from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to patients here being reimbursed by the HSE. That compared to an EU average of 545 days.

In Germany, the gap is 100 days and in Denmark, 140 days.

Among western European countries, only Portugal took longer than Ireland in making new medicines available.

When it comes to orphan medicines to treat rare diseases, it takes 870 days from

EMA market authorisation to availability for patients here. The EU average is 636 days.

“That makes Ireland the slowest country in western Europe to make orphan medicines available to patients. Other countries in central and eastern Europe, like Romania, Bulgaria,

Slovenia and Slovakia, are faster than Ireland, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) said.

IPHA chief executive Oliver O’Connor said: “In the two most recent budgets, the Government allocated €80m for innovative new medicines.

“Although the survey pre-

dates this investment, it still demonstrates Ireland’s poor environment for speed of access to innovative new medicines. Through sustained investment and the new supply agreement, Ireland should aspire to be among the fastest countries in Europe to adopt innovative new medicines.”

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Feature WEEK EIGHT Kilkenny is home to the most famous cats in the world. For over two hundred years, people everywhere have heard of the fierce Kilkenny Cats.

They are part of our history; part of our DNA. They reflect Kilkenny in all its glorious past, its developing present and exciting future.

In this, the final week, local author Donal Cadogan and illustrator Gemma Aloisi share their unique view of Kilkenny’s history and culture, as seen and told by its magnificent and ever-present Kilkenny Cats.

This, the final week, we meet Henry , the hurler’s cat , and we also learn how Kilkenny cats got the name of fighters, who never give up.

These are taken from their recent illustrated children’s book We are Kilkenny Cats!

Kilkenny Cats are fighters who never give up HENRY  THE HURLERS CAT Hurling is the second most important thing to anyone from Kilkenny. Breathing is the most important. Hurling is a field game played by two teams of fifteen players trying to score against each other. They use long sticks called hurls to hit a small ball. The ball travels very fast and players need to be skilful and fit. They also need to be brave. Players might try to catch a ball in the air at the same time another player is using a stick to do the same thing.

Boys and girls start to play from a very young age and the game becomes second nature to them. Some carry the hurls with them all day, even to school.

The very best players in the county play for Kilkenny against the other counties.

Because they are the fiercest, strongest and bravest, they are naturally called the Kilkenny Cats and the people of Kilkenny are proud to be called cats also.

We cats are proud to play our part also. Each year,

the cats of Kilkenny select a mascot for the Kilkenny teams. Each hurling club puts forward a cat for the job and the county mascot manager picks one cat to be mascot for the year. My cousin Henry has been selected for the last five years but competition is very fierce. Henry’s main job is to bring luck to the team.

Kilkenny is the most successful team in the game. While some counties have won a handful or even no All Ireland Championships, Kilkenny’s men and women have won over fifty titles since the game started.

The team colours are Black and Amber stripes, making them look like tigers, which are also cats. If you see anyone dressed like this, looking like a cat that’s got the cream, be sure their tails will stand up if you shout out “On the Cats!”

THE KILKENNY CAT STORY To people the world over, a Kilkenny Cat is a fighter who never gives up, whatever the

cost. The saying may have come from something that happened in Kilkenny in 1798.

Because there had been a fierce rebellion in Ireland, troops were placed in barracks at important places around the country, such as Kilkenny. The soldiers were not generally welcomed by the people. They were kept in their barracks when they weren’t out marching.

It was boring, so the soldiers came up with many ways to entertain themselves. One of them noticed that there were a lot of cats in the city. So he went out and caught two of them. He brought them to a quiet part of the barracks and tied their two tails together. Then he threw them over a washing line and the two cats fought with each other, trying to escape.

The soldier bet with his friends on which would win the fight. The winning cat limped away after the fight.

While setting cats to fight each other was not illegal in the army, betting on it was. Also the noise of the fighting cats was annoying

everybody. The officers banned the fights, but the soldiers kept them going secretly.

One day an officer heard the awful noise of two cats fighting. The soldiers had a secret fight going but their look-out man failed to warn them of the officer’s approach in time. Hurriedly,

a soldier whipped out a bayonet and cut off the cats’ tails. The two cats dropped to the ground and ran to safety. However, their tails remained tied together over the washing line.

The officer saw this and was told that two cats had been fighting each other so savagely that it had proved

impossible to separate them. In fact they fought so desperately that they had eaten each other up, with the exception of their tails.

And so began the story that Kilkenny people will fight to the bitter end.

Kilkenny people are called cats to remind everyone just how fierce they can be.

Born within a cat’s purr of Jerpoint Abbey in Thomastown, Donal Cadogan is a true-born cat, which even a few childhood years living in Cork can not erase. Some will know him from his many years working in Bank of Ireland in Kilkenny and Callan but in recent years he is semi-retired, using his time to indulge in his interest in Kilkenny’s past and its people. After writing two books on his favourite subject (Kilkenny), he has written two series on local history for KCLR, where he was persistently asked about the origin of the link between Kilkenny and Cats. Instead of answering this deep question, he has used the cats to help young people explore the story of the unique place that is Kilkenny.

Born in Italy, Gemma Aloisi studied animated filmmaking and illustration between Italy, France and Belgium. Her work brought her to Lighthouse Studios in Kilkenny, where she met Donal and learned of his passion project. Having a lifelong love of cats, she brought a new perspective on how they might look and had fun developing their character with Donal. Since then she has been working on her short film project “Six, Maybe Seven” as a resident filmmaker at The Animation Workshop in Denmark. She doesn’t rule out a return to Kilkenny where she still has many friends, including some cats.

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Commitment to the

art Even before recorded history, our ancestors flew birds of prey. From the Steppes of Asia, to medieval Europe, from five thousand years ago to the present day, Falconry has become a way of life for Falconers around the world

Whether or not you have experienced Falconry before, you will get a chance to handle these magnificent creatures, letting them fly from your gloved hand and returning to feed. It is a profound experience to interact so closely with a hunting animal.

At Hawkeye School of Falconry, we are totally dedicated to this Ancient Sport of Kings. This, the noblest of all field sports, gives you the unique opportunity to personally fly, handle, feed and interact with some of our trained Hawks and Owls. We adhere to a very high standard of Falconry and only use practicing Falconers for all our services.

Hawkeye School of Falconry was established to Promote and Conserve the Art of falconry.

We are a small family run school not a bird of prey

A hybrid falcon

centre or a zoo. All our birds are working birds and get to fly free almost every day.

We fund the everyday running of the school by holding Falconry courses, Falconry Experiences, Hawk walks, corporate entertainment, and so much more, all by appointment only.

During the pandemic in the midst of a lockdown we decided to take the opportunity while business was quiet to evolve our business into what was always

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just a dream.

We had begun with one mobile falconry unit on the road and within a year had become two mobile units providing falconry to various hotels in the South-East of Ireland.

Although we really enjoyed travelling to various hotels we longed for a base – a Falconry School to call home for our feathered family. We were thrilled and very grateful when the idea that we put to Xavier McAuliffe, the owner of Lyrath Estate, was an idea he liked and was happy to make this dream become a reality for us.

At Hawkeye School of Falconry, we provide various Falconry experiences at our School which is set upon 170 acres of beautiful Irish countryside at the Luxurious 5-star Lyrath Estate Hotel and Spa in the Medieval city of Kilkenny.

To view our experiences please visit www. hawkeyefalconry.ie.

Caroline guiding the eagle to land

OwnersJohn and Caroline Duggan

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Feature

BY JOSEPH KEARNEY A NEIGHBOUR of ours played the mouthorgan. He was a quiet man with a full beard and indi-go eyes. But shy, you’d have to coax him to pull the harmonica from his top pocket and play.

Although he was born into our community, he was still regarded as a newcomer, a blow-in. Perhaps this was because he had chosen to reside elsewhere for many decades before coming home and living amongst us. He liked to ramble the lanes and fields of our locality. His name was Tony and his wife’s name Jane.

He bought and renovated a small cottage in the town’s land of Physcianstown a few miles outside Callan in Co Kilkenny. The house was on a byroad off a byroad beside a bridge that separated two counties, Tipperary and Kilkenny. Here at the bridge you could see where the tar-and-chip from both counties butted against each other creating a variation of both texture and hue. Tony was a man who observed a small thing like this. Ours is a flat inland place. When we raise our eyes to the horizon we see only fields, tillage, hedges and ditches.

Our world is small but big enough to accommodate whatever it is that we need.

Tony was different to us in this respect. He had lived in places we might only dream about. We were vaguely aware of this. He didn’t speak of living in a bohemian community in St Ives, Cornwall, or the Bahamas, or St Lucia, or Lanzarote or even the Scilly Isles. Perhaps he believed that if we were aware we might not have been interested anyway.

Growing up in that district I often thought it a place maybe overlooked by cartogra-phers. Somewhere

Worktable and Silence, 1997 Oil on board 48” x 30”, 122 x 76.2cm 1997

Jane O’Malley Evening Visitor – Porthmeor, 2012 - 2014 Oil on board 61 x 45.7cm

The Good Fr lost forever along the worn crease of a map.

Tony and Jane liked to stroll in the evenings and often dropped by to see us, to have a cup of tea and play a few tunes. The seasons

cycled along here as they do any-where else and we gradually became used to the quietly spoken man with the mouthorgan.

It was something of a surprise then when we

discovered that Tony O’Malley was famous.

Not just famous but world famous as an artist. His work was prized and collected.

Wherever Irish art was exhibited his was there at the

core. We hardly knew any of this because he just never said.

We also learned that Tony was self-taught and that he was a keen observer.

His blue eyes missed little

Portrait of Jane and Tony O ‘Malley

Some of the O’Malley work pictured at Butler Gallery Photo: Brian Cregan

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Feature

Tony O’Malley Good Friday Wood Collage, 1968 Oil, wood and nails 63.5 x 44.5 x 5.7cm

Tony O’Malley Self Portrait – Piazza Studio – St. Ives, 1960 Gouache, conté and crayon on paper 63.5 x 50.8cm

iday pictures during his sojourns around our district. What to us was the work—a-day ordinary, to him was a thing pregnant with possibility.

I sometimes think of him around this time of

One of galleries in The O’Malley Wing at Butler Gallery Photo: Ste Murray

year. Since the sixties Tony O’Malley made a new painting in or about each Good Friday. His Good Friday pictures are an important part of his oeuvre.

