Parents are facing childcare chaos as some providers are planning two days of closures next month to try to broker a new Government funding deal.
Elaine Dunne of the Fed eration of Early Childhood Providers said the small and medium-sized services would shut on November 11 and 25. She said the move was to “take a stand for small pro viders who are forced to close
Kilkenny student Martin Fitzgerald has been award ed a Naughton Foundation Scholarship worth €20,000 at a ceremony in the Trinity Business School in Dublin.
e award was presented by founding patrons of the Naughton Foundation, Dr Martin Naughton, and his wife Carmel, who were joined byMinister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris.
Supporting academic and innovative excellence in Irish students, the Naugh ton Foundation scholarships are an investment in the fu ture of Ireland’s reputation as a country with outstand ing graduates promoting the study of engineering, science, and technology at third level.
Martin Fitzgerald, a former student of CBS, has accepted a place studying Engineering at University College Dublin.
Since 2008, scholarships worth more than €6m. have been awarded to more than 350 students.
Martin joins 37 exception al Irish students who were awarded third level scholar ships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, sci ence, technology, and maths.
their doors” despite the an nouncement of €1bn Govern ment investment in the sector.
e providers’ group claims State grants for pre-school services have not increased enough while in ation has risen dramatically.
ey also object to a Gov ernment condition that they freeze fees to access new “core funding” payments.
“In the last week-and-ahalf, we lost four more ser
vices in rural Ireland,” said Ms Dunne. “We’re taking a stand. We knew there were going to be closures. Services are run ning at a massive loss. e big problem is we are not getting what the Government said we would get. e bigger services are doing really well out of this and the small sh in the pond are being drowned out.
“We are calling on Min ister [for Children Roderic] O’Gorman to sit down around
the table and negotiate a deal. ere will be closures each month until something is done.”
She said she received an email from a provider who had to borrow from her 73-yearold mother to pay sta . Department of Children g ures show 91pc of providers have signed up to the new gov ernment core funding scheme that means fees must remain static. A spokesperson said
well over 4,000 early learn ing and care and school-age childcare providers are tak ing part and this continues to increase.
Darragh Whelan, Director of Childhood Services Ireland, said a lot of services were not eligible for capital funding be cause they were based in pri vate homes.
Meanwhile, a 25% reduction in childcare fees will not apply to all parents next year.
Misty, a Cavapoo, (10 months old), pictured with his friend, is one of Kilkenny’s six finalists chosen for the second round of Petmania’s hugely popular Puppy of the Year competition.
Voting for Round 2 remains open, both online at www. petmania.ie and in-store at Petmania Kilkenny, Kilkenny Retail and Business Park. With more than 1,700 pawfect puppies in contention across the country, selecting the top dogs was not an easy decision.
Representing Kilkenny this year the other five precious pooches who have won the hearts of the public are:
• Sidney, an English Bulldog who is five-months-old.
• Jax, a Cavachon who is four-months-old.
• Aruba, a Stra ordshire Bull Terrier who is three-monthsold.
• Ollie, a Maltese who is sixmonths-old.
• Pluto, a Great Dane who is 11-months-old. Who said life is woof?
e Cabinet signed o on a temporary ban on evictions from next month until the end of March.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the temporary ban was brought in in light of the “severe pressures” on emergency accommodation.
More than a third of women in Ireland have considered quitting their jobs due to “devastating” menopause symptoms, new research reveals. And 84% said that the menopause has a ected their performance and ability in the workplace.
Full report, Page 6
ousands of care workers have poor pay and conditions, earning below the minimum wage, amid a recruitment crisis leaving more than 6,000 people on waiting lists, a new report has revealed.
Full report, Page 6
Under-pressure home buyers will get some relief as Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf is set to relax the rule that people can borrow only three and a half times their income. From mext year, buyers will mow be permitted to borrow four times their income.
e estimated 1,800 stroke survivors in Kilkenny are being urged to join a series of live and recorded talks o er ing supports ahead of World Stroke Day.
e Irish Heart Founda tion is co-ordinating a series of expert-led online talks to provide vital support to patients who need help coping with the after-e ects of stroke.
One survivor has told how “in an instant, my whole world was taken from me” and is backing the informa tion campaign as an es sential tool in the recovery process.
Teacher Fiona Bardon woke up feeling sick in August 2019 and su ered a seizure at home, breaking her shoul der as she fell, before being rushed to A & E and told she had a stroke.
“To say I was lost is a com plete understatement; I
wasn’t able to complete tasks independently,” she said.
“I had no energy, I was hugely fatigued and I wasn’t able to regulate my emotions. I was inca
pable of communicating my thoughts. I was under con stant supervision so I felt like I was back to being a child.”
Before World Stroke Day on Saturday, October 29,
survivors, their families and healthcare professionals are invited to register for the Irish Heart Foundation talks - seven of which are live via Zoom and three of which
will take place in the Irish Heart Foundation’s ‘Life after Stroke Facebook’ group.
ey include discussions on secondary prevention (Wednesday, October 26),
involving stroke nurses from Dublin’s Mater Hospital and focussing on medical and lifestyle methods to reduce a patient’s chances of su ering a further stroke.
A talk on October 25 o ers advice on supporting a stroke patient returning home from hospital, how to navigate daily tasks and ad justing to cognitive changes.
Others focus on managing fatigue (Oct 24), mindful ness for relaxation and stress management (Oct 25) and State grants/entitlements for stroke patients (Oct 28).
Healthy eating and lifestyle advice (Oct 27) is also exam ined, while participants will also hear personal stories from other stroke survivors (Oct 26).
“We want to reach people living with stroke, their carers and healthcare profes sionals,” said Helen Gaynor, Head of Community Services with the Irish Heart Founda tion.
“Stroke a ects the whole family. Isolation is often a major factor and some people can’t meet socially, they may have lost con dence, so talks like these where people can meet others in similar situations is very empowering.”
*For more details and to register for the free talks, taking place between October 24-28, go to: https://irishheart.ie/ news/world-stroke-daystoke-talks-2022/.
Earning below the minimum wage, thousands of care workers have poor pay and conditions, with a recruit ment crisis leaving more than 6,000 people on wait ing lists, a new report has disclosed. The report, from a Department of Health ad visory group, paints a bleak picture of the treatment of care workers, who are vital
to supporting people with needs in their homes.
The report shows many staff employed by private companies and not-forprofit organisations, which are outsourced the work by the HSE, suffer job insecu rity and must pay for their own travel costs moving from client to client and are not remunerated the time
they spend travelling.
“Since the HSE pays pro viders for the hours of home support delivered, home support workers providing HSE-funded care are not re munerated for hours of care cancelled for a short period due to unforeseen circum stances such as admission to hospital or respite care, causing financial insecuri
One in three women in Ireland has considered quitting their jobs due to “devastating” menopause symptoms, new research reveals.
And 84% said that the menopause has affected their performance and abil ity in the workplace.
The data has prompted a menopause expert to warn that Irish firms face “an ex odus” of female employees.
The new research also shows a majority of women are not getting the help they need to keep them in em ployment.
The survey of 1,087 wom
en was carried out over five weeks by The Menopause Hub — the first clinic in Ireland solely devoted to helping women through the menopause.
More than 36% of respon dents in the poll said they had been forced to call in sick due to menopause symptoms.
And an overwhelming 81% who took part in the survey said they did not feel comfortable discussing the issue with their managers.
Meanwhile, employers at more than 120 tech and fi nancial services companies face demands to allow for
up to 10 days’ paid meno pause leave for workers.
The Financial Services Union (FSU) is to seek time off for staff who suffer from symptoms after the special leave was granted at a ma jor bank.
Bank of Ireland yester day began offering up to 10 days’ paid menopause leave, which can be taken within a 12-month time frame.
AIB and Ulster Bank also offer supports including handbooks and advice to managers, but they do not offer special leave, accord ing to the union.
ty,” according to the report. “The lack of entitlement to sick pay, the minimal pro vision of paid annual leave and the lack of contributory pension schemes for nonHSE care workers needs to be addressed.”
The report calls for the need to address low pay rates in the sector and en sure all care workers receive
at least the national mini mum wage of €12.90.
There is an exodus of staff from private and not-forprofit providers to the HSE which offers more favour able rates to care workers as directly employed staff.
The advisory group warns of incidents of abuse to wards care workers and says the low morale leaves many
of them close to burnout.
The advisory group also recommends that the ban on recruiting home care workers from non-EU coun tries be lifted, but the stipu lation they be paid at least €27,000 a year means it may not be attractive .
There is limited availabil ity of care workers in some areas of the country.
J ennifer O’Keeffe of Alison Hehir Studio, Kilkenny has been honoured as one of five prestigious ‘Star Team 2023’ as Ireland’s top hairdressers had major wins at the IHF Irish Hairdressing Champi onships.
The event, held in person for the first time since 2019, featured world-class work from talented hair stylists
from all over Ireland.
The annual awards ceremony, hosted by the Irish Hairdressers Fed eration, showcases the very best of Irish hair stylists.
The big winner on the night was Martha Gal vin, owner of Allure Hair & Beauty in Co. Mayo, awarded IHF Hairdress er of the Year, along with placing second in two other categories.
Tiegan Neary, also of Allure Hair & Beauty, was chosen as the IHF Irish Trainee Hairdress er of the Year along with wins in the FantasyJunior and Extensions categories.
Irish Hairdressers Fed eration Vice-President Lisa Eccles said: “This was a highly competitive year. I know the judges had a very hard time in deciding the winners.”
Mount Juliet Estate has an nounced a partnership with the renowned Butler Gallery in Kilkenny. e collabo ration will see the Morn ing Room in the Georgian Manor House at the estate feature a curated selection of prestigious paintings from the gallery’s Permanent Col lection.
Both Mount Juliet Estate and Butler Gallery are his torically synonymous with
Kilkenny and boast a his tory of supporting acces sible cultural activity in the county. Established in 1943, Butler Gallery showcases a multi-discipline, eclectic art collection dating from the 1830’s and features some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists, including Paul Hen ry, Louis le Brocquy, Mainie Jellet and Evie Hone.
Mark Dunne, General Manager of Mount Juliet,
said: “ e Manor House on the Estate is a beautiful ven ue to view these important Irish artworks. We expect our guests to be excited at the prospect of gaining ex clusive access to these works and look forward to a suc cessful partnership.”
Anna O’Sullivan, Direc tor, and Chief Curator, said: “ is partnership will help us support living artists and our audiences.”
It was the text message that started it all, that now had me thinking. Remembering. Watching her come into the world, a squawking, mucusmass bundle of breathing beauty, to a world back then as uncertain as it is now, to a couple for whom she held an unknown quantity and of whom she asked nothing but to be fed and watered and loved, an emotion and need, known only then to her as a human instinct.
Running through the dark of middle-night when the bogeyman disturbed her young sleep, to lie in beside her and envelop her in arms that never wanted to let go but only reassure her that all was right with the world and a new dawn was coming and to look lovingly into her once-again calm countenance and see her grandmother, eetingly, look back.
at rst day at little school when her bag threatened to
dwarf her and she looked back and waved and you knew it was the beginning of the letting go as you watched until she became a dot and disappeared into a new world of learning and you headed home, alone.
e trips to the swings, the beach, the zoo and that secret place you both escaped to, that was hers alone, and that nowadays you often pass on the harbour road, catching a glimpse of yesterday and her dancing, child-like against the wind, running to be swept up again in those enveloping arms and hugged ’til it hurt.
e puppy-fat and pubescent angst and how now, years later, she told you, out of the blue, that puppy-fat or no, you telling her, always telling her, that she was the most beautiful girl in the world had held fast to her sense of self and place in this uncertain world.
Her rst love, rst broken heart, and how she shied away from con ding in you and ran
less to your now idle arms but talked of boys, and make-up, and girlish things, occupying a place in a world that was increasingly alien to you. But you waited on the side-line ... just in case.
Her debutante’s ball and fussing over a family photo and how you thought her dress, though a wonderful creation, was showing perhaps too much esh but you marvelled at the young woman now standing in front of you and saw once again the faint look of her grandmother but most of all the beauty of her own self.
e pride and pomp of grad uation day when she walked the hallowed halls, surrounded by new-found friends and fellow graduates, the future they promised to this uncer tain world and that you and hundreds like you had helped nurture and inform and o er some sort of semblance of what was right and what was wrong and hoped to God you
had succeeded. If only just a little.
And the day she packed her world into cardboard boxes and his dad, not you, came and had the honour of driving them to their new home and you went back upstairs with older steps to a room of mem ories and bogeymen in the night, that was almost empty
now, save for a teddy bear, her rst, that she had unwittingly or not left behind and you held it tight in enveloping arms and wondered where the years had gone
It was the text that got me thinking.
Can you meet me before you leave for Belfast?
So, I did, and Gary asked
if he could have her hand in marriage and I said I’d be hon oured for he is a gallant, and virtuous, knight and loves her with a passion and intensity that only one other man could understand. And their love for each other in excitingly new enveloping arms bodes well for the challenges ahead in this, uncertain, world.
And, so, she moves on and I took the car to Belfast this Monday gone, the torrential rain against the windowscreen blinding me and wetting my eyes in a mass of mixed emotions as I once again clicked her message on my phone.
I luv you 2, it read, U will always b my Ist man I loved, I’m sorry ... I’m just so over whelmed and happy Niamh xx And I smiled to myself and moved the car into top gear and headed o to another day in an uncertain world.
inking, I must have done something right ...
BY JOHN FITZGERALD
St. Patrick’s band found itself on the receiving end of the RIC’s last banton charge in Kilkenny. It was on St Patrick’s night (ironi cally) that, at 7 p.m. a huge force of police, and troops in battle gear, took up positions in front of the theatre. On the opposite side of the street, crowds had gathered; unaware that the night’s performance had been outlawed. e patriotic among the discontented onlookers decided that resistance was in order.
But it was the band that again led the way. Jimmy O’ Reilly, the St. Patrick’s Band conductor, and fellow bandsmen, stopped o at Statham’s Garage to collect a supply of stones. ese were distributed to the angry folk fac ing the military cordon outside the theatre. e crowd burst into a bawdy verse of the Peeler and the Goat, which enraged the RIC men. Before the police could react to the singing of this highly subversive song, Jimmy threw the rst stone. His aim was sure. e stone struck and shattered the glass panel over the theatre door.
Others followed his example. A shower of stones descended on the ring of steel. Pandemonium resulted. e soldiers red shots in the air and police batoncharged the crowd. Fierce hand to hand ghting engulfed the City.
ankfully, the dark days of the Tan War came to end with the Truce and Treaty. Military bar racks nation-wide were handed over to the new Irish Army.
Kilkenny Volunteers had their day of glory on February 7th 1922... and who better than the men of St. Patrick’s Band to lead them into the Promised Land?
Willie Cody of Inistioge was in charge of the band on that memorable day. Marching up Parliament Street at the head of uniformed soldiers of the New Ireland, the band played O’ Donnell Abu, to rapturous ap
plause and cheering from hun dreds of Smithwicks Brewery workers lining the footpaths.
In High Street, there was barely standing room in the streets as the band inched forward amid great celebration. ousands hummed e Wearing of the Green when the band struck up that tune upon entering Barrack Street.
In the barracks, British soldiers saluted the volunteers and St. Patrick’s Band as the Tricolour was hoisted there for the rst time and the Union Jack was lowered in what had been a stronghold of Tan tyranny. e band played Abhrain na bhFiann.”Twas worth all the baton charges”, one band member remarked as the British military detachment moved out of the barracks to board a ship for England.
Sporting Days From day one, the band supported GAA activities. In the early years it played in Murphy’s eld on Kilkenny’s Freshford Road where a string of hurling and football events were staged. Heavy rain at some of these matches failed to dampen the enthusiasm either of the teams or the band.
One of band’s founder members was the legendary Jim Nowlan. He proved a nifty baritone player. Jim served a twenty-year stint as national GAA President and, as men tioned elsewhere in this book,
had Nowlan Park named after him.
e band provided the musi cal backdrop to the o cial opening of Nowlan Park. e rst major game played there was the 1928 hurling semi- nal between Dublin and Cork.
e band met the teams at the railway station to treat them to a hearty Kilkenny welcome.