Many of them created with

blackened wood, nails and slate, they capture delineations of suffering and redemption. They reference the rituals of Western Christianity while still offering us nuances of older

religion and beliefs. Tortured shapes reflecting the pain of crucification and sacrificial death.

We may be a community preoccupied with the everyday but Tony walked

amongst us observing all, serene and quiet. A twisted crown of barbed wire atop a fencepost, a knotted rope of baling twine supporting a sagging collapse of farm gate, even that weathered board lopsidedly fastened with a crooked nail, all of these were symbolic images that fed into his artistic imagination.

He is recorded as once saying “Painting is a mystery like poetry. Silence is important. You have to listen.

It’s available to you, as long as you don’t presume. You arrive at the work. Don’t confront the painting, asking what it means. Like the Chinese proverb – allow it to just be there on the wall, ticking like a clock…”

One year a retrospective exhibition of Tony’s work was shown in Kilkenny city.

As neighbours we received invitations to attend the showing. We stood there in the gallery with our hands in our pocket looking up at the ticking clocks.

And if we quieted our minds and remained silent we might catch the flash of a trout’s belly in slow water under that old bridge, the shape of a crow’s wing against an evening sky, the contrasting shades of a halfploughed field, a falling star or a reflection of clouds in an ice-rimed puddle. He had caught our small world using canvas, paint and collage and made us wonder.

Sadly Tony O’Malley passed away in 2003. He was 89. There was a great turnout for his funeral. And afterwards, the mourning neighbours were agreed on one thing…he was great man on the mouthorgan.

NOTE: A wing has been devoted at The Butler Gallery, to the work of the Callan artist Tony O’Malley and his wife Jane.

The following link on The Butler Gallery website tells you all about The O’Malley Collection: https://www.butlergallery. ie/art-and-artists/theomalley-collection

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News

An evening of Roses!

Closing date looming!!

The Kilkenny Rose of Tralee of 2022 - Sponsored by MacDonagh Junction Elegant, sophisticated, ambitious, passionate, friendly, a true lady- combine this fabulous cocktail of characteristics and what you will discover is..………

Photos: Anna Lalor

The Kilkenny Rose of 2022 Kilkenny Rose Co Ordinator Lyn Moloney has issued a final call to all potential Kilkenny hopefuls for 2022. Lyn commented that “The closing date is fast approaching and we would encourage any interested girls out there to get in touch as soon as possible.

There is still time to join this group of ladies who yesterday

were treated to an absolutely brilliant day in Kilkenny. We started out meeting all the little Rosebuds at a party hosted by Main Sponsor

MacDonagh Junction where they were presented with their Sashes by our reigning Kilkenny Rose, Clodagh Cassin and were treated to a movie

and goodies. From there it was over to Kilkenny Activity Centre where the girl’s competitive edge could be seen during a game of Splatball on

Cabinet of Curiosities –

Children’s public workshops Cabinet of Curiosity Ceramics Workshop with Maeve Sookram May, Sunday 8th 11.30am -1pm (5 -8 yrs) 2pm -3.30pm (9-12yrs) Venue: Rothe House & Garden, Parliament Street, Kilkenny City May, Sunday 22nd 11.30am -1pm (5 -8 yrs) 2pm -3.30pm (9-12yrs) Venue: St Kevin’s Hall, Johnstown, County Kilkenny

Kilkenny Arts Office is delighted to invite children of Kilkenny to take part in creative workshops between now and June 2022 to celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg, the national day of creativity for children.

The aim is to gather and create artwork and curious things collected and made by children to exhibit in a purpose built Cabinet Of

Curiosities for this special day on June 11th,. Children’s creativity will inspire the wider community through this celebratory exhibition.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE Rothe House, Parliament Street, Kilkenny • Sunday May 8th, Ceramics Workshop with Maeve Sookram

• Sunday May 15th, Mixed Media Workshop with Carrie Lynam • Sunday May 29th, Mixed Media Workshop with Carrie Lynam St Kevin’s Hall, Johnstown • Sunday May 22nd, Ceramics Workshop with Maeve Sookram WORKSHOP DETAILS

Exploring and curiosity are part of our creative nature.

Children are wonderful at exploring objects. This workshop encourages children between 5 to 12 years old, to bring objects that they find curious. We will explore how the objects work.

What they do? Their shape, texture and materials. Using the objects as inspiration, children can make replicas, make a mould or design their own curiosity. We will look at pattern, texture and colour.

This workshop will be packed with fun. Children are asked to bring an object they find curious.

the Activity course. They even encountered some Rose of Tralee Escorts on the course and the game took on a whole new level. It was a brilliant afternoon for all the girls getting to know each other in a very fun environment. After a busy day, it was then time to relax over a lovely meal hosted in AROI Kilkenny. We are very fortunate here in Kilkenny with such loyal and supportive Sponsors and businesses looking after us. It really is a very fun and positive experience for any young ladies taking part and with just a few spaces left I would really encourage any girls even considering it to reach out and join us.”

On Saturday evening 14th May Kilkenny Roses will gather at the Ormonde Hotel in Kilkenny for a night full of entertainment, glamour and above all great fun as we find out who will represent Kilkenny at the Dome in Tralee 2022.

Roses will appear on stage to speak with MC Mr.Ollie Turner and be put through their paces

Cabinet of Curiosity - Natural Wonders Workshop with Carrie Lynam May, Sunday 15th 11.30am -1pm (5 -8yrs) 2pm -3.30pm (9-12yrs) Venue: Rothe House & Garden, Parliament Street, Kilkenny City This mixed media workshop will engage children in the art of looking, really looking! We will investigate the roof top garden of Rothe House and seek out natural materials to inspire our artwork. Participants will be guided in looking for shape, colour and pattern in the natural world. We will use what we find as inspiration to create curious objects that showcase the wonders of nature. The workshop will focus on honing participants observation skills and encouraging them to see wonder in the everyday.

Any curious objects or things related to the natural world are warmly welcomed to this workshop.

Cabinet of Curiosity – Fantastical Animals Workshop with Carrie Lynam May, Sunday 29th 11.30am -1pm (5 -8 yrs) 2pm -3.30pm (9-12yrs) Venue: Rothe House & Garden, Parliament Street, Kilkenny City Taking a closer look at birds, animals and insects that we are familiar with and using them as inspiration to create curious objects. We will hone our skills

and encouraged by family & friends to display their personalities.

There will be prizes for ‘Best dressed Lady’, Best Dressed Man and ‘Best Banner’, as well as a raffle, and lots of nice prizes to be won. The roses have the pleasure of being paired with a ‘Rose Bud’ on the night, who are young local girls aged between 5-10years.

We would love to meet interested ladies in advance of the Final where you will have the opportunity to meet some of the other entrants and the chance to ask any questions that you may have.

As like 2019, all Roses from all over the world will land in Tralee and experience the full extent of what the Rose of Tralee Festival is all about.

So if you would like to enter this year’s Kilkenny Rose event don’t delay as closing date is imminent.

For more details contact Lyn on 083 4631611 or Kilkenny Rose on all social media platforms.

of observation by exploring colour, shape, form and pattern then working from our observations we will create our own fantastical animals. This is a mixed media workshop that will encourage children to look closer and wonder more.

Any curious objects or things related to animals, birds or insects are warmly welcomed to this workshop.

Booking Information: Early booking advised as places are limited Email: deirdre.southey@ kilkennycoco.ie Deadline for booking: Friday 6th May 2022 COST: €7 per child & €10 for two children from the same family Concessions: €5 per child €7 for two children from the same family NB Caregivers please note: We will retain the artwork and objects at the end of each workshop and they will go on public display for Cruinniú na nÓg on June 12th in Kilkenny City, further details to follow.

All artwork and objects will be carefully minded and returned safely.

Siamsa’ has been part of the Arts Office’s programme since 2011. This fun programme has supported children in developing numerous skills including drawing, painting and making in a diverse range of media.

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MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre

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Carraig Donn €34.95 u

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Want more of a bold pop of colour this Spring/Summer? Then head to Carraig Donn for these beautiful dresses that are perfect to add a splash of colour to your wardrobe. Pair any dress with white sandals from Skechers for the perfect sunny day outfit.

As much as we love dreaming of the sun, we live in Ireland so a nice Spring jacket is essential. This jacket from the Rochelle Humes collection from Regatta is ideal with the tie belt, cuff detailing and decorative buttons bringing the style this Spring.

For more Spring/Summer inspiration make sure to follow MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre on Facebook and Instagram.

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Feature

Dawn meeting at peace park to remember the dead The 25th of April 2022 marks the 107th anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand landings at Gallipoli (now known as ANZAC cove). The sacrifice made by both countries during the eight-month long Gallipoli campaign quickly began to symbolize the emergence of their national identity This identity quickly became to be exemplified by ANZAC day, The National Day of Remembrance in Australia, and New Zealand.

The Kilkenny Great War Memorial stands testament to over 830 men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War. There are included on its panels the names of 20 ANZAC soldiers and one nurse (Kathleen Power), all who were from Co Kilkenny. Surnames like, Mulroney, Deevy, Dunphy, Doyle, Butler, Purcell, Leahy, Power, and Langton all bear testament to Kilkenny roots. Parish of origin include St Johns, Clara, Paulstown, Graignamanagh, Callan, Freshford and Aghavillar to name but a few.

Like all soldiers who were recruited in Ireland

during the war, ANZACS were volunteer soldiers.

Conscription was never introduced in Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand.

Each year, on April 25th, Australians and New Zealanders come together to honour their people who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

Originally Anzac day was specific to those who fought in Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. ANZAC stands for “Australian and New Zealand Army Corps” and is one of the most important national celebrations across Australia and New Zealand.

Nurse Power who is listed on the memorial Wall as a member of the Anzac forces

Private Brennan, from Castlecomer, who was part of the Anzac forces in WW1

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Pictured at the 2021 celebration of Anzac day at Kilkenny’s Peace Park, Mr Tim Millikan, Deputy Head of Missions at the Australian Embassy, Commandant Larry Scallan (retired), Donal Croghan, Chairman of The Great War Memorial Committee.

Death certificate of Nurse Kathleen Power from Templeorum , who was part of the Australian Military Forces

John Joe Cullen , who participated in the ceremony to commemorate Anzac Day at The Peace Park in 2021

Former Army member Charlie Parsons plays The Last Post at the 2021 celebrations of Anzac Day at The Peace Park, Kilkenny

Committee members of the Kilkenny Great War Memorial Committee, Berni Egan, Mary Anne Maher and P.J Norton pictured at the 2021 commemoration of Anzac Day

Chair of the ‘Kilkenny Great War Memorial Committee’, Donal Croghan explained to The Kilkenny Observer that 123 people from Kilkenny served in the Anzac forces. Twentytwo soldiers and one nurse died.

And so, at 6.30a.m. on Monday, April 25th, a small group will gather at the World War I monument at The Peace Park in Kilkenny to remember those that had taken part in The Anzac forces.

Mr. Croghan went on to explain that “6 a.m. is about

the time men of the ANZAC approached the Gallipoli beach. However, the origin is the traditional ‘stand-to’, in which troops would be woken, so that by the first rays of dawn they were in position and alert in case of an enemy attack in the eerie half-light.”

DAWN CEREMONY It is very appropriate that we remember their lives by hosting an ANZAC memorial dawn ceremony at 6.30 am on the 25th of April at the Kilkenny Great War Memorial.

It is hoped that residents in Kilkenny from the Australian and New Zealand community will attend, as well as anyone interested in joining to reflect remember and honour the memory of our citizens who paid the ultimate sacrifice so long ago. It is a very special event. made more spectacular with the backdrop of our famous Kilkenny streetscape.

If anyone would like to lay a wreath during the ceremony, please email Kilkennywarmemorial@ gmail.com

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The Kilkenny

Observer

Make a house your home

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Make a house your home

3D Visualisation & virtual reality is the future of house design

Nextgen Design are a planning consultancy firm working to bring your dream home from concept to reality. We, as a team of Architectural Technologists and Building Engineers, recognise our professional duty to deliver creative, cost effective designs for our clients whilst incorporating sustainable technologies therefore

future proofing our clients dwellings.

With our unique and informed approach to each project we provide bespoke design solutions inspired by the context, site and a clear understanding of the clients brief and ambitions. We work closely with our clients to design exceptional buildings,

everything from small renovations to fully bespoke homes.

Our business was created on the principle that good design responds to its surroundings in turn enhancing the life of its occupants. We endeavour to create consistently bright, open and inspiring designs helping our clients realise the greatest potential for their space.

We provide a Planning service starting from outline proposals, conceptual design, planning permission, 3D visualization/walkthroughs, building and land surveying.

Specialising in the use of virtual reality technology, this design process allows clients to immerse themselves in their new homes - providing a truly

authentic view of the outcome whilst still in the design phase.

Clients are able to walk through a fully realised, digital version of their design scheme before any construction has taken place. This gives clients a clearer understanding of their proposal than has ever been possible before.

No more static images and two-dimensional drawings, this is your home, true to

life. We can show you where natural light will land and how different material finishes affect the mood of the space, so you can walk around in the completed build as if it were the real thing.

Using GPS we are then able to create an accurate 3D model, giving you a new perspective of your home to help you make the design decisions that are right for you.

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Make a house your home

Make a house your home Solar Evolution celebrates its 1st year in Business

YOUR little space on earth, your little piece of heaven.

Our homes are our sanctuary, our refuge our peaceful place.

The become part of us much as we become part of them.

It’s where our futures start, our plans are made where we live and love, care and prosper. It’s a special place where we raise our family and welcome our friends. We are what make a home.

What we put into our homes is our personalities, a piece of ourselves, who we are what we dream .That is reflected in the style and design we use in our homes. We can be brazen, bold, outlandish or conservative but we will always be us.

Once we have picked our design and chosen our style we have a blank canvas to explore and we should have

fun. Remember to progress with caution, to invest wisely putting your money into good use. Spend big on items that will have a long lifetime such as furniture, bedding, floor covering, or products that can offer a return on an investment. Accessories although vital to compliment any design can be short time purchases and may be a needed change if you later decide to alter a look or colour scheme.

Don’t be too rigid in your choices and don’t copy! Have faith in your tastes, be adventurist but practical (white fabric versus chocolate or red wine). Think about need, use and when the children arrive.

Be comfortable about your surroundings so you will be comfortable in your surroundings.

Spend a lot of time deciding what to do with each room. Time spent now is money saved, there is little as annoying as spending big on something that does not work for you later. Include the outdoor areas of your home, can you bring the outdoors in or the indoors out by including a patio area or decking, a sunroom or awning?

The entrance and approach to your home is important too, a quality surface to your drive way and a colourful garden make a great first impression. Clean pathways, gutters and stone work make a huge difference to enhance any design.

All you can do and all you will do to your home is an investment in your own happiness, have fun and enjoy your home.

BRIGID Walsh (Project Director) and David Whelan (Managing Director) are celebrating Solar Evolutions first year in business as a solar PV installation company.

Over the past year we have provided green energy solutions for both domestic and business clients. As the price of electricity from municipal power grids continues to rise each year, many homeowners and businesses are seeking long-term alternatives to reduce their energy bills.

Clean solar energy from the utilisation of roof-integrated and ground mounted PV systems is a great alterna-

tive to drawing power from the electric grid and saves homeowner and businesses costs substantially while also benefiting the environment.

Solar PV systems not only save on energy bills but can also increase the value of your business and household by gaining green credentials and save on Co2 emissions.

Our company provides a personalised Solar PV design package this includes grant applications (where eligible).

Once your system has being commissioned, we provide ongoing monitoring and annual reviews. We would like to thank our Clients, Network

Kilkenny, Local Enterprise Offices (LEO), Cloud Forest, our suppliers, and the Solar Evolution team for all their support.

Solar Evolution are CoolPartner012 Planting two native trees for each of our clients. Cloudforest is a social enterprise focused on climate change. We create unique forests in beautiful locations for businesses looking for a sustainability plan that reduces carbon emissions & improves biodiversity. Our forest creations come with video technology for live streaming, timelapse and biodiversity monitoring.

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Make a house your home

Your garden and getting started GARDENS are a busy place.

They need time and effort and a little patience. They are hard work, but so rewarding.

No matter if you’re a novice, advanced learner or the master gardener you will need to put the work in. Gardening can be an all year round

occupation, the more you do the more you find needs to be done but it’s a sure way of keeping fit and healthy.

Like everything in life before you start you’ll need a plan, make sure it is flexible because changing your mind will be part of the fun.

Very few gardens end up like they were planned. Be prepared to learn, get advice (your local garden center is a good place to start) from other gardeners, look to see what neighboring gardens have on show. Be adventurous embrace all aspects and

styles from hanging baskets to containers, borders to wild areas. Your only constraint is your garden size and your imagination.

Prepare your soil, cultivate and fertilise as deemed necessary (again seek advice if you’re starting out).Buy

good quality tools, the will be worked hard so an investment here will pay dividends. Select areas you are going to plant, decide on location and shape. In this instance make good use of the sun, be aware of where sunlight travels across your garden, avoid shade if possible but don’t be afraid to plant in these areas as there are many amazing plants which suit shaded areas and shaded areas are often ideal areas for a peaceful secluded hideaway.

When choosing plants be as adventurous as you can but don’t go overboard. Select what will suit your gardens style and layout; consider here what colours, space and height are most suitable.

Think beyond flowers, think plants, bushes, hedges and trees. Broad beans, runner beans, and peas make great climbers display fabulous colour and you can add them to your meals at harvest times. Fruit trees in front gardens?

The introduction of a glass house and closh will greatly improve your choice of vegetables you can grow from tomato to cucumber to peppers. Both will assist in growing plants from seeds and growing plants on before introducing them to the outdoors. They will also offer you a sanctuary for plants to over winter.

Gardening is all about time.

Getting ready early, hoping the weather plays its part (it’s

never perfect and you will have to work around it). Selecting your plants and seeds is so important, this is where you have to be smart, take advice ,choose what is recommended, what your local garden center has on display is often a good indicator of what’s in season and suitable for Irish weather. The “know all guy” in the garden center will be more than happy to guide you in the right direction with selections, tips for planting and after care such as fertilisers and feeds.

Now you’ve planted the fun begins, your struggling to grow plants while the weeds are thriving. The progress your plants are making is being eaten back, yes eaten by an often unseen pest (pest gains a whole new meaning here). Again get advice and then decide the level of response you are going to engage. Remember a weed is a plant in the wrong place, and all creatures have a purpose it just might not suit yours at this juncture.

You’ve created a natural wonderment in your garden, now is the time to enjoy it and share it with friends and family. What better way to do it than sitting in a gazebo, at a patio table or on a decking area beside a log cabin, where you can overlook the splendid results of your hard graft. Sounds like a dream then it’s only your reality that’s holding you back.

Once you start gardening it’s hard to stop.

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

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Picture special

Ivor and Inga Silconoks

Chris Mcdonald and Niamh Donoghue Catherine Hawe

Beautiful spring colours in Kilkenny

Ciaran Walah and Conor Fenton

t u o b A Out &

WITH

y n n a D art Lah

The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Tereasa Donoghue and Dom Taylor

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Picture special

Una, John and Robin Harte

Decky Lawlor and Tony Scanlon Alan Dowling doing a bit of work on a Sunday morning

John Cleere

A group from America on a tour of Kilkenny

Conor Ryan

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Food & Drink

Dine Me Come

With

Easy sausage casserole Prep: 15 mins Cook: 1 hour Serves: 4 to 6

A comforting and hearty one-pot sausage casserole recipe with spicy chorizo, smoked paprika and plenty of vegetables, perfect for a filling family meal.

Ingredients • 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil • 1 onion, finely chopped • 2 medium sticks celery, finely chopped • 1 yellow pepper, chopped • 1 red pepper, chopped • 6 cooking chorizo sausages (about 400g) • 6 pork sausages (about 400g) • 3 fat garlic cloves, chopped • 1 ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika • ½ tsp ground cumin • 1 tbsp dried thyme • 125ml white wine • 2 x 400g cans cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes • 2 sprigs fresh thyme • 1 chicken stock cube • 1 x 400g can aduki beans, drained and rinsed • 1 bunch chives, snipped (optional) Method STEP 1 Heat 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a large heavy-based pan.

STEP 2 Add 1 finely chopped onion and cook gently for 5 minutes.

STEP 3 Add 2 finely chopped medium celery sticks, 1 chopped yellow pepper and 1 chopped red pepper and cook for a further 5 mins.