From the year of its forma tion, the band made a point of always turning out to welcome home the Kilkenny team after All-Ireland nals…win, lose or draw. It certainly made its mark following the triumph of
both senior and minor teams in the 1972 showdowns in Croke Park.
e band had an engage ment in Tralee on the day and had to move fast to be back in Kilkenny to greet the conquer ing heroes. Hearing the good news from Dublin, the band chairman had a large black and amber ag hoisted on the roof of one of the busses...
(Pictures show: a presenta tion to the band in 1981 and the Fenian Commemoration parade in 1967)
To be
One in three students has "seriously considered” drop ping out from their degree programme, according to a new survey.
While they don't all nec essarily do so, the survey reveals the reasons students might abandon a course.
It is the rst time a major survey examining students' experiences of higher edu
cation in Ireland has asked a question about giving serious thought to withdraw al.
It found that 37% of stu dents had seriously consid ered dropping out. For rst years, the gure was 35%, but by the time students had reached their nal year of study, 45% had considered dropping out at some point.
Irish people have the second highest level of car dependency among EU citizens, according to the result of a new EU-wide survey.
Research carried out on behalf of the European Commission found that 76% of Irish people use a car as their main transport mode on a typical day – up 8 percentage points since a similar poll was conducted in 2019.
Only Cypriots (85%) had a higher level of dependency on cars in the EU where the average proportion of people who drive cars on a daily basis was just 47%.
e survey showed Ireland was one of only ve EU member states where car dependency levels have increased in the past three years.
It also found 46% of Irish respondents said the availability of public transport in their own area was bad, while 35% criticised the a ordability of public transport services.
e Eurobarometer poll, which surveyed almost 26,400 adults across the 27 EU member states during the summer, including over 1,000 in Ireland, was designed to assess the attitudes and expectations of EU citizens around the green transition and the impact of tackling climate change on their lives.
e EU has set out a strategy – the European Green Deal –which seeks to make Europe become the rst climateneutral continent by 2050.
Irish people are less afraid about climate change than most other Europeans but are more fearful about the current cost of their energy bills.
Against a background of rising energy costs, less than half of all Irish people (49%) expressed con dence that sustainable energy, products and services will be a ordable for everyone by 2050, while 51% said their own home was in need of energy e ciency.
Most recent data on college completion rates from the Higher Education Author ity (HEA) show 75% of un dergraduate entrants go on to graduate, although some may switch courses along the way.
Almost 43,000 rst year, nal year undergraduate and taught postgraduate students in 25 colleges re
sponded to the Irish Survey of Student Engagement by StudentSurvey.ie.
Among students who had seriously thought about dropping out, personal or family reasons were most often cited (13%), followed by nancial reasons (10%).
Other reasons given were transfer to another college (9%), health (6%) and em
ployment (5%), with 8% citing 'another reason'.
Age was among the factors that played a role in deci sion-making. First years aged 24 and over most often gave nance as the reason, while rst years aged 23 and under were most likely to want to change to another college.
Female students were more likely to have considered
dropping out of a course than males, a gap that was most obvious among rst years, (37% v 33%).
e survey also showed how the student experience was a lot better in the 12 months to spring this year than in the previous year, when colleges were shut because of Covid and stu dents worked from home.
Ireland’s newest Technologi cal University is helping to position the South East re gion as a centre of excellence for additive manufacturing or 3D printing. A new oneyear degree programme has begun at SETU, aimed at creating the specialists companies need to adopt the technology.
Additive manufacturing is changing the way things are made. It is commonly known as 3D printing and is the process of creating an object by printing or building it one layer at a time.
e part-time Level 7 Bachelor of Science in Ad
ditive Manufacturing is now underway and is fully sub scribed for the rst year. It’s primarily aimed at upskilling people in the manufactur ing industry in the South East across a range of sectors including Aerospace, MedTech, Bio-Pharma, Agri-Tech and Precision Engineering. e Technological Univer sity has a suite of Industrial Metal and Polymer 3D print ers in Waterford and Carlow worth in excess of €3 million.
Learners will have the op portunity to gain experience in a wide range of processing technologies, 3D printing platforms, and materials.
e new degree brings to gether expertise, assets and equipment from Waterford and Carlow through the En terprise Ireland Technology Gateways — SEAM (South Eastern Applied Materials Research Centre) and De sign+ — and 3DWIT. SEAM developed a specialist divi sion in additive manufactur ing and formed a company called 3DWIT. It’s Ireland’s rst dedicated centre for 3D printing and training and the course builds upon its o ering.
Programme Leader David Alarco said: “ is course is a unique opportunity for
students to try something in practice, it's not just theo retical. We will be utilising the labs and equipment in Waterford and Carlow. It’s important that students come out of the course with the exact knowledge and skills to be that pro cient workforce.”
e cost of the course is €3,000. However, the Hu man Capital Initiative is providing funding of €2,250 for each place. Student fees of €750 apply for the full 60-credit degree.
*For more information visit https://amase.ie
Tullaroan hurling great Sim Walton and Ballyragget tennis star Mabel Cahill (1863–1905) are among the 60 gures brought to life in the newly published Irish Sporting Lives (Royal Irish Academy, 2022).
A new collection of bio graphical essays drawn from the Dictionary of Irish Biog raphy, Irish Sporting Lives spans 200 years of history and seeks to illustrate the drama and diversity of the Irish
sporting experience. Edited by Dictionary of Irish Biogra phy researchers Terry Clavin and Turlough O’Riordan, the book’s introductory essay was written by Professor Paul Rouse of UCD.
Sim Walton (1880–1966) was a dynamic and clever forward for Kilkenny as his county overthrew the Munster coun ties’ hurling supremacy. A member of the rst Kilkenny team to win an All-Ireland
title, he accumulated seven All-Ireland medals with his county in total.
In a career spanning the transition from seventeen-aside to fteen-a-side teams, he played fty-two champi onship matches across twenty seasons, enough to leave him at number six in the all-time Kilkenny appearance listings as late as 2006.
Upon arriving in New York City, Ballyragget’s Mabel Ca
hill (1863–1905) dominated US tennis from 1890 to 1893, winning three US open sin gles titles in a row. During this period, she never lost a com pleted singles match. Criti cised for her ‘masculine’ play ing style, she forced her rivals to emulate her dedication, energy and power. After retir ing from tennis, she moved to England where she struggled to make a living as a showgirl before dying in a workhouse.
Talking about their teenage daughters recently, friends spoke about their hopes for their futures but one fear came in for particular mention: social media. When my own daughter was growing up my fear was about stranger danger. Today current fears are very di er ent: while the internet has many bene ts, it also has a potential for harm, is was graphically brought home to me few weeks after our conversation when the ndings of a two-weeks long inquest into the tragic death of British teenager Molly Russel from self-harm in 2017 made headlines. e inquest told how Molly (14) viewed content about depression, suicide and self-harm on In stagram and Pinterest which a child psychiatrist told the hearing were not safe
e coroner ruled that social media had a role in Molly’s death and that the thousands of images Molly viewed on line had af fected her mental health. e ndings were followed by demands for overdue online safety laws to protect children and by a comment from the Prince of Wales that social media rms must no longer treat online safety as an after thought.
Suicide is now the No. 1 cause of teen death in the UK and in the last eight years the suicide rate has doubled, and a correlation might show that social media has contributed to this.
Here in Ireland the Online Safety and Media Bill which will appoint a Media Com missioner to regulate online safety codes is making its way into law.
Children’s use of social media is widespread, with the Irish charity Cyber Safe Kids showing that 93% of children aged eight-12 own smart devices and 84% are signed up to social media. In its most recent report, the charity warned that “unsu pervised children as young as eight are exposed to threats of violence, sex, assault, bullying and grooming online and vast amounts of inappropriate content that can be violent, disturbing, and sometimes of a sexual nature”.
at word “unsupervised” jumped out at me. Smart phones and computers may keep children amused with online games and chats with friends but they are not a toy. Sharing personal informa tion, exposure to inappropri ate content, negative impacts on health and wellbeing,
cyberbullying, and online grooming and extortion are agged as the major ve risk areas for children online.
So where are parents in the equation? ey are ones who give their children phones and computers, an ideal opportunity at this point to be involved and to begin an ongoing process of teaching about online safety.
Ensuring that internet companies make serious provision for internet safety is vital. But surely schools and parents have a role too in safeguarding children. So what can they do? Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are part of teens everyday lives but parents who haven’t grown up with social media can feel at sea with it. Sharing information with children about the inter net is key even though your
children may be the ones who are showing you how to use di erent sites. (My grandchil dren think my lack of internet knowledge is hilarious).
Just like curfew rules, the amount of time that is ac ceptable to spend on the line needs to be discussed and agreed. Encouraging children to show you the sites they are using and discussing the kind of sites that can pose a threat is important too. Safety mea sures include requiring chil dren to use private pro les as opposed to public ones espe cially when posting pictures of themselves as these can end up anywhere after they are posted.
Having an agreement about sites that are o limits for your family and for your children to let you know about any thing that they nd upsetting on line makes sense. With its
cloak of anonymity, the net is a perfect place for bullies to operate and children often say things about others on line which they wouldn’t do in person. When more than one nasty comment is direct ed at an individual it becomes bullying and children need to know that it is all right to tell about this. e school your child attends should be noti ed and cyberbullying should be part of their anti- bullying policy. e internet safety site Webwise has good advice on this.
ere is no turning back the clock on social media and the internet where information is not always accurate or appro priate and it’s helpful for chil dren to learn how to evaluate what they see. e web is a resource which needs polic ing both at home and in the industry.
CLAIR WHITTY
The throw-in for the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Junior Hurling Final between Windgap and Blacks and Whites is at 12.30pm while the Michael Lyng Motors Hyundai Intermediate Hurling Final which sees Danesfort and Thomastown fight it out will start at 2.30pm. Please prepurchase tickets before your arrival at the stadium.
Sunday next 23rd October in UPMC Nowlan Park –12.30pm J J Kavanagh & Sons Junior Hurling Co Final Windgap v Black & Whites 2.30pm Ml Lyng Motors Hyundai Intermediate Hurling Co Final
Thomastown v Danesfort
Adm General €15. Tickets can be purchased online or in Centra & Supervalu Supermarkets.
Students & Pensioners €10. Discounted tickets can only be purchased online. Under 16’s are free.
Scan QR code below for direct access to Universe Ticket Portal.
Menopause, the journey! Last week I talked about symptoms of the perimeno pause and promised that I would talk about supple ments to help this week.
I mentioned Cleanma rine MenoMin as being a great place to start for both perimenopause and menopause. I like this supplement as it’s a unique combination to help regu late hormonal activity, and maintain normal mucous membranes, especially for those who suffer with vaginal dryness. It contains Omega 3, B vitamins, and soya isoflavones. As well as Vitamin D to help main tain normal healthy bones. Many women have told me that they simply feel fantas tic and love MenoMin.
However, if your main symptoms are stress, ir ritability, or anger, as well as hot flushes you could consider Irish Botanica Me noflash. Many women tell me that they are shocked at the level of anger they experience, especially when it is directed towards their children. Menoflash contains a mix of herbs designed to help support
adrenal function, and Vitamin B6 to support your nervous system, psychologi cal function and regulate hormonal activity. This combination may also help with sleep. As we know, if we get a good night’s sleep it can help us to deal with anything. Several women have told me that they are surprised at how calm they feel, with less flushes, as well as improved sleep.
Norvia Menopause is a bit different, in the sense that it is a powdered vanilla flavoured nutritional shake, ideal if you can’t swallow
tablets or pills. It’s suitable for all stages of the meno pause. A perfect choice if you have a busy, demand ing, and active lifestyle, perfect after a workout. It’s a rich source of plant-based protein, phospholipids, and fibre. It also contains B Vita mins, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K, Magnesium, Calcium and Soy Isoflavones, a nice combination of nutrients. Ideal for hormone balance, to support energy, immuni ty, heart health, mood, and bone health.
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Shop online at www.natu ralhealthstore.ie where you’ll be able to take a look at these brands.
Natural Health Store, Mar ket Cross Shopping Centre Phone: 056 7764538 Email: info@natural healthstore.ie
A total of 362 apprentices from Kilkenny, Carlow, Tip perary, Waterford and Wex ford graduated at a special ceremony in Kilkenny at which they were presented with their awards by Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heri tage Malcolm Noonan, TD.
e National Apprenticeship Awards 2022 for the southeast region saw the assembled graduates mark the comple tion of 21 di erent appren ticeships from ve industry sectors: engineering; electrical; motor; construction; and hos pitality and food.
e National Apprenticeship Awards recognise the achieve ments of apprentices who have completed four years of study and are now driving new career standards of leadership, team work, creativity and problemsolving in their sectors. e event was hosted by Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) for the region and supported by SOLAS, Tipperary ETB, and Waterford and Wexford ETB.
In his address to the gradu ates and assembled guests, Minister Noonan highlighted that over 8,400 employers across 16 industry sectors in Ireland are now using appren ticeships to attract and grow their talent, drawing on school leavers, careers changers, and attracting a broad range of people from diverse back grounds and abilities. He also commented on the growth in female apprenticeships na tionwide.
“Today we have three female apprentice graduates among us: Joanne Cooney and Chloe Doyle, who are electricians, and Hannah McCann, a chef. Since Joanne and Hannah started their apprenticeships in 2017-18, there has been a sig ni cant increase in female ap prenticeships, which is heart ening. Nationally, the number of female apprentices has grown from 26 in 2015 to 1,500 in 2022,” said Minister Noonan.
“ ese awards provide a time to not only celebrate the achievements of the very best apprentices in their chosen areas; it also allows us an op portunity to re ect on the very practice of apprenticeships.
“ e young people who have completed their apprentice ships, and the award winners here today, have spent four years both studying and learn ing through practical handson and academic work and it is that education model that both provides them with a picture of what their chosen profession entails and a prac
tical preparation for the work ing environment,”said Minister Noonan.
e award winners repre sented all that was good about the quality of the apprentice ship programme, transferable skills that were recognised worldwide.
Director of the National Apprenticeship O ce Dr
Mary-Liz Trant spoke of the expansion of apprenticeship opportunities in Ireland in recent years. “With 66 pro gramme options now available, and up to 30 more in the pipe line, apprenticeships are now rmly on the map as a choice for school leavers and older learners, people of all ages and backgrounds.
“And the feedback from em ployers on the quality and talent of the apprentices they recruit is outstanding. We are delighted to see the accelera tion in the number of employ ers using apprenticeship as a talent pipeline in this region of Kilkenny and Carlow, and all around the country,”said Dr Trant.
Representing Education and Training Boards (ETBs), Eileen Curtis, the chief executive of KCETB said: “ is is a special day for the apprentices and their families and an important milestone in their skills train ing and development. ese graduates are the next genera tion of skilled crafts men and women whose skills are so much in demand nationwide and who will contribute to the economic growth of our coun try in the years ahead. Strong apprenticeship growth is key to the development of our re gion and our economy.”
e ceremony recognised the rst Phase 2 electrical ap prentices from the south-east region who commenced train ing in 2018 in the very rst Kilkenny-based course, and also included commis chef ap prenticeship graduates for the rst time, following its intro duction by KCETB in 2018. e graduate chefs were: Gar ret Brennan (Avalon House Hotel, Co. Kilkenny); Cormac Donal Keane (Woodford Dol men Hotel, Carlow); Stuart Dunne Maher (Newpark Ho tel, Kilkenny); Peter orpe (Talbot Hotel, Wexford); Han nah McCann (Ballynahinch Castle, Co. Galway) and Mi chael Gaule (Kelly’s Hotel, Rosslare).
KCETB Director of Further education and Training Mar tha Bolger spoke of KCETB’s plans to expand its apprentice ship o ering over the coming months. She paid a particular tribute to the phase 2 appren tices who completed some of their training during the lockdown period of the pandemic. She said their “commitment and resilience will stand to them as employees of the fu ture”.