STEP 4 Add 6 chorizo sausages and 6 pork sausages and fry for 5 minutes.

STEP 6 Pour in 125ml white wine and use a wooden spoon to remove any residue stuck to the pan.

STEP 8 Cook for 40 minutes. Stir in a 400g drained

and rinsed can of aduki beans and cook for a further five minutes.

STEP 9 Remove the thyme sprigs, season with black pepper and stir through some snipped chives, if using. Serve.

Easter fudge Prep: 15 mins Cook: 25 mins Makes: 20 squares Indulge in a classic homemade fudge, given a twist for Easter. Creamy and packed full of mini chocolate eggs, it’s a perfect sweet treat during the spring.

Ingredients • 397g can condensed milk • 500g soft light brown sugar • 125g unsalted butter • 150ml whole milk • 150g mini chocolate eggs Method STEP 1 Line a 20cm square brownie tin with baking parchment. Tip all the ingredients, except the mini chocolate eggs, into a saucepan set over a low heat. Stir gently until all of the sugar has melted. Turn up the heat and simmer for

Taste: Complex floral aroma with scents of honeysuckle, orange blossom and primroses is followed by stone fruit flavours of apricot and peach, along with spicy and herbal notes.

Body: Full with a silky richness Dry / Sweet: Dry Acidity: Low Age: Drink while young.

Other: An interesting alternative to oaked Chardonnay. Tends to be high in alcohol.

STEP 5 Stir in 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1 ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika, ½ tsp ground cumin and 1 tbsp dried thyme and continue cooking for 1 – 2 mins or until the aromas are released.

STEP 7 Add two 400g cans of tomatoes, and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and bring to a simmer. Crumble in the chicken stock cube and stir.

The good guide to Viognier

10-15 mins, scraping the bottom of the pan regularly until the mixture reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, drop a teaspoon of mixture into a small bowl of cold water – if it’s ready, it will form a soft ball that can be easily flattened.

STEP 2 Remove the fudge mixture from the heat and leave to cool for 5 mins. Use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture for another 5 mins.

STEP 3 Roughly chop 100g of the mini chocolate eggs and tip these into the fudge mixture, then stir until evenly combined. Tip the fudge mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface and pushing it into the corners using a rubber spatula. Scatter over the remaining mini chocolate eggs, then leave at room temperature until completely firm and set. Turn out onto a chopping board and cut into 20 squares before serving.

Description Viognier (vee-oh-NYAY) is a high quality grape that was on the verge of extinction in the 1960s in its Northern Rhône home of Condrieu (kondree-uh) in France. Fortunately, this excellent and quite distinctive grape variety was saved and today it is grown in many wine regions across the world.

Because of its full body, silky richness and the fact that it takes well to light oak contact, it has been placed in the Rich style. However, it could equally be included in the Aromatic style due to its characteristic and very pronounced floral perfume.

The wine that Viognier makes is dry with high alcohol and low acidity and is at its best when consumed young. The aroma is complex: rich and powerful with the scent of honeysuckle, orange blossom and primroses. On the palate it is lush with a silky richness and displays stone fruit flavours of apricot and peach, along with spicy and herbal notes. The best wines are world-class and truly stunning.

Viognier has become very popular in recent years as an interesting alternative to oaked Chardonnay because it is full bodied, but with a much more aromatic quality. This in turn has encouraged many producers to plant Viognier to capitalise on this demand.

However, Viognier is a naturally low yielding grape, is very fussy about where it is grown and can be unpredictable. Consequently, making good Viognier is an expensive business. A cheap Viognier may be a very pleasant wine, but don’t expect it to have great complexity, a heady floral perfume and luscious flavours of apricot and peach.

To be at its best Viognier also requires old vines, so over time quality will improve. Having said all of the above, there are many excellent varietal examples made outside of Viognier’s Northern Rhône home. It also plays an important blending role in many white wines of the Southern Rhône and a small proportion is often added to the famous Syrah red wines of the Northern Rhône.

If you have not yet tried Viognier you should seek out a good varietal example: you are in for a treat!

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Advertisement TV & Streaming THE producers of James Bond have been chatting about potential actors who could be the new James Bond and Idris’ Elba’s name has apparently been mentioned.

No Time to Die marks Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond. Some 15 years have passed since Craig first played 007 in Casino Royale, and throughout that time debate has raged over the new James Bond — with everyone asking who should be the next James Bond?

Plenty of names have come and gone in the discussion, as was the case before Craig himself was selected to succeed Pierce Brosnan in the role, and we could yet see a late contender find themselves in the right place at the right time.

As we’ve seen in discussions of the official Bond theme song, it’s really difficult to please absolutely everybody, but here are some of the leading candidates to be the eighth big screen Bond.

Right, so when it comes to talent, it’s hard to look past Tom Hardy. If you were casting for 100 roles which fit his age and gender profile, Hardy would be on the shortlist for 90 of them before you knew anything else about the character. The question isn’t whether he would nail it, because obviously he would, but rather whether he’d feel as though Bond is too constrictive a role for him to take on.

Henry Cavill has had a few false dawns with ‘big’ roles in the past, most notably failing to turn Superman into career-defining role it might have been for others. However, this actually works in his favour from a Bond perspective: when watching Cavill as 007, the Man of Steel star won’t feel as though he’s in the wrong role quite as much. Also, and this is important, he looks great in a suit.

And so to Idris Elba. It feels like Elba would have been a frontrunner had Craig bowed out before No Time to Die, but the window may have now shut for the 47-year-old. That said, after taking the last few years to work on some smaller projects (also Cats, but we don’t need to dwell on that), there’s every chance the Londoner could be coaxed into a role which he has been linked with as frequently as Wesley Sneijder has been linked with Manchester United.

With Lucifer coming to an end, Tom Ellis will have a space in his diary to play James Bond. The only issue is his age — he’s 42 at the moment and, realistically, the next movie will be around 2025. We reckon he would do a great job, though, and it would be great to see another Welshman in the role, after Timothy Dalton.

5

sci-fi great to stream right now

If The 100 (2014-2020) looks like your standard teen drama, prepare to have your expectations exceeded.

There’s a reason this post-apocalyptic series scored seven seasons: The 100, streaming on YouTube, brings rich world-building and moral dilemmas that push the stereotypical characters into unique, compelling places. The 100 in question are a generation of juvenile detainees sent to Earth to determine whether it’s habitable post-apocalypse. 100 percent give this one a go.

Germany’s answer to Stranger Things deliberately takes its time before stepping into completely compelling and original places. A sci-fi noir, Dark (2017-2020) folds time travel, conspiracies and estranged families into a generationspanning story kicked off by a child’s disappearance. If those kinds of meticulously crafted layers are what you’re after in your storytelling, settle in. All three seasons of Dark’s meditative look at time travel and its effect on human nature are waiting to hit you at full force.

On Netflix.

Ten in the line-up to play the next Bond Our own Jamie Dornan already has the sadistic nature of James Bond nailed, having played a serial killer in The Fall and Christian Grey in the 50 Shades movies. But he can also play the action part as well and he’s a fantastic actor. It would also be great to see another man from Ireland to take on the role of James Bond Next up, Richard Madden.

He came to prominence thanks to his role as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, but it was Bodyguard and Rocket Man where he truly showed off his acting chops.

He’s still young, (mid 30s) and is Scottish, so will definitely be on the Broccoli’s hit list.

Meanwhile, Tom Hiddleston has a strong profile outside the Bond franchise

and, with him having ‘done’ Marvel, this may be the best (or even only) opportunity to snap him up. His slate looks busy but not irrevocably so, giving him time to polish off his to-do list before moving onto a big franchise role, and he’s easy to picture as 007.

He turns 40 in 2021, though, and the studio may prefer someone younger.

677 750 Out of everyone on this list, Dan Stevens has perhaps had the most varied career so far. First seen in Downton Abbey, he has since shed some pounds and starred in the fantastic Marvel show Legion, featured in a couple of great horror movies and was last seen in the Netflix Eurovision movie. He’s got the physique, charm, acting chops

and humour to be a brilliant Bond.

Love it or hate it, Bridgerton has been a massive success for Netflix and certainly put Regé-Jean Page on the map as the next James Bond.

He’s superb as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. At 31 he’s the perfect age to play Bond in myriad movies One of the more recent favourites, Sam Heughan wowed us all in Outlander and has the acting chops and looks to be the next James Bond. He’s Scottish so would be walking in Sean Connery sized boots. At 40, he’s a good age to be playing Bond and he’s already put on a tux for spoof The Spy Who Dumped Me - not a movie we would recommend but Heughan makes it nearly watchable

Netflix cancellations don’t get more criminal than the axing of The OA (2016-2019). This wildly unique story follows Prairie Johnson, a young blind woman who returns after being missing for years, now with the ability to see. She claims to be the “original angel” and convinces a small group of locals to listen to her impossible story, involving abductions and great escapes. The OA is the kind of grounded sci-fi that catches you and its heroes completely off guard when it introduces its fantastic concepts. Watch the first two impeccable seasons on Netflix and pray the third is picked up elsewhere.

The reboot of the 1965 series of the same name propels us forward to 2046, two years after humanity finds itself on the brink of extinction.

The talented Robinson family head out with a crew to colonise a new planet. Aside from inescapable family drama, they face strange new environments and an odd alien robot that befriends young Will. Mystery, heart and a memorable villain in Parker Posey’s Dr. Smith give Lost in Space plenty of fuel to lift off (seasons 2 and 3 are markedly improved over season 1). Also on Netflix.

Yeah, Gong Yoo from Squid Game’s in this. What else do you need to know? This South Korean sci-fi mystery on Netflix follows a crew of astronauts on a mission to an abandoned research facility on the moon. Their target: a sample of an unknown substance for unclear purposes. Betrayal, government lies and personal secrets send this addictive space journey into a tailspin.

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

kilkennyobserver.ie

Community & GAA Notes

MINOR HURLING Clara followed up on their first round win over Bennettsbridge by dishing out a bit of a beating to visitors Naas on Monday of last week. However it must be stated that Naas were short their contingent of county minors - 9 in total - so the Clara task was made a lot easier. However you can only beat what is put in front of you and this game was as good as over by halftime when Clara led 1-10 to 0-2, having played against the breeze on a cold evening in Clara.