Guest speakers included the executive chef of Kelly’s Hotel, Eugene Callaghan, and Martin Stapleton , a director of Kilken ny-based CDS Architectural Metalwork who both spoke of the skill and value today’s apprentices are bringing to in dustry.
Concluding the ceremony, Mary Butler, the training ser vices manager for KCETB, congratulated the apprentices and wished them every suc cess in their careers.
A total of 59% of river bodies in Kilkenny are now polluted, with 17% noted as either in a “bad” or “poor” condition. is statistic was shared in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) newly-released report ‘Water Quality in Ire land Report 2016 to 2021, which reveals that just half of all water bodies in Ireland are in a satisfactory condition, with signi cant declines in water quality being recorded in the last 5 years.
MEP for Kilkenny Grace O’Sullivan [pictured] said that this result was a disappoint ment, but unfortunately not a surprise. “ ese ndings have come at a time where we have already recognised that we are in a biodiversity crisis,” she told e Kilkenny
Observer.
e World Wildlife Fund (WWF) this week revealed
that almost 70% of wildlife populations have disap peared since 1970. ese are the consequences of policy decisions and actions taken by the human race, where in dustry is allowed to endlessly extract and destroy, facilitated by the inaction of decision makers until now,” she said.
“Ireland is no di erent, and we need to be doing much more to protect our precious water resources,” the MEP said.
e EPA stated that agri cultural runo was a major contributor to the decrease in water quality, with higher concentrations of nitrates and phosphates being recorded
across most river bodies and estuaries. is is directly linked to fertiliser usage, and poses a signi cant risk to human health when used as drinking water.
Ms O’Sullivan noted that the Department of Agricul ture’s regular requests for a derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive was hav ing a direct impact on rivers like the Nore and the Dinan.
e directive normally limits the amounts of the fertiliser which can be used on land, for environmental and public health reasons, but an ex emption is often granted to Ireland to sustain large dairy herds.
“While biodiversity and nature are the current losers, these actions will inevitably lead to consequences for people too. e vast majority of farmers do not bene t from increased nitrates usage, but we all su er from it,” MEP O’Sullivan said.
“If we want to ensure that we have clean drinking water, safe places to bathe and live able ecosystems for sh and other wildlife, we will need stronger plans and braver actions from all parties. e government has begun to act, with a new River Basin Man agement Plan forthcoming, but we need to tackle nitrates levels as a matter of priority.”
Maybe the mention of Christmas this early causes you to groan but unless you start now you could miss out on extra funds from what you think is clutter with the help of eBay.
eBay, if you recall, was the first online marketplace but today is a household name. It connects mil lions of buyers and sellers in Ireland and across the globe, helping them to find the item they’re looking for from its 1.4 billion listings. There are millions of buyers in 190 markets so your junk could be someone else’s treasure wherever they live.
Even a cursory glance or search shows that eBay is a treasure trove for secondhand and vintage items and some people make thousands each year selling items on the online mar ketplace. Not only is this great for the bank balance,
but it also “contributes to a circular economy by finding a new lease of life for items that may otherwise end up in a landfill”.
Here’s some of the top items people have sold or are selling on eBay that could make you a lot of extra cash if you happen to have them at home:
Early edition prints of popular novels, biographies and other books can fetch into the thousands on ebay. ie. Grading, i.e. condi tion, and rarity of the book plays a big part in the final price you can expect and if they’re out of print, you can expect even more. For instance, a seventh edition copy of Ulysses by James Joyce, printed in 1925, fetched €1613 on ebay.ie in 2021.
History books can also yield a tidy sum. A complete set of The Gaelic Athletic Association in Dublin 18842000 (Volumes 1,2,3) sold for €81 on eBay in February.
Vintage typewriters are on the way back! Retro type writers are growing in pop ularity with hipsters who want to ditch the tech and get creative the old school way, while others are snap ping them up for decorative purposes for their homes. Prices for vintage typewrit ers range anywhere from €11 - €115 on ebay.ie right now. Working typewriters can generate most interest, especially, believe it or not colours like duck egg blue or pink.
These brands are a popular search term on ebay.
Arán Bakery & Bistro, known for supporting local suppliers and their all day brunch, has opened for evening dining.
Husband and wife team, Bart Pawlukojć and Nicole ServerPawlukojć, initially opened Arán Bistro in 2019, with a focus on working with local suppliers to bring seasonal, enticing food to the people of Kilkenny. The menu changes on a regular basis to line up with the produce available at different times of the year.
Due to the high demand of their house-made baked goods and take-away service, which became popular with Kilkenny regulars over the course of 2020 and 2021, Arán opened a second loca tion across from the bistro on Barrack Street, which houses their award-winning bakery and take-away deli.
Today, they are focused on taking on the Kilkenny evening dining market. Open ing for dinner, Arán offers a casual dining experience in an affordable and modern setting. Guests can expect to choose from Lisduggan Farm beef carpaccio, Goatsbridge trout tartare, or miso-aged Mooncoin beets just to name a few. There are many op tions to choose from, and guests can almost expect to
create their very own DIY tasting menu.
Bart Pawlukojć says, “It was a dream of ours from the beginning to open evening dining. When we opened Arán we actually did two dinner services. We quickly fig ured out that it was too big of a challenge at the time for us, because the brunch became so busy. Then COVID happened, and our business model changed to fit around that. We were supposed to be a small cafe that uses their own bread, and because of COVID, we be came a bakery that has a cafe. So we are finally catching up on our original dream.”
The regular customers and lo cal community are highly ap preciated on Barrack Street.
Bart Pawlukojć goes on to state, “We are very grateful to all our guests and custom ers for supporting us. All the awards in the world wouldn’t
mean anything if we did not have the support of our local community.”
Arán Bakery & Bistro is open from Wednesday - Sunday. Brunch from 9/9.30am and dinner from 6pm. Every Thursday evening in October, there is live jazz supported by the Department of Tour ism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The restau rant is taking bookings for Christmas parties, corporate parties, private parties, hens and stags.
For more information and to book a table contact info@arankilkenny.ie
ie. Searches for Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci and Louis Vuitton are particularly high on the online marketplace. Designer bags in particular hold their value and can sell for hundreds of Euros. People want quality and want to shop sustainably. So if you have any old de signer clothes in your ward robe that is taking up space, why not put up a listing?
Any old video games in the attic? Any chance you might have “a factory sealed Mega Man Nintendo 64 Game”. If you have you are sitting on a possible payday of €3,000 plus. This is the exception but there are a host of retro Nintendo games for sale with prices ranging from €10 up. Again, good condition, unused, or rare edition games tend to be attract the collectors, but
you can still earn the price of the Christmas dinner!
Always a top seller on ebay.ie. In the past year alone, sales for Pokémon cards went up 37% on eBay. The top two Pokémon cards sold on eBay last year include a Charizard 1st Edition Holo which sold for $9,000 (€8,195). Meanwhile a 2003 Pokémon Lugia Holo Aquapolis sold for $9,015 (€8,208) on the online mar ketplace.
Colin McCallion, eBay Ireland’s Head of Com mercial Operations, says: “If you want to make some extra cash, the best thing you can do is take stock of what is in your attic or closet catching dust. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s trea sure and you never know what little crock of gold you
might be sitting on; it could be a covetable collectable or a vintage item from bygone eras, these kinds of items can sell for hundreds and even thousands of euro on ebay.ie.”
The way to start is search for your proposed item on eBay to see if it has value, When listing your items, make sure you take a clear photo of the product and use plenty of relevant search terms in the title so people can find the product easily. With so many in the market everyday it can be quite easy to find a buyer for your wares regardless of how quirky the item might be.
So set up your account with a few clicks and hope fully see the money come in..
As major hurricanes slam planet Earth year after year, claiming dozens of lives and costing billions in dam ages, the impact of climate change on these natural events comes up often in political speeches and ca sual conversations.
The simple answer for the moment is that evidence shows many Atlantic hur ricanes are carrying more rainfall than in the past. It also shows a greater per centage of hurricanes are growing stronger faster.
More people living on coastlines and sea levels that already have risen seven to eight inches mul tiply the risks and costs, researchers said.
But it’s tougher to deter mine if human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and global warming have an effect on hurricane intensity and frequency.
Hurricane and climate sci entists agree on some points but see mixed signals on others. With time and more data, a more clear picture will emerge.
While people can now watch tropical waves even before they emerge into the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, it might be hard to remember scientists barely have 40 years worth of reliable satellite records and data.
So what do we know about hurricanes and climate change?
Many climate scientists agree higher rainfall rates are expected in hurricanes in the Atlantic basin with global warming.
“The biggest concerns we have with climate change are with sea level rise and increased rainfall,” said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane re searcher at Colorado State University. “Water is the biggest driver of the dam age.”
With a two degree Celsius increase in sea-surface temperatures, research shows about a 14% increase in near-hurricane rainfall rates, or about a 7% increase
in rainfall rates per Celsius degree of warming. Glob ally, the average surface temperature has already increased by at least one degree Celsius since the late 1800s.
Kevin Reed, an associate professor in atmospheric science at Stony Brook University, said rainfall was “one of the clearest indica tors” of how climate change was impacting hurricanes.
He and a group of collabo rators have studied extreme rainfall rates in recent hur ricane seasons, including a look at the 2020 season. The
most extreme three-hour rain rates in hurricanes show a 10% increase that can be attributed to climate change, he said.
Reed and colleagues ap plied that same model to the recent Hurricane Ian and concluded in an era without human-induced climate change, it would have pro duced 10% less rainfall.
Warmer water at the ocean’s surface from human-induced climate change is likely helping to fuel more powerful tropical cyclones, scientists con clude.The percentage of
tropical cyclones, ranked by Categories 1-5, that be come a Category 3 or higher has increased globally over the past four decades, Knutson said. The percent age that become Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, with wind speeds of at least 130 mph or greater, will likely increase with further green house warming.
The intensity and fre quency of hurricanes, in cluding major hurricanes, has increased in the Atlantic since the 1980s but it’s not just attributed to green house warming, “because
if you look back further, things were also higher in the 1950s and 1960s,” said one leading scientists.. “It’s tricky in the Atlantic over short periods to conclude much about the changes we’re seeing.”
Just as detecting a trend in wind speeds can be chal lenging, “it gets pretty dicey when you’re trying to infer something about green house gas-induced trends in Atlantic hurricane activity.”
Studies have suggested stronger Atlantic hurricanes since 1980 could be the result of changes in aerosol
effects, ocean circulation or the increase in greenhouse gases.
Are tropical cyclones be coming more frequent?
Worldwide, no. In the Atlantic, yes, although re searchers aren’t sure why and climate models don’t project that to continue.
The 2021 hurricane season was the sixth in a row with above-normal hurricane activity, even after the 30year normal was adjusted upward to 14 named storms rather than 12.
However, many things in fluence Atlantic hurricanes. The greater number since the 1970s is partially driven by decreases in aerosols, thanks to human efforts to clean up air pollution, said scientists. Cleaner air allowed ocean surface tem peratures to heat up.
Whether climate change will bring more frequent Atlantic hurricanes is a question more difficult to answer.
We just don’t understand what controls how many hurricanes per year in general because scientists don’t fully understand what causes them.
Recent studies do not im ply the increase in tropical storm frequency in the At lantic since 1980 will contin ue, states an agency website Knutson maintains.
Most models project future decreases in Atlantic storm frequency in response to rising greenhouse gas con centrations. A World Me teorological Organization team of scientists reviewed dozens of tropical cyclones studies around the world and found most projected the global frequency will either decrease or remain unchanged.
Researchers studying hur ricanes and global warming are working to demonstrate whether trends they see in the data could have hap pened by chance or without climate change, said Adam Sobel, an atmospheric sci entist and professor at Co lumbia University.
A medical science research team has shown that a pro tein can reverse ageing in skeletal muscle cells — with a curious Irish link. The University at Buffalo-led team has shown that a pro tein named for the mythical land of youth in Irish folk lore is effective at reversing ageing in skeletal muscle cells.
Published in Science Ad vances, the study centres on the protein NANOG, which is derived from Tír na nÓg, the place in Irish lore renowned for everlasting youth, beauty and health.
In a series of experiments, researchers overexpressed NANOG in myoblasts, which are the embryonic precursors to muscle tissue.
The myoblasts were senes cent, meaning they were no
longer able to divide and grow.
The research could help lead to treatments for ath
erosclerosis, osteoporosis and other age-related dis orders.
The overexpression ameliorated some of the primary characteristics as sociated with age-related deterioration of cells, in cluding autophagy, energy homeostasis, genomic sta bility, nuclear integrity and mitochondrial function.
Most notably, NANOG in creased the number of mus cle stem cells in the muscle of prematurely ageing mice. This demonstrated the fea sibility of reversing cellular aging in the body without the need to reprogramme cells to an embryonic plu ripotent state, a process that’s often used in stem cell therapy but runs the risk of
tumourigenesis.
“Our work focuses on understanding the mecha nisms of NANOG’s actions in hopes of discovering ‘druggable’ targets in sig nalling metabolic networks that mimic the anti-ageing effects of NANOG,” said one of the researchers.
“Ultimately, the work could help lead to new treatments or therapies that help reverse cellular senescence, and aid the many people suffering from age-related disorders,” says the study’s main author, Stelios T. Andreadis, PhD, Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biologi cal Engineering at the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
€144/average nightly
If you dream of a home with endless ocean views where you can both walk to the beach and explore Portugal’s vibrant capital, wake up and check out this charming villa. In a quiet area near enough to must-see attractions like central Lisbon, it really is an ideal and crowd-free location. But once you discover the endearing qualities of this rental that any family would envy, you’ll realise it’s more than just lodging in a great spot. Any couple will cherish time on the lawn looking out to sea bef≠ore returning to the cozy queen bedroom. If you’re booking for more than two, there’s also a room with a pair of twin beds and a futon in the living room.
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2
Sleeps: 4
€89/average nightly
Spoil your family without trashing your budget at this splendid home in a quiet Atlantic town. Look out at the water from the veranda as well as the living and dining rooms. e home is less than 200 yards from the beaches on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mira River.
In-town amenities are more of a hike but still no more than 15 minutes away. When you need a break from the charming local restaurants (if such a thing is possible), attempt to emulate the local style in the fully-stocked kitchen. e facilities are modern, and the home has three bedrooms, making it a great choice for a family with children.
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2
Sleeps: 7
3. Villa At Jardim Do Mar €174/average nightly Believe it or not, a ordable oceanside villas are to be found not only on the mainland but also on the southern Atlantic island of Madeira. is villa in the village of Jardim Do Mar is one such gem.
Location: 178 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014
Greenwich Village has no shortage of legendary jazz clubs. One club that continues to live up to its dizzying legacy is the beloved Village operated jazz club in the world. Age has in no way blunted the vitality of this Vanguard, which opened way back in 1935, making it the oldest continuously New York institution, which continues to put on some of the most revered jazz artists on the scene.
Midtown: Birdland 315 W 44th St #5402, New York, NY 10036
Birdland is a celebrated jazz venue in the heart of New York’s eatre District. It
e coastlines of Madeira are even more dramatic than those of the Algarve, as a quick glance out the windows of this villa proves. e views are shared equally across all
rooms. A pebble beach sits below the house. Guests can walk to the nearby village, but the villa sits directly on the cli ’s edge and therefore stays quite quiet.
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Sleeps: 6
4. Villa Jarmelo €180/average nightly e quality of this
magni cent villa is such that one can hardly believe the price. While swimming in the pool, a guest might look out at the ocean and decide that’s where they’d rather be. ey
to the big bands of Maria Schneider and Chico O’Farrill.
Harlem: Bill’s Place 148 W 133rd St, New York, NY 10030
also just so happens to have a well-stocked bar and a delicious Cajun-inspired menu.
can walk across the veranda, pass under the columns covering the entrance, saunter through the sunlit arabesque courtyard, stroll out the door, and be on the beach in 2 minutes. e busy downtown streets are equally near. e vacation home is a pleasing mix of Mediterranean and Arabic styles, a combination right at home here in the Algarve. It has a room with two double beds and another with two singles.
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Sleeps: 6
5. Contemporary Villa in Luz €195/average nightly Bask in the sun and enjoy the gratitude of your traveling companions when you stay at this luxurious villa west of Lagos. e outdoor areas really are a treat. It consists of a deck with seating and a grill, plus a hot tub and a serene swimming pool. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a rooftop deck to watch the waves come in. Oh, and there are plenty of palm trees to get you in that beachy mood as you prepare to take the walk (which will last less than a minute) to the beach. Any designer would give a nod of approval to the furniture selection, and the bathrooms are sleek, stylish, and modern.
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 3 Sleeps: 8
Just 50 yards from the beach, this tranquil villa boasts relaxing outdoor areas with wonderful views, comfortable indoor spaces to cool o , and room for a family of eight. e home has a dedicated parking spot, but once you arrive you’ll be able to walk to all of Porto Covo’s sights, from the town square to the side-street restaurants. e local beach is a real stunner, noteworthy even by Portuguese standards for its imposing rock formations.
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2 Sleeps: 8
New York, NY 10019
At that time, it was located on Broadway, a block west of the bustling 52nd. Now, 70 years since it started
organising nightly shows, the venue has played host to everyone from Oscar Peterson and Diana Krall
One of the things that puts people o seeing New York jazz is the price of a drink. at’s where Bill’s Place comes in. is beautifully intimate brownstone venue hosts scintillating live sets at 8pm and 10pm, with an audience ( rst come, rst served) that gets steadily drunker and more responsive as the night goes on. No venue taps into the spirit of the roaring ’20s quite like Bills.
Upper West Side: Dizzy’s Club 10 Columbus Cir,
Boasting an incredible sound system, jaw-dropping views of Central Park and a southern-style, sustainable menu, Dizzy’s is the go-to jazz club for those looking for a touch of class. If you’re still not convinced, Tony Bennett once called this place “the best jazz room in the city”.
East Village: Mona’s Bar NYC 224 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
Mona’s Bar NYC will make you wish every dive bar had a weekly jazz night. Located just if Tompkins Square, Mona’s boasts great music, a lively atmosphere and the cheapest drinks anywhere in New York. What more could you ask for?
Funny how things happen. I go to town to buy some sh for the dinner and when I return home there’s a man I’d never met in my entire life, sitting on my couch, chatting to my wife and sipping a co ee! It’s maybe 7 pm or thereabouts.
ree hours later as I show this man out – we have chatted for three hours, non-stop, about a certain Mr Putin, the war in the Ukraine, belief, the Gospels, the Cru ci xion, Saint Martin De Porres, Saint Augustine, Aris totle, Saint omas Aquinas, the women’s soccer team, the Ra, the Wolfe Tones, Boolavogue and the Black Abbey! A comprehensive conversation for sure.
So, let me start at the beginning to make some sense of this for you. As mentioned above I go down town to source some sh for our dinner. I park in
the Black Abbey car park, get the sh and, as I return to my car, and passing the Abbey, I am remembering a promise I made to a drink ing colleague of mine a few days earlier. We were talking about health, a popular, very popular, topic with my peers these days. It transpires he’s going for some tests in a week or so.
“You worried?” I ask. “Concerned,” he tells me, taking a sip from his pint. And then, o the top of my head, I say: “I’ll light a candle for you.” ‘
“Appreciate that, Gerry,” he says. Which is ironic really as I am known among my friends as ‘Gerry e Atheist’.
Actually having checked out the de nition of atheist in the Oxford Concise Dic tionary as ‘one who doesn’t believe god exists’, I realise that I’m not an atheist at all. I believe in a god – ie. a
higher intelligence. I would hate to think that we, Homo so-called Sapiens, call us what you will, are the sharp est tools in the Universe or Universes! Tools, yes, sharp? I don’t think so as we are constantly polluting, pillag ing, and waging war – a sad, but true, indictment to say the least.
My issue with this ‘god’, this ‘higher intelligence’, however, is that I do not believe it, he, she, is not benign and is indi erent to the su ering, the anguish, and pain that human ity endures whether it be a tsunami in Japan or a tragic gas explosion in Creeslough. And for sure I’ve digressed.
So, a promise is a promise and I, the atheist, or nonpractising atheist, whatever, slips into the Black Abbey and lights a candle at the shrine of Saint Martin de
Porres, a shrine I knelt at frequently in my teenage years praying for help (divine assistance you could call it) with upcoming exams.
Indeed my late mother, a devotee of Saint Martin (or Blessed Martin as he was
back then) credited him for me passing my exams as I wasn’t exactly “fond of the books”. Anyway, having nished petitioning him for positive results for my friend
I head home only to discover that I left my sh behind me at Saint Martin’s shrine. I im mediately dash back to the Black Abbey but it’s locked up and in darkness. And so I purchase another bit of sh, head home and you can probably guess the rest – the man I nd sitting in my kitchen is a priest, a Domini can by the name of Fr Brian Doyle, a Wexford man newly arrived in Kilkenny.
I am so appreciative of Brian’s e orts to nd us (I left a document with our home address in the bag with the sh) that I insist he dine with us which he did.
After all there was no short age of sh.
And there you have it – over
a tasty meal of plaice and smoked cod (and thank you, Kathleen) and a few glasses of wine, my good wife and I and Fr Brian Doyle had one very interesting and engaging conversation. By the night’s end my faith in the priesthood is rea rmed thanks to Fr Doyle whose faith is resolute and unwav ering. H, by the way, is one of a family of four – three boys and a girl and guess what? His two brothers (one of whom is his identical twin) are priests also! “Tell me your sister is not a nun?” I immediately ask.
“No, she’s a teacher.”
“Ah, a noble profession,” I tell him.
As for my own faith, one would think that this quasi religious happenstance was a sign for Gerry to return to the church.
I shall – but only to light another candle for my friend.
Part 3
So I took the decision to go and ask her, straight out, if there was ‘any chance.’ You think my antics were bizarre? We had a man in our village who thought he was a steam engine; another who had a bike for forty years and couldn’t ride it, a wife who thought her babies popped in - and out - because she said prayers to St Jude, and a few men who got away completely with murder… so don’t mind or be too disbelieving about a child having big or strange ideas…
Wednesday night was slow in the pub, ‘Devotions’ being on in the chapel. No drink was allowed to be served, but pubs with a shop integrated could sell
food.{In those days when the RC Church ran Everything} On the night, I washed my face and slicked my hair with the ‘rack’ – which was just an industrial-size brown comb. I slapped on a slather of robbed {my brothers} Brilliantine – a sickly greasy hair oil - and fancied I could defeat any Casanova in the Pictures!
Down I go, then, to meet my love. I hung around until anyone going to the chapel had gone in. Nobody in the pub, except Helena. In I go, trying to be brave, my heart in my mouth.
“Hello, Neddah,” she go, smiling that breathstopping smile, and joked - “you’re all done up tonight! Are you meeting a girl?”
This was a great opening for me!
“No, Helena, I think I’ve already met her!” is with a fair old fright on me, in spite of the bravado…. “Well, and who is this very lucky young lady, Neddah?” she said, with her tinkly little laugh.
“Actually, Helena, you know her well!” I thought this was a master-stroke!
“Oh, go on! Is it Kitty O’**** down the road, then?”
“No, Helena.” Suspense lled the air; I knew now how Bogart felt in lms. “ en who on earth can it be, Neddah?” she smiled.
“Actually, Helena – it’s you.” ere it was, out, and not that hard, really!
I wasn’t at all sure how she’d react. Would she throw herself into my arms? Would she suggest a meeting up near Hayden’s Gates – {a popular courting spot for some lucky loves} – or maybe on the Glory Bridge, at midnight?
None of those things. She took a glass and polished it, looking serious. en she came outside the counter, and sat on a high stool, within touching distance of me, and said: “Listen, Neddah, I know you mean all you said, and thanks for thinking such nice things about me. ere’s times, Neddah,
when I can be very cranky, and not at all the smiley girl you see inside the counter. But I’m too many years ahead of you – and what would my Daddy think?” e very thought of that made her laugh out loud! And me, too – a bit… I felt then that my love was slipping away from me, but she was so sweet about it that I calmed right down, and was ready for her decision – which I knew, then, would go against me.
“Neddah, you’d have to wait too long for me. If I was your age, I’d say ‘yes’ in a minute! We’d grow up together, like Babes in the Wood!” Now, this was laying it on a bit thick, but sure I was willing to accept any old excuse or tale from her divine self!
“Lads like you don’t grow on the bushes, you know, Neddah”, she go – but sure haven’t I a cousin your age, Joan, who’s coming up here for the summer –and that’ll be your chance to make a name for yourself. She’s beautiful, and would be ideal for a
handsome chap like you.” Well, by the cripes! Bad news – and good!
Still, I had to make one last try. “But, Helena –won’t you just give me one kiss - just one?”
“No, Neddah – Joan would be mad, then - if she found out! And you should keep your kisses for her. I’ll be watching you from now on!” So saying, she put her little hand on my face, for just a second. Magic! Wonder!
“ ere, Neddah –we’ve got a pact! e crowd’s coming out from Devotions now, so you’d better run. And thanks again for asking me!”
And that was the end of my running round the pub every night. She had acted sweetly, and I felt no rejection. Often afterwards she’d smile and wink at me; wse had our own little secret!
I met the woman recently, rst time for over sixty years. She still looked beautiful. We talked of the old days, skirting certain little subjects! When I left her delightful company, I
kissed her on the cheek.
Sixty years late, I suppose. But, I did get the chance, in the end, to kiss Helena.
And I remembered her, in the bloom osf her great beauty, all those years ago, putting her hand on my face.
I didn’t wash it for a week.
{ A son of ‘Helena’ still farms east of Dunna village. He read this story, way back, approved.}
Helena passed away a good while ago.. I didn’t know of her demise. Was immensely sad when I heard of it. A true beauty, I mourned her for being so sweet and good to me when I was rags and bones.
Ned E
Disclaimer e opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily re ect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of e Kilkenny Observer.
e world’s largest oil-pro ducing countries earlier this month agreed to signi cant cuts in production as a means of keeping oil prices high as the global economy faces a potential recession in the coming year. e group known as OPEC+, which in cludes both the OPEC coun tries and several other petro leum producers not formally in the global oil cartel, said it would cut production quotas by two million barrels a day starting in November.
e decision, led by top oil exporter Saudi Arabia along with other Gulf countries, was also seen as a slap in the face to America’s President Biden, whose Administration had been frantically lobbying the Saudis and other Gulf al lies to maintain or increase output and allow prices to continue to fall.
e OPEC move doesn’t mean production totals will fall by two million barrels ex actly, as many countries were already not meeting their quotas, but it is expected to reduce global daily output by about 2% and put pressure on already high fuel prices.
e decision will have an impact on Europe, which is already facing high energy costs due to the cuto of Rus sian gas exports. e Interna tional Energy Agency warned that higher oil prices could be “the tipping point for a global economy already on the brink of recession”.
President Biden had hoped for cooperation from Riyadh to help starve Vladimir Pu tin’s war machine, which is largely funded by hydrocar bon sales, and further hinder his invasion of Ukraine (Rus sia’s deputy prime minister, who is under US sanctions, was present at the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna).
And of course, President Biden wanted prices to be going down, not up, in the lead-up to November’s mid term elections.
e insult to the US leader came just a few months af ter the president had visited Saudi Arabia and exchanged an infamous st bump with Crown Prince (and newly appointed Prime Minister) Mohammed bin Salman [pictured]. at gesture of
friendship with a brutal ty rant was readily interpreted as a nasty bit of realpolitik, with President Biden bow ing to the fact that he needed Saudi Arabia to keep the oil owing to keep both in a tion and Russia in check. On that visit, President Biden secured an understanding from Saudi Arabia and its ju nior partner, the UAE, to in crease production by a total
of about 1.25 million barrels a day.
e Saudis did ramp up production during the sum mer, when oil was over $120 a barrel, but backed o as prices began to fall again.
is month’s decision to sharply curtail oil production should not have been terribly surprising, considering that Saudi Arabia and the UAE in particular depend on oil rev
enues to fund their welfare states and economic-devel opment projects, as well as to enrich their rulers.
A global recession could put a deep dent in demand for oil, and if the petro-states continue to produce at their current levels, they might next year nd themselves in a downward price spiral that would threaten their eco nomic stability.
In an interview with Vox, Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Cli mate Initiative at the Brook ings Institution, pushed back on the widespread notion that this decision was pri marily motivated by any thing other than economics: “Middle Eastern states have their own interests, and they were genuinely concerned about rapidly falling oil pric
es and over-producing as the world was going into a re cession. ey did what they do in those situations: pull ing back production. ey have their own interests and economies to look after. And they have agency. It’s not just choosing between the United States and Russia.”
at’s certainly not how it’s being interpreted in Wash ington, however. e Biden Administration expressed deep disappointment at Saudi Arabia, which the White House says coerced other OPEC+ countries into agreeing to the cuts over their objections. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said US o cials had shown their Saudi coun terparts an analysis showing there was no market basis to lower oil production, and dismissed Riyadh’s claims that the decision was purely economic as “spin”.
President Biden has threat ened “consequences” for Saudi Arabia, but it’s not clear what those consequences might be; the president has few good options here.
e Saudi government, of course, has rejected the al legations of political games manship and maintains that it is not taking sides in the con ict between Russia and Western countries. Whether because that narrative is true or merely to help sell it, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency announced the oth er day that it was providing $400 million in humanitar ian aid to Ukraine, and also that Prince Mohammed had made a supportive phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Intentionally or otherwise, the oil cuts could lend sup port to Russia’s war e ort by weakening the impact of international sanctions and propping up the value of its oil exports. en again, it might not bene t Moscow as much as the Biden Admin istration fears: Gross, from the Brookings Institution, pointed out that forthcoming European sanctions and a U. proposal to put a global price cap on Russian oil could still make it harder for Russia to sell its oil at market price, if at all.
King Charles’ wife Camilla could see ‘consort’ dropped for her o cial title in 2023.
Buckingham Palace o cials hope to quietly remove the word before Charles’ corona tion, e coronation of King Charles III will not take place until May of 2023, yet there is a quiet hope within Buckingham Palace that by that time Camilla will be able to have the word ‘consort’ removed from her o cial title.
In a move made by Queen Elizabeth II to formerly be
stow the title of Queen Con sort on Camilla in February, it was seen as the rst step to her popularity growing in the UK.
Having long been seen in a dark light due to her rela tionship with Charles during his marriage to Diana Spen cer, attitudes have softened towards Camilla in recent years.
Why will the title be dropped?
e process depends en tirely on how openly the public accepts Camilla as a Queen gure in the UK.
According to a report pub lished by e Telegraph, Royal aides hope to quietly drop the title before May.
Should the title be dropped then Camilla would es sentially become known as ‘Queen Camilla’ despite not o cially holding a posi tion of any power within the Royal Family.
Consorts of previous monarchs in the UK have received similar treatment, most notably Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra.
After being considerably unpopular at the time of her
marriage to King Charles in 2005, Camilla is now seen as one of the most popular members of the Royal Fam ily.
With time, feelings soften and that is exactly the case with the Queen Consort, who has been viewed as a pillar of strength to the fam ily since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
e British public has rec ognised that and if there is enough public support for her before King Charles’ cor onation, she will o cially be referred to as Queen Camilla.
For many of us, it’s time to go back to basics and make the most of the joys the season has to o er and indulge in some fang-tastic guilt free treats, such as Carraig Donn’s tasteful decorations. They are great value, with up to 50% o on all their Halloween stock and lots of discounts in store on their fabulous Autumn/Winter clothing selection.
JD Sports have gorgeous Juicy Couture Diamante Tracksuits and Nike Varsity Boyfriend Crews that are functional and very stylish. If you are looking for a bit of umph, Jump Juice have a ‘Smoothie of the Dragon’ limited edition that is definitely worth a slurp!