By that stage five of the six forwards as well as midfielder Conor Hoyne had scored. The only forward that hadn’t scored was Tommy Delaney and he was probably the busiest of them all, with a great work rate and energy about his play. He created a lot of opportunities for other players with his bustling style, and was just unlucky on the day that the scores didn’t come for him.

Cian Kelly in the goal dealt comfortably with any high balls that came his way and his puck outs were spot on. Corner backs Alex McDonald and James Cody were well on top of their markers.

Ben Crow was his usual reliable self at full back. Zach Lawlor was outstanding at centre half and his wing backs Ben Murphy and Philip Carrigan gave nothing away. Hugh Kelly got better as the game went on and staked a claim for a permanent spot. Conor Hoyne took the game to Naas with his probing runs and his free taking was impeccable.

The half forward line of Ned Langton, Sean Carrigan and Harry Boyle contributed 0-9 from play between them. Joe Power scored an opportunistic goal and a superb point, Luke Lawlor set up numerous scores and Tommy Delaney’s contribution has been well covered. Clara won the second half 0-11 to 1-1 to take the final score to 1-21 to 1-3. A good score with a lot of chances missed also so work still needed.

Team - Cian Kelly, Alex McDonald, Ben Crow, James Cody. Ben Murphy, Zach Lawlor 0-1, Philip Carrigan. Conor Hoyne 0-9,0-6f, Hugh Kelly. Ned Langton 0-2, Sean Carrigan 0-3, Harry Boyle 0-4.

Tommy Delaney, Luke Lawlor 0-1, Joe Power 1-1. Subs used Eoin Corr, John Bergin, Bill Kealy. Sean Byrne, Bill Kealy, Orí Phelan, Tom Boyle, Conor Galvin, Tom Murphy, Daniel Ryan, Dillon Cummins (inj.).

FEILE Clara U15s were in fine form on Sunday at the Féile. They lost narrowly at the semi final stage to Dunnamaggin. They had earlier recorded notable wins over John Lockes of Callan and Dicksboro.

COUNTY Well done to Rory Glynn who played for Kilkenny minors in Enniscorthy on Saturday, as the Cats recovered from a bad start to claim a 2-17 to 2-12 in their opening championship game.

Wexford, who had already beaten Dublin in their opener, raced from the blocks and were 2-3 to 0-1 ahead after eight minutes. But Kilkenny never panicked and by half time had regained parity at 2-7 each.

An early second half burst from the Cats saw them create a lead that they would never relinquish and they won despite not hitting top form. Next up for them is Dublin in Nowlan Park on Saturday at 12pm.

HANDBALL On Sunday in a busy weekend of sport for Rory Glynn, he travelled to Conna, County Cork to play for Kilkenny in the All Ireland final against Cork. This was a team event of three U16s and three U17s, with the combined score at the end deciding the winner. Rory and his partner, fellow O Loughlins man Luke Hanrahan, won their two games 15-6, 15-10 to place Kilkenny

in a strong position. There were frayed nerves for a while in the next game when Ronan O Brien (Windgap) and Éanna O Keeffe (Kilfane) trailed their Cork opponents 8-1. But the two lads recovered brilliantly to win 15-10. This ensured a Kilkenny win as they were now 19 points to the good with only a game remaining. Although Mikey Stynes (Talbots Inch) and Evan Doyle (Windgap) lost the last game 15-9, Kilkenny still took the title on a 54-41 score. Well done to all the lads and to the team management of Frank Manogue and John Morrissey of O’Loughlins.

URLINGFORD AND GRAINE COMMUNITY TEXT ALERT Invitation to all householders, to subscribe to Text Alert 2022. €10 per phone or €20 per household (up to 3 mobile numbers).

Community alert continues to address issues in our community: Anti-Social Behaviour; Vandalism; Drug Activity; Robberies.

Payment options: Subscribe online, transfer to BOI: IBAN IE20 BOFI 9061 4482 3579 42, include your name and phone numbers with transfer details.

Door Collection: Committee members will collect envelopes this week. Thank you.

Please support us in the Split the Pot for the next four weeks.

Envelopes are available in participating businesses in town.

EMERALDS GAA CLUB Mega Bingo: Every Sunday, 4pm at Urlingford GAA pitch. Gates open at 3pm. Single books and one sheet €10; Double books and two sheets €15. Extra jackpot sheet €3 or two for €5. Please support.

EMERALDS URLINGFORD AND GRAINE LOTTO April 4th prize fund was: €7,300. Jackpot: €5,300. Numbers drawn: 16, 21, 23, 24, bonus no 13. No winner and no match 3 winners.

Promoters prize: John Minogue.

Five lucky dips of €20 each: Pat Peters, Ciara Sheehan, D. Tynan, Christy O’Reilly, Pat Walsh.

Next draw takes place on Monday, April 11th in the Clubrooms.

Results next week.

MILL FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE Easter Raffle: Please support our Coffee Morning and Easter Raffle on Thursday, April 14th from 11am-1pm. Raffle tickets are available in the Centre, €2 per strip or 3 for €5.

BTEI Healthcare Course QQI Level 5: Healthcare QQI Level 5 course places available for new programme starting September 2022. Please contact us if you are interested in completing this course.

Senior Alert: If you need to apply for a Personal Alarm, please contact Sue or Josephine.

Counselling Services: Includes One-to-One, Family & Teens, aged 12+. General Counselling: Bereavement, stress, anxiety & depression. Other counselling services available: Drug, substance and gambling addiction. 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 counselling services. Donations can be left into the Centre, please call before dropping off.

Contact number for the Centre 056 8838466.

URLINGFORD ARMS SPLIT THE POT This week’s winner of Split the Pot was Mary Walsh who won €415. Congrats Mary!

Tickets €2 on sale in participating businesses in town, in aid of Urlingford and Graine Community Text Alert for next week’s draw.

Be in it to win it!!

URLINGFORD / GRAINE DEFIBRILLATOR GROUP In case of emergency, call: 085 2726396.

Back row Frank Manogue, Rory Glynn, Mikey Stynes, Luke Hanrahan, John Morrissey. Front Ronan O Brien, Evan Doyle, Éanna O Keeffe.

URLINGFORD NEWS Anyone wishing to submit news items, club events, announcements etc can do so by emailing urlingfordnotes@gmail.com. If you have any photos you wish to include, please forward them to the email address.

MARGARET WALL R.I.P The people of Freshford and surrounds were shocked and saddened to hear of the unexpected death of Margaret Wall (nee Campion) late of Sart, Freshford and formerly of Woodview.

She was predeceased by her husband Jerry and mother Phyllis.

Margaret who was only in her 50s was a devoted wife and mother. She worked for many years in local BC manufacturing in the village where she was well liked and respected. Her funeral mass took place on Monday in St Lachtains Church Freshford followed by burial in St.Lachtains Cemetery. She is deeply mourned by her husband Eamon, daughters Emmer and Megan, sister Helen, brothers Terry Michael and John Joe, Mother in law, father in law, brothers in law, sisters in law, nieces nephews and extended family, work mates and friends to whom deepest sympathy is extended.

EASTER COMMEMORATION The annual Easter Commemoration will take place on Sunday next 17th Aprail after 11am mass. This is an annual event held by the local Fianna Fail group with the raising of Tricolour and music and song plus readings will be performed. All are welcome. In addition memorabilia will be on display in the Community hall.

A Cabaret will take place in Kavanaghs on Saturday night next as part of the celebrations IONAD LACHTAIN CHURCH ARTS AND HERITAGE CENTRE The committee is pleased to announce that the centre will be open at weekends from March 25th onwards. Opening times are 11.30am to 4.30pm every Saturday and Sunday. While visiting, take time to view the Prendergast (nursing) and Barnaville (print) Collections in the museum. The displays include a famine pot and a unique Freshford Cavalry medal dating from 1796.

The craft shop has also been updated and a wide selection of local crafts is available to purchase including knitted garments and toys, wood turning, paintings, soaps and local literature. All your gifts can be delivered in Freshford souvenir bags with an accompanying Freshford souvenir greeting card. You will find a gift to suit most occasions at the craft shop.

SPLIT THE POT The weekly split the pot draw took place in Farrells last week and the lucky winner was Ellie Butler who won €113. 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. This month’s proceeds are going to Freshford Community Café. The Committee would ask you to please support this fund raiser.

SYMPATHY Sympathy is extended to Richie Britton, Bootstown on the recent death of his sister-in-law Joyce Britton late of Greenshill Kilkenny.

Funeral mass took place in St.Canices Church Kilkenny followed by burial in St.KIERANS CEMETERY. CAFE Great work is being done presently on Freshfords new Community Café. Work has commenced on the premises at Buncrussia Street Freshford and the volunteers are making great progress at present. The subcommittee are most grateful for the very generous donations of building materials from local families and businesses and greatly appreciate all the materials, time, labour, advice that has been given and they say that they are well on their way to having a fabulous community café by the community and for the community. Anyone that would like to donate item or give their time or expertise would be most welcome SOCCER Freshford Town had no games at the weekend. The Junior side were defeated by table toppers St.Canices in their last league game and with just one more game left in the league now .

The training sessions for U8s continue each Saturday morning (weather permitting) from 12noon to 1pm at the Sportsfield at Woodview and all boys from 5-8 are most welcome to come along and join in DARTS The final of the B league took place on Friday night last in Kavanaghs when Kavanaghs 1 took on Kavanaghs in a home tie.

Kavanaghs 1 came out winners with Ollie Colclough getting the player of the night. John Paul Kavanagh made the presentation and Peter O Shea thanked all that took part and helped out SPRING SERIES OF TALKS Threecastles Community Hall Committee are at present holding their Spring Series of informative talks and Coffee morning as well as a” movie” night. The series consists of three talks, a Coffee morning and one “movie” night. The Committee are hoping that local people as well as the public from Kilkenny City and County will come along to our Community Hall, Tulla Road, to hear very interesting information as well as being able to catch up with friends and neighbours and be entertained at the “Movie” night.

The first talk titled – “Fire Safety in the Home” took place on Wednesday 30th March. This talk was given by Jason Bowden, Station Officer, and other members of the Freshford Fire Brigade and was very informative for all of us to stay safe at home.

“Waste and Recycling at Home” is our second talk which takes place on this Wednesday 6th April at 8pm. This talk will be given

by Bernadette Moloney, Environment Awareness Officer, Kilkenny County Council. We are all probably recycling but we can always learn how to manage our waste and recycle better.

“Magical Memories at the Movies” takes place on Saturday 9th April at 8.30pm. This will be a night to remember as the renowned videographer Tommy Butler, from Freshford, will show hours of footage from events, hurling matches, shows,

school pantos and lots more which he has recorded over years and years. You will enjoy recognizing familiar faces and reliving memorable events. (This is the only event that will have a charge of 5euro.)

“Easter Social Coffee Morning” is on Monday 18th April from 11am - 1pm. This is a chance for everyone to enjoy a chat and a cuppa in our Community Hall. We will also have a raffle so you might even go home with a prize!!

“Discovering the Archaeology of Threecastles” is our third talk and this will be given by widely acclaimed archaeologist Coilin O Drisceoill, on Wednesday 11th May at 8pm. Coilin has vast experience in successful “digs” both locally and nationally.

Everyone is welcome to come along to one or all of these events.

Refreshments will be provided at each of the talks and “movie” night. We would love to see you there and be sure to let other people know about our Spring Series. For further information contact Brenda Cooper Phone 0871369253 COMMUNITY ALERT Freshford /Three castles Community Alert Group held their AGM on Friday 25th March in Freshford Community Hall. (full report next week} If anyone would like to join the text alert group, it is 10 euro per phone number. New members are always very welcome.

The group wish to thank everyone who has joined for their continued support. Also if any elderly would like to avail of getting a personal alarm system put in their home by Pobal.

Please contact any of the committee members to discuss, John Bergin 0862592535, Jacinta Power 0877658672, Mick Cormack 0863535293 or Anna Morrissey 0858277965.

NO LIBRARY Another big loss to the village is the recent withdrawal of the mobile library. The service which was running every 2nd or 3rd Tuesday for the past number of years has now been withdrawn due to declining numbers.You can avail of other libraries or have special home delivery service if you wish by contacting Kilkenny County Library.

GAA St.Lachtains GAA Club run an Easter Camp this year. THE CAMP runs this week from Monday the 11th April to Thursday 14th April at St.Lachtains GAA Grounds. from 10am to 2pm each day and will accommodate boys and girls from 6-13 years. Great fun is guaranteed with top quality coaches.. For more info you can contact Eoin on 087 6191381 , Paugie on 087 9692153 or Michael on 085 1283075.

The Junior B hurlers started their year on a winning note as they welcomed Tullogher Rosbercon to Pairc Lachtain on Sunday last.

In a tight game throughout the local side ran out winners on a final score of 0-15 to 0-13, Team: J.Burke, J.Hickey, LKennedy, P.Campion,C.Donnelly, S .Dawson, P.white, P.Donnelly, C.Rafter, E Lander, P Killeen, C.Power, D.Killeen, C.O;Leary, C.Leahy Subs= S.Burke, M.Burke P.Maher and M.Durnan.

The U15 side also had success on Sunday morning last when they faced neighbours Fenians and Emeralds in a group based format. St.Lachtains were successful in winning both their game and going through to the next round of the competition.

The Clubs shop is open and 2022 range is soon to be uploaded onto the O’Neills club shop. Details can be found on St.Lachtains Social media pages or by O’Neill’s sportswear& searching for St.Lachtains Gaa. COMMUNITY ALERT Freshford/Threecastles Community Alert held their AGM recently. This was the first AgM since the Covid restrictions. The attendance was small due to covid numbers still being high.

The following officers were elected for the forthcoming year: Chairman John Bergin, Secretary – Jacinta Power, Treasurer – Mick Cormack PRO – Anna Morrissey. Anyone wishing to still join the Text alert scheme or have a personal alarm installed can contact any one of the Committee PARISH NEWS Attendance at indoor settings are now back to full capacity and attendance at Mass back to normal too. 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.

The Easter ceremonies take place in St Lachtains church on Thursday and in Tulla church on Friday with vigil mass on Saturday evening.

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 Jennifer in the Parish Office. Please note community notices for the parish newsletter should be left in or emailed to the Parish Office by 11am on Thursdays. Parish office hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 1pm.

Mass Cards Special printed parish cards are available at the Parish Office or from Annette at Tulla Church signed by Monsignor Kennedy. You can contact the Parish office on 056 8832843 or by email – freshfordd@ossory.ie. Contact Mongr Kieron Kennedy.

PILGRIMAGE Pilgrimage to Lourdes will be held from 9th to 13th May 2022.

Staying at 4 star Hotel Astrid the trip costd €645 pps – single room supplement payable. Accompanied by spiritual director.

Includes return direct flights from Dublin to Tarbes, coach transfers breakfast lunch and dinner each day, full religious programme, services of a Marian pilgrimage guide, mass daily and spiritual activities, all taxes and travel insurance.

For more details contact C.Flynn on 089 4638769.

SQUASH Best wishes to local squash enthusiast Pat Morrissey who is off to Galway this month to represent Ireland in the Home Internationals. Pat would like to thank local businessman Damien Lennon THM on his generous sponsorship of the Over 40s Ireland team.

Freshford Squash Club welcome new members anytime for

The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

55

kilkennyobserver.ie

Community & GAA Notes squash and the gym.

MACRA NA FEIRME Macra na Feirme are looking to establish a new club in the Freshford area. Macra na Feirme is an organisation for young people between the ages of 17 and 35 who are interested in getting involved in sports, travel drama, debating or just want to meet new people and have some fun. To be a member of Macra you must join a Macra club in your area. This will open the door to new fiends and new activities. There are hundreds of clubs across Ireland bursting with activity who always welcome a new face. For more information please contact Training and Development Officer – Michael Wall on 0868359891 or email him at mwall@macra.ie HELP FOR ALL Are you struggling with anxiety or depression or finding life difficult or feeling isolated at this time GROW is there to help you. Their Mental Health support Groups are free and confidential 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.

LOCAL LOTTO Results for April 4th ,Winning Numbers : 3,10, 31, No WinnerWinners of Draw for 5 x €30 Maura & Katie ( Petes ),Sonny Butler ( Pat Butler ),William Hughes (Anne Hickey ),Pierce Costello ( Larry Costello ),Aine Lahart ( Larry Costello) Jackpot next week € 1,300. Draw on Monday April 11th in Delaney’s, Kells at 9pm. All Welcome.

COMMEMORATION The Annual Captain Pat Walsh Commemoration will go ahead on Easter Sunday, April 17th following the 11:00am mass in Dunnamaggin. Parade, re-enactments groups, orations, street music, Irish dancing and much, much more on the day in what promises to be a great community day in our village.

DUNNAMAGGIN DEVELOPMENT GROUP Join us on Easter Sunday April 17th for our first Market of the year. We have lots in store for you .Come and enjoy our Market Stalls in Madge’s Garden after the Pat Walsh Commemoration.

Have a cup of tea from our Café while the kids enjoy some Easter Arty fun at our kid’s tent. Or why not pick up a map and see if your family can find all the cheeky bunnies hiding around Dunnamaggin in Our Easter Egg hunt (€2 for one child or €5 per family ). Why not take Easter off from Cooking and enjoy our BBQ and some yummy cakes from our café. We will also be holding a Raffle -3 Fab Prizes to be won. All new stall holders welcome (contact Gwen 0834544484 ).

DUNNAMAGGIN LFC Dunnamaggin Ladies Football Club - EASTER Raffle tickets available in Bobs Shop Kells €2 each three for €5. All proceeds to the Dunnamaggin Ukrainian Appeal.

KILMOGANNY TIDY TOWNS Kilmoganny Tidy Towns will host a Fashion show TODAY April 15th in St Eoghan’s Centre at 8pm. Clothes modeled on the night will be sold from which a donation will be made for Ukraine.

Queries to Alycia Kearney 051 648118/087 6757490 ; Jackie Kenneally 051 648138/087 9953532.

ROSARY Rosary at The Grotto Baurscobe, Dunnamaggin will take place the first Monday in May. KELLS HANDBALL REPORT The Kilkenny U12/13 40 x 20 Team 6 are the new All Ireland Champions 2022. The Team consisted of Kells players Conor Manogue, Jake O’Neill, Lorcan Mahony, Darragh McCormack, Steve Hoyne and Mattie Corr and Windgap players Shane Doyle and Jack Egan.

The Team defeated Laois in the Leinster Final and overcame Tyrone in a hard fought All Ireland Semi Final. They came up against Galway in the Final and showed great determination and skill. They put on a great display of handball and became the All Ireland Winners 2022.

The Kilkenny U14/15 40 x 20 Team 6 defeated Laois in the Leinster Final and reached the All Ireland Final but were unfortunately defeated by Clare in the All Ireland Final 2022. The Team were Daniel Hayes Darwich, Timmy Corr, (Kells), Rian Dowling, Dan Carroll, James Kenny (Talbots Inch), Dan McCormack (O’Loughlin’s), Padraig Egan (Windgap) and Cian Doherty (Kilfane).

Congratulations and very well done to you all, your families, coaches and clubs for all the hard work.

DROICHEAD FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE Droichead Family Resource Centre on West Street in Callan offers a variety of services and has a number of community groups running each week. Babies and Bumps is a group for expectant parents and those with under 1s and runs 11.30am – 12.30 pm on Mondays. Contact Jess on 085 8564950. Callan Men’s Shed at Droichead FRC meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 11am – 4pm for members. New members are always welcome for more information please contact Droichead Family Resource Centre. A Women’s Group meets every Tuesday from 10am-12pm and have some spaces available. Upcoming activities include Smart Phone Photography, Gardening and Cookery.

Contact Jess on 085 8564950. Our low cost Counselling and Play Therapy services are now taking new referrals. If you or your child is struggling with any issues and you’d like support we may be able to help. Contact Olive on 056 7755660. Did you know that there is a low cost typing and photocopying service available in Droichead Family Resource Centre? For more information and to keep up to date with all of the services , supports and community groups available at Droichead Family Resource Centre follow us

on Instagram and facebook or call the centre on (056) 7755660.

LOCAL ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY PLANS An Invitation to participate in an important workshop “Ensuring that the new Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs) are Truly Sustainable”.

As the review of the first 6 year LECP comes to an end, processes are already underway to create the new 6 year plan for 20222027. Steering Groups have been set up in most Local Authority areas and these will oversee the development and implementation of the plans. LECPs are intended to support sustainable development at local authority level. In so doing, for better or worse, they guide the expenditure of very large sums of money.