For those who’d like to inject some good vibes into any special occasion, the newly opened Card Factory do a fantastic selection of helium filled balloons, cards & gift wraps. All the traversing around estates for trick and treating can be hard on your already tired tootsies, so why not get a pair of Skechers comfortable runners or boots. Their cosy slippers are a treat for your feet as well!
MacDonagh Junction have plenty of shops, including H&M, Dunnes, TKMaxx and Next to ensure all tastes and bargain babes are catered for. Keep an eye on MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre Facebook page for the latest o ers and events.
Businesses are being urged to support charities through the current funding crisis by pro viding funding to meet essen tial needs, according to a new report by the Benefact Group, which owns Ecclesiastical In surance in Ireland.
e report explores the last 12 months for the charity sec tor in Ireland and the UK, from
the end of lockdown, to the Ukraine con ict and cost of living crisis and o ers practical advice and tips on how to fos ter genuine two-way relation ships with corporate partners.
e ndings draw on insight from bene ciaries of last year’s Movement for Good awards, who took part in two virtual roundtable discussions, as
Farmers with land close to urban areas are being encouraged by one of the country’s largest homebuilders to enter into new partnership deals for prop erty developments in an at tempt to increase the sup ply of land for housing.
Glenveagh Properties, which hopes to build up to 4,500 housing units this year, has launched a cam paign to get farmers to en ter the deals due to “a huge fall-off” in the amount of development land coming to market.
Local authorities are set to release maps in the com ing weeks outlining which landowners will face a new zoned land tax which is set to be introduced next year.
Glenveagh investment director Eoin Hughes said the new tax was going to be “crucial’ to all owners of residential land and said it was something which they were “very mindful of”.
“The land tax has been coming for a while. It re mains to be seen what im pact it will have, but I would imagine that land owners across the country, if they get written to by the lo cal authorities, are going to seek to do something about it,” he said, and that Glenveagh believed it could maximise the value of the land should they wish to sell or develop it.
“Development land is the key raw material we need to develop homes for families.
We are looking for landown ers to come forward and we would like to partner with them.”
Traditionally, develop ment land only becomes available when landowners decide to sell suitable land either privately or on the open market. Developers then buy the land and build houses.
Glenveagh is now seeking landowners to partner with them further through the development process.
It claims such partner ships are a ‘win-win’ for the landowner and the devel oper.
“If the farmer sold the land today with issues in place (planning or lack of services), it would sell for x. Whereas if they come on the journey with us and we add value through the plan ning process or services, they will be paid a different figure as that value is added to the land,” Mr Hughes ex plained.
He said the value for Glen veagh was that it was not paying for that land up front and risking the planning not being approved, while he said the landowner was getting maximum value for his land and could still farm it until it was ready to be de veloped.
A dedicated litter warden for Kilkenny is likely to be ap pointed.
Members of the city mu nicipal district were told that there is a proposal for a war den speci cally for the city centre.
Councillor Joe Malone, who
had made a call for such a role, said: “I think that’s a start, let people be aware, and it’s not about giving peo ple les on the spot, it is to a point but at the same time there’s an education process going on in the schools and that kind of thing,” said Joe.
well as a survey of 250 chari ties.
e report nds that chari ties are struggling to fund raise while facing increasing demands for their services –leading to a cash ow crisis.
In response, 81% of charities want corporates to provide unrestricted funding so they can use the money to meet
essential needs, such as the recruitment and retention of sta , like salaries and welfare bene ts. Many corporate part ners require charities to sub mit a bid for funds linked to a speci c project or outcome. By lifting restrictions on how funds can be used, corporate partners can further aid chari ties.
Siobhán Geoghegan, Direc tor at Common Ground Ire land, one of the winners who took part in the roundtables said: “We have to report on a lot of the same things that larger organisations have to report on, but that’s a huge burden for us. Finding fund ing is essential to keep our ser vices going.”
Among the issues cited by charities includes the chal lenge of recruiting sta (75%) with over a third (34%) saying that they have struggled to re cruit over the past six months. is is despite improving their employee packages, including 43% o ering a bonus scheme and two in ve (40%) o ering permanent exible working.
Design & Crafts Council Ireland has teamed up with Tangent, Trinity College Dublin’s Ideas Workspace, to launch a Postgraduate Certi cate in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship in Co. Kilkenny. e part-time course, which runs over 21 weeks from January to June 2023, will be hosted in Kilkenny city centre. It is designed for creatives who are interested in establishing their own entrepreneurial venture and those already established who want to develop their businesses and skills.
It covers elements such as design thinking, idea de velopment, opportunity gen eration and venture planning tools to help bring innovative products and services to the
economic market place. e Trinity Postgraduate Certi cate in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship will provide ambitious in dividuals in the region with the opportunity to gain a postgraduate quali cation at level 9 on the National Framework of Quali cations from Ireland’s leading uni versity.
e course will equip learn ers with the creative con dence and skills required to translate creative ideas into commercial solutions, with course content cover ing everything from theories of creativity and innovation to market analysis and cus tomer segmentation.
e certi cate is funded by the Higher Education Authority under the Spring
board+ initiative, meaning it is free to eligible unemployed applicants, or 90% funded for successful applicants currently in employment, with just 10% fees at €312.50 payable. Classes will be delivered through a mix of online and in-person teach ing on a part-time basis, and the course is now open for applications.
Rosemary Steen, CEO of Design & Crafts Council Ire land, said: “Being based in Kilkenny, the course re ects our aim to make more op portunities available to our community who are based all over Ireland. It is an excel lent and timely programme that will provide additional tools to a sector that has proven its adaptability in overcoming adversity to
positively impact Ireland’s economy, society and cul ture.”
Sean McKeown, Acting Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council, said: “I am delighted that Trinity and Tangent have chosen Kilkenny, the creative heart of Ireland, to run this post graduate course. e creative arts are important to our national identity and cultural distinctiveness.”
* Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Tangent in vites potential appli cants based in Kilkenny and surrounding coun ties to its upcoming open evening on Monday 24 Oc tober 24 at 6pm.
To register, visit: tcd.ie/tan gent/events
Local councils have paid out almost €150m in compensa tion claims relating to trips and falls on footpaths and roads in the last ve and a half years.
Nearly 10,000 personal injury claims have been brought against local author ities, which equates to ve people suing every day, with one council paying out near
ly €50 million since 2017.
Figures provided to the Irish Independent reveal which counties have the most hazardous pathways.
Counties Waterford, Tip perary, Dublin, Limerick, and Louth have had the largest number of claims, while Co Longford has one of the highest rates of claims despite having one of the
smallest populations in the country.
In Dublin, four of the capi tal’s councils have paid out just over €66m between them.
ere have been nearly 5,000 claims against Dub lin City Council, which paid out €49.8m for trips and falls since 2017.
Some counties with bigger
populations have had fewer claims than smaller coun ties.
In Co Kildare, 240 claims were brought in a population of over 246,000. By compari son, there were 337 claims in Co Tipperary where 167,000 people live.
Some of the counties with the lowest number of claims are Laois, Leitrim and Cavan.
e Twilight Youth Inclu sion group is providing information days for their members. One such workshop recently was on the inherent dan gers to our teenagers while online. e activities of all teenagers are now all-over social media. Many dif ferent platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tic toc and What’s app are open to the scourge of Bullying. We have met people who have experienced on-line bullying and have witnessed the dev astating a ect it has had on the recipient. We have heard
the news of teenagers tak ing their own lives because of the bullying they have received from continuous vile messages and pictures that are so far from the truth, we often wonder why other teenagers spread and share these bullying posts.
At TYI’s last workshop Community Garda Andy Neil addressed the members. e Group has developed ‘ e Seven Steps of Social Media Security’. is includes all the aspects about stay ing safe while on line. is coupled with Andy’s recol lection of actual incidents of Bullying online.
‘Don’t give out your per sonal details online’
‘Do not send compris ing Photos to anyone, even friends’
‘Never meet someone in person that you met on line’ ‘Beware that the person claiming to be a teenager maybe an imposter’ ‘Do not share information that you are not sure is true’
And remember, ‘What you think is harm less banter maybe o ensive to the receiving person’
Garda Andy Neil is a true professional and his friendly personality ensures that the gathering of teenagers are captivated by his presenta tions and real life experi ences.
Social Media security will become even more impor tant as we move deeper into digital era Employers are now using Social Media to review candidates for posi tions they have advertised.
erefore, a post you put online, a funny incident may not be what you think and could be interpreted by the company as inappropriate and have an adverse e ect on your job application.
Once you put it on the Web it is practically impossible to remove. Always be aware of what you are posting. ink twice before pressing send.
No matter which way you look at it, it’s true and we try and remind people of this immensely important point every October during Fire Safety Week which starts on the 17th of October. It has such importance and potential to save your life that it featured for the rst time in the 2022 National Census
ere’s a widely held belief that if your home catches re, the smell of smoke will wake you up. Nothing could be further from the truth as inhal ing smoke and other toxic gases can put you in a deeper sleep. Brain death occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen for as little as three minutes. A working smoke alarm buys you time by alert ing you to the presence of smoke and giving you a chance to escape from injury and potentially death. If you haven’t got a working smoke alarm, consider tting one today. If you have a smoke alarm then please check it to make sure it’s in good working order (smoke alarms may be tested by pressing the test button with the handle tip of a oor brush).
Now as we return to the Twilight Community Groups Protecting Assisting Senior Services (PASS) programme which includes an excellent section on re safety in the home for our Seniors. Our Kilkenny Fire Chief John Collins and his team explains to the senior groups what the dangers are and part of PASS is the o er by the Fire Ser vices to call to our seniors homes and install FREE OF CHARGE a smoke alarm that could be the product that saves your life. ey will also provide an ‘Arm’ that is used to press the test button to ensure the batteries are working. And as was pointed out at our last event it is also a great ‘back scratcher’! Oh, the ingenuity of our seniors.
e PASS programme will be holding a rural event and the nal event will be in Newpark hotel where all seniors are invited to attend for a
morning chat and to get the ‘users’ feedback on the programme.
Twilight Community o er all its programmes free of charge and the Newpark event will be no exception. e day will include the following contributors. e Fire Services, e Garda Com munity Section, Newpark Family Law, St. Canice’s Credit Union and Money Advice Bureau. e day will include lunch for all.
e date of this Spring event has yet to be decided but when it is, we will contact the Seniors groups to give you the opportunity to book your place.
e dates will be published in advance in the Kilkenny Observer Newspaper
Saint John’s Priory and Two Houses on John’s Quay is week e Kilkenny Observer, in association with Cois Céim and e Kilkenny Saturday Walkers group, take a look at the history of Saint John’s Priory .
e Priory’s history is an interesting one. By 1200 the Augustinians had a hospital at St Mauls dedicated to John the Evangelist.
In1202 Bishop Felix O’Dullany granted one tenth of the provisions of Kilkenny Castle to the Brethern of the Hospital of St. John. It had been a long standing custom that one tenth of all provisions going to the household of the King of Ossory, went to the widows and orphans. e Earl Marshall honoured the old custom which had been instituted in 974 by Donnachadh Mac Ceallaigh, the King of Ossory.
In 1211, William Marshall
the elder, Earl of Pembroke granted a site to build a house of religion in honour of God and St, Jo hn.
e building of the new priory included a church, the Lady Chapel, cloister rooms and refectory. Due to the number of windows the Lady Chapel was known as the Lantern of Ireland. According to the annals of the priory, mass was rst celebrated on the high altar of St. Johns in 1220 and in the Lady Chapel in 1290.
Before moving on to further history of the priory, some notes on the Knights of St John and their association with Kilkenny.
e Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem e Priory in John Street has always been associated with the Knights of St John. e Knights grew out of a group of pious Italians who founded a hostel in Jerusalem for poor pilgrims sometime before 1100. In turn the Knights took on a military role to protect pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. ey built large hospitals in Jerusalem, Cyprus and Rhodes. When the Crusaders lost control of Jerusalem, the Knights also had to leave. In time the Turks drove them from Cyprus and in 1522 from Rhodes.
Charles V of Spain in1530
The building of the new priory included a church, the Lady Chapel, cloister rooms and refectory. According to the annals of the priory, mass was first celebrated on the high altar of St. Johns in 1220 and in the Lady Chapel in 1290. (jbs photos)
gave the island of Malta to the Knights Hospitallers and henceforth they were known as the Knights of Malta.
e Knights in training in Kilkenny.
e headquarters of the knights in Ireland was in Kilmainham in Dublin. St. Johns Priory was one of the principal locations for the accommodation of trainee knights. Various accounts have been written about the knights in Kilkenny, of their skills in arms, archery and horsemanship. A trumpeter proceeded the mounted knights through the city to herald their coming, that the city gates be opened as they went to
the Butts Green for archery practise and returning to the Priory after practise.
e Priory
ere were early trials and tribulations. e bell tower fell in 1329, and two years later Antony de Lacy, Lord Justice of Ireland, came to Kilkenny and imprisoned the prior and community. No reason is known for his imprisonment.
Between the years 1361 and 1405 Walter Wals prior of St Johns was excommunicated and the prior placed under interdict by John, Bishop of Ossory.
With the suppression of the monasteries in 1540
Prior Richard Cantwell
surrendered the priory. It was granted to the Mayor and citizens of Kilkenny. During the following century the buildings fell into decay. In 1645 omas Rothe, a secular priest was appointed prior and granted the priory to the Jesuits for a college or seminary.
After the capture of Kilkenny by Cromwell in 1650, the Jesuits were expelled from the priory but they stayed on in Kilkenny where they administered to the faithful. During the reign of James 11, the Jesuits applied to have part of the church and parts of the grounds returned to them. e Corporation members, mostly Catholics were agreeable but the Capuchins had taken over part of the area. e dispute was not resolved as the corporation was removed from o ce in 1691. With the Williamite con scations both the Jesuits and Capuchins were banished from the city in 1698. e buildings remained in ruins for many years. Around the year 1780 the tower of the church fell and was pulled down by Mr. Colles when building the infantry barracks.
It was decided in 1800 to restore the old church for use as a place of worship. William Roberson was selected as architect and sent in plans, but these were rejected due to cost. e Lady Chapel was reroofed in 1817for use as a Protestant parish church. William Robertson was involved in much work in the city, including the re building of the Court House early in the 19th Century. According to Parliamentary Papers of 1808 he was paid £2814s -4d for work on the new Kilkenny Gaol. On December 12th 1832 he bought part of the old priory known as Priors Orchard. He died in May 1850 and was buried in St Mary’s graveyard. His altar tomb bears an incomplete inscription. e few details gleaned were his name and that he was Mayor of Kilkenny, 1831- 1832. William’s wife survived him by over twenty years. She died on 26th January 1872 aged 86 years.
Two houses on St. Johns Quay: e deeds of Priors Orchard make interesting reading: 1639, Letters patent of Charles 1st a quotation from the document reads “we do give grant bargain sell release and con rm to the Mayor and citizens of the City of Kilkenny and to their successors for ever the whole site circuit ambut precinct lands tenements, rent reversion, and services of the late Priory Monastery House or Hospital of St. John the
Due to the number of windows the Lady Chapel was known as the Lantern of Ireland. ( jbs photos)
Evangelist near the city and county of Kilkenny.”
In 1832, A quotation from the lease granted to William Robertson reads: “Whereas by an indenture of lease dated 7th May 1832 and made between the Mayor and citizens of Kilkenny of the one part and William Robertson of the other part, the said Mayor and Citizens of Kilkenny did demise unto the said William Robertson the Old Bride well and Prior’s Orchard to hold the same unto the said William Robertson this Executors Administrators and Assigns for the term of ninety nine years.”
is included the land on which the two houses nos5 & 6 known as Priors Orchard were built. At this time omas Hart was given a lease of the
adjoining ground at Cormick’s Island otherwise known as the Lake Ground. is would suggest that the area was known to ood and indicates the origin of the name for the Lake School.
e next document for 1877 is a conveyance by the administrator of the estate for Catherine Robertson to Patrick Dillon. “Consideration of the sum of ve hundred and thirty pounds by Patrick Dillon of the City of Kilkenny Insurance Agent paid into the account of the said court and to the credit of the estate of the Administrator of Catherine Robertson Owner and Petitioner.” Transaction also included Cormick’s Island. e present owner had an archaeological boring carried out in the 1980’s
Historian John Bradley in the old garden area. It was discovered that there was no earlier building on the site.