They should also form the local element of the national development framework and support collaboration to increase the quality of life in our communities. This has never been more important as we look to support a sustainable recovery from the impact of the pandemic and prepare for the growing impacts of Climate Change. However the quality of the plans and the sustainability of the outcomes will depend on the quality of engagement with their development and implementation. It is hoped that this workshop will initiate greater understanding of the importance of these plans, and a greater local engagement with them.

Date: Wed 27th April 7.30-9.00pm. Please register in advance at this address: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsd-trDkjHdE2RWK_hzKZIV24u7T0ntjQ IROUTE CONFERENCE Integrated rural and urban transport evolution Do people living in rural Ireland have the same right to access public transport as those living in cities? How vital is a properly functioning public transport service quality of life in Rural areas ? This conference, organised by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership (KLP), Kilkenny County Council and Ring a Link, will hear from National & International speakers and aims to ask challenging questions around the basic human right to have a properly functioning public transport service. Date: May 5th, from 8.45am to 17.30pm in the Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny.

To book your place click go to the link, https://www.eventbrite. ie/e/integrated-rural-urban-transport-evolution-iroute-conference-tickets-166805392419 KILKENNY AGE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY GATHERINGS Kilkenny Age Friendly Older Peoples Council would like to hear from you. It is important that we hear the voice of all older people throughout the county and to ensure that we are doing so we are holding a number of Age Friendly Community Gatherings where we invite older people to come along and let us know what they see as the issues that are relevant and important to them.

These Community Gatherings will be run at the following locations and dates: Urlingford FRC, 6th May 2022. Ferrybank Community Centre, 20th May 2022 Castlecomer Community Hall.15th June 2022. Mullinavat Community Centre. 30th June 2022. Graiguenamanagh Hub. July 2022 tbc.

Please come along and bring some friends. It will start with Registration Tea/Coffee at 9.15 and finishing at 12.30/1pm. If you would like further information please email agefriendlycounty@ gmail.com or text 0876210589.

TIDY TOWNS COMPETITION 2022 Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, in association with the Managing Director of SuperValu, Mr. Ian Allen, has launched the 2022 SuperValu TidyTowns competition. This year again we see some new and exciting special awards with great prizes and all groups are encouraged to consider entering some of these awards. These include an award on Bat Conservation, redesigned awards on climate action and air quality and the continuation of the Young Persons in TidyTowns award. The closing date for receipt of entries for this year’s competition is Friday 20th May 2022. Full details of the competition are available on www.tidytowns.ie.

KILMOGANNY BRIDGE CLUB Bridge results for 31/03/2022: Joint 1st: Mary Delany & Philip Brennan. Joint 1st: Rita Townsend & Jackie Kenneally. 2nd: Margaret Duggan & Margaret Grace.

Bridge results for 7/04/22: 1st: Emer Wallace & Tereasa Leahy2nd: Betty Cuddihy & Mary Dunne. 3rd: Mary Lonergan & Kathleen O’Shea Bridge is every Wednesday night at 7.30pm in St. Eoghan’s Centre, Kilmoganny. All welcome.

O’Loughin Gaels and they won both of their matches.Their first game was against Erins Own, and they won 1-5 to 0-3 having led 1-3 to 0-2 at half-time.

Shortly afterwards, they hosted O’Loughlin Gaels and won 2-6 to 0-4 to set-up a Semi-Final clash against James Stephens which was played in the MW Hire Centre, Dunmore.

James Stephens led 0-3 to 0-1 at half-time, before taking control in the Second Half as they ran out 2-11 to 0-1 winners. The Village defeated Dunnamaggin 2-10 to 0-3 in the Final.

Well done to the Young Irelands Boys and Management on acquitting themselves well in the Feile and very best wishes in the months ahead in the League and Championship.

MINORS MAKE IT TWO FROM TWO The Young Irelands Minors made it two wins from two last Tuesday night with a convincing 4-15 to 2-8 victory away to Danesfort.They hosted Erins Own Castlecomer (Tuesday) in Gowran at 7pm.

Meanwhile, the Minor B Team are scheduled to host Carrickshock (Holy Thursday) in Gowran also at 7pm.

PRIMARY SCHOOL COMPLETE HAT TRICK OF VICTORIES The Gowran Primary School Hurling Team made it a hat-trick of victories following a 5-4 to 3-2 victory against St. Patricks De La Salle last Wednesday.

They are top of the table after three rounds of matches and are the only team with a 100% record.

CLUB LOTTO Dicksboro Club LOTTO Results April 10th . Nos: 7–2– 15 – 18.

Jackpot: €8,959 – not won.

Draw Prizes – €50: Phil Hogan c/o Himself. €25 each Paddy Taylor c/o Tommy Hackett. €25 each Terence Meade Wilson c/o Online. €25 each Dave Kenny c/o T and J Knox.

Co op draw ticket Anne Kerwick c/o Anne Kerwick Promotors prize Paddy Maher . Next weeks draw €9,100 17th of April 2022 SENIOR FOOTHBALL Well done to our Senior Footballers who defeated St Martins in Muckalee in the League semi final. 2-07 to 0-09. Our lads are in championship action on Friday night against O Loughlins.

JUNIOR A HURLING Our Junior A hurlers got their campaign off to a winning start against Tullaroan in Palmerstown.

KILKENNY MINOR HURLING Well done to the Kilkenny Minors on Saturday they defeated Wexford in their Leinster campaign. Well done to the 3 Boro hurlers on the team with Mikey, Evan & team captain Tom involved.

U15 HURLING The u15s were unlucky in the feile loosing to Clara by one point.

Our lads won their first game against John Lockes.

U13 FOOTHBALL Boro boys narrowly miss out against a strong St Lachtains outfit in the U13 Roinn C Football Semi Final at James Park.It was a game of two half’s as St Lachtains went into a strong lead with 4 goals in the first half playing with a strong breeze. Two well taken goals by Boro forwards Reece O’Neill and Conor Hughes complimented by two frees from full forward Finn Butler. Half time score was 2-2 to 4-2 to the visitors.

The Boro introduced four subs at half time and this proved to be a decisive move as the Boro scored a goal within minutes of the restart through Conor Hughes’ second of the day. This was followed by well taken point from Andrew Browne and the Boro boys had all the momentum at this point.Heavy pressure was sustained well by a gallant St Lachtains defence but with 3 mins to go a penalty was awarded to the Boro, up stepped Dara Kavanagh and rifled the ball to the top left corner, rattling off the inside of the post and out! and the Boro were denied a late

equaliser. Freshford held on for a deserved win. 3-3 to 4-3. Well done all and best of luck to Freshford in the Co. Final. A great entertaining contest.

Dicksboro: Rhys Duggan, Paddy Duggan, Canice Power, Shane Keys, Billy Wyse, Fionn Conlon, Cian Ormond, Tadhg Maher, Rohan Galvin, Reece O’Neill (1-0), Joe Osborne, Andrew Browne (0-1), Jacob Thekkekara, Finn Butler (0-2, 2f) Conor Hughes (2-0), Max Egan, Danny Hayes, Harry Butler, Michael Ormond, Dara Kavanagh, Ciaran Treacy PALMERSTOWN CLUBHOUSE REOPENED Dicksboro Clubhouse Bar has reopened from 8.30pm every Thursday going forward. 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 cards table. We are offering a particular welcome to all of our senior citizens members, it’s been a difficult past two years and we would be delighted to see you out to the club for a chat. We have a selection of non-alcoholic beers, barista coffee and all the usuals.

CALLAN GOLF NOTES The good weather truly showed the hardwork of the club’s greenskeepers over the past few months as the course is in perfect condition just in time for the summer months. A reminder that the bar and restaurant is back open for all members and guests from 10am to 6pm every day.

GENTS SECTION Saturday 26th March Men’s Open Singles Stableford Results.

Overall Winner: Joe Murdock (28) 45pts. Division1: Dylan Kealy (11) 42 pts.

Gross: Paul Madigan (02) 36 Pts. Division 2: Barry Hudson (28) 43pts.

Congratulations to Joe Murdock who had a Hole In One on the 16th.

Wednesday 30th March Men’s Open Single Stableford Results.

Overall Winner - Craig Wall (24) 44pts. Runner Up - Dave Dooley (7) 39pts Gross - Darren Comerford (3) 35pts LADIES SECTION The Ladies Junior Alliance was held at Callan Golf Club in ideal weather conditions on Monday March 28th. Out of a field of 75 Ladies it was good to see Callan Lady Member Bridget Holohan taking the top prize. Great praise went to Tommy and green keepers also to Sr. Ena Kennedy and her team of helpers for making the day so successful and enjoyable by all.

RESULTS: 1st Bridget Holohan, Callan 31pts. 2nd Kathy Mitchell, Borris 29pts.

3rd Deirdre Reid, Waterford 26pts. 4th Mgt Rossiter, New Ross 25 pts c/b 5th Martina Naughton, Kilkenny 25pts. 6th Joan Reid, Carrickon- Suir 25pts 7th Betty McGrath, Callan 25pts. 8th Emer O’Bren. Borris 24pts.

Tuesday 29th 15-hole s/f 1st Maria Gorey (22) 30pts c/b. 2nd Betty McGrath(18) 30pts c/b.3rd Marie O’Riordan (25) 30pts c/b 9Hole s/f. 1st Jean Grace (17) 22pts. 2nd Maura Holden (18) 20pts Thanks, and appreciation goes to Rose Brophy for organising the social golf every Friday throughout the winter months.

Now with the evenings lengthening the Social Mixed organised

by Catherine Dore and Shiela Kirby will begin on Friday April 8th at 5pm. As the name implies this is one of the most sociable events in golf and very beneficial for improving your game.

Playing off full handicaps, the fee is 3 euro and please have cash as no cards accepted for this event.

LOTTO Callan Golf Club Week 8 Lottery Results. 31st March 2022.

JACKPOT €1,950 Drawn Numbers 3,7,11. JACKPOT - No Winner. Lucky Dip Winners €30 each: Jimmy O’Brien, Brian Gallery and Carmel Condon. Sellers – Joe Cuddihy, Ann O’Shea and Club Shop.

Next week’s Jackpot April 6th 2022 – €2,050. Thank you for your support.

GOWRAN PARK Racing takes place on Wednesday 13th, first race goes to post at 4:30pm. Tickets now available online, www.gowranpark.ie Save 33% by booking online. Children go free for the Easter break.