In the book ‘Kilkenny It’s Architecture and History’, the houses are described as ‘3 storey, 4 bay Georgian buildings with an excellent portico to the two entrance doors anked by railing with cast iron spear headed tops. e pedimented portico with three pilasters, with a band of uting on each is probably the work of the Colles family.’
Sources: Old Kilkenny Review 2000 A historical survey of St. John’s Parish. 1989. Irish town atlas no.10 Kilkenny Kilkenny, Its Architecture and History. 1977
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Serves: 6
Make our crispy sesame lemon chicken for a quick, easy and avour-packed family dinner. Scatter with spring onions and serve with your favourite sides.
Ingredients
• 600g chicken breast llets, cut into 2cm pieces
• 5 tbsp plain our
• 2 tbsp corn our
• large pinch of white pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp sun ower or vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 spring onions, nely sliced, to serve
• cooked noodles, to serve (optional)
For the sauce
• 2 tsp corn our
• 2 unwaxed lemons, zested and juiced
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp sesame oil
Method
STEP 1
To make the sauce, tip the cornflour into a bowl and whisk in the lemon zest and
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 20 mins plus cooling
Makes: 12
Treat family and friends to these simple vanilla- avoured cupcakes, baked with gluten-free our and baking powder.
• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 175g gluten-free self-raising our
• ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
juice until any lumps disappear. Add the honey, soy and sesame seeds and mix again. Set aside.
STEP 2
Combine the cornflour, flour, baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, the pepper, beaten egg and 4 tbsp water in a large bowl. Tip in the chicken pieces, gently tossing to coat.
STEP 3
Heat the vegetable oil over a high heat
and fry the battered chicken pieces in batches for 6 mins per batch until golden and cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate or tray lined with kitchen paper.
When all the chicken has been cooked, return all of it to the pan, still over a high heat, drizzle in the sauce and toss to coat – the sauce will thicken and cling to the chicken. Scatter with the spring onions and serve with noodles, if you like.
e apple brandy calvados might be Normandy’s best-known boozy export, but it is strictly considered a digestif, to be drunk after a meal rather than before. By law, it must also be bottled with a strength of at least 40 percent alcohol by volume (abv): a punchy choice pre-dinner.
Lillet (lee-ley) is currently undergoing a resurgence in popularity. A crisp and oral aromatised white wine infused with fruits, herbs, and botanicals, it’s a uniquely French aperitif made just outside Bordeaux.
ere are three versions: red, white, and rosé. Lillet Blanc is the original and the best. Look for it on a café menu and you’ll most likely see it served as a Lillet and tonic. You might be surprised to nd it’s a star ingredient in well-known cocktails such as the corpse reviver and vesper martini.
If you’re looking to add one French bottle to your home bar, make it Dolin (doe-lain) sweet red vermouth. Much like its Italian cousins Antica Formula and Cinzano Rosso, this is one of the most versatile cocktail ingredients, as at home in a negroni or manhattan as when poured over ice.
It’s been made at Dolin’s distillery in the town of Chambery in Savoie since 1821. We have Marie Dolin to thank for its early popularity in the United States; she traveled solo to the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair to present the family’s creations, picking up a gold medal in the process.
e French often serve red and white wines as an aperitif, but rosé gets a special mention for two reasons. Firstly, rosés are much less frequently served with food. Many Provencal rosés in particular are blended to achieve delicate oral and fruity notes that are lost at the rst hint of a cream sauce.
STEP 1
microwave oven and cook on High for 1½
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper or silicone cases. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Pour in the egg, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Next, beat in the vanilla paste, then fold in the our, baking powder and a pinch of salt until well combined. Spoon the mixture evenly between the cases. Bake for 15-20 mins until the tops are golden and
rm to the touch at the edges. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream, beat the butter with an electric whisk until pale and u y in a clean, large bowl. Add the icing sugar, one spoonful at a time, mixing as you do. Beat in the vanilla. To decorate, transfer the buttercream to a piping bag tted with a round or star nozzle. Pipe generous swirls on top of each cupcake. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.
Secondly, and most importantly on sweltering summer days, a bone-dry rosé is the only wine into which it’s acceptable to drop glaçons (ice cubes). Choose a fancy spot, such as an umbrellashaded lounger at one of Nice’s beach clubs, and you’ll even get a miniature ice bucket and silver tongs to dose your verre (glass) cube by cube.
If you like the bitter, almost medicinal taste of gentian, Suze is for you. Almost radioactive yellow in color, this French bitter is really in a category of its own. It’s not quite citrusy, not quite sour, at once as refreshing as it is powerful.
Concluded
A new Netflix documenta ry has left viewers baffled after revealing some pretty out-there and difficult to grasp concepts about mathematics and – specifi cally – infinity.
So, before we crack on it’s worth pointing out that this isn’t exactly some thing that you should be sitting down to watch if you’re just wanting to watch ‘something’.
Nor is it something to watch during a ‘Netflix and chill’ session or if you want to sit around on your phone. This is going to require your full attention, and even then it might prove too much.
It’s called A Trip to In finity and it explores the mathematical concept of infinity using a number
disciplines including theo retical physics, maths, cos mology, and philosophy.
Told you it wasn’t going to have the same effect as an episode of The Simp sons.
Split into a number of chapters, the documentary film shows off a number of thought problems and ex periments, all explained in colourful and interesting ways, aimed at working out whether we are actually capable of understanding infinity, or whether it even exists.
Obviously, it’s serious material and it’s definitely not for everyone.
It’d probably make most people’s heads hurt quite a bit, and that seems to be the feedback online so far.
One person wrote: “Nah
this messed with me.
“What it existentially means is that there is no infinity or am I hallucinat ing???
“A trip to infinity is a doc umentary on Netflix.
“Check it out and be mind blown.”
Another said: “Who else has watched A Trip to In finity on Netflix?
“I just learned everything is nothing ...”
A third simply said: “I don’t have a clue what these folks are talking about in A Trip To Infinity.”
However, if you can grasp it – or even open a curious mind towards it – you’ll definitely love it.
There’s definitely some thing in it for those who want to have a go at un derstanding the concept of
infinity, and it’s explained as well as these sorts of concepts can be.
One viewer says:“What a sensational documentary. I love mind bending, cere bral, thought-provoking, quality content. This checks all the boxes.”
A second said: “Watch ing A Trip to Infinity on Netflix and man, I might be outing myself here, but I’ve forgotten how much I love mathematics and miss this type of thinking. Truly interesting combination of philosophy and logic.”
So, if you’re up for the challenge – and don’t mind having your concep tion of reality toyed with just a little bit – maybe check it out. A Trip to In finity is available to watch on Netflix now.
Netflix’s The Watcher has captivated viewers with its mystery of who is sending letters to the new home owners at 657 Boulevard – a story that itself is based on real events.
The letters aren’t the only part of real life that creator Ryan Murphy has drawn on for inspiration, though. In episode three, titled Götterdämmerung, Dean (Bobby Cannavale) learns about the tragic and terrible events that took place in the home before he moved in.
His private investiga
tor details how former homeowner John Graff also received letters from The Watcher, and after los ing his job and his grip on family life he eventually took a dark turn and shot his whole family.
It’s not exactly the happy background you’d want for your new house, and while this story did not really unfold at 657 Boulevard, it did happen in the same town of Westfield.
The events took place on November 9, 1971, when John List killed his entire family after having lost his
job and, like Graff, was re lying on his mother’s sav ings for money.
It’s rumoured that List made himself lunch between killing his fam ily members, and police didn’t find their remains until nearly a month after they were killed, when neighbours voiced con cerns.
List had cut his face out of all of the family’s pic tures and left a note claim ing that he killed his family to protect them from an influx of evil in the world, before going on the run.
He wasn’t arrested until 1989, after his crimes were detailed in an episode of America’s Most Wanted and a woman realised List looked like her neighbour, Robert Clark. He was con victed for the murders and sentenced to five life terms in prison.
Graff’s story in The Watcher doesn’t end quite so neatly, as Dean learns that the killer disappeared, never to be seen again –that is, until he fancied himself a snack back in the kitchen of 657 Boulevard.
One for the weekend...
We weren’t ready for e Dark Crys tal: Age of Resistance. Canceled after one season, the critically acclaimed 2019 fantasy series is, well, a gem. A prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson lm, the series returns to the planet ra, where three Gel ings inspire a rebellion against the absolutely dia bolic Skeksis. e puppet design and performances — from a stunning cast including Taron Edgerton, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nathalie Emmanuel — sneak up on you. You’ll nd yourself deeply invested in the poor, oppressed Gel ings’ lives, hurt just as much as the puppets whenever one of their own is harmed. A full-on fantasy epic, built with love, care and staggering detail.
2. Unbelievable is 2019 miniseries, based on a true story of rape, deftly navigates its disturbing and tricky subject matter with the help of a remarkable perfor mance from Kaitlyn Dever. She plays Marie, a teenager who’s charged with lying about being raped, but of course it’s more complicated than that. Toni Collette and Merritt Wever team up as whip-smart detectives who see what others fail to, adding another layer to Unbelievable’s deli cate, powerfully moving triumph.
3. When ey See Us Ava DuVernay’s When ey See Us from 2019 comes under the tough but essential viewing banner. It de picts the real-life events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case, involving ve male suspects of colour who were falsely accused of rape and as sault. Not only sensitively drawing the humanity of the boys into focus, When ey See Us demands outrage at the injustice of systemic racism.
e rst two seasons of this mocku mentary series (2017-2018) burst onto Net ix with a potent combi nation of potty humour and social commentary. A parody of true crime documentaries such as Net ix’s own Making a Murderer, American Van dal follows the aftermath of a high school prank gone wrong.Yes, this is a satire. But it weaves a surprisingly engrossing mystery that creates an accurate bigger picture of contempo rary high school life. A hefty achieve ment.
5. Alias Grace is miniseries from 2017 is from a couple of years ago, but in case you missed it, it’s de nitely worth check ing out. In the vein of e Sinner, Alias Grace steps back into its young female protagonist’s past to gure out why she commits murder, of which she has no memory. An adaptation of a Margaret Atwood novel, the show stars a hypnotic Sarah Gadon as Irish immigrant Grace, navigating a turbulent life as a servant for a fam ily in colonial Toronto. Partly based on a true story, this isn’t a straightfor ward mystery with straightforward answers and that’s what makes it all the more captivating.
Lotto Results ; Numbers drawn. 11, 13, 27. No jackpot winner. Next week’s jackpot €5,750. Winners of €30 -Mick Crotty. Frank O Donohoe. Michael Prendergast. Ned Murphy. Aileen Staunton Thanks for supporting the local lotto.
Clara U13s had a fantastic hard earned two point win over a gallant St. Lachtains, Freshford side in the Roinn C county final played at a breezy Dunmore on Saturday morning. The Freshford lads started with the strong breeze and with Charlie Kavanagh, son of the legendary Michael, in great shooting form, they led nine points to four at the interval. They had also had eight wides in the half and had a very dangerous looking full forward line which threatened goals on numerous occasions. They actually had a goal correctly disallowed early on for a square ball so overall Clara would have been content enough to be just five points adri at the break. The Clara scores had come from two frees by Padraic Meany, one from play by his brother Mícheál and a similar e ort by Aaron Carrigan.
Just two minutes of the new half had elapsed when Clara had the deficit cut to a single point. Mícheál Meany opened with a point and sixty seconds later Ciaran Gibbons timed his run to perfection to get on the end of a crossed ball and finish past impressive Freshford goalie James Walsh. A Charlie Kavanagh free put Freshford two clear again but then the Meany brothers scored a point each to tie the contest. Sometimes when a team are on top that all important lead point can be very hard to get and Clara missed a couple of opportunities before Charlie Kavanagh edged St. Lachtains in front again with a free. He repeated the act a er Padraic Meany had equalised but this time Aaron Carrigan got the leveller. It was going to take something special for Clara to take that coveted lead and this was provided by Padraic Meany when he gathered a ball in his own half back line and unleashed a mammoth strike that sailed between the posts all of 80 yards away. Substitute James McDonald then scored a wonderful point but this game was far from over yet. The scoreboard operator then su ered a bit of a meltdown and scores were being added on and taken o at random. As a result neither players nor spectators were sure of the true score. Freshford were awarded a close in free and a searing Charlie Kavanagh strike for goal was deflected over the bar and landed on top of the net. Of course a goal was registered on the scoreboard to add to the confusion but amidst the mayhem it was Clara that kept their composure best to add two points to seal the victory. The first came from a quick piece of thinking by the very influential Padraic Meany, who found Dara Leamy with a short free and Dara duly pointed. The insurance score came from Aaron Carrigan with his third of the day and the final whistle sounded as Padraic Meany cleared yet another ball. A tremendous game of hurling which could have gone either way. 1-13 to 0-14 was how it finished.
Captain Padraic Meany graciously praised Freshford in his speech and also name checked the injured Rory Treacy. He thanked the management team of Stephen Lawlor, John Carrigan and Joe Treacy for their e orts and the parents of all the players. He had been ably helped at midfield himself by his partner Dara Leamy. Ruairi Bowden Mullen was cool as a breeze in goals and never looked like he was going to concede. The full back line of Matthew Cooke, Liam Treacy and Ollie Butler did very well against a really quick and dangerous Freshford full forward line. The two Sams, Corr and Lawlor and the very tidy Robert Coogan cleared ball a er ball throughout the game. Jack Byrne drew several fouls that yielded scores, Aidan O Connell’s physicality was always troubling and Jim Carrigan had the better of his battle with his marker. Ciaran Gibbons’ goal was a huge score while Mícheál Meany and Aaron Carrigan chipped in with two and three invaluable points respectively. Not for the first time this year young substitute James McDonald got on the scoresheet while Michael O Kee e and young Liam O Callaghan contributed well all year and look to have big futures. Overall this was a great day for underage hurling
in Clara. Well done lads.
Team- Ruairi Bowden Mullen, Matthew Cooke, Liam Treacy, Ollie Butler. Robert Coogan, Sam Corr, Sam Lawlor. Dara Leamy 0-1, Padraic Meany 0-6, 0-4f. Jack Byrne, Aidan O Connell, Aaron Carrigan 0-3. Ciaran Gibbons 1-0, Mícheál Meany 0-2, Jim Carrigan. Sub used James McDonald 0-1. Also Michael O Kee e, Liam O Callaghan.
There was no winner of this week’s club lotto (Oct 11th).
Numbers Drawn were 7, 8, 17, 20 Bonus 16. Next Week’s top prize will be €13,000. www.oloughlingaels.com/lotto Promotors Draw: 1. Mickey Rowe. 2. Martin Dowling c/o Peter Dowling.3. Pauline Greene 4. Mary Tierney c/o Maurice Nolan. 5. Jim McMahon c/o Peter Dowling. 6. Jane Dineen c/o Hugh Lawlor. 7. Alice
The people of Freshford and surrounding areas were saddened last weekend to hear of the passing of another of their senior citizens Noreen Phelan late of Bohergloss Freshford. The deceased who was in her 83rd year was well known and respected in the area. Although she had been unwell recently her death was unexpected and caused widespread shock and sadness. She was prede ceased by her husband Tommy son Liam and daughter Christine. A member of a well-known local family, she was a very quiet and private and good living lady. A devoted mother grandmother and great grandmother she will be sadly missed by her family neighbours and friends. Funeral mass took place on Sunday in St.Lachtains Church following by burial in St.Lachtains Cemetery. Her granddaughter Cara Phelan gave a beautiful rendering of “A mothers love is a blessing“ in the graveyard followed by Caledonia. She is mourned by her sons, Johnny Pierce Michael Thomas and Paul and her daughters Mary and Ann, grandchildren, great grandchildren, sisters, sons in law, daughters in law, nephews, nieces and extended family to whom deepest sympathy is extended.