THE KILKENNY COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL The festival is back this year in Gowran Park, and it will take place on Sunday 3rd July featuring a host of top-class Country Singers.

Performing on the day will be Mike Denver, Cliona Hagan, Robert Mizzell, Trudi Lalor, Jimmy and Claudia Buckley with backing band The Conquerors. Tickets now on Sale and for further information, check out kilkennycountrymusicfestival.ie or email kkcountrymusic@gmail.com GOWRAN FESTIVAL OF SPEED The festival is taking place on Sunday 21st August. Tickets available online, www.gowranpark.ie GOWRAN HOUSE Gowran House is back open again displaying all things social and living history. Several items on display are in context to the village. Open for visits most Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm till 5pm. Check Gowran House on Facebook for opening details.

SPORTS ROUND UP - MICHAEL O’LEARY FEILE BOYS REACH SEMI FINAL The Young Irelands U-15s Boys reached the Semi-Final of the County Roinn A John West Feile competition following two games in quick succession on Sunday Morning.Gowran hosted the Group involving Young Irelands, Erins Own Castlecomer and

Kilkenny U12/13 Team 6 are the new All Ireland Champions 2022.

We welcome all GAA Club and Community notes for publication in The Kilkenny Observer email to sales@kilkennyobserver.ie

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The Kilkenny Observer Friday 15 April 2022

Hurling matters

Sport

BY NIALL SHERRY SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITORKILKENNYOBSERVER.IE

Leinster GAA Senior Hurling Championship 2022 Westmeath vs Kilkenny Saturday April 16th 6pm TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar

AND just like that.......

Championship hurling has arrived.

The beauty of a shortened, condensed season is that there’s no time wasted.

The Allianz League is now firmly in the rearview mirror, and attention is now focused on the Leinster Hurling Championship 2022.

First up for the black & amber is the challenge of Westmeath, on their own patch tomorrow evening.

The Lake County have achieved their number one aim this season – a speedy return to division one of the Allianz League. They will see this as vital as the county seeks to establish themselves as a genuine hurling county.

Manager Joe Fortune assumed the reigns of the senior hurlers back in September and has managed to get the team back on track, following Dubliner Shane O’Brien’s resignation a couple of months earlier. The Enniscorthy native has built up an impressive coaching CV over the last 15 years and has secured provincial honours for Dublin at both minor and U21 level. Possibly one of his biggest achievements came at club level, when he led Ballyboden St Enda’s to the Dublin senior title in 2018, before losing the provincial final to our own Shamrocks Ballyhale.

Following a winless 2021 league campaign, Fortune has overseen Westmeath’s return to the top table at the first time of asking, following a decent league run which culminated with a resounding division 2A final win over Down at Semple Stadium.

That league final victory won’t have gone unnoticed by Brian Cody and his backroom team.

The star of the show that day was former Galway hurler, Davy Glennon. An All-Ireland winner with the Tribesmen in 2017, Glennon has added real quality to the Lake County since his switch in 2020. The Mullagh club man hit 3-1 in his sides league final annihilation of the Mourne men. Glennon was also instrumental in Westmeath’s Joe McDonagh Cup triumph last year, notching 0-5 in the final and earning a place on the team of the tournament.

Glennon has plenty of support in the Westmeath attack, especially in the shape of Raharney’s Killian Doyle, who hit 1-11 in the title win earlier this month. Doyle is deadly accurate from the placed ball and will punish any indiscretions from the opposition.

In their five groups games in Division 2, Fortune’s team won 3 and lost 2 of their five group games. Defeats to Carlow and Down were unexpected, but the maroon’s secured wins over Kerry, Meath and Kildare, before defeating the kingdom again in a league semi-final.

This set up a second meeting with Ronan Sheehan’s Down, who had actually finished top of the league table, in the title decider staged in Thurles.

In the games lost, Westmeath struggled for goals, whereas in their victories, goals came a little easier. Five in the league final came on the back of 4 against Meath and 7 over two games against Kerry. There are certainly goals in the team, and the Cats will need to be on their guard when they take to the Cusack Park pitch.

In defence, Tommy Doyle has been deployed at the edge of the square to good effect, and they will need a good shift from him and the likes of Darragh Egerton, Jack Galvin and Robbie Greville if they are to remain competitive against their more illustrious opponents tomorrow evening.

Last year’s captain Cormac Boyle and Kevin Regan have been motoring along nicely in midfield, and will be keen to try and at least break even in the engine room battle.

Along with Glennon and captain Killian Doyle, Joey Boyle has looked sharp during the league, while the vastly experienced Derek McNicholas, now in his 19th season with the Lake County, will look to shakeup the Kilkenny defence. As mentioned previously, the free-taking of Killian Doyle will be crucial to Westmeath’s championship campaign, and the Noresiders will be keen not to give Clare whistler Rory McGann too many opportunities for captain Doyle to raise white flags from the placed ball.

So, what of our boys? Well, the league campaign had a little bit of everything across the games.

The highlight of the Allianz fixtures was undoubtably an impressive win over eventual league winners Waterford.

The Deise already had one foot in the final before they rocked up to Nowlan Park, but this

When Saturd comes!!!

Cats seek to conquer Cusack Park

David Blanchfield has been making waves

Padraig Walsh - hurler supreme

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Hurling matters

ay Eoin Cody will be hoping to start in Mullingar

Billy Ryan has been in good form

win saw the Cats play their best hurling of the year to date.

The defeat in Thurles to Colm Bonnar’s Tipperary was unlucky, a share of the spoils might have been the fairer result. A very entertaining trip to Chadwick’s Wexford Park saw a great game for the neutral.

Brian Cody should have a much better idea of his best starting XV. I don’ think we will see the full lineup tomorrow. TJ Reid, I would imagine will continue his rehab and perhaps make an appearance over the May bank holiday when Kilkenny travel to take on one of their most famous sons, Henry Shefflin and his Galway charges.

One would imagine that the Noresiders will have too much in an attacking sense for most opponents in the group stages, and this should allow TJ to come back when ready, rather than be rushed be ahead of schedule.

Twice young hurler of the year, Eoin Cody will look to kick on again this year, following heartbreak at All-Ireland club and Fitzgibbon cup level earlier this year. The Ballyhale attacker is an absolute joy to watch, and he along with Billy Ryan will be asked to provide the spark for the Cats attacking unit. Mossy Keoghan has provided a real focal point for Kilkenny this season and has a keen eye for goal.

The managers decision to move accomplished No.6, Padraig Walsh to the centre-forward position has proved somewhat of a masterstroke. Some of his shooting has been sensational so far this season.

Will the Tullaroan man continue in this attacking role through the championship? It would take a brave man to move the classy Walsh now.

Don’t forget, last season’s captain, Adrian Mullen will still have big role to play across the

championship campaign. Mullen will get through mountains of work, and won’t be afraid to mix it when the going gets tough.

It will be interesting to see where captain Richie Reid slots in to Mr. Cody’s team. Could it be a role in the engine room for the Ballyhale maestro? If the half-back line is made up of Mikey Carey, Paddy Deegan and David Blanchfield, midfield could well be Richie’s home.

The vision and quality of passing that Mikey Carey has shown, could be a useful tool for this Kilkenny side. Add the attacking threat and scoring ability from the other flank

by David Blanchfield, and you can see why the Marble County faithful are quietly optimistic about the next few years. However, when you line-out in the black & amber, it’s about now, not the future.

Glenmore’s All-Star goalkeeper Eoin Murphy will have the inform Huw Lawlor and Mikey Butler in front of him, and this will be vital in the Cats defensive structure. The chemistry between the O’Loughlin’s duo is clear for all to see. Lawlor is rightly regarded as one of the best, if not the best No.3’s in the business and having the tenacious Butler beside him can only be good for the Kilkenny rearguard.

A good start to the championship is key in helping drive the team forward and build momentum.

The Kilkenny supporters will demand nothing less than a victory tomorrow evening.

On your marks..get set...

CHAMPIONSHIP!

>> SHERRY SAYS...

We’ll be right back, after the break. Thankfully it’s been a short break. Championship hurling is back tomorrow night. We hit the road to Mullingar to take on the Lake County. Joe Fortune is a bright young coach, who has been building a reputation over the last number of years across many teams.

Westmeath will be back in division one next season. This will help their development as they seek to establish a foothold with the ‘big boys’.

Kilkenny will have planned for tomorrow’s game and be thoroughly prepared for the challenge that they will face at Cusack Park. Brian Cody has been round long enough to recognise potential banana skins.

Some media pundits have been praising this version of Cody’s Cats, and praising his unearthing of potential gems like Butler, Blanchfield and Carey. There’s no doubting the extra quality that these men bring to the Kilkenny squad, and hopefully we will get to see this over the next couple of months.

Cody will be keen to secure an opening day win ahead of the first home championship fixture against Cheddar’s Laois next week.

I hope the men in stripes make an early championship statement in Mullingar. Leinster Championship... let’s be havin’ you!

Be like Cody.

You are Kilkenny senior hurling manager. Championship is starting. You can only pick 15 players.

Who makes the cut? Is there a Mooncoin man or two in your team? Would Ronan Corcoran claim a jersey? You decide!!

Email your starting 15 to me – sportseditor@kilkennyobserver.ie

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Memoriams / Miracle Prayers

A prayer to the Blessed Virgin

St. Anthony Prayer,

O Holy St. Anthony gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers.

Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request).

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms.

The gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen M.M

The Miracle Prayer

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

The Miracle Prayer

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.B

(never known to fail).

O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful vine, Splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, O Star of the sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to grant my request.

(Please state request). There are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein you are my Mother. I place this cause in your hands (three times). Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. Amen.

This prayer must be said for three days and after this the request will be granted. This prayer must be published immediately. P.K

A prayer to the Blessed Virgin

The Miracle Prayer

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. P.K

St. Anthony Prayer,

O Holy St. Anthony gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers.

Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request).

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms.

The gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen M.B

(never known to fail).

O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful vine, Splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, O Star of the sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to grant my request.

(Please state request). There are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein you are my Mother. I place this cause in your hands (three times). Thank you for your mercy towards me and mine. Amen.

This prayer must be said for three days and after this the request will be granted. This prayer must be published immediately. M.B

The Miracle Prayer

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

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Memoriams / Miracle Prayers

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