St.Lachtains GAA will host a race night on Friday 28th October at Kilkenny Greyhound track with the first race at 7.30pm. All support would be greatly appreciated with great prizes to be won on the night. Tickets are €10 each and can be got from any of the players or committee members.
Unfortunately the U13 boys lost out to Clara in the county final on Saturday evening last at Dunmore. In a close game throughout the young team just fell short and were defeated by a 2pt margin on a final score of 1.13 to 0-14.
Team: J.Walsh, P.Brennan, A.Walsh, A.Dowling Carroll, M.Hickey, P.McCarthy,D.Ryan, C.Kavanagh, C.Dalton, N.Walsh, J.Marnell, P.O’Connor, J.Flynn, J.Kavanagh . Well done to all involved and the management of K.Dalton, E.Ryan, K.McCarthy, M.Kavanagh and N.Walsh
St.Lachtains minor hurling team won the county C final recently beating neighbours The Emeralds at Dunmore a er extra time by the narrowest of margins in an exciting finish on a final score line of 1.11 to 0-13 points. They were giving a rousing reception on the following weekend when they were driven around the village to a cheering crowd of supporters and were treated to refreshments later on.
The parish newsletter is available on their website every week and also on the website you are free to pay your dues and make donations or any other contributions and you can find out more about it on the website or feel free to contact in the Parish O ice. Please note community notices for the parish newsletter should be le in or emailed to the Parish O ice by 11am on Thursdays. Parish o ice hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 1pm.
Special printed parish cards are available at the Parish O ice or from Annette at Tulla Church signed by Monsignor Kennedy. You can contact the Parish o ice on 056 8832843 or by email – freshfordd@ossory.ie.
St. Lachtain’s Camogie Club will hold its AGM on Friday 11th November 2022 at 8pm in the St. Lachtain’s Club rooms.
The committee of the Loop Café held a very successful co ee morning on Saturday last and they wish to thank all those who supported the event or donated or baked for the occasion. Big Work is ongoing at the Community Cafe at Buncrussia Street and it is almost ready to be open. Huge credit is due to the volunteers who have worked so hard to get all the work done.
Harvest Thanksgiving Service took place in the St Lachtains old Church recently with a good crowd in atten dance. Sermon was giving by Monsignor Kieran Kennedy.
Are you struggling with anxiety or depression or finding life di icult or feeling isolated at this time GROW is there to help you. Their Mental Health support Groups are free and confidential and open to all no referral or booking is needed. For more informa tion 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.
The best of luck to O’Loughlin Gaels u16s Camogie Team that are through to the County Final v Ballyhale. Time and date to be confirmed but details will be on the clubs social media as soon as available. Please support.
Sponsors: MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre U21s CHAMPIONSHIP
Our u21s take on James Stephens in the first round of this year’s championship. The game is due to be played at St. John’s Park on Saturday morning. Please support our club teams .
Well done to our u21s winning the Ger Gavin Memorial Tournament at Nenagh Éire Óg on Saturday last.
Sponsors: Pat Carroll’s , Ballybought Street HANDBALL NEWS
The last of Kilkenny GAA Handball County Finals for this year were held at Kilfane in front of a packed gallery on Monday evening. We had Maurice Nolan and Paddy Delaney in the Junior Doubles Final against the expe rienced Clogh brothers Aidan and Cathal Barry. The first game was nip and tuck all the way and our boys finished strong to win 21 - 15. In the second game the lads dominated from the start and ran out 21 - 7 winners. Maurice and Paddy put a big e ort in this summer and got their just rewards.
Also, a big well done to Paddy who won the singles 2 weeks ago. All back to the 40x20 now for the winter and no doubt the boys will do well again. Well done to all involved. Hon the Loughs JUVENILE HALLOWEEN PARTY
October 22nd, 4-30 to 6pm for our juvenile players and their families. Fancy dress, Disco, games and best dressed coach.
Team: M Murphy J. Denie e L Phelan L Landers C Bowden J Bergin ( capt) C McCabe S Kennedy M Campion C Dalton C Hickey J O’ Connor M Tiernan S Counihan C Donnelly. Subs E Dalton Well done to all the team and to the Management Ollie O’ Connor, James Burke, Jason Bowden Patrick Donnelly and Owen Dalton
Threecastles Community Hall committee are delighted to announce their short Autumn series of Talks
The first Talk was “Recycling in the Home and being clever with your electricity” which took place on Wednesday the 19th October at 7.30pm. The talk was given by Bernadette Moloney, Environmental Awareness o icer with Kilkenny County Council.
The second talk will be “Home Insurance – the dos and don’ts – which will be on Wednesday the 26th October at 8pm and will be given by Sean Manicle, Manicle Property Insurance Claims.
The 3rd event is “Easy yoga to get you moving“ and will be on Thursday 10th November at 7.30pm given by Brigid Keoghan. (There is a charge of €5 for this event to go towards the upkeep of the hall). The Committee look forward to welcoming everyone to one or all of these events which take place in Threecastles Community Hall Tulla Road, R95WK46 and parking is available
The showpiece event of Féile Lachtain took place recently when the Ra er Family performed in concert at St. Lachtain’s R.C. Church. A local Kilkenny, very talented and musical family, they performed before a big atten dance who were entertained with some great music and singing. Thanks to all those who supported and helped to organise the event.
Freshford day care centre recommenced recently and continues each Wednesday in the GAA Centre at 2pm. New members are most welcome SPLIT THE POT
The weekly lucky winner of the last Split the pot draw was young Aoibheann O’Flaherty of Clashacrow who won €81. The draw takes place each Wednesday. Tickets are just €2 and the winner gets half of the takings. The draw is held each Wednesday and boxes and envelopes can be found in Kavanaghs Bar, Mace, O’Shea’s corner shop, Girls& Guys Hairdressers, Oasis Creche, Freshford Creamery, Freshford Butchers and Prague House. Please support this fund raising draw and a big thanks to all for their continued support.
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.
Local Lotto Results for October 10th: Winning Numbers: 12, 23, 29. No Winner. Winners of Draw for 5 x € 30.Clodagh Lawrence ( Delaney’s),Liam O Halloran ( immy McCormack ), Greg O Donnell ( Delaney’s ),Alison Bergin ( Declan Donohue ), Ciss Ryan (Ciss Ryan ). Jackpot next week October 17th € 2,950. Venue : Dunphy’s Kilmoganny at 9pm All welcome
Important Notice from Kilmoganny Health Centre: Flu vaccines and Covid booster vaccines are available at Kilmoganny Health Centre for eligible patients of the practice. Please phone 051 648007 to make an appoint ment.
MONDAY YOGA
Monday Yoga with Sharon at 10.30am in the Old School Dunnamaggin. Contact Sharon 086 8159441 to book a place.
The fourth Community Spirit Award will be awarded in November. This year, as last, we have a nomination process in place for people to nominate someone they feel should be acknowledged for their voluntary work and contribution to the parish of Dunnamaggin which encom passes the three villages of Kells, Dunnamaggin and Kilm oganny. Nominations can be sent via private message to our facebook page (Dunnamaggin Community News) saying why your nominee should receive the award. Nom ination forms will also be available in local shops.
October 30th 11.30am to 4pm - Halloween Fun - Pumpkin Carving Competition - Children’s Halloween GamesEamo’s hot food to keep you all warm - Facepainting - and lots more to be unveiled.
Saturday December 3rd in Madge’s Garden - turning on the Christmas Lights with Mince Pies and Hot Chocolate Sunday December 4th our annual Christmas Market with Santa and Mrs Claus 11.30am to 4pm.
Our U11’s made it into the Shield final of the Slieverue League vs Black & Whites. The game was played on Saturday in Dunnamaggin. They put in a great perfor mance but unfortunately just fell short in the end. It was a very tough match and the boys showed great determina tion and passion right to the end.
Dunnamaggin U9 hurling team hosted the annual U9 Thomas O’Shea blitz on Saturday morning October 1st in Dunnamaggin. Dunnamaggin, Carrickshock, Bennetts bridge, Windgap, Thomastown, Ballyhale Shamrocks, Tullogher and Blacks and Whites all participated with
over 120 children displaying their skills. There were 2 groups of 4, with each team in the group playing each other. Dunnamaggin lost narrowly to Thomastown, who topped the group, to finish second and lost narrowly to Bennetsbridge in the 3rd-4th place playo . Ballyhale Shamrocks won their group and faced Thomastown in the final with Thomastown winning out in a thrilling final. All participants received a medal and goodie bag and the Thomas O’Shea Cup was presented to Thomastown by Nicky O’Shea Snr and Jnr in memory of their brother and uncle. A great morning was had by all and there were some excellent skills on display with great hurling games for each team. A word of appreciation to all the teams for participating, and all those who assisted in making the day such a success.
Mark the calendar the GAA club will host a Dinner Dance on Saturday 26th November in Hotel Kilkenny. Something to look forward to as the nights draw in.
Kilmoganny Bridge Club The bridge results for 12/10/2022: 1 Rita Houlihan and Mary Comerford. 2 Nellie Lahart and Margaret O’Shea. 3 Jackie Kenneally and Josie O’Gorman. Bridge is every Wednesday night at 7.30pm in St. Eoghan’s Centre, Kilmoganny. All welcome.
Foróige is o ering a series of Career Paths Webinars to empower the career choices of young people across the country. These free interactive webinars are open to all young people and are being o ered through Eventbrite. Each webinar will focus on a di erent professional field and feature a panel of 3 Mentors. The webinar will inform the young people about the di erent careers that exist within that profession and the diverse paths that people take to their chosen career. Follow Foroige on Eventbrite and be notified as new Career Paths Webinars take place every month. https://foroigecareerpaths.eventbrite.com
Where to find funding - tips for small organisations’ free webinar Whether you have a couple of paid employee or are completely volunteer run and operated, The Wheel invite you to attend their Where to Find Funding - Tips for Small Organisations free webinar on Friday, 21th October (10am - 11am). In this tightly packed 1-hour session, you can expect to get a practical set of guidelines for: Under standing your current income mix and how to play to your strengths when seeking new sources of funding Yulefest Community Enhancement Grant for Community Groups
2022
Christmas in Kilkenny 2022 is o ering grant-aid to enable towns and villages in the Municipal Districts of Kilkenny to enhance the 2022 Christmas experience for everyone in their area. Applications can only be submitted by estab lished local community groups. Individuals cannot apply. The funding is available to community organisations to dress and light your town or village or create an outdoor public Christmas experiences or events which would be accessible and applicable to all of the community for example; Dressing towns and villages for Christmas in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. Creating / Lighting /Decorating a specific area in the community with a Yulefest ‘Christmas in Kilkenny’ theme; Organising a Christmas event which engages local performers e.g. Choral/music performances; Organising ‘green’ environ mental Christmas activities - e.g community Christmas cycle, walk, trail etc. Preference is given to applications which are aligned with the ethos of Yulefest, that of in clusivity, participation and engagement across the entire community.
Please see link: https://kilkennyppn.ie/yulefestcommunity-enhancement-funding-2022-deadline-forapplications-19th-november-2022/ NOTE This scheme for all county towns and villages in Kilkenny municipal districts and has a total fund of €8,000. Eligible expendi ture will be subject to maximum 75% funding.Only one application per town or village will be approved, therefore communities are asked to coordinate a single application from their town or village. Please submit completed Grant
Applications to events@yulefestkilkenny.ie Closing date: Friday 19th November 2022.
Christmas order book is now open. Christmas Cakes, puddings, mince pies, chocolate puddings and many more delightful treats are available to order.
Well done to all 32 players who played out a very sporting game in mixed weather conditions. Gowran lead 5 -3 a er the doubles but the Bagenalstown men came back strong early in the singles. Gowran collected a few singles wins in the bottom half of the draw to see them home 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 in the singles and 14 1/2 -9 1/2 overall.
A great competition enjoyed by all with all proceeds going to the local Carlow Kilkenny Homecare team which we hope will aid the great work that they perform. Thanks to everyone who helped make the day happen, all who prepared the course for the day and the ladies for the catering on the day.
Brian Friel’s ‘The Communication Cord’ is hilariously fast paced and it’s coming to Gowran Parish Hall from October 21 - 24 2022 at 8pm nightly .Tickets are available now on www.gowranlittletheatre.com
The Elite Camogie Training Day held in Young Irelands GAA Grounds was a major success with a huge crowd in attendance from Various Clubs around The County.
The Event was hosted by Young Irelands Senior Camogie Players and All-Ireland Senior Medal winners Ste i and Ti anie Fitzgerald and Ciara O’Kee e along with Claire Phelan (Lisdowney) and all proceeds raised last Saturday go towards The Kilkenny Camogie Holiday Fund.
Over 70 girls enjoyed themselves with their heroes and getting some great tips along the way and it wa great to see so many clubs represented with girls from Gowran, Clara, Graiguenamanagh, Blacks and Whites, Galmoy, Carlow Town and Rathangan in Kildare.
Also last week, a cheque was presented to the girls a er a successful Kilkenny jersey day in Scoil Mhuire Gowran and a bucket collection at recent games in aid of a well deserved holiday for the All Ireland winners.
This week is the 20th Anniversary of Young Irelands County Final victory against Dunnamaggin in which DJ Carey played a starring role with 2-7 - 2-5 from play -.
Their County Final win reversed the result from 5 years earlier(1997), when Dunnamaggin under the guidance of the late Brendan Fennelly defeated the then County Champions Young Irelands.
In 2002, DJ had actually played very little Hurling having taking an extended break and he only featured for the Black and Amber twice that year, but in both games that he played - The All-Ireland Semi-Final and All-Ireland Final win - he made a massive impact.DJ’s form in those two games was a huge boost to Young Irelands prospects he carried that form forward into the Club Championship.
He scored a hat-trick of goals (3-4) in their Quarter-Final win against Graigue-Ballycallan, while Young Irelands prevailed narrowly 0-17 to 0-16 against James Stephens as Dunnamaggin prevailed 3-17 to 3-14 against Fenians a er a replay in the other Semi-Final.
The County Final original fixture was cancelled due to inclement weather, but the re-fixture was played on a Beautiful Autumn A ernoon as DJ gave his finest perfor mance on one of Young Irelands greatest day.
Marking one of the greatest Full-Backs to have played the game in Noel Hickey, DJ was on fire right from the outset and his two goals gave Young Irelands a 2-4 to 0-3 lead at the midway point of the first-half as they led 2-5 to 0-7 at half-time.
The Gowran Men maintained the lead throughout the third quarter with DJ adding further points, and their third goal midway through the Second-Half was the clincher and put them on the map to victory.
Jack Carey - A real unsung hero for Young Irelands over
the years - won possession and he sent a long hopeful ball goalwards that was gathered by Dick Carroll who raced through to fire a rasping shot for a well deserved goal. 3-9 to 0-12.
The Gowran Men remained in control and further points from DJ Carey - including a long distance e ort from a free - and his brother Jack which was thoroughly deserved for his trojan e orts.
Sean Ryan grabbed a late consolation goal for Dun namaggin, but there was no doubting Young Irelands overall superiority as they won out 3-14 to 1-15.
YOUNG IRELANDS GOWRAN TEAM 2002 COUNTY FINAL: Martin Carey(Captain); Ciaran Carroll, Eoghan Farrell, Cathal Fitzgerald; Stephen Byrne, Thomas Drennan, Ciaran Phelan; James McDermott(0-1), Ollie Carter; James Fitzgerald(0-1), Jack Carey(0-1), Charlie Carter(0-2); Dick Carroll(1-0), DJ Carey (2-7 0-2 frees), David Carter(0-2). Subs: Martin Carter, Patrick Farrell, Pat O’Neill.
REST OF PANEL: Dermot Madden, Darragh Phelan, Peter Carroll, Liam Phelan, Thomas Carroll, Alan Doyle, Shane O’Neill, Colin Madden, Jonathan Dunphy, John Drennan, Patrick O’Neill, Richard Kennedy, Eric Corcoran, U-21 HURLING
The very last Team in action for Young Irelands in 2022 go to battle next Saturday a ernoon as the U-21s go up against Lisdowney in the Quarter-Final on the County Roinn B Championship. Throw-in in Gowran on Saturday is at 3pm.
The Young Irelands Healthy Club Committee are hosting a safetalk Suicide Prevention 1 evening course in Gowran on Monday 7th November in identifying and helping those with suicidal thoughts towards appropriate as sistance.
The course will be held at Gowran Park Racecourse on the evening of Monday 7th November from 6pm to 9.30pm. Refreshments will be provided.
Attendance is free, but places are strictly limited. Should you wish to attend, please check out the Young Irelands Facebook Page for further details.
Congratulations to Ti anie Fitzgerald who is one of 11 All-Stars nominees for Kilkenny in the All-Star nomina tions. Ti anie in her debut season with the County Seniors was highly impressive and scored the very first point of the game in Kilkenny’s All-Ireland win against Cork.
Congratulations to the Young Irelands U-16 Camogie Girls who qualified for the Shield Final following a 1-12 to 3-1 win against Blacks and Whites in wet and windy condi tions in Gowran last Sunday.The girls produced a superb team performance and they now have a final to look forward to very soon.
Unfortunately, there was a disappointing end to the season for the Young Irelands Juvenile Teams as both the U-13 and U-15 Teams su ered defeats against John Lockes Callan in MW Hire Centre in Dunmore.
Last Wednesday Night, The U-13 B Team lost 5-9 to 0-3 against their Callan counterparts in the 13-a-side County Championship Final, while on Sunday Morning the U-15s lost 4-8 to 1-11 in the Roinn A Shield Final.
Gowran Panto Society are holding a Fancy Dress Halloween Party for all junior members that took part in the 2020 Panto production. It will be held in the parish hall on Tuesday 1st November at 7.30pm. Also, Registration for kids to take part in February Panto of Hansel and Grettel takes place on Friday 4th November in Parish Hall.
Co op draw ticket Collins Connolly c/o online. Promotors prize P & J Cody
New weeks draw €5150. Thank you for your continued support
Dicksboro were crowned Kilkenny u14 Camogie Champions Saturday morning on the Kells Road a er defeating a very good John Lockes Team. Huge Congratu lations to all the panel of girls and Management on a fine Victory.
Unfortunately for our Senior ladies it wasn’t to be their day in Freshford on Saturday a ernoon. A er a tight match in poor weather conditions Thomastown came out victors by 1 point. Congratulations to Thomastown and we wish you all the best in the Leinster Campaign. All in the Boro would like to thank our fantastic players and Management team for all their hard work and dedication this year. We are very proud.
As a thank you Dicksboro Gaa and Camogie Club are inviting all trainers (GAA and Camogie) out to Palmer stown Club House Friday 21st October for an appreciation night. Hope to see you all there.
Wishing our u15 hurling team the very best of luck in the County Final as they take on our neighbours James Stephens at 4pm in MWHire Dunmore Saturday 22nd October. We would like to see a huge crowd out to support these fantastic young Hurlers. Up the Boro.
Dicksboro Clubhouse Bar is opened every Thursday from 8.30pm. Thursday nights is Lotto Draw and Cards Night. All are welcome out for a social drink, a chat and if there is interest, a beginners card table. We would be delighted to see you out to the club for a chat. We have a selection of non-alcoholic beers, barista co ee also available so come along and enjoy.
Initiative Pathway to Employment course QQI Level 4. LTI is recruiting for the new programme in the Centre for November. If anyone is interested in completing this full-time course, please contact us for an expression of interest form. More details can be found on our website www.millfrcurlingford.com
Mindfulness can help reduce anxiety and stress and improve overall mental health. We are running a 5-week Mindfulness programme beginning Thursday 3rd November from 11am - 12pm in the Centre. If you would like to attend please contact us at the number below.
Knitting and Crochet Christmas Fair and Co ee Morning on Friday 2nd December in the Centre, Main Street, Url ingford from 11am – 1pm. Hope to see you there.
Please note that there is a defibrillator located in the Mill Family Resource Centre if and when it may be required.
If you need to apply for a Personal Alarm, please contact Sue or Josephine.
Our low cost Counselling Services, includes One-to-One, Family & Teens, aged 12 plus.
General Counselling: Bereavement, Stress, Anxiety & Depression.
Other Counselling Services available: Drug, Substance & Gambling Addictions.
Please contact Sue for more information or to make an appointment.
Any clothes donations would be appreciated in aid of our counselling services. Donations can be le into the Centre, please call before dropping o . Contact number for the Centre 056-8838466
BY NIALL SHERRY SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITORKILKENNYOBSERVER.IE
History was made by Shamrocks Ballyhale last Sunday, as they claimed a rst ever 5-in-a-row Kilkenny senior titles after seeing-o the challenge of James Stephens at a damp and breezy UPMC Nowlan Park.
Despite registering two majors on the day, e Village just couldn’t live with the small South Kilkenny side as Shamrocks joined Tullaroan on the twenty-title marker, in this, only their 50th year.
Ballyhale steadied the ship on a couple of occasions during the decider, recovering from a 1st half goal scored by Eoin Guilfoyle and then a bigger blow when mid elder Paddy Mullen saw red for an incident near the sideline having taken a wild swipe with the hurl. at’s what champions do, manage the game and the occasion.
James Stephens opened the scoring thanks to a nice point from Tadhg O’Dwyer after he turned Joey Holden inside out inside the rst couple of minutes. e holders hit back on 3 minutes when TJ Reid scanned for options out on the left wing and as usual took the right option with a pass to late inclusion Joe Cuddihy who red over a lovely point from tight to the sideline.
e game was scrappy during the opening exchanges, as e Village in particular were guilty of some bad wides. ere was also a good battle developing between Colin Fennelly and his marker Dermot Cody, with no quarter given by either party. TJ Reid then got his rst of the day after collecting a long clearance from his keeper Dean Mason. Reid expertly turned his man, found a yard of space and struck a nice point from over his shoulder to edge Shamrocks ahead. Seamus Dwyer’s men then got their second point of the day in the 9th minute when Niall Brassil beat Darragh Corcoran to the ball before swinging over a cracking point from way out on the right to level matters. Not happy with this, Darragh turned provider for his captain Ronan Corcoran who ri ed over a sweet score.
e Village almost created a goal scoring chance moments after, but Shamrocks closed ranks and cleared the danger. Paddy Mullen struck a huge clearance that Eoin Kenneally picked up and sprinted towards the opposition goal before unleashing a erce shot that went just wide of the post. From the next passage of play Matthew Ruth took possession before passing to William Spencer who red over a lovely point to make it three points apiece.
Adrian Mullen then showed some lovely footwork before sending over a mighty score from way out on the right touchline. Joe Cuddihy then saw yellow for what appeared to be an innocuous challenge on e Village full-back. Tadhg O’Dwyer then collected a ne pass from Cian Kenny before wriggling away from Joey Holden and batting over a lovely little point. e sides were level again, 4 each. ings were about to get a whole lot better for the city side. Conor Browne sent a searching ball deep into the Shamrocks defence which Niall Brassil touched into the direction of the on-running Eoin Guilfoyle who raced away from Darren Mullen before striking an unstoppable shot past Dean Mason. e Village crowd roared, they dared to believe.
Ballyhale responded immediately with points from Colin Fennelly and TJ (‘65). TJ then added to
his tally with a ne score from play after taking the sliotar from Adrian Mullen. TJ cut across the Nowlan Park pitch before batting over a sweet point. Adrian Mullen then sent Eoin Cody clear down the right and the speedy froward sent a ne point over.
TJ was then involved again when further scanning saw him pick-out his younger brother Richie who sent a lovely point over from about ‘60 metres out. Village full-back Dermot Cody was then shown a yellow for a clumsy challenge on Adrian Mullen and TJ punished this o ence by slotting over the free. Eoin Cody then got his second of the day, from way out on the right.
Shamrocks had responded to conceding the goal by striking seven points on the bounce. From three points down to four ahead in the space of just over 10 minutes. at’s what champions do. e last score of an intriguing rst half came from James Stephens, a free converted by Niall Brassil after Evan She in has blown-up for very little. e short whistle sounded, Shamrocks Ballyhale 0-11, James Stephens 1-5.
Seamus Dwyer’s men needed a fast start to the second half, and they got it, thanks to a monster score from distance from Niall Brassil. Shamrocks hit 2 wides, one from Eoin Cody, the other from Paddy Mullen, and Paddy’s afternoon was about to come to a premature end.
A little skirmish was developing along the touchline, Paddy Mullen tried to clear the ball up eld, but was stopped in his rst attempt, his second attempt was a wild swing of the hurl, which incensed e Village backroom team, particularly Peter Barry, who squared up to Mullen. Shamrocks trainer Niall Lacey pushed Barry away, but they wouldn’t see him avoid the ultimate punishment and he saw red.
It was a 2-point game, everything was on the line. Eoin Cody was then fouled by Niall Delaney – TJ applied the nish from the placed ball. A Niall Mullins clearance down eld was intercepted by Richie Reid, who with calmness picked out Joe Cuddihy in space out on the left. Cuddihy took possession, turned and red over a quality point. Shamrocks now led by 4.
Conor Browne then struck over a point from just outside the ‘45 to give his sides supporters some hope. Darren Mullen then fouled Matthew Ruth and Brassil popped over the free. Shamrocks nearly fashioned a goal chance, but referee Everard called play back for Cian Kenny’s foul on TJ. Reid pointed the free. Ronan Corcoran and Adrian Mullen then combined before TJ took the ball and played a ne low pass into Colion Fennelly who came round on the loop and red over. TJ then took a fantastic catch, but the free awarded was unusually struck wide. en in about 60 seconds, a passage of play that summed up Shamrocks Ballyhale - some wonderful stick play from Adrian Mullen, more from Joe Cuddihy then the pass to the man in space – who red over – Evan She in. Pure hurling. She in’s wing-back partner Darragh Corcoran then took a lovely pass from Eoin Cody before splitting the posts. Niall Brassil red over from distance to reduce the arrears to 5 points.
Fifty-two minutes on the clock. e nal nail was about to be hammered into e Village title challenge.
Adrian Mullen picked the ball up deep in his own half, played a long ball towards Eoin Cody, who icked it towards Colin Fennelly. e veteran fullforward passed to substitute Niall Shortall who oloaded to Eoin Cody who struck a low pass across the James Stephens goal where the awaiting Joe Cuddihy applied the low nished beyond Gavan Costigan in e Village goal. Ballyhale 8 points up. at’s what champions do.
Niall Brassil then sent over free from way out the Nowlan Park pitch, but like champions do, Shamrocks scored next, a ne point from Darragh Corcoran after nice work from Joe Cuddihy. Cian Kenny then got on the score sheet when he struck a sweet point from distance. Colin Fennelly then got his third point of the day, before a surging run from Adrian Mullen saw the former county captain lay the ball o to Eoin Cody who ri ed over form the ‘65 line. James Stephens kept plugging away and got a
second goal thanks to a lovely nish from distance by Conor Browne, to make it a 6-point game.
Moments later they nearly reduced the gap to 3, when a lovely pass across the Shamrocks goal was icked o the post by sub Ross Whelan.
e nal point of the game came from substitute Niall Shortall. Deep into injury time. Adrian Mullen played a nice pass close to the touchline which Shortall collected before beating 3 men with pace and skill, before sending over a stunning score to seal the win.
e nal whistle then sounded with Shamrocks Ballyhale home and hosed, 1-21 to James Stephens 2-11.
Five senior county titles in-a-row. Twenty county titles in total since their formation in ‘72. at’s what champions do.
SCORERS BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS: TJ Reid 0-6 (3f, 0-1 ‘65), E Cody 0-3, C Fennelly 0-3, J Cuddihy 1-2, R Corcoran 0-1, R Reid 0-1, A Mullen 0-1, E She in 0-1, D Corcoran 0-2, N
Shortall 0-1
SCORERS JAMES STEPHENS: E Guilfoyle 1-0, T O’Dwyer 0-2, N Brassil 0-5 (2f), W Spencer 0-1, A Parsons 0-1, C Browne 1-1, C Kenny 0-1
BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS – D Mason; B Butler, J Holden, D Mullen; E She in, R Reid, D Corcoran; R Corcoran, P Mullen; A Mullen, TJ Reid, E Kenneally; C Fennelly, E Cody, J Cuddihy.
SUBS: N Shortall for Kenneally (47), K Corcoran for Cuddihy (62)
JAMES STEPHENS – G Costigan; L Murphy, D Cody, S Donoghue; N Delaney, C Kenny, N Mullins; W Spencer, C Browne; A Parsons, N Brassil, M Ruth; T O’Dwyer, E Guilfoyle, L Scanlon.
SUBS: R Whelan for Ruth (49), D Hennessy for Parsons (55), E Butler for Scanlon (58)
REFEREE – Conor Everard (Graigue-Ballycallan) worthy of the Tom Walsh Cup decider.
Shamrocks Ballyhale. Champions for the 20th time in this their 50th Anniversary. Senior Champions for a 5th time in a row, something that hasn’t been done in senior club hurling in the modern era.
When Eoin Guilfoyle poked the bear on 21 minutes with a well-taken goal, Pat Hoban’s charges scored the next seven points. Like I said, that’s what champions do.
James Stephens gave it a good go, but by the time Conor Browne raised their second green flag of the day, their race was run.
TJ Reid was rightly awarded player of the match, but he was in good company with excellent displays all over the pitch in green & white. Darragh Corcoran, Adrian Mullen, Joe Cuddihy, Richie Reid... the list goes on.
Some of TJ’s fielding was exceptional. It’s an absolute joy to watch. His ability to scan and select the best option is legendary – and this legend just keep’s delivering. When speaking to the media on the pitch afterwards, you could feel the emotion emanating from TJ.
We could debate the merits of Paddy Mullen’s red card. Some seem to say a yellow would have sufficed, others definite in the colour red. What I didn’t like was Peter Barry getting involved with Mullen on a couple of occasions during the incident. Matters like this should be left to the officials.
Captain Ronan Corcoran lifted the Tom Walsh Cup and gave a short but meaningful speech. He referenced those no longer with us from his Parish, a lovely touch as they dedicated the win to those families who lost loved ones over the last year.
A word also on Niall Shortall’s point – the last of the day. Stunning, simply stunning. The future is bright, it also seems to be green & white.
So, county matters have now been taken care of. Leinster awaits. That’s what champions do
Permission is sought by
previously permitted by
and consisting of:
A) A bay window on first floor level to the front, south elevation, of existing dwelling. A continuation of the approved bay window at ground floor level.
B) All associated site works and landscaping.
At Purcellsinch, Dublin Road, Co. Kilkenny.
The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Department, Kilkenny County Council, County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny, during its public opening hours 9 a.m.- 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday, and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Planning Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee (€20.00) within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the planning application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the Planning Authority in making a decision on the application. The Planning Authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission.
Signed: Gittens Murray Architects Ltd., No. 5 William Street, Kilkenny. Tel No: 056-7753933. web:www.gmarch.net
I, Jane Naughton intend to apply to Kilkenny County Council for Planning Permission to build a single storey extension to the rear of my dwelling house and all associated site development works at Main Street, Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, which is a protected structure (RPS C115)
The planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Department, Kilkenny County Council, County Hall, John Street, Kilkenny, during its public opening hours 9 a.m.- 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday, and a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Planning Authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee (€20.00) within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the planning application, and such submissions or observations will be considered by the Planning Authority in making a decision on the application. The Planning Authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions, or may refuse to grant permission.
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. E.MT.
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. H.D
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.D.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. M.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. M.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. S.M.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. S.B.
Dear heart of Jesus, in the past I have asked many favours.
This time I ask you this special one (mention favour).
Take it dear heart of Jesus and place it within your heart where your father sees it. Then in his merciful eyes it will become your own favour not mine. Amen.
Say this prayer three times for three days and your favour will be granted.
Never been known to fail.
Must promise publication of prayer. D.B.